Sass and Sippy Cups

Hi everyone! Fall weather is in full swing in New England, which means it's soup season!! I love soup, but I'll only eat it when the weather gets cool enough for sweaters and boots. A couple weeks ago when the weather first changed, I was thinking of using a new recipe because I was sick of the same old beef stew/tomato soup and grilled cheese/canned chowder. I love butternut squash soup, so I thought I'd be even more seasonal and use pumpkin. My husband loves spicy food, so I thought Thai Chili would be the way to go. I have a jarred sauce that I buy at the supermarket that is sweet and spicy and delicious, and since the flavor is well-rounded, I used some of that in the soup. It was almost as quick and easy to make as the kind in a can, and it's absolutely delicious.  In fact, I am currently sipping some of this soup as I'm typing. It's a perfect lunch for when I'm cold but too busy to sit down and eat. Yes, I drink pureed soups in a mug. I am not di

Hi everyone! In my last post, I talked about how I've been suffering from what I think might be high-functioning depression. This means that I can get what needs to be done accomplished, but it takes so much effort and energy that everything extra falls by the wayside, including self care. My next doctor's appointment isn't until right before Christmas, so I need to figure out what to do in the meantime.  For me, it's not enough to just say "I have a few minutes, let me sit down and write, color, read, etc." I know I won't do it, or I'll feel rushed and won't like what I made. I'm a big fan of lists, and I have always been good at meeting deadlines. So I'm thinking if maybe I make a point to give myself a project and a deadline, then maybe I'll be able to get it accomplished without being TOO critical of the outcome. For example, something that's been on my "when-I-have-time" to-do list is to make some seasonal canvas pa

Hi, friends! I know it’s been a while since my last post. I’ve decided that maybe it’s best not to make promises regarding content or frequency of posts. The reason why is super personal, but I feel like I need to share. Hopefully my experience will resonate with someone and we can start a conversation. I’ve mentioned before that I suffer from severe anxiety, and have since I was a kid.   More recently, however, I have experienced symptoms that are making me believe there may be more to it.   Mental health issues run in my family, and I have grown up with my dad suffering from severe depression with suicidal tendencies.   People I’ve known that have suffered from depression have all fit the same stereotypical profile: intensely sad over things that may seem insignificant to everyone else; can’t get out of bed to take care of their basic needs; and even having suicidal thoughts, feeling as though their loved ones would be better off without them.   I never thought there would be a

Hi everyone! Today I'm coming to you with a product review for Kiss Gel Fantasy Artificial Nails. I am not someone who just needs to have their nails done all the time: I spend 99% of my time with bare nails. Manicures are expensive and my hands shake way too much to paint them myself. But I recently had a trauma to my nails that I had to cover up. I'm not sure how it happened, but I woke up one morning with one nail on each hand that had peeled up from the cuticle. I have had them peel before, but always from the tip, never from the cuticle. I would show you photos, but they were pretty gross. So I picked up these bad boys from the drugstore and gave them a shot. Here are my thoughts. Pros: They cost less than $10 , and are sometimes on sale BOGO 50% off. The nails are one solid color all the way through. Many artificial nails are white plastic that is polished on top. This is important because I have a tough time with artificial nails to begin with (they feel so

It seems that in recent years, all anyone is concerned with is the ability of children to read at an early age. How many commercials have you seen for baby reading programs? Forcing kids to read is only going to make them hate reading. I truly feel that this is why many adults end up hating to read. I truly feel that adults who love reading began as children who loved reading, and were exposed to it before it became mandatory. Think about it, if your only exposure to books were the ones you had to read in English class, you'd probably hate it too. That's why it's SO important to get little ones into reading without forcing it on them.  So here are my tips for getting kids to love books (and maybe spend some more time away from that tablet). 1. Just read to them!   The easiest way to get your children to love reading is to read to them. I've been reading to my toddler since the day she came home from the hospital. Now she will crack open a book and say "mommy, I

