Busy Moms Helper

Family fun, food, recipes, crafts, and free printables

  • Home
  • Busy Mom’s Shop
    • Monthly Printable Subscription Plan
  • Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Snacks
    • Appetizer
    • Side Dish
    • Main Dish
    • Holiday Food
    • Breakfast
    • Slow Cooker
    • Tried and True
  • Crafts & DIY
    • Gifts
    • Holidays
    • For the Home
    • Kid Friendly
    • Parties
    • Printables
  • Home & Life
    • Parenting
    • Time Management
    • Organization & Cleaning
    • Finance
    • Faith
    • Relationships
    • Blogging
    • Health & Fitness
    • Eating Out
    • Pets
    • Style
  • Printables
  • Travel
    • Theme Parks
    • Travel Tips & Tricks
  • Nerd Stuff
    • Star Wars
    • Superhero
    • Legos
    • Harry Potter
    • Disney
    • Tech

Free Goal Setting Printable

January 8, 2018 by Kelly Dedeaux

Free Printable Goal Printable #newyear #printable #freeprintable #goal #goals #goaltracker

Who else gets super excited to start a fresh new year? Other than the utter surprise that it comes so quickly, I love it! I know it’s silly to get all motivated just because it’s a new calendar year…why can’t we get that way in the middle of the summer? But just the same, it’s great and I’m looking forward to setting goals for things I want to improve upon and some that I want to accomplish. These Free Goal Setting Printables will surely help, too – and they’re now updated for 2018! (originally shared in 2015)

Free Printable Goal Printable #newyear #printable #freeprintable #goal #goals #goaltracker

How likely are you to meet a goal without having written it down? Me….no chance! I need it in writing, plus the steps to reach that goal. It keeps me organized and stay on track by having it right there in front of me. Of course I had to include a neat quote along the top!

You can print off as many sheets as you need, and they match perfectly with our Free Printable 2018 Planner & Calendar and FHE Planning Pages! My favorite feature of the sheets is that there’s a line for the overall goal, then you can break down the steps below. If you’re like me, a goal seems much more achievable if I can see the baby steps instead of a giant leap!

To download and print our fun goal printable, be sure to sign up for our newsletter as it’s one of our many subscriber-exclusive printables! Just sign up, and you’ll receive an email with the link to get your free printables!

Filed Under: Organization & Cleaning, Printable Tagged With: Goals, Personal Life, Planning

How to Have a SLOW Parenting Summer

July 9, 2015 by Ashley Soderlund Ph.D.

Hello again Busy Moms! I’m popping over from Nurture and Thrive to talk about slow parenting today. Have you heard about slow parenting? I read about it here myself just a few months ago and it’s a philosophy that really resonated with me. It’s the idea that parenting doesn’t have to be rushed or about To Do lists, but rather it is about spending time together as a family and living in the moment.

Have your head of slow parenting? Great tips for slowing it down this summer from a child psychologist.

I think slow parenting is a bit of a backlash against the overscheduled child, a problem the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) discusses in their report on play. The AAP’s main concern is stressed-out parents and kids and lack of quality family time. When we start feeling overextended, stressed, and surrounded by a flurry of our kids activities we can start to lose ourselves and our sense of who we are as a family.

In the end it’s really all about finding the right balance. 

Having your kids taking classes and being involved in extracurricular activities in and of itself isn’t a bad thing—in fact it’s a good thing, especially for children in middle and high school. On average 10th graders in the US are involved in 2-3 extracurricular activities for about 5 hours a week outside of school. Research shows that average involvement in extracurricular activities predicts academic achievement and involvement two years later.

But it’s one of those things that is good in moderation. Average involvement in activities predicts optimal outcomes, like academic achievement, but too much or too little predicts academic burn out. 

Summer is a perfect time for us to reexamine our lives. Are we running around from here to there never connecting, never being intentional until one day we wake up and summer is over in a flurry of never-ending activities? Or are we at home with young children trying to be mindful and present but feeling like the days are unending and monotonous?

So, how can we slow down in summer?

