tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29021765006360331602025-04-22T15:08:17.628-04:00Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.comBlogger812125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-48072478526745419862018-01-31T23:59:00.001-05:002018-01-31T23:59:34.076-05:00

Hello darkness my old friend... I've come to talk to you again... It's been a little while. I'll fill in on life soon, but for now I'm going to continue on with a New Year and what's going on with Netflix! We have been having a ton of really cold and snowy days this winter which means a lot of staying inside and cozying up with a lot of Netflix.  Some of what we're watching and looking

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-30335272202582123802017-07-27T23:50:00.003-04:002017-07-28T01:15:59.037-04:00

This post is brought to you by Northwood Realty Services and The Motherhood. All opinions and thoughts shared here are my own.  Who loves moving?! NOT me. Moving is easily one of the most stressful times in my life. I've experienced cross-country moves more times than I care to count. Even "in town" moves can be stressful. Add kids into the mix and that's a whole new level of stress! Last

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-34419010669756173832017-03-31T22:37:00.000-04:002017-04-03T13:12:35.476-04:00

I grew up in a house with my mom and dad and two brothers. I was raised believing that I could do anything to which I set my mind.  There were never limitations put on me because I was a girl.  In fact, when I was in first grade I approached a boy at the playground and excitedly said, "Vance, I'm on your baseball team!"  I remember him saying, "No you're not, girls don't play

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-50578234738876278212017-02-28T23:38:00.000-05:002017-03-01T13:40:08.750-05:00

My husband and I like to watch lots of different types of shows. He likes a lot of epic, historical or documentary-like shows where I like a lot of crime drama, teeny-bopper, or feel-good type of shows. We seek to find something to watch together often and I love when we land on a show that we both love.  The only problem?  Our schedules don't always match up to continue and man am I

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-20744518577537684252017-01-31T22:30:00.000-05:002017-02-01T22:35:09.136-05:00

Nothing certainly has slowed down since 2017 started and finding some time to connect with the kids and Netflix has been a little more challenging between a working teenager, basketball pep band, cheer, jazz band rehearsals, lacrosse, homework, and even the regular evening routine. Being a parent of older kids is way more challenging than the little ones. I've been saying for years that I'd

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-6833185902640146612017-01-31T18:02:00.000-05:002017-01-31T18:04:28.948-05:00

This post has been sponsored by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. All thoughts and reviews are my 100% own. When kids get sick it's rough on everyone in the house. Unfortunately kids don't always have the convenience of getting sick at home.  When they're at school, the school nurse is there to help! My family is lucky enough to stay pretty healthy for the most part although when Lily

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-6956531671979437802016-12-31T20:32:00.000-05:002017-01-03T20:32:26.401-05:00

As the year winds down, I always find myself reflecting on the year that is wrapping up.  What did we do as a family that we set out to do?  What were our favorite memories? What do we wish we had done more of?  You get the idea. It's been 3 years since we dumped cable and Netflix is still our go-to for tv watching. Quite simply, Netflix is a part of our family. 2016

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-75304681111212727942016-12-02T11:28:00.000-05:002016-12-02T11:29:51.465-05:00

Yesterday my first born, my only son turned seventeen. S E V E N T E E N! I was 17 when I graduated from high school. I was 17 when I started college. How is it possible that I could possibly have a child this age? A few nights ago, we talked about when his high school graduation is in order to plan his graduation party around out of town guests. I'm still in shock

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-73905512769331467552016-10-31T23:53:00.000-04:002016-10-31T23:53:51.072-04:00

Heading into October, we are in the prime of our marching band and cheerleading seasons, so we definitely look to Netflix to cozy up with while hanging at home.  I'm not going to even pretend that snuggling on the couch or in bed watching Netflix isn't one of my favorite things to do. And Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so together is a match made in heaven! One of Lily and

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-68960509357327212042016-09-16T10:55:00.000-04:002016-09-16T10:55:04.069-04:00

Today is National Stepfamily Day!  Did you even know there was such a thing??  My son,  Andrew, and I actually moved to Pittsburgh to begin our lives with my now husband and his daughter right around this date, nine years ago. We declared it our Family Anniversary back in 2007! I so vividly remember when the two of us arrived at our new home in the wee hours of the morning in

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-35820990192722100992016-09-10T00:22:00.000-04:002016-09-23T12:27:13.970-04:00

It's true what they say.  Family and friends gather in the kitchen. Whether it be after school when everyone finally arrives home or a during a party, the kitchen is the place to be.  One of my favorite parts of being a wife and a mom is making delicious, nourishing meals for my family. I am a woman who loves sentimental, tradition, and reminiscing.  One of my favorite things to

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-11088659335055454652016-09-02T11:06:00.000-04:002016-09-02T11:06:17.038-04:00

Back to school is bittersweet for me for certain.  I love lazy days we get in summer sometimes, yet I also love the routine of school. I love school supplies and organizing and yes, even filling out forms! The end of summer seems like it swoops in and bam! it's over and we're back to school.  Part of that in my family, is our August is filled with band camp, cheer camp, and practices

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-85240473854285699572016-08-28T23:29:00.000-04:002016-08-28T23:29:21.236-04:00

While August has been a total whirlwind for us with things like band camp, space camp, cheer practice, and cross country practice, we have most definitely taken time to come together to watch Netflix. I've said before Lily loves movie night--snack set up is her specialty! Sometimes we don't have enough time in our busy day for an entire movie, but a super fun alternative has been a new Netflix

