A Tale of Two Goldfish Swimmers and Two Wildly Different Stories I have two children with very different personalities and levels of athleticism. Both came from the same gene pool, but you couldn’t prove it if you asked their...
The decision to go forward with redshirting our kindergartener has not been an easy one to make. My son is bright, loves stories and books, and is articulate to a fault. He’s also impulsive, has problems with his “listening...
  How to make homemade valentine melted heart crayons Every now and again I aspire to be a pinterest mom. It's fleeting and far between, but occasionally I surprise myself! Does anyone else inwardly groan when they think of class holiday parties and...
When my husband said we needed to add yet another app to our television streaming, I was a bit skeptical. However, once he told me that we were adding Disney + and that I would have access to every Disney...
My refrain of, “Why don’t you turn off the tablet and go read a book?”, is often met with a slight groan from my 10-year-old daughter. As a former English teacher, you can imagine my shock when I realized,...
I appreciate all the great family shows available for our kids.  As a mom, it takes intentional effort to connect with our kiddos. Screens can come between us and our kiddos if we allow it or they can bring us...
Do you remember the first time you heard about sex? I was a wide-eyed eight-year-old, playing at the home of my closest-playmate, "Beth". At one point her older sister, "Sarah" joined us. Eager to prove her superior knowledge to us...
In the past two months, our family has been seriously injury-prone. My oldest son broke his collarbone riding a skateboard; my youngest son sprained his wrist playing soccer; and my daughter twisted her knee running cross country. After six x-rays, five...
I mindlessly grabbed a cart while I scanned my grocery list. Then I stood in line for my twice-weekly Starbucks fix. I made small talk with the barista. Thanked him for the Americano and set my drink in the...
I would love to be the mom with a beautiful chore chart where kids have the same responsibilities every week, and are compensated in a fair and consistent manner. However, that is totally not who we are!   Kids and...

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In + Around Des Moines

Shop the Just Between Friends Consignment Sale March 22-24

Iowa’s largest children’s consignment sale is happening this week at the 4-H Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds! Whether you’re looking to save money on...