Virginia Beach Family Vacation Ideas: There's more to do than just the beach! #momsloveabeach

Last summer, my husband and I got the rare opportunity to spend some couple time alone.  My in-laws drove down and took over caring for our children so that we could make a quick getaway to Virginia Beach.  Talk about the best anniversary present ever!  I'd been there once as a child and longed to go back to the Atlantic Ocean.  Since it's only about 3 hours away from my home, we decided that Virginia Beach would be the perfect getaway spot for us.

Beach view - take a look at the size of those waves!

Of course, we had to do a little research to plan our trip.  I'm pretty fair-skinned, so I knew I'd want to visit the beach, but not spend all day basking in the sun and swimming in the surf.  Fortunately, the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitor's Bureau has a handy website that lists things to do while you're in Virginia Beach.  I wasn't quite up for parasailing, so we opted to explore the Boardwalk for a few hours, taking our time wandering from store to store to look at merchandise.

There's even live entertainment to enjoy!  Beach Street USA's website keeps a calendar that you can consult while making your plans to visit the beach.  We definitely plan to stay at a hotel that's close to the water this time around.  Though much pricier, the view and convenience will be worth it to be near the attractions and entertainment.  You can sort the list by stage to see who is playing where and enjoy music in the open air, with the water and its salty scent not far away.  We didn't stay for bands, instead opting to explore the area more.  One day at the beach, and we knew we wanted to bring our kids next time and stay for more than just a day or two.   In fact, our kids' school held a silent auction this spring and had several tickets to Virginia Beach attractions that we bid on.  We won four of those auctions to secure admission tickets very cheaply and can't wait to explore the area with kids in tow this summer.

A perfect day for a bike ride on the Boardwalk.

Here's a view of a biker on the Boardwalk, with amusements in the background.  We'd love to take a bike ride with the kids along the Boardwalk.  We saw some tandem bikes that would be perfect for our family -- giving us a little exercise and a great view of the beach, ocean, and ships/boats on the horizon.

So, besides the beach, what else would we want to do as a family while in the Virginia Beach area?

Nauticus is a Naval Museum in the Virginia Beach area.

Nauticus!  Who doesn't want to go there and visit a battleship?  This naval museum isn't too far from Virginia Beach and is definitely on our to-do list.  I'm hoping the grand tour will give our kids a great history lesson, not to mention an appreciation for what our soldiers and sailors do every day, and have done in the past, to keep America safe.

Mount Trashmore - can you make the climb?

This is Mount Trashmore!  Not too far off a busy highway, you'll find this re-purposed landfill.  Those steps were a hike, but the view at the top is worth the exercise you'll get climbing up all those steps.  It's a monument to how we can reclaim land and make something beautiful.  The kids would love to roll down this hill, I'd bet!

Busch Gardens is a short drive away, as is Colonial Williamsburg.  Both are on our short-list for inclusion in our trip itinerary.  We're also eying a visit to First Landing State Park and the Aquarium.  We know we won't be able to do everything we want to do, so I'm sure we'll be planning our next visit while we're enjoying the sights this summer.  For us, a family vacation to Virginia Beach offers us a fun destination that's just a few hours away -- a staycation!  We'll be able to balance pure fun with a little bit of a history and science education thrown in the mix.

A few quick tips!

1.  If you wear glasses, buy a strap for them.  I know... you don't want to look dorky, but the surf can get pretty rough and you don't want to lose your glasses in the ocean.  Or worse, have to go into the water without glasses and miss the view.

2.  Parking can be pretty tight on a hot, summer day.  Get the best spots by hitting the beach early on during the day.  This is a good idea for many reasons since hot days usually mean a long line of traffic pointed toward the beach, so you'll avoid some gridlock by being an early arrival.  Secondly, it's a good idea to avoid long exposure to the sun during the most brutal hours of the day.  Finally, the earlier you go, the less people that are on the beach.  Enjoy a few more quiet moments by being one of the first to arrive.

3.  There's an admission fee to use the Fishing Pier (15th Street), but you don't need a fishing license. 

Don't you just love Virginia Beach and want to visit?  Like them on Facebook to stay in the know of upcoming events and other visitor information.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Virginia Beach blogging program. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Photos of attractions above were taken on a visit to Virginia Beach in August, 2011 by blog author.  Photos taken by blog author are copyrighted.

Looking for Virginia Beach Resources?  Try these links to help you plan your Virginia Beach family vacation.

More info. on Virgina Beach:

http://www.visitvirginiabeach.com

http://www.visitvirginiabeach.com/visitors/things-to-do/

http://www.beachstreetusa.com/

Virgina Beach on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VirginiaBeachVA

Follow @VaBeachCVB on Twitter

#VetoViolence: It's National Child Abuse Prevention Month

As an avid reader at news sites, my heart is broken nearly every single day.  Just this week, I read several articles involving violence -- child abuse -- perpetrated on young, innocent victims.  Stories about a young boy who was starved to death... a girl shoved in a dog cage... a baby flung against a brick wall, and more.  These stories show child abuse at its worst:  a child's life lost due to extreme abuse by someone they trusted.

There's more to child abuse than just killing a child, of course.  Many children are physically beaten by caregivers, sexually abused, emotionally abused, and/or otherwise neglected.  These small victims know nothing but hurt, and that's just unacceptable.  They don't always tell on their abuser because they are afraid.  They need someone to speak for them when they are unable to do so for themselves. Please educate yourself on child abuse by reading this article at SocialMoms.

The song that goes with this video makes me cry every time.  It's Jason Michael Carroll's Alyssa Lies, which brings attention to child abuse and why you need to report it if you suspect or know someone is abusing a child.  Please take a moment to watch this powerful video.



This blog post is unpaid and is dedicated to raising awareness about child abuse.

Tropicana Pure Premium sweeps and reliving a past Florida memory! #TropFloridaOJ

Before 4 years ago, the closest I'd come to Florida was drinking orange juice!  I had won airline tickets to anywhere in the Continental US and then had to brainstorm as to where we'd want to go.  I'd never seen the Pacific, so we toyed with the idea of going to California.  In the end, Florida (and Disney World) won out.  The kids, of course, were ecstatic.  We adults were too!  Neither me nor my husband had ever been to Disney, so we made our first trip there together as a family.  We made lasting memories and it wasn't long before we were planning our next trip to Disney for our son's 5th birthday.

One of my favorite Florida memories was going to Fantasmic!  It was such an awesome experience the first time with the sounds, the fountains showing scenes... I think everyone should experience it once.  Here's a pic (sorry it's not great quality, but it was dark and the water is moving.)  The other shows the paddle boat with Disney characters waving goodbye.  Of course, who doesn't love basking in the sun when your brain is telling you that April is way too early for it to be so warm and lush looking!  That was another thing I loved about Florida --- the warmth!  There's so much to do in Florida that we want to plan a non-Disney vacation and enjoy other things that Florida offers tourists.  I love going off the beaten path to discover things and places normal tourists just don't have the time for.

So when I think of Florida, I think of Disney... but I also think about oranges.  Tropicana Pure Premium 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice is made up of Florida oranges (none from other countries).  I try to buy American whenever I can.  Tropicana Pure Premium is the largest buyer of Florida fruit (approx 11.6 billion oranges per year).  Now, that's a lot of oranges!  They buy them from orange groves in 22 different Florida counties, mostly in central and southern Florida, and some of the growers have had a relationship with Tropicana since the 60s.  Other fun facts to know:

• The different microclimates and soil types mean that fruit reaches peak maturity at different times, allowing Tropicana to harvest ripe fruit throughout the entire growing season. 

