As my kids get older I have found that extra time is hard to find. Between school, extra-curricular activities and of course, family time...my time is spread thin. I love blogging and bringing you the best of the best products out there to make the balancing act of motherhood easier. That's why I've decided to call on another great blogger to help co-author and review here at A Mom's Balancing Act to bring you another perspective on motherhood and the products you don't want to miss!

Meet Renee

I've been married for a year and a half to my husband, Jake, and a new mommy to our beautiful daughter, Aliyah. I love spending time outdoors, exploring new places, cooking, and crafting/sewing.

My desire has always been to be a stay at home mom, and I'm so thankful that I'm able to do so! I'm learning as I go and feel more confident each day that this is God's purpose for me.

I love finding new tips and discovering fun and helpful products to help balance this new life of mommyhood, and I'm excited to share some of those with you along the way.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and Kaelyn couldn't be more excited! Last year she enjoyed making these cute candy-free Bubbles Valentines for her classmates and has talked about them ever since!

She and I talked again this year, and decided it was fun to do something unique that didn't involve candy. So, we took a look at some ideas on Pinterest and she was drawn to the Maze Valentines ideas right away! 

There were some fun ideas, but I decided to create the Valentine on my own for her. The following is what we came up with...simple and cute!

I cut some cardstock in 3 1/2 x 5" pieces and placed them in the photo tray of my printer. I then printed off enough for her classmates (with the border, as I thought this looked better). Once we had them printed out, we grabbed some of our heart mazes, which I got from Oriental Trading, but I think they're also available at dollar stores as well, and glue dots.

Kaelyn had a lot of fun personalizing each Valentine (there's extra white space at the top for the recipient's name). She was able to do everything from writing the names to placing a maze on each valentine using one glue dot each. 

We think they turned out pretty cute, and Kaelyn is proud to have something she put together all on her own for her friends at school. 

I've made the template available for download to those who are interested. Simply click on the picture. 

We'd love to see and hear about the Valentines you and your little ones are putting together this year. Feel free to share in the comments and if you have a link to a blog post about it, be sure to share that too! :)

Enjoying some cuddle time with two of my little loves on this cold winter day!

Photo cred: The Excellent Wife


You may have seen these treats on Pinterest.  They are quite popular.  Why?  Because they are so tasty and SO simple to make.  They make an adorable Valentine treat or you can switch up the colors and make them for any holiday.

What you need:
-square pretzels
-Hershey's Hugs
-plain M&Ms

How to:
-place Hugs onto pretzels (as many as you want onto a cookie sheet)
-bake for 5 minutes (or less) at 200 degrees
*You want the hugs to be soft and barely melted
-Take out of the oven and press M&Ms into the Hugs
AND YOU'RE DONE!
Let cool.

First step

Second step

Finished product :)