Vicky and Jen "What Really Matters"

5 Sweet Activities for Your Little Love Bug

2012-02-01T11:44:00.006-05:00

Easy. Fun. Inexpensive. And super sweet, just in time for Valentine's Day!

1. Sweet Candy Frames: Purchase small boxes of conversation hearts and remove all the candies. Glue a picture of your child inside the heart plastic window and then attach a magnet to the back of the box. Decorate by gluing the candy hearts around the front of the box.

2. Valentine Marble Painting: Use a heart candy box bottom. Cut white paper to fit inside the box. Dip marbles into pink and red paint. Drop the marbles into the box and let your child twist and turn the box. Add snowflake glitter to complete the valentine.

3. Puffy Hearts: Mix together Elmer's glue, shaving cream and red tempera paint. Your child can finger paint on heart shaped paper.

4. Valentine Necklaces: Use candy kisses, clear cling wrap and red, white or pink curly ribbon. Cut the cling wrap into a rectangle piece. Have your child place the candy kisses along the bottom leaving a small space in between. Then roll the wrap tightly around, starting at the bottom and working towards the top. When you are finished the kisses should be in the wrap all rolled, like a snake. Help tie the curly ribbon between each piece of candy. Encourage the use of patterns with the ribbon.

5. Valentine Cookie Graham: You need a graham cracker, pink frosting (put red food coloring into white frosting), Alpha Bits cereal, and small candy hearts. Directions: 1. Frost Graham cracker with pink frosting. 2. "Write" your message (I Love You, your name, Be Mine, etc.) on the frosted cracker using the Alpha Bits. 3. Decorate the boarder with candy hearts.

Simple and totally cute!

Shoes and a Bag

2012-01-26T09:00:00.003-05:00

This is a post we wanted to share from Michele Little of One Chic Mama. For more great tips from her, listen to Fashion and Beauty. She helps us pick the right colors and put on eyeliner to look goooood ......

With the economy in a state of flux, many of us are left feeling the need to hold on to our cold, hard cash. But life as we know it hasn’t come to a halt - we still want to dress well for business, date night, activities with the kids, and girls' night out. There’s got to be a way to look great without spending a lot of money! Actually, there are many ways to look great while keeping your bank account in check.

At the beginning of each season you want to do things to bring your look current. If you know anything about what I teach you know that I am NOT a big fan of going out and buying a brand new wardrobe each season. While there is a place for 'fast fashion' that is disposable by nature, I want you to think of your wardrobe as an investment that will last you for years to come. Once you have some great core pieces to start with (a suit, dark wash jeans, caramel trousers, items in your best basic colors) then you can do a quick assessment to decide what to bring in to help them look up to date. Each season there are a few small tweaks you can make to keep your look up-to-date, as opposed to dated, without spending a ton of cold hard cash. The small details make a big difference, so learn what’s in and get rid of what’s out. A little tough love in your closet will help you keep your wardrobe pared down and looking top notch, rather than drown in a sea of clothes you don’t like or never wear.

To start off, pay attention to the trends. Take note of women you see who are fashionable dressed, images you see in magazines or catalogs, and begin thinking about what look you'd like to create for the season.

Then take stock of what's already in your closet. Do any items need to be altered to fit you better or look more contemporary? Sometimes a minor alteration can produce major changes such as having that pair of jeans that drag the ground hemmed even if just 1/2". It can mean the difference between frumpy and fabulous!

I recommend that you create a LookBook of items you have in your closet already. Snap pics using your digital camera or smartphone so you have a quick reference guide. When shopping, refer back to these photos to know what will work in with what's in your closet right now. Then pull in a few items in some of the season's best brights (and your best!) to make your core items pop. Think tops, cardigans, a pair of bright trousers, a scarf and some great jewelry. Sometimes even just a little item can give you a lot of bang for your buck.

If you could only buy two items each season I recommend it be a fabulous pair of shoes and a great handbag. These can make or break an outfit and make a person look dated faster than anything else (except a dated hairstyle or makeup that’s not flattering). If you have a wardrobe full of core basics in solid colors, treat yourself to a great pair of wedges, booties or heeled loafers in a chic color (try either a nude or a bright). Invest in a great handbag – it doesn’t have to be a designer bag but select something stylish and chic. Try one in a bold hue or with a texture (your shoes and bag do not have to match, ever!). Then see how just these two elements bring a whole new perspective to your wardrobe!

Thanks Michele!

Blog Buddies: Naptime Chef™

2012-01-23T10:17:00.005-05:00

We've combined our popular website feature, The Oven Light, with our blog! Here we'll share mom-tested, simple, family recipes . . . some from us, some from our Blog Buddies. We hope these help simplify the mealtime part of your busy life! This one is from our friend Kelsey, The Naptime Chef™. Enjoy!

Pesto Cheese Toast with Poached Egg

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Today’s Powernap: Dinner is in the fridge and the chores are done. What power lunch can I make and eat in ten minutes before I have to pick up my daughter from school?
We’ve all been in this position: everything around the house is nearly wrapped up and there is ten minutes to make and eat lunch before heading out to pick up the kids/commence errands/make phone calls/yada yada yada. My friends tell me they often make super fast sandwiches or scarf a handful of peanuts and wash them down with a swig of iced tea. But, I’ll be honest, I don’t really like doing that. I have never been a huge fan of cold cuts and rarely buy them, and I am partial to warm lunches when I am making them myself. So, what is my answer to the quick lunch conundrum? Eggs. Poached, fried or scrambled, give me an egg any day of the week.

Of course, an egg all on its own is a tad boring. I like to eat mine with toast or soft boiled with the top lopped off and lots of breadsticks for dipping in the creamy yolk. Most often I enjoy a nice slice of pesto cheese toast to serve as the eggs salty and savory “bed.” I swipe a nice piece of rustic bread with pesto, sprinkled on some Parmesan cheese and pop it in the toaster oven while I poach my egg. When I did this last week lunch was together in eight minutes and consumed in one. Then it was off the races with pick-up, dance class and the rest of the day.

Ingredients
1 egg
1 slice rustic country bread
2 teaspoons homemade pesto
1 large pinch coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Spread the pesto on the slice of bread and top it with the Parmesan cheese. Pop the toast into the toaster oven or the real oven turned to 400ºF and toasted until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
2. Meanwhile, poach the eggs in boiling water as you prefer to do it. I just carefully crack the egg into the boiling water and allow it to boil for about four minutes, or until the white is no longer transparent.
3. Slide the poached egg onto the pesto cheese toast and serve!

Naptime Notes:
A fried egg or scrambled egg would work just as well served on top of this cheese toast. Drizzle it with some high quality olive oil or white truffle oil and a crank of black pepper for stronger taste. This meal also serves as an excellent power breakfast or dinner when there is no time to naptime chef.

10 minutes, start to finish.

This is my powernap meal at least once a week pre-pick-up. Try it and I can almost guarantee it will become your’s too!

Kelsey, this has become one of our faves too - a step up from the bird in a nest! Thanks!

Intimidating Lunches

2012-01-13T12:24:00.018-05:00

Packing lunches is a huge roller coaster ride for me (Jen). I have my creative weeks (lots of fun toothpick-a-bobs and such) with yummy ideas. And then I have the not-so-creative times when I am more than thankful that they like peanut butter sandwiches. Also, I'm aiming for greener lunches and have been looking at different types of reusable containers based on what we generally pack.

Issue #1 ... creativity. There are all sorts of photos of fabulous lunches that seem more like artwork than lunch, and frankly, they are bumming me out. Am I the only one? I was motivated to get back up the coaster by listening to Lunches You'll Love with The Meal Makeover Moms, but still feel like my lunches are lack-luster. I know there's a fun, creative lunch-packing mom deep down there ... somewhere ... just dying to get out!

To show you what I mean, I decided to keep track of my lunches this past week:

Monday - PB sandwich, grapes, carrots, cheese cubes, goldfish
Tuesday - hard boiled egg, wheat thins, yogurt, celery
Wednesday - cheerios and yogurt (they mix it), apple, snap peas, goldfish
Thursday - salami, cheese, wheat thins, yogurt, carrots
Friday - PB sandwich, banana, potato chips, snap peas

I agree, boring, but not too bad nutritionally. Luckily, they take a vitamin and get a lot in from their before-school smoothies with added spinach, flax, protein powder, fruit and yogurt.

Issue #2 ... green lunches. The girls always carry their reusable lunch sack, water bottle and I avoid disposal baggies at all costs (what a waste of money anyway, huh?). Although these are what I consider low-waste lunches, I still need to get on the cloth napkin wagon and find the perfect reusable containers that work with my lunches best. Small steps, right?

If you're not intimidated by lunches tell me why! And please share your ideas for reusable containers with me too ...

Improve Your Air

2012-01-09T10:17:00.002-05:00

I keep plants in my house because I like the natural "kick" they give to the decor AND I love how they help our indoor air. Thanks to this article I read on Mother Nature Network, I'll definitely be getting some more. And thank goodness for our show on Be Green: Clean Green (those cleaners can be scary!) I'll also be "airing out" more and letting it flow... Will you?

Healthier, cleaner air - simple and mostly free ways to clear the air.

According to the EPA, most of us spend about 90 percent of our time indoors. That seems about right to me, especially in the wintertime (though in the summer, I'm able to work outside on some days, so it's much lower then). And although there are plenty of laws and regulations about outdoor air pollution, most of us don't give a second thought to the air in our homes.

But we should: "... a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities. Thus, for many people, the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors," advises the EPA.

You could choose to invest in an air purifier or filter (I added one when I upgraded the forced-air heating system in my home a couple of years ago), but getting significantly cleaner, healthier air in your home doesn't have to come from making big changes or even spending any money. Starting with the simplest idea:

Air out your home regularly: How often you should do this really depends on your heating system; if you have a woodstove or fireplace, I would air out once a day (or on the days that you use them). In my own home, which doesn't have a fireplace, I try to air out every other day. Airing out the house involves a five- to 10-minute purge of the air in your home by opening the front and back doors (and storm doors) and letting in the fresh air from outdoors. As mentioned above, even in cities, outdoor air is cleaner than indoor, and apartment dwellers can do this too, by opening up windows on opposite sides of the apartment. Of course you can just open one window or door, but using two will create an airflow and will change the air more efficiently. In my house, I try to choose the warmest part of the day so as not to waste heat (I turn the furnace off, too), and will leave the door open an extra few minutes on warmer days, only three to five minutes on cold days. It's amazing how much fresher and better your home smells when you regularly air it out.

Use toxin-free, all-natural cleaning products: Many "cleaners" (I don't consider toxic ingredients "clean") include chemicals that release VOC's (volatile organic compounds) into your indoor air. In most homes, VOC's are two to five times higher than outdoor air, and can be up to 25 times higher in cabinets where cleaning products are kept. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, "The best health protection measure is to limit your exposure to products and materials that contain VOCs when possible." In the short-term, VOC's can make asthma worse, irritate the eyes and throat, and can cause headaches and dizziness. Long-term effects include liver and kidney damage, and VOC's are considered carcinogens. Toxic chemicals in cleaning products are totally unnecessary. (I've been cleaning my home with nontoxic products for more than a decade, and the place looks great!). Switch to natural brands, especially for those cleaning products that you use regularly, like countertop sprays and bathroom scrubs. Or better yet, make your own, and save money too.

Get a couple of easy-care Plants: There are a host of plants that not only pretty up a room, but actually pull toxins from the air. From spider plants to aloe, here's a list of 15, all of which require little care.

Avoid air fresheners, and throw the smokers OUT!: If anyone is still smoking inside your home (even if it's you!) get them outdoors, pronto (and be sure they smoke away from windows and doors). We all know the dangers of smoking, and I won't get into them here, but secondhand smoke is even more dangerous, and the carcinogens and particulates will hang around long after the butts are disposed of. Long story short, smokers belong outside.

Air fresheners should be avoided. Most of them contain VOC's (see more on those above), and contribute to poor indoor air quality. Try dabbing lavender, lemon, eucalyptus or orange oil in the corners of rooms (I drop the oil into my rugs, the corners of my mattresses, on curtains, and into the edges of the couch upholstery). You can also fill an old spray bottle with 2 cups water to 10 drops of natural oil, and spray it around the house, or look for soy candles made with all natural oils.

Clean your pet's bed: Pet hair and dander can add allergens and particulates, including dust, to your indoor air. And if you have an animal that goes outside and comes in with wet fur or paws, their bed might be a bit moldy too. Be sure to regularly wash your pet beds (I clean mine every time I wash my sheets) to keep the flying fur to a minimum.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

It's a new year and we know how to realistically Set Goals because Monica Ricci helped us. Now you can get specific advice to reach yours. Here are 12 for '12:

Become more eco-aware: reduce, reuse and recycle it all on Be Green
Choose how others see you: make a good First Impression
Protect what you own: record a Home Inventory
Get out of debt: earn your Money Sense: Debt
Fit in fitness: feel better with Exercise Success
Be more rested: figure out what you need on The Sleepy Show
Speak calmly: lower your voice on Is Screaming the New Spanking?
Pack better lunches: brown bag it with Lunches You'll Love
Save money at the grocery: start clipping with The Coupon Mom
Expect the unexpected: it helps to Prepare for Crisis
Do regular self breast exams: take care of your "girls" and your life on Pink Ribbons
Look good and be comfortable: streamline your style on The Big O: Wardrobe

Good luck and let us know how you are doing!

Kids Can Do: Easy Preschool ABC’s and 123’s

2012-01-02T10:08:00.008-05:00

Easy. Quick. Fun. Inexpensive.

These simple Kids Can Do activities are fit for any growing preschooler ... it’s like fun and education all rolled up into one big burrito! And the topper - your smart niño will practice his ABC’s and 123’s at the same time!

Alphabet Soup Place plastic/magnetic/puzzle alphabet letters together in a bowl. Provide a scoop, wooden spoon and bowls for your child to play with. Name letters and spell words together. Add Bingo cards and make another game. Your child can scoop out letters and match them to letters on their Bingo card. You can even make your own card by writing a different letter in each square.

Number Stamping Divide a sheet of paper into 4 sections. Write a number in each of the sections. Give your child stamps (or stickers) to stamp the appropriate number of objects in each section. This is great to teach 1:1 correspondence!

French Fry Fun Ask for some clean french fry holders from your favorite fast food chain. Place a mailing label inside the container at the top and label it with numbers. It is good to use the number such as “3” three and symbols such as " *** " for each number used. Purchase a yellow sponge to cut in french fry shapes. Children will have a great time counting french fries. To add a little challenge, allow the children to use food service gloves while being closely supervised!

Number Cups Number cups can be made using juice, coffee or frosting cans with specific numbers written on or attached to the cans. (Always check for rough edges.) Fill the cans with that specific number of objects inside. Fill the cans and count with toys, blocks, crayons, pictures, balls, trucks, cotton balls, spoons, felt cutouts of different shapes, popsicle sticks, and other household items. You can also label the cups according to colors.

Matching Game Use old decks of cards to create a matching game by taking one set of cards, two through ten, and gluing them down in a folder or on a piece of poster board. Use the remainder of the deck as matching cards. Children can match other cards, two through ten, to the set that has been glued down. Calendar Match: Cut up old calendars to create matching cards. Leave one page of the calendar intact to be the mat for matching the cut-up calendar pieces.

We hope you'll enjoy these Kids Can Do activities brought to you by VickyandJen.com. Have fun too Moms and Dads!

Donation Day!

2011-12-29T17:51:00.005-05:00

Today was the annual "Rehberger Donation Day" and it was awesome! Jasmine saved money in her re-used Nutella jar over the past year, including spare change from family and friends (for example, my brother emptied his pockets before he got on the plane to go back home after the holiday). She donated a total of $43.62 to The League for Animal Welfare. Jade's money is on it's way to help wolves in Yellowstone.

That do-good feeling grows and makes us better people almost immediately. The discussion the rest of the day was about how the money will be used for the animals and how can we do more. So ... we are still looking into more ways to help.

We are so proud to have made "Donation Day" an annual tradition, and hope to keep the "do good" going all year. For ideas of your own, listen to our interview Good Fun about creative gifts of service.

Oven Light: Oh-So-Retro Swedish Meatballs

2011-12-20T07:22:00.001-05:00

Here on our "Oven Light" feature we share mom-tested, simple, family recipes... some from us, some from guest bloggers. And we hope they help simplify the mealtime aspect of your busy life! This one is from Judith Finlayson who we interviewed on Ask-a-Chef: Slow Cookers.

These were a cocktail party standard way back when. Serve them in a shallow serving dish or a deep platter, speared with cocktail toothpicks. They will disappear in a flash. Make sure your guests have napkins or a plate to catch any drips.

Notes: You may want to use a whisk while combining the flour mixture and hot stock, to minimize the possibility of lumps. Makes about 30 meatballs. Use a small to medium (2 to 31⁄2 quart) slow cooker.

Oh-So-Retro Swedish Meatballs

1 lb lean ground beef, preferably sirloin
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 onion, grated
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄2 tsp allspice
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1⁄2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
2 cups beef broth, heated to boiling point
1⁄2 cup sour cream
1⁄2 cup finely chopped dill fronds

1. In a bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, lemon zest and juice, salt, allspice, and pepper to taste. Mix well. Using your hands, shape into balls about 1⁄2 inch (1 cm) in diameter.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add meatballs in batches and cook, stirring, until nicely browned, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware as completed. Add flour to pan and cook, stirring, until frothy but not browning, about 2 minutes. Stir in peppercorns. Add beef broth and cook, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 2 minutes. Pour over meatballs.

3. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours, until meatballs are cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Add sour cream and dill to stoneware and stir well. Pour over meatballs and serve.

Recipe credit: Excerpted from 750 Best Appetizers by Judith Finlayson and Jordan Wagman © 2011 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Photo credit: Colin Erricson/www.robertrose.ca
Web link: http://www.robertrose.ca/book/750-best-appetizers

Ditch the Doldrums

2011-12-16T07:29:00.000-05:00

These tips to health and happiness in the new year were shared with us, and we just had to pass along. They are adapted from Mark Allen and Brant Secunda's bestselling book Fit Soul, Fit Body.

9 Keys to Health and Happiness in the New Year

Are you stressed-out, overweight, overworked, uninspired, or plagued by negative emotions? Don't worry -- anyone can achieve health and happiness by trying out some new behaviors and attitudes, and working at it step-by-step. Here are nine ways to achieve a fit body and soul in 2012.

Key #1: Balance your responses to the six types of stress.
Chronic stress produces high cortisol levels that don't go away. Chronically high cortisol will make you sick, physically and emotionally. Stress can come from multiple sources including these six: negative emotions, too little sleep, poor diet, overwork, toxic chemicals, and inflammation. The antidote for stress is balance. Look at each of these six stress triggers individually and work on finding small ways to reduce excesses and achieve more balance in each area. Seek more laughter, calmness, and clarity in your life.

Key #2: Quiet the mind.
Ignoring external chatter and focusing on one thought or a single repetition is an extremely effective tool for dissipating emotional stress and helping shift negative thoughts. Learning to quiet your mind also helps to reduce cortisol levels in your body and increase DHEA, a feel-good hormone that promotes feeling of serenity. Quieting your mind can help you sleep better, eat more healthfully, and keep work and life pressures in perspective. One of the best ways to quiet your mind is to exercise, especially outside.

Key #3: Transform fear, anger, and jealousy.
Good thoughts lead us to incredible awareness and experiences. Olympic athletes know this, which is why they psyche themselves up before a big event. Each day brings personal "Olympic moments"--for instance, an important meeting, a big workout, a tough but necessary talk with a friend, or a commitment to a daily spiritual practice. Fear, anger, and jealousy hinder our optimal performance. Bite off a smaller chunk of tasks that seem overwhelming. Get perspective on the real significance of your troubles and reactions by being out in nature. Accept the fact that challenge is normal and life is not controllable.

Key #4: Reconnect with the spiritual world of nature.
Who hasn't been touched by a rose in bloom or trees coming to life in the springtime? Having a sense that you and Mother Earth have a special relationship lets you know that everything is as it should be, which makes our souls happy. The more you connect to nature, the more open you will be to its wisdom and calming influence.

