WFMW: Decreasing Toy Noise

We have one of those fridge farm magnetic sets.  When the kid puts the two pieces of the animal into the set and it sings a little song.   Or if they just push a button it plays a little ditty.  Cute, but annoying.  Especially when the toddler likes to press the button over and over [...]

WFMW: The Best Banana Chip Muffins

This recipe is my favorite way to use up old bananas.  I found it on All Recipes, and made a few modifications to make it healthier and tastier (IMO).

Mocha Chip Banana Muffins
Source:  adapted from this recipe
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (one stick), softened
1/2 cup natural, unsweetened applesauce
1 cup white sugar
1 large egg
3 ripe bananas
1 Tbsp instant [...]

WFMW: Grandma’s Autumn Soup

Lately, it seems, whenever and whatever I make for dinner gets panned by my kids.   It can be disheartening to work on a meal only to have it snubbed by the 6 and under crowd.   So, when last night’s dinner got rave reviews, I thought it was blog-worthy.
This is a recipe from Mike’s mom.  It [...]

Sounds of the Season

*** Reminder:  I’m giving away a beautiful necklace, courtesy of Tracey Jolley Designs – check it out!! ***
We love Christmas music — maybe not in the malls in September, but in our home.  It’s nice to have on while bustling about with all the holiday preparations.  I thought I would share some of our favorite [...]

WFMW: Clever Sites to help with Gift Giving (and Getting)

This week’s Works For Me Wednesday is “gift themed”.   Since Christmas is coming faster than I can believe, I thought I’d share a couple of good websites that are helping me wrangle my gift-giving (and receiving) this holiday season.
Amazon’s Universal Wishlist – it has been so easy to simplify the wishlists for family [...]

Advent Ideas and Fun Seasonal Activities

Tis the season!  November is so busy, December always seems to sneak up on me.   But we love our advent calendars, so I have to dig out the Christmas stuff in time for the kids to open them up.
We have three different advent calendars in our house, which works works well now that we have [...]

WFMW: DIY Piggy Banks Teach the Value of Money

I’ve been trolling the internet for the perfect piggy bank for a while.   When my kids were little (even littler than now), Grandma got them beautiful personalized ceramic pigs.  They were darling, but it didn’t take long for my little darlings to play with them and crack them.  They also constantly took the money out [...]

WFMW: Recipe Organization

I’ve been fairly disorganized all summer.  Now that school is in session and life is running at full speed, I’ve been working on getting some order back in my life.
One area that always gives me trouble is recipes.  I love to search for ones I like on the internet, in cookbooks, or collect them from [...]

School Lunches that Work For Me (and You!)

If had been more organized, I would have participated in LAST week’s WFMW, the theme of which was, ahem… organization.   Unfortunately, I’m not that organized.   However, now that I officially have a child enrolled in elementary school, it’s time to get myself in gear.    One of the things I’m dreading most this school year [...]

WFMW: My Best Travel Tips with Kids

Many folks have blogged about their tips for roadtripping with kids.  I know because I read many of them as I prepared for our big New England adventure.   Now that we’re back, I’ll share a few of the things worked for me.
Travel Time – Leave early, or leave late.

Our drive time North was going [...]