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Homemade Soda (No Machine Required)

June 3 by Alli

What a fun thing to do with the kids - make a healthier soda, no SodaStream required!

Making homemade soda pop is probably one of the most exciting things I could do with my kids on the 4th of July (second only to the fireworks themselves). My littles love to cook with me and, of course, they love anything sweet so this one may just have to become a family tradition. I love that we won't need to invest in a fancy Soda Stream machine to follow Alli's recipe either! The Fourth of July is just around the corner. And as we prepare our party menus, why not add your own homemade … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Holiday, In the Kitchen, Seasonal Fun Tagged With: 4th of July drink, homemade pop, homemade soda, making soda without a soda stream

In the Kitchen: Seasonal Recipe Round-up

June 2 by Kristin

The best recipes for families using fresh spring produce - the Springtime Pasta Primavera is epic!

Spring produce can't be beat!  After months of apples and all types of squash, a refreshing palette of colors bursts across the produce aisle. I compiled a list of my favorite nine recipes that will use all those delicious farmer's market finds. Maybe you have favorites that you go back to year after year (mine happens to be artichokes).  Hopefully, this list will inspire you to try something new like leeks or prosciutto-wrapped apricots! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Kristin Tagged With: dinner ideas, fresh dinner recipes, seasonal recipes, spring dinner ideas, spring dinner recipes, spring produce, spring recipes

Kitchen Science: Making Rain Clouds

May 28 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

make rain clouds in your kitchen and other color mixing activities

Here's something fun to try this weekend - make rain clouds with the kids in your own kitchen! Check out my full rain-cloud-making/color-mixing post here. P.S. Did you know that facebook has recently drastically changed the way pages like MPMK can share with their followers? Even if you’re a fan of the MPMK facebook page, only a portion of our posts and updates are showing up in your feed these days. So how do you continue to get all of our parenting, playtime, organization, and recipe … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: color mixing experiments, DIY rain cloud, kitchen science, make a rain cloud, science at home, science experiments, shaving cream play

Meal Planning Made Easy with The Home Collection – Part 2

May 21 by Kaley

Meal Planning Center - so many clever ideas here, love it!

Kaley's back today with an update on the custom meal planning system she put together with products sent to her by our latest sponsor, Post-it® Brand. Yay for organization! I thought this system was pretty impressive when she first set it up but now that I see it in action, I'm a little blown away. This fridge actually makes me excited about meal planning (one of the things I dread most in this world). My favorite part has to be the spots for snack ideas and an inventory of what's in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kaley, Meal Planning Tagged With: easy meal planning, How to get organized, meal planning, meal planning system, Post-It, POYEL, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life, sponsored

30 Minute Dinners- A Weekly Meal Plan For Busy Families

May 20 by Natalie

This is a brilliantly system for easy family meal planning - post has lots of 30 min. meal ideas for each theme day too!

Need some dinner inspiration? I am always looking for something new to put on the table without too much fuss. The months transitioning from spring to summer can get pretty hectic, what with end-of-school activities, graduations, weddings, outdoor sports and more. Implementing an easy weekly meal rotation could be just the thing to keep you sane when you're on a crazy schedule. I've created a dinner plan with five meal categories- quesadillas, salads, frittatas, skillet meals and pizzas- and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Meal Planning, Natalie, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Tagged With: 30 minute meals, dinner help, dinner ideas, easy meals, fast meals, meal planning, meal planning help, meal planning ideas, meal planning schedule, meal planning template, quick and easy dinners, weekly meal plan

Parenting Hacks: Bedtime Routines for Kids

May 19 by Kristin

Easy-to-do ideas to finally get my kiddos to sleep!

A quick reminder before we get started that our FREE positive parenting webinars with TODAY Show parenting contributor Amy McCready are this coming Monday, September 29th, 2014 at 10am PST/ 1pm EST AND 6pm PST/9pm EST! Reserve your spot for “Get Kids to Listen without Nagging, Reminding, or Yelling” before they fill up! We've all seen the sitcoms where the parent is putting the child to bed about a hundred times.  The excuses range from one more drink of water to one more bedtime … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Simple Ideas Tagged With: getting children to sleep, getting kids to sleep, helping kids fall asleep, sleep routines for children, sleep routines for kids

Book Nook: If You Liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Try . . . .

May 18 by Janssen

A children's librarian's picks for what to read next if your kids loved "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"

How will anything ever be as good again? What book could possibly follow-up? For millions of kids, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are that way  - books that, sometimes for the first time, give them that "I love to read!" feeling. These books follow Greg, who is starting middle school and trying to make sense of the new rules of popularity and fitting in, with both hilarious and honest results. They're written in diary form, with Greg's thoughts about his life combined with funny sketches … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Janssen, The Book Nook Tagged With: book nook, Books for kids, children's books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, favorite kid books, reading nook

Free Positive Parenting Webinar: Have a Peaceful Summer Free of Whining & Yelling!