Key #5: Honor yourself.
Self-love is the best way to honor yourself, and the most immediate tool you can use to fortify yourself against negative emotions like fear or self-doubt. Learning to honor and love yourself instantly transforms "need" into "peace." One of the factors that eats away at self-love is boredom--boredom with work, boredom with your own repetitious behaviors, boredom with life. Try to find what's new in the old; seek out new ways of thinking and behaving. Draw strength, support, and affirmation from community.

Key #6: Know and set the quest.
To get somewhere, you first have to know where you want to go. What physical goals are you striving toward? What kind of person do you want to become? Having these answers sets your intentions, helps focus your efforts, and provides you with tangible ways to measure the results. Set small goals. Set yourself up for success; for example, schedule your workouts at a time when you'll be most likely to do them. Turn your attention away from negative thoughts.

Key #7: Live what you ask for.
Asking for a healthy soul but choosing unsupportive friends will only prevent you from finding peace. Asking for a fit body, but eating junk foods, will only sabotage your own success. Surround yourself with actions, thoughts, and people who will empower you and allow you to achieve your personal success.

Key #8: Slow down to get faster.
In the modern world, most people feel they must push their bodies and souls to the limit to make any gains in fitness, or in life. Slowing down allows your body to run more efficiently. Apply small focused changes that are gradual versus intense.

Key #9: Invite your inner cave man to the table. Our bodies weren't built to withstand the rapid changes we've witnessed in our food industry. The hunting and gathering we once did has turned into drive-throughs, super-sized meals, and chemically laden foods our organs don't have the ability to use or process. Eating the right amounts of carbohydrates, fats, and protein based on ancient genetics keeps you from eating either too little or too much, both of which cause us to hold onto unwanted and unnecessary body fat. Drink lots of water and eat whole, unprocessed foods.

* * * * *
Shaman-healer Brant Secunda and six-time world champion Ironman Mark Allen are body-soul fitness experts and seminar leaders known for blending ancient shamanic wisdom with the latest scientific findings on nutrition, fitness, mood, and stress, and turning them into fresh tips and advice for improving health and well-being. Their new book is Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to Healthier, Happier You (BenBella Books). Learn more at www.fitsoul-fitbody.com

Our Top 50 Water Saving Tips

2011-12-15T09:50:00.003-05:00

Inspired by our interview with Brian Clark Howard (Environmental Editor at National Geographic) on Be Green: Water, here are Vicky and Jen's TOP 50 things you can do at home to conserve water.

How many of these can you do right now to make a difference?

1. No need for the faucet to be on full blast.
2. Save a flush, or two.
3. Use left over drinking water on the plants.
4. Don't fill the bath tub so full.
5. Rinse your dishes in a sink full of clean water.
6. Don't wash out every recyclable.
7. Skip rinsing dishes before loading the dishwasher.
8. Never brush your teeth while you shower.
9. Water your lawn less often, or not at all.
10. Purchase a new toilet with an EPA WaterSense label.
11. Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
12. Wash full loads of laundry.
13. Run the dishwasher only when it's full.
14. Choose a bath over a shower.
15. Water outdoor plants in the morning.
16. Fix leaky faucets as soon as you spot them.
17. Swap out your dishwasher for a more efficient one.
18. Eat less beef and save 1,800 gallons of water per pound.
19. Purchase wine that is eco-friendly, or drink less of it.
20. Let kids play in tubs or pools instead of with a hose.
21. Go "low flow" with your shower head.
22. Wash your car less.
23. Take shorter showers.
24. Keep the sprinkler on your lawn, not the sidewalk, driveway or street.
25. Find out how much water your washing machine uses.
26. Use mulch to retain water around your landscaping.
27. Avoid using a hose to clean off your sidewalks in the summer - sweep.
28. Teach your kids how to conserve water too.
29. Use your used fish tank water to water the shrubs.
30. Wash your dog outside (in grass) and water your lawn at the same time.
31. Turn off the water while you shave.
32. Reuse your bath towels for as long as possible.
33. Apply soap on your hands then turn off the water while you lather.
34. Buy recycled paper products.
35. Toss tissues in the waste basket instead of flushing them.
36. Don't run the water while washing your face.
37. Keep cold water in the fridge instead of running water to get it cool.
38. Use the garbage disposal less.
39. Use the kiddie pool water for the plants or sprinkle over the lawn.
40. Patch that leaky hose, connector and spigot.
42. Don't let the water run while you clean your vegetables.
43. Plant drought-resistant shrubs, lawns, and plants.
44. Collect water from your roof for your garden.
45. Soak pots and pans instead of letting water run as you scrape them.
46. Bathe younger children together.
47. Check for leaks in your pool pump.
48. Use the same drinking glass all day to reduce dishwashing.
49. Avoid buying summer water toys that use a lot of water.
50. Share these water-saving tips with someone else today!

Have a GREEN Holiday

2011-12-13T06:55:00.000-05:00

Photo: Vicky's favorite Christmas gift last year!

According to the EPA, between Thanksgiving and New Year's our garbage will increase by 25%. Wow! If each of us take at least one step this holiday season to decrease our "footprint", what a difference we could make this year.

Here are 10 tips for having a green holiday without decreasing the fun:

1. send e-cards or buy cards from recycled paper

2. when shopping online consolidate your orders (for example, upon check out Amazon asks if you want your items shipped as they become available or if you wish to have them sent together)

3. decorate paper grocery bags and use them as gift bags

4. wrap a gift in a gift (ie: place garden tools in a flower pot)

5. remember to take your own bags when you go shopping

6. while guests are in the house, set up a recycling system

7. make gift tags from holiday cards people have sent you

8. if entertaining, forgo the paper products and use your everyday dishes

9. replace your decoration lights with "LED" lights

10. shred your crinkled tissue paper for future gift giving

A Wreath for All Seasons

2011-12-08T09:20:00.011-05:00

First of all, meet my kid's Papa. He's the one happily peering through the wreath. He obviously enjoyed his Christmas present from Aidan last year. Now, take a good look at the wreath. Isn't it really cool? (I'm having a proud moment here.)

For many people - with kids and all, and the holiday chaos - gone are the days of crafting unique homemade gifts ... me included. But last year, Aidan and I pulled it off. (Thanks to FamilyFun!) It wasn't bad at all ... and as Aidan put it, "This is actually kinda fun!" You can easily make a wreath for all seasons too. Here's how:

You'll Need:

• embroidery hoops (about 3-5 inches wide)

• solid colored canvas material

• paint brush and paint or paint pens (We used fabric markers - easy!)

• outdoor Mod Podge (We used a spray sealant from the craft store.)

• greenery, faux berries or other seasonal extras

• a grapevine wreath

• floral wire

Instructions:

1. For each "ornament" measure the hop, then cut a fabric circle that's an inch larger in diameter. Sandwich the fabric between the rings of the hoop, then pull the fabric taut and tighten the screw. Trim any excess fabric.

2. Decorate the "ornaments". Let them dry, as needed, and apply your coat of Outdoor Mod Podge for weatherproofing. Let that dry. Attach the ornaments and greenery or other extras to the wreath with lengths of floral wire.

The Double Breath

2011-12-05T07:10:00.000-05:00

Christine Carter of Raising Happiness shares a simple and effective tip: When we exhale, our heart beat slows down slightly, which is probably why long, deep exhalations are associated with relaxation and well-being.

If you are feeling anxious or tense, doing a few big exhalations can help. Here's how:

1) Inhale deeply through your nose.

2) Exhale completely through your mouth. When you get to the bottom of your natural exhalation, try and exhale again, pushing any remaining air out.

3) Repeat for seven or more breaths (most people start to feel significantly calmer around breath five).

TRY IT! It really works!

Christine draws on psychology, sociology, and neuroscience – and her own chaotic and often hilarious real-world adventures as a mom – to demonstrate the do’s and don’ts in action. She is a sociologist at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and is a guest on our show Raising Half Full Kids. Give this uplifting, compassionate and plain out happy show a listen to hear how optimism affects our lives and the lives of those around us.

When Extra Steps Matter

2011-12-01T07:23:00.000-05:00

Simple. Our show guests tell us how, and in turn, we have more free time to focus on the important things in our lives. However, there are times when extra steps are in order. In our household we always say, "Do it right the first time!" and "For every single effort, there are multiple rewards."

Here are some of those times when extra steps do make a difference:

• teaching kids how to do it

• wiping up that gunk NOW ... on the stove, fridge or highchair

• toasting pecans before you add them to salads, wraps and desserts

• cutting coupons before your grocery store trip

• planning meals in advance

• calling an old friend out of the blue

• treating stains on clothes, when they occur

• thinking "what else can I take up?" before you go upstairs

• actually sitting and listening to your spouse or kids, with no other distractions

• giving your tub or potty a weekly scrub

• refilling something (i.e., soap dispenser, salt and pepper, paper towels, cleaning bottle) before you need it and the timing is really inconvenient

• putting an item back in it's place immediately (this is how mail, papers, clothes, tools, etc. pile up quickly!)

• dividing eggs and whipping up those whites (to form a peak) before you add them to your pancake or waffle batter (results = light + fluffy = mmmm!)

Whether you're cooking, cleaning, parenting or nurturing a relationship, invest in an extra minute or two. The outcome will be yummier, simply better, cost-saving, and/or a set up for an easier task later!

Do a Handstand for the Holiday!

2011-11-28T06:50:00.001-05:00

Today's guest post includes everything we love: cookies, cooking with our kids, a simple and meaningful holiday, an easy gift idea, family and more. Oh and a Vicky and Jen contest too! Enter our Handstand Contest now to win one of these fun Handstand Kids Cookbook kits!

As the weather starts to change it’s a reminder that my favorite time of year is around the corner. It’s almost holiday and that means spending time with friends and family, opening gifts, and of course eating delicious food.

While children may expect the newest action figure, gadget, doll, or video game, there are fun, educational choices out there.

The Handstand Kids cookbook kits introduce little chefs to the culture, language, and cuisine of a different country, while encouraging healthy eating habits and the importance of giving back to the community. They make fantastic gifts as they are packaged in a unique way (the Italian kit comes in a pizza box with a chef’s hat). Spending quality time together in the kitchen, the Handstand Kids Cookbooks make mealtime and family togetherness fun again.

Who says this year’s holiday gifts can’t combine health, education, and family fun? Happy holidays to all! Now let’s head into the kitchen and make one of my favorite desserts (which also makes a terrific holiday gift in cute packaging) from the Handstand Kids Italian Cookbook Kit:

Bella Biscotti Cookies
Makes about 20 biscotti cookies
Level: 2

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt (sale)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/4 cups sugar (zucchero), plus more for sprinkling
5 eggs (uova)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of toasted whole almonds
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of butter (burro)

Tools:
Baking Sheet
Cutting Board
Large Bowl
Measuring Cup and Spoon
Serrated Knife
Small Bowl
Wooden Spoon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Grease a large baking sheet with a light coat of burro and then sprinkle the sheet with flour.
Mix the flour, zucchero, baking powder and sale together in the large bowl and make a hole in the middle of the mixture.
Add the 4 uovo, cinnamon, and vanilla into the hole and use the wooden spoon to stir it thoroughly.
Add the almonds evenly throughout the dough and using your hands make the dough into 2 logs.
Place each log onto the baking sheet, leaving 4 inches between the edges and the dough.
Beat 1 uovo in the small bowl and use the pastry brush to coat the logs with the uovo.
Bake the logs in the oven for 15 minutes, until they are a nice golden brown color.
Allow the logs to cool for 10 minutes and place them on the cutting board and cut them diagonally into 2 inch slices.
Arrange the slices back onto the baking sheet so that the cut sides are facing up and bake for another 5 minutes.
Cool the slices and bite into the crunchy goodness!

Alternative: Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the dough. Also, melt chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute and dip the ends of the cooled biscotti into the mixture. Refrigerate dipped biscotti for 1 hour and enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:39:00.002-05:00

Gratitude: A lively sense of future benefit.

- A French Definition

Isn't That Curious?

2011-11-22T09:28:00.000-05:00

We got our hands on this book titled "Curious Critters" by photographer David FitzSimmons, and boy, is it awesome! The photos are absolutely amazing and the unique stories and facts are totally intriguing. David takes photos of common North American species like the red flat bark beetle and the bush katydid on a stark white backdrop so the animal's colors, textures and shapes are highlighted.

Each photo tells a story from the critter's perspective, candidly explaining a characteristic like how a jumping spider actually jumps, and why a black swallowtail butterfly looks like their poisonous cousin.

David's photos of animals and nature, including 350: Images of Fragile Earth can be seen on his website here: fitzsimmonsphotography.com. Check it out because this book would make an excellent addition to your home library (or someone elses - hint, hint).

Meet David FitzSimmons

David FitzSimmons is a freelance photographer and writer as well as a university professor. He photographs and writes for various magazines, including Outdoor Photographer, PopularPhotography, and Shutterbug, newspapers, and online publications, and his over-100 calendar credits include numerous titles by BrownTrout and Barnes & Noble. Curious Critters is David's first children's picture book.

A Memorable Thanksgiving: Tip 4

2011-11-18T07:25:00.000-05:00

This is Tip 4 of our listener feature. This week we are sharing tips from some of our past guests about creating a memorable Thanksgiving. Please visit here to read her entire question and her fabulous start to having a most meaningful holiday with her family.

Tip 4 from Kate Hannigan Issa of Good Fun.

Thanksgiving can be a great time to get outside and forget about homework, the job, the hustle and bustle of everyday living. And in many parts of the country, it's a great way to truly savor the final days before snow moves in.

If you're having a small Thanksgiving with just your immediate family, you can plan the dishes a few days in advance to allow for time out of the kitchen, playing in leaf piles and taking long walks. And with an eye toward the meal, have the kids collect beautiful leaves to decorate down the center of the table.

Once you're back in the kitchen, have everyone choose one part of the meal to be in charge of, so every family member feels as if he and she is contributing. Space out the cooking shifts if the kids are little to keep the stress to a minimum. This allows for fun while making sure real food reaches the table. And who knows, you just might be laying the groundwork for annual family traditions. Kate was given the Jell-O job in kindergarten, and she carried it out until after college.

For a final suggestion for making the Thanksgiving holiday special, try baking loaves of pumpkin bread to share with neighbors -- particularly the elderly or families with very young kids. While volunteering at a food pantry might seem the perfect family activity to make Thanksgiving more special, often volunteers must be at least 11 years old to help. That leaves many families out. So a simple act of baking can bring the family together in the kitchen, but for the common purpose of doing something special for somebody else. And pumpkin bread is an easy, delicious Thanksgiving treat.

Here is a pumpkin bread recipe I snipped from the Chicago Tribune. It makes three loaves at a time:

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 55 to 60 minutes

3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons each: baking soda, salt
1 teaspoon each: baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
2. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture, alternating with the water.
3. Transfer batter to three greased 9-by-5 inch loaf pans. Bake until dark brown and bread springs back when touched in the center, about 1 hour.
4. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Thank you to all of our guests who have contributed these helpful tips. And thank you to Osheta for submitting such a fabulous question and her amazing ideas. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Memorable Thanksgiving: Tip 3

2011-11-16T08:13:00.000-05:00

This is Tip 3 of our listener feature. This week we are sharing tips from some of our past guests about creating a memorable Thanksgiving. Please visit here to read her entire question and her fabulous start to having a most meaningful holiday with her family.

Tip 3 featuring Lynn of Be Green: Celebrations.

Go for a walk as a family before the holiday, collecting natural items (legally), bring them home and have everyone help decorate.

Invite another family to share a PART of the meal with you, for instance, just dessert. Make dessert special if not the rest of the meal.

Dress up the table even if the meal isn't an expensive or fancy one. Take glass jars and make paper "skirts" for them, then put in votive candles, make hand print turkeys or whatever else you can think of as a family, then decorate the table.

Create a countdown to Thanksgiving calendar. Every night open up a note and do something together as a family. End the activity by having everyone say why they are grateful for something that happened that day.

Have a backwards Thanksgiving dinner. Eat dessert first!

Make something to give to neighbors, take it around and leave on doorstep on Thanksgiving day (check online for lots of ideas that cost nothing).

Turn regular games into Thanksgiving games, i.e. Pin the feathers on the Turkey or Turkey toss with turkey shaped bean bags you can make yourself.

Next: Tip 4 from Kate Hannigan Issa of Good Fun.

A Memorable Thanksgiving: Tip 2

2011-11-14T03:06:00.000-05:00

This is Tip 2 of our listener feature. This week we are sharing tips from some of our past guests about creating a memorable Thanksgiving. Please visit here to read her entire question and her fabulous start to having a most meaningful holiday with her family.

Tip 2 featuring Cara Davis of Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot.

Goodness, she has such amazing ideas you should be interviewing her instead of me. Sounds like she has it covered! Some ideas for Thanksgiving day:

Get out the art supplies and have the children draw and color paper "placemats" for the table as you're preparing dinner. Ask them to draw or write things they're thankful for. You could also ask them to prepare a special "photo booth" to take photos of one another that day. Use silly props to make it fun.

Regarding the food: the good thing is Thanksgiving type food is on sale that week in stores and you can find some economical recipes online. I recommend Angela Coffman's blog The Grocery Shrink. I have downloaded her Christmas e-book and have seen some fantastic recipes and ideas for handmade ornaments.

If you celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving might be a good day to start bringing down the Christmas decorations, or at least spend part of the day making homemade ornaments and garland.

And being in Boston on Thanksgiving would provide an appropriate historical tour!

Sounds like she has some fantastic ideas on making this Thanksgiving memorable and not bloated on the budget (or the stomach).

Next: Tip 3 from Lynn of Be Green: Celebrations.

A Memorable Thanksgiving: Tip 1

2011-11-12T02:48:00.001-05:00

This is Tip 1 of our listener feature. This week we are sharing tips from past guests about creating a memorable Thanksgiving. Please visit here to read her entire question and her fabulous start to having a most meaningful holiday with her family.

Tip 1 featuring Meg Cox of Preserving Family Memories: Traditions.

First off, I love this woman's spirit. She is halfway there already, with her plans to spend time making a better holiday for the terminally sick.

A couple ideas to make her holiday memorable, but frugal:

To interact with family she can't travel to see this year, settle on a time when they will all bake the same desert at the same time. Maybe Wednesday night? Pumpkin or apple pie? And talk on the phone while cooking to share the experience.

For a frugal feast, they could go radical. Do they have a grill? Or is there one in a nearby park? Grill turkey burgers and dogs, then roast marshmallows and make s'mores.

Or at home, cook a turkey breast rather than a whole bird.

For a centerpiece, make a thankful tree --- cut out red and yellow paper leaves, with ribbons or strings attached to the stem end. Put bare tree branches in a nice vase. Every person writes down things they are thankful for on the leaves, then hangs them on the branches.

Love her idea about a scavenger hunt on Boston common.

I hope she will share what she does!

Get more ideas for special rituals and traditions (and helpful news) on the upcoming revised edition of Meg’s book, The Book of New Family Traditions, by going to her Facebook page.

Next: Tip 2 featuring Cara Davis of Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot.

A Memorable Thanksgiving

2011-11-10T06:32:00.000-05:00

This week we are featuring a listener question about creating a memorable Thanksgiving. She is definitely well on her way, but we have gotten some additional ideas from some of our past show guests and will be posting them here on our blog ... stay tuned for 4 meaningful, frugal and unique holiday tips over the next several days!

Hi Vicky and Jen,

My name is Osheta M. I am a stay at home mom in Cambridge of three kids, ages 9, 6, and 5. I love, love, love your show. I've been listening for almost two years and have found your show to be the most uplifting, informative, and fun podcast for families. I was just listening to your three part holiday series from last year hoping to get some good ideas for this year.

This year we are in a different situation. My husband has recently gone back to work part-time after being unemployed all year. Having used up all of our savings and making it on odd babysitting and web design projects here and there, we're now trying to adjust to his new income that barely makes ends meet. He's making significantly less than he did last holiday season so we're working with a tighter budget that does not allow us to go visit our families in other state so it'll be just the five us together this year.

I imagine many people are staying home this holiday season because of the economy, but it still poses a problem for me - how to have thanksgiving for a small family. I told my husband that I didn't want to cook a huge dinner for us all - it'll feel like every other dinner, but he's urged me to get creative. I have a few ideas:

1: The week before thanksgiving we're having a "good fun" party with our friends to write encouraging cards or draw pictures for terminally ill patients in Boston. This shouldn't cost too much since we'll bake some pumpkin muffins, I'll pick up some simple greeting cards from the dollar store,card stock for the pictures, and some magnet sheets to adhere to the pictures.

