This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

Our job as parents is to prepare our kids with the skills they will need throughout their lives. Sure, that includes helping them to read and write...but more than that, it's about the habits they form early in life that will stick for the long-haul. Habits like how they deal with their emotions, what they eat, and how much they exercise. One of the biggest battles parents have today is getting kids off the couch. We all know exercise is incredibly important, but if we don't partake in it ourselves, it's kind of hypocritical to expect our children to. So a lot of these life lessons start with us and the behavior we model for our kids. Luckily, it's never too late to start healthy new routines, and if you have young kids like me, the time is now.

Provide The Right Environment

The activities you do as a family are very important and influential to kids. If your TV is always on and is a big focal point in your living room, then you're teaching your kids to sit down in front of the screen all day. Instead, turn off the TV or better yet, get rid of it or move it to a less central room. Then plan some fun activities where you can bond together as a family, like going for an evening walk or bike ride, or getting a ping pong table or a trampoline for the yard. If you don't have the room or the budget for a trampoline, there are plenty of small and inexpensive things can help facilitate new activities. A Frisbee, a slack line, badminton equipment...just see what grabs your kids' attention.

Focus On Fun

What's the reason children don't want to exercise? Maybe they think it's boring compared to the on-screen entertainment they're used to. It's our job to show kids that exercise is more fun and exciting than sitting on a couch with a remote. Teach kids to play classic games like tag or duck duck goose, where they're running around and getting the heart pumping without even realizing it. If they're ready for more of a challenge, you can add in new rules like off-ground tag or "hot lava monster" where they are unable to touch the ground or they become "it." Getting them out of the house and into a new environment will also feel more fun--like the beach, a new playground, a pool, or an indoor trampoline park.

Set The Example

The best way to encourage our kids to have fun getting exercise, is to lead by example. If they see us playing games, walking around, running, and so forth, then they will be interested. Plus, fitness isn't just for kids. It's necessary and beneficial for adults too--not just physically, but mentally as well. You'll feel stronger, healthier, and happier and that makes you a better parent overall. It's not just about losing weight, it's about providing a healthy example to our kids! If that isn't motivation, I don't know what is.

Spark Their Competitive Spirit

Kids respond to competition (I think all humans do), so a good way to get them interested in exercise is by engaging their natural competitiveness. Challenge them to a race in the park. Have a ping pong tournament or play a game of P-I-G. Sign up together for local fun runs. As they get older, see what sports they're interested in signing up for. Encouraging competition can be healthy, and will allow them to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when they win. This competitive spirit can motivate them throughout their life, beyond sports.

If we want our children to be healthy and happy (and I think we all do), then exercise is an important life skill to teach them, along with the right diet. Physical activity benefits the brain as well as the body, and sets our kids up for less illness and pain throughout their lives. Summer is the perfect time to get our kids outside and moving!

Well guys, we've officially started on our kitchen remodel! We actually got started last week as soon as we got back from the Oregon Coast, and we've already made some major ch-ch-ch-changes. I snapped these pictures on Friday, but it doesn't look like this anymore. Over the weekend, the wall came completely down! I was nervous, but it's everything I hoped for; the kitchen already feels bigger and lighter, and I love being able to see into the dining room and living room. I know open kitchens aren't for everyone, but I think I'm really gonna like it! I realized that I haven't shared our full plans for this project yet...so here are a couple photos of the progress as of Friday, and I'll also share some mood boards of where we're heading.

You can see where the wall used to be. Since it didn't go up to the ceiling, we were confident that it was not a supporting wall, so we decided to do the demo ourselves. That wall was really the main reason for doing this remodel in the first place. It made the kitchen dark and cramped and closed off. From the moment we viewed this house, I knew I'd eventually want to open it up to allow more light, better traffic flow, and the ability to watch our kids while cooking. However, taking down the wall would trigger some other big expenses: changing the configuration of our cabinets, moving the fridge, and replacing the flooring. The flooring was the biggest concern...we knew it would cost a lot to replace it all. Our old flooring was laminate, so it's not like we could weave in new boards & refinish them to match, like you can with wood floors. Not only that, but the laminate was reaching the end of its lifespan anyways (it's 16 years old, and most laminate lasts 15-20 years). It doesn't look terrible in photos, but in person there are many spots where scratches and chips have damaged the boards...and laminate can't be refinished. 