• The two major orange types in Tropicana Pure Premium are Valencia and Hamlin. Valencias typically have more intense color and flavor, while Hamlins can be sweeter. They each add unique characteristics to the TPP blend.

• Oranges have been grown in Florida since the 1560s (that's approximately 147 years before any other U.S. state!) 

Win a trip to Sarasota, Florida!  99 other lucky Tropicana Pure Premium fans will win a year's supply of orange juice (to be given away as 12 coupons).  The Florida trip will include a visit to an orange grove.  How do you enter?  You'll want to do it quickly as this sweepstakes ends 4/20/2012.  Go to Tropicana's Facebook page and click the Sweepstakes tab to enter.


I would love to win, as I'm sure you would too!  We love Florida and have been recently talking about when we can go back down to the land of oranges and palm trees.  I would love to visit an orange grove and sample Florida goodness right on the spot.  I drink orange juice a few times a week, more so since I've cut way back on soda.  It's refreshing, nutritious, and is a healthy alternative to soda.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tropicana blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.

Cooking with rice: an affordable and healthy side dish! #BensBeginners

As a mom of a 10 year old who is interested in helping with meal preparation, I was really excited to hear about Uncle Ben's 'Ben's Beginners' contest, where cooking and filming you and your child making a rice-based dish making healthy choices, and then uploading that video can net you $20,000 in cash, an appearance on Rachael Ray, and, perhaps more importantly, $50,000 to your school for a cafeteria makeover.  Having seen our school's cafeteria, I should recommend that everyone in our town enter this contest!  My little 10 year old ham would love to mug for the camera and cook a yummy dish for the family dinner and the chance to win is very enticing!

As someone with a wheat allergy, we eat a fair amount of rice in our house, often using it as a base for meals like chili (we pour the chili over the rice), rice with veggies with gravy on top (good with beef or chicken sliced up and matching gravy), or even just cook rice in chicken or beef broth as a quick and easy side dish. My favorite is chicken, mixed veggies (broccoli, water chestnuts, and carrots) with chicken gravy poured over top.  This can easily be made as a casserole too with a bit of bread crumbs (gluten free ones for me) sprinkled on top.  Quick, easy, and healthy!  Rice is also very affordable, particularly nice as the cost of virtually everything at the grocery store has gone up.  If meat is super expensive, cut back on that and fill your meal with more rice.

As I see more and more children that are pudgy, I worry about my own kids.  I strive to make dinner a healthy meal for them, hopefully providing more of the vital nutrients and minerals that they may have missed at a previous meal.  And because my two kids can be a bit picky about veggies, I tend to choose vegetables that they love because I know they'll eat them.  Here are some of my tips for cooking healthy meals with kids.

1.  Know what's healthy yourself!  This may sound like a no brainer, but we parents should be able to help point out healthier choices to our kids.  I stopped cooking my rice with butter and now substitute just a small dash of olive oil in the water when I put it on to boil.  The Mayo Clinic explains why olive oil is better than butter in this article.  If your kids see you choosing healthier ways to cook, they will learn from that, particularly when you explain your healthier choice to them.


2.  Offer a variety of vegetables.  My son won't eat broccoli, but he will eat carrots.  We allow him to have just carrots, even if the medley has other vegetables in there that he won't eat.  We still offer him the variety because tastes do change as you get older, but we want him to feel that he gets a choice.  If I am making a dish, I'll name off some vegetables and let the kids choose which ones they want included in the meal. 

3.  Fried foods are the exception, not the rule.   My kids love things like nuggets and french fries and I swear they could eat them every day.  However, I don't heat up the Fry Daddy very often, though I know they want their food to taste like McDonald's.  The reality is that fried foods aren't a healthy way to cook.  Baking foods that are typically fried is a healthier choice.  It's OK to say no to an unhealthy way of cooking.

4.  Read labels and buy lower sodium vegetables.  While I don't normally buy vegetables in a can, except for a sweet corn variety that I love, I do look for labels and try to buy lower sodium canned vegetables.  I would rather add my own salt, thank you very much!  And since the kids are with me when I shop a lot of the times, I ask them to pick out the lower-sodium foods and put them in the cart.  I hope that this action reinforces the need to choose less processed foods and that when they are off on their own years from now that I have taught them to make a healthier choice.  These vegetables make it on to their dinner plate and unnecessary salt intake can lead to health problems down the road.

5.  Which is a healthier choice?  This is a question that I ask my kids a lot, particularly when they bring a snack to me and ask me if they can have it.  I am not afraid to send them back and make them choose a healthier snack that I will say yes to!  I don't want to think of myself as a nagging mom, but sometimes kids just need to hear that their choices aren't healthy, or aren't as healthy as they could be.  I might say, "That's a lot of butter you've got there, maybe half would be better".  If I'm cooking with my daughter, I will explain why I choose oil over butter, or rice instead of noodles, or why you can't eat cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Kids want to know why you do certain things and every moment in the kitchen making dinner with them is a teachable moment to help them learn how to eat and cook healthy.

Ben's Beginners --- Enter your video to win $20,000, 

a Rachael Ray appearance, and a $50,000 cafeteria makeover for your child's school.

Do you have a child between the ages of 5-12?  Make a video of them cooking a rice dish with you and enter it to win the Ben's Beginner's contest.  You can find out more about this contest and enter to win by Liking them on Facebook.  Browse the Official Rules to make sure you meet the requirements.

Ben's Beginner's contest ends 2/26 at 11:59 PM, so you have about a month to get your 2-3 minute video uploaded and entered to win.  What type of rice dish will you make with your child?  Leave me a comment letting me know (I'm always looking for inspiration!) and be sure to check out some recipe ideas if you're looking for a dish to complete with your child for the contest.  Good luck, and if you enter, be sure to come back and comment so we can all go check out your video.

About Uncle Ben’s
Uncle Ben’s®, the number one rice brand in America, is proud to offer a wide range of rice dishes with flavors and textures that will help bring more to your meals, both for convenient side dishes and savory main courses. Uncle Ben’s® offers a wide variety of white, whole grain brown, and flavored rices in cook times ranging from 30 minutes to 90 seconds, as well as rice for food service operations such as restaurants, schools and hospitals. The first mass-produced parboiled rice, Uncle Ben’s® is the top-selling branded rice in the United States and products can be found in more than 100 countries worldwide. Uncle Ben’s® Brand products are manufactured by Mars Food NA, part of Mars, Incorporated. For more information, visit www.UncleBens.com.

More info on Uncle Ben’s: http://www.unclebens.com/

Uncle Ben’s on Facebook

Check out recipe ideas from Uncle Ben’s.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program, for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Mom-inspired driving tips for busy moms #Esurance

Driving is something that almost every moms does... there's a reason there's a bumper sticker out there that says, "Mom's Taxi" on it!  As a mom, safety is important to me and SocialMoms and Esurance have teamed up to learn what driving tips we moms have to offer, aside from the standard "Buckle Up!" rule that we have.  Here are 5 of my own mom-inspired driving tips that I would never have considered as carefully if I weren't a mom.

1.  No, you can't sit in the front seat!  Have you ever actually taken the time to read the fine print on the visor on the passenger side?  It will tell you that allowing children 12 and under to sit/be placed in a car seat is a big no-no.  A small child will not be in the same body position as an adult, and those air bags are designed for adults and a child could be injured by the airbag deploying.  Having had one actually deploy - in my face - I can appreciate this warning.  So there's no one under 12 that sits in the front seat of my car.