2: The day before Thanksgiving my three kiddos and I will partner with a program in Boston that delivers healthy thanksgiving dinner to the homes of the terminally ill. As we deliver the meals, we'll slip a card and magnet in each care package.

3: On Thanksgiving... I have no idea how to make the day special when it's just us.

I would love your help dispelling the myth that a meaningful Thanksgiving necessarily means large families and lots of food. Ideas on conversation over the dinner table, ways to make the table beautiful on a budget, smaller portion Thanksgiving meal ideas, family activities during the day (football game, hike, oh maybe I can put together a scavenger hunt in Boston Common of all the monuments that are meaningful to the holiday).

Anyway, I love your show and would love to hear how to have an awesome thanksgiving on a budget and for a small family.

Blessings,
Osheta M.

Next post: Tip 1 featuring Meg Cox of Preserving Family Memories: Traditions.

Kids Can Do: Fall Fun for Your Gobblers

2011-11-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

Easy. Quick. Fun. Inexpensive. We hope you'll enjoy these Kids Can Do activities brought to you by VickyandJen.com. We love these simple fall and holiday crafts for your little gobblers this month!

Pretty Foiled Leaves: At a table, place leaves under pieces of aluminum foil and gently press and rub the foil with your hand to get a leaf print. Glue the foil leaves to construction paper.

Thanksgiving Cookie Cutter Print: Have children dip cookie cutters into fall colored paint and press them onto paper to create wonderful prints! You can also do this on long sheets of butcher paper to create a neat tablecloth for the holiday dinner table.

Silly Corn Cob Painting: Take thoroughly cleaned and dried corn cobs and dip them into different fall colored paints. Let children roll the corn cobs over white paper to make a very unique print.

Colorful Turkey Gloves: Use a clear plastic glove as your turkey. Fill each of the fingers, except for the thumb, with fall colored tissue paper. Fill the thumb with brown tissue paper, The rest of the body can be filled with popcorn, or candy corn. Tie the bottom tightly with a twist tie. Glue two eyes on both sides of the thumb and a triangle construction paper nose.

Paper Pumpkin Pies: Make a variety of circles on orange construction paper. Be sure to let the children do the cutting. Let them "paint" glue on them and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice. If you cannot find pumpkin pie spice, you can pre-mix nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. The smell is wonderfully festive!

The Oven Light: Creamy Tomato Soup with Sherry

2011-11-02T09:22:00.011-04:00

Here on our "Oven Light" feature we share mom-tested, simple, family recipes... some from us, some from guest bloggers. And we hope they help simplify the mealtime aspect of your busy life!

Fall is here in our neck of the woods and we've been rocking out the pots of warm soup. In our opinion, it can't get more simple then a one-pot dinner with a short (and healthy) ingredient list. This one was inspired from the Pioneer Woman, but we modified it to meet our family's taste buds. We hope you enjoy it too!

Creamy Tomato Soup with Sherry

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

2 (14/5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 (46 ounce) can of tomato juice

1-2 tablespoons sugar

Fresh cracked pepper

Kosher salt

1/2 cup cooking Sherry

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Melt butter in a medium-sized soup pot. Dice onion, add to pot and sauté until tender. Chop tomatoes (course or fine) in a food processor according to your chunk preference. Add to pot along with tomato juice. Sprinkle with sugar, pepper and salt. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes. Turn off heat, add sherry and whipping cream. Stir in parsley if using.

Serve with garlic toasts and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Gonna Layaway?

2011-10-25T12:42:00.006-04:00

Andrea Woroch shared these tips about layaway for the upcoming holiday season (which is not that far away...). She is a consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli Inc. Thanks Andrea!

Would you rather put holiday spending on your credit card or pay for it through a layaway program? Many Americans are opting for the latter, helping retrench these time-honored payment plans.

Walmart, Sears, Best Buy and TJ Maxx are just a few of the major merchants now offering layaway. In fact, Toys 'R Us has expanded its layaway program to include most toys, rather than just the big-ticket items.

Layaway nearly vanished before the recession, as credit card use grew in prominence. Stores preferred we swipe away because it was easier than handling all that paperwork. But with consumers leery of facing too much holiday debt -- and threatening to spend less this year in stores -- retailers began using layaway as a means of luring us back.

While this all sounds well and good, there are problems related to such programs. Here are a few "Do's" and "Don'ts" you should consider before making the leap.

DO
Do Dissect the Fine Print  - You'll have to sign a contract or layaway initiation form, which naturally contains a lot of vital information you could easily overlook. Don't let a long line or impatient clerk rush you through checking each detail so you know what to expect.

Do Consider Whether it's Worth the Origination Fee -  There's a fair amount of paperwork, processing and labor involved in layaway plans, so stores charge a start-up fee for each order. Consider the amount of that charge is worthwhile compared to the overall total of your purchase.

Do Decide if You Really Need This Item -  Should something happen and you decide not to go through with all payments, you'll likely have to pay a fee of roughly 25 to 30 percent of the total price of the layaway plan. That's a hefty fine for changing your mind, so make sure you really want the item before placing it on layaway.

Do Compare all Fees vs. Credit Card Charges  - Add up the potential costs and consider whether you'd be better off placing a purchase on a credit card. According to a New York Times op-ed by Cornell professor Louis Hyman, a typical shopper could wind up paying far less interest by using a credit card, even if it has a fairly high APR. Plus, a credit card gives you purchase protection and, with some companies, price protection.

DON'T
Don't Ignore the Internet -  Don't let a sale combined with a layaway plan talk you into buying before researching your options. You'll often find better deals online and it's a lot easier to comparison shop with your mouse. Search for promo codes to use toward your coveted item, and then compare the total cost of the online purchase to what you'd ultimately pay by putting it on layaway.

Don't Neglect Your Expiration Date  - There's a limit to how long Walmart will store your stuff. As with other stores, they want to move it before Christmas, so check to ensure you have enough time and cash to pay the entire debt off on time or you'll forfeit everything you've already paid. Mark that date on your calendar and make sure you make all payments before it hits.

Don't Forget About Automatic Withdrawals -  Some merchants prefer to set-up automatic checking-account deductions, ostensibly to save you the hassle of coming in to make each payment. In actuality, it's just another way to make sure they get their money. Should one of those payments bounce, however, you'll be socked with a healthy overdraft fee from both the merchant and your bank. Once again, mark on your calendar the date each deduction will be made, so you can double check the balance in your account.

Don't Layaway When You Can Pay  - It's hard to part with cash during the holidays, when other expenses build up, but the fees you incur with a layaway plan aren't always worth it if you can pay cash now and avoid the hassle.

SMILE ...

2011-10-20T13:53:00.005-04:00

A smile is a language that even a baby understands. It is an inexpensive way to change your looks. And a smile will always confuse an approaching frown. Sometimes the simplest things can evoke a smile. Maybe it's a surprise letter in the mail. Or a handwritten thank you. Maybe it's watching your children use their imaginations with paper and pencil.

Smilegram's adorable, personalized stationary is the perfect solution to creating those kinds of smiles. We're thrilled to see our kid's pencils moving on a few sets of Smilegram Paper®. We especially love the simple, hand-drawn designs and the lines that help young kids practice their handwriting. The customer service and presentation was special - it was like we discovered a charming little boutique on the internet with unique gifts and treasures. This stationary will also be perfect for spelling word practice, creative story writing and gift giving.

We were very pleased to interview the founder of Smilegram Paper®, Carey Grund, about her mission and love for the simple things in life (listen here); and equally excited about giving away a $25 gift card to our readers and listeners of What Really Matters. Check out the details and enter today.

And remember, the world always looks brighter from behind a smile!

Display It!

2011-10-15T02:22:00.000-04:00

We all have to come up with creative ways to display our children's masterpieces. Some are easy - a tack and a bulletin board. Some not so much. Photos and scanning have become a bit more common and space saving for sure. But sometimes, we need a different option for the ones that have to stay out.

In my case, Jasmine and Jade have a lot of pottery. I mean, A LOT of pottery! They have each taken several classes and unfortunately, much of it is in a box and not being enjoyed by anyone.

Until now! Check it out ...

This is a Z-Access Display Frame, a frame with a plastic film that conforms to the shape of your keepsake, safe from dust, moisture and fingerprints. Jasmine and Jade each chose to display a piece of pinch pottery they made several years ago, a bunny and dog (that looks like a pig - hee).

Here are some more ideas:

Sports Memorabilia - Showcase signed trading cards, home-run or foul ball, hockey puck, scorecards, ticket stubs, and other treasures from sporting events.

Military Honors - Proudly display military medals, pins, or other earned accolades.

Fun Memories - Shot glasses, beads, poker chips, or other memorable reminders of fun times!

Vacation Memories - Sea shells, photos, ticket stubs, souvenirs, or an expired passport offer great reminders of past travel!

Hobbies / Collections - Arrange coins, vintage keys, spoons, thimbles, stamps, figurines, and more.

They are super easy to use - the hardest part is deciding what to display. Just ask the girls - they absolutely love these things!

Kids Can Do: If You’re Not a Carver ...

2011-10-10T12:29:00.004-04:00

For all the non-pumpkin carvers out there who don’t care for pumpkin guts and roasted pumpkin seeds, there are alternatives to traditional pumpkin fun. For a great fine motor experience, let the kids pound pumpkins! Hammer golf tees into pumpkins or gourds using a wood mallet or toy hammer. The (poor) pumpkin should last about two weeks before getting mushy and worn down.

You can also use washable markers to create silly wipe-off pumpkin faces and crazy hair, then use a damp sponge or damp paper towel to wipe off for a clean slate to use over and over again!

If by chance you do carve pumpkins, save some of the seeds for pumpkin art. Dry the seeds out, then glue them on colorful construction paper to create patterns or Halloween images like leaves, black cats and ghosts. Happy Fall!

Blog Buddies: Relaxing Dinner Out? Yeah, Right.

2011-10-04T09:00:00.004-04:00

Today's guest post is by Armin Brott, author of America's most popular how-to books for Dads.

Armin Brott's bestselling books, including the recent release Fathering Your School Age Child, have helped millions of men around the world become the fathers they want to be - and their children need them to be.

Armin has been a guest on hundreds of radio and television shows, writes a nationally syndicated column, “Ask Mr. Dad," and hosts a weekly radio show. He and his family live in Oakland, California. For more information, visit mrdad.com.

Dear Mr. Dad: When I was single, I hated it when noisy kids were allowed to run around in restaurants and spoil everyone’s meals. Now that my wife and I have two children, ages 4 and 6, we’d like to occasionally go out to eat with them, but we’re worried that they’ll do something to embarrass us. How do we keep them in line while we (and everyone else in the restaurant) enjoy our time out?

A: One of the most amazing things about becoming a parent is that no matter how many loud-children-in-a-restaurant (or movie theater or opera house) horror stories we have, we tend to be immune to the noise our own kids make. But other people’s kids? Well, that’s a different story.

There are some hardliners out there who say young kids shouldn’t be allowed in places where adults come to enjoy some peace and quiet. For example, just last month, McDain's Restaurant in Monroeville, PA banned kids under six from its premises, saying they’re too loud and disruptive to adult diners.

Then there are more moderate voices—like mine—that argue that children should be welcome pretty much everywhere, as long as they’re well-behaved. Although the loud, screaming, unruly brats make the biggest impression, if you think about it, you can probably remember plenty of kids the same age who were downright angelic. So in my opinion, an outright ban isn’t fair to those kids or their parents.

At 4 and 6, your children are still young, but not too young to be taught good manners and respect towards others in public places where they’ll need to be quiet. If they can follow age-appropriate rules at home, chances are they’ll be able to follow them outside of the house as well.

Here are some guidelines for you:

Pick carefully. Make sure the restaurant you’re considering has booster seats, kids’ menus, crayons, and other distractions. Places where you know lots of families go are a good choice. Restaurants that have crystal wineglasses and white linen tablecloths, or where people go for romantic meals or business meetings are not.
If the restaurant doesn’t provide crayons, bring your own, along with coloring books or other small toys that will keep your kids (quietly) occupied.
Before you take your children to a restaurant, tell them it’s a special treat and let them know that you expect them to sit quietly at the table, speak in a low voice, and not run around, scream, or throw food off their plates. But don’t belabor the point, otherwise it’ll sound like a list of suggestions.
Let them choose their own meal from a children’s menu. If you order something they don’t like, they may spend the rest of your dinner complaining about it—loudly.
Watch the clock. Expecting overtired kids to follow rules—especially in public—is a setup for disaster (and embarrassment).
If, despite your best efforts, your children misbehave in a way that draws complaints (or dirty looks) from people around you or the restaurant staff, get your dinner to go, and leave. You can use this opportunity to tell your children that because they didn’t obey the rules, you have to leave and you won’t be taking them out again until they can prove to you that you can trust them to behave appropriately.

Most kids love to go, out so chances are that they’ll eventually learn how to behave so that your family—and everyone else around—can enjoy what they came for: a nice, quiet meal.

Thanks Mr. Dad!

Ugh, Vacuuming

2011-09-30T12:00:00.003-04:00

Cleaning is hardly anyone's favorite thing to do, but we all come up with our own ways to make it a little less miserable. Well, here are two when it comes to vacuuming the floor.

It has been forever ago that Jamie Novak, our Time-Saving guru, suggested to put an extension cord on the vacuum and leave it there. Why? You can reach the entire level without having to unplug and plug an extra time or two. Of course, this will depend on your house, but this simple tip has made a HUGE difference to me!

One more thing: what the heck do you do with the long skinny extender on the smaller vacs? They don't have a hook for storage and it gets lost at the bottom of the closet. Saw this online:

It was posted as a customer image when I was looking for filters so I wish I could give this genius credit, but I don't know who it is. Thank you whoever you are!

Oven Light: Pumpkin Apple Muffins

2011-09-28T04:23:00.000-04:00

We've combined our popular website feature, The Oven Light, with our blog! Here we'll share mom-tested, simple, family recipes now and then . . . some from us, some from guest bloggers. We hope these help simplify the mealtime aspect of your busy life! This one is from our friend Catherine at Weelicious™. She shares recipes and videos of fast, easy & fresh baby food, toddler food and recipes for the entire family! Enjoy this recipe - it is the perfect time!

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Whenever there’s a seasonal item at Trader Joe’s like pumpkin puree, I get so excited that I lose control and end up buying at least 10 cans of it. Individual Pumpkin Cheesecakes, Pumpkin Milkshakes, Pumpkin Seed Cookies, Pumpkin Waffles….those are a few of the things I love to make with pumpkin puree, just to give you a hint of my obsession with it.

In general, I try not to eat a lot of canned foods, but if there’s one thing that is simply easier and tastier to get from a can, it’s pumpkin puree. Roasting and pureeing an entire pumpkin, is a time consuming task that I don’t recommend doing, especially when their are a couple of very good canned brands out there. As you now know, I love making my arsenal of Vitamin A packed pumpkin recipes, but it’s always a fun challenge for me to come up with new ones. When these Pumpkin Apple Muffins came out of my oven, the entire kitchen was filled with the delicious smells of cinnamon and spice. The first bite of a muffin was even better though, especially when spread with a spoonful of weelicious Pumpkin Butter.

So go out, get some canned pumpkin and get into the pumpkin spirit. I’m not saying you have to go crazy like me, but no matter what you make — especially this time of year — pumpkin makes everything taste more special!

Pumpkin Apple Muffins (12 Muffins or 24 Mini Muffins)
1 1/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
 2/3 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
 2 Tsp Baking Powder
 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
 1/2 Tsp Salt

 1 Tsp Cinnamon 
1 Tsp Pumpkin Spice
 3 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
 1/2 Cup Agave OR Honey 
1 Egg 

1/2 Cup Milk 
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
 1 Medium Apple, peeled and grated (Gala, Pink Lady, Fuji or Golden Delicious are good choices)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and mix. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together. 
4. Slowly add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. 
5. Grease muffin tins or line them with muffin cups and fill each cup 3/4 full with the batter. 
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
7. Serve.

Delicious - thanks Weelicious!

My Fave for Babe

2011-09-24T11:35:00.007-04:00

Simple is good.

No cracks and crevices for bits of teething biscuits. No wheels, dual trays, or rocking and reclining features to fool with. This simple high chair from IKEA ($59.99) has a glossy red finish that allows those crusty pea and sweet potato smears to wipe right off; and it's sleek, slender shape doesn't suck up too much space in my kitchen. Straps are easy on, easy off. Every thing about it is simple... my new favorite piece of baby gear. Isn't it cute and sassy? Just like my little Ellie.

Now tell me they shouldn't hire me to write their online product descriptions?

Coupon Mom

2011-09-22T16:43:00.000-04:00

In celebration of September being National Coupon Month, listen to The Coupon Mom, Stephanie Nelson. She shares lots of great tips for simple to extreme couponing, shopping wholesale clubs, and rebates. The companion page is a full cart of resources!

I Vote for #4 and #8.

2011-09-15T14:16:00.010-04:00

8 Rules of Health from a 1948 Boy Scout Handbook

1. Take a full bath at least 2 times each week.
2. Brush your teeth after each meal.
3. Drink at least 6 glasses of water each day.
4. Have a bowel movement every day.
5. Drink at least a pint of milk every day.
6. Everyday eat some green vegetables and some of the following: tomatoes, oranges, grapefruit or other citrus fruits.
7. Walk or play part of everyday outdoors.
8. Sleep at least 10 hours a day with windows open.

Did they Slide or SOAR?

2011-09-12T08:11:00.001-04:00

So, school is back in session and it is time to assess.

The sliders lose about 2 months of the "smarts" over summer, and those that SOAR are in step with the beginning of the school year. Either way, homework is coming and those Simple Study Skills are going to be important. Speaking of homework...

New Year. New Semester. New Homework Solutions.
by Susan Kruger

As students begin a new semester, this is the perfect time to establish some new routines to improve the process of doing homework.

The first question to ask yourself is, “If there is one thing I could improve about homework, what would it be?” The first answer that probably came to mind was, “Get rid of it!” Honestly, that would be my first response, too. However, homework is a fact-of-life and serves a very good purpose (whether we like it or not), so let’s try that again…

** If You Could Improve One Thing about Homework, What Would It Be? **

• Perhaps you feel that you (or your child) take too much time to do homework.

• Or, maybe homework causes a lot of arguments in your home and you would like to experience some peace.

• Is your teacher complaining that lost assignments are dragging down your grade?

• Do your parents often complain that you wait for the “last minute” to tell them about important things, such as the supplies you need for that science fair project…tomorrow?!

** Action Plan **
Now that you know the problem, create a solution!

Once you have recognized a specific problem, it is much easier to identify a solution. The best solutions are systems; procedures or routines that help you simplify the issue and develop positive habits to overcome it.

I could write a full chapter on each of the problems above, but here are some quick examples of “solution systems” for each one:

• If you fight to stay focused while doing homework, set an electronic timer for the amount of time you think an assignment should take and challenge yourself to beat the timer.

• If lost assignments are your issue, you may first need to reduce the number of folders that you (or your child) have to manage. Most students juggle 7-9 separate folders and 7-9 notebooks… up to 18 different supplies! No wonder assignments get lost! Start by streamlining all folders into one, 1” binder. Then, “Take Ten” every time you sit down to do your homework; two minutes to put all loose papers into their correct folders and the next eight minutes to review any handouts or notes from the day.

• If you are a victim of “Last Minute Syndrome,” one strategy that will help you is the Weekly Family Meeting. This meeting is an informal gathering (usually on Sundays) where everyone shares their schedules for the upcoming week (including parents). Discuss sports schedules, upcoming tests/projects (and needed supplies), etc. Parents also share if they will be working late one night or have other after-school obligations that may impact the family. This system is a great cure for LMS because it encourages everyone to be proactive and plan ahead together. (BONUS: This strategy actually shows children *how* to plan ahead.)

These suggestions are merely examples, but they illustrate the concept of developing *systems* to help solve common homework problems.

