Categories
food Products

How to stay organized at home and at school

Moms listen up:  the kids have been at school so you need to get organizing!  Here are some great products that can help kids stay organized at home and at school and help mom too!

  • First you need a home/family calendar in a central location to keep the kids (and mom) organized. From Calendars.com we love the School Days Weekly Perpetual Dry Erase Wall Calendar. It is great and easy to use. Simply mark up the week’s or month activities, hang in a central location and make sure everyone sees it! We just love all their calendars as they have the best selection!  When the kids are at school they still need a small calendar to keep them organized.  Especially for tween girls the Taylor swift calendar is the best as is it slim and has a mirror! Perfect for the locker.

 

  • Locker organization is key and especially for middle school girls they want their lockers to look good! Thank goodness for lockerlookz.com They have the most colorful locker decorations from the locker rug to wall paper to mirrors and even a chandelier that lights up. What could be better than a jazzed up locker? My sixth grader was very excited about the look of her locker after these accessories make a gray locker look much brighter!

 

  • Also, moms to stay organized and know which sweatshirt is which child’s – LABEL EVERYTHING! We love the Name Bubbles School Pack. It has 88 personalized labels for $33.88. These very colorful labels are great for clothes and backpacks and are washable so stick them on water bottles, clothes and lunch bags.

 

  • Speaking of backpacks – every year we try a different one but still come back to the LL Bean backpacks and lunch boxes. They are the best – nice compartments – great to keep kids organized – In each childs’ backback I put Kleenex tissues  (love the new slimmer packaging and new color),  my favorite hand sanitizer – Cleanwell as it’s a spray and they also have wipes and of course my kids favorite snack – Nature’s path crunchy granola bars! Natures path has everything moms could want for breakfast too – from granola to oatmeal and frozen waffles. The taste of the maple  cinnamon waffles is to die for!
  • To organize your kids desk at home organized I love the items from Lakeshore Learning.com. The writing center caddy is perfect for a desk and the carry-all teachers caddy is great if you don’t have a desk and have to store items or carry them from room to room.   Lakeshore has unique children’s products developed by teachers that make learning FUN!

 

  • Also discovered these products from UM brands –Hook Um products great for hanging items by kids desk or even for the mudroom – perfect to color coordinate!

 

  • To keep mom organized and have dinners and snacks ready, Go picnic.com has ready to eat snack and lunch items that are prepackaged and ready to go!  GoPicnic  is the leader in great-tasting ready-to-eat meal solutions that are pre-packaged, require no refrigeration or preparation. They’re great for school (especially when mom does not feel like making lunch), in-between activities, traveling and snacking on the go because they are portable nutritious, tasty meals that are light weight, easy to carry in backpacks and keep kids fueled for their day.  Also, each product is individually wrapped to avoid wastage and cross-contamination. Products also run the gamut from gluten-free to Kosher to vegan for children with food allergies. Each meal has five products, including a protein, whole grains, fruit and sweet treat for dessert. You can even eat some for lunch and others for snacks. Each GoPicnic meals is under 500 calories and contains no trans fats, high fructose corn syrup or added MSG, and no artificial colors or flavors.  I have to say these did not last in our house very long!  I especially loved the Salami + Cheese and Peanut Butter + Crackers. I also loved that they came with a sweet treat – one with a dark chocolate square and the other with a chocolate cookie!]

