Gratitude can be expressed in many forms. A simple thank you can go a long way as well as a note or a drawing from a loved one. Due to families being separated and school closures it's easy for kids to feel disconnected and out of sorts. I have been thinking about what I am ...read more
This is a really strange time. I legitimately feel like we're living out a weird science fiction novel. This new normal is anything but, and I'm eagerly hoping for a happy ending (or maybe a new beginning?) to take us all by surprise. Alas, right now, we can only take one ...read more
How to practice gratitude is something that most of us focus on around the holidays. Thanksgiving always reminds us to count our blessings, but it can be hard to keep our eye on the thankfulness prize all year. It doesn't have to be that way however. A simple shift in our ...read more
This time of year you hear so much about gratitude, but it's important we do more than just talk about it. That's why I'm going to share my thoughts on how to teach kids to give back. They're the future after all! And with Thanksgiving having just ended, an attitude of gratitude ...read more
Every mom has a birth story. Often they are funny or silly - each of my girls certainly love to hear the tale of the day she was born. But for many moms, the birth story involves being scared and in pain and disoriented. When your baby is born early and taken to the NICU, ...read more
Every Thanksgiving, we do the whole go-around-the-table-and-say-what-you're-grateful-for thing. The answers range from the sweet and sappy to the hilarious and far-fetched. We may make some jokes, but the real responses are pretty much the same across the board: Family. ...read more
2015 was the year of giving thanks. After nearly nine years in business, I recognize that I'd be nowhere without the readers who connect with us, the brands that support us and the bloggers that work with us. Since it was the year of gratitude, first and foremost we tried to ...read more
Katie Holmes knows that she's blessed. In the season of giving, she's taking time to give back with the #GladtoGive Campaign. When she joined a group of bloggers in NYC for a launch event she spoke about teaming up to help those in need and about teaching children to share. As ...read more
Gratitude isn't innate. It's taught. So is the art of the personal thank you note. Parents have to lead by example and model how to be gracious and receive with grace. A big part of that is giving thanks. Since it's the season on giving, I carve time out to teach my children ...read more
Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you have a wonderful, warm, bright, delicious, festive, and fun holiday with family and friends. To celebrate, The Shopping Mama is sharing a few of the things we're grateful for this year (besides, you, our loyal readers, of course!). Enjoy and have a ...read more
As you sit down with your loved ones this Thanksgiving, I'm sure you'll be thinking about how thankful you are for all the blessings in your life! We certainly will be! And our kiddos will be too because we're all about teaching them an attitude of gratitude. Knowing how express ...read more
You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Even better is #GivingTuesday - a global rally for great giving today (December 2, 2014). I'm glad you all scored some great deals and we were happy to share them. But now, it's time to focus on the real meaning of the season. ...read more
Kids today get a lot. There is access to so much that it can be daunting for them to understand gratitude. I try to emphasize this as much as possible, and one way my daughter and I have been re-thinking this is with the help of some tools. Here are a few of our favorites. We ...read more