Tip for Parents: Whenever possible, involve your children in the search for solutions. Children of all ages usually give honest and very insightful suggestions, especially when they feel like their input is taken seriously. The more input they can have in identifying reasonable solutions, the more willing they will be to participate.

Thanks Susan for helping us SOAR!

Save on ANY Purchase!

2011-09-09T17:08:00.001-04:00

In celebration of September being National Coupon Month, listen to Everyday Frugal Living and Grocery Shopping with America's Cheapest Family, and use these 5 steps to saving money on any purchase.

1. Don't be in a hurry. The more time you take to search and learn, the more money you can save. 

2. Research: Ask lots of questions, check several sources. Ask for referrals from experts and friends. 

3. Consider buying used or borrowing an item instead of purchasing it. 

4. Save the cash in advance. You're always in a better bargaining position and usually more careful. 

5. Ask. Tell people you know what you're looking for. It may show up from an unlikely source at a GREAT price!

by Annette and Steve Economides at AmericasCheapestFamily.com

ICE, ICE, Baby.

2011-09-05T13:00:00.001-04:00

The title of this post truly shows my age, but I guess I am okay with that. As I have grown up and have a family that I am responsible for, I think of things I would never have given a second thought to in my younger days. A lot of "what if ..." scenarios run through my mind every single day. I try to anticipate these things to keep myself organized (sane) and my family safe.

A simple strategy is to put an ICE, In Case of Emergency, number in your cell phone. In an accident of any sort (yes, the phone might get broken or lost and therefore not usable), however, emergency personnel have said that it could be very helpful, especially if you need to go to the hospital. Staff can contact the person you choose, even when you can't let them know, instead of just calling MOM in your contact list.

Please visit our companion pages to any of the Simple Safety Series for even more helpful resources: Stranger Danger, ER, Fire, Teen Driving, and Girls Fight Back. Also, this idea gave me an little extra sense of safety for my kids in any large crowd.

Happy National Coupon Month!

2011-09-01T05:20:00.004-04:00

Since the first handwritten Coca-Cola coupon in 1886, Americans have been using coupons to save on everything from groceries to clothing to entertainment and all categories in between. Here are some tips from Lisa Reynolds, Mom Saver-in-Chief for RedPlum. (Number 9 is one I never thought of...)

Top 10 Ways to Spend Less and Get More

Today, families are looking for more ways to save and live “the value lifestyle.” This new behavior is evidenced by the record high coupon redemption levels (+7.9% in the first half of 2010 and seventh consecutive quarter of increased usage, according to NCH Marketing Services, Inc. Mid-year 2010 Coupon Facts Report) and savings trends noted across multiple industry studies and surveys. There is a permanent shift in how we shop and how we save. Today´s shopper has a keen eye on value that is here to stay.

The average family can save at least $1,000 per year by spending just 20 minutes a week seeking coupons, savings and deals from a variety of sources. As I meet shoppers and savers across the country I am impressed by their great savings and ingenuity. How much you save depends on you. Consider these practical tips to spend less and get more:

1. Share savings with a friend: People are passionate about scoring great deals and word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to find deals. What better source than a trusted friend!

2. Seek savings in print and online: Those achieving the greatest savings are clipping print coupons and clicking and printing online coupons. While grocery is the No. 1 category for coupons, they are available across categories from dining to home improvement and everything in between. And be sure to search for coupon codes or free shipping offers for all of your online purchases.

3. Organize your coupons: Organize coupons the way in which you walk through the store — putting those expiring soonest in the front. The average expiration of a coupon in the first half of 2010 was 9.5 weeks.

4. Stock up on sale items: When you see an item on special that you use regularly, or a savings is featured with your loyalty card and you have a coupon, stock up — 66 percent of coupon shoppers say they are often able to combine coupons with other in-store specials, sales or frequent shopper discounts.

5. Easy access: Create a coupon envelope that lives in — and is always returned to — the car of the family´s main shopper allowing even the unexpected shopping trip be one in which you save.

6. Plan meals around savings: If you find a fantastic coupon, don´t dismiss it simply because the item is not usually on your list. Planning your meals at the same time as reviewing coupon offers and store circulars lets you take advantage of really great deals — and try new recipes. Many savvy cooks create meal plans based on what the stores advertise that week.

7. Double your savings: If your favorite retailer offers double or triple coupon values, shop on the days when you can get even more savings. Also, look out for daily deals at your favorite local grocer or restaurant.

8. Do your savings homework: Consumer research indicates big ticket purchases require research. The Internet can help. Electronics, appliances, furniture, autos and trips top the list of more expensive items that require planning.

9. Call manufacturer 800 numbers: Up to 35 percent of manufacturers only send coupons upon request.

10. Eating for free: Kids eat free (our three favorite words)! Many chain establishments have proven the old adage of no free lunch (or dinner) wrong, especially if you have kids. Full service chain restaurants continue to offer some pretty sweet deals in the form of kids-eat-free promotions.

Live the value lifestyle and you´ll rarely need to buy anything that´s not on sale.

Resource: NationalCouponMonth.com

Are You Happy?

2011-08-28T12:20:00.001-04:00

Ever wonder if you could be happier?

Are you raising Half Full Kids?

There are things all of us can do that will result in greater happiness right away: for ourselves AND for our children. Take the quiz at Raising Happiness to find out what small tweak can you make this week that will result in greater happiness all year.

Wasted.

2011-08-22T10:02:00.005-04:00

There have been many changes inside my home lately. It all started with a basement remodel, and then ever since, many other spaces have been moved, rearranged and reorganized. You know how projects snowball. The most major space (next to the basement) that was affected, was my (small) kitchen. As I moved ALL kitchen related items actually into the kitchen, I have had to carefully look at each item and how (if) I use it. If it is not regularly used, I don't need it.

As for actual food staples, I am just not able to store as much. Again, streamlining. At the grocery, it is only basic perishable staples, including dairy, produce and necessities. Meals are coming from the pantry and it has felt good!

Hopefully I am not on the high side of the average - tossing 25% of what we buy - but I am guilty of throwing away food just because of my lack of planning. Eeegads! Here are some guidelines from Use-Less-Stuff.com I used to help with my food side of the streamline:

1. Look in your cupboards and fridge to see what's on hand. Start with these ingredients and create a weekly menu.

2. When doing your menu planning, stick to what your family will eat. Save the experiments for your "out of home" experiences with family and friends.

3. Once your plan is complete, make a shopping list that fills in what you still need in order to serve the meals on the weekly menu.

4. Now, head to the store. Shop from the list and stick to it. No impulse buys. No big sales. No sampling and buying two pounds of smoked quail liver paté.

5. When you're shopping in the meat, dairy, produce or bread aisle, check the "last sale dates" on packages. Don't buy what won't last at least a week. This is especially important when viewing the "Manager's Specials" which are invariably within a few days of spoiling. (That's why they're special.)

6. Ready to cook? Serve smaller portions and let people take seconds if still hungry. Remember, what stays on the plate becomes garbage. What stays on the platter becomes tomorrow's soup, salad, or sandwich.

7. All done eating? Split leftovers into convenient, easy-to-use servings and put in airtight containers.

8. Now, when you put the leftovers in the fridge, rotate food so the freshest is in the back. To ensure success, use masking tape and a pencil to label the containers with the contents and the date when first served.

9. When going out to eat, try sharing meals. It's romantic as well as being economically and environmentally friendly.

10. And finally, if you've got a hankering for fast food, don't fall for "supersize" meals and deals unless you plan on taking the excess home and promise to eat all of it within 2 days.

Get the entire article here. For more eco-tips, listen to any of our Be Green Series. and for organization tips, you know to go to The Big O baby!

Bright Ideas: Smart Helpers

2011-08-17T09:42:00.004-04:00

Our Bright Ideas, a spin off of the Oven Light on VickyandJen.com, can make your tasks in the kitchen a little easier so you have more time left to enjoy "what really matters".

The theme for this Bright Ideas post is simply "Smart Helpers". They're basically helpful kitchen tips that make you smile because they can put you more at ease a bit when you're cooking, entertaining or cooking with the kids.

Toasty (Chilly) Tip: I don't know about you, but I love it when my salad is served on a chilled plate at a restaurant or when my plate comes piping hot at my favorite Mexican joint. You can do it at home too. Use your freezer for quick chills or place your serving bowl over your pot when heating things on the stove to have a warm serving bowl. I put mine on top of my toaster oven because the surface gets so warm. When Monica Ricci was in town recording The Big O: Organization with us, she would warm her creamer in the mug before pouring in the coffee. It just made the coffee that much hotter!

Let it Glide... : If you need to measure anything sticky like honey, corn syrup, or even peanut butter, fill the measuring cup with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your sticky ingredient and watch it slide right out. I've also read to spray the measuring cup with vegetable spray. You decide.

Fancy Pants Decorating: You may have heard me confess on an Ask-a-Chef episode that I can't decorate worth a dang. I'm a plop-it-on-the-plate girl. A fun way to quickly decorate a frosted cake (or cookies, or cupcakes or ....) is to take a cookie cutter, place it on top of the frosting and pour sprinkles inside the cookie cutter. When you lift the cutter off, you will have a perfect sprinkle design.

Easy Labels: Just mark the contents of your plastic food-storage containers with a dry-erase pen. Yep, just write directly on the container. The “labels” will come off when you wash the items.

Cheap Pastry Brush: A clean, dry, one-inch nylon paintbrush works just as well as a pastry brush for less than half the cost. Use liquid dish soap to clean it by hand or pop it in the dishwasher (top rack only). Find them in hardware stores or the dollar store. Buy two, then when it gets gnarly, just use the replacement you already have on hand.

Sad and Egg-less: Don't you hate it when you are all geared up to make something and you're one egg short for a dish? Substitute 1 teaspoon of cornstarch per egg. Now, carry on with that recipe.

Chilly Drinks: Next time you throw a party, submerge your drinks in ice water, not just ice. The cold water will envelope the bottles or cans and cool them down more quickly.

A Watched Pot... : Yeah, you know. Never boils. First, don’t watch it! Second, boil it faster! Use a light-weight aluminum pan. The pan itself has to get hot before the water does and thin metal heats up fast. Put a lid on it and make sure the pan bottom is bigger than the diameter of your burner and flame. This ensures that all the heat goes straight into the water and not the room. Before you know it, you'll be doing the boiling boogie right there in your kitchen. (It's the little things...)

Oh, Rats! : You know how hard it is to grab that little piece of egg shell that sometimes ends up in the bowl or skillet? Use another bigger piece of egg shell to scoop it out. It seems to cling to it like magic. Works every time!

Fun with Funnels: Here's a great tip for your kids in the kitchen. An easy and surefire way to separate an egg is to use a kitchen funnel. The white will go through the funnel, but the yolk will stay in the funnel's bell.

Kid-size Cups: Keep a supply of biodegradable, cone-shaped coffee filters on hand - even if you don't have a coffee maker! These handy paper cups save you the need for washing snack plates and are perfect for carrying popcorn, pretzels, goldfish crackers, chips, ice cream cones, popsicles, and more.

See Ya Pyramid!

2011-08-11T10:17:00.001-04:00

As referred to in this earlier post (where there are links to great nutrition-based shows), the government has ditched the food pyramid and is serving us a "plate" of guidelines. Here are the key messages:

Balancing Calories

Enjoy your food, but eat less.
Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to Increase

Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
Make at least half your grains whole grains.
Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Foods to Reduce

Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods with lower numbers.
Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

For more, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov and here are those great shows from us:

Food Label Facts: Identify what you are eating and demystify the labels.

Organic: Should I buy organic, local or conventional?

Childhood Obesity: It's a serious issue with many health and social consequences.

Fad Diets: The claims, facts, pros and cons of fad diets and possible long term effects.

And, if you want practical tips for your family to eat healthier in this world of processed and brightly colored foods, listen to any of our many Nutrition Matters shows with Lauren Niemes of the Nutrition Council.

OOOOONNNNEEE. TWWWWOOOOO. THRRREEEE.

2011-08-06T10:33:00.004-04:00

Sound familiar? We've all said it, at least once, in a desperate attempt to get our children to comply. But is it effective? << insert stern mom voice in a long, drawn out fashion here >> "I'm going to give you to the count of "3" to answer. OOOOONNNNEEE. TWWWWOOOOO. THRRREEEE" ... Seriously. Let's find out:

This popular method of counting 1-2-3 is counter-productive for long-term results. Why should we have to count to 3 for our kids to listen? Don’t we want them to listen the FIRST time we make a request? Counting 1-2-3 TRAINS children that they don’t have to listen/respond UNTIL you get to three.

Similar to “Time Out”, “1-2-3” is a commonly used parenting technique. However, (also like “Time Out”) just because it’s commonly used does not mean it's effective for long term behavior change.

As you think about the effectiveness of “1-2-3”, consider the following questions…

• Can an employee wait until the supervisor asks several times before turning in the assignment?
• Will a teacher ask multiple times before a student agrees to do what is asked?

Your child won’t get that many chances with adults outside the home, so why should he get so many chances inside the home? (In most cases, you’ve already asked or reminded him a few times before you started counting.)

Two more questions:

• During the slow, drawn-out counting process, is your blood pressure going up?
• What will you do if your child doesn’t respond when you get to 3?

Parents often think of “Time Out” and “1-2-3” as the go-to tactics for correcting behavior. But the reality is, these strategies are not effective for long-term behavior change and that's why parents find themselves using them over and over again!

When I talk to parents on an airplane or at the soccer field and they learn about what I do, they always ask, “So how do I get my child to stop doing (fill in misbehavior here.)” And my answer is always the same.

There is no magic wand! There is no one-minute fix.

Correcting misbehavior in children requires a layered approach and an understanding of:

• the psychology behind the child’s behavior
• why our reprimands aren’t working,
• how we contribute to the behavior, and
• specific tools to correct behavior in the moment and to prevent the behavior in the future.

Attempts at “magic wand” strategies such as “time out” and counting “1-2-3” don’t work for long-term behavior change. In the case of 1-2-3 – it trains our children that we’re not serious until we get to 3. It trains kids that they have 2 chances (in addition to the times you may have asked before counting) before they really have to listen.

Why should we have to give three (or more) chances? Don’t we want them to listen the first time?

But – what should we do instead? As I said earlier, correcting misbehavior is a multi-faceted approach, but here is a place to start:

Get down on the child’s level (physically) and look him/her in the eyes and state the desired behavior in your calm but firm voice – including the consequence if he does not listen. The calm voice is important to avoid escalating a power struggle.

For example, say, “Jason, please put your toys away now - or, if I have to put them away you'll lose the privilege of playing with those toys for the rest of the day/week.” (Depending on the age of the child)

That gives Jason ONE chance. If he chooses to comply – great – everyone’s happy. If not – calmly and WITHOUT words, go and pick up the toys and put them in the closet for the day/week.

If he has a tantrum – that’s fine. Don’t get angry; don’t give a lecture; just go about your business. (Assuming the child is not in danger of hurting himself or others.) His tantrum will pass and he will learn a valuable lesson that when you say something, you mean it. (If the tantrum causes you to reverse your decision, Jason wins and the scenario will be repeated again tomorrow.)

Kids are much smarter than we realize. If you’ve been using the “1-2-3” strategy in your home, here is what the child is thinking after your first request…

• “Okay, I’m good here for a while. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”
• “Oh man – this is a drag. I know she’s going to start counting soon, but I know I don’t have to do anything quite yet. I still have a bit more time.”
• “Oh brother – she’s up to 2 – I guess I’m going to have to do what she asked when she gets to 3.

When we use the “1-2-3” count, we mistakenly train children that they don’t have to listen the first time and they actually have three or MORE chances before they have to listen.

Instead – say it once, be clear about the consequence, and follow through with the consequence if necessary. Your child may “test” you a few times, but will quickly learn that when you say something, you mean it!

Source: Amy McCready is a highly sought-after parenting coach, speaker, consultant and writer. After taking time off from her career to raise her two sons (now ages 13 and 15), she founded Positive Parenting Solutions in 2004 to help educate parents on how to effectively communicate and connect with their children. Through her online parenting courses, live webinars and speaking engagements, Amy has gained widespread attention and has been called upon as an expert by numerous media outlets, including NBC’s TODAY Show, The New York Times, The Rachael Ray Show, Fox & Friends and MSNBC.

Fax it.

2011-08-03T08:39:00.000-04:00

Am I the only one who has wondered if we will ever be able to get rid of the FAX machine? I was thinking this just the other day as I struggled with paperwork not coming through correctly. (Are you hearing that annoying sound yet?)

Then, Unclutterer introduced me to HelloFax.com. It is an online service that keeps a digital image of your signature on file, which you can then position and resize onto any documents. Once the document is “signed,” you can e-mail it or send it to a fax machine from your PC. If you want more "fax-like" features, you can actually get a fax number to view, sign and send faxes online.

End annoying beep now.

Figuring it out...

2011-08-01T04:51:00.001-04:00

I (Jen) have been trying to figure out how it all works. Credit scores. If you read my post Cha-Ching! (kind of), you know that I have not been great at money management. Let's just say that if it were a race, I am starting at the back of the pack.

I have been getting our "financial folder" in order and was highly motivated by The Money Coach after Money Sense: Budgets, our very first show with Lynnette Khalfani-Cox. We (and you) loved her so we had her back for Debt and Credit.

These three dominant rules about our credit scores have stuck with me:
1. There is a specific formula that governs your credit score.
2. All debt is not created equally.
3. The fine print counts too.

There is also another set of "read between the lines" rules:
1. You must play by their rules to win.
2. The playing field is more level than you may think.
3. Every transaction counts.
4. The credit industry prefers to work together - without you.
5. The rules always change.

Most importantly, it can be hard to follow the rules because our feelings about them get in the way. So we just have to accept the following realities:
A. It's not always fair.
B. It's not always logical.
C. It's not always easy.

The above was taken from Lynnette's book, Perfect Credit, 7 Steps to a Great Credit Rating.

Bright Ideas: Multi-Taskers

2011-07-28T06:25:00.001-04:00

Our Bright Ideas, a spin off of the Oven Light on VickyandJen.com, can make your tasks in the kitchen a little easier so you have more time left to enjoy "what really matters".

The theme for these Bright Ideas is DOUBLE-DUTY ... a collection of tips that can help you turn that single-purpose gadget (that is occupying way too much kitchen real estate) into a multi-purpose piece so you can justify it's existence in your kitchen drawer!

Muffin Tins: Everything is cuter in muffin form! Besides muffins and cupcakes, you can use mini-muffin tins to make tiny quiches, pastry cups to fill for appetizers, or bite-sized desserts such as mini-cheesecakes and brownie bites. You can also bake individual fruit pies or meat loaves in the jumbo muffin tins.

Kitchen Shears: Snip, snip. Unlike regular scissors, these shears are specifically designed for kitchen tasks and can often be used instead of a knife. You can use them to snip herbs, trim green beans and other vegetables, even slice a pizza. They are particularly good for cutting up chicken. You don’t even need a cutting board which is one less thing to wash during clean up!

Ice Cream Scoop: Get the full scoop on the ice cream scoop. Other uses for the handy-dandy scoop besides dishing out frozen desserts... shape cookie dough into equal-size balls or portion cupcake and muffin batter evenly into baking tins. You can even use them to form meatballs. Serve up mash potatoes with them, just like they do in school - plop!

Cooling Rack: A cooling rack is not just for cooling baked goods anymore! Use one to drain bacon and other fried foods. It is perfect for air-drying candied apples and other sticky sweets, and it can serve as a stove side trivet for hot pots. Place one over a baking sheet to make a quick roasting rack.

Parchment Paper: Hail to the parchment paper! Why? Because it has many great uses besides lining baking sheets and cake pans. This inexpensive paper can be used for a variety of tasks, from pouring ingredients to steaming fish. Parchment paper is treated with silicone, so it is nonstick; it is also heatproof and grease-resistant. It’s available bleached (white) or unbleached (brown) and can be found in the baking section of most supermarkets. It protects pans, aids cleanup, and prevents food from sticking. You can bake fish or chicken in it for a low-fat cooking method. It also makes a handy funnel for transferring dry ingredients.

Coffee Filters: Get crazy with coffee filters! Creative uses for you ... they can double as disposable bowls for popcorn or other snacks for the kiddos. Use a filter as the protective covering as you heat up leftovers in the microwave. Use flattened coffee filters as spacers when you stack your fine China to prevent scuffs and scratches. Clean windows and glass with filters when you’re out of paper towels. (They leave no lint behind.) There are no limits to the coffee filter!

