The Allowance Hack That All Our Friends Ask Us About

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Swiffer. All opinions are my own.

I am convinced that 86.7% of parental headaches are due in large part to thinking about how to navigate topics like allowances and chores. That is, at least until your kids are old enough to drive and start dating. But we found a system that works for us, and it might be the top parent hack that our friends always want to hear more about.

When I Became a Dad, I Became...

Sunday, June 18, 2017

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Pampers. All opinions are my own.

When you are single and childless you have plans for your life and you see things a certain way. There are natural talents you have and skills that you see you could develop one day. From an early age I realized that I wanted to work in an office type of job and probably didn't want to focus on manual labor. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I worked construction and landscaping for years in high school and college. I just knew that I was built for something different. So I earned a degree and went off into my career, imagining how I would change the world.

Enter Down Below to Win FREE Pampers Baby Dry Diapers for a Month!

All I Want for Father's Day is to Cook These Saucy Chicken Sliders With My Kids + Electric Smoker Giveaway!

Thursday, June 15, 2017

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Farm Rich. All opinions are my own.

Father's Day is almost here which means one thing, dads get to do whatever they want all day long! Not only that but it's dad's choice for the meals too. In my world that means it's time to get the kids and get into the kitchen. I love cooking with my kids! It's so fun being on the same team working to put a meal together. If you are a dad, and you've never cooked alongside your kids, you really need to make that part of your Father's Day present this year. If you do, these Saucy Chicken Sliders made with Farm Rich Buffalo Style Boneless Chicken Bites and BBQ Style Boneless Chicken Bites should definitely be on your menu!

We love Farm Rich products because they are easy to make, our entire family will eat them, and they use wholesome ingredients like all white-meat chicken. One of the exciting things they are doing for Father's Day is giving away a 2-in-1 electric smoker! Actually 3 lucky people will each win a smoker! Would winning that make your day or what? It's really easy to enter. Just head over to their Facebook page and read the post pinned to the top of their page. All the instructions will be right there. Good luck and continue reading below to learn how to make these easy saucy sliders!


Before we get to the recipe, there's one thing to remember. When I cook with my kids, I have to go into it with a mindset of having fun. Things won't be perfect and spills will happen. I try to remember to embrace the mess, goof off, and enjoy the time with my kids because it goes by so fast. Before I know it, they will be all grown up. But until then, we will enjoy making these chicken sliders together!


Saucy Chicken Sliders
Makes 4 sliders per box of Farm Rich Chicken Bites

How to Throw an Amazing Nintendo Themed Birthday Party

Monday, June 12, 2017

I partnered with Nintendo for this post. I received no monetary compensation but they did send my family a Nintendo Switch and accessories for the party. All opinions are my own.
Nintendo Switch Review
Flashback two months ago to a conversation with my son. We were talking with him about what kind of birthday party he wanted, and he had no clue. We gave him all sorts of ideas from the local amusement park, to seeing a movie, to going bowling. Nothing was exciting him at all. Every idea was just "ok." Mind you this is a soon-to-be seven year old we're talking about, not a teenager. It's not like he had an attitude about it, he just didn't know how he wanted to celebrate. My wife and I were a little frustrated and honestly getting a little concerned. At this point we were thinking the party could possibly consist of a bowl of cereal and a video rental from Redbox.

Then one day everything changed. We came up with an idea. Would he go for it or would the idea be discarded like so many others we had presented in the last few weeks? We gave it a try and told our son what we were thinking. His eyes lit up and the answer was a resounding "YES!" What was the winning theme? A Nintendo party! After the excitement and jubilation has died down a bit, reality set in. We realized we had never thrown a character themed birthday party before. We both grew up around Nintendo, so we had a good start. But that is mostly all we had, a start.

Nintendo Switch Review

We did have one more thing. We had a centerpiece to the party, the new Nintendo Switch. So if all else failed at least we had an amazing video game system to keep my son and his friends occupied. But more about that later. The next place we went was Pinterest. I created a board to start loading up on some food, game, and craft ideas. Lastly, we came up with a few ideas ourselves that we thought we could work in. We may have had some "Pinterest Fails" along the way, but we definitely learned how to put together a Nintendo party. Here is how we did it, and how you can throw your own Nintendo character themed party!

The Food

How We Flew our Family of 5 to Disney World for Basically Free!

Sunday, June 11, 2017

disneyland

Have you ever looked into taking your family to Disney World, or Disneyland, added up the hefty cost, and then remembered you still had to get there somehow? We have done that. In fact we had been saving for a couple years to take our family to Disney World. However, the plane tickets for a family of five added thousands of dollars to the trip. We starting looking into deals on flights and couldn't find anything that helped much.

Then we stumbled across a blog post from thekrazycouponlady.com about how she flew her family to Disney World and Disneyland for free. It sounded too good to be true, so we didn't act on it for a little while. However, we couldn't get the strategy out of our heads so we decided to try it. Guess what? It worked! Thanks Krazy Coupon Lady! Not only are we flying our family to Disney World for almost free, but we are also able to fly other places to visit family members for almost free. Did I mention that we earned a pass that lets someone fly with you on unlimited flights for free for over a year as well? These tickets were almost free because you do still have to pay a few dollars for miscellaneous government fees for plane tickets and a couple small annual fees. However it is nothing compared to the thousands of dollars you save!

Watch the video below to find our how we flew to Disney World for basically FREE!

How to Create an Unforgettable Family Backyard Summer Campout!

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Newell Brands. All opinions are my own. 
Dads Guide to Summer

Hey it's finally summertime! This means no more school lunches, no more crazy outfits for spirit week, and more time to spend at home with your family. So the big question is, how do you make this summer the most memorable possible? If you are anything like my family you throw a backyard campout using items from around the house!

Here is what we love about camping in the backyard. All of your supplies are about 50 ft. away from your campsite, you don't have to play Tetris packing your camping equipment in your car, and you can use an actual inside bathroom. Unless you have "porta potty" in your backyard instead. But in that case you might want to first work on a permanent bathroom instead of a portable toilet. So if you are looking to make some memories over the next few months, follow my tips below for an easy summer campout that you can put together in no time!

Dads Guide to Summer

Lunchbox Dad's 2017 Father's Day Gift Guide

Friday, June 2, 2017

Father's Day

It's almost Father's Day and you are still struggling with what to get the dad or husband in your life. Don't worry because I got you covered. Not only am I including specific products that I recommend, but this year I am also giving you a couple general ideas that you can customize for your dad. This is the only guide you will need, so pick something off of this list and you won't go wrong. I was not paid to talk about any of these products. I received some items for free for testing purposes and some items I purchased on my own. Only gifts that I have personally tested are included or they wouldn't be anywhere near this list. So read on to find the perfect Father's Day gift for the dad in your life!

Grillbot Review

 
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