The Organized Parent

Take the DVD-Free Challenge and Win!

We dare you to ditch DVD player this summer travel season and reconnect with your kids!!!

If you're up for the challenge we want to make it even more interesting. We're asking you to share your most creative (yet simple!) tips and ideas on reconnecting with your family while traveling on vacation. One winner will be chosen to receive a $100 gas card and a prize package of our fabulous travel games. To enter, send an email with your idea to dvdfree@theorganizedparent.com. We'll post entries on this blog so be sure to check back often to get great ideas for your summer travel. Enter as often as you like! Submissions will be accepted through June 30, 2008 and the winner will be announced on July 2nd and notified via email. Please include your first name and your state. Valid for residents of the U.S. only. Posted entries may be edited for space.

Here are the entries:

1.  Before we leave the driveway on our roadtrip I give each of my children their own pouch.  I take twenty dollars each and cash them into quarters.  I explain that they each have the opportunity to earn their own souvenir money.  They will get a quarter every time I catch them being kind, sharing, finishing a coloring page or homework assignment, finding a landmark, finding twenty five out of state license plates or personalized incense plates.  There is bonus money time every time a song with money is the words is played.  Quarters can also be taken away for whining, asking for quarters or not sharing.  My kids love it. - Matt

2.  Every summer, when I was younger, my parents packed up the mini van and we went on a road trip for a week. I remember visiting lots of different states and sightseeing along the way. Mostly I remember the long, all-day-long, car rides, pre-dvd player. My mom always packed a treat bag for my brother and I. She would pass out a special magnetic game, activity book, magazine, snack or small toy several times along the way. We never knew what we would get, or when we would get it, but it was enough to keep us occupied and gave us something to look forward to. Later as we got older, my dad would pack the trivia questions from Trivial Pursuit and we would take turns asking questions. I've now started the treat bag idea with my children and appreciates the break it gives us from the "are we there yet" questions. - Jennifer, South Dakota

3.  We purchased those mini dry erase boards and do spelling tests when we are driving or play true or false or Heidi or Megan games.  Which child took an ambulance ride at 6 months old…Heidi or Megan?  They have to write the answer down and then they flip it to reveal the answer!  Or true or false – the passenger pigeon is extinct? Or true or false – Grandma Arlene is a CEO?  Or spell FRIENDS and each use it in a sentence.  It’s a great game which they learn about all kinds of things but they especially love the family and childhood stories!!! Seriously the time flies!!! - Stacey, Wisconsin

Can you ditch the DVD?

Here’s a dare for all of the parents planning on traveling with kids this summer: Leave the DVD player at home! Are you cringing yet?

 

The immense success of in-vehicle DVD players can be chalked up to four little words: Are we there yet?

What mother doesn’t cringe at the thought of a long road trip with young children? While popping in a movie may be an easy solution to travel-time boredom, it doesn’t have to be the sole entertainment for the trip.

 

My friends still think I’m crazy, but one of our best family vacations was the one we took when our DVD player broke – 20 minutes into the trip. We learned a lot about each other in the eight-hour car ride.

 

In today’s fast-paced world, car or plane rides are one of the rare opportunities families have to spend time together without outside distractions. I believe we should take advantage of this time by talking, playing games and reconnecting. Here’s what we did:

 

1. We talked. Imagine! Talking! If you need a conversation starter, check out a book like KidChat by Paul Lowrie and Bret Nicholas. It offers fun and imaginative questions. For example, what is something most adults do that seems silly to you? (My son thinks my befor coffeee/after coffee transformation is hilarious!) Your child's answers might surprise you, and sometimes the questions serve as a catalyst for more meaningful discussions.
2. We listened to a book on CD. I had picked up an “Encyclopedia Brown” book, which is a series of short whodunit mysteries. Listening to an audio book uses more imagination than watching a DVD and can also be enjoyed by the driver. On another vacation, I chose a book that was one of my childhood favorites, “Ramona the Pest” by Beverly Clearly. It was fun listening to it again and fun to watch my boys experience it.
3. We made a scrapbook. I had packed art supplies, a lap desk and a disposable camera for each of my boys and on our way home they created a great show-and-tell for school.
4. We were silly. We decided to play a game by letting each family member take turns adding a few words or a sentence. Start with “Elsie was the talk of the barnyard because she was a cow who could … ” and see where your family takes it from there.

As parents, we spend weeks – even months – planning family vacations, booking hotel, researching attractions and charting routes. It’s easy to overlook the fact that filling up your travel time takes planning, too.

 

Sure, DVD players are great travel tools, especially if your journey is long. But with a little planning, families will find that getting there can be half the fun.