So when I got the opportunity to work with a great company on some new flooring, we couldn't pass it up. This will be one of the biggest and most exciting changes...we're installing some beautiful engineered hardwood that will flow through the entire main level of the house! It took us a looong time to decide on the color (really, we agonized over so many swatches), but I feel really good about our choice. We wanted a light, natural looking wood with warm undertones. These were our top six contenders. Can you guess which one we picked?

Besides the floors, we are also replacing the upper cabinets. We just couldn't figure out a way to make the old cabinets work with the new configuration. And I didn't like the arches in the old upper cabinets anyways, or the way they were all different depths and heights (you can see here). So we decided to get all new upper cabinets that fit the new layout perfectly. The upper cabinets remaining in the picture above are also coming down--they're just holding plates and cups until we're ready to put the new ones up. To save money, for now we are keeping the wood lower cabinets that you see. Eventually, we will also replace those to match the upper cabinets, pantry cabinets, and the island. As for the layout, we decided to just move the fridge and keep the position of the rest of the appliances. This work flow is fine, and we didn't see a point in incurring extra costs just to try something new. The nice thing about keeping the appliances in place? We still have a functioning kitchen during this remodel! It's nice being able to cook and do dishes like normal.

Now for the fun part! Here's a mood board of what this kitchen will look like at the end of phase one. White upper cabinets, oak lower cabinets, white island with butcher block top, a modern pendant above the island, light wood flooring, and new hardware. Obviously I haven't decided on the hardware yet, but these are some of my favorites (I'm thinking chrome or polished nickel for the finish).

Then, this is my plan for phase two. White lower cabinets, neutral tile backsplash, a new sink and faucet, quartz counters, and new appliances like a counter depth fridge and a nicer range...layered in with everything from phase one except the oak cabinets. I'm not sure how long it'll be until we're ready for phase two (we definitely need to save more!) but I'm excited to see it all come together. This design is pretty classic and I've loved white kitchens forever, so I'm pretty confident that we won't feel the need to remodel the kitchen again--at least, as long as we live in this house!

Anyone else working on a kitchen remodel right now? This summer seems to be the season of house projects...a lot of my friends are in the middle of major home improvements!

This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

Getting married is a wonderful and joyous occasion...but the stress of planning the wedding (and trying to stay on budget) can take some of the joy out of the whole experience. To keep that initial feeling of excitement and anticipation, take things one step at a time and don't procrastinate making plans for your perfect reception. If you wait to the end to make all the decisions, you'll be utterly exhausted and you won't be able to enjoy your wedding fully! So plan ahead, enlist the help of your family and friends, and try not to stress over things that are out your control. If you've made all your plans ahead of time and delegated people to be in charge, then on the day itself you can just relax and soak it all in (as you should)! Have an amazing day and night, and celebrate your commitment and love for your new husband. But first...you've got some planning to do.

1. The Tables 

The first thing your guests will see when they enter your reception is how your tables are laid. This is a place to put some effort into the details and design, adding your own individual flair. Your guests will spend a good amount of time sitting at the tables, so your effort will be noticed! Start with a simple foundation, such as a white or linen tablecloth or a beautiful wood table, then add a runner for some contrast. A runner could be a piece of fabric that matches your wedding colors, a garland of greenery, or something more creative like a bunch of paper doilies or sheets of music taped together if that matches your wedding theme. The next step to focus on is the centerpiece of each table. Usually, this includes flowers in beautiful vases or containers...along with table numbers and other details that match your theme. To save money, you don't necessarily need to make every table match. You can make the head table a little fancier for photos, and keep the rest of the tables a bit simpler. Another thing to consider is whether you need place cards at each table setting to help guests find their seats and reduce the likelihood of arguments--or at least reserve a few family tables.

 2. The Menu

Food is super important for any event. And if you have guests who have traveled a long distance to be there with you on your wedding day, you can't just feed them light snacks. Opt for something delicious that will replenish your energy levels without making you feel too bloated or comfortable (after all, everyone is dressed up and trying to look their best, including you!). Think about the different guests you will be inviting, and try to identify whether there are any special requirements that you should accommodate, such as vegetarian or gluten free options. Contact a few different catering companies and sample their dishes, along with your fiancé and maybe even another person with differing tastebuds to your own. You can think outside the box too, and go beyond catering companies. For a more casual feel, food trucks or your favorite inexpensive restaurants might be able to provide great food on a lower budget. When it comes to the wedding cake, you can order an elaborate four-tier cake with a beautiful design that matches your theme and flowers cascading down the side...or you could be nontraditional and stack a bunch of donuts on a cake stand (or cookies, cupcakes--whatever your favorite dessert is). I've seen people have each of their friends make a pie, and create a display with all the different pies too! It's up to you and how formal or casual you want your reception to be!

