Weeknight dinners can be a challenge for every family. Between going back to school, commutes, and extracurriculars cutting into the evening, plus simple exhaustion from the workday, it can be difficult to come home and prepare a nutritious and balanced meal that everyone enjoys. If you need a few helpful ideas in your back pocket for the next time you are tempted to order takeout again, these tips can help.

Store Bought Rotisserie Chicken
This weeknight classic is relatively inexpensive and is a much healthier option than its fast food counterparts. Rotisserie chickens are a dietician-approved weeknight hack that can ensure that your family gets enough lean protein without needing to cook a complicated meal. Pair it with a side of fresh fruit and a store-bought salad kit for an oven-free meal that is sure to please. 

Sheet Pan Meals
Roasted veggies can be delightfully flavorful compared to steamed veggies, and baked or roasted meats can be equally tasty. Use this to your advantage by opting to make a sheet pan meal. Cook chicken, sausage or fish on a sheet next to a veggie that requires an equal temperature and time to cook. 

Slow Cooker
A classic solution to the age-old weeknight dinner problem, slow cookers allow your food to simmer and soak up flavors all day long. Since there’s nothing better than treating yourself to a home-cooked meal, try to meal prep a few options for your slow cooker. Your ingredients can be put in gallon freezer bags and frozen, or placed in the refrigerator for the morning.

Paninis
Dress up your typical easy weeknight grilled cheese by adding cooked veggies and leftover meats to a sandwich. Turning your leftovers into paninis is an excellent way to get more nutrients into a typical grilled cheese night. Add BBQ sauce, marinara, aioli or pesto for extra flavor. 

Hopeful Buyers Welcome Inventory Increase

More homes are coming onto the market and as they do, home buyers are eager to snatch them up.

Existing-home sales—completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—increased 2% in July compared to June, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Monday. Sales are up 1.5% compared to a year ago.

As more homes enter the marketplace, opportunities for prospective buyers continue to increase in regions across the country, said NAR President Charlie Oppler. Housing inventories increased 7.3% in July compared to June, reaching 1.32 million homes for sale.

“We see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Much of the home sales growth is still occurring in the upper-end markets, while the mid- to lower-tier areas aren’t seeing as much growth because there are still too few starter homes available.”

But home prices continue to surge. The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $359,900, an increase of nearly 18% compared to a year ago.

“Although we shouldn’t expect to see home prices drop in the coming months, there is a chance that they will level off as inventory continues to gradually improve,” Yun said. “In the meantime, some prospective buyers who are priced out are raising the demand for rental homes and thereby pushing up the rental rates.”

What to Do If Your Neighbor's Fence Is Damaged

Fences are one of the most common sources of disputes between neighbors. If a fence sits on a property line, homeowners on both sides are generally responsible for sharing the cost and responsibility for maintenance and repairs. When a fence sits squarely within one homeowner’s property and is damaged, the person living on the other side may become frustrated if the owner is reluctant to do anything about it. 

Your Neighbor’s Damaged Fence Can Endanger Your Family 
A fence with sections that are broken or falling down is a safety hazard to children and animals. Your young kids or pets can squeeze through gaps and get out of your yard. If they wander through the neighborhood, they can get lost, get hit by a car, be attacked by an animal or even get abducted.

Bring Your Concerns to Your Neighbor’s Attention
If you’re concerned about how the condition of your neighbor’s fence can affect your family, you have the right to ask your neighbor to have it repaired or replaced. Raise the issue directly with your neighbor, preferably face to face. 

What to Do If Your Neighbor Can’t or Won’t Make Repairs
The neighbor may say that he or she can’t afford to have the fence fixed. If the damage was caused by a storm that knocked down a healthy tree or by another peril that homeowners insurance typically covers, the neighbor’s policy should pay for most of the repair costs. Bring that up in case your neighbor hadn’t considered filing a claim.

If your neighbor’s insurance won’t cover the cost of repairs and the neighbor refuses to address the matter, you may have to take legal action. Laws regarding fences vary from state to state and even from one community to another.

Educate yourself on the laws in your area. Your city or town probably has ordinances that address safety issues related to fences. The local government may require the neighbor to have the fence repaired or removed if it poses a risk to others. You may have to provide the neighbor with a written request for repairs. The law may give the neighbor a specific amount of time to respond. 

If you and your neighbor belong to a homeowners association, it likely has strict rules regarding maintenance and repairs. If you file a complaint with the board, the neighbor may finally make repairs to avoid a steep fine.

Don’t Take Matters Into Your Own Hands
If a fence sits on a boundary line and one neighbor refuses to cooperate when it comes to repairs, the other can have the fence repaired and then sue the other for half the bill. If the fence in question is located completely within your neighbor’s property, you won’t be able to send workers into your neighbor’s yard to make repairs without permission. Seek advice from an attorney who is familiar with local laws regarding fences.

Celebrate Labor Day Weekend

Let's hear it for Labor Day and the last three-day weekend of summer! Labor Day was deemed a Federal Holiday in the latter part of the 19th century to honor workers nationwide. Today, people celebrate Labor Day with neighborhood parades, backyard bbq's, and family activities. 

No matter who you plan on spending the holiday with, here's a list of the most fun activities to partake in this Labor Day weekend:

1. Go on a hike - Enjoy one of the last weekends of warm weather and go on a trek through nature.
2. Take a road trip - A three-day weekend is a great opportunity to hit the open road! Make it fun and each pick up a spot to stop at during the trip. 
3. Watch a parade - Labor Day parades are pretty popular, so it's a sure bet that there's one quite close to you. Check your your local chamber of commerce for events happening near you.
4. Host an outdoor movie night - Invite friends over or enjoy time with your family and turn your outdoor space into a movie theater by buying or renting a projector and playing a movie against a white screen in your backyard.