School or Zoom School is just about out—these tips will make those unstructured summer days a little more fun and less chaotic. Set Up a Launch Pad Are you always standing by the door while someone runs back upstairs because they forgot something? Don’t waste time searching. Create a space where you can keep all…
Living
Are Your Kids Always Losing Their Goggles?
With this tip, you’ll still have them next week – and the week after! In the beginning of the summer, you optimistically buy a pair of goggles for each child. A week into the swim season, you’re down by two pairs and the kids are fighting over the last one. Does this sound familiar? The…
Three Cleaning Tools I’m Using More Than Ever
With no cleaning help these days, these are the things that are putting in overtime hours. Stick Vacuum In the past, I mostly used my Dyson cordless stick vacuum for my carpeted stairs and occasionally for small messes, while my Miele canister vacuum got regular duty. Nowadays, my Dyson has become my best friend. I…
The Lunch Hack That Makes It Easy to Eat a Healthy Lunch (Despite the Chaos)
Lunch is the most difficult time for mom to prepare herself something healthy to eat. This hack may help. We’re all in survival mode right now, no matter who we are or the roles we fill. Being kind to ourselves is of utmost importance, and there’s no room for beating ourselves up about regrettable food…
How to Get a Really Green Lawn (Even If You Have No Green Thumb)
If you think that sprucing up your lawn is something you have time for these days, you can do it yourself! (Even if you never did anything garden-related before). So I’m not the typical quarantine mom. Or maybe I am the typical, and what we’re seeing online are the atypical supermoms. In any case, my…
How to Organize Your Kids’ Puzzles
I dig educational toys! And puzzles are one of my favorites because they are known to be great for brain development in children. Storing them, though, is a challenge. Board puzzles don’t come with boxes. Once you unwrap the new puzzle, you’ve got to have a place for it, otherwise the pieces quickly disappear. Board…
How Do You Reconnect to Torah When You’ve Been Connected All Along?
“And then I fell in love with Torah and mitzvos.” That’s probably a quote from someone who was raised in an unaffiliated home and discovered Yiddishkeit later in life, right? We tend to bear this erroneous sentiment not because those of us who are raised frum can’t or don’t enjoy the same connection. In the…
Basics: How to Make Syrian Sambousak
This dairy pastry is a staple in every Syrian home on Shavuot (and after every fast). A couple of years ago, I had this great idea of doing a series of posts featuring teens in the kitchen. Some of my daughter’s friends stepped up and demonstrated a favorite recipe for me to photograph. And then…
Forget That File Cabinet. This is the Easiest Way to Organize Your Papers
You know how all your important papers are just laying scrambled in your top drawer? Or smushed in a cabinet? It’s haunting to approach the piles of important documents when you’re looking for something specific. Like, you know they’re supposed to be saved but those piles of papers are just getting to you. Well then,…
Yes! You Can Go to the Park! Here’s Some Great Picks in NY State
These days, even a far drive to a calm, scenic place feels like a nice getaway. During a time when people are feeling confined and a need to get out for a nice day or two, I compiled some NYS attractions to consider. Just driving around upstate is relaxing in itself. Contrary to what New…