2.  Cut the mindless chatter!   My kids know if I tell them to cut the chatter, that they better comply with that request.  We issue this warning whenever we are in heavy traffic or have to watch multiple lanes, something that is very common in the DC-area.  Babbling on about nothing - particularly at their advanced ages - is frowned up.  They know if we tell them we need to concentrate on the road that it's time to zip their lips.

3.  Keep a respectable interval, especially in construction zones.  Construction zones often bottleneck and can have starts and stops, sometimes within a very short distance.  If you see those orange signs, pay close attention to the traffic in front of you, as far as you can see.  Those brake lights tend to roll back through the line of traffic and you don't want to be caught unawares by someone jacking their brakes suddenly.  Having been rear-ended once by an inattentive driver in a construction zone, I exercise caution with keeping enough of an interval that if traffic suddenly stops, I've got room between me and the guy ahead of me.  This topic brings me to ....

4.  Be nice and let people in!  There are always those impatient people who rush along side you and try valiantly to cheat the system (and ignore the merge signs) in the hopes of getting a few extra cars ahead when a lane narrows.  Resist the urge to not let that person in.  I know it's hard!  It's not rewarding their impolite and brash driving behavior, instead it is saving you from hitting them because they will cut you off to get in.  Be kind and let them merge.

5.  Scrape all of your windows and brush off all the snow!  Though we haven't seen much snow this winter to speak of, I grew up in the snow belt of Northwestern Pennsylvania.  One of the things that my parents stressed to me was the importance of brushing off all the snow and scraping the ice off all the windows in your car.  You don't want  have areas of window that you can't look out of, and even if you don't have back seat passengers, you should still scrape those windows as well.  With regard to snow removal, you should not leave snow on your roof.  Your car heats up and that snow melts, leaving a layer just floating there.  Brake suddenly, and you will have it slide down over your windshield.  Worse, you could be hit by someone else's roof snow!  My husband took some big ice chunks off a paper delivery truck once, just from being behind him on the highway.  Be safe!  Take care of your snow for your safety  and the safety of the guy behind you.

Do you have any other great tips to share?  I would love to read your comments below.  It's so important to practice safe driving and make sure your policy needs are reviewed often to ensure that they continue to meet your needs.  You see your doctor every year for a check up and you should review your insurance needs at least on a yearly basis to make sure you are well-covered in the event of the unexpected.

About the sponsor of this blog post

About Esurance
With a wealth of easy-to-use online tools as well as 24/7 expert service, Esurance is making car insurance smarter from quote to claim. Everything we do is done with the goal of saving you time, hassle, hair-tearing-out, and oh yes, money too. Use the Esurance Coverage Counselor® to help you figure out the exact coverage limits you need. File a claim (and send pics of the accident) from your mobile phone. Call anytime — and by that we mean anytime — to talk to a friendly expert about discounts. Do what you need to do, when you need to do it. And do it with ease. That's what Esurance is all about.

More info on Esurance: blog.esurance.com

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I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Esurance blogging program for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Giving and receiving gift cards creatively (last minute panic gifting...) #GiftCardsRock

With just a few short days until Christmas, I am mostly finished with my gift buying.  I generally try to select something that the recipient would truly love.  However, that effort can feel nearly futile for friends or family that I don't know very well.  Case in point:  What do I get my brother?  I've never been in his apartment, so there's no chance to take note of decor, notice whether he's got an old coffee pot that could use an upgrade, what kind of beer he likes to keep on hand... you get the idea.  For the hard to shop for or has-everything person on your list, a gift card may be the best gift you could give them!


Giftcardsrock.com  has teamed up with SocialMoms bloggers to find some tips on creatively giving gift cards to friends and family and learn a little about why I love to give and receive gift cards... so without further ado, I'll share some of my favorite gift card tips!

Three creative gifting ideas...

As a part of a gift basket - One creative way to give the gift of a gift card is to tie it into a theme.  If your recipient is an avid moviegoer, it is easy to throw together a movie themed basket with snacks, popcorn, and a gift card to AMC or another theatre.


Gift card holders - Want that joy of learning they received a gift card to last a little longer?  Put it in a puzzle box that they have to solve before retrieving their gift.  Check out this one!  Kids would definitely love it.


Target gift coins - Who says gift cards have to come in rectangles?  The holidays mean more gift card options at Target (some are very collectible like the Lego one this year) and they even offer gift coins that you can assign a money value to.  They're about the size of a half-dollar and would fit easily into a stocking!

Why I love gift cards... 

I am, admittedly, a pain to shop for.  I rarely want things, since I think I'm a fairly simple blue jeans and t-shirt kind of girl.  For me, giving me a gift card gives me the option to take the time I need to find that perfect gift.  I do love letting the giver know what I selected too - and doing so is not only good manners, but also gives them an insight into your tastes.  One of the best things I have ever purchased with a gift card would have to be a computer.  Well, I didn't pay the whole thing, but I did use a $50 Sears gift card from my MIL and FIL to put toward the very first computer that my husband and I ever owned.  Little did I know then where a computer would lead me!   Other than that, I have used gift cards I've gotten to Amazon to feed my need for books.

Giving gift cards may feel impersonal to someone, but from my perspective, it allows me freedom to choose something that I would like.  A lot of gift cards have no expiration, I can feel like there's no rush to run out right away.  If I need a sweater, I can wait for a good sale.  

I also try to keep some gift cards on hand in case of a gift emergency!  They are an easy, last minute gift.  I love that stores are now offering multipacks of gift cards in smaller increments - it makes it so easy to give a gift card paired with a small gift to a friend or family member.


Buying gift cards has its perks...

One thing that I do as a frugalista is look for ways to save money, or even better, earn it.  Living here in Virginia, I sometimes find rebates for buying gift cards, particularly around the holiday season.  In that case, I buy a gift card before making my purchase at the store I happen to need something from (usually a grocery store) and then I use it to pay for my purchase, saving the receipt for the gift card for the gift card rebate.  Pretty slick, eh?  Last year, I received a $10 rebate on a $50 gift card purchase.

Grabbing gift cards you need for holiday gift giving at grocery stores that participate in fuel perks is an easy way to boost your total points to get a bigger discount.

Plus, if you need gas and your Walmart has a gas station, always get a gift card first (you can go right up to the window and buy one) to get the fuel discount associated with paying at the pump with a Walmart gift card.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post!  If you have any other tips for getting the most perks out of your gift card purchases, please share!  I often redeem my Cash Back balance for gift cards, where most cards offer $25 gift card for a $20 Cash Back redemption.  In that case, I make $5 each time I redeem for gift cards.  One time, I won a Meijer gift card from a contest and the nearest Meijer was in Ohio, several hours away.  I sold it on eBay for close to the whole amount, though not quite.  In that case, I was able recoup most of the value of the card and spend that PayPal cash somewhere else.  There's lots of places to trade or sell gift cards you receive for stores you don't shop at, so bear that in mind this holiday season.

Please comment!

What is your favorite gift card to receive?  I am a huge fan of Target.  I can usually find clothing that suits my taste there.  I'd also love to learn about your own creative ways for giving gift cards. 

