My Tips On How to Get Good Quality Brand-Names Kids Clothes on the Cheap

Posted on February 27, 2016

It’s not that clothes that cost more are necessarily better. There are certain less expensive brands that are made of quality material and are well structured, manufactured and would last through several washes.

However, for the most part, it has been my experience that clothes that I spent an extra penny for traditionally have had a longer shelf life. Part of the higher price is because the material the clothes are made of are better and therefore they are more durable. Some people believe that since kids grow so fast, especially in their early years, there is no value to really spending much on their clothing.

I make the case for why this is not necessarily so.

The hems in cheaper clothes start to unravel faster and sometimes after one wash or one rough and tumble play at preschool. They are not double stitched and therefore cannot stand the test of time.
The color in cheaper clothes do not always remain true even when you use color-stay detergents created to help color in clothing last longer through several washings.
The cheaper clothes sometimes pill and start to look old after just one wash. Then clothes you purchased for school, or nice outings out get shifted to the play clothes drawer quickly when you go for the cheap stuff.

Many of these issues go away by spending a few extra bucks for a mid-range to upper range brand. You don’t have to go from one extreme to the next and spend a killing on couture labels either. Mid-level price point brands like GAP, A Children’s Place, Hanna Andersson and Gymboree make clothes that cost more than the brands you’ll find at Wal-Mart, KMart, Sears, JCPenny and Target.

However, you get your money back in not having to go back to purchase new clothes after a few months to replace the tattered, old-looking, color-washed out ones you purchased trying to save money and go with the cheap stuff. If money is an issue.

Establish a wish list on Amazon.com or some other site and refer God Parents, grandparents and friends who have no children and perhaps more disposable income to it and encourage them to purchase these items in sizes well beyond the size your child is currently wearing.
Shop at discount stores that sell designer brands for a fraction of the original cost like Ross, Loehmann’s, TJ Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory and Marshall’s. You can rack up on quality brand named clothes at these stores.
Go to the wealthier areas of your town and shop the Thrift stores, Goodwill and consignment shops near there for deals on quality clothes for pennies on the dollar. Many times, you can find clothes with the tags still on that were given away when a kid outgrew the clothes.

Overall, be creative. There are ways to get better quality and longer lasting clothes that may be economically a better deal anyway than sticking with the cheap stuff.

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DIY: An Elegant Yellow & Grey Elephant-Themed Baby Shower

Posted on February 22, 2016

This weekend, I threw a DIY baby shower for my baby sister who is expecting her second child, a baby girl. With a limited budget, I was able put together a pretty fab shower, I think, by being resourceful, and cutting corners but without sacrificing quality and style. It all looked elegant in the end and as if I spent a lot more.

(A couple of my sister’s friends, one who is a p/t event-planner and baker and another who bakes cakes helped me out a bit. My sister’s future mom-in-law did the games and her aunt-in-law helped out as well and provided the venue, her lovely country home)

My sister, like me, is adverse to pink and purple and traditional girly colors. She wanted a shower theme to match the nursery she was decorating for her soon-to-be-born daughter, (and my future Godchild) Aubrey.

Elephants, Chevron Yellow and Grey is the theme. I strayed a little on the Chevron and we had a mix of yellows but it all came together, visually, well, nonetheless, in the end.

Here is how I pulled it off.

Invitations.

In lieu of expensive invitations, I got downloadable printables from Fancy Shmancy Notes shop on Etsy for $15 and $5.00 for Cards asking for a children’s story book instead of a greeting card with any gift purchase. I purchased a pack of 60 Avery brand customizable Note Cards from Staples office supply store. They come with envelopes and cost just $24. Postage stamps were $30.00. The total cost was $74 for invitations. That move saved me about $100 in lieu of online-ordered customized invitations.

