Over 100 Staycation Ideas

March 18, 2019 by Danielle 2 Comments

Don’t have the budget to swing an expensive vacation this summer? Even though Disneyland, cruises, and road trips are super fun, for the normal person it’s just not practical to splurge on one every single year. It’s still nice to have some type of family vacation, though, right? Well, here’s the list to save your vacation woes…Over 100 Budget-Saving Staycation Ideas!

Yesterday was Wonder Woman’s last day of 2nd grade, so our house is on ‘official’ summer break mode. Seriously, WHY do kids go crazy the DAY it’s summer break? Do they have a switch? Whatever it is, I do find it slightly annoying. Anywho…since we’re trying our hardest to get out of debt, we’re putting the big N-O to any big vacation plans this year. I don’t want to do NOTHING, though, so went on the search for some awesome Staycation Ideas. This list of over 100 ideas will have us spending plenty of staycation time together, and I’m sure there’s something perfect for your family, too!

Here’s 25 Awesome Staycation Ideas over at Living Well Spending Less

The Extreme Coupon Professors have 100 Staycation Ideas for Your Summer Fun

Six Sisters’ Stuff shared these 30 Cheap Staycation Ideas, and they’re fabulous!

Forbes has a list of 16 Things To Do On a Staycation that’ll help get your brainstorming going

My family (and sometimes just Hubby and I) will surely enjoy some of these 123 Amazing Staycation Ideas from the lovely Dating Divas

What better way to relax and enjoy yourself than with these 22 Ways to Turn Your Home Into a Staycation Resort from This Old House?!

Have you done any Staycations in the past that you absolutely loved? Please share in the comments below!

Family Home Evening Planner for Busy Moms

January 1, 2018 by Danielle

Who does a weekly Family Night? We’ve sort of tried to in the past, but I could count the number of times we actually followed through on one hand. Pretty sad! This year I want to really make a better attempt at it, despite our crazy schedules with dance, karate, school and work! I know I need to be a lot more organized to pull this off, so I pulled up this awesome Printable Family Home Evening Planner for Busy Moms from few years ago to use!

The colors & style match really well with our 2018 Free Printable Planner, so you can stick it right in with the other fabulous pages! This 2-page printable for Family Home Evening has spots for practically EVERYTHING I need to successfully plan and prepare for your fun night together! There’s sections for keeping track of assignments….

At the top you can put the Theme for that month, and there’s a handy NOTES section at the bottom of one page!

I love that there’s a cute section just for Family Goals, since we’re working on some things together as a family this coming year. Teamwork all the way!

On the right page of the spread, you can fill in each week’s specific TOPIC, so preparing the lesson will be that much easier!

I really enjoy quotes, so I even included a specific area where you can fill in a theme-appropriate (or just one you really like!) to give some thought and inspiration during the month.

Along the line of loving quotes….I put two WONDERFUL family quotes from Uchtdorf (one of my favorite speakers) and one from Thomas S. Monson along the bottom of each page!

I know this planner will be uber helpful this coming year, and can do wonders helping us keep up with our goal! It’ll take a little time getting use to it, especially when the younger kids have the lesson and need ‘some’ help. I’ll try to look at it as a great learning time and quality teaching moment, hopefully that’ll make me a little less short-tempered! I know it’ll be great, though, and can’t wait to start learning even more about the gospel with my sweet family!

Print Pages Here

Family Home Evening Planner – Left Side

Family Home Evening Planner – Right Side

Don’t forget to check out our full 2018 Free Printable Planner for busy moms!

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.

Don’t Eat Santa Printable Game Card

November 29, 2014 by Danielle

This week was FABULOUS, and I hope y’all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, as well! Despite all of us being pretty darn sick, we still spent lots of time together watching movies, playing games, and getting excited about the upcoming month. Since running around wasn’t an option with our coughs, we enjoyed simple games that were still a blast, like this Don’t Eat Santa Printable Game Card!

Do you remember my Don’t Eat Olaf game card from my daughter’s Frozen birthday party? This is the same concept as that, only it’s Santa! All you have to do is print of this Don’t Eat Santa Game Card and get some type of game pieces (candy, marshmallows, scraps of paper, whatever!).