 

  • Founded by two parents, MightyNest is an online store, resource center, and community dedicated to helping parents create healthy, safe homes. They offer products that are free from known toxic ingredients such as BPA, PVC, Phthalates, Lead, Melamine, Formaldehyde, Parabens, and more – the perfect place to shop online to know that all your products are safe – it’s a no brainer to shop here.  A few great items we love are the ice pack and sweat free cover from kids conserve. My kids hate it when all the items in their lunch bag gets all soggy and wet – try this product and no more complaints!  We also love the thinksport water bottle as it keeps water cold and it has an easy to fill wide mouth – no more stuffing ice cubes in a small opening! Another must have from this site is the Duo Stainless Steel Food Container by Lunchbots.  They are great for lunch and snacks and better for the environment.
  • Stephen Joseph   has adorable kid’s school items that help kids and mom stay organized… from great backpacks, lunch boxes to pencil cases, folders, pencils… the list goes on and on. We especially love the matching ice packs and reusable snack bags. Choose from adorable prints like the monkey or soccer ball.
  • This was the must have for me this school season to keep the cooking organized, neat and under control!  The George Foreman Grill is a must have. My husband does all the grilling so when he travels I needed something inside that was easy to use and easy to clean. The Next Grillerationâ„¢ by George Foreman offers a  a 72 Sq. In. grill surface has room for grilling four servings at once. There is no need for butter or oils thanks to the nonstick coating. When you’re done, remove the plates and clean them in the dishwasher – a much healthier way to cook!

 

 

Disclosure:  All items mentioned above were sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.

Categories
Clothes

Drop off/bus stop mom fashions?

I saw this story the other day on the Huffington Post  about celebrities’ style while they drop off their kids at school. Come on…. I know you have looked at one or two photos of celebrities to see what they are wearing in everyday life.  For some it’s like a runway when they drop off their kids at school. For us in the suburbs not so much.

There is actually a site called Haute Drop Off  a fashion blog/photo series of fashionable parents at school drop-offs. Now I know some of you will say, who cares? What? Really? a site about what moms wear to drop off their kids? Let me take a peek.

I.do.love.fashion. but that is just me. I may have worn sweat pants to my bus stop once or twice (only my neighbor knows for sure!)  I have friends who wear sweat pants and pj pants to the bus stop and you know what? Who cares what you wear?  Style is very personal – some people like to dress up and others want to be comfortable – it is an individual choice.  Enjoy your bus stop fashions not matter what you wear!

Categories
Events Uncategorized

September 11, 2012

In remembrance of this day I read a lot of heartbreaking accounts of survivors stories and victims’ families stories. We discussed this and talked about how to have discussions with your children about this day and other events on 980 WCAP.

Parenting.com had a great article about talking to your kids about scary news.

WCAP9.11

 

Categories
Events

September 11, 2012

In remembrance of this day I read a lot of heartbreaking accounts of survivors stories and victims’ families stories. We discussed this and talked about how to have discussions with your children about this day and other events on 980 WCAP.

Parenting.com had a great article about talking to your kids about scary news.

WCAP9.11

 

Categories
Events

September 11, 2012

In remembrance of this day I read a lot of heartbreaking accounts of survivors stories and victims’ families stories. We discussed this and talked about how to have discussions with your children about this day and other events on 980 WCAP.

Parenting.com had a great article about talking to your kids about scary news.

WCAP9.11

 

Categories
Events

Let the homework begin? Week 2 of school

It is week two of school and I am preparing for piles of homework. Not my homework of course – I did all that last week when I had the most paperwork I had to fill out ever  – from how is my child getting home from school to emergency contact information – it took an hour or so! While my 3rd graders’ assignments last week consisted of sign your homework book and my 6th grader is still getting into a routine of how things work at middle school (my, my, they have a lot of freedom there!) I am glad we eased into school with no homework on the first week. But, my guess is all that will change this week.

So, while last week’s after school activities consisted of snacks, TV watching, begging for playdates and running to soccer and swim, this week we will add in the homework and we’ll see how it all fits together! At least everyone is in the same boat adjusting to the back to school routine and making sure the kids get enough sleep. How many parents had a hard time with the back to bed at a reasonable hour routine?  We are all getting there!

Categories
Events

Fashion Night Out & Primary Night

What a busy night. First I participated in fashion’s night out fashion show at the Burlington Mall and it was a great time!  Every year across the world shoppers support the fashion industry (and the economy) by checking out the latest styles, having a good time and of course shopping.  I wore fashions from Athleta,  Cache and Land’s End. 

