Create a Christmas Jar

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I present to you::: Photo by Suzanne @ Happy Chaos I saw this idea about two years ago and saved it! Now that Jax is old enough we can do some really fun and amazing things! Inside this jar are 25 scrap pieces of paper. Written on them are some awesome activities for us to do. Each morning leading up to Christmas, Jaxon will pick one out of the jar. That evening we will complete the activitiy. I won’t list all the activities right now….but

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It’s  not Christmas, but it’s almost as good as Christmas for Mom. It’s back-to-school time. Now that the kids are once again inside the Hallowed Halls of Knowledge you can : 1. Go to the bathroom. Alone. 2. Stop eating your secret stash of chocolate in the laundry room. 3. Waste all morning on Facebook. 4. Organize your closets. Or not. 5. Actually get your heart rate up while working out, because you won’t have to stop every two minutes to get someone a cookie.

Back To School Tips

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guest post by Emily Can you hear that sound? It’s the collective cheering of parents who know school is getting ready to start. The beginning of the school year can be a hectic time. As a former elementary school teacher, I know that all too well. I also know how stressful it can be to worry about the teacher that is going to be spending an awful lot of time with your child. Here are some tips to having a great relationship with your child’s

Scrapbooking Your Children’s “Extras”

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guest post by Wendy (former Mom Spark writer) www.Wesnlani.com I love looking for fun and creative ways to display my children’s artwork, writing, and funny things they say. Suzanne posted about a collage that she created with her son’s artwork using Snapfish. I often use these items in my scrapbooks. Here are a few examples. If you would like to see a larger version of the pages just click and you will be sent to my Flickr page. 1. Take a photo of your children

Big Crowds, Little Kids

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I will start by sharing a few of my tips about wrangling my little ones in big crowds but what I am hoping for out of this post is a lot of comments and tips from all of you readers. Lets start a conversation about this because it is summer travel time and whether you plan on being a tourist or if your town becomes flooded with tourists in the summer, it is always good to have a plan when you are dealing with big

Backyard Safari Outfitters Review

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With all of the distractions of video games, television, and computers families face every day, we often forget to just take a breath and spend some time outside.  It is healthy and educational for our children to spend plenty of time outside with nature, and did I mention it’s also fun? Backyard Safari Outfitters from Summit Toys has created a whole line of field gear perfect for exploring nature, even in your own backyard.  My family received a Cargo Vest, Mega View Periscope, and a

Story Time Extension: Make Reading Fun!!

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guest post by Wendy I love reading to my children. We find ourselves cuddled up in the chair reading books several times a day. If you have a favorite title, a great way to extend that book is to create an activity based on something that happened in the story. Today I read The Gingerbread Man to Lani and my other child care children. To extend that story we baked our own gingerbread cookies. While baking the cookies we talked about the book. What were