Now that we are well into the month of January and starting February tomorrow, I thought I would check in to see how you are all doing with your New Year's resolutions. Many of you have been exercising like crazy to decrease some of that junk in the trunk while others have been changing other aspects of their life. My priorities center more around whether my family is "covered" at all times. After all, who wants to get caught in the bathroom without toilet paper coverage? I'm pretty sure that I have your attention now because I don't know anyone who hasn't gotten caught with the proverbial pants down due to a short supply of TP. In our house, I'm pretty sure my children were creating origami with our toilet paper because there never seemed to be enough of it. If you know anything about kids, you know that they love playing in the bathroom and getting into everything. I've had every experience from having entire bottles … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2017
Tackle Those Tough Conversations With Your Teen! #StreamTeam @Netflix #Ad
My oldest son will be graduating from the eighth grade this June. He has always been very independent and wise for his age even when he was younger. Now that he is a teenager, we have open conversations about earning privileges and how getting older comes with a lot of responsibility. There are many hard-to-discuss topics around sexuality and current events that have been made much easier in part thanks to having access to an educational platform like Netflix. Some of the mature themes that are explored through Netflix original series like One Day At A Time and the dark comedy depicted in A Series of Unfortunate Events have lent themselves organically to some of our most in-depth conversations. The question that arises with most parents as their kids get older like my son, is how to identify when their kids are ready to watch television shows that contain mature themes or content. Much of their apprehension stems from … [Read more...]
Dollar Store DIY: Heart Plate Wall Hanging
Valentine's Day is right around the corner and couples are getting ready to celebrate their love for one another. Now that I am a mom, I like to include my sons in all of our holiday celebrations. Some of the ways that I express how much I love them is by making little sweetheart packages for them every year that contain some of their favorite chocolates and sweets. I also like to create personalized gifts for them without spending a lot of money. This year, I spent some time in our local Dollar Store and shopped around for some affordable arts and crafts. Since we just bought them a new bedroom set and are redecorating their bedroom, I thought making a heart plate wall hanging would be the perfect gift for this Valentine's Day. Not only can they hang it up in their room, but every time they look at it they will be reminded of how much I love both of them. Dollar Store DIY: Heart Plate Wall … [Read more...]
5 Things To Do When You Are Behind On Your Bills
It happens to most of us, you take a vacation when you really couldn't afford it, your car breaks down and needs a lot of expensive work done, you lose hours or your job altogether and bills suffer for it. Life happens. You can either mope and get down or you can hustle, figure it out, and take care of it. Make a plan and prioritize- Make a list of all bills, past due and current. Grab all your bills, a pad, and a calculator and lay them out in front of you. Decide what takes priority, obviously, food and shelter are going to be right at the top. Then you can order them by their due date. Call creditors and work out a payment plan- If you are not chronically late, and often even if you are, most creditors are more than willing to work with you. They just want to get paid and a lot understand that things happen so they will work out a plan with you that benefits you both but if you don't call and try you won't know. Once when I was in a bind I was behind on my car payments, I … [Read more...]
TMNT Whoopie Pies
If your kids love the Teenage Mutant Turtles as much as my sons and nephews do, you might want to consider making these adorable whoopie pies for their next birthday party or gathering. Not only are they adorable and easy to make, but the kids just love them. Here is everything you will need to make Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Whoopie Pies: INGREDIENTS FOR THE COOKIES: 2 (8.25 oz) pouches Funfetti vibrant green cake mix 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 eggs 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING: 4 cups powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon butter- softened 1/2 cup solid shortening 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 Tablespoons milk 2 Tablespoons hot water 3-4 drops food gel in red, blue, orange and purple 24-30 Wilton candy eyes -small DIRECTIONS FOR COOKIES: 1. Preheat oven to 350°. 2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 3. Pour the cake mix into a large … [Read more...]
Chinese New Year Broom Craft
Chinese New Year is also known as Spring Festival in China and falls on Saturday, January 28th this year. It is the year of the Rooster and Chinese families will be gathering on New Year's Eve to eat dinner together and to clean their homes to sweep away bad fortune before New Year's Day. Chinese children love this celebration and are excited to receive red envelopes which are stuffed with "lucky money" and well wishes from their loved ones on New Year's Day. Due to modern technology, some teens even have apps on their smartphones to receive their "lucky money" electronically which demonstrates how even this ancient tradition has caught up with modern times. Since this is the most important traditional holiday in China and signals the start of spring there, it is a public holiday in mainland China for seven days from Chinese New Year's Eve to day 6 of the lunar calendar new year (January 27 – February 2, 2017). … [Read more...]
Monitor And Limit Your Child’s Screen Time! @Screentimelabs #Ad
If your children are like mine, they love technology and are very savvy at navigating all of their electronic devices. As parents, we all want our kids to be in step with today's modern times because we know that technology is evolving daily and will open many doors for them in the future. The problem is that sometimes young people become consumed with their tablets and smartphones and don't know how to use them in moderation. Thankfully, us parents have The Screen Time app in our arsenal. It provides parents with the management tools to limit the time that kids spend on their devices. It is available for both iOS and Android users and is a wonderful resource for parents who want to establish boundaries when it comes to their children's screen time. The Screen Time allows parents to automatically limit the amount that their child spends on selected apps each day. You can even block certain apps from ever … [Read more...]
Easy Shrimp Shooters
Shrimp Shooters are a great appetizer for any adult gathering and I fell in love with them when they were served at my good friend's wedding a little over a year ago. What I like about them is that they are really easy and inexpensive to make and I think they are a refreshing change from the traditional shrimp with cocktail sauce recipe. I had the chance to make these last week when we had some friends visit us for the weekend. Not only were they a big hit with our guests, but they were also refreshing and just a great dish to entertain with. I'm planning on making them again at our next family party or gathering because I think my family would also love them. You can choose to make your shooters spicier or milder but make sure that you are generous with the shrimp you put in each one. The small shooter glasses are my favorite because they allow you to present these appetizers in such an elegant way. … [Read more...]
Share The Gift Of Love With Precious Moments! @PreciousMoment #PreciousMoments #Ad
When I was a little girl my Godmother, Millie, had a curio cabinet where she kept all of her treasures. I remember visiting her home and standing over this cabinet in awe of all the beautiful figurines and precious mementos that she kept there. She had an extensive Precious Moments collection and she would take each one out, one by one, and allow me to carefully dust them and admire how beautiful they were. Right around that time is probably when I fell in love with Precious Moments. This year, I have been given the opportunity to represent Precious Moments as part of the Precious Moments Ambassador Program. I'm very excited because this means that I will now be able to start my own collection and to share all of their beautiful collectibles with all of you. Just this past holiday season, I was able to add a “Holly Cardinal” Petite Brilliant-Shaped Glass Ornament from Precious Moments to our family ornaments. … [Read more...]
Pepperoni Pizza Dippers
Now that the holiday vacation is over, we are back to our regular school schedule which includes extracurricular activities and sports. If your kids are like mine, they come home from school every afternoon starving which actually makes me wonder what they are serving for lunch daily. As a Working Mom, I have tried to come up with easy after-school snacks that my boys can enjoy and that won't take a ton of preparation. Both of my sons love pizza so I knew that any recipe involving pizza ingredients would be right up their alley. I found that I could make easy pepperoni pizza dippers with some of the ingredients that we normally keep in the house anyway. All of this equals to a yummy recipe, happy kids after school, and a mom who is super cool in the eyes of her children! Pepperoni Pizza Dippers Yields: 8 pizza dippers Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 11-15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 1 … [Read more...]
