This post is for all the dads out there with little girls in their care. It's my fourth post in my 3 Words series, a series of posts full of heartfelt encouragement for moms and dads. Today as I was driving down the road, I heard a song I had heard a million times before. But for some reason I heard it a different way this time. It was John Mayer’s song, Daughters. I recently wrote a post on 3 Things Your Daughter Needs to Hear You Say OUT LOUD. It was written from my perspective as a mom. As I drove down the road listening to Daughters, this post came to me. The song goes: Fathers Keep Reading
Archives for April 2015
Easter Egg Money Bucket – Super Cute Graduation / College Student Money Gift Idea
It's been a few weeks since Easter, and as always we are neck deep in empty Easter eggs! Each year I try to think of something fun to do with them. The last thing I want to do is use them once then toss them in the recycling bin. Seems like such a waste! As I was brainstorming a way to use these, I remembered that I had been meaning to send our babysitter a care package at college. I want to include some money in there because I know she can use it. So here's what I came up with! Easter Egg Money Bucket - A Cute Money Gift Idea! I grabbed this cute & colorful striped bucket at Keep Reading
3 Meaningful Ways to Give Back as a Family (even when you’re kids are little)
This is the third post in my 3 things series, a series of posts full of heartfelt encouragement for moms and dads. Would you like your children to learn about those less fortunate? Here are some ideas for ways to get the family involved in charitable pursuits, even when your kids are little. Even though my kids are 7, 4, and 2, I like to be able to show them the world is full of people in need. Through my work on the board of a non-profit that sends home food with underprivileged children, I am in a unique position to understand the needs of a small nonprofit and how families can get Keep Reading
10 Father’s Day Gift Ideas for Active Dads
I can’t believe it’s already time to think about Father’s Day. Last year, I almost forgot to buy a gift because Father’s Day snuck up on me. This year, I vow to plan ahead! So I’m brainstorming a list of Father’s Day gift ideas for my husband. He’s an active guy who likes the outdoors and doing fun things with the family. I’m trying to think of gifts that he would appreciate and actually USE (because ya’ll know I’m too frugal to get something impractical!). :) First - A Note about my Sponsor: Droid Turbo Sapphire Blue by Motorola Included on my list of Father’s Day gift ideas this year Keep Reading
Printable Circle Dots
I know many people have been asking for me to make a set of very small circles. So here is a set of tiny circles - they're great for all kinds of uses! Maybe table scatter, confetti, coloring pages, or even number practice! (My 5 year old is using them to write down her numbers - one in each circle. She came up with it all on her own!). Enjoy! Printable Circle Dots This set of printable dots print 81 to a page (9 rows of 9). I have other sizes of circle printables available as well - see the link below. Free Printable Circles / Dots Need Larger Keep Reading
Single Income Family Tips for SAHMs
Do you struggle with finding ways to save money so you can be a stay-at-home-mom? I know I do, and I've been at it for nearly 8 years! Luckily for us, my friend Jaimi has put together a lovely roundup of over 30 blog posts on the topic of living on one income so you can be a stay-at-home-mom. It's part of the Complete Guide for Stay-at-Home-Moms. On the Living on One Income section of the Complete Guide for SAHMs, I collaborated with 11 other bloggers to share TONS of information on the topic of living on one income. Single Income Family Tips Click here to access all of the Keep Reading
The Complete Guide for Stay-at-Home-Moms
Today I have something wonderful to share with you all. It's a collaborative project I'm participating in called the Complete Guide for Stay-at-Home-Moms. It's an effort by over 50 SAHM bloggers to compile TONS of resources all stay-at-home-moms need to connect and find encouragement and resources. I'm proud to say I'm contributing a bunch of posts to the Living on One Income section (no surprise there!), as well as a few other areas. These are the topics included in the guide....starting at the top in order, a new section will be published every day from April 19th - May 8th, then Keep Reading
