Home Maid Simple

Category: family

Budgeting For Gifts This Holiday Season
It’s the biggest week of spending all year. With Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday all in a row, it’s important to stick to a budget for your holiday shopping or you’ll easily overspend. Budgeting for Gifts this Holiday Season is a guest post.

Stephanie is the founder of Military Travel Mama; she is the wife of a military professional and mother to two children. Follow her blog for more about military life, military discounts, family trips, healthy eating, and parenthood.

Reduce Stress And Increase Festiveness

People get stressed out during the holidays, and one of the primary reasons for that is how much is spent every year on Christmas gifts. If you’re in a married household with sons and daughters who have reached adulthood, five of you could spend around $3,500 on average on gifts. That’s enough for a used car!

While some in the family may be doing well enough to afford so much every year, this can really stress the budget of others. It’s important to remember that there are other ways to show your family you care for them than purchasing expensive Christmas gifts. Following, several ways of reducing and redirecting Christmas spending will be explored to help get your imagination going.
1. Vacation
$700 is the cost of a drive to that resort town an hour away, and a weekend—or even a week—in a hotel there. There are options at $50 a night which a small family could use; seven nights at that rate is $350. Even at $100 a night, you could do six evenings plus $100 for gas. Beyond that, just spend what you normally would on food.

Now granted, this isn’t always feasible for some families; but for those who have the ability to travel, it could be just the thing. There are also discount holiday specials available to take advantage of. In Costa Mesa, California, there are deals available for flights to Hawaii at $99 round-trip. Such deals fluctuate, so shop around; here’s an example of one from five years ago.

If you can find a cheap motel at $100 a night, you could fly in a family of five for two nights at that cost and spend a weekend in Honolulu for Christmas. If you’ve got relatives or friends in Hawaii who you haven’t seen in a while, and are themselves looking to shake things up for Christmas, you might go stay with them a week and still have money left over when you get home.
1. Joke Gifts
You don’t have to get everybody’s dream gift every Christmas. Sometimes that’s the thing to do. But as your children grow older, their desires will be something beyond the monetary. How do you buy your eldest daughter a husband for her twenty-fourth Christmas? Likewise, families strapped for cash probably can’t buy their sixteen-year-old a car.

But you could buy them a Matchbox or Hotwheels toy in the make and model of the car they desire, and wrap it up! Some teens may not see the humor in that, some will. Also, young children love candy, and it can be cheap. If you’re able to steel yourself against the coming sugar rush, this could be a good buy. As could jack-in-the-box type gifts, or wildly inappropriate ones. You might wrap up a stick of deodorant for your teenager.

As long as you have some “real” gift mixed in, you can have a very fun Christmas with gifts meant to be nothing but a joke. Time spent together is the most important thing. Even dream gifts are forgotten after a while, but family time stays with a person.
1. Budgeting And Strategy
You might set yourself a budget per person, then buy multiple gifts within that budget of varying kind. If you’re buying for seven, budget $50 per person and you’re at half the national average on Christmas presents.

You can buy them some curiosity from a flea market, a few savory sweets, maybe a joke t-shirt, and something special. This kind of strategy helps you maximize your buying power. Especially for young children, there are “cheap” toy solutions which are still fun.

Check out the Holiday Gift Guide for Unique Ideas

More For Less

Even the costliest Christmas is empty where families don’t spend time together. The chief element in saving money and yet having an excellent Christmas is spending time with those you love. Factor that in, and you’ll always have a good Christmas even when money is tight.
November 20, 2018
2 Player Games to Encourage Sibling Bonding

Sibling bonding time has been provided by Pressman® Toy. All opinions are my own.

You may also enjoy: Encouraging a Natural Sibling Bond with a New Baby

Ah siblings. I grew up loving spending every minute of my free time with my siblings because we loved each other so much!

That is until we didn’t. We had a lot of great moments, but we also had a lot of fights and bad attitudes at times too. That’s perfectly normal for every family. I try to remind myself of that when my kids are fighting.

