Katelyn Fagan, Author at What's up Fagans?

Gift Your Kids an Experience with Chuck E. Cheese’s

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August 16, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan Leave a Comment

The older I get and the more kids I have, the more I want to give my children experiences rather than a toy or treat. Experiences are a family event, a real memory. They promote long-term rewards and good feelings from kids toward parents. Experiences are the real treat. As we continue to endure a long, hot summer full of boredom, swimming, trips, and movies, it's always great to break it up with something different and fun. We were invited to attend the grand re-opening event at the Stone Oak Chuck E. Cheese in San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday, August 9, 2017. And I'm so thankful we were! I didn't tell my kids we ...

DIY Diaper Rattle: The Perfect Baby Shower Party Favor

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August 9, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

I haven't attended a baby shower in a while and have never actually hosted one, but I hope I'll get the chance someday! But I appreciate all the baby showers people have thrown for me, big and small. I once had a friend invite me and a few other friends to go out to a frozen yogurt shop as a my "baby shower" for my fourth child and people gave me little packages of diapers and such. It was perfect and I appreciated it very much. Baby showers are so great to honor the mom-to-be and recognize her new bundle of joy, no matter if it is her first baby or her last. I don't think every subsequent child requires a huge baby shower ...

How to Throw a Completely Diaper-Themed Diaper Baby Shower

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August 9, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

When I was pregnant for the first time, my husband's natural nesting instinct was plain and simple - buy diapers. Every pregnancy since, this same instinct takes over, and he knows what he can do to help prepare for our next bundle of joy - buy diapers! Diapers are one of those things that you always need as a mom, and a great thing to stock up on before baby arrives so you don't make the diapering mistake of running out in the middle of the night, or some other less than convenient time. As a non-first time mom, I love it when my friends still want to do something special to honor the new life growing inside me by doing a ...

The Strange Things My Garbage Bag Taught Me

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August 4, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hefty® Ultra Strong™ trash bags. The other day I popped popcorn for my kids to enjoy as they watched a movie. I got a little work done on the computer as they watched. I wanted some popcorn too, so I grabbed a bowl and set it on my desk to eat while I worked. My son wanted a little more popcorn, so I gave him the little I had left in my bowl. He went back to watching the movie, holding the bowl, as he stood in front of the TV. Shortly thereafter, there was a loud shattering noise as he dropped the ceramic bowl and it completely shattered, sending tiny fragments of ...

What 10 Things to Bring to Have a Perfect Beach Day with Your Kids

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August 2, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

My husband recently sprung a trip to the beach on our family and we didn't know until we were in the car where we were going! We definitely didn't have everything we needed for a perfect day trip to the beach with babies and toddlers in tow. That's why I'm excited to share this guest post from Jenny with a checklist of what to pack for a day at the beach with kids! Now I'll know for next time, should my husband actually give forewarning! Thankfully, we had an amazing anyway: We were solidly in the summer slump. That point of the season where the newness of the hot, lazy days had worn off and the boredom of unscheduled ...

How to Get Rid of Nasty Mildew Odors on Your Kitchen Dish Towels

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July 28, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 31 Comments

This post is sponsored by EnviroKlenz. All opinions on how to remove odor from kitchen dish towels are my own. Whenever my children make a mess, I encourage them to clean it up. They dutifully grab a clean kitchen towel and sop up the mess, somewhat haphazardly, but they do it. Other times I ask my kids to help me get ready for dinner by wiping down the table and chairs. They again dutifully grab a new clean kitchen towel, wet it, and wipe down the table, again somewhat haphazardly, but at least it's done and cleanish. I thank them for helping regardless. Often I go in after them and make sure all the spots and messes are ...

What Questions to Ask During a Back to School Video Interview with Your Child

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July 20, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

Awhile ago my husband and I watched this documentary series called Two Brothers and I loved how a father did video interviews over the years and compiled it together into a moving piece of family history! My friend and blogger Jennifer Borget of Cherish365 is great at doing these video interviews with her kids on their birthdays (and is a way better videographer than me!) and it's inspired me to want to do it with my kids too. Plus, all those wonderful and touching video montages and other great things you see on Facebook of parents doing every year with their kids to document their growth over the years, is just so touching and ...

ThredUp Opened Its First Store. Here’s What You Need to Know about It

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July 17, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 3 Comments

This post is sponsored by ThredUp San Marcos. All opinions are my own. I've been ordering clothes online from for over two years now. ThredUp is the largest online thrift store with some 20 million users and offers like-new secondhand name brand and designer clothing in women, plus, juniors, maternity, boys, and girls. They also sell secondhand shoes, purses, hats, belts, and other accessories. Thanks to their referral program, and low-price points, most of the clothes I've purchased were free! I've picked up some amazing new pieces for myself, some great new shoes for myself and my kids, and lots of clothes for my four ...

How to Keep Messy Eating Toddlers’ Messes to a Minimum

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July 14, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

This post was developed in partnership with Similac. All opinions on messy eating toddlers are my own. Toddlers are adorable with the cute way they say things, the new things they can do each day, and their chubbiness. But, they are also ridiculously messy when they eat. Like, get out the hose (or at least the tub) afterward messy. It's nuts. And I know this is doubly true when you have twin toddlers.... At a certain point, toddlers develop this strong sense of autonomy and independence and will not let you feed them yourself. And when you have multiple children, taking the time to spoon feed or fork-feed everything they ...

How to Get Young Kids Learning Math – Zap Zap Kindergarten Math App Review

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July 13, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan Leave a Comment

You'd think that with a husband who is earning a PhD in Mathematics Education our kids would all be budding math geniuses. But, that's not the case... And it's not because I hate math or wasn't good at math in school. I, too, enjoyed math and did fairly well in the subject. Teaching it to our kids in our homeschool has been slow going though. In order to give my now preschooler a little advantage and practice with some basic math concepts like number recognition, plus and minus, shapes, and measurements, I've been looking into some apps for him to play during our school hours. Zap Zap Kindergarten Math App Review I was ...

Here’s What a 23andMe DNA Kit Will Reveal about You

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July 12, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 2 Comments

I received a free 23andMe DNA kit in exchange for this review. Opinions are my own. Knowing your family history is an important part of understanding who you are, why you are the way that you are, and gain some perspective. Understanding your own personal family history, and personal narrative is said to be a deciding factor in what helps make a person happy in life. But, some of us don't really know who we are, where we came from, or our ancestry, for various reasons. I am blessed to know much of mine thanks to my family keeping good records over the years. But, still, there is much to be uncovered. While knowing your ...

3 of the Best Ways to Clean Grout in Your Bathroom

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July 12, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 2 Comments

Tiles are one of those things that you either love or hate, or love to hate. Many love how they look, and the added color they can bring to a space, and so on. But, we all know that cleaning the grout between the tiles can be a royal pain in the butt. Cleaning grout is often a very time intensive activity, especially if you have tiny tiles and lots of them. In our current apartment, we are blessed to have large tiles and only in our bathroom showers. But, like most tiles and grout, it's gotten yellow, dirty, and even moldy in a few spots. Even though we recently removed mold from our shower caulking, the grout was still ...