Look What Came in the Mail!

A few days ago, I signed Emily up for a letter/artwork exchange with a 3 1/2 year old girl named Lu from 4 Crazy Kings. Mama King has a fabulous blog over there, and it is definitely worth checking out. Emily was so excited to receive her letter, and quickly went to work on a […]

Happy Father’s Day!

I was a little late in posting about this Father’s Day craft because Mark sometimes reads this blog (or at least pretends to) and I did not want to spoil the surprise! Emily used this stamp set by Melissa and Doug, some construction paper, a little glue, and some shiny star stickers to make this […]

Vacation on a Budget — Part II

Here are some other low-cost or free activities our family enjoyed while on vacation in Montebello, VA. (You could probably do most of these on any camping trip too!) Mark took Emily to the lake to feed the fish. I think she was throwing in entire hot dog rolls — they were quite stale. Mark […]

Vacation on a Budget — Part I

Here are some more details from our week long vacation in Montebello, VA. It is beautiful there! We stayed in this cute cottage at the Montebello Camping and Fishing Resort. The rates are very reasonable, and the cabin included a full kitchen, two bedrooms, a pull out sofa in the living room, and a full […]

Bottle Cap Tic-Tac-Toe

Emily has been playing lots of Tic-Tac-Toe with Mark lately, and they have been using up quite a bit of our scrap paper to play. This bottle cap version uses just one half of an 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper and 10 bottle caps (5 of each kind). Be careful to make sure […]

Tutorial — Crayon Wallet

The girls are really enjoying their crayon wallets, and here they are drawing with them when we went to visit Mark to have lunch at his office the other day. We’ve been taking them with us on car trips, or any time we are waiting at a restaurant or doctor’s office. Here’s how to make […]

Chalkboard Fridge Magnets

These magnets are so easy to make and very practical for organization purposes. We are loving them and plan to make a lot more! To make your own chalkboard fridge magnets, you will need some metal frozen juice concentrate lids, a little chalkboard paint, and some magnets. Paint one side of the juice can lid […]

10! Show Round Up

In case you missed today’s 10! Show, here is the clip!View more news videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video.Here are links to the projects we demonstrated on today’s show: Spin Art Lazy Susan Style Block Prints from Foam Meat Trays Making Paper Kites Beads from Old Magazines Paper Marbling — This is Awesome! This segment was so much […]

Vacation Sneak Peek

…And we’re back! As many of you guessed, we went away on vacation last week. It was fabulous (and frugal, of course). Right now I’m busy preparing for tomorrow’s 10! show, so here are some quick highlights from our trip to beautiful Montebello, Virginia with further details to follow soon.  Thank you for all the […]

5 Tips to Save Money on Eating Out

Last week, Mark and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary, and we thought it would be nice to take the family out for dinner to celebrate! As a frugal freak, I’m always looking for ways to save money and cut costs. Here are some of our favorite ways to save money on eating out: Kids […]

Garden Update

This summer our family signed up for a garden plot through our township. It was a bargain. Six hundred square feet for just $10 for the year! Plus, it was already tilled for us. They might as well have just planted the seeds for us, and given us a garden. It sounded ridiculously easy. We […]

DIY: Sticker Book

When my parents were visiting last week, my mom brought a few stickers for Emily. We realized that Emily didn’t have a sticker book, so my mom made one for her. I think it looks great, and Emily really enjoyed arranging all her new stickers in it! The pages are sheets of waxed paper. Works […]

Nature Hike…with a stroller?

In the days before we were inundated with rain, Emily asked if we could go on a nature hike. Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate to say yes, but Clara is at that awkward stage of not really walking, but a little too big for a sling. This nature hike would have to involve a stroller. Strollers […]

Fun with Felt — Baby Booties

I never thought I would be able to sew these cute baby booties, but this was my very first try and I’m quite pleased with how they turned out! If you would like to make your own, I highly recommend you follow the detailed directions and pattern found here. It seemed a bit intimidating at […]

Rain, rain, go away!

We have been trying to make the most out of these last several rainy days. Thankfully, tomorrow’s forecast is looking much better. This afternoon, I visited a new store in town. They just opened up, and their prices are phenomenal! The selection is a bit lacking, but they make up for it with the absolute […]

What kind of day is it?

Every morning when Emily wakes up, she greets me with the following phrase — “Hey, do you know what kind of day it is?” The answers range from “Messy Art Day” (my personal favorite) to “Fun Play Day” to “Go to the Beach Day” or (Lord, help me) “Build a Treehouse Day”, all proclaimed with […]

More Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

I am absolutely loving these homemade chewy granola bars! They take very little time to prepare, do not contain high-fructose corn syrup, and the recipe can easily be modified for those allergic to peanuts. They are also less expensive than store bought granola bars. This recipe makes about 18-20 good-sized bars. I wish you could […]

DIY: Lightweight Blocks for Toddlers

These light-weight blocks were so simple to make, and Clara had a lot of fun playing with them. Sometimes wooden blocks can be a bit too heavy and difficult for the little ones to play with. Instead, we made our own using empty (well-cleaned) milk cartons! Stacking blocks is a great educational activity for toddlers […]