Wednesday, September 28, 2011

10 tips for de-cluttering and organizing your kids toys

As your searching aimlessly through the playroom for that missing game piece or the yellow hotwheel that your son is insisting he needs now or his world is going to come crashing down, you step on a pile of little green army men. Certain that one of them has pierced through the bottom of your foot and your pretty sure you'll never be able to walk again, or at least for the next five minutes while you cringe in pain, you think to yourself that's it! Something has to be done about this mess. Well let me tell you, Ive been there. My kids playroom was so unorganized that the kids didn't even play in it, which meant more toys scattered throughout the rest of the house. So together we took on, Mission: Playroom Clean-up.

Now that summer is over and your kids are bound to be spending more time in the house, it is the perfect time to de-clutter and organize those toys. Here are ten tips to get you started:

1. Out with the old to make way for the new.
We try and keep to the rule that for every new toy we get, an old toy has to go. This will not  only limit the number of toys your kids have, but it also teaches them the value of their toys. They will think twice about asking for a new toy when they understand that they have to choose an old one to get rid of in its place.

2. Get your kids involved.
Let your kids help, it is technically their space. They will take pride in the finished project knowing they had a say in it. Besides your kids love spending time with you and feeling needed.

3. Take advantage of the Holiday Season and Birthdays.
These is in my opinion are the best and easiest times of the year for clearing out old toys both for you and your kids. Make room for all the new gifts kids will receive during these times by allowing them to help determine what toys they no longer play with and have them accompany you to donate them. My kids are more then willing to get rid of old toys during these times knowing that we are making room for newer ones. Explain why and where you will be donating their old unused toys and take advantage of this great opportunity to teach your kids to appreciate what they have.

4. Storage is key.
Forget the big toy box and invest in a great shelving system. I love to use cubbies. My favorite is the expedit bookcase from Ikea. We use ours on it's side so that it doubles as a TV console as well. Its really a great and affordable bookcase that leads to my next tip:

5. Baskets, Bins and Buckets.
By using cubbies such as those in the Expedit bookcase you are able to use baskets, bins, and even buckets to store smaller toys. By storing toys in smaller compartments like these rather then in one big toy chest, it prevents your kids from emptying every toy they own out onto the floor at one time.

6. Divide, Conquer, and Label.
Divide toys into separate categories for each storage compartment you are using. For instance, we keep superheros and action figures in one basket and cars, planes and trains in another. This makes it so much easier when searching for a specific toy and eliminates having to empty every basket. Labeling each container will help your kids determine what goes where. Pictures can be used as a way of labeling if your child is too young to read.

7. Put those stuffed animals to use.
I hate stuffed animals! I'm just putting it out there. If your not careful, these things will take over your home. I have one small basket designated for stuffed animals and the rest go up in a stuffed animal hammock, but I recently discovered the coolest storage idea for all those stuffed animals. Behold the Animal Bag. This clever take on the traditional bean bag is pure genius!

8. Up, up, and away.
Some things just need to be put up, high up, and out of reach. I keep games, puzzles, and anything with multiple pieces up in the closet. These are the things that require permission to be played with. Of course permission to use these means all other toys must be put away where they belong first.

9. Display your kids art.
Eliminate piles of your kids art work by displaying their portraits in frames. Easily rotate their artwork using the Lil Davinci Art Gallery. Way cool!

10. Decorate with Fun!
Let the kids choose a theme for the room or even a color scheme. We have a Toy Story shelf where the kids place all their Toy Story figurines so that they double as decor for the room. A fun rug with roads for their cars or a hopscotch design are also fun ways of decorating while encouraging play.

Last but not least, be sure to set some ground rules and set up a routine for picking up toys in order to keep your new space organized and ready for play.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Get outdoors and Fall into Fun!

Fall is the perfect time of year to get outside and play with your kids. As the long summer days come to an end, the leaves Begin to change and milder temperatures set in, why not get the family outdoors for some last minute fun in the sun. I love this time of year!
Whether its at the park, the beach, or even our own backyard, I love to be outside! My kids drive me crazy when we're cooped up in the house all day. I try and take them to the playground at least once a week. This gives me a chance to do nothing but sit and relax. Bring a few snacks, a toy car (we don't go anywhere without toy cars in hand) and some sand toys and my kids could stay at the park all day. The best part is when we get home and they crash! There is always something about being outdoors and the fresh air that just knocks my kids out.

Now, I know that with school, soccer, errands and just keeping up with household chores, that spending the afternoon at the park isn't always feasible, but a few hours in your own backyard can be just as fun. Let your kids help out with some yard work. My kids love raking leaves and watering my flowers. If your fortunate enough like we are, the weather will be warm enough that after watering the flowers your kids can turn the hose on themselves or fill up the kiddie pool for some old fashioned fun.