Dryer Sheet: Dryer sheets are your friend. Here's a double-duty for ya ... remove static from clothing and hair. Clean pet hair from the floor or furniture. Replace a sachet in a dresser drawer. Dust venetian blinds. Close the blinds, then wipe up and down with a dryer sheet. Freshen up shoes, suitcases closets, cars, and gym-bags. Need we say more?

Featured Friend: Kelsey

2011-07-25T08:16:00.000-04:00

Learn Laugh and Grow Together

Listeners have always been our guidance, support and inspiration.

ABOUT Kelsey
My husband, DeAndre, and I just celebrated our 7-year anniversary. We fell in love at college and married young, serving in churches first in Louisiana and now in Texas. We are the parents of two spunky and beautiful children: Natalie, 3, and Henry, 10 months. I'm thankful to be able to work part-time as communications director at our new church in Houston, Westbury United Methodist, where DeAndre also works as the music and worship pastor. I appreciate the flexibility in splitting my time between office and home, often with the children underfoot. It is a joy and privilege to be their mom, even if it's frequently overwhelming and demanding work! In my free time, I enjoy gardening, experimenting in the kitchen, being outdoors, volunteering and traveling. My newest hobby is learning how to sew--I already have way too many projects lined up!

Her FAVES
I started listening to What Really Matters when I was pregnant with Natalie back in 2007. I remember practically waddling along with my iPod! I quickly devoured all the archives and then started listening weekly as new episodes came out. I'm a novice foodie, and I like trying out new recipes, so all of your cooking episodes are inspiring. I guess if I had to choose, my favorite guest was on show #110 Ask-a-Chef: Sunny Anderson. After I listened in, I started DVRing her show on the Food Network and I love her practical tips and personality. Her herbed flatbread recipe has become my signature side dish at family gatherings.

IDEAS and Inspiration
1. What is your secret strategy for keeping life simple in your house?

It can be challenging to run errands with two young children, so I limit my grocery shopping to once a week. That means I have to do a little bit of meal planning in advance, but it's such a relief to not have to figure out what's for dinner 20 minutes before it's time to eat. We also spend less because we're not as tempted to eat out or run to the store during the stressful dinner rush.

2. Name one parenting tool you rely on frequently.

I try not to be as reactive when dealing with my 3-year-old. She picks up on my charged emotions and everything just escalates from there. Calm, direct instructions with logical consequences work best for us. Sometimes she just needs a little more time, but eventually she cooperates. I've learned too that there's room for compromise in parenting, especially in the small stuff. I don't always have to be right or in control. The more I exert power over her, the more she resists. I save the battles for the really essential lessons. Both of us are strong-willed, but if we work together, she and I can more readily respect and learn from each other.

3. What is one thing you must do every single day no matter what?

Love on my husband and kids. When things get crazy, I just get down on the floor with the children and tickle their bellies until we're all laughing and in a better mood. I'm trying to reach out more to my husband too in the affectionate ways we used to B.C. (before children) -- it helps us stay connected when I surprise him with a kiss at unexpected times.

4. What book are you reading right now?

I picked up a copy of You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes at a recent church conference. It's a book full of advice written by a pastor's wife, getting to the heart of what's truly important about being in ministry alongside your spouse and doing those important things without caving to social pressure and unrealistic expectations. We don't all fit the same mold, but we're valuable in our own unique ways.

5. What is the best piece of parenting advice you ever received?

Opt for an earlier bedtime. Although putting the kids down by 6:30 or 7:00 pm isn't always possible with evening activities, it sure makes a difference in their quality and quantity of sleep. Then, on nights when my husband isn't working, we get a good block of time for just the two of us to catch up, watch a movie or have a late dinner with wine together. It's like a date night, sans babysitter fees!

6. We all have our favorite things ... what is one of yours?

I thrive on the creative process, whether writing and taking photographs for my job or cooking and decorating at home. In my passion for graphic design as well as the so-called "domestic arts," I find the most fulfillment in sharing these gifts with others and making useful contributions to my family and community.

Cigar Boxes: A Smokin' Idea

2011-07-22T10:23:00.000-04:00

We just LOVE this smoking, hot idea submitted from a What Really Matters Listener ... repurpose, recycle, organize and practically F-R-E-E (we're all about those things!) Thanks Jason for helping us simplify!

"This morning I listened to The Big O - Freebies and wanted to throw something out there ... Cigar boxes. I'm not a smoker but you don't have to be to get your hands on them. A few benefits?

• Some are compartmentalized. My wife and I took one of the shelves out of a larger one and put it in a kitchen drawer - perfect for pens, pencils, etc.

• They make great "gift wrap" for people who are into that kind of thing. I have given my mom a few gifts in cigar boxes, and she loves the boxes - uses them to keep her scrapbooking things (rubber stamps, etc.)

• They're stackable and durable.

• They're free or cheap. Some stores just give them away or throw them away. The Party Source sells theirs for $2 each.

• Some of them are AMAZING looking.

• They're guy-friendly and a little more sophisticated (sorta), and don't need to be decoupaged before they're used.

I actually have a few on a shelf in my home office, as part of a display. Only I know that they're really being used to keep my spare printer cartridges, memory sticks, and business cards for clients. So there you go. My little organization secret.

Thanks for reading, and for chatting away in my ear while I work. You guys are great. - Jason"

Tropies (a.k.a. Dust Collectors)

2011-07-20T12:01:00.001-04:00

The trophies are starting to stack up around here and the girls haven't done too much to earn them. These days you get a trophy just for showing up. Don't get me started on that one...

We talk about this on No Contest with Alphie Kohn, one of our most commented on shows. He tells us why board games, sports, spelling bees and even informal contests at home can be damaging to self-esteem, poisonous to relationships and counterproductive in terms of learning.

In the meantime, check out this idea from Earth 911 for all those trophies up in your attic. You can recycle them for a charity and they will go to a good home. For a while anyway...

Kids Can Do: Recycling Chalk

2011-07-13T09:39:00.006-04:00

Easy. Quick. Fun. Inexpensive. We hope you'll enjoy this Kids Can Do activity brought to you by VickyandJen.com:

By now, those nice, big chalk crayons have dwindled down to broken fragments and you are tempted to toss 'em. Don't! This is good idea for using up those small bits. Place them in a cup and add a small amount of water. With a little mixing it will form a thick paste. Let kids paint on sidewalks instead. Water will evaporate quickly leaving color behind!

And while the kids are chalkin', play "I Chalk" by Justin Roberts. It is our opening on Meltdown! - fun song....

Blog Buddies: Hey, I Don't Like Doing Chores Either!

2011-07-07T21:37:00.004-04:00

Today's guest post is by Armin Brott, author of America's most popular how-to books for Dads. Armin Brott's bestselling books have helped millions of men around the world become the fathers they want to be - and their children need them to be.

Armin has been a guest on hundreds of radio and television shows, writes a nationally syndicated column, “Ask Mr. Dad,” and hosts a weekly radio show. He and his family live in Oakland, California. For more information, visit mrdad.com.

Hey, I Don't Like Doing Chores Either!

Dear Mr. Dad: Our 12-year-old refuses to do any chores. Anytime we ask him to help around the house, he always finds an excuse not to. Sometimes he even says he doesn’t feel like cleaning up after himself. My husband says we should ground him. What’s your take on this?

A: I’ll confess right here that the phrase “I don’t feel like it” coming from a child absolutely infuriates me. My initial reaction has always been something like, “Okay, no problem. But I don’t feel like doing your laundry or driving you to your friend’s birthday party this weekend or preparing your meals or buying you that new game you want. ”

The harsh reality for your son (and every other child out there) is that very few people are passionate about housework: we do it because we like living in a clean, comfortable environment. Like it or not, your son is part of a family and family members all chip in to do what needs to be done to keep the household moving smoothly. The adults have their responsibilities and the kids have theirs (what, exactly, that means will depend on age and ability).

In addition to making good sense, chores, say the experts, are excellent for children because they help them develop some valuable skills and habits, including responsibility, helpfulness, appreciation for hard work, and the satisfaction that comes from making a positive impact on the lives of others.

At the very least, your 12-year-old should be expected to make his bed, keep his room tidy, and clean up after himself. If you have pets, he should take part in caring for them. And there’s no reason he can’t help you bring groceries in from the car, set the table for meals, and load/unload the dishwasher.

I’m sure your son isn’t refusing to help out just because he’s lazy or mean. Is it possible that he doesn’t actually know what his duties are? Are his chores fair and age-appropriate? Have you given him so many responsibilities that he no longer has time for a social life?

The first thing to do is have a talk with your son. Explain to him that everyone in your family pitches in and plays a role in creating a home that runs smoothly. That’s non-negotiable.

Next, have him help you put together a list of all the chores that need to be done on a daily/weekly/monthly basis and roughly how long each one should take. Then let him swap some of the chores he hates for ones that take the same amount of time but that he’ll hate a little less. He won’t admit it anytime soon, but he’ll really appreciate the confidence you’re showing in him by giving him some say in all this. Plus, having made the choices himself, it’ll be harder to gripe about them later on.

One more thing: avoid the urge to micro-manage his tasks or criticize his technique. For example, his dusting may not pass the white-glove inspection, but as long as he puts a genuine effort into it, don’t point out everything he missed. At least not in the moment. On the contrary, if he lives up to his responsibilities, praise him and thank him for his help. We all—adults and kids alike—want to feel needed and appreciated.

Finally, if he still refuses to do his fair share, go on strike. When he runs out of clean underwear or has to figure out how to take public transportation to meet up with his friends, he’ll have a sudden—and profound—change of heart.

Thanks Mr. Dad!

Play WITH Your Kids

2011-07-05T10:29:00.000-04:00

Just a friendly article from Amy McCready of Positive Parenting Solutions...

Most parents celebrate when the time finally comes that their kids will play independently or with their siblings. Finally – a few minutes of breathing room for mom and dad to get some things done around the house!

Independent play is important for a child’s development, however, it’s also important to make sure that we are playing WITH our kids on a daily basis.

Playing WITH a toddler may include throwing a ball or role-playing a “pretend” game. “Playing” with a teenager can be a game of backgammon or a round of Wii Golf. “Playing” is what ever the CHILD likes to do for fun.

Here are 3 great reasons to play WITH your kids…

1. Creating Emotional Connection: Much of the daily interaction between parents and children consists of “ordering, correcting and directing.” (“Don’t forget to drink your milk”, “it’s time to take a bath”, “stop hitting your sister”, etc.) When parents order, correct, and direct, they are in the “Parent Ego State” and this type of interaction often invites the “fight or flight” response in our kids, resulting in power struggles.

When parents play on the floor and have FUN with their kids – both the parent and child are operating in the “Child Ego State”. The “child” ego state is where emotional connections are made. It doesn’t require a long time to create emotional bonds – but being INTENTIONAL about spending PLAY time each day with your child in the “child ego state” will do wonders for strengthening the emotional connections.

2. Fewer attention-seeking misbehaviors: When parents play WITH their children, they are PROACTIVELY filling the child’s attention basket in positive ways. Children have a hard-wired need for attention. If parents don’t provide sufficient POSITIVE attention, children will resort to negative behaviors to get it – whining, clinging, helplessness, sibling fighting, etc. When parents implement consistent playtime WITH their children – attention-seeking misbehaviors begin to fall off the radar screen!

3. More cooperative children! As parents fill attention baskets in POSITIVE ways and emotional connection increases, children consistently become MORE COOPERATIVE at other times during the day! When the child’s core emotional requirements for connection and attention are met, he doesn’t feel the need to “fight us” to get negative attention and is more cooperative when asked to do things throughout the day. It’s a beautiful thing!

Amy has visited us on What Really Matters for Sibling Rivalry and Is Screaming the New Spanking? For more amazingly practical advice and tips, please visit her on Facebook and at Positive Parenting Solutions.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-01T10:24:00.001-04:00

From every mountain side
Let Freedom ring.

~Samuel F. Smith, "America"

Let's Play Cards!

2011-06-30T13:19:00.002-04:00

The girls have been enjoying card games and like to be taught new games. We recently came up with a creative and inexpensive gift for their grandpa's birthday.

This is what we needed:

A binder.
Plastic page protectors.
Zippered binder pouch.
Paper and pencil.
Two decks of cards.

This is what we did:

The girls thought of games they like to play (Speed/Spit and Go Fish), and games they want to learn (Poker, Solitaire and Gin Rummy).
Found and printed out the rules from Pagat.com. We liked the alphabetical index list.
Placed them in protectors.
Zippered up the pens, paper and cards.
Made a cute cover.

Tadah! They were so excited to give this gift, and that's what it's all about!

I'm Lost!

2011-06-25T06:47:00.000-04:00

A lost child is a parent’s worst nightmare. And, as families plan to spend more time outdoors, on vacation and in busy public places this summer, it is important to be prepared. A survey of parents by the Center to Prevent Lost Children showed that 90 percent of families will experience losing a child in a public place at least once, and 20 percent said it has happened more than once. The United States Department of Justice reports that more than 300,000 children become temporarily lost for at least one hour, but the good news is that a majority of those children are quickly found and not harmed.

It is important to try to prevent a child from getting lost but even more important that the child knows what to do if they do get lost. Preparing yourself and a child can make this frightening situation become a bit easier for everyone involved.

How to Prevent and Handle a Lost Child Situation

· Before you go anywhere, talk to your family about what to do if someone gets lost. Discuss a designated place to go if you get lost or advise children to stay right where they are when they feel they are lost. Tell children to find a security officer, police officer or an employee if you are in a public place, or remind them they can ask another mom with kids for help.

· Prepare your children so that they can identify themselves. For younger children, have their identification information in their pocket. If they are old enough to speak and can relay the information, practice reciting your phone number with them, and let them know they can always call 911.

· For younger children or when clothes don’t have pockets, be creative. Make a bracelet out of numbered beads or write your phone number inside a shirt collar or on a shirt tag with a fabric marker. (Or use Jen's idea!) We happened to do a Kids Can Do post too about a phone number bracelet!

· Dress children in bright colored clothing so they can easily be spotted. Lemon yellow and lime green are the suggested colors because they easily attract the eye. You might also have a piece of clothing that is only worn when the child goes out in public so you can easily remember what they are wearing.

· Take a photo of your child with your phone before you leave home or when you arrive at your destination. This will help police find a lost child because they will be aware of exactly what the child is wearing, and how they look that day.

· Positive reinforcement is the best way to prevent a child from wandering away from you when you are in a public place. Speak with your child about stranger danger, and remind them of the importance of staying with you.

Sometimes children do get lost, and it is easy for parents and guardians to forget what to do in this scary situation. Many public places have standard procedures of what to do when a child is missing, so make sure authorities and the venue’s management are notified that the child is lost. Authorities will be able to help because they are familiar with the area’s surroundings, and could have the capability to lockdown buildings or issue an alert.

Source: Keith Kepler is the Vice President and General Manager at AlliedBarton Security Services. AlliedBarton is the industry’s premier provider of highly trained security personnel to many industries including higher education, commercial real estate, healthcare, residential communities, chemical/petrochemical, government, manufacturing and distribution, financial institutions, and shopping centers.

BBQ or Grill?

2011-06-20T07:15:00.000-04:00

What is the difference between BBQ-ing and grilling? For some, it's simply where you're from. Gina and Pat Neely, two of the most loved show hosts on the Food Network, describe the difference like this:

BBQ is saucing and smoking meat before popping it onto the grill for slow cooking over low, indirect heat.

Grilling is the cooking of food over high heat for a much shorter time.

Listen to Ask-a-Chef: The Neelys and try their Seasoning Rub and Barbecue Sauce to kick it up a notch this summer!

Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning
1 1/2 cups paprika
 3/4 cup sugar
 3 3/4 tablespoons onion powder
Stir together the ingredients in a small bowl. Stored in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place, this seasoning will last for up to 6 months. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Note: For the best flavor, marinate the spice-rubbed meats overnight in the refrigerator, so they can absorb and “breathe in” the flavors.

 Neely’s Barbecue Sauce
2 cups ketchup 
1 cup water
 1/4 cup light-brown sugar 
1/4 cup granulated sugar
 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder 
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard powder 
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
 1/2 cup apple-cider vinegar
 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 
1 tablespoon Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning

Combine all ingredients in a large pot or a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Reduce the temperature to very low and simmer, uncovered, for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, cool, and use as needed. Store in a tightly sealed container, this sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 2 months. Makes about 2 cups.

Note: We never salt our Barbecue Sauce because of the sodium content in the ketchup and because of the other ingredients like onion powder and Worcestershire sauce provide so much flavor. Since our sauce is mostly used on grilled items (that are seasoned) and combined with other foods (like Barbecue Spaghetti and Molasses-Baked Beans), we don’t want to end up with food that is too salty. So we err on the side of slightly under seasoning this sauce (although believe me, no one EVER says that it lacks flavor). If your taste buds yearn for a little more salt, you can season the sauce - at the end of the cooking time - as you please.

For more, visit the companion page to Ask-a-Chef: The Neelys and get grillin’ (or BBQin’)!

The Oven Light: Huevos Rancheros

2011-06-15T11:06:00.003-04:00

We've combined our popular website feature, The Oven Light, with our blog! Here we'll share mom-tested, simple, family recipes now and then . . . some from us, some from guest bloggers. We hope these help simplify the mealtime aspect of your busy life! This one is from our friend Catherine at Weelicious™. She shares recipes and videos of fast, easy & fresh baby food, toddler food and recipes for the entire family! Enjoy!

The first time I ever heard of Huevos Rancheros was over twelve years ago — just after I moved to California — when my girlfriend ordered it at a restaurant. Where I grew up, Huevos Rancheros wasn’t a dish that you would ever see on a restaurant menu, but in Los Angeles, where there is a huge Mexican population, it’s quite common.

Four staples I always keep in my kitchen are eggs, tortillas, salsa and cheese, so for me this recipe requires virtually no forethought for breakfast (or even dinner). I actually don’t know why I’ve never tried making it before. And this is one of those dishes that requires no persuading to get the kids excited. Warm tortillas topped with eggs, melted cheese and creamy beans? Nothing could be better whether you’ve been eating Huevos Rancheros for years or for the very first time!

Huevos Rancheros (Serves 4)

1 Tsp Vegetable or Canola Oil 
4 Large Eggs 
4 Corn Tortillas 
1 Cup weelicious Healthy “Refried” Beans (or other refried beans you enjoy)
 1 Cup Mild Chunky Salsa
 1 Cup Mexican Cheese Blend, shredded

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 tsp of oil. Add the eggs, one at a time and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes or until the white is set. Then, cover and cook for an additional minute (you can also scramble the eggs if you prefer). 
2. Warm tortillas in a 250 degree oven, in a sauté pan over medium heat for 20 seconds OR between two paper towels in a microwave for 10-15 seconds. 
3. Place a warm tortilla on a plate and spread 1/4 cup of beans on top. 
4. Place one cooked egg on top of the beans and top with 1/4 cup salsa and 1/4 cup cheese. 
5. Continue to make the remaining Huevos Rancheros and serve.

Accompaniments: sliced avocado or guacamole

YUMMY! Love how you can easily make these "your own". Thanks again Catherine! Please visit Weelicious™ for more amazing recipes for the whole family!

Off to Camp

2011-06-10T10:35:00.009-04:00

Bring home a happy camper this summer! Ask yourself these questions to be sure the time is right:

• What is your child's age? Children under age 7 may not adjust easily to being away from home. Consider the day camp experience to prepare them for future overnight camp.

• How did your child become interested in camp? Does your child talk about camp and camp activities on a sustained basis? How much persuasion is necessary from you?

• Has your child had positive overnight experiences away from home? Visiting relatives or friends? Were these separations easy or difficult?

• What does your child expect to do at camp? Learning about the camp experience ahead of time allows you to create positive expectations.

• Are you able to share consistent and positive messages about camp? Your confidence in a positive experience will be contagious.

For more resources, listen to Off to Summer Camp with expert advice on readiness for camp, how to enhance the camp experience for children, coping with homesickness and other issues for families sending their young ones off to camp!

