I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for American Express Serve. I applied for the Serve Cash Back card to facilitate my review and received a promotional item to thank me for my participation. As many of my readers know, I love writing about family finances. I’m a busy parent just like you, and I’m all about finding simple ways to save money, make money, and stretch our monthly budget so we can afford to splurge. I know I’m not alone in saying that the day-to-day money decisions I make as our household’s money manager is what makes or breaks our Keep Reading
Archives for September 2015
Kid-Friendly Halloween Food: Spider Web Pizza
Today my kids turned up their noses at the yummy lunch I made for them - one of their favorites! Chili with baked potatoes. Those little stinkers are sometimes so tough to please. I don't normally make food in funny shapes for them, but tonight I decided to make something easy (since my husband is out of town) and totally fun to match the upcoming Halloween holiday. They thought it was the best thing! Give it a try - I bet your crew will like it, too. :) Spider Web Pizza No sorcery is required to put together this pizza. I used store-bought pizza crust, deli American cheese Keep Reading
Free Printable Weekly Meal Planning Templates (and a week’s worth of themed meal night ideas!)
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Manwich for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. I have a secret to share – I am the WORST meal planner. There, I said it. I run a blog all about giving advice to stay-at-home-moms, and I am a horrible meal planner. Everyone’s bad at something, right? I know there are many benefits to meal planning but I've been late to the game and know I need to get better at it. Planning what my family eats before the week even begins is the most awkward thing to me. Mainly because my personal preference is to choose what I want to eat based Keep Reading
Blog Traffic Tip #1: A Simple Way to Increase Page Views
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by WhatMommyDoes. As many of you know, I am writing an ebook called How I Went from 17k to 160k Monthly Page Views in 5 Months. I keep getting to a good stopping point on my draft only to remember more strategies that I use to add page views to my blog. My strategies are constantly evolving because my blog is consistently growing and I'm finding new ways to increase traffic as I go along. In fact, since I came up with that ebook title, my monthly traffic has shot up to 229,000, 300,000, 315,000, 350,000! I started working each additional tip into the ebook, Keep Reading
Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats
One of my favorite things about fall is the arrival of pumpkin spice everything. These pumpkin spice rice krispie squares are an easy and delicious treat that you can whip up in less than 5 minutes! Even though my kids love these pumpkin spice rice krispie squares, they are definitely an indulgence for me. Real pumpkin, just the right amount of pumpkin spice, and that gorgeous cream cheese drizzle. These are the perfect afternoon treat when you want something quick and satisfying - and they make a great option for a lunch box snack if you run out of treats during the Keep Reading
25+ Free Printable Pumpkin Stencils
Every year I look forward to pumpkin carving time. Usually I'm scrambling around for a pumpkin stencil at the last minute, but this year I'm prepared! 25+ Free Printable Pumpkin Patterns I found a nice variety of free pumpkin templates, and I've gathered them in the handy list below: Unique Pumpkin Stencils - DotComWomen has a nice selection of unique designs, including a haunted house, cemetary scene, spiderweb, and a few scary options. Creepy Pumpkin Patterns - There are a couple truly creepy options on the Stoneykins website. That evil hooded Keep Reading
Christmas Wreaths to Make and Sell for the Holidays
As the holidays are approaching, I know many people are thinking about being able to afford Christmas presents. I love helping people figure out ways to make money, so I've been brainstorming easy ways to come up with extra cash for Christmas. The obvious solution hit me today - make and sell Christmas wreaths leading up to the holidays! Everybody with a front door needs one, and they are fun to make. DIY Christmas Wreaths to Sell for Extra Cash - 10 Ideas The ten Christmas wreaths pictured above are listed below with descriptions to help you figure Keep Reading
Back to School Shopping with OshKosh B’Gosh
I participated in a Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for OshKosh B’Gosh. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation. Back to school shopping is usually a stressful proposition for me. I know I’m cut out for raising three kids, but I don’t know that I’m cut out for keeping up with their constantly changing clothing sizes! :) This year, I was excited when OshKosh asked me to do my back to school shopping with them. They provided me a gift card and free reign to buy whatever I wanted with that….it was such a treat for me and my girls, who are used to Keep Reading
Family Dollar Value Diaper ~ Kidgets
As a full-time stay-at-home-mom of three, I am in charge of helping our family stick to a budget. I love finding great deals and make a point to shop at stores that consistently offer great value on everyday items. When Family Dollar asked me to write a sponsored post about their Kidgets diapers, I was excited! Family Dollar is one of my go-to stores. They accept coupons (a must!) on already low prices. I’ve always purchased quite a few baby- and child-related essentials there on a regular basis. In addition to their Kidgets Diapers, I like Family Dollar for sorts of baby and child Keep Reading