Family

It’s never too early to talk to your kids about money. Understanding financial literacy is a fundamental skill that all people should have. Getting your kids to understand finances when they are very young will set them up for financial success when they get older.

We’ve lived in Boston for nearly a year and we haven’t seen much of the city. This summer, I’ve tried to change that by planning little day trips to the city. Most recently, we visited Boston Common on a sunny Sunday morning in August, and we had a fantastic time. If you’re considering a trip to Boston anytime soon, and want to check out Boston Common, here are a few of my tips.

When I was a baby, my mom let me eat dirt. I was probably about one at the time, and I had a mouthful of dirt. This might make you cringe, but I’m glad my parents never limited my ability to explore nature. To this day, I’m a nature-lover and when I’m in nature I feel the most at peace. Whether they knew it or not, they were onto something. There are major benefits to let kids get dirty. It’s actually good for them.

What was your go-to lunch as a kid? Mine was almost always the same. A peanut butter sandwich, some baby carrots and an apple. For my kids, I try to change it up and I regularly try to incorporate new foods into their lunches. I have a super picky boy and a much more adventurous girl, which makes lunch time a bit of a challenge.

If you would have told me in 2013 that I’d have a five-year-old blog that’s given me a lot of really unique opportunities and also allowed me to earn a supplemental income, I’m not sure I would have been able to envision what that would mean.

“G, look at you, only 3 months old!” as I showed my daughter one of my favorite pictures of her as a baby. “Am I Black or White?” she asked, with her big brown eyes staring up at me.

I’m half Italian. My grandparents immigrated to the U.S. before my dad was born. Although we are Americans first, my dad always instilled a strong Italian pride in me as a child. As an adult, I’ve consistently seek ways to connect with my Italian heritage. That’s why it’s so surprising it’s taken me nearly a year to get to the North End Boston.

We are all busy. When I tell people I work full-time as an Assistant Dean at a university and I also have a blog and two kids under 6, they don’t know how I do it. Well, I honestly fail quite a bit. What I’ve found that works is a lot of organization and not much downtime. That’s why it’s super important to me to find products that make my life easier. It is a constant struggle to keep my home, office, car, and life clean and organized, but some products just make it a lot easier.

After a long day at work, I hurriedly rush into my kids’ preschool, only to find them covered in slime. I’m tired. It’s been a long day. Now I get to help peel slime off their hands, clothes, arms, so they won’t taint my car with that sticky messy stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I loved playing with slime when I was a kid and I think it’s cool my kids like it too. I just don’t love the clean-up afterward. But they love slime so much, I’ve pulled the 11 coolest slime recipes I could find.