When I first got into blogging, I did it for fun. I knew you could *probably* make $50 a month somehow, but I wasn't quite sure how you did that. Fast forward 3 kids and 8 years later, and I've learned a lot about this new frontier! I started blogging when my oldest was born, took a break after baby #2 and picked it back up again once my youngest turned 2. My blog now makes enough each month to pay for our mortgage. I have been fortunate to have many mentors along the way who generously doled out valuable tips and tricks. Now that I feel like I have a grasp on this "blogging thing" Keep Reading
Archives for July 2015
7 Valuable Lessons to Teach Your Kids About Money
Today I am honored to have a guest post on the blog from personal finance writer, Anum Yoon. Take it away Anum! Without question, we want the best for our kids. The highest rated schools, the safest cars and even the healthiest lunches. We want to know they are prepared for life after high school or college. But financial education isn't included in most student curriculums. Do you know if your kids know how to budget their money? If you want your children to go to college one day, or even just have a financially sound life, prepping them for a world of real household finances should be Keep Reading
Urinary Tract Health with Uricalm®
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Uricalm for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. When someone asks me what the worst pain I’ve ever felt is, they expect me to start talking about the birth of my children. More than a few times, I’ve surprised them with the story about the time I got a urinary tract infection in college. It was seriously no joke – I had never experienced such intense burning pain before and didn’t know what to do! I remember yelling at my friend to go grab my phone so I could call my mom! :) According to a the U.S. Department of Health & Human Keep Reading
3 Major Reasons to Check Your Credit Score
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Credit Sesame. All opinions are 100% my own. A topic I write about quite often on the blog is personal finance. I cover saving money, making money, and creating a budget. But one thing I haven’t talked much about is your credit score & identity protection. But these are intertwined with everything I write about, and it’s about time I addressed it! Every month or so, either my husband or I pull our credit reports. We like to see if everything looks ok – we look for things like accounts we didn’t open ourselves or drastic changes Keep Reading
$3 Pencil / Marker / Crayon Craft Storage Hack That Won’t Spill!
Today we went to our local Harbor Freight store to purchase something for my husband. So, of course, I browsed around for some cool things to showcase on the blog. :) I wasn't sure what I was going to get, but I knew I'd recognize it when I saw it. And there it was - this glorious container that I knew would solve all our art supplies issues! $3 Storage Container = Sanity-Saving Storage Hack for Moms I don't know about your house, but ours is being run over. With art supplies, that is. Everywhere I turn, there's a random crayon, marker, highlighter, colored pencil, you name Keep Reading
No-Churn Cookie Monster Ice Cream
Have you ever tried a no-churn ice cream? With no cooking or ice cream machine purchase required, these ice cream cones are a perfect dessert option for those days when it's too hot to heat up the oven or run out to the store. This recipe is one of my kids' favorites! This no-churn ice cream recipe is actually so easy that the kids can help make it, but I prefer to surprise them with a batch for a special dessert. Because it's no-cook and no-churn, you can sneak into the kitchen and whip up a batch in less than 15 minutes! No-Churn Cookie Monster Ice Cream Instructions Start off Keep Reading
7 Fun Summer Activities for Families with Young Children
Thank you so much to Aflac for sponsoring this post. I love my sponsors….they make all my blogging dreams possible! The purpose of this post is two-fold. First, to give you some fun ideas for summertime family fun. And second, to give you information you need to make informed insurance decisions for your family. Having fun is wonderful, but it's also nice to do it with peace of mind that you're covered in case of emergency. 7 Fun Summer Activities for Families with Young Children I love having fun with my family. I have 3 little ones (ages 7, 5, and 3) and worry constantly about them Keep Reading
Pretty Coloring Sheet for Adults – Flower Medallion Pattern
