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#FridayFamilyFavs: Easter & Spring Finds

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It's mid-March, which means Easter and spring are just around the corner! Here are some of our families favorite finds for both...   For the Easter Basket I'm a sucker for anything rainbow and adding books to my kiddos' Easter basket is always a big YES in my book. I actually gave this Roald Dahl collection to my 8-year-old son for Christmas and he absolutely tore through it, having read almost all of the books already. My 6-year-old daughter also started with Matilda and has been … [Read more...]

Getting Ready for Spring: Make a Family Game Basket

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When I think of spring I think of two things: spring cleaning and spring showers. So right now seems like a great time to do some organizing and pull together a family game basket for rainy afternoons. Said basket would also come in handy for Family Game Night - a tradition I'd love to get started around here now that the kids are getting old enough to enjoy the fun. We already have a few favorite games of our own but I'm always on the lookout for more to keep all the kids interested as they … [Read more...]

Parenting Styles: The One about Choking and the Internet

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One of the things that really, truly scares me as a parent is a choking child. Give me bloody knees and elbows and hematomas sprouting from foreheads, even sprains, and fractures. None of that is a party, sure, but it’s all manageable stuff. A kid who’s actually choking is a race against the clock, and it makes me kind of panicky just writing that. I’ve never had been put to this particular test, probably because the powers that be know it’s beyond my abilities. But a few weeks ago, my … [Read more...]

Make It: Donut Easter Bunny Surprise

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Easter is about a month away, so it's time to roll out the ideas. We're kicking things off with Alli and her super cute bunny donut idea, perfect for Easter.   We'll probably make ours Saturday morning since we do family brunch on Easter Sunday.   Here's how to make yours... Who says you can't play with your food? Especially your kids' food. Our home activity theme for this month is Easter, so I was determined to surprise Isaiah with a bunny breakfast at some point. And I just loved how … [Read more...]

Read Across America Day in Honor of Dr. Seuss

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*photo via love Taza. No one believed in this message more than the magical Dr. Seuss. In his honor, the National Education Association is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Read Across America Day, a reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading. Visit the NEA website for details and resources. And for more great ideas on how to celebrate, check out the following sites: The official Dr. Seuss website. A round up of … [Read more...]

Parenting Styles: When You Have 3 Siblings, You Share Your Parents

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  This morning, our two-year-old woke up crying. She’s a sunny kid most of the time, padding downstairs to beam and greet us all, “Good merning!” However, we’ve been dealing with runny noses and terrible coughs and croup and double ear infections in our house over the last two weeks – horror – and E was the last of the kids to go down. I scooped her up and climbed into my bed with her. She snuggled up and closed her eyes until her big sister slid in to join us. E took immediate, … [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...]

#FridayFamilyFavs: A Newbery Award Winner My 2nd Grader Loves

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  I've got a very short and sweet #FridayFamilyFavs for you today... Just two things we are currently loving around here. #1 Elementary Reading - From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler My son picked up a copy of the Newbery Medal winner, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, at our public library a few weeks ago and absolutely flew through it! From the Amazon Editorial Review... After reading this book, I guarantee that you will never visit the … [Read more...]

Parenting Styles: I’m NOT Teaching My Kid to Have Grit… And It’s Totally Fine

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Our five-year-old locked himself in the bathroom at the neighborhood coffee shop a few months ago, and now we're dealing with the fallout. At the start of the school year, I fell into the habit of a latte and a chat with a few other moms before the 3:30 pm chaos, so we hit this place up regularly. It’s not every single school day, but we’re there enough that the baristas all know me by name and drink order – and my husband has pointed out more than once that an espresso machine would be a lot … [Read more...]

My Favorite Way to Teach My Kids to Give Back

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The holiday season is always a time my friends and I start reflecting on ways we can get our kids involved in giving back. I'm not gonna lie, it's been a real struggle in the past to come up with ideas that even our kindergarten aged kids could get it on. This time, though, I think we nailed it. I wanted to share it with you today because, while giving is top of mind for a lot of us in December, it can often fall back to the bottom of the list again by February. But philanthropy is … [Read more...]

7 Books for Making Real Change This Year

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  As a former librarian, when I'm looking at my goals for the year and making changes to my life, a book is the first place I go. It's so helpful to have an in-depth look at the topic I'm focusing on and a spot to refer back to when you're having trouble sticking to your goals or when you need some expert advice about how to make those changes. These seven books are some of my very favorites, whether you're trying to establish new habits, save money, lose weight, or be a better … [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...]

#FridayFamilyFinds: Valentine Picks

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It's been a while since I've debuted a new feature here on MPMK, so I'm excited to announce #FridayFamilyFinds. I regularly find things I want to share with you guys while going about my daily life... a favorite shampoo, a really cool toy, and - always - a good book for you or your kids. A few Fridays a month I'm gonna shop my house, take some pretty pics, and share these favorites here and on instagram with the hashtag #FridayFamilyFinds. Today, I'm starting with a Valentine theme. Ready? … [Read more...]

New Favorite Books for Valentine’s Day

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I'm so excited to have one of my real life besties here today! Teresa is a former teacher, an amazing mama, and puts out the best posts on instagram on what she's currently reading with her three boys. So much so that I finally broke down and begged her to put together a list for all of us. Here she is with what her and her boys are reading this Valentine season... Admittedly, Valentine's Day isn't the biggest deal around our house. Maybe it has something to do with having three boys, but we … [Read more...]