Category: Parenting

Creating Your Own Back to School Traditions

Posted on by



In less than one week, my two sweet kids will be boarding their bus and heading off to their first day of school. It is hard to believe that another fun summer is behind us, but if this picture offers any indication, I am just a tiny bit enthusiastic about getting back to our daily routines and having time to work without carving time away from my attention to them.

We truly have much to celebrate and be thankful for in our family – including our school milestones – and I always try to make these days as special as possible with a fun celebration dinner for the kids.


Today I want to share some easy ideas for fun school-year celebrations you’ll enjoy all year long.



Create a School Picture Tradition


I love to see how much my children grow each year and I’m always trying to think of a new way to capture this big moment in their life.

Create a sign that says what year they are going into school or search on Pinterest for free back-to-school printable signs to use for your big day. To really take your sign to the next level, visit Goodwill to find a cute picture frame to put your sign in and spray paint it for a pop of color. You could also hunt for a small chalkboard or create your own chalkboard using chalkboard spray paint and jot down their school year. 

Try to capture the big things, like that growth spurt that seemed to happen overnight, and then capture the little things like their fancy new school shoes or their cool character backpack. Even if you might have missed the moment on the first day of school, there is an opportunity to capture this all year long and no one will be the wiser that it wasn’t your kid’s first day back. I promise that these pictures will later be a treasure to you and to your kids when they can look back and see how much they have grown and changed.





Create a Celebration Plate Tradition


One of our wedding gifts when we got married was a Celebrate plate that my mom picked up at our local greeting card store. This tradition was handed down to me because when I was growing up, any time we had a celebration in our family, the special recipient got to eat on the special plate.

You can create your own Celebration plate that you decorate together using a plate from your local Goodwill store and a porcelain paint set that you can find at the craft store.  Use a waterproof marker pen to jot down the date and the exciting occasion you’re celebrating together on the back of your plate for a sweet tradition that can sit sweetly in your family budget. 



Create a Fun Decorating Tradition


Our balloon wreath isn’t just for celebrating birthdays anymore.  I now hang this wreath in our doorway anytime there is a celebration to be had in our house including those school year celebrations. You can make your own balloon wreath by covering a straw wreath with two large packages (of 72) balloons and attaching them with greening pins (in the floral aisle of your craft store). This wreath can be used for any of life’s little celebrations… big or small!


Create a Fun Meal Tradition


Nothing says celebration like a big plate of your favorite food. In our house, the most requested dish is my spaghetti and meatballs. When celebrations arise, whether it’s a great report card or the first day back to school, let your children make the dinner selection for the night.  We have had everything in our house requested, from our favorite sub sandwiches to a taco bar night to homemade pizza.  Not only will you not have to plan dinner one night, but the bonus is your kids will eat it and love it!

Whatever you do, I can assure you that your children will long remember and appreciate! I wish you many celebrations all school year long!

Looking for the perfect recipe for homemade spaghetti & meatballs to celebrate your kids and their first day back? I have you covered with this easy sauce and baked meatballs that rival any Italian restaurant. Double or triple the sauce and meatballs for delicious meals that you can eat all week long! 


Homemade Spaghetti & Meatballs


For Sauce:

3/4 cup chopped onion (we omitted because we don’t like onions)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For Meatball (this recipe will make enough for a double batch, half to eat and half to freeze):

1/2  cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 cups grated Romano (or Parmesan)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound Italian turkey sausages (remove the casings)
1 pound ground beef

To make sauce: Saute onion and garlic in 1/4 cup olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, and sugar. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer one hour and thirty minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and meatballs and simmer thirty more minutes. Gently break apart the tomatoes with the back of your wooden spoon.  Five to ten minutes before serving, add in your meatballs and then serve over a big bowl of your favorite pasta.

To make meatballs: In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, and the salt and pepper. Add the turkey & ground beef, then gently stir to combine. Make your meatballs the standard size and put them on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for ten to fifteen minutes. When done cooking, drop in the baked meatballs for a few minutes. This will be just as delicious with a lot less mess and fewer calories.


How to Make Outdoor Living a Family Priority

Posted on by

School is out for summer! We are so excited to finally have time to truly enjoy the outdoors over the next couple of months..  I love nothing more than lounging around in our backyard and hitting our community pool all summer long.  Indiana winters are so long and our summers here are far too short. I really try to make the most of every moment of sunshine.