3. The Entertainment

As soon as the plates are cleared and the speeches are over, it’s likely that your guests will be ready for some entertainment, whether that's hitting the dance floor or something else. Contact an entertainment agency to see what bands and music they can offer. An amazing wedding DJ can also add a lot of energy and fun to your reception, making it memorable for your guests and yourself. But entertainment doesn't have to mean hiring an expensive band. It can be anything that encourages your guests to mingle and enjoy themselves. Maybe you get a photobooth, or for a casual outdoor wedding, perhaps you have a lawn set up with croquet and frisbees. Think about your guests and what they will enjoy!

4. The Photographer

Your wedding is a once in a lifetime event, so you'll definitely want some beautiful photos to capture the memories and show to your kids someday. Although this is a big expense, don't hire an untested photographer just because they are the cheapest option. Always ask to see examples of their previous work, especially other weddings, and only hire someone that you feel confident in. Though the mental memories may last forever, having something physical to show to other people and reminisce over when you get a little older is priceless. You'll probably also want to print out at least a few wedding photos to hang in your home. So do shop around, do ask if there are discounts (perhaps if you hire the photographer for a shorter amount of time), but definitely don't skip out on a professional photographer. 

Planning your perfect wedding reception is a huge task. The sheer quantity of different features you must consider can make the whole process completely overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Even on a very tight budget you can create the most amazing special day, you just have to focus on what's important. Putting effort into the tables, the food, the entertainment, and the photographer will make it so people remember your wedding reception fondly. Food and entertainment are especially important to guests--so make sure everyone can eat well and have a lot of fun!

This past year, I've gotten really interested in financial podcasts and blogs. In many of them, I noticed a common thread: "house hacking." The basic principle is to buy a house, live in a portion of it, then rent out the rest, so the rent covers your mortgage. Housing is usually one of your biggest expenses, so doing this is huge...you're essentially living for free! The most common example is a duplex or a house with an additional dwelling unit (a room above the garage, a mother-in-law suite in the basement, or even an RV parked in your driveway). We don't have any of those, but we were still intrigued by the idea. So we brainstormed what we could do to house hack. The kicker is that we have young kids, and we didn't want to do anything that would disrupt their lives too much or put their safety at risk. The ideas we tossed around included renting our guest bedroom to a college student, selling our house and buying a duplex instead, or putting the entire house on Airbnb and leaving when it gets rented. The last idea is exactly what we decided to do! Since March, we've rented our personal home on Airbnb six times, and just by vacating our house for a couple weekends each month, we've covered our mortgage. Now that we've done it a few times, I thought I'd share our experience with renting our personal home on Airbnb. I'll be honest, it's QUITE a lot of work to get the house ready, especially the first time. But it's gotten easier with each booking, and it's something we can do together in the evening once our kids are in bed. The money's pretty good, so the effort is worth it to us! If you've ever considered putting your own house on Airbnb, I went through a bunch of the concerns we had and how we decided to address them. I hope this is helpful or interesting! And if you decide to try out hosting on Airbnb, feel free to sign up through my referral link. :D

1. Will anyone actually want to rent our house?

Our house is in a residential neighborhood in the suburbs of a midsize city that's not exactly a tourist destination. But we've worked hard to make it cute, and I was confident we could get at least some interest. I figured that the type of people likely to rent this house would be similar to us: young families looking for more space and style than a typical hotel room offers. So we leaned into that. Instead of trying to make our house appeal to anyone & everyone, we catered our listing to appeal to young families. We took pictures with the crib and the high chair, and mentioned that we have baby gear guests could borrow while staying here (a travel stroller, a baby rocker, etc.). We bought a king size bed for Ian's room so we could fit multiple couples, and put two twin beds in Emmett's room for older kids. I styled all the rooms and took good quality photos with my big camera (not just a phone). And guess what? It worked! Most of our bookings have been young families. Several of them had grandparents that came to help with the kids. They have mentioned that it's great to find a place with two king beds, and a crib so they don't have to bring a pack 'n play. So far, we've mostly had people come for college graduations, weddings, or because they were passing through Spokane on a road trip.