Disclosure:  I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Gift Cards Rock blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

KRE-O for Christmas? Top 3 reasons this new Hasbro toy is a great gift #HasbroKREOsets

I've been busy dealing with my mom's illness and quite honestly, thinking ahead to Christmas right now isn't something that I can focus on.  I am trying to, though.  Despite being saddened by knowing her time is limited, I have been looking online here and there for gift ideas for my two children, knowing that I will be forcing a smile this Christmas.  I was very glad to see that SocialMoms has teamed up with Hasbro to spread the word about a new toy, KRE-O.  I think it would be a great fit for my 6, soon to be 7 year old, since it's meant for kids 6 and older.

Reason 1 why I think KRE-O would be a great gift for my son...  Ninjago!

My little Lego maniac is in love with Ninjago.  In checking out the KRE-O line, I was happy to find the KRE-O bricks are compatible with other leading bricks.  My son has a huge tub of those "leading bricks" and I like to keep them all together when possible.  I liked the Transformer look and know he will want to collect them all, just like the Ninjagos he begs for at every turn.

Reason 2.... lots of different sets available!

My little man likes to have every set imaginable when he falls in love with a toy.  That's nice, but there's a budget to consider!  Since there are 12 KRE-O Transformers sets available, I'll have lots to choose from and can find one or more at a price point to stay in my budget.  The sets range between $7.99 and $59.99 and have beginner to deluxe sets for those who are more accomplished.  Which brings me to another point, the KRE-O set will grow with him as he masters brick laying skills to make more complicated builds.

Reason 3... Wide age appeal (don't forget the hubby...)

My son and his dad love to watch the old Transformer cartoons on TV.  It's a blast from the past!  My hubby even has an old Optimus Prime.  The KRE-O sets would allow father and son to bond over a toy that they both can relate to.  For hubby, it will feel nostalgic.  For my son, it will feel brand new.  With all of the Transformers movies coming out in the past few years, a whole new generation is familiar with them. 

I'll be looking for these on store shelves and on my favorite e-tailer sites.  I'm hoping to find a good deal on them too!

Holiday cheer may be a little hard to come by, but here's what I'm planning to do to help get myself into the holiday spirit...


1.  Fake it til you make it!  If I'm feeling sad, I am just going to push through.  I'm going to make cookies that my mom would make if she were able.  I'm going to use favorite cookie cutters that were hers when I was younger.  I am going to soldier forward and try to keep things as normal as possible.

2.  Shop when I can't sleep!   Seeing my children's happy little faces on Christmas morn is something that I always enjoy and look forward to.  I plan to do a lot of shopping when I am up and can't sleep.  No sense wasting prime shopping time and who knows, I may just find a bargain that can't be beat!  While presents aren't the reason for the season, Christmas joy and Jesus' birth do need to be celebrated.


3.  Remembering those who are needy.  Each year, we take an Angel (or two) from the Angel tree at our church.  Purchasing gifts for others who are less fortunate will be a nice way to spread the holiday cheer.  I know of many who have been blessed by charitable organizations at Christmas and I know that it leaves a lasting impression to know that someone you don't know cares about you.


What are you planning to do to spread the holiday cheer?  I'd love to read your inspiring comments.  This season will be bittersweet and I can use some happy stories to lift my spirits.

P.S.  Be sure to check out Hasbro's KRE-O giveaway!

About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc. is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY.

 Come see how Hasbro inspires play through their brands at http://www.hasbro.com.

Enter to win one of over 1,000 KRE-O Construction Sets in the Great Brick Giveaway


I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hasbro blogging program, for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points and a KRE-O gift. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of SocialMoms or Hasbro. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Cold and Flu Season is coming soon. Prepare now to keep your family cold and flu free! #lysolcoldandflu

 


A few years ago, I caught a mild flu that came on somewhat suddenly and as the minutes ticked by, I felt increasingly worse.  I remember this because my husband called me on his way home from work and he'd stopped at the store to pick up a few items.  Meanwhile, I had to be at the front door to receive our daughter from the bus while I had a pre-schooler running around the house getting into stuff.  I literally laid on the floor by the door waiting for the bus to arrive so I could signal that I was home by opening the door.  It was the worst I'd ever remember feeling in my entire life. I never want to feel that bad ever again and I certainly don't want anyone in my family feeling that bad either.

While there's no guarantee you won't catch something, there are 10 tips you can employ to keep your family healthy this cold and flu season. 

• Experts recommend getting a flu shot to avoid getting the flu.  Lysol offers a great opportunity to save by offering a $5 rebate when you get a flu shot and purchase one (1) Lysol product.  The offer began on 10/1/11 and runs through 2/29/2012, so there's plenty of time to get that flu shot if your doctor recommends getting one to you.  Be sure to Like Lysol on Facebook to keep in the know about product offers.

• Make sure you use a sanitizing wipe to decontaminate shopping carts.  Sick people shop and you don't want to be touching their germs if you can avoid it.

• Continue to encourage hand washing to keep your hands and your family's hands as clean as possible.  If you're out shopping and stop at a restaurant to eat, don't forget to send the posse into the bathroom to wash their hands before eating.

• Need routine medical care?  Don't forget that a doctor's office has sick patients in there too.  Sick people touch everything, including door handles.  Skip the magazines (bring your own) and don't allow your children to play with the toys there (again, bring your own) because they are likely covered with germs.  Make sure you sanitize after leaving and if the door will open with a back-side shove, open it that way so you don't have to touch the door handle.

• Isolate any sick family member as much as possible.  This was a key step we used when I caught the flu.  We also kept a can of Lysol around to spray on hard surfaces and wiped down remotes with a sanitizing wipe to avoid passing germs.

• Do you have an ultraviolet toothbrush sanitzer?  We do and use it religiously every day.  My husband gets up long before me, so after he brushes, he hits the button to sanitize.  After I brush, I hit the sanitize button too.  Don't keep toothbrushes hanging out together and consider investing in an ultraviolet sanitizer to keep your toothbrush as germ-free as it can be. 

• Teach your kids to sneeze into their elbow.  This is something even young children can learn and it is definitely worth teaching. 

• If someone in my family comes down with a cold, the rest of us try to get more vitamin C into our diets.  That generally means more orange juice.  It also means we start taking vitamins if we've slacked off on taking them every day.  A strong, well-nourished body can fight off infection better.

• Avoid shaking hands who are sniffling or obviously have a cold and don't be shy about waving off a handshake if you are sick yourself.  Germs love it when we do the hard work for them and hand contact is a good way to spread germs.  My husband caught a cold over the weekend and politely refused a handshake from the priest on the way out of church.  I am sure Father appreciated the gesture of kindness. 

• Watch your kids when they're in the store, especially toddlers and pre-schoolers.  When my son was younger, he was too short to peer over the check out counter.  He was forever putting his mouth all over it.  If you have a fabric cover for a grocery cart, be sure to use it and wash it often to cut down on germs entering your home.

 Bonus tip:

• Send Lysol wipes to your child's school.  These were on our son's back-to-school list and I know that teachers do what they can to keep children healthy so that they can come to school to learn versus being out of school home sick.  Purchase a canister to send with your child to school so that the teachers will have them on hand in a germ emergency.

Here's that rebate (click image to be redirected to the site hosting the printable rebate form).

Keeping your family well is every mom's goal, not only from a health standpoint, but from a financial one too.  Sick days mean lost work time and/or lost school time.  Taking the initiative in keeping germs at bay can really pay off in more ways than one.  Do you have any tips for keeping your family cold and flu free?  I'd love to hear them.  Please share by leaving a comment below.

Oh and one last thing:  Be sure to visit Lysol on Facebook and enter their Wipes Challenge.  50 winners per day will win Lysol's 35 count Dual Action wipes.  There will also be two (2) grand prize winners who will receive $1,000 each. 

