Teaching Our Kids Smart Financial Planning #IAmProtective #ad #cbias

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #IAmProtective #CollectiveBias

Like many young couples, Jamie and I started out our marriage in a rough place financially. Neither one of us understood the concept of saving, waiting, or budgeting. Our bad decisions made for some really hard times and we found ourselves dependent on family, friends, and government aid to get ourselves out of one trouble after another. 

Thankfully, we learned our lessons about poor money management young, and have worked our way up to a place of self-sufficiency and living within our means. It's really important to Jamie and I to teach our kids smart financial planning so they can have a future of self-sufficiency. Whether they're the working ones bringing in the money, or the homemakers spending it, we want our children to understand the responsibilities they'll face as adults and how they'll contribute to the financial health of their families.

With such a large family, we've gotten all kinds of questions about how we save for the kids' future cars, college, weddings, and more. Truth is, we don't. We feel these are adult responsibilities that our children will need to take care of on their own. That doesn't mean we just leave them in the cold when it comes to planning for these things, though. There are several ways we make sure the kids understand responsible financial planning.

Our oldest son, Michael, is the one who has expressed the most interest in his future plans, so far. Michael has already shown concern about finding the "right" job---the one that will help him support a stay-at-home wife and the large family he's hoping for. We've discussed with him the options of taking online college courses from home so he's also able to work full-time and beginning to save his money now so he'll be able to purchase a reliable vehicle when it's time. We've also helped him put priorities in order---such as making sure he's got a stable job, reliable vehicle, and a little money for homemaking basics before making plans for a marriage.

One thing we've not discussed with our older kids yet is the need for life insurance. I was recently introduced to an online learning library with lots of information on taking out life insurance. I can remember, as a new wife, not even wanting Jamie to take out life insurance because the thought of losing one of us was too scary for me. Now that I'm a little older and wiser, I understand how life insurance can help ease the burden of an already devastating time of loss, and I feel comforted in knowing our family won't have a difficult financial struggle should our children lose one of their parents too soon. It's only recently occurred to me that finding a good life insurance plan is also something we need to add to Michael's list of financial priorities. I want him to have the same peace of mind that Jamie and I have.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cupcakes #snacktalk #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #snacktalk #CollectiveBias

It's that time of year when everyone is celebrating the big basketball event and looking for a fun snack to take to a game day party. These Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cupcakes, made with REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups and REESE'S Pieces are a fun and unique treat to serve friends---party day or not! When you're pressed for time, here's a simple way of making game time extra special. Since they're done in stages, you can do a little at a time and finish up just before time to serve.

A couple weeks ago, a few of the kids and I shopped Walmart for some REESE'S candy for the recipe. They thought it was pretty awesome that mom was doing a recipe that needed two kinds of candy---but were a little put out with me that I wouldn't tell them what it was. 

These ice cream cupcakes really have no cake at all---just ice cream, candy, and whipped topping. Your guests will be surprised by the peanut butter cup at the bottom---just like my kids were when I served them after dinner tonight!

The ingredient list includes a container of chocolate ice cream, whipped topping, Hershey's chocolate syrup, REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups, and REESE'S Pieces.

Start off by placing one peanut butter cup inside each of 12 cupcake liners inside a muffin tin. It's best to use a foil liner with a parchment insert so nothing leaks through when you add the softened ice cream. Tip: if you'll be serving these to young kids, use a butter knife to cut the peanut butter cups into a few pieces inside the liners. It will make it easier for them to eat the freezer-hardened candy.

Next place a scoop of softened ice cream inside each liner and spread it around with the back of a spoon. Your ice cream should be soft enough that some can run down in between the peanut butter cup and the liner. Don't worry about making it pretty...you'll do pretty later. Place the tin in the freezer and let it harden for at least an hour.

After the ice cream has hardened at least an hour, pipe the whipped topping onto the tops of the cupcakes and freeze again for at least an hour.