Thankfully, there are some fun ways to encourage sibling bonding. Recently we’ve found that having a few 2-player games has helped the kids bond one-on-one with each other. They aren’t games I particularly enjoy playing with them, which is perfect because then they must play with a sibling.

The first one I’d like to share with you is called MasterMind. I had never heard of this game until Mark picked it up at a yard sale one day. Apparently, it was his favorite childhood game and he was stoked to find it again. Now the kids love challenging each other to break their color codes.

I love this game because it teaches them how to analytical thinking. Each move reveals some piece of a code the other player has created in secret. It takes careful thought on both sides of this game because one wrong answer could throw the whole round out.

The next game the kids have recently come to enjoy is Hydrostrike. It reminds me of air hockey and pinball. The goal is to hit the ball just right in the other players home to make the lever spray them with water.

My kids have been all over this game. Some of them think it’s so fun to get wet, that they will intentionally make the water go off on their own side.

What I love about this game is the immense amount of laughter I consistently hear when this one is pulled out. I think instead of those extra large “get along shirts” when my kids are fighting, I’ll insist they challenge each other to a game of Hydrostrike. There’s just no way they could still be fighting at the end of it.

What are your favorite 2 player games? I’d love to have more resources to encourage the sibling bonding!

October 9, 2018
DIY Optimus Prime Transforming Costume

This post is sponsored by Red Baron but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

It’s October!!! That means lots of DIY costumes being put together, and often some last minute changes to what everyone wants to be. This DIY Optimus Prime Transforming Costume is sure to be on any transformer loving little boy’s list of costumes.

You know in the past I’ve loved doing a family theme, but this year the kids didn’t want to get on board with that. So we’re all doing something a little different, but I still got to be creative!

Inside Out Family Costume
Despicable Me Family Costume

While some of the kids are going to go through the dress ups we own and create their costumes out of that, I convinced Lincoln to be Optimus Prime for Halloween. It really didn’t take much convincing though. I mean he already has the Autobot costume, but wouldn’t it be more fun if he could actually transform into a truck? Thus, I got the opportunity to build an Optimus Prime Transforming Costume!

Oh yes I did! I know there may be a lot of Mom’s out there wondering why I would go to such lengths, but you also all must think I’m pretty cool now too….right? Well, my kids think I’m cool at least.

Here’s the thing though, I love Halloween. I love coming up with unique costumes that will really wow, if only for one day of the year. However, my artistic side is a bit lacking. So I called up my sister in law who is better with the art side of things.

It may have helped that I told her I would bring dinner if she would provide her creative skills. I knew I could do the engineering part, and Red Baron Pizza would take care of dinner, so I just needed her eye for detail.

We did this yesterday. I had my kids ride the bus to her house, where we attempted to have everyone do homework while we worked on the Optimus Prime Transforming costume.

While Renee and I worked, we sort of lost track of time. It’s easy to do when you’re spray painting boxes and mulling over the best way to add cardboard pipes. The time slipped past, and before I knew it we had definitely missed dinner time. It was OK though because Red Baron pizza cooks in under 20 minutes – one of the reason’s it’s what I brought for dinner.

I ran inside and got the pizza’s in the oven, checked on all the kids, and then while dinner cooked worked a bit more on Optimus Prime. When dinner was ready, the paint was all dry, so we brought it inside while we enjoyed our dinner.

Similar to our different approach to costume, we all have a different approach to pizza too! I had requests for square cut and triangle. So I did a bit of each, and everyone was pleased. Red Baron’s Brick Oven Pizza has the perfect golden crust for cutting however you please.

After dinner, we finished up, then tried it on before heading home for the night. Yes, it took a full day to create, but it was so very worth it! We got to hang out with family, enjoy some good pizza, and we may have convinced my nephew to go as Starscream – which means another day of DIY transformers building before Halloween hits!

