The Not Too Shabby Mom

  You likely do most of these items with the little ones in your family. But, here is our list to help keep you on track this season! Help each child pick out a gift for the other, wrap and place under the tree. (Get a gift for daddy as well.) Bake and decorate Christmas cookies or decorate a gingerbread house. Deliver Christmas cards and baked goods or candy to each neighbor on our street. Trips to the library to check out Christmas movies and books. Visit Santa and take an annual picture. Take in a Christmas parade. Watch multiple holiday movies at home (with cocoa and various treats). Make a holiday craft or two (for ideas check out my Pinterest board, Christmas Crafts for Kids ). As a family take a drive and enjoy the Christmas lights. Write a letter to Santa. Decorate the tree as a family. Move the Christmas countdown marker each morning. (My 3 year old's favorite) Open and hang up the holiday cards the family receives. Wear our C...

If there ever was a day to load the kids up, head to Target, give the kids a cart full of snacks and wander aimlessly with a Starbucks in hand, today would be that day. But, my son has a head cold and when I mentioned going to the grocery store or anywhere for staples he said he just wanted to stay home. I get it. When I am sick I just want to stay in my pjs and watch tv; not be forced out and about. But, every ounce of my being wants to leave the house. Because last week both my babies had a stomach bug. Even if it means loading up the double stroller, packing a bag, dressing 2 little ones, grabbing hats and hoodies for both. Planning an outing around naps and potty trips. You see it has been weeks since I have left the house by myself, so at this point I would do whatever. Going somewhere by myself is not asking someone if they are ok, not checking a diaper, not peering into the backseat at every stop and not keeping a death grip on my cart for fear a child abductor is watching my f...

This recipe originated from Emeals.  I purchased a meal plan system on Groupon right after Ethan and I moved in together years ago.  Basically they generate meals for a week and give you the shopping list.  Many of our favorite family recipes came from their plan. (Someone is always digging into my meals before I can snap a pic!) As I mentioned on Facebook and Instagram my husband works about 55hrs a week, as of late, so it is really hard to come up with meals that can be reheated when he gets home late in the evening.  This is why casseroles work out so well.  Plus with this one you can cut your vegetables earlier in the day and then it just takes minutes to assemble before baking.  My only changes are that I double the amount of noodles because it makes more and the dish feels more substantial.  This is a great recipe for holiday or get together leftovers. We use deli ham a lot of the time, but you could definitely chop up leftover cooked ha...

I wanted to give a quick update on our latest experience.   I am happy to report we worked out the kinks on this second order.   I was extra mindful to select which items I didn’t want a substitute for and   I went to do the pick up this time instead of my husband, basically so I could see the system at work.   Upon arriving to the designated parking, 2 attendants came out with everything. 1 came to my window to let me know that they had a few substitutions; which I fully expected on a weekend.   We were upgraded on items - from a half gallon to a gallon on milk and better brand names on items they were out of.   They were completely out of 1 item with no substitution and they had 1 substitution that I let them know we didn’t want.   The attendant stated that wasn’t a problem and took that item off of our bill.   She then notified the attendant that was loading groceries into my trunk that when she got to the substitution bag to remove th...

This past weekend our family tried Walmart grocery pickup for the first time.  I wanted to give you the scoop on what to expect and my likes and dislikes if you have been thinking of trying it out for yourself. On Friday, I started having the dread wash over me which is meal planning/grocery shopping prep, since I make 1 large grocery trip bi-weekly. I typically shop at Aldi and then what I can’t purchase at Aldi I would pick up at Kroger.  Being that it is 1 trip for 2 weeks of meals, lunches and snacks for a family of 4 and I went to 2 stores it was about a 2.5hr process (I despise). On off weeks, my husband or I pick up milk, a refresh of produce and any other small needs that arise.  I had been thinking of trying out grocery pick-up for quite some time and the fact that I was going to have to make this daunting trip just days before 4th of July was all the push I needed. How it works: Set up an account on Walmart.com if you don't already have one, sel...

  It has been awhile since my last blog post for a multitude of reasons.   First and foremost being that the Blogger platform is so incredibly glitchy and creates so much more work for me.   Anyone considering starting a blog, chose another platform, I beg of you.   Preview hardly ever works - this is the 2 nd time I am writing this blog because even though I save my work frequently it was deleted!   I am once again reminded to compose in word, then copy and paste to this page.   ( Please don’t get me started on the app.) What's New? In the past month and a half since I have written I turned 36 (puke) my husband turned 39 (he is still as dashing as ever – unfair), we took some mini getaways: 2 trips to Cincinnati (we would live there if we didn’t live in Columbus), Amish Country and a camping trip.   I hosted a 2-day Barn Sale with my family for our business, Old Barn Décor & More (successful and fun), did a 2-day garage sale (exhausti...

