Well, the time is here. For weeks, parents, teachers and school boards have been fretting about how to proceed. A back to school pandemic plan is a tough one. While many students head back to a modified classroom in person, there are thousands of kids who will opt for homeschooling, distance or online learning.
I know. We are all renovating and beautifying our spaces right now. Because we will be at home FOREVER it feels like. And ever, and ever. Sorry – ‘Hamilton the Musical’ reference, because isn’t everyone watching it twice a day on Disney Plus? I digress. After my Mom passed away, I inherited a 1780’s farmhouse in Nova Scotia. I got married there, daring Torontonians and Floridians to shell their own lobster dressed in wedding finery whilst looking out at the 365 islands of Mahone Bay. As a charming two-bedroom cottage filled with asbestos, mice and rot, however, it needed some work.
Is life overwhelming sometimes? Ever feel the need for a refuge? Want one small space to call your own? If that sounds like you, sister, you might need a ‘she-shed’, a detached one-room bungalow with the sole purpose of providing comfort, privacy and serenity. Start planning, and before you know it, you’ll be gently closing your door on the rest of the world.
Camping with the kids can be a beautiful experience; sleeping close to your babies under the velvet sky and bright moon, wrapped in the warm summer air. Or, it can be a tough night out in the rough embrace of the wild. You never know how a child will handle a new situation until they’ve experienced it, so planning a camping trip with children without a test run could equal disaster. That’s where a backyard camping trip comes into play.
A backyard campout will give you all the joys of camping—including sleeping in a tent and roasting marshmallows over a campfire—all within a few steps of home in case one of your littles doesn’t quite feel the whole “sleeping under the stars” thing.
I admit – grandparents are super hard to buy for. They have been around the block umpteen times, and things of value are no longer material. That’s why we’ve focused on the spirit, the soul and the family. Please know that there are a few affiliate links in here, so if you purchase through Amazon we will get some credit that helps keep UrbanMommies running. Every item is something I would want to gift, so I hope you enjoy our 2018 Grandparent Gift Guide!
Some women love flowers. Some women love shoes. This woman loves bacon. Crispy, smoky, delicious bacon makes my heart flutter romantically. “True love is sharing your bacon” – this is my life philosophy and also why Hallmark probably won’t ever buy card concepts from me (but wouldn’t you want to buy one that said that? It’s just so relatable.)
There is nothing I love more than breakfast in bed. My friends actually used to host an annual bacon potluck where each guest would bring their own bacon related dish to share. It was so much fun (and so much bacon!) One year we actually had 13.5 pounds of bacon on the table and in all the years it was held no recipes were repeated. I wouldn’t have minded if they repeated the bacon wrapped stuffing. That was lovely.
I’ve always found grandparent gifts really hard to choose. They love sentimental, heartfelt items, but often your family photos are buried on hard disks and you’re not quite organized enough to find that great art piece that was painted last year. Hopefully these grandparent gift ideas strike a chord!
Hostess gifts over the holidays are usually so kitchy. Flowers are a bit of a pain for a busy hostess, and the last thing you want to do is give more flamboyant holiday ‘stuff’ they have to put into storage every years. Here are a few hostess gifts that will stick.
Everyone has the person in life that seems like they already have everything. Before getting all judgy and resentful (everyone has challenges, remember), here are a few fun ideas for people who are hard to buy for.
Hanukkah season is upon us, and as usual, it feels like you have to ‘dig deep’ to get past all of the Christmas in order to find the blue and white. That said, we were able to source out some fun Hanukkah gifts – feel free to add your own ideas too!!