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Free Printable I Love You Cards + Easy Ways To Make Your Spouse Feel Loved
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #NatureMadeWellness
This year one of my resolutions was to get healthy. What a loaded statement! A few years ago, that would have meant I wanted to exercise more and eat better. Now, when I say I want to work on my health, it not only includes those things, but it also means that I want to work on my mental, emotional and relationship health. Trying to work on all of that at once has been overwhelming, but with small steps it has been an amazing journey! Far from perfect, but I am happy to report that focusing on small things has made a HUGE impact on my health in every aspect possible! It’s funny, but when you put effort into other avenues of health, it seems that it is easier to make those choices like picking more vegetables and going to the gym to exercise. I’ve also started to incorporate Nature Made® vitamins from Walmart in my daily routine. I have to admit something to you thought, I’m HORRIBLE at remembering to take my vitamins in the morning. HOR.RIB.LE. Dustin on the other hand, is really good at remembering. I was constantly telling him about 4 in the afternoon, ‘Aww man! I forgot to take my vitamins this morning!’ In the past three months or so, something awesome has happened. Every morning, he makes me a cup of coffee and brings me my vitamins. Y’all, that’s an act of love. I don’t think he knows how much that small act of kindness means (well, I tell him so, I hope he knows)! His one small act of kindness inspired me to do return the favor, but in a different way. I created these fun love notes that you can print here. Find a small act (or try one of our ideas below!), print off a card and fill in the blank of I Love… and leave it for your spouse to find. Even though this is an act of kindness to make your spouse feel loved, it will make you feel good too! Make a surprise breakfast. Take a tip from Dustin and include some vitamins too! Nature Made® Vitamin D3 Adult Gummies are a great one add to breakfast. Vitamin D3 helps support bone, teeth, muscles and immune health.† D3 is actually the body’s preferred form to get vitamin D.* Nature Made® Vitamin D3 Adult Gummies also provide 2000 IU of vitamin D3 per serving. As the saying goes, ‘A well-functioning immune system is foundational for your health.’
Compliment him. Make a honey-do list….and then do it. Hand him a list already checked off and tell him to enjoy himself.
Cook their favorite meal. Lasagna anyone? Fill up his gas tank. Silly? Yes. Practical? Totally. A nice, small gesture that makes someone smile? Absolutely!
Exercise together. Check out some fun couples workouts on Pinterest! Offer a massage. Without expecting one in return. If he offers, even consider saying no. Sometimes, it feels nice to just be spoiled every once in a while.
Frame something important. For Dustin’s first Father’s Day we celebrated together, I purchased a Grateful Dead poster for him and had it framed. He used to have the same poster and loved it, but life happens and it was colored on and torn. The story and meaning behind this silly poster was everything though. I even wrote a letter on the back of his frame. When I told him I had a gift for him (and he saw how large it was) you could tell he was definitely surprised! I don’t even think he remembered telling me about the poster! It now hangs in our bedroom (although it doesn’t match my modern farmhouse decorating scheme I have going on….but letting him win that one is an act of love in itself)! Let your spouse sleep in. Sleep is VITAL for everyone, especially me. Not just for my beauty sleep, but when I get a good night’s sleep, I feel SO much better. Nature Made® Melatonin Adult Gummies are perfect for me. I can be tired, laying in bed trying to go to sleep, but my brain’s goes over a zillion things I need to do or didn’t get done that day. Nature Made® Melatonin Adult Gummies provides 2.5 mg of melatonin, which helps support my sleep and it helps reset my body’s sleep/wake cycle.† Plus, they taste great! You can find Nature Made® Adult Gummies at your local Walmart. These vitamins are perfect for not only supplementing your health, but a great way to use in an act of love to support your loved ones too! Be sure to pin our ways to make your spouse feel loved, while using the free printable love notes!
† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
*Vitamin D3 is more effective than vitamin D2 at raising and maintaining adequate levels of circulating vitamin D in the body.†
Pledge To Thank A Veteran!