Optimus Prime Transforming Costume

Supplies:

1 large box
2 medium boxes
2 paper towel tubes
1 large packing tube
1 Oatmeal container
Red, Blue, and Silver spray paint
Gorilla Tape
Elastic
Exacto Knife
Hot Glue

Instructions: These are just general instructions. If you have any specific questions feel free to reach out via comment, email, or facebook!

Use the large box to create the cab. Fit around your child, cut head holes and armholes.
Use 1 medium box to create the hood. Cut one side off and the flaps. Attach over the head hole on the large box with gorilla tape, so that it can flip up when the child stands.
Using the other medium box cut a piece to create the front grill.
Measure your child’s legs and cut pieces to cover the back of the legs, creating a flatbed look. Score down the sides, so the cardboard wraps around the side of the legs.
Cut the oatmeal container into 6 circles. Spray paint these black for the tires.
Cut the packing tube in half. Spray paint the packing tube, paper towel tubes, and grill silver.
Spray paint the cab and hood blue and red to look like Optimus Prime. Add in some silver or black for the windows.
Detail the hood with blue flames.
Attach the tubes and tires with hot glue.
Create an Autobot stencil, and spray paint on the front chest.
Using elastic and gorilla tape, create attachments for the leg pieces to attach to your child. We put one under the knee and one above the knee.

Don’t forget to save those pizza boxes for your DIY costume build! They are great for cutting into details like the grill, leg attachments, and back flap!

October 5, 2018
Everyday Enzymes that Help Digestion

Start getting the most out of your food with the help of Everyday Enzymes.

I had the opportunity last week to talk to Dr. Liz Cruz, the creator of Everyday Enzyme’s. I’m no health nut, and struggle understanding most health-related topics. Being able to talk with Dr. Cruz about the Everyday Enzyme’s was extremely helpful to me, and I hope it will, in turn, help you.

What are Enzymes?

Enzymes are biochemical catalysts. They work to break down our food into molecules so that our body can process more of the nutrition held within.

The following are the questions I asked Dr Cruz, and her answers summarized by me.

Why make Everyday Enzymes?

Dr. Cruz works as a gastroenterologist in Arizona. She had many clients complaining of issues such as feeling bloated, not feeling that their food was digesting, acid reflux, heartburn, low energy, and feeling moody. In her words “it’s much more than just gastrointestinal.” Dr. Cruz went on to explain the phenomenon known as the Enzyme Gap, which is a study that says every 10 years our bodies enzyme production goes down. She says there are 2 ways to combat this gap. #1. Eat Healthy. #2. Eat Enzymes

For awhile she would suggest over-the-counter enzymes but found because of the lack of quality in many pills, they still weren’t helping much. So she decided to make Everyday Enzyme’s as pure and natural as possible.

What would you say is the most important ingredient in Everyday Enzymes?

This was a fun conversation that I found very telling about the product. Dr. Cruz gave it a lot of thought and finally admitted to me that she didn’t believe anyone ingredient was more important than the others. She has worked to create a pill full of different enzymes all equally important to break different nutrients.

What makes Everyday Enzymes better than eating Activia Yogurt?

This is where I learned quite a bit. Activia and other good yogurts are full of probiotics. Probiotics and Enzymes are not the same things. The probiotics add good bacteria that help keep our guts healthy, while Enzyme’s actually helped break down the food.

How will I know if Everyday Enzymes is working for me?

Everyone is different, so it depends on the individual and why they are taking it. For her clients, it should help get rid of the feeling of bloating, or undigested food. In her own words “I take them, not because I have issues, but I’m 52, and in the long run I know they’ll help me.”

So whether you’re taking them as something to benefit you, or to specifically help with gastrointestinal problems, how they show their effectiveness will be different. Dr. Cruz suggests taking them for at least 30 days, but preferably 90 days to start seeing any difference in health.

Are Everyday Enzymes FDA approved?

Since this is not a drug, but a health supplement, the FDA does not treat it the same. However, because getting quality enzymes into these pills is important to Dr. Cruz, all of the ingredients are FDA certified.

I’m Having a Cholecystectomy, how will Everyday Enzyme’s benefit me?