  Laundry Day.  Laundry isn’t actually my least favorite household chore, there is something oddly therapeutic about it to me.  Well I mean compared to commuting in rush hour or being up against a deadline it's relaxing in comparison. I didn’t actually learn how to do laundry until I went off to college….true story.   For parents that really set me up to succeed in life this was one thing that was missed.  Although I think my mom was probably like me, sort of a control freak and didn’t want some teenager ruining the family’s laundry. :)   I recall phoning her panicked late one night from college because I thought I had dyed all my laundry pink. I do all our laundry on Monday.   People are always shocked when they hear this; but wouldn’t you much rather spend one whole day doing it than to be working on it constantly and feeling like it’s just a never ending cycle (no pun intended)? I just don’t want to consistently have a load in the was...

Before going to bed last night I got to thinking a little bit about the stage of life I am in right now.  It's so hard to keep your sense of self when you have little ones that need you so much.  I always vowed that I wouldn't change once I became a mom, that I would still be me.  And for the most part that is true - I still enjoy the things I always have.  But, I am all too aware that I rarely talk about myself anymore; all my conversations center around the things my children are learning or doing.   So anyway while laying in bed I put together a list of 10 random things about me: I love a good shirt dress, a classic blazer, a leopard print accessory. Handbags, sunglasses and coats are my weakness. I would say my personal style is all american preppy with a side of boho chic. I love tweeds, plaids and ditzy prints. I still love a great strappy high heel, but my all time favorite shoes are a peep toe leopard print flat (still hunting for the perfect re...

Today our son probably took his first nap ever without his beloved binky. Truthfully, it's been a long time coming. He had become that kid that you would have to ask to take it out of his mouth so you could have a conversation. He is 2 and a half (I want to cry as I type that) and we let him hang onto it this long because we were nervous about the transition to him having a baby brother, didn't want to take away something as he was feeling a little like his world had changed. Somewhere in the past 6 months binky or "Bink" took on a life-like persona. Kolt would talk about it like it was a pet or best friend. We didn't really do anything to discourage him. My sisters and I all had binkies growing up, although I think only 1 of us had trouble letting it go.  It seemed as if my husband and I had missed the window of opportunity to get rid of the binkies, while Kolt didn't seem so interested in it. I spent last night reading other blogs I had pinned on Pinterest ...

Today I wanted to share a recipe that my family really enjoys and I make probably once a month.  I started making this after a former co-worker introduced me to it many years ago. Shout out to Beth - who I recently was able to reconnect with on Facebook, gotta love social media :) Beth brought it for a work potluck. It became part of my meal rotation because I love easy slow cooker meals and especially Mexican food! Taco soup is perfect for weekends as it makes plenty of leftovers if serving just 2-3 people.  We like to make on game days as everyone can serve themselves whenever they want throughout the game.     I highly recommend using slow cooker liners if you have never done so before. I purchase at Kroger and they are affordable and a huge time saver with clean up.  As long as the bag doesn't get punctured during serving you can just wash your slow cooker lid and just place the rest of it back in your cabinet with a qui...

I have been obsessively cleaning, cleaning like I am moving out of this house cleaning. I don't know if it is prolonged nesting, really thorough Spring cleaning, the fact that it's February and flu season and I don't want to take my little guys out and about and am pretty much confined to home. My goal is to have cleaned and organized  every cabinet, drawer and closet by my family's large garage sale this Spring. I like mentally picturing a map of our nearly 2,200 square ft house with all these checkmarks all over. When people think being at home all day is boring, I think to myself I could never be bored here. I have a laundry list of DIY projects that could keep me busy for an eternity. I know I have said it before, but things got a little out of control around here or at least out of my comfort zone between coping with 2 miscarriages and getting pregnant with my first son and when I left my job to be a Stay at Home Mom a year and a half later.  Don't get me wron...

I love to highlight game changing products! It is no secret I LOVE organizing, like something could be clinically wrong with me.  I can't get enough of Pinterest because of this, shopping at The Container Store and Ikea (yes please!). There used to be a show on TV called The Amanda's, about a group of professional organizers from Alabama that went into homes and organized problem spaces.  I would have worked for them if they were local.  (Do yourself a favor and follow them on Instagram @theamandasorganizing) If you want to follow my Organization Porn (it's a real thing) Pin with me on Pinterest "Organize It" Pinterest board Anyway, in January I joined this fabulous company, Initials, Inc. as an Independent Creative Partner. ( https://www.myinitials-inc.com/kaceyk ) I love their products, the affordability, quality and their free personalization.  I have a great kit full of products, but today my first order came with items I chose, with my pre...

(Edited and reposted from 1/16/17 blog post that accidentally got deleted) I am a little behind on my new year/get organized post because I went and had a baby 2 weeks ago ;) I wanted to share a quick list of things you can implement today to help organize the digital chaos and control the paper clutter in your life. 1)    Set up a Secondary Email Account I have a separate email account for stores and online shopping.   This is the email address I give out at checkout and for online purchases.   Makes it super easy when out shopping to do a quick search for coupons and easy to locate tracking information as well as receipts you’ve opted to have emailed to you. 2)    Unsubscribe Unsubscribe from any newsletters or email lists you no longer find beneficial.   If you find yourself constantly deleting without opening, unsubscribe.   I should also add read and delete emails every day.   A cluttered email inbox, especially if it is a p...