Discount, Dollar, Thrift and Bulk Stores Savings

I also saved money by hitting up thrift stores, dollar stores and bulk food stores. The party supply store sold paper and plastic table cloths for $9 each. Instead if those, I schlepped to my local thrift store and picked up 3 linen table cloths for $10 total! I washed and ironed three table cloths I already owned, including a very pretty one with grey and yellow in it that matched the color scheme. Score!

At Costco, a wholesale membership food warehouse, I got a huge bouquet of Daisies for only $10.00. I was able to convert that one bunch into 5 vases of flowers of different sizes and shapes that I set up on various tables at the venue. I also got food that would ordinarily cost more at a regular grocery store much cheaper there.

For example, a large 1 lb container of mixed greens was $4. A big 34 ounce bag of authentic nacho chips was $4. Two quiche pies were $13. An Alouitte Brie Wheel just $6. A large container of fresh cut fruit was just $10. A similar size retails for about $30 at my local grocers. I know because I looked it up and did comparison shopping.

At the Dollar Store, nice Misaka brand vases were just $1.00 each. Paper cuttlery, plates, napkins, cups in the theme colors cost $1.00 each compared to $3.00 to 8.00 at the party supply store. Favor boxes were just 10 for $1 compared to $30 for 50 at the party supply store. I got some craft items for the favors and cupcake toppers there for $1.00 each as well.

Here is the final haul I set up on my dining room table.

However, to save money, I used some items I already owned. I had a case of sternos left over from a previous event. I used a serving tray and a lead glass chip and dip tray, another serving tray and glass tea light holders I already owned.

We saved money on the venue by hosting it at my sister’s fiancee’s aunt’s house in a rural part of a suburb in Maryland. The host, Aunt Nicho, has a bright and sunny Morning room that also has yellow-colored walls and a large airy and bright glass wall that brought in tons of natural light.

The cost of the main cake was offset because another family member donated the cost of the materials and my sister’s dear friend baked it. She has a p/t professional cake baking business and offered the labor for free as a gift to the mom-to-be.

FREE Printables

Google printables and you’ll find a ton of free and paid ones as well. I was fortunate to find a free one online with the same color scheme as ours. There were water bottle labels, a candy station sign, and other printable items. When I printed out the printables, they came out darker yellow than on the computer screen, but it worked out because the color complemented well with the table cloth and coincidentally was the same shade of yellow on the the cake! Perfect!

I got the gumballs, sixlets and lollipop sticks in the color theme at the party supply store to set up a candy station. (We used the candy display jugs owned by friend who has the P/T event planning biz too) I also picked up steamer strays and yellow serving trays for a reasonable price there too.

I later discovered that Walmart and Target are now in the business of offering specialized modern party supplies. All of the supplies for a candy station, which I set up and is very popular, cost between 25-50% less at these big box stores compared to the party supply store.

Aunt Nicho had these great decorative juice jugs that we used to hold mimosas and non-alcoholic OJ

A friend of my sis, Lynee, who is an amazing baker and the one with the p/t event planning company, gifted homemade strawberry and lemon butter cream frosting cupcakes. They were amazingly good! Yum!

I got these cupcake toppers for free online HERE. I used the $1 box of toothpicks I got from the Dollar Tree to tape them to the pack of the toppers.

Here is a serving tray I already owned, a wedding gift from decades ago, that I used to serve the brie and crackers.

Again, I saved costs with glass tea holders I had from a previous event and a chip and dip tray I owned since my wedding. The tea lights were just $1 for a dozen at the dollar store.

Aunt Nicho created a very neat tiered diaper cake we used for decoration as well.

We used grey and yellow party favor boxes I got from Dollar Tree at $1 for 10. We filled them with candy from a big bag of Lifesavers I picked up at Target that was $8.00 on sale!

The roll of tulle and pre-cut Tulle circles are just $1.00 as well at Dollar Tree.

I printed out maternity portraits from my sister’s shoot using my inkjet printer I reviewed here. It looked like professional quality. I used matte photo paper I got from Target. The Target brand Up & Up is just $5.49 for 30 count.