Finding a Good Babysitter

You wouldn’t walk up to a teenage girl at the mall, ask her to hold your purse and walk away, but trusting your children with a new babysitter can feel just like that. So how do you find a good sitter – someone you can trust?

Other parents are often great sources of sitters … if they’re willing to share! Be sure to ask for feedback, positive and negative. Some churches, synagogues and neighborhood associations have lists of members who are available for babysitting. High school and college campuses often have newsletters or bulletin boards where you can post jobs, or small, community newspapers offer domestic help wanted postings. Or consider a co-op where parents take turns watching each other’s children for evenings out.

In our high-tech age, a convenient source of sitters is online referral agencies, such as Sittercity.com, which matches parents with local sitters and provide feedback and other resources.

Teenage sitters typically have less childcare experience and charge a lower hourly rate. Parents with school-aged children can benefit by hiring a teenage sitter and saving some money on the rate. Also, many teenage sitters have at least one parent that is just a phone call away if they run into a situation that requires some assistance. Parents with infants and toddlers may want to get a sitter with more childcare experience, which is usually an adult sitter. The hourly rate can go up significantly, but the piece of mind … is usually worth [it.].

Hourly rates can vary greatly, from $5 to $15 per hour. Remember, you often get what you pay for.

When you find suitable candidates, Genevieve Thiers, founder and CEO of Sittercity, says parents should set up an interview with at least three sitters.

“Have each spend an hour or two with the children while the parent is still at home,” she says. “It's a great opportunity for the children to be a part of the selection process. After all, they will be spending the most time with the candidate that is selected.”

Thiers also urges parents to ask for and call each of the candidate’s references. Also expect a babysitter to have some kind of safety training. The Red Cross offers a six-hour Babysitter’s Training Course in many communities. Thiers also looks for previous child care experience, but adds that one of the most important things to look for is energy and enthusiasm.

“An enthusiastic sitter won't resort to sticking the kids in front of the TV or talking on the phone for a few hours while they get into who-knows-what,” Thiers says. “She'll be alert and creative on the job, which will keep your kids safe and entertained – what more could you ask for?”

The Interview

Here are some questions from Sittercity:

What is it that you like about babysitting?

What do you look for in an employer/family?

What is your hourly rate?

Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a felony?

Are you OK if a job runs later than planned?

How soon will you let us know if you can't do a job?

Do you know First Aid and CPR?

Tell me about a time where you faced a crisis on the job. How did you handle it?

What would you do with the kids on a day like today?

What do you do when a child refuses to go to sleep?

What do you think is the best way to handle tantrums?

What kinds of discipline have you implemented in the past?

Turn Off Your TV Week

We decided to participate in Turn Off Your TV week this year. I made the decision as a result of watching last Thursday's Oprah show where families simplified their lives by giving up television, cell phones, video games and much more. We had unplugged our televisions a few years ago and it was one of the best weeks we had as a family ... but we never did it again. Doesn't make sense, does it?

Sometimes the easy path is actually the harder path. So here we are on day one and no one has complained, had a melt down or even asked to turn on the television or Wii. I went to the library to pick up some books to read as a family tonight. And I picked up some Whodunit mysteries to tease my son's brains (and mine!) We discovered a free Sudoku for kids puzzle courtesy of a link on the Unplug Your Kids blog. And my children have asked to bake a cake tonight after dinner.

The house sounds so quiet. I'll keep you posted. And if you have some fun family activities to share, please do!!

Couponing update

I'm so excited to save money at the grocery store that I just don't get it when I learn that my friends don't clip coupons. I ask them, if they saw a dollar bill laying on the sidewalk, would they pick it up? Of course they would. But, for some reason the act of clipping turns smart women into whiny toddlers!

So, I'm going to post how much I save each time I got to the grocery store. First, I'd like you to know I subscribe to The Grocery Game (www.thegrocerygame.com) and find it is a huge time saver. They tell you when a sale is a good deal or whether you should only buy it if you're out and gotta have it right away. I took my son Christopher to Kroger with me on Saturday and (drum roll ....) we bought $88 worth of groceries for $31. A savings of 64%. Christopher was amazed and may be one of the few 12 year old coupon fanatics. We bought several items that were free after store sales, double coupons and store promotions.

I'd love for you to post your best grocery store savings. I read that grocery prices have increased 40% in the past year and I for one am not going to stand by and take it.

Happy clipping!

Stephanie

Clean out that purse!

My husband and I moved into a house that had an enormous amount of kitchen cabinets. In fact, everyone who visited remarked about how large the kitchen was. I boasted that I had drawers and cabinets that were empty. Less than a year later, every cabinet and drawer was full.

