Valentine's Day always creeps up on me, and since I'm not the type of mom who keeps a supply of red fondant and edible glitter stocked in my pantry, I'm looking for easy last-minute treats that don't require a ton of forethought. Enter t…
Sports season is in full swing, which means so is the begging for brightly colored sports drinks. I get it: If the parent on snack duty failed to supply me and the rest of the Purple Ponies (yes, real name) with Gatorade after a game, I …
Since having my baby in March, I've had a steady stream of adoring grandparents, aunts, and uncles staying at my house. So, in addition to feeding my immediate family, I've been cooking for crowds on the regular. It was a little stressfu…
With school in full swing, I've had to figure out how to ensure that all four of my kids have school lunches packed each day, because I can't afford the $7,682 bill I'd get from the school cafeteria each month if I didn't. (Seriously, wh…
For weeks, my kids have been obsessing over their Halloween costumes and (of course) the annual sugar binge that comes with the holiday. They cannot wait. I have to admit, I'm getting in the spirit, too, and am starting with these health…
Attention Instant Pot devotees! Our favorite kitchen multi-tasker just got even more helpful. And no, not just because we're now festooning ours with hilarious decals , including the one featuring Ryan Gosling's face (which is reason eno…
Aren't cats the original hipsters? They sleep late, live on their own terms, and only pretend that you don't care what you think about them. But unlike real cats (and some real hipsters), they're a lot lower maintenance when they come in…
As a dedicated public school parent, two things have become abundantly clear to me over the years: 1) Schools are woefully underfunded and 2) Any school is as good as the commitment of the school community. I'll skip number one right now…
My kids are back in school, which means that our lazier days of summer have turned into early morning wake-ups and busy scheduled days. To help keep up their energy levels (and mine) and to avoid the hangrys , I make sure to grab plenty …
If your kids are big sports fans like mine, with lots of seasons just getting started or already underway, they love finding fun ways to show off their team spirit. However, lots of schools are starting to ban team jerseys (for real), me…
It seems like juice boxes are just a fact of life. I slurped them as a kid, and many parents still rely on them for school lunches today. But as we're learning that juice for kids may not be as healthful as we once thought, I'm re-evalua…
We are always so grateful to those class moms (and dads, of course -- let's get more of you!) who volunteer their valuable free time to do what's often a thankless job. So with school in full swing for most of us, or just getting ready t…
In our most recent back to school shopping guide post, we focused on the 23 of the cutest animal school supplies featuring kawaii creatures of all kind. And wow, they are cute! But for some of our kids, it takes a skull (crossbones optio…
When my kids were younger, after-school snacks served largely as a reward for making it through the school day. Now that they are a bit older, what they eat after school and before their after-school activities provides necessary fuel to…
There are loads of reasons we make the trek to our local Costco. Great deals, long-lasting bulk quantities, those sugar-coated churro snacks. And don't even get me started on the samples. But Costco can also be a great place to save mone…
One of the fun things about getting old -- ahem, I mean being a parent -- is seeing the trends we loved as kids reemerge on our own kids. Case in point: DIY customized denim jackets. Not only are they on trend this fall for back-to-schoo…
We are enamored of those tees for our kids featuring superheroes, pop culture references, rock bands, and sports teams. And they love them. In part because they know that we love that stuff, and they're pleasing us to show their allegian…
Sponsored post. As my kids have gotten older, I've found that after-school snacks are more than just a treat. They're essential for helping my boys make it through the rest of the day, especially when they come home tired and hungry. (So…
We love a fun bento box as much as the next person, but has anyone else noticed that most playful school lunch ideas require a PhD in arts and crafts? So cute, but who has the time -- or, um , ability? While we admittedly attempt more am…
My kids are obsessed with “gummies,” probably because I treat them like candy and rarely offer them up as a snack. So, yea, my fault. In order to appease their wishes for gummy-like fruit snacks, I decided to try making two-ingredient ho…
Sponsored post. Every year, back-to-school season has us buzzing with excitement. New sneakers, new outfits, fresh notebooks, fun school supplies -- even as a (very busy) parent, it's hard not to get wrapped up in it all. That is, until …
Whether your kid has severe nut allergies or is just in a nut-free classroom at their school, it can be tricky to find tasty snacks for their lunch box or after school that don't involve peanut butter or nuts of some kind. But we're here…
If you're anything like me, you make pasta for dinner at least once a week. Because, hello kid-friendly, super-easy weeknight cooking. Well, if you thought that cooking pasta couldn't pay off more, get ready for a life-changing tip: Buy …
Kids outgrow trends so fast, there's something wonderful about animals, which our little kids love -- and our tweens and teens too. So next up in our 2017 Back-to-School Shopping Guide , we've put together a selection of the absolutely m…