Pinging Out My “Go-get-emeter”
I hope you are enjoying the first few days of 2023 and relaxing at least a bit after all the ...
Shakin’ Off the Crazy in a New Year
Brrrr, it’s cold outside! Okay, so maybe it’s not intolerable, but when a girl was traipsing around in flip-flops and ...
Of Toilets and Tornadoes
Last week Missouri held a special severe weather test day and sirens blared in sync across the state. There is ...
Green Beans, Goulash & My Garden
My son and I are making a quick weekend visit to my hometown for my great niece’s high school graduation ...
My Corona Life: Bewitched by Betty & Haunted by Homer
How are your stay-at-home days going? I can’t lie, y’all. A month into this Corona life and I’m seriously starting ...
Adjusting to the Corona Life
I woke up early Sunday morning to make a quick trip to the grocery store ahead of the throngs of ...
Urban Trout Fishing with the Family
The weather progressively warmed up as we rushed into the weekend and the southern wind held off just long enough ...
My LAL (Life After Lombardi)
Wow, what a crazy week here in Kansas City! What started with three and a half hours of holding my ...
Perks of Preseason Football
Yes, we are officially trying to cram as much fun into the last few days of summer vacation as humanly ...
Vacation Bible School Sneaked Up on Me
Vacation Bible School sneaked up on me this year and for the first time in a very long time I ...
Lazy Summer Evenings
Do you ever have one of those lazy summer evenings that just strike you as being special for absolutely no ...
Celebrating (Another) Snow Day at the KC Zoo
Another wave of winter weather blew through town last night, which translated into another snow day for my second grader ...
Applesauce and Pizza Birthday Surprise
Well, I am officially celebrating the last of my 40s and if last week’s birthday surprise is any indication of ...
Are You, or You, or You Headed to Church?
Sometimes on Sunday mornings as I drive or ride to church, I like to imagine who else on the road ...
The Leaves Aren’t the Only Thing Changing Around Here
Whew! What a whirlwind autumn it has been here at the Three-Acre Wood, as usual; but with the addition of ...
Chapter 7: My Waistline Affects My Wallet
I cleared another hurdle in my Weight Watchers journey this week and it’s a biggie, because this is where my ...
Just How Grown Up is a Second Grader?
Yesterday evening was “meet your teacher night” at my son’s school and today is our last official day of summer ...
Have You Lost Your Marbles?
The end of summer is chasing us here in the Midwest, and my son and I are trying to cram ...
Chapter 6: Gooooooooooooal!
It took almost seven full months, but I finally reached my Weight Watchers official goal weight! Yay! Sure, I wished ...
Something’s Fishy!
We added three new faces (and fins) to our family this week with the addition of our son’s long-awaited little ...
Chapter 5: Another Weight Watchers Milestone or Two
Last night I reached two milestones in my weight loss journey and I have some new bling to show for ...
This Mama’s Broken Heart and R.E.M. Sleep Cycle
It’s not even nine o’clock and the coffee is gone. . . It’s going to be a long day. Our ...
Chapter 4: Snacking My Way Through Weight Watchers Road Trips
Another month of Weight Watchers is in the books and with two road trips rounding out our family calendar, March ...
Gray Skies and a Contentious Woman
We have been discussing the book I Will! Nine Traits of the Outwardly Focused Christian by Thom S. Rainer during ...
Chapter 3: Still Winning by Losing with Weight Watchers
Today is another Weight Watchers weigh-in night, which reminds me that I am completely behind on my updates. With all ...
Lenten Season Means Spring Cleaning for Soul and Home
I dropped off my first five items at the Hillcrest thrift store — good for me and good for others ...
Chapter 2: My First Month with Weight Watchers
January flew the coop and with it went my first four weeks as a Weight Watcher. The month seemed to ...
Chapter 1: How to Join Weight Watchers
Okay folks, I’ve officially been a Weight Watcher for almost two weeks now and I’m already seeing success. Yay! The ...
Prologue: My Weight Watchers Story
With the new year comes resolutions, goals and promises that we hope will renew our lives, transform our bodies and ...
A Few Instagram Favorites of 2017
I absolutely must say that Instagram has become my favorite social media platform during the last couple of years, probably ...
A Substitute Life
Early Tuesday morning last week I stood staring at the calendar posted on the front of the fridge and was ...
Campfire and S’mores — Family Favorites
Making s’mores in the backyard is one of our favorite family activities each fall, because there’s just something about a ...
