Written by contributor Arianna Carlson of For the Love of Motherhood “Because there is no one way to be a perfect parent, but there are a million ways to be a great one.” Kelle Hampton Whether you are a stay-at-home or working mom, being a mother can be one of the most difficult things that you [...]
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My Father Died – Now What?
“To live and love wholly again, you must mourn. You will not heal unless you allow yourself to openly express your grief… Remember, grief is a process, not an event. Be patient and tolerant with yourself. And never forget that the death of a parent changes your life forever.” ~ Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Written [...]
POSTED BY ON April 8, 2013 | Comments { 2 }
How Whimsy Can Turn Your Day Around
Written by Josh Solar of The Happy Family Movement You know those days when you pick up the kids from school and EVERYONE is grumpy GRUMPY (they’re REALLY grumpy) and you feel like you’re going to lose your mind? Yesterday was one of those days for us. The ride home from school was not pleasant. Yelling, [...]
POSTED BY ON April 4, 2013 | Comments { 10 }
Fun Fridays in an Airstream Trailer
When I stumbled across the Peterson Family blog, I instantly felt inspired and connected. Heck— they purposefully chose to live in a trailer with a kid! Since then, I have been stalking their blog to see how they live and what they have learned through the experience Along with detaching themselves from material possessions, they also found more [...]
POSTED BY ON March 29, 2013 | Comments { 3 }
Sticks and Stones : Dealing with Verbal Abuse From Your Child
Written by contributor Arianna Carlson of For the Love of Motherhood “Sticks and stones may break my bones But names will never hurt me.” – Unknown I’d argue that whoever wrote the popular nursery rhyme didn’t have a four year old who called them names. Not just names, mind you, but straight to the heart [...]
POSTED BY ON March 11, 2013 | Comments { 11 }
Teaching Children to Love
Written by contributor Arianna Carlson of For the Love of Motherhood With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, love is in the air (or at least the commercial aspect of it), so I’ve been thinking a lot about love. What is your child’s understanding of love? Is it about hearts and chocolates? Or, more about feelings [...]
POSTED BY ON February 11, 2013 | Comments { 11 }
5 Chores Your Preschooler Can Safely Do
This post is brought to you by Method, a socially responsible company that makes non-toxic and sustainable cleaning products that leave your home and your world clean. Kids seem to have a radar for a freshly cleaned surface. Doesn’t it seem that as soon as you wipe down a dirty counter, there’s another sticky handprint in its [...]
POSTED BY ON February 8, 2013 | Comments { 5 }
Intentional Adventures
Written by contributor Josh Solar of The Happy Family Movement We talk a lot about adventurin’ in our house. Big, grand adventures— like our 5-month trek to Europe happening in late 2014/early 2015. But, sometimes, we get so caught up in trying to adventure HUGE that we miss out on the tiny adventures found wherever/whenever we [...]
POSTED BY ON February 4, 2013 | Comments { 3 }
Be part of the National Day of Service
Tomorrow is National Day of Service, a day when volunteers all over the country will dedicate a few hours of their time to serving their communities—at food banks, health clinics, park clean-ups, and through thousands of other projects. It’s a tradition started by the first family as a way to honor the legacy of our [...]
POSTED BY ON January 18, 2013 | Comments { 0 }
The Aftermath: Looking for the Answer Within
Written by contributor Arianna Carlson of For the Love of Motherhood Today marks the one-month anniversary of the horrible shooting that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. My heart continues to break, not only for the families of the victims, but also for all the parents, children, teachers and staff at the [...]
POSTED BY ON January 14, 2013 | Comments { 12 }
The Compact: Not Buy Anything New for a Year
Our family has agreed to go another year without buying anything new. We did it in 2010 and it dramatically changed how we lived and what we put value on as a family. It rocked my world, but in an amazing way. It’s fun, challenging and really makes you look at objects differently. Yet over the [...]
POSTED BY ON December 29, 2012 | Comments { 10 }
The Importance of the Family Dinner
Growing up, dinner was at 6pm and we all were there. No matter how busy our day was, it slowed down when we ate dinner together, talked about our day and filled our bodies with home-cooked food. Fast forward 25 years… 6pm rolls around and you may find us eating in the truck as we [...]
POSTED BY ON December 27, 2012 | Comments { 1 }
Brave Friday: “Share leftovers, play games, enjoy traditions”
We read this pretty amazing call to action from one of our favorite organizations, Story of Stuff. It put me in my place on this whole Black Friday deal. So my family and I are opting-out of Black Friday and embracing Brave Friday with a holiday movie marathon in our pj’s, board games, living room [...]
POSTED BY ON November 23, 2012 | Comments { 2 }
Vote for Family Sponge
Family Sponge has recently been nominated on SkinnyScoop’s Top 25 Creative Blog list. And if you agree, we’d appreciate you taking a quick moment to vote for our blog. Vote for Family Sponge as your favorite creative blog Vote for Family Sponge as Your Favorite Creative Blog on the SkinnyScoop (Voting Ends 10/31). The [...]
POSTED BY ON October 28, 2012 | Comments { 2 }
When a loved one dies
Written by Ozma Bryant I have a five-year-old daughter who recently lost her great-grandfather, the only grandfather I ever knew and loved, and I was tempted numerous times to hide his dying from her. She knew he was sick, but at some point I realized telling her that wasn’t enough. I certainly didn’t want her [...]
POSTED BY ON October 16, 2012 | Comments { 0 }
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HOW TO BE SORTA-CRUNCHY•••
Join our simple living + world-changing journey!
1. Adopt a plant-based diet with green smoothies
2. Start using coconut oil (for almost everything)
3. Ditch the paper towels and use cloth napkins
4. Make Trash to Treasure Art Projects with your kids
5. Unplug the TV and reconnect with your family
6. Furnish your home with second-hand treasures
7. Be the change you wish to see
8. Teach your kids responsibility and effort with important work—chores.
9. Save the world we live in and bike around town
10. Upgrade your kitchen to eco-friendly pots and pans
1. Adopt a plant-based diet with green smoothies
2. Start using coconut oil (for almost everything)
3. Ditch the paper towels and use cloth napkins
4. Make Trash to Treasure Art Projects with your kids
5. Unplug the TV and reconnect with your family
6. Furnish your home with second-hand treasures
7. Be the change you wish to see
8. Teach your kids responsibility and effort with important work—chores.
9. Save the world we live in and bike around town
10. Upgrade your kitchen to eco-friendly pots and pans