Wouldn’t we all love to just lounge around in the backyard all day with our feet kicked up? While I can’t say it will be possible every day, I want to share with you a few things we have been doing to make outdoor living a priority in our home over the years.

Chores come first. 

We all love being outside and in order for me to be able to camp out with the kids in the backyard, we need to have our indoor chores accomplished. The short list for me is to unload the dishwasher, make the beds, and swipe the bathrooms. The kids have to eat their breakfast, get dressed, and tidy up their rooms and playroom. With the promise of fun and relaxation outside, we all are more motivated to do our chores inside.

Get the dinner prep done. 

After I have finished the chores, it is time to get together whatever we will be eating for dinner in the evening. Slow cooker meals are a great alternative in the summer because they don’t heat up the house and can be pulled together quickly. If you don’t have a slow cooker, Goodwill is a great place to check for this great summer tool for getting dinner on the table without heating up the house. Likewise, marinating meats or preparing meat for the grill is another way to keep the house cool and keep one step ahead of the game in mealtime prep.

Of course, anything that you can do after your grocery shopping will also give you more time to enjoy being outside. Chop up veggies and fruits for snacking on throughout the week, cook pasta for pasta salads and keep it in a food storage bag to make a yummy cold pasta salad, bake chicken for the week to dice in tortilla wraps, for cold chicken salad sandwiches, or to toss into a pasta salad. I also love to wash and chop the lettuce for the week and use it on burgers or for a light lunch for myself or a side salad with our dinner.

Take the night off completely from dinner and roast your dinner on an outdoor fire pit instead. Children will love the novelty of cooking their foods over the fire and you will love having a night off from cooking. We try to do this a couple of times a month as a fun family night tradition.

Scale back those fancy dinners and keep things simple with grilled meats, fresh veggies, and fresh fruit. Summer is not meant to be spent in a hot kitchen so get acquainted with your grill or slow cooker so you can enjoy that beautiful weather outside.

Be prepared for outdoor excursions. 

The past couple of years, I have learned to become more prepared for those unexpected outdoor adventures. On our door hangs a beach bag that is ready to go for a fun outdoor getaway. I keep sunblock, bug spray, towels, bathing suits, and a water bottle in this bag.

Check Goodwill for a great beach tote that will fit nicely into your family budget. These totes not only come in handy for your summer excursions, but can be a great way to keep your family organized all year long.

For example, in our car, we have a collapsible bag that is filled with activities for the park. I try to keep containers of bubbles, a ball, a waterproof blanket for sitting on, a Frisbee, and a lawn chair. These activities not only come in handy for when we take a trip to the park, but they also are invaluable when visiting friends who don’t have activities/toys to keep little hands busy.

Revise your homemaking schedule with the weather. Check the forecast at the beginning of the week and try to format your schedule according to the weather. If it is raining on Thursday, make Thursday your day to clean the house. If it is sunny on Tuesday, use that day to accomplish the laundry day outside and hang your clothes on the line instead. If it is sunny all week long, then accomplish chores during your child’s nap time or after they head to bed. By revising your homemaking schedule to fit the weather forecast, you can take advantage of as many beautiful days as you possibly can.

Remember they are only young once. 
Each summer, I marvel at how much my children have grown and how quickly our time together seems to be passing. I am trying to savor these moments and for me, that means slowing down our summers. While we make big plans for summer activities, I can admit that I become selfish with my time with them in the summer. The school year will begin again and we will be back to the crazy grind of school days.

Savor these moments and revise your schedule so you can enjoy each moment of them. Seek a little shade with them. Create with them. Hop in the kiddie pool with them. Indulge in homemade slushies and popcorn every single day and blame it on “the kids” and “hydration.” Be selfish with them and their time. Treasure them.

This year as they hopped off the bus on the last day of school, I whipped out silly glasses and told them that fun was the only thing this family would have on its agenda. We giggled all the way home from the bus stop. This is the stuff that makes memories.

As my husband and I say after it takes two hours to put away all the outdoor toys and clean up after the dinner, “We are making memories.”

Indeed….we are!

How do you make outdoor living a priority in your family?