Jenny Minard

Other than my honeymoon, I've never gone on a big, fancy trip with my hubby.  I love to travel and experience new things, especially with my BFF.  But we've just never been able to.  Well, four years ago, we were lucky to finally take a family trip together.  This post will explain how we scored a vacation for $99, but what I really want to stress is to work hard and research in order to save money on your next family vacation. Now before I get into how we were able to go on such a cheap trip, I need to write a little disclaimer.  I am not telling you my story to encourage you to go out and do this.  In fact, I would strongly encourage you NOT to.  However, if you decide to do something crazy like this, and you are up for the challenge, then by all means!  I will never do this ... read more

It is already February, people! Can you believe it? Man, January went by quick. I have been doing a lot of work on the blog and also behind the scenes, but this income report may be a bit of a let down.  Trust me, if it's disappointing to you, it's about 100 times more so for me. If you are curious how I did in my first four months of blogging, you can check out my first income report. It seems there are two major schools of thought concerning blogging as a way to earn an income.  One is that people don't really think blogging can bring in any kind of money, and that's it's just an outlet for people who like to write. Two, people believe you might be able to make some money (but probably not much), but they think it must be pretty easy because so many people do it.  They don't really ... read more

I love Valentine's Day!  Not because it's just another opportunity to get a gift from my sweetie, but because of all the cutesy decorations, school parties, and fun heart-shaped treats!  It's a chance for me to really love on my babies - more than normal!  I have been collecting ideas on my pinterest board for YEARS now, and I'm getting it all organized here to help those of you who need a little inspiration this February 14th! Candy Valentine Ideas Don't just resort to buying boxed valentines.  Instead, consider making some of your own for your kids, or even just for you to pass out to your friends, family, and/or coworkers! Non-Candy Valentine Ideas With all the goodies that kids get for Valentine's Day, it's kind of nice when they get little trinkets ... read more

Today, I'm so excited to welcome my first ever guest blogger!  Last Monday, I posted my New Year's resolutions, and I explained my goals for 2017.  Well, my friend Mercy has some great insight into the areas of diet and weight loss - her perspective is one you don't normally hear from the world of health and fitness.  If you are struggling to take any amount of weight off, consider a new approach.  So with that, please enjoy... ‘Tis the season for New Year’s Resolutions, right? Have you already abandoned yours? We are more than a couple weeks into the new year, after all. Lots of people make New Year’s Resolutions that revolve around losing weight. A few years ago, I lost 40 pounds over the course of about four months. I kept it off for a while, but then had three more babies. What ... read more

A few years ago, I read this great book called The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Last by Gary Chapman (Hey! It's currently on sale! WOOT!) and it explains that there are five basic love languages.  They include acts of service, words of affirmation, giving and receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch.  We all want and need all five, but one is our primary love language.  Mine is giving and receiving gifts! I shop for Christmas throughout the year, mostly to save money, but also because I LOVE LOVE LOVE to buy gifts - all day, every day.  Not really, but I wish!  My husband would not be happy with me, but I do research, at least to see where prices are - especially on my sons' favorite building toy... LEGOs! Last July, Wal-Marts across the midwest had AMAZING ... read more

We always hear how important repetition is in education, or how "practice makes perfect," and I was excited to discover this was all so true.  At our family Christmas in 2010, the year my oldest son was born, my mother and father-in-law gifted him with an awesome toy - the V-tech Sit-to-Stand Alphabet Train.  Oh boy, my son loved that thing from the moment he laid eyes on it.  Just look at that face below!  :::swoon:::  From that day forward, he wanted to play with that train pretty much any chance he got.  And we let him! From the time he was about six months old, we had daily scheduled play time where we'd put him in a play pen for a set amount of time - anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.  It was good for him because it gave him clear boundaries and allowed Momma to get her list ... read more