Lynee brought this picket fence she found a while ago at a discount store that she filled with faux craft grass and stuck the candy lollipops I got from the party store in them for a nice effect.

Candy from the party store and the leftover Lifesavers made a nice candy station.

The shower was a brunch so we set up a Belgian waffle station complete with toppings, and whipped cream. The serving dishes were compliments of Aunt Nicho. I got the pitcher where I whipped up batter from Walmart for $3. My other sister got the great waffle iron that she loaned us for the event. It was on sale for just $24.99.00 at Kohl’s though it is now back to $29.99.

The Spinach quiche set on a really nice server/carver board Aunt Nicho owns.

I made my baked salmon with sauteed onions and green peppers. My mom made her signature West African Jollof rice. My sister Adama made hot wings. I whipped up eggs and sausages and Aunt Nicho made home-cooked hash browns and biscuits.

I set up the mixed greens and fruit on a utility station near the kitchen.

Overall, it was a great event!

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Here are 7 Ways to Keep the Kids Busy & Entertained in the Winter

Posted on February 17, 2016

Bellyitch Rewind

Winter doesn’t have to be a dreary and dreadful time. We are stuck in doors and may be sidelined but delays and cancellations when the weather gets bad. Finding things to do with the children that doesn’t involve electronics can be a challenge but our friends at summernanny.com offer the following tips for you to make winter months easier to deal with:

1. Bundle up and enjoy your favorite activities. Cold temperatures and snowy roads don’t mean you can’t get out and enjoy the great outdoors. Sure, it takes a lot more time and effort to get ready to go outside, but it’s worth it. Once you get putting on the snowsuit, boots, hats and gloves down to a routine, you’ll practically whiz right through it. And when you’re all bundled up and outdoors, kids can enjoy many of the same things they do in other seasons. You can go for a walk, play on the swings, run around the backyard or hit the slide. You can enjoy being together and being active, even when the thermometer dips.

2. Get back to basic outdoor fun. There’s no beating basic winter fun like sledding down a favorite hill, building a snowman complete with carrot nose and button eyes, having a snowball fight with siblings or neighborhood friends or ice skating on the local frozen pond. This is the stuff childhood memories are made of. Instead of watching from the sidelines, be an active part of the memory making. Jump on the sled for your own ride down the hill. It’s just as fun as an adult as it was as a child.

3. Create new winter games. There’s no end to the creative ways you can have fun outside during the winter months. Make colored icicles, paint in the snow with colored water, add fun shapes to the iced sensory table or set up a snowball target game. You can create a fun, engaging outdoor environment that your kids will enjoy and learn from. Get kids involved in developing new, fun things to do outside. Kids have amazing imaginations, and with a few simple household supplies they’ll create games and play spaces that will keep them occupied for long stretches of time.

4. Take advantage of local indoor play spaces. Many community centers offer indoor play spaces during the winter months. These spaces usually offer a free play area where kids can run, jump, twirl and bounce. Tumbling mats and cushioned climbing squares allow kids to release their pent up energy in a safe environment. Indoor spaces also offer riding toys like tricycles, scooters and kid sized cars. Some even provide kid sized props like stop signs, gas pumps and police stations; encouraging kids to create their own cities and towns. This type of imaginary play can keep your child busy for hours on end.

5. Head to the pool. It’s seems like an odd time to go swimming, but the winter months are the perfect time to enroll your child in lessons or reinforce his current swimming skills. It’s a perfect way to get some exercise into his weekly schedule and it’s lots of fun to boot. When summer rolls around, he won’t be spending his time learning to swim or getting reacquainted with the water. He’ll be ready to enjoy the local pool, lake or beach.

6. Find a local playgroup. If you have to be inside, it’s always more fun with friends. Connect with other parents or caregivers in your area through online sites or local parenting groups. Some groups have a multiple age make-up, which is a great fit if you have more than one child. Other groups focus on one age range, which is perfect if you have one child or are looking for a social outlet for a particular child. These weekly groups give your child a fun activity to look forward to and they provide you with social connections, resources and support.