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DogChowDifference #CollectiveBias
As a parent, there are a few things that I try very hard to teach my children. One of them is gratitude and another is appreciation. We strive to implement them in our everyday life. One thing that I am passionate about is making sure that our Veterans know that we appreciate them and how gracious we are of their service. My son’s father is a Veteran, my brother is in the service and we have countless friends (that we are lucky enough to consider family!) also who have sacrificed their time and dedicated their lives for our freedom.
I wish that I had about 60 hours in each day, but the reality is that I don’t. So we do what we can. There is no shame in that! And sometimes inspiration hits me when I least expect it. Like when I am shopping for dog food.
We are lucky enough to have a Dollar General literally at the end of our street. Talk about convenient! We are there all the time. It’s so nice to be able to take a few minutes and walk together (or grab one of the kids) and just spend a few minutes talking and walking. Those few minutes really add to our quality time. Sometimes, we grab the dogs and walk over to do a bit of shopping. We are at Dollar General SO often that everyone knows not only our names, but our dogs’ names too.
I ran in to grab some dog food. We really enjoy shopping at Dollar General not only because of the convenient location, but also because of how clean and easy to find everything is in our store. I can run in, know exactly where to find things and quickly be out the door heading home. Plus they offer great promotions!
Right now, Dollar General has teamed up with Purina® Dog Chow® to support our military vets with every purchase of specially marked bags of Purina® Dog Chow®.
And even more, on October 10th, you can take advantage of 11% savings on Purina® Dog Chow® at Dollar General! The offer is available in-store and online. Low prices and our favorite brands? WINNING!
So once we got home with our Purina® Dog Chow® my mind was twirling. I was so happy to support a great cause and with a purchase that I feel good about giving our dogs. We see Vets all the time and my kids are awesome at thanking them for their service. Creating little cards has been on my mind for a while. I got to work immediately! Well, after the dogs got fed!
If you follow us, then you know all about Lincoln and George, but a few months ago we adopted Stella too. Three rescue dogs in all now. We go through A LOT of dog food. I love Purina® Dog Chow® for a lot of reasons.
- Made with Real, American-raised Chicken
- 23 Essential Vitamins and Minerals
- Always crafted in the USA since 1926
- Protein for Strong Muscles
- Crafted in the USA
- Always crafted in the USA, Purina® Dog Chow® is made with real beef, lamb or American-Raised Chicken.
- It provides 100% complete and balanced nutrition adult dogs need to help them live long, healthy lives.
- Why does Purina care so much? Because the food we make isn’t just for your dog, it’s for ours, too.
And, our dogs absolutely love it!
So while the dogs were chowing down, I whipped up these fun little cards to thank a Veteran!
Didn’t they come out cute?
I’m super excited for us to use these cards to thank a Veteran! Super handy and if I don’t say so myself, super cute!
The idea behind them is that you can sign them if you want or even add a gift card if you desire, but mostly to print off and keep in your purse, so when you see a Military member you can hand them one and say thank you.
You can download our cards here!
These cards are an easy way, even as a busy family, that you can remember to thank a member for their service! I hope that you join us in thanking our Vets for their service! These little cards to thank a veteran should make it nice, easy and handy! And don’t forget about October 10th at Dollar General to save big on Purina® Dog Chow®!
Be sure to pin our Free Printable Cards to thank a Veteran!
Lark Ranch – The Best Place To Experience Fall In Greenfield, Indiana
I’ve lived in Indiana my whole life. I won’t tell you exactly how long that is, but let me assure you, it’s quite a while. As a life long Hoosier, I pride myself on knowing what is going on in my own backyard. But every once in a while, something like this pops up and it’s new. And after I experience it for the first time, I wonder how the heck I’ve gone so long without it.
Enter Lark Ranch.
Lark Ranch is a family farm that actually has two locations, one in Greenfield and one in Loogootee. While I have plans to visit their second location, I haven’t been there (yet!) but their location in Greenfield has left us awestruck.
When you arrive to the Ranch, it is in a place, just that you would expect: surrounded by cornfields. Pulling in, our kids were immediately excited.
