10 Holiday Survival Tips! #HolidayCards

With the holidays coming faster than ever, I am trying to think of a few ways to make them a bit simpler. I have come up with these so far, but would love input from you!

1. Cook ahead! Our family is huge and we have several stops to make in order to see everyone. Most of the time, when I ask what I can bring to eat, there is never a direct reply. So when I offer to bring something, I like to suggest things that can be cooked ahead. Most of the time dips can be made the night before and be put in the refrigerator. Meats can be cooked ahead as well.

2. For presents, buy throughout the year! I have been Christmas shopping for quite a while now. I have ordered several clothing pieces for the girls when there are sales I can't pass up or super cute items that I can't resist. I like to buy them for Christmas while I can get them! As of now, all of the girls' clothes are bought for their presents!

3. Don't forget to wrap ahead of time too! I have been guilty of waiting until the last minute to start wrapping which ends up in me up until 2:30 Christmas morning. The end result is me being tired Christmas morning. Start wrapping as you get the presents!

4. One thing we have started in the last few years is a Christmas account at our bank. We put back a set amount each month and love that we get the check without feeling immediate pain. If I do buy anything a head of time, I just won't put the amount I spent in the account. Win. Win.

5. Holiday mornings for us are always chaotic. I plan on packing anything I can ahead of time, have clothes laid out for myself and the family, and taking showers the night before. Hopefully, this will prove to be a more efficient morning when we are always running around like a crazy family!

6. Something that will help with the morning routines of holiday mornings are great breakfasts. And by breakfasts, I mean a dish that can be made the night before a stuck in the fridge. I love to have an easy breakfasts with my family before we start the hustle and bustle of holidays!

7. This year, in hopes of avoiding toy overload for the girls, Jeremy and I are thinking of one huge present, clothes and very few toys. Our girls will not be deprived by no means! Our parents are gracious when it comes to the holiday department, and we always return home with a car load of toys!

8. Invest in some holiday movies...they will help you entertain the kids while you tackle that to do list! Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is something I always want to enjoy as a family cuddles up on the couch. In reality, I am wishing this will be our first year we actually get to do it! Nonetheless, the kids will be entertained while I prepare what I must before we head out. I often pop in a Christmas movie after Thanksgiving if I need to get a few things done, without interruptions.

9. Take a break with your family! Holidays are great and fun, but stress levels can rise which can be taken out on everyone. Enjoy the family time while you can, and slow down to sip on some coffee or hot chocolate with the kids. Everyone can mellow out for a while and I promise, everything will still get finished in time.

10. When all else fails, turn on some great music. Holiday tunes always cheer up my family!


For any holiday cards, Tiny Prints may be a great option for you. Here is some information I received:

Tiny Prints provides stylish, modern and unique stationery from photo cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards and business cards. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side the Holidays will be a cinch! They offer adorable Thanksgiving Cards, Christmas Cards, Hanukkah Cards, and even New Years Cards. All fully customizable and personalizable.

I am loving the Tiny Prints Christmas cards!

Three Ladies and a Dad Reviews Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $75 Tiny Prints gift certificate! For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Five tips to help maximize your health benefits!

Just last week, I got a phone call from Jeremy telling me it was time to make the decisions about insurance for next year. That's right, Open Enrollment. We are lucky, we have deeply discounted rates through his employer but I still love to maximize the effectiveness of our plan. I try to stay informed and do as much as I can to make sure we get the biggest bang for our buck.

Below are five ways I found here to help you do the same.

1. Stay on top of your health! Yes, your doctor is the go-to person for any health related issues. By saying to stay on top of it, I mean to schedule those preventative appointments. That is up to you! Yes, your doctor might remind you, but you have the schedule it! The best part of this is most insurance companies will pay for it!

2. Pay the lowest out of pocket. This simply means making sure your provider is "in network". So easy to do and you will reap the benefits. Our insurance's website easily tells me who is in network and out of network. Another thing to make sure you get the coverage is to make any required phone calls before any procedure. Anything that is not standard, I like to call just to be on the safe side.

3. Stay on top of your claims. If there is one thing I have learned, it is to keep a copy of everything when it comes to filing a claim. You always want to have proof of anything you may need, and with big companies, you never know what you just might need. Receipts, bills, claim numbers are just a few things you might need.

4. Something we are doing new next year is opening a Flexible Spending Account. We figured up how much we typically pay in medical bills and divided that number by 12. This will help us not go into the debt we normally do with doctor bills and when it comes time to go the doctor, the money for the bill will already be there. {Hopefully!}

5. Being aware of all of these things will only benefit you. What is your deductible? Is that doctor is network? How much do you cover of dental? How much on orthodontic? Ignorance is not bliss on when it comes to insurance. By gaining awareness and staying informed, your health care will benefit and your pocketbook will thank you!

What do you do to help maximize your health insurance policy? I would love to hear!


Three Ladies and a Dad Review Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Aetna blogging program, making me eligible to get a $30 Target gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Bing gives you the chance to win $100,000 for your school!

Budget cuts are tough on any school. Families are trying to find ways to help their school, keep up with tuition and/or fees and doing anything they can to help.

I don't know about you, but I want to make sure that my kids get the most they need at school.

Unfortunately, we can't donate any money right now to our school. However, on Friday afternoons you can find me in the kindergarten class donating my time. It helps cut costs of the school since they won't have to pay a teacher's aide to be there and I think I get more out of than the kids!

How can you help your school?

