The National Wildlife Federation has some great magazines for kids. Our personal favorite for toddlers is Wild Animal Baby, which comes in a board book-type cover. Highlights also has some great kids magazines available. Amazon is a great place to find out about magazines and sometimes has special deals or offers. Be sure, however, that you follow through on your gift and check with the recipient to make sure they have received their first copy.

Decide what is most important to you and start there. Make a list or make a plan for how the organizing will be done and how it will be kept up. Set aside a period of time each day to work on cleaning out and organizing. Don’t try to do it all in one fell swoop.

organizedhome.com
unclutterer.com
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This will require some patience and a deck of cards. Preferably a deck of kids’ cards with pictures of Elmo or Winnie the Pooh. The Boy has a set of Thomas cards which have pictures of the Thomas characters - 4 of each. This set has given us many hours of fun and hasn’t even gotten all bent up an thrashed yet. We first used the set to play things like matching ‘games.’ The Boy would turn over cards until he found two of a kind. Each set of 4 cards has four different colored borders, so color matching is another ‘game’ we played. He’s now has a pretty good attention span, so lately we’ve taught him Memory and Go Fish.

For Memory, I pull out anywhere between 3 and 10 pairs of cards, shuffle and lay face down. We take turns turning over 2 cards to see if we can find a match.

For Go Fish, I deal each of us 5 cards and we put the rest in the middle, in a ‘fish pond.’ Here’s where we deviate from the rules a little. We lay our 5 cards out in front of us so we can each see what the other has. It is too hard for The Boy to hold onto the cards in his hand and he hasn’t gotten the hang of keeping what cards you have a secret. So we have to ‘cheat’ a little - usually in his favor. Right away he picked up on “Mommy, do you have a …?” and the response, “No, Go Fish!”

The tricky thing for both of these games is that he often wants to play Now! So we’re learning patience too. I think we could start learning a game like Uno in this same way - placing all our cards on the table in front of us.

• Diapers. I’m guessing that everyone would need diapers, for whatever sex. Even if they usually use cloth, disposables are so handy to have for travel, etc. When your own child grows out of a certain size, save the leftovers from the smaller size. You can put a nice gift bag together with diapers of all sizes. Babies might start with the newborn size diapers, but eventually they will need the bigger sizes.
• Clothes. Hand-me-downs can be made into a really nice gift. This is especially for moms who are having a different sex than they already have. Wash, dry and fold your nicest hand-me-downs and wrap them up for a shower gift. Maybe even attach a note telling about how some of them were your favorites or memories you have of your own kids wearing them.
• Toys. Chances are, second-time moms already have plenty of toys around. If their first child is much older, then baby toys are a good bet. Toys that will be chewed on are also a good idea. You can often find some of these cheaply at mega-stores like WalMart or Target. If you have toys that are in excellent condition, they might make a good hand-me-down too.
• Gift Cards. If your budget allows, the new mom might appreciate a gift card to the local grocery store or Target - somewhere that they can go to get their own necessities for the new baby.
• Meals. Another thing you might be able to do on a small budget is fix a meal or two for the family. One meal before the baby comes (when mom is getting too big and tired to cook) and one after the baby arrives.

* Provided a predictable life with a reasonably ordered environment
* Held and touched often
* Talked to (or sung to) often
* Read to frequently
* Exposed to interesting experiences
* Given many opportunities to learn through play.”

All things that we at SIP advocate and encourage. The best part? None of these things will take your life’s savings. “Interesting Experiences” do not have to include flying to another country. It can mean taking an exploration walk around your neighborhood to look for insects, birds or colors. It can mean taking a backroad to Grandma’s house instead of the freeway in order to stop at a local cheese factory. Try it today!

Before you start cramming everything into your car and lashing stuff to the roof, consider these tips.

1. Many hotels and resorts provide baby gear such as pack and plays and high chairs. Restaurants provide booster seats. Call your destination before packing to see what baby/kid gear might be offered.

2. If you are traveling to a major city, there are usually baby equipment rental possibilities. Baby’s Away and Babies Travel Lite are two such rental outlets.

