January 20, 2019
Every time I visit family or friends on the mainland, I can’t help but notice just how much space they have when it comes to the home. They have special rooms for dining, formal living rooms for formal guests, casual…
January 13, 2019
Now that winter break is over, I find myself reflecting on how much fun I had with family. We got to take the kids to Disney World for the very first time and see my in-laws’ new home. As we…
January 6, 2019
Every year, around this time, people all over the world resolve to do something better. Get in shape. Save more money. Spend more time with family. Organize the home. In our house, it is all of the above. While we…
December 30, 2018
Raising kids, I often hear and read sayings about parenting that hit home. One of my favorites: The days are long, but the years are short. I could not agree with this more. While sometimes it seems that bedtime is…
December 16, 2018
This is the one time of year that our DVD player comes out of hiding. While we usually stream most of the movies we watch, holiday classics are not as readily available as we would like them to be. Plus,…
December 2, 2018
I will admit it. My husband and I are “those people” who are obsessed with their dog. You can imagine my distress then, when I heard her crying from a distance while at home recently. She had gotten out of…
November 25, 2018
There is something about the holiday spirit that I just can’t help but embrace. People treat one another with more kindness it seems, and we are constantly celebrating. Before Thanksgiving even rolled around, our December calendar was already full with…
November 18, 2018
Every year, it seems that Black Friday begins earlier and earlier. Just a couple of years ago, people all across America debated the morality of retail stores opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day rather than waiting until Friday. This year…
November 11, 2018
My 4-month-old son, Joseph, eats constantly. Unfortunately, along with all the eating comes a lot of spit up, thanks to his reflux. Add to that some sporadic explosive diapers, and it should come as no surprise that, at our house,…
November 4, 2018
“We dodged a bullet,” said Oahu Mayor Kirk Caldwell at a press conference shortly after Hurricane Lane was downgraded to a tropical storm in August. While most Hawaii residents did not see the brutal impact forecasters expected, Hurricane Lane also…
October 28, 2018
Have you ever seen those viral videos of parents sliding sneakily out of their child’s room? One of the latest shows a mom lying down next to her child’s crib. Once asleep, the mom slithers out of the room in…
October 21, 2018
When my family and I first moved into our home, back in May, we were pleasantly surprised at how much cooler the climate was up the hill. We slept with the windows open and the fans on, never needing to…
October 14, 2018
When my husband, Scott, and I first visited our home, what attracted us most was the stunning view of Diamond Head and the ocean beyond. What came in at a close second was the fenced yard. We enjoyed a fenced…
October 7, 2018
Having lived in our new house for five months now, my husband and I often go back and forth about things we like at our new place versus things we miss about our old one. Our new house is in…
September 30, 2018
In Ohio, where I was born and raised, there is plenty of space for everything: parking spots, yards, offices, basements, even room to walk side-by-side in stores and on sidewalks. Even though I miss all of these things, they are…
September 23, 2018
The scar on my left elbow reminds me of a fall in a bathtub. The scar on my right reminds me of a fall on my bike. And the special floss I use reminds me of a fall on a…
September 16, 2018
Whether giving or receiving, I gravitate toward gifts for the home — and always choose functional items over decorative ones. You never know if the recipients have room for a decorative wall piece (or if they will even like it).…
September 9, 2018
My family and I had exactly seven days between the day we got our keys and the day we moved into our new house. We had to decide quickly what improvements we needed to prioritize, so we carefully assessed each…
September 2, 2018
When our real estate agent first showed us our home, I immediately began seeing visions of raising our family there. I pictured all of us playing in the yard, entertaining, and running around in our daily lives. I also began…
August 26, 2018
My favorite place in the house has and always will be the kitchen. Unfortunately, typical kitchen storage and I do not get along. I stand at a whopping 4 feet and 11 inches (5 feet on a good day). I…