Winner will receive a 3 piece Freesia set (bracelet not pictured) from Plunder Design Jewelry a $57 value Here are the rules for this one:  Please Read Carefully! You must like us on Facebook to be eligible for this contest In the box below that says,”Leave A Reply” please enter your full name and email address (email and names will NOT be posted to the site). Please leave a comment saying: “Freesia set please” If you share this giveaway on Facebook and let us know in your comment, we will give you an additional 3 more entries.  All Facebook shares must be set to public so they can be seen. Click “Post Comment” to complete your entry All entries will be automatically registered to receive our monthly newsletter. […]

Are You Doing This Parenting Thing Right? (What we can learn from studies of successful children and their parents) by Guest Blogger Lisa Natcharian, M.Ed., Parenting Coach at Raising Wizards Just as there are all kinds of children with all kinds of personalities, strengths and challenges, there are all kinds of ways to parent.  What works for one family may not work for another, so comparing ourselves to the family down the street isn’t particularly productive. However, recent studies show that there are definite common themes among the parents who have raised successful and happy children.  We all have our moments of doubt when we wonder if we’re doing this parenting thing right.  When yours strikes, take a quick look at […]

This is beautiful! ***tissue alert*** Christmas Story: For the Man Who Hated Christmas By Nancy W. Gavin It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it – overspending and the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma – the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else. Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to […]

If you’re at all like me, boiling Easter eggs to make them hard boiled, is a bit of a nightmare!  Inevitably, I crack several of them.  So I found this trick last year and it worked like a charm and it’s easy and I’m all about EASY! Place eggs in a pot big enough to hold them in a single layer. Cover the eggs with cold water and bring them to a rolling boil. Cook for one minute, then remove them from the heat. When the water has cooled off, about 20 minutes or so, the eggs will be hard boiled. If this isn’t when your eggs get cracked and you find that the kids are the ones cracking them […]

As much as I love to organize, I am equally budget conscientious. You do NOT have to invest in pricey containers to organize your stuff! I reuse containers all the time! Here are some of my favorite ideas! Washed out kitty litter containers are great to sort my sons’ toys. They have lids and stack well too! I use fruit cups for crackers, nuts and other little snacks for my kids. {They are especially great in the summer when you go out and about! Just grab and go and who cares if they don’t come back home} Food containers like the ones from store bought cakes are for lids and tea: I use old biscotti containers to hold my flour […]

My youngest son and I had this silent battle going on before Christmas. I hung our sleigh bells on the doorknob on the back of the door and he moved them to the front. I didn’t like them on the front because they swung in the way when I closed the door. But whenever I moved them back, it wouldn’t take long for the little stinker to move them to the front again. I told him a couple times to leave them alone. So finally after 4 or 5 times of this little “game”, I got so annoyed and raised my voice… “Stop moving the bells to the front of the door will ya!” He replied, “I like them on […]

I just love this video and had to share it…to all my “sisters” Thanks Momastery! xo, ~Melissa ***The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and that of the guest bloggers. They do not reflect the opinion of the advertisers on this site.

Here’s a simple way to organize hats and mitts. My family of 5 has many pieces of winter gear. I bought one of these over the door organizers from Target. They had some beauuuutiful fabric ones but I wanted to see what was in each pocket so went with the vinyl. You could label each pocket with mini binder clips or clothespins. Assign one row per family member, with the youngest being on the bottom. Thought I’d share this lovely idea because it is so much better than digging through a bin! Stay warm, ~Mary ***The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and that of the guest bloggers. They do not reflect the opinion of the advertisers on […]