It’s the end of August and for me, it means two things…the end of maternity leave and the beginning of my tenth year in education. This year I’m in a new position in a new district. Long story short, I had an opportunity to jump to my dream job and I leapt! It seems like we just couldn't make it through this year without changing everything. With all of the changes in our lives, date nights have become even more important, even if they look a little different right now. The last few weeks ...
How Date Nights are Saving my Life Right Now
10 Podcasts You Need to Hear
I rarely listen to the radio anymore. There’s one local station I like, but mostly I listen to 1) my kid’s choice (Disney music) or 2) podcasts and audiobooks. Over the last several years I have become an absolute podcast junkie. You know what I missed most when I was teaching from home during the beginning of the pandemic? My commute. I know, I’m crazy. But what I really missed was uninterrupted time to listen to my podcasts on the way to and from school. I’m often asked for podcast ...
6 Things I’ve Learned as a New Mom of Two (so far)
I’m a new mom...again! We recently had our second child. Yay! It has been an amazing experience. We are blessed that she is perfectly healthy, happy (usually) and that her big sister loves her so dearly. But it’s been a minute since I did this last. There are four years between the two and I’ve come to realize two things so far: It seems like I’ve aged more than four years since last time, why do I feel so old? 37 is not old! I’ve also realized that I am learning a lot this time around. Here are ...
Healthy Veggie-Packed Lasagna
They say when you get married, you not only marry your spouse but you also marry their family and friends. I'm happy to say that I married in to this lasagna. The recipe I'm sharing with you today is for a healthy, veggie-packed lasagna. It is adapted from a recipe I got from a friend of my husband's after we got married. Now, I'm all for a classic rich, meaty, tomato and cheese lasagna but I can't do that all of the time. It's just too much. This lasagna is packed with veggies, cuts down on ...
Block Scheduling: What it is and why you need it
As the school year is beginning, many families are learning how to navigate back to school routines, distance learning routines, new homeschool routines, and more. Increasing productivity is at the utmost importance if families want to be able to accomplish necessary tasks while still being able to tend to their kids when they are home. For us, that answer was in block scheduling. Block scheduling is vital to keeping our family running smoothly. What is Block Scheduling? Block scheduling ...
20 Sensational Summer Desserts
I love dessert. That's no surprise to you, I'm sure. I think I love summer desserts the best! Why? Flavor! Temperature! Fun! I love desserts with fresh fruit favors, and in the summer fruit is at its absolute best! Summer is a great time to break out all of those cold desserts. If you know me, you know I'll eat ice cream year-round but a great cold dessert makes the dog days of summer go by a little easier. I feel as we get into the "holiday season" of fall and winter, our desserts get a little ...
fierce, free, and full of fire: what i need
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to participate in the launch team for Jen Hatmaker’s new book, “Fierce, Free and Full of Fire.” This post is the first in a series of posts related to what I took away from reading this book. All quotes are from Jen Hatmaker, unless otherwise noted. It's been a while since I published the first post in this series. There are several reasons for this, the least being that we are in month five of quarantine and life is, well, a different kind of crazy. ...
Exploring and Learning with Paint: Meaningful Art Activities for Your Kids
We've been at home with our kids for quite some time now and maybe if you're like me, you feel like you're running out of things to do. I know we've recently had the television on more than I like, and the hotter it gets the less time we want to spend outdoors. Being indoors more means I've had to get creative. I've found ways to engage in more meaningful art activities with things we have here at home. Art is a simple, fun activity that kids absolutely love! One simple tool that we've been ...
Rethinking Toys
One of the best things we've done recently as parents has been getting rid of all the toys! Seriously, we packed all of the toys away in a box and left our soon-to-be three-year-old with a bunch of measly blocks. It was like Christmas! What? Wait a minute! Hold the phone! Stephanie, what in the world are you talking about? I am talking about a decision that has changed the environment in our home for the better. One that has enriched our daughter’s play time and has cured a ...
