The Christmas Eve Tradition

Ever since I was a small child, Christmas has always been my favorite. It's like I can physically see glitter and sparkles around the letters every time I read or type it. The way people hear the words 'pay day', you know the sound of angles singing, sighs of relief and children's giggles, is the way I hear Christmas. I am a true elf! Even born with the pointy ears for proof!

DIY Teeth Whitening with ZERO harmful chemicals!

Ok, I'll admit it, I just can't stop looking at this picture with my jaw dropped. How can this be?! I always thought that these home remedies were too good to be true and even dangerous, till I did my research! I didn't damage my teeth, I didn't get hurt, I didn't sit under a laser, drooling like a fool for an hour, I just brushed my teeth twice! How awesome is that?! This is after just one treatment! I can't wait to do it again!!

After four years of braces, two children and a lifetime of calcium deficiencies and a love of coffee and soda (I know, I know) my teeth were looking rough. I have always been so self-conscious of my teeth, tried crest white strips off and on, those home light kits brushing with baking soda and peroxide (gag) and nothing was helping me. I thought I was doomed to paying $400 for a pre-treatment at a dentists office and eventually spend thousands on getting porcelains. 

If you are anything like me, you research and study everything. During my studies and searches, I discovered this wonderful thing called activated charcoal! It's amazing! It can lower cholesterol, trap chemicals in the event of a poisoning, reduce gas, prevent hangovers, skin health and, you guessed it, teeth whitening! How awesome is that?! How have I gone 22 years in the dark?!

So just how do you whiten your teeth in 5 minutes? Keep reading and I'll tell you all about it!

DIY Fruit Roll Ups

If you and your kiddos are anything like us, you've got a mean sweet tooth but as a mom, I cringe every time my son asks for a snack. Most of the snacks today are way overloaded with sugar, preservatives and oils and that's just not something I want to put into my child's little body if I can help it. One of our current favorites have been fruit roll ups, but again....way too much sugar for one little snack, so I thought, "why can't I just make these myself?!"...and I did! And you can too! Try these DIY Fruit Roll Ups with none of the preservatives, GMOs, artificial flavors or colors that could harm your little ones.

DIY $7 Indian Costume Tutorial

So some of you are frequent visitors here and know that I orginally started my blog over at Marvelous Modern Mamma but after having my second son, maturing a bit and learning how to actually design a blog I decided to scrap the old one and start anew! If you hop over to the old one you'll quickly understand how much I've changed, design wise, in the last few years and why it was easier just to cut my loses and start fresh. BUT I couldn't leave this tutorial behind! I get compliments on this tutorial all the time! With hundreds of pins and over 12k views, this is one of my most loved tutorial!

Homemade Shrimp (yum yum) Sauce

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• So we're pretty basic in this house, we love pumpkin everything, fall is our favorite and we eat Asian at least three times a month. As much as we love Asian food, it can get pretty costly! My favorite part of the meal is the ever so popular shrimp sauce (some know it as yum yum sauce) whatever you call it, we call all agree on one thing, it's delicious! It goes with everything and makes everything that much better! We've recently been trying to save up some and cutting back on family outings is one way we're doing so. But I can't go without my Asian cravings!! Last night I made Chicken Lo Mein from scratch with homemade shrimp sauce to top it off and it was just as good and I didn't have to wear a bra!! 
• *double whammy!!*