Simple Ways to Make Your Child's Lunch Special

For many parents, sending their child to school with a lunch is a practical way they can send their love with their child. Many moms and dads leave notes in their child's lunch box with a simple, "I love you!", but there are some amazingly creative ways to send that love in fun and interesting avenues.

Four Ways to Save on Back to School Clothes

School shopping can be an enormous expense, but if you know how to get great deals, it can really add up to great savings.

Here at Kidzies, we want to help you by giving you a few tips on shopping for back-to-school clothes that will help you stretch every dollar.

1. Don't be afraid to shop for second hand. Many times, you can find gently used and even new clothing items at thrift stores. Some even have tags and many are expensive brand names.

2. Make a list and stick to it. Don't buy more than you need and don't feel the need to buy all new items for things your children already have. Plan to do a second shop in the Spring as kids often grow out of clothes that quickly.

3. Use clothing from the summer and give it new life. Polos can be worn year round as can skirts and dresses. Just add a set of leggings under skirts and you have them ready for winter. For tank tops, add a t-shirt of long sleeve tee under.

4. Consider doing a clothing shop with other parents. This would be a great way to get rid of hand me downs and get to know new parents in your child's school.

Tips for First Year "School Parents"

It can be quite scary that first year your child enters school in kindergarten. You can't imagine having all that "free time" and your little buddy not hanging out with you all day or taking them to daycare.

Just as your child is probably excited to enter school, you, as a mom or dad are just as nervous. How will YOU survive going into this new phase of childhood with them?

Here are some tips to help you both ease into the school routine and put your mind at ease:

1. Know that you have done an amazing job with your child to begin with. You have raised a little super-hero so far and this phase is just as scary, but also exciting as that first step or first day of daycare. You and your child will be OK.

2. Try not to show how nervous you are as that can run off onto your child and make first day jitters hard on them as well.

3. It will probably help if you and your child tour the school before that first day. It will help calm you to meet administration and teachers and begin to visualize your child in this environment.

4. See if the school has a kindergarten get together for parents of new children entering school. If not, maybe try to plan one? It will help you, as mom and dad, not feel so scared if you know that you are probably not alone.

5. Hold a party for both you and your child. Do something special together as you both enter this phase. Have a "big boy" or "Big Girl" party to prepare yourself and your child for the new adventure.

6. In the weeks leading up to school, get a routine down for bedtime and wake-up time. This will help you ease into it better for both of you.

7. The night before school starts, do a low-key and easy meal..maybe even pizza or takeout. Spend that day and evening with your child and do something fun.

I promise, you will get through this, brave Mom or Dad. All of life and parenthood is so full of exciting changes and you will be so happy to see your child gaining more independence and almost leap for joy when they tell you all about it!

"Boy, You have Your Hands Full!"

I begin my blog today with a simple question…why must random strangers tell me daily I have my hands full?

 I begin my day with dressing my two kids (Jayden-5 and Jude-almost 3) and rushing out the door for work at our Pizza business. Jude goes to “school” for his morning socialization, while Jayden comes to work with mommy. Why not start them as early as possible developing a strong work ethic?

Anyway, finish up my work and pick #2 back up from school and we all head to the grocery. Sister has a cart, which is always an adventure, and the brother must have a giant car. I was maneuvering down the aisles at the speed of lightening, might I add it is 1 hour until naptime. Enough said. I pass by one woman whom you could tell her children were grown and she says, "You have your hands full."

This always leaves me speechless.

 Does it look like I’m out numbered? I guess so. Does this seem like a motivational comment? I would think not. I guess it would not seem to boggle me as much if it wasn’t said mostly daily everywhere I go.

 I discuss with my husband that night how often it is said and vow I will not be that grandma someday. I will send words of encouragement like…”Good job mom!” Mom’s need encouragement and feeling that they have control. Even when, some days it seems you are out numbered. What is said of those that have more than two kiddos?

 I am the first to admit we have ground rule discussions (threats) prior to entering public establishments to be sure everyone remembers how to behave. My 3 year old even recites his own now. I just have to say, remember no..and he finishes with no fighting, no pinching, stay in the cart and no yelling. Yes sir, good boy.

  Imagine if I didn’t lay this ground rules down what the comments would be All those mothers out there.

 Keep your head up, your doing a great job. Take those comments that your hands are full with smiles and fist pumps.



