Family Time

Welcome to our Family Time page. Here you'll find all kinds of articles about the family. There's parenting tips, activities for spending time with family, and ideas to share special moments with your loved ones. Check out a few of our most popular posts here, or scroll down for the most recent projects.

Cleaning & Covering Baby Bottles

by Marie

I love this baby bottle tray and bottle brush for cleaning, drying, and storing my baby bottles, by Munchkin. We have a dishwasher, but I like to clean my bottles by hand too. Cleaning: The bottle brush is fabulous, coming complete with a nipple brush built in. This tray is also great as it folds [...]

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Cultivating Relationships with Kids

by Marie

I’m happy to be guest posting today over at Mom it Forward! These gals are always passing on the love, hence the name, Mom it Forward! Whether it’s through their #gno Twitter Parties, Service Projects, or Tweetups around town, there’s something for everyone at Mom it Forward. Their theme for the upcoming month is Relationships [...]

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Going Potty for Pennies

by Marie

We’ve tried lots of things to help my 3 year old daughter stay motivated to go potty on the toilet. She’s been trained for a while now, but was having accidents at least once a day, getting distracted by playing or just plain stubbornness! Well, I came up with this “Going Potty for Pennies” jar [...]

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Star Wars Birthday Party Ideas

by Marie

My son turned 6 last week and we celebrated with a Star Wars party. He eats, sleeps, and plays Star Wars, so it was no surprise he chose this as the party theme. I’m sharing details of the party, games we played and food we ate, because if you have a son, chances are high [...]

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5 Easy Steps to Taking Great Pictures of Kids

by Marie

I’m so happy to share the photography knowledge and skills of Jessica of Mom Shots! Her blog has great tips and tricks for taking photos of kids, something I need major help with. My kids can’t sit still, I have to take 500 shots just to get the one good one! So I’ve asked Jessica [...]

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Keeping Children’s Creativity Alive

by Marie

I first wrote about “The Purpose of Play” and kid’s creativity when I was a guest mom at Design Mom last April. I feel it’s so important and am a huge advocate for children and enhancing their creativity, that I’m re-posting this video by Sir Ken Robinson (first seen at Bella Dia). It’s a little [...]

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Simple Games for Passing the Time

by Marie

With 3 little kiddies and long lines at the grocery store, I’ve been getting pretty good at coming up with quick games to help pass the time. Something fun to keep their attention before they get too restless. These games also work great for long car rides or even while waiting for dinner to come [...]

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Picture Perfect Puzzles

by Marie

Here’s a perfect activity to do over the School Holiday Break… PUZZLES! We’re loving this Disney puzzle. If you know the characters then you know where every piece goes! My kids are great at helping me find the matching colors. My daughter loved finding all the pink ones for Sleeping Beauty and all the yellow [...]

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How to Stay Sane with Kid’s Birthday Parties

by Marie

When my son turned 3 years old, I couldn’t wait to throw him a party. We invited 5 friends, scheduled 2 hours of time, and had a cake baked and ready to go. Well, I learned 5 minutes into the party that I had planned way too much for a group of 3 year olds! [...]

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Traveling with Kids in the Car

by Marie

If we weren’t headed to the beach or on our way to Disneyland, I probably would never travel far with kids. It can be stressful and overwhelming, but with a little planning, car rides can be fun. Here’s a few tips to ease your traveling woes. Snacks – In the past we’ve hit the gas [...]

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