The Calm That Comes Between October and December
What a crazy fall it has been! Hmm, that sounds familiar, because I believe I echo that same sentiment every ...
Solar Eclipse Quite the Sight in KC
Wow, what an exciting day in Kansas City! We started the morning off with clouds and rain and polished off ...
Be Still, and Know
My goodness, what a busy spring and summer we have had here at The Three-Acre Wood! So busy, in fact, ...
Fresh Air is Good for the Grumps
I’m always amazed at how quickly a little fresh air erases my child’s crummy moods. My little guy apparently swallowed ...
I Ate My Bacon in the Shower
Wow! What a spring! It has been an entire month since I have taken a breath long enough to write ...
40 Bags Sidelined by Spring Break
Whew! We are finally back from our nine-day whirlwind spring break tour of Oklahoma and southern Missouri, and its good ...
My 40 Bags in 40 Days Update: Day 10
Well it’s day 10 of the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, and I have purged four total items from ...
Morning Revelations of My Son
I was in the shower when my little guy woke up this morning with exciting news. As I poked my ...
Rest In Peace From the Hollow
Note: This post was written in Blue Jay Hollow (pronounced “holler”) where many of you may remember there is no ...
To Make a Mama’s Heart Melt
Earlier this week I discovered that my iPhone would randomly make little memory movies using groups of photos stored on ...
Read the Bible or Bust: My Goal for the New Year
As the new year begins in earnest and we slowly come out of our evergreen scented, tinsel induced, confetti colored ...
Fresh Snow Flurries and Family Fun
I’m not sure one ever outgrows the excitement of Winter’s first snow. . . now some of us get over ...
Flip Flops or Pantsuit for the D.A.R.
So what does one wear to her first D.A.R. meeting? Yes, this is my current quandary. Most of my knowledge ...
When Your Child is Not Your Child
I absolutely love it when I catch a glimpse of my child. . . well, not being my child. It ...
A Gilmore Girls Binge, Good-bye & See You Soon
I have been binge watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix for weeks now and finally said “Bon Voyage” with the rest ...
Exactly Where Did the Apple Core Go?
After a late lunch Saturday afternoon, we decided to have PB&J’s for family dinner. My husband generously volunteered to assemble ...
Hey, Where’s All My Free Time?
Whew! Where did all my new found free time go? My child has been in kindergarten for almost a month ...
Sorting Out This Kindergarten Thing
Tomorrow my one and only child starts kindergarten. . . and I just don’t know what to say about that ...
Blue Ribbon Pickles
This summer has been super busy, but somehow I did find a few minutes to enter some items in our ...
VBS Should Be a Verb
Well I’m halfway through VBS prep week and I’m happy to report that my family is neither hungry nor naked, ...
I Cried on the Fourth of July
Independence Day started so innocently with family breakfast on the way to the local quintessential small town parade in Parkville, ...
Pat Benatar — 80s Icon, Rock Star & Anniversary Gift
My husband gave me an awesome anniversary gift this year — tickets to see Pat Benatar. . . without him ...
Backyard Water Slide is “Young” Family Fun
I’ve heard that children keep you young. . . and now I have proof. Yesterday was, as my son calls ...
“Nothing is Wasted” — Finding the Good in the Bad
I recently added a new book to my reading list, courtesy of Beacon Hill Press. While it wasn’t the type ...
Rocking My Mama-Made World
All Grown Up! My son’s last day of preschool Today I dropped off my son for his last day of ...
A Few Favorites for National Children’s Book Day
Saturday was National Children’s Book Day and since my son and I love to finish our day with a good ...
You, Who Rock the Minivan
Sorry Ladies, He’s Taken — Hubs is Rockin’ the Minivan To all of you who completely rock the minivan, (because ...
Animal Photos and Spring at the Zoo
With a preschooler in the house, we’re finally getting a taste of spring break. Monday morning our son asked his ...
One Little Pig and a Rustic Wreath
My little guy and I have been in my hometown for a few days to celebrate my sister’s 49th birthday ...
From Belly Buttons to Live Births
Last week on our way to swim lessons my son and I started talking about birds, mammals and cold-blooded creatures ...
The Weight Is Over, or Not
I haven’t shared my “weight is over” progress for a month now; because, frankly, there’s absolutely nothing to report. I ...
My Weight Loss, Week One
Well now, isn’t this embarrassing. I only lost a measly half a pound in week one of my weight loss ...
