Parenting Archives - Page 10 of 11

Must Have Baby Gear

February 16, 2015 by Danielle

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco®. All opinions are fully my own. #AtHomeWithGraco #Ad

How many of y’all are mamas, or going to be? Do you have a friend who’s expecting? Then you definitely want to check out these new products I got to learn about and try out recently. I’m definitely adding them to my list of Must Have Baby Gear!

Last week I got to attend a fun in-home party by Graco® with a group of other fabulous bloggers/women. It was so fun getting to mingle with everyone, and learn about the new products coming out…but more on that in a moment, let’s talk about the fun times we all had! The whole area in the home was celebrating with Graco, from cute little onesies….

…neat gift baggies…

…and, of course, tasty food! This was my little one’s favorite part, other than the toys!

And what happens when a bunch of women bloggers get together? Social Media mania for sure!

It was so fun, and I got to meet a few ladies who even live nearby, and I hope we get to connect more in the future! So…obviously us bloggers aren’t the cool baby gear I mentioned before, so let’s get talkin’ about that, shall we? We all got to try out the Graco® Pack ‘n Play® Playard Nearby Napper™, and Oh. My. Gosh! I really wish I had this with my kiddos as babies!

I love how it’s so comfortable for the littles, and as flexible in it’s uses at can be! You can set it up so quickly, then take it down even faster so you can transport it ANYWHERE. Put it in your bedroom to keep your baby close at night, then have it in the living room so you can work nearby during naptime. As an infant, you can put the inclined napper or flat nest bassinet to good use, then adjust the bottom mat lower as your little one grows!

This would have been AMAZING when I had my toddler twins and newborn baby at the same time. When needed, the babe could nap up higher, then I could easily adjust it for my toddlers to play safely. Plus easily go from the little napper to the easily-cleaned changing area. Genius! But I’ve come to expect this sort of great product from Graco®, having used many of their items as I’ve been raising my own crew. For more than 60 years they’ve built trusted, quality and helpful products including car seats, strollers, travel systems, swings, highchairs, playards and nursery care essentials.

I’m so in love with this, and think it’s an absolute MUST HAVE for mamas, I’m giving this to one of my dear friends who’s expecting a little girl this summer! So excited for her, and when I showed her the Graco® Pack ‘n Play® Playard Nearby Napper™, she was so dang excited! I know she’ll get great use out of it, and it’ll be a real help with her sweet little one.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco®.

Connect From Any Distance with Kinskii

February 10, 2015 by Danielle

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kinskii. The opinions and text are all mine.

For the first few years of my kids’ lives, we lived pretty close to our families. Only about 6 hours from my in-laws, and a whopping 7 blocks from my whole side. The kids loved it, especially all the playtime! Since moving to Texas, it’s been a big challenge maintaining those relationships between the kids and their grandmas, aunts, cousins…everybody! With your help, this new Kickstarter campaign allows families to Connect From Any Distance with Kinskii!

Last weekend, my family and I were invited to attend the big Launch Party for #KickstartKinskii – and it was AMAZING! So many fun activities, great people, delicious food AND I got to try out their awesome games. So what is Kinskii? In a nutshell, it’s the combination of video chat technology and the simple human connection through play. They go way above and beyond Skype, which is pretty much limited to a phone call while seeing each other, and actually create GAMES you can play online WITH your loved ones!

The games have a spot where the camera will capture the face of the child (or you!) playing, PLUS one for the other end (Grandma, perhaps?). They’re literally playing TOGETHER, working as a team in a science lab mixing colors or taking on the grocery store.

It’s so simple to figure out, our kiddos had a blast playing together at the party!

They Need YOUR Help!!!

Here’s where y’all come in….in order to fill their library with plenty of games for any age group or interest, they need to raise the funds, thus begins their Kickstarter campaign! Here’s their little video (got to meet that sweet little boy at the party and he’s adorable!):

I can’t wait to get involved, since I believe this will be AMAZING for my kids to play with their relatives so far away. Phone calls don’t cut it, they need to play, do activities, and LAUGH together to really make those connections and create the lasting memories.

PLEASE go support them by pledging something on Kickstarter…even if it’s just $2…so Kinskii can help even more families make playful, lasting memories even from afar!

