Questionable Choices in Parenting

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

Thanksgiving Foods that Travel Well

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There’s nothing quite like a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, and if you aren’t the one hosting the dinner, then you won’t want to show up empty-handed. Instead of simply bringing a bottle of wine or a small hostess gift, why not volunteer to bring a dish that travels well. Here are a few Thanksgiving sides that travel well and will impress everyone at dinner.

Mashed Potatoes – A Thanksgiving fan favorite and an easy dish to travel with. Simply pack the mashed potatoes into a slow cooker. Just be sure the slow cooker is warm while you travel. Then when you reach your destination, give the potatoes a stir and set the slow cooker on warm.

Mac and Cheese – For homemade mac and cheese, you can put the dish together and cook it once you are arrived at the host or hostess house for dinner.

 

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Educational Apps that That Will Entertain Toddlers in the Car

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With the busy holiday season in full swing, your toddler may be spending more time in the car traveling to family and holiday functions. While you can pack lots of snacks, games, and toys to keep your little ones entertained—sometimes it is nice to give your toddler a little technology break so they are happy and everyone else in the car is happy too. So if you aren’t’ sure what apps your toddler will like, here’s a few education apps that will help them learn letters, colors, numbers, and shapes. The best part of these educational apps is they are having fun and learning too! So there’s no need to feel mom guilt of their technology time while in the car.

1. ALPHATOTS ALPHABET
The educational app focuses on 26 different action verbs that can help toddlers learn their ABCs. AlphaTots Alphabet has cute sing-a-longs and fun puzzles to keep your toddler interested and encourage them to learn letters and their sounds on their own.

2. PBS KIDS
This app allows your toddler to view all of their favorite PBS shows child friendly app. This one has always been a favorite of my kids.

3. MONKEY PRESCHOOL LUNCHBOX
This wonderful app is a parent favorite as an educational app for toddlers. It’s easy to use and teaches basic literacy and mathematics.

4. PEEKABOO BARN
With many different versions of this app, it’s a great app for toddlers to learn about farm animals’ names and sounds.

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Products You’ll Want to Have in Your Car

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Before you make a mad dash to your car so that you can get to that mile-long to-do list, you’ll want to make sure you have a few products in your car that will definitely make your day a little easier. From keeping your backseat more organized, to being prepared in an emergency, and always making sure your coffee is nice and hot, here’s five products you’ll want to toss in your car today.
1.  A Backseat Organizer– The Mom’s Besty Car Back Seat Organizer is perfect for kids and toddlers and all of their travel gear. With a touch screen tablet holder tablets to pockets large enough to hold toys, bottles and sippies, and snacks, plus a kick mat to protect your car seat. This backseat organizer is the perfect way to keep your kids and your car organized.
2. Car Emergency Kit– You’ll never have to worry about getting stranded in your car with this emergency kit. The Lifeline Premium Roadkit comes with forty-two pieces of emergency gear. From car jumper cables, to a flashlight, and even a first aid kit.

30 Things You Need to Do With Your Kids This Fall!

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The cooler weather and beautiful fall foliage is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the autumn weather. Not sure how to spend your day? Here are thirty fun and fantastic fall activities everyone in your family will love. From being outside to using the items your find on nature walks to decorate your home, it’s time to have enjoy this beautiful season before it’s gone. 

1. Take a drive and enjoy the fall scenery

2. Get outside and go to a pumpkin patch

3. Have a family photo session outside in the beautiful fall foliage

4. Carve pumpkins and try a few new designs

5. Roast the pumpkin seeds

6. Go apple picking

7. Turn those apples into apple pie or apple crisp

8. Go on a hayride

9. Collect leaves on a nature walk

10. Then make leaf art with your new collection

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The Best Hacks to Keep Your Car Organized

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If you are looking for a few hacks to keep your car more organized-all you need are a few bungee cords You probably have a few bungee cords floating around in your garage, so instead of letting them gather dust, it’s time to put them to work! From keeping your groceries from spilling everywhere to keeping your kid’s toys together, bungee cords are going to become the key to hacking car organization.