3. If you are traveling to visit relatives, ask them if they have baby equipment already or if they know of friends/neighbors in their area that might be willing to lend to you.

4. Unless you have a 15 hour flight or a seriously long road trip, you really don’t need too much for actual travel time. Keep your kids entertained with games like I Spy or the Alphabet Game. Take along books on tape or cd for the car. If they are old enough, give them a specific ‘travel’ bag that they can fill will activities. Or, my favorite, plan your travel for during nap time and hope they sleep most of the time!

Happy Traveling.

At first, though, I was at a loss as to how to cook all these vegetables. (The fruit is easy. The Boy eats fruit with almost every meal.) I shopped around and finally settled on From Asparagus to Zucchini; A Guide To Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce. This cookbook is amazing! It is organized by vegetable, with at least 4 recipes for each. Most of the recipes require other ingredients that are also currently in season. In addition to the recipes (we have yet to find one we really don’t like), each section has a brief history of that vegetable and cooking and storage tips.

Really, who knew there were so many delicious ways to prepare beets or how delicious a carrot almond cake could be? Pasta Pie with Fresh Greens anyone? How about Garlic Parsley Pesto or Penne alla Zucca (Roman Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce)?

f you are thinking of trying to cook more with seasonal produce or if you have a plethora of squash and need some ideas of how to use it, this is the book for you. If you want to introduce more vegetables (and not just the mainstream veggies you find at the supermarket) into your diet, this is the book for you. If you like to shop at Farmers’ Markets, but just don’t know how to fix that kohlrabi, this is the book for you. Happy Cooking and Happy Eating!

Here’s another reminder: Don’t forget to apply sunscreen to those ears and the back of the neck. Tops of feet are another easily forgotten, easily burned location, especially during sandal/barefoot season. Reapply when you are out in the sun for long periods of time and after swimming. If your child has fair skin and fair hair, consider sunscreen on the head too (or a cute hat!).

Luckily, there is a webpage that can help, imagine that? Here you can learn about how to keep fruits and vegetables fresh and prevent spoilage. It lists a bunch of common fruits and vegetables and where you can store them and for how long. For example, celery can go in the fridge but garlic should always be stored on the counter. A great resource for keeping your food fresh and not having to throw it in the compost pile.

Circles: Cheerios
Squares: Chex, Quaker Oat Squares
There are more shapes in some sugary cereals (Lucky Charms comes to mind). If you don’t want to buy an entire box, consider buying the little one-serving packs and letting your kids glue the shapes onto paper. Or just eating a small serving for a special treat.

And of course, there are other foods that come in basic shapes. Some crackers are triangle or rectangle shaped. When you start looking around your kitchen, you may find little teaching opportunities everywhere!

Younger kids might enjoy the counting and colors books and older kids will like to see the dinosaurs go to school and play with their friends. The silly, rhyming text is accompanied by great illustrations of dinosaurs with human parents. These are fantastic books for older kids who are into dinosaurs too.

We have ratty books, brand new books, books that make sounds, books that have lights and require batteries, puzzle books that come apart, cloth books, velcro books, old classics, new soon-to-be classics and possibly even lost library books. But how to keep track of them all and be able to share that list with relatives and friends so you don’t end up with 6 copies of Pat the Bunny?

Enter the website, LibraryThing.com. You can create a free account and start entering all the books you have by title, author or ISBN. When you are done you get a fairly simple looking URL that you can send around to family and friends. This lists all the books and you can even see how many people also have a certain book on their list. Over 2000 for The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein!

You can even make other lists for yourself, but since you can fit about 20 children’s books in the space that Andrew Carnegie’s biography would fit, it is especially helpful for managing the ever growing kid’s bookshelf.

1. Form a Playgroup. If you don’t know anyone in your area with kids, start hanging out at the park or another play area. If you already have some friends who are also stay at home parents, organize one or more day(s) per week to get your kids together to play. A park is an ideal place to start. When the weather turns bad, try a play area inside a mall or other free play area. This may not be a structured activity, but it will get your child playing with and around other children, an important part of early socialization skills.

