Pretty soon the kids will be going back to school. This Summer, my brother and his wife moved to New Jersey. Since my Sister in Law used to pick up all our kids from school, this year my boys will go to the after-school program for a little while until I pick them up after work. I know that they will be starving when they get home so I will have to make sure that I have some snacks or treats for them in the house. I've been trying to do more baking lately and both of my sons love donuts. If I let our younger son, he would eat chocolate donuts for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've been trying to create more wholesome donut recipes for him to enjoy when I do allow them to indulge in some baked goods. He hates eating vegetables but he does love carrots so I thought, what better way to combine his two favorite foods? The best part about these is that they are also perfect for enjoying for breakfast. … [Read more...]
5 Ways Teachers Can Impact Their Students
As a teacher, you probably want to impact your students as positively as possible. Although you go to work and it can feel just like any other job, there are ways you can impact your students. Don’t get stuck in a rut, use these tips to keep impacting the students of our future. #1. Show You Care Asking your students how they are is just one way you can show them you care. Go above and beyond and show them you care. For example: if a student drops his/her textbooks help pick them up. If your student is having a bad day, take the time to listen. If they ask for extra help, show them you care by spending the extra time teaching/tutoring them. #2. Spend Time Answering Questions There are always those students who have extra questions. They don’t quite learn at the same pace as the other students and that’s okay. Spend time answering the questions of those students and you will impact them more than you ever thought possible. #3. Serve … [Read more...]
DIY Striped Picture Frame #DIY
If you are like me, you like to fill your home with photos of your friends and family. After all, home is where the heart is, they say. Unfortunately, I have been finding that picture frames have been getting ridiculously expensive and I wanted to come up with a more affordable option to display our photos and look great as part of our decor. The outcome was a beautiful striped picture frame that you can make right at home for a fraction of the cost of expensive store-bought frames. You can customize them and use colors that fit with your home's decorative scheme while saving a little money. Striped Picture Frame- Materials- 4x6 unfinished picture frame Cranberry Apple Barrel paint Tropic orange Apple Barrel Paint 3 foam brushes Clear modge podge Painter's tape Decorative flowers (hobby lobby) Hot glue/hot glue gun Directions- 1. Start taping stripes on the frame, starting at the … [Read more...]
Tips For Spending More Time Together As A Family
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to spend more time together as a family? What’s stopping you? There are ways you can spend more time together as a family without breaking the budget or driving each other crazy. Don’t Forget the Ride Home Although you may all be in a car together, riding in a car home together is one way to spend more time as a family. It’s a great time to talk and discuss how the day went. You may not be sitting face to face, but this is a nice way to unwind and catch up as a family. Push Back Bedtime 30 Minutes Okay, so not every family can push back bedtime by 30 minutes, but if you can it’s a great way to go. Why? Well, many families don’t get home till 6 o’clock at night and it can be difficult to get anytime in together. Pushing back bedtime can help give a little more “time” together. If you can’t push back bedtime, then consider getting up 30 minutes earlier and eating an unrushed breakfast together. Spend Time Eating Dinner Together In today’s busy … [Read more...]
Cinderella Inspired Fairy Godmother Wand #DIY
When I was a little girl, I loved to engage in pretend-play. I would spend hours with my dolls making them talk to one another and act out all of the scenarios that I could think of. Dressing up was a big part of these afternoons of imaginative time and I always enjoyed acting and looking like my favorite fairy princesses. Every single day, I would read fairy tales with my grandmother and then incorporate the heroines in those stories into my creative sessions. For some reason, the fairy princess Cinderella always was one of my favorites. I have never had an evil stepmother but I think I could relate to her ability to keep going despite all of the adversity that she was faced with. I was always very good at improvising with things I found around the house to create the outfits for my make-believe playtime. Whether it was a silver spoon from the kitchen that I used for a scepter or an ornate towel that I … [Read more...]
