Author: Laura Cyra

I love change so as summer comes to an end I welcome fall with open arms!  I love the fall season! The weather is normally perfect, the leaves are falling and the holidays are right around the corner. There are so many things I like to do during the fall and I thought I should share a few of my simple top tips to help you in preparing for the Fall season! Hopefully, this list gives you an overview of some of the fall tasks you might want to get started on. Fall Cleaning List – Create a fall cleaning…

September is almost complete and our back to school routine seems to be falling into place finally!  With fall just around the corner now is the perfect time to bring some positive change into our lives and for me that is all about cleaning and decluttering!  I keep reminding myself of my ultimate goal in life – to live simply and have more fun!  For me that is the only motivation I need. With Dustin old enough to entertain himself for longer periods of time while Cheyenne is in school I’ve been taking advantage of it and reading more books…

When I heard Cher had a new movie out revelaing the extraordinary life story and perseverance of her Mom, Georgia Holt, I was excited to kick back and watch it.  The hour long documentary will have you on the edge of your seat and wanting more.  The documentary begins with Holt’s beginnings in rural Arkansas and runs through her six tumultuous marriages while pursuing a career among Hollywood’s elite as a singer and actress. Dear Mom, Love Cher includes a never-before-heard duet performance with Holt and Cher, along with the long-lost recordings Holt taped more than three decades ago that Cher…

Meal planning is a great way to save time and money. Some people see meal planning as a time-consuming task that holds you to a strict schedule. Meal planning actually takes very little time and surprisingly you are not on a strict dinner schedule. The point of meal planning is to have a plan. Instead of frantically trying to figure out what ingredients you have to cook dinner, you can quickly look at your list of meals. Have you tried meal planning? I usually make a rough outline for the month using a lot of the meat I have on…

Taking two kids to the store, navigating the parking lot, and keeping everyone together is a challenge. I’ve learned that wrangling the kids while shopping solo can work thanks to shopping bag carrier! The original carrier I had was the Mighty Handle, you could easily carry multiple bags in one hand while wrangling the kids with the other. This post was originally published in 2013, since then Mighty Handle is no longer a business but you can purchase similar shopping bag carriers online. Shopping bag carriers make multi-tasking simple. Throw the kids in their seats with a snack, load the…

If we are being honest with ourselves, no one enjoys doing chores. Kids especially don’t enjoy doing chores! However, kids need to have chores to teach them responsibility and it helps teach them to properly care for their own stuff. Getting your children to do chores is sometimes a chore in itself. So, how do we get kids to do chores without making it a fight? It’s actually pretty easy – most of the time! Make the Chores Age and Skill Appropriate The chores you select for your child need to be age-appropriate. This way their attention span will be…

I don’t know about you but for me going grocery shopping is a huge process.  First I plan dinners for the week then I have to think about snacks, lunches, breakfast and remember what I have in the cupboard.  I’m used to my process so it doesn’t take up a huge chunk of my time but transitioning the kids into healthy snacking is a process all of its own!  That’s why I’m bringing you this food tip of mine! Don’t get me wrong we always have fruits and veggies in our house but if they aren’t prepared in a manner…

The Grain Mill Wagon Challenge has us busy trying out some new recipes, or as my daughter calls them experiments.  I didn’t realize how easy making your own flour could be!  I’ve ground up everything from quinoa to chickpeas and have to say the [easyazon_link asin=”B000CPJKWC” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”reamom0b-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]WonderMill Grain Mill[/easyazon_link] has not disappointed me!  In fact with all these healthy made at home flours I am actually saving money! The challenge requires that I use the Wondermill Grain Mill to create three recipes using flour I’ve made with it!  I thought I would take it easy…

Us moms are busy ladies and we have a lot on our plate. Some of us are working out of the home, from home, homeschooling children, shuttling kids to and from sports, cooking meals and taking care of the house. We have a lot of responsibilities and sometimes it seems like our life really isn’t about us. There are times when we lose focus of we are as a person. When this happens it is time to step back and take a little time for ourselves. It is so easy to get caught up being a Mom and taking care…

Did you know today is National Grandparents’ Day? National Grandparents’ Day is a secular holiday celebrated since 1978 in the United States and officially recognized in a number of countries on various days of the year, either as one holiday or sometimes as a separate Grandmothers’ Day and Grandfathers’ Day. One celebrates both paternal and maternal grandparents. ~ wikipedia I came across this cute poem and just had to share it! Reading that poem brought so many memories back to when I was young and the summers I would spend with my Grandparents.  It truly was something I took for granted and I…

