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Like most families, spaghetti is a staple food around our house and we usually make it a few times a month. Recently though, I changed it up. I started making what I call Million Dollar Spaghetti! I named it that because 1. It tastes like a million dollars, it's so yummy! 2. I make it with some of the pricier sauces i.e. it "cost a million dollars". Not really, but it was a joke that stuck in our family. Now, this one-pot million-dollar spaghetti can totally be made with whatever sauce your family likes the best but I've made it with a variety of sauces and we keep coming back to this flavor combination. This makes a big batch of spaghetti, perfect for a large family or leftovers because it's remarkably even better the next day! One-Pot Million Dollar Spaghetti 1 lb mild Italian sausage, ground mushrooms, sliced (I use a whole pack of fresh mushrooms but skip if you don't like mushrooms) Rao's tomato basil spaghetti sauce, 24 oz jar Rao's roasted garlic Alfredo sauce, 15 oz jar 1 box of spaghetti noodles, uncooked 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese Serves: 8 Total cook time: 40 mins 1. In a large Dutch oven, cook your ground Italian sausage over medium-high heat until almost cooked through. 2. Add in your sliced mushrooms and cook down. 3. Mix in your spaghetti sauce and then fill the empty jar about 1/2 way with water and add that too. Stir to combine 4. Break your spaghetti noodles in half and put them on top of the sauce. Stir slightly to cover the noodles. 5. Top the noodles with a jar of Alfredo sauce. 6. Add your shredded mozzarella cheese to the top of everything. 7. Cover and cook on low, simmering, for 10 minutes. 8. Remove the lid and stir the noodles to make sure they are not clumping. 9. Cover and continue to cook on low for another 10 minutes. 10. Stir noodles again and recover for another 10 minutes. Your noodles are going to cook for a total of 30 minutes. I've tried to space it out more and only stir ever 15 minutes but I've had trouble lately with the noodles sticking so I've changed up the time a bit. 10. Stir before serving and enjoy! We serve our million-dollar spaghetti with a yummy side salad and sometimes some garlic bread.

This easy breakfast casserole has all the savory breakfast favorites, in a casserole form. I enjoy making and serving this on Christmas morning. It's perfect to make ahead and keep in the fridge until you're ready to cook it. Just make it up the day before and then it can be baking while everyone is opening presents and nobody is stuck in the kitchen cooking and missing the fun! We have made many varieties of this casserole by swapping out the meat and cheeses or adding other things like mushrooms or tomatoes. This one is a classic and one that I come back to year after year. Easy Breakfast Casserole Ingredients: 28 oz bag of frozen Potatoes O'Brien (potatoes with onions and peppers) 1 lb breakfast sausage, cooked (I used Jimmy Dean regular) 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated 8 eggs 1 1/3 cup milk 1 tsp Italian seasoning salt and pepper cooking spray Directions: Spray a thin layer of cooking spray in a 9 x13 glass baking dish or pan. On the stove, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage. Be sure to break up the sausage as it cooks and cook it until no pink remains. Drain off any excess grease. Add the frozen hashbrowns to your sprayed dish. Top the hashbrowns with the cooked sausage and grated cheddar cheese. In a large bowl, crack the eggs and add in the milk, salt and pepper to taste, and the Italian seasoning (or other seasoning you prefer). Whisk together well. Pour your egg mixture over the hashbrown mixture in the pan. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, set the casserole out for 30 minutes ahead of time to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Uncover and bake for 50-60 minutes or until middle is cooked through. I put mine on broil the last few minutes to brown the top. We served ours with a little sour cream and fresh chives. Refrigerate any leftovers. Note: This can also be created and baked immediately. You can swap the sausage for bacon or ham and can use any other type of cheese you would like to mix it up.

