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Camp Goes Online: Virtual Summer Camps

May 22, 2020 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Move over home schooling, summer school is up next…but no “Camp Mom” here. Instead we’re taking it online with our favorite Virtual Summer Camps.

As parents wind down the end of your mandatory “home schooling” you may feel that celebrations are in order…well they are (mostly from the parents.) The question is NOW what are you going to do with the kids?!?

While some summer camps may be in session, many have canceled their offerings for 2020. However, that doesn’t mean kids are stuck with TV or CAMP MOM as their only option. Just check out how some very creative camps have pivoted to a virtual summer camp.

From two-hour one-time camps to full-day weeklong (and longer) options, there are camps for almost everything to outdoor skills, art, cooking, programming, theatre, and many more. And best of all, what a great way to explore some of your favorite places for camp, whether you’re a local or just want to explore some of Fort Worth / Arlington’s favorite places for camp from the comfort of your own computer!

Get ready for some real adventures in parenting with online summer camp!

(This list will be updated as information is available. Please email us with your suggestions and recommendations.)

TRADITIONAL CAMP

Okay, none of this is traditional, right?

But when you normally think of camps, there are cabins, counselors, arts and crafts, and of course, cabinmates. These camps are going above and beyond trying to take the camp experience online.

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Marshmallows and gummies make great critters 🐞🐛🦕🐢🐬 #campsupernow 📷: @arriagaadventures

A post shared by Camp Supernow (@campsupernow) on May 12, 2020 at 12:07pm PDT

Camp Supernow

Kids ages 5-11 are invited to escape the boredom of quarantine with adventure online creating and learning at Camp Supernow! Managed through Zoom, campers are guided through a schedule of crafts, play-based learning activities, movement and mindfulness, while gaining a greater sense of human connection with their counselor and 6-8 cabinmates. The weekly curriculum is tailored for the campers’ ages and can be customized to the interests and needs of a given group. Plus they give you one day of camp free to try it out!

SPECIAL OFFER: Receive $25 off your first week with code: MAMACHALLENGE at Camp Supernow.

Buffalo Gap Camp

I think having as much time outdoors as possible is always a plus in the summer for the kids. For this reason I sign the kids up for tons of outdoor camps to get them to move, socialize and enjoy being a kid. Well…this summer may be a little different, but Buffalo Gap Church Camp is doing their best with Camp-in-a-Box! Each camper will receive a “camp in the box” in the mail and have access to online live bible studies, live small group games and conversations, craft tutorials, and worship services. Plus it’s only $45!

CREATOR CAMPS

Quarantine life has managed to make us all better cooks in our kitchen, artists in offices, and much more, so it’s time to get the kids some schooling with some creator camp options!

Sweetology

This Missouri-based gem already had camps for both in-store and online cooking fun, but now more than ever we’re benefiting from the forward thinking of Sweetology. When you sign up, you don’t just get the online instruction, but the supplies are also sent to to your door so you truly have what you need for camp! With three different camp themes (Under the Sea, Furry Animals and As Seen on TV) divided into two age groups for three hours a day for a week, this is really a sweet deal!

River Legacy Science Center

Summers in Arlington wouldn’t be the same with fun at River Legacy Science Center. A true gem in the city where we live, River Legacy has shifted their normally very booked camps to an online offering for all ages. With greatly reduces fees from their normal class, this is an opportunity to see why there’s normally a long wait list for this one!

Lindsay’s Art Camp

Honestly, I can’t recommend Lindsay’s Art Cart enough and you’ll find that is what everyone says. Her free virtual art classes throughout the pandemic are how both my kids and I have kept it together. However, she’s just launched her newest concept, Family Collaborative Painting, which is a self-guided, 5-day e-course you do as a family – that’s is as much art as it is therapy (she actually partnered as well with a therapist, too!)

GAMING / CODING CAMPS

Here is where being online really does win! Definitely riding the wave of e-gaming, this isn’t a trend, but the way of the future. If you have a budding e-gamer, engineer or , they will thrive in these camp options.

Code Ninjas

Code Ninjas is keeping kids busy with their online summer camps. Minecraft, Python, and all that online stuff that makes kids today much smarter than us. At least if their online they can learn how to make a million.

Virtual Tech Camps

Virtual Tech Camps from IDTech are focused on fostering STEM skills while bonding with new friends, all online. With several different options (5 consecutive days, Monday-Friday) with topics like Python, Java, Minecraft, Roblox, Unity, Adobe, 3D modeling, and more. With only 5 students per instructor blending personalized learning and time to socialize with new friends.

i-Code School

What got my attention at this STEAM-focused camp is “65% of children entering primary schools today will work in jobs that don’t exist today.” So why wait to get them prepared for what’s coming? i-Code School has several courses with extended day (9 am – 5 pm), Monday-Friday choices including game design, robotics, drones, virtual reality, technology, engineering, 3D printing and entrepreneurship.