As you can tell what I’m reading now is kind of a lot this week thanks to vacation! Rejection, that is something we all need to deal with at one point or another in our lives.  Some people take it good while others see it as an attack on their character, that’s why I found my latest review, from BookSneeze.com®, [amazon_link id=”1400204844″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Downside Up[/amazon_link] so enlightening.  Learn how to transform rejection into a golden opportunity! [amazon_link id=”1400204844″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link] Downside Up – What I’m Reading Now Downside Up contains step-by-step guides, resources, and inter-active pages necessary to restore…

Back to school means no more lazy summer days where there are no planners to sign, bedtimes to abide by and most of all dates to keep straight.  It is one thing to miss a backyard bbq but another to miss picture day at school or a parent-teacher meeting.  Setting up a family communication center is great way to make sure that all important family information is organized. Do you think creating a family communication center would help you stay organized? The communication center is the perfect way to keep track of homework, bills, recipes, important paperwork, schedules and much…

 I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product. Another book review for you!  This time it is[amazon_link id=”1401939783″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Feng Shui Simply: Change Your Life From the Inside Out by Cheryl Grace[/amazon_link].  I was excited to dive into the old world of Feng Shui and share my thoughts with all of you. Feng Shui Simply: Change Your Life From the Inside Out  Cheryl Grace is a feng shui author, professional consultant, motivational speaker, and teacher, who specializes in helping…

I hope you enjoyed my first Wine Wednesday review – Bitch so I’m bringing you another one that I hope you will enjoy just as much.  This pick came from our recent trip to Las Vegas and sampling the wine of the month selections that had been shipped over the last few months.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the 2010 Toscano Vineyards Artigiani Chianti. Toscano Vineyards – 2010 Artigiani Chianti ~ Wine Wednesday Wine: Artigiani Chianti (2010) Variety: a blend of 80% Sangiovese (san-jo-veh-zeh) and 20% Canaiolo From: Tuscany So what is Artigiani Chianti?  Toscano Vineyards is located in the soul of the Italian wine region.  To…

If you prepare your child lunch then you know how hard it can be to come with creative lunch idea’s. Personally, I wouldn’t want to eat the same sandwich every day. I’ve came up with different lunch ideas that I believe are kid friendly and will add some variety to the daily school lunch.  Having an easy list of go to lunches will help you plan for grocery shopping and allow for easy morning prep. Back to School Lunch Ideas Tortilla Wraps: You can get really creative with tortilla wraps! You can make the wrap to fit your child’s likes…

Phone your favorite girlfriends, make some popcorn, poor a glass of wine and settle in for a girls movie night!  This [amazon_link id=”B00CSCJ02M” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Hallmark Double Feature ~ The Sweeter Side of Life and Meddling Mom[/amazon_link] is a guaranteed perfect girls night in.  Just make sure the boys have something to do that won’t interfere because if your boys are like mine they’ll be making fun of your movie choices every chance they get. The Sweeter Side of Life I have to say that this feature was my favorite!  Kathryn Morris, Desiree, adds the perfect touch of class and…

Ok, you’ve probably noticed I have been quiet as of lately.  We made a family trip back to Vegas, which I have to say is always a vacation no matter when we go.  Who can complain about seeing their in-laws, sitting by the pool, enjoying the sites and living luxuriously! When we can book flights cheap using Travelocity it makes Vegas that much more fun.  Finding a direct flight on a discount airline is always a bonus but with Travelocity, we can usually find a flight to fit within our budget and get us there in a decent amount of…

With Cheyenne headed back to school, I have found it is so important to have a routine. Coming off of summer break makes it hard to get back into a normal school day schedule of waking up early and making it through the day.  Creating a routine helps to provide structure and less chaos. When the family knows what they are supposed to do will make life easier for everyone involved! If you’ve read some of my old posts like Routines Are A Lot of Work you know first hand that I can relate to the crazy hectic days when life…

This is the eighth post in My Top 5 Summer Sanity Tips!  Did you catch last week’s post on family camping trips? Summer vacation is coming to an end that means back to reality where everything has a time and place and you can’t just lounge all day.  Well at least that’s what we do, summer for us since we sold our business is a time to let go and relax!  But then September hits and getting the kids back into a school routine after a relaxing summer is a challenge! The kids are used to staying home and enjoying…

Wow!  Care Bears is back at it with another fun loving adventure.  I remember back when I was a kid, which I like to think wasn’t that long ago, the Care Bears were my idols!  To this day I’m still in love with them and did Cheyenne’s nursery in all Care Bears, which wasn’t a simple task.  When I found out a new movie was released [amazon_link id=”B00CUDD0YI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Care Bears: A Belly Badge for Wonderheart[/amazon_link] I just had to get my hands on it! Now I will take you into the land of caring and sharing with a…