** Thanks to the Grinch's Grotto for hosting our visit. 2020 has been a Grinch of a year, so the Grinch's Grotto experience at Westfield Old Orchard (and other locations) seemed like an appropriate family-friendly holiday event this year. It's an opportunity to have a private meet-and-greet with the Grinch himself and even take home some souvenirs. The girls were so excited to meet ... Read more
Gifts for Kids
** This post about Christmas gifts for kids contains affiliate links. I am compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Have you started your Christmas shopping? While most of the gifts I am purchasing have been from small businesses, toys are one category for which I often shop at major retailers. I'm sharing several ideas of gifts for kids to consider ... Read more
Making Special Memories With Letters From Santa
** This post is sponsored by Santa's Letter Factory. All opinions about requesting letters from Santa are my own. This year we want to make Christmas even more special by getting personalized letters from Santa for our girls. It's been such a difficult year for the girls with having to distance and not see our family, so I'd like to make it up to them as much as possible with unique ... Read more
Be Patient and Kind in Remote Learning
School has been back in session for almost two weeks now. It's eye-opening and challenging for everyone involved. Whether your child is in school or remote learning, we need to have patience with each other, especially with teachers and ourselves. There is a lot being placed on their shoulders right now. In addition to teaching often larger classes, teachers have also become tech support. The ... Read more
Building a Coco Village Treehouse Bunk Bed for Our Girls
My daughters were quickly outgrowing their beds -- a toddler bed and a crib -- and requested bunkbeds, which I was nervous about. I worried A would roll off the bed and hurt herself. Over the past year I have seen Coco Village's beds and loved them, and the treehouse option seemed like a good fit for the girls. This is because the lower bed is low to the floor and because the top bunk is almost ... Read more
Dinos Everywhere! at Brookfield Zoo
If you're thinking about visiting Brookfield Zoo but are worried about social distancing, go on a weekday. We visited on a Monday to see the Dino Everywhere! again and noticed the fewest visitors we've ever seen at the zoo. We had completely missed the dinosaur trail on our last visit, so this time we made sure to see all the animatronic dinosaurs. There are 40 throughout the zoo! Our visit got ... Read more
A Quarantine Kindergarten Graduation
I am officially the mom of a first grader. Last week we celebrated V's kindergarten graduation via Zoom, as one does during quarantine. I realize most people care more about high-school and college graduations, but we love to celebrate these moments in our family. Of course, it's not what I envisioned the end of her first school would turn out to be. I pictured gathering in her school cafeteria to ... Read more
V’s Frozen 2 Birthday Party During Quarantine
** This post about V's Frozen 2 birthday party contains affiliate links. I am compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Floradise! My strong, brave, smart, funny and beautiful V turned 6 this week, and we celebrated her birthday quarantine style, that is via Zoom with our family. She is an Elsa fan, so she chose Frozen 2 as the theme ... Read more
Teacher Appreciation Day in Quarantine
Teachers deserve all the praise and much more. I've appreciated V's teachers before the pandemic forced me to facilitate my child's learning, but now even more so. V's teachers created lessons for the remaining weeks of school that contain activities for each subject. Each Monday-Thursday we find new lessons on her school iPad, while Fridays are catch-up days. I struggle with not only balancing ... Read more
Working From Home With Kids During the Pandemic
You would think that since I've worked from home with at least one child at home for a few years now I would be a pro at it now that both my girls are home every day, but I am not. The truth is the reason I was able to do it before the stay-at-home order was that one of my girls was in school until 3 p.m. and that I hired a babysitter to come over and care for my youngest on my busy workdays. Now ... Read more