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POYEL: Car Hacks for Happy Kids

October 13 by Alli

The best tips and products for driving around with happy kids - love that iPad holder! #MunchkinTravel

Whether your family routinely does a ten hour trip to grandma's every Thanksgiving, or you just find yourself in the car shuttling kids around A LOT now that school's back in session - a well organized and entertaining car environment can be a parent's best friend! Today Alli is teaming up with MPMK's newest sponsor, Munchkin, to share her favorite tips and products for keeping the mood happy in the car so you can be one zen Mama, wherever the road may take you. They're all great, but my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Organizing, Parenting, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life, The grown ups (that's you!) Tagged With: car hacks, car ipad holder, car organizer. Munchkin, road trips with kids, traveling with kids

Halloween Craft: Dry Erase Ghost Votives

October 12 by Alli

My kids love changing the expression on these dry erase votives - such an easy Halloween craft that is also great for teaching emotional intelligence!

It's that time of year again...   Time for ghosts, witches, and goblins to make their spooky appearances. Mwah ha ha ha! (That was my best evil laugh, in case you couldn't tell.)   Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday, because it's all about creativity. For that reason, it's also the perfect holiday to do crafts with the family.   This year, we decided to add to our porch decor by making Dry Erase Ghost Votives. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Holiday, Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: DIY Halloween votives, dry erase ghost votives, ghost votives, Halloween crafts, Halloween crafts for kids

Kid Craft: Tissue Paper Fall Leaf Sun Catchers

October 8 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

These fall leaf sun catchers are such a beautiful way to welcome autumn and my kids loved making them.

Isn't the sun streaming through these fall leaf sun catchers lovely? This was a really easy, no-mess project the kids and I took on last week to welcome the new season. It was the perfect activity for working on our fine-motor skills while also beautifying our home. Get the full tutorial here. And if you need a laminator for home (great for projects like these as well as protecting all sorts of things from chore lists to meal plans), this is the one I use and love. Happy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art + Kid Crafts, Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: fall art project, fall craft, fall craft for kids, fall kid craft, leaf craft, tissue paper suncatchers

How to Use the iPhone’s Burst Mode to Get Perfect Pics of the Kids Every Time

October 7 by Kristin

I had no idea my iPhone had a burst mode - this makes it SO much easier to get great photos of the kids!!

Do you guys know about the iPhone's burst mode? If not, you HAVE to read this tutorial - it will make a huge impact on the pics you get of the kids. And it's so easy too! What I love most about my Canon 5D Mark III (the professional camera I use for my job as a children's photographer) is the quick response. I click the shutter when I see the shot I want and I know there's going to be no delay.  I can time my shots perfectly.  And, when you're working with kids who move quickly, you need a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kristin, Photography & Memory Keeping Tagged With: Burst Mode Tutorial, iphone burst mode, iphone hack, iphone photo hacks, iphone photo tips, Iphone tutorials, Photography Tips, taking multiple photos with your iphone

Salted Caramel Brownie Bark (for “Booing” the Neighbors)

October 6 by Jennifer

Salted Caramel Halloween Brownie Bark - as good as it sounds and the perfect thing to "boo" your neighbors with (if you can stop yourself from eating it all!)

First of all, I want to say both I'm sorry and you're welcome. This salted caramel brownie bark is really, really, addictively good.  And the recipe makes an entire half-sheet pan so you will have a lot of it around. This also, however, gives you the perfect opportunity to package some up and share with friends and neighbors.I especially love the idea of leaving some as a little "boo" gift for your neighbors.  Do you do this? We're still fairly new to neighborhood living but I know … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: Boo your neighbor, Halloween dessert, Halloween gift, Halloween treats, salted caramel Halloween brownie bark

Family & Money-Earning Jobs For Toddlers & Preschoolers

October 5 by Annie

toddler chores, toddler family jobs, preschooler chores, preschooler family jobs

There are lots of great reasons to treat your children (even your youngest kiddos) as accountable, active participants at home by giving them both family jobs and money earning jobs. Here are a few of our favorites: It gives them a sense of respect and awareness for their surroundings It instills in them a healthy relationship with "stuff" and stops entitlement in it's tracks It teaches work ethic It provides them with a sense of belonging that comes only through contributing It … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Annie, Parenting, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Tagged With: kids jobs, money earning jobs, preschoolers, toddlers

Healthy On-the-Go Breakfast: Greek Yogurt Parfaits

October 1 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Portable granola and yogurt breakfast - so good when you're on the run! (Free printables for giving as a gift too.)

With all the hustle and bustle of getting the kids off to school in the morning, I usually forego my own breakfast until I return home from school drop-off. Although it's decidedly calmer during this part of my day, I still don't want to spend any of my precious "me time" making oatmeal or eggs. So lately I've been whipping up a few of these yummy greek yogurt parfaits a few nights a week instead. Then when I arrive home from preschool and kindergarten drop-off, I whisk baby M off to his … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: breakfast granola, breakfast printables, healthy breakfast, on-the-go breakfast, yogurt parfait recipe

2015 Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Printables Now for Sale!