Kinskii’s Kickstarter Campaign

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kinskii. The opinions and text are all mine.

Why I Left My Husband

January 27, 2015 by Danielle

Yes, it’s true, I up and left my hubby, kids and dogs this month….for an entire week! Although some friends have asked how I could be so selfish, I want to explain Why I Left My Husband, and You Should, Too! It could make your relationship, and yourself, better than ever!

I find it also ironic that I’m sharing this post on our 8th Wedding Anniversary! Before everyone gets all crazy and relatives start calling my phone non-stop, let me explain. Just before New Year’s I found out that I had a chance to attend Click Caribbean Retreat from January 10th-17th. It was a great opportunity to better my photography and blog, make connections with other bloggers, as well as enjoy some ‘me time’ on a Royal Caribbean cruise for the whole week!

At first, I brought it up with Hubby as a part of normal conversation about something interesting, not really serious about it. He, on the other hand, was all for me ditching the family to attend! The more we talked about it that night, the more I understood his point of view – I’m a stay-at-home mom. Honestly, my personality isn’t made for that, and it’s tough, but I am because it’s what we think is best for our family. It’s a huge challenge, and he knows it takes a toll on me. Between being a wife and mother, plus working on my blog full-time, life has gotten so stressful, and I finally realized I was burnt out. I didn’t FEEL like myself anymore, just like a person who needed to focus on everyone else 24/7. So I left all these cuties….

….and about half-way through the trip I felt completely different! So here’s my Top 5 Reasons that it’s good to have a little time for yourself!

#1: Learn to Make Friends

Hubby and I are best friends, and honestly don’t socialize much beyond each other. So attending an event, for an entire week, without him really forced me out of my comfort zone! After the first few days, I realized that I relied heavily on him, but now I was making friends and connections all on my own. I was the one starting conversations with new people, asking questions during classes, and even feeling confident enough to go on my own instead of with a large group two of the days!

#2: Build Your Own Confidence

Self-confidence is something I’ve struggled with my whole life. This time away from my ‘security person’ was a huge changer for me, though! I was noticing myself improve in my photography skills, realized people WANTED to talk with me, and felt proud in the progress I was making not only for my blog, but for me as an individual.

#3: Recharge and Renew

Motherhood is exhausting! Raising the kids, playing, cleaning, plus add on all the work of managing my business and it was just SO MUCH! This time away gave me some much needed recharging time (I won’t say ‘rest’ because, honestly, we didn’t sleep much!). I spent time getting MYSELF ready each day, instead of being too busy focusing on the kids’ clothes and me sticking with the usual yoga pants. I took time to read for fun, went dancing with the gals, explored the ship for the heck of it, and did what I wanted to do. This was ‘me’ time, and it was long overdo!

#4: Let Your Mind Explore

Women tend to have a lot on their mind, constantly. Toss in all our roles like parenting, church stuff, neighborhood happenings, work, household agenda and menus….our brains to really have room to just wander much. When I didn’t have to focus on all my normal family and home duties, I was able to really think about some things that I just flat out didn’t have the time for before. Because of this, I’ve got some MAJOR ideas that I’m super excited about in the coming year or two!

#5: Stronger Relationships with Your Family

When the week was over, and I made it home, everything was wonderful. The kids were still perfectly fine, the house hadn’t burned down, and they were just as excited to tell me about THEIR week as I was to tell them about MINE! While I was away having a whole new experience, Hubby and the kids were having their own little ‘adventure’ here without me, helping them grow in other ways to something out of the norm. Since I’m in a better position mentally and emotionally, I’m more fun to be around. Hubby loves how excited I am about my ideas I got while away, and we’re closer than ever because I truly feel like ME again!

My relationship with Hubby wasn’t the only one that got better! My kids have noticed I feel more energized because of my renewed love of life and my goals. Having that time away made me appreciate each of them more, and they seem to recognize my service in their lives, also.

Overall, the Click Caribbean Retreat was AMAZING for so many reasons like the people, classes and the cruise itself (more to come on all those later!), but the absolute most amazing part of it was MY OWN personal growth and re-energizing! We get so caught up with our roles for OTHERS, we forget about OURSELVES. This quote is the PERFECT way to describe it….

