I find that anytime the kids are at home with me for extended periods of time, I am dying for some cool craft projects for them to do so they're not bored. I'm not the most "plan in advance" type of mom, but at the very least I like to think I know how to put together an easy craft station from time to time! LOL Even though my kids are 12, 9, and 7, they still love doing simple crafts with supplies we have on hand. 10 Creative & Fun Kids Craft Projects If you're looking for creative arts & crafts ideas for your kids to do on break Keep Reading
Camping gear you need if you REALLY want to be prepared!
We go camping pretty often as a family. In fact, I have started a whole series on this topic, which you can read about here: 10 Easy Camping Recipes You Can Cook Over the Fire and/or Make Ahead All the Essentials You Need on a Family Camping Trip Easy Way to Build a Campfire (video tutorial) FREE PRINTABLE Camping Packing Checklist What to do if you want a relaxing camping trip with kids Amazing Camping Nachos Recipes I thought it would cool to show everyone a handy list of the mandatory things you must take camping. I know a lot of people aren't sure what Keep Reading
Camping with Kids & Unplugging for a Weekend
It's been a few years since we went camping as a family. We used to go all the time and kind of stopped for a little while when all the kids were little. We used to camp all the time when our oldest two were babies & toddlers, but something about having three in 4.5 years puts you over the edge. We kinda stopped for a while! Now that our youngest is 5 years old, we feel prepared to start back up again. This month we went on a camping trip at a lake just down the road from our house, and it was lovely. We chose a weekend when there were scattered thunderstorms Keep Reading
21+ of the Best Mad Libs & Awesome Kids Books for Your Next Road Trip
Whenever we go on a road trip more than, say, 1 hour long, we like to let the kids take something to do. It's good for the sanity of all involved. LOL As they've gotten a little older (no longer toddlers, but not old enough to have a cell phone), we've found that they really love road trip games and cool books like Mad Libs! I found a lot of different ones we like, so I wanted to put a good list of our favorite + wish list Mad Libs right here in case you could use some quality road trip game ideas! :) Your kids definitely won't get bored if you have a good Keep Reading
Going Camping? Easy Way to Build a Campfire {video tutorial!}
We go camping as a family quite a bit now, but when I first started going camping, I remember being truly intimidated by starting a fire. It's not as hard as you think. And there's actually some technique to making a fire that lasts (especially when you need it to keep going to keep you warm or to cook on. Even a beginner can make a good fire. What You Need to Make a Fire You'll need these things to make a fire: Kindling (a.k.a. larger pieces of wood + smaller sticks) - as dry as you can find. If you're camping right after a rain, look for kindling that Keep Reading
10 of the Best Campfire Food Recipes – Easy Meal Ideas for Your Next Camping Trip
We've gone camping quite a bit over the years. We usually camp with family friends over a long weekend, and we split up the meals to make sure everyone doesn't end up bringing food for everyone, for every meal. (this happened our first year and we had SO MUCH FOOD leftover!) lol Since there are three families, what we usually end up doing is taking one breakfast and dinner each, then everyone provides their own lunches. It works out really well! We like to mix up our menu each year so it doesn't get boring. Last year we made chicken kabobs on the fire for dinner and pancakes on the Keep Reading
Family Game Night – Quality Time Now, Quality Memories for Life
We took a poll in the house recently, and the kids have spoken. More game nights are happening! We always have a great time on game nights, and we're going to start doing them on Thursdays or Fridays because those are evenings when the kids don't have activities or any homework. I'm so excited to get this tradition started. Good Luck, Kids They're going to learn real fast that I really get into it. Maybe I shouldn't be so competitive... but I can't help it! I know they're just children, but they asked for it. :D Besides, they all have same competitive streak that I do. They're a group Keep Reading
3 Fun Bubble Machines for Hours of Summer Fun
When my girls were little we used to have lots of summer play dates with sprinklers and bubbles going every which way. In fact, we had a playdate just about every week in the summer with their friends for many years. Those are some of my favorite memories with them. I wanted to share this with you so you can create the same memories with your children! We went through one bubble machine every year although I believe one did make it a second season they're not really meant to last a really long time. But for about $15 total cost you will get hours upon hours of fun for your kids. Keep Reading
4 Fun Outdoor Projects to Do with Your Kids This Spring
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro Gro-ables for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. Winter is almost over thank goodness, and I cannot wait to get outside and in the dirt. It's not that I actually know anything about gardening; I just like to be outside and it feels good the get dirty. I like to shovel it, make mud with it, plant in it, throw it - whatever really! I guess it reminds me of being a kid and running free outdoors all day long, and it brings back such wonderful memories. I love the stuff, and I want my kids to love it too. With all the shiny Keep Reading
After 60 Years, Barbie Actually Looks Like a Real Person!
How I’m Saving Up $3,500 This Year For Our Trip to Disney World
We are going to Disney World this October, and I am already starting to plan for it. I know based on our last trip that we will easily spend at least $3,000 on this trip (more like $3,500-$4,000), so I am getting a jump start on my savings plan. I don’t mind dipping into savings for big trips like this, but I would much rather save up the money ahead of time. I kind of like knowing we have the money allotted in advance and can have fun worry-free. Last time we went to Disney World, my youngest daughter got a double ear infection on top of just recovering from pink-eye, so that was worry Keep Reading
How to Connect Your Children with Family Over Long Distances
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of HomeTeam for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. Do you have extended family that lives away? Or does your husband travel out of town? I fall into both of those categories. My kids and I are often too far away from loved ones to just pop on over to say hi. If we want my kids to see their grandparents, we have to plan an official trip to visit them, invite them down from Virginia to our home in North Carolina, or we have to take a trip together. I’m all the time getting jealous of my friends who have parents in town to help them with Keep Reading
How to Make a Bird Seed Ornament
Ya'll know what? I've been searching high and low for the perfect bird seed ornament tutorial for the past two years. I've tried to make these darned things with the kids twice with no luck - I can't remember our first recipe, but I do remember last year we had a sticky peanut butter mess on our hands! Aren't these owl ornaments so cute? I found them on Amazon but they are pricey!! They got me inspired to go out and find a tutorial to share on the blog. Read on to grab the tutorial if you want to give this a shot. Here is the bird seed I used for 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
Family Beach Trip Planning Checklist
Every year I am the one in charge of planning my family's beach trip. I love the beach soooooo much that I can't imagine going a year without a trip there with my family! Topsail Beach, NC ~ 2013 Emerald Isle, NC ~ 2014 In addition to our immediate family, we always take at least one set of grandparents and one our siblings' families. This year we are taking a vacation to Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. We're sharing an oceanfront beach home with my parents for the whole week with my sister's family and my in laws rotating in and out half way through the week. We're here right Keep Reading
