Vanilla Joy - Family * Motherhood * Me

HOME DEC Plate Collage

Home

This wall needed something and thanks to those beautiful Pioneer Woman plates at Walmart, I figured it out! I’ve been wanting to do a plate collage but my idea was to find a conglomeration of thrift store plates I liked. But who has time for thrift store treasure hunting?!? Not me! Simple, colorful, beautiful. Thanks P-Dub.

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TUTORIAL DIY Fence Post Porch Pumpkins

Tutorials

I’ve been seeing so many cute porch decorations around my neighborhood and it was time to brighten up my own. I followed this cute tutorial. Sometimes these DIY projects end up costing more than I’d like…$14 for the post + $4 for the orange paint. I had white paint, the wood for the stem (I used a […]

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TUTORIAL Native American Dream Catchers

Children

This month we’re learning more about Native Americans and the part they played in American Thanksgiving by making dream catchers! (Dream catchers originate much later than the time of the First Thanksgiving, but we’re focusing on the culture and traditions of all Native Americans. ) From dream-catchers.org: Native Americans believe that the night air is […]

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Eczema Free Winter, Coming Up!

Reviews

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for AVEENO® Eczema Therapy. I received product samples as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.” Fall and winter in the dry, desert state of Utah usually brings on the crocodile skin for me. There are a lot of things I dislike […]

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Two New Favorites!

Book Talk

We have been learning lots about animals in our homeschool adventures – I try to have my boys read a few nonfiction books every day and lots of times they choose to read about animals. These two books have been great resources for our at-home learning. Frozen Wild is a wonderful book about cold climate animals and […]

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On-the-Go Play

Reviews

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Playskool. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation. I don’t know how you feel, but for me, going out with my kids can be completely exhausting. I like to be busy and out […]

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The Easier, More Accurate TB Test

Reviews

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for the TB Blood Test. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.” I certainly am grateful for modern medicine helping me keep my little ones healthy and well, but truthfully? Going to the doctor is one of my least favorite […]

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Smart Kids REVIEW SMART GAMES

Reviews

My last favorite Smart Kids toy is actually one of my favorite single player game brands called SMART GAMES – it’s a good name because the games really are so great for helping kids increase logic, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. The games are all a battle of wits and there is usually more than one solution to each […]

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Smart Kids REVIEW SMARTMAX Build XXL

Reviews

Does this look like a Smart Kid to you? He does to me! And it’s great toys like the SMARTMAX Build XXL set that has helped him and his two older brothers become that way – lots of exploring, playing, building, engineering, and problem solving, all done completely on their own through play. The SmartMax Build XXL set comes […]

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Smart Kids REVIEW Magformers

Reviews

I have SMART TOY 2015 #2 to share with you today……………it’s………. MAGFORMERS! Magformers are one of our all-time favorite smart toys for lots of reasons. First of all, if you haven’t heard of or played with Magformers before, let me explain what they are and why they’re so awesome. Magformers are Colorful Easy to use […]

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