Quilting and Football
Who says quilting and football don’t go together? It was Second Saturday Sewing at church this weekend, so I dragged ...
“The Weight is Over” — My 2016 Weight Loss Goal
So here we are, almost a week into the new year, and I’m staring my weight loss goals squarely in ...
Simplifying My New Year
In bed by 1 and out by 9 — not a bad way to start my 2016. My son did ...
Find Your Magical Moment
Here we are at the tenth of December, just a mere 15 days from Christmas, and I’m still trying to ...
Swallowing Snot
My son and I have had this drainage, coughy gunk that apparently is going around right now, where you don’t ...
We Were There!
As many of you may know by now, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series Sunday night, beating the ...
Living a Large Fall
We have been enjoying such a gorgeous fall that I’ve hardly made the time to blog at all. Amid the ...
Is Meanness a 9-1-1 Offense?
My husband and I have been talking to our now five-year-old son about emergencies and dialing 9-1-1 in the event ...
Less is More Between Now and New Year
I always think of October as the gateway to the new year, probably because as soon as I start decorating ...
Eating Crow in My Mama Mobile
Disclaimer: The salesman made me put up my thumb. There’s my sweet little Jeep Patriot I traded in the background ...
Snake Encounters 101 – The Preschool Version
Before we went on our back-to-back family vacations, my husband decided to have a little talk with our son about ...
Skipping Sparks
So I have to confess, I didn’t make it to Sparks this weekend. After all the summer vacationing, I was ...
This Little Piggy Went to (the Farmer’s) Market
It is a gorgeous late summer morning here in the Midwest, so my son and I decided to trek down ...
Routines, Trains and “Naked Ladies”
Whew, the summer vacations are finally fini, and I’m home to stay for a while. After a week with my ...
Concentration Can Wait
I used to think I was a pretty good multi-tasker. . . and then my son was born, carrying a ...
VBS Is In the Books
Whew! Another wonderful VBS is in the books and I plan to put up my feet and bask in the ...
Wonderful, Crazy, Exhausting Summer?
I’m finally home from an eight-day trek across South Dakota with my husband and son and I can’t wait to ...
Pitching a Tent in the Great Indoors
You might be a redneck, or just testing out new camping cots; but any rate, yes, that is a full-size ...
This Tortoise Lives with a Hare
So most of you probably know the old story of The Tortoise and the Hare, where the tortoise wins a ...
My Son’s Sorrow was Mother’s Day Gift
Well I might be the last to wish all of you a Happy Mother’s Day, so here’s to all you ...
Where Did My Metabolism Go?
What do spending four days in Oklahoma and losing weight have in common? Absolutely nothing! Well, it’s not like a ...
Windows Down and the Wind in My Hair
Yesterday I packed my bags, kissed my husband, buckled in my boy and hit the road for a few fun ...
Guys Don’t Get It
Sometimes guys just don’t get it. Yesterday I asked my husband to take an old metal glider to a friend’s ...
The Giant Barn Swing Diet Plan
So week number two has come and gone, and while not nearly as impressive as week one, these past seven ...
The Weight is Over. . . Seriously. No, Really. This Time I Mean It.
So you might remember “The Weight is Over” series I started about a year and a half ago, about losing ...
Strike Up Summer with Free Bowling for Kids
So you probably already know that last week was Spring Break here and we played host to my sister and ...
Mom Essentials: For Women of All Seasons
The church ladies and I recently finished our latest Wednesday night Bible study via the Mom Essentials, 10 Words Successful ...
“Hate” is a Four-Year-Old Letter Word
Every now and then I catch a glimpse of unexpected assurance that our four-year-old son is actually soaking up a ...
Poplessness for World Peace (or My First Attempt at Lent)
I’ve decided to give up soda for Lent. No , I haven’t converted to Catholicism, Lutheran, Presbyterian or any other ...
My Perfectly Not-So-Romantic Valentine’s Day
Well, I can’t say it was the most romantic Valentine’s Day ever, but it definitely was a good one because ...
Swim Lessons, Crying and a Mom’s Camera
So our four-year-old son finally started swim lessons last week. It was not pretty. I knew he would be anxious, ...
Going Down in Flames on Three
I almost got to three this weekend, as in “you better do as I say by the count of three, ...
Family Traditions — A Mom’s Responsibility?
When I recall my own family traditions from childhood, I’m instantly flooded with wonderful memories and good feelings previously pushed into the ...
My 2015 Resolutions: A Step in the Right Direction
So it’s the season of resolutions, and I began these days of goal setting by focusing on three areas of ...