September 30 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Printables for meal planning, cleaning schedules, Kids routines and chores, budgeting and more - everything you could ever need plus a holiday activity eBook!

Is it just me or does shipping the kids back to school make you crave order and routine??? If simplifying your life by organizing yourself and your family is on the top of your wish list, we've got a great news AND a great deal for you just for being an MPMK reader. LIMITED TIME, BACK-TO-SCHOOL OFFER! Get all 4 of our top-selling MPMK e-products for one amazing bundle price $12.98 That's 50% off the regular retail value of $25.97! The 2016 Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Printables … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cleaning House, Meal Planning, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life, Schedules & To Do Lists Tagged With: Calendar printables, cleaning schedule printables, cleaning schedules, How to get organized, meal planning, meal planning printable, POYEL, POYEL Printables, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Printables Pack, to-do list printables

How to Make the Ultimate “Quiet Box”

September 29 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Essential components to making the ultimate quiet time box for your kiddos - we LOVE ours when its rainy outside and the kids are bouncing off the walls.

With the crisper (and around here, decidedly wetter) fall weather comes more time spent indoors. That means, it's time to get creative with ways to keep the kids busy. Along with relying on our all-time favorite toys for keeping kids active indoors, we're also re-vamping our quiet box. Want to see what I think should go inside an ultimate Quiet Box? Check it out here.   … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting, Quiet Time, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: busy bags, How to make a quiet box, Quiet box, quiet time activities

DIY Melted Crayon Lanterns

September 28 by Julee

DIY crayon wax candle - fun & easy for the kids to do and the result is ultra chic - gonna do this at our next playdate with a few of our friends!

A couple of weeks ago my daughter and I decided to make wax paper lanterns. She loves decorating our house for holidays and, since Halloween is right around the corner, we used black and orange colors to create something that could double as Halloween decor. Although the project is incredibly simple and well-suited to children, the results are very dramatic and sophisticated. Here's how we made them ...   … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Julee Tagged With: DIY Halloween decor, Halloween, Halloween craft project, Halloween kids crafts, home decor, melted crayon DIY, melted crayon lantern

Getting Kids to Listen without Yelling, Nagging, or Losing Your Cool

September 22 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

This helped our mornings so much!

Wouldn't it be amazing if all those family activities were completely free of whining on the kids' part and yelling on your end this year?? And how awesome would it be to start off your day peacefully, with everyone getting off to school without you having to nag or remind them over and over to hurry up? It's possible! I'm once again teaming up with my friend and personal parenting guru, Amy McCready of Positive Parenting Solutions, to present MPMK readers with: A FREE Positive Parenting … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: calm parenting, getting kids to listen, how to get kids to listen, how to stop yelling at your kids, positive parenting solutions, positive parenting techniques

Make Fruit Fun (and Spooky) with One Quick Trick

September 21 by Natalie

Such a simple way to make a healthy snack for Halloween - totally doing this!

This might be the easiest food project I've ever created. It took mere minutes to give these pieces of fruit some personality. Here's what I did: Wash and dry the fruit. You want your surface to be relatively dry. Get some candy eyeballs. I used both small and large candy eyes from Wilton. These are especially easy to find during Halloween season, but I assume you can pick them up year-round. Apply your edible glue. We used peanut butter. You could also try any other nut butter, honey, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Natalie Tagged With: fun fruit, halloween snacks, Halloween treats, healthy Halloween food, healthy Halloween snacks, kid lunches, kid snacks

How I Got My 4 & 5 Year Olds to Get Themselves Ready in the Mornings

September 17 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

The secrets to getting my 4 and 5 year olds to get up and get themselves dressed, fed and ready to go to school each morning.

Image: © Suzette - www.suzette.nu | edited and text added | Jippe Eating Scones | CC by 2.0 In honor of the fact that we're giving away a cordless Dyson MC59 Motorhead vacuum cleaner worth $549, I thought I'd share two more ways for you and the family to get more organized this week. First, up check out my post over on eHow Mom's Channel on how I get my 4 and 5 year old to dress, feed, and otherwise prepare themselves for school in the morning (it had to be done - otherwise this "mom of 3 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: kids morning routine, kids self care skills, parenting, teach kids independence

The 5 Biggest Potty Training Mistakes

September 16 by Alli

#2 and #5 for sure!!

Last week I posted a potty training question on our Facebook page and it was the most commented on question we've had in months! Clearly, potty training is a topic you guys are interested in.  Today Alli's here with what we've learned to be the 5 biggest potty training mistakes parents make.    My youngest son just turned 15 months. And the bigger he gets, the more I get that dreaded feeling... POTTY TRAINING. It's looming, right around the corner. I learned A LOT when I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli Tagged With: how to use pull ups, night time potty training with pull ups, potty training, potty training tips, pull ups, what not to do when potty training

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