Joy's Fun Stuff

What are some ideas for decorating on a budget that don't take a miter saw or a zillion hours to pull off? I'm so glad you asked!

If you enjoy crafting AT ALL a Cricut will make all of your wildest dreams come true. If you have a parent/adult child/spouse/whoever that l

Looking for an awesome way to celebrate Veteran's Day with kids? This cheap, easy, and fun activity will have all your kids excited and

My oldest 2 boys may not have a single patch sewed on their scout uniforms, but I do Halloween Gingerbread Houses with my kids. As a mom, I cannot do it all and I'm happy to fail at the scout patch thing as to make more room in my life for sugar glued to sugar using sugar. Because, well, priorities. This is one of those fun traditions that the kids get REALLY excited for. But can you blame them? They get to create/gorge themselves with treats and make a spooky project that th

At Costco a few weeks back we found a cool little painted rock, and by "we" I of course mean a few of my kids. I saw said rock but didn't care enough about it to even register that it was a thing. My boys, however, excitedly picked it and found a magically handwritten note glued to the underside telling us we could keep it or rehide it. Being the fun mom I am, I suggested hiding it right back where we found it, but the boys so adamantly insisted that it was pocketed and admir

I kind of hate forts. The kids love them but it's just a matter of WHEN the fighting will start. Then there's the chairs and the blankets... Sigh. That is not one of my activities of choice, but I'm probably in the minority there. I just hate 1. fighting and 2. messes. Summer is quickly coming up and we will soon find ourselves with a new schedule and random chunks of time needing filling. While much of that time will be kids running and being free outside, sometimes we find

Yesterday I got my oil changed, which is not really noteworthy or anything. But Matt kept the kids and I had a whole hour and a half to my lonesome, and THAT was exciting. Being the wild woman I am, I seized the day and walked a block to the Dollar Tree. Carpe diem, baby. Couple Points here: 1) If you're interested in reviewing my somewhat creepy fascination with this store, Part 1 is here. 2) The Dollar Tree is NOT sponsoring this post. I'm not cool enough for that reality.

Our friends’ baby recently had surgery. Everything went well and the baby is doing fine, but our sweet, amazing, great-parent friends have a house full of other kids and are Tired. With the recovery, there has been little sleep going around, which is challenging on its own. But they have a 3 year old. I'm sure they are handling it all beautifully. I just simply cannot imagine having my Ms. 3 Year Old in that situation. I would lose my mind. Three is so darling and fun. It is

I am kind of a kid's craft supply hoarder, full disclosure. I see googly eyes and alphabet beads and I cannot restrain myself. It's kind of a problem. The nearest Dollar Tree isn’t really close and my local Target has the worst dollar spot I've ever seen. It's like 3 shelves. Horrible. So since we've lived here, I've been really missing my cheap craft fix. I made a little trek to our closest Dollar Tree this week and felt like singing that old song, "Reunited and it feels so

Sorry, but I feel things strongly. It's a blessing and a curse. I didn't realize how much of a curse it was until kids came. When stress is high I tend to feel it and express it. Darn it. And with a house full of darling little monkeys there is a lot of stuff happening all at once. I'm not complaining, mind you, just stating fact. This is what I signed up for. But sometimes it can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, that stress can come out as Loud Firm Speaking. It's a problem.