One of the things I make for my kids every Christmas season are these Christmas Tree Waffles! I made them one year and now they've become a tradition in our household and my kids love them! Jump to recipe! Christmas Tree Waffles Making holiday-themed food is always so fun for me. These Christmas Tree Waffles are a great breakfast to enjoy this Christmas season. These semi-homemade waffles are simple enough to make on school mornings or let the kids help make and decorate their Christmas Tree Waffles on the weekend. The best part is that they are made with spinach (not food dye), so you get lots of good vitamins. They don’t taste like spinach either. My kids love them, and even request them! I’ve made spinach waffles from scratch before, but these Bisquick spinach waffles are just as good, and much easier! I just follow the recipe on the back of the box of Bisquick for waffles, but add spinach and adjust the milk a little. First, to incorporate the spinach into the waffles, mix the spinach and milk together in a blender until smooth. Christmas Tree Waffles (with spinach) Ingredients: 2 cups original Bisquick mix 1 large container of fresh baby spinach – about 16 oz 1 1/2 cups milk + spinach blended (note: the original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cup but I increased it just a little.) 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 egg toppings: whipped cream, sprinkles, Christmas M&M's Special Tools: Blender, waffle maker Directions: 1. In a blender, add in your 1 1/2 cups milk and the whole container of spinach. Blend until spinach is incorporated. 2. In a large bowl, add your Bisquick mix, milk mixture, vegetable oil, and egg. Whisk together your ingredients until smooth. 3. Pour the waffle batter into your prepared waffle maker and cook. I use this flip Belgian Waffle maker. 4. Cut apart your waffle triangles and arrange them into a tree shape on your plate. 5. Top with holiday M&M’s to look like ornaments and add a squirt of whipped cream at the top as a star! Serve and enjoy! My kids love them with hot cocoa in cute Santa mugs! To be extra fancy, try drizzling them with chocolate syrup or adding sprinkles! Shop this recipe:

My kids love nature, so one of the crafts I’m looking forward to making with them is one of these Bird Feeder Crafts for Kids. This spring is a great time for crafting and an even better time to give birds a little extra love. The weather is starting to get warmer but there may not be as many natural fruits, nuts, and seeds for them to find to eat, especially if you live where it snows in the Spring. I found some cute bird feeder crafts for kids to DIY. These aren’t just for Spring though. They make a great rainy day activity or a fun weekend, Winter Break, or hot Summer day craft! We love that a lot of these are all natural or use recycled items to create cute bird feeders. Bird Feeder Crafts for Kids This milk jug bird feeder from Great Stems can be designed in lots of great ways and it’s a good way to upcycle that old milk carton. How about this colorful and cute paper bowl bird feeder from Non Toy Gifts. Don’t throw away that juice carton, make this cute owl bird feeder from Red Ted Art. This orange bird feeder from Made With Happy has a great tutorial full of helpful pictures. How cute is this shaded bird feeder house made of popsicles on Babble. The Pinecone Bird Feeder from Natural Beach Living is messy and fun for kids! We love how colorful this soda bottle bird feeder is from Artzy Creations. Kids can practice their fine motor skills while threading the yummies on this fruit and grain bird feeder from Happy Hooligans. This apple bird feeder from Natural Beach Living is so pretty! Which one would your kids choose to make? You may also our: Flower Garden Parfaits DIY Wildflower Seed Bombs

The Summer can be soo hot here in Arizona. We like to spend the hottest part of the day indoors. One of our favorite ways to hide from the blazing sun, during the middle of the day, is with a stack of books from the library to read. Since we read a lot during our summer break, we made a DIY bookworm library bag to carry our books in and the kids love carrying their books in it! For this craft, we jazzed up a simple canvas bag with some pom pom “bookworms” for our little bookworm. Bookworm Library Bag Craft Supplies: canvas bag pom poms fabric paint (and foam brush) puffy paint googly eyes reusable letter stencil stickers glue (fabric or hot glue) Directions: This DIY Bookworm Library Bag is pretty easy to make but younger kids will need some help. 1. Use stencils and fabric paint to spell out their name, or spell out the word “bookworm” along the top of the bag like we did. 2. Draw a squiggly line of fabric glue and let the kids create a body for their bookworms. If you’re using hot glue, only add one dot of glue as you glue down each pom pom to prevent the glue from drying to fast. Add a larger pom-pom for the head of the bookworm. We found these cute rainbow-colored pom-poms, that were a fun addition to this craft! 3. Lastly, glue on some googly eyes and add puffy paint legs and then let it dry overnight. Take to the library and let your little bookworms fill their new DIY library bag with as many books as they can carry! Now head over to your local library and sign up for their summer reading program!