7. Do some of the things you don’t have time for in the busy summer months. When the weather’s nice, chances are you’re too busy to take on some of the projects your kids would like to do. Wintertime is your chance to catch up. Spend an afternoon baking cookies for the local fire department. Pull out all the arts and crafts supplies and create new art pieces for your child’s bedroom wall. Long, dark afternoons can be the perfect excuse for tackling those put off projects.

Good luck parents!

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Make your Blended Family Work with These 14 Tips

Posted on February 16, 2016

Today, the U.S. Census estimates about 50% of families are some form of stepfamily.

The stepfamily has become the modern family.

Here are some basics tips and rules for anyone currently struggling to make it work, compliments of Jeannette Lofas, PhD, LCSW of the Stepfamily Foundation, whose ground-breaking research has been used to develop methods for assisting blended families work.

Build “Couple Strength.” Almost everything you do builds or takes away from couple strength. Know that you come from different points of view about many ways of doing things. Honor your differences and create new norms and forms together.
Displays of affection in front of the children, initially can lead to acting out and fear of loss of their biological parent. In the beginning, keep your loving behavior private.
The couple comes first (after you are married). A strong, supportive couple relationship sets the cornerstone and helps children build self-esteem.
The couple recognizes that the family is a blended/stepfamily and knows how stepfamilies function and does not expect this family to act like biological family. It cannot and will not.
It is OK to have discussions. Arguments are out. Agree to agree. Agree to disagree. And, work it out. Call time outs for the couple when things get “too hot.” Remember you are partners. He is the male head of the household. She is the female head of the household. You are partners in creating a stepfamily. Creating a stepfamily that works looks like the couple deciding on how they are going to manage all aspects of their household. Partners decide on rules, regulations, discipline styles, job descriptions, use of time, energy and money, etc.
Establish concrete house rules and structure. Rules need to be written in the positive form. The couple must decide on the rules and define job descriptions themselves and of each member with positive and negative consequences.
The biological parent disciplines his/her children and the stepparent says, “As you know your Dad/Mom and I have decided, in this house we…” The stepparent disciplines based on rules agreed and presented to kids as a couple. And the couple must make sure the children treat the stepparent with respect.
The couple must maintain their positions as male and female heads of the family. They cannot allow the children to dominate. The male and female heads of the household teach the children the models, forms and norms as to how we live and act with each other within the stepfamily.
The couple in the stepfamily takes responsibility for creating a predictable structure of events, manners and responsibilities for in house and visiting stepchildren. The couple agrees with each other and backs the other up so the children have consistency, which is a necessary foundation for creating intimacy and closeness.
Make sure meals with the children are not child-centered chaos. Plan to converse, know what is going on in each other’s lives and thoughts. The adults set the tone of dining. We come together not to eat, but to dine. Teach kids good manners. Good manners allow for intimacy. Poor manners create isolation, lower self-esteem and cause confusion.
Plan visitation as good co-parents (exes), parents and stepparent. Avoid allowing visitation to become a chaotic episode where the child is caught in the cross fire between ex-spouses.
The bad-mouthing of the prior spouse. When we bad-mouth and put down the other parent of our children we are bad-mouthing and disparaging half of that child’s identity. Less than half of divorced parents today realize that bad mouthing their ex lowers the self-esteem of their child.
Ask for counseling from professionals trained plo treat stepfamilies. The dynamics of stepfamilies are crucially different from the biologically connected family. The stepfamilies are now the majority of families, but not all professionals are taught about their specific behaviors in graduate school.
Research and Make it work.

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Tips

It’s Palentine’s Day, A Day to Celebrate Everyone Else You Love Today (CARDS & TIPS)

Posted on February 14, 2016

Happy Palentine’s Day!

What is that? It is the day before Valentine’s Day and a campaign by Paper & Packaging – How Life Unfolds™ to celebrate friends, family and everyone else we care about.