  • Let your child be a driving force in which activities they choose. Help them to mindfully choose the activities they would enjoy or that might offer a break from their normal schedule during the school year.
  • If you are staying home with your kids this summer, have unstructured time be a part of your days. Research shows unstructured time leads to better decision making skills, creativity and belief in oneself. This is true for both older and younger kids. But also include a simple routine that helps you stay mindful (free printable below!)
  • If you are working during the summer or otherwise have to live by a schedule, then schedule freetime and family time. As counterintuitive as that sounds, if you don’t schedule it then it probably won’t happen. Get inspired with my SLOW parenting guide below.

Have a slow parenting summer.

I read an article the other day on how as we get older time seems to fly by faster. In my previous life I lectured about this when talking about adult development. It’s the idea that as we age life gets more predictable. When interviewing large numbers of older adults, most remember their life between the ages of 10 and 30 most vividly. Researchers think this is true because we form our identity and experience new things during that stage of life, thus we spend more cognitive energy trying to understand things and remember things. As we get older our lives are more predictable and we speed through it only to look back and think how fast it went retrospectively. When you add to that watching a child grow literally before your eyes, time speeds by us so fast. 

We can’t slow down time, but we can be mindful and present in that time. There is a lot of evidence, for example, that practicing mindfulness leads to better memory. Slow parenting is a kind of mindfulness, so maybe we can slow down the perception of time at the least.

A SLOW Summer Routine

So, what about being lazy? I’m guilty of this one! We are decidedly not overscheduled at our house, but sometimes days go by and I wonder what did we do? It’s the same effect of time passing by too quickly. Here’s the thing, lazy does not equal intentional. And I’m all for a lazy day, but when you’re intentional about it’s guilt free! Just like with kids activities, as a family you can be too scheduled or not scheduled enough.

Slow parenting is about finding that balance. And younger kids especially thrive on some kind of routine. I LOVE this idea for a daily summer guide  from Let’s Lasso the Moon that has a theme for each day. Below is my version of not so much a routine, but more of an inspiration for summer days– little reminders to savor and be intentional and enjoy summer for everything that it is. My goal is to do something in every category each week, well, that is, unless we only do two things and that’s okay too, after all it’s a slow summer.

Click for your free SLOW summer printable: How to have a SLOW parenting summer by Nurture and Thrive for Busy Mom’s Helper

Have your head of slow parenting? Great tips for slowing it down this summer from a child psychologist.

Here’s what a week in our slow parenting summer looked like for us.

Summer: One day we met with friends to go to the splashpark. We went to the pool one evening as a family after dinner. We had a friend over for a playdate and ran in the sprinkler.

What is summer to you? Make a list of your favorite activities for inspiration for the simple joys of the season.

Love: A friend was sick so we made a “get well” card and mailed it. On the weekend we all cuddled together for a family movie night.

Love is doing anything together as a family, caring for someone else or a pet, or giving back to the community.

Outside: If it is nice out we try to get outside right after breakfast before it’s too hot. About two days a week this doesn’t happen because we have a playdate or we are going to my son’s one scheduled activity this summer: swim lessons. One morning last week we kicked the soccer ball around and on another day my son played in the sandbox. In the evenings we walk or bike together.

Going outside is an essential part of a slow summer. Ever notice how time slows down outside? It’s easier to live in the moment in nature for kids and adults. 

Wonder: At the beginning of the week we went to the library. On the way I asked my son what kind of book he wanted to get. He was interested in rocket ships. I helped him type in “rocket ships” on the computer and helped him find the book. We read the book several times that week and he developed an interest in the Mars Rover. We watched videos about the Mars Rover during lunch a few days. Then we did a rocket ship craft later that week.

Wonder could be anything. It could be a craft or a project. I think the important thing is to have your children lead with their question. What do they want to know about?

So what is a SLOW parenting summer?

It’s living a FULL life. It’s about doing simple things. It’s about savoring the season, enjoy time together, being outside and learning something as well. For me, the slowness is better than a flurry of activities or completely open days that end up being forgetful. My hope is to get to the end of summer and say to myself, what a wonderful summer that was.

Happy Slow Summer!

Ashley

Filed Under: Kid Friendly, Parenting, Printable Tagged With: kids, Personal Life, printable, Summer

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home

May 12, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Godspeed Pictures, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #wherehopegrowsmovie http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

As I snuggled up with Hubby watching a pre-viewing of Where Hope Grows, I expected to get some of the feels and a good message. I had no idea the wide range of emotions that would come as we watched! This amazing movie was such a touching story that I could connect with in many ways, and truly enjoyed seeing the characters as the progressed and overcame challenges. Here’s the way the new Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home in such a wonderful, must-see way!