Then we kept an eye out on the election results, where we gathered with Scott Brown. Quite the busy night and the kids were excited to stay up late!

Fashion’s Night Out

Primary Night
Categories
Organization

Before & After: The Junk Drawer

Love a good before and after photo? Check out my latest project.  I am in the back to school organizing mode so I decided to tackle my junk drawer. Thanks to the folks at organized living, who have a boatload of products to keep you organized and lots of products for back to school, I can now say my junk drawer is organized.  It does bother me when the clutter in this one drawer in our kitchen gets out of control. I know it is called a junk drawer for a reason but doesn’t it look better now?  Plus I gained an extra $10 in the process of cleaning it out – did I mention we throw pennies in there too? If you are looking for organizational storage items check out the junk drawer organizer or the 5 compartment drawer organizer tray. Both are perfect solutions. They also have great laundry sorters and other storage solutions. So if you want to keep organized this school season check out their selection.

Disclosure: The company sent me products to review. All opinions are my own.

 

 

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Categories
Events

Back to school!

Alarm clock went off at 6:30 this morning – the first time in a long time! I now have a 3rd grader and a 6th grader! The 6th grader had to be up early this morning as school starts by 7:45! I did not even get a picture of them together as my younger one was still sleeping!  We talked first day jitters today on the trendymommies weekly radio show! Listen in…

WCAPSept.4

Categories
Events

Top 5 list for getting organized for back to school

We have a week left of summer and then it’s back to school! For many friends, today was the day to head back to school.  We discussed getting ready for school this week on 980 WCAP-AM! Also, here is my top 5 list of ideas for getting ready at home.

1. Make a check list of last minute items and hang by the door.  I like to put lists on white boards or clip boards and attach important papers to clip boards like items that need to be signed – there is a lot of paperwork the first few days of school! I especially love UM! Brands Hooks as they have fun colors.  Each of your kids can have their own set of colored hooks. They also have great white boards and stick UM!s are made with nanosuction technology so you can stick and re-stick them as many times as you’d like – these are perfect for the middle school lockers and to hold your cell phone, brushes, etc. Use these hooks for backpacks, jackets and lunchboxes – the UM brand hooks are great for a mudroom as well. I also love the website organizedliving.com as they have wonderful junk drawer organizers, dry erase boards and laundry totes and laundry organizers which are perfect if you have kids heading to college.

2.  Make a family calendar to put in a visible spot for important dates for school like back to school night, half-day teacher workshops, etc.  My favorite selection is from calendars.com

3.  Label, label, label everything. Our friends at Name Bubbles’ School Labels sent me a kit. These super cute labels come in a variety of sizes and styles that are waterproof, dishwasher, laundry and microwave
safe.  The Name Bubbles School Pack has 88 personalized labels for $33.88. Use them on water bottles, lunch boxes, backpacks, pen, pencils, sports and after-school gear, clothes, shoes, gaming systems and
more!

4.   Make up some freezable lunch and breakfast items for those crazy days. I am all about convenience.  Speaking of convenience, I also look for more natural foods so I love Nature’s Path Organic foods.  Especially their Crunchy Granola Bars – which are perfect for after school snacks.  They are full of Whole Grains and superfoods. Each serving contains at least 20 grams of Whole Grains, is high in fiber and low in sodium with no trans fat. Two of the bars boast superfoods: Apple Pie contains chia seeds and Peanut Choco is made with quinoa. We also love the Buttermilk Pancake Mix and the Love Crunch – Dark Chocolate & Red Berries granola.

5.  Make a special box for your children to put their art work from school or that first test! I like the Keepsake portfolio from Lakeshore Learning. The site offers a wide range of unique children’s products that make learning FUN!  From hands-on learning games and arts & crafts supplies to a variety of active play and outdoor learning products this is the site to go to for help getting that homework station organized.

WCAP1Aug.28