In case you’re not familiar with the game, here’s how you play:

Place candy/marshmallows/something on each of the Santa faces on the card. Choose a person who is ‘it’. They leave the room while everyone else chooses which Santa is the one for that round.
The person comes back in and one by one picks off the candy on each Santa. When they try to pick up the piece on the chosen Santa, everyone yells ‘Don’t Eat Santa’! The person gets to keep the candies they pulled off up until they got to that one Santa.

So the basic goal is to choose the ‘right’ Santa last, so you can get as much of the candies as possible! The kids love it, and it’s really easy enough for even our youngest to play!

I’d recommend laminating the game card (it prints 8.5×11, by the way)…that way it stays clean and lasts MUCH longer!

Family Fun with Creepy Mini Pizzas

October 22, 2014 by Danielle

*This post is sponsored by Fleischmann’s Yeast. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

My history with pizza and family time goes WAY back, to the years I spent growing up in a pizza place. So when I got the chance to try Fleischmann’s quick-rising yeast in a delicious pizza crust recipe, I was definitely all for it! To make it a full-on activity, we had some major Family Fun with Creepy Mini Pizzas!

Now, when I say grew up in a pizza place, I don’t mean going and eating there often…my parents owned Pony Express Pizza in northern Utah up until I was about 11 years old, so I spent much of my childhood there. I remember rolling out the huge cans of olives to my parents so they can open them. I was super ‘helpful’! I also remember the HUGE dough mixer where every day they’d make ginormous batches of pizza dough. It was so neat, and I really loved the smell of the yeast. Call me crazy, but I loved it!

Having this deep love for good pizza, we love making them at our own home all the time. My kids know that at least once a month we’ll be having a family pizza night, and they love getting to help choose the types! Pizzas are great that way…switch up the sauces, or toppings, or even the cheese, and you’ve got something new!

One problem I tend to have is planning ahead, though. Since most pizza dough requires you allow it to rise for a certain amount of time, there’s been so many occasions when I just didn’t get it ready in time, so pizza night was postponed. Not with this Fleischmann’s Fast & Easy Pizza Crust Yeast! Less than an hour to completely make the pizza dough, pre-bake it, decorate our Creepy Mini Pizzas, then cook the final creations! Now THAT’S what I call an awesome family night!

*Makes 8 (6-inch) Pizzas

Ingredients – Crust

3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 envelope Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast
1 1/2 tbsp. Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/3 cup Warm Water
1/3 cup Veggie Oil

Directions – Crust

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees F.
Add all of the ingredients together (start with the less amount of flour) and mix until well-blended. If it’s too sticky, gradually add more flour in until it’s a nice, elastic, soft dough. Knead as needed, then divide into 8 portions.
Roll each portion into a nice circle and pinch the edges to form a rim. You can fit 2 of these on a sprayed baking sheet. Don’t add any toppings yet! Bake for 6-7 minutes until set and very lightly browned on the bottom.
Remove and either add toppings for immediate consumption, or put in freezer bags and freeze for up to 1 month. If using right away, add sauce, cheese, and toppings, then bake at 475 Degrees F. for about 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Ingredients – Toppings (pick and choose your favs!)

Your favorite sauce (try our delicious Alfredo or tasty BBQ)
Cheese
Bell Peppers: green, red, yellow, orange
Mushrooms
Black Olives
Pepperoni Slices
Ham Slices
Salami Slices
Lettuce

Here’s our Creepy Mini Pizza Creations

Cat Woman (our exchange student) helped Green Lantern with his mini pizza. Their monster-man was super fun!

Wonder Woman wanted a big-eared ‘dude’ for her dinner, and the green peppers worked perfectly! Add some olive eyes for the perfect finishing touch.

I think Batman’s fabulous Halloween Owl pizza was my favorite! I loved the big eyes, green pepper wings and colorful feathered belly. And the fact the my 4-year-old pulled this off without ANY help was a proud mama moment indeed!

Okay, so I don’t have a final photo of Superman’s pizza…partially because he wouldn’t hold still, and he kept saying ‘wait, one more’. It turned out a Picasso type monster 🙂

In the past it’s often happened that I just bought pre-made pizza dough because I didn’t have any extra time to spend making homemade dough. I hated the cost difference, and it just doesn’t taste the same! Now that I’ve learned how easy and quick Fleischmann’s Yeast makes pizza night…plus how delicious it turns out…I can serve up homemade pizza in a flash!

