How great would it be to get all of your Christmas shopping done ahead of time this year AND feel confident your kids are going to love their gifts and keep returning to play with them again and again?I've got some HUGE news today friends! Drum roll please...The 2017 Top Toy Awards are Here! The Toy Awards Parents In-the-Know Have Already Viewed Over 7,000,000 Times! I am such a fan of your website and emails! Thanks for working so hard, especially at … [Read more...]
Free Printable: Thanksgiving Gratitude Conversation Starters
Gratitude isn't a new concept for us. We've talked before about regularly expressing gratitude toward our kids and putting our gratitude into writing.Do a simple search for gratitude on the blog and you'll see many ideas for crafts and thoughts about giving thanks.The benefits of being a grateful person range from being more optimistic, less materialistic and self-centered, to increasing our self-esteem and actually making us healthier. This is something we should be working on … [Read more...]
11 Brilliantly Simple DIY Halloween Costumes for Moms
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I'm going to my first adult Halloween party in years and I'm super excited about my DIY costume.That got me to thinking that there may be a lot of moms out there who could use some quick and easy ideas on how to throw together an easy costume for neighborhood parties, classroom parties, or just trick-or-treating with the kids. So I asked our contributor, Kristin, to throw together a list of costumes mom could throw together and she didn't … [Read more...]
Hands-On Holidays: Simple Ideas for Making Memories October to December
With exactly 2 weeks out from Halloween I know many of you may be scrambling to get on the holiday merry-making with the kids - this is everything you need to easily make Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas memories with their kids! We put a lot of time and love into creating this book because we wanted to give busy parents a way to make tons of holiday memories in a very low-stress and manageable way.Commit to Less Stressing & More Connecting this Holiday Season The holiday season … [Read more...]
Most Impressive/Easy/Comfy Halloween Costume Ever – Janine from The Handmaid’s Tale
My husband and I are attending our first adult Halloween party since before we had kids this year and I'm so excited!It's been at least a decade since I've thought about a costume for myself, though, and that's kind of a lot of pressure! Especially since Halloween costumes for grown women are notoriously ridiculous; i.e. "sexy _______" is basically our only option.Not only do I refuse to set that kind of example for my kids, I'm also all about being comfortable!Which is why … [Read more...]
7 Ideas From a Teacher On What to Do with The Kids Over Spring Break
The kids are about ready to break free from the monotony of school for a week. This means two things...no packing lunches and we need to keep them busy for the week.It's a blessing and a curse.While I love having my kids home without the schedules we are normally bound to, I also can feel a little stressed out when I start to think of how we will spend the hours. This year, I'm channeling my inner 1st grade teacher and using those years of experience to remember what kids need during … [Read more...]
Hot Find: 18 Ridiculously Cute Easter Pieces for Under $15!
I admit it, I'm not the best when it comes to dressing my kids up. Maybe it's because I had a boy first? Probably, though, it's just me. I never really got it together enough to color coordinate.Also, my kids get dirty a lot and I just don't want to spend the money on a super cute outfit I know will only last long enough for me to snap a pic before it gets trashed (hopefully).The two exceptions to this are Christmas and Easter, and Easter is by far my favorite. The clothes are so … [Read more...]
St. Patrick’s Day Treat: Rainbow Drinks
I love celebrating the holidays with my kids - they have such a knack for getting excited about each and every one. But that doesn't mean I want to stay up all night frosting cupcakes!Simple but special treats that take under 5 minutes to prepare are much more up my alley. Here's Janssen with a great one... Last year, I made some of that rainbow jello that's floating around on the Internet to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It looked great, but it took hours to make (because it had to set … [Read more...]
Our Favorite Easy Easter Dessert Recipe: Bunny Chow
Need an easy Easter potluck recipe or a new treat to fill those plastic eggs? You have to check out this dead simple Bunny Chow recipe.We brought it to our annual neighborhood egg hunt a few years ago and I got so many compliments I was actually embarassed by how little work I put into it!Here's Kristin with the recipe... Puppy Chow. It's also known as monkey munch, muddy buddies, muddy munch, or reindeer chow.You can now refer to this concoction of cereal, melted chocolate, and … [Read more...]