2. Are we going to have to spend a ton of money to get ready?

Obviously the whole point of doing this is to save money, so we didn't want to spend too much on getting our house Airbnb-ready. That would defeat the purpose! I could have easily spent 5x more, getting the thickest towels, the highest threadcount sheets, the fanciest toiletries, the cutest dishes. I could have set out an elaborate gift basket in hopes of getting good reviews. But I tried to remember that you can only get 5 stars, so there's no point in trying to give a 10-star experience...you know what I mean? It would have been fun to buy fresh flowers and popcorn and chocolate and fruit and wine...but that would literally be eating into our profit. Instead, we set out a small bag of coffee and some chocolate. Under $10, and still feels like a thoughtful gift.

As for bedding, towels, dishes, and toiletries, I still bought nice looking stuff...but I looked for options that were inexpensive. We got bright white towels because they can be bleached, and navy washcloths because I heard white washcloths will get stained from people removing makeup. I got simple white coupe plates from Walmart, silky soft sheets from Amazon, shampoos and hand soaps that were on sale, and bulk paper towels and toilet paper from Costco. We did buy some other things to get ourselves ready for the first stay: waterproof mattress covers for every bed, a binder for house rules and local suggestions, a keypad entry for the front door, and locks for the spaces we wanted to keep private...but our first booking pretty much covered all the initial expenses, and the recurring costs like sponges and toilet paper are covered by our cleaning fee. Plus, all the things we bought are things that are nice for us to have, too!

3. Will we actually earn enough to make it worth it?

I did some competitive research to see what similar-sized Airbnbs in our area are going for, and how full their calendars are. Since this is our personal home and we're doing the cleaning ourselves, we actually don't want our place to be booked constantly, so we decided to charge slightly higher than the average. We've remodeled two bathrooms recently and have put a lot of effort into decorating, so I figured we'd still get interest even with a higher rate (and I was right). We decided that two bookings per month seemed doable, so we aimed for that. The hardest part is actually cleaning and vacating our house, so we made the minimum stay two nights to make it worth our time. With the goal to cover our mortgage, we priced our house so that two bookings + cleaning fees = our mortgage. Once we hit that goal each month, we block out our calendar for the rest of the month so we don't get overbooked & burned out. We still want to enjoy some weekends at home, after all! Luckily, we've gotten some long weekends in the mix, which is even better--after all, cleaning is the same amount of effort whether our guests stay two nights or four.

So far, we have hit or exceeded our goal almost every month, and the more experience we get, the easier it is to get our house ready. Paying our mortgage in two weekends, simply by leaving the house and staying with family or friends? I'd say that's pretty worthwhile!

4. Where will we go when our house is rented?

I fully admit, having our house rented makes it pretty tempting to justify taking a trip of our own. But if we do that every time, we won't actually be saving anything significant. Luckily, both sets of our parents live here in Washington state, so that helps a lot. My parents' house is only a 5 minute drive from ours, so that's where we've gone most of the time. We also used a long weekend to go visit Ben's parents in the Seattle area. It's a trip we would have taken sometime anyways, so having a booking just gave us the extra motivation to put it on the calendar. We have also stayed with friends and taken them out to dinner as a thank you, and for the times when none of those options work, I also have a bunch of hotel points that I've accumulated from credit card signup bonuses. We may take some fun weekend trips to nearby cities we've been wanting to explore, especially if we get booked for long weekends. Although we'll have to use up some points, we won't have to spend any actual money on hotels--and we'll get paid to go on a little vacation!

5. What if our stuff gets stolen or damaged?

Airbnb has a Host Guarantee that provides up to $1 million of protection in case of damages. I also called our home insurance to let them know we were putting our house on Airbnb. We decided to close off some spaces to guests (our master bedroom, the pantry, and the garage) so that helps a lot with having a place to stash things that we don't want guests getting into. We lock up those spaces and put our personal items in there, like clothes and family albums. But we're still cautious about the possibility of things getting stolen, so anything really valuable or sensitive--things like our passports, social security cards, laptop, and camera--we take with us.