THEATRE CAMPS

My kids have always loved theatre camp and I’m a drama brat so I know the benefits of getting to present, use your imagination (especially during these creative thinking moments), and enjoy a little escape.

Photo Credit: North Texas Performing Arts

North Texas Performing Arts

In addition to normal physical summer camps, North Texas Performing Arts announces its Virtual Summer Camp programming for youth ages 7-18 featuring two new programs, half-day “Virtual Theatre Explorers” and full-day “Virtual One-Week Productions,” This is in addition to a continued long list of hourly online class options throughout the summer that start at $9.99 for hourly sessions with half-day and full-day sessions available.

Dallas Children’s Theatre

One of our favorites, Dallas Children’s Theatre operates all year long so some camps are already started, but summer sessions start May 26 so you still have time to join!

Dallas Cara Mia Theatre

Dallas Cara Mia Theatre’s School of YES! is a fan favorite already, but now it can do it online! This FREE, month-long life skills and leadership development camp is designed for ages 7-18. What’s not to love about this – it’s free, it’s for the bigger kid and it teaches them to be good humans.

Kids Who Care

Fort Worth-based Kids Who Care! is dedicated to producing great kids through the powerful combination of Musical Theatre + Leadership Education. July 6-11 they’ll have camp online for all ages with several different options based on ages including mini camp for the littles, actor’s studio for the elementary / tweens and improv camp for the high schoolers. Each Zoom camp is only 1 hour long so an outlet to do something special, socialize and have something to build and grow their skills.

Stage West Theatre

This Fort Worth legend has exemplified the “show must go on” with virtual plays and entertainment from Day 1 of the quarantine, so it was only fitting they would also take their summer camp online, too. From tech theatre, broadway and even Tik-Tok (yes, that is definitely performing), Stage West Theatre has camp topics ranging in ages, lengths and prices.

FREE CAMP

Varsity Tutors

While summer camps may be hiatus there are several options popping up daily. However, one of the largest camp offerings is also FREE with some classes led by celebrities. Varsity Tutors has live classes that span for weeks with everything from cooking to art to theatre to songwriter and so more for all ages. (There’s even 5th grade math on here if your kid wants to get ahead!) And did we mention it’s free? Can’t beat that!

Let’s Talk About THE TALK

May 12, 2020 By Autumn Rose Reo 8 Comments

The Talk. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary. So let’s talk about THE TALK. Plus we’ll share how it pays to be a good parent…with help from NTARUPT and TALK ABOUT IT DALLAS.

Never in a million years did I think I would be a second grade teacher…then on March 12, 2020 (yes, just a short but the longest eight weeks of my life), I somehow became a second grade teacher AND a sixth grade teacher all on the same day.

Lucky me. (sarcasm is heavy here, folks.)

But I’m not alone. If you have kids, you’re going through the same crazy chaos of “distance learning” while attempting to keep some type of normalcy amidst all the things that aren’t normal right now. But to be honest, as parents we have always been teachers from the moment that baby comes out of your body, you’re teaching. From your principles, life lessons and just to be a good, solid human being. Now is a little different because we’ve gotten used to sending them to school and someone else does the staples like math, STEM and whatever else they say our kids need to know to pass whatever test is required to move to the next grade.

However, as parents we’re still responsible for teaching the hard stuff – not the stuff that is just on school curriculums (although it should be.) Actually in Texas, the curriculum for sex education hasn’t changed in more than 22 years, although Texas is ranked #4 in the country in teen births, and #1 in repeat teen births. And to add insult to injury since 2007, there has been a 37% increase in HIV cases among youths aged 15-24 in Dallas County.

W-H-O-A.

Want another one that will make you gasp?

So the other day I made a list of all the fundamentals of life I felt were necessary for life. This was everything from making eggs, to writing / addressing a letter, and also having THE Talk. Of course when I told the kids they were enrolled in “Reo School” and what was on the curriculum, they weren’t excited when I used the S-E-X word. Not at all. My son, who is a budding teen himself could have died. But now since I put it down on paper, I was making a promise to them that I couldn’t put off – not just to them to be accountable to having the conversation, but me to actually do it. To be honest, that may have been the hardest part.

How you talk about sex and what is appropriate at what age is conditional on a lot of things. So first off, you’re not going to find a step-by-step here on what you should do…basically what I do for my family isn’t necessarily perfect for yours. Actually a little known fact about me is that I was a sex education teacher in college as a college student. My job was to talk to peers about making responsible decisions, basic understanding of STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and performed HIV testing. You’d be surprised that how many people, 18-24, would come in completely oblivious about STIs and basic premises of how to make good decisions. While it wasn’t easy talking sometimes to 3000+ incoming students at Freshman Orientation, I admit it’s still harder to look at your 11 year old and start breaking it down.

BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT.

