As the fall approaches it is important to get your family on a schedule as well as keep everyone informed. Here are some tips to help you keep everyone in the loop of your busy family.

There are several ways to keep the family informed depending on how tech savvy you are. For the basics you can get a family calendar and hang it on the fridge. Use color to help code the events. Each person should have their own color as well as a color for family activities and vacations. You can purchase a monthly calendar or print one out each month or so from outlook. You can start with them blank and hand write them in or fill them in with your activities you already know, print them, and then just adjust as necessary.

If you are more tech savvy you can use a calendar online such as google calendar. You can have it open to your family members or just your spouse so that he can check it from work or add on to it if necessary.

Once the kids are back at school you will need to set up a household chore schedule as well. You can get a lot more accomplished and enjoy your "time off" if you know what you have to do each day. I would set up a schedule that involves daily and weekly chores. Here is an example and a place to start:

What if someone said that there was a seminar or book that was going to help you be a better mom and it required 15 minutes to an hour a day? Would you go? Would you take an afternoon or an evening to learn what you needed to be a better mom? Most of us would because we want the best for our children.

This next question is a little harder. Do you take some time every day to exercise, read, or do something else that will refresh you and help you be a better mom? I know I don't and if I do take time away to do those things I feel a little guilty about not getting to the laundry right away or some other household chore.

Now that the school year is starting again we are going back to routine. I don't know about you but my family thrives on routine and structure. Sometimes I wonder why I throw it out in the summer because it inevitably leads to chaos.

As you look at the fall it is good to think about your upcoming schedule and routine and be sure to include yourself in it. Your schedule this year may be different because you have a child starting school, preschool, sports, music lessons, or your work situation may be changing. This will mean you need to restructure your days. If you have a good routine and you get the "chores" done more efficiently you will be able to set aside some time for yourself and not feel guilty about it.

First, think about all the things you will need to do in a week. Start with the things already scheduled like school, lessons, sports, work, and other commitments. After that framework is set up start filling in the other things you need to do like grocery shopping, cleaning, and running errands; things with a more flexible time frame. Try to put them on a set schedule like a load of laundry every morning, groceries on Monday, bathrooms and cleaning on Fridays, dusting and vacumming on Wednesday, etc.  

Lastly, don't forget to consider yourself. It is very important to schedule some time for yourself everyday. Whether you want to exercise, read, pray, check email or enjoy a cup of coffee it is important to take time for yourself. Your family needs so much from you round the clock. If you schedule some time for yourself then you are more likely to take the necessary time to refresh and not feel guilty.

See where you can fit in a few minutes. Maybe you get up a half hour earlier to exercise or enjoy a cup of coffee. Maybe you take the first hour after you put the kids on the bus for yourself. Maybe you work hard all day but stop 45 minutes before the bus comes to refresh yourself and prepare for your kids coming home. If you have little ones at home still you might be able to find some time during one of their nap times or exchange baby sitting with a friend to give each other a little break. When all my kids were little I would take off every day from 4 until when I needed to start dinner around 5. It was a no guilt hour that I could hang out on the floor, read, or rest my eyes and not feel bad about it.

Taking some time for yourself to refresh every day will help you be a better mom and therefore worth your effort to schedule it in. This should be a "no guilt" component of your day. Put it in your schedule this fall.

Nothing can make packing a healthy lunch more difficult and costly than hunting for reusable containers and baggies. Easy Lunchboxes.com offers an affordable and easy way to pack a healthy lunch or snack with its reusable containers. Bento boxes are the big thing in lunches this year so check these out. Each container offers 3 sections and only 1 lid. No more hunting around for all the pieces. One section is larger for the sandwich or main meal and the other two sections are smaller for sides.

This is a great product and company because it was invented and is owned by a mom. You can be confident that this product is safe for your family because they are made of non toxic, food safe, polypropylene (PP or plastic #5). They are BPA, PVC, and phthalate free. Safe for refrigerator, freezer, microwave, & dishwasher.

They also have an insulated bag that is the perfect companion for the containers. They fit up to 3 containers perfectly so they don't slide around.

Check out their website because they also have lots of great idea for lunches. Plus you can use these containers to organize too. If your child has Polly Pockets or other dolls with small pieces they can keep their dolls shoes and accessories organized. You can keep binder clips, paper clips, and rubber bands organized in your desk or kitchen drawer. Your husband can keep screws of different sizes, nails, and more organized in the garage. There are lots of uses for these beside lunches. Check them out!

 

Children's Place is offering up to 30% off this weekend for back to school shopping with the following coupon codes.