The Christmas Octopus
I get it now. . . I get the overnighted skates from Canada, I get the paying twice the price, ...
The Bait and Switch Christmas Tree
We opted for a real tree this year and planned a whole family outing to the local farm complete with ...
Snow Day, Snow Night
Yesterday was the first snow day of the season, so along with completely nixing my regularly scheduled plans, I was ...
You Say It’s Your Birthday
I celebrated my birthday at Dave & Buster’s last night with my favorite two boys. Today is another birthday for me ...
10 Reasons Women Shouldn’t Play Fantasy Football
Well, regular season football officially began last night and while my fantasy team is still waiting to get out of ...
Come On Four
Well there you have it. Just two months shy of my son’s fourth birthday and I just received my first, ...
My Blue Jay Getaway
I’m finally back from the Hollow (pronounced holler) after a week away with my family. When I say “away,” that’s ...
Off the Shelf — Live Inspired Book 2
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest and personal opinions. I’m finally getting the ...
Auction Lover Off the Ol’ Block
I introduced my three-year-old son to the auction last week and can I just say, “I’m so proud.” He kept ...
Does God Have Bones (and Other Things My Three Year Old Wants to Know)
The other night as bedtime came (and passed) I was finally drifting off to sleep in a quiet house, when ...
A Book in Hand — Letters from Skye
Yesterday was the first truly spring-weathered day we’ve had this year and what a gloriously welcomed one it was. My ...
His Social Graces are no Match for His Vocabulary
So we’re entering a new phase in our family — the turn thirty shades of red because your three-year-old just ...
You are What You Watch?
Our three-year-old son loves minions. He has never seen Despicable Me, but who doesn’t love a little yellow guy with ...
I Found a Head of Lettuce on My Kitchen Floor
Okay, so I admit it. December is kicking my tail. It’s not necessarily the Christmas of it all, but the ...
Toys in Heaven
My husband, three-year-old son and I were watching an animated movie this week, and a character in the show passed ...
The Nightmares of My Toddler
Do your kids ever wake up crying in the night? As a parent, I know it must have been a ...
Choosing Chores for Our Toddler
This morning my husband started sorting laundry and our ornery three year old immediately started wallowing around in the filthy, ...
Angie Harmon is My Political Sister
I recently read an article in the September issue of More magazine and just had to share a little bit ...
Poop in the Parking Lot
Yes, we’re still potty training. Still. Our little guy seems to get the ”pee pee” part of this whole process, ...
A Long Time Ago in an Oklahoma Town
It’s an even day, and look, here’s my newest post for the September Sapphire Even Day Blog Challenge. Hopefully I’ll ...
Are You Ready for Some Football?
Call me Commish. Yes, as in commissioner. . . commissioner of our new fantasy football league. My husband and I ...
Bye Bye, Baby Bed
I go to bed in mourning. We broke down our only child’s baby bed this afternoon and made way for ...
Being a 40-Something Dirty Girl
I finally put my money (and ego) on the line and registered for the Dirty Girl Mud Run taking place ...
A Fine Thursday in Topeka
It was “Take Your Toddler to School Day” for my niece’s parenting class, so I dropped off my son at ...
Daddy Loves Water Babies, Momma Hates Shaving
It’s Water Babies time again, and I think I’ve finally figured out why my husband gets so excited that I’m ...
Double Drive Thru: Here’s How it Works
Here is some quick drive thru etiquette for those of you who don’t quite know how to navigate the double ...
Better than Sick Leave
I’m not suppose to get sick — I’m the mama. But since my husband brought home some funky germs and ...
Amtrak Made Me Cool
Two of our nieces spent a couple of their spring break days with us this week, and I frantically searched ...
This Dude’s a Doll
My sister-in-law arrived last night bearing gifts for my son, one of which was a Ken doll — yes, as ...
Running Like Forrest
I’ve heard of this thing called a” Runner’s High” but what I really want to know is if there is ...
Warning: Inappropriate Use of Anatomically Correct Vocabulary
Don’t even ask where the conversation started, but my two-year-old son now knows the existence of “boobies” (thanks honey). In ...
Who Knew PBS Rocks
I visited my Mom several days this week, and she is one of those people in this world who refuses ...
Tag, You’re the Parent
Kudos to single parents — I don’t know how you do it sometimes. . . especially when your child does ...
Dinner and a Show
Stop by our house at any given time and you are sure to see a show. Yes, my husband and ...
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