Christmas Charity on a Shoestring!

Pin itMany of you know that I am coordinating a Blog Carnival and Contest for the Operation Christmas Child charity. We’ll have a virtual packing party on MomTV Thursday, Nov 5. This is one of my favorite projects, because you can really put a personal touch to it, and even send a letter or family [...]

In Organization, Conformity is Key

Pin itI know, I know! Me? giving organization tips! You’ve seen my house! About every six months or so, I do a great job organizing my laundry room! And then about six months later, it turns into a great big hairy beast, and I have to totally clean it out again! Throughout my serial cleaning [...]

The Universal Question: What To Get for Teacher Gifts

Pin itI have really been trying to think of an amazing way to bless my kids’ teachers this year. My schedule has been crazy this year, and I haven’t been able to volunteer or do much for the teachers. So I really want something that lets them know how much I appreciate them. So I [...]

Easy Chicken Parmesan

Pin itThis recipe Works for Me when I need to put a dish together and bake it on a different day. The day before the National Mom’s Night out, we got a package from Ragu, and a package from Unilever Foods, with some easy to fix items for the dads! That was really thoughtful, considering [...]

Adventures at the Car Wash!

Pin itWhen Spring comes, we think about cleaning our homes top to bottom, but do we think about those shiny, colored boxes we ride around in for half our lives? Spring cleaning the car definitely Works for Me! We had a nice little foray to the car wash the other day in between my daughters’ [...]

Protect Your Marriage (and Money) With a Spending Communication Policy

Pin it A few days ago, an upbeat young woman called while my husband was out at a school concert. She mentioned that she had talked to Judd about an exciting vacation opportunity (time share pitch) on a coastal island. He had been very interested, but it was during dinner, so he had asked her [...]

Build Strength and Have Fun With an Indoor Climbing Wall

Pin itWhen I tell people we have an indoor climbing wall in our house, they probably conjure up images of a mansion with a bowling alley, and movie theater, and butlers… What? They really don’t? Well, they do say, “Wow!” with a look of wonder at the marvel… What? They just think we’re weird? Surely [...]

Really Easy Chicken Recipe

Pin itThis week, I stayed at my brother ans sister-in-law’s house, babysitting their kids. With five kids in the house under the age of seven, we had to make some easy dinners. I also wanted to leave some leftovers for when they got back last night. So one night, I made my signature Baked Ziti. [...]

Cheap and Easy Children’s Artwork Hangers

Pin itThis summer, my kids have been really getting into drawing, writing and crafts. The only problem is that there is limited space in which to hang said crafts. The girls have taken to decorating every bit of empty wall space with their brilliant creations. Besides the peeling paint and empty tape rolls – I [...]

I Kissed the Dustpan Goodbye!

Pin itI’ve always hated sweeping. Not the actual sweeping part, but trying to scoop up the last bit of microscopic crumbs, while inching backward little by little, until I run out of floor. You know what I’m talking about! But I have found the answer to all my sweeping woes: The Dust Buster! For years, [...]

Keeping the Focus on Jesus at Easter

Pin itWith all the Easter Egg hunts, bunnies and candy, sometimes the real reason for Easter can get lost. In our family, we don’t do Easter baskets, although the Grandmothers send wonderful presents. We don’t have egg hunts on Easter Day, but sometimes we do them before. We don’t believe the Easter Bunny is real, [...]

Decorating on a Dime: Accent Pillows!

Pin itEvery time I look in a decorating magazine, I tend to drool over the decorative accent pillows that cost way too much in the store. Then I realized that just like most things, “Hey, I could make that much cheaper than I could buy it!” I realized I have several skills necessary to make [...]

Getting Your Kids to Sort Laundry is Easier Than You Think

Pin itI used to spend so much time sorting laundry right before putting it in the washer. Having all the laundry together meant that I couldn’t just take out one load, I had to go through it all to find the Whites, Lights, and Darks. When we moved into our new house, I decided it [...]

Back on the Budget Bandwagon

Pin itOh the budget roller-coaster! Each time we get one we can work with, circumstances change, and it’s back to the drawing board! We had a pretty good budget going last year while we were renting. We stayed with it, but weren’t able to save anything. Then we moved into our new house (after going [...]

10 Ways to Teach Basic Music Skills to Your Children (Even If You’re Not a Musician)

Pin itAfter college, I taught K-8 General Music, Chorus and Drama for 4 years. When I had HipChick, I organized homeschool music classes for a while, and began teaching private piano and voice lessons from home. Around the beginning of the year, parents usually start asking me about getting music lessons for their kids. I [...]

Next Page »