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{Parenting} I Lied to the Pediatrician

May 27 by Jessica Timmons

Do you ever lie to your pediatrician? - I totally do sometimes :/. Such an interesting article!

Image Credit: © Eden, Janine and Jim| Doctor Aunt | CC by 2.0 We've all been there - cruising along, well into yet another well-check appointment for your child when your ped asks about "it". That child-rearing topic (sleep, discipline, vitamins, etc.) that you know you've either been slacking on a little or you just don't completely see eye-to-eye with doc on. So what do you do? Proudly come clean with a "you wanna tussle?" glint in your eye , fudge the truth a bit knowing you've got … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Jessica, Parenting, The grown ups (that's you!) Tagged With: family bed, lying to the pediatrician, MPMK, parenting, sleep training

How to Save Money with a Birthday Gift Closet {POYEL}

May 26 by Annie

Setting up a Toy Gift Closet - a surprising way to actually save money.

If I'm honest, I've always thought setting up a birthday gift closet was a pretty unrealistic and over-the-top idea (as evidence by probably the most popular thing I've ever written). But then my son started elementary school and I quickly realized that the number of birthday party invites that come once your child becomes a student can be immense. Not only is it a stress-saver to always have an appropriate gift around, it can also be a serious money saver if you stock up whenever you see … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Annie, Organizing, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Tagged With: birthday gift closet, gift closet, gifts, How to get organized, live simply by annie, POYEL, present closet, present cupboard, presents, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life, toy closet

Positive Parenting: How to Stop the Whining & Back Talk and Have a Peaceful Summer

May 26 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Positive parenting techniques to stop yelling and start having a peaceful summer with the kids! - Yes please!!

Image Credit: © Suzette Normand | 07.17.10 191 & 192 | CC by 2.0 The weather is warming up and summer is feeling like it's just around the corner. Wouldn't it be amazing if this summer was free of whining on the kids' part and yelling on your end? It's possible! I'm once again teaming up with my friend and personal parenting guru, Amy McCready of Positive Parenting Solutions, as affiliate and host of: A FREE Positive Parenting Webinar: Get Kids to Listen Without Nagging, Reminding, or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: amy mccready, how to stop whining, how to stop yelling, no more whining, no more yelling, positive discipline, positive parenting solutions, positive parenting techniques

The Right Way to Ask Kids Questions – Three Tips for Parents

May 21 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

The right way to ask kids questions - LOVE these tips, esp. trying to work on #3 with my daughter!

Talking to your kids - who knew it would be this tough, this early?! I want so badly to build a relationship where they'll come to me with the hard stuff. But how do I do that when some days even getting what they did at recess out of them is a battle? Today, one of MPMK's former contributor's, Kim (who also happens to be a speech-language pathologist), is going to share with us the best ways to ask our kids questions. Didn't know there was a right way? Well there definitely is - it's the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kim Tagged With: how to ask kids questions, how to talk to kids, the right way to ask kids questions

The Best Way to Fold Reusable Bags to Save Space (VIDEO)

May 20 by Annie

The best way to fold and store re-usable bags - this one tip has made a huge difference in my cupboards!

I've been meaning to post this video for quite a while (we're talking months) but - you know - life.  Now, however, the warm weather is coming and I'm not putting it off anymore. A neatly stored disposable bag or two in the car is a must have during summer - perfect for harnessing wet clothes and suits, sand toys, impromptu picnics, etc. And this method is pretty great just for keeping your cupboards from constantly overflowing too. Here's our resident professional organizer, Annie, with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Annie, Organizing, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Tagged With: car organization, folding, how to fold reusable bags, How to get organized, how to store reusable bags, live simply by annie, POYEL, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life, reusable bags, tutorial, video

Co-Sleeping: Confessions from the Family Bed

May 12 by Jessica Timmons

All About the Family Bed.

I don't know about you guys, but sleep (or the lack thereof) is a repeated topic of conversation amongst my mom friends and I. Thankfully,  I have been blessed with very good sleepers in all three of my kids (Aside from the first 5 or 6 months for each of them and for all naps with baby M. I love him but he totally sucks at naps.) So while we dabbled in all sorts of sleeping arrangements and practices when the kids were babies - co-sleeping, sleep training, pseudo co-sleeping - it's not … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Jessica, Parenting, The grown ups (that's you!) Tagged With: co-sleeping, getting babies to sleep, getting toddlers to sleep, the family bed

A Few of My New Favorite Things

May 7 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

100 Ways to Be Kind to Your Child - One of my very favorite pieces in our whole house! Not only does it look cool, it also gives me a small daily reminder of the mom I want to be!

I realized lately I've been steadily filing away a lot of things I've wanted to share with you but - for one reason or another - haven't yet. No time like the present, right? 100 Ways to Be Kind to Your Child First up is this absolutely fabulous poster, which was created by one of my Camp Mom: Summer Activities Kit co-writers, Alissa of Creative With Kids. It arrived last week and now resides in a place of honor above the play kitchen in our play/family room (side note: this room looks … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mom Health, Beauty & Style, MPMK's Favorite Things Tagged With: 100 Ways to be kind to your child, best gift for a one year old, Best gifts for young toddler, family prints, little tike haul and ride, Personal stylist by mail, play room printable, positive parenting, Stitch Fix

STEM: 20 Kitchen Science Experiments Your Kids Will Love

May 6 by Alli

20 Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids - So many great ways to have fun and squeeze in a little STEM at home. #3 is next on our list!