Don't worry, if the cooler temperatures of fall prevent you from getting wet with your kids you can still pull out the kiddie pool. Just fill it up with balls, soft sided blocks or even sand. Who doesn't like a sandcastle? Team up and make a friendly sandcastle competition. Winner's choose what game to play next. Kick the soccer ball? Keep away with the Frisbee? Sidewalk chalk? We make hopscotch boards with ours and my 4 year old and I use the chalk for  practicing his letters.

By far our families favorite thing to do outdoors is picnics. Whether its lunch at the beach or dinner at the park, my kids love to eat outside! The greatest part is hearing my 4 year old say, "You wanna know why I like picnics so much?... Because, I get to be with my whole family!" Now if that's not reason enough to turn off the TV, put away the video games and leave your cell phones at home for a day, then I don't know what is.

Still need a little motivation to get your family outside for some fun? Take the Clorox2 Play 2Day pledge to play outside! September 24, 2011 marks the 8th annual Worldwide Day of Play which is the centerpiece of Nickelodeon's The Big Help, a program that supports health and wellness amongst kids and family. As a sponsor of Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day of Play, Clorox is encouraging families to to do just that, turn off the TV and get out and play! So visit http://clorox2play2day.com and take the challenge. Oh, and go ahead and get dirty! Clorox will get the tough stains out. ;)

Disclosure: “I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” (make sure you link to http://clorox2.socialmoms.com/about) 

Monday, September 19, 2011

How does your child's school handle classroom celebrations with food allergies?

I am so excited about the new birthday/food policy being created at my son's preschool this year! In years past they have allowed parents to bring in a nut-free treat to share with the class to celebrate their child's birthday. Last year they implemented a new policy allowing parents to only bring treats from a list of approved snacks handed out prior to each child's birthday, but of course as we food allergy parents know, there is always at least one parent who refuses to comply with these sorts of regulations. In addition to the occasional parent bringing in an unapproved snack for the classroom, there was also the issue of label reading. It is a nut-free school, but honestly, I don't expect parents without food allergic kids to fully understand and correctly read labels %100 of the time. On several occasions teachers where forced to send birthday treats back home due to allergens listed on the label that had been overlooked by parents, thus leaving the birthday boy or girl unable to share their treats with the class on what was meant to be their special day. As you can imagine, this didnt always go over very well.


This year they are currently in the process of finalizing a list of snacks that the kids will be able to prepare themselves for the class. The birthday boy or girl will choose a snack such as apple muffins or mac n' cheese from the list and then be given a seperate list of specific ingredients to bring for their cooking party. I think this is going to be so much fun! The child will have the opportunity to explain why they chose their special snack and lead the rest of the class, with their parent if they choose to particiapate, in cooking the dish. My kids love to cook with me! This is a great way to open discussions about our food and how it is prepared as well. Kids will feel special and empowered choosing and cooking their own special birthday treats. I love, love, LOVE this idea!

Other then birthdays there is a strict policy on no outside food being brought into the classrooms. Each parent donates $10 at the begaining of the school year to go towards snacks for other special occasions such as their Thanksgiving Feast and Jesus's Birthday Celebration. This way the staff can insure that only "safe" snacks for specific classroom allergies are brought in on these days.

How does your childs school handle outside food? Do they celebrate special occasions with food in the classroom? Share what works (or doesnt work so well) in your child's school in the comment section below.


Other related posts:

Finding an Allergy Aware school
Sarah Palin can have her cake and eat it too - Just don't do it around my kid!
The Cookie Monster - Sarah Palin Strikes Again

Thursday, September 15, 2011

When life gives you lemons... Make Limoncello!

Life didn't exactly give me lemons, but my neighbor sure did. Lots of lemons!


What the hell am I gonna do with all these lemons? Well, my husband suggested making lemonade with the kids which sounded like a good idea, but momma had a better one. Big girl lemonade, Limoncello!

I've never actually tried limoncello before, but have seen it made several times and hell, I'm willing to try anything with vodka at least once. It's a popular Italian lemon liqueur usually consumed as an after dinner digestivo by the Italians. Love those Italians!

5 squeaky clean lemons.

I started by scrubbing my lemons (sounds dirty). I'm only making half a batch just in case. I don't wanna waste the vodka. ;)


Then came the tricky part, peeling the lemons without getting any of the plith. Probably would have helped had I owned a nicer vegetable peeler, but just pretend my peel came off in long beautiful strips. This ain't Top Chef people!