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

To give you an idea, the story is about a man named Calvin Campbell, a single dad who turned to alcohol after being forced into early retirement for freezing at the plate as a pro baseball player.

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

His 17-year-old daughter is ready to give up on him, and in her desperation for love and attention goes for a really big jerk.

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

Neither of them expected that Produce, a local grocery store worker with Down Syndrome, would have such an important and moving influence on them to change turn their lives around!

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

Produce is such an amazing guy with such a huge heart, facing a world full of challenges and people who don’t understand.

Watching him go through the struggles and having my heart just hurt for him made me think of some very special people in my life with disabilities to deal with – this amazing family:

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

This sweet mamma, Andrea, is raising the two most down-right fabulous kids ever! They both have different disabilities, pretty major, so their life is anything but easy. I can honestly say that these three are some of the most unbelievable caring, faithful people I’ve ever had the privilege to call my friends!

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

Andrea’s boy is in the same grade as my Black Widow, so when we first moved here they really hit it off as great friends. What I loved the most was – I hadn’t met any of these guys, yet, and almost every day she’d come home from school talking about him, the fun they had, how sweet he was…..not once did she describe him in a way that made me think he had disabilities. NOT ONCE. It wasn’t until a school teacher pulled me aside one day, complimenting on how sweet my daughter was for her patience in helping him with his differences did I know.

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

I was such a proud mama that my daughter could see past any differences and just have a true love for her friend! This is some of what Calvin learns to deal with as he befriends Produce in the movie – others don’t understand. Luckily, Calvin learns to love him deeply for the sweet friend he is, and the life lessons that he learns from this unlikely teacher.

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

After I finally met Andrea and her kiddos, we became amazing friends and I can’t say enough how much I love and care for every one of them. About a year ago, I invited her to bring them to a neighborhood play date at the park – she was shocked. When she told me that they pretty much never get invited to things like that because of the kids’ disabilities, it broke my heart! After leaving her house, I had to sit in the car a bit and just cry.

Where Hope Grows Movie Hits Home / by Busy Mom's Helper #wherehopegrowsmovie #Pmedia #ad

Okay, totally let the feels get me as I’m writing this and I’m now sitting here at the computer crying. Woah! This movie really delivers a meaningful message, and includes humor along the way – so don’t worry, you’ll laugh, too! Where Hope Grows hits theaters 05/15 so check your local theater for showtimes!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Movies, Personal Life

Hunky Man vs. Wet Dog Smells

May 11, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

Hunky Man vs. Wet Dog Smells / by Busy Mom's Helper / Our secret weapon for when hubby ends up stinkier than our pups! #MySignatureMove #Ad

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

Men really stink. Not all of the time, but dang can they really get to the point where, as much as you love them, you do NOT want to hug them at the moment! Whether it’s from doing yard work in the hot sun, camping with the guys, working on the car or my hubby’s worst: bathing the dogs – guys have the potential to go from ‘Mmmmmm’ to ‘Ewwwww’ pretty quick! Here’s our secret weapon for winning the Hunky Man vs. Wet Dog Smells fight! And don’t miss this hilarious video that I still can’t believe Hubby let me share with you!

Hunky Man vs. Wet Dog Smells / by Busy Mom's Helper / Our secret weapon for when hubby ends up stinkier than our pups! #MySignatureMove #Ad

At first I was going to make a video of Hubby mowing our yard, bandanna tied around his forehead to keep the sweat out of his eyes – after all, he does get pretty smelly after that! After some thought, though, I realized that it would be MUCH more hilarious to share in his ‘adventures’ of bathing our two 50-65 pound labs….who hate bathtime!

Yup, quite the adventure – I almost dropped the phone when Tula hopped out of the tub mid-bath! Even Hubby agrees he really stinks like wet dog when it’s over, but handles it like a champ – with our secret weapon!

Hunky Man vs. Wet Dog Smells / by Busy Mom's Helper / Our secret weapon for when hubby ends up stinkier than our pups! #MySignatureMove #Ad

I love the smell of these Irish Spring Signature products, and their new MAN SIZED body bars are perfect for really getting my man smelling like his sexy self! Since the weather’s been changing and his skin is getting a bit more dry, he really likes that the hydrating body wash has Shea Butter extract to keep him moisturized – yes, even men love to be moisturized!

