5 Tips for Navigating the Holidays with your Tween or Teen

Parents are acutely aware of how time passes during the holidays; hormonal, moody teens being themselves while parents are intensely aware that the kids are growing older and will eventually leave the nest, maybe only to visit on the holidays. Knowing that our kids are gaining their independence can make it difficult to fully enjoy and navigate the holidays with tweens and teens. So how can we really appreciate the time we have left with our kids at home? How can we create a space that's special for the holidays? I've got 5 tips for navigating the holidays with your tween or teen.

Doing Good in Downtown Seattle

This time of year gets extra busy, so why not set aside 24 hours for a couples getaway? It's also the time of giving, so why not make the most of both and book an evening at the Charter Hotel Seattle, Curio Collection by Hilton and give back to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center with the Hilton Legacy Package.  I love being downtown and I love giving back, and we have all been affected by cancer in some way, so why not support this amazing partnership and enjoy your time in Seattle being pampered AND doing good.

Top Ski Resorts to Visit in BC

I grew up in Indiana where the hills on a golf course were the highest point around. We had plenty of snow, but fresh snow was made for sledding. Growing up, I would occasionally see ski tags hanging like a prize off of the zipper of a ski coat but I never thought to seek out a ski trip. It wasn't until a few years after living in the greater Seattle area, that I took from sledding the hills adjacent to several ski resorts in our area, and decided to learn how to ski. My oldest son had learned from his grandpa one winter, and the invitation to join the in-laws on a ski trip to Whistler, BC, was accepted. I signed up for ski lessons {BC ski resorts have THE BEST ski lessons for all skill levels}, and I've been skiing every winter since.
If you were to ask our kids what their favorite winter activity was, they would all say, hands down skiing. This mama wants to give them what they want, so I've started researching the best ski resorts in British Columbia {BC} Canada. Here is everything you need to know about the top 8 ski resorts that are all driving distance from the greater Seattle area.

What Can I Make with the Cricut EasyPress?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

One of my favorite things to make with my cutting machine is custom shirts. I'm a sorority girl at heart and if you don't have a shirt that says something happened, then did it really happen? One of my first projects after getting my cutting machine was making custom t-shirts for a yearly family Turkey Trot. We are entering the 9th year, and every year, I've designed and made a different t-shirt for friends and family that have wanted one. Every year, I use my iron to press each and every one of them and think, who needs a heat press when you've got an iron? Not me. 
That was until I started to notice that my heat transfer vinyl {HTV} wasn't sticking as well as it once had. Maybe I wasn't putting as much care and attention into pressing my iron or maybe the HTV was starting to change and wasn't sticking as well as personal cutting machines became more popular. Whatever the reason, I thought I could survive with just an iron, until I began to notice that every shirt I had made was starting to peel after just a few washes. I caved and got a Cricut EasyPress and I'm telling you, if you use iron on vinyl more than once a year {and that's probably all of you with a cutting machine like a Silhouette or Cricut}, then you need an EasyPress. So what can you make with a Cricut EasyPress and why do you need one? Read on my friends, I'll tell you why I'm completely sold on this new addition to my craft room!

7 Ways to Encourage Generosity in Your Child

For a child, being generous doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes, it feels like you’re wrestling the Tasmanian Devil. We've all been there. You take your child to the store to buy a gift for a friend’s birthday party. Your child asks for something for himself. You reply “No, not this time”, with or without explanation as to why. At first, it could be a gentle reminder but quickly escalates to tears from your child and frustration from you.

Sound familiar? 

Generosity is something that has to be taught and experienced. Today, I'm sharing seven ways you can encourage generosity in your child so that they can grow up to be generous and loving adults.