Spring Cleaning Your HVAC System

We’ve touched on this before but it bears repeating...with any good spring cleaning strategy comes the inclusion of your home’s HVAC system - mainly getting your AC unit ready to effectively and efficiently cool your home as temperatures begin to rise. Read More »

 Well Child Visits Important for Children of All Ages

A regular check-up for a child under the age of 18 is often referred to as a “well child visit.” These visits help ensure that infants, children and teens are getting the proper care they need to stay healthy. They give the doctor, parents and child an opportunity to talk about nutrition, safety, immunizations and many important age-appropriate topics. Read More »

Easter Cheese Balls

This little bite sized bacon cheddar cheese ball snack is almost too cute to eat! Read More »

Creative Teen Parenting

Parenting teens is NO JOKE! While parenting teenagers has some very specific and difficult challenges that are presented, I can honestly say that the teenage years are my favorite years of parenting! I’m beginning to believe that the teenage years are our reward for all of the sleepless nights and stress that the younger years put us through. Read More »

Teen Tips!

We asked some local parents about their best advice for parenting teens and you don’t want to miss their great answers! It’s no wonder we have such an amazing community of kids...their parents have some amazing ways of loving them through the hardest years of their life. Check them all out here! Read More »

 Save Time, Money and Your Skin

Do you need a water softener? Hard water creates all sorts of problems throughout your home that you may not notice. It can clog pipes, it can affect the efficiency of the washing machine, dishwasher and water heater and hard water leaves tough water spots on everything! Read More »

2020 Summer Camp Directory

It may still look like a winter wonderland outside with so much snow, but before we know it the sun will melt away that snow and summer will be here! You might think it’s early, but now is the time to start making your plans for summer and that includes summer camps! Read More »

Common Cents: Tips for Camps

As a kid it doesn’t get much better than overnight summer camp, but as the parent it can come with a price tag that is a bit too hefty. With a little bit of research and planning, you can avoid the financial stress of summer camp. Register early – many camps offer special early bird rates if you get registered and pay by a certain date. This can be a great way to save some costs on the tuition. March is a great time to start researching potential camps and making a list of tuition and early bird deadlines. Plan ahead – start a savings account at your bank and name it “Summer Camp” and then set up an automatic monthly transfer into the account so that when the time comes to pay, you already have the money saved up and it doesn’t make such a dent in your monthly budget. Have more than one child? Make sure to check for sibling discounts if you plan on sending more than one child to camp this summer. Along those same lines, it never hurts to ask if they have any other discounts available that you might be eligible for.   Get your kids involved – this is one of our favorite ways to save for summer camp! As a family, decide on a realistic dollar amount for your child to help contribute to the camp expenses. Then brainstorm and come up with a plan to help them reach their goal. Let them get creative in the beginning and don’t try too hard to give them all of the ideas – give them a little space to think and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at their creative ideas. It might be tempting to just pay them for chores around the house to help them reach their goal, but if you do that then remember it is actually you still covering all of the costs so factor that into your budget. Think seasonally, right now is a great time for your kiddos to earn some cash by offering to shovel for a neighbor so they don’t have to go out in the cold. Maybe they offer to walk a dog, or mow lawns or pull weed as the weather gets nicer. Not only are you helping them learn to be financially responsible, you are also teaching them how good it feels to offer help to others. It’s a double win! Read More »

Real Talk: College Visit Basics

The thought of sending your child away to college can bring mixed emotions for any parent. On one hand, you are so proud of the person they have become and want to watch them spread their wings and soar! But on the other hand, you want to make sure they are well taken care of and have all of the tools they need to succeed. Here is some advice from local parents. Read More »

Hood's Postpartum Checklist

Congratulations on your bundle of joy! Bringing home a new baby can be overwhelming, but to help ease the transition; here are some of our must-have items. Read More »