2016
Make a Charcuterie for New Years Eve and Beyond
Going beyond the standard chips & dips for an upcoming gathering such as New Year’s Eve is easier than you think! Make a beautiful dish of olives, cheeses, roasted pepper slices, meat slices and gourmet crackers instead. This French meat and cheese platter is known as a charcuterie. Making a Charcuterie To make a charcuterie, […]
Top Chef Meals Delivers Custom Prepared Healthy Meals
I enjoyed devoured 7 meals from Top Chef Meals and I’m eager to share my experience on how much it helped this very busy smart mama eat healthy meals without taking away time from my crazy schedule. A mom’s life is busy. We are constantly running around worrying about everyone else. Did they get to […]
15 Gingerbread Treats to Make for the Family
Gingerbread is cake made with molasses and flavored with ginger. A spice with flavor and nutrition, ginger is a popular ingredient in many holiday treats such as gingerbread. Much like it’s cousin Pumpkin Spice, ginger can be sprinkled into to many recipes to get a sharp flavor that is reminiscent of Christmas. Look through […]
Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce Recipe
Are you looking for a healthy dinner recipe for the family? This Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce is a winner! As you prepare your meal plan for the coming week, you’ll want to include this sauce. I make this sauce and serve it over pasta or even spaghetti squash on days where I am am eating less/no […]
Gingerbread Pancakes Recipe
Hot Gingerbread Pancakes right off the griddle is a great way to start a winter morning. We much prefer homemade cakes to the boxed versions, therefore, I try to keep the ingredients on hand for those weekend or holiday mornings when we are hungry for a homemade meal. Since Dad and his girls will work […]
Waldorf Astoria Orlando for Family Travel
Heading to Disney and want to stay at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando? Check latest hotel prices & reviews for the Waldorf Orlando on TripAdvisor. Our Visit to Waldorf Astoria Orlando Staying at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando is a Smart Mama choice for families visiting the Disney theme parks or wanting to just escape to a beautiful resort in Central […]
Fundraising Tips to Raise Cash for Schools
There are the tried and true ways of fundraising at school. We hold bake sales, candy sales, wrapping paper sales, and even host the yearly school bazaar. These methods are certainly effective in their own way, but there is so much more that parents can do to raise money for schools throughout the year. Are you trying […]
Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
This Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting recipe is a keeper. This easy to make topping can be used for the pumpkin spice cupcakes, the whoopie pies or any bread or cake that would mesh well with pumpkin spice. My daughter made this frosting to go with her cupcakes that she made for her class. Her class […]
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
You know you’re craving anything and everything Pumpkin Spice! It’s that time of the year! They weather may not have even cooled down yet, but the flavor is synonymous with the time of year. Before you know it we will be playing Ghosted with friends and neighbors and getting anxious over our Halloween costumes. We […]
How to Contact Paper Books
This post contains affiliate links. Please note that purchases made through links on Smarty Pants Mama help support the site. Thank you. The pile of books are sent home. Your kids place them on the table. You know what that means. You have all the school supplies purchased, which includes a roll or two of […]
Late Summer Pool Safety
Living in South Florida means that pool season is most months of the year. We are always looking for ways to make our patio area more inviting for the kids and families. Remember the pool toy holder I made this summer? It’s working great. More importantly, as homeowners with a pool, pool safety is something to […]
Making Your Adopted Dog Feel at Home
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NewBeneful #CollectiveBias Last March I received a phone call while at breakfast with some friends. Tom was quick to tell me that he was taking the girls to adopt a dog, or a wow-wow as we often call it in […]
School Supplies List Shopping Now for Later
The school supplies list arrives in our inbox sometimes even before school lets out. It lingers there until we frantically rush to the stores or head online and alas buy it all. If not done in a Smart Mama way, getting through the school supplies list can be become rather costly, especially if you have […]