Immediately into the ranch, we were greeted with fun things to do. One thing our kids immediately gravitated to were the ginormous chairs. Furniture you are encouraged to climb on?! What?!
But the giant furniture goes well with the life size birdhouses they have! Isn’t this playground fun? Speaking of playgrounds, throughout the main areas, there are tons of place for kids to play. There are tires to climb on, giant ‘blobs’ to bounce on (like trampolines!), and gems to mine.
What else do they have to play on? A giant slide
(Insider tip….if you ride on the grey carpets you will fly down!)
Tractor pedal cars (that clearly adults love too)
A swing ride
Jumpers
A rock wall
Train rides
A corn maze
A fire pit and SO much more!
Lark Ranch is also home to a really great pumpkin patch! Take the train ride and find the perfect pumpkin.
And the animals!!
We can’t forget the animals! Turkeys run loosely around the ranch. And they also have lots of chickens.
You can find the horse grazing, but he will come up to the fence and let you pet him! So will the donkeys! There are also several sheep in a pen that walked right up to us.
The pig pen was a popular spot with our family.
While we were all in love with this lady here,
Her piglets totally stole the show!
And they come running when they saw us!
In all, our first Lark Ranch adventure was amazing. And we can’t wait to head back for our next fall expedition! Admission is only $12, making it a really affordable way for our family to get away. And you really do feel miles away. I’m so excited to share with everyone our Lark Ranch experience!
Follow Lark Ranch on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date!
Don’t forget to pin: Lark Ranch – The Best Place To Experience Fall In Greenfield, Indiana!
Disclaimer: My family was invited to experience Lark Ranch, but we were in no way compensated for this post. All opinions are 100% my own. I wrote this article simply because we loved them so much, that I wanted to share!
DIY Clothespin Birds: Crafts For Kids
DIY Clothespin Birds
Clothespin Birds are for sure a thing in our house. Actually, sentimentally they are one of my favorite projects lately. Why?
See this guy? Yep. He made the original birds. Probably not what you were expecting! In case you don’t follow me on Instagram this is Dustin. (Wait. Whhhhaaaat?! You totally should. It’s full of fun stuff, if I do say so myself.)
Our story (Cliffsnotes edition)
I met him when I was 15 at my very first job. I was a florist at a grocery store and he worked at the meat counter. Gosh, I would flirt with him all the time. We lived in the same neighborhood and I was friends with his younger brother, so outside of work we saw each other here and there. Over the years, we grew up, had kids, got married, got divorced and reconnected. Now, we have a house, seven kids between the two of us, three dogs and he just quit his job to come blog with me full time. I’m pretty lucky to not only be with my best friend, but work with my best friend doing something that I love to do!
But the birds. This was the first DIY project I gave to Dustin to do. See, he’s an amazing cook. (Allllll these recipes? They are his. All the recipes on our slow cooker/Instant Pot site? Yeah. Those are his too.) Crafting though? Well, he’s getting better. Better-ish. But these cute little birds are so easy that literally anyone can do it. Even Dustin. 🙂
Our kids thought they were pretty cool too. So we seriously have a flock of clothespin birds at our house. Luckily, we’ve found some great uses for them. Sometimes, they are great bookmarks. Sometimes, we use them as chip clips in the pantry. We’ve added magnets to the back of some for the refrigerator so they can hold school papers and art work. And some, well, some are just put around our daughter’s room for decoration. And for holding notes. Notes are very important.
To make the clothespin birds, you will need:
- Clothespins (Buy them online. I thought these would be easy to find, and maybe it was just my stores, but it took me forever and I ended up buying expensive ones at the craft store. I tried big box stores and the dollar store without any luck. I wish I would have just picked them up on Amazon and been done!)
- Acrylic Paint – Your choice of colors (For small children you can use tempera paint)
- Paint Brushes
- Feathers
- Googly Eyes (Small ones)
- Orange foam sheet
- Glue (I used a low temperature hot glue gun, but Elmer’s glue would work too!)
