July 2016

How to dress your child without breaking the bank!

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was SOOO EXCITED and couldn’t wait to dress her. I went shopping (maaaaybeee daily) and QUICKLY realized that dressing these little beings is ExPeNsiVe!!! I needed to come up with a plan so that keeping our sweet princess clothed and looking adorable didn’t cost us an arm and a leg. Who doesn’t want their little girl dressed in the sweetest of dresses and bonnets with adorable lace anklet socks and mary jane shoes?!? I know that was my first thought until I realized that just that outfit alone was an$80 investment.

EIGHTY DOLLARS!!!!!!

By Mary Bockert, ago

123 Magic…Voila!

Your little one won’t eat their dinner, they REFUSE to leave a play date, they talk back in an attempt to really get you fired up, they stomp in refusal to do something you have politely asked them to do, they sit in protest of something you have said, they argue with their sibling….yada, yada, yada! I’m sure if you have a child, you can relate to this list in some form. Even the most even tempered, happy go lucky kiddos have a melt down that can drive a parent BATTY!

By Mary Bockert, ago

What to do in a day?!?

“I’m BOOORRREEEDDD!!!!”

Oh don’t tell me you don’t get those words coming out of your child’s mouth…I would tell you you’re lying! LOL

In all reality, kids need structure to their day…whether they are 1 month or 18 years old. Structure creates a feeling of safety and security. Making it a point to create structure in your household will only make life MUCH easier and I PROMISE you will hear less of “I’m Bored!” comments coming from your child’s oh so clever mouth.

By Mary Bockert, ago

Toddler Busy Bag Exchange

Two years ago I started, ran and participated in a Busy Bag Exchange with 11 other local moms, and hit the busy bag JACKPOT! It was really very simple…I created a Facebook event page, invited all of my mommy friends, we met 3 weeks later and exchanged our homemade activity at my home. Prior to meeting, we all signed up with what type of busy bag we were going to make, then worked for about a month creating 11 identical bags. When we got together, we exchanged our bags, so we all got to take 11 different busy bags home with us for our kiddos!
There was a huge variety of bags included, some original ideas and some made from tutorials found on other great blogs and/or Pinterest. If you’d like some great busy bag inspiration, here are all 11 bags that I received from this swap.

By Mary Bockert, ago