My dog's name is Ollivander Hamilton Waffles. We call him Ollie for short, and a variety of random nicknames, as you do. Yes, he was named after a Harry Potter Character, Alexander Hamilton, and breakfast food! Since it was recently Ollie's birthday, I'm sharing a few of our favorite dog finds that he loves! Bark Box Subscription - He has gotten these on and off over the past few years. I've gotten them in different subscription lengths for his birthday or Christmas and he's always excited to open the box. It's fun to get doggie mail! The treats are hit or miss for him but he loves getting the toys out of the box and they're always a cute theme! He barely waits for me to cut the tags off of everything! Santa Toy - This is Ollie's favorite toy that he's had since his first Christmas. It's such a beloved toy that he keeps it out year-round. Does anyone else rotate their dog's toys? Licky Mat - Great for freezing a treat for later. We like to freeze Greek yogurt, blueberries, peanut butter, and a few nibbles of random treats or dried sardines on ours. Cactus Chew Toy - This is one of the chew toys that has lasted the longest. He had a different chewy cactus toy, but this one has stood the test of time and is the one he goes for when he's the most hyped up and really wants to play. Donut Dog Bed- He has 2 of these beds, one for his kennel area where he stays if we are gone for the day, and one in our room. He loves snuggling in this and I've even caught our cats sleeping in from time to time. Nosey Nose Game - This is a fun interactive game that stimulates their mind and gets them engaged. It's scentwork training and eventually, once they learn the scent you can hide it and they will find it. Did you see our DIY snuffle mat, that's fun for their noses too! Cactus Dog Baggie Holder - This cute cactus baggie holder was a gift from a friend when we first got Ollie and it's still our favorite to attach to our leashes for walks. Gotta be a good pet owner and clean up after them on walks! Portable Water Bottle - Perfect for trips to the dog park or hikes with your pup. We like that it's got a space for water and treats. It can be locked when not in use and then unlocked to fill the drinking reservoir for your pup to get sip. It also has a handle for easy carrying. Cooling Mat - This is a must-have for those hot summer days! Ollie loves laying on this when his donut bed is too hot. Waterproof Jacket - We don't get many really cold winter days here but when we do we like to wear this cute jacket, especially when it snows! I adore the plaid! Edible Dog Bubbles - You know how dogs are basically toddlers? Well, bubbles are a hit with both toddlers and dogs! Ollie likes chasing these peanut butter-flavored bubbles. Treat Puzzle - We like to keep him entertained and this tornado treat puzzle is a fun one we pull out every few weeks. It has multiple layers and he has to use his paw and nose to move the layers to get the treats underneath each section. There are even little bones that you can use to "cover" treats to be discovered. ZukesTreats - Of course his absolute favorite treats were a seasonal find at Petco that I bought one year around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Luckily, I can get these turkey + cranberry tree treats year-round on Amazon. Ball Blaster - He loves chasing tennis balls in our backyard and he goes bananas when we pull out this ball blaster from Nerf. We got the one that comes with 3 balls because even though he loves chasing them, he doesn't do a very good job of bringing the balls back. And just because he's my absolute baby, here are some photos of him enjoying some of the items listed above. He truly does love all these dog finds and that's why I'm sharing them with you, because maybe your pup will love them too! Be sure to check out our DIY dog snuffle mat and if you're a Harry Potter fan, you may like our Butterbeer Milkshake recipe too!

Did you know that this August has 2 full moons? The Sturgeon Moon is on August 1st and the Blue Moon is on August 30th. We thought it would be fun to share some DIY moon sand. This DIY Moon Sand is easy to make at home for kiddos of any age. Yes, while it's a huge hit with toddlers and preschoolers, even older kids like tweens and teens can enjoy the sensory experience of moon sand. It's super easy to make, super fun to play with, and only takes 2 ingredients. Easy DIY Moon Sand Ingredients: 8 cups flour 1 cup baby oil Note: I used all-purpose flour for my moon sand. Directions: In a large container, measure out the 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil. I used my hands to mix this together really well. At first, it feels really weird. Kids might like helping with this part too, but it won't have the moon sand texture until it's all mixed really well so that it's evenly coated. Once your moon sand is mixed thoroughly, you can enjoy playing with it. Squishing it between your fingers or using little sand molds to create different shapes. Little ones will enjoy scooping and measuring and creating shapes in the sand. You can add little toys like these dinosaur figurines for another fun way to play with the moon sand. This makes a pretty good size amount of moon sand to be able to play with and make shapes. You can double to recipe for even more fun or cut it in half if you don't want to make as much. When we are done playing with the moon sand we make sure to close the lid up so it keeps our moon sand doesn't dry out. We have had our moon sand for a few weeks and it's still going strong, so I'm not sure exactly how long it will last. Shop Project Supplies: How will you play with your moon sand? Looking for another summer craft idea? Check out our Puffy Sidewalk Chalk Paint for outdoor fun!

