Modern Parents Messy Kids

We're all about finding ways to make family life better while keeping our sense of humor. Check out our famous MPMK Top Toy Awards, already viewed over 7,000,000 times!

MPMK Reading Lists: The Early Reader World of Cynthia Rylant

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I'm so pleased to be back today with another installment of "MPMK's Learning to Love Reading Book Lists" series.  This time our talented guest poster Lisa has decided to focus on a specific author instead of age group.  I love that she's picked a great one who writes for kids of all ages so you get them hooked early and then keep feeding the obsession as they grow.  Also, many of these books are super inexpensive - around $3.99 each.  Here's Lisa with the goods:   Cynthia Rylant is a … [Read more...]

Free Printable: DIY Animal Herd Valentines

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Despite February 14th still being over a month away, re-posting last year's shaving cream valentine has opened the Valentine DIY flood gates in my brain.  Of course, I could have done this project and held off on posting about it.  But I'm the girl who once unwrapped all of my presents Christmas morning before bothering to wake my parents - patience isn't really my thing.   Have you noticed the preponderance of plastic animal crafts popping up lately?  Crafty bloggers everywhere have … [Read more...]

Re-Post: DIY Shaving Cream Valentines

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 Does it seem a little obnoxious that I'm already putting up a Valentine's Day post?  We did JUST wrap up Christmas didn't we?  Here's my defense - this project from last Valentin's Day has been getting quite a bit of circulation on pinterest lately (I'm amazed people actually dug it up) so I figured those of you who haven't seen it might appreciate a re-post.  Back with something fresh tomorrow!It's almost February and that's got me thinking about, what else, Valentine's Day.  I love that C is … [Read more...]

Guest Posts (Here & There)

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To wrap up birthday week, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite guest posts.  As my very first piece for momtastic, this DIY St. Patty's Day Limerick Hunt technically was a guest post.  At the time, I hadn't yet been hired as a regular contributing editor...  St. Patrick's day is only a few months away - I thought you might want to bookmark (or better yet, pin) it.My "green" Sticky Note To-Do Chart was something I'd been wanting to do for a long time.  So when Kari over at Ucreate invited me … [Read more...]

Check those Christmas Thank You Notes Off Your To-Do List

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Taking a break from the blog's birthday celebration today to share these simple DIY photo thank you notes.  I've seen fill-in-the-blank cards like these all over the web.  While they certainly looked like they'd cut our note writing time in half, they also seemed a bit impersonal.    Not that I think any of our friends and family are expecting a full length letter from my tots - maybe just more than three or four words.  My solution was to add a photo of the kids playing with each … [Read more...]

I Love it When You Try it!

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Yesterday, in honor of MPMK's birthday, I posted the top 10 posts of our inaugural year. Today, I wanted to take some time to point out what I love most about you guys. You don't just read my posts - you actually try them! And seeing the fruits of your labor is one of my absolute favorite parts of all this. Below are five of my favorite reader attempts/interpretations of an MPMK project.When I made my veggie garden sensory box, it was a surprise for my kids so they didn't get to be involved … [Read more...]

MPMK’s 1st Birthday!

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It's hard to believe but this little site is officially one year old today.  Since starting this blog a year ago, I've been honored to watch it grow and expand in ways I never thought possible - and it's all thanks to you!  In the past year, MPMK has amassed over 1.8 million page views, over 4,000 subscribers, over 4,000 facebook fans, and a newly burgeoning pinterest following. I also signed on as a regular contributor for momtastic, houzz, and The Organized Parent.  What started as a creative … [Read more...]

A New Year’s Tradition

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Happy (belated) New Year!  Do you have any traditions for starting off the year?  My mom and I have sort of stumbled into one.  I'm not even sure if she realizes it, but for the past several years she's bought me a new purse for Christmas.  Until recently, I didn't realize that I've come to rely on getting a spiffy new tote to start off each new year.  Cleaning out my old purse and stocking the new with only the necessities is such a nice way to start fresh ever January and this year's pick is … [Read more...]