This was a more personal question, as I was getting ready to have my gallbladder removed, and wanted to know if there were any specific benefits I could find taking Everyday Enzymes. Dr. Cruz told me whenever one of her patients has a cholecystectomy she encourages them to take enzymes. The function of our gallbladder is basically a back-up to help with our digestion. By taking away that back-up, I can use all the extra help in the digestion tract available.

If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Cruz and the Everyday Enzyme’s visit www.drlizcruz.com/

September 7, 2018
5 Reasons Why We Should Be Playing Ping Pong

Ping pong or table tennis is a sport we all played at a certain time in our life. Maybe your parents had an old table in the basement or maybe your childhood memories revolve around this game, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it doesn’t take long to learn it, and anyone can join in.

Image credit Pixabay

You may also enjoy 3 Twists On Cornhole to Entertain All Day

But besides being extremely easy to learn, there are other benefits to consider before tossing the paddles away.

#1: General Fitness

First and foremost, this is an aerobic exercise you do with pleasure! So, if you hate running on the treadmill or working on the stationary bike, ping pong is a fantastic way to improve your fitness. Furthermore, if you play it like a pro (meaning fast), your heart will get a fantastic exercise out of it and you’ll sweat like you never did in the gym!

#2: A Sport for the Family

In today’s day and age, it is difficult to get the entire family involved in one activity. Sure, you can take the kids to park, but they won’t lift their eyes from their phones!

On the other hand, a good outdoor table like the ones I saw on bestpingpongtables.io and a few warming sets will get the ball rolling. Once you get the kids hooked on ping pong, you’ll never have to worry about them spending too much time in the house ever again!

#3: A Non-Contact Sport

Jogging can be rough on your joints while lifting weights or doing cardio in the gym can be quite strenuous on the muscles. This is a problem that doesn’t show up when you play table tennis. You don’t need to force yourself to play very fast and you can still break a sweat and feel the action.

Not to mention, there is no risk of getting bruised or pushed while playing because there are no teammates to get in contact with!

#4: Mental Sharpness

Besides all the physical benefits, ping pong was proven to sharpen the mind and improve memory and focus. The action stimulates the only portion of our brain that is still capable of producing neurons and forming new neuronal pathways. As a result, people who play ping pong constantly will get smarter and will focus better. This is also why some specialists recommend the sport to children since they are still able to develop their brain.

#5: Hand-Eye Coordination

Have you ever tried to toss a ball in one direction and it went in a completely different one? Or maybe you keep dropping things and bumping into obstacles that you see but don’t really register correctly.

This is what we call clumsiness and I was one of the biggest butterfingers ever! But with ping pong, my depth perception improved, and my hand-eye coordination got better. Now, as a fully-grown adult, I can drink my coffee without spilling and I can shoot a bow and arrow with high accuracy.

Ping pong is one of the most fun ways to help your clumsy kids get better at interpreting the world around correctly.

In Conclusion

As you can see, table tennis is a fantastic game for both kids and adults. It’s also a way to spend more time with the family and teach the kids a bit about staying fit and healthy. So, whip up that old table and have at it!

September 6, 2018
Root Beer Float Game Night
There’s nothing quite so refreshing as a parent, to get together with other adults and enjoy some good games and a root beer float. This post is sponsored by A&W. All opinions are my own.

When I was a kid, we didn’t have all the electronics we do now. Our screen time consisted of Saturday morning cartoons, and 3 1/2 inch floppy discs of Crystal Caves and the Oregon Trail.

While I loved the TV and our DOS game systems, my favorite time spent as a child was sitting around the table playing board and card games. It wasn’t really a game night without some kind of snack to go along. We’d have bowls of candy, chips with dip, sometimes even a veggie tray, but it was a rare occasion that A&W Root Beer was not present.

Nowadays, my favorite night of the week is when we get together with Mark’s brother and his family. Games are always a must, and treats – well they’re the icing to the night. For our last game night, we pulled out all the stops with good old fashioned Root Beer Floats.