Receive 15 percent off a purchase of $40 or more with code X9A2010

Receive 20 percent off a purchase of $50 or more with code Y9A2010

Teaching your child to tie their own shoes is an important task but very tedious and difficult. It is something we do so often and quickly that we don't even think about HOW to do it. Here are some tips to help you teach your child how to tie their shoes.

Age - Remember that your child's hands and dexterity is still developing long after they have mastered picking up cheerios. Depend on their own rate of development, kids may have the dexterity necessary to learn to tie their shoes between the ages of 5 and 7 according to DisneyFamily.com

Larger Laces - The laces on children's shoes are much smaller than on adult shoes and harder for them to manipulate while they are learning.

Soft Laces - You want laces that are worn, soft, and pliable to make it easier for a beginner.

Miss Matched Laces - If you can, use laces of different colors. You want them to be the same size and shape but different colors. If you can't do that then color one of the laces with a marker. This will help them tell the laces apart as they are trying to tie them.

 Learn Together - Sit with your child between your legs or on your lap with an adult shoe. Don't try to teach them when you are facing them. (one of you has to do it upside down and its more confusing this way). If your child is sitting in your lap or between your legs then it will be easier to show them what to do.

Repeat Yourself - Children learn best with repetition so they can talk it through themselves. "Make and X. Wrap it around and pull it tight. Make two bunny ears. Wrap it around and pull it tight." Show them as you do it but try to say the same thing every time so they can repeat it to themselves as they practice.

Thanks to DisneyFamily.com for some great advice.

Back to school brings us back to lots of tasks that a few short months ago we were so glad to be done with like packing lunches. By June we are just plumb out of ideas. Well, its a new school year and time for new ideas and inspiration when it come to packing lunch.

First lets discuss structure. Lunch boxes do not have to be filled with the same sandwich every day, in fact sandwiches can be optional. As long as a lunch has the nutritional components necessary it can be a healthy lunch without the sandwich. Kids work hard all day and need a lunch that will fill them up until they get home. Web MD recommends that your child's lunch contains at least 3 different food groups. With that information on hand you can start to think outside the box and put together some more interesting lunches.

The second thing to think about is what to pack the lunch in. If you plan on creating healthy lunches with fresh vegetables and fruits you may consider getting an insulated, reusable lunch box. Its good for the environment and will keep their food fresher.

So you have your lunchbox, what are you going to put in it? We all know about PBJ and sandwiches but for something different consider these:

     Protein/Carb (Main Dish)
    
     Rolled up meat (ham, turkey, roast beef) and cheese (American, Swiss, muenster)
     Tuna Salad with celery, onion, carrots, and broccoli (however your kids like it) with whole wheat crackers
     Egg Salad with whole wheat crackers
     Chicken Salad with mayo, grapes, apples, and nuts with whole wheat crackers
     Soup in a thermos with whole wheat crackers, pita, or a roll
     Use Banana bread to make a peanut butter and apple slice sandwich*
     Leftovers from dinner the night before
     Graham Crackers with peanut butter
     Peanut butter in a small container with jelly on top with whole wheat pretzel sticks
     Use a tortilla and roll the sandwich. Cut into "sushi rolls" - This can work with PBJ, lunch meat and more.

    
     Fruit/Veg (Side)
    
     Veggie sticks including carrots, celery, or any other veggies they like with dips such as dressing or hummus.
     Unsweetened applesauce
     Cut up fruit with cream cheese dip
     Cheese sticks or cut up cheese in cubes or shapes
     Yogurt
     Plain Yogurt layered with cut up fruit and granola or nuts **
     Celery filled with peanut butter or cream cheese and raisins (ants on a log)*

    
    
     Dessert - We all need a little dessert and if you pack a "healthy" dessert it might keep them from buying or trading for something less healthy
    
     Oatmeal cookies made with raisins, craisins, nuts, and chocolate chips (think trail mix). There is also a great recipe in Eat, Play, and Be Healthy by Allan Walker, M.D.

for a pretty healthy option
     Make your own trail mix with nuts, dried fruit, pumpkin or sesame seeds, cereal, and a few chocolate chips
     A chocolate or fruity cereal
     Dried Fruit
    
    
    
     Drinks - Freeze the drink overnight and it will act as both a cold pack for your child's lunch and a cold, refreshing beverage. Check with your child to be sure it defrosts by the time they have lunch.
    
     100% juice boxes
     Bottled water
     Use a reusable bottle like Kleen Kanteen. Make "ice cubes" out of juice so that you can keep your child's juice cold without diluting it.
    
    
     Time/money Saving Tips:
    
     Pack lunch the night before

     Over the weekend prepare baggies of cut up vegetable or fruit, dips, snacks, etc. so they are ready to add to lunches during the week. (you can put grapes in baggies but I wouldn't wash or cut up berries or bananas. You can toss apple or pear slices with lemon juice to prevent from browning

     Buy regular size container instead of snack size and prepare your own with small reusable containers.
    

