Tag: Lifestyle Blog

AD- All Your Invitation Needs with Basic Invite.

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 12 Comments

AD- This is a paid advertise in collaboration with Basic Invite. All opinions are our own.

I don’t know about you but I love a beautiful card. I have a habit of saving some of our favorites because sometimes you just can’t get rid of a beautiful card or invite! Yes, hoarder alert I know.

Plus, being a family I’ve found how much I enjoy doing holiday cards! So much fun, we did them for the first time this past Christmas and I am hooked.

So when Basic Invite reached out to us, it was so exciting! I am almost sad though because I would have LOVED to use their invites for my wedding and baby shower a couple years ago. I am happy I can use them for all my holiday needs and business cards though.

With new engagements, graduation invitations, and holiday’s always coming up I feel like Basic Invite provides a wide variety of options for all and we are so excited to share with you!

Here’s a little bit more about the company itself and all they have to offer.

Almost Unlimited Colors- Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once you select a design, you can change the color of each element on the card. With over 180 colors to choose from, you can make sure the card is exactly how you want it. This is what sets us apart from almost any other online stationery company.

Custom Samples- Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers to order a printed sample of their actual invitation before they place their final order. They can see the paper quality and how it will print in real life and make sure the card is perfect. 

Over 40 Different Colors of Envelopes- Basic Invite has over 40 different envelope colors to choose from. With so many options, customers can make their envelope match the invitation. All of Basic Invite’s envelopes are peel and seal so the envelopes can be closed quickly and securely.

Address Capturing Service- Basic Invite offers an address capturing service that allows customers to share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media to request their friends and family’s addresses. The addresses are stored in the customer’s account and can be selected during the design process. Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all card orders.

Foil- Foil cards are available in gold, silver, and rose gold. Customers can choose flat or raised foil on all of Basic Invite’s foil designs.

I think the most exciting thing right now is graduation party invitations! They have tons of fun and gorgeous graduation templates to choose from and with everything happening it’s so important to make our seniors feel special still!

We’ve received a sample kit and the way they are packaged is so beautiful, I almost didn’t want to take anything out because of nicely it was all packaged and put together. Highly recommend Basic Invite for all of your needs. I will be ordering my future holiday cards from them from now on and I can’t even wait.

They gave us a coupon code for our readers. Right now you can get 15% off your order with the code 15FF51

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To get in touch or follow along with Basic Invite be sure to click their socials below.

Peep Play-Doh

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 22 Comments

Those fluffy sugarcoated marshmallows are good for more than just eating! Today we made ‘Peep Play-Doh’! I have seen this idea going around on Instagram.

My girls said it felt more like Peep slime, rather than Play-Doh.

I’m going to share the recipe with you today. It is super simple and so easy. A great activity to do with your kids with Easter right around the corner.

All you need is three simple ingredients. Peeps, shortening and flour.

Just add five peeps to a microwave safe bowl.

Add 3 tbs of flour, and 1 tbs of shortening.

Put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.

When it comes out, stir with a spoon. The mixture is super hot, so make sure your kiddos don’t do that part!

When the mixture is all stirred, knead the dough on a hard surface for a few minutes. It might be sticky at first, but it gets better as you knead the dough!

My girls are a little older, so they were able to do most of this activity on their own.

This would be a wonderful craft or activity to do on or before the holiday. Even if you don’t celebrate Easter you could always just make this for fun!

Do you like peeps?! I’m not not a huge fan of them, but I love sugar so I eat them anyways.

Let us know if you try it, and make sure to follow our social pages for more fun activities!

Kitchen Remodel Inspiration.

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 46 Comments

I can’t even tell you all how excited I am to FINALLY remodel our kitchen!

It’s been a dream since we moved in about 5 years ago. Like everyone else this year I’m sure, we fought with the idea of selling our home or making it into what we want for a few more years.

I don’t know if it’s the “first home” attachment or if it was because I couldn’t find anything else I for sure wanted out there or a little of both but we decided to stay.

And with staying comes…renovations!!

I’m excited but a little scared because we’ve never done renovations before besides our basement but that was just flooring.

I decided I would take you all along with me in the renovation journey which this year will include our kitchen and entry way and then flooring in the living room.

Kitchen is up first and the biggest task by far so here is a peek into what we are working with and the inspiration for the renovations.

So mainly we will be updating countertops and backsplash. Only painting cabinets because I LOVE my cabinets and getting new hardware for them, and then getting new flooring.

A big task ya’ll! But here’s our inspiration for the finished look.