Instructions for making clothespin birds:
- Pick out the paint colors that you wish to use. We used pastel colors for our birds.
- Paint your clothespins in the color of your choice. The paint will dry quickly, but be sure to allow it to fully dry.
- With the handle of your clothespin up, attach 2 googly eyes.
- Cut out a small triangle beak out of the orange foam sheet.
- Glue the beak onto your bird.
- On the back of the clothespin, glue a few feathers.
- Allow to dry.
- Attach your bird so he (or she!) can stand! You are finished!
Ta da! Aren’t they cute? Like I said, our flocks are everywhere!
You know we love literacy crafts! Remember our craft to go with Rot, the Cutest in the World?
Check out these fun books to read about birds that would turn this into the perfect literacy craft:
Speaking of literacy crafts, have you joined our kids’ virtual book club? It’s free and totally fun! Join here!
And don’t forget to pin our DIY Clothespin Birds: Crafts For Kids!
Family Night Game Trophy
DIY Family Game Night Trophy
Our house is busy. Like super busy. And full. And loud.
It’s us….and at least 4 kids. More on weekends. And typically even more than that once you take into account the neighborhood kids who straggle in. Our house is pretty cool. There is always food being made for a post on one of our blogs that needs eaten. There are always people to play with. And there is always something to do.
But one thing that is a struggle with so many people is getting people to agree on things to do. Except for one thing: games. Our house LOVES games. Card games, video games, board games…it doesn’t matter. If it is a game, then we are in.
And since we MAY be slightly competitive (it’s all in fun though!) we all love to win. Game nights are a big deal. Each week it is one of the kids’ job to pick out dinner and pick out the game(s) that we will be playing. And now, we have introduced the family game night trophy. The trophy of honor that sits on the winner’s dresser until the next game night rolls around.
DIY Family Game Night Trophy
Y’all. This thing is a big deal. You would think that it was real gold on there. And definitely not made using a toilet paper roll. Haha! (Pssst! This is a great project if you have games that are missing pieces or hit up those thrift stores! If all else fails – I’ve listed some places for supplies. And feel free to use your own creativity to create a trophy totally your own! Top it with an action figure or a letter for your family’s last night! Whatever you have works!)
Supplies:
- 1 Base
- 3 Wood Cubes
- Toilet Paper Tube
- Plastic Game Piece Pawns
- Poker Chips
- Chess piece
- Scrabble Tiles
- Hot Glue Gun
- Hot Glue
- Liquid Gold Leaf
- Acrylic Paint – White
- Acrylic Paint – Black
- Paint Brush
Instructions:
The best part of this project is that you can make it however you want with whatever supplies you have. If you have games that are missing pieces or if you see games at the thrift store feel free to use pieces from those!
- Use white acrylic paint to paint the base and the wood dice cubes. Allow to dry.
- Use a small paint brush to paint black dots on the wood dice cubes.
- Paint the base with the gold liquid leaf.
- We also painted a plastic lid that we had gold. Doing this project again, I would use poker chips. I think that would be a fun addition!
- We decided to spell the word ‘champ’ with Scrabble tiles on the front. Some other options would be No. One, First, or if your last name is short you could do that. Hot glue the letters on the front.
- Hot glue the dried wooden dice on to the base.
- To get some height, we used a toilet paper tube. (Yay for recycling!)
- Hot glue the game pieces to the toilet paper tube. (Amazon is totally the place to go for these. Bonus: We have some extras if we need them.)
- Glue the game piece toilet paper tube to the top of the dice.
- Glue the lid (or if you have Poker chips, that’s what I would use doing this project again).
- Top off your trophy with a chess piece.
You are ready to crown your family game night champ!
Looking for some new family favorite games to add to your collection? One of my favorite places to go is Goliath Games. (You can also purchase them on Amazon!) They sent us a box of games (and not in exchange for a review or for a post, just because they are awesome like that. This post is no way sponsored – in fact they have no clue I’m even writing it! haha We just genuinely love them!) and we are constantly checking out their site for new ones! They have classics like Rummikub, but they have games we had never ever heard of that have since made it to our rotation of faves.