Hunky Man vs. Wet Dog Smells / by Busy Mom's Helper / Our secret weapon for when hubby ends up stinkier than our pups! #MySignatureMove #Ad

Walmart has both of them right down the body wash aisle…

Hunky Man vs. Wet Dog Smells / by Busy Mom's Helper / Our secret weapon for when hubby ends up stinkier than our pups! #MySignatureMove #Ad

What’s as good as, or better, than a great smelling guy? Saving money! Purchase one of the new Irish Spring Signature products and get $5 off a VUDU purchase! Take a picture of your receipt and then go to http://cbi.as/3boj to upload your receipt. Next step, enjoy watching!

Hunky Man vs. Wet Dog Smells / by Busy Mom's Helper / Our secret weapon for when hubby ends up stinkier than our pups! #MySignatureMove #Ad

What’s your guy’s secret weapon to going from stink to hunky sexy man smell?

Filed Under: Organization & Cleaning Tagged With: Dad, Father, Personal Life, Pets

How I Do It All

March 14, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

How I Do It all / by Busy Mom's Helper #24HourEsterC #ad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias and its Advertiser. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone and should not be construed as medical advice. #24HourEsterC #CollectiveBias

Who else has a HUGE list of things they want to be able to do with their life on daily basis? Between playing with the kids, cleaning the house, running errands, community service and the dozens of other roles we fill, it’s pretty BUSY to say the least! Today I’m sharing How I Do It All…or at least try to!

How I Do It all / by Busy Mom's Helper #24HourEsterC #ad

There’s so many time management books and articles out there, you could spend a lifetime reading it all, so I’m not going to waste time talking about that. Other than prioritizing and being smart with how you spend your time, there’s two big things that help me be able to do as much as possible…

Tip #1: Be at Your Best

It’s hard to do ANYTHING if you’re not feeling well, so one of the greatest ways to ensure you can do your many tasks in life is to take care of yourself! Here’s some ways you can do that…

How I Do It all / by Busy Mom's Helper #24HourEsterC #ad

  1. Drink enough water
  2. Exercise regularly
  3. Make healthy eating choices
  4. Take Ester-C® regularly

You can grab a box of Ester-C® in the vitamin aisle the next time you’re at Walmart, and it’s currently on Rollback, so don’t wait too long! Then just take two of the supplements a day for excellent immune support! You can learn more about them on Facebook or Twitter.

How I Do It all / by Busy Mom's Helper #24HourEsterC #ad

What’s even better is when you can do this while spending time with your kids! It may not be the BEST exercise or anything, but it can definitely be more fun…especially when your pets join in the fun!

Tip #2: Learn to say NO!

I think women have an especially difficult time saying ‘no’ to things, whether it’s out of guilt or just our desire to prove we can do everything. That’s the thing, though…we can’t literally do it ALL! But, we can do all of the things that are truly important to us, we just need to make sure we don’t replace the GREAT things with activities that are just GOOD.

How I Do It all / by Busy Mom's Helper #24HourEsterC #ad

What are YOUR best tips for being able to Do It All?

How I Do It all / by Busy Mom's Helper #24HourEsterC #ad

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: Personal Life, Self

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress

March 7, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress / by Busy Mom's Helper #StressLess2BmyBest #CG #Ad

I’m a really high-stress type of person, always have been. Even with little things, I often feel overwhelmed! Now with such a busy life being a mom, wife, blogger and more, stress really piles on! Over the years I’ve slowly-but-surely found little ways to keep my stress managed, and today I’m sharing with you 10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress!

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress / by Busy Mom's Helper #StressLess2BmyBest #CG #Ad

Now don’t get me wrong, I still struggle with stress at times, but it’s nothing like how I use to be. I use to break down when I didn’t get my entire (and impossible, I now realize) to-do list done each day, or if I had to tell someone ‘no’ because I couldn’t do one more thing. But there’s plenty I can do to HELP manage my stresses to a manageable level, and it’s made me much happier!