Happy Anniversary to the most amazing, wonderful husband and best friend ever! I love you so much!

Stay Tuned for More Click Caribbean Retreat Recaps, Coming Soon!

How to Make Chores Fun: Floor Cleaning to Windows

December 1, 2014 by Danielle

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CleanForTheHolidays #CollectiveBias

Holy cow, our house was quite the mess the last few weeks! With all of us coming down with a really terrible cold, I really let the housework slide. Now that we’re feeling a bit better, it’s time to get this place more ready for the holidays! I love getting my kiddos involved, and they actually love it! Here’s some tips on How to Make Chores Fun: Floor Cleaning to Windows.

Now, our biggest issue with keeping the house clean is that we have a LOT of wood floors…basically our entire main floor! With the food messes the kids leave each meal in the kitchen, to the dog hair and dried grass that our two large dogs drag all over, it gets REALLY yucky on our floors despite how often we try to keep it cleaned! To tackle this job for our ‘Get the House Holiday Ready’ family mission, we needed some help! We ran to Walmart, hit up their cleaning supplies section, and grabbed the O-Cedar ProMist.

I wanted this model because it has the nice microfiber cloth, which picks up pretty much everything from the dog hairs to crumbs to leaves. I also LOVE that you don’t have to use a specific type of solution for the fluid…you can put in whatever you’re needing at the moment! Sometimes we just need some water for a quick clean-up, other times we use our ‘pet’ cleaner for their little accidents. I even mix some disinfectant cleaner with water and put that in the ProMist when I want a nice, deep clean!

I’m a bit nervous to show this….but I want you to see how well it picks stuff up….

Gross, right? Anywho…once you’re done, you can just toss it in the laundry and reuse it! No need to purchase more pads or anything.

The absolutely best part? Our kids usually do our floors for us! It’s one of the chores they really love doing, and this mop makes is super easy for them…and does a great job even if the kids aren’t the greatest little cleaners. It was Superman’s chore to clean the downstairs floors this week, and he had a blast….check out his awesome dance moves!

Yup, he’s a total ham! Yet, despite all his jumping and silliness, the floors got amazing clean!

If there were any spots that needed a little extra scrubbing (like sticky candy stuck there), Hubby stepped in to give a little extra muscle.

I love clean, shiny wood floors, don’t you?! I wish the dogs would let it stay that way….

How to Make Chores Fun

Have a reward system, like our chore chart or our chore rewards treasure chest. Some chores are just to help out as part of the family, some are actual ‘paid work’.
Have a specific morning each week (ours is usually Saturday) where everyone helps clean. Get a little treat afterwards, such as donuts or a drink at the gas station.
Let each of the kids have a cute ‘cleaning outfit’, maybe an apron, that they get to wear while they clean.
Act like ninjas! Tell the kids the mess/germs are the ‘Bad Guys’ and they need to ‘ATTACK’ them! You’ll be surprised how fiercely they clean!
Turn up the tunes! It’s always more fun to clean while dancing and singing along.
Hide a little ‘reward’ in the area they’re cleaning. Finding a little candy while mopping or a quarter while dusting can really get them motivated.
Play ‘go fish’ with your socks while doing laundry!
Do a ‘Ten Minute Tidy’ before dessert. Set the timer for 10 minutes and everyone does as much cleaning and organizing in that time as they can. Everyone who joined in gets to enjoy a yummy dessert!
Get a plastic police badge for cheap, then take turns being ‘Inspector D. Clutter’. The inspector can go around with a box/bag and put stray items in ‘jail’ (the box/bag). For the guilty parties to get their jailed items free, the owner must do a chore.
Let each family member design their own ‘cleaning caddy’ with items that only THEY can use to clean (ie their own washcloth, own gloves, etc.)

There’s so many more fun ideas, just let your imagination go! Above all, make sure your children receive positive reinforcement for a job well done…or at least for good effort! Don’t expect them to do as well of a job cleaning as YOU can do, but little by little they’ll get better.

Family Chore Chart

May 21, 2014 by Danielle

Since our kids are getting older and needing more responsibility, plus ways to earn money for their extra wants, I wanted a way to organize chores. After looking at a few different types of charts, I decided to put together this super-cute, but totally simple, Family Chore Chart!