It’s a twist off the fictional “Galentine’s Day” that Parks & Recreation character Lesline Knope (played by our fave here Amy Poehler) created to celebrate gal pals.

Galentine’s Day (or Palentine’s Day) can be celebrated in countless ways, but here are a couple of suggestions to get you started:

Movie Night – Score movie tickets to the newest release on everyone’s list, stock up on popcorn, and candy and bring along your closest crew. Or, invite your friends over and catch up onOscar-nominated best pictures.
Brewery Tour – gather your hipster, beer snob friend and spend a fun evening sampling new brews and enjoying old favorites.
Game Night – invite your gaming guild members for a night of pizza, passionate comic book debates and board games. A round of Cards against Humanity is sure to break the ice.
Dinner – Forget date night. Grab a friend with an adventurous palate and go to that Scottish-Mexican fusion restaurant you’ve been dying to try.

Paper & Packaging has partnered with Hello!Lucky to create some special Palentine’s Day cards to help you and your readers honor the standout pals in their lives.

Download them HERE!

And give them to someone you love! Happy Palentine’s Day!

Here are some other fun Palentine’s Day cards:

original_happy-palentine-s-day-a6-greetings-card

images: http://www.notonthehighstreet.com, http://www.6by6arts.com/, http://www.creativecapability.com/, https://dribbble.com/shots/1931646-Happy-Palentines-Day

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What Candy Should You and the Kids Avoid This Valentine’s Day (INFOGRAPHIC)

Posted on February 13, 2016

Valentine’s Day is perfect for getting sweets and goodies, but parents and families have to be mindful of all the extra sugar that is loaded inside Valentine’s Day treats.

Because the day’s goodies are typically loaded with calories and sugar, AquaBall, the only no sugar, no calorie children’s drink on the market put together an infographic (below) showing which Valentine’s Day treats will make the day sweet for your little sweetheart and which ones you should avoid.

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Tips

9 Last Minute DIY Valentine’s Day Gifts Under $50

Posted on February 13, 2016

Still scrambling for what to give your sweetheart today for Valentine’s Day?!

Don’t panic! I racked my brain and came up with five last minute ideas that you can pull off today and at a cost of less than $50 total!

And the other great things that they should take less than one hour to prep for presentation if you are focused on the task and get going!

Model with Angela Roi The Morning Plum Cross Body Bag

Thank me later! Get busy!

Here they are to choose from:

one

Plan a Romantic Casual Pizza Dinner and Movie Date Night In

Commitment Time: 1/2 hour to 45 minutes

Cost: $25-$30

Step 1: Pick up phone and order a Papa John’s heart pizza

Step 2: On the way to pick it up or while you wait for delivery, head to the local liquor store or grocers and pick up a bottle of wine and/or order or pick up take out Chinese for two and some flowers for the table.

Step 3: Order a movie or two on DVR or from Netflix or Redbox and have a romantic casual dinner in.

Two:

Have Your Love Star in a Social Media meme

Commitment Time: 10 minutes

Cost: $0

Step 1: Pull up the WHO DO YOU XO? website.

Step 2: Add a photo, add big bold x & o’s with a description of the person and post in social media. Very cute! It is the brainchild of Robert Appelblatt and Tim Crean, who came up with the idea after updating and completely revolutionizing the old tic-tac-toe game by creating TIC STAC TOE.

three

Present a Personalized Photo Wall

Commitment Time: 20 minutes to 45 minutes

Cost: $10-$25

Step 1: Use the CVS Facebook Order function to order photos of you and your honey from Facebook and pick up the prints the same day. There is even a mobile App which makes the process 2x faster!

Step 2: While you’re there to pick up your pics, grab some tape.

Step 3: Pick a blank wall in the bedroom or living room and arrange the photos in the shape of a heart above your bed.

Step 4: Have movies and/or take out nearby and make it a movie night.

four

Send Personalized Balloons.