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-30800024349121746622016-08-01T20:30:00.000-04:002016-08-01T20:30:15.675-04:00

What's new in August on Netflix? Here are a few highlights while there's a link below with a full list of comings and goings!   NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES THE GET DOWNNEW SERIES, PART 1 08/12/2016   NETFLIX ORIGINAL COMEDY DAVID CROSS:MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN 08/05/2016 JEFF FOXWORTHY AND LARRY THE CABLE GUY:WE'VE

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-36141499750199784502016-07-31T20:30:00.000-04:002016-08-01T02:30:32.898-04:00

"Mommy, did you know..." I'm always amazed at the random facts my kids toss out in their day.  From the littlest to the oldest, I love learning what they know! Violet loves to sing songs and even hmmm hmmm hmmms the music correctly when she watches anything. Lily is fascinated by the world around her and shares info about the solar system, math, things like the Liberty Bell, and even

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-78657258614692203362016-07-28T10:53:00.001-04:002016-07-28T10:53:58.133-04:00

I wish I weren’t a stepmom. The weight that fell off my shoulders upon expressing those words is truly indescribable. It’s taboo to say them out loud, of course,–words only shared in the darkest of moments with close friends who love and accept you no matter what or with someone carrying the same weight.  Instead, that thought and feeling remains inside strangling your insides like a

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-28896027223783633022016-06-30T11:48:00.000-04:002016-08-01T02:19:40.481-04:00

Man, summer is definitely in full swing in our house.  4 kids home all day.  This is a big change from our quiet afternoons during the school year where I could easily have an hour to myself every day.  Now I'm lucky to find a spare moment for me throughout the day. Netflix is running on PowerPuff Girls, Hotel Transylvania 2, and Care Bears these days between Lily and Violet and

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-52282485995967760782016-06-29T23:03:00.000-04:002016-06-30T01:04:43.407-04:00

Potty training essentially feels like a lot of trial and error with no rhyme or reason. My best advice...encourage them and just let them learn in the way they do best. It actually came pretty easy many moons ago with my oldest. He was day trained at 22 months. Easy peasy. There wasn't much to it. He crawled early, walked early, so it made sense he potty trained early too. 10 years later with

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-12021206538904053682016-06-21T01:49:00.000-04:002016-06-23T01:50:44.865-04:00

Growing up in Arizona, there's just no getting around being in the sun. I learned at a very young age to always wear sunscreen, a hat, and to protect my eyes.  Simply a way of life. We always had sunscreen in the car, extra sunglasses around and the like.  Even now as an adult, protecting myself and my family from the sun is just something I do.  Sunscreen and sunglasses are

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-39713658070720045382016-05-31T23:53:00.000-04:002016-05-31T23:57:33.105-04:00

"Mommy, why did Opa have to die?" "Mom, what if there is a fire?" "Well, how do you know if you've started your period?" "So and so and so and so were talking about 'hotboxing'." "She called her a b____ and I just want everyone to get along since I'm friends with both of them." "I felt lonely at the playground today." "I mad!" There are so many things that come up with kids on a daily basis that

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-46944328136585927622016-05-11T23:18:00.001-04:002016-05-11T23:18:18.646-04:00

As the school year is beginning to wind down, I'm trying to maintain sanity through a crazy busy schedule of field trips, finals, track & field events, rehearsals, end of year concerts, amidst the regular homework and evening routine.  As the weather gets warmer and the sun stays up later, the kids play outside later also as we're all anticipating summertime. One of my favorite weeks

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-49614726280477894302016-05-09T21:38:00.000-04:002016-05-09T21:38:15.322-04:00

Mother's Day 2016 in the books! Our weekend started out Friday evening with Reagan and I going to the art show at the high school while Lily and Violet went to bed super early --- 6:30pm early ---, Andrew went to see Captain America Civil War at the movies with friends, and George slept before work that night.  Lily and Andrew both shared with me what their contributions at Arts

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-43768135088993583352016-05-09T12:53:00.000-04:002016-05-09T12:53:08.799-04:00

I've been taking a little blogging break for the last month or so.  Life has been busy with the kids' activities, but more than that I've been focusing on being present with my family. Every now and again I just need to reevaluate and ensure that the time I'm investing blogging is balanced appropriately. The part of blogging that I love so much is the storytelling and connection. I'm going

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-38476169887426484792016-04-30T22:25:00.000-04:002016-05-02T15:45:57.368-04:00

April begins the crazy push towards the end of the school year. State standardized testing, marching band trip, field trips, rehearsals all in addition to the regular schedule. Carving out time for family is a little bit more challenging these last couple months of school, but we manage to make sure it happens. An easy way? Netflix and the family movie. In April, Sibling Day is celebrated April

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902176500636033160.post-14609849299350330482016-04-18T01:39:00.000-04:002016-04-29T13:33:14.487-04:00

This winter was the l o n g e s t  ever!  We had snow again even in April.  Along with that crazy long winter, came a lot of illness in our house.  From the week after Christmas for the following couple months--  pneumonia, bronchitis, colds, lingering persistent coughs, runny and/or stuffy noses, fevers.  It seemed like no one could shake anything. We haven't

Steph http://www.blogger.com/profile/01756538266224522480noreply@blogger.com0