Thankfully there are resources that are able to help you in all kinds of ways – including classes if you want to involve your

NTARUPT (North Texas Alliance to Reduce Unintended Pregnancy in Teens) is an organization in North Texas committed to combining the community resources teens need in order to succeed. Ntarupt and its delivery partners offer evidence-based and medically accurate sexuality education to parents and teens and link clients to youth-friendly healthcare. Its community partners offer other resources teens need including after-school programming, counseling, mentoring, primary health care, and social services.

But NTARUPT knows that it’s still hard to have THE Talk and continue the job of educating your kids so its partnered with TALK ABOUT IT DALLAS to give both parents and teens a place to get the information and guides they need to make The Talk easier. There are tons of facts and even a guide to help you go through each topic like Pregnancy, Abstinence, Sexuality and more. Remember, it’s not one talk, but an ongoing conversation that is necessary to get the right information for your kids. I mean let’s be honest did your friends give you the right information growing up about pregnancy and sex?

No need to even go there.

But what NTARUPT and TALK ABOUT IT DALLAS have also done, especially this month since they know we’re spending more time than ever with our families and it’s SEX EDUCATION FOR ALL MONTH is to reward us all for engaging in THE TALK! So each week during the month of May on you’ll find conversation starters for parents and teens alike to comment on. And each comment becomes an entry to win a $100 Visa Gift Card.

So that’s not so bad, right? A chance to win some money and also make sure your kid receives the information they need to help them make good choices that will affect their life forever?

See? It does play to be a good parent.

So make time for the talk, head to TalkAboutItDallas for more information and Instagram.com/TalkAboutItDallas to enter to win $100 (or at least send your kid over there while they’re on their device anyway.)

Simple Scrapbooking for the Real Parents {CRICUT MAKER GIVEAWAY}

April 28, 2020 By Autumn Rose Reo 140 Comments

Are you storing your kid’s sweet little drawings causing chaos? Here’s our guide for Simple Scrapbooking for Real Parents.

Lately you may have found yourself making more crafts than normal or trying to organize all those boxes, envelopes and more of the kids’ photos, momentos, etc.?

Yes, we all are. Or at least trying.

Even with all this “extra time,” that doesn’t mean that you want to spend all of it meticulous;y creating some beautiful scrapbook only to hate the final result? Don’t worry where there’s a will, there’s a way – and our way is much easier, practical and efficient than those top-line scrapbooks made by those perfect Pinterest mamas (that’s not us, either.)

Guide for Simple Scrapbooking for Real Parents

Paper

I have tons of random paper all over our house and this is the best place to use it! There’s no rule to making things match! So get creative and use what you have, even make some of the memories part of the process like maps, menus, etc. or for just almost $6 order a collection of scrapbook papers with all different designs and colors to easily put in your plastic sleeves.

Got nothing on hand? Then let canva the work for you. I’m not sure what I did before this super easy graphics maker and I’m so glad I don’t have to. The online transforms you into a marketing / graphics genius with easy scrapbooking templates like these. You can either print them out to add your photos or scan/download your photos and make your entire sheet in canva.

Stuck on Fun

Oh man, this is where things get sticky! Sticky dots, photo corners and definitely this amazing adhesive tape makes my world work. No mess and no stress – all of these make it easier to make your scrapbook look good without the work.

Envelopes

Have a few envelopes laying around? Put them to work. Many times we’ve collected small momentos like tickets, post its, maybe even a piece of hair. An envelope makes for a cute way to make it attractive and easy to put in the scrapbook. The name of the game is easy, right?

Putting it Together

You don’t even have to use a “photo album” or “scrapbook” when making your book. Consider using a favorite book or magazine to be the binding for your scrapbook. I love using the instax mini camera from FujiFilm to take photos for parties. And now’s an even better time to use them and record some of the memories you’re making at home right now.

Don’t Forget to Document THIS

Speaking of now, you really do need to find a way to record your family’s experiences through the Corona-19 pandemic. While I am not thrilled to record our latest events as they don’t exactly seem to be happy times, you can’t debate that these are going to be times that will be part of your child’s story. So instead record the experience with a time capsule. Start taking photos with that the instax and Modern Mom Life has some cool printables to make yours.

MAKE A TIME CAPSULE

Still don’t want to make one with even less creative effort? Or want to multi-task and make a scrapbook that can be a gift to someone miles away?

Here are other ways to scrapbook without scrapbooking.

mixbook.com

It’s a one-stop shop to make your own scrapbook with mixbook. Even the printed version is formatted to lay flat and can be done on the computer and the mobile phone! Do all the photos, text, theme, printing, and even delivery. And with more than first order here.

Get up to 50% off + 10% off everything with code CHERISH for a limited time.)

shutterfly

I’m pretty sure I’ve made a ton of these for Mother’s Day and Christmas gifts! You do it all in shutterfly – the photos, the format, the colors, the theme – you name it! And then you order it to be delivered in a hard bound book! Right now get a free personalized scrapbook or up to 50% off orders for a limited time with free shipping plus 1% back using Rakuten when you shop (it’s free money.)