Every game night starts with the question, what do we play? The best answer to that comes with a closet full of well-loved games. Our go-to’s for game night are, and in no particular order –
- Ticket to Ride
- Smash Up
- Five Crowns
- Alhambra
- King of Tokyo
Similar to choosing what game to play, when making our Root Beer Float, we had options. It starts with the ice cream. A purist will pick Vanilla, but chocolate, cookie dough, and well just about any flavor of ice cream can find its place in a root beer float. With its rich creamy taste, and sentimental value to my own childhood, the only root beer for a Root Beer float is A&W.

For Root Beer Float Inspiration check this out!

The next decision is the toppings. I like to have a good mix, so we had brownies, bananas, sprinkles, chocolate and caramel, whipped cream, and cherries to pick from. Not a kid came through that didn’t try dumping all of the sprinkles into their float. Who can blame them when they make such a fun colorful topping.

When my aunt and uncle played games with us as a kid, we still all played. Maybe it was because they had no young kids for us to go play with. These days when we get together there are 9 kids! That’s quite a bit to try and fit into any board game, so sometimes a few will ask to join our game and we let them. More often they want to hang out with each other, usually on one of the myriads of available screens.
August 6, 2018
A Summer Routine to tame the Summer Chaos

Ah, Summer! School’s out, the days of staying up late, sleeping in, vegging on TV, and running around without a care in the world are upon us. This summer routine is sponsored by Red Baron but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Or so, that’s how I always thought summer should be. Funny thing though, my Mom always kept us to a routine. Chores, set bedtimes, and meals as a family at the same time every day. We could count on exactly what each day would bring, and still found time for wonderful adventures – as long as the chores were done.

Having married young and starting our family shortly after, I didn’t take much time to figure out the adult world before throwing myself right into it. I became horrible at keeping a routine and let the babies rule my world. Well, that first baby is now getting ready for middle school, and I think I’ve finally figured this routine thing out – it only took 5 kids and 12 years.

See, turns out routines are actually really healthy for us. They keep our mind sane and can keep us from feeling overwhelmed, overworked, and like a failure. Routines teach us good habits, and are incredibly beneficial for our kids!

I’m done trying to create a Pinterest perfect summer for my kids. Instead, I am choosing to give them what they need. A routine they can count on, a chance to learn responsibility and respect, and by far the most important – family meals together that will last in their memories.

To ease us into a summer routine – a new concept around our house – I decided it needed to be done in steps. We are in week 5, and the complaints have been minimal, the creativity high, and the overwhelm in the home almost non-existent. Here’s how I did it.

Summer Routine:

Day 1 – Sleep as long as you want. Eat what you want and when you want. Play as much electronics and watch as much TV as your little heart’s desire. Get the idea of a lazy summer taken care of on the first day.

Week 1 – Get up when Mom wakes you. Eat breakfast. Get dressed. Make your bed. Brush your teeth. Brush your hair. Say your morning prayer. We got to calling this the “Morning Routine”.

Week 2 – Complete morning routine. Pick 1 chore. I let the kids decide on the chore. This has got them using their minds to see what needs to be done around our house. If they can’t think of a mom-approved chore, they can grab a job from the chore jar.

Week 3 – Complete morning routine. Pick 1 chore. Complete 2 pages in a workbook. We have a million workbooks that come home from school only partially complete.

Week 4 – Complete morning routine. Pick 1 chore. Complete workbook pages. Read for 30 minutes. If they want to get on electronics at all, they have to hold a book in their hands for at least 30 minutes – preferably reading it.

When the daily routine is complete, the kids have free reign to do what they want. Since we don’t have enough electronics to go around, my ears are often met throughout the afternoon with the whine of boredom from whatever child is left screenless.

So I bought a small backyard pool. It’s so tiny, but man you should have seen the complete joy on these faces when they saw it.

“A pool! A pool! You bought us a pool?!”

I waved my mom badge in the air for all to see. I did indeed. It should have cost $9, but when checking out a $2 discount was applied. You betcha I bought us a small backyard pool.