Subway tile backsplash
Farmhouse sink hopefully
Gray cabinet color
Hardwood flooring and a light countertop

Anyone else have a dream of a farmhouse sink!? I hope one can fit for us!

My hubby is so excited about a subway tile backsplash, he loves it.

So excited to take you along with this renovation journey. Plus, I will be showing any DIY’s that happen of course.

I know anything to make life a little more simple and easy as a mom is a must so definitely will be sharing any tips and tricks.

We are in the process of getting estimates and picking exactly what we want right now so stay tuned my friends!

So much more to come ❤️

A Letter From One Exhausted Mom to Another.

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 45 Comments

Dear mama’s,

I wish they knew how hard we try.

Lately I’ve just been so burnt out. There really aren’t enough hours in the day.

I just can’t keep up.

For a very patient person, my patience’s has been thin lately. Juggling all our rolls is tough.

I don’t know how some make it look so easy.

Mom life

Wife life

Full time working life

Plus all the small things in between. It’s exhausting.

I yell more than usual which is no fun. But when you have a preschooler who “knows everything” and a toddler who is a pure wild child, it happens.

I feel like I’m either asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow or laying wide awake at night feeling guilty about not playing enough or not finishing the laundry or just knowing my head wasn’t in the right place that day.

I know this is just a temporary phase but sometimes even though I have all the help in the world which I am so grateful and blessed to have, I still feel alone sometimes.

Anyone else?

It just feels like you have so much on your shoulders and even when the weight is a little bit lifted, something else comes long.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.

I guess I’m just trying to say is that, I see you.

I see how exhausted you are.

I see how guilty you feel when you have a bad mom day.

I see the work you put in to your family and your life.

I see how hard you try every day.

I get that sometimes that’s all you want.

To be seen.

For everyone to know how hard you try.

I see all you mama’s out there and I hope you know how great of a job you’re doing.

How all these sleepless nights and tired days and exhausted body’s are worth it.

You are doing amazing.

Us exhausted moms will stick together.

Love,

One exhausted mom to another

7 Fun Spring Break Activities For You and The Kids.

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 36 Comments

Spring is upon us and with that comes Spring break!

Even though my son and daughter are still super young, I still think of Spring as the start of fun activities school aged or not.

We can finally get outside and play. Bring on the mud and grass stained clothes because I am so ready!

Today I thought I would share some great Spring break activities that you can do as a family, that still is a little more social distanced.

1. Break out the bubbles.

Just like bubble wrap, I feel like you’re never too old for bubbles! Bubbles are such a great inexpensive activity. You can make big bubbles, get a bubble machine or make some fun in a bin with bubbles and water. Definitely a great outdoor activity for the kids.

2. Take a day trip.

I love making a day out of a fun activity. We recently went to an indoor water park and my son had a blast. Even a trip to your local library or just finding in town activities to do are great as well!

3. Have a family movie night.

You can never go wrong with a movie night. One of my favorite things to do. Make some popcorn, set up a snack bar or ice cream station. Make some homemade icee’s. So much fun can come from a movie night.

4. Paint a masterpiece.

Painting is such a great activity no matter what age! Get creative with it and there’s so many things you could come up with! Or grab your chalk and head outside to chalk paint.

5. Have an outside adventure.

Check out your favorite trail, rock hunt at the beach, ride bikes, go rollerblading. Head to the park. Outside adventures are what I’m most excited about as the days get longer and hopefully warmer.

6. Sensory bins.

There is so much you can do with sensory bins and they are a hit at any age as well! I have lots of water bin ideas in mind for my son this Spring.

7. Fly a kite.

Spring is so perfect for kite flying! It can still be windy so get to the park and run around with a kite!

Let’s make this Spring a great one and enjoy it as much as we can! I know we all and definitely our kids need it!

What’s your favorite thing about Spring? Mine would be everything blooming and the excitement that Summer is coming.

Have a wonderful week!

Guest Post- What Self Care Means To Me.

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 29 Comments

I’m going to start this post with a bit of an understatement: the last year has been a tough one. Next week will see us meet the one year mark of when our lives all changed dramatically, and what a year it has been. Despite many of us spending more time at home, very few of us have been prioritising taking care of ourselves despite this playing a huge role in our general wellbeing. With parents having to take on the new role of a full-time teacher, key workers under extreme pressure and people struggling to gain a work/life balance now their homes have become offices…where is the time? Sometimes just making it through the day is a success story in itself but these additional stresses that have fallen into our lives only further prove the point that self-care is vital to a healthy mind.

