Want a quick and easy DIY Halloween costume that you can put together in 15-30 minutes? How about one that costs you ZERO to make, because you probably already have what you’ll need on hand? If so, give this adorable spider costume a try! Essie learned about spiders a few summers ago, at a summer
So Simple Spooky-Cute Spider Costume Read More »
This week’s post is a follow-up to my previous post, on having a workable kids’ art table set up. If your kids have an art corner set up that’s truly functional, chances are there’s a storage caddy involved. Every kids’ art corner needs an art caddy: a place to contain markers, crayons, etc. when they’re not
Easy DIY Wall Mount Art Caddy Read More »
Do your offspring have a designated place to draw, color, do Play-Doh, paint watercolors, and work their way through activity books? If not, they need a kids’ art table. No, you don’t need a huge space to do this. Our kids’ art table fills a small corner about 2 feet x 3 feet. It’s a
Five Must-Haves For a Kids’ Art Table That *Works* Read More »
Have you fallen in love with melamine sponges yet? Those things also known as Magic Erasers truly do work magic, if you’ve never tried them. They’re also a great way to get your kids into the cleaning act. If this cleaning powerhouse is new to you, here are my Top 10 Cleaning Hacks with Melamine Sponges 1.
Top 10 Cleaning Hacks with Melamine Sponges Read More »
It’s a fact of life. As the crowded image above suggests, baby gear takes up a LOT of space. So how do you manage a baby in a SMALL space? We were facing this prospect when I was pregnant with Kimmie, and my husband and I were still living in his bachelor pad. We finally
Baby in a Small Space: Five Hacks to Save Room (and Money!) Read More »
It’s winter in the northern hemisphere, which is where most of you live, dear readers. Are you hibernating? Or are you out hunting for some comfort food? I recently stumbled across a collection of super-simple slow cooker recipes gathered for the New Year. As I scanned the pictures and titles, I could feel myself getting
Comfort Food to Warm Your Winter Read More »
Do you need a few good holiday hacks? I know I do. Barely a week in, my December is already bursting at the seams. My to-do lists keep getting longer, and some things (like this post) never get done until weeks later than I’d planned. What’s on your plate this month? Too many kids’ concerts,
Holiday Hacks: Ten Tips to Make Your Life Easier This December Read More »
This Quick and Easy Dinner Recipe is the Ultimate in Easy Soup Recipes: As in, “everything but the kitchen sink soup.” In other words, this is another super-flexible recipe that can help clear out your fridge and eat up your leftovers. Throw together a round of these on the side, and you’ve got dinner on
Need Comfort Food Fast? Try Kitchen-Sink Soup Read More »
So it’s days from Halloween last week, and I’m dashing out to bulk up our candy supplies for trick-or-treating. Just one problem, though: I had a hard time finding the Halloween candy, thanks to all the Christmas displays already out in full force. Funny, I had the same problem when finishing back-to-school shopping – in
Do you need NO November? Read More »
Maybe this is your first fall making school lunches for your kiddo. Maybe you’re looking to revamp the routine. Or maybe you’re realizing that the beloved PB&J’s of your childhood won’t work for your own child’s peanut allergy, or your school’s ban on peanuts. Whatever the cause, you find yourself in need of some back-to-school-lunch
Ten Tips for Better Back-to-School Lunches Read More »
Spring’s pending arrival got you feeling domestic? Have some time to devote to cooking prep this weekend? This strata makes a tasty one-dish meal that was a huge hit with girls and dear husband alike. When I think of strata and its cousin, baked French toast, I usually think of breakfast and brunch foods. But
Recipe: Anytime Strata Read More »
CSA Produce = Your Easy Button for Veggie-Loving Kids The days are short, the outside temps are frigid, and what you’re going to eat this summer is probably the last thing on your mind. But ‘tis the season for CSA registration; if you haven’t already joined one for the upcoming growing season, now’s the time
CSA and You: Save Money, Eat Better, and Get Your Kids to Love Veggies Read More »
Last weekend, a two-car accident left three people seriously injured and one woman dead. The woman was a friend of my family’s, and my mother’s entire church community is reeling with the news that she is gone and her husband has more broken bones than he can count. So am I, quite frankly. Dinah and
Do You Have Your S#!t Together? Read More »
The summer when she was two, Kimmie became obsessed with bees. My in-laws brought her a book about bees when they came to visit, and that was it: Kimmie announced then and there, in early August, that she was going to be a bee for Halloween that year. From then until October 31st, whenever you
Easy DIY Halloween Costumes: Bumbling Bee Costume Read More »
What could be cuter than a little ladybug at Halloween? A little ladybug costume that you made yourself! What You’ll Need: This DIY costume takes 1-2 hours to make, depending on how you do it. You’ll need the following: Black pants A red long-sleeved shirt or onesie Black felt, fabric, or duct tape, plus scissors
DIY Halloween Costumes: Cute Little Ladybug Read More »
The first Halloween costume I ever “made” the girls was an accident. My husband and I were set to take our infant to an outdoor fall social event for his work. Since it was a few days from Halloween, I got out Kimmie’s black pants and a jack-o-lantern T-shirt. The night before the event, I
DIY Halloween Costumes: Easy-Peasy Jack-o-Lantern Read More »
There are two items in my kitchen that make my life oh-so-much easier. These kitchen gadgets take a lot of extra time and work out of food prep. In the process, they make it easier for me to cook healthy meals from scratch, AND help me save money by cutting my own produce (instead of
My Two Must-Have Kitchen Gadgets Read More »
You probably have your own toiletry kit that you keep packed for travel (if not, I strongly recommend one that hangs, so you can hang it up high, out of kiddos’ reach). But do you also have a separate one for your littlest travelers? Keeping one packed, and reviewing its contents before each trip, is
Traveling With Kids: Packing Your Kids’ Toiletry Kit Read More »
First off, my apologies to those of you who will read this post and say “duh!” You’re probably at least ten steps ahead of me already on hacking mommyhood and otherwise simplifying your parental existence. When I stop and think about what I’m about to tell you, part of me thinks, How banal! How obvious!
Watermelon Made Easy: Summer Snacks Simplified Read More »
Want quick and easy dinner recipes for your family? This is my favorite: I like using up leftovers from the fridge for dinner. Ever since I was a student working my way through school, I’ve challenged myself on a regular basis to invent dinner out of whatever we have on hand in the house. Not
Reinventing Leftovers For Dinner: My Family’s Favorite Hash Read More »