Tips for Managing Stress

1. Get Enough Sleep

I know that’s definitely easier said than done, but feeling rested is so important for our mental and emotional states! I can tell when I’m needing more sleep, and it affects my ability to function properly. If I’m not fully functional, and moody, it’s much easier to let stress overwhelm me.

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress / by Busy Mom's Helper #StressLess2BmyBest #CG #Ad

2. Have RESCUE Products On-Hand

Stress can still creep up on us, or build up to the point we’re just losing it. I know you fellow busy mamas understand that completely! I’m the type who doesn’t want a prescription unless necessary, so I love using RESCUE natural/homeopathic products to help me stress less, stay calm and be more in control.

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress / by Busy Mom's Helper #StressLess2BmyBest #CG #Ad

You can get RESCUE products in a variety of forms, from the Pastilles and Pearls (both shown) to Sleep Liquid Melts and more. The pastilles stay nicely in my purse when I’m on-the-go, and I love how the pearls are so tiny and quickly dissolve on my tongue…super convenient!

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress / by Busy Mom's Helper #StressLess2BmyBest #CG #Ad

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress / by Busy Mom's Helper #StressLess2BmyBest #CG #Ad

RESCUE products are gentle and safe, not habit-forming and with no side effects. Last thing I want when feeling stressed, or trying to avoid it, is weird side affects! You can grab them at CVS, Walgreens, Whoe Foods, Spouts and other stores that carry natural products! You can even get a BOGO coupon HERE!

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress / by Busy Mom's Helper #StressLess2BmyBest #CG #Ad

3. Eat Healthy

Our diet can affect all sorts of hormones and chemicals in our body, so eating healthy is crucial to staying balanced and more able to manage our stress. This doesn’t mean no sweets or treats ever, or I’d be in major trouble! Sometimes even just EATING something can help my stress levels go down, since hunger brings out my ‘moody’.

4. Coloring or Other Monotonous Activities

I’m not an artist. At all. But I do love to sit with a random coloring book and just color with my kiddos…or by myself! Sometimes doing an activity that is just the same, same, same can help us let our minds wander, let go of some things that are causing stress, and let our body’s hormone levels correct. Painting, for me at least, is another great way!

5. Turn Up the Tunes

Songs can have a HUGE impact on how we feel, so when stress is getting the best of me, I love turning up some fun dancing music and just rocking out. I don’t dance well, mind you, but it really helps lift my spirits and gets me active…which leads us into…

6. Exercise

This one’s probably the hardest for me! Exercising not only releases good chemicals in your brain, but keeps you feeling healthier, which definitely helps your moods. It can also affect the way you view yourself (body image, confidence, pride in working out, etc.) which may be a stress in and of itself!

7. Meditate/Relax

You don’t have to sit there going ‘Hmmmm….Hmmmmm’ for an hour, but just sitting or laying down while allowing yourself to RELAX can do wonders for managing stress. You never know, while meditating you may mentally solve some problems that have been causing you stress!

8. Take Time For Yourself

I use to feel so guilty taking time for me, especially for extended amounts of time. But then I heard the airplane story…you know you’re suppose to put on YOUR oxygen mask before helping someone else, right? That’s life! If you’re not taken care of, you certainly can’t help others to the full extent. So drop the guilt and find something to do for you…read a magazine, hide in the closet with your favorite treat, have a big girls weekend…just something.

9. Be social

We’re busy, so where in the world do we find time to be social with actual ADULTS?! A 30-minute phone call with a good friend can make a big difference – maybe even to you both! Or taking your kids to the park for a playdate…for the kids AND the moms.

10. Don’t Try To Be Perfect

I know a lot of moms and women, and I think one of our biggest struggles is thinking we need to be perfect. Guess what? WE CAN’T! Seriously, nobody can be perfect, so why hold ourselves to that impossible expectation? This is my biggest stress in my life right now…trying to be perfect at everything. I’m slowly learning, though, that by attempting that, I actually do worse at almost everything because when I fail (because perfection is IMPOSSIBLE), I get stressed. When I get stressed, I can’t function as well. It’s a vicious cycle. So do well at things…try your best, work hard…but accept and be happy that your best IS good enough!

