Questionable Choices in Parenting

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

Heart Shaped Cupcake Hack Perfect for Mother’s Day

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Looking for a Mother’s Day sweet treat that is just as fabulous as Mamma? Then check out my latest video from TLC. Lyla and I are showing you how to turn Mom’s favorite cupcake into a heart shaped cupcake. So easy and so fun. Even pint-size bakers can master this cupcake hack to show mom the love on Mother’s Day!

Click right here to see the video!

4 Ways to Make Long Car Rides with Your Kids More Fun

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If you are prepping for a road trip with your kids, it’s time to prepare with a few hacks to keep your kids happy travelers. From hacking a movie, saving pacifiers from getting lost, and the best way to snack while in the car, here’s four ways to make long car rides with your kids way more fun and easy on you.
Having a DVD player in your vehicle really comes in handy when you have kids, but how can you hack a movie in your car if you don’t have an actual DVD player installed? Start with an iPad, a large freezer bag and two short bungee cords. Just attach the bungee cords to the backs of the front seats. Place the iPad into plastic bag and push the bungee cords through the bags. Now the iPad is suspended between the front seats and your kids can watch a movie. Just make sure the freezer bag is clear so the kids can easily see the iPad screen.
Create a travel tray for your kids with a small baking sheet-grab one for the dollar store and a small pillow. You can use Velcro or hot glue to attach the pillow to the bottom of the baking sheet. When you kids are in the car, they can use the tray to read, color, snack, play with toys, or watch a movie. Plus this inexpensive DIY is easy to store when you aren’t traveling.

The Best Travel Hacks for Parents

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It’s time to pack up the family and hit the road for a family vacation. While most family vacations aren’t full of rest and relaxation, they should be full of family time and fun. However, before you leave for your vacay, here are some of the best travel hacks to make your trip with your family run a little smoother.
  • An over-the-door shoe organizer is simple to pack and is perfect to hang in the bathroom. Rather than let everyone’s lotions, soaps, makeup, hair products, and styling tools take up all the counter space, pop everything into the pockets to keep the bathroom organized.
  • A roll-up cosmetic bag makes a perfect pool bag. Pack toys, goggles, money, and even a book for Mom or Dad to read into each compartment. Now everything your family needs for a day at the pool stays organized and is easy to carry.
  • Use a hanging sweater organizer as a cubby in a hotel room. It’s perfect as a catch-all for shoes, souvenirs or electronics. For early mornings, save time by designating each pocket for your kids’ outfits so everyone can get ready and out the door in a flash.
  • Pack a few clothespins because after splashing in a pool or the ocean, you can attach the clothespins to the shower curtain to hang wet bathing suits and towels for a quick and space saving dry. You can also use clothespins as toothbrush holders so your toothbrushes aren’t sitting on the bathroom counter.

Click right here to see the entire list!

How to Play the Perfect Weekend Staycation

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If you need a weekend away with your family but not looking to spend the money to actually travel anywhere, it’s time to plan a staycation. No hotels, no long car rides, and no need to book a plane or train. All you need is time to make the plans and all of the hot-spots in your town to have the perfect weekend staycation with your family. So skip the suitcases and get ready for a fun weekend with your family right in your own town.
Backyard Camping – If you are brave enough to go camping with your family-go for it! If roughing it in a tent is not your style, you can still get in touch with nature with a little backyard camping. Setup a tent in the backyard and camp for the night or for just a few hours. Use a fire pit or make your own fire pit with charcoal in a terra cotta pot. Now you can roast marshmallows for s’mores while you sit by your own DIY campfire. The best part of this camping, if you have young kids that change their mind late at night, you can always take the camping party inside.
Find Your Favorite Sea Creature – Head to an aquarium to explore sea creatures. But before you go, head to the library and help your kids do a little research on their favorite sea creature. Look at age appropriate books and search the web. You can even create a scavenger hunt for the aquarium. This is a great way to slow kids down a bit so they don’t just run through aquarium and miss all of the creatures.

Five Ways to Keep the Trunk of Your Car Organized

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We are all looking to keep our car more organized and the trunk of our car is one of those places that can easily become a hot mess. From tossing in your groceries, your kids’ sports equipment, and any other random items you may find in your car, it doesn’t take long for the lunch to become a disaster. So to keep your entire car, including your trunk more organized, here are five easy ways to stay ahead of the mess.
  • Leave foldable laundry baskets in your car for grocery shopping days. This way you can load all of your grocery bags into the laundry baskets for an easy and organized way to transport them to your home-no spilled grocery bags for you. Plus, you can easily carry the laundry baskets into the house rather than making a dozen trips trying to carry all the bags. When you are done, just fold the laundry baskets back up and store them in the trunk until your next shopping trip. You can also store these baskets in a large plastic container.
  • Another grocery bag option is to attach a bungee cord across the inside of your trunk and string the bag handles through the bungee cord.
  • If you have plastic containers of different supplies in the trunk of your car and the bins are constantly moving and shifting around while you drive, grab double sided adhesive and a few inexpensive book ends. Place the adhesive on the bottom of the books end and attach to the bottom of your trunk. Then place the bins against the book end-which will now work as a stopper, so the bins won’t budge while you are driving.

Click right here to see the entire list!

How to Upcycle Items from Your Home Into Items that Will Keep Your Car Organized

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If you are looking for ways to keep your car more organized, there’s no need to spend a small fortune on expensive gear for the inside of your car and trunk. You can actually turn some of your trash into treasure-car organization treasure. So before you take out the trash, here are six ways you can turn regular items from your home into the perfect containers for everything in your car.
  • If you can’t enjoy your morning coffee without creamer, then you probably have a few plastic containers taking up space in your fridge. Clean out the container and use it to store small snacks. The lid is perfect for tiny hands to open and you can toss the container in the car for long car rides or just for a quick snack when you are on the go. We love storing goldfish crackers, dry cereal, or tail mix in these upcycled containers.
  • The next time you need a pack of gum, grab the kind that comes in the round container with the snap-top lid. This container is perfect to store spare change. Place the container in a cup holder and lift the lid to add the change whenever you need a few cents.
  • Old makeup cases are perfect for car emergency kits. From band aids for boo boos, to wipes to clean up messes in the car, you can store everything in the makeup case, zip it up, and never worry that you won’t have any of the essentials when you are on-the-go.

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Turn Peeps into Edible Playdough

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This time of year, we always end up with about a million marshmallow Peeps. While my kids could eat them everyday, we decided to use the little marshmallow chicks and bunnies to get crafty for our latest TLC video. Here’s a super simple and fun way to turn Peeps into edible playdough.

Click right here to see the video!

 

3 Ways to Repurpose Easter Treats on TLC

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If your kids’ Easter baskets were full of candy, Peeps, and way too many jellybeans–we’ve got a few fun ways to get crafty with all those extra sweets. Plus a fun spring activity that all the birds in your neighborhood will love. Here’s our latest video on TLC!

Click right here to watch!

 

Gender Reveal Ideas Perfect for Siblings!

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We’ve let the big secret out–We Are Having A Baby!! Now it’s time to reveal if Aaron and Lyla are going to have a baby brother or a baby sister. Since gender reveal parties were not a thing when I was pregnant with Aaron and Lyla, I wanted to share the news with the kids in a really fun way that they would always remember. However, a quick search on Pinterest will show you that gender reveal ideas can get really crazy and super expensive. Instead, I put together a few party ideas that were all about the older siblings. Check out my latest from TLC to see how we made a gender reveal party that was all about the siblings.

Click right here to see the video!