Saving You Time & Money
School Supply prices have risen dramatically in the past few years. Here are some tips to help you save more money without all the stress. You don’t have to shop at all the stores every week to find the best deals! Buddy up with a friend. Make your lists together from the ads and each shop at 2 different stores, then settle up and trade items later. Or ride together and have fun visiting while you get the best prices. {Read More}
I made these trays last year at a MOPS meeting. They’re small $1 store baking trays with scrapbook paper modge podged on top for decoration. Last week I grabbed them out of the toy closet with a set of magnetic letters so I could work with little Turkey on his sight words during our long trip to visit family over the weekend. I realized they were the perfect size for the kids to use as lap trays while we drove. {Read More}
A trip to Disney World is a big occasion for most families. The biggest decision you’ll need to make is which week to go. It’s important to not base your decision of when to go solely on your vacation days. If you want to make the most of the time you have in the parks, it’s vital that you pick a week that is typically less crowded. Who really wants to wait in line for 2 hours with 2 children {Read More}
Last week I shared some tips for giving nice baby gifts without breaking the budget. This week I’m going to let you peek into my gift closet and give you some tips for children’s gifts without breaking the budget. First, I should say that I haven’t always had a gift closet. It began as one box in the closet where I’d store gifts I found for family throughout the year. As my sister began having children, it expanded to 2 {Read More}
Not too long ago I began to feel like a hypocrite. Even worse, I felt like a hypocrite because of what I said to my son. I told him we didn’t have enough money to buy a new kitchen gadget for him to play with. (you do remember that he’s a chef wanna be right?) It wasn’t the first time that I hadn’t been completely honest with him about our finances and it made me feel terrible. He doesn’t need {Read More}
Keep all of your child’s medical records, prescription print offs and miscellaneous information from doctor appointments in a folder or binder. Carry it with you anytime you take your child for a well check or you have an appointment with a different doctor than normal. It will help you give the most accurate information to the doctors and save you from a lot of paper clutter induced headaches at home! When we were foster parents back in Arkansas, each foster {Read More}
This Saturday and Sunday are the Annual Phone Book Recycle Days at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. For every outdated phone book you bring you’ll receive one free admission to the zoo that day. We love the zoo in Tyler. It’s big enough to have a good variety yet small enough that you are able to still see all the exhibits. Say hello to the giraffes for us! For more info visit the Caldwell Zoo website. Subscribe to RSS headline {Read More}
My husband had this idea to make monster eyeballs with grapes and white chocolate. They would be a great way to create eyes for a scarier dish or to display all together for individual treats at a party. Plus, they were really delicious! Directions Wash and dry several plump, seedless red grapes Shave a few blocks of almond bark into a small bowl. Microwave on high power for 30 seconds and then stir. Microwave on high for 20 more seconds, {Read More}
After our move to Texas when all of our “stuff” didn’t fit on the truck, we’ve been more aware of our clutter problem. While our house is by no means clutter free, it’s far better than it was 3 years ago. Our two biggest struggles are toys (big surprise) and papers/misc on the kitchen counter. (Yes, I’m intentionally omitting the current state of my office LOL) Little Turkey has the best closet situation in the house – 2 walk in {Read More}
There are ways to show your teens how far their money will stretch. Even very small children can understand financial principles and handle money appropriately. Although many kids have these experiences I’ve seen many a parent deal with heartbreak as they watch their adult children make financial mistakes. I’m not talking about small things like a late payment. Rather, it’s huge lifestyle issues like living so far above their means to the point they have hundreds of thousands of dollars {Read More}