Ready to do some serious Scrapbooking?

The answer to all things creative nowadays seems to be done with the help of the Cricut! The ultimate cutting machine gives you the freedom to make everything from paper crafts, iron ons, and vinyl decals to sewing projects, leather crafts, and more!

The ultimate in professional-level cutting performance and versatility
Cuts 300+ materials, from the most delicate fabric and paper to matboard and leather
Rotary Blade for cutting virtually any fabric without backer

And yes, I’m just figuring out how this Cricut works! (I will not admit how long I’ve had mine and how long it’s taken me to get this far!) But I want to share my new found love with you! So just in time for Mother’s Day, one lucky reader will win their own CRICUT MAKER!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 Must-Have Nintendo Switch Games to Escape Quarantine {Animal Crossing Giveaway}

April 19, 2020 By Autumn Rose Reo 22 Comments

Ready to get away? While you can’t open the door, you can get away virtually! Here are 10 Must-Have Nintendo Switch Games to Escape Quarantine.

Thank you to Nintendo for this amazing reminder and giveaway to make this getaway possible.

Oh, the irony – we’re all ready to get away more than ever, but we’re all lawfully committed to staying indoors and close to home. I know I have had more than one dream about white sandy beaches with my feet in the sand sipping a margarita lately. While the only surfing we can do is on the couch for a bit, Nintendo has made it a little bit easier to travel via its SWITCH console.

Need proof it works? Then check out the sales of its newest release, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. People are using it for weddings, dates, as well as just creating their own tropical paradise. But that’s not the only game that will relieve the tension. Best of all, you can download these at home and be ready to go in no time, completely contactless and without delivery woes.

Now before you say, hey aren’t you normally all about limiting device time? Well these are extraordinary times and maybe it’s not the kids that needs the getaway, right? And besides, some of these are really fun (I know from experience.) And the ones I haven’t played – I trust my 11 year old that they rock (because he says so.)

Ok – we aren’t saying this is a replacement for a trip, but if you need to get away, there is a way!

10 Must-Have Nintendo Switch Games to Escape Quarantine

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Escape to an island and make it your paradise! Or explore a city and enjoy the moment. Not only can you go somewhere, but with Animal Crossing: New Horizons you can do some things a few weeks ago that you might do happily now and in a non-rushed state like drink coffee in your favorite coffee shop (after you create it, of course.) Best of all you can invite people to do it with you in your own virtual world.

(See below to see how you can enter to win your own Animal Crossing: new Horizons.)

2. Overcooked 2

Ready to throw down Chopped-style without all the mess? It’s time to get Overcooked 2! Travel the land cooking up a range of new recipes that are sure to cater to any tastes, including sushi, cakes, burgers and pizzas as you remote play with others! Food and travel, sign me up! (Plus this one is on sale right now!)

3. Luigi’s Mansion

Luigi has long been exploring worlds with his other half, but this time he takes off on his own adventure and you’re in for the fun with Luigi’s Mansion! Head to a beautiful mansion and things don’t exactly go as expected with ghosts, ghouls and more surprises. Hey it may be a haunted mansion, but check out that pool! Go with Party mode and you and the whole family can explore safely from your sofas.

4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Is it obvious that we’re huge Super Mario Bros. fans over here? No doubt it may stem from my retro-love from my own childhood. Whatever it is, this is one thing we’ve handed down. But that’s not all who’ll you’ll see in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Pacman, Sonic the Hedgehog, Megaman and so many more, you can kick it old-school alone, with family or with friends online challenging each other or storymode.

5. Just Dance 2020

This game has also taken the place of P.E. for my kids and family entertainment. Just Dance 2020 is a workout while you dance party – and now with the free subscription for April, you can dance for hours to favorite songs not just to 2020, but also all the volumes before it. Challenge me anytime for Backstreet Boys – I’ll kick you into 2021.

6. Untitled Goose Game

Cue the “it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…” and then a crazy goose (you) comes to town. That’s the premise of this game that is actually called “Untitled Goose Game.“ For those of us that are just missing things like just going to town and shopping, this might seem like your game, except you’re the prankster. Need to get out some pent-up anger and frustration to vent, this is really your game.

7. ABZÛ

If you need to really escape from the world, it’s time to go below into the sea and find nature’s wonders without leaving your home. The animation in ABZÛ is beautiful with vibrant, colorful ocean world bursting with color underwater adventure that evokes the dream of diving. Swim in the water, interact with specifies under the water including fish.

8. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

You may be trekking for treasure as a toad(stool), but this is one fun fungi in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Based on new kingdoms in the Super Mario Odyssey game, you can transport through islands, desserts and my personal favorite, what looks like NYC. Right now a walk through Times Square does sound like an adventure I’m down for – even if I’m a mushroom.

