• family - special needs

    Appliance Shopping Adventures

     ADVENTURES in appliance shopping: We are price matching our butts off over here appliance shopping. We need a new dishwasher and a new refrigerator. We really need a new laundry set too, but we are prioritizing the refrigerator and dishwasher for now because old dishwasher will die any day and currently makes weird noises sometimes. Also our fridge is old and small and doesn’t close right. So we are appliance shopping and we have been doing that on and off, for months. I think we’ve both had just about enough actually. Flipp App helps for some of that and then there’s…

  • family - Giveaways - parenting

    Ten Great Hallmark Holiday Gifts #LoveHallmarkCa #Giveaways

    Hallmark is the gold standard for cards and gifts throughout the year, but at Christmas they outdo themselves. This year, Hallmark has some of the most adorable decorations and holiday gifts that you will find. So whether you are decking out the halls of your home, or gifting something unique to a friend or family member you will find it with Hallmark’s help. There are even Two Super Fun Star Wars gifts this year: One of my favourites this year is the Star Wars salt and pepper shakers. There’s a Darth Vader ceramic pepper shaker and a Stormtrooper salt shaker…

  • family

    5 Tips to Help Teens in a Challenging Job Market

    The job market has always been a competitive place. In today’s society, that’s even more true. Going to college, or university, is a start, but companies look for other things besides a college degree. These days they are searching for someone with an extra edge or skill. It’s almost become essential to have a second language too. So what can you do to give your teen a toehold in a challenging and rapidly evolving economy? Short of finding the job for them, or Here are a few things that can give a teen an edge for college, and later, in a…

  • family - parenting

    It’s Time Once Again for Christina Knows Best – Stokke Blanket

    It’s time yet again for Christina’s take on new MOM stuff! This time she’s taking on the Stokke Blanket and she’s also apparently trying Halloween costumes on her baby too. Because, why not? Christina is my baby correspondent, or correspondent with a baby. Yeah, that’s it. Anyways, Christina vlogs periodically about new baby products and brands. You can see her right here also in the NEW Baby product contributor post where I introduced her to my readers. You can read more about her in the above post. If you want to send something like the Stokke blanket to her, you…

  • family - parenting

    Inside Out Movie – Add This to Your Christmas List Now #TMMGG2015

    Since my one daughter’s play ended, we’ve been getting back to family movie night here. That means we’ve had some enjoyable evenings snuggling together, watching highly amusing and sometimes really moving movies. One week ago we watched Max, which I highly recommend for anyone over 7 or 8. It was a great show about dogs used in war. This past weekend we watched Inside Out, which we all loved. Inside Out is a comical and really witty romp through one little girl’s mind. Do you ever wonder what’s going on in someone’s mind? Disney-Pixar’s “Inside Out” takes an exciting and…

  • active family travel - family - Travel

    What’s This Minivan Driving Mom Doing at Daytona International Speedway? #LoveDaytonaBeach

    Fast cars have never really been my thing. I’m more of a minivan driving Mom who, up until recently, never got a speeding ticket in her life. I didn’t grow up with Nascar nostalgia. So how did this happen? How did I end up touring Daytona International Speedway on a recent trip through Central Florida’s Daytona Beach area, and more importantly how did I find myself enjoying the experience, even plotting a return one day to see more? Well, let’s see….where should I start? Sometimes I find myself in odd places. Sometimes I am incredibly surprised that I enjoy doing something I…

  • family - Food

    10 Delicious Sweet Treat Christmas Cookie Bar Recipe Ideas

    It’s now well into November and honestly it’s starting to look a bit more like winter around here. There’s something about this time of year that makes me want to bake. This year I have a gorgeous new Breville Scraper Mixer Pro which is clearly going to be my new Christmas toy and present just for me!! Also it is already inspiring this Mom to generate some creative cookies and recipes in the kitchen. Baking is so much more fun with the right tools! Don’t you agree? Christmas Cookie Bars Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. I…

  • family - parenting

    PERFECT Teen or Tween Gifts – Fashion Angels Charm Mashup and Work In Progress Natural Facial Care – #TMMGG2015

    Fashion Angels Charm Mashup is a toy I would have gone nuts for as a tween or teen girl. I loved to craft and make things just like my girls do. So, I figured this would be a lot of fun but I was surprised it made me feel like a kid again too. Usually bead kits drive me a bit batty as a parent because the beads can wind up tracked all over the house, but we have learned a few tricks from the kid’s crafting experiments here over the years and I quickly just made sure ALL the…

  • active family travel - family - Travel

    Save Money with Cheap Flights at Christmas #Travel

    Guest Post: Pick the right day to fly Busy airports, crazy-high fares, winter weather delays — are you sure you want to do this? The busiest (and most expensive) travel days of the year are around the holidays. Armed with our fare calendar chart (see below), you’ll save a lot of stress and small stocking of cash by picking the right days to fly. Rise and shine Don’t want to miss the carving of the turkey or the unwrapping of presents? Book the earliest flight you can. Sure, you’ve got to wake up early, but those first flights out are the least…

  • family

    Chrono Bomb Game is the Perfect Present for Your Spy In Training #TMMGG2015

    I spied the Chrono Bomb game this past summer at a toy show in New York City and it screamed Ainsley’s name to me as I walked by, so I struck up a conversation with the person representing Patch Products and told her all about this girl of mine. Back when Ainsley was about 8 and we were living in our old house, she would grab string, or yarn from the closet and string it all over her room creating an elaborate web of lasers so that she had to limbo and contort her body just to get into the…