My kids love being invited to birthday parties, but as a mom, I feel the stress of trying to find the perfect gift. When we go to a close friend or family member’s birthday party, we usually know the child well enough to pick out something they will really like. But with school friends, we […]
6 Must-Dos for a Successful Sleepover Party
I am a planner by nature. I love planning ALL the things. Birthday parties, family celebrations, cookouts, vacations…you name it, I love to plan it. I love being creative, searching for deals, and creating an event that is memorable AND affordable. So, when my kids came along and I was able to start planning birthday […]
5 Easy Steps to a Winning No-Baking Baking Party for Kids
As a mom of triplet girls, two of the questions I hear most often are, “Do they look alike?” (not at all) and “Do they have different personalities?”. The answer to the last question is a loud yes with a capital Y! So as their 7th birthday approached, I was doubtful they’d be able to agree on what type […]
Custom Invitations for any Occasion
***Disclosure: This post about custom invitations is sponsored by Basic Invite and I have been compensated for my participation. All opinions are my own*** In just one short month my beautiful daughter will be turning ONE! Apparently I’m in a cloud of shocked disbelief (or maybe it’s just second child syndrome?) because I haven’t even started planning the party. I’ve […]
10 Tips to Throw an Affordable Birthday Party
In the past decade birthday parties have made the leap from celebrations to grand scale events. The days of cake and ice cream have been replaced with petting zoos, bounce houses and banquets of food based on a specific theme. Not only are these parties stressful and time consuming but they are costly. Birthdays shouldn’t be a major budget […]
Think Like a Geek and Ace Your Holiday Shopping!
Friends, Black Friday is officially upon us! Now, I know not everyone is down with the crazy like my rather obsessed bargain-hunting self, which is cool. We all shine in different ways. Even if you won’t be elbowing your way through the crowds in overstuffed malls today, you can still get your shopping on, easy-peasy with all the […]
Where the Boomers and the Millennials Meet Up
I get the Sunday paper every week. And I actually read it. Like, sit at the table, try desperately to ignore my children, and bury my nose in the newsprint so I can pretend to have some idea of what is happening in the rest of the world on the other six days of the […]
Airing Out the Sad
Last week was pretty crappy week, as weeks go. A perfect storm of a bunch of far-from-perfect situations, and let’s just say better times have rolled down in our home. We were prepping for my son to start 1st Grade today. In addition to panic attacking while trying to sort a online account for his milk […]
The Things I Hope My Daughter Never Learns
Today, my little gal turns the big 4. Mind-blowing when you consider the many days I doubted we would ever make it to 4 o’clock, much less 4 years. Elyse amazes me. She amazes me in the way that sometimes I look at her and wonder, “Is this creature real?” This astoundment might happen after she does […]
Smathers and Branson, Your One-Stop Father’s Day Shop
Let me share a secret: I sort-of hate Father’s Day. My husband is truly The Worst Person in the World to Shop for, and my father is a close second. My Father-in-Law? Not much better. I have no idea what to get these men and when I ask, they tend to look at me like […]