10+ Ways This Momma Handles Stress / by Busy Mom's Helper #StressLess2BmyBest #CG #Ad

 

What are YOUR best tips for handling stress?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: Happiness, Personal Life

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year

March 3, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

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

Is your family big on recycling? We definitely are, but believe mostly in making small, simple changes to our everyday lifestyle instead of huge alterations in order to help the environment. With some creativity, you can find ways to adjust a little, and you’ll hardly even notice! Here are 5 EASY Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year to get you started.

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

Our neighborhood includes a recycling can/service with our normal utilities, so that makes it much easier for the normal type of recycling that everyone thinks about. Clean, empty egg cartons? Toss in that can. Washed out milk jugs? Yup, put that in, too! Super easy, right? But that’s not one of my tips for today….instead, let’s have a little more fun with it!

1. Make the Most of Plastic Spoons

You get them at restaurants, or from parties. Seriously, I’d be very surprised if there were many households that didn’t have a bunch of plastic spoons laying around! Instead of throwing them away and/or recycling them, how about you reuse them until they’re completely done? Either wash them and reuse them with your normal silverware (especially great for cereal days). You can even hold on to ones that have a broken handle or chip and do crafts such as a Spoon Wreath!

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

2. Be Smart with Your Batteries

Since my kids have plenty of toys and devices that use batteries, I was thrilled when I heard about the new Energizer EcoAdvanced ones! They’re the first battery on the market to use recycled batteries/materials, and are Energizer’s longest lasting alkaline ever. I love that they have both AA and AAA size, and they hold up to 12 years in storage. Not that my storage ever lasts that long, but nice to know they could if I needed them to! I grabbed a few boxes at Walmart, right by the check stands where you can find those big ‘battery center’ spots.

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

3. Take Advantage of All Those Plastic Bags

I use to get so sick of the piles of plastic grocery bags that would build up in my mud room, but hated throwing them away! Yes, you can recycle them at many local stores, but remembering to take them in with me doesn’t always work. Then I realized they fit PERFECTLY in all of our small garbage cans, and we’ve used them as the garbage liners ever since! Saves the environment AND money, since I don’t have to buy actual garbage liners. Woot woot!

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

4. Upcycle!

Got an old-school frame you want to discard? Or find one at a yard sale, but it’s not quite what you wanted? A little paint and it can look brand spankin’ new in whatever color you desire! This one was a really ugly grey-ish color (plus a few other specks), but a quick coat of paint, it was exactly right for my needs…

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

5. Don’t Toss Scrap Wood

Now I’m not saying to keep/use EVERY single piece of scrap wood, but don’t throw away stuff that really could be used for a neat project! I had a couple scraps that worked wonderfully for this fall sign I made…

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

BONUS: Containers Are Your Best Friend!

Reusing containers is one of the biggest things I do to live more eco friendly, and can save me a ton of hassle AND money every year! Wash out your good containers – whether it’s crystal light, pasta sauce, bottled drinks, whatevever – and use them for tons of good ideas. Make sure they’re cleaned out nice, though, so you don’t spread the yuck!

  • Turn 6-packs of bottles into adorable gifts, like this Superhero Soda Gift
  • To pack snacks for your kids
  • Empty water bottles for a drink in the kiddos’ school lunch
  • Fill large ones with water and stick in the freezer for emergency water storage
  • Difference sizes can be used for holding safety pins, rubber bands and other misc. stuff

5 Easy Ways to Live More Eco Friendly This Year / by Busy Mom's Helper #BringingInnovation #ad

What are YOUR best EASY tips for living more Eco Friendly?

GuiltFreeEnergy Giveaway – $1,000 in Gift Cards

GuiltFreeEnergy Giveaway – $1,000 in Gift Cards

Filed Under: Organization & Cleaning Tagged With: Home, Personal Life

Whiter Teeth in 3 Days* Plus a Printable

September 19, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

Whiter Teeth in 3 Days PLUS a Printable / by Busy Mom's Helper #OpticSmiles #Ad

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

Who else had to wear braces? I did…for SIX YEARS! Not a very happy time during my teen years, that’s for sure. Once I was finally free, my teeth looked nice and straight…but really off in color. Ugh! Ever since, keeping my teeth bright and beautiful is really important to me…don’t want to have those six years be for nothing, after all. Now everyone can get Whiter Teeth in 3 Days*…plus a printable!

