SO Much to Do, So Little Time!

I feel like I am so behind on my Christmas shopping this year.  I still have quite a few things I need to get.  I won't be able to get away without the kids until at least the weekend.  I don't like waiting until the last minute because I really dislike crowds and parking lots around the holidays.  What a mess.

I was lucky enough to score the thing LaLa most wanted this year.  Actually, it was pretty much the only thing she wanted.  When pressed for more things, she filled the list with things like apples, apples for my doll, food for my doll... You get the point.  I'm not sure how pleasant Christmas would have been if she didn't get it.

Noodle on the other hand, changes her mind every other day on what she wants.  Luckily, the top few pretty much stay the same.  She is basically set.  I just need to pick up a few odds and ends for her.

Noodle's list was also significantly more expensive.  Please note, she did not get everything on it, not even close.  I thought we were a few years away from super expensive Christmas lists.  Boy, was I wrong!

What is on your kids' lists this year?

Wordless Wednesday: Things I Find on My Phone

Menu Plan Monday

Meal planning is something that I struggle with.  I'm not much of a planner.  I guess I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl.  I love to try to organize and make lists and write things down.  The problem is that I never use them or I lose them.  Not very organized, is it?

I decided to jot down a few ideas for dinners this week so things aren't so hectic at night.  Here's my lame attempt at menu planning this week.



Monday - leftovers from the weekend, Noodle has scouts so dinner has to be quick.

Tuesday - Tortellini and a salad

Wednesday - Hot Dogs in Crescent Rolls and salad

Thursday - Eat out/Leftovers since we will be out and about

Friday - String Cheese Pasta

Saturday - Crockpot Chicken stew


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Linked up to:

OrgJunkie

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North "Poll"

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North "Poll!" You'll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

Cute Freebie: All About Love Hearts (Valentine Decor?)

How cute are they?? 

You can get them for FREE!  Just pay shipping (I paid 4.95 + tax)!

Go to One Kings Lane and sign up to earn a free instant $15 credit.

Once you get your credit go down to the bottom of the page and click the bar that says

"downstairs at One Kings Lane"  to go to the clearance section.

Pop these babies in your cart (or anything under $15) and it's yours free!

It's that easy!

Thanks to Mamacheaps for sharing this one!

Local Readers - Fun this weekend!!

Tonight! A Bumpin' Baby Shower!

Come celebrate 'All About the Bump Month' with local bloggers Whitney Wingerd, Julie Pron & Kelly Whalen! 'All About the Bump Month' is a celebration of all things baby and pregnancy! Whether you're expecting, a new mom or would just love to win these amazing prizes for a mom to be we hope you'll join us for this fun night out!


Prizes include: a Graco SnugRide infant seat, a Phil & Ted's stroller courtesy of Zulily.com, a Joovy baby chair, a gorgeous Mamaroo, Britax "Carry On" baby carrier, and so much more! Each attendee will also receive a swag bag with goodies to take home!

All money generated from the sales of raffle tickets ($1 per ticket) will be donated to local charity, Home of the Sparrow. Tickets will be available at the event for $1 each or 15 tickets for $10.

Kildare's will be serving some munchies, and 1/2 priced drinks and apps including a special mocktail for our expecting moms in attendance.
 

For more information and to register, please visit: http://bumpinbabyshowerchesco.eventbrite.com/

Sick

I wish I could say this week has been an April Fool's joke, unfortunately it hasn't.  I'm exhausted, I'm hacking up a lung, I feel like my head is floating away.  I'm tired of being sick.  I'm ready for the warm weather and open windows.  Where is it?

This morning I woke up to snow!  SNOW!  Huge gorgeous flakes falling ever so softly.  If I wasn't so sick and grumpy, I might have enjoyed the little April Fools prank the mother nature was playing on us all.

Add to that, having to take both cars into the shop this week and you have one stressed out Mama.  Luckily the cars ended up not being as bad as we thought.   We were sure that one of them was a goner.  I guess that's my silver lining, right?

Don't Make Dinner Tonight!