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Lysol blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Messy kids? Here are 10 tips to help them get their playroom/bedroom organized #WallTracks.

 

One of my biggest complaints with my kids is that they're messy.  I can't stand clutter -- it drives me insane.  My daughter is a huge offender because she likes to put things in bags.  So her room would look like we just shopped out the entire mall if I let her store her items like that.  One of the most important things to remember is that you have to provide your child with the tools that they need to get and stay organized and come up with some creative storage solutions when you're short on space.  What do we do to keep the kids' rooms organized?  Here's a few things that we do to keep things neat and tidy.

1.  Re-evaluate toys for age appropriateness at least twice a year.  Clutter can be caused by having too many toys that are no longer age appropriate.  Keep their favorites tucked away in a special bin and donate/sell/giveaway the rest.  This tip is especially important for younger children since they outgrow toys as often as they outgrow clothes!

2.  Bins for specific toys.  My son has a ton of Legos (and I mean a ton!).  Therefore, to keep them all in the same place for better playtime fun, we have an established bin where all Legos go.  This is a sanity saver since Legos tend to wander like nomads in my house.  It also helps because when I say, "Put these Legos away." my son knows exactly where they go without hesitation.

3.  Ensure you have adequate closet shelving.  When we painted our daughter's room, one of the side projects was installing extra closet shelving to give her more storage space.  Toys and games that she rarely used go on the top shelf.  See tip one - don't forget the top shelf when you're clearing out toys. 

4.  Save those wipe tubs!  Baby wipes tubs are great for storing small objects.  Use a Sharpie to mark what is inside when stacking them in the closet. 

5.  Preserve toys' boxes.  While a child might be tempted to tear open the box the toy came in, it is important to try to preserve the boxes whenever you can.  My son has a few Hot Wheels sets and I'd never be able to tell them apart if they were lumped into all one bin.  On top of that, it is nice to put everything back into the box it came in for storage reasons.  Also, when my son outgrows the toy, it is good to have all of the pieces for when I give it away.

6.  Ziploc baggies are your friend.  My kids know that one of mom's rules is:  I don't keep broken toys.  And I don't!  I can remember playing Clue with a yellow wire nut because we lost Colonel Mustard.  I enforce the Ziploc rule that if your game has small pieces, you need to put them all in Ziploc baggies and store them with the toy.

7.  Creative use of storage space.  Think outside of the box.  I recently purchased some wire stackable locker organizers in hot pink for my daughter to use in her room for extra storage.  They can be used stacked or apart to add extra space by allowing us to place items underneath and on top.  I even bought extra to use in my pantry.

8.  Clothes on the floor.    Both of my kids are guilty of this cluttering nightmare.  Kids know when their clothes don't fit and will throw their cast offs on the floor.  When you do laundry, check the sizes and set aside anything that looks too small for donation later.  Go through their dressers each season and pull out clothing that they've outgrown.

9.  Bins for underneath the bed.  This is a storage technique we use in my daughter's pink room.  We purchased some slim, fabric bins for under the bed storage.  She uses them for doll clothes, books, and more.  Best of all, they slide in and out easily and are nice enough that though you can see them under the bed, they hide what's inside because of their fabric covering.

10.  Stuffed animal net.  My kids refuse to part with stuffed animals and having them all over the floor made their rooms look more like a zoo than a bedroom.  We purchased inexpensive nets to house their burgeoning collections.  This got them up off the floor where they had no real home to go to other than a bed, which meant that each night, they ended up on the floor again.  Use nets for stuffed animals and dolls in a girl's room to make the most out of your available space.

These tips will help you get your kids' rooms ship shape in no time and if you have any tips to share, please leave a comment below.  

Hot Wheels has introduced a new must-have toy that I know my son will be begging for called  Wall Tracks™.   These Hot Wheels tracks actually are mounted on your child's wall, how cool is that?  Best of all -- no floor clutter!  Once my son put together a Hot Wheels set, he never wanted to take it apart since it was a lot of work to put it together in the first place.  So I know he'll love the Wall Tracks and my husband will too since he's a kid at heart.  Take a look at this YouTube video:

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

About the sponsor

About Hot Wheels®
Since 1968, Hot Wheels® has been passionate about creating thrilling vehicle experiences through innovative product and content. With a fan base of more than 41 million people, Hot Wheels® is the No. 1 vehicle property in the United States producing the coolest cars imaginable. The Hot Wheels® brand began as a line of 16 1:64-scale die-cast vehicles; today, it has evolved into a true, global lifestyle brand for boys of all ages with segments that range from aftermarket parts to licensed apparel to branded digital content from Team Hot Wheels™, a real-life race crew of professional drivers performing over-the-top stunts.

More on Hot Wheels® Wall Tracks™ sets: http://www.hotwheels.com/walltracks

More info on Hot Wheels®: http://www.hotwheels.com

10 Tips For How to Prepare Your Nursery For A New Arrival #SeventhGeneration.

Times have changed a lot since I last prepared a nursery for a new arrival.  My youngest is almost 7, though it seems like just yesterday that we were preparing our home for a new baby.  I had the pleasure of passing down some parenting advice to my nephew who welcomed a son into his family over the Fourth of July.  There's a lot that you do need to do to ready the nest, and first time parents might appreciate tried and true parenting advice when it comes to what to do to get your home ready for baby's arrival.


1.  Stock up on essentials... like diapers!  Newborns wet 6-8 (or more!) diapers per day.  That's a lot of diapers and you don't want to be standing sleepy-eyed at the grocery store at 3 AM because you ran out.  Plan to use 10 diapers a day and buy enough diapers to get you through the first sleep-deprived weeks.  Seventh Generation, a company known for its eco-friendly cleaning products, also makes diapers that are cloth-like and soft.  If your store doesn't carry them, you can order them on Amazon.com and have them delivered right to your door.


2.  Pre-wash clothing and blankets.  While you may not mind wearing clothes that are brand new with tags, it's a good idea to pre-wash baby's items in a free and clear laundry detergent.  Baby's skin may be sensitive and a baby with a skin rash is generally an unhappy baby.   Seventh Generation offers a free and clear detergent that is suitable for your clothes and baby's too.


3.  Have the car seat ready.  Install baby's car seat in the car and, if possible, have the police department or other safety official inspect it.  You'd be very surprised to know that a lot of parents don't install them properly.  If you are a first time parent, make sure that you read the instructions so that you will be buckling baby up properly.  


4.  Let your pets know their zones.   Set up baby's crib well in advance of your due date and, if you have cats, teach them to avoid jumping in the crib.  We re-trained a cat once to not nap in the baby's crib while I was still pregnant.  We filled the crib with balloons so when he jumped in, he'd pop some with his claws and run away from the crib to find a better place to nap.  It's only fair to break your pets gently into new rules for zones before baby arrives.


5.  Rearrange the furniture.   We knew we would need to make room for all of baby's items, so we rearranged furniture before the baby came.  This meant juggling to get room for the bassinet in our bedroom and making room for a playpen in our living room.  Pregnant women should not lift furniture, so leave the heavy lifting to others!


6.  Check the smoke alarm/carbon monoxide alarm batteries.  Generally, you do this every six months anyway, but with new baby preparations going on, it might slip your mind.  When you become a parent, you become intensely aware of safety issues.  In case of a fire, you can escape.  A baby or small child can't.  Make sure all of your alarms have fresh batteries and that there is an adequate number of alarms throughout your home.  Don't forget the carbon monoxide detector.