This zombie brain sushi is a fun food for Halloween. It's creepy looking, but really it's just sushi jazzed up to look like a brain and my kids eat it up (literally)! Zombie Brain Sushi *This recipe makes 4 brains, using 1/2 of an avocado for each brain. Ingredients: avocados x 2 cooked sushi rice cream cheese, about 4 tablespoons smoked salmon, about 9 oz red food coloring, a few drops Directions: Prep: Cook your sushi rice as directed on the package. I cooked 1 cup of dry sushi rice. Cut your avocado in half and take out the pit. Scoop the flesh out of the skin leaving the whole avocado in that half shape. Fill the hole in your avocado with some softened cream cheese. 3. Place the avocado, cream cheese side down, onto your plate. 4. Cover the avocado with the cooked sushi rice (save some sushi rice in a small bowl for the last step. Have a bowl of water nearby to wet your hands so that the rice doesn't stick to your hands. 5. Take pieces of the smoked salmon, fold them to create the brain-like folds, and place them on top of the rice, folding them to create that brain look. 6. Cover your brain with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. This helps mold that salmon into the brain shape. 7. Add a few drops of the red food coloring to the sushi rice that you saved earlier. Stir it around to coat. 8. Take out your sushi brains and add the red rice in a line down the center of your brain. 9. Cover with plastic wrap again and store in the fridge until you're ready to eat it. These are great to make ahead for Halloween night and eat them before or after trick or treating. For more Halloween fun check out these posts: 13 Witchy Books for Fall DIY Cheesecloth Ghosts Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I recently shared our recipe for a Butterbeer Milkshake! Today, I'm going to share another fun Harry Potter dinner idea that pairs perfectly with the fourth Harry Potter book or movie, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. If you've read the book or watched the movie, you know that the Goblet of Fire is the one with the Triwizard Tournament and features a new character - Alaster Moody. He is also known as Mad-Eye Moody because he has a magical eye that can rotate 360 degrees and see through anything, including invisibility cloaks! Gillyweed is a magical plant that when eaten gives you gills and allows you to breathe underwater. It also creates webbing between your fingers and toes which comes in handy for swimming. In case you haven't read the book yet, I don't want to give any spoilers, but Gillyweed makes its debut in this book. So, for this themed movie night dinner, I served Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs and Gillyweed Pasta! Of course, there was also a butterbeer milkshake on the side and a chocolate frog for dessert. Harry Potter Dinner Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs Ingredients: Frozen meatballs mozzarella cheese, sliced, cut into circles canned olives, sliced small round cookie cutter or shot glass for cutting the cheese circles Directions: Bake your meatballs as directed on the package in the oven or pan. While your meatballs are baking, lay out your sliced cheese on a cutting board, and use a small round cookie cutter or shot glass to press into the cheese, creating small circle shapes. Once your meatballs are cooked, place the small circle of cheese on top of each meatball and finish it off with a slice of olive to create an eyeball look. I placed my meatballs back in the oven on broil for a minute (while watching it), to make sure my cheese melted a little bit and adhered to the meatball, but kept its shape and didn't melt off. Now you have Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs! Set your meatballs aside while you finish your Gillyweed Pasta and then you can plate it together. Gillyweed Pasta Ingredients: pesto, jarred or homemade angel hair pasta, or spaghetti noodles looks best and can be called mermaid hair pasta for fun Directions: Cook your pasta as directed on the package and drain well Add the pasta back into the pot and top with pesto sauce, stir to combine, and warm through Now, you can serve your Harry Potter-inspired meal! Dip up some Gillyweed Pasta and top it with a few Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs and enjoy! Do you throw themed movie nights at your house? If so, what other movies should I create themed dinners for?