Note: Never loan out your good beverage dispenser with a lid, you may not get it back. Hence, the pitcher with cling wrap.

Finally, I added my long beautiful lemon peels to just over half a 750ml bottle of good vodka in a glass pitcher to steep for 40 long days. For you nit picky Italians, yes, I know I should be using Everclear, but remember I'm on a Yellow Tail budget and my husband happened to have a nice vodka up in the cupboard already so vodka it is! (Shhh! My husband doesn't know I'm Stealing his vodka.)

Now I wait......


....while the kids make their own damn lemonade!

Check out Viola! Limoncello. for the rest of the limoncello recipe and to see how it turned out.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Play-Doh Play-Dates website review


If your kids are anything like mine, then they love playing with Play-Doh! If your anything like me, you haven't the slightest idea what to make with their Play-Doh when they ask you to play with them. Problem solved! Hasbro and Play-Doh have developed a new exciting website to get those creative juices flowing. The Play-Doh Play-Dates activity website is full of engaging ideas for you, your kids and of course a few containers of Play-Doh. Best of all it's FREE!

I decided to set up a Play-Doh Play-Date with my kids this afternoon. We chose a few fresh ideas, a craft and of course a snack, all from the website. There are several themes to choose from including Beach Party, Back to School and Spring Picnic. Of course, my kids didn't want to stick to just one theme so we bounced around from theme to theme. Just another great aspect of the site, there are no rules!

While my oldest was at school, I chose a simple snack from the site that my 3 year old could prepare. He made Banana OJ Pops from the Beach Party theme. He was very excited to serve these to his brother when he got home from school who decided they tasted like banana fudgesicles. Yum!

While scrolling through the Craft sections, the maze and connect the dots in the Back to School theme Activity Book caught A's eye immediately and I had to print them.

We scrolled through all the different Fresh Ideas and found several things to create with our Play-Doh. Now, Usually I am a freak about mixing the colors so my Play-Doh creations are very limited, but this was so fun! My oldest loved picking out new things to create while my 3 year old lost interest pretty quick. Let's just say, following direction isn't one of his strongest suits.

I will admit it does take some skill. We stuck with the beginner ideas and even I, as if I'm some kind of Play-Doh expert, had a hard time. There are step-by-step photo instructions, however I think some written instruction may be helpful for those of us who are, let's say, creatively challenged.

Check out some of our work:


The "star" of the afternoon. A loved his starfish!
Never thought I would say this, but I am actually looking forward to getting out the Play-Doh again. This months Pizza Shop theme looks like a blast! Create your own Play-Doh pizza with all the toppings. Then create an in home pizza shop with printable menu's, pizza peel and even a pizza box perfect for serving English Muffin Pizza Snacks.

Play-Doh has made a new fan out of me!


*Disclosure: This post is part of a SocialMoms product evaluation, for which I’ve been selected. I’ve been compensated for my time with 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of SocialMoms or Play-Doh.





Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Update on A's allergy

As those of you who read my blog know, A's last visit to the allergist suggested that he had outgrown his tree nut allergy. As I explained in my previous post, his skin test showed no reaction to the nuts tested. However, before we start introducing him to nuts he will need to go back in and complete an oral challenge, which I still have not scheduled. Yes, I am procrastinating and coming up with excuses left and right. It has been a busy summer and to be honest, I am in no hurry.

Some of you may think I am insane. I may actually be insane, but the fact is, that as exciting as it all may sound to those who have longed for a similar visit to your child's allergist, it scares the heck out of me.

a) I don't want to put him through the oral challenge in fear of a reaction.

b) Call it selfish, but I am in no hurry to introduce nuts back into his diet. This may be an absurd analogy, but it's like having a convicted felon released from prison into your neighborhood after claims of rehabilitation. Would you feel safe? What if the allergy came back? What if I wasn't there when it did? We would have no epi-pen.

c) With school starting and now soccer, I would rather have teachers and parents start the year out on guard then with the assumption that its okay if little Timmy shares a piece of his cashew butter sandwich with A. I know, this is a really terrible excuse!

d) Finally, I've worked so hard at keeping him safe and involving other parents, teachers, family and so on, that I am afraid of the seriousness of food allergies that I drilled into everyone will now be disregarded. What if now, these individuals don't take the next child's food allergies as serious assuming that all kids outgrow them or that A's was never really an issue to begain with.

As crazy as I may be, I do know that it needs to be done. Once we get settled into the new school year and the caos of summer has passed, I will set up an appointment and prepare for our lives to once again be flipped upside down.