The Organized Parent

Pack the Perfect Lunch

Ahhh, the school cafeteria. It’s where kids first learn the fine art of negotiation. To ensure your kids eat what you packed (and not the mom down the street), here are some tips for packing the perfect lunch.

First, check your school’s guidelines. Some schools have a strict no-junk-food policy. Others have adopted a nut-free environment. Make sure your child stays on the right side of the cafeteria law.

For stress-free morning routines, pack lunches the night before. Be sure to ask for some input from your child. When children have a say in what goes into their lunch box, they’re more likely to eat it. Older kids can even pack their lunch themselves. 

Remember most schools allow only 15 or 20 minutes for lunch. Make sure the foods you pack are easily opened and easy to eat.

Include foods from at least three of the five food groups. This not only is healthier, but it provides variety. For example, pack a slice of cheese, grilled chicken strips and grapes. Or send a hard-boiled egg, mini whole wheat bagel and carrots. 

Small foods are easier to handle, and they can be more fun to eat. Cut sandwiches into four pieces, or use cookie cutters to make creative shapes. Kids love baby carrots and a sliced apple is more likely to be eaten than a whole one.

Skip the white bread. Instead, use crackers, mini bagels, small pita pockets or tortillas to create a unique sandwich. 

Prepackaged lunches may be popular with kids, but they’re expensive and often not very nutritious. Create your own using nitrate-free lunch meats, real (not processed) cheese and whole wheat crackers. For even more kid appeal, use cookie cutters to make fun shapes.

Kids love “action” foods. Consider packing fruits or vegetables with yummy dips. Or thread pieces of fruit or cheese on a craft stick (safer than a toothpick), creating a mini kabob. 

Remember food safety and keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Use a frozen gel pack or freeze a juice box or water bottle (be sure to ask your child if it had thawed by lunch time) to keep sandwiches and pudding from spoiling. When using an insulated thermos, rinse it with hot water before adding your food to keep it warm longer.

Bag the brown bag and choose an insulated lunchbox instead. Even better, let you child choose his or her lunchbox. (I remember how proud I was to carry my Monkees lunchbox; I never let it out of my sight and took exceptional care of it.) Make sure the lunchbox you choose is large enough to hold sturdy plastic containers for fruit or crackers. They’re not only earth-friendly, but they ensure food won’t get squished.

Closet Organizers on The Today Show

Yesterday two of our Closet Clothing Organizers were featured on The Today Show. Parenting expert Dr. Michele Borba, a Today Show regular, suggested using it in your entry closet as a place for kids to store their school supplies. What a great way to repurpose the item outside the bedroom closet.

Click here to read Dr. Borba's blog. You'll find a video link to the segment.

School Supplies for Mom

Folders. Glue sticks. Number-two pencils. As a parent, you're an expert at gathering children's school supplies. But have you gathered the supplies you need to stay out of stress detention this school year? Take this pop quiz: Where do you keep school lunch menus? Permission slips? Class schedules? Where do your children put papers that need to be signed? What do you do when two children need to be in two places at the same time? Does your child have everything he/she needs to get off to school in the morning? If you're not sure of the answers to these questions, we can help. For most parents, the year really begins when the kids go back to school. Instead of waiting for January to resolve to get organized, start the school year off by creating a can't miss organizing system. Two must-have items? A filing center and a good planner. If you have school-aged children, you know how many papers come home and how many projects, activities and appointments need to be tracked. It's easy to get overwhelmed. Many moms use a magnetic clip and attach papers to the refrigerator door. Unfortunately, this system only allows you to notice the top sheet, making it easy to overlook an important date. Instead, gather supplies to create a good filing center. In my home, I have a filing box on my kitchen counter where papers are stored according to day of the week. I check the file the night before to be sure I'm ready for the next day. I also keep afile that is labeled "schedules" where I keep lunch menus, sports schedules and other activity calendars. Some moms like to organize their filing system by child's name. Finding the best system for you is personal preference, but finding a good filing tool is universal. Files can be held in a traditional filing cabinet, file tote or even a binder. Easy accessibility will help you use and maintain it. Be sure to purge your files on a weekly or monthly basis so you only keep current information on hand. It's also important to establish a paper trail for your family. When your children come home, backpacks should be emptied and papers distributed through the right channels. Some moms like the in/out box. I ask my children to put papers on the kitchen counter next to the filing box. Establish a plan for your paper trail that makes the most sense for your family. To keep track of schedules, moms need a good master planner. Some work-outside-the-home moms keep a planner for office schedules and another planner for home schedules. This is an invitation for forgetting something. All appointments and activities need to be recorded through one planner. Keep the family in the loop by using a family calendar that hangs in a central area in your home and is updated from the master planner. To make mornings go smoothly, create a checklist for you and your child. We use a dry erase week calendar and record things like Gym Day and Library Day that happen on the same day each week. My son knows that the items he needs for the next day should be put in his backpack before he goes to bed. You can also laminate a schedule and hang it on your door.

By taking the time to get organized, you are taking the first steps to a great school year, hopefully eliminating phone calls from school where your child cries because she forgot her book report.

Creating a Car Bag

OK. So you're not jet-setting across the country. You're just going across town to do your grocery shopping. You may be tempted to hop in the car and go, but the Organized Parent grabs her Car Bag for those Just In Case scenarios. What's inside?

Instead of giving you a list, let's play a little game called "How Organized Are You?" So, grab your handbag or tote bag and let's see how you do!

If you have a pen, you get one point. (Keep it out and use it for scorekeeping.)

1. Cell Phone – 2 points
2. Tissue – 2 points
3. Calendar/Planner – 3 points (+1 point if it has dates/information entered)
4. Pad of paper – 3 points (+1 if it is a Post-It note pad)
5. Lip balm – 4 points
6. Safety Pin – 4 points
7. Anti-bacterial Gel or Wipes – 5 points
8. Tide to Go Pen or other spot remover – 10 points
9. Children’s Tylenol/Pain Reliever – 10 points

How'd you do? Professional Organizer Krista Colvin, of Organize in Style, offers more ideas for creating what she calls your "mom bag":

First I use a simple tote that has a small box-bottom so that it won't tip over all the time and not too large so that it becomes a catch-all.

Add some magazines that you've been wanting to peruse.

A clipboard w/paper to catch all those ideas + random thoughts you'll find yourself having.

Sunglasses.

Your own secret stash of water + treats!

Favorite CD's.

A book you've been wanting to read.

A couple of cards + stamps.

Tylenol... just in case you can't take it any longer!

The "mom-bag" isn't just for road trippin'.... it's great to keep in the car for when you find yourself waiting for the kids to finish practice or take into your dental appointment with you ... just add a good book and you're good to enjoy those spare moments.

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.