We’ve been using Messenger Kids for two weeks – these are our thoughts. Messenger Kids is a free calling and messaging app designed for kids. Kids only connect with parent-approved contacts which creates a safe environment and fun extras like interactive masks, sound effects and stickers make if fun for kids to call or send messages to loved ones.

I posted a couple of weeks ago about a new app my family discovered: Messenger Kids. My 10-year-old step daughter wanted to use a video and messaging app to connect with friends and family, but we weren’t comfortable letting her use apps designed for older teens – we thought Messenger Kids might be a great fit.

Over the past weeks we have had a chance to experience what Messenger Kids is all about. Overall we are really pleased with our experience.

It was Easy to download the app

We love that Messenger Kids was free and easy to download and use.

Parent have control

For safety purposes, we love being able to approve our daughter’s contacts and being able to oversee her conversations and the information that is being shared.

The features are fun for kids

My step daughter loves using the masks, frames and stickers to decorate her photos.

Video Masks

She loves video chatting with her friends. They can each decorate their screen with different masks, stickers and frames, or even write and draw with each other!

Adding Friends

It was easy to connect friends and family to her account. Since she is only 10 years old, her friends are not on Facebook so to connect the kids together we sent their parents a request to download Messenger Kids for their children. Once they downloaded the app and set up their kids’ accounts, they could connect together. As far as the adult contacts we approved – like her aunts, uncles and other family members – we were able to connect them to her Messenger Kids account via their regular Facebook accounts.

More Fun Options

We love all of the frames, masks and features so far! I love that the GIFs and images on the app are designed and vetted for kids. We are excited to see what new features come out in the future.

Overall thoughts

We are really enjoying Messenger Kids for our 10-year-old. It’s a great way for her to feel like she can connect and have fun with her friends and family in an environment that is safe.

What devices are compatible with Messenger Kids

You can download Messenger Kids for free on smartphones and tablets. No phone number is needed, just Wi-Fi!

More Information

For more information about how to download and set up a Messenger Kids account and more about Messenger Kids features, be sure to read our first Messenger Kids post. You can find out more about Messenger Kids here:

Messenger Kids 

Messenger Kids on Facebook

Download the app in the Apple, Android, or Amazon Fire app stores

Have you tried Messenger Kids?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Have a Great Day!

xoxo

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5 Tips for a Stress-Free Vacation with Kids

This time of year brings family time, days without school, and the magic of summer vacation. While it may be a season that everyone looks forward to, vacation planning often causes stress which can take away from the joys of these getaways.  My kids range in age from tween, teen, college and adults, and coordinating everyone’s schedules can get a little crazy! 5 Tips for a Stress-Free Vacation with Kids

So excited for our little family vacation in park city with kids and cousins. We are staying at the cutest condo. Happy Saturday – we’re off to explore main street #vacation #getaway #ad #bevacationready @wyndhamvacationrentals

A post shared by Tatertots & Jello – DIY blog (@tatertotsandjello) on Jul 8, 2017 at 3:46pm PDT

5 Tips for a Stress-Free Vacation with Kids 

So when Wyndham Vacation Rentals contacted me about taking my crazy crew on a last-minute getaway – I said yes! Wyndham Vacation Rentals mission is to help travelers get vacation ready this summer.

We had such a wonderful time together at our Wyndham rental.

I thought I would share some tips on our trip and how to create a SUPER fun stress-free family tip with kids of ALL ages!

1. Involve your Kids in Planning Your Trip.  Park City was at the top of the list for us. There is so much to do there. Activities for everyone in our family. With so many schedules to coordinate around, going somewhere pretty close to our home made the trip less stressful. You don’t have to go somewhere far away to have a wonderful vacation.

2. Consider Renting a Condo instead of Hotel Rooms. Our Wyndham rental was a three story condo so there was room for everyone! It had three bedrooms, three baths, a BIG family room/kitchen open space which was great for family time. I loved having a kitchen. One morning I made everyone pancakes for breakfast! We went to the grocery store when we arrived to get breakfast and lunch supplies. That way we always had food for hungry teenagers and snacks for game night!

It was also super convenient because it had a washer and dryer so we could wash clothes that got dirty hiking and tubing! One day we went to the Utah Olympic Park and rode the zip lines and extreme tubing down the ski jumps! It was a day to remember!!

It’s pretty awe-inspiring to watch the US Olympic Team practicing at the @utaholympicpark ????#kids #utah #parkcity #getaway #ad #momlife @wyndhamvacationrentals #bevacationready

A post shared by Tatertots & Jello – DIY blog (@tatertotsandjello) on Jul 10, 2017 at 11:16am PDT

3. Keep a Flexible Schedule. It’s great to research the city or area you are going to be visiting, but don’t have a schedule that is so rigid that you can’t add in a few last-minute things. For us I think the best part of exploring a new area is finding unexpected and out-of-the-way things to do and places to eat! For example, there is a really cool Haunted Tour of Park City that we didn’t know about before we planned the trip!

4. Plan for Downtime. With so many people on our trip, it was great to have a condo with so much room. One morning we explored the local farmer’s market and had breakfast, then we came back to the hotel and crashed for a couple of hours before we set out again to explore Main Street and all of the shops. That way if you have small kids with you, it’s easy to head back to the rental for naps in the middle of the day!

5. Use public transport. We often forget all of the travel conveniences of a city. If your travel destination is in a city with trains, buses or trolleys, use them! We drove to Park City but the condo we stayed at was 1 block away from the free trolley system that encompassed the town as well as a few of the other resorts in the area. It was SO fun to take the trolley. And driving less takes the stress out of driving around a new town or area.

We took it all along Main Street. And we took the free bus to Park City Mountain Resort where we rode the Alpine Slide!