As humans, we seem to have a need to fill empty space. Take a purse for example. Chances are, if a woman carries a large bag, she has items inside that she really doesn’t need. That same woman can fit what she needs in an elegant – and tiny! – evening bag.

The first step to lightening your purse is choosing a smaller purse. If a small bag just doesn’t fit in your fashion radar, use your “evening bag mentality” and fill it with those things you need. Just because the purse is big doesn’t mean it has to be filled to capacity.

Routinely purge your purse like you would a closet. Take everything out of your purse and put it on the table. With each item, ask yourself these questions:

1. Have this item been used during the past month?
2. Does this item fit the needs of my daily tasks?
3. Can this item be just as useful stored in my car or workplace?
4. Am I carrying this item for someone else?

If you answered no to the first two questions then do not put this item back in your purse. If you answered yes to the second two questions, then these items need to be returned to their owner or stored somewhere else.

The glove box of your car is a great place to keep a small sewing kit, a pouch with medications such as aspirin or antacids, a compact umbrella, and snacks for times when your child is “starving … can we stop at McDonalds.”

A full purse isn’t just messy, potential health risks come with toting around all that stuff. The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) recommends that a handbag weigh no more than 10 percent of its owner’s body weight. Place your bag on your bathroom scale; you might be surprised at what it weighs. When carried on one shoulder, it interferes with the natural movement of the upper and lower body.

"The person carrying the bag will hike one shoulder to subconsciously guard against the weight, holding the other shoulder immobile," said Dr. Richard Brassard, president of the ACA. "This results in the unnatural counterbalance movement of one shoulder and little control over the movements of the arms and legs. Even worse, the spine curves toward the shoulder."

Here are more tips from the ACA on choosing a handbag to prevent back pain:

• When carrying a heavy purse, alternate it between both shoulders to avoid placing the burden on just one side of your body.
• Empty your bag of unnecessary items each week.
• Switch handbags so you don’t carry a big purse every day. Consider carrying two bags, a tote bag and a purse, and carry one in each hand. Or pack a tote to leave at the office or in the car, with essential items, such as a wallet and keys, carried in a small purse.
• If you buy a big purse, choose one with wider straps, which helps distribute weight over a broader area of your shoulder.
• Buy a backpack-style purse to better distribute the weight.
• If you carry a laptop, consider a rolling bag.
• Make an effort to square your shoulders.
• And listen to your body. A healthy back is much more stylish than any large handbag.

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

According to a recent article in USA Today, food prices have risen at the highest rate in four years. Couple that with the rising cost of fuel, and it’s no wonder many families are worried about their budgets these days.

So what does an Organized Parent do? She starts cutting costs by cutting coupons!

Stephanie Nelson, a.k.a. the Coupon Mom and a regular on ABC’s Good Morning America, says “Saving money at the grocery store is not about changing the way we eat but changing the way we buy the food we like.”

In her book Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom, she reveals her secrets of being strategic shopper. A few of her rules: plan before you shop, be flexible with store brands, plan your meals around store specials, stick to your grocery list and know how to maximize coupons.

On her website, www.couponmom.com, Stephanie has a coupon database where shoppers can match store specials with manufacturer coupons to maximize savings.

After trying her system, I saved more than 50% off my last grocery store visit. The planning process took about an hour, but saved my family $68!

Amy Bergin is the inventor of the Couponizer – a fabulous coupon organizing system that will help you maximize your savings by organizing your coupons. The seven-piece system is an invaluable tool to organizing coupons and saving money.

While supplies last, order the Couponizer and receive a free copy of Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom, where you’ll get the details of Stephanie’s proven system. This is an $18 value.

Ready to save money at the grocery store? Get clipping!

Busy Mom’s New Year’s Resolution? Ha ha

New Year’s Resolutions sure aren’t fun. But here’s a resolution I challenge all my busy mom friends to try: Laugh more.

Seriously. Well, not too seriously.

Sometimes we get so bogged down with being the Patron Saint of Responsibility that we forget to laugh. So, try it. Find humor in something that might otherwise stress you out. Recall a fond memory that makes you chuckle. Share a glimpse of your childhood with your children.

One of my family’s favorite stories to share about me is the time I got trapped in a fun house. I was about 12 and painfully awkward (scientists believe I am missing the gene for balance). The fun house exit was one of those rotating cylinders that Olivia Newton John effortlessly walked through in stiletto heels as she danced with John Travolta in Grease. Well, it freaked me out so badly that I laid my body down and cried for my dad to help me. He was so embarrassed at the spectacle I was making, he did what any decent father would do; he speed-walked in the opposite direction. My mom was on his heels and my sister (seven years my junior) who had accompanied me into the fun house just kind of stepped over me and left the scene. I was acting so ridiculous that I was making strangers uncomfortable. To this day, I don’t know how I got out of the “fun” house but I’ve never gone inside another one.