7.  Double check the temperature of the hot water heater.  You may like your showers scalding hot, but having your hot water tank temperature set too high not only costs extra money via a higher utility bill, but it also places your child at risk for burns.  Set your temp to a maximum of 120 degrees.  You don't really need your water any hotter than that.

8.  Consider getting a ceiling fan.  Past research has shown that having a fan running in baby's room can decrease the incidence of SIDS.  Researchers believe that having fresh airflow helps stop babies from rebreathing lower quality air.  

9.  Check your thermostat.  Don't roast your baby by keeping your home too warm.  Newborn babies love to be swaddled, but they don't love to sweat.  We kept our children's room cooler than the main rooms of the home because they slept better.  Some sites recommend an optimal room temp of around 65 degrees Fahrenheit.


10.  Music!  They say that music calms the savage beast, and sometimes it calms a crying baby.  One thing we always did to prepare the nursery for each of our children was to buy them their own CD player.  We kept a stack of classical music (hubby insisted on Mozart because it is supposed to make your baby smarter) and played it for them as they drifted off to sleep.  Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring was the only thing that saved my sanity during the first few weeks after our daughter was born.  That was the song that got her to settle down to sleep!


There's so much to do to prepare your home for a new arrival, but if you're organized and keep a list to check off the important tasks, you'll have your home ready for baby in no time.  Many of these tips are things that you can do well in advance of your anticipated due date and some will save you money too.

About the Sponsor

 

Seventh Generation is the nation’s leading brand of household and personal care products that help protect human health and the environment.  Established in 1988, the Burlington, Vermont based company remains an independent, privately-held company distributing products to natural food stores, supermarkets, mass merchants, and online retailers across the United States and Canada.

More info on Seventh Generation: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

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Follow @SeventhGen on Twitter

Disclosure:  I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seventh Generation blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Playing outside as a family --- a cheap, fun, healthy activity to do! #C2Play2Day

Playing outside together as a family is a cheap, healthy, and fun activity.  With so much in the news about childhood obesity due to a lack of physical activity, it's up to parents to help foster a love for exercise.  Kids love to see their parents moving along with them too.  I know my kids do!  In all honesty, I don't really remember my own parents playing with us kids and as an adult now, it makes me a little sad.  I hope that my kids remember the outside play when they're as old as me!  

Have you heard about The Worldwide Day of Play?  Nickelodeon's The Big Help is a program that aims to encourage families and kids to make a conscious effort to make better, healthier lifestyle choices every day. September 24, 2011 is Worldwide Day of Play, where kids and their families are being encouraged to turn off their TV and get outside and play.  I know in my family, my children love their technology items... computer, iPod, gaming consoles... and I have to shoo them outside to encourage them to enjoy the great outdoors instead of the not-so-great indoors. 

Clorox 2® is a proud sponsor of Nickelodeon's 8th Annual Worldwide Day of Play. If more physical activity and less TV are something that your household needs, please consider participating in the Worldwide Day of Play on September 24th.  Make a commitment to more outside play and take the Clorox2® Play 2Day pledge to play outside!

What we do as a family ~ cheap family activities to do outside!


Frisbee toss and kicking a soccer ball around  Tossing a frisbee is great for exercise, not to mention some hand-eye coordination.  Fling that frisbee around and let the kids run to catch it.  A frisbee can cost as little as a dollar or two at a dollar store.  My kids like to fly the frisbee around the yard.  Having an adult play also means that it's funner for littler ones because adults have better aim and control.  The kids love to kick the ball around and that's something adults can join in on too.  I used to have a neighbor that had a dog that loves to play soccer.  He's a ball hog and getting the ball away from him is a work out, even for me!  The kids loved to play with him and at the end, both dog and human kids were worn out.

Bike riding around the neighborhood  Another cheap activity that my family enjoys is bike riding.  This, admittedly, is my husband's outdoor activity with the kids.  Riding down the "big hill" and then the "little hill" are always highlights to their time together.  Since riding a bike is hard for me due to some pain issues, I don't mind that they are out having fun together without me.  I enjoy the time they're all gone since I get the house to myself!  We often move our cars to make extra room on our concrete drive so the kids can tool around when a full bike ride is impossible.


A stroll on the beach  We also go to the beach for a leisurely walk and all we pay for is parking, which is a quarter for every 15 minutes.  My husband and I stroll the beach while the kids run ahead and grab shells and beach glass, filling their pockets with Potomac River treasures.  Our town has a paved boardwalk and a municipal pier that reaches out into the Potomac.  Both are fun to stroll along when you are looking for something outside to do that isn't high impact.  Ratchet it up a notch and challenge the kids to a race down the beach.


These are just a few of the activities that we do as a family in the great outdoors.  Outdoor activities don't have to cost a fortune to be fun and be counted as physical activity.  Spending time together is good for everyone's physical and mental health.  Healthy bodies promote a healthy mind!  Mark your calendar for the Worldwide Day of Play on September 24th and don't forget:  Take the  Clorox2® Play 2Day pledge to play outside!

About the sponsor and other links of interest:

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products with 8,100 employees and fiscal year 2011 revenues of $5.2 billion. Clorox markets some of consumers' most trusted and recognized brand names, including its namesake bleach and cleaning products, Green Works® naturally derived home care products, Pine-Sol® cleaners, Poett® home care products, Fresh Step® cat litter, Kingsford® charcoal, Hidden Valley® and K C Masterpiece® dressings and sauces, Brita® water-filtration products, Glad® bags, wraps and containers, and Burt’s Bees® natural personal care products. Nearly 90 percent of Clorox Company brands hold the No. 1 or No. 2 market share positions in their categories. The company’s products are manufactured in more than two dozen countries and sold in more than 100 countries. Clorox is committed to making a positive difference in the communities where its employees work and live. Founded in 1980, The Clorox Company Foundation has awarded cash grants totaling more than $84 million to nonprofit organizations, schools and colleges. In fiscal year 2011 alone, the foundation awarded $4 million in cash grants, and Clorox made product donations valued at $13 million. For more information about Clorox, visit www.TheCloroxCompany.com.

More info on Clorox Play2Day

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Disclosure:
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Protecting your family's nest: Make sure you have adequate insurance #FamilyNest

Thinking about insurance needs used to keep me up at night.  As a stay-at-home mom, I didn't have the safety net of having insurance through an employer and though my husband's job is secure, it occurred to us that having life insurance through an employer only was probably not the best thing to do, especially in our turbulent economy.  As we kicked around numbers, we had no idea if what we thought would be adequate was truly what we needed to purchase.  Whole life or term?  My head spun!  Finally, we made an appointment with an insurance agent that could answer our questions, give us an honest appraisal of what type and how much insurance we would need. 

All State and Social Moms have teamed up to help educate my readers about the importance of having insurance.  Here are some startling facts:

Did you know that half of Americans say they are under-insured? That’s 58 million* of us. And 70%* of people with kids under 18 say they would be in serious trouble if something happened to the primary breadwinner.

 Why this kept me up at night:  My husband is the breadwinner by far.  If something were to happen to him, I would have a very hard time replacing his income, let alone half of it.  With mortgages and other bills to pay, it would be impossible for me to sustain our current standard of living without the cushion of life insurance.  We needed to determine how much insurance we would need so that I wouldn't have to worry about selling quickly or even foreclosure if something happened to him.

Experts say a good rule of thumb is to insure 5 to 10 times your income. It sounds like a lot, but it’s really not. Think about what you’re really worth.  Life insurance will help cover the cost of your mortgage, medical and funeral expenses, continuing childcare, living expense and college tuition.