There is still very much a culture where taking time to look after yourself can be seen as an unnecessary luxury but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In order to be the best version of yourself in work, life or relationships you need to feel like the best version of yourself. 

Often when you see the term ‘Self Care’ you think of face masks and massages but actually, the practices are endless and, since we’re not going to be able to get to a spa any time soon, it’s important to find other ways to bring you that same level of peace. Often, the kindest things you can do for yourself have nothing to do with pamper sessions (although I wouldn’t say no!) and everything to do with removing negativity from your life where you can. I’ve listed some of my favourites below.

My Favourite Self Care Methods 

  • Take 30 minutes a day to do something you love – Read that book, listen to a podcast in the bath, be creative…it doesn’t matter what it is, just make sure it’s something that makes you happy.
  • Social Media detox – Take a day away from your Social Media apps, the constant stream of news and other peoples polished lives is a lot and you often don’t realise the damage it’s doing until you take a break.
  • Review who you follow – Make sure the people you follow on social media are accounts and/or individuals that bring you joy or valuable information. Anyone else can and should be removed (or muted at the very least).
  • Move your body – I’m a huge advocate for exercise for your mind rather than your body but this doesn’t always have to be an intense workout. I love basic Yoga videos on YouTube, stretching with some relaxing music is really calming even if for 10 minutes.
  • Get some fresh air every day – This one is so important, especially for those that are working from home every day at the moment. Sometimes getting yourself outdoors if you don’t “need to” is harder than you think, but it’s a wonderful way of taking a moment to breathe.
  • Journal – Keeping emotions or stresses bottled up inside can only last so long. Talking to other people about these things is so important but if you don’t feel ready or able, writing in a journal is an excellent way to let some of those stresses or worries free.

And the most important and compulsory form of self-care is to be kind to yourself. Life isn’t easy even at the best of times and it’s made ten times harder if you let that negative voice in your head make its way to the front. We’re all just doing our best so make sure you are acknowledging your achievements no matter how small. I’ve said it before but sometimes just making it through the day is a win, so take a minute to say you smashed it!

Benefits of Self Care

  • Increased positive thinking
  • A reduction in anxiety
  • Finding outlets to relieve stress throughout the day can result in an improved sleep pattern
  • Taking time for yourself will give renewed focus, increasing productivity levels
  • Improved relationships
  • Learning how to recognise your real emotions/feelings.

Sometimes it feels easier said than done but you need to prioritise yourself. No matter the job, situation or environment you find yourself in, you can’t pour from an empty cup so eventually, something is going to have to give. Please don’t let it be your health.

Thank you so much Amanda and Marissa for having me on your blog and thanks to everybody for reading. If you would like to check out more of my posts you can find my blog here and Instagram here. 

Stacey

10 Fun Facts About Marissa!

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 22 Comments

Hey Friends! I wanted to do something fun today and kind of a get to know me type post! I love reading these and wanted to share some things about me.

1. I am TOO optimistic! The glass is always half full in my greener pastures! Everything is sunshine an rainbows 99% of the time.

2. I wanted to be an algebra teacher. I know it sounds super crazy but math was always my favorite subject!

3. I performed in plays throughout my childhood until I was a senior in high school! My favorite was Anita from West Side Story.

4. I married my husband when I was 18! We were BABIES (kind of still are)!

5. I HATE cooking, but LOVE baking! If I’m cooking it’s either a crock pot meal or something very simple, but I will bake you ANYTHING from scratch.

6. I hate winter! It was my favorite season for ever, until last year. Now I long for the days of summer!

7. My favorite color is green. More specifically lime green! The brighter, the better!

8. I used to play a TON of musical instruments! I played the tenor saxophone in band, I played a bit of piano, and guitar once I got older. My favorite instrument is the hammered dulcimer. Look it up if you’ve never heard or seen one.

9. I’m very strong willed! I try to speak my mind as much as possible and stand my ground.

10. Family is THE most important to me, but it’s always God first.

Thank you so much for reading! 💕

Top 5 Everyday Cleaning Tips.

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 50 Comments

Who is having some serious Spring fever?!

Believe it or not but I’m actually itching for the first really nice day to get here so I can open up the windows, put some rubber gloves on and do some major spring cleaning!

I’m here today to give you some everyday cleaning tips that will make it easier for you to keep your house up throughout the weeks.

In the winter I slack so much on these tips, it’s already dark by the time I get home from work and it’s the last thing I want to do on my days off. But when the days get longer and it’s still light out by 7pm, I get back in my groove.