Whiter Teeth in 3 Days* PLUS a Printable / by Busy Mom's Helper #OpticSmiles #Ad

I really don’t like using different types of products to whiten my teeth, so when I heard there’s a new TOOTHPASTE that will do it in just three days, I was thrilled! With Colgate® Optic White® Express White, I can just do my normal teeth brushing routine, use this, and my smile will stay nice and bright. Woot woot! I grabbed a tube at Wal-mart to try…by their teeth/personal care aisle they had a big end-cap display for it, so it was super easy to find…

Whiter Teeth in 3 Days* PLUS a Printable / by Busy Mom's Helper #OpticSmiles #Ad

I was really excited this worked so well! Hubby’s had more of a difference than mine because they did start out a shade or so more ‘off’. And it’s not that ‘fake white’ that some things leave on your teeth, it’s real and pretty – probably because it has 2x more of the professionally recommended whitening ingredient vs. Optic White Sparkling Mint Toothpaste.

If you want to see a demo for yourself, see if your store  is doing one on 02/28/15! There will be ambassadors roaming around the aisles giving out $1 off coupons for the Colgate® Optic White® Express White Tooth Paste, so try to find them!

Whiter Teeth in 3 Days* PLUS a Printable / by Busy Mom's Helper #OpticSmiles #Ad

Ready for that cute free printable? You have some choices – I have a full 8.5×11 sized print of EACH of the four designs, and then a sheet that has all four on the page (like in my pictures shown above.)

Brush Printable          Flush Printable

Wash Printable          Hang Printable

All Four Printable

*For best results, use as directed for 4 weeks.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Personal Life

Connect From Any Distance with Kinskii

February 10, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

Connect from any distance with Kinskii / by Busy Mom's Helper #KickstartKinskii

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!

Connect from any distance with Kinskii / by Busy Mom's Helper #KickstartKinskii

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!

Connect from any distance with Kinskii / by Busy Mom's Helper #KickstartKinskii

Connect from any distance with Kinskii / by Busy Mom's Helper #KickstartKinskii

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!

Connect from any distance with Kinskii / by Busy Mom's Helper #KickstartKinskii

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.

Connect from any distance with Kinskii / by Busy Mom's Helper #KickstartKinskii

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

Connect from any distance with Kinskii / by Busy Mom's Helper #KickstartKinskii

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

Filed Under: Kid Friendly, Parenting Tagged With: Family Night, Personal Life, Relationships

Call for Contributors!

February 8, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

Call for Contributors / by Busy Mom's Helper

There’s been an idea bouncing around my head like crazy for a few weeks now, and today I’m THRILLED to be able to share it with y’all: we’re making a Call for Contributors!

Call for Contributors / by Busy Mom's Helper

That’s right, things for Busy Mom’s Helper have gotten…well….BUSY and we’re looking to add on a few fabulous bloggers for our 2015 team! I want to be able to bring my readers absolutely AWESOME content regularly, so want to bring on board super fun people to help me provide a variety of high-quality posts!

We’re Looking For:

  • Bloggers who specialize in Crafts & DIY, Recipes, Sewing, Home Decor & Remodeling, Parenting, Lifestyle and More!
  • Fun, reliable people with creative, new ideas and blow-us-away photography skills!
  • Willing to post once per month, occasionally twice when there’s something extra special going on

What You’ll Get:

  • Exposure! Your post will be seen by our rapidly growing traffic and shared like crazy on all of our social media!
  • Money! Yep, you’re giving us some of our time back and that’s worth some cha-ching!
  • Authorship! Your pretty picture, blurb and social media will appear at the bottom of each of your posts.
  • Attention! You’ll be included in our coming-soon Contributor Page.
  • Social Media Love! Each week I’ll help share things for YOU…whether pinning a few things from your site every week or spreading the word on a giveaway you’re hosting.

Sound Great? To Apply….

Email me at: danielle (at) busymomshelper (dot) com Subject Line: Contributor

Include the following: 

  1. Your Name
  2. Your blog URL
  3. 4-5 links to your best/favorite projects. I’ll be looking for your voice and, of course, fabulous pictures!
  4. A little about yourself and WHY you think you’d be a great fit for a contributor on Busy Mom’s Helper.

Deadline to apply is February 28th! I look forward to hearing from y’all!

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: Blogging, Personal Life, Self

Why I Left My Husband

December 31, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

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!

