I don't do plants. I've tried a few times but have never been able to keep anything alive. My husband got me a mini rose plant the week of Valentine's Day and I laughed as I asked him if he forgot my history with plants. Fast-forward a month, the plant is still alive and springing new buds; a mini beacon of hope in these trying times. I've always said that homeschooling is not for me. Yet, here we are. Foolishly, I thought that all this time at home would give me a chance to make everything sparkling clean and organized. The joke is on me. On Thursday, I attempted to supervise three children doing schoolwork, while changing and washing sheets and towels, and deep cleaning our two bathrooms. It did not go well, there was definitely some yelling and tears. Lesson learned. There will be no more multitasking while homeschooling. Apart from Thursday's drama, the homeschooling is not going too badly. We established a routine right away, and that keeps us focused and...

As the summer break rolled into the fourth week our tiny apartment started to feel much smaller with the kids home all day long. It was apparent that even the kids craved a little individual space  - they converted their bunkbed into a three (separate) compartment fort - desperate times call for creativity and innovation. While I wholly support the idea of some personal space, I could not embrace the aesthetics of the thing. Also, nary a blanket could be found and Mummy could not get comfortable on the couch. A fort makeover was in order. Our Fort These instructions are specific to the IKEA SVÄRTA Bunkbed and SVÄRTA Pull-out Bed  but could probably be adapted to another similar style of bunk bed. This project cost me about $60 ($20 per child). You will need: Bed Tent  - $20 Curtains - $16 Curtain Rings - $2 Tablecloth - $13 Grommet Set - $6 Binder Rings - $2 Cable Ties - $0 (I had left over from a previous project; I only needed five) Inst...

Living like we do is no cakewalk. It is hard, and requires a level of commitment that can be unsustainable. I've come to appreciate the benefit of taking a break and regrouping. It has been a while since my last post because frankly, the rigidity of my routine was wearing me down. I created a place for everything but everything was not in its place. I was struggling to keep up with the household chores. Cooking, cleaning, care of children, and the like are tasks that were previously performed by my household help and I was finding life stateside to be rather difficult. Not being able to keep up and the resulting disorder in our home brought me to my wit's end. Of course, everyone in the home was feeding off my ill temper and it was making for a very bad situation. I challenged myself with letting a few things go, with the condition that I needed to recharge and I would get back on track as soon a possible. I couldn't turn a blind eye to the toothpaste on the mirro...

Even though the D.C. area is teeming with activities for children, we don't get out much. We don't cannot do a lot of events, activities, shows, play spaces and such. The reality is that many of these activities are cost prohibitive. Keep in mind that were are a family of five so a $10 admission fee translates to $50 just to get into a venue. For instance, our family recently enjoyed a movie at AMC Theatres and the tickets cost $60. A stop at TGI Fridays  for a treat for the kids, and an early dinner for the adults (one appetizer, one entree, and three desserts) was another $40. Just like that, and not including the cost of transportation, we blew $100 on a fairly ordinary outing. Thankfully, we were using AMC gift cards that we received for Christmas. When we do get out, we seek out free activities that are close to home, because we have no car. Weather permitting, we take long walks around the neighborhood or spend time at nearby playgrounds. We are new to the area and...