Julie Boyd is an ordinary Pizza Making Mother of two.

Chores by the Ages

As parents, we want to teach our child how to live in the world around them and how to be responsible. These are life skills that they will need into adulthood.

Many parents want to start as soon as possible in teaching how to do chores, but often wonder what is the age appropriate chores they should be teaching and expect good results from?

In the following post, I am going to go over some age appropriate chores as well as some tips on what to expect.


Toddlers: (ages 2-3)
~Picking up toys
~Putting dirty laundry in baskets
~ Dusting low, unbreakable items


Pre-school (ages 4-5)
~Helping wipe counters and spills
~Making their bed
~Watering plants (low)
~Matching socks

Elementary school aged (6-10)
~Feeding pets
~Doing dishes
~Taking garbage out 
~Sorting Laundry

Tweens (11-12)
~Straightening up common areas with little to no help
~Helping with dinner or meals
~Weeding out gardens
~Sweeping well

Teens (13-17)
~Doing laundry
~Getting groceries (with list)
~ Mowing the lawn/weed-eating

Tips: 

Expect chores to take longer. Remember, your child is learning not only how to do the chore, but they may not have as fine tuned abilities as you do. Let go of perfection and timeliness for these lessons.

If you have a child that is too young to reasonably be expected to do a chore alone, offer to have them help you do it. Cleaning the walls? Give a small child a rag and you do it as well. This not only helps them feel accomplished, but also builds a sense of teamwork.

If your child does a less than perfect job and it makes you feel like you must "fix it", try to do it out of their site. They may begin to feel defeated if you make them feel inadequate.

If you must further instruct due to carelessness, try to do it in the kindest way possible. Always cheer them on when they do a good job!

Time Out Tips

Anyone who has had a toddler or a young child knows what time outs are all about. Sometimes, though, they can seem so drawn out and hard to manage that they are easy to cave on if they are not effective.

You know what I mean. The screaming, protesting and eventual calm down only to be asked, "Can I get out of time out yet?"

While time out is not supposed to be fun, it also is not supposed to be traumatic, either, for parent or child.

Here are some ideas on how to make time out more effective and easier to administer for parents:

1. Have a specific place in your home for time out. I suggest a corner, or another quiet place in your home that is not a bedroom. A bedroom has too many distracting things in it and the child can begin to associate their room with bad behavior. You want their bedroom to be a place of peace.

2. The general rule is 1 minute for every year of age for the child. So, a 5 year old would get 5 minutes.

3. In my home, time does not start until the child is calm. If you have a child who is very upset, this can take a while. To help calm them quickly, try making a "time out bottle". Simply get a plastic water bottle, add food coloring and glitter and when the child is upset, shake it up and have them watch the glitter settle. It may take a minute or two, but the calming water will help calm them down.

4. Don't ever make threats of time out and not follow through. One of the hardest parts of parenting is being consistent, even when you ware tired. If you tell your child the behavior will get them a time out, follow through in every instance.

5. Time outs do not have to be viewed as punishment. Let you child know that sometimes, even adults need time outs to calm down. Show by example that you do on occasion.

20 Finger Foods For Toddlers

When starting to feed your baby and toddler, it can be scary to not know what to feed them as there are foods you should stay away from (Honey and nuts for example due to potential allergies) and some they could actually choke on easily. You want to feed them the best, most natural foods.

I have created a Top 20 list for foods most toddlers enjoy and are super easy to make and prepare for meals, snacks and in between. What you feed will depend on how far advanced you are in your child eating table foods. Always providing a drink such as milk or water and some 100% juice is a good idea as well with meals and snacks. Attach a Huggerz to the sippy cup and you have one stylish drink :)

Super Fun Ways To Announce a Pregnancy

One of the hardest parts of being pregnant early on is not spilling the beans about it and waiting to tell family and friends your big announcement.

There are so many creative ways to tell the world about your little bundle on it's way! With social media, its so easy to do one announcement and send it to tons of people instantly.

How do you make it one to remember? Check out this nifty idea list!

Hold Your Own BackYard Water Park!

"Mooommmm..I'm Boreddd!" "Moooommmm..I'm Hoooottt".

How many times have you heard this so far, this summer? I know I have heard it too many times already. The funny thing about summer is kids think it is gonna be great being out of school, but within a couple days, they see how boring life really is when you don't have a schedule or anything you have to do.