Check these out:
- Googly Eyes
- Your Worst Nightmare (We play this one A LOT!)
- Are You Normal (We played this one when our 16 year old brought her boyfriend home to meet us for the first time haha! Hopefully he told the truth on his answers!)
- Tick Tock Boom
- F In Exams
Don’t forget to pin our DIY Family Game Night Trophy!
This post contains affiliate links.
How To Adopt A Soldier & What To Send – Family Service Project –
How To Adopt A Soldier & What To Send
Volunteering as a family is something that is really important in our household. We are truly grateful for what we have and also for where we have been. At one point, we prayed for the some of the things we have now. And some of the things we have now, we never even imagined we would accomplish. Funny how life works, isn’t it? While we consider ourselves far from where we started, we never want to forget the beginning of our journey. Which for us, gives us motivation to stay humble and make sure that our children grow up knowing how lucky they are, that giving back isn’t something you do for Instagram likes and that serving others is way of life.
Sometimes, finding places to volunteer with kids can be tricky. (You wouldn’t think it would be, but we were surprised – especially when the kids were younger!) But volunteering to send cheer to our military members is a way not only for even the smallest family members to help with, but it lets you volunteer at home and at your own pace. Sometimes, I would love to donate financially to organizations, but it’s not in the budget for that month. But we always have some room for postage or I can pick up a few things on sale for a care package! Plus, the kids always have so much fun with these projects!
(If you are looking for more great family service projects – check out this list of 16 ideas!)
How To Sign Up To Adopt A Soldier
There are so many organizations that you can sign up with! Here are a few to get you started:
- Operation Gratitude
- Operation Paperback (This organization allows you to donate books to be sent)
- Adopt a US Soldier
- Soldier’s Angels
- Any Soldier (Members of the military can post directly what they need. It’s kind of like an all year Angel Tree – you pick someone’s name to fulfill their list and mail it out.)
- Operation Shoebox
What do you do when you adopt a soldier?
Well, that answer depends on what you sign up for! Some sign ups are for just letters while others are for care packages. Some are even for handmade items (like baked goods, paracord bracelets, cool ties or hats and scarves)
This should go without saying, but I know life gets busy sometimes, but please, if you sign up to adopt a soldier…please, please, please be sure that you follow through! When you adopt one, they are taken off the list from someone else being able to adopt them. Sending things out in a timely matter is crucial! Some organizations that you can volunteer with may have you make a commitment such as one letter per month. Even with good intentions, make sure that the time commitment is something you can do.
What do you send when you adopt a soldier?
There are so many things that you can send! Letters (or for younger children, pictures or artwork) is always appreciated! Keep in mind the different kinds of weather that packages must travel through as well as time. Sometimes it can take a long time for your package to reach it’s final destination not only due to distance but also due to security screenings. If you are sending holiday specific items, they need to be sent early as well as edible items need to be things that won’t melt or expire. (Many places say food items need a 6 month shelf life.) If you are packing a care package, here are some general ideas:
- Hand sanitizer (travel size works best with a seal – Some places use port-o-potties so this is huge request for some troops!)
- Mouthwash (travel size)
- Cotton Swabs (travel size)
- Sunscreen (travel size – non aerosol)
- Tissues (individual packs)
- Lip balm
- Travel size toiletries – shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, body wash, etc
- Moist towelettes – individual or travel size
- Socks – not white – usually brown, black, green or tan are requested
- Batteries (4 packs – AA/AAA)
- Tide Pods
- Single serve drink mix packages (Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, Gatorade)
- Gum
- Coffee (K-Cups or ground)
- Protein powder and/or bars (I see this request a LOT!)
- Beef jerky (This is a HUGE request too!)
- Sunflower seeds
- Crossword puzzles
- Suduko puzzles
- Puzzles (in small boxes)
- Magazines
- Books
- DVD’s
- BLANK cards – birthday, general, or holiday cards (if you can send WAY in advance!) that service men and women can fill out and mail back home to loved ones
Shipping Tips For When You Adopt A Soldier:
- Use a durable, heavy duty box (the post office will help with free shipping supplies!)
