by MomsGetReal Guest Contributor | Stepparenting
Getting Real With Elizabeth Sanchez They say you don’t really appreciate your parents until you become a parent yourself. I fully experienced that feeling twice. Not because I gave birth to two children, which I did, but because I became a step-parent and then later...
by Lisa Van De Graaff | Creating Balance
Getting Real With Lisa Van De Graaff In Five-Element Theory, summer is the time of fire. Fire organs include the heart, small intestine, pericardium, and the triple warmer. The heart is our source of passion and compassion, and it integrates our senses. The small...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Travel
by Shadra Bruce If you’ve never been to Montreal, it’s a wonderful place to visit. If you have been to Montreal, returning time and again never gets boring. One of the reasons I return time after time is that the city offers so much that there are always new things to...
by Shadra Bruce | Family, Love, Parenting
Getting Real with Shadra Bruce We’re headed up to the hills today to celebrate Father’s Day. We will grill out, roast marshmallows, and play mini golf at a little resort about an hour from our home. For Dave, there is nothing better for Father’s Day than...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Raising Healthy Kids
Getting Real With Shadra Bruce Each June, our daughter’s hard work pays off – with more hard work. For 10 months each year for the last couple years, Anika has been spending several hours a week participating in dance classes. She comes home from dance and...
by Shadra Bruce | Adult Children, Let's Talk
MomsGetReal™ Contribtor Belinda Hulin The gumbo had just started simmering when my cell phone rang. The name on the readout came as a surprise: My son’s ex-girlfriend. I hadn’t seen or spoken to her in a couple of months and I’ll admit, I felt a little surge of...
by Shadra Bruce | Recipe Corner
Getting Real With Belinda Hulin Belinda’s Chicken and Sausage Gumbo 1 whole chicken and 4 chicken breast halves10 cups water4 bay leaves6 cups strong chicken broth1 cup vegetable oil1 1⁄2 cups granulated flour2 medium onions, chopped1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt or to taste1...
by MomsGetReal Guest Contributor | Home and Hearth
Getting Real with Veronica Ibarra There are very few things that I am particular about. Mostly I make due with whatever is at hand, but I do have a few things that are just too wonderful to compromise on or do without. Pilot Precise V7 black ink pens – I’ve written...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
by Shadra Bruce June 15, 2011. Today, my two youngest stepkids will turn 21. I’ve had the privilege of being a part of their lives since just before their 7th birthdays. Their bio mom gave up her share of custody when they were 5, and my husband Dave was doing a great...
by Shadra Bruce | Let's Talk, Toddlers
Getting Real With Wanda Morrissey I’ll love you foreverI’ll like you for alwaysAs long as I’m livingMy baby you’ll be This famous verse is from the book Love You Forever. I love this story. I bought a copy for my son when he was still an infant. There’s just one...
by Shadra Bruce | Teens and Tweens
Getting Real With Shadra Bruce Each night, I take 5-10 minutes to tuck in the kids. At 11, I suspect Parker may decide soon enough that he is too old for such nonsense, but for now, bedtime is something we both look forward to as a bonding moment. Sometimes, we simply...
by Lisa Van De Graaff | Home and Hearth
In the coming weeks, in honor of Oprah, our contributors are going to be sharing a few of their favorite things with you. Lisa Van De Graaff came up with the idea and leads us off here… In honor of Oprah, my favorite things! by Lisa Van De Graaff Burt’s Bees...
by Shadra Bruce | Crafts with Kids
by Shadra Bruce There is something so meaningful about receiving a gift made with love by a child. With Father’s Day coming, it’s a great time to think about helping your child make a homemade gift dad can keep forever. These are the treasures that often...
by MomsGetReal Guest Contributor | Frugal Living, Let's Talk
Getting Real With Veronica Ibarra As the days seem to speed closer to the inevitable summer vacation, it’s time to start seeing what’s out there for cheap, if not free. So to really kick off my summer as Mommy Activities Director I did the first thing that all mothers...