May 14 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

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

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, … [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

How to Play with Your Baby (Hint: Involve the Senses!)

May 13 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Sometimes parents wonder how to connect with newborn babies - here are 8 fun things to try!

Did you know that newborns like sensory play every bit as much as preschoolers?  Of course, I'm not talking rice box or play dough sensory play but activities that engage baby using the senses (especially sight, sound and touch) are wonderfully engaging to young babies. Recently eHow's Mom Channel asked me to write a couple of posts on babies and sensory play and today I'm sharing them with you. I had a great time writing them and reminding myself of all the easy things I can do with baby M … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creating & Engaging Tagged With: baby play ideas, how to play with baby, how to play with your baby, newborn baby play, sensory baby play, sensory baby toys. best baby toys, sensory play, sensory play for baby

Healthy Homemade Crackers (Plus a Giveaway)

May 12 by Natalie

Healthy "Meal-in-a-Cracker" - perfect for satisfying those salty/crunchy cravings.

Sugar. Sometimes it's my arch nemesis, sometimes it's my best friend, most of the time it's somewhere in between. I've been on a personal journey for a few years to reduce the amount of sugar and processed foods that my family and I consume. I also recently attempted the 21 Day Sugar Detox (we made it to about day 18, nobody's perfect!). When Steph asked if I might review a recipe from Sarah Wilson's book, I Quit Sugar, I was glad to skim the pages and see what she had to say. Plus I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Natalie Tagged With: healthy cracker recipe, healthy homemade crackers, healthy kid snacks, healthy snack recipes, healthy snacks, homemade cracker recipe, homemade crackers, I Quit Sugar, Sarah Wilson, seed crackers, sugar-free diet, sugar-free recipes, sugar-free snacks

Strategies for Simplifying Household Laundry + Free Printable

May 11 by Annie

Simple tricks for finally taking control of that laundry pile

Ugh, laundry - why does this one chore seem to take up my entire life?! And if I thought it was bad before, now that we're a family of five I feel like I'm swimming in dirty clothes. Luckily our resident professional organizer, Annie, is here today with 8 ideas on how to finally get it under control. Keeping your family in clean clothes can be easier than you think. Here are 8 easy tips you can implement immediately. 1. Make a schedule Rather than assuming you'll make time for laundry … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Annie, Cleaning House, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Tagged With: getting organize, how to organize your laundry, laundry, laundry organization, laundry printable, laundry routines, laundry symbols, laundry system, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life

Win a New Bissell Vacuum Steam Mop & Get Away of Your Choice

May 9 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

I love this all-in-one vacuum steam mop for picking up my kids' kitchen messes!

It seems like we went a long time without giving anything away here and then - boom! - the last few weeks have been giveaway central.   Congrats to Lindsay Conn Dotzlaf and  Michele Waggoner, the two winners of our BISSELL Symphony™ All-in-One Vacuum & Steam Mop giveaway.   If you didn't win, you're in luck because Bissell has an even bigger giveaway going on right now. Here are the details... The new BISSELL Symphony™ All-in-One Vacuum & Steam Mop handles messes in one easy step, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fresh Finds: The Everyday Tagged With: Bissell, Bissell symphony, sponsored, vacuum steam mop

Win a Surface Tablet & Protect Your Kids Online with Ad-Free Search

May 8 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Listen up parents - I've got some big, important things to share today and I just know you're going to love all of them. First, an awesome giveaway in which, drumroll please...   One lucky MPMK reader is going to win a brand new Surface! Bet that got your attention, huh?  My husband just bought our family's first Surface about a month ago and we really love it so when I found out I'd be working with Microsoft on their Bing in the Classroom campaign, I had the idea that it might be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Learning & Engaging Tagged With: ad free search, ad free web search, Bing in the classroom, kid friendly web search, protecting kids online

Meal Planning Made Easy with The Home Collection – Part 1

May 7 by Kaley

A fresh take on meal planning - gonna have to make some space on the fridge!

Why is it that I can never get enough when it comes to easy meal planning systems? I know I really only need one, but I'm still fascinated to see how everyone else makes dinner time work for them.   Today our contributor Kaley is teaming up with our newest sponsor, Post-it® Brand, and using some of their uber cool new organizational products from the Home Collection by Post-it® Brand, Scotch Brand® and Command™ Brands to set up a meal planning system of her own. I have to say, this one is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kaley, Meal Planning Tagged With: easy meal planning, How to get organized, meal planning, meal planning system, Post-It, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life, sponsored

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