For those that saw, I was part of the launch team for Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz’s (Dave’s daughter) new book Smart Money, Smart Kids. It was PHENOMENAL, and has so many great tips for helping raise kids to be successful with money (and life)! If you missed my general review, check it out here. After reading it, I realized that I haven’t given my kids opportunities to learn responsibility, or any experience with money. That’s where this Family Chore Chart comes in!

Now, we do still love our Chore Rewards Treasure Chest, but the kids weren’t learning the money aspect, and it was difficult to separate the paid vs. non-paid chores. So we still use that to earn things for good behavior and ‘as a family’ type things, but for the normal chores this has now proven to work better for us!

Supplies

Large foam board (could use poster board, if you’d rather). I chose WHITE
Fun scrapbook paper for the top border and pockets
Vinyl (or markers) for the text
Scissors
Glue Dots
Popsicle Sticks
Pen/marker for sticks
Nail or something to hang board

Directions

Use the BACKSIDE of the foam board to measure everything out. This way you know how things will fit and how you like the layout. Get your measurements from this.
Gather your scrapbook paper for your pockets. NOTE: I did a different color for the pockets, so I could then color the popsicle sticks to match, according to which one they belonged to. According to your measurements, cut out your pockets. I wanted to keep the commission (paid) chores separate from the normal ‘because you’re part of this family’ chores, so I did one pocket for each. I then did a 3rd DONE pocket, so they can put their sticks in there when the chore is completed.
Gather your scrapbook paper for your pockets. NOTE: I did a different color for the pockets, so I could then color the popsicle sticks to match, according to which one they belonged to. Fold the sides of each ‘pocket’ under, add glue dots to the sides and bottom, then attach it to the FRONTSIDE of the board. Add your vinyl to each pocket (mine says ‘family’, ‘paid’ and ‘done’) or write with markers.
Take your desired scrapbook paper and cut out a top border/banner for the top of your chore chart, and attach it with glue dots. Add your Title/Main Banner (for me it was Family Chore Chart) across the top, as desired.
I just ‘scribbled’ with colored pencils under where our names would go (different color for each person/row), then applied the vinyl names over that.
Take the popsicle sticks and write a different chore on each stick. I colored the ends of the popsicle sticks to match which pocket they would go into. For example: Make Your Bed is a family chore, so I colored the end blue so the kids know it goes in the blue/family pocket.
I wanted to have extra jobs available for those times the kids want/need to earn some extra money, such as for an upcoming event that they must pay for. So along the bottom of my Family Chore Chart, I put vinyl saying ‘Work for Hire’ then just drew a cute little banner string. For the tags, I cut out a 1″x1″ square of scrapbook paper, used a ’rounded corner’ punch to make the corners nice and rounded, hole-punched each one and tied a string through. On each tag is listed an extra chore.
I used strong tape to secure some photo hangers, then from that I hung the tags.

Note: On our chore chart, I do have my children’s ACTUAL names. I added their alias superhero names using PicMonkey to these photos, then after the pictures put the vinyl with their names on there. I don’t ALWAYS call my kids by their superhero names 🙂

DIY Color Games

April 6, 2014 by Danielle

All of my boys are at that age of almost-kindergarten learning. The twins won’t go for another year, then the following year my ‘baby’ begins. For now, I just like covering the bases of their learning, such as the alphabet, colors, stuff like that. The best way to teach (or to even get the attention of) kids this young is by games. Their favorites are definitely these DIY Color Games.

So I have to admit, I struggle a bit with teaching my twins. Superman catches on to learning so FAST, while Batman couldn’t care less to learn. Superman can tell you colors, alphabet, and spell most of the names in our family (plus some of his friends)….Batman just doesn’t care to try. Even if I ask him ‘what color is this’, he just names whatever color. It’s a constant struggle, but he has time…and I’m trying not to push.

These games help get them interested, though, so I’ve been trying to bring them out more often. Or just take advantage of the everyday opportunities such as ‘what color plate do you want?’ and simple things like that. More is caught than taught, right?! Here’s two of their favorite DIY Color Games that we use at our home…now you can quickly get your own made and have your kids learning right along, too!

