Mom Hacks, Tips & Tricks

Budget Backyard Beautification The weather was getting nicer, but our backyard was boring and bland.  In fact, I didn't even want to go out there. One Friday night, I'd had enough. I did what any normal mom would do and searched Pinterest for ideas. I didn't want to spend a lot, and there was no shortage of ideas. And if you know me, you know that coming up with an idea on a Friday night means that it needs to be done by Sunday afternoon. We hit up Lowe's and got blocks for a retaining wall, spray paint, patio pavers, and sand. We (and by we, I mean my husband), started by transplanting the grass to other parts of the yard...

  Summer is officially upon us! The temperature (and humidity) is steadily rising, and  your little darlings are home from school for the summer and constantly searching for ways to beat the heat. Popsicles are surely one of childhood's simplest pleasure, but unfortunately the boxed grocery store variety can contain ingredients that are less than appealing. With multiple teaspoons of sugar per popsicle, your kids may find sweet relief from the heat but with some pretty unhealthy ingredients. Making your own popsicles is quick and easy, (seriously, you can have a batch ready to go into the freezer in about 5 minutes) and a great way to combine healthful ingredients with a tempting sweet treat that even adults will enjoy! I'll...

When my daughter was first born, I spent most of my days with Meredith Gray and Olivia Pope (if you know these people, we can be friends). It was the loneliest few months of my life.  Finally, after some encouragement from my husband, I turned off Netflix and decided to get a life. I needed real human beings over the age of 18 to interact with daily. I needed mom friends. Let’s just say that making mom friends is no easy task. Mom groups have a tendency to segregate, and you may not feel as though you fit in anywhere. There are the seasoned moms, the cool moms, the indie moms, the attachment parenting moms, the crafty moms, the southern...

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by VarageSale. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It's that time of year when spring cleaning posts have made their way around social media and where you've felt the guilt for not washing your mini-blinds and for having "too much stuff." All you really want to do is hang out by the kiddie pool on a brand new patio set and soak up the sprummer sun. Now, we all know we'd feel more relaxed if the house wasn't so messy and if we could get control of "all the things." So, I'm here to help. I've got three ways to declutter your home. They are fast and easy and may even make you some...

If the outside of your family's refrigerator looks anything like ours, there are multiple invitations to children's birthday parties scattered among the art work and expired coupons at any given time.  And while it's great to see the joy in a child's face as they blow out their birthday candles, the financial burden of buying birthday gifts can be a bit much.  I have a few stand-by gifts that are not only easy on the budget, but are a lot more useful than yet another toy that will get lost in the black hole of the toy chest. Several of these gifts can be purchased in advance and are easy to store to keep a few on hand for...