5 Must-Have Kitchen Tools
This week for Foodie Friday, I’m going to talk to you about must-have kitchen tools. Do me a favor, go into your kitchen real quick and open some of the drawers and cabinets and take a quick inventory of what you see. Go ahead, I’ll wait. How full are your drawers and cabinets? Do you have an endless supply of kitchen gadgets? How many things do you need to pull out in order to reach that one thing in the back of the cabinet? Do you have a junk drawer? One of my family’s goals for ...
8 Luscious Lemon Desserts
I love lemon. In fact I “love, love, love” lemon (thank you, Daniel Tiger…). Lemon desserts are the perfect spring or summer sweet treat. Sweet and tangy, these desserts have the perfect balance of flavor. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really a fan of super sweet things (I like to feel like my teeth will remain intact after dessert), so a citrus dessert fits the bill just about any time. I’ve found some luscious lemon desserts to share with you today. Grab a fork (and something to ...
6 Parenting Books That Have Saved Our Sanity
When you're about to become a parent, everyone has advice. We decided early on that we were going to stick to one set of parenting systems and take advice from people we trusted who followed the same systems. While we've only been parents for a short time, we have found a small library of parenting books that have saved our sanity. These books support our parenting style and have helped us see things (tantrums, etc) through the eyes of our daughter. They are indispensable to us and I wanted to ...
Perfect Roast Chicken
It was a bucket list item last year, learning to roast a chicken. To me, learning to execute a perfect roast chicken meant that I had achieved the next level of adulthood. This recipe is adapted from one by Ina Garten, the queen of the perfect roast chicken. The skin comes out crispy, and the meat is moist. One of the best things about this recipe is the smell in your house while it's cooking! Is your mouth watering yet? Let's get cooking! The Inspired Mrs L is a participant in the Amazon ...
5 healthy dinner ideas (that aren’t chicken)
When the weather starts warming up and the produce aisles grow more brilliant with seasonal bounty, I start craving healthier dinner options. This year, it really had nothing to do with knowing that I needed to wear a swimsuit. It felt more like a natural transition. Being the modern mom that I am, I started scouring Pinterest for “Healthy Dinner Recipes.” What I was presented with was a whole lot of chicken… While I know that there are one billion ways to cook a chicken breast, one cannot live ...
Why Diversity in Children’s Literature Matters
The most common questions I am asked as an educator center around getting children to read. How do we teach our children to read? How do we foster a love of reading in our children? What if my child can’t read before kindergarten? All of these questions, maybe with exception of the last, are very valid and important. The last is another post for another time. The topic I am addressing today is often overlooked by concerned parents and sometimes even educators: diversity in children's literature. ...
2020 Summer Family Bucket List
Each year, as the weather starts to get warmer we start dreaming of summer fun and we start to put together our family bucket list for things we will do. This summer we've had to pivot as a family. Our annual beach trip was cancelled. Our weekly outings to the children's museum and library were cancelled. Playdates, trips to the playground, you name it, all cancelled. At the beginning of April, it was becoming clear that we were going to need to re-think our entire approach to summer ...
Father’s Day Gift Guide
Father’s Day. The day we celebrate the man who can do anything from craft furniture from spare pieces of wood to kiss boo boos and scare away closet monsters...SuperDad! There are so many great ways to celebrate Dad. Since this year has been a little, shall we say different, I will be focusing on shopping small in this Father's Day gift guide. Here you’ll find great handmade gifts from small businesses and crafty folks who probably need a little extra support right now. There’s also a section on ...
foodie friday: 15 easy summer side dishes
Can you believe it’s almost Memorial Day? We’ve been home since mid-March and in some ways I feel like I got sucked in to “Groundhog Day,” but time has gone on and it’s now almost the end of May. The weather has changed to glorious, sunny days and summer is just around the corner. We are spending more time outside, and the grill is gearing up for it’s busiest season. While focusing on the main event is important, we can't forget those easy summer side dishes! With that in mind, I’m sharing ...