Hi, everyone! Today is more of a rant-y post, so feel free to skip this one if you’re not in the mood.   Everyone (including myself, of course) is just full of advice. No one’s situation is the same, and apparently mine is more unique than most, considering what I’ve read online.   Here are a few of my limitations: I have a toddler who has a mind of her own and fights routine tooth-and-nail I have a job as a caretaker which requires me to be out of my house a couple hours a day I don’t drive, and even if I did, my husband takes our car to work My fellow mommy bloggers have a wealth of advice for others (we wouldn’t have started our blogs otherwise, right?) when it comes to being productive as a stay-at-home mom. Even though I do technically work outside the home, I can take my daughter with me and it’s only 2-3 hours a day, so I do still think of myself as a stay-at-home mom. The first thing everyone and their mother advocates is a morning and nighttime routine

Hi everyone! I'm SO ready for real fall/winter weather, how about you? Today I'm coming to you with something that has intrigued me for a while: a capsule wardrobe. I've seen a lot of these pieces specifically targeted toward "stay at home" moms, but I honestly think I would have the same wardrobe even if I was still working outside the home (I'd obviously have to add work clothes). I got most of the list from www.nowthaticando.com . It's a great resource for those of us who want to NOT look like hot messes on a daily basis, but also accept the fact that our clothes will eventually be covered in all manner of bodily fluids by the end of the day.  Her style is classic and kind of preppy like mine, so I loved the majority of the pieces she uses in her capsules. She  does include pieces that don't really suit my personal style or body type, so I switched them out for something else. And let's get real, I LIVE in boots in the fall and winter

That's right, the author of some of our favorite childhood stories would have been 102 years old today! So in honor of his birthday, I'll share some parenting motivation from the always loved and ever-wise Willy Wonka.  Yes, work is important. Of course motherhood is hard (my kid chews wires and tried to play with her own turds in the tub the other day, for Christ's sake)! But when you're at your most exhausted and at the end of your rope, you need to remember: embrace the chaos and enjoy the silly . In the end, the nonsense and the memories that come from it are what make this whole mommy thing worthwhile (and at the very least will provide you with some future blackmail material!)

My soon-to-be two year old is just a bundle of curious energy, which leaves mommy a little haggard and insane sometimes. She gets so bored (or mad) when I leave her alone for five minutes that her toys just end up thrown around and not actually played with. She had a ton of toys out in her room, which made cleaning up a Herculean feat sometimes (because this mama refuses to clean up after a little girl who is perfectly capable of doing it herself). So recently I tapped into my early childhood education background, and tried a tactic we used when I was working in a daycare: toy rotation.  This involves only allowing your child a small selection of toys and swapping them out every once in a while. This is what my daughter's toy rack looks like now. I put all her other toys in bins in her closet, separated into the following categories: pretend play puzzles and games blocks tech toys (VTech or pretty much anything that talks) She also has a stuffed animal hammock,

Hi everyone! Today we're continuing our series about something I've been doing lately to satisfy my love of stationery and organization:  bullet journaling.   I am not one for trends, but when everyone and their mother was talking about bullet journaling and how it kept their life in order, I looked into it. I googled it and was immediately put off by all the insanely intricate layouts and drawings. A few months ago, my best friend asked me about whether or not I had heard of bullet journaling. I told her it all looked so complicated and that my OCD would stop me from actually enjoying it. Then I went through a period of daily anxiety and worry, and I decided I would try it to get my mind off the things that were bothering me. I've been through 4 journals and am now on my 5th, not because I have a lot to write, but because I was right about my OCD- I end up making layouts and hating them because there was something I wanted to add or I didn't like the order in wh

Hi everyone! Today we're continuing our series about something I've been doing lately to satisfy my love of stationery and organization:  bullet journaling.   I am not one for trends, but when everyone and their mother was talking about bullet journaling and how it kept their life in order, I looked into it. I googled it and was immediately put off by all the insanely intricate layouts and drawings. A few months ago, my best friend asked me about whether or not I had heard of bullet journaling. I told her it all looked so complicated and that my OCD would stop me from actually enjoying it. Then I went through a period of daily anxiety and worry, and I decided I would try it to get my mind off the things that were bothering me. I've been through 4 journals and am now on my 5th, not because I have a lot to write, but because I was right about my OCD- I end up making layouts and hating them because there was something I wanted to add or I didn't like the order in which I