I'm already in love with this coloring page - of the handful I created recently, this is second favorite (second only to Bursting Blossoms). I hope you enjoy it as much as my kids and I do! Feel free to share with your friends and print out as many copies as you'd like. Flower Medallion Repeating Pattern Coloring Sheet To download this coloring sheet, click on the image below to access the PDF. It will print it out on a full size sheet of printer paper. Free Printable Flower Medallion Coloring Sheet More from WhatMommyDoes Bursting Blossoms Coloring Page Free Printable Keep Reading
7 Types of Exercises You Can Do While Pregnant from What to Expect®
Today I’m excited to share with you a super duper helpful pregnancy and baby resource – the What to Expect® series of books! What to Expect® When You’re Expecting was originally published in 1984. Since then, it has had 600+ record-breaking weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list….in fact, it’s the longest running book on the list! Author Heidi Murkoff wrote this book when she realized an equivalent books for expectant mothers was not available. With over 36 million books sold to date, you can sure she knows her stuff! I read What to Expect® When You’re Expecting TWO TIMES – once Keep Reading
Prepare for Summer Road Trips with the Cooper Tires Summer Drive Event
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cooper Tires for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. Summer is one of my favorite family times. It's so easy to just jump in the car and hit the road for a fun mini vacation or day trip. When I was younger (before kids), we would do just that – decide on a whim we wanted to go somewhere for the weekend, and off we’d go! Now that we have 3 little ones with us, I take the time to prepare better. For their safety and ours. We always check our vehicle’s fluids and tires. When we inspect our tires, I always make sure they are in working Keep Reading
7 Wholesome Snack Pairing Ideas for Kids
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Yoplait®. The opinions and text are all mine. As moms, we are always waging a healthy food battle (a.k.a the "veggie war") with this junk food world. I spend a lot of time planning my children's meals and snacks to ensure they get a variety of fresh foods each day. I love it when I can get them to eat nutrient-filled foods whether we're at home or out and about. It's no small task, considering all of the tasty not-so-good-for-you convenience food options available wherever we go. But it's worth it! I like to have fun Keep Reading
8 Ways We Destroy Our Frugal Efforts
As any frugal person who fights the good fight every day, I go back and forth between being great at controlling my spending to losing control and buying something totally on impulse. We all overspend at certain times, but do we ever really examine some of the reasons why we might be sabotaging our frugal efforts? Stefanie O'Connell over at U.S. News & World Report interviewed some of the top money-saving pros on the web to find out 8 ways we sabatoge our own efforts at frugality. WhatMommyDoes is quoted at #8! Check it out: 8 Challenges to Staying Frugal More from Keep Reading
Healthy Raspberry Cheesecake Parfait
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Yoplait®. The opinions and text are all mine. Have you ever wanted to mix things up a bit for snack time? My kids and I get tired of the same old boring snacks day after day. Today, inspired by Yoplait®, I created something new that my kids and I both loved! It's super simple, but makes snack time a ton of fun. It's my take on raspberry cheesecake - a healthy version! Healthy Raspberry Cheesecake Parfait I went to Walmart to shop for the ingredients. I was truly surprised by how many Yoplait® options were available. They Keep Reading
7 Super Cute Patriotic Fourth of July Cupcake Ideas
There's something about patriotic holidays that I just love. Red, white, and blue everywhere. Reasons to get together with family and friends. Fun times with neighbors. They're wonderful! One of my all-time favorite holidays is the 4th of July. And cupcakes are one of my favorite types of desserts. So this is my ode to the 4th of July AND cupcakes! :) 7 Fourth of July Cupcake Ideas I love these first four cupcakes because they all have a bit of a surprise element to them. From "firecrackers" made from Twizzlers to stars inside your cupcakes! Firecracker Cupcakes Made with Keep Reading
Five Awesome Cherry Tomato Recipes & My Summer Garden Cleanup
I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Neutrogena®. I received samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation. When Neutrogena® asked me to try out several of their sunscreen products and write about my experiences, I knew exactly what I was going to do. I have a way of losing small things that we use often (like sunscreen bottles), so I’ve started a new policy. I want two stashes of summer essentials in logical places – in my car and in my house. During the hottest part of summer when we are spending some Keep Reading