- Put items into plastic baggies in case anything breaks or leaks
Other Things To Consider When You Adopt A Soldier:
- Try to get your neighborhood involved! Host a care package party and invite your neighbors to come and help package items to send out. Neighbors that can’t attend may still offer to donate items and/or money to help cover postage. You can Download a flyer here!
- Host a sock drive
- Don’t forget that while many care packages are made with the service men in mind, there are service women there too! FeminineHow To Adopt A Soldier And What To Send hygiene products and girly things are always in need!
I hope this helps you and your family while you adopt a soldier! Don’t forget to pin!
This post contains affiliate links
How To Get Started Geocaching
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #SummerIsForSavings #CollectiveBias #WFM1
Have you ever heard of geocaching? If you haven’t then once I introduce you to it, then you will not be able to wait to get started. And if you have, then you know how fun it is! It’s seriously one of the best family activities that you can do. Which also means, perfect for summer.
Geocaching is essentially a treasure hunt. They are everywhere – seriously, you have some set up in your town too! Once you get to the location that the cache is, you will need to hunt for it. Sometimes they are easy and sometimes they are really tricky. People can get really creative! Inside is always a little something – usually something that fits the owner’s interests. You can log your find, take photos, add something if you would like. Then, leave it for the next person to find.
You need just a few tools to get started making it a great frugal activity to do! Not to mention, incredibly fun! The most important thing that you need is a smart phone that can connect to the internet.
Recently, we went to Walmart and bought my son his first cell phone. There were several reasons that we chose Walmart for buying his phone!
- Names you trust with Walmart’s low prices! We got him the LG Grace phone. It’s a great size, takes awesome pictures and plenty of space for his games! 🙂
- No contract
- No activation fees
- No late fees
- Budget friendly plans – We got the $49.98 Plus Plan from Walmart Family Mobile, powered by TMobile’s Nationwide 4G LTE Network. For only $49.98 we get Unlimited * Talk, Text, & Data which includes up to *13GB of 4G LTE then 2G.
Plus, customers on the $49.88 PLUS Plan will receive a free VUDU movie rental credit valued at $7.00 each time they renew their service. Adventures and movies? It’s a win!
And it is SO easy. Literally, we walked into the store, picked out his awesome new phone and purchased our plan. Setting up the phone took just a few minutes!
What does this have to do with geocaching? Because you need a great phone with reliable coverage! The first thing you are going to want to do is to download a geocaching app. This will pull up the caches that are near you and give you a map to follow.
Then, using your phone follow the map until you reach your destination! There are some caches that are in the city (we did one that the prize was hidden inside a restaurant!) and some are out in park-like areas. We chose to do one in a local park.
Our cache took us down to a creek.
Once we got down to the creek, it was up to us to find where the cache.
Sometimes when you are choosing a cache to find, they will have hints. If you need one you can check there or the comments of reviews. Sometimes the caches can be pretty tricky!
Our dogs were pretty excited to play in the water while we searched. When you find the cache, sometimes there is a log. Add your name, the date and a message if you wish. Then, put it back for the next people to enjoy!
And then it is off to the next cache! Luckily with our Walmart Family Mobile, powered by T-Mobile, we have plenty of data to take us on adventures!
- Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to this page or your local Walmart for current pricing.
- VUDU movie offer is a limited time offer. Available for lines active with the PLUS $49.88 plan only. VUDU enabled device and account required for digital viewing. Customers must be 18 years or older to open a VUDU account. Movie rental only available in the USA. Free movie rental provided in the form of a movie rental code to the value of a $7.00 VUDU credit. Must be used within 30 days of receiving code. Offer is non-transferable. Limit 1 per customer. Additional terms and conditions on VUDU’s website: http://www.vudu.com/termsofservice.html
Choosing The Right Planner For The New Year
Are you planning on 2017 to be your year of finally getting (and staying!) organized? I don’t know about you, but I thrive on order. I love lists. A lot. I like to have my house looking just so. I need a schedule.
