Oops and Daisies

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Letter to My Daughter as She Starts Middle School

August 29, 2025 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

Letter to my daughter as she starts middle school

My darling daughter,  Here we go again, hurtling toward another milestone: you’re in middle school!  Throughout fifth grade, there was so much anticipation, so many questions, so many concerns (that you mostly shared between your friends) about what to expect. Your elementary school did a fabulous job of preparing you for this transition, but I wanted to emphasize, even though I’m sure … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, Life With Kids Tagged With: family, growing up, kids, lessons from little miss, letter to my kids, little miss, middle school, school

Letter to My Kids As We Start The School Year at Home

September 21, 2020 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

To my darling kids - I know this isn't what we thought this was school year going to look like. I remember, back in January, talking about how the next school year was going to be different. We talked about how you, little miss, were going to finally be in full-day school. We talked about how you, buster, were going to school five mornings every week. Then, the world got turned upside … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Backyard Fun, Family & Lifestyle, Homeschool Tagged With: arts and crafts, homeschool, kids, letter, letter to my kids, life with kids, painting, pandemic, school year, willow tree

The Power of Boredom: Why My Kids Are Regularly “Bored”

August 25, 2020 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

Don't get me wrong. I love putting together fun activities and games for my kids. I also think it's pretty clear from this here blog that I'm a fan of crafts with my kids too. But I also think boredom is important too. That's why I'm also a big fan of stepping back and letting my kids get bored. Boredom -- and slowing down -- leads to imagination. It forces kids to become more self-aware. It's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, Life With Kids, Parenting Tagged With: boredom, kids, quiet-time, quiet-time boxes

Mom Burnout is Real, and Self Care Isn’t the Answer

October 8, 2019 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

Mom burnout

If you’ve been following my blog, or my social media accounts for any length of time this might come as a surprise. As much as I’m a proponent of self care, I don’t think its the cure all for what I hear so many moms going through, what I myself have gone through, and what we need to be talking more about: mom burnout. It’s real. It’s hard. So, so, so hard. And I want you to know, that if you’re … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, More than Mama, Parenting Tagged With: kids, life with kids, mom burnout, motherhood, parenting, self care

I’m More than Mom: Finding Ourselves After Baby

November 21, 2017 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

Before having my first child, I knew life as we knew it was totally going to change. But as much as I read all the pregnancy and parenting books, and joined a bunch of online mommy groups and read all sorts of advice… There was one thing I don’t think anyone could have prepared me for. I didn’t realize how all the diaper changes, middle-of-the-night wakeups, nursing and feedings, laundry (it’s … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, Parenting, Self Care Tagged With: family, kids, makeup, mom hobbies, more than mom, parenting, self care, self love, take care of yourself

Recent Posts

  • Oops, Daisies, and Dreams: Interview with Author J.P. Lee February 19, 2026
  • Stop the Mean Girl Voice in Our Heads: How to Do Affirmations February 11, 2026
  • Oops, Daisies, and Dreams: Kathy Osgood of Little Bear Photography February 4, 2026
  • My 10 Favorite Books From the 59 I Read in 2025 January 1, 2026
  • Oops, Daisies, and Dreams: Interview with Author J.M. Guilfoyle December 3, 2025

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oopsanddaisies

Let’s get that story out of your head and onto the page | Editor, Creative Writer, Author, & Coach

