When I was a little girl, my family didn’t have much money. It was just my Mom, my older brother and me. My Mother went to school full time and worked to put food on the table. She even handmade a lot of my clothes. We lived in a little old shack of a house in Brick, New Jersey. It was such an old house that I remember looking between the seams of the wood wall paneling in the living room and could see the trees outside. We had a long winding driveway where our little shack was hidden amongst the woods. I didn’t realize we were poor. My life was rich. Every day was filled with adventure. My ..read more

Are you looking for some fun fall activities and craft ideas to do with your kids? Sensory art and play guru over at Simply, Sweet and Messy is here with 4 wonderful activities to welcome in the new season. I’m so excited to share some of my ideas for you and your kiddos! I must say this is my favorite time of year to do crafts and fun activities. It makes my teacher and parent heart happy. There are endless educational, hands-on, sensory- filled, colorful and interactive activities in the Fall! I firmly believe that children learn so much from nature, being outside and hands-on activities ..read more

So you’ve seen the Pinterest perfect images of baking with kids–happy faces, clean counter tops, expert batter pouring skills, desserts that look like they’re straight out of a magazine. But if you’ve actually baked with kids, you know it’s pretty much an “expectations vs. reality” situation. There are no winners. This is why I love making this super easy, super quick, absolutely foolproof treat with my kids. It’s my Cardamom & Pistachio White Chocolate Fudge Squares.  It’s inspired by a popular dessert from my South Asian heritage called barfi, but adapted to fit ..read more

Cozy Sweaters, warm Apple cider, fireplace, movie nights, long cool walks, lots of cuddles, lots of baking, pumpkin patches, apple picking…. The list goes on. Autumn is by far the beginning of my favorite time of year. I say beginning because let’s face it…. Christmas. But that’s for a whole different post. This ones about my favorite bedtime stories for the kids. I read to the kids every night from the classic The Rabbit is Next and Goodnight Sammy to the imaginative Harold and the Purple Crayon and The Gruffalo. But I especially love breaking out the seasonal stories for bedtime or simply ..read more

Hey, nobody’s perfect, but Aldi sure does come close! If you’ve never been to Aldi before, then it’s most definitely somewhere you’ll want to visit on your next grocery run. When I was a young girl, my Grandma would shop at Aldi. It wasn’t your average store. It was quite different than going to Wegmans. It was much smaller and they have rock bottom prices that beat out grocery stores including Walmart. Okay so, I’m not a Walmart shopper, but I’ve found myself there time to time when I look a hot mess and don’t want my fellow Targeteers seeing me in my homeless attire!  At a very ..read more

Woot Woot! I did it ! I made it passed my first two weeks of homeschooling and I’m loving it!. I made the decision to homeschool the moment we moved out of my Jersey home state to Pennsylvania. My first born was 1 1/2 at the time and was already counting, reciting the alphabet and knew the names of shapes, that I’ll admit, I didn’t even remember! I loved teaching her! It was fun and she wanted to learn more. She was a little sponge soaking up all the information!  As she got older I taught her about credit, finances and business. I knew she would learn more at home with me than she woul ..read more

Like Jewel says, “Put the phone machine on hold, leave the dishes in the sink”. You know, I’ve listened to Jewel since I was a young girl. Her words spoke so true to my soul and now that I’m a Mother, those words have taken on new meaning. Family. Nothing but honesty here! This post contains affiliate links which I may earn a small commission for at no extra cost to you. It’s those small things that help me keep this blog running. I only recommend products I truly love, so if you end up purchasing through one of my links, thank you, from the bottom of my heart! And hey! Snap a picture and ta ..read more

Being involved, through hands on parenting, is good for our child’s development and helps to mold them into the awesome humans they are. But! Being involved with ourselves is just as important to our children. It was two years ago, 4 years into being a Mom, that I began questioning the way I was raising my kids.  I retired from being a “career woman” and decided to dedicate my life to my kids and stay home with them as to not miss a beat. It wasn’t until my middle child was born when I felt a little lost. After a lot of thinking, I came to the realization that just because I was a ..read more

Ouch! Baby just bit the nip and you’re a little nervous and hesitant between feedings now. There is an end. I promise!  This week was the first time my third baby bit me. Although none of my other children bit me during breastfeeding, I was totally expecting it with this one. She was born a little baby beastly. Every feeding she grunts, shakes her head back and forth, pulls my nipple and she will even slap my breast as she’s guzzling that milk. The slapping is so cute though! She is 6 months and quite the little growler. She growls throughout the day. I don’t know if it’s just in her nat ..read more

Baby’s have the most precious soft skin. The saying, “as smooth as a baby’s bottom” is there for a reason! There’s nothing as sweet as feeling your baby’s cheeks and looking into their happy twinkling eyes. There’s also nothing as heart wrenching as seeing your baby in serious discomfort from patches of dry skin on their body. Their smooth creamy skin is now replaced with cracking dry skin. You see their tiny little hand try to scratch at it and it breaks your heart. Baby’s skin is much thinner than an adult’s which is why they lose moisture rather quickly.  Not to mention, when baby be ..read more