Questionable Choices in Parenting

Laughing at life as a parent so they don't commit me

Simple Car Maintenance Tips for Busy Parents

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Any busy parent likely spends a lot of time in their car – from school drop off and pick up to shuttling the kids to their activities and a million other chores. But even if you are packing on the miles in your car, it can be really easy to overlook routine car maintenance. So knowing just a few easy tips and reminders can make sure car troubles never slow you and your family down. Here are five tips to start you and your car onto long journeys together.

1. Turn Down the Tunes-  This one is easy because all you need to do is turn down the volume and take a listen to your car. Do you hear a squealing when you hit the breaks or when you apply the gas? Do you hear or feel a vibration? What about when you turn the steering wheel? Any sound is a clear sign that something needs to be fixed or adjusted.
2. Let the President Check Your Tires- Take a penny and place it in the grooves of your tire. If part of Lincoln’s head is always covered, your tires are in good shape. If you see the top of Honest Abe’s head, you need to get your tires replaced ASAP! Bald tires are no joke. This quick test can also tell you a lot about your car’s alignment and give you clues to bigger issues.  Try this on all four tires and in different spots of the tread.
3. Wait a Minute Mr. Postman- No matter how long you’ve had your car, it can have a recall. Don’t ignore these recall letters and be sure to care of these problems now so you don’t have bigger problems later.

Things to Include in a Travel Goodie Bag for Your Kids

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If you’re planning a road trip with your kids, you’ll need to pack more than just a few suitcases and grab directions to your destination. Kids get antsy in the car. Even though electronics and snacks will get you and your kids pretty far, why not pack travel goodie bags.  With a little prep, you can create a few goodie bags that will ensure you and your kids arrive happily to your destination. Not sure what to pack in the goodie bags? Here is some inspiration that is inexpensive, easy to put together, and that your kids will love to play with while on your road trip.
A few tips when planning the goodie bags:
Start with small paper bags that you can fill with goodies. These bags are also great for holding all of their new treasures but are perfect for quick cleanup as well. Be sure to create bags for both legs of your trip-to and from home. If you and your kids will be in the car for many hours, you may want to break up the trip with multiple goodie bags. Pick a few destinations along the way. When you pass these destinations, the kids can open their surprises.
Here’s what to put in the bags:
Head to the dollar store and grab a few of these items to pack in the bags.
1. Travel games and card games
2. Small Lego sets
3. Beads and strings to make necklaces and bracelets.
4. Notebooks and pencils to journal and draw pictures while you travel.
5. Word search  and crossword books
6. Coloring book and crayons
7. Window clings to decorate the windows in the car.
8. Flash card games for preschoolers and older kids
9. Dry erase boards and dry erase markers
10. Snacks and special yummy treats

Apps for On-the-Go Parents

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From managing your kids, your home and your work-things never stop for busy parents. So you need apps on your phone that will make your life a little easier. From saving money, managing all of your to-do lists and finding the best places to take your kids to burn off some energy, here are five apps busy moms and dads need  to download today.

Yowza!!– This money saving app actually sends you coupons and other deals right to your phone based on your location. So wherever you are-you’ll be able to easily save money. According to the app, most coupons come directly from the manufacturer so you can expect to save big. Coupons can be scanned from your phone, so there is not clipping and holding onto paper coupons involved.
Remember the Milk– If you are always making to-do lists, then you need this app. Remember the Milk helps you create and manage multiple to-do lists. From daily to weekly tasks everything is easily organized and you can even receive reminders when you have an event of activity coming up.
Kids Meal Deals– If you are on-the-go with your kids, there are plenty of times that you will need to stop and grab some food for them. However, this app will help you save money on their meals. This app will show you all of the restaurants with kids’ meal deals near your location. This also includes the restaurants where kids eat for free. The app is often updated so you have all of the current deals and can compare the offers. This is a great app to use in your hometown and when you travel.

