Family Game Night: 13 Dead End Drive #WinningMovesGames

Does this box cover bring back memories? It sure does for me! We played this all the time as kids and in retro cool style Winning Moves Games has brought it back for your kids to try! The friends and staff of wealthy old Aunt Agatha are vying to inherit her fortune and every one of them is shady! So shady they're each willing to knock off all the others to be the sole beneficiary!

Family Game Night: Kozo #WinningMovesGames

The timeless Asian 3-D strategy game is here! Kozo from Winning Moves Games asks, Can you build a tower of irregular blocks without it toppling, against an opponent, with both sides making strategic moves to unbalance the whole structure... every turn? If that sounds easy, it's not! But luckily, Kozo is incredibly FUN!

Family Game Night: Mice and Mystics #PlaidHatGames

During a recent BBQ, a friend was raving about this game and we were intrigued! "It's like Dungeons and Dragons, but for kids!" Mice and Mystics, from Plaid Hat Games IS indeed like playing D&D but with a kid-friendly theme of mice taking on mouse-sized opponents in a medieval castle setting: battling rats, spiders, roaches, and centipedes while finding and using forks, threads, and hooks to help in several quests.

Home Study Information #AdoptionTips

The Home Study

The term “home study” encompasses all of the paperwork, interviews, and verification needed for adoption agencies to freely communicate back-and-forth regarding potential matches. Your home study is the first thing requested when you inquiry about potential adoption matches.

Family Game Night: Codenames - Pictures - XXL #CzechGamesEdition

We first played Codenames with friends awhile back and instantly loved it. We have been hunting for something the kids can enjoy as well, without tripping too much over the tougher words. Enter Codenames Pictures XXL! The funny and oddball pictures are great for kids and the coaster sized tiles are perfect for those matches ending in a little roughhousing (which at our house, it practically EVERY game).

Family Game Night: Codenames XXL #CzechGamesEdition

Codenames is a favorite of ours. Ever since playing it with friends we've been hooked. The latest version from Czech Games Edition super-sizes the cards in Codenames XXL, making it both easier to read them from across the table and easier to manipulate when setting up and taking down a game.

Family Game Night: Gem Rush #VictoryPointGames #JeremyLennert

We've been looking for board games to fill the weekly "no screens" night. Specifically, games that are fun for the whole family, aren't overly complex (being fun for the whole family includes the kids!), and reinforce a useful skill: math, strategy, art, cooperation, etc. We are ecstatic to find Gem Rush from Victory Point Games meets all our conditions! It's playable for up to 7 people, aimed at those 14 years and older, and takes between 30 and 60 minutes to complete.

6 Benefits to Planting in Flower Boxes #gardening #IKEA #AskholmenFlowerBox

     This season, my husband and I have made it our goal to update our outdoor living space and try our hand at some basic herb and vegetable gardening. Years ago, we began using flower boxes to make the most of our limited outdoor space in our D.C. apartment. Now that we live in Florida and have a large yard, we still find that flower boxes are one of the best ways to grow plants and add style to our lawn and patio area. For those of you trying to decide which style of gardening is right for you, we've provided some of the biggest benefits that flower boxes and raised beds offer below. We've also included one of our favorite flower box recommendations, the IKEA Askholmen Flower Box, for its style, functionality and affordability.

Home Makeover: How to Paint Perfect Stripes on Your Wall #Wooster #paintsupplies

   This weekend, we decided to tackle one of our biggest home make-over projects of the season by adding a modern style to our guest bedroom walls. We've been wanting to try something a little more funky and fun, but my husband and I are amateurs when it comes to painting. We did our research as far as the process goes, and I think it turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself! One of the things that helped us the most was using the right painting supplies, so I've put together a quick 'How-to' below and included the Wooster painting supplies that made this project a million times easier. Check it out below!

Explaining Adoption through Storybooks: I Wished for You by Marianne Richmond #adoptionpicturebooks #SourceBooks

For those of you who have been following us through our adoption journey, you know that we have been putting a lot of thought into how we will help our children feel secure in their adoption stories. One approach that encourages bonding and provides a way to explain adoption in a kid-friendly way is through storybooks. We have begun compiling a list of adoption picture books that we personally love and one that is at the top of our list is I Wished for You, an adoption story by Marianne Richmond.