Modern Parents Messy Kids

The best ideas on how to raise engaged kids, organize your life, and create a stylish home.

Summer Snacking: Tangy Orange Tangerine Creamsicles

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One of my favorite parts of summer is having more time to make homemade treats with the kids! With all of the sports and after-school activities during the school year, I never seem to have any extra time to spend in the kitchen with my kids, so I love to do it as much as possible during the summer. My littles absolutely love spending time with me pouring and mixing and I see it as a great time to connect. Plus, getting them comfortable in the kitchen is an important life skill. Today … [Read more...]

7 Things Teachers Wish You Knew About Summer Break

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Teachers, parents and kids alike breathe a sigh of relief as the school year starts to wrap up.  Nine months of hardcore learning is exhausting. Plus the school year usually ends with an Open House, which means kids are working hard or projects to show parents what they've learned.  So, by the time we are looking at the last few weeks of school, everyone is staggering toward the finish line. Summer break can mean different things to different people.  Working parents need to line up child … [Read more...]

Tips from a Teacher: 9 Questions to Get Your Kids to Finally Open Up!

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  When your child gets in the car after school, do you immediately ask, 'How was your day?'  Nine times out of ten, the answer is 'good' or 'fine.'  Most kids don't elaborate.   Maybe it's because their brain is on overload after a full day of school.  Maybe it's because they aren't able to verbalize what they're thinking.  As parents, we need to ask the questions that allow kids to explain their day at school.  It gives us a peek into their world in the 6-8 hours they are away from … [Read more...]

7 Skinny Coffee Drinks You Can Make at Home

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I'm a morning person.  I wake up at 5:00am to work out, I come home and enjoy a cup of simple black coffee.  It starts my day out right and I'm packing lunches and making breakfast for the kids like a pro. This leads into my work day where I'm ticking off my to-do list, preparing myself a healthy lunch and picking up the kids from school.  That's about the time I hit a wall. It's that afternoon slump that gets my every time.  Instead of reaching for a snack that will only spike my insulin … [Read more...]

7 Ideas From a Teacher On What to Do with The Kids Over Spring Break

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The kids are about ready to break free from the monotony of school for a week.  This means two things...no packing lunches and we need to keep them busy for the week. It's a blessing and a curse. While I love having my kids home without the schedules we are normally bound to, I also can feel a little stressed out when I start to think of how we will spend the hours. This year, I'm channeling my inner 1st grade teacher and using those years of experience to remember what kids need during … [Read more...]

CopyCat Recipe: Sees Candy Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

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As a kid, I always looked forward to the Easter baskets my grandma sent.  We lived a small town which only had a drug store to carry Easter candy.  Think chalky tasting Russell Stover's chocolates. My grandma lived in the big city...so she sent us See's Candy Easter Eggs.  These things were gold.  They no longer carry the chocolate peanut butter egg.  Now it's the Chocolate Butter Egg and I'm sure it's equally as delicious. This Easter, though, I was on a mission to bring back the peanut … [Read more...]

Our Favorite Easy Easter Dessert Recipe: Bunny Chow

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Need an easy Easter potluck recipe or a new treat to fill those plastic eggs? You have to check out this dead simple Bunny Chow recipe. We brought it to our annual neighborhood egg hunt a few years ago and I got so many compliments I was actually embarassed by how little work I put into it! Here's Kristin with the recipe... Puppy Chow. It's also known as monkey munch, muddy buddies, muddy munch, or reindeer chow. You can now refer to this concoction of cereal, melted chocolate, and … [Read more...]

Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: Cheerful DIY Storage Jars

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If you're a regular here, you know we're all about getting kids involved in contributing around the house early. Sometimes that means setting up regular family and money jobs, and sometimes it just means taking a little time for a bright and cheerful DIY organization project. Here's Kristen with the details... Things look better when they are organized. And I think we function better when things look better. Case in point:  The Junk Drawer. We all have one and if you've ever … [Read more...]

11 Ingenious Ways to Keep Kids Active When Stuck Inside

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We're having a major snow day today- no school, around 8 inches of fresh snowfall... and no power! Which means that after an epic 4-hour neighborhood backyard playdate, I have happy kids, sopping wet snow clothes with no dryer at my disposal, and still about 8 hours of day left to fill. Today is the PERFECT day for this post. Thank you Kristin... We were all waiting for the rain and snow last year when El Nino was expected to hit.  My husband even bought a generator in preparation.  We … [Read more...]