This one is probably their #1 pick. The game is to sort the colored pom-pom balls into the matching colored tube. This helps them learn similar colors.

Supplies

Empty toilet paper rolls (one per color you want)
Piece of cardboard (big enough for a row of the rolls)
Paint, in the colors you want to use, and paint brush
Hot glue/stick
Colored pen, if desired
Multi-colored pom-pom balls

To Make

Paint each toilet paper roll a different color, allow to dry completely
Hot glue the rolls standing up on the piece of cardboard (paint the board, too, if you’d like).
You can write the names of the colors in front of the corresponding rolls.
Get a bag of multi-colored pom-pom balls.

Even little Green Lantern gets in on the fun…even though he’s really not ready to ‘learn’ the colors, at least he’s eager to try!

Another fun learning activity you can do with this…get a variety of shaped pom-poms and have them just put the ‘big’ ones in the right colors and leave out the others. Then they can learn sizes as well!

Now, this second one is also loads of fun….especially if you decide to give a relative treat along with it!

That’s right, Color Matching Popsicle! This is great for teaching them the NAME (how it looks/is spelled) of the colors. They match the ‘Popsicle’ to the stick with that color’s name on it. If you want, you can also just paint the stick that color and they match colors together. Up to you!

Supplies

Variety of colored felt
Popsicle sticks
Hot glue gun/sticks
Scissors
If you want: a cup/container to store them in

To Make

Cut the felt, 2 sides of each color, into the shape of a Popsicle. Be sure it’s the right size for your Popsicle sticks!
Hot glue the top and side EDGES of the 2 pieces together, leaving the bottom open to slide onto the stick.
Write the name of the color on the Popsicle stick, so they know what color they’re trying to match to which stick.

Like I said, I bet your kids would REALLY work hard on this if they happen to earn a REAL Popsicle from getting so many correct! Not that I’d ever bribe my kids or anything…..oh who am I kidding, I’d totally bribe my kids with Popsicles!

Smart Money Smart Kids: Dave & Rachel’s New Book

April 5, 2014 by Danielle

I received a free digital copy of this book to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Guys I’m So. Dang. Excited! I’m part of the launch team for Dave Ramsey & Rachel Cruze’s (his daughter) new book: Smart Money Smart Kids. Now that I’ve read the entire thing (and am preparing to re-read it), I have to admit I don’t even know where to START in telling you guys about it! Seriously, there is so much amazing info in it for raising your kids to be smart with money, have a grateful heart, and basically prepare them for a successful future! The best way to begin something is just to begin, right? I think this ‘beginning’ should be mine and Hubby’s not-so-great financial history. So let’s just dive right in, shall we?

First of all, I’ve been a huge fan of Dave’s for awhile now. After reading his Total Money Makeover book, it completely changed how Hubby and I view our financial situation. Up until that point, however, our financial knowledge was very VERY limited. Starting our family while still in college, we used that as an excuse to rack up substantial student loans to cover our education and many living expenses. We also didn’t think much about going on several family vacations. Add to that our attempts at starting a large business that completely failed and lead us to bankruptcy…..ya, our financial situation was beyond critical.

After reading the Total Money Makeover about two years ago, we decided to turn our lives around completely. We started by moving to an area (and different state) where there was much more job potential (and a lot better pay) than where we were stuck in Utah. By doing so, we tripled Hubby’s annual salary. I have yet to figure out how we got by before….a mixture of amazing family support and the grace of heaven, probably!

We have now been working as hard as possible to get rid of our debt, which currently sits at an appalling $105,000 NOT including our home! The majority is student loans, then there’s one auto loan, a little credit card debt, and a chunk that we owe our parents (for daycare and such help while we were in school). This is not chump change, guys! We’re throwing as much as we can at this debt, and making many sacrifices along the way. No cable (not really a sacrifice), driving as infrequently as possible to save on gas and repairs, keeping a close eye on our utilities and groceries (see the 15+ Best Grocery Budgeting Tips Ever), and trying to avoid ‘extra’ stuff such as eating out and toys/games/etc. It’s a long process, but we’re determined to pull this off!