Valentines-Day-Balloon-Tattoos-7-550x367

Commitment Time: 20-45 minutes

Cost: $10-25

Supplies:

Balloon Time Helium Tank
Mylar heart balloons
Ribbon
InkJet tattoo paper
Printable Valentine’s Day messages
Damp paper towel or rag

Step 1: Print out the messages from the website here on the tattoo paper and adhere the clear liner on top according to the instructions on the package.

Step 2: Trim each message as close to the letters as possible

Step 3: Peel off the clear liner from one of the messages and lay it face down on top of the balloon, wherever you would like it. NOTE: We recommend not putting your letters within three inches of the edge of the balloon, to ensure they are legible once inflated.

Step 4: Use a damp paper towel to moisten the tattoo paper completely and then peel it away, leaving the tattoo behind. Repeat as desired.

Step 5: Inflate the balloon(s) with helium and tie with ribbon.

five

Have A Romantic Indoor Picnic

Commitment Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Cost: up to $50

Step 1: Order Take out

Step 2: Pick up cupcakes at local bakery, wine and scented candles

Step 3: Arrange a blanket with all items on the floor in the basement or living room

six

Capture Your Relationship in a Personalized Photo Book

Commitment Time: 20 minutes to 45 minutes

Cost: $10-$25

Step 1: Go to the CVS Photobook order page to order photos of you and your honey from social media or your hard drive. Use Coupon code: Save30 to get 30% off today and pick up the prints the same day. There is even a mobile App which makes the process 2x faster!

Step 2: While you’re there to pick up a bag, tissue paper, a card and candy.

Step 3: Arrange book, candy and card in bag and present over dinner!

seven

Present a Personalized Digital Video

Commitment Time: 20 minutes to 45 minutes

Cost: $0

Step 1: Go to SoundCloud and pick a Valentine Mix to download, depending on the genre of music you or your sweetheart likes.

Step 2: Upload a video on your smartphone app (I like MixBit )

Step 3: Pick your fave videos and photos from your phone’s photo album or social media accounts, then upload and use the valentine mix as the background.

Step 4: Give your phone with the finished project to your sweetheart to look at it and put the headphones over their ears so they can focus on that and not other distractions of TV, social media alerts, other people around etc

Eight

Make Homemade Cookies for partner With Dietary Restrictions

For your sweetheart who has dietary restrictions like lactose intolerance, or is vegan, why not make these yummy Kick-Ass Carrot Cookies, featured in a new book, Dr. Koufman’s Acid Reflux Diet: With 111 All New Recipes Including Vegan & Gluten-Free? Dr. Jamie Koufman collaborated with Chef Philip Gelb for this recipe, perfect for Vegans.

Makes 3 dozen cookies | 65 calories per cookie

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup white flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup grapeseed oil

1 cup grated carrot

½ cup dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In one bowl, combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the syrup and oil.
Add the carrots and dried cherries to the wet mixture and mix well.
Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and gently combine. Do NOT overmix, or the cookies will be rubbery.
Drop 1-teaspoon portions of the mixture on a grapeseed-oiled baking sheet, 2 inches apart. (These cookies only bake well if they are small.)
Bake for 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook, as they burn easily.

Notes: For the picky eaters in your home, sneak a little carrot into their diet with this amazing cookie recipe. For a fun variation, dried cherries can be replaced by currants, raisins, dried blueberries, or dried cranberries, or a combination. – Chef Philip

Nine

Gift a Plush Gift that Gives Back to the Community

Give a gift and do good.

If you live near a Kohl‘s department store, you can pick up a Leo Lionni soft toy or other gift that are part of the Kohl’s Cares collection for just $5 each, and let your honey know that 100% of the net proceeds will benefit children’s health initiatives nationwide. The collection is available at Kohls.com now through early April.

Books and accessories featured in the Kohl’s Cares collection this spring include:

Frederick book and mouse soft toy
A Color of His Own book and chameleon soft toy
It’s Mine! Book and frog soft toy
Cornelius book and crocodile soft toy
Swimmy book
Tote bag
101 Kids Activities book

Good luck lovers and friends!

