Back-to-School Breakfast Ideas

Now that the new school year is underway, my days as a short order cook are over… at least when it comes to breakfast. This summer, I could have easily earned employee of the month honors as a flapjack flipper at IHOP, but instead chose to use my pancake-making skills to keep my 7-year-old happy and full. Kids need a healthy breakfast in order for their bodies and brains to function properly. However, during the school year, this important morning meal often gets skipped in the interest of saving time or scoring a few more minutes of sleep. Ironically, eating … Continue reading

Pet Obesity Rates Still Climbing

The trend I first wrote about two years ago is only getting worse. Pet obesity rates continue to rise in America, and unfortunately that’s not all. Not only are once-healthy pets gaining weight, ones that are already obese continue to put on the pounds. Cleveland’s Fox 8 profiles the epidemic. The Association for Pet Obesity recently ran a study that concluded 25% of cats and 21% of dogs are overweight. Those numbers are slightly up from the last study (and the last article I wrote on the topic) in 2010. As already mentioned, one of the most worrying parts of … Continue reading

Pregnancy Awareness Month (Part I)

May is pregnancy awareness month! In honor of the 4 million + babies born in the United States each year, P.A.M (Pregnancy Awareness Month) and O.N.E Coconut Water have teamed up to provide pregnant women with helpful tips for a healthy pregnancy. According to P.A.M., there are five things pregnant women want. Number One: Easy Uncomplicated Labor Easier said than done in some cases. I too desire and easy and uncomplicated labor. With my first pregnancy, I wouldn’t say labor was easy. Labor is hard and largely painful work. There are certainly factors that can make labor more difficult. For … Continue reading

Being Frugal Is A Way Of Life – New FL Blogger Intro

Finally, I’m writing my Frugal Living introduction post. Better late than never, I always say. I wanted to say hello to my fellow FL living blogger Mary Ann Romans, and all of Families.com new bloggers. Since starting with this website about a month ago I’ve been having a lot of fun writing in my various topics. Being able to share and learn is a wonderful thing. As the title of my blog today states, being frugal truly is a way of life, not just one area of it. Many times someone may start out counting pennies in the area of … Continue reading

Frugal Month in Review: October 2008

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot October has come and gone, but we can still enjoy fall and the celebration of Thanksgiving and all of the great joys of the season. Take a look back at all of the ways to save money that were featured last month. October 1st Frugal Halloween Costumes It is fall and Halloween is approaching fast, are you ready? What do the kids want to be? You can make some great homemade costumes … Continue reading

Frugal Living Month in Review: August 2008

With August passed, it will be hard to hold on to summer, but fortunately, we have a lot of memories of the “dog days.” We also have lots of great articles about saving money, something that is pretty important these days. Take a look at what was posted in August. August 1st Frugal Living Month in Review: July 2008 July went by so quickly for us! There were so many fun and frugal activities and events for us to explore, from a science camp to free movies and sand sculpting. I hope your July was equally fun and frugal. Summer … Continue reading

Baby Blog Month in Review: July 2008

Two of my three children are summer babies. That is, they were born in the summer and had their first months surrounded by sunshine streaming in the windows, the sound of birds chirping, and days spent wearing nothing but a diaper and a “onsie.” I made sure that they had Fourth of July outfits ready, even though one of them arrived a week after the holiday. I guess he just wasn’t interested in the parade. Do you have a summer baby, too? We had a lot of new information to share this past month, such as recall notices and new … Continue reading

Home Week in Review: June 9 -15

Here are this week’s articles at a glance: Is your Home-life too busy for some Family Fun? Sometimes, even the good things in life can seem like another source of stress or feel like just another expense in growing pile of bills. It’s sad, but it happens. We just have so much going on that it can be overwhelming. It seems like there isn’t even time to relax and have a little fun. That’s when we have to get organized and make time. Dry Erase Door There are so many fun types of paint out there these days. These paints … Continue reading

Breast Feeding May Help Cut Mom’s Arthritis Risk Too

Subtitle: Yet Another Reason to Nurse a Toddler Why it is that as Americans we think that the proper age to wean is 12 months is beyond me. It defies all the medical research that is out there and also defies the current trend in the rest of the world. But yet again, here is another study that shows that breastfeeding is not only healthy for the baby but it’s healthy for the mother too. What’s particularly interesting to me about benefits that the mother gets from breastfeeding, is that those benefits are generally derived from a breastfeeding relationship that … Continue reading

Frugal Living Week in Review: April 28th Through May 4th

With food and gas prices being so expensive, even the non frugal are becoming frugal. People are having a rude shock when they realize that their dollars aren’t going as far as they should. This is leading a huge interest in frugality and saving money. Living frugally is becoming a widespread necessity. That is why I hope that you can use and enjoy all of the great articles here in the Frugal Living Blog. Here are just the ones from last week, in a handy review. April 28th Frugal Living Week in Review: April 21st Through April 27th This week … Continue reading