Now, I’ll be perfectly honest with you all: Hubby makes a pretty decent salary. Growing up, I never would’ve thought my family would have this income with just ONE spouse working. But think about it….this nice salary is going mostly to DEBT! To things that are in the past, instead of things we could enjoy now or save for in the future. Depressing, right?!

This is NOT what I want for my kids, so I want to arm them with as much knowledge, experience and attitude as possible in financial wisdom. That’s where Smart Money Smart Kids comes in! Dave and Rachel break it down into very specific, age-appropriate levels. With lots of personal stories and a back-and-forth type narrative, this is so fun to read! What I love the best, though, is that these lessons not only teach kids how to be financial smart, but it helps build their entire character in a way they can TRULY succeed in their life!

Here’s some of the things they touch on:

Build the desire in your kids to WORK, not be lazy. This will help them in so many ways throughout their life. Work isn’t really a four letter word!!!
Money doesn’t grow on trees. Kids need to learn that it does have a limit, and when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Delayed gratification: learn to save! Set age-appropriate goals, allow your child to work towards something. Imagine their sense of pride and accomplishment when they’ve EARNED something by working for it.
Do you think it’s easier to give away money that’s not really yours anyway? Of course it is! Teaching your children that everything is really God’s money anyway will help foster a giving heart….now THAT will go far in their lives!
When their old enough, teaching your child the importance and benefit of a budget is crucial. Starting the habit when their younger will make it second nature when they’re grown and have much more at stake. Help them tell their money where to go, not wonder where it went!
Debt IS a four letter word! Just like in our situation where it’s taking EXTRA work, sacrifice and lot of years of our lives to get rid of, debt can truly ruin your child’s future. Raising them to avoid it altogether can do amazing things for them. This is one of the best things you can teach your child!
Student loans: AVOID THEM! There’s so many other options, and even Hubby and I (thinking back) could have paid for our college a dozen better ways than the loans. We just didn’t realize, and didn’t care. If I gave ONE piece of advice to my sisters and children on finances….avoid student loans!

Really, there’s TONS in Smart Money Smart Kids that every parent should utilize with their children. Heck, they even cover the different types of family situations (divorced, step-families, special needs kids, etc.). Seriously, they cover EVERYTHING you need to set your kid up for success!

Smart Money Smart Kids is available for pre-order NOW…and comes out April 22nd! So do your kids and all the future generations a favor and go pre-order it RIGHT NOW. It could be the best purchase you ever make for your child’s future.

Heroes of the City App & Giveaway!

March 30, 2014 by Danielle

I was given a free full-version of this app to review, along with the items included in the giveaway. All opinions are my own.

I’m constantly on the lookout for good children’s apps. Not that my kids are on devices often, but when they are, I want it to be worth it. This Heroes of the City app proved to be just that!

When I’m looking for apps, there’s a few things I want: educational, fun, and variety. Along with that, something that my kids can actually DO without me ~~doing it for~~ helping them. The Heroes of the City app was ALL of that! The entire concept is based on little vehicles (cars, trains, etc.) that are alive and rescue/help around their city. For example, here’s Paulie the Police Car, or Harry Hot Rod.

Movies: There are HOURS of movies from Heroes of the City included in the app. So cute, fun and the kids really get into it! We found this especially helpful during small periods of time (doctor office wait) when we just need them to be STILL!

Games: Our 4-year-olds LOVED the games, and were able to do them mostly on their own. Green Lantern (age 2) needed more supervision, but Wonder Woman was more than happy to help, since the games were even intriguing for her! Their favorites were the memory game, one similar to Angry Birds where you shoot a crow from a canon trying to get it as far as you can without it hitting/bouncing off things, and a game of putting out fires in the City…..you can BE THE HERO OF THE CITY! There’s also drawing, puzzles, jump over obstacles and SO MUCH MORE!

My Hubby’s favorite aspect was that no matter what score the child gets, even if they ‘lose’, it does FIREWORKS. For the littlest kids that don’t understand scores, this is really rewarding for them and gets them excited to learn/play. It also does show the score/trophy earned, so for older kids like Wonder Woman, it motivates them to try again to bring up their score. Although the games are mostly for fun, most of them have a real learning aspect to them, such as strategy, to help the kids develop their minds.