What can I say except… I have BIG news! 🎉💖 What can I say except… I have BIG news! 🎉💖#WritingLife #DreamComeTrue
No day is ever the same for @erinkuhnkrueger, and No day is ever the same for @erinkuhnkrueger, and the same can be said of her “creative time.” But rather than lament it, she’s embraced it, because she enjoys the process… whether she’s writing in dribs and drabs between calls and time with her kids, or in the sweet quiet of the night when everyone else is asleep.“When I’m writing, I’m a different person,” Erin told me on my latest #CreativityChat.Writing has always been important to Erin, but it wasn’t until after launching her blog and her work in writing took off that she fully owned herself as a writer.Erin and I chatted about why it can be hard to claim your creativity and writing… after all, our stories are important. Our stories are valuable. They help us connect and relate to other people, but owning that fact can be hard.That said, Erin doesn’t shy away from honesty and vulnerability in her writing. And I’d dare to say that her mantra when it comes to writing boils down to something she told me about herself and why she writes, “If I can help one person, I’m doing good.”Thanks, Erin, for holding space for your creativity and taking the time to think deeply about what works for you and what doesn’t.*** My chat with Erin was #CreativityChat number three, and I’m on a mission to have 100 Creativity Chats this year. I truly believe we all have stories to share, and I love discovering the different ways people fit creativity into their busy days — whether it’s at work or as a hobby (because no matter how we fit it into our lives, it all matters). I want to talk to people from all walks of life about what creativity means to them.Want to share more about how you fit creativity into your life? Let’s chat!#CreativeLife
“Why’d you get picture books? They’re for yo “Why’d you get picture books? They’re for your class right?” - my 9 year old after our visit to the library 🤣Yup, my kids are done with picture books… but I’m not!! Buster (aka Pizza Blackhole Machine, my son’s chosen online nickname) only wanted Plants versus Zombies books 🤷‍♀️#KidLit #LibraryHaul
I’ll never get tired of writing “the end” wi I’ll never get tired of writing “the end” with every draft I finish. Draft number two of my New Adult contemporary done! Now to get these pages into the hands of some writing partners… because this is just one another step toward getting this book into the world.#AmEditing #WritingLife
National Book Day seems like a good day to remind National Book Day seems like a good day to remind you that I wrote a picture book! Etta Betta and the Beast is about a girl who thinks her parents brought home a beast for a pet. He sits on her puzzles, slobbers, and his farts? They’re the absolute WORST. But the Beast is determined to prove he’s not so stinky - and rather silly - in this tale about the eventual friendship between a girl and her bulldog.#BookDay #KidLit #MomLife
My 6-week in-person picture book workshop launched My 6-week in-person picture book workshop launched last night! My students are all starting with a seed of an idea and building it from the ground up. For most, it’s the first time they’ll ever workshop their writing, and I know how intimidating it can be, so we’re spending the first half of the class pre-writing and getting to know our stories (and each other) before we start providing feedback in week 4.I can’t wait to dive in with this fabulous group of writers and see what stories emerge!#WritingWorkshop #PictureBook #AmWriting #MomLife
Let’s talk about waiting. (This is for the peopl Let’s talk about waiting. (This is for the people who hit refresh on their email inbox countless times a day).So much of life is waiting. As Dr. Seuss once wrote, “Waiting for the fish to bite or the wind to fly a kite… or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.”And when it comes to the publishing industry, whether you’re looking to publish in a literary magazine or with a book publisher, you hit send… and wait.And wait.And wait.And wait. x100There is no promise of a yes. No promise of even a ‘no’ to be honest. (Sometimes, it’s just silence).Waiting is something to get used to. So what can we do? Keep writing. Keep creating. Recognize that waiting is just a part of this game called life.And then, one day, you open up your email, and you’re hit with a… “Congratulations! Is this story still available for publishing?” And it makes the waiting all worth it.So, if you’re in the trenches, I see you. If you’re putting yourself out there and feel like you’re shouting into the void, I see you.But I encourage you to keep writing and keep hitting send… because you never know when you’ll get that yes.#DontGiveUp #WritingLife #AmWriting
I feel like every time I start a new journal, I’ I feel like every time I start a new journal, I’m starting a new chapter in the “book of Liz.” And it feels really appropriate starting this journal on 3/3, a time of a lunar eclipse, signaling new beginnings. #Journal #NewChapters #MomLife
February weather was all over the place — one da February weather was all over the place — one day, my kids are having a water-balloon war with their friends in the yard, the next, I’m insisting they bundle up in their winter gear. It kind of felt that way with my work, too, a combination of super busy weeks brimming with client work, and slower weeks, which I’m OK with, because it gives me some flexibility to work on my creative writing and some other projects I have in the works.So, without further ado, here’s what I’ve been up to work-wise, including my creative projects, which, I promise you, will see the light of day:🌸 Wrapped up teaching a six-week in-person journaling/creative writing workshop (and making plans to do it all over again!)🌸 Ghostwriting projects for my clients, including writing about community-health centers and access to mental health care.🌸 Started submitting my poetry to literary magazines and kept pitching some essays to a wide variety of publications🌸 Held my Creative Writing Accountability Club every Thursday morning (it’s free! If you want in, let me know)🌸 Shared four new posts on my Substack, Where Daisies Grow - on everything from journaling methods to creative cross-pollination🌸 Posted three blogs to Oops and Daisies, including two interviews with some incredibly creative moms🌸 Nearly finished my next draft of my New Adult contemporary and started to get feedback from some trusted writing/critique partners🌸 Learned how to use Adobe Illustrator (and I can’t wait to tell you why… but you’ll have to wait to find out!)🌸 Released a new short story in the latest Writing Journey anthology, Awakening… and seriously. The things I have in the works? They’re still growing “underground,” if you will. But I promise you this: I have some things I CAN’T wait to share!#MyCreativeLife #AmEditing #MomLife
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