Did you know that if a teacher or student for gardes K-12 just submits a video, writes a short essay and maybe include a picture or two explaining what your school needs, you have that chance to win $100,000 for your school?

$100,000!! Imagine what that can do for your school!

You can view all the details here on Bing's website, along with a short video explaining step by step how to enter!

But hurry, the contest ends on Tuesday, October 19 and the voting portion of the contest ends on Friday, October 22!

Three Ladies and a Dad Review Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and received a DonorsChoose.org giving code and gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Saples $25 Gift Card Winner

The winner of the Staples gift card is Heather.

Congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered!

Seventh Generation Winner!

The winner of the Seventh Generation Kit is Jami!

I have emailed you Jami.

Congratulations!

Review and a giveaway: Back-to-School with Staples

School has started. I am in school and the girls are back. Routines are in place (for the most part). But the best part of back to school time is school shopping!

I remember being little and getting so excited about shopping. New folders, pencils, pens...all of it! I loved it and honestly, I still do. Seeing my girls pick out school supplies is surreal...are they really doing this?!

We received a back to school kit from Staples and Mom Central. Let me tell you...they did not have all this cool stuff when I was little! Pens and accessories full of bling, calculators with sparkles and cool looking folders and notebooks. Plus a eco-friendly planner to keep track of everything!

I think this stuff is all super cute! The girls loved it and the things they could not take to school, they are fighting over who gets to play with it! It is definitely not the school supplies we grew up on and I am so happy my girls get excited over school supplies as much as I did!

Staples knows what kids like and carries it all! My only regret is not taking a picture of everything we got before it went into backpacks. But I was rushing out the door to go to my class when the package arrived. But trust me, this stuff is up anybody's alley that wants more than just the normal supplies!

Would you like to win a $25 Staples Gift Card to help with your shopping? Just leave me a comment here. Have you already done your shopping? Still enter because I am sure you will have to re-stock your child's things at some point in the year. For up to five additional ways to enter, click here. A winner will be chosen on Friday, September 17. Please leave your email address so I can contact you should you be chosen as the winner.

Good luck!

Three Ladies and a Dad Reviews Disclosure: This review is possible through Mom Central and Staples. Mom Central and/or Staples sponsored this post by providing me with a product pack and one $25 Staples gift card to give away so that I may share this information with you. My post is an expression of my own honest opinion based on my experience and is not reviewed or edited by Mom Central and/or Staples. Mom Central and/or Staples does not compensate me in any other way for this post.

Ten Ways to Make Your Favorite Foods Healthier #SmartOnes

I am always looking for ways to make our foods better for myself and my family. You can see my menus here and aside from a weekly 'splurge' meal, I am pretty satisfied with our menu for now.

As I get busier and busier with school, fast and easy food is becoming more a a norm for us now. I like quick meals, but at the same time, I want them to be somewhat good for us! Here are some things that I have been trying to do to help make that happen:

1. Subsitute, substitute, substitute. You can see on my menu that I made a Cajun Chicken Pasta from The Pioneer Woman. The first time I made it, it was delicious! I made it with what was called for. The last time I made it, I did not have a few things. Instead of the whole milk that it called for, I substituted some skim milk with a little flour. And even though you could taste a small difference, it was worth the calories that was saved!

2. Think outside of the box. Just today for much, I wanted pasta. I love macaroni and cheese and can eat it all the time! But today, I wanted to make it healthier and while it is still pasta, this worked: Instead of the normal butter, milk and cheese, I used pasta with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil topped with some freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. It was yummy and had a lot less cheese!

3. For that sweet tooth, instead of adding all the oil and eggs to the boxed cake mix, just add 12 oz. of diet soda instead. It will bake just the same (I promise!) and you will not miss out!

4. A go to meal in our house is the classic hamburger. But I can I can count how many times I have fried them on the stove on two fingers. Besides not having the greasy mess to clean up, the burger is better with the grill marks!

5. Tacos is another one our family loves. (Remember quick and easy?!) Call me crazy but I do not salt and pepper or add any seasoning to my ground beef before it is done. Why? I drain and rinse the cooked ground beef under hot water. This helps drain extra grease from the beef. Then I return to the pan and season like normal.

6. When our family is craving carbs, I try to eat lighter throughout the day. I love carbs but they leaving me feeling full. Eating something smaller earlier in the day helps reduce that feeling.

7. You know how love spinach! I try to add his to just about everything in our house. It decreases the guilt by some of the spurge meals since I am getting some extra nurtrietns I would not otherwise get! All you do is throw freshly chopped baby spinach in whatever you are cooking, whether it be a filling or a hamburger. You cannot taste it!

8. There are certain meals I know Jeremy and I love. The girls can eat however much they want but I try to limit how many leftovers will be in the house for Jeremy and I. These splurge meals are usually something like pizza and we both can eat that all day long! Just portioning out how much you are going to cook helps prevent it being more than just a night's dinner.

9. Do you love burritos! When we do burritos, we try to use shredded chicken instead of the beef. Just get creative with the fillings!

10. Another thing I try to remember to do is drink a tall glass of ice water before my meal. This helps your stomach to feel fuller quicker and limit how much of the food you will eat. It really does work, I just have to remember to do it!

I truly think people should eat what they want, in moderation. I try to incorporate this lists into my routine to help be feel a little less guilty about those splurge meals!

Do you have any tips you would like to share? I would love to hear them!

Three Ladies and a Dad Reviews Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and WeightWatchers SmartOnes blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.