To get this fun-filled app, just go to either the AppStore or GooglePlay

Want to win your OWN fun with Heroes of the City? Well, they’re giving one lucky winner a fun package! Not only will you get a DVD with about 5 episodes from the Heroes of the City show, but these fun things as well:

A fun-filled story book, which even has a ‘look and find’ section! The kids had a blast searching for their favorite characters in the book. Wonder Woman enjoyed reading the stories to them, so it was great for ALL our kiddos!

You’ll also receive TWO die cast metal figures of some characters from the app/show! We received Paulie (police car) and Harry (hot rod). They’re big enough for younger kids, but still nice and small-sized for easy play…..as you can tell the size in Superman’s hands…

One note, though: just on Harry Hot Rod, the main screw holding the bottom together wasn’t long enough to hold it. We simply replaced it with a little screw we had on-hand, and it was fantastic after that. It must have just been a faulty one, because Paulie the Police Car’s screw was just great. But as a heads-up, to avoid any choking hazards….watch for this screw if/when you first get it.

Enter now for you chance to win some fun things, and don’t forget to nab the app for some fun and educational time for the kiddos!

This Giveaway Has Ended

Tooth Fairy Box

February 1, 2014 by Danielle

Have your kids lost some baby teeth, yet? Are they in the process? My boys have yet to get into that phase, but are nearing it. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, has lost a LOT of her teeth. The record: 3 in one day!!! Ya, tough night for the tooth fairy’s wallet! Our puppy has even lost some teeth (the tooth fairy just leaves an extra doggy treat for those).

One problem we often find is actually LOSING the lost tooth…..like under the pillow. Or the gift from the tooth fairy. Or both! Frustrating for a little kid who’s been so excited. I’ve been looking for some system for holding the tooth and reward that’s cute, yet functional and RELIABLE. Oh, and budget-friendly, of course! These Tooth Fairy Boxes turned out so cute, and VERY helpful!

Tooth Fairy Box with Free Printable Poem / Busy Mom's Helper

When I was browsing (more like trampling through, since it was more chaotic than a mad house) the Christmas clearance at Michaels, I ran across these beauties:

Yup, cute little ‘gift card’ boxes. They called out to me, so I had to double check the price. After the clearance discount, they cost a whole $0.37! THIRTY-SEVEN CENTS!!! Heck ya, I’ll take that! So they went into my (overflowing) cart and on home with me. These were seriously PERFECT for my little tooth losing dilemma!

Supplies Needed

Boxes/Canisters

Scrapbook Paper

Double Sided Tape

Cute tooth fairy poem (below)

Directions

For mine, I didn’t cover the bottom of the boxes because 1: they’re plain silver, so no designs needed covering and 2: it makes it a VERY snug fit putting the lid on, and I didn’t want to deal with it. Call it laziness if you so desire; I call it maintaining my stress levels.

So first cut the scrapbook paper to fit over the top of the box and down the sides, to just above the little lip. Try not to go over the edge INTO the box, or it can be a snug (or impossible) fit putting the bottom back on.

I used double-sided tape along the edges to hold the paper down, plus a bit on the top of the box just to secure it. Clip the corners if they stick out, and use tape to make them look smooth.

See the corner on the left? Ya, clip it like the one on the right….

I also put a strip of another color paper along the top, again using double-sided tape to secure it down.

You can print out these cute Tooth Fairy poems, or create your own design/color/poem.

Double-sided tape again…..secure the poem label onto the front, above the strip.

For a little extra color, I added a cut-out of paper on the underside of the lid. I’m going to use cotton balls or some cute padding for the bottom, to hold the precious tooth (and gift, when it’s switcheroo time).

And there you have it…an adorable, super-easy Tooth Fairy Box to hold your little one’s treasure in!

Oh, and it cost a whole…..Dollar, MAYBE, once you consider the box, paper and tape? Ya, can’t really beat that!

My kids are so dang excited, I’m afraid they’ll start PULLING their teeth out so they can use these! Or knock them out, as may be the case with my boys. Argh!

Curious: What does YOUR tooth fairy leave for your kids? How does that compare to what you RECEIVED when it was your tooth-losing time?

