Naturally Frugal Tip: Homemade Carpet Cleaners & Stain Removers

Naturally Frugal Carpet Cleaning Tips

We live in the country, have pets, and children, which is the perfect combination for creating some pretty awesome carpet stains. Seriously, if they gave out awards for carpet stains my family would win it! I don’t like to use harsh chemicals anywhere that my kids play and my youngest son spends a lot of [...]

Homemade Vanilla Pudding

Homemade Vanilla Pudding Recipe (414x425)

The ingredient list on vanilla puddings are quite similar, so why am I sharing my recipe? Because the directions are so involved on most recipes, they would leave you thinking that pudding is hard to make. Most recipes also leave you with the impression that lumps are inevitable. Both are false. Pudding is easy to [...]

Tips for Dealing with Motion Sickness

Tips for reducing travel sickness

Do you have someone in your family who suffers from motion sickness? Not only do they suffer, but it can complicate your travel plans! My husband is a pilot and my kids have inherited his cast-iron stomach, but I sometimes suffer from travel sickness. I have created a list of tips that help me reduce [...]

Summer Reading Programs For Kids (Updated List)

Summer Reading Programs for Kids

Do you want to encourage your kids to read this summer? Tracie of Penny Pinchin’ Mom has created a list of summer reading programs for kids and is sharing it with us today. Scholastic’s Summer Challenge: Kids can keep track of their reading minutes by logging in.  In return, they can enter to win various [...]

Frozen Dessert Round Up

Cream Cheese Ice Cream2

My husband received an ice-cream maker for Father’s Day in 2000. Why? Because the kids were sure that my husband wanted an ice-cream maker. A red one. And it turned out that they were right; my husband loves making ice-cream. He often insists on bringing it to our friends parties so everyone can eat real [...]

Cookie Recipes from the Hearth and Soul Hop

Oatmeal Cookies by Yesterfood

Welcome to another Hearth and Soul Hop, the food carnival for and about food that not only nourishes our bodies, but our souls! There were so many delicious contributions to last week’s Hearth and Soul Hop! This week I am highlighting the delicious cookie recipes that were submitted: Oatmeal Cookies Campfire S’more Cookies Chocolate Chip [...]

Menu Plan Week of May 13

I blew it last week when I made my menu. I completely forgot that today was Mother’s Day. My husband told me earlier this week that he would barbecue steaks for Mother’s Day, so yesterday I made ribs in place of steaks. This morning before I woke up (and could pull steaks out of the [...]

How to Save Money on Coffee

Save money on coffee

Ways to save money on coffee: Save money on coffee by making it at home. I program my coffee maker the night before, so I wake up to a pot of fresh coffee. Comparison shop. Compare prices at your local stores to see who has the best price on coffee. I can usually find the [...]

Naturally Frugal Tip: Homemade Sunscreen Recipes

how to make sunscreen - chemical free recipes

I try to be very careful about what I put on my kid’s skin. I prefer to use clothing and hats to provide protection from the sun, but that is not always enough. With ever-changing guidelines about what sunscreen ingredients are safe, it just seems easier to me to make homemade sunscreen rather than trying [...]

Dealing with Lactose Intolerance and Lactaid Product Giveaway

Lactaid Products

I have mentioned on numerous occasions that my oldest son is lactose intolerant. His reaction to lactose was quite severe when he was young, so we pulled all dairy from his diet. Now when he accidentally (or intentionally) ingests dairy his reaction hasn’t been as extreme. And sometimes, like when he consumes certain cheeses, he [...]