One of the ways that I keep (or attempt to keep) everything together is with my planner. But there are different planners for different people. So, what are they? Which one will work best for you? Here are a few great options to help you decide!
(PS! Have you seen our organizing challenge for 2017? You will want to follow along! Each day has a small way that you can get yourself organized and prepared all year long!)
Paper Planners
I am 100% a pen and paper kind of lady. And stickers. And washi tape. 🙂
This is my planner. It’s from Erin Condren and I love it. It’s a great size and has plenty of room for my monthly calendar of events as well as more detailed weekly notes. And it’s pretty. Super pretty. There are plenty of accessories as well: stickers, snap ins, bands, notes, dividers, pens, etc.
The only drawback to my EC planner is that it is a little pricey. But, if you think of the fact that it gets daily use then that price isn’t bad. I like to call mine an investment.
A friend of mine introduced me to The Happy Planner. It’s very similar to Erin Condren planners, but not as expensive. They also have a ton of stickers and customizing items so no matter if you choose an EC or THP – they are a great solution!
Another option that has come highly recommended to me is Plum Paper. I really like how when you make your planner you can add sections like a blogging section or a sales section (perfect for people who sell things like LuLaRoe!) There are also sections for baby (tracking growth/milestones), wedding, and SO many more options! The price of this planner is midway between The Happy Planner and EC, with amazing details and quality!
If you are a lister then you might really love this option. It’s the Panda Planner. And I think I’m obsessed. After this year with my EC I may opt to try the Panda Planner. I told you I’m into lists so this set up just makes me happy. There are monthly, weekly and daily set ups with room to have everything written down. (There is a larger version available of the Panda Planner if you write big like me!) 🙂 I love that it also focuses on the positive!
Do you want a paper planner but not into all of the artsy, cutesy stickers? Or maybe you are super artsy and want to have space to doodle and paint. Maybe you like the simplicity. Whatever your reason, a bullet journal might be the solution for you. Right now bullet journals are super popular. Some people use them for keeping a list of their to do’s. (I love the key above!)
Some bullet journals are just that – journals, as opposed to planners. Some are extravagant with art, and color and calligraphy. Others are minimal and simple. Both are beautiful!
Digital Planners
If you are looking for an app that you can use to help plan your days here are a few that you may want to try!
- Planner Pro
- Fantastical 2
- Todoist
- Calendar 5
And don’t forget that Siri can schedule things on your phone calendar for you as well!
Don’t forget to pin!
This post contains affiliate links.
Free Printable Conversation Cards For Kids
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone #KidfreshToTheRescue #CollectiveBias
Life is so busy, but during the holidays especially it seems like it’s on overdrive. As a busy mom, I’m always looking for a few shortcuts that I can take during the day to be able to not only get more things checked off my to do list, but also so that I can make the time count more with my family!
And sometimes that means that I pick up a few frozen meals to keep on hand for quick lunches, dinners or even as a snack. That’s why I’m really excited to introduce you to Kidfresh!
Have you heard of them before? Kidfresh is new to Walmart and you can find them in the frozen food section.
Three reasons their foods are super awesome:
1) Hidden Veggies + Best in Kids Nutrition
2) Convenience + Relief for Busy Moms
3) Trust and Credibility
First of all they are full of high quality ingredients that I am a HUGE fan of! I opened up the Kidfresh Wagon Wheels Mac + Cheese and I actually said “Oh look there is cheese!” All Kidfresh meals and sides are made with No Artificial Flavors or Ingredients, No Synthetic colors or flavors and non-GMO ingredients with short and clean ingredient lists. That is super important to me! And do you know what else is super awesome? Each meal contains 1/2 a cup of hidden veggies!
You would think that such a high quality meal would be expensive, but they are a great value ranging from $2.99 – $3.99. Inexpensive and the can be done in less than 4 minutes! Score! Did I mention that my son DEVOURED them up! Oh my gosh, I honestly don’t think I’ve seen him eat anything so fast. I asked him if he liked it and he said “Yes. You should buy some more of these.” And I smiled, said sure and laughed to myself… “You just ate cauliflower!” 😉 Mom win for the day! I love finding new trustworthy brands that I feel good about feeding to my family.
