As a mom to 5 kids, we do the Elf on the Shelf but I'm not the best to remember to move it every night! Several years ago I came up with the perfect hack to get out of moving the elf for a few days. Our elf took a sick day! We have since done several versions of our Sick Elf on the Shelf Letter and we even include a letter and it gets us a few days of freedom! OH NO! Sick Elf on the Shelf Letter + A Few More Sick Elf Ideas With the holidays coming up. Many of us are continuing the Elf on the Shelf tradition and some of us are starting the tradition. Either way, we are always looking for new ideas to keep things fun and interesting! Our family elf is called Mater. Yes, after the Cars Movie Mater. Though one year I may or may not have lost Mater so we had his buddy … [Read more...]
How to Get Free Audiobooks – 16 (Legal) Ways!
Do you like to read? I do but I can never seem to find the time to sit down and read an actual book. I do, however, love a great audiobook! I can sit and listen while I work, while we travel, or while I clean. What I don't like doing though is paying for my audiobooks. They can cost as much as $20.00 each so why should I pay when I can get them totally free? It may not seem possible, but here is how to get free audiobooks so that you don't have to add them to your budget. How to Get Free Audiobooks - 16 (Legal) Ways! When you're looking for ways to get free audiobooks, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you have to pay for them. After all, "nothing in life is free," right? Wrong; these ways to get free audiobooks are all 100% legitimate and can help you fill your … [Read more...]
Easy Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe
If you have been around the blog for a while you know I do not do mornings. Getting up, getting kids ready, AND cooking; that is asking a bit much. I love recipes that I can make the night before. My kids love this Easy Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe! This makes my morning go so much smoother. This recipe is the definition of my Easy Breakfast Recipes. Easy Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe I love this recipe because it takes all of about 10 minutes to throw together. If you do not have French Bread or Italian Bread use whats is on hand, it will still turn out amazing. If you do not have blueberries then use what you have. I have used bananas or strawberries in the past. I also found once I had no frozen fruit so I did it fruitless … [Read more...]
Rice Krispie Treats Christmas Presents
In this recipe I used the store-bought Rice Krispie Treats, they are easy to toss together in a time crunch and made for great pictures. But you can also make your own to change up the flavors as well. You can also make your own treats and dye them to you have red and green ones! These Rice Krispie Treats Christmas Presents a hit at the Christmas parties and the kids love them! You can get really fancy with them too and add all sorts of decor, from ribbon wrapping to polka dots, stripes and more! Rice Krispie Treats Christmas Presents Over the years we have had fun decorating these. We have used different sprinkles and edible glitter to make them all different. A friend of mine made her Rice Krispie Treats Christmas Presents blue and sliver to match her Christmas Tree. There … [Read more...]
Giving Tuesday & Supporting the USO
“This post was sponsored by the USO. All opinions are my own.” After all of the Christmas presents are bought and the weekend has come and gone, it’s time to reflect on Giving Tuesday. If you don’t know about the USO, they have a mission to strengthen service members and they do this by keeping them connected to their family, home, and country. This is all done throughout their service to the nation. Force Behind the Forces® The USO has a desire for all military supporters to join Force Behind the Forces®. This means that the USO has a deep desire to connect service members and their families to their homes. They want to connect service members to their families no matter where they serve. There is no doubt that all service members and military families … [Read more...]
Rich and Creamy Hershey Kiss Hot Chocolate Recipe
When the weather cools off my family's favorite drink to break out is hot chocolate. We have many different recipes but this Hershey Kiss Hot Chocolate Recipe is one of my favorite. It's rich and creamy and you just can't beat it! Rich and Creamy Hershey Kiss Hot Chocolate Recipe When we lived in Pennsylvania we were less than an hour away from Hershey so we used to go out that way a lot. They do a huge Christmas lights event. While heading out there we were told to grab some Hershey Kiss hot chocolate we thought ok but it's a little weird it's at a gas station right? Well, those guys knew what they were talking about! It was the best hot chocolate I've had in my life. Rich and creamy and perfect. We made it a point to stop and get some every time we were in … [Read more...]
Dollar General Christmas Decor and Gift Guide
This post is sponsored by Dollar General but all Christmas shopping was done by me! The holidays are almost here, which gets me super excited. I’m the mother of all bargain shoppers, which is why you will see me head to Dollar General and complete a lot of my shopping there! Not only do I complete my shopping there, but I also do our decorating with items from there. I’m a firm believer that budgets don’t have to stop people from enjoying the holidays. Dollar General Gift Guide When it comes to Dollar General, it’s important that you are able to find what you want. Shopping on a budget is actually fun if you know what you are buying. I headed to Dollar General to do a little gift shopping and I wanted to share with you what I bought. Check out some of my favorite gift ideas, … [Read more...]
Easy DIY Snowman Wine Glass Candle Holder
I saw these votive candle holders at a store recently for $25 each. I thought I could get a wine glass at my local thrift store and I already had paint, and I could make it myself for just a few dollars. This snowman wine glass candle holder is a fun craft, and they look great on a fireplace mantle. Easy DIY Snowman Wine Glass Candle Holder If you are looking for great DIY Christmas decor, make sure to check out these Easy DIY Glitter Pinecones and DIY Snowman Button Art. I highly suggest heading to a thrift store to find an out of place wine glass to upcycle. You can find them for under $1! This is what inspired my wine glass candle holder crafts because I found a bunch of them! Items Needed Shorter white wine glass Frosted glass spray paint Red, black, … [Read more...]
Easy Eggnog Oatmeal + Homemade Eggnog Recipe
Wintertime always brings eggnog back to the stores. You find people who love it or hate it but no matter what side of the fence you are on when it comes to drinking eggnog it is still great in many recipes during the holiday time! My new favorite eggnog recipe is this easy eggnog oatmeal. I like using the homemade eggnog recipe at the bottom instead of buying store-bought this way I make what I need and there is no waste. Easy Eggnog Oatmeal + Homemade Eggnog Recipe Is Homemade eggnog safe? Yes as long as it's properly stored. I personally would make sure to use it up within 24 hours of making it just to be safe. Since it's so easy to make just make small batches as needed. There is a simple recipe at the bottom of the post for homemade eggnog. How … [Read more...]
Easy DIY Button Snowman Craft – Button Art Idea
I love doing crafts with my kids. I went through a crafting stage where I was addicted to doing things with buttons. One thing I ordered when I set up my craft area was buttons. A TON of buttons. I then spent days separating them by color into jars by color to make crafts easy! Now I'm on a button art kick and for winter I went with this Button Snowman Craft. Easy DIY Button Snowman Craft - Button Art Idea I had a few crafts in mind including some Christmas ornaments, then I was hunting down ideas. In fact, one thing I decided was to some cute holiday decor. For Easter, I did a button egg and a flower and for winter I did this DIY snowman. I also had fun with this DIY Button Art Heart Decor. It's super easy and fun! I even got the kids to help they picked out buttons for … [Read more...]