Back to School Haircut Supporting the Underprivledged
It’s on every mom’s to-do list, a back to school haircut. We start the year with polished shoes, fresh uniforms, white socks and of course, a haircut. This year we returned to Hair Cuttery. We wanted great cuts and to be part of a great cause – the Share-a-Haircut program. What is the Back to School Share-A-Haircut […]
DIY Pallet Board Pool Toy Storage
Our backyard pool seems to have noodles, floats and balls scattered everywhere. I knew we needed a remedy to this disaster. I knew we needed to organize our pool toys with some sort of pool toy storage. I got my hands on a pallet board thanks to some construction at the house. I put it […]
National Geographic Kids Photo Guide Book Reivew
The National Geographic Kids Photo Guide book is a great resource for your blooming photographers. They grab our phone all the time. But it isn’t to make a phone call. Wether they want to play on an app or take photos with the camera, our young children seem to know so much about how to use […]
Leadership Activity for Girls Inspired by Princess Elena of Avalor
Look at your daughter. What do you see? Is she strong? Smart? Fearless? Is she willing to help others before herself? You are looking at a leader. Does she know that? As moms, we need to encourage our daughters to be leaders and to see it within them. We need to guide them to identify […]
Healthy Snack Food for Kids
It’s funny, no matter the time a day or the fact that they ate a meal an hour ago – kids are always hungry! It’s so easy to say, “Fine, go get something from the fridge,” while truly not even paying attention to what they’re eating. I’ve realized through lots of trial and error, that […]
A VRBO Home in Ponte Vedra Beach FL
I truly knew nothing about Ponte Vedra Beach. I took out a map, then followed I95 South from Savannah, Georgia to find beach towns where we could stay for the third and final leg of our road trip. Just south of Jacksonville was the little town of Ponte Verde Beach that was as the name insinuates, […]
See Eat and Do Savannah GA with Families
Savannah Georgia for a Family Vacation Click to see the best deals available for a Savannah, Georgia vacation on Expedia. We departed Asheville, North Carolina just after lunch and headed to Savannah, Georgia. It was a 5 1/2 hour drive. We would be doing Savannah in one day with kids – actually 2 nights and 1 day. […]
7 Road Trip Budget Busters to Avoid This Summer
Having a road trip budget is crucial for Smart Mamas! This summer we set off on #SmartyPantsTravels Road Trip! We will drive from Miami to Asheville, NC and then visit cities such as Savannah and Ponte Vedra, Florida. We will need to be careful before we run out of gas money! We love weekend road trips. […]
Tropical Inspired Art Project for Kids
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.#BringTheTropicsHome #CollectiveBias My morning started buying this: and ended with an art project for kids, inspired by fruit and all® Fresh Tropical Mist™! See my experience on bringing the tropics – scent, taste and colors – into our patio […]
Building a Gardening Potting Bench
Building a potting bench (a hightop table that’s perfect for storing your gardening materials and to use to plant) is a DIY project that’s perfect for your next weekend. This shelf has different uses. Our’s, as you’ll see in the photos below, is used to hold our gardening tools and as a tabletop to plant in […]
Head Lice Prevention and Treatment
Head Lice Prevention and Treatment I vividly remember having head lice as a child. I know how I got it. My friend’s and I used to play “hairdresser” during recess. We would brush each other’s hair. Share brushes. Share scrunchies. My grandmother seemed to always be visiting from Miami when I would begin scratching. She […]
Miami Indoor Birthday Party Space
Happy Birthday to You! We sang the song at the top of our lungs to my daughter and her friend last week at their 5th birthday party! We made a very SMART MAMA decision to have the party All-Star Party World in the Falls warehouse district. Selecting a venue with an excellent reputation that will set-up, entertain […]
Carnival Vista Dining Options
I’ve always adored the specialty dining options aboard cruise ships, and particularly that of Carnival Sunshine and Breeze. Carnival Vista dining options includes restaurants and bars that are some of my favorites, like JiJi Asian Kitchen which we dined at on the Sunshine and BlueIguana Cantina that is always a perfect option of Sea Day […]