I should also mention, so far our house has been very clean when we come home and no one has trashed it at all. Literally, the worst we've had was some makeup spilled on the bathroom floor. Everyone has treated our house with respect, left it sparkling clean, and one guest even left us some unopened bottles of Perrier and wine that they didn't drink. We felt bad, they left us a nicer gift than we did for them! Haha.

6. What if something creepy happens here?

Ben saw some horror stories of criminal and downright disturbing things happening at Airbnbs. That's a legitimate concern, and we can't 100% protect against it. But I figured that anyone with gross intentions would probably be looking for a cheap place. So I purposefully priced our house high enough that hopefully it won't appeal to those type of people. We also turned off Instant Book and set it so that we have to manually approve all bookings. That gives us the ability to vet people by looking up their reviews and their social media profiles, and having conversations with them first before accepting the booking. I like to ask why they're coming to Spokane, and then we can verify the reason they give us or feel it out to see if they seem legit (is there actually a basketball tournament or graduation that weekend? etc.). We had one person that we rejected because we didn't feel comfortable...he had no photo, no reviews, and gave us no information about why he was coming to Spokane, even after I messaged him and asked. We figured it's better to be safe and trust our gut, even if we miss out on a little money. So far, I have felt totally comfortable with every guest who has stayed here...and every one has treated our house well and been very responsive and communicative.

7. How do we prevent people from going through our personal stuff?

As I mentioned, we put locks on our garage, pantry, and master bedroom, and labeled those rooms private. The week before, we go through every closet, dresser, and storage space and put anything personal into bins that we can scoot into those private rooms. That includes our coats and shoes, our kids clothes, special toys, photo albums, and sentimental items. We even covered our family photos in the gallery wall with art. That might have been a little over-the-top, but it helped Ben feel comfortable--and hopefully it made our guests feel like they had the house to themselves and weren't intruding.

8. What will we do with our food?

I think it's kind of gross to go to an Airbnb and have someone else's food in the fridge. So we decided to totally clear out our fridge and freezer, even the condiments. A few months ago, our friends upgraded their fridge and they offered us their old one, specifically for this purpose. They gave it to us for free, but I bet you could also find a basic white fridge on Craigslist for pretty cheap. We have the extra fridge in our garage, and we simply move all our food into it the night before. Then we deep clean our fridge and freezer so they look sparkly clean! For dry goods, we leave out a few basic items that guests can use (salt, pepper, sugar, olive oil, etc.) and lock the rest in the pantry.

9. Isn't it weird to have strangers sleeping in our beds?

Every time we stay at an Airbnb or a hotel, we're sleeping in a bed that someone else has stayed in. I don't think it's inherently gross, as long as the bedding has been washed. But to make it feel a little less weird, we got waterproof mattress covers for every bed, and a separate set of sheets and bedding that we will only use for guests. That also makes it easier on us when we get home...we can instantly strip the beds and make them right away with our own bedding, so we don't have to wait for the laundry to get done before we can go to bed.

10. How are we going to keep the house clean on the day guests arrive?

Our kids are pretty darn cute, but they are also really good at making messes. By the time breakfast is over, the dining room's usually covered in jam, yogurt, oatmeal, eggs--whatever we're eating. And the longer we stay home, the more they're likely to destroy all the efforts we put into cleaning & styling the night before. So I have been leaving the house first thing in the morning, even though check-in isn't until the afternoon. I'll either pack up some breakfast the night before, or we go to my mom's house for breakfast, or we swing by a coffeeshop or McDonald's. It helps that we are locking our master bedroom (and the connected bathroom) so we at least have a place to get ready in the morning without having to keep it perfectly clean and tidy. So far, we have gotten all five star reviews and several guests have specifically mentioned how clean our house is. We're pretty proud of that, considering we have two little boys that somehow manage to get food and fingerprints everywhere!! I read somewhere that the most important thing about cleaning for an Airbnb is to make sure there aren't any hairs left in the bathrooms or the beds, so we are really thorough about checking for hairs (I even go over the bedding with a lint roller, haha). Hopefully that effort pays off!

What else do you have questions about??? I might do another post later with some lessons learned and tips that we've picked up. For now, we have our calendar blocked off because we're about to start on our phase one kitchen remodel (!!!) but we plan to put our house back on Airbnb once it's done. So far, I would say the experience as a whole has been overwhelmingly positive and hosting on Airbnb is a pretty easy way to earn some significant extra cash...without requiring any extra time away from the kids!