If you are in the Warrington area between 11am and 11pm tonight (Wednesday 3/30) stop by TGI Fridays on Easton Road to grab a bite to eat.

Don't forget to mention BuxmontMommies when you order your food, they will get 25% of your food purchase donated back to their non-profit organization!
Here is the flyer to bring with you (if you forget it please mention BuxmontMommies to the staff).

Feel free to stop by BuxmontMommies' blog to keep up to date on what they have going on!

About BuxmontMommies:

As part of The Mommies Network, BuxmontMommies.com is a free community for moms in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We realize that all moms need local support -- and who can't use another friend? BuxmontMommies.com offers a simple way to connect with local moms for friendship, support and fun. Members meet on our private discussion forums to share information on everything from where to get the best haircut to tips on transitioning to a "big kid" bed. Each month, we also offer many face-to-face events for our members, their children and their families. Register today to access our discussion forums, events calendar and more! It's free and we'll keep your info secure and private.

Wordless Wednesday 3.23.11

Dear Spring

Dear Spring,

I have to say I am very dissappointed.  I eagerly awaited your arrival.  You sent me wonderfully warm vibes the Friday before you arrived.  I was excited.  Perhaps overly so.  I couldn't wait to see you. 

You arrived yesterday.  It appears you did not bring that warmth with you.  While I usually appreciate gifts, the freezing rain and ice you left on my car this morning were not really what I had in mind.

I would really appreciate it if you would take those "gifts" back and exchange them for the warmth and sunshine that I love so much.

Thanks so much!

Love and Buds,
Mama

Max & Ruby Bunny Party!

Max & Ruby Bunny Party is hopping to the Keswick Theatre on Saturday, April 30 and I was offered a special ticket discount for my readers!

Max & Ruby, the beloved Children’s Book collection and Nick Jr’s # 1 Rated Television program comes to life on stage. Max & Ruby: Bunny Party is an exciting musical adventure that celebrates the universal nature of sibling relationships.


Max & Ruby, brought to you by Koba Entertainment, are planning a surprise party and they have a lot to do during the 70 minute lively theatrical adorned with exquisite costuming and rich colorful sets.

Click here for the 1PM Show


Click here for the 4PM Show

Enter promo code: EASTER and get $5.00 off per ticket!

 
For more information on Max & Ruby visit: http://www.keswicktheatre.com/

Or email: orders@keswicktheatre.com
 
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My daughter went to see the Berenstain Bears show at the Keswick a few months ago.  She absolutely loved it!  They did a fabulous job.  She absolutely loved the theater.  She still brings it up and can't wait to go back!

Only Fools Text & Drive

The Mommies Network Encourages the Nation to Support It’s First Annual “Only Fools Text and Drive Day”, April 1, 2011


This April Fools' Day, The Mommies Network (TMN) would like national community support in making it an official “Only Fools Text and Drive Day”. By launching a video where children tell parents how they feel about texting and driving, and passing it along through their 25,000+ members nationwide, TMN intends to do just that. To pass along the message that “Texting and Driving is For Fools”, the video encourages everyone to drive with their headlights on April 1, 2011. The video is being shared through Facebook and YouTube nationwide. To view the video, please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVhVAxsTBwk

The Mommies Network knows how dangerous texting and driving can be. Being a national mom’s support group, their focus is on the children and how texting and driving can affect them, through example as well as safety.

The Mommies Network is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping moms find support and friendship in their local community. TMN was founded in April 2005 and currently has 119 chapters in 34 states with over 25,000 members. Membership is FREE!

To learn more about The Mommies Network, to find a chapter in your area, or to inquire about starting a chapter please visit http://www.themommiesnetwork.org.




Please pass this on!

Friday Hopping

1. If you had $1,000 to donate to a charity, which would you choose? I would probably give to a children's charity or the the American Diabetes Association. I have quite a few family members with Diabetes.


2. Snow days: Do you welcome them happily or are they a pain in your butt? HUGE pain in the butt. We got 16 inches of snow yesterday. I keep saying I want to move South. One day I will.


3. What talent did you wish you had and why? I wish I was naturally organized. I feel like my life is an organized chaos mostly. Other than that I would love to be able to sing!


