Right now home gardens are exploding with a cornucopia of produce; veggies and fruits often ripening and rotting before they can be eaten. The simple solution to the potential waste is to preserve your bounty for future use. Whether your preservation choice is canning, fermenting, drying, smoking or curing, these sites provide valuable advice and methods for ensuring that your sweat equity in the garden translates into yummy meals at a later date. Canning Across America – Created by renown food writer and chef Kim O’Donnell, this site gathers a nationwide, ad hoc collective of cooks, …
For many, school starts in just a few short of weeks. Moms are busy buying items for the school supply lists, stocking up on back-to-school clothes and menu planning for brown bag lunches, which can be the most daunting of all. Check out these sites that offer fun and inspirational mid-day meals. Epicurious – This round-up of healthy recipes and advice are your ace in the hole to fixing easy brown-bag lunches. Try the Turkey Pinwheels, California Tuna Salad Rolls and Extreme Granola. I especially like the tips for picky eaters. Cooking for Monkeys – This blogger mom is amazing. Themed meals, …
Stress relief comes in all shapes and sizes. From meditation to marathon running, people are finding ways to reduce the pressure and lead healthier lives. Listed below are a few sites that provide great tips for stress relief. Mayo Clinic – It should come as no surprise that this site’s #1 way to relieve stress is to get active. The very respected Mayo Clinic takes a reasonable approach to stress relief and provides manageable tips to get started. About.com/Stress – Did you know that something as simple as planting a garden can help relieve stress? This site includes the top 25 ways to …
For some families, summer means carefree, no-schedule days filled with lots of pool fun and a break from the drudgery of school. For others, it’s a chance to get a head start on next year’s lessons in order to insure educational success. Whatever your choice, listed here are some fun educational websites that can help make learning fun. Printables for Kids – The younger set loves coloring pages that feature their favorite characters and objects and this is the site that offers it all. All the coloring page printables are free, plus they also offer math worksheets, mazes and word scrambles …
Show of hands: When you think of a family vacation does a certain National Lampoon film starting Chevy Chase come to mind? Traveling from Point A to Point B with kids can be especially challenging so get a jump start on easing the stress by consulting these savvy kid-centric travel sites. Flying with Kids – Air travel can be particularly challenging with kiddos, especially hard-to-please toddlers, and this site offers insightful advice for families. Check out the handy tips from parents including a nifty diaper pin/safety screen trick. (Keep two diaper pins attached to your diaper bag. If …
Natural disasters come in all shaped in sizes, from small storms that are a nuisance to tornadoes that can take your home, and possibly your life. In any case, it’s important to be prepared. These sites offer important information to help you get ready for any emergency. Ready.gov – This is the official disaster preparedness site for the U.S. government and what we consulted to create our emergency kits. There are three major parts of this site: Get Ready America (an overview for everyone), Get Ready Business (includes info on how to stay in biz after a disaster) and Get Ready Kids (a place…
If you need help identifying a mystery rash, have a question about homeopathic remedies or a concern about nutritional supplements, you may find yourself logging on to trusty “Dr. Google” for advice and getting a good scare. (Show of hands for those of you that have grossly misdiagnosed yourself with a fatal, mystery disease when all you had was a common ailment.) There are many online medical and health websites available that can connect you with others that are experiencing a similar issue, and also provide quick advice from doctors in a specific field. Here are a few of my favorites: Dr. …
It’s a well-known fact that a good belly laugh is the silver bullet to a dreary afternoon. On those days that you need to take a mental vacation and need a giggle visit these sites and enjoy the funny. Awkward Family Photos – 99% of us identify with these cringe-worthy photographic portraits of families. The themed photos are laugh-out-loud funny. If you dare, send in your own embarrassing family shot and they’ll list it on the site. Garfield Minus Garfield – The cranky and opinionated cat Garfield is still a fave after more than 30 years but what if he went missing from his own comic? The …
School is almost out for the summer and most folks are in the throes of putting together that perfect vacation. Whether you’re gearing up the kids for a road trip, organizing a “girl’s only” weekend for your BFFs or planning a romantic getaway with your partner, travel gets a lot easier with tips and advice from these sites. National Parks Traveler – Sometimes the best adventures happen right in our own backyards and this site helps you find them. Our national parks system is downright amazing; boasting loads of activities, affordable rates and easy access. This easy-to-navigate site “offers …
Merrian-Webster hasn't added a definition for the word “hack” that describes how most savvy folks are using it nowadays. Nope, hack doesn’t mean to gain access to a computer illegally, clumsily sever a tree branch or even a dry cough. Today “hack” means to create a technique that solves an everyday problem. Here are some wonderfully clever sites where people share solutions that make their lives a little easier. Enjoy tips on how to create useful items made from Ikea odds and ends, nifty shortcuts for parents and intelligent problem-busters for iPhones. Ikea Hackers – Problem: You want a …
I’ve found I’m happiest when I’m doing one of three things: cooking for my family, swimming in the ocean and growing things in dirt. Gardening is a way for me to relax, provide food for my family and learn new things. I guess I’m what you would call an Urban Gardener. The online resources for folks like me are as varied as the tips they offer. Here’s a smattering of the sites that I visit when I need information, motivation and yes, a giggle. Organic Gardening.com - The folks that publish Organic Gardening magazine run this site. It’s one of my fave stops on the web because of the depth …
I dislike the word foodie, but I must admit that it’s often used to describe me. I love cooking, eating, creating recipes and it seems my kids have caught the foodie bug too. One of the most important ways we connect as a family is in the kitchen, creating a meal together and enjoying it together. Here’s where I go to get ideas and inspiration for foods that kids will love making and eating: The Toddler Café – This blog’s tag line is “Fast, Healthy and Fun Ways to Feed Even the Pickiest Eater!” and it doesn’t disappoint. None of the recipes are complicated and all of the ones we tried are …
It was a tough winter. We spent many days cooped up inside due to nasty weather and what saved my sanity (and my young kiddos’ too) were crafts. Crafts of all kinds ran amok in our house–painting, gluing, molding, collaging. Sometimes I found my cleverness well running a bit dry so I sought inspiration via the Internet on the following sites: Kaboose – This incredibly comprehensive site has craft ideas for all age ranges, complete with video tutorials and step-by-step directions. Crafts are categorized by theme so it’s easy to find just the right project whether you’re looking to …
I’m a "wannabe" interior designer. I love creating comfortable, fun and practical spaces in my home where my family can gather and relax. Limited time and a limited budget call for some creativity so I get great ideas for the following sites: Décor 8 – Simply put: This is some serious eye candy. It’s almost like reading someone’s private journal. Fabulous photography and well-written posts provide motivation to make your space great. Re-Nest – This site’s tagline is “Abundant Design for Green Living” and it doesn’t disappoint. Learn more about bamboo floors; eco-friendly lighting and …
Opinions matter. Especially when it comes down to shelling out good money for a specific product that may (or may not) make your parenting life easier. Wouldn’t it be nice it someone could test-drive all that baby, kid and home stuff and then let you know if it’s worth your dough? Luckily there are a few good sites on the web that do the footwork (or stroller or bottle or toy or diaper bag work) for you. Cool Mom Picks – This is the blue chip site of the bunch. These savvy moms review one product a day and do it right. Each item is thoroughly screened and tested, with not a single BPA-…