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Had the Baby Before the Wedding? Here are 4 Ways to Still have that Fairytale Wedding on a Budget

Posted on February 12, 2016

The fairytale wedding that you’ve dreamed of since childhood may be the most magical day of your life. But weddings come with a hefty price tag. The average cost of a wedding in 2014 was more than $31,000, according to nearly 16,000 brides and grooms surveyed by The Knot. The venue alone can cost upwards of $14,000, and the average wedding dress is around $1,357. Don’t forget these numbers exclude the required engagement ring and honeymoon.

If your savings account falls short of your wedding budget, here are four ideas to financially supplement your wedding funds.

Use Your Mobile Phone to Save

One of the top wedding trends for 2014 is using smartphones to wedding plan, such as researching venues and wedding dresses. Couples can also use their smartphones as a wedding tool for saving. Download Unsplurge, an app designed to help you save with visuals and a community aspect.

Enter “wedding” into the app as the event you want to save for, along with an amount and photo. You can even break down “wedding” into smaller goals, such as dress, venue, photographer and florist. Then using visualizations, the app tracks your progress and keeps you on target to reach your goal. The Town, a section of the app where you can see what other people are saving for, can also help motivate you to reach your financial wedding goals.

Become an Independent Business Owner

Earn extra income by joining the direct selling industry as an independent business owner selling products you’re passionate about. Amway provides the opportunity for you to start your own business and work on the side with flexibility and convenience. This means you can still work full time and wedding plan while growing your business in between. Also, as your business and network grows, you’ll strengthen your investment with higher earning potential. Continue your business even after you’re married to help support other major expenses such as buying a house or starting a family.

Get Crafty & DIY

DIY wedding projects can help you stay within budget — and the extra savings do add up. Not only does a DIY approach give your wedding details a personalized touch, but craft projects also provide bonding opportunities with friends and family. Grab a couple bottles of wine, meet up with friends and create the following items:

Ceremony decor: Avoid expensive speciality arrangements and adorn your ceremony with vases full of locally grown flowers or candle centerpieces to create a romantic ambiance. Popsugar.com also offers 53 stylish DIY wedding ideas, from a farmer’s market bouquet to a glitter star garland.
Favors: Homemade baked sweet treats, such as chocolate bark or heart-shaped cookies, wrapped in a colorful box or cute bags are an affordable, charming wedding favor. Other creative low-cost ideas inspired by Better Homes & Gardens include s’mores kits, recipe cards in brown bags with fresh herbs or custom tea blends in small glass containers with brewing instructions.
Invitations and Save-the-Dates: Wedding invitations cost nearly $430 on average. Create stylish invitations for less with a printable DIY wedding invitation kit. Brides Magazine suggests making DIY thank you cards with a three-tiered wedding-cake shape using three layers of patterned washi tape and black pen to draw the stand.

Raise Money for the Honeymoon

As part of the wedding planning process, couples register for wedding gift items like kitchenware, appliances, home accessories and more. But what about registering for a trip to the Caribbean?

Honeyfund is a free online wedding registry, crowdfunding site and fundraising platform where wedding guests can help you afford the honeymoon of your dreams. With Honeyfund, the perfect honeymoon destination is possible across the globe, from the coasts of Greece to the untouched beauty of New Zealand.

Once your registry is set up, tools are available to share it. Friends and family can easily send payment gifts both on and offline to congratulate you and celebrate your marriage.

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Tips

10 Ways to Grow An Entrepreneurial Child

Posted on February 8, 2016

Love this from our friends at by Babysitters.net. As an entrepreneur myself, I love having tips and ideas for arming my kids with the tools to follow in my footsteps. Very few people who work for someone else wind up rich or wealthy! It’s the business owners and entrepreneurs generally that do! Enjoy:

The world is filled with entrepreneurs, and it’s a good thing too! After all, where would we be without things like Velcro and disposable diapers? According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, of the over half a million requests for patents that were filed in 2010, over 244,000 were issued. Because entrepreneurs are how we continue to invent new products and services, it’s important to help create an environment that encourages our children to carry on in the same entrepreneurial spirit.