4. Are you a news, politics or celebrity gossip junkie? Celebrity gossip. My husband hates it, but we listed to news in the background all day at work so when I get home my brain just wants to mush out.


5. What is your favorite "cocktail"? I'm more into the fairly sweet and doesn't taste alcoholic kind of cocktails.




It's Friday - you can also find me hopping at the following blogs.  Stop by and check them out!

52 Weeks: Organize your Mind

Bonnie at House of Grace had a post about a book called, “Organize Now!” by Jennifer Ford Berry.  It sounded like it would be helpful so I picked it up.  I’m hoping it will help me with my goals of sticking to the 52 Weeks of Organizing Challenge.

This week’s goals:

- Get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep

            This is a tough one for me.  I tend to stay up late doing things, since the kids don’t go to bed early.  Since I work all day, it’s really the only time I have to get stuff done.  The problem is I know I need at least 7 hours – more like 9.  I NEVER get that though.  My goal for this week will be to get to bed by 11pm each night.

- Jot a short to do list

            I do keep a running to do list in a small notebook in my purse.  Great for when I’m out or at work.  The problem is once I’m home it stays in my purse.  I’ll have to work on getting it out and checking it once I’m home for the night.

- Schedule a 2 minute break 2-3 times a day to spend time alone and just be.

            “Just be”.  Time Alone.  I think I like the sound of that.  ;-)

- Set goals and then break them into doable daily To Do’s

            This seems like it might make it a little less overwhelming to get things done.  I’m going to work on doing things this way rather than the big goal all at once.

Wordless Wednesday 1.26.11 - Snow over this.

52 Weeks of Organizing: Junk Drawer

 I saw that OrgJunkie was hosting a 52 week organizing challenge and I decided that was just what I need right now!  Motivation and accountability?  Yes please!

I decided to start with our two junk drawers.  Yes, two.  One is more of a office supply drawer, but it was junky none the less.  Here is the office supply/tool drawer before:

After:

Here is the real junk drawer.  What a mess!

After:



Show all

Hopefully I will stick with this and get a lot of things organized around here!  Once a week isn't too bad, right?

ThreeJars

I was given an opportunity to use the site ThreeJars for a while and review it.  I thought it would be a great opportunity to teach my six year old daughter, Noodle, about money.  She currently doesn’t get an allowance and probably doesn’t know a thing about money.  She knows it exists, she knows we go to work to earn it, but it really doesn’t mean anything to her.  She doesn’t even really ever see money change hands.  We usually use our debit cards to pay for everything.  I rarely carry cash.

So we sat down together one night and talked about money.  I told her that she could earn money by doing chores around the house.  I told her it’s called an allowance.  We then talked about a website we could use that would help us keep track of it.  She’s into computer games right now, so I thought that might help motivate her.

We went to www.ThreeJars.com and set up an account.  It was so easy.  I quickly set up my account, then reviewed some of the information they provide.  There are many helpful tips including what amounts may be appropriate for different ages, allocation tips, chore suggestions.  We breezed through setting up how much money she would get and which chores she would do.  Noodle seemed very excited to get started.  She even went and marked Friday as Pay Day on her calendar.

We then set up Noodle’s part of the account.  She gets her own login ID and password.  She can view how much money she has in each of her three jars – Save, Spend and Share.  She can send me messages asking to make more money by doing special projects.  I really like the fact that anytime she changes anything or makes a request I get an email either letting me know or asking me to approve it.

All in all, I think ThreeJars is a great website and a great resource for parents.  We will continue to use it.  I do think at this stage, Noodle is a little too young and we aren’t fully utilizing all the aspects and benefits of the site.  She still needs me to help her navigate the site, read a lot of the site to her and help her send messages, so I’m not sure she needs her own login at this point.  It would probably be much better for kids about 2-3 years older than Noodle.  It is nice to be able to have the conversation and lessons on money flowing when we log on together.  For that reason, I consider it a very valuable tool.

**Disclaimer:  I was provided an opportunity to use and review ThreeJars thanks to CecilyK at www.CecilyKellogg.com