Thursday, January 19, 2012

Cleaning Countdown!

I found this interesting article in Ready, Set, Grow Magazine at the Doctor's office it's called "Cleaning Countdown, 10 Ways to turn household chores into family fun" By Mary Ann Hudson, RN.

Very interesting read with all these kids in the house, and I am very guilty of some of these NOT TO DO things! i am constantly running around picking up after all of these kids, asking them to clean up and having to run behind them and do it myself.
Here is a brief summary of the major points of the article:

1. Ten minutes of teaching saves hours of correcting, nagging and failing
Never assume your kids know the best way to clean things up. Instead of generalized commands such as "pick up your room. "

2. Consider your child's perspective
Take a cue from classrooms and day cares: Classroom and daycare decor is simple, using cubbies, open baskets and boxes, with everything color-coded and accessible.

3. Work with your child's strengths and developmental level
Even grown-ups in the household divide chores according to interests and skill sets, and the same should hold true for children.

4. Accessibility encourages children without a single word
Is your home accessible to your children? In addition to creating a kid-friendly home, play, work, rest and clean-up spaces should be safe and obvious to kids.

5. Support your children's efforts with fun examples
The indoor months are perfect for visiting libraries and bookstores, and watching an occasional video.

6. Make time-management  fun and easy to understand
Sometimes chores need to be done efficiently so the family can move on to the next activity or chore.

7. Allow time for mastery
Kids need time and repetition to master new skills, which includes household chores.

8. Assign a chore buddy

Young children or those mastering a new chore will benefit from reinforcement from another adult or older child.

9. Use family times to reflect on household citizenship

Take some time during a family meal or fun activity to praise kids for helping out, get their feedback and discuss changes that can be beneficial.

10. Clean your own room!
Take a good, long look at your own bedroom. Is the hamper overflowing? The bed unmade? Is the closet a graveyard of hangers and tangled shoes? Kids internalize what they observe at home, and will little motivation to perform above and beyond their own caregivers.

Mary Ann Hudson, RN, is a lactation consultant
http://www.readysetgrowmag.com/

As I said I am guilty of alot of these , I get so frustrated with our 3 year old tornado, that I am constantly telling him to clean up his mess...but of course, being 3, he is easily distracted, and it never gets done correctly unless I am in there with him, and helping.

Also, age appropriate chores, r ability wise appropriate chores, I ave to really consider who is able to do what and do it correctly, Even thought my son is 14 years old, he is special needs, I can not expect him to do everything that the older kids do

Last but certainly not least, I am so busy through the day dealing with kids and trying to keep the main living areas at least presentable  that my room is always the last to get done, if I even bother doing it. the fact that it is off of our dining room also makes it difficult, because if we have some unexpected company, my quick clean up route always ends there, in MY bedroom. I will put stuff in there and shut the door and it may take me forever and a day to actually get that stuff out of there!!! So this really made me think about being hard on the kids about cleaning up their rooms etc.

I hope this is helpful!!!

Super Bowl Recipes!

I found a fantastic Recipe book at Krogers "Your Party's Winning Game Plan with Chef Guy Fieri"
With all these boys in the family, and being a sports family, the Super Bowl is a big weekend here! The best part of this Recipe Book is that it was FREE!!!
A few of my favorite recipes:

SMOKIN' CHIPOTLE BACON-ONION DIP

PREP TIME : 10 min. plus refrigerating MAKES: 18 servings 2 Tbsp. dip and 16 pieces each.

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 container  (16 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1 env. (1oz.) onion soup mix
1/2 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely
6 slices cooked OSCAR MAYER Center Cut Bacon, crumbled, divided
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (with 1 tsp. sauce), finely chipped
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 green onions, sliced
WHEAT THINS Original Snacks

MAKE IT

MIX sour cream and soup mix in medium bowl until well blended. Add cheese, 2/3 of the bacon, peppers, adobo sauce and paprika.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour.

TOP with remaining bacon and onions.

serve with WHEAT THINS.

SPECIAL EXTRA:

For more zip, add additional adobo sauce to the dip.

SUBSTITUTE:

Serve with WHEAT THINS Smoky BBQ Snacks

FOOD TIP:

To display your dip more colorfully, use a hollowed out green or red bell pepper or sourdough bread to serve it in.
NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING:
220 calories, 12g total fat, 4/5g saturated fat, 480mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate, 5g protein

*NABISCO'S "Your Party's Winning Game Plan with Chef Guy Fieri"

TRISCUIT PULL-APART "PIZZA"

PREP TIME: 15 min. TOTAL TIME: 25 min. MAKES: 12 servings.