9. Stardew Valley

Own a small plot of land and expand it to huge proportions are the goal of Stardew Valley. Are you the type that has been wanting to start tilling your own farm or orchard? Stardew Valley gives you the ability to raise animals, craft useful machines, fish and more. Plus you’re helping to make a community and can reap the fruits of your virtual labor.) And yes, you can play this one together with the multiplayer update.

10. Minecraft

Like Animal Crossing, Minecraft has long been the leader in being able to create basically anything you want to create. My son has been a fan of this one and recent stories have shared there are students working together online to recreate their schools. Kids miss school almost as much as we parents do. Considering the number of classes I’ve seen on this one,

READY FOR A GETAWAY?

Enter to win a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How to Tye Dye with Food Coloring

April 15, 2020 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Need an escape? Then take a moment to enjoy doing something fun for the sake of fun like tye-dye. Grab a shirt, socks and food coloring and throw a tye-dye party. (As featured on Good Morning Texas.)

Wish you could just get carried away to a place with rainbows and flowers? Yes, we all do. The 60s and 70s were full of fun, flowers and love – and all that cool jazz. It was a time well before the word COVID was mainstream on Facebook (or it’s creator) was even a concept. And best of all everyone can create and celebrates a little peace and love of their own.

Here we show you how to create a fun, an at-home activity with (or without the kids.)

Supplies for Tye-Dye with Food Coloring

Shirt (you can also use socks, aprons or anything you want)
Food coloring
Water
White Vinegar (need at least 4 cups to soak the shirts)
Rubber bands
Bottles for the dye (I like squirt bottles, but you can use spray bottles.)
Pan and rack (to protect your space and catch excess water)
Plastic bag (Old grocery bag or large gallon ziplock)
Bucket / sink (need at least have 2-gallons of water)
Cover for table (optional)
Gloves (kitchen gloves work great but something to completely cover your skin and nails
Old clothes / apron (to protect your clothes from the dye)

Already feel overwhelmed or just want to get it all together for you? Yes, there’s a kit for that. We’ve used this one for parties (it works for more than 15 shirts) and is pretty cheap!)

Instructions How to Tye-Dye

1. Prepare your work space for tye-dye.

Make sure to prepare your workspace with a cover, put on an apron or old clothes to protect your own clothes and GLOVES. (Yes, you need gloves, especially when working with food coloring!

2. Prep your tye-dye.

Make sure your shirt (or item) is clean and also has either been soaked in a solution of 1:1 water to vinegar for 20 minutes (or soda ash fixer.) Ring it out but don’t rinse, because you’re going need to have your shirt damp to dye.

3. Prep your supplies.

This is where it might get a little messy, so if you haven’t already – PUT ON THE GLOVES. I like this activity near a sink (or near grass so it doesn’t matter if you make a mess.) If you are using fabric dye, then refer to the instructions but using food coloring, you’ll want to use a solution of 1/2 cup warm water to 8 drops of food coloring. This should be more than enough since a large 12 ounce bottle. Close the top and shake it up.

Tye-Dye Solution: 1/2 cup water to 8 drops of food coloring into bottle.

4. Design your tye-dye.

Also you’ll want to decide what type of design you want. There are no wrong ways to tye-dye so you can do whatever you want. Some of the most popular are the swirl, accordion or bullseye. This step is where you’ll put those rubber bands to work. For our how-to we’re going with the most popular swirl (mostly because I get to put a dinglehopper to work (give yourself 5 points if you know that references.) But we have some suggestions for you (and a great how t0 in the video below.)

How to Design Your Tye-Dye

5. Let’s tye-dye.

This is the fun part. Once you’ve prepped your area (this is where I like to use a pan and rack as my area to do the dye and catch the residual dye), prepped the shirt and put on gloves, let’s dye! Start by adding solution in areas in each section. For the swirl we did each section, alternating in three colors and making sure to get into crevices to get color. Don’t worry – have fun and definitely don’t skimp on the dye. The more color, the more color on the shirt. Make sure also to repeat color on the back of the shirt! HAVE FUN – throw on some music and take your time!

6. Let the tye-dye set.

Once complete, keep the rubberbands on and put the shirt in the plastic bag to dry. Somewhere between 5 hours – to overnight.

7. Dry the tye-dye.

Once it’s dry, remove the rubberbands. Note: the shirt won’t be as bright as it seems when you remove those rubberbands but that’s ok! Then rinse it out a few times in the sink with cold water until it runs clear. (You can do the bucket again, but the sink is so much easier.) Then before you wear it, you’ll want to dry it by itself so the colors don’t rub off (it might be a few times you’ll need to wash it by itself, just in case!)

TIP: If you really are a visual person or need a little more assistance (or just like a good video), here’s one of my favorites. However, there are tons of videos online to help you create the perfect tie-dye.