In the heat of the summer, I do not feel like cooking anything. I need something that I can put together and then have in my fridge for a few days. I want to pull it out and dip up a bowl and that's it. This Greek Tortellini Salad is perfect for that kind of meal. It's filling with the cheese tortellini but has so many amazing fresh flavors with the fresh vegetables that we added. Greek Tortellini Salad 18 oz cheese tortellini, cooked as directed 1 English cucumber, sliced and halved 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1 cup roasted red bell pepper, diced 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped 1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled Dressing: 1/4 cup olive oil 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp dried oregano 1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard 1/4 tsp garlic powder salt and pepper Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing and set it aside while you're cooking your pasta and chopping your vegetables. After you cook your tortellini, rinse it under cold water. Once you've chopped up all your vegetables, add them, the tortellini, and the dressing to a large bowl. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight for the best flavors. Serve chilled. Everyone in my family loves this Greek Tortellini Salad. It makes a great lunch or dinner and it's great for any summer get-togethers you are having. You may also like our Easy Seafood Pasta Salad this summer!

We whipped up some whimsical Cheshire Cat Tails! This playful recipe is from The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook and is so much fun to create and eat! These pink and purple twisted pastries would be great for a tea party, an Alice in Wonderland party, or a Disney movie night. They make sure a colorful presentation and taste just like the ones you can find at the Disney Parks! Cheshire Cat Tails Ingredients for pastries: 1 (17.3 oz) box frozen puff pastry sheets 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding 1 3/4 cup whole milk 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 1 large egg 1 tablespoon room temperature water Directions for Pastries: Remove puff pastry from the freezer and allow it to thaw at room temperature for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line an ungreased baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together instant vanilla pudding and milk. Cover and chill, for at least 10 minutes or until ready to use. Unfold both sheets of puff pastry and use a rolling pin to just barely soften each surface. Don't work the dough too much or it won't puff up in the oven. Spread a very thin layer of vanilla pudding onto each sheet of pastry and sprinkle one sheet with mini chocolate chips. Carefully lay the other sheet pudding-side down onto the mini chocolate chips. Carefully cut the stacked pastry into six long strips. Holding a strip in your hand, twist one end. Lay on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining strips. In a small bowl, beat egg and water together. Brush the mixture over the tops of the pastry. Bake until golden brown and puffing up, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, about 30 minutes on the baking sheet. Ingredients for icing: 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 drops each Gel food coloring (purple and pink) Directions for icing: In a medium bowl or stand mixer, mix together the confectioners' sugar, cream, and vanilla. Divide evenly between two small bowls and add one shade of food coloring to each bowl, stirring to combine well. Using a spoon or piping bag, drizzle both colors of icing over each twist. Enjoy! To make more fun recipes like this, get your hands on The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook . Shop This Recipe Post: For more movie-inspired food, check out our Gillyweed Pasta, Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs, and Butterbeer Milkshakes recipes!

We moved over the summer and I thought it would be a good time to share our top tips for moving and packing that we find make our moves go smoother. Declutter as you Go We started weeks before we moved and decluttered small spaces when we had time. We would start with one closet or kitchen cabinet at a time. Things like our linen closet ended up being a storage space for things we weren't ready to get rid of at the time, but after having it in the closet for a while, we were able to part with things we didn't have a sentimental attachment to. This is a great time to sell things on local resell pages and make donations to thrift stores. Save Money by Packing Yourself If you can, pack as much as you can in the weeks before your moving day. We spent many nights and weekends packing up things we had in our house that we didn't "use" every day. Books, decor, linen closet, 80% of the kid's toys, unique kitchen items, seasonal decor, we packed it all. All the movers we called charge by the hour and that can add up quickly when they are packing everything. Also, you can take the time to purge anything you don't want and trash doesn't get packed with your belongings. I'm not even kidding, we've had trash get packed with our bathroom items in a previous move. It's not fun. Get Boxes from Your Local Community. If you really want to buy boxes, I suggest getting the same size boxes to make packing easier. Medium boxes with handles were what we used the most because we could move them easily after they were packed. But, we saved a lot of money by posting in local Facebook groups asking if anyone had boxes we could use. After our move, we posted "free moving boxes" in our neighborhood group and they were gone within an hour. Pack a First-night Box This is going to be the box you unpack first, but one that you pack last. Pack this box with things you will need to spend