Category: Tip Jar

2021 Toddler Easter Basket Ideas

My goodness, what a week it has already been! We returned home from vacation this past weekend and I had every intention of getting my blog posts together for the week, but the tummy bug has been making its’ way through our house! Finally able to sit down this afternoon as Audrey was the final kiddo to be hit with the bug. The great thing is, it is very quick and both the boys were back on their feet within 12 hours. Praying it will skip over Andrew and I, but not sure that will happen – this bug is wicked contagious!

We’ve been hearing of family members, friends and coworkers who’ve been dealing with it so we know it’s making its round. The first thing we did before getting home Saturday was stock up our sick essentials – reposting that here because I think a lot of us will be needing it.

Anyway, happy to pop on here today and share some toddler basket ideas with you! Vacation last week has thrown me off, so I’m playing catch up and getting our lives back in order around here!

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What to Do with Kids – Week Nine Winter Activity Ideas

Reporting to you late this Tuesday evening! My gosh, what a weekend of getting things together before our trip and daylight savings time throwing off my internal clock, -but I told myself I was going to post so here I am! Today, I’m sharing week nine of our “What to Do: Winter Activity Ideas”. Only one more week left and I feel like it is on to brighter and warmer days ahead! We were outside yesterday from 3:00pm – 7:30pm and the kiddos were tuckered out! In the event you’re stuck with nothing to do, check out this week’s ideas!

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Look For Less – Spring Home Decor 2021

Spring is ALMOST here and I could not be more excited about it! We spent most of the day outside yesterday even though it was nearly 50 degrees, but the sun was out and we were all about it!

I love the colors of spring decor. It’s so refreshing especially after the cold and colorless months of January and February! Spring is just such an exciting time around here – more daylight, sunshine, warmer weather and

I know I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but I like to decorate around my staple decor pieces – adding seasonal touches here and there. As my decoration inventory grows year after year, I’m sure it may be a different story, but for now, this is how I decorate our house.

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What to Do with Kids – Week Seven Winter Activity Ideas

Good morning! I’ve been MIA on here, but I also needed a break! Sharing this post super late, but needed some time to focus on myself and really got slammed with invite orders as of recent – which is a good thing! Today, I’m sharing week seven of our “What to Do: Winter Activity Ideas”. We’ve been enjoying these activities and it is a great way to switch things up! Hope these give you some ideas and would love to hear any boredom busters you use at your house!

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What to Do with Kids – Week Six Winter Activity Ideas

Good morning! We are having a little heat wave around here – it’s a BALMY 37 degrees, but it is making me hopeful that spring is near! We just need to stick it out another month or so and we’ll be able to start shaking that cabin fever! Today, I’m sharing week six of our “What to Do: Winter Activity Ideas”. We’ve been enjoying these activities and it is a great way to switch things up! Hope these give you some ideas and would love to hear any boredom busters you use at your house!

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What to Do with Kids – Week Five Winter Activity Ideas

I’m posting a little late today as our boiler decided to bite the dust during the coldest stretch of days! So I’m FINALLY sharing week five of our “What to Do: Winter Activity Ideas”. We’ve been enjoying these activities and it is a great way to switch things up! Hope these give you some ideas and would love to hear any boredom busters you use at your house! Hopefully there will only be 7 more of these to share!

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Tip Jar: Toddler Routine for SAHM

Becoming a stay at home Mom excited me! While I was a little nervous about making the transition, I was also so ready to manage the household and grab hold to some sort of routine. I searched Pinterest all the time for sample schedules prior to leaving my marketing career and figured I would share our routine if you happen to be a working Mom making the leap to SAHM or just someone who likes to see how others do things (this is totally me, I’m so nosy!)

Today I wanted to share a sample of our routine around here – particularly for the boys – Tommy is nearly 18 months and JP is 3 years old. I followed this same exact schedule since JP was around 12 months and it still continues to work for him (with some modifications) and Tommy. I was recently chatting with a Mom and her son is almost 2. She was telling me his morning nap was rough and his naps (he was still doing two naps a day) felt really short. I suggested switching him to one nap a day as he was probably not tired at that time of the day anymore. She seemed hesitant because as a Mom, it is great to have some free time to get things done, but once I mentioned the afternoon naps were 3 hours, she couldn’t believe it!

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What to Do with Kids – Week Two Winter Activity Ideas

If you missed it last week, I shared my new post series to get us through the final weeks of winter. My plan is to share 4-5 simple, inexpensive and easy activities you can do with your kids while stuck inside on a weekly basis! The nice thing about it, you can do them at your leisure or whenever you have the supplies available, but most of these activities can be done using items you have on hand at home!

