Living Better Out Loud ~ A Blog

screen_free_unplug_summer — I wish I could say it was a great epiphany or the culmination of the study of great parenting journals that helped me arrive at the decision to go screen-free for the summer. No, it was nothing like that at all, it was an honest to goodness, full-blown, hissy fit. One of those not to be proud of parenting […]

The Truth about “Going Screen Free” for the Summer!

“You better take a jacket, it might rain.” “What about the permission slips?” “Did you pack your cleats?” “Hurry, the bus is coming!” “Do you have your music for band?” “Do you need money today?” “Where is the lunch I made?” Some version of these questions is fired out in rapid succession by every mom, […]

Teach Planning this Summer ~ Living Better with Organized Children!

spanglish_decisions_adam_sandler — I love the unexpected. I love when life gives you a moment in time that is so truly ordinary and void of expectation and suddenly (or even slowly) it turns into a pivotal moment. An aha moment if you will, a moment of clarity and understanding. I never anticipated being thankful for the nasty cold virus […]

No Space Between Us… (Spanglish, 2005)

I received the best mother’s day card 16 years ago, in 1998, on my first Mother’s Day. Don’t get me wrong, my kids have made me some absolutely lovely cards over the years, but it was the first card, the first year, presumably from my new infant daughter that still resonates with me today. Everything […]

I got the Best Mother’s Day Card 16 years ago…

Through your words and actions show my child what it means to “love the game”. Thank you coach, for all you do, your time, patience and influence… It will last a lifetime.

For the Love of the Game

My Writing In A Nutshell It is always a good thing when your initials fall in perfectly with your philosophy of life. Welcome to LB Living Better. I am LB, Lisa Bates and I have discovered that I do indeed enjoy writing. I was never one of those kids whose teachers said “you should be a […]

LB Living Better ~ Writing

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Raising twins boys has its joys and challenges. In my case, my twins are as polar opposite as you can get. I have stated many times that they “split up the genes in the womb”. You take outspoken, and I will take pensive, you take natural athleticism, and I’ll take analytical genius, you get the […]