Valentine’s Day is a special Day for all. It is a day to celebrate love. A day to be thankful that we can experience such a wonderful emotion. Some days are so hectic that it is easy to take this feeling for granted. But, Valentine’s Day is a day that is meant to remind us of all we love and all who loves us. So, celebrate it!!

What better way to celebrate our love for our children than to grab some craft goodies and create some wonderful gifts and memories by making Valentine’s Day Crafts with them.

Below I have listed 25 of my favorite Valentine’s Day Crafts that I have found over the last few weeks while traveling through the blogosphere. These Amazing crafts are from some of my favorite blogs and you are sure to find a few that you will enjoy making for, or better yet, with your loved ones.

I have included Valentine’s Day Crafts that are perfect to make with your children as well as Valentine’s Day Crafts that are more suited for Adults. You are sure to find one that you will enjoy. (more…)

Our lives are super busy today. Parents tend to work long hours and in most households both parents have to work outside the home. Parents have to come home from a stressful day of work and help their kids with homework, make dinners, take their children to after school activities, bathe the children and put them to bed. After the children go to bed this is the first chance that many parents have had a chance to unwind.

Kids lives are not much easier. They have a busy day at school, come home to homework and after school activities. What little extra time they have before bed they like to get a little bit of fun which tends to be with video games and computers.

Technology doesn’t necessarily work in our favor for quality time with the kids as the things that make our lives easier also take our time away from each other. Cell phones, computers,texting, emails and the rest of the outside world tends to sabotage our precious family time.

I’m here to show you how a weekly Family Game Night can bring your family back together. Dedicating an entire night to your children is an easy and inexpensive way to enjoy time with your children. So without further ado… (more…)

It Doesn’t Have to Be An Impossible Match. If you have a picky eater then you know how painful meals can be for both you and your child.

You’ve probably tried everything in your power to get your picky eater to eat.  Surely, you have tried these well known methods already…

• The “Choo-Choo” method;
• The “See me eat it” method;
• The “Eat this and you will get a treat” method; and  undoubtedly….
• The “Don’t eat this and you will go to bed early” method.

If this has been you then you know how exhausting, frustrating, and worrisome this can be.  And, the one thing that all parents with a picky eater wonder is, “How do I make sure my picky eater is getting a nutritious diet?” (more…)

This post is the first in a series of explorations, as we celebrate humanity’s dietary goodness and diversity. Coming from a Hispanic background myself, one of the things I always enjoyed was the food at mi abuela’s house. It was new, it was exciting, it was something I couldn’t pronounce, but boy was it tasty.

Today’s Topic: Breakfast!

Since this is part one, it makes the most sense to begin with breakfast. Across the globe different countries and cultures bring unique sensibilities to the table, when it comes to the staples of morning nutrition. While in Minneapolis we might be saddling up bleary-eyed to bacon strips, hash browns, a bowl of cereal & a tall glass of orange juice, our brothers and sisters halfway across the world are dreaming of a steaming bowl of “congee” and a tasty cruller.

Let’s expand our perspectives regarding this “most important meal of the day,” to open up exciting new tastes to our palette. (more…)

One thing that I learned from teaching my young children at home is that it is so much easier to give them a lesson when they don’t realize that you are teaching them.

And, how do you do this? Through activities that are fun for kids!!

Just fill many of your everyday interactions that you have with your children with the perfect combination of education and family fun. Education and family fun is the perfect recipe for bringing up a smart child.

Let’s take breakfast for instance… Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, did you know that using your children’s favorite kids cereal you can teach them Math, Science, colors and even potty training? It’s true.

And, the best part? They won’t even realize that you are giving them a lesson.

12 Fun Kids Activities using Breakfast Cereal

Learning Colors with Kids Cereal

The more often you point out colors to your children the easier it is for them to learn them. Point out colors throughout the day as you are doing different activities with your child. Tootie Fruities are the perfect cereal for teaching your children their colors. Primary colors are the easiest for children to pick up and Tootie Fruities has those colors covered. Here are a few ideas on using kids cereal to aid your child in learning colors… (more…)

One thing that most kids love to do while eating their breakfast cereal is to read the back of cereal boxes. And, why not? The colorful characters, bold robust print and fun activities can hold your child’s attention the entire time they are eating their cereal. And, even more surprising than that is the fact that a child will read and reread that same cereal box over and over again until the entire box is empty.

It’s crazy, really. Most days I have to beg my 12 year old to pull himself away from the video games to do some reading, however, give him a bowl of cereal and he searches for anything in a 5 foot radius around him to read.

Don’t misunderstand me…. I love that my kids love to read something during breakfast. Truthfully, I am thankful they love to read… period.

Who knew cereal boxes could be so fun and educational!? But, we all know that it isn’t the box that holds their focus, but instead the activities, colors and bold text that holds their attention for that long.

Coming to the conclusion that breakfast time means children are more eager to read, more easily focused and ready to absorb I took advantage of this and began making my kids fun activity books and educational placemats to use during breakfast time. Not only do the kids love the fact that they have tons of fun activities, but I’m thrilled to be able to buy cereal in bags instead of boxes….. less packaging to dispose of which means better for the environment. (more…)

Cereal and I go way back. As a kid I was utterly fascinated by cereal flotillas sailing on a sea of skim milk in my coveted plastic Tony the Tiger bowl. I lived for that morning bowl of Frosted Flakes.

I had a wholesome devotion to my favorite breakfast cereal brands, but sometimes made exceptions if the right color GoGo Gadget magnifying glass lucky-mood-ring came along with it. My mom was only too happy to sponsor my steady diet of bran cereals to promote regular bathroom visits, but the best ideas for breakfast in my mind, were the ones with cartoon spokespeople on the package. It was a glorious day when my mother would put away her coupon collection, overlook the ingredients and let ME do the cereal shopping for the newest addition to the pantry.

Weekends Were Made For Cereal & Milk

Saturday & Sunday were always highlight-reel cereal days. I’d wake up before anybody else in my family and sneak down the hall in my one piece Darkwing Duck pajamas, with two things on my mind: Apple Jacks & cartoons. (more…)