stephaniepletka
As a writer, blogger and speaker, this Southern girl finds humor in the ordinary; writing topics pertaining to family adventure, living a life of intention and the importance of writing your own story.
With 2 business, 4 kids and a need to create life's "slow down" button, this Atlanta family hit the road for a life of adventure: running a tech company and educating kids, while traveling to 45 states and 10 countries.
Recently moving to Scottsdale, AZ to explore the beauty of the West. For more stories, click stephaniepletka.com
Parent on Purpose: A Courageous Approach to Raising Children in a Complicated World (Book...
Want to lead, love, and launch your kids? Yes, please. In 2014, Keith and Amy Carney, set out on an epic journey to parent on purpose. With a set of triplet boys and a...
7 Steps to Creating Life’s Breathing Room
Exhausted, hurried, angry? Do these words best describe you? You’re moving at such a fast pace, you high-five yourself on the interstate. You’re behind the eight ball at every turn with no end in...
Treasure the Now: 3 Steps to Make the Most of the Little Years
I don’t have time to hold your guinea pig. Are you ever in the middle of a text, a deadline, the end of a compelling movie or on the back deck eating the last...
3 ‘Must Haves’ A Mom Needs to Curb Chaos
Before kids, I apparently took my life for granted. And working as an executive for a multi-million dollar business, traveling, juggling schedules and deadlines, prepared me little for what was to come. All without...
Raising Kids Shouldn’t Be THIS Hard
Raising kids shouldn’t be this hard. Wherever I am, I should be somewhere else. Oh the lies I tell myself. I’m not enough. I should be further along. Someone else could do a better...
Finding Motivation to Spark Your Greatness
Do you ever wake up and wish you were motivated to do the laundry, run a 5k or finish a deadline? The definition of motivation is a reason one has for acting or behaving...
From College to Kids: A Husband’s Transition to Fatherhood
Oh to be a dad. The one who walks through the front door, after a long day of work and is met by a gaggle of kids, fighting to tell about their day, share...
3 Steps to Crushing the Month of May
April showers bring May flowers, but also mayhem, chaos and pandelerium. Can you feel the wave of CRAZY beginning to rise, as May edges a little closer?
From graduation parties and sending out invitations, to...
Jabz Boxing Fitness for Women
As a busy mom of 4 and business owner, I sought an intimate gym atmosphere that afforded me a great work out before carpool, work, and life began vying for my time.
I needed a...
Sorry Mom, But You Are Not Enough
You are NOT Enough. There are days this phrase reverberates through my mind like an air hockey puck, hitting all sides of my brain, as I chase it down to stop the lies.
We’re the...
Strength Developed From Motherhood
Before kids, I slept in as late as I wanted, on Egyptian Cotton sheets with the highest thread count, waking up to the peaceful sounds of nothingness. I could book a massage, then grab...
Tis the Season: Thankfulness vs Commercialism
If the holidays were a boxing match, who would win? Thankfulness vs Commercialism. Oh, how the Marketing Machine of Life keeps us spinning. I ran to the box mart store the other day, with...
What are You, Nine? Then Start Acting Like It!
My 9-year-old daughter ran from the school bus stop asking, "Mom when you skip, how do you start, with a hop or a jump?" As if this question had the State of Emergency written...
7 Secrets to Creating a Morning Routine for a Better YOU
Do you ever wake up late, can’t find the kid’s shoes, and then the fact that you’ve run out of peanut butter for school lunches throws a wrench into the entire day. From then...
17 Travel Tools To Make Your Trip Planning a Breeze
Mark Twain once said, "Twenty years from now, you’ll be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the ones you did do."
Planning a trip can be such a hassle. Strollers, car...
Mom Guilt, Comparison Traps: 7 Reasons We Feel Isolated
I sat on the end of my bed in tears, with 3 kids in tow, a supportive spouse and a good life, but something was missing. I had started a Video Production Co. a...
8 Life Lessons Kids Learn from Travel
Warning: If you travel with kids, they will be changed forever!
Mark Twain once said: Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness.
In the last 3 years, our family of 6 has traveled to...
Just Moved? A Mom’s Guide to an “Emotionally” Smooth Transition
Did you recently move? Do you feel a loss of identity, uprootedness, grief, sadness, disappointment or comparing what was to what is? Then congratulations, you’re not alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately...