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Top 7 Apps for Busy Moms

Did you get a new phone for the holidays? If so, here are the top 7 apps busy moms need! These apps (or types of apps) will save you time!

  1. Google Calendar is key. You can use this on iPhones as well. I add all appointments and travel dates to my husband’s calendar, and vice versa, so we can plan around each other’s schedules. 
  2. Credit card or bank account apps – Our main credit card is an American Express card so I have the Amex app on my phone. This makes it easy to check my balance and pay bills with just a few clicks. (Android Amex app, iOS Amex app)
  3. Grocery store app – If your grocery store has an app, download it! I use to enjoy going through weekly coupon mailers but I just don’t have the time anymore. I now use Meijer’s app for clipping coupons. It’s so easy and I save a lot of money doing it! I can look at the deals of the week from the app and ‘clip’ them to my profile. Then, when I’m checking out in store, the coupons are applied automatically as soon as I enter my mPerks number. I know other grocery chains have apps, but I’m not sure if they have this same functionality. If you have a Meijer near you, I highly suggest it!  (Android Meijer app, iOS Meijer app)
  4. Pinterest – Great for organizing recipes you want to try, organization tips, etc. I threw out all of my cooking books that were collecting dust and use Pinterest to organize my recipes by gluten free, breakfast, clean eating dinners,young etc.  (Android app, iOS app)
  5. Taskrabbit allows you to connect with people who can help you in every aspect of life. Need a mover? A house organizer? Someone to wrap Christmas presents? Fire up TaskRabbit and hire help! Note, this is only available in select cities for now. Hoping it comes to Michigan soon! (Android app, iOS app)
  6. Groovebook is an app that allows you to print 100 cell phone pictures each month, in a fun 4×6 book. The app is free, and the monthly book costs $2.99. I don’t know about you, but all pictures of my son are on my phone, and I never get them printed! This is a nice reminder for busy moms to take a few minutes to select photos they want hard copies of. You can print multiples of one photo, too. Every time you see a family member or friend you’ll have a new picture to share with them – you’ll look like a rockstar mom! (Android app, iOS app)
  7. Amazon app is essential if you are an Amazon Prime member (or shop with Amazon often). I can open my app and reorder baby formula or diapers in 3 clicks. (Android app, iOS app)
This post is part of a Blog Hop from Blogs and Business: Moms Who Do it All Facebook Group.
Check out some of the other awesome blog posts below:

Erin Condren Life Planner Review

I remember spending hours shopping with my best friend for the perfect high school senior year planner. Yes, I was a nerd. I loved my planner. We would write so much there was barely any white space left. I basically used it as a journal as well. I still have them to this day and can’t part with them.

I kept planners through college but when I started my first full time job out of college, I stopped using them. Fast forward 10 years…I need it back!

I use Google Calendar for all work related stuff, and love syncing my calendar with my husband’s for travel days, doctor appointments, etc. And even though I use Google Calendar on my phone, there is something about writing stuff down and crossing it off that has instant gratification.

I did my research and most of the blogger groups I belong to raved about Erin Condren Life Planners. I purchased the horizontal version and counted down the days until it shipped. I’m a month into using it and I’m in love. Here’s what I’m digging:

  • Lots of space to write and add stickers
  • There’s a 30 day calendar for each month, followed by weekly layouts
  • You can customize a cover for free, which I overloaded with pictures of my son 🙂
  • There’s a Notes section at the end of each week – I like to use this space for weekly to-do’s
  • There’s a pocket in the back for loose notes, receipts, etc. 
  • A zipper pouch
  • A moveable ruler/bookmarker
  • Facebook groups based on Erin Condren planners – I get so many fun ideas for planning from these groups
  • Etsy sticker shops galore! 
  • My only dislike is the thickness/size. It does add a bit of weight to my laptop bag, but I’m willing carry it so my planner is with me. 

If you want a $10 coupon code, please leave your email below or tweet at me, and I’ll send you a coupon code!

xoxo
Angela
*this post contains affiliate links

Top Toy List Holiday 2015

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family friends. Now, enter holiday shopping

craziness. Here are a few toy round ups to help you choose your gifts…

Amazon 2015 Holiday Toy List

Toy’s R Us Hot Toy List

Forbes Top Ten Toys to Watch (I love that Roominate is on here, they were on Shark Tank!)

Top Toys for 2015: Washington Post (This list has a lot of craft toys listed for the crafty kids out there)

Doc McStuffins items, Fisher-Price Smart Toy Bear and Star Wars stuff all seem to be pretty popular. 

What’s Cooking! Meal Prep Review

I’d love to cook a super healthy dinner every night, but it’s just so hard to find time. Before Max, I cooked probably 6 out of 7 nights a week, and I loved it! Now, I’m lucky if I get to cook a meal during the weekend, let alone prep for the week. 

My office just became a drop off location for What’s Cooking!, and it has proven to be a total life saver so far! What’s Cooking! is a meal prep delivery service for Ann Arbor and the surrounding area. Our office has become a drop off location so I can use the service even though I live outside the city. 
Each Thursday a new menu comes out with fresh, healthy meals. You choose what you want for the next week, pay, and it’s delivered the next week. After you’re done with the meals you wash out the containers, leave them in your cooler bag for pick up, and they drop off your next week’s meals. It’s so easy. 
So far I’ve had delicious salads with lots of fun toppings, citrus chicken, and salmon with egg plant (it had to be some of the best egg plant I’ve ever had).  The portions are a generous size (this is coming from my husband who will sometimes ask servers if the meals are ‘big man approved’). In terms of pricing, I’d give it ‘$$,’ but you have to remember you’re paying for fresh ingredients, delivery and convenience. My huge salad this week, which includes chicken, walnuts, apples, cranberries and goat cheese, was $11. It will probably last me 1.5 meals (I’ll eat the leftover as a side salad the next day).
If you find yourself short on time for meal prep, I’d encourage you to find something similar to What’s Cooking! in your area. If you already use something similar, please comment below and share your experience! 
xo – Angela

Toy Sale on Zulily

I love to shop, and I love a good deal. Today the deal site, Zulily, is featuring toys for all ages. I just purchased the workbench set for my son, it was almost half off! Tons of toys from Land of Nod, Melissa & Doug, Playskool, Little Tikes and more. Check it out before they items are sold out – limited quantities available!

*This post contains a referral link

Quick & Easy Slow Cooker Rib Recipe

I’m always on the lookout for an amazing slow cooker recipe. This one you will see in many variations on the web, but this is the fastest, easiest way to make it. I usually buy one large rack of ribs but this time I bought 3, smaller racks, so I didn’t have to cut them to fit into my crockpot. Here are the next steps:

Ingredients:
– Stubbs Gluten Free BBQ sauce
– Rack of Ribs

1) Put ribs in crockpot
2) Add whole bottle of BBQ sauce into crockpot, making sure the all of the ribs are covered
3) Cook on Low for 8 hours.

This is a great recipe for a work day. You can prep it the night before in the crockpot and put it in the fridge, then start it before you leave for work. If your crockpot turns to warm after it’s down cooking will keep them hot for dinner time.

*Post contains affiliate links

Ideas for Getting Rid of Halloween Candy

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! Here’s my little guy as Donald “Maximus” Trump 🙂

Max is only 14 months and it was cold and rainy here in the metro-Detroit area, so we didn’t take him out trick or treating. We hung out at my brother and sister-in-law’s house, and I got to see my niece and nephew trick or treat. They came back with so much candy! I was never really into candy as a kid, and I remember my trick or treat bag sitting in a low cabinet, full, and stale, for 6 months, before my mom tossed it. I just wouldn’t eat it. But if you ask my husband, he said he’d demolish his Halloween stash in a few days!
I’m prepping myself for when Max is old enough to go trick or treating. Hopefully he’s like me and doesn’t go overboard with candy. But…so far he’s a lot more like his dad, so I’m going to have to get crafty in order to stop him from overdosing on candy.
Here are a few ideas to help you get rid of your candy stash:

  • Contact your local Ronald McDonald House to see if they will take a candy donation for their families. 
  • Operation Shoebox is now accepting candy donations. You have to mail it to Florida, so make sure you don’t send candy that will melt in the heat. 
  • Halloween Candy Buy Back – Find your local dentist who will take candy for toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. They then share it with our troops!
  • I read on one of my favorite blogs, Gracious Pantry, that she does something called a “Switch Witch,” where she allows her son to place a bucket full of candy outside their door in exchange for a nice gift that “magically” appears. This is so creative!
  • I had an idea about trading in candy in exchange for money or special trips (maybe a movie night?). Or trading in 10 pieces of candy to stay up 10 minutes later 🙂 What would I do with the traded in candy? Bring it to my co-workers, of course! 
Did you do something creative with your kids candy after they had their fill? Please share in the comments! 

5 of my Favorite Healthy Crock Pot Meals

I love a good crock pot meal that I can prep and let cook while I’m at work or running errands. These are some of my favorites from some awesome fellow bloggers:

Clean Eating Turkey Meatballs from Gracious Pantry
These are epic. I’m Italian, and I know a good meatball when I taste one, and these are so good. I usually cook whole wheat or gluten free pasta to go along with them. During the week I just eat them by themselves, they are so good! Gracious Pantry is one of my favorite food blogs. There have been weeks were I’ve made her recipes 5 days in a row. You’ll see lots of tweets from me with her recipes in them!

Gluten-free Crockpot Lasagna from G Free Laura
I tried this recipe for the first time last week – it was delicious. Both my husband and 1 year old son loved it. It was about 6 servings, enough for about 2 full dinners for my clan. I love crockpot meals that provide leftovers. 

Clean Eating Crock Pot Beef Fajitas from Stacy Makes Cents
This meal makes ‘Taco Tuesday’ a great day! Usually leftovers are available for the next day. 

Crock Pot Kansas City BBQ & Bacon Chicken Sandwich by The Frugal Girls
I made this once a week when I was home on maternity leave because it was so easy to prep with a newborn at home. The bacon make these epic sandwiches. I didn’t use onion and I used Stubb’s gluten free BBQ sauce (or any other clean BBQ sauce will do). Paired with whole wheat buns make it a somewhat healthy dinner (with the appropriate amount of bacon).

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe by Tips from a Typical Mom
This is one of my go-to Fall and Winter recipes. It freezes really well and so easy to defrost for quick dinner. 

Gotta start somewhere

My name is Angela and I’m a full time mother, wife and sales woman. So basically, I’m nuts! But I love it. Recently I was looking for other ‘working mom blogs’ to read and they were far and few between. So, I decided to recruit some friends and start one!

The Non-Housewives blog is all about women just trying to fit it all in. Who’s really ‘just a housewife’ anymore (besides the Bravo ladies)?? Women wear all kinds of hats these days. Mother, wife, provider, and don’t get me started on what we do to keep our household running smoothly.

I think it will be fun to hear from other moms on how they are keeping it all together. I hope to cover a variety of topics…from quick recipes to laundry hacks to product round ups and more, I hope everyone finds something helpful from this blog to make their lives a little easier.

xo
Angela