I don't mean to scare you or anything but, it's May folks. Summer vacation will be here before you know it - do you have a plan? Mine is to set up some sort of loose schedule. Nothing too confining but a flexible outline of how any days spent at home are going to go.  I'll have more details later this month, but for now, suffice to say, I'm gathering resources. And this list is one of them.  Summer is the perfect time to try a science experiment or two from the comfort of your own … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Educational Activities, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: kitchen science experiments, learning activities for kids, science experiments for kids, STEM activities

Sun Print Art Project

May 4 by Julee

Part nature exploration, part science, part wall art - Sun prints are the perfect project for Spring.

There are two things I absolutely adore about this simple kid project - No, wait, make that three! First, it gets the kids outside from start to finish. Second, the results are so pretty you can easily frame them in any room for some easy and inexpensive artwork that will boost your kiddo's confidence (score!). I've been itching to try this send-away framing service and I think this might just be the project for doing it. And third, it's an opportunity for learning at home, which we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art + Kid Crafts, Julee, Outdoor Play Tagged With: art activities for kids, how to make sun prints, kid crafts, nature, outdoor kid activities

20 Healthy & Simple Kid-Friendly Snacks

May 1 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

20 Healthy & Simple Kid-Friendly Kid Snacks - We've tried a lot of these and they've all been winners with the kids!

Something I'm always on the lookout for are healthy new snack ideas that I can whip up in a snap. My kids (and I've heard they're not alone in this) are very cyclical when it comes to food. They'll absolutely love something - it's all carrots and hummus, all the time - and then, BAM!, they're over it. Couldn't entice them to eat another carrot stick or a dollop of hummus for anything. Which is why I often find that one day I'll be humming along, feeling good about the things I'm feeding them, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: easy healthy snacks, Free Radical Pops, green smoothie, healthy kid snacks, kid-friendly snack idea, Kids Rule, Prescribe Nutrition, Prescribe Nutrition Kids Rule, the green machine smoothie

My Favorite Mother’s Day Gift Idea

April 29 by Kristin

Three delicious new drinks to brighten your day that you can make at home! I love the idea of gifting these recipes along with a new Keurig 2.0 for Mother's Day!

One of my number one priorities as a mom is to do my best to stay in the moment and enjoy my three young kids as much as I can. As they say, though, “The days are long but the years are short”. Which, in my case, means that’s sometimes that’s easier said than done. That is exactly why I truly love my Keurig (like I’d be kind of lost without it) and why I think it would make such a wonderful Mother’s Day gift for anyone who doesn’t have one this year. I seriously don’t think I know a mom … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Kristin Tagged With: best coffee recipes, best Mother's Day gifts, candied ginger tea recipe, coffee ice cube recipe, DIY latte, DIY Mother's Day gift, homemade Keurig recipes, iced coffee recipe, Keurig 2.0 brewing system, keurig for mother's day, keurig iced coffee recipe

Every Child Deserves a Childhood

April 28 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Every child deserves a childhood - The amazingly simple way EVERY parent can help give to foster kids.

Ever since becoming a mother, I've spent a lot of time thinking about my blessings. I am so humbled to be called "Mom" by happy, curious, loving and healthy kiddos (aged 6, 4 and just barely 1).  I often wonder how did I get so lucky? Lucky in more ways than I can even count. Lucky that they are healthy. Lucky that I don't have to worry about how to feed them or how to afford gifts on their birthday. Lucky that I have this incredible job that helps me provide for them while allowing me … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: every child deserves a childhood, giving back to foster kids, helping foster kids, huggies snug and dry ultra

Green Clean Your Entire House – The Windows

April 26 by Kaley

The easiest (and greenest) way to clean your windows! - Part of a whole series on how and when to green clean your whole house.

 I'm pretty excited to introduce a new feature we're staring on MPMK today. As a busy mom of three little ones, I find anything that can help me keep our home clean and healthy in an easy and efficient way is pretty much invaluable. So how bunch a whole collections of somethings that do just that? "Project Green Clean Your ENTIRE House" is a series that is not only going to show you how to clean everything in your home using non-toxic, green methods - it's also going to tell you how often … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cleaning House, Kaley, Project Green Clean Your ENTIRE House Tagged With: all natural cleaning solution, DIY cleaning solution, eco-friendly window cleaning, going green, green cleaning, green window wash, outside kid activities, Project Green Clean Your ENTIRE House, spring cleaning, windows

Mother’s Day Idea: Tulips Grown in Vases

April 23 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Growing tulip bulbs inside vases for Mother's Day - this is such a unique and beautiful way to give someone flowers - perfect for Mother's Day!

I'm sure it hasn't escaped your attention that Mother's Day is just around the bend. Whether you're planning to spend it being pampered or going on family adventures, you're likely in need of a good gift or two for your own Mother and Mother-in-Law. (Not to mention any other special Moms that may be in your life.) This year there are two ideas I'm totally excited about. The first is the above vase of tulips. What makes this particular arrangement so special, aside from how stunning the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday, Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: forcing tulips in vases, how to grow tulips in vases, Mother's Day flower ideas, Mother's Day ideas, tulip bulbs in vases

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