Looking for more fun? Here are some great activities with food coloring from our friends at Modern Mom Life!

Best Apps for Working from Home

March 16, 2020 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

So you’re working from home? Welcome to the world of home officing! It’s not science, but here are the Best Apps for Working from Home to make you look like a pro.

Whether you’ve been working from home for a few years or all of a sudden have had it forced upon you with #coronacation, never fear, there are many apps out there to make you look awesome teleworking, remote working, working from home, or whatever it is now we do to get it done.

I’ve been working from home for more than 10 years in some way. Sometimes it was a project, sometime it was a kid (ok, most the time it’s been a kid), and then there were the times I just couldn’t make it to the office. And along the way, I’ve learned a lot – especially from other people that work from home. Ironically, I have an office, but most the time I prefer to work from home because I’ve been doing it for so long. And I’ve learned some tricks to keep me from going crazy (well, semi crazy at least.)

Make note: some of these are free, some have free versions along with paid services, and some have a monthly cost, so make sure to choose the right ones for you.

Best Apps for Working from Home

1. Slack
“It’s where work gets done…” Slack is for team communication – keeping direct messaging, group texting, notes, etc. all in one place. However, for me, I still love email to keep all my info nice and tidy. I don’t delete anything, ever so email acts as a que for keeping up with info and requests.

2. Skype / UberConference / Zoom
Everyone has their own way, but when you need to have a meeting, this is the way. Skype has been around the longest, is integrated with Microsoft and also includes chat, but I like UberConference. You can record the call for those that come in later or can’t attend. Also you can do screenshare, plus it’s free (and you’ll dig the wait music.) I don’t do Zoom as much, but when you’re having a big group call this seems to be the most used service. And of course, there’s always Facetime in a pickle.

3. Facebook Workplace
Just like Facebook – but for work. Think news, chats, polls, and groups – all for your work. I have one client that uses this and it’s more of a communication channel than a productivity tool.

4. Toggl
If you work by the hour or charge by the hour to clients, you have to keep up with your time to get paid. Toggl does just that – it allows you to track your time in real time. However, if you’re looking for a freebie with tons of bells and whistles, Homebase may be a better option (and my personal favorite.)

5. Google Drive
It’s an oldie but a goodie and I live by it. All documents can be created, shared, and stored here – no matter if it’s document, spreadsheet, or slideshow. For me, next to GMail and all the Workplace Apps, this is my go-to, hands down.

6. Dropbox
Need to store mass amounts of photos, files, etc.? Dropbox is where you do it. You can easily share large amounts of files and storage you need to easily access.

7. Chrome Desktop
It’s your desktop anywhere. With Chrome Desktop, you can securely access your computer from your phone, tablet, or another computer. It’s fast, simple, and free to get to your desktop even when you can’t.

8. Doodl
Doodl is easy website for helping to quickly poll / schedule meetings with clients, colleagues, or friends. You just send it over, everyone makes their selection and you go with the best of the rest.

9. Evernote
You need to take notes, but what happens when you need to save them, organize them and share them? Plus you can screenshot, search and handwriting also still applies too. That’s Evernote.

10. Expensify
If you have expenses that you need to track, Expensify makes it easy to take photos of your receipts, track your mileage and make a report all from your smartphone or on Desktop.

Best of luck with your telecommuting adventures!

What are your favorite tools and apps for working from home?

Lemon Lavender Cupcakes (Just like Magnolia Bakery)

September 21, 2017 By Autumn Rose Reo 44 Comments

Wish you could take a little bit of Magnolia home with you? With this copycat recipe for their signature Lemon Lavender Cupcakes you can!

A trip to Magnolia Market in Waco is like a checking off the ideal bucket list: a place for the perfect farm house decor, a destination for just enjoying the simple things with friends among the green space, and of course, a taste for the bestest cupcakes (like lemon lavender ones) from Magnolia Bakery.

There’s a reason that thousands of people stand in line just for the chance to order and bite into a few delectable treats and walk through Joanna’s sweet design. While we were there we ordered one of each and we’re lucky to get the last lemon lavender cupcake left.

And each bite was absolutely perfect.

Like each and every bite was better the one before it and you just kept wanting more as you glanced around panorama style at the Pinterest-perfect place they’ve built.

When we returned from our one-day journey, we yearned for a little piece of Magnolia Market to have with us all the time. So we planted our own piece of gardening heaven complete with lavender in our own little wine barrel and have enjoyed it all summer-long.

And we also yearned for that lavender cupcake.

So of course, with lots of lavender, logically I had a hundred reasons to make my own.

Unfortunately I had one BIG one that kept me from cranking them out…the recipe.

And while we all feel like Chip and Jo are our besties (and should be), she isn’t about to share that recipe (at least not yet.)

So I had to take matters into my own hands and make up my own.

