Barefoot in New England

For our family, having pets is a no brainer.  It is a necessity of life; one I could not live without.  The love we are able to give these animals that we have adopted and the love they give us in return is priceless. Understandably pets do not fit into all lifestyles and for some families having a pet just won’t work, recognizing those limitations is just as important as the jump to get a pet.  Lately, I have found myself thinking of the advantages of raising our kids surrounded by pets in our home.  Below, I have listed just a few- but the perks certainly are not limited to these five! Teaching Responsibility Families find different ways to nourish responsibility in their children, for us having animals in our home became a natural way to teach this characteristic.  As soon as our daughters wake up in the morning, they know it is time to feed and give fresh water to the animals in the house.  Every morning the girls take part in our dog, Nova’s, morning w...

Being a new parent can sometimes be isolating. Lonely. Confusing. Just downright overwhelming.  Having two daughters with just an eighteen-month age difference, I understood this completely during their earlier years. It was always refreshing to get out to go see other mothers, families and children, even though it felt easier to stay at home.  Finding a place to visit that was age appropriate for my toddler, as well as my infant, during these heat waves of summer or freezing temperatures of our New England winters proved to be difficult.  So, when I heard a childhood friend was opening up a play space for infants, toddlers and beyond, I knew I had to drag my girls to check the spot out- even if they were now almost-8 and 9 years old!  I set my GPS to Juicebox Junkies in Johnston, saw a 25-minute drive ahead of me so in true Rhode Island fashion, packed my cooler for the day drip.  Just kidding, no cooler needed, we knew we would hit plenty of Dunkin’s on the wa...

  Dear niece, I hope you know . I hope you know what you mean and always will mean to me.  The very early morning that you were born was the beginning of one of the best days of my life. You were the first one to teach me unconditional love (for a human…. you know I had that for dogs). You lit up the world with your adorable smile right from the start.  When I was finally allowed (minor passing out incident right after you were born) to hold you after a quick sleep, I knew . I knew you would be my little buddy for the rest of my life. I knew that no matter what, you would always hold a special place in my heart. I would visit you every chance I had, any excuse to go spend time with you.  I jumped at a chance to babysit you for one day during the week once your mom and dad had to go back to work. You were my little sidekick on those special days.   You had two years of being the only one until you had to share the spotlight with your cousin, and you did ...

Five years ago, our family began camping. We started our first camping trip in a large tent and blow-up mattresses.  After our first trip with our young daughters, we were hooked.  Camping was nothing new for my husband, as he grew up camping in a large camper trailer. For me, it was new territory other than the limited camping I had done before children.  The year after our first trip in that tent as a family, we made the leap to a pop-up trailer.  This was the perfect bridge for us, still focusing on the outdoors yet having a comfortable place to rest our heads at night....and the custom cut air conditioning hole in the canvas doesn't hurt either.  Over the years we have tried out many campgrounds having our favorites and some we will never visit again.  I am happy to say this past weekend was a great camping experience to add to the list. The plans started with a couple of friends, and a last-minute weekend trip.  We needed somewhere within an hour ...

A beautiful summer morning with nowhere to be.   This is not a typical occurrence this summer, as the weather has been less than ideal for swimming or enjoying a day at a local beach and our schedule has been pretty packed with trips as well other engagements.  After throwing around a few ideas with a friend, her suggestion won, the Mendon Town Beach.  We packed our lunches, sand toys, boogie boards (which were not allowed, so leave those home) and put on our bathing suits.  This beach is located on an unassuming short road in the town of Mendon, Massachusetts. The small parking lot is across the street from the quaint beach on the lake of Nipmuc Pond.  After crossing this quiet road, you are greeted by the snack shack where you pay a small admission fee- for us $5.00 per person since we are not Mendon residents.  This snack shack has many reasonably priced goodies, from cheeseburgers to ice cream treats.  There are tables for picnics and two levels of...