Central Florida offers a treasure trove of family-friendly destinations beyond the well-known theme parks. If you're tired of the same old theme park routine and fancy a change of pace, Central Florida has more up its sleeve than just oversized mouse ears and wizardry. Gather the little ones, load up the minivan, and let's explore the not-so-hidden treasures in the heart of the Sunshine State.

With summer coming up and lots of road trips to be taking place, I thought I would share my ideas to make your next road trip less stressful and more fun!

I love being a parent more than I ever thought I would, but parenting is definitely not easy.  For a long time, it felt like there simply were not enough hours in the day. Let’s be honest, we still feel that way quite often; but we used to feel that way constantly.  I was (and still am) at  home with the kids all day every day except for a few weekend days each month when I went to work while my husband stayed with the kids. My husband left for work around 7:30 each morning and got home between 6:00 and 6:30 in the evening. Then, we were in a frenzy of playing with the kids while I finished up dinner and got it on the table, eating, then bath time, then divide and conquer with my husband putting our son to sleep while I took care of our daughter. Living a healthy lifestyle and finding time for exercise was really important to us, and after much trial and error, we have settled into a routine that is working well for our current situation.