Straight From The Oven-Lemon Almond Poppy Seed Bread Recipe
One of my favorite memories from my childhood is having fresh bread delivered to my grandmother's home every morning from the bakery in town when I lived in Spain. There is just something so delicious about warm bread, right from the oven, that makes every breakfast meal more delectable. Now that I live here in the United States, I often try to replicate some of my favorite recipes to enjoy with my own children. Baking bread and having its wonderful smell permeate throughout the whole house immediately catapults me to breakfast time when I was a kid. Here is a recipe for Lemon Almond Poppy Seed Bread that you can make right at home to enjoy that freshly baked, just out of the oven, bakery experience! LEMON ALMOND POPPY SEED BREAD Makes 1 loaf of bread Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Bake Time: 55 minutes Ingredients: Bread: 2 cups of all-purpose flour 3 Tablespoons of poppy seeds 1 Tablespoon of baking powder ½ Teaspoon of table salt 3 large eggs, lightly … [Read more...]
5 Ways To Be A Happier Person
Are you tired of feeling sad or unhappy all of the time? Maybe you look at other people and wonder how they can be so happy all day every day. Well, there are some ways you can be happy and here are the tips to prove it. Work Less Some of us spend literally every day working and it’s time to stop allowing work to suck life away. If you want to be happier, try and find a healthier work-life balance. If you are totally unhappy, maybe it’s time for a career change. Sleep More How many of us stay up way later than we’re supposed to? Going to bed earlier can help ensure you wake up happier the next day. Being tired can only make a person cranky, so it’s important to get as much sleep as you can to avoid being cranky. Make New Friends Maybe your friends are making you cranky? Perhaps they suck away the time you have during the day or they are just negative all of the time. Try finding new friends and ones that have a better outlook and perspective on life. Help Others … [Read more...]
Increasing Communication Between You And Your Tween
Wouldn’t it be great to increase communication between you and your tween? The question is: how do you make that happen? Communication is an important part of parenting, no matter what stage you are at. Here are some tips to help you make increased communication a reality. Have a Date Night Spend time one-on-one with your tween. Some parents refer to this as a mommy-daughter date night or a father-son date night. It’s just a special night where the parent and tween spend time together. This is a time for you to know what’s going on with your tween and to hear what they have to say without much interruption. Talk About It It seems as though talking about things is such a thing of the past. Families are too busy with life that they forget to chat and catch up. Talking about life is one way to increase communication between you and your tween. It’s possible to understand what’s going on in your tween’s life, you just have to make that effort. After a while, they’ll see you … [Read more...]
Becoming Debt-Free After Having Children
Are you done having children? Maybe it’s time to focus on serious matters like getting out of debt. There’s good news, it is possible to get out of debt with a little bit of determination. Here are some tips to make this a reality. Only Use Cash It’s pretty simple to use a debit card and swipe swipe swipe. However, when you only use cash, it’s gone when you run out and there’s nothing you can do about it. Using only cash can help you get out of debt because you’re not going to continue to use a credit card. Prepare for Emergencies One of the biggest issues facing people who are debt is that they are not prepared for emergencies. When an emergency happens, it’s easy to put it on a credit card and then debt adds up really quickly. You can start preparing for financial emergencies by having an emergency fund set up. Even if it’s only $500, that’s something you won’t need to put on a credit card. Sell Your Stuff Although you may not want to, selling your items is one great … [Read more...]
DIY Flower Clip Hair Accessory
Even though I'm a mom of boys and an aunt of nephews, I've always been very much a girly girl. Thanks in part to the fact that I have adopted my Sister In Law's niece as my own niece, I am able to go shopping for dolls and girl's clothes in order to spoil her. Her birthday is coming up in October and I have been researching ways that I can fill a gift basket for her with all sorts of girly accessories. She loves getting her hair done so I found some tips online for making DIY Flower Clips for her hair. After experimenting with some of the ideas I found, this is what I came up with. I think she is really going to love these and I'm sure you will love making them for the special little girls in your life! DIY Flower Clip Hair Accessory: Materials- 1/8 yard of any type of fabric (I typically like cotton) 1 button Small circle of felt Lined alligator clip Hot glue gun Scissors Threaded needle Plastic cup for tracing Directions- 1. … [Read more...]