Here’s my 5 everyday cleaning tips!

  • Get your laundry ready the day before.

This is a big one because I know we all secretly hate laundry! I’ll be honest though, I’m never ever fully caught up with laundry being a mom and then my husband and I’s clothes as well. I think maybe if I had a first floor laundry room instead of having to go up and down the stairs to the basement all day long, I would be happier. Enough of my laundry hate ranting though.

It makes it so much easier if you sort through your laundry the night before and get your piles ready, that way as soon as you wake up you can throw the first load in and just add to your other piles throughout the day. Instead of being up until 8pm finishing laundry, you’ll most likely be done by 2pm and that way you can have a glass of wine by 8pm 😉

  • Unload your dishwasher first thing in the morning.

I always unload my dishwasher before I leave for work or defiantly when I’m off. That way you’re just putting your dirty dishes in the dishwasher all day long and keeping your sink clean and dish free.

I LOVE a clean sink.

Plus it makes after dinner dishes so much easier to deal with. I don’t know about you but if I have a clean and dish free sink, I feel a whole lot better!

  • Make an every two day checklist.

I am a sucker for lists. I love lists. Grocery lists, everyday lists, work lists, CLEANING LISTS. List’s make my life easier and when I feel like I am slacking in the cleaning department and just dreading it because that means I’ll have to deep clean instead of the normal freshen up, I know I have to start making my every two day checklist again.

So basically you can do it however you want to. For me specifically my every two day checklist consists of..

  • Dusting
  • Vacuuming
  • Steam mop

and so on. You can make your list whatever you want but when it comes time for the weekend and if I’ve been doing that every two days then it makes cleaning the rest of the house sooo much easier and cuts down my time by a lot.

  • Do a mini cleaning pick up each night.

I’m sure a lot of you mama’s have this on your list. Toy’s usually get scattered all around the house. My son loves his toys everywhere and so does my puppy.

Every night I do a mini pick up. I fold up all the blankets, pick up all the toys, put away all the chargers and smart device’s used that day. Clean up the kitchen and coffee table. I just do a quick sweep of everything that got used a lot that day before I go to bed so I wake up more refreshed and not staring at a big huge mess.

Trust me though, it doesn’t happen every single night!

  • Clean your countertops and used tables everyday.

The last thing I try to do everyday is wipe down my countertops, kitchen table and coffee table. They are used the most throughout the day so no matter what there’s always crumbs or some kind of weird stain on them. I just like to do that everyday to keep them fresh and clean since they are some of the first things you go to when you wake up or when you get home.

Those are my everyday cleaning tips I have for you that I, myself do. I hope you enjoyed this post and I wish you all good luck in the Spring cleaning phase that’s coming!

I know I have so much decluttering to do especially in the clothes and toy area.

What are some of your cleaning tips you use daily?

I also have a free weekly cleaning checklist down below you can download and use this Spring! I’m sure excited about it.

Guest Post- As Mom’s, It’s Time To Be Ourselves.

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 20 Comments

Do you ever wonder what life could be like without comparing yourself to anyone else? 

Well, I think it’s time for us moms to stop trying to live up to everyone else and just be ourselves!

Yup! You heard that right, my friend, just be ourselves. Not our neighbor, not our co-worker, not our mom, sister or best friend and just be ourselves.

Friends, your authentic self is the only one I want to be around.

Your authentic stories are the only stories I want to hear. I want to experience the downright ugly parts of your soul as well as all of your triumphs.

I want to cheer for all of your children’s amazing adventures and goals being reached but also gasp at how awful they have been behaving on a daily basis. 

So can we make a deal as moms? 

Can we stop comparing and rather live our lives as our true selves? Can we stop attempting to live up to all of the online parenting tips, that are often way too hard to attain and allow ourselves to make up our own parenting rules… the rules that work for our family? And rules that take into careful consideration each child living within our unique household.

And please, for our own sanity, can we please stop attempting to live life as a generic woman?

We are all molded, as our own unique selves, but somewhere along the way I think many of us forgot that truth. Or maybe society started to tell us how to behave, how to dress, what our homes should look like and how our children should behave.

But we need to stop this nonsense and just be…

So how do we do this? 

It’s not an easy task, let me tell you. 

But one thing I know is this…if we all support one another it will be much easier to live as our authentic selves. 

Upon a lot of reflection, and there has been a great deal the past year, I have come up with three ways to start living life as our authentic selves.

  1. Take time for reflection: 

Set aside a quiet moment or maybe twenty minutes alone, no distractions, just time with good old fashioned silence.

