Simple Ways To Save Money This Summer

You know it's summer when you can look out your window and see...kids splashing in sprinklers..popsicle stained smiles..and the smell of families grilling all day..It can also mean spendy vacations, multiple trips to pick up fast food while out, and heading to your local kid's store for new summer clothes. Instead of dipping into your savings, let's chat about a few simple things you can do this summer to keep more money in your pockets while having a memorable summer!

Simple Ways You Can Save Money This Summer

Organize Your Kid's Clothes By Season

Take the day to go through your kid's clothes. Then sort them by season and put the clothes you don't need in storage. As a parent, you know how quickly clothes can get lost. By sorting them, you can know exactly what you have available. I can't tell you how many times I end up heading to the store to pick up items, only to find them in my kids closet the next day.Organizing your kid's clothes can also help you get a little extra money by taking clothes that don't fit your kiddos to a local consignment shop.

Buy Snacks In Bulk

The most tempting thing over the summer is to buy snacks in individual wrappers for your kids. It makes it quick and easy to grab while you're out all day, but it's not as nice on your wallet. Instead, head to your local grocery store or a Sam's Club and buy your snacks in bulk.We started using a snack box a few months ago and it's save me a lot of money! My kids know exactly where they can look for snacks and I tell them to put snacks in their back packs before we leave the house. All you need to do is take you snacks and put them in individual and reusable containers. The containers even save you money because you can rinse them out and use them again when you're done.

Label Anything Your Kids Bring Out Of The House

How many times have your brought containers to a friends house or to a local splash pad and mixed them up? I've done it so many times! Then you don't want to be that parent and fight with someone over a container!Well, worry no more! You can start labeling items you bring our of the house! These labels are amazing! Your kids can customize them and you can choose what they say. They don't wash off in the dishwasher and you can choose the size! They have labels for inside your shoes, the tags on your clothes, and items like cups.Labels are a way better idea than using a sharpie because they don't wear off over time.

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How are you saving money this summer?

Spice Up Your Summer With Bollwood Gak

Summer is here!Which means parents are looking for ways to spend their summer with their families. Not to mention, keep their kids busy!How are you going to spend your summer?

My family will be spending our summer....

SwimmingEnjoying backyard barbecuesCrafting with the kidsSpending time with friendsIndulging in delicious Indian feasts Going on family vacationsPlaying with our homemade sensory activities

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One of our favorite things to do while we're at home with the kids is to make gak. Now, this isn't your normal every day gak. It's Bollywood Gak! Which means bright colors and glitter!Our kids love it because they can cut it up, mold it into fun shapes, let it run through their fingers, and put it all back together.

Bollywood Gak Recipe:

1 4 ounce Bottle of Glue1 tsp Borax1 cup of Warm WaterFood ColoringGlitter (optional)Two BowlsThe most important thing you need in order to make Bollywood Gak is a little helper!In one of your bowls, mix the warm water and borax. In a separate bowl, mix your glue and food coloring. If you want your Bollywood Gak to be bright you can use neon food coloring. Otherwise you'll end up needing to use an entire tube of food coloring.Add a spoon full of warm water to your glue mixture and mix well. If you're going to add glitter, now is the time to do so.

Pour your glue mixture into your warm water. This is where your little helper comes in. It's extremely important, for the sake of your Bollywood Gak, to have your little helper mix it all together.Crucial.The longer you leave your Bollywood Gak in the water mixture, the more firm it will become. You can take it out when it is firm enough to play with.Now, it's time for your little helper to dig in and have fun!If it starts to get a little too thin, you can put it back into the water mixture to firm it back up.

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BISSELL PowerForce Helix And A GIVEAWAY!

BISSELL PowerForce Helix Vacuum And A GIVEAWAY!

Can you believe it? Summer is right around the corner! As the weather starts to warm up and my kids begin to live outside in the pool, I'm noticing a big theme.They're tracking sand in from our sand box...The dog is shedding more than ever...The baby has decided stepping on crackers is a daily activity...Instead of worrying, I'm pulling out my NEW and amazing BISSELL PowerForce Helix vacuum cleaner!

This vacuum is amazing! First of all, it's bagless which means one less thing to buy! Even Lucas wanted to come and check it out. The dirt cup is huge! I can vacuum my entire house without having to empty it out!With kids, I need to save every second I can. The BISSELL PowerForce Helix vacuum cuts my cleaning time in half! I can carry it all around the house because it's extremely light and it cleans everything! It even saved my life! Ok. Maybe not my life, but do you know how bad it is to step on a lego... My youngest decided to dump out all the legos in his brother's room. Instead of picking them up one by one I used the BISSELL PowerForce Helix vacuum! I emptied it out first to make sure there wasn't any dirt, sucked up all the legos, and dumped them into their lego box... Amazing. The BISSELL PowerForce Helix vacuum is becoming a family favorite. Even the kids wanted to join in and help clean! They couldn't believe how well it worked and that they could suck anything up! They even tried to be little scientists and experiment... Luckily mommy saved the day and told them not to try and suck up their little brother. Although, to be honest... he didn't seem to mind!

Giveaway

Did I mention you can enter in to win your own BISSELL PowerForce Helix vacuum!!!!? All you have to do is leave a comment and give me one cleaning tip or tell me why you want a clean house for the summer. How easy is that!? Leave a comment today and get a chance at your very own BISSELL PowerForce Helix vacuum!

Our May Adventures

If you live in a place with constant sunshine all around you, you will never understand Pacific Northwest problems. We, here in the PNW, experience a few short months of summer and almost an entire year of clouds and rain. What do we do when the sun rarely shines?RUN OUTSIDE IN A SWIMSUIT AND SOAK UP THE VITAMIN D!!!Yes, that's right. The temperature doesn't matter because the sun makes it feel glorious. We get a little sick of the Vitamin D pills, light therapy, and daydreaming of a rain free day. This week the sun has been out and every single person in the PNW is out and ready to enjoy. My boys have been loving this nice weather! We've had so many adventures this week. The boys have been living in their pool. Inspecting "terrifying" itty bitty bugs.Being as cute as can be. Eating "Elsa snacks." Yes, Liam is still obsessed with Frozen.Then of course Levi's adorable new Zoolander face he makes when he's told to do something he deems ridiculous.Levi wasn't quite sure about the beach.Then he went for it and never came out! At the end, these little cuties decided they were too cold and hungry to move until they were served hot dogs.What's a fun post without my favorite Liam quote of the week?"Liam will you pick mama a flower?""Mom, there are no more flowers," as he stands next to this.....