* Ideas taken from Family Fun Cookbook by Deanna Cook
** Ideas taken from Eat, Play, and Be Healthy by Allan Walker, M.D.

With the start of school come backpacks and lunch boxes and they are both great opportunities to encourage our kids. How would you feel if you went to the grocery store and pulled out your list and coupons on right on top was a note from your husband saying. "Thanks for all the great meals you make. I appreciate it"? It would probably make your day, if not your week. Our kids are no different and they probably crave the encouragement just as much. There are many ways to encourage them but here are a few ideas.

Note on a napkin: You can easily write a note on their napkin every day. Just a "Love Mom" is all that's necessary. This is the most simple way to encourage them and can be done often.

Encouragement of the week: Maybe one day a week (every Tuesday or another day they have weekly testing) you write them a note on an index card and put it in their backpack or lunchbox.

The big day: Give them a specific word of encouragement when they have a particularly big day like a mid-term or presentation. You can even do this on a little note card and put it in an envelope and put it in their backpack or lunchbox.

There are lots of things you can write on your encouragement cards. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

You studied hard and I'm proud of you
I love you and I'm proud to be your mom
Have a great day
I can't wait to do something fun this weekend
You make me so proud
Be confident. You are well prepared
I'm proud that you are working so hard
Look how far you have come
You are my shining star
All your hard work is paying off
Just do your best

Write your little notes on a label, napkin, colored index cards, note cards, and more. You can decorate it with some stickers, draw a smiley or heart, or even just leave it plain. You can do a few cards at a time so they are ready to add to their backpack or lunch box easily.

Item of the Week

This Sterilite drawer unit is perfect to make your own Homework Station. Put a different label on each drawer. The first drawer is for everything needed to do homework. Put pens, pencils, erasers, calculators, dictionary, ruler, and more. Whatever you child needs to do their homework should be here. The second drawer should have paper in it. It can hold lots of paper so stock it up with plenty of paper so its right at their fingertips. The third drawer is for the parents. This where your children can put the lunch menu, permission slips, or anything else that they need to give you. Now you will have all your child's papers in the same place and you'll know where to find them.

This unit is 14 1/4 Inch L x 11 1/8 Inch W x 10 1/2 Inch H. That makes it small enough to sit right on the table and easy to move off when you don't need it on the weekend or on school breaks. You can remove the drawers too while they are working and then slide them back in.

If you have one or two school age children then you could have them share one unit. If you have two or three children then you could get two units and have one unit be the parent drawers with each child having their own.

This unit is $12.99 and worth every penny.

I was just at my sister-in-law's & was admiring her canvas prints.  I've been wanting to get some myself.  She told me that she got them at Winkflash.com.  She said that they regularly have 40% off coupons.  I was just on their website today & found out they are currently running a 40% off promotion on their canvas prints if you use coupon code CANVAS40. 

They even have an 8x10 size wich is not offered everywhere & a very affordable option.  You can get an 8x10 canvas print for as low as approx. $17.

There is nothing like a special item with your name on it. Kids love to have things that are personalized and it makes it easier for the teacher to know who the item belongs too. There are lots of great options for personalized backpacks, lunch boxes, and more. Just a note of caution. If you are personalizing a backpack or something everyone will see consider using an initial or monogram instead of  a first name for safety. If it is something less visible like a lunchbox or pencil case then a first name should be fine. Check out these items and retailers for your personalized gear.

Personalizationmall.com has lots of great personalized back to school items. They have backpacks, pencils boxes, lunch boxes, pencils, notebooks, and water bottles. Personalizationmall.com also offers lots of Personalized College Gear including water bottles, make-up cases, robes, laundry bags, ID wallet, and more. Personalization is always free and there are some discount codes available now including 15% Off All Personalized Back to School items at PersonalizationMall.com! Enter SCHOOL15 at checkout. Expires September 12, 2010.

One Step Ahead and Leaps and Bounds offer personalized back to school items also. My first backpack is perfect for preschoolers and can be personalized. There are also matching insulated lunch bags. You can also get an art smock for only $12.95 and personalization is just $5. Don't forget they offer free shipping on orders over $85 and 15% off on orders over $100. Get the coupon codes here.

Land's End also offers personalized backpacks and gear. They have a variety of options from Tiny Take that is appropriate for ages 3-5 as well as bigger bags for older kids such as the StudyHaul for students age 8-14. Lunch Boxes are also available to match the backpacks. All these items can be personalized for $5.

Order your back to school gear today to be sure to have it for the beginning of the school year.