fierce, free and full of fire: who i am
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to participate in the launch team for Jen Hatmaker’s new book, “Fierce, Free and Full of Fire.” This post is the first in a series of posts related to what I took away from reading this book. All quotes are from Jen Hatmaker, unless otherwise noted. Who am I? This is a question we spend a fair amount of our lives trying to answer. The answer may change over time, but at our core we are the same unique individual we were always created to be. The ...
foodie friday: 10 make ahead breakfast ideas
Breakfast. The most important meal of the day. In this house, breakfast is at best inconsistent. If it's a weekend, we usually indulge in a great family breakfast. During the week, we'll do breakfast for dinner but our mornings are often so rushed (we like sleep) that it's usually just a bowl of cereal or a piece of fruit. Over the past year or so, I've gotten better at making breakfasts during the weekend that we can eat during the week. We have several favorite make ahead breakfast ideas, and ...
Mother’s Day & Lemon Pie
Being a mother has been at the same time the most challenging and most rewarding thing I have ever done. I am sure you have heard this before. From the moment I found out Emma was growing in my womb, I was responsible 24/7 for someone else. It’s strange to just turn on a dime like that. What used to be (or “should have been”) simple decisions were now more complicated. I remember putting so much more thought into some things that in the past would have been split second decisions. Thankfully, ...
10 Times I’ve Found Inspiration in the Ordinary
Small things. Bits of happiness. God winks. Inspirations. I often become overwhelmed by all of the minutiae that make up my days that I fail to see them. Most nights, when my head finally hits the pillow it’s all I can do to make sure my alarm is set and my blankets are just right before I drift off to sleep. Rarely do I have the energy to think about my day and where I saw the delight in it. If you’ve read the first post, you know that this space is a journey to be more intentional in ...
gluten free ice cream cone cupcakes
This year, Emma asked for gluten free ice cream cone cupcakes for her birthday. She got this idea after watching an episode of the Kids Baking Championship. I haven't told you yet that I've molded her into a food-show loving young one. When she was a baby, we binged The Great British Baking Show, which she has since dubbed "watch people bake." During these weeks at home she has been introduced to Pioneer Woman ("Ms Ree") and America's Test Kitchen ("watch people cook"). Not bad substitutes for ...
three
Dear Emma, Now you are three! Three years has gone by so, so fast! Dad and I are so proud of who you are and how you have grown this year. It seems like just yesterday you were toddling around, exploring your world. Now, you run everywhere and yell, “Mommy!” at the top of your lungs. You have so much to say, and have found that sweet but powerful voice of yours. You’ve learned a lot this year. You’ve learned to count, to identify numbers and letters. You know all your colors, and ...
springtime no-pasta pasta
It's Foodie Friday! Each week I will post a recipe or a review of something we've eaten that we enjoy, or something we've experimented with, in hopes to inspire you in the kitchen! This week I was able to get spaghetti squash in my grocery order, so I decided to throw together an easy no-pasta pasta dish for dinner. We love spaghetti squash! In fact, Emma enjoys it over regular pasta, and has since she started eating solids. *Mom win!* Enjoy this simple family recipe that screams springtime! ...
The Best Breakfast Sandwich You’ll Ever Eat (a method)
Certain foods have strong power over us. These foods evoke memories so precious and specific that rather than simply being a meal, they act as an immediate passport to a moment in the past. This breakfast sandwich is one such food for me. In 2012, at the age of 28, I had an experience that changed my life forever. I ate my first over-easy egg. My then-boyfriend (now husband) had been trying to convince me to eat a runny egg. My argument against it was super mature, something akin to “but it ...
What’s Saving My Life Right Now
I know I wasn’t the only one who was glad to see 2020 end. It was a crazy year for us, and we were hopeful that 2021 would bring a different pace. We were building our forever home, had a baby on the way, and looking forward to planning life post-COVID. The first six months of 2021 have been just about as exciting as the last nine of 2020. I was teaching “concurrently” which meant that I had a full class of students, half in person and half virtual who I taught at the same time. Our ...
