I think all of us would say we would like to eat healthier. Most of us try a couple things. Some of us make some drastic changes. With the challenges of every day and motherhood, it can be hard to stay consistent with those changes. Some of the easiest ways to eat healthier is to swap out certain ingredients for healthier ones. This one doesn't involve a lot of thinking once you make the change. Here are some simple healthy baking substitutes that you can start trying today. Instead of … [Read more...]
Preschool Winter Activities – For Inside and Outside
Unless you live someplace where it doesn't really get cold or snow in the winter, winter can be a time of being cooped up. Cabin fever sets in pretty quickly, especially for those with younger children. Frankly, I'm convinced it is long, cold winters that cause mamas to go a bit crazy. There isn't much worse than being stuck in a house with children going stir crazy. It's not much better for those kids either. Preschool winter activities can be hard to think about when your brain is already … [Read more...]
Creating a Budget: 3 Simple Tips
With the new year upon us, many people are creating resolutions to save money or better control their finances. Unfortunately, many of those people don't know how to create a budget or even where to begin. If you are one of those people struggling with a starting point, here are three tips for creating a budget. Over the years, the categories and amounts have changed, but it is still the same basic budget. It is super simple, so no excuses! :) Decide on a Method I use Excel to track my … [Read more...]
Using Tape to Create Toy Volume Control
I don't know about you but I cannot stand noisy toys that don't come with toy volume control. Or they do but even the quiet setting is loud. And those obnoxious books that make noise! They are always so loud. Those are always the ones the kids want to use over and over and over too. When I worked daycare many years ago, we used a simple trick to make all those noisy things quieter. Packing tape! It is as simple as it sounds. Just take a piece of packing tape and cover the speaker of … [Read more...]
Stockpiling: Choose One
{source} {via} If you are like me, you might be a tad bit obsessed with watching the TV show, Extreme Couponing. While a good portion of the show is staged and it has caused some stricter coupon rules, it is still fun to see some of the stockpiles. Some are way over the top and selfish. Some are a little more normal and generous. But since the show isn't called "Average Couponing," you have expect that you are going to see some over the top shopping and people on there. The one thing that … [Read more...]
Stockpile Storage in a Small House
I live in a small house. I constantly feel cramped. It doesn't help that is also a fixer-upper split level ranch. So much of our house is living space not storage space, it makes the house feel smaller. The fixer-upper part just makes any house feel smaller. However, I have managed to have a decent stockpile in the space I have. Not anything like you would see on that extreme couponing show, but decent for what we need. First, I have the tops of my kitchen cabinets. It isn't ideal as I … [Read more...]