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What to Do with Kids – Easy, Inexpensive Activities during Winter

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I am SO SO EXCITED to introduce a new post series with you! For the final weeks of winter, I plan to share 4-5 simple, inexpensive and easy activities you can do with your kids while stuck inside on a weekly basis! The nice thing about it, you can do them at your leisure or whenever you have the supplies available, but most of these activities can be done using items you have on hand at home!

My husband and I try really hard to switch things up around here and keep it fresh for the kids. Generally speaking, we go a little stir crazy in the winter when we feel we are doing the same old evening routine. We tend to feel overwhelmed on weekends at the thought of “what in the heck are we going to do with these kids” (particularly when everything is closed down).

I plan to share the graphic below every week on Instagram, so feel free to follow along and same them so you are able to look back at if you run out of things to do! So, not only are we looking forward to doing some of these activities, I hope this helps you beat the winter boredom and makes your kiddos happy!

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Flower Power – Cut Garden Must-Haves

Happy Monday, friends! Today I am talking FLOWERS and could not be more happy to do so! I’ve been getting so excited sketching out new plans for my cut flower garden and wanted to share a couple favorites and tips with you! This will be my third year with a cutting garden and even if you have the tiniest bit of space in your yard, I recommend starting one! The neat thing, it doesn’t even require a ton of experience or hours of care if you select the right flowers! Want to fill your home with fresh flower bouquets this summer?

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Tip Jar: Budgeting for 2021

This past weekend, my husband and I sat down to do our annual exam of our household budget and savings plan for the year ahead. We thoroughly look at our budget and realistically examine potential expenses and find ways to cut/save money for the upcoming year.

We have built out and customized an awesome excel sheet template which is an extremely helpful resource for us. I can share if anyone is interested! Having a firm understanding of your budget can allow you to prepare for future expenses (i.e. school, home projects, home maintenance issues, etc.), reconsider what items are truly important and remove things that waste money all while challenging yourself to become a better saver. This sheet is what helped us make the jump for myself to become as stay at home Mom (and of course my husband’s career, we were blessed) – we number crunched and saw the opportunity was possible!

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Motherhood Monday: Buried Alive – Toys Edition – How to Handle All the New Gifts

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Good morning! Happy Monday and Happy New Year to you! Welcome 2021, I hope you are super sweet to us all 🙂

I’m sure everyone is still recovering for the holiday season – I know we are! This weekend, my husband and I took the time to sit down and regroup taking a thorough look at our budget and things we want to tackle. The main thing we both agreed on – donating, purging and reorganizing the house.

If you remember, the kids and I actually went through our toys on Giving Tuesday and donated a lot to make “room” for Santa and also give to those who are less fortunate than us. Along came Christmas and the onslaught of toys so, we decided take another look at the toys we had, where they were being stored and whether or not things should be donated or thrown away – again. We were able to find a lot more, so you can say I was pleased to rid of the clutter! I also went through my closet and found so many things to give away!

Today, I wanted to share some of our methods to keep the clutter under wraps AS BEST WE CAN because hey, we’re dealing with a 1,3 and 5 year old!

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Holiday Gift Guides 2020: Functional Gifts for Kids

I meant to post this yesterday, in fact I had other posts scheduled for the past couple days, but LIFE and VACATION got to me! I am back and hoping to stay ahead of the game! A major goal of mine is to be wayyyy more organized and structured in the blogging world come 2021.

Wrapping up my gift guides with Christmas nearly a week away, I figured I would share some FUNCTIONAL gift items that kids will love, but also YOU will love as well because hey, they’re needed! So here they are, some gifts that are both functional and fun. These gifts aren’t necessarily toys – they have a dual purpose and most likely will satisfy a need in your household! Happy shopping!

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Tip Jar Tuesday: DIY Christmas Cards

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It’s beginning to look like Christmas around here! As we speak we are getting hit with a winter storm so today, I am feeling those Christmas vibes! We were able to take some family Christmas photos this weekend and I will let you in on a little secret, every year I’ve done them myself. I know they aren’t the most amazing, but for free, I’m loving it!

I have a Sony a6000 camera – I purchased it after our honeymoon and was advised by the sales associate that it takes great quality pics, is very portable and acts as a DSLR camera. Now, would I love a DSLR camera, YES, but this was what I decided to purchase 5 years ago, so we are making it work!

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