2. Plan ‘Classes’ at Home. Plan an hour (or 10 minutes) every day (or once a week) to do some structures ‘class’ activities at home.

For Gymnastics: Put some pillows on the floor and let the kids do tumbling. Practice balancing on one foot, hopping and doing other stretching/tumbling activities.

For Art: Put a protective cover on the table and get out the paints. Use crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, scissors, glue, stickers and paper and simply let the kids explore different types of media.

For Music: If you are not a singer yourself, find a cd or dvd that has some good singing and encourage your kids to sing along. If you have toy musical instruments, get them out and have ‘band practice.’ Find songs that have a good rhythm for clapping hands and tapping toes. Sing songs that include movements like “Hokey-Pokey” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”

Picking up Toys: I think the best way to start forming good habits is to have kids help pick up and put away their own toys. Teach them early on that part of playing with toys is putting them away. Even if you put away 90% of the toys and they only put away 10%, it is a good start.

Laundry: Putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket is a good place to start for kids helping with laundry. After they get undressed, ask your toddler to pick up the clothes and take them to the laundry basket. This works best if the laundry basket is low to the ground. If you have a taller hamper, consider putting a small step stool nearby. Toddlers and preschoolers might also be able to help load the washer and dryer, especially if you use front loaders.

Dining Table: Most preschoolers can start to help setting the table. Be prepared for things to be put in the wrong place and dropped on the floor though. Silverware might be a good place to start. For example, ask your child to take these spoons and put one at everyone’s place at the table. Or say, here is your cup, go put it at your place. Cleaning up after meals is a little more tricky. We typically head right into potty time or bath time or nap time right after meals, so help in clearing a washing up will have to start a little farther down the road for us.

Cleaning: Dusting is a great place for toddlers and preschoolers to begin helping. Give them a damp dust rag while you are dusting and let them go at it. They might just move the dust around instead of wiping it up, but at least they are getting the idea of wiping down the furniture. *Remember to keep toxic cleaning chemicals away from your child.

Yard Work: Most kids love to play outside. Make outside chores a fun activity for your child. If you are working in the garden, let them have a small plot in which to dig and use a watering can. Weeding (provided you are specific about what is a weed and what is not) can be another fun chore. The Boy also loves helping pick up clippings and taking them to the street or to the compost pile. Sometimes a child-sized accessory (like kid gardening gloves) is all it takes for kids to actually want to help out!

You probably wonder why these emails are even sent anymore, does anyone fall for them? Well, the reason spammer send them is people still get hooked. The lure of easy money is too much for most people, especially people that are pinching their pennies and are on single income. Since the cost of sending spam is next to nothing, even if they get a few responses for every million emails, they can still make a little money.

The truth is that there is no reliable way to make money quickly with no effort. No matter what the salesman on your doorstep tells you, hang on to your pennies! There are reliable ways to make money, but they usually take time and effort. Investing, side jobs, even this crazy thing called blogging are some of the ways you can get rich.

Putting away a set amount of money every month, even if it is only $50, can go a long way in 40 years when you retire. Compound interest is the best friend you can have in the financial world, it will repay you many times over. Ignore those hot stock tips and invest in a mutual fund or index fund that will grow at a nice steady pace. If you keep your money in safe places and limit your risk and the downside, the upside will take care of itself!

This program is amazing. It can watch your picture folders, adding new ones anytime you plug in your camera. It creates thumbnails of all your videos and pictures for easy organizing and editing. You can do a lot of basic editing, cropping, red eye reduction and a bunch more.

One of the best features is you can choose what format to print pictures in. You can have wallets, 5×7, 4×6, all the common formats. You can print out the best pictures and give to family members as gifts!

You can also have it resize images before you email them so you don’t clog your family’s email accounts with glorious pictures of your kids.

Once I discovered this, I threw out the horrible Canon software and have never looked back. And that was about 6000 pictures ago!