Blog Posts

How to Help Teens De-Stress

There is more pressure than ever on teens today between academics, after-school activities, sports, and social media. It is essential that teens learn to unplug, relax, and reset for both their physical and mental health.

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Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen

5 Santa Trackers for Christmas Eve

Is Santa real? There is nothing more real and special than the magic and joy that Santa Claus has brought to so many of us for as long as we can remember. There are so many exciting ways to get ready for Santa, but tracking Santa on Christmas Eve might be the most fun of all. Here are five ways you can track Santa and learn about his travels on the way.

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Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen

How Your Family Can Have a Minimalist Christmas

Having a minimalist Christmas has become a goal for many parents, and for those parents who are not quite ready to go with a minimalist approach, there still seems to be interest in downsizing the overall gift-giving experience. There are many substantial reasons to attempt a more minimalist approach this Christmas. The benefits impact your children, the earth, and your wallet for the better.

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The MTHFR Gene and Pregnancy

With the advent of inexpensive and easily accessible DNA testing opportunities for the general public thanks to companies like 23 and Me and Ancestry DNA, questions about various genes and their mutations have become familiar and commonly used. One such gene is called MTHFR, and it is of particular interest to women who are trying to conceive and women who are pregnant. This is what you need to know about the MTHFR gene and how it can impact pregnancy.

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Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen

How to Use Thanksgiving for Family Tree Research

Thanksgiving is a time to focus on gratitude and spending time with family. This makes it a perfect time to jumpstart your genealogy and family tree research. You can learn more from sitting around the table with family members and asking good questions than spending hours online with your laptop. Here's 5 ways to use Thanksgiving for your family tree research.

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A VSCO Guide for Parents

VSCO is a term that has been getting a lot of attention lately amongst parents. This Scary Mommy article which takes a candid and comical look at the whole VSCO phenomenon has probably shown up in your social media feed at least once this week. If you’re still not sure exactly what VSCO means, how teens use it, and what we should consider as parents, this article is for you. Spoiler alert: The term is definitely overused, unproductive, and doesn’t need anymore hype.

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Halloween Food Allergy Guide for Parents

Halloween is a time filled with spooky fun, but for children with food allergies and their families, there can be a true element of fear surrounding this holiday. Many Halloween candies and treats can be frightening to some families - and for good reason. Fortunately, with careful planning, communication, and education, you can reduce the risk of a food allergy scare accompanying your family’s Halloween experience.

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A New Study: How Sleep and Exercise Affect New Parents

A new study shows that sleep and exercise affect new moms and dads differently. My perspective here is that stereotypical gender roles and expectations run deep and are the x factor at play here.

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How to Survive Parenting with a Chronic Illness

Parenting is never easy, but it can be especially challenging when you have a chronic illness. Here are three manageable steps you can take to yourself along the parenting journey.

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Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen

It's Time to Ditch the iPads When Dining Out: Here's How!

Yes, we all need a break as parents, and no, every experience does not need to become a teachable moment, but if we want our kids to be able to adapt to situations in an emotionally healthy way, we have to try not to give them the easy out of an isolating and distracting activity. The good news is that there are ways to engage your children while eating out that allow for interaction and that quality family time you were hoping for!

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How to Deal with Intense or Inappropriate Parents at Kids' Sports Events

As parents on the sidelines, we want our children to do well and to do their best, but lines are crossed when parents begin yelling at the referee or umpire and screaming at the players. Here are five tips for dealing with intense and inappropriate parents at kids' sports events.

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10 Mother's Day Gift Ideas for Millennial Moms

Mother’s Day is around the corner, and your favorite millennial mom deserves the best! She is always on the go and wearing many hats with little ones in tow. Make her day special with these Mother’s Day gift ideas for millennial moms.

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Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen Family Education, Mama's Musings, Natural Parenting Charise Rohm Nulsen

How to Teach Our Kids to Celebrate Life's Little Moments

With so much celebration and hype constantly being infused into our kids’ lives, a level of sincerity and spontaneity may be missing from childhood celebrations. As parents, we know far too well that those big milestones that are often highly anticipated are not often the moments we remember and reflect on with the most emotion. It’s the small moments in life that we tend to truly look back on as the most precious. The major milestones mark the passing of time, but the smallest moments are usually the ones where we find our hearts still attached.

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One Year of Pandemic Outdoor Living

Today, I was reflecting on how routine lulls the brain to sleep. Getting outside of our comfort zones is important to rediscover wonder, joy, and adventure, and that completely represents our past year. 

Since I have high risk health issues and the four of us were primarily home all year long, we would have truly lost our sanity if we hadn’t focused so much on adding outdoor adventure into our lives. Being outside was our freedom, stress-relief, and inspiration.

Watch the video and read more below!

 

Sometimes our outdoor life meant family soccer in the yard, or a bike ride on the trail by our house, or a walk through a neighborhood that wasn’t our own to switch things up. Other times, we drove to different states for true adventure. We hiked, walked, skied, snowboarded, biked, scavenger hunted, explored, and whatever else we could find outside to maintain our sanity.

Of course, this wasn’t easy. Though I recognize with true gratitude the mountain of privilege we sit on having the choices to stay home and be able to spend time outside the way we have, it hasn’t been all smiles as our pictures show.

Our daughter developed some extreme anxiety issues during the pandemic. Almost every time we left the house this past year, it was hard for her. Not hard like taking on a small challenge, but hard like extreme panic and tears and emotional meltdowns. It was so sad for us to watch, and it also was frustrating and patience challenging and just another storm of emotions for each of us on top of everything else that everyone has experienced this year.

Everyone’s had their own hidden struggles as is always the case, but this year held up a massive magnifying glass for every person to sit with their darkest feelings. It’s been a year that shook all of our foundations. We’ve all learned to recognize the everyday heroes of our world in a way that we may not have been able to see before. We’ve learned to embrace highs and lows and worry and fear. We’ve all found our own way - with everyone comfortable on different paths of their choosing - to make our way through hard things.

I love watching this video because it reminds me of all of the smiles and the little braveries and how choices to push outside of our comfort zone can help us take tiny steps through big things. We’ve all made our way through this pandemic and through the hard things in general that we all face that remain away from the public eye in different ways. This video doesn’t capture the stress, tough choices, sleepless nights, hearts missing loved ones, and much of what I agonized over and spent the majority of the pandemic doing, but it’s one piece of this year’s truth, and I know I’ll be holding on to this tiny piece in future hard times and for always.