 What kept him up at night:   While everyone may joke that being a stay-at-home mom is a not a job since you don't get paid, the sad fact is that if you weren't home taking care of the children, you would have to pay someone else to do this job.  If something were to happen to me, he would need to make sure that he could afford childcare -- even a Nanny or housekeeping service -- if he didn't have me around. Another fact that should scare any husband into making sure his wife is adequately insured:  Salary.com estimates the average stay-at-home mom would earn $117,867 per year if she were paid for all the work she does.

So, where do you begin the quest to protect your family nest?  The first step is the hardest.  You actually have to stop procrastinating and commit to speaking with an insurance agent who will ask you questions about your finances, your health, your age, and any other important plans you have for the future.  This will help him or her determine what type and how much insurance you need.  For most people, their insurance needs are greatest while their children are young and their mortgage balance is high.  

Another thing I highly recommend is to get insurance when you're young and healthy (and thinner!)  They do take into consideration your weight as well as your overall health.  Obesity is not only bad for your health, but it's bad for your wallet when it comes to insurance premiums.  If you're a little bit on the heavy side with plans to lose weight, be sure to ask your agent if you would be able to get reduced premiums with a sustained weight loss at some later time. 

Don't forget the kids' educational needs when you are making insurance planning decisions.  Plan for college needs and, if your children are currently in a private school, be sure to plan for enough insurance money to cover their educational needs should something happen to either one of you. 

Most of all, you should keep up with premiums.  Lapsed policies don't do anyone any good.  If you can pre-pay for the year with your income tax refund, then you should consider doing so.  Don't be afraid to ask what the payment options are so that you can find a policy that fits your needs and your budget.

In the end, you'll sleep better at night knowing that you're family's nest will be secure if the unexpected should happen.  Now that we both have insurance policies, I don't even think about bad things happening at night anymore.  I know that if something happened to either of us, the other one would be OK financially.  Stop worrying about the what-ifs and look into your insurance needs.  When we paid our first premium, my husband said, "Why didn't we do this sooner?"  Don't let life get in the way and re-evaluate your insurance needs often to ensure that your insurance needs are still being met.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Allstate blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Huggies Little Movers Slip-On Diapers for your Wriggle Worm #SlipOnHUGGIES

We are truly hoping that our family is complete with our two children.  Our youngest is 6 and we are planning to stay diaper-free in our household.  That doesn't mean I don't keep up on the latest and greatest baby products, however.  My nephew recently welcomed my first great nephew and though it made me feel a little on the old side, I was almost giddy going shopping for baby items.  Boy, things have changed in the past few years!  One new product, Huggies Little Movers Slip-On diapers, sounds promising for moms and dads of little wriggle worms.

If I had to give diapering advice to my nephew, I'd tell him that he should perfect the art of gently pinning down his son when he gets to the active stage.  That was the one true trick that worked best for us.  Our daughter was never one to sit still after she started crawling.  Simply laying her on her back for a diaper change encouraged her to do all she could to flip and turn and take off, bare bottom notwithstanding.  So, in order to help keep her cornered while I broke land speed records getting her diaper changed, I found that pinning her arms to the side with my legs did the trick.  The key here is to be a gentle weight to hold down their arms so you can wrestle with the rest of them to get the job done.

She was definitely our little Wriggle Worm!  She couldn't wait to be on the go again.  I would also tell my nephew to unfold the diaper and have it ready for the quick slide under.  But that he should leave his son's front covered at all times.  Our son was newly brought home from the hospital when I changed him on the changing table and saw an arc of urine hitting my expensive Noah's Ark print.  Having spent 3 years diapering a girl, I wasn't quite prepared for the sheer distance that pee could travel.  With girls, it just soaks into a changing pad.  With boys, it can literally go anywhere in the room.

Finally, my last piece of diapering advice would be that practice makes perfect.  It takes time to change a diaper faster than a pit crew member at a NASCAR race.  If you find your wriggle worm tearing off diaper tabs and they're the right size, a product like Huggies Movers Slip-On Diapers are worth a try.  I wished that they had slip on diapers like Pull-Ups for younger babies back when my kids were small.  Pull-ups are best for potty training, so using them to catch normal urine and BM doesn't work so well.  These are designed for movers and shakers and wriggle worms too!

Moms:  What do you think of the concept?  If you have a baby in diapers still, does it appeal to you?  I am always amazed at the new product offerings that companies present to consumers and if I still had a baby, I'd give these a try.  

Disclosure:  I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Huggies blogging program, for a gift card worth $35. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

About Huggies
The Huggies® community brings parents together so that you and your babies fully enjoy every day, whatever the day presents. Enjoy the ride with Huggies®.

More info on Huggies: http://www.huggies.com

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Top 10 healthy tips to get your kids ready for back-to-school #transitionslenses

August is the perfect time to take care of those last minute preparations for back-to-school.  I'm talking about more than just shopping for supplies, clothes, shoes, and the perfect backpack.  Back-to-school this year means back to the eye doctor!  Did you know that one in four children have an undetected vision problem?  Don't think that one child can't be yours!  Last year, that child was mine.  And trust me, I was the last person to know that he was even having a vision problem.

Transition Lenses and SocialMoms have teamed up with bloggers to have us share our 10 healthy tips to get your kids ready for back-to-school.

1.   August means I'll be taking my son back to the eye doctor to get his eyes re-examined.  Last year was the first year he wore glasses and I want to make sure that his vision is crisp and clear on that first day of school.  Children who have vision problems can wander off task or not follow along (especially things written on the board).  Make sure your child receives a vision exam before Kindergarten and preferably every year thereafter.  Vision can change within the space of a year, as we found out the hard way.

2.  Does your child need sports physicals?  Now is a great time to schedule them to avoid that last minute crunch right before schools.  Plan this a month in advance or more if you are able since doctor's offices literally get descended upon at the last minute.  Your doctor may charge extra for a rush fee - so save your bucks and schedule early.

3.  Plan your menus if you don't already.  If your school has placed their school menu up online, print it out and hang it on the fridge.  This will help you plan your meals and help avoid foods repeating too often (think pizza two meals in a row).  Knowing what's for lunch the first week of school will help you plan out healthy lunch options if what is being served is not what your child prefers to eat.

4.  Bye-bye screens!  Oh, how sad my children will be once I severely cut back their screen time this month.  I intend to scale back their TV, computer, and iPod time so that once they get back-to-school, they won't be used to having their technology items close at hand.  I'm hoping their teachers appreciate my efforts!

5. Back to a reasonable bedtime too!  They'll be even sadder once they start adhering to the school year bedtime rules again.  They've been staying up later this summer and a few weeks before school, we'll be getting them back into the cycle they need to be in for school.  That means a 7:30-8 PM bedtime and not 9:30-10 PM.

6.  More exercise.  This summer has been so hot with perpetual heat advisories that we haven't been able to play outside a lot during the day.  Now that the weather is cooling down a little bit, we are planning to focus on more regular outdoor activities like bike riding and walking.  This way, they won't be groaning when their gym teacher tells them to run laps.

7.  Dental visits during the summer.  I was fortunate that it worked out that my children's dental cleanings were scheduled for the end of June.  This means that their next appointment will be around the holidays, but that's something we can work around.  It also means that instead of taking my kids out of school twice a year for dental visits, I will only have to do it once this year.  If your dentist can squeeze you in and your kids are overdue, take them in for their cleaning this month.