Check out 10 ways to spark the entrepreneurial spirit and fan the flame of creativity in your own child.

Encourage her ideas. Build up her confidence. Brainstorm with her if she comes to you with an idea for something she could do. Ask her questions and help her to come up with her own answers.

Never tell him something won’t work. Instead of telling him that there’s no way a lemonade stand will work in front of your house because there’s no traffic, help him come to his own conclusion. By responding negatively to his ideas he could feel defeated and like his ideas are unworthy. According to Mimi Doe, parenting expert and author of 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting, parents need to be careful with what they say because words have the ability to lift a child’s spirit or crush it.

Expose your child to other entrepreneurial kids. Head to the library and look up books that contain information about kids who have started their own business and been successful. Ask around and see if there are any entrepreneurial kids in your area that she could speak with.

Help with a lemonade stand. He has seen other kids on TV having lemonade stands and making money, and he wants in on the action. If he comes to you with the idea of a lemonade stand go with it. Don’t squash his excitement. Help him make the lemonade and devise his pricing and marketing model to show your support.

Let your child make mistakes. Parents often want to save kids from making mistakes, but mistakes are how everyone learns. You can’t protect your children from everything. If she sits at lemonade stand for a while and doesn’t sell anything, she will wonder why. When she asks, don’t just answer directly. Again, ask her questions like, “Do you see very many people walking past your stand? How do people know you are here?” She will figure out that she either needs to move or put up a sign directing people to her.

need to be careful with what they say because words have the ability to lift a child’s spirit or crush it.

Teach your child about cost versus profit. Once he has had a taste of success and made some money, now comes the challenging part. Explain to him how much it costs to make lemonade and serve it to the public in a cup with ice. Help him do the math, if necessary, and ask him if he made enough money to pay for the ingredients that went into his lemonade. If not then you can talk about why that is and what he can do to change that. Alyson Schafer, parenting expert and psychotherapist, says that parents should take any opportunity to teach their children about the value of money.

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7 Ways to Tell If your Child is a Genius!

Posted on February 8, 2016

Your child learned to read at an early age, breezed through flash cards and mastered the multiplication tables. You wonder, is she gifted? Possibly even genius level? Well, there are a number of ways to know for certain just how sharp your little whiz-kid really is. We’re going to share some with you – ten ways to see if your kid really is a genius:

It’s in the genes. – To an extent at least, you can get a sense of a baby’s intellectual capacity from her parents. Are you and/or your spouse of genius level intelligence? Gifted parents will tend to have gifted children.
Verbal benchmarks. – If your child began talking before the age of one year, she is very likely gifted, possibly genius level, which is a score of 140 or more on a standard IQ test, by the way. There is really no more significance to the label than that, something to keep in mind.
IQ testing – Results can vary, as do the forms of testing depending on where they are taken and who is administering them. An IQ exam will test a wide range of skills and aptitude. Experts suggest testing a child’s IQ between the ages of 4 and 9 years old.
Child Development Specialist – A good place to start if you really wish to rate your child’s level of giftedness is with one of these professionals. They can administer the appropriate tests, and identify indicators that are common among gifted children.
Vocabulary – A gifted child will not only learn to read and speak at an early age, but also demonstrate command of an extensive vocabulary for their age. Reading will be a strong habit for a gifted child, and she will be able to incorporate newly learned words into her vocabulary quite readily.
At ease with adults. – It is common for gifted children to be able to interact easily with adults. Their interests and conversational skills will be considerably more advanced than those of average child their age.
Reasoning/Logic – A highly developed power of abstract thought and reasoning is another common trait among gifted children. They will typically be able to conceptualize subjects and ideas that are too complex for an average child to comprehend.

Let us know if you have a real Baby Einstein in your home.

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