Snowing in Spring…Adjusting Our Frugal Plans

It is a few days past the official start of spring, and I am looking at a wintry wonderland just outside my window. The salt trucks and plows have been by, but they have to be diligent. Already the driveway and roads are covered with white. Despite about three inches of snow on the ground already and more to come, schools are not closed today. There is no excessive wind, and we are used to snow. The weather has been wrecking some havoc with our spring frugal plans. We can’t get started on our garden, and may lose out on … Continue reading

Simple Spring Fun Projects for the Kids

Now that we have sprung ahead an hour, I’m hoping Mother Nature will get the hint and adjust the weather accordingly.  We’re still buried under several feet of snow and the high temperatures are frozen in the 20s. If the weather outside is frightening in your neck of the woods too, then make the most of your indoor time by springing into spring with these simple, affordable and kid-friendly seasonal projects: Candy Lei:  You don’t have to travel to Hawaii to enjoy the beauty and fun of wearing colorful lei.  The eye-popping garland, traditionally worn around the neck, can be … Continue reading

Spring Paint Project

Nothing says spring to me like painting something in the house. I love a fresh look on an old familiar room and spring seems to be the perfect time for it. I’ve been remodeling this house since I bought it four years ago, and let me tell you, it may never be finished. So far I’ve managed to redo a bath and a half, one bedroom and the family room. The rest of the house is in various stages of being worked on. I need something new. I love how much cleaner a room seems after you paint it and … Continue reading

Spring Fling Activities

One minute I’m blogging about spring break and the next thing I know Old Man Winter decides to come out of hibernation and dump 14 inches of snow on my neck of the woods. So, instead of featuring more fun boredom busters I planned to unveil during my kid’s spring break, I’m scrambling to find additional projects to use as snow day fodder. Here’s what we worked on today: Bird Feeders: I didn’t have spare pine cones to coat with peanut butter and bird seed, so we used stale bagels instead. If you have a younger child, the bagel works … Continue reading

Spring Boredom Busters

Spring break is right around the corner. For parents, this means finding ways to keep the kids busy and your sanity intact while school is out for an extended period of time. Instead of turning to the TV to occupy your little ones, consider the following spring-themed projects that will keep your kids entertained and your home filled with new decor: Fancy Flower Pots: This project is suitable for kids of all ages. All you need is an inexpensive terra cot pot and some embellishments. Children can paint the pot or decorate it with markers, and then glue on sequins, … Continue reading

Spring Break Sanity Savers

This weekend marks the beginning of spring break for tens of thousands of students across the country. It also marks the beginning of “Save our Sanity Week” for the tens of thousands of parents who are now tasked with the job of entertaining their children for an entire week while teachers enjoy a break from the duty. If your child is off this week and you are looking for fun activities that will keep him occupied and help preserve your sanity, consider the following: Paper Bag Puppets: This activity is cheap, easy and fun. Have all of your kids create … Continue reading

Spring Into Spring

Have a spring fling with your scrapbooking supplies. Now is the perfect time to deep clean your scrapbook workspace and put leftover embellishments to good use. Spring is traditionally a time for new beginnings, so why not breathe new life into existing supplies to celebrate the first season of the year? Here are some ideas to get you started: If you are looking to add a punch of color to your spring-theme scrapbook layouts, consider placing flowers on the page. You can do this with existing stamps or die cuts. Or press some small fresh flowers and add them to … Continue reading

Service Projects for Kids Who Love Animals

If your child loves animals and would like a volunteer project, where do you start? Of course, there is fundraising. Animal shelters and conservation organizations are always in need of money. Instead of simply collecting or donating money for the organization, your child could make something that is connected. Perhaps he can paint beautifully and could sell hand-painted dog bowls. Perhaps she loves to bead and would like to create beaded leashes or hand-beaded turtles for backpacks. This is an opportunity to create a small business and to raise money for a worth-while organization. Another way to fundraise is to … Continue reading

Completing Home Improvement Projects with Children

One of the reasons that I think our house isn’t getting improved as fast as we would like it is the fact that we have three young children. Projects are constantly interrupted by the needs of the kids, and it is usually hard to find a long enough block of time for larger, more time consuming projects. But believe it or not, things can get done. Just yesterday, we were able to build a new fence, apply teak oil to some outdoor furniture, clean out a couple of boxes of clutter from the basement, build a log holder from a … Continue reading

Fitting in the Spring Cleaning

With three young children and a work-at-home job, it can be difficult to get the spring cleaning underway. As much as I would love to take a weekend to just complete it all at one time, that is nearly impossible. So I find myself sneaking up on the spring cleaning here and there as I can. Today, I actually started with a bit of the actual cleaning part of the spring cleaning. I have been organizing and de-cluttering along the way in the last two weeks, but outside of normal day to day cleaning, very little deep cleaning has been … Continue reading