After the morning routine was complete, they didn’t ask for electronics. They didn’t sleep away the afternoon. And for every penny of that $7 I didn’t have to listen to “I’m bored” for one more minute.

While the kids played in the pool, I grabbed Red Baron Classic Crust Pizza’s from my freezer and got them in the oven – 1 cheese, 1 pepperoni, and 1 supreme. After all, in a family this big, we can’t have any arguing over what style of pizza to cook. Thank goodness Red Baron has 11 different flavors to choose from!

Find your favorite flavor of Red Baron Classic Crust

After a day playing in the sun, while Mark and I get work done around the house, the last thing I want to do is clean up a dinner mess. With pizza, there’s virtually no mess. We don’t bother with paper plates, because Red Baron pizza’s classic crust is not too thin or too thick.

There’s no better way to end a summer day where the kids didn’t complain, chores were finished, and there was no dinner mess to be cleaned up. I sat back with some supreme – this mama likes her pizza loaded – kicked up my feet and read a book while keeping an eye on the kids truly enjoying their summer vacation.

June 26, 2018
How to Take Your Pre-Teen on a Lunch Date

It’s inevitable – with 5 kids, at some point they will all feel like we’ve spent more time with the other kids than with them. So it’s important that we make time to spend one on one with each of them. It doesn’t have to be crazy exciting, or cost and arm and a leg, but making sure they get one on one adult time really helps build their self-worth. I received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

First – find a really good excuse. Something like – new shoes! Chloe gets all her shoes as hand me downs from Venice, but truth be told, their feet are very different in shape, and they are almost too close in size to even pass down anymore. After a cleaning out of the shoe closet, and tallying up who had what shoes, it was decided – Chloe would be the lucky recipient of some new shoes.

Second – put the baby down for a nap, and leave Dad with plenty of snacks for the other kids. Then run like the wind! Get out of the house before anyone can ask questions, beg to be brought along, or wake up the baby!

Third – Run your errands. Hey, one on one time doesn’t mean things can’t get done! Chloe and I started our lunch date at the Keen’s children’s shoe store where we bought her a new pair of Keens (we happened to have a gift card that covered all but $4! – score!). We were out of a few necessary groceries as well, so after Keen’s, we made a stop at Kroger.

Finally – End your lunch date with lunch! We headed over to Steak ‘n Shake, because it was a weekend, and Kids Eat Free on the weekends at Steak ‘n Shake. The food is delicious, and unlike other “fast food” joints, if you go inside Steak ‘n Shake they actually seat you and take your order at your table.

It’s important that you go in and dine with your children. For one, the kids eat free promotion only works if you dine in, and it’s also the whole reason you made all these arrangements to get out of the house. While you wait for the delicious food to be brought out, now is a great time to get to know your pre-teen. What do they like to do? Who’s their favorite musician? What’s the name of their best friend?

You may think you know the answers to most of these questions, but make sure you turn it into more conversation. Why do they enjoy that friend so much? What are they doing to be a good friend? Take the time to truly listen to your pre-teen on this lunch date.

I know you thought your lunch date was over, but not quite! Before you leave Steak ‘n Shake, make sure you grab one of their Zagat rated milkshakes to bring home to Dad. Afterall, he did just hang out with the other kids so you could get this one on one time in.

Lunch Date Giveaway

With the Kids Eat Free on the Weekends*, it really makes for a pretty cheap lunch date that you can repeat week after week until you’ve had time with all your kids. However, I want to make that worth even more to you, so grab an entry or two on the Rafflecopter below, and you just might be the lucky winner of a $50 Steak ‘n Shake Gift Card! That’s a lot of lunch dates.

Open to US 18+. Ends 6/29/2018.

*Kids eat free promotion: Must purchase minimum $9 to get a free kids plate.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

June 18, 2018
This Fathers Day Spend Time Doing what Dad Loves

Entenmann’s® Little Bites® provided me with coupons to redeem product and a gift card to share my thoughts and information about Entenmann’s® Little Bites® products and Fathers Day with you.

