Why You Need a Budget

Budgeting is not an easy topic but one that many deal with or face. Why do we fear budgeting? For some, it’s a matter of sacrifice and learning to live with less. This prospect may scare us. For others, it may be coming to terms with our financial reality. For example, when we carry a lot of debt and we’re already living paycheck to paycheck; the thought of fully facing our personal finances is a stressful situation. However, living within a budget does not have to be a scary situation. In fact, a budget can be financially freeing once you get used to it. And I would even argue that if you’re in any sort of debt, you need a budget. Let’s talk about the…

2016 Holidays and Observances

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned it, but I have such a fascination with holidays and observances. Sometimes I’ll look for ways to incorporate them into my own traditions when it comes to holidays and other times, I just enjoy learning about different holidays. Practically every day of the year has some sort of holiday or observance connected to it, and every month stands for something different as well. That’s why, for this week’s Freebie Friday, I’ve complied together a full listing of 2016 holidays and observances. I will admit that it was supposed to be out last year, but I updated as much as I could on the original file. This printable pack would be great for bloggers looking to plan their editorial…

To assist with handling meltdowns, I created this printable set of my calming strategies for my autistic daughter.
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Printable Self Calming Strategies Cards for Autism Meltdowns

One of the things that we’ve had to deal with when it comes to Sweet B’s autism is the occasional meltdown. She does have certain calming strategies in place and I’ve also learned to recognize her triggers. At school, she prefers to use her PECS book to communicate her preferred strategy, but we don’t have that at home. Rather, it’s up to me to watch and realize what’s going on. And while this method does work, sometimes I think it would be great to have a similar system here at home. To help us with that, I created a printable set of my calming strategies for her and since I like to share, I’m offering it up for free to share with you all. This…

Are you concerned that your child is being bullied at school? Here's how to help as a parent.

How to Help When Your Child is Being Bullied

As parents, we want to be able to protect our children from everything. Or, at the very least, prepare them for everything that they’ll have to face in the world. Of course, this task is almost impossible but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try our best. And really, isn’t that what parenting is about? Doing our best for our children? They don’t need for us to be perfect and shield them from everything but they do need us. Has your child ever been bullied? So how do we handle it when your child is being bullied? Bullying is a form of intimidating another for a number of reasons. Children may be targeted for almost any reason.  A child who is socially awkward or who…

Thanksgiving Shopping Choices

How early do you get your holiday shopping done? For some, it may mean purchasing things throughout the year. For others, it may mean waiting until the last minute. And for others, it may mean waiting until one of the best shopping weekends of the year: Thanksgiving weekend. In the past, it just meant going out for Black Friday and then along came Cyber Monday. Now, there are a handful of stores that start their holiday deals on Thanksgiving. And while this may seem like a controversial move on the part of the retailers, it also opens up a new venue of savings for holiday shoppers. But where do you stand when it comes to Thanksgiving shopping choices? Are you a Black Friday go-getter, a…

Our Top Favorite Thanksgiving Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Our Top Favorite Thanksgiving Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers

We love to celebrate holidays and to help with holiday celebrations, I love a good variety of books. Books are a staple part of our home to begin with, so I want to start sharing a weekly book list with you. Usually they’ll be books for toddlers and preschoolers, but I’ll also have a few book lists for adults as well. This week, we’re getting ready for Thanksgiving with these fun 25 Thanksgiving books for toddlers and preschoolers. Please note that some of these are religious in nature, but for the most part they’re secular based. In the future, I will have book lists that are Christian focused. I have a lot of ideas for these lists though most of them are based on whatever…