the first night in your new home. Pack things like bedding, pillows, air mattresses (if you won't have furniture right away), toiletries, basic tools (hammer, screwdrivers, scissors, or box cutter), first aid kit, flashlight, phone chargers, and important medication. Don't forget things like comfort items for kids. We let our kids pick two snuggle toys each a book and a nightlight to have that first night so that transition goes a little bit easier. Label Everything In the moment, it's easy to think you'll remember what you packed where, but honestly, once you get a stack of boxes, you start wondering, which box that item was packed in. Labeling helps so much when you go to unpack. And don't just put "kitchen", take it another step and put "plates and mugs" etc. so you will know what you are unpacking on the other end. When we moved we didn't have the same storage space in our kitchen and had to figure out what we wanted unpacked first and what could stay packed up a little longer until we could figure out what the new spot was going to be. Make a Master List Write down anything and everything you think of as you prepare to move. This could include things like calling the movers to confirm a moving date, setting up new internet, finding a cleaner, and starting water service. This list can be used by the entire family so everyone knows what has already been done and what can be done by them. Take it from us, call to set up as much as you can. We filled out an online water start service but when we signed the papers for our house, the next day the water was shut off and wasn't switched to our name like it was supposed to be. I had to call the company and found out their online forms were backed up. However, since I called she was able to schedule service to be turned back on that Monday. Luckily, we were still staying in our old house for a few days, but it was still a hassle. Schedule a Cleaner Whether it's cleaning the old house or cleaning the new house, moving is a lot of work and while we only booked a cleaner for our old house and cleaned the new house ourselves, it saved us a lot of time. We did general cleaning, but let our cleaning service do all the nitty gritty work and we had a receipt for our landlords as well. Take Photographs Not only because it may be your kids' "first room" or maybe it's your first home together. But, also take pictures of random things like how that gallery wall is organized or how you organized the shelves in the garage to hold all our holiday decorations. Create an Important Folder. Keep receipts related to the move in the folder and any personal and financial paperwork you want to keep safe. We got a zippable folder and kept pest control, lawn care, and our cleaner receipts, and copies of our recent bills so we had account numbers easily accessible, passports, birth certificates, things like that. This stayed with us and made it easy to know where important things were at any given time. Plan Meals to Use up Food Take the time to go through and see what things you can use up from your freezer, fridge, and pantry before you move. While you're at it, go through those spices and get rid of the outdated ones. We don't need to move things unless we have to. Make Time for Self-care Moving is hard and stressful and takes so much time. Make sure you make time to do something for yourself too. Go see a movie, have a dinner date, go for a hike, schedule a massage, plan an outing with friends. Whatever it is that feeds your soul and creates joy for you, make sure you schedule some time to do that. Yes, schedule it. Even if it's planning a day to put on pajamas early and watch a movie with snacks, make yourself a priority too. Best Moving Supplies: Medium Boxes with Handles Safe Box Cutter Packing tape Space saver bags Moving labels Foam Sheets 39 piece General Tool Set Tips for moving with pets and kids Moving with Kids Make sure you honor their feelings. Kids can get pretty attached to their rooms, neighborhood parks, friends, school, etc. If you're making a big move, it can be especially overwhelming for them. Allow them to express those big feelings and understand that they might be sad and excited at the same time, and that's okay. - Offer times to talk about those big feelings. - Get them excited to decorate their new room. New paint, new wall decor, new bedding, whatever it is, sometimes shopping and buying something new for their room can help get them to feel excited about their new space. - Let them help pack. This applies mostly to older kids, but let them get involved. They can pack their own toys in boxes and choose what they want to go in their first night box. - Do something fun once you move. We hit up our neighborhood pool pretty quickly after we moved. It was a good chance for all of us to destress and do something fun together. Moving with Pets First and foremost, know your pets. If your pet is laid back, it might be less stressful for them, but some pets don't like moving and learning a new place at all. - Make them a safe space whether it's a kennel or a room, with hiding space, while there are so many moving people and so much noise in their space. - Book them into a doggy daycare or kennel if you feel you need to. Maybe it's overwhelming to think about managing them while you pack and move. - Make sure you have enough food and pack their beds and bowls in the first night box. - If you're moving to a new town, make sure to find a new vet and get records sent over, especially if they are on medication or a special diet. - For our cats, we set them up immediately in the office room with a litter box and water. They had a desk they could hide under and on top of while they got used to the new smells and sounds of the new house. Moving is a lot, but you can do it, and it's always fun to decorate a new home!