The stress of travel planning can be intense – I love that Wyndham Vacation Rentals has an awesome website that provides AWESOME tips, itineraries, and deals to help travelers focus on the reason they’re taking a vacation in the first place: relaxing and enjoying time with their loved ones. They created a resource for travelers at bevacationready.com – be sure to check it out!!

You can follow Wyndham Vacation Rentals to see all of the FUN places to plan your next stress-free vacation:

Wyndham Vacation Rentals on Facebook 

Wyndham Vacation Rentals on Twitter 

Wyndham Vacation Rentals on Pinterest

Wyndham Vacation Rentals on Google +

Wyndham Vacation Rentals on Instagram

Thanks again Wyndham Vacation Rentals for partnering with us on this really fun family trip!!

Have a FUN day!

xoxo

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Wyndham Vacation Rentals. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Safe Fairy Floam Slime 

We might have a SLIGHT slime obsession happening at our house.  And I don’t think we are the only ones. My 12-year-old LOVES making and inventing new types of slime. As a family with anxiety, slime seems to be a soothing way to relieve stress. So I thought it might be fun to share our slime ideas with YOU!

This one is great for fairy lovers. It’s bright pink and has LOTS of mix ins, like glitter, sequins AND floam!!

Safe Fairy Floam Slime 

Have you heard of floam? They are these little foam balls and make slime so much fun! I searched around our town for floam balls and then my friend mentioned that FloraCraft makes them and I reached out to them. FloraCraft sent me a whole box of their slime ballz! And guess what?? I am giving away two packages too! Just comment at the end of the post to be entered to win!!

We love making puffy safe slime. I have a post on how to make it here. And all you basically do is add a few things to the basic puffy slime:

• coloring
• sequins
• glitter
• floam slime ballz 

PLUS the basics:

Then put them in a container and give them to all of your friends. My daughter was saying that trading slime is a big thing at her school. There are kids in her school who make slime and sell it there. Isn’t that funny?? Here are the basic instructions on how to make this fun Fairy Floam Slime:

Be sure to check out the original Safe Puffy Slime recipe to get the measurements.

We have a bunch of tips on how to make it on that post.

Do your kids love making SLIME?

What kind of slime is their favorite??

And leave a comment to be entered to win a bag of slime ballz floam balls to add to YOUR slime!!

Have a Creative Day!

xoxo

The post How to Make Safe Fairy Floam Slime appeared first on Tatertots and Jello.

Hello Tatertots and Jello fans! I’m Natalie from A Turtle’s Life for Me, and I’ve been so looking forward to sharing my project with you today! Not only because I’m excited to help celebrate the launch of Jen’s new Home + Made line, but because it means one more thing is ticked off the list of my daughter’s bedroom makeover!

Jen’s style is always so modern and classic, and this new line is no exception. I received the box of goodies in the mail and, while I thought I was excited for it, it was nothing compared to how my daughter squealed when she caught sight of the products! I had an idea I was tossing around originally, but quickly switched my mind when I saw her enthusiasm for these designs.

I know after seeing that picture, you’re all dying to know… the answer is YES, she LOVES color!! She is a tween with a vibrant personality, and an empty wall just wasn’t cutting it for her. We’ve been working on her room for almost a year now, and it is nearly completely but this blank wall was bothering her.

Honestly, it was still blank because the light switches were bothering me! They were smack dab in the middle of the wall and stuck out the same way I do on a dance floor! She’s running out of blank walls in her room, though, so I knew if we wanted to use her room as our canvas for this project, it was time I faced my fear of the light switches.

This was one of those projects that took maybe 5 minutes total and made such a difference.

Supplies:

• scrapbook paper (I used Jen Hadfield’s Home + Made line)
• switch plate covers
• decoupage glue (I used Mod Podge)

Remove your switch plate covers and give them a quick cleaning to make sure they’re dust and grime-free! Then choose your piece of paper. I used the smaller pieces of paper so needed 1 piece per cover.

1) Cut your piece of paper so it’s about 1/2″ longer on each side than your switch plate cover.

2) Apply a liberal amount of Mod Podge on the backside of your paper and place your cover right in the middle.

3) Using scissors, cut a slit at each corner, so it folds nicely. I also trimmed each corner after I slit it like you can see on the upper right side of #3.

4) Fold over all your sides and apply more Mod Podge if needed. Press down with your fingers. Use an X-acto knife to cut a slit in the center and fold those edges back as well.

Your covers will look like the picture above. Let dry completely. You can also paint an additional coat or two of Mod Podge on the front if you would like. It helps later if you need to wipe it down. Let dry completely and then re-attach to the wall.

We were so excited with the way they turned out, that we decided to keep going with this wall! The little blue frame has a piece of scrapbook paper from Jen’s collection too! I just cut it out and it was instant artwork. My daughter just made the #selfie hoop art a couple weeks ago and she painted the turtle canvas last year. I try to include her personal artwork as much as I can.

The garland and chalkboard are from the Home + Made collection!

We cut out the rub-on quote we wanted and applied it to the bottom corner of the chalkboard and then hung everything up!

I love the difference it made in such a short amount of time!

I can be a bit challenged when it comes to matching colors and patterns, so I’m always appreciative for packs like this that take all the guesswork out of it for me!

I’d love for you to keep up with the progression of her tween bedroom and more! I share all kinds of easy, delicious recipes, simple crafts, cake decorating tricks and so much more!

**********

Thanks Natalie! What a fun room makeover! I love all the pops of color too! Natalie has great ideas on her blog. Here are a few I know you’ll love:

She has some great living room makeover ideas!

And I can’t wait to try her Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad recipe with marinated veggies! She has so many great recipes!

And this wooden photo board is such a great gift idea! Or keep it for yourself!

xoxo

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