After a few different tries having to slave over cupcake batter and icing recipes (and an education on all things lavender), I came up with what I think is a good reproduction. So much so that we even found the cupcake wrappers to put them in. While my icing skills still could have a little more practice, I was able to shoot a few photos before quickly gobbling these up.

And it was a good gobble.

It’s like sunshine, cream, summer goodness – in a cute little round package.

However, there’s always harvesting that lavender to enjoy this cupcake well after autumn and winter has set in.

So if you get a chance to go to Magnolia especially during this, go. If you can’t, this recipe might help you cope until you do (or make it a lot more fun to watch them on TV.)

Lemon Lavender Cupcake (Copycat Magnolia Bakery)

★★★★

4 from 1 reviews

Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
Yield: 12 1x

Print Recipe

Description

There’s nothing like this lemon lavender cupcake to make you and your mouth happy (just like a trip to Magnolia.)

Ingredients

Scale

Batter

1/2 cup whole milk
1 tbsp edible lavender, dried (Make sure it’s edible. I love this one!)
1 1/3 cups flour (preferably cake)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp honey
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon extract

Instructions

For batter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a processor/blender, combine milk and lavender and pulse until blended. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine dry batter ingredients (except sugar) until blended. Set aside.
With mixer, combine butter and sugar until fluffy. Blend honey, then eggs, one at a time and lastly add vanilla and lemon. Slowly combine both wet and dry ingredients together, folding in the lavender mixture last, dispersing in the mixture.
Pour into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Back for 15 – 18 minutes until golden. Remove and allow to cool.

For Frosting

Add butter and sugar together in a stand mixer, adding cream slowly until smooth.
Then beat on high for 2-3 minutes.
Add lemon and beat again for another 1 minute to blend.
Spread on cupcakes or use a piping bag to complete the charm.

Notes

Add lavender or lemon zest to the top of the icing for an added treat!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 12
Calories: 432
Sugar: 38
Sodium: 123
Fat: 25
Saturated Fat: 16
Unsaturated Fat: 8
Trans Fat: 1
Carbohydrates: 49
Protein: 3
Cholesterol: 96

Your Own Piece of Magnolia: How to Plant a Joanna Gaines-Inspired Herb Garden

May 19, 2017 By Autumn Rose Reo 8 Comments

Planning or just returned from a trip to the Silos in Waco? Create your own little piece of the Magnolia Market: Here’s how to Plant a Joanna Gaines-Inspired Herb Garden.

Thank you to Harvest sponsoring this post and the opportunity to enjoy and take care of the best parts of our lives.

Sometimes you need to get away.

Not to an exotic destination but somewhere there aren’t dishes to do, phone calls to return, kids can swing and play, and the best thing about your day is biting into a creamy, buttery, oh-my-goodness cupcake.

Some days you just need that.

That’s exactly why we headed to the Silos.

Unless you’ve had your head buried deep under a rock, Magnolia Market at the Silos is the beautiful space curated by Chip and Joanna Gaines of the HG Network’ Fixer Upper fame. Deep in the heart of Waco, just a hop, skip and a West kolache stop from Fort Worth, you can spend the day frolicking along the gardens, green space and shiplap-covered designs from the dynamic duo that have captivated our hearts and homes.

You’ll find no special amusement park rights, lights, sparkle or even entertainment here (unless you participate in the annual Silobration.) What you will find is an golden ambiance that embraces the simplicity that it seems so many of us are yearning for with a shop full of housewares, a cupcakery/sweetshop that lines to enter rival the infamous Bouchon in Napa Valley, a small cottage full of fairy garden staples and a few food trucks to keep you fueled.

And for some reason it’s magical. While I wouldn’t call myself a farmhouse kinda gal, the place (which isn’t an amusement park, but just a free greenspace to enter), makes me happy…makes the kids happy…and from the looks of the many thousands that flock there from all over the country, makes us all happy, content, and without much effort at all. All you have to do is get there and take a deep breathe. It’ll consume you. I liken it to free therapy without any medication (unless you indulge in a cupcake or a gluten-free cookie.)

I just wish I could bottle it up and take the feeling home with us. And apparently so did the kids as they immediately begin asking if we could create a garden “like Joanna and Chip.” A reasonable request of course, but considering my thumb resembles a dark shade of black than green, I first begin to say no. But in my calm demeanor and need to keep our euphoria peaked, we headed to Lowes before returning home to make our garden.

Looking through all our photos from the Silos (have your battery charged as you’ll take so many and they’ll all be picture perfect), the kids were really excited by the idea of planting our own herb garden. So without a big plan or design, we began to create our garden. But we didn’t just build any garden. We built one with Joanna in mind. One we thought she’d be proud of. And one that gave us our own little piece of Magnolia in our own backyard.

How to Plant a Joanna Gaines-Inspired Herb Garden

1) Decide on What herbs to Use.

