Creative Parenting Tips and Tricks: Creative Parenting Tips and Tricks via Family from SC Johnson

The Best Part of Parenting: The Best Part of Parenting via New York Times Parenting Blog

Tips for Keeping Kids Busy: Ways to Entertain the Kids While You Work was recently featured on christiancounselingdegree.org

Fun Travel Activities for Kids: Top 5 Kids’ Travel Activities via Travel-Tot

If you’re anything like me then you have tried lots of different diets.  I know I have bought just about every diet pill out there to try and see if it would help me to lose some weight.  And also spent a lot of money on those various diet pills out there.

I was recently given the opportunity to try Walgreens Brand Green tea Dietary Supplement so of course I took it.  Sometimes I am a bit wary of using store band items instead of name brand items.  But given the price of the name brand pills I didn’t think it could hurt to try Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products.  I had tried name brand products like this before but had never tried the Walgreens Brand Green tea Dietary Supplement.  It’s a natural dietary supplement.  If you use diet and exercise along with it, it will help burn calories and curb your appetite.

With the rising cost of everything theses days it’s nice to be able to save some money.  At Walgreens you can buy their store brand over the counter medications with confidence- they usually contain the same ingredients as the name brands, they are recommended by the pharmacists and have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  Not only that but there is the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™ that is doing good works.

Before spending a lot of money on name brand products be sure to check and see what Walgreens has to offer.

In a way I am ready for summer- I am stick of the cold weather and the snow.  I really want to be able to go outside without having to bundle up in my coat or be freezing cold.  But on the other hand I am not really ready for summer yet because I still haven’t lost the weight I was trying to lose last year.  So to give myself some motivation to get on the treadmill and start eating healthy I was looking at women’s swimwear today.  It’s a little scary to think about wearing a bathing suit in front of others.

There are some amazing bathing suits at Express that I enjoyed looking at.  If you sign up for the Express e-mail you will have a chance to win one of ten $200 gift cards to Express… and who couldn’t use that?  Make sure you check the sweepstakes rules and remember that it ends on April 21st at 11:59pm EST.

There are a lot of different choices available and tons of great accessories to pick from to really dress up whatever you pick and make you look your best this summer.  I have to get to work on my weight loss and getting in shape so I can look good this summer.  Here is something I would feel comfortable wearing this summer:

When I was visiting my aunt for the holidays a few weeks ago I noticed that she had redecorated her home and she had this really great velvet slipcover for this chair that she had made herself. I thought that it was so beautiful that I wanted to recreate one for an armchair in our living room. It also looked very wintery and thought it would be fun to try to make on my own.

I went online with my clear wireless internet to figure out some directions for how to make a slipcover for an arm chair. I took the measurements of the chair and then took all of that into account too. I also picked up enough fabric at the local fabric store to make the slipcover.

Well, I finished my velvet slipcover and it looks pretty good. I guess the fabric isn’t as forgiving as canvas or other fabric that’s typically used for slipcovers that you have to tuck in. But it’s really comfortable to sit in, which I guess is what counts the most.

Yesterday it started out warm and rainy.  All of our snow was pretty much gone.  As the day went on the rain changed to snow.  We woke up this morning to about a foot and a half of snow and a state of emergency in our county.  I don’t know about you, but I am so tired of winter and snow.

So to ease my pain I looked at some outdoor furniture at Pier 1.  Last year Rich rebuilt and extended our deck then we added new furniture and made it look wonderful!  This summer I am hoping Rich will be building the patio we talked about adding last summer.  And once he does I can go a little crazy with new furniture, like the Kalika Folding Table- that would look so nice on the patio I have in my mind.  I’m going to sign up for the Pier 1 Outdoor newsletter so that I can get a special in store offer for the weekend of March 18-20, and you should too!

There are also going to be some Pier 1 Tweetups- you’re going to want to check and see if there will be one in your area.  How fun would that be?

Let the countdown for spring start!  Shopping plans are forming in my head for the beautiful new patio I hope to have this summer. 

Are you always on the go like I am?  It seems like I am always running somewhere- taking Hailey to her morning preschool class, picking her up, getting groceries, going to an appointment, meeting friends for lunch, going to the library, taking Hailey to dance, etc.  Sometimes I feel like I spend more time in my car than I do anywhere else.

That’s where Evie comes in handy.  Evie an app for your iPhone that uses voice commands.  If I needed to call Rich while in the car I could just say, “Call Rich.”  And my phone call would be placed completely hands free.  If I wanted to listen to some music I could just say what i wanted to hear and there it would be.  If I was low on gas and not sure where the nearest gas station was, I could just ask my phone.  I could even listen to my friends updates on Facebook.  All of this would be wonderful to have.  Since I spend so much time in the car and I want to be safe and not try to use my phone while driving having Evie would really be wonderful.

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So if you spend as much time as do in the car you’ll want to check out Evie!

Thanks for the post, Jennifer Mcconnell

New Year’s is a festive wind down to the extensive holiday season. It is a time to look back on the year that has passed, and look ahead with hope at the year to come. Many may go to bars and clubs and celebrate with numerous rounds of drinks. Although, it may be just as festive and as enjoyable getting together with a few friends and enjoying the festivities with a small party.

While this will not be quite as exciting as the bar scene, it will offer a more personal and safer environment. Just be sure to set your Allhomesecurity security alarm Everyone can bring a favorite dish to pass and even the recipe and/or ingredients for their favorite beverage. The children can even join in the fun, while the hour remains appropriate. This will allow for the reminiscence of many great memories, and lets everyone begin the year with with new, happy memories.

New Years’ can be dangerous when individuals indulge a little too much with the beverages and then decide to drive. Going to a get together with friends will assure that no one gets behind the wheel while they have been drinking. The individual can either catch a ride home with a sober person from the party, or they can sleep on a sofa for the evening.

However one chooses to celebrate, be safe, and avoid driving after consuming alcohol.

Now?  I’m a mom and while I still enjoy shopping it has changed quite a bit for me.  I prefer to do my shopping from home, right in front of my computer.  Hailey can happily play with her toys while I do my shopping and price comparisons at home.  Then we’re both happy.  There is no getting her in and out of her car seat 20 times per day.  Or fighting with her to stay in her stroller while I shop.  Or listening to the whining and complaining.  You moms know what I’m talking about!

So before you make your next purchase why not check out shopping online and see what kind of deals you can find!

Every Christmas, my family and I play a fun game we call the “Christmas Lights Game.” We do this whenever we can. Sometimes we play it when we are already out running errands. Other times, we leave our house, setting our Security Choice home alarm in the process, and go to our family car.

The rules of the game are this. While driving around, we look for Christmas lights and decorations. When someone spots a house with lights, he or she calls out “Christmas Lights!” He or she is then awarded one point. If they call out “Christmas Lights” and there are no lights there, they get minus one point – this prevents people from simply constantly yelling out Christmas Lights to get all the points. The player who gets the most points (by noticing the most houses with decorations) “wins” the game and gets to decide where we go for dinner, or some other prize.

We don’t always make looking at Christmas lights a competitive endeavor. Sometimes it’s just fun driving around and simply looking at the great displays. There are a number of houses in our town that are well-known for the majesty and complexity of their Christmas decorations, so we always make it a point every year to check out these homes and see if they’ve upgraded. Whatever we do, looking at lights and decorations is a holiday tradition that we all enjoy.