6 Clear Signs Your Toddler is Ready to Potty Train + a Giveaway!
This review and giveaway was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Pampers. I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% mine." From the time your baby is born, he or she embarks on a crazy journey of daily change. As they approach toddler-hood, those changes slow down a bit, but eventually lead up to one really big change – the transition from diapers to using the potty! But how do you know your child is ready to go pee or poop on the potty? Toddlers give many behavioral and developmental cues that they are ready to be potty trained. As a Keep Reading
3 Things Your Daughter Wants to Hear You Say
This is the second post in my 3 things series, a series of posts full of heartfelt encouragement for moms and dads. If you would like to start at the beginning of the series, here is the first post. Sometimes we get so caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle of real life that I don't take time to truly appreciate what's important. I'm working on it, though. Aren't we all? 3 Things Your Daughter Wants to Hear You Say Sometimes I take for granted that my kids KNOW what I'm thinking without me having to say it out loud. There are certain things that are too important to leave to Keep Reading
3 Free Weight Loss Programs with Apps
Discover the best Free Weight Loss Programs with apps! When I embarked on my post-baby weight loss journey in January 2013, I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I signed up for Weight Watchers and used it to successfully shed the initial 50 lbs in 6 months. But once I reached a good weight, I knew I needed to change it up. I no longer wanted to pay a monthly fee for access to a weight loss program especially since I had begun to get good at estimating my own daily dietary needs. I went on a mission to find a free weight loss website that would help me stay on track without having to Keep Reading
Colorful Pens for Paper People
There is not much in this world that makes me happier than opening up a brand new set of colorful pens!!! Seriously, it's made the list of What Mommy Loves, a series on my favorite things! I am a complete paper person, as you may notice from my ever-increasing collection of printable to do lists on the blog. I have a problem, I know. :) I'll never stop handwriting no matter how technological this world becomes! Colorful Pens for Paper People Here's some eye-candy I found on Amazon! Please note that these are affiliate links, so by making a purchase you are supporting my blog. Thank Keep Reading
New Baby Tax Deductions, Credits & Exemptions – Tax Info for Parents
Welcoming a new baby to the family is a joyous occasion. It’s a year full of celebration, milestones, and firsts. My husband I used to joke that the kids were totally worth it for the tax deductions they got us. Just kidding….we probably woulda had them anyway. :) And yes, we 100% put our first born child in this tax deduction onesie! As a tax accountant, it was my solemn sworn duty! The New Baby Tax Deduction Scramble Jokes aside, newborn babies do come with tax implications. If you have a January through spring baby, you have a little bit of time to research new baby tax Keep Reading
These 5 words will save you AT LEAST $1,000 this year!
I have a habit of attaching catchy phrases to situations in my life where decisions are required. These little phrases help me stay on track without having to over think my decision. I don't know about you, but I really don’t like the feeling of buying something and later realizing it was a waste of money. Truthfully, I regret the small useless purchases as well as the larger ones. I look at that $4 I spent unnecessarily at Starbucks and see thousands that I spent the same way over the years because, at the time, $4 didn't seem like a big deal. But it really adds Keep Reading
Easy Homemade Playdough Recipe
I just uncovered the oddest thing - a TON of pictures I took for a blog post that I meant to publish last fall....and then completely forgot about it! I can see why - for some reason I have a bajillion photos illustrating the process. Apparently I was delirious! Seeing as how most of my blog posts are WORD heavy. :) So, without further ado, here is a pictorial of a homemade playdough recipe I cooked with my 4-year-old daughter including a recipe card about half way down the page. It was seriously soooo easy to make and lasted a REALLY long time. I think we made this in October/November, Keep Reading
Cute Toddler Snack Idea
I've never been one of those moms who makes their kids' food into super cute characters to get them to eat fruit and veggies. I thought, "If they're gonna eat it, they're gonna eat it because I said so and it's good for them. That's it." But after waging many fruit and veggie wars over the years, I've come to realize that sometimes food just needs to be fun. After all, I like it when MY food is fun! So today I decided to surprise my kids with a fun orange snack. Nothing major - just some sliced up oranges displayed in a really cute way in colorful cupcake wrappers. They were a hit! I had Keep Reading