Babysitter Information Form

January 29, 2014 by Danielle

I have a confession: I’m VERY picky as to who I leave my kids with. After a babysitter stole our Ipad (passed it to her boyfriend and had it sold) before we even returned home, I’ve become really cautious. When I DO leave my kids, I make sure it’s someone I trust completely. Along with that, I want to make sure they have ALL the information they’ll need for a successful night, for them AND for the kids! This printable Babysitter Information Form is perfect, just in case there’s something you forget to mention, or they don’t remember ALL the stuff they were given right before you walk out the door.

Here’s the different parts of the form:

Home Information: your home address, phone number, etc. In case they need to give an emergency person that info, or are ordering a pizza.

Emergency Contacts: This is where we put a trusted neighbor that’s close by, and near by relatives that can be contacted just in case.

Notes & Instructions: Here we put things like allergies, if someone needs some medicine at certain times, what meals are planned, etc.

Routines: When they play, read, clean up, eat dinner, brush, bedtime, etc.

House Rules: General rules, and what form of discipline to use (we use ‘take a break’ here).

Non-Emergency Fire & Rescue: As it says, put the number for the non-emergency important rescue people. Like dispatch, etc.

What else do you think should be included?

Teaching Your Kids to Tie Their Shoes

January 25, 2014 by Danielle

Do you remember how you learned to tie your shoes? Ya, me neither. Maybe the bunny loop hole thing? Or like on Shrek Forever After ‘into the dragon’s keep’? No matter how we learned, it’s kind of an important thing. For most, at least.

Teaching Your Kids to Tie Their Shoes

When Wonder Woman needed to learn to tie her shoes, I seriously had the hardest time teaching her. I didn’t know how to explain what I just….DID. When I thought too hard about it, I couldn’t tie my shoes! Ugh, it was awful. Then these cute little cut-outs happened, and she learned to tie her shoes So. Dang. Fast. LOVED IT! And when she had no-tie shoes for over a year and needed a bit of a refresher course, out they came and she fiddled with them until she caught on again.

Now YOU can get these little cut-outs for your little (or big, whatever) ones to practice with, without causing where, tear and frustration to their actual laces! All you need to do it print out this page onto a sturdy material (or flimsy, just laminate it).

Make sure you size it to ROUGHLY their foot size. Doesn’t have to be perfect, by any means. Not like they’re going to walk around in them. Cut it out, laminate if desired, and use a hole punch over the dots for the lace holes. Get some yarn (or laces, if you have them and want to), and treat it like a shoe! The side flaps fold right up over the foot, so they get the real feel and angle of shoe tying.

Happy Shoe Lace Tying!

Chore Rewards Treasure Chest

January 18, 2014 by Danielle

Have you noticed that my kids really love pirates? Well, they do! So much so, that we decided to use it to our advantage. If you’ve seen Jake & The Neverland Pirates, you know of their ‘Team Treasure Chest’. They earn gold doubloons to fill it up. We made our very own!We just got a plain, unfinished chest from Michaels. Then put some red and gold paint for details. Finish it off by putting a clear, wood sealant on it and PRESTO….you’re set to go!

Just like the chest on the show, we made sure to include Cubby’s Map on one side….

Izzy’s bag of Pixie Dust on the other side…

And, of course, Jake’s Sword on the front!

How our system works, is that every day they do ALL of their chores and were decently good (come on, they’re kids, I’m totally fine with decently vs perfection!) they earn ONE gold doubloon. If they were EXTRA good and/or did EXTRA chores, they can earn TWO gold doubloons.

We keep track on a sheet how much each child earns. They can then use their individually earned coins to buy fun extras, such as a candy bar or staying up later.

We put their earned doubloons into the treasure chest, and AS A FAMILY earn towards large, family things, such as a trip to the movies or dinner out.

This is our chart that we use so they know how much to earn for what. Notice the Family Earnings are VERY large amounts, but we have 4 kids, so that’s potentially over 200 per month.

Yes, I understand this is a form of bribery, and I’m totally okay with that because 1) it works for us! And 2) life is full of bribery (example, would you go to work if you didn’t get a paycheck? I don’t think so!) So for now, this is what we’re doing for our family.

What rewards systems do you use for your family, or have you used that did or didn’t work?