It's a Lemonade Kinda Day

2011-06-08T06:17:00.000-04:00

Shhh… don't tell your kids, but making lemonade is one of those "you're learning a bunch of stuff and you don't know it" opportunities!

• Squeezing lemons is a fine motor experience. It works the same muscles used for writing.

• Measuring the ingredients requires math skills like counting and following steps in order.

• For a bonus lesson, line up the ingredients from left to right so it encourages left-right visual progression as your child works their way through the steps (an important pre-reading skill).

• Pouring is great for hand-eye coordination.

• Think about Science - from the sense of taste (sour & sweet) for little ones, to the concepts of osmosis and molecular structure that cause sugar to dissolve in water for the bigger kids.

• Turn it into a lemonade stand and encourage social skills as well as money math skills.

Fresh Lemonade Recipe

To make an ice-cold glass of old-fashioned, fresh-squeezed lemonade, all you need is:

6-8 lemons

1 cup of sugar

6 cups of water

Directions: Squeeze the juice from the lemons until you have one cup of juice, then mix everything together in a pitcher, until the sugar dissolves.

Boys vs Girls

2011-06-06T06:38:00.000-04:00

We see the difference between girls and boys every day. It can be little things, and sometimes more obvious things.

Did you know that girls can hear better than boys? The typical teenage girl has a sense of hearing seven times more acute than a teenage boy.

Language and emotion are processed in the same part of the brain in girl. Therefore, girls find it easier to talk about their emotions. In boys, the regions are separate and one of the hardest questions for a boy to answer is "tell me how you feel".

Give Why Gender Matters a listen (or a re-listen) for ways to make the best of the amazing differences between boys and girls.

Bright Ideas: Quick-y Clean

2011-06-02T09:22:00.004-04:00

Our Bright Ideas, a spin off of the Oven Light on VickyandJen.com, can make your tasks in the kitchen a little easier so you have more time left to enjoy "what really matters". The theme for this post is Quick-y Clean. By no means are we suggesting you cut corners, we're just sayin' there are a few strategies for minimizing the mess so there is less to clean later and tips for simply getting the job done faster.

Swirl It Baby, Swirl It: Easy clean your blender by squirting in a bit of dish liquid and some water. Put on the lid and blend. Pour out and rinse. Hmmm, done.

Better Coffee: A periodic cleaning of your coffee maker will help ensure a great tasting cup of coffee. Oily residue from brewing, along with hard-water deposits and other impurities, build up in coffee makers over time. Once a month, fill the water reservoir with a solution that's half distilled white vinegar, half water. Turn on the coffeemaker. Let several cups run through, then turn it off, and let sit for an hour. Start the machine again to complete the cycle, discarding the vinegar mixture afterward. Run plain water through the coffee maker a few times until the vinegar odor disappears. To clean the carafe and filter basket, place in the top rack of the dishwasher.

Clean the Cleaners: Yes, at times you have to clean the things you clean with. Sponges can go FUNKY TOWN before you know it. Keep sponges fresh this way... Every time you run your dishwasher, throw your kitchen sponges in the silverware tray or top rack. The heat of the washer sanitizes your sponges, making them smell fresher and last longer.

Show Microwave Love: Does your microwave get ignored? It's easy to neglect the poor thing when the door is closed and you forget about the splatters and crumbs. Show your microwave some love by pouring two cups of water into a microwave-safe bowl and let the microwave self-clean. Here's how: place the bowl of water in the middle of the microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes. Remove the bowl and wipe down the interior with a cloth or sponge. The steam will soften the cooked-on food and can be easily removed.

That Darn Oven!: Let's face it, cleaning the oven stinks. Don't use those stinky (and harmful) cans of oven cleaner. Clean your oven the smart way! Pour 1/2 cup of ammonia into a glass dish and sit it inside your oven. Close the door and let sit overnight. Remove the dish. Using a damp sponge or cloth, easily wipe away grime from the interior of the oven. 1-2-3, done.

Ahhh, Fresh: Here's a nifty tip for those plastic food containers that smell like meatloaf, blueberry pie and asparagus ... all at once. Stuff a balled-up piece of newspaper into the plastic container, seal it, and let sit overnight. By morning the paper will have absorbed lingering food smells.

Coast on By: Use coasters to catch drips in pantry Can you say "repurpose"? This is useful for those annoying escaping drips of sticky stuff from bottles and jars in cupboards. The result ... shelves that don’t require a full wipe-down after every spoonful of honey, slather of jam, or glug of olive oil.

Organizing Coupons

2011-05-31T13:36:00.002-04:00

There are a lot of ways to save money at the grocery store (did you know that America's Cheapest Family fed a family of 7 for $350 a month?), but clipping coupons is one of the most popular and can mean BIG savings.

This is why I am trying to figure out my system. As of now, I cut, toss in a basket, and clip the ones I think I will use onto my grocery list. It saves me a little, but I know I could save a lot more. My jumble isn’t sorted and it is such a bummer when I find a coupon I could have used after I get home. Not sure how to order them - expiration date, product, category, or alphabetically, so I asked for help on our Facebook Fan Page.

Here are some of the helpful ideas I received:

If I think I'll use them, they go in a magnetic pocket on the fridge, then into my wallet on the day of shopping. I don't use very many!
Plastic sleeves (like the ones that hold baseball cards) in a binder method. I also read about a simpler method using an accordion folder with labeled tabs.
I use the Coupon Mom method. I don't cut them out until I use them. I save each insert in a box file, folder style.
I use a very small accordion folder (size of a wallet) and organize them by food, baby, non-food. (I never have that many either.) When it's time to go to the store, I cut coupons and go through my accordion file. I quickly scan for expired ones and throw them away. Then I put all the ones I want to use in the very first compartment of the accordion file - for that shopping day only.
I'm no pro...but I do the binder with plastic sports card holders. I have them arranged in order of aisles of the store I shop at most often to make it easy to flip through as I walk through the store.
In a coupon accordion with the coupons that expire soonest in the front of the section. I've found this to be easier and faster than a binder.
This has got to be the best coupon organizer in the world. Check out Mrs. A's Coupon Organizer.
Accordion file with sections of: baby, dry, fridge, frozen, personal, cleaning!

According to the The Coupon Mom, “the average coupon user saves approximately 12% per year on their grocery spending, which translates to roughly $12 per week for the average household. An organized coupon user will spend about 30 minutes per week managing their coupon savings, which is the equivalent of earning at least $24 an hour (after taxes) for pretty easy work. If you can find a coupon organization system that works for you, you can expect to save several hundred or thousand dollars a year. You will find that the savings you realize will justify the time spent organizing coupons.”

Thanks friends! Now off to create my own money-saving system!

Memorial Day

2011-05-29T09:01:00.002-04:00

Memorial Day honors the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Thank you.

Counting Down

2011-05-26T10:35:00.000-04:00

We are SO counting down to summer and it is SO close! It got me thinking ... does my personal "preference" for summer transfer to my kids in a good way. Or not. What I mean is, does it make them have a bit of dislike towards school?

So, I have been trying to be more positive about the excitement of summer and all of the fun stuff going on, as opposed to "yeah, school is done!" Our grand plans: the casual, "pool-rat" style of daily living and our awesome annual family vacation to Florida as our grand finale.

I am determined to avoid the summer brain drain (as much as possible) so join me and listen to Susan Kruger's tips on this week's release, Summer Success for School.

Take 25

2011-05-23T10:43:00.000-04:00

Does your family have a "code word"? Do you know what the most commonly abducted age group is? You might be surprised...

May 25 is National Missing Children's Day. It's a reminder for all parents, guardians, teachers and other role models to make child safety a priority. We need to educate, not scare, our children (and ourselves) to be more aware.

Our show Simple Safety: Stranger Danger is a show that we all must listen to. And it WILL surprise you in a positive way. Nancy McBride, National Safety Director for The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, helps us teach personal safety skills to our children that they can easily understand and put into practice.

For more, visit The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Take 25.

Oven Light: Overnight Waffles

2011-05-21T04:47:00.000-04:00

As you know, this is one of my favorite blog features ... The Oven Light. Here we share mom-tested, simple, family recipes... some from us, some from guest bloggers. We hope they help simplify the mealtime aspect of your busy life!

I am crazy-in-love with these easy waffles. They are crispy on the outside and soft and light on the inside. And I love the yeasty donut-like taste. All you have to do is think a teeny-tiny bit ahead by whipping the ingredients together in a big bowl at night, and "in the morning, I'm making waffles!" - from Donkey in Shrek

Overnight Waffles

1/2 tsp. instant yeast

2 c. all purpose flour
1 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
8 T. butter, (1 stick) melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Before going to bed, combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Next, stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla. The mixture will be loose or thin. Yes, that's all you do for the night! Cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight at room temperature.

In the morning, preheat the iron and brush lightly with oil. Separate the eggs and stir in the yolks into the batter. Beat the whites until they hold stiff peaks. Stir them gently into the batter. Spread a ladleful or so of batter on to the iron.

Bake 3-5 minutes depending on the temperature of your iron and your preference. Keep warm in a low oven. Source: How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman.

Bright Ideas: Waste Not

2011-05-19T01:40:00.001-04:00

Our Bright Ideas, a spin off of the Oven Light on VickyandJen.com, can make your tasks in the kitchen a little easier so you have more time left to enjoy "what really matters".

The theme for these Bright Ideas is "Waste Not, Want Not". These tips can help you s-t-r-e-t-c-h, re-use, save and substitute things in your kitchen so you'll spend less money in the long run!

Honey Bunches: If honey becomes crystalized, place the jar or bottle in a pan of hot water (not boiling) off the stove, and stir until liquified. Or transfer into a microwave-safe container, and microwave, uncovered in 10-second increments, until liquefied.

Pancakes in a Pinch: Don't throw away the last couple hot cakes! To Freeze leftovers, stack cooled pancakes between squares of wax paper; place in a resealable bag or airtight container. Freeze up to 3 months. Reheat on a baking sheet in preheated 350º oven or toaster oven.

Pizza in the Morning?: Why not? Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove. Set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. Don't even think about re-heating it in the microwave ... unless you like it soggy and limp!

Extra Frosting: Know how to double your frosting? When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You'll have twice as much, yet consume less sugar and calories per serving. Bonus!

Fresh Herbs in a Flash: Enjoy your fresh herbs even after the summer season has ended by freezing them. Herbs such as mint, basil and cilantro work best. Remove the leaves from the stems, chop finely and place into a liquid measuring glass. Add just enough olive oil to cover then pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and freeze. Once solid, place the cubes in a resealable plastic bag. Store up to 3 months in the freezer. Perfect for adding to soups and sauces.

Stop buying ice!: Fill up your muffin, mini loaf, and cupcake pans with water and let freeze. Pop them into a plastic storage bag and you’re ready for your next picnic or party. I make gigantic "cubes" by freezing water in plastic butter or sour cream tubs.

Get Control of the Flow: For a glug-free pour, use fork tines to poke holes in the foil seals of oil and syrup bottles to better control the amount they pour.

Save the Placemats: Repurpose old plastic placemats by turning them into coasters. Take pinking shears and cut the placemats into squares. Ahhh, pretty!

Blog Buddies: How to Measure Your Body

2011-05-17T06:36:00.000-04:00

How to Measure Your Body (No scale or tape required)

The other day I returned a few things to the home of a close friend while she was away at work. When I opened her front door, I found the remnants of breakfast on the dining room table; mail and books on the hall bench; stacks of plates in the kitchen; jackets, coats, shoes and exercise equipment piled by the front door.

I was laying witness to the messy accoutrements of family life. When my house looks that way, I get on my family’s case to clean up. The clutter grates on my nerves. Likewise, my friend may look at her cluttered house and feel the same irritation.

But when I saw my friend’s home in disarray, I didn’t see the mess. I didn’t see clutter. I saw a home that was lived in and loved. And it was beautiful. In the musical Rent, there’s a song, “Seasons of Love,” which asks, “How do you measure a year? How do you measure a year in a life?” The answer? “In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.”

We don’t measure our lives in perfection. It’s not measured in its orderliness, or in our “togetherness.” We measure our lives in the many tiny details that imbue our days; our clutter and messes and pile of books by the front door.

A home is meant to be used. A perfect house where everything is in perfect order? It feels like a museum. Cold. Unwelcoming. Not a place where people reside. A perfect body where everything is in perfect order? It also feels like a museum. Cold. Unwelcoming. Not a place where a woman resides.

We think that perfection is what others want when they come to our homes for a visit. We think that others want us at our physical best. No. It’s the imperfections, the worn carpets and shabby sofa, the wrinkles and hooked noses and saggy thighs, the evidence of how we have lived in, loved and used our bodies that makes them endearing.

Funny how we think of that evidence as flaws, as something to be erased or minimized. Funny how we spend so much of our time, energy and money trying to preserve our bodies rather then use them.

Many years ago, after my grandma died, I went through her belongings with my Dad and uncle. “What would you like to remember her by?” they asked. I walked around her home, quiet with her absence. I felt such tenderness for the things, the normal everyday things that made my grandma who she was: her reading glasses on her bedside table (when my grandma came to visit us she always checked out stacks and stacks of books from the library), her deck of cards (we always played Up and Down the River, Hearts and Gin), her many picture frames of family photographs on her fireplace mantel.

Those things were what I remembered and treasured about my grandma. And those are the things that I kept to remember her by. I have a deck of my grandma's cards. I have her reading light. Those things mean more to me than valuable heirlooms, like jewelry, money, or antiques. They are the evidence of how she lived; how she loved. How she loved me.

My body shows the evidence of how I’ve lived and loved. I hold no shame or hatred for the stretch marks from four pregnancies, my saggy breasts that nursed one baby after another for nearly eight years. I love my flat feet, the little toes that are longer than my big toe, the long hands that speak my truth. I love my grandma’s pale skin, the dark brown hair from my other grandma, the muscles on my arms and legs from years of weight lifting and running, and the tummy pooch that belies those hours in the gym. I even love my extra pounds, the padding that comes and goes from years of overeating. I suppose that it, too, speaks to how I’ve lived. Not always well, but lived, nonetheless.

A good friend signs her email with this quote: "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, covered in scars, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, 'Yahoo! what a ride'." Love your body. Enjoy the ride. Use it up. Be proud of your scars. Be proud that you've lived.

And when you take measure of your body, when you judge its worth, look upon your body as you would look upon a loved one’s, as something special and priceless; as something that speaks to the very uniqueness and beauty that is you. As Jonathon Larson, the brilliant writer of Rent, says, “Measure in love.”

Thank you Karly for helping us to put it all in perspective.

Good Ol' Fashioned Bribery

2011-05-15T06:04:00.000-04:00

I've been on a cucumber kick lately - a perfectly healthy snack and the best crunch-factor for sandwiches! The girls will have nothing to do with them despite my numerous and creative attempts. Period. Begging and pleading hasn't even worked. Finally I cut off a chunk and said "If you eat this, you can have a cookie." SOLD! Nothing wrong with a little ole' fashioned bribery... is there?

Oven Light: The Naptime Chef™

2011-05-13T06:29:00.000-04:00

We've combined our popular website feature, The Oven Light, with our blog! Here we'll share mom-tested, simple, family recipes . . . some from us, some from our Blog Buddies. We hope these help simplify the mealtime part of your busy life! This one is from our friend Kelsey, The Naptime Chef™. Enjoy!

When my daughter wakes up early and my husband tells me he’ll be at the office late I know I’m in for a long day. I don’t blame either one of them, sometimes my daughter wakes up early when the sun is especially bright, and my husband works hard at his job which often requires long hours. The only person kind of stuck in the middle of this equation is me. I want to give my daughter my full attention during the day, but I’m also responsible for the entire household and any errands or chores that need to get done.

When days like this happen I know I need to keep dinner simple and healthy. I like to Naptime Chef dishes that are delicious and fun, but not overly fussy. I also choose dishes that don’t require hours to cook since I still want some time during naptime to put my feet up. Some may wonder why it is worth cooking at all. But I know good food will keep me going well into the evening, plus cooking during naptime helps me relax in the middle of a hectic day.

When this scenario played out earlier this week I decided to make my favorite simple Vegetable Quiche. As you’ll see above, I had a lot of leftovers from my farmer’s market wares last week and didn’t want anything to go to waste. I love this recipe because it is adaptable. In this case I added some onions, fresh baby spinach, toasted pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. There have been many instances when I’ve added different greens, additional cheese and finely chopped vegetables. There are nearly endless different possibilities and I encourage you to get used to the recipe and play with the ingredients a bit to see what works best for you. Enjoy!

Vegetable Quiche with Spinach, Onions and Pine Nuts

For the crust:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ c. all-purpose flour
¼ c. ice-water
Pinch of Kosher salt

For the filling:
3 eggs
1 c.whole milk
1 c.Parmesan cheese
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
½ yellow onion, finely chopped
½ c. pine nuts, toasted
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. For the Crust: Add all four ingredients to a food processor and give it a quick blitz until a dough forms. Remove from processor and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to 9″ in diameter and press it into a pie plate. Set aside. *If you are not going to use it immediately, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge.

1. For the Quiche: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Whisk together the eggs, milk and cheese in a bowl, set aside. 2. In a skillet over medium heat add the onion and spinach. Cook until the onion is soft and spinach is wilted. Add to egg mixture. 3. Toast the pine nuts in dry skillet, when they are lightly golden add to the egg mixture. Add a pinch of Kosher salt and crank of good fresh cracked pepper to taste. 4. Pour egg mixture into prepared crust and bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is lightly golden and quiche is totally set.

Naptime Notes
Naptime Recipe Serving Ideas: This recipe is adaptable, almost any kind of dark leafy green tastes great, as well as vegetables like shallots, garlic, peppers, potatoes and carrots. Also, some tangy goat cheese crumbled into the quiche tastes amazing as well.

Naptime Stopwatch: Make the crust takes about 5 minutes and the filling an additional 10 minutes. Baked time is close to 40-45 minutes.

Naptime Reviews: My daughter is reluctant to eat eggs and has been since birth. However, she gamely tried a bite of this which is all I can ask for – she’ll learn to love them someday!

Thanks Kelsey!

Must Eat Veggies!

2011-05-11T06:25:00.000-04:00

Do YOU eat enough veggies? How often do you say “eat your veggies” to your kids? Those dreaded words will be heard NO MORE at your dinner table!

We're doing a flashback in time here on What Really Matters and inviting you to join the famous Sneaky Chef, Missy Chase Lapine, for 3 delicious servings of tips, tricks and secrets to help your family eat healthier!

Find out how by listening to these sneaky shows, then scroll on down for the why's ...

1. The Sneaky Chef: Get the basics of “veggie camouflage” in the kitchen with simple purees and recipes to get in the veggies tonight! Without a fight!

2. The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue: Missy serves up special requests responding to parent’s concerns with 101 all NEW recipes focusing on special occasions and holidays, lower calorie and low-fat meals and allergy-free recipes.

3. The Sneaky (and Cheating) Chef: Missy targets men’s health issues and sneaks nutrition into recipes like Legal Donuts, Barbell Burgers and Brawny Brownies - meals the entire family will love!

Why are Veggies Important?

√ Just 1 carrot per day can cut the risk of lung cancer in half, strengthen the heart, and speed recovery time from illnesses. They are the richest source of carotene and antioxidants and are full of fiber.

√ Sweet potatoes stabilize blood sugar levels (preventing "crash and burn" after certain meals) and are rich in vitamins C, E & B, folate (good for the heart and brain), carotene, calcium, potassium, and iron.

√ Sweet potatoes are loaded with serotonin to help boost moods, calming and helping children to sleep better.

√ Broccoli and green peas are high in protein, fiber, vitamin C, antioxidants, potassium and calcium. Peas are also high in vitamin K to strengthen bones, and one cup has more protein and fiber than a large egg!

Just ask Jen ... she's been sneaking around her kitchen for years. Enjoy the shows!

Blog Buddies: The Realities of Childhood Depression

2011-05-09T06:28:00.001-04:00

Dear Mr. Dad: Over the past several months, our 12-year-old son has become increasingly moody, sad, and withdrawn. He has no friends and no interest in school or any other activities. When we ask him what’s wrong, he tells us to leave him alone and says that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Is it possible for a child this age to have depression?