1.       Grocery Bag Hack- Keep all of your groceries organized and upright in the back of your car using a bungee cord. Start by stringing the bungee cord through all of your grocery bag handles. Then attach the bungee cord both sides of your trunk. Now your groceries won’t spill while you drive and will save you time when you are unloading your groceries at home.

2.       Stroller Storage Hack- Save space in your trunk by using a bungee cord to keep your stroller upright in your trunk. This way you will still have space for other large items. This also works great for suitcases too.

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The Best Car Games to Play With Your Kids

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Looking forward to your next family vacation but not really looking forward to long hours in the car with your kids? No worries, because with these five hacks, your kids will be happy, entertained, and become the perfect traveling partners. OK, that might be a bit of a stretch, but these hacks are a great way to keep your kids happy while you are on the way to your vacation spot. So grab the kids and pack your bags because, it’s roadtrip time!

· Plastic shower caddies are inexpensive and are perfect for serving snacks and drinks in the car. Just load up a napkin, food, utensils, and a drink in each compartment and pass back to your kids. Now your roadtrip partners can balance the shower caddy on their lap and everything they need for snack time is in one convenient place.

· An inexpensive cookie sheet becomes the perfect travel item for your kids. They can place it on their lap and it becomes a spot for coloring pages, books, and any toys your kids have brought in the car.

· When you are limited on space in the cooler, make room but ditching ice packs. Instead, freeze a few water bottles and juice boxes. They will keep the food cold and when they melt, they are the perfect cool drink for your kids.

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Car Games for the Whole Family

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Even though everyone in your car has electronics, movies, and snacks to keep them entertained, sometimes good old fashioned games are a fun way to keep everyone distracted from the long trip and can make a few hours in the car a whole lot more fun. The best part about these games, they are so simple and fun, the entire family will want to play along. For your next roadtrip or even a short trip with your kids, here are five super fun car games. 

1.       “Sorry I’m Late” – For this game, one person give a reason why they are late but they are really describing a move. For example. “Sorry, I’m late I was helping a girl find her glass slipper.” The move is Cinderella

2.       Moo!- This is a great game for young kids as well as adults. On long car trips, anytime someone sees a cow they yell “Moo!” and they get one point. If you pass a farm with lots of cows, everyone in the car will be mooing away! 

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The Best Apps for Families On-The-Go

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You have enough apps on your phone that are pretty pointless, right? Mindless games are a great distractor and you will always need a few apps to entertain your kids in a pinch. However, if you are a busy mom or dad and need a few apps to make your life easier—here are five you will want to download today. 

Trekaroo- This free app is perfect if you are exploring your own town or visiting another area. With this app, you’ll be able to search for playgrounds, zoos, and museums. This is perfect if you are looking to plan a family day or just need to kill a few hours. You can also find kid-friendly restaurants and hotels-which can be a real life saver if you are traveling. With Trekaroo, you can also access ratings and reviews from other parents.

Ibotta: Cash Savings & Coupons – This is an app you want to download right now because it is going to help you save money and is super easy to use. Ibotta is designed to get you cash back on the items you purchase and you’ll get cash back wherever you go. The app works with leading brands and retailers all of the country to help you take advantage of easy savings without having to worry about carrying around clipped coupons or remembering promo codes. So no more searching for coupons because Ibotta is going to help simplify saving money. To use, simply browse rebates on the app before you go shopping, find and add relevant cash back rebates, and shop away!

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How to Pack Your Car Like An Expert

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Sometimes it can see like packing your trunk feels like a grown up version of Tetris. You try to be strategic as you make every last suitcase and bag fit perfectly into your car. Some clearly consider themselves master trunk packers. However, if you’re anything like me, you start tossing bags and random items haphazardly into the car and hope it all fits.

If your packing skill are more like mine, here are a few packing tips that will you avoid the chaos and stress of packing your car and will make sure you fit everything you need in the car neatly.

·         Rather than carry items out to your car one at a time to pack, make sure all of your bags and items you will be packing are outside next to your car at the same time. Doing this allows you to organize your bags by bags that need to be easily accessible, bags are the heaviest, items are oddly shaped, and are there any bags or items you can combine to save on space.

·         Be sure to clean your car before you start packing. There’s no need to have extra items that you have to manage while trying to pack.

 

 

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