WHAT YOU NEED:

24 TRISCUIT Fire Roasted tomato& Olive Oil Crackers
1/3 cup PHILADELPHIA Savory Garlic cooking Creme
1 cup chopped cooked broccoli
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA
2-1/2 oz. Italian sausage, crumbled, cooked
1 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 fresh basil leaves, finely chipped
1 Tbsp. olive oil

MAKE IT

HEAT oven to 400degrees F
ARRANGE crackers in 4 rows of 6 crackers each on baking sheet, with edges of crackers touching to form solid rectangle: spread with cooking creme. Top with broccoli
COVER half the rectangle with tomatoes and mozzarella: cover remaining half with sausage and Parmesan.
BAKE 10 min. or until mozzarella is melted. Sprinkle basil over tomato-covered half; drizzle oil over remaining half. Serve warm.
SUBSTITUTE: Prepare using your favorite combinations of vegetables and cooked meats.
FOOD TIP: Consider letting your guests create personal pull-apart pizzas with the toppings they like, which they can pop in the oven on-demand.
NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 90 calories, 5g total fat, 15g saturated fat, 160 mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate, 3g protein

*NABISCO'S "Your Party's Winning Game Plan with Chef Guy Fieri"

In addition to great recipes it also contains coupons!!

-$1 off 2 Nabisco Crackers (6.5 - 18.5 oz) -(manufacturer coupon-exp 3/31/12)
-$1 off 2 Ritz crackers (6-16 oz) -(manufacturer coupon-exp 3/31/12)


**DISCLAIMER These are not my recipes, these are taken from the coupon/recipe book listed above








Tuesday, January 3, 2012

How do you make extra money?

It's 2 p.m. and I have successfully washed, dried and folded 10 loads of laundry, have all of my NYE dishes, pots and pans soaking, trash taken out, baby is just waking up from his nap. I have successfully updated and redesigned one of my blogs, contacted new recruits for my Home Business, and signed up for some other programs to make my Resolution to be more profitable a success. How do you other SAHM's make extra money?

Jingit is a fast way, you start out with a $5 a week earning limit, but as you get others to sign up your earning potential increases. It only takes me a few minutes a day, and it instantly transfers to the Jingit Debit card for immediate use. I can't tell you how many times it has come in handy for a gallon of milk, or gas money for the kids or myself. My daughter even uses it! You can sign up using just your facebook profile!

I also cashed in my Upromise savings in 2011, not a gigantic amount but seeing as that the amount I had in there would only give my kids about $25 a piece for college, I went ahead and cashed in. Upromise is easy to sign up for, create your profile, register your credit cards, grocery savings cards, and invite friends and family to help and you are on your way. It adds money to your account without you having to do a thing! (I suggest starting when your kids are little, and updating the info whenever you get a new credit/debit card or grocery card for maximum benefits). Also earn extra buy shopping online!!!

Inbox Dollars is another way to earn some cash, but obviously will take some of your time, and it is best to dedicate some time to it daily, even if it's only a few emails a day. You can earn by reading emails, taking surveys, playing games, watching videos, redeeming coupons etc. As of today my cash balance is $13.49!!

SwagBucks has proven to be another way to earn, download their toolbar and use their search engine to earn "SwagBucks" you can earn other bucks as well for taking advantage of deals, playing games, and participating in the daily poll. Log in daily to earn Swag Bucks and then redeem for gift cards and such. Again it takes some daily dedication, but only a few minutes, and by Christmas you should have enough to redeem some fantastic gift cards for some great presents! You get 30 SwagBucks just for signing up!!

Zazzle is another one that I have found to pay out a little cash. Are you creative, witty, artistic? Design some T-shirts, mugs, calendars, shoes, etc and publish them for purchase, you earn a percentage of every item sold!

Have a blog? You definitely need to look into Google Adsense and Google Analytics, I am using them now, and will report back to you with some wonderful results!

I have found that Celebrating Home can offer some wonderful benefits, and it's up to you how much time you put into it, therefore it's up to you how much money you make! One of my resolutions is to build my business and make it more profitable in 2012! My goal this month is to grow my team, and contact as many organizations as I can about fundraising with Celebrating Home in 2012! Contact me for more info!