8.   Kleenex!  Kleenex is almost always on the kids' school supply list.   Even though the teacher may ask for a box or two, consider sending in a multipack or multiple boxes if you can afford the extra expense.  School means germy kids all back together in one room.  Now is a good time to refresh your young child's memory on the proper way to use a tissue and how to sneeze/cough into your elbow.  Also a great topic to go over again is hand washing.  Kids tend to forget their school manners over the summer, so give them a refresher course.

9.  Another great tip for back-to-school health is to go over the hat/hair/comb rules.  Back-to-school also means back to lice!  You don't want that pest in your home and it's a lot of work and money to kill them, wash everything, etc.  Lice is the word no mom ever wants to hear!  Explain to your children that we don't share hats, brushes, combs, barrette's, headbands, etc.  Also, keep a close eye on your children's hair in the first few weeks of school.  If your child has lice, make sure you let the school know.  They'll do headchecks and hopefully your honesty will have saved another mom a lot of work.

10.  Finally, round up emergency contacts before that emergency contact request comes home.  Ask friends and relatives if they mind if you list them, obtain current phone numbers, and reciprocate!  Living 2-3 hours away from my nearest blood relative means that I have to rely on my friends for favors such as picking up a sick kid from school if I or my husband aren't able to do so.  I've done it for a friend (who just happened to be in the dentist chair at the time the school called; her husband was deployed), so I know how much it means to have a friend you can impose upon if needed.  Get your emergency contacts lined up and discuss any health issues your child might have with them.  A dear friend has listed me as a contact, and she made sure that I knew about her child's food allergy.  If she or her husband aren't available, I'll know exactly what I need to do.

Do you have any great tips to share with me and other moms who read Making Ends Meet?  Please leave your tips below in comments.  I'd love to hear your tips and even try them out.  As a parent, I want my children to be happy and healthy.  I want this new school year to start off on the right foot so that my children can have the best school year possible.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Transitions Lenses blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

About Transitions Optical, Inc., the sponsor of this post
Transitions Optical is a joint venture of PPG Industries, Inc. and Essilor International.  The first to successfully commercialize a plastic photochromic lens in 1990, today the company is a leading provider of photochromics to optical manufacturers worldwide.  Transitions Optical offers the most advanced photochromic technology in the widest selection of lens designs, materials and brand names.

Transitions® lenses are the ideal everyday choice for healthy sight.  They are clear indoors and at night. Outdoors, they automatically darken as light conditions change.  Transitions lenses provide visual comfort, and enhance visual quality by reducing glare and enhancing contrast, helping you to see better today. Transitions lenses block 100 percent of harmful UVA and UVB rays – helping to protect the health and wellness of your eyes – so you can see better tomorrow as well. More info on Transitions Lenses: www.transitions.com

Tips for getting your kids to eat vegetables #peasandthankyou

Getting your kids to eat vegetables can feel like a losing battle.  I know my kids can be nitpicky about this subject!  SocialMoms and Sarah Matheny, author of “Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love,” wanted to know what we bloggers do to get our kids to eat vegetables.  What tactics work best to encourage a love of vegetables, a building block for a healthy life?  Here's a sneak peek into what we do at our house to encourage our kids to eat the vegetables we put on their dinner plate.


1.  Don't ask... If your child is younger, don't ask them if they want peas.  Just put them on their plate!  If you ask permission, you're telling them that it's negotiable.

2.  Accept the fact that ketchup is really a vegetable.  Sure, it's made of tomatoes, salt, and vinegar.  But beneath all that salty tanginess is a vegetable at heart.  If they want to eat ketchup sandwiches for lunch with no meat in between, then console yourself that at least they're eating a veggie.


3.  Be mindful of portions!  Try putting just a small amount of veggies on their dinner plate.  A young child's plate shouldn't look as heaped up as yours, so bear that in mind when you're dishing out the corn and green beans.  If it looks like too much food, they may rebel against eating them because they're afraid you'll make them clean their plate.


4.  Serve vegetables the way they like them.  For our six year old, that means with ketchup.  Yes, ketchup on top of broccoli.  But as long as he eats the broccoli, it's a victory for me.


5.  Ants on a log!  Who says veggies need only appear on your plate at dinner.  Veggies make great snacks and taking a piece of celery, filling it with peanut butter, and then placing "ants" (a/k/a raisins) on top makes the fun healthy, nutritious, and fun.  My kids are more likely to eat veggies presented this way if I allow them to prepare it for their snack.


6.  Try a new vegetable at least once a month.  Venturing into a higher-end grocery store should bring you to a larger variety of vegetables and fruits, many of which you might never have even heard of at all.  Getting your child to try new vegetables can be as easy as planning a special night where everything for dinner is something you've never had before. 


7.  Keep trying.  If your child doesn't like a specific vegetable, still put a little bit on their plate the next time you serve it.  Eventually, your child's tastes might change.  This may also fall under the ketchup rule above -- if it gets covered with something they do like, they may just eat it.


8.  Mix up the veggies.  For the longest time, my daughter wouldn't eat corn.  That is, until she saw her dad mixing his corn into his mashed potatoes.  In order to get her to eat corn, we just mixed it into her mashed potatoes.

9.  Color avoidance?  My son doesn't like green vegetables at all.  Green beans just sit on his plate.  Have them eat green vegetables blindfolded so that they can focus more on the taste than the color.  Make a game of it and they may be surprised that broccoli can taste good once they get past the color issue.  Green broccoli can turn red with ketchup, orange with a ketchup/mayo mixture, or yellow with mustard. 

10.  Three bite rule.  Back in elementary school, our school's cook went around to all of the tables to monitor us kids' progress with our meal.  "Three bites!" she would say if she saw food or veggies untouched.  Our kids want to hurry through dinner, seeing it as a stumbling block keeping them away from a funner, more enjoyable activity.  We sit down as a family for dinner almost every night and don't let our kids leave the table unless they've eaten enough vegetables or meat.  The "Three bites" rule means that they don't leave the table until we think they've eaten enough.

How do you do it?  Do you have some creative ways to encourage your kids to eat their veggies?  We hope that our kids notice that we're eating our vegetables and will see us as good role models.  Though not listed above, I have learned how to prepare vegetables for my children the way they like them.  Broccoli that's too stiff or too limp can be a turn off!  I remember back when I was still pumping my daughter's breast milk, her caregivers were exasperated because she wouldn't drink it and just turned her head away.  They were just warming it, but not heating it to the temp that she would get milk if she actually nursed.  She wanted that milk warmer than they were heating it, and once they tried it at a warmer temp, she more than happily drank the whole bottle.  Serve foods the way your kids like them and they're going to be more likely to eat them.

FROM THE SPONSOR OF THIS BLOG POST

About Peas and Thank You
Peas and Thank You is a collection of recipes and stories from a mainstream family eating a not-so-mainstream diet. It's filled with healthy and delicious versions of foods we’ve all grown up enjoying, but with a Mama Pea twist—no meat, lots of fresh ingredients and plenty of nutrition for growing Peas. From wholesome breakfasts to mouth-watering desserts, there’s plenty here to satisfy the pickiest Peas in your life. It’s easier than ever to whip up crowd-pleasing meals that will have the whole family asking for, “more, Peas.” Sarah Matheny's delicious recipes and entertaining stories draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to her blog, peasandthankyou.com each month, where she makes raising a vegetarian family easy and fun. She is the author of  “Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love.”

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More info: http://peasandthankyou.com

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I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Peas and Thank You blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.