We knew we wanted to put a mix of both beautiful fragrant herbs as well as beautiful looking herbs that we could enjoy both while they were growing and hopefully later in our own cooking. Remembering the lavender cupcake that we saw at the Silos (but unfortunately had been sold out just before we got to the front of the line) lavender was our first pick. After that began to fancy a little bit of everything, but honing in on our Joanna-minded skills, less is more. So we opted for Sage, Thyme and with the help of our handy Lowe’s man, we added a little Oregano (who doesn’t love Oregano – especially because it’s so easy to grow and we put it in everything.)

TIP: Whatever you find at your local garden center like Lowe’s is going to be what grows well in your region. You’ll just need to make sure where you put it at home gets enough shade, sun and water.)

2) Choose Your Container.

Herbs are some of the easiest plants because they don’t have deep roots so they can thrive in many kinds of containers. Pots, window boxes, wine barrels, actually really anything can work as long as you have enough room for the herbs and the soil. Plus you’ll want to make sure where you plan to put your container gets enough light for the types of herbs you’ll want to be growing.

We found a recycled wine barrel we knew would look good outside in yard and would be able to be easily moved if it needed more sun or shade.

3) Select Your Soil.

This was the part I wasn’t quite sure about…the soil. It would seem that dirt is dirt, right? WRONG.

The soil, whether it’s potting soil, gardening soil or raised bed all differs in what’s in the dirt. And even more so, where the dirt comes from is so important – not just for your plants, but in the case of an edible herb garden, you’re also eating the plants, so it’s important to make sure you trust your dirt too.

Since we were using the barrel, we selected Harvest’s Organic Potting Mix for our herb garden.

Planting with Harvest’s organic soils, you plant with “clean” dirt ensuring your garden grows without added chemicals, pesticides, preservatives. In doing so, you do your small part in helping reduce landfill waste by keeping nearly 2,000,000 tons of waste from ending up in landfills, which also seems like something Joanna would be happy we took into consideration.

4) Build Your Garden.

As soon as we got home, we immediately went to creating our herb garden. As we dug in the ground, we continued to think through our Magnolia-inspired touches, thumbing through our photos that reminded us of our adventure to the Silos.

Adding Harvest’s Organic Potting Mix, we filled the barrel to a few inches to the top and carefully placed our herbs lovingly into the barrel. The kids chose how to place the herbs and then we added some water to set the dirt and to give the herbs a healthy drink of water. (Most the time your herbs will come with an insert educating you on the amount of moisture and sun they should receive.)

After we were done, we basked in our work. Rather proud of ourselves, we instantly begin thinking of how to create a little bit of “Joanna” in our garden.

5) Show Your Love.

For us, this is where all the creativity went to work. We knew we wanted to add some placards to identify our herbs.

Using some popsicle sticks and chalkboard paint, we created some easy markers to slide into the soil. Feeling a little inspired by the fairy gardens, we took a mason jar and a small set of solar lights we found at home to create a firefly look to add to the garden. Simple and sweet, it was just what we were looking to remind us of Magnolia in our own little way.

But there was one little thing that was missing.

A little white chalk and a resourced chalkboard later, we knew exactly what it needed to make our little piece of magnolia complete.

While a trip to Magnolia isn’t always in the plan, there’s a little piece of it here for us to stop and remind us to love, live and grow.

Best Damn Chicken and Waffles Casserole

December 22, 2016 By Autumn Rose Reo 2 Comments

Chicken and waffles gets even better when it goes casserole! And with one sweet ingredient, you’ll be saying THIS IS the best damn chicken and waffles casserole.

I remember the first time I heard about chicken and waffles I was like…what? That doesn’t sounds good? Why is everyone freaking out about chicken and waffles?

…Then I had it.

Then I understood.

There’s something about the sweetness, the crunch, and the little bit of spice, sandwiched together into one perfect bite.

Yep, I like it…

But to time the fresh golden fluffy waffles at the same time as hot fried chicken is a little difficult and way more time consuming than I’m willing to put forward (or at least have time to!)

So in true #mamachallenge form, it was time to look to the world of semi-homemade and put it all together into one dish for a bigger dish of happiness.

Frozen waffles to the rescue!

Cooking everything together into Chicken and Waffles Casserole not only makes it easier on making, but also serving! And since you can make this in advance, this casserole is ideal for big breakfast/brunch moment like Christmas or when you really want to make an impression.

However, the impression really gets better when the chicken hits the tastebuds. One of our favorite chicken spots is hands down Chick-Fil-A. If you’ve had it, you know – it’s that good. There’s something about CFA and any drive by the eatery with lines of folks parked double-laned around the joint will verify – their chicken is THAT good. While I don’t know what makes it take like what dreams are made of, inspired by the sweetness of their chicken, we added powdered sugar to our breading, along with a little spice to cinch the deal on this chicken and waffles casserole.

Oh man, it’s THAT GOOD.