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

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!

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

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….

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

….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!

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

#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.

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

#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!

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

#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!

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

#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!

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

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.

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

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….

Why I Left My Husband, and You Should Too! / by Busy Mom's Helper #relationships #findingthejoy #self

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!

Filed Under: Parenting, Relationships Tagged With: Date Night, Happiness, Personal Life, Relationships, Self

Have a ‘Me Moment’ with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt

January 9, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

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

As busy moms, wives & women, we spend a lot of our energy and focus on others. It’s our nature, I think, to put others first. This is definitely a wonderful thing, but not when we never give OURSELVES some attention. I’m guilty of this plenty, so one of my goals this year is to make sure to Have a ‘Me Moment’ regularly, and give myself a little extra love every now and then!

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

I sure seem to have made a lot of goals for myself for 2015! The good part is that they’re major ones that I’m taking baby steps towards, not a giant leap at all once! Like this goal of focusing on myself a bit more…right now I’m just taking a few minutes every here and there each day. My favorite time to do this? When I’ve earned (or really, really want!) a little treat without having to share. Let’s be honest, it’s pretty rare we get to enjoy our own little indulgence without sharing at least some with our kids, right?!

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

I found this NEW product at Walmart, and was super excited to try it out because it sounded AMAZING! Right there in the fridge section along the wall, with all the other yogurts, is a new one: Müller® Ice Cream Inspired Yogurt.

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

I. Love. Ice cream! Seriously, it’s just so good, with all the different flavors, and you can mix all these different things with it….super creamy and flavorful and delish…..ya. I really enjoy ice cream! So of course I HAD to give these a try, and grabbed all three flavors my store had: Vanilla Bean, Mint Chocolate Chip and Raspberry Chocolate Chip. Drooling yet?

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

What’s great is that there’s a Müller® coupon promotion: Take $1 off 5 Müller® Yogurts (offer valid from January 4 – February 15, 2015) in the Jan. 4th Sunday paper! This is a killer deal, so be sure to check that out!

So this week it’s been my little secret ‘Me Moment’ for myself. I literally HIDE from my kids in my closet…..don’t panic, it’s only a few minutes and I make sure they’re perfectly fine playing first…and sit there enjoying one of these ridiculous delicious yogurts. Here’s my special ‘Me Moment’ place….

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

Nothing exceptional about it, other than it’s quiet, open, and I get some time for just ME. Anywho, I sit there right beside my shoe organizer and enjoy Every. Single. Bite. So far my favorite (although they’re all fabulous) is the Vanilla Bean made into this creamy parfait.

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

Ingredients

  • Müller® Ice Cream Inspired Yogurt – Vanilla Bean Flavor
  • 1/2 – 1 cup Raspberries, just slightly frozen
  • 1/4 cup Chocolate Chips

Directions

  1. You can layer it for appeal, such as a thin layer of the Vanilla Bean Yogurt, half the raspberries, then the rest of the yogurt, remaining berries and sprinkle on the chocolate chips.
  2. Or just mix them all together, if that’s more your style!

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

The important thing here isn’t to get the perfect recipe…it’s that us women tend to do a LOT for others, and that’s great. But we definitely need and deserve some time to refresh, unwind and not feel like we must focus on a dozen others at that moment.

Because that moment, is a ‘Me Moment’!

Have a 'Me Moment' with Ice Cream Flavored Yogurt / by Busy Mom's Helper #MullerMoment #CollectiveBias #ad

I spilled the ‘beans’ on my special ‘Me Moment’ place…what’s yours?

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipe, Snack Tagged With: dairy, Goals, Happiness, Ice Cream, Mint, Personal Life

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »
The Most Helpful Printables EVER for busy families! Nab just a mini set of your favorites, or get the whole pack! Practically every printable a busy family could use - over 70 pages PLUS two BONUS items! Help get organized with categories like: Money, Scheduling/Time Management, Kitchen/Meal Planning, Security & Home Management, as well as Trip Planning! #printables #busymom #busyparents #busyfamily #busyfamilies #printableset #parenting #moms #money #homemanagement #timemanagement
Unofficial Disneyland Activity Book / by Busy Mom's Helper
52 Weeks of Meal Plans on a Budget with Recipes

© 2021 · busymomshelper.com