For additional information, recipes and tips and tricks, visit the Fleischmann’s Yeast resource center online.

Happy National Play Doh Day with Busy Mom’s Helper

September 16, 2014 by Danielle

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy here. I was provided free Play Doh Sets to try out for this celebration, but all opinions are my own.

Do you remember playing with Play Doh when you were a kid? Perhaps even eating eat…well, let’s just not go there right now! But still, it was such a fun activity and still is for me! Now I get to enjoy it with my four, crazy kiddos, especially since today is National Play Doh Day! Woot Woot!

I had no idea a holiday like today even existed, until I got an email late last week asking if I wanted to help celebrate. Come on, a day just to celebrate the awesome-ness that is Play Doh? Heck, ya I wanna join in! The awesome people at Play Doh even offered to send three of their super-fun play sets for us to enjoy our celebration with!

This Play Doh Sweet Shoppe Cake Mountain Playset was a blast! The kids made little cakes with neat little details and designs, could even ‘frost’ their creations!

The boys favorite was definitely this Play-Doh Diggin’ Rigs Buzzsaw Playset. Create logs and bricks, cut them up, stack ’em. And by using a big truck? Ya, any boy-mamas out there….this would be an awesome thing for your guys!

Last, but certainly not least, they kindly gave us the Play-Doh Mix ‘n Match Magical Designs Palace Set Featuring Disney Princess Aurora. Although Wonder Woman loved the princess theme, it seemed Batman enjoyed decorating the castle and creating some beautiful ‘doh’ dresses with this!

I thought it would be a good idea, in celebration of National Play Doh Day, to explain the top 4 reasons why this mama completely loves Play Doh!

Reason 4: It keeps the kiddos entertained for a L-O-N-G time!

Reason 3: It works their fine motor skills, as well as their creativity

Reason 2: Their sense of accomplishment is totally rewarding!

Reason 1: They GET ALONG and even WORK TOGETHER….they learn from each other, help out, truly have some quality sibling time. SCORE!

Thank you so much to Play Doh for giving us a totally fabulous National Play Doh Day! We plan to continue celebrating many, many more days!

Phineas & Ferb Summer Series: Week 2

June 9, 2014 by Danielle

First week of summer down, and we’re actually surviving…woohoo! Hope you’re enjoying your first bit of no school! I’m so glad I decided to do this Phineas & Ferb Summer Series…it’s been so nice having stuff to keep the kids entertained! They’re loving it, too…every day it’s “are we doing more Phineas & Ferb today”? I love it!

We’re on to week 2 of our Phineas & Ferb Summer Series, and it’s a blast! Some basic activities, and some majorly exciting ones! Here’s the breakdown for you week!

Episode 4a: Are You My Mummy?

Print this fun gumball coloring sheet. A very colorful booby trap!
Create your own Mummy with this craft. Each mummy needs 4 craft sticks, some random fabric scraps, googly eyes, and either tape or glue. First, we attached the legs and arms to the main ‘body’ by putting a scrap wrapped securely around. Then just have the kids wrap scraps around to cover the mummy up. Attach googly eyes, and even draw a mouth, if you want! They loved their little mummies!
Perry the Platypus gets stuck in a huge bubble by Dr. Doofenshmurtz. Make your own giant bubbles using Tatertots & Jello’s tutorial!
Print these Hieroglyph matching cards and play a memory matching game! Page 1, Page 2, Page 3
For a mummy-themed lunch, look at this adorable mummy meal idea!

Episode 4b: Flopstarz

Print off Phineas’ check list for the day!
Have the kids create their own song. Or, just have them learn the fun song on the episode! My 3-year-old loves singing it randomly, and it’s the cutest thing!
Make your own guitar to rock out to your song! You’ll need a box (cereal boxes work), empty paper towel roll, paper of choice, tape, scissors and yarn or ribbon. Cut your main hole in the box, then one at the top for the roll (handle). Cover the box with paper, as well as the roll. Stick the roll into the hole at the top. Tape your yarn/ribbon inside the main hole on the box. Strum away on your new guitar!
Just like the magazine covers with Lindana in the episode, have your kids design their own magazine cover featuring themselves!
Buy, find or borrow a glasses/nose disguise just like Perry uses to hide from Linda as they’re stopped at a red light. Play ‘hide and seek’, trying to find the non-disguised Perry (take turns wearing the disguise)!
Just like Dr. D’s huge wandering robot-building, turn your kids into robots! Get a box that fits their torso, remove the area where their legs will go and cut out holes for their head and arms (allow plenty of room, please). Let them decorate their ‘robot body’, then they can stomp around as a huge robot!