A: Absolutely. For some reason I’ve never understood, a lot of people think that childhood depression is a myth (“oh, come on, what do kids have to be depressed about?”) As a result, too many parents, teachers, and other adults ignore (or rationalize away) behaviors like the ones your son is exhibiting. I’m glad you’re paying attention.

The truth is that childhood depression is a reality. According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, about five percent of children and adolescents in the general population suffer from depression at any given point in time. And a recent study of 9- to 17-year-olds sponsored by National Institute of Mental Health, estimates that the prevalence of any kind of depression is more than 6 percent, while 4.9 percent suffering from major depression.

Kids who have been through puberty, have experienced stress, loss (such as death in the family), trauma (such as abuse), or those with ADD, learning or behavior issues, or anxiety are at even higher risk.

The big question is, How do you know whether a child or teen is depressed? Only a health care professional can make a clinical diagnosis, but the following symptoms should certainly raise red flags:

Problems as at school, at home, or with peers
Changes in appetite or sleep, always being tired
Social withdrawal or anxiety toward things your child normally is not afraid of
Regressing to behaviors more common in younger children, such as bed-wetting
Persistent sadness or tearfulness
Signs of self-destructive behavior, such as head-banging, or a lot of unexplained bruises, cuts, or injuries
Repeated talk of death.

Obviously, not every sulky child is suffering from depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or any other serious mental illness. Many pre-teens and teenagers are notoriously moody, aggressive and unruly – behaviors that may be caused by hormonal changes and peer pressure rather than depression. Also, certain physical conditions, such as thyroid dysfunction and anemia can cause depressive symptoms like tiredness.

One thing that makes childhood depression more difficult to spot than adult depression is that children generally deny that there’s a problem (although plenty of adults do this too). Unfortunately, because signs of depressive disorders are often viewed by family and health care professionals as “normal” for a particular developmental phase, far too many youngsters don’t get the timely treatment they need. (That’s a real tragedy, since so many treatment options are available.) Untreated depression increases children’s risk of developing more serious mental health issues, substance abuse, and even committing suicide.

In my view, the message is pretty clear: When it comes to our children’s health, it’s always better to err on the side of caution. So if you’re seeing any of the above symptoms –or any other behavior that worries you (don’t be afraid to go with your gut)—get your son evaluated by his pediatrician. If he or she suspects a mental illness, your son will be referred for specialized help and appropriate treatment. Needless to say, it’s critical to diagnose and treat depression in a timely manner so it doesn’t interfere with your son’s ability to function, or his healthy physical, emotional, and social development.

Thanks Armin for helping Dads (and Moms) be the best parents they can be!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T06:13:00.000-04:00

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs...

since the payment is pure love." - Mildred B. Vermont

Helpful "Big O" Tips from Listeners!

2011-05-06T06:38:00.002-04:00

We've conquered more than 34 different aspects of our homes and lives, from procrastinating to organizing closets to giving clutter-free gifts, and we've received hundreds of organizing questions and comments. We learn, simplify, and invest in our well-being with Professional Organizer, Monica Ricci, of Catalyst Organizing Solutions. And our listeners share too.

Here are a few comments (or rather "Big O's) from our Big O: Organization fans:

• SELLING YOUR HOME
I just finished this episode and wanted to add a few things about "Organizing for Selling". When we sold our home, I went to the dollar store and got some inexpensive laundry baskets, 1 for each room, and when we had a showing, we went through and put all the personal items in the baskets and stacked them in the trunk of the van. Toys, books and any dirty clothes went with us. All the dirty dishes went in the dishwasher and I utilized Febreeze and tart melters to rid the home of any cooking/people smells. One of my pet peeves when we were house shopping was a room that smelled like people. Y'no when a bedroom smells like sleep, or the bathroom smells like someone just took a shower. - Kristina E.

• HAIR PRETTIES
This would go under The Big O series. I just found this really cute way to hold hair bows, or hair pretties as I've heard you guys say: Give Me the Simple Life Blog - Peggy

• RECYCLED CONTAINERS
Re: The Big O: Tiny Things. We have discovered that the Crystal Light canisters are perfect for the kids' things. They hold markers, beads, marbles, Bakugon, etc. very nicely and they are see through. The kids have no trouble opening and closing the covers. When we went to Florida I gave one to each of the kids for their shells. They are also great for holding our plastic silverware in the cooler when we picnic. - Michelle S.

• WEEDING & GARDENING
Just wanted to share that I love listening to all the podcasts but especially The Big O series. I have them all downloaded to my ipod and listen to them while I am weeding my garden, make that chore go by much faster! - Peggy L.

• GIRLY TOOLS
I was listening to past shows and I got an idea. You were talking about how Jen has a special set of tools her DH isn't supposed to get into that she has to hide... Maybe try pink tools! Flylady sells a set of pink tools just for this purpose, the boys won't want to use the pink screwdriver. There are other places to get them. Mine are 'tomboy tools' brand, and then there's always a can of spray paint. - Valerie D.

The Brigade!

2011-05-04T09:58:00.000-04:00

Over the past two years, it has been a service project of our Daisy Girl Scout Troop to collect juice pouches for a Terracycle Pouch Brigade. To date, we have recycled over 2500 pouches and have donated over $50 to The League for Animal Welfare (our place of choice to receive 2 cents for each pouch recycled).

Pretty simple really - the girls bring in their empty pouches, I box them up, print off a free shipping label, and off they go! Pretty easy since we have a mini-recycling "station" in our home.

So this Earth Day, each Daisy received a pencil pouch made of recycled juice pouches as a reward for our success in this program.

There is an opportunity to OUTSMART WASTE in a variety of ways, so join in! You save trash from filling a landfill, and can give cash to any non-profit you choose... you just can't beat it!

Go Outside! (Part 2)

2011-05-01T12:30:00.002-04:00

Inspired by 15 Minutes Outside with Rebecca Cohen, we just had to share some MORE of our Kids-Can-Do, kid-tested and totally simple ideas for great fun outside. For Part 1 of "Go Outside" click here.

Photo is Jasmine and Jade doing one of the classics - climbing a tree!

Homemade Bubbles
Combine 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, and 4 tablespoons dishwashing liquid. Blow bubbles with wands. Store in a container with a tight-fitting lid.

Recycling Chalk
This is good idea for using up small bits of colored chalk. Place them in a cup and add a small amount of water. With a little mixing it will form a thick paste. Let kids paint on sidewalks. Water will evaporate quickly leaving color behind!

Sun Painting
Take a dark color of construction paper outside with 4-5 distinct objects-blocks, letters, shapes, scissors, etc. Place the paper on the ground in direct sunlight (sidewalk works best), scatter the objects on the paper and let the sun work its wonders. After 2-3 hours of baking, the paper will fade around the objects. Take the objects off the paper and you will see that where the objects are, the paper hasn't faded! Kids are fascinated by this!

Washable Body Paint
Pour Ivory soap flakes into small styrofoam cups. Stir in just enough water to make a paste consistency. Add a few drops of food coloring to each cup. Allow your child to go outside (in a bathing suit) and paint his or her body with sponge brushes and rollers. Rinse off in the sprinkler or with a hose when finished!

Bubble Walk
Have your child remove shoes and walk across bubble wrap on the floor. Ask your child to walk light as a feather, heavy as an elephant or fast as a cheetah. Try to walk without popping any bubbles. You can also tape a sheet of bubble wrap to your wall or table. Allow your child to bang away with a toy mallet or hammer.

Outdoor Water Paint
On warm summer days children can go water painting outside! A great alternative to paint for younger preschoolers is water! Mess-free and worry-free! Adding bubbles/or food coloring is optional and makes it even more interesting. Simply fill transparent containers (of desired sizes) with warm water, give children the brushes, and let them watch their "paint" evaporate in the sun! Have them paint a brick surface, and they'll shriek with excitement each time their pictures disappear!

Bike Course
Save empty milk jugs and fill them with colored water. Put the cap on. Use them as pylons on the sidewalk for riding tricycles. They're great for marking boundaries also.

Blog Buddies: Foster Tolerance

2011-04-27T14:09:00.001-04:00

This post is by Naomi Drew, an expert on conflict resolution, peacemaking, and parenting. She is the author of The Kids' Guide to Working Out Conflicts: How to Keep Cool, Stay Safe, and Get Along.

She is also our inspiring guest on Keep Cool and Get Along and Take a Stand Against Bullying.

Nine Ways to Foster Tolerance Starting in Your Own Home

1. Never allow slurs of any kind to be spoken in your home. Do so without exception. This applies to all races, colors, religions, and sexual orientations. Never forget that we are all human and worthy of respect. It's easy to pass on the habit of intolerance to children. However, the reverse is just as true as well. If you look toward others with kind eyes and open hearts, you'll pass on acceptance.

2. Be aware of your own biases. We all have biases of one kind or another. Sometimes just having the awareness of prejudices we hold beneath the surface can help us let them go. Opening ourselves to letting go of biases is a very important step, one that the world needs us all to do.

3. Be aware of your facial expressions and subtle looks that can pass from one adult to another when a particular racial, ethnic, gender-orientation, or religious group is mentioned. In fact, be vigilant. Don't let your children learn intolerance from unspoken messages. They can be more powerful than our words.

4. Speak up against ethnic and homophobic jokes. It's hard not to join in when people we're with are all laughing at the same joke. However, if the joke demeans a particular race, religion, or gender, speaking up is critical. Research tells us that jokes are a very powerful tool in propagating prejudice, and silence implies agreement. A simple statement like, "I'm not comfortable with that joke," can get people to stop and think.

5. Expose your children to other cultures and ethnic groups. Consider taking them to cultural events, festivals, and restaurants where they can learn about other cultures. Jacqueline G. Wexler, former president of the National Conference of Christians and Jews said, "Prejudice is forged and fueled in faceless crowds. Healthy human relations are born and nurtured in personal encounters." Open your child's eyes so she can begin to see the world in a broader sense, gaining understanding of others through shared experiences.

6. Introduce your children to multi-cultural books, videos, and music. There are so many wonderful things available now to teach children about other cultures, customs, and religions. For a list of wonderful resources go to Tolerance.org.

7. Encourage your child's school to have an ethnic heritage festival. With the rich cultural heritage in the United States and Canada, many schools are already creating events that celebrate diversity that exists right within their own community. Some schools create teaching units around this theme, having kids share customs, music, language and food relating to their family's ethnic background. The unit often culminates in a multi-cultural feast where family members bring in ethnic foods, music, and costumes for kids at school to enjoy. This provides a wonderful learning experience for children, opening their minds to different cultures.

8. Talk to your children about what to do if they encounter racism and intolerance. An excellent book to help parents deal with this delicate issue is Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice, by Caryl Stern La-Rosa and Ellen Bettmann (Scholastic Pub.)

Exercise: What will you do to help you children grow up bias-free? List three things to do right now. Have a family meeting and get started on your list.

Concluding Thoughts: In his wonderful book, The Moral Intelligence of Children, Robert Coles urges us to turn nouns such as "generosity, thoughtfulness, sensitivity, and compassion into verbs - words of action." Being concerned about intolerance is not enough; we must translate our concern into action, and we must teach our children to do the same. Imagine the changes that could take place in our world if every family did just one thing to make it a more compassionate place. Just one thing. Imagine the infinite possibilities of such an accumulation of gestures.

Thank you Naomi for the work you do to make the world a better place!

Get Scramblin'

2011-04-22T10:13:00.001-04:00

Many of us struggle with getting a healthy meal on the table for our family. There are many options to make it a bit easier like planning ahead and freezing, but we all have to figure out what works for us. In honor of our release this week, The Scramble, we are sharing a recipe from Aviva Goldfarb that takes a total of 30 minutes to get on the table.

We hope you try the Macaroni with Broccoli and Sundried Tomatoes featured on our Small Matters Newsletter, and be sure to visit the companion page here for Aviva's Painless Potatoes Au Gratin and Soup-er Easy Black Beans and Corn Soup. By the way, you can get Aviva's calzone recipe to make with your kids on PBS where she is a kitchen explorer.

Now, get scramblin' ...

Spiced Chicken with Maple Butter Glaze
Prep + Cook = 30 minutes
6 servings

This scrumptious chicken, adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe, has received raves from subscribers when I have run it in previous newsletters. It cooks so quickly because of the high heat and the chicken’s proximity to the oven’s heating element. Serve it with quinoa or couscous and Wilted Spinach with Mushrooms.

1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground cumin, or use chili powder
1 whole chicken, cut up (purchase it already cut up for greater ease) (4-5 lbs.)
3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine the four dry spices.

Place the chicken pieces skin side up on the baking sheet. Sprinkle and rub the mixture evenly over the chicken (leave the drumsticks without spices for picky eaters). Position the sheet in the upper third of the oven, about 4 inches from the heating element, and bake it, without turning it, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine the maple syrup, butter, and mustard. Stir it over low heat until the butter melts. Remove it from the heat.

After the chicken has baked for 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and brush it with the maple glaze and bake it for 5 more minutes. Brush the chicken with the glaze again and bake it 5 minutes more. Remove it from the oven and serve it.

Scramble Flavor Booster: Substitute 1/4 tsp. of the paprika with cayenne pepper.

Tip: To save water and cut energy bills, try to only run the dishwasher when it’s full.

Nutritional Information per serving (% based upon daily values):
Calories 310, Total Fat 16g, 24%, Saturated Fat 5g, 26%, Cholesterol 105 mg, 34%, Sodium 360 mg, 15%, Total Carbohydrate 7g, 2%, Dietary Fiber 0g, 0%, Protein 33g, Sugar 6g

Simplest Donation

2011-04-21T09:37:00.002-04:00

A single click on your computer can give. Really.

I am sure that many of you have heard of the "Click to Give" sites, but I really had no idea how cool it really is. Down the side of each page are inspiring stories, current blogs, contest challenges, and more. I am a little biased toward The Animal Rescue Site, especially since we chatted with Betsy Saul, the founder of Petfinder.com, and I have spent a large amount of time reading the animal rescue stories. As for current happenings, they just launched the Spring Romp Photo Contest where your favorite animal rescue organization could win a $2000 grant.

As for the Click to Give Sites, there are 7 causes to choose from (or of course you can click them all), so there is something for everyone. You will immediately know your effect of a single click:

• The Animal Rescue Site: supply .6 bowls of food for rescued animals
• The Hunger Site: supply 1.1 cups of food to the hungry
• The Breast Cancer Site: help a woman in need get a mammogram
• The Rainforest Site: help protect 11.4 square feet of rainforest habitat
• The Veterans Site: help a homeless and hungry veteran get a free meal
• The Child Health Site: help provide a child with lifesaving health care
• The Literacy Site: give a child in need a book to read and treasure

Sign up for the daily reminder and take a minute (not even) to click every day!

Do You Have a Tech Tradition?

2011-04-18T13:12:00.000-04:00

A special message and request from our friend Meg who you may remember from one of our very first podcasts, Preserving Family Memories: Traditions.

I've begun working hard on the revised/expanded edition of The Book of New Family Traditions and I would love to get your input on part of my new research. My editor and I have been discussing what types of new rituals would be most valuable to parents, and we talked about how the biggest change in family life since 2003 when the book came out has to be the explosion in technology.

Here are the questions I’d love for people to answer:

1. Has technology mostly affected your family’s closeness in a positive or negative way in recent years? Please explain.

2. If you have invented special rituals, serious or silly, that employ smartphones, computers and other mobile devices --what are they? Do you have Sunday night Wii bowling tournaments in the family room? Do you program your cell phones with the family ring tone and send certain coded messages? Do you use your computer to create an enewsletter for extended family? How did these traditions start? Will you continue doing them?

3. Do you limit your children’s use of any of these technologies? If yes, what are the parameters and have they fought these limits? What is the effect of the limits on your family?

I’m really eager to hear how families are dealing with this major issue! My publisher’s plan is to get the new edition into stores next year, in time for Mother’s Day. Celebrate joyfully! Love, Meg

We agree that technology has certainly changed our daily lives. Please share your thoughts with Meg at meg@megcox.com.

Go Outside! (Part 1)

2011-04-14T12:19:00.002-04:00

Most of us feel Spring in the air by now so the timing of our show release today, 15 Minutes Outside, couldn't be more perfect! Read on for some simple, fun and inspiring ways to enjoy the great outdoors and of course, listen to 15 Minutes Outside with Rebecca Cohen of RebeccaPlants.com.

Create some Ice Cube Art
Draw with ice cubes on the sidewalk. If you think about it the night before, drop some food coloring in each ice cube mold and you'll have different colors for your sidewalk ice cube art!

Give the Dog a Bath
Here's an example of turning a chore into a fun family activity. All you need is a portable tub, doggie shampoo, a garden hose with a gentle setting. And a dog of course! No dog? You can offer to give your neighbor or a relative's dog a bath, or a child's favorite bicycle works too.

Take a Daily Routine Outside on a Blanket
As the weather gets warmer, more of our day-to-day routine can be performed outside. I've mentioned picnics in the yard for meals and snacks. Think about using that blanket for reading in the yard or homework. Another twist: a friend of mine preps whatever dinner vegetables she can outside while her three-year-old plays with her dolls beside her.

Shadow Dance
On a day when you can see your shadows, start making funny moves and watch your shadows dance. This can be very fun and funny. The more shadows dancing, the more fun and funnier it gets.

Draw the Lanes
Use chalk on the driveway or sidewalk to make a track for bicycles or scooters; work in stop signs and stop lights.

Swap Toys with a Neighbor
Share an outside toy with a neighbor and ask to borrow one of theirs for the day.

Play Leaf Tic-Tac-Toe
Make a tic-tac-toe grid from sticks (or draw it in the dirt). Then each player picks five of the same leaf for his or her playing pieces. Now you're ready to play with two different types of leaves instead of x's and o's. You can do the same at the beach with shells, drawing the grid in the sand.

... be outside and grow.

For more ideas, see Go Outside! (Part 2) Source: Fifteen Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids

Autism Speaks

2011-04-13T13:14:00.013-04:00

Thanks to our friend Beth of Sugar Mountain PR for sharing this:

Brady Rymer, a Grammy award nominated family music artist, celebrates the release of his new CD, Love Me for Who I Am.  The new CD, featuring guest vocals by Nick Jr. TV star Laurie Berkner and a groovy keyboard performance by Bernie Worrell (Parliament Funkadelic, Talking Heads) will be available on April 12th, in time for Autism Awareness Month. Five percent of proceeds from CD sales will benefit Autism Speaks, a non-profit research and advocacy group.

A preview of the album and a free song download are available at bradyrymer.com.

Thanks Beth for always reminding us that Music Really Matters!

7 Neighbors and a Deck

2011-04-09T09:31:00.005-04:00

Last night was the first Friday evening this spring that was warm, sunny and just plain spring-y.

I had a short Red Cross Volunteer gig in the afternoon and came home to this perfect Friday night. My hubby was sitting on the back deck with neighbors enjoying some beverages and the gorgeous weather. The kids were doing what kids do - running around, digging in dirt and the sandbox, kicking balls, etc. No phone calls or emails, just good conversation and a great time. It is what really matters.

Thanks to these guys (above) for spending a rainy day building this awesome deck (a.k.a. the best decision ever!)

A Good Thought...

2011-04-06T13:22:00.000-04:00

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain

Guess What? Haley's Comet was visible in the sky the night that Mark Twain was both born and passed away.

The 3 Jars

2011-04-02T07:43:00.001-04:00

We hope you were inspired by our recent release Good Fun. We sure were! The only problem is that now there are a billion ideas floating around in our heads - just what we need, right? We will get to that later, but for now, we wanted to share more about one of the simplest ways to give and feel good.

During the show, we briefly discussed the "Three Jar System" which is quite popular. Do a Google and you will see lots of variations on this. We also know that The Money Coach loves to teach kids to save early. Here are the Rehberger jars just to let you know how easy it really can be.

SAVE - big glass jar decorated with tissue paper and watered down glue. The largest jar with intentions of having the most in it. Ha!

SPEND - these are just pasta sauce jars temporarily replacing their damaged (ok, broken) pigs. Notice that one is empty - I have an impulse buyer who prefers to carry her cash with her at all times - you never know when that "gotta have" might come around and Mommy only lends with interest. Seriously. It makes them think twice about buying a 25 cent bouncy ball that will cost them 50 cents when they repay mom.

