Kelly Jo lives her life just how she writes, with lots of exclamation marks! Her Saint Paul home is filled with noise from her fantastic husband, Jon, and their four spicy kids, Owen (‘07), Evan (‘08), Kierstin (’10), and Calvin (’14). She loves her family, her faith, adventure, people, meaningful conversation, the world at large, laughing, and is always armed with a good hug waiting for someone who needs or wants it. She often drives a different way home just because and has more embarrassing stories than two lifetimes put together! She loves coffee, honesty and any reason to celebrate! When she is not building forts or reading books aloud to her kids, she can be found working as a paraprofessional in her school district.
It’s Earth Day 2022! Growing from the first Earth Day in 1970, the goal is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Together, we can make a difference...
Do you need a true inspiration story? How about an honest tale of grit and stick-to-it-iveness? Because I have one – and it’ll make you cry, melt your heart, and...
This isn’t your typical first-day-of-school recollection story. Nope. It’s not really about what I remembered that day, but about what he found important. An experience valuable enough to be tucked...
Living with a Tween is hard–almost as hard as being a Tween. (While the definition of the term varies, for this post I consider Tweens to be 10-14 years of...
It was shortly before midnight and I was finally crawling my way into bed, ready for the mental and physical rest I’d been pining away for all day long. I...
It wasn’t my idea… at first. My children begged for a dog for YEARS. We tried to satiate their desire by caring for the class pet bearded dragon, turtle-sitting for...
I love leggings. I used to be freaked out by them. The way they hugged my curves, highlighted my mom-butt, and left nothing a mystery about the diameter and circumference...
Generosity is BIG this time of year. For some reason, in December, it seems much easier to spend money, make donations and even purchase things for myself! It’s almost as...
“I have a sliver!” he shouted, charging across the yard with purpose and urgency. This all-too-familiar phrase carried with it copious amounts of sobbing, not necessarily from immediate pain… but...
Family Game Night. Even the idea of it brings both a satisfied smile and an exhausted sigh. I was the “game kid” in my family growing up. Aggravation, Sorry, Cribbage,...
“Come on, girls! We got another one!” my dad would yell as he grabbed his snow gear. My sister and I would run from our rooms, giddy with delight. Snowsuits zipped,...
The most normal thing I’ve done today is clean the kitchen. Usually, I begrudgingly tackle the things that really can’t wait for tomorrow – put away the food, wipe the...
Germs. The arch-nemesis of mom’s everywhere. I have four kids – all of whom are home sick from school today. Fevers, body aches, sore throats, coughing fits, and low energy...