On Tuesday, Anthony and I packed the kids into the minivan and headed south for the holiday. We were also going to celebrate my cousin, who got married yesterday. Such a great idea to have a wedding the day before Thanksgiving. My husband looked at me like I was crazy when I told him I wanted to drive (he’s an airplane traveler, for sure), but it ended up working out fine. We left in the middle of the night—I love traveling at night; it's safer since no one is on the road. My 1 year old was an angel. I’d researched how to ensure my sanity traveling for 12 hours with a small child, and and my research certainly paid off.

The best part of the trip was seeing family, many of whom I had not seen in years. My one year old got to see Grandad for the first time, and my two oldest got a change to meet family they had never met. And we’re only halfway done! Today we’re making a two-hour drive to visit my mom and her side of the family.

I hope everyone reading this has a Thanksgiving as joyful as mine has been so far.

Good Quote

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.
Joyce Giraud

Life

What is all of this STUFF in my house? If I don't use something within 3 months, then it shouldn't be in the house. Yet my house is filled with items that I do not use (hehe). I started to look into putting seasonal items in storage, until I saw the price of storage—it's expensive! Now I’m looking into decluttering. Most of the items I have are things about which I’ve said, “I’m going to sell it”, and 6 years later they’re sitting here collecting dust. I found the article below a refreshing take on kickstarting the decluttering journey.

4 Ways Decluttering Can Help You Save Money

Your clutter is costing you more money than you think—here’s how decluttering can help you save.

Real SimpleHiranmayi Srinivasan

On Family

“Your children will make choices that will sometimes make you cringe or think, ‘What will others think?’. Sometimes those choices will be morally or ethically wrong and you’ll need to step in and correct or discipline the child. But it needs to be for their benefit, not because of how it made you look as a mom. Sometimes those choices are not wrong, they’re just different from what you want for your child.” -Angi Schneider - SchneiderPeeps.com

LOVE this article on advice from parents looking back at how they raised their children. There are so many nuggets of wisdom. Take a read and let me know your favorite quote!

“What I Wish I Knew Then” (Advice from Moms of Grown Children) - The Well and Balanced Mom

When we look back on our motherhood journey, what will we wish we had known along the way? Check out this collection of advice from moms of grown children. Their wisdom and insight will inspire you and challenge you on your own motherhood journey.

The Well and Balanced MomMandy

Disconnect

The article below follows the journey of Tony Schwartz, who disconnected from his laptop, cell phone, and iPad for 10 days.

I Completely Disconnected for 10 Days. Here’s What Happened

I woke up one morning about four weeks ago and realized in a flash that I’d hit a wall. Most days I can’t wait to get to work. On this day, I struggled to get myself out of the house.

LifehackerThe A.V. Club

Can I Leave You with a Meme?