I always spend a lot of time trying to come up with the perfect Fathers Day gift for Mark, and it finally dawned on me this year – the perfect gift is giving him time with the kids, sharing in one of his passions.

Mark absolutely loves Hiya Miyazaki movies. One of our favorite, and the one that really turned us onto the anime genre, is Ponyo. So for the last few years, usually a day before Fathers Day, as we browse through the stores we try and find a copy. It’s never been in stock when we’re looking though – I know I know, why didn’t I just buy it on Amazon.

Well this year, we got lucky! I was at Walmart grabbing some items for dinner when Venice insisted we find Dad a present. I love when the kids take the initiative, don’t you? To our absolute delight, there it was!

To go along with a Fathers Day movie night, I grabbed one of our families favorite treats – Entenmann’s Little Bites. We grabbed the new flavor – Vanilla – Dad’s favorite – Fudge – and the kids favorite – Chocolate Chip. The new Vanilla flavor is only available through the end of June, so make sure you try it out! Flavored naturally, it’s a classic everyone loves.

Try this fun Hole In One treat for Fathers Day

The kids cuddled up with Mark on the couch and I served up the treats. Harold really enjoyed hanging out with Dad and trying his very first mini muffin. He thought the new Vanilla flavor was the best.

This year instead of getting Dad a new tie, try spending some quality time with him and the kids. Often Dad’s get pulled along for the ride. Here I tend to take charge of our daily activities and summer plans. Mark comes along as his work schedule allows. I’ve realized we don’t do a whole lot to make quality time between Mark and the kids. So this year I’m going to make more of an effort to help them find little moments to enjoy and get to know each other better.

Entenmann’s wants to help celebrate those little moments with Dad, so right now 10 lucky Dad’s can win a specialty Little Bites tie along with coupons to share a snack with their kids. Five extra lucky Dad’s will win a $100 Amazon gift card to help create those little moments. All you have to do to enter is share why you love Entenmann’s here.

Excited to win? One lucky reader here will win a $25 visa gift card and coupons to purchase their Fathers favorite flavor of Little Bites! Open to US 18+. Ends 6/18/2018. Enter on Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

June 12, 2018
Skeeter Syndrome and a Thermacell Patio Shield Giveaway

Have you ever been afraid to enjoy the outdoors because of the fear of mosquito bites? If so you might have skeeter syndrome. I received a Thermacell Patio Shield in exchange for this post.

I came across this syndrome recently as I was looking up why Venice gets a bug bite and it turns into a large welt, while the rest of us have almost no reaction beyond a little itching. Turns out, she’s probably got skeeter syndrome.

All it means is that her body is more sensitive to the proteins in the mosquito’s saliva than others. You can read more about different reactions to mosquito bites in this article. The first time it happened, we thought maybe she had a spider bite. They were hard welts, and very warm to the touch. It wasn’t until I knew she’d been bit by a mosquito and watched it swell that I knew she never had a spider bite.

While her reaction is more severe than the rest of us, mosquito bites are pretty annoying for all of us. We keep a bottle of bug spray by the back door, and we never leave the house without one during our summer adventures.

When Thermacell reached out to see if I’d like to try out the Patio Shield and give one away too, well I jumped on that! The Thermacell Patio Shield creates a 15×15 foot mosquito repelling zone in minutes. It is virtually odor free – something we’ve all been waiting for with bug repellant, am I right?

The Patio Shield works with a butane cartridge and repellent mats. The cartridge heats the mat to disperse a mosquito repelling solution. Each mat lasts up to 4 hours.

It’s easy to use, and it works! With school getting out soon, we’ll be spending any nice day in the backyard – a place mosquitos have loved hanging out in the past. This year it’s going to be different! It can be for you too!

One lucky reader will receive a Patio Shield from Thermacell to start their summer festivities mosquito free. All you have to do is enter on the Rafflecopter below.

Open to US 18+. Ends June 3, 2018.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

May 24, 2018