Once you are ready to serve, sprinkle the tops with chopped REESE'S Pieces and drizzle on some Hershey's syrup. Serve these to be eaten with a spoon, straight from the liner. Delicious!

Look at these handsome dudes! I went in their room this afternoon to see if they wanted to help me with photos and they were all dressed up. Apparently, they wanted to surprise me by dressing nicely for dinner. So sweet! I felt badly that I ruined their surprise---but not badly enough to give them their cupcakes early. They only got to stand here and model this one for a minute before it went back into the freezer for dessert time!

Do you have a great idea for a game day snack? Check out the REESE'S Snack Talk Challenge and enter to win a chance to be nationally recognized on CBS and Walmart.com. Enter to win at reesessnacktalk.com and visit your local Walmart to find a display with all the REESE'S products you'll need to make your excellent basketball game day recipe. Be sure to share your recipe on Twitter and Instagram using hashtags #SnackTalk and #ChallengeEntry.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cupcakes

12 REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped

4-5 cups chocolate ice cream, softened

12 oz. whipped topping

1 cup REESE'S Pieces, chopped

1 cup Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

Place one peanut butter cup in each of 12 parchment-lined foil cupcake liners and set inside a muffin tin. Place one scoop of chocolate ice cream into each liner and smooth down with the back of a spoon. Freeze at least one hour. Remove from freezer and pipe whipped topping on top of each cupcake. Freeze at least one more hour. Remove from freezer and sprinkle with chopped REESE'S Pieces. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and serve with a spoon.

Don't forget to enter your great REESE'S recipes into the REESE'S Snack Talk Challenge and, if you like my recipe, please pin it to share with your friends!

A Little Much-Deserved Pampering with Softsoap Fresh & Glow #FreshAndGlow #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FreshAndGlow #CollectiveBias

It's been cold and rainy long enough and today I'm celebrating the fresh, glowing sunshine by taking photos outside by my newly-bloomed shrub. After today, we're supposed to have rain for a couple days and then more cold---even snow! Does the cold weather make your skin dry and itchy? It sure does for me. That's why I'm really excited about trying out these new body washes from Softsoap. 

One of my favorite things to spoil myself and give myself a little pick-me-up has always been to buy a gift bag of skin care products, a bath pouf, cozy socks, and a new book. (Ok, so there's usually some chocolate thrown in there too...) I've done it since high school and it's always so comforting to relax with all my fun, new things and enjoy an evening of pampering. 

That night of indulgence is tonight! This last week has been unimaginably crazy! In fact, the week actually started out with something wonderful that was also meant to be a pampering evening---my first monthly book club. Seven friends and I met at my home for a dinner and book discussion night. Here's a photo of the little centerpiece I put together for our dinner table. It was a wonderful night---and boy, am I glad I had it---because the week just got crazy after that! Between sickness in the kids and myself, a homeschool co-op day, ballet recitals and performance, and some unanticipated medical issues, I am wiped out and ready to relax!

I found these two Softsoap Fresh & Glow body washes at Walmart. You can find them in the soap and body wash aisle, as well as on special end caps near the hair and skin care sections.

I'm really excited about both types. This one is the exfoliating fruit polish. It uses 100% real fruit extracts from apricot seeds, orange, and kiwi to bring you smooth and glowing skin. I love using exfoliating products because they really help get rid of the dry flakiness that makes my skin look dull. It makes me feel cleaner when my skin is soft and smooth and the fruity smell is refreshing.

This is the hydrating shower cream and it also contains 100% real extracts of milk protein, almond, and coconut. This body wash, formulated to give you soft and radiant skin, is like the comfort food of skin care products. The smell of this one reminds me of the suntan lotion my mom wore when I was little. I can totally see myself using this before snuggling into bed with my book for the night. 

Wow, now that I've written all that out, I'm even more excited to spend a comfortable evening on myself! This is goona be great! What do you do to pamper yourself after a rough day? Let me know in the comments below.