Episode 5a: Raging Bully

Happy Birthday to Dr. D! Make his favorite, a pink ‘Doonkleberry’ cake. Any white or yellow cake recipe would work, just add a bit of red food coloring and pink frosting!
Another fun treat? Why not the green (possibly mint?) ice cream that began the whole fight between Phineas & Buford! Here’s an awesome Mint Chocolate Chip recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker!
Have the kids design their own ‘Brawl at the Mall’ flyers.
Create your own thumb-wrestling ring! You’ll need a small box (a large shoe box would work), paper of choice, tape, yarn or ribbon, 4-6 craft sticks, and scissors. Cut arched holes in the two large sides of your ‘ring’, so they can put their hands in. Cover the sides with paper. Cut two LARGE holes for their thumbs in the top, then cover with paper. Fold the paper in through the holes on top, so rough edges are covered (don’t want any cuts on those cute thumbs!). Attach the craft sticks at each corner of the ring, and in between if you’d like. String the yarn/ribbon between the poles. Have your kids duke it out thumb-wrestling style!
How about those Doonkleberry Bats? So cute! You’ll need this printable, paper of choice, googly eyes, tape or glue, scissors, button for nose, ribbon for bowtie and hanging hook. To make, simply print out this sheet with the face and teeth shapes. Trace the kids’ hands to be used as the wings. Attach the teeth to the face, the wings behind the face, the googly eyes and button nose. Make a cute bowtie from the ribbon and attach at the neck. Include a ribbon loop at top for easy hanging. Enjoy your own Doonkleberry Bat!

Don’t forget…we’d love to feature YOUR favorite Phineas & Ferb episodes, activities and other ideas! So don’t hesitate to share!

Easter Scavenger Hunt: Free Printables

April 8, 2014 by Danielle

I don’t know why, but my kids are REALLY getting into the Easter fun lately. They keep talking about eggs, their baskets, and asking all sorts of questions about the Easter bunny. With all the jibber-jabber, it’s hard for me to ignore the fact that it’s fast approaching. Ugh! One of the things that’s a long-standing tradition in my family is an Easter Scavenger Hunt. Who doesn’t love searching for eggs or other little surprises, huh?

Every single year in my youth we did a HUGE Easter Scavenger Hunt. I’m not talking each kid had a few eggs to find, I mean we all had DOZENS of candy-or-treat filled eggs to search for. We looked forward to it for months, and there’s many happy (and funny) memories involving those times.

One of the difficult things with scavenger hunts is keeping it simple enough that even my 2 year old can pitch in the search. My sweet sis-in-law put together a few cute poems that are fun-yet-simple enough that all ages can join in! Wonder Woman reads them aloud, then they all assist with figuring it out!

Playroom

Outside

Kitchen

Dining Room Table (or counter)

Kids’ Bedroom

Bathroom

This isn’t exactly how we did it growing up, but for us this is a grand old time! I’m not sure what your household does, but we try to avoid too many treats (I make enough suger-filled snacks already). Instead, I try to nab simple-yet-cute-and-budget-friendly surprises such as toys, games, coloring books, crayons, and things like that. Plus, it keeps them busy AFTER the hunt is over…BONUS!

Turbo Movie Night

January 21, 2014 by Danielle

Start your weekend off right with a Turbo Movie Night

My kids like a lot of things, including movies. It’s fun to have a themed night every month focused around a movie we watch together. This month’s feature:

To start it off, we have some Dos Bros Tacos for dinner…

Don’t forget the stuff that gave Turbo his SPEED – blue drinks! For this I just got some blue Kool-Aid, simple and kid-friendly!

Follow that with some yummy Snail Cinnamon Rolls (normal cinnamon rolls with raisin eyes and swirled frosting) for dessert…

See, totally simple yet fun! If you want to throw in some games, RACING would be, of course, totally appropriate for this!The kids really love family nights, and it’s just the small extras that really make the memories. Oh – and we have now all been assigned character names from the movie. I’m Burn, I guess!