While I may get busy and skip out on cooking complicated meals sometimes, one thing that I don’t ever skip out on is dinner conversation! I think that the dinner table is a great place to connect with my son (no phones allowed at our house!) and bond. We have a basket that sits on our table and it’s filled with fun things like trivia questions and I’m always adding to it.
One thing that we have found to be fun are conversation cards. These are filled with fun questions like, “If you were a video game character who would you be?” and “If you were to create an invention, what would it do?” You can ask just one each night and share around the table, really getting into some awesome ideas or conduct family interviews and let each person pick a card to ask one person. However you decide to use the cards, I think you will really love the conversations that follow!
Just simply save the images to your computer and print! I printed ours on card stock at our local copy store.
While you are at Walmart checking out Kidfresh be sure to take advantage of savings opportunities from Ibotta (for your mobile devices!) or a printable coupon here!
Don’t forget to pin!
Layer On Love Service Project
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are mine alone. #LayerOnLove #CollectiveBias
I try to teach my son lots of things like math and manners. I try to teach him that some days a good book and a cup of hot cocoa are just what you need and that a little work never hurt anybody. One thing that I hope that he can look back on his childhood one day and say is that I taught him that you are always in a position to help someone else. That is so important to me! I love doing service projects with Joshua. We volunteer with an animal rescue regularly. We have served meals at a local shelter. We have cleaned up a park. We donate things to classrooms and schools. We talk a lot about how lucky we are and think of new ways that we can help others.
Which is why I was so excited to hear about the Layer On Love project from Coca-Cola! Coca-Cola has partnered with an amazing organization called One Warm Coat. Their goal is to give away HALF A MILLION coats this year to those in need. How amazing?! You can help too! Find out where to donate a new or gently used coat to a location near you or check out one of the other ways to get involved. (Find out more information here!) I love supporting companies who are doing good work! So you know when we are in Walmart I am picking up some Coca-Cola!
While I was at Walmart picking up a few 2-Liters of Coca-Cola and Diet Coca-Cola (my fave!) I decided to pick up a few other items for Josh to create his own little project. We like to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local shelter and when I heard the phrase “Layer On Love” it made me think of a previous year when I was told that the shelter desperately needed warm socks. Indiana gets really cold in the winter and unfortunately several of the shoes that the men in the shelter wear have holes in them, are canvas or are thin from wear. Snow, slush, and sleet all creep inside their shoes and there is nothing worse than cold wet socks. We are so excited to donate coats to One Warm Coat and know that we are keeping people warm all the way down to their toes with our socks! 🙂
This year when we go to serve our Turkey Day dinner we will be bring our own Love Packs. I knew Joshua would be excited about this project! We came home, got our supplies, poured a big glass of Coca-Cola and got to work stuffing bags with socks, snacks and toiletries to bring with us. This is an amazing project that you can do with your kids! Joshua is 13 and he loved picking out items for the bags as well as packing them up himself. It’s a perfect way to get the conversation of giving started! Whether you make 2 bags or 200, they are sure to be appreciated!
Looking for ideas on what to put in your bags? Here are a few:
- Socks – We bought thick boot socks
- Deodorant
- Toothbrush with a travel case
- Toothpaste
- Shampoo
- Soap
- Granola Bars or other individually packaged snacks
- Can of Coca-Cola
- Gloves
- Hat
- Scarf
- $5 gift cards for places like fast food or coffee shops
We have a free printable for you as well!
I set mine to print 4 to a page and printed on card stock. We used just red string to tie the labels around our socks, but you can attach it anywhere! Feel free to write on your bags positive messages or have your kiddos draw pictures. This project is all about giving in anyway you see fit!
By coming together and inspiring your followers to donate to One Warm Coat® on Coke.com/LayerOnLove, we could collectively help to put a coat on one million people in need this winter.