On-the-Go Snack Ideas For Your Kids

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Whether it is a quick trip to the store or a long trip to grandma’s house, snacking in the car is a way to keep everyone full and happy. So to make the snacking easier and less messy, here are a few on-the-go snack hacks that everyone in your family will love.

  • You can still have a healthy snack that is prefect for being in the car. Fill a small plastic container with sliced fruit and attach a plastic fork to the top of the lid with masking tape.
  • Take your favorite yogurt to-go but skip the spoon. Just pack a straw so when you are ready to eat, just poke a hole into the foil wrapper and drink your yogurt. This also works for kid’s squeeze yogurt tubes.
  • Load up the bottom of a small plastic jar with hummus, peanut butter, or another type of nut butter and then pile in the veggies like carrot sticks or celery. Now you can use the veggies to dip, but everything is  in one convenient container so there is less mess and less containers in the car.
  • Freeze water bottles and use them as ice packs in your cooler. When they thaw, you’ll have a refreshing and cold drink. Plus you won’t waste cooler space on ice packs.

Click right here to see the entire list!

We’ve Got Some News…

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So there is a little secret that we’ve been keeping under wraps  and we are all so excited to finally tell everyone. This July we will officially be a party of five!

We are all over the moon about adding a new babe to our bunch. While the first trimester was ROUGH–I’m feeling, well, tired is how I’m feeling now that I’m firmly in the second trimester.

What has been the most amazing part of finding out we are having a baby, is the reactions from Aaron and Lyla. They are so excited and every day talk to my belly and tell the baby all the things they will do together once the baby is born. I knew the kids would be excited, but their gentle and loving reactions have made all the morning sickness, aches, pains, and other grievances that come with pregnancy WORTH IT!.

We took a video of how my husband and I told the kids, and I’ll post it soon so that you can cry along with me.

I hope you will come along with me on this journey as I explore what it means to be a new mom all over again. So expect lots of new baby content but also my life hacks posts and DIYs for you and your entire family.

Now, I need a nap because I’m making a human and that is a lot of work.

xo

 

Healthy Food Swaps

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March is National Nutrition Month and I got the chance to chat all about simple food swaps that you can make every day for better health.

First we are going to start in your fridge!

I don’t know if you’ve heard of fairlife ultra-filtered milk but it’s great and we love it in our house. Not only does fairlife have 50% more protein and 50% less sugar than regular milk , but it is really delicious.

Also, it’s lactose free has no artificial growth hormones, and it naturally  contains  9 essential vitamins & minerals. So this simple swap really is a no-brainer.

It comes in all the popular varieties, from skim milk to whole, and my kids are crazy about the chocolate flavor. I even put it in my coffee to make it taste like a mocha. It’s my little morning pick-me-up.

Up next– your morning cereal! Swapping your regular cereal for Special K Protein Honey Almond Ancient Grains cereal is a great way to get a yummy and protein packed breakfast.  Each serving provides 15g of protein and that number climbs to 24g of protein per serving in a single bowl when served with ¾ cup of fairlife.

 

Alright, moving on to lunch and dinner. Making healthy meals that are quick and easy is no longer difficult thanks to Fresh Express. Their packaged salads are chef-inspired, high quality like you’d find at a restaurant but you can make them at home in minutes.  They come in so many delicious flavors and I feel like a salad made by someone else always tastes better. This is such an easy and healthy swap!

Finally, snacking throughout the day is super important. So having a healthy option like Wonderful Halos mandarins is a simple and easy swap. Not only are they sweet, seedless and easy to peel, they are packed with vitamin C and are a good source of fiber. Halos are the perfect on-the-go snack for your entire family.

Here’s a few links to the Healthy Swaps segments:

 

Valentine Treats and Activities for Your Little Sweeties

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Fun fact: I LOVE Valentine’s Day. I love all the hearts, flowers, and candy. But what I really love is making this sweet day even sweeter for my kids. Aaron and Lyla joined me at TLC to make a few Valentine’s Day treats and activities, and I really think you are going to love what we did. Check it out!

Click right here to see the video!