My boys never tire of hearing this tale of woe. It’s one of my son Nick’s favorite bedtime stories. While the story provides us with a good laugh, I think it also shows my boys that parents are human and that everyone goes through things that seem horrifying at the moment but that are really small in the face of life.

So in 2008, learn some jokes. Tell stories of your childhood. And create new embarrassing moments. I promise this is a resolution you’ll love to keep.

Take Two

In Hollywood, when a scene doesn’t play right they do it again. I began thinking that this same “take two” concept could be applied to a family’s routine to a certain degree. Don’t like the scene that plays out most mornings at your house? Rewrite the script and start again.

The most important thing a mom can have that will help her create a calm, well-oiled family routine is a plan. Often, the areas of our lives that cause us the most stress are the areas that we plan for the least. Morning routines. Long car rides. Waiting at a restaurant for a table. Creating a weekly agenda. When you feel like pulling out your hair, take a step back and ask yourself, did I put enough time and effort into planning this part of my life as I would if I was planning a party?

A plan is simply a list attached to a timeline. My New Year’s challenge for you is to create a plan for all of those areas in your life that aren’t working. Write the scene you’d like to see play out in your life. Write your “Take Two.”

For a completely successful family routine, all members of your family need to sign off on the script. Family meetings are great events to institute in your home. Moms shouldn’t be dictators, but we do put in place the foundation for a happy home life.

So this New Year instead of making a resolution, write your Take Two. Ready? Lights. Camera. Action!

Holidays got you stressed yet?

Whether it’s baking gingerbread men, taking the kids to see Santa at the mall or lighting your grandmother’s menorah, chances are your family has events that are done each holiday season. Holiday traditions give families a sense of connection and provide the foundation for childhood memories. By continuing your family’s traditions, you give your children a first-hand glimpse into your own childhood.

When I was a child it was a family tradition to make pizza on Christmas Eve. My Nana was a great cook and she would make several pizzas for our family gathering (which always concluded with a rowdy card game!) Today, we continue the pizza tradition, but my husband is the chef. We choose unusual toppings and he creates several pies for us to sample during the night (which is capped off with a rowdy card game, too!)

While holiday traditions can be wonderful, they can also add stress to the season. Baking, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, card writing, decorating, etc., holidays are full of merriment but they are also full of work.

John Grisham’s book “Skipping Christmas” was a great illustration of how out of control the holiday season can get. How many of us could relate to Nora’s fight over the last holiday ham?

If hosting an annual brunch leaves you anxious for weeks, consider skipping this event or changing the format to a potluck. If you kids don’t enjoy going to the Nutcracker each year, consider skipping the show entirely or checking your area’s events calendar to see if there is another performance that would be more enjoyable. And we can all probably agree fruit cake is a tradition that can die a natural death.

One of my family’s new holiday traditions is purchasing a new ornament for our sons. We started this tradition when they were babies, choosing the ornament for them. Now that they’re older, we turn the purchase into a special afternoon. The boys select a glass ornament from the Old World collection. They often choose an ornament that is representative of their year. For example, my son Nick chose a baseball ornament the year that he started Little League. My son Christopher chose a dolphin the year that we went to Florida and took a boat ride with marine biologists and saw dolphins swimming in the Gulf. When we trim the tree, we love unwrapping these ornaments and remembering each special year. It’s our plan that when the boys grow up, these ornaments will go with them and trim the trees in their own homes. We hope that they share the stories with their own children.

If you are ready to add a new tradition to your family, here are our T.O.P. five ideas:

• Put on your pajamas and bundle up. Then grab some hot chocolate and drive around your city looking at the lights. Some areas even have holiday light tours where your entire family can be passengers.
• Beginning December 1, read a new holiday story each night before bed. Share your favorites with your child or check out a new book.
• Choose an angel off of the Salvation Army tree and shop for the child with your children. This tradition not only helps a child in need have a better holiday, but it will show your children that the true spirit of the season is in giving.
• Have a family card signing night. Why should the job of sending holiday cards be delegated to just one person? Make a night of it with some warm cider or eggnog and turn a chore into fun.
• Pop some popcorn and hold a double, triple or marathon feature holiday movie night. Rent favorites such as “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “Miracle on 34^th Street,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or “The Polar Express.” Make a tradition of purchasing a new DVD each year to create your own collection.

Looking for more ideas? Be sure to visit our website and sign up for our monthly newsletter.