I went on a date with my husband this past weekend and we had a great time. I know it sounds corny, but it's true! The worst part about it is that we're often so busy with being Mom & Dad that we forget that we're also Husband & Wife... Continue reading

So after a recent discussion of how all of us were sick of being inside, I decided that we wouldn't wait for Mother Nature to get her butt in gear any longer. We would start our gardens inside this year - and when the temps finally caught up to us, we'd be ready for it. We had a bunch of seed packets on hand from a recent shopping trip, so we decided to make our own little Seed-Starting Gardens in our East and South-facing windows. The kids thought it would never-ever work, so we made sure we put detailed notes in our journals to track the progress of their seeds. The windows look pretty cool , if I do say so myself, and I'm happy that we can stop complaining about the chilly weather and enjoy our garden indoors for now. Continue reading

To celebrate Spring and say goodbye to this chilly weather, we have a fantastic Giveaway for you. One lucky reader will win a $100 gift card to EGG Baby by Susan Lazar! Continue reading

Below I have compiled a list of interesting summer programs that offer kids a unique experience in a limited amount of time. Most of the camps are week-long programs. With a little planning, your kids can have a fun, learning experience that they will always remember, and maybe you can actually enjoy a beach day with your friends. Continue reading

As I sit here waiting for Spring to unfold, I find myself constantly thinking about our mother's greenhouse from our childhood, and yearning for one of my own. Like our mother, her greenhouse was petite in size, yet glorious to behold. With a patinaed metal frame, her greenhouse was filled with windows and natural light, and smelled of the earth and flowers. As children, we spent a lot of time in her greenhouse - crawling on the dirt-covered floor, playing hide-and-seek among the raised beds, and just watching our beautiful mother tend to her precious plants. Now I may just be waxing nostalgic right now, but isn't that what all gardeners do? We dream, we sketch, we plant, we tend - and then we start all over again? Why, of course it is, and it's this harmonious cycle that had grounded me for as many years as I care to count. Continue reading

This pretty little statement piece features rice-shaped freshwater pearls and is a fun, carefree addition to any jewelry collection. To win a freshwater pearl necklace of your own, worth $60.00, all you need to do is enter the Rafflecopter below. Continue reading

Talking about the definition of Real Food, and The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list. Continue reading

Photo: Victor Maltby A few weeks ago, I hit a very low point in my parenting skills. One of our children hasn't been sleeping very well, and after weeks of continuous stalling at bedtime, I lost it. I mean, I really, really lost it. I yelled. I screamed. I stomped... Continue reading

Enjoy this gluten free french yogurt cake with your family this spring. Continue reading

When I see young girls at the mall, I see myself in them and can sense the insecurity. It makes me think back to that time and all the things I wish I had learned earlier about my body, weight loss and what "healthy" really means. If I could go back in time, here are 10 things I would say to my 12 year old self. I am not speaking as a licensed expert or even parent of a girl - I'm just someone who has been there, knows how hard (if not painful) it can be to overweight and young, and knows what's on the other side of it all. Continue reading

One of the best ways to get kids excited about reading is through a read aloud. Research has shown that reading aloud to children has huge benefits. It helps kids acquire language, gain comprehension skills and get ready for school. It is the single most important thing parents can do to help their children, yet many parents struggle to find the time to do it. Below are some tips to help you make reading a priority. Continue reading

Prior to having a child, I remember wondering why some parents let their kids get away with eating only “kid food” (grilled cheese, pizza, quesadillas, etc.). I thought that I would never become one of those parents and that my children would always eat what my husband and I were eating. Continue reading

My goal over the next several months is to empower, equip and enlighten you to make more educated and informed choices about food, not shame you into feeling like you can't possibly do all the things that I or other Real Food bloggers or Real Food 'followers' are doing on a daily basis. The goal will be to get you buying, cooking and eating more Whole, Real, from scratch, cleaner, less processed foods. Isn't that exciting? You should be excited! Continue reading

Even though Mother Nature is taking her sweet old time bring Spring to NY this year, my internal time clock is insisting that Spring is here. My feet want to ditch their cumbersome winter shoes and run barefoot and carefree in the grass. My nose is begging for the sweet smell of Hyacinth blooms and freshly cut grass. And, my body is wondering when it'll be able to lie on a picnic blanket feeling the warm sun on my face. Continue reading

One of the best pieces of advice we were ever given by a therapist remains with us today. It wasn’t about how to handle emotionally prickly people, or how to fill out the next grand form. It was all about how to encourage our child. And it came in the form of a box. Continue reading

In case you didn't know, "The Andersons" are Irish. All you need to do is take one look at our freckly, pale faces, and our heritage is outed. It's been that way ever since we were kids. People never looked at us and said, "Ohhhh - you cuties MUST be... Continue reading

I decided that I could clean up our pantry instead and focus on eating a clean(er) diet than we have been in the past. But when I went online and googled "Clean Eating" and "Real Food", I had a full-on panick attack. Many of these Clean Eating / Real Food Groups are very strict, and some of the bloggers and experts can be downright mean towards those of us who are just dipping our pinky toes in the water. So I got frustrated...and cranky. In the midst of my frustration, I came across this post, “Help Me!” at Real Food Girl Unmodified, and I couldn't stop laughing. Kristine, "a blissfully married, classically French trained cook/chef turned pro-organic, anti-GMO, food hippie" not only tackles the importance of taking it "one step at a time", but she does so with so much Southern Sass and humor that I immediately fell in love. She also managed to pay homage to Snoop Dogg, in a topic usually reserved for food-snobbery, and that pretty much sealed the deal for me. Continue reading