DONATE - empty Nutella jar. These are their faded 2010 jars, but both girls wanted to keep and fill them again this year. I am sure they will grab the Sharpies again and snazz them up a bit.

There are so many fabulous ideas in our show Good Fun and in the Good Fun Book for your whole family. Check them out and let us know how your family is making a difference!

Blog Buddies: Encourage Our Kids to Dream

2011-03-28T09:42:00.001-04:00

Today's guest post is by Anne Leedom. Anne is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Parenting Bookmark. She lives in Northern California.

ParentingBookmark.com is designed to promote character education and strong social and behavior skills in children. In addition, we offer expertise on subjects that will be part of a child’s development of a healthy self, including healthy eating, positive interaction with one’s community and environment, special challenges, and important information on how kids are affected by the media. We also offer books and products for parents, teachers and kids, all designed to strengthen character and self esteem in kids.

Encourage Our Kids to Dream: Add a Healthy Dose of Resiliency

From the moment each of my children were born, I began to see the possibilities of their future. As they began to grow and develop their unique talents and personalities I focused on nurturing their dreams. “Anything is possible for you” became a prominent theme in our home and they each seemed to flourish as a result.

As the years passed and they approached their preteen and teenage years, circumstances had changed dramatically in our lives. My daughters were no longer living in a two-parent home. Their father had made choices that made it unhealthy for him to live with our kids and myself. My dream of being a happily married, stay at home mom had all but disappeared. The hopes and dreams that I had for each of my daughters’ futures were slipping away and I began to wrestle with my newest and by far, most challenging parenting dilemma to date. How much do I encourage their highest dreams? Or do I protect them from the horrific disappointments that often come with experience. Where do I find the balance between teaching them to believe they can have it all and giving them a healthy inner caution that one rarely does actually have everything they want.

We encourage our kids to dream….to reach for the stars and to reach their full potential. Many parents judge their success as a parent by what their kids accomplish when they become adults. I do wonder now if this is really the wisest course. How do we raise our kids to want more and to be more, and at the same time help them to learn a healthy sense of caution when it comes to achieving their dreams?

People will disappoint them, often the people they are closest to and who are supposed to be the most dependable. Life is unpredictable and will throw them unimaginably difficult and sometimes devastating curve balls. Luck will not always be on their side and their talents and gifts will not always get them to their goal. Life simply isn’t that fair.

I think I found the answer. It comes in a shift from raising kids with a focus on achieving dreams, goals and potential to instead a real emphasis on resilience. Nurturing this trait in them would truly be the wisest path to protecting them from possible devastation when life simply doesn’t always work out as we hope.

A resilient child, and someday, adult will still be able to reach for the stars and work toward their goals, but they may be a little more prepared should the unexpected happen. Parenting expert Michele Borba says that raising a resilient child is crucial for life long success. There is no set formula that can guarantee our kids will achieve their potential, but we can effectively prepare them for the bumps, big or small, along the road. The key is in building strong self-esteem and a sense of identity. Here are five tips from Dr. Michele Borba, author of No More Misbehavin; 38 Bad Behaviors and How to Stop Them.

1. Nurture her nature.  Find a way to help this child see the wonder in herself. Take a moment to really think about your child’s strengths. During the next few days list them. Here are a few: artistic, musical, kind, honest, reliable, graceful, organized, friendly, positive, sensitive, courageous. My girlfriend decided to keep an ongoing profile of each of her children’s strengths. The leather journal is now a fabulous family keepsake.

2. Praise the inside, not the outside.  The inside contains traits you can’t photograph. These are qualities that last a lifetime such as spiritual values and a kind heart. Choose one or two attributes you want your child to recognize about himself right away. Let your child know how proud you are of them for possessing these strengths.

3. Teach bounce-back skills.  It is important to succeed and fail. Everybody makes mistakes. A child with low self-esteem sees himself as a failure while a child with high self-esteem sees the event as a failure.

4. Teach positive self-talk.  Help your child learn a positive refrain. When they call themselves stupid or dumb for losing a game, help them learn another way to cope. “I’m doing the best I can,” is a much better alternative.

5. Healthy living does increase self-esteem.  It’s a natural endorphin. We know that getting sun, eating well, and getting enough exercise and sleep impacts our moods. Feeling successful, feeling hopeful and making positive changes in your life are some of the best self-esteem boosters you can have.

I am much more cautious about my dreams and a little more cynical perhaps about my own future. However that skepticism doesn’t have to spill over on to my girls. Through the powers of resiliency they will reach for the sky and not be devastated when they find their feet still squarely planted on the ground.

Thanks Anne for being our Blog Buddy!

Cranes for Kids

2011-03-24T09:06:00.004-04:00

Hooray for a brand new website that gives children a way of sharing their messages of peace, hope, and good will to the children suffering in Japan! The timing in which we discovered this site couldn't have been more perfect since we just released Coping with Disaster this week with Dr. Charlotte Reznick of Imagery for Kids.

The Japanese tradition of folding 1000 cranes represents a form of healing and hope during challenging times. According to Dr. Reznick, helping is healing. And CranesforKids.com is a means for children to reach out and express hope and know that they are helping.

It’s simple- go to www.CranesforKids.com, pick the color of paper crane to represent your message, and enter your name, age, city, state, and country in addition to your message of hope.

Aidan picked an orange crane and wrote the following note to the kids in Japan. It was sweet - when I asked him if he wanted to do it, he grabbed my laptop and started typing away, without hesitation of what to say.

Hope you all get better!!!And hope your home gets fixed!!! I want to send you money soon!!! sorry that all happend. Good luck!! have great time when your city is fixed!!! From Aidan

Believe in the power of kind words and positive thoughts and choose your crane today!

Simple, healthy, and some with a twist

2011-03-22T04:43:00.000-04:00

On our eye-opening show with Catherine McCord, Weelicious: First Foods, we chat about first foods for baby: making homemade cereal, selecting fruits, which veggies puree best, serving meat to our little ones, using spices, and so on! But Catherine and Weelicious are much more than smooshing and smashing for baby. Her recipes are all about healthy, fresh cuisine for the entire family, ranging from simple snacks to side dishes, desserts to drinks, and breakfast to beans... well, you get the idea. You'll find everything in between, from simple directions for frying eggs to making your own veggie burgers from scratch. Can you tell we're fans?

Here are our winning picks for the following V&J categories (yes, we made them up just for fun):

• Most Unusual Combo - Blue Mash

• Just Super Easy - Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

TIES with Oatmeal in the Crock Pot

• Most Interesting Twist - Apple Fennel Puree

• A Classic Fave - Mango Banana Puree

• Biggest Hit with the Whole Family - Carrot Snack Sticks

TIES with Pan Seared Beef Tenderloin

• Most Gourmet Puree for Babies - Mexican Chicken

Catherine, you're V&J award is in the mail! Give her a listen on Weelicious: First Foods and visit Weelicious for new recipes every weekday and a new video each Friday. Don't forget to enter our Baby Bullet contest so you can make your own healthy baby food in a jiffy. Thanks for joining us on What Really Matters!

Blog Buddies: Prevent a Binge

2011-03-20T21:55:00.000-04:00

Today's guest post is by Karly Randolph Pitman. She is the founder of First Ourselves, writer and speaker, helping women honor, love and care for themselves.

Karly, a happily married mother of four, spent years hating her body, living like a "Mommy martyr" and suffering from the effects of sugar addiction, depression, and low self esteem. Her journey in healing herself inspired her to reach out to other women and birthed First Ourselves.

A Simple Tool To Prevent a Binge

In Montessori education, they talk about “letting the environment doing the work.” The idea is that the environment becomes a supportive structure to feed good habits, without so much “push” (or pull) from the teacher. This reduces conflict and friction between the teacher and student. It also allows the child greater dignity.

How can we apply this idea to overeating? Neuroscience research affirms what many of experience everyday with food: we are creatures of habit. Our will power – that split second when we have the choice to say yes or no to a stimulus (like hot chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven!) rides backseat to our habitual responses: what we typically do on a daily basis.
Changing our habits takes effort and work. It’s often uncomfortable and hard. Creating a supportive environment is one way we can make this step easier, and live in greater alignment with our values and goals. If you prepare the environment, you don’t have to fight so much. It creates ease. How can preparing your environment work for you?

Here examples of how you can put this principle at work in your life:

If having certain trigger foods in the house increases your cravings, try keeping them out of sight or out of the house.
Put out your exercise clothes the night before so that you see them and put them on first thing in the morning.
Keep your fridge stocked with healthy foods, so that when you’re hungry, you have options. (I apply this principle in my life by almost always having a big pot of soup in my fridge. When life gets hectic (which is often, in my life!), I have something healthy to eat that I can quickly heat up.)
Have regular, structured meal times.
If you’re trying to do less of something – like TV watching, for example – put the TV out of sight and books (or whatever you’d like to do more of) in sight.

How can you create ease in your environment? How can you make your external environment a supportive container to support your growth process, to give you stable ground to stand on as you grow into new habits?

We often dismiss this practice because we think it’s for babies (or children.) Giving ourselves what we need so that we can grow is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of wisdom, vulnerability, and courage. It’s parenting our gentle hearts with love, kindness and wisdom: “Let me take good, good care of you.”

Karly, thank you again for your simple and inspiring words.

Eat This, Not That

2011-03-17T09:03:00.000-04:00

It's all about making better choices when we are making the choice to eat out. Eat This Not That is our feature release this week with Clint Carter. We chat about the worst foods in America, "upsize" options, "decoding" menus and how to make simple swaps to eat better when you eat out. If you ever hit the drive-thru (and don't we all?) you do NOT want to miss this show!

We just had to share some of our favorite and most surprising posts from Men's Health Magazine plus a couple interesting "bites" from Eat This Not That:

Menu Decoder: You can click on any type of food (including Chinese, Sports Bar, Indian, Bistro and many more) to get do's and don'ts and key words to look for.

Worst Breakfast Foods: It is the most important meal of the day, but this WILL surprise you! The worst coffee shop breakfast is Starbucks Blueberry Scone and the worst "healthy" breakfast cereal is Quaker Natural Granola Oats & Honey & Raisins.

Ten NEW Top Swaps for Weight Loss: Differences of up to a 1,000 calories for the same basic food - WOW!

And then there is this:

Best Blood Sugar Stabilizer: Raspberries. They contain anthocyanins, which boost insulin production and lower blood sugar levels, providing a strong defense against diabetes.

Best Hair Rejuvenator: Beef. Iron in the meat stimulates hair turnover and replenishment. Beef is also rich in zinc, which helps guard against hair loss.

Substitute guacamole for sour cream. There may be more calories, but those come from the heart-healthy monounsaturated fats found in avocados.

Our newsletter and our show have even more insightful tips and facts. Subscribe to the news here and see the companion page to the show here. Give it a listen... You'll be glad you did!

Spring Ahead and ...

2011-03-14T05:47:00.000-04:00

... change your smoke alarm batteries. Did you remember?

Listen to Simple Safety: Fire for tips to make your house safer and come up with a family emergency plan.

Then, don't forget about your "stuff". Get yourself a Home Inventory. Whether on paper, computer, or an inventory system, there are things you need to know to justify your losses and protect the things in your home.

Blog Buddies: Is Being Cruel the New Cool?

2011-03-10T07:08:00.001-05:00

This post is by Naomi Drew, an expert on conflict resolution, peacemaking, and parenting. She is the author of No Kidding About Bullying and The Kids' Guide to Working Out Conflicts: How to Keep Cool, Stay Safe, and Get Along.

She is also our inspiring guest on Talking to your Teen, Keep Cool and Get Along and Take a Stand Against Bullying.

Is Being Cruel the New Cool?

Bullying, web-bashings, and hazing -- these are signs of an epidemic of cruelty among our youth, according to many experts. Parents, teachers, and school administrators I talk to often concur. Did you know that 160,000 kids a day skip school because of the way they’re treated by their peers? In a recent national survey of kids in 3rd through 6th grade, 73% of the kids surveyed said their peers were somewhat to very mean.

Violence and cruelty saturate so many of the videos, TV shows, and movies kids watch. Often the the victim is portrayed as someone who deserves to be hurt. No accident that according to bullying research, kids who bully often say their target deserves it. In some kids’ eyes, if you're nerdy or “uncool” it's okay for people to pick on you.

We need to give kids the message that bullying -- or any other cruel behavior -- is never cool and is always unacceptable. Parents, teachers, group leaders, and anyone who works with kids can help break the epidemic of bullying and cruelty. Here are four things you can do right now:

• Never look the other way when bullying takes place.
This is the number one way to counter bullying. Say something as soon as you see it, and make it clear that bullying will not be tolerated.

• Call kids on mean words and actions of any kind.
Whether directed at a sibling or friend, don't let it go by. Say something like, “That was disrespectful,” or “It’s not okay to talk to your her in such a mean way.” Name it, call them on it, and help them find another way to express their anger or displeasure.

• Model respect and restraint, especially when angry.
Kids learn by example, and now more than ever, kids need to see adults who can handle negative reactions in respectful ways. As Gandhi once said, “We must be the change we wish to see in others.”

• Seek out examples of respect and compassion and talk about them together.
What books, videos, movies, TV shows have heroes who are respectful and compassionate, yet cool and with it? Who are some real life examples? Discuss this together. Kids need to become more aware of real-life examples of people who are cool, yet at the same time, decent and kind.

It's high time for all of us to spread the message loud and clear that being cruel is never cool.

Listen to all of our eye-opening shows with Naomi: Talking to your Teen, Take a Stand Against Bullying, and Keep Cool and Get Along. Thank you again Naomi!

Kids Can Do: Flashlight Tag

2011-03-07T05:20:00.005-05:00

Easy. Quick. Fun. Inexpensive. We hope you'll enjoy this Kids Can Do activity brought to you by VickyandJen.com:

All you need for this one is a flashlight and a room! Move flashlight beams across the walls and ceiling with a friend or two. The goal is to try and tag the other person's beam with your own.

The kids won't even know they are practicing eye-hand coordination. It's fun and educational at the same time! Tag, you're it!

Dumbo: A Homework Solution

2011-03-03T08:13:00.000-05:00

Regarding homework: Do you want to know the Plain and Simple Key to Motivation? Read on .... This is an expert from Susan Kruger's recent newsletter. Susan is founder of SOAR Study Skills and was an enlightening guest on our show, Simple Study Skills.

As you may recall, I tackled a big project in November and December, writing 30 articles in 30 days. I wanted to determine the topics and issues that are of greatest to concern to parents and educators so I can better target the materials we develop and the free articles we distribute.

Some of the hot topics included handwriting (to my surprise), gaps in our educational system, and challenges with motivation. Teachers spoke about their constant frustration that they just can't "do enough" to reach all of the students they want to reach or have the impact they had hoped to have. Parents are struggling with homework and finding that homework is, in many instances, destroying their relationships with their children. Heavy stuff.

But, we discussed positive things, too. Like how a mathematical phenomenon that naturally exists in the world can help up leverage our resources and be happier parents and teachers in the process. We also discussed some of the "victories" that we have had with our children and students and some of the small modifications that are within our power to change, while we wait (and hope) that the "System" will change around us.

I will be bringing more and more of these issues to the forefront for discussion in the coming months and hope you will respond with your input and ideas.

Meanwhile, I would like to leave you with an observation I made over the holidays...We took a family trip to Disney World. My seven year-old son loved Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, and having his picture taken with Darth Vader and Storm Troopers from Star Wars. (He is a Star Wars fanatic!) Despite all of these -and many other- magical attractions, do you know what ONE thing my son loved more than anything else? The one thing that made him jump up-and-down with pure excitement...that he nagged us about for days before we even arrived...and then nagged us about well after we left?

Dumbo.

Yup, that's right. The ride where you do nothing but spin around circles. Relative to every other attraction in Disney World, Dumbo hasabsolutely nothing fantastic to see or experience. It is no more interesting than your standard, run-of -the-mill carnival ride. In fact, at 62 seconds long, it has to be the shortest attraction in all of Disney World, but my son is willing to wait in looooong lines over and over again just for his few seconds of thrill.

What makes this ride so spectacular to him?

A joy stick. That's right..a simple little joy stick that allows him to move his car up and down, at his will. This small, few second, opportunity for him to CONTROL something is enough to warrant more excitement and enthusiasm than anything else in the park.

And he's not alone. Based on the fact that the line for Dumbo is always longer than Pirates of the Caribbean and that Disney has included two other circle rides in the park (Rockets and Flying Carpets) that have equally long lines, other kids must feel the same way.

Morale: Children love to have control. (Heck, adults love to have control, too!) Children need to have control -within reasonable limits- in order to grow, develop responsibility, and feel engaged in their life. These are all of the elements that foster Motivation! In all of your daily obligations as parent or a teacher, what small windows of opportunity can you find to give your children and students some control?

As my son, and the gazillions of children standing in line right now at Dumbo can attest, a little bit of control can yield a lot of rewards!

The Saturday Box

2011-02-28T13:29:00.004-05:00

Kids don't pick up their toys? Leave their baseball glove out? Just wait until your hear one of the Uncommon Parenting methods to help teach our kids to be responsible. It might be tough at first, but we bet it doesn't take long ...

Listen to Parent Talk: Responsibility.

More than Glass Jars

2011-02-24T10:32:00.001-05:00

Kelsey from the Create At Home Blog recently listened to an episode of The Big O: Organization and said, "I listened to your Freebies Show with Monica and heard you talking about saving all your glass jars. Here's what I did with mine!" For the how-to's on her beautiful photo display, click here. What a talented lady you are Kelsey! Thanks for sharing with us!

Vicky and Jen "What Really Matters"

5 Sweet Activities for Your Little Love Bug

Shoes and a Bag

Blog Buddies: Naptime Chef™

Intimidating Lunches

Improve Your Air

Happy 2012!

Kids Can Do: Easy Preschool ABC’s and 123’s

Donation Day!

Oven Light: Oh-So-Retro Swedish Meatballs

Ditch the Doldrums

Our ** Top 50 ** Water Saving Tips

Have a GREEN Holiday

A Wreath for All Seasons

The Double Breath

When Extra Steps Matter

Do a Handstand for the Holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Isn't That Curious?

A Memorable Thanksgiving: Tip 4

A Memorable Thanksgiving: Tip 3

A Memorable Thanksgiving: Tip 2

A Memorable Thanksgiving: Tip 1

A Memorable Thanksgiving

Kids Can Do: Fall Fun for Your Gobblers

The Oven Light: Creamy Tomato Soup with Sherry

Gonna Layaway?

SMILE ...

Display It!

Kids Can Do: If You’re Not a Carver ...

Blog Buddies: Relaxing Dinner Out? Yeah, Right.

Ugh, Vacuuming

Oven Light: Pumpkin Apple Muffins

My Fave for Babe

Coupon Mom

I Vote for #4 and #8.

Did they Slide or SOAR?

Save on ANY Purchase!

ICE, ICE, Baby.

Happy National Coupon Month!

Are You Happy?

Wasted.

Bright Ideas: Smart Helpers

See Ya Pyramid!

OOOOONNNNEEE. TWWWWOOOOO. THRRREEEE.

Fax it.

Figuring it out...

Bright Ideas: Multi-Taskers

Featured Friend: Kelsey

Cigar Boxes: A Smokin' Idea

Tropies (a.k.a. Dust Collectors)

Kids Can Do: Recycling Chalk

Blog Buddies: Hey, I Don't Like Doing Chores Either!

Play WITH Your Kids

Happy 4th of July

Let's Play Cards!

I'm Lost!

BBQ or Grill?

The Oven Light: Huevos Rancheros

Off to Camp

It's a Lemonade Kinda Day

Boys vs Girls

Bright Ideas: Quick-y Clean

Organizing Coupons

Memorial Day

Counting Down

Take 25

Oven Light: Overnight Waffles

Bright Ideas: Waste Not

Blog Buddies: How to Measure Your Body

Good Ol' Fashioned Bribery

Oven Light: The Naptime Chef™

Must Eat Veggies!

Blog Buddies: The Realities of Childhood Depression

Happy Mother's Day!

Helpful "Big O" Tips from Listeners!

The Brigade!

Go Outside! (Part 2)

Blog Buddies: Foster Tolerance

Get Scramblin'

Our Top 50 Water Saving Tips