It’s powerful! Within this time, think about you… not the burnt waffles this morning, the four loads of laundry waiting to be folded, a conference call at noon and how you are in desperate need of a haircut. This is a moment for you to delve deep and remember who you are. What are your dreams? Your goals? Desires? What makes you happy? Truly happy? Have you been hiding anything lately? Pushing it away or numbing the pain? And most importantly how do you love yourself best? 

I found it helpful to listen to my inner soul quietly and reflect, then write out my thoughts on paper. 

My paper was a mess. There were words all over and not organized at all but it was a start. 

The simple act of writing out these thoughts was bringing me back to my true self. 

If I couldn’t recall who I truly was, how was I going to be able to live a life of authenticity?

2. Putting into action a part once lost.

Remember the reflection time where you made a list? Well, now it’s time to choose one or how many you are comfortable with and begin to bring them to light again.

For me, I knew my true self was a writer. It was my passion and the only way I could express myself as the honest woman I wanted to live. So, day by day I started to write more.

At first I began writing down some thoughts, which then lead to poetry… I forgot how much I loved poetry. I eventually realized it was time to take the next step and really let my true self out of the dark and start to share my authentic self, the writer in me. So for me, as scary as it was it meant starting a blog. My friends, for each of us the experience will be different, the time frame will not be the same but one piece will be constant for all of us and that is becoming the women we are meant to be… our true authentic selves.

So I urge you to take action with your list. Don’t let it sit there in a drawer or in the notes on your phone. Take the leap and call into action one or more of the amazing parts of yourself and let it take hold. You may be amazed at how far you will go.


3. Make peace:

Finding one’s self is not always an easy task. For some of us the thoughts of who we truly are may be easy to find, but for others, muddling through the murky waters of our own self can be daunting. I’m confident though, we can do this as long as we make peace with who we truly are as ourselves and love ourselves more than we expect any other person to love us.

It’s time, my friends, to live our lives fully and to the capacity which works for us… not for the comparison of what we see on HGTV or Pinterest, not for the comparison of ourselves and the other mom at the playground and how she parents. It doesn’t mean we are selfish. It doesn’t mean we should feel any mom guilt. It simply means we should be proud to finally show off our true authentic selves and the phenomenal women we are.

So friends, I pinky promise you this… our authentic selves will bring about more light than we ever imagined and what a blessing for our loved ones to experience. They will be blessed beyond measure with a woman who loves herself and radiates it out for the world to see.

Ali Flynn lives in New York with her four teenage daughters and husband. She is excited to share with you the joys and hardships of motherhood with an open heart, laughter and some tears. Ali is a monthly guest contributor for Westchester County Moms and has been seen on Filter Free Parents, Grown and Flown, Today Parents, The Mighty, Her View From Home and His View From Home, where she shares inspirational stories about motherhood while keeping it real.

You can also find her on:

 Facebook 

https://www.Facebook.com/hangintheremama

Instagram

https://www.Instagram.com/hang.in.there.mama.

Etsy

https://www.Etsy.com/shop/hangintheremama

Easy Creamy Chicken Enchilada’s.

~ quirkymoms486 ~ 45 Comments

I don’t know about you but I loveeeee enchilada’s!

They are so yummy and this happens to be one of the most requested dinners that my husband asks for and that’s saying something for Mr. food critic.

This recipe is so easy and has very minimal ingredients. The prep time doesn’t even take long as well so let’s get into it!

Ingredients

3-4 cups cooked and shredded rotisserie chicken

1 medium onion chopped up

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup sour cream

1 large can or two small cans enchilada sauce

3 cups shredded cheese Mexican blend

10 flour tortillas

Preheat your oven to 350 F

In a large pan over medium heat add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and add your onions. Cook until translucent and soft.

Combine chicken and onions in your pan and stir.

Pour 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce over your mixture and stir just enough to coat the mixture.

Add sour cream and stir.

Turn off heat and add 2 cups of shredded cheese and combine until it’s nice and creamy and cheesy.

Pour just enough enchilada sauce over your baking pan to coat the bottom.

Fill up your tortillas. Spoon a little sauce onto it and then add your mixture.

Roll your tortilla and place in the baking dish. Repeat with all until your dish is filled.

Pour the rest of your enchilada sauce on the top of all of your tortillas and also top them with another cup of cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 20-30 min. Remove foil the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Enjoy!

I love this recipe. I usually serve it with some Spanish rice and it’s so good!

Let me know if you try it and enjoy it!

Thank you for reading 🙂