Tips for Busy Moms

Witch's Brew

2006-10-23T13:47:00.000-05:00

Ingredients –
3 pints purple grape juice
1 1/2 pints club soda
grapes
apples
Surgical or plastic glove

A day before your party - fill the glove with juice or plain water tie shut and freeze.

The day of the party - Cut the apple into small chunks. Mix the grape juice and soda in a pitcher, chill.

Before serving – In a large punch bowl combine punch, fruit and frozen hand. Like magic, the grapes and apples will look just like eyes and teeth and your guest will be delighted by the frozen hand floating on the punch. Happy Halloween!!

Organizing Kids Toys

2006-10-16T12:38:00.000-05:00

We all have piles and piles of toys that we have collected throughout the years. This is mainly due to the fact that Christmas is always just around the corner or we have another birthday.

After her birthday my daughter would rush to open her gifts. By the time I looked all the pieces were scattered all over the place and if she got one of the same kind, Polly Pockets specially, forget it; they would never see their box buddies again.

I came up with an easy solution to fix this problem…take a pic! What I do now is that we open the gifts one by one; we put the toys together, and take a picture of it. I have a computer file just named “toys”, where all the toy pictures go. When it is time to ebay it or garage sale it I know what items went with what toy. Perfect. I also try to keep the box, if I can, and the instructions.

Look at it this way, you can be making a little bit more money by knowing the name of the toy and how it looks went it is put together. Once I saw a garbage bag full of Power Wheels pieces sell for just $5 because the owner did not know what pieces went with what.

Next time, since you will most likely have your camera handy, take a pic as you put the toys together, it will save you a lot of time in the future.

Paying Bills Online

2006-10-02T15:21:00.000-05:00

This is a really good idea, but what about doing away with paper bills? And automatic payment of bills online?
I personally pay all of my bills online, thus saving stamps, envelopes and checks.
It is a good idea to be able to look at your bills, it also gives you an incentive to pay them off quicker.
Just for a moment do something for me.
1. Pick up one of your bills.
2. Look at the "Monthly Payment amount", what do you see?
3. How about "Amount Past Due?"
4. "Late Charges?"
5. "Total Payment Due"
6. "Please Pay This Amount By"
7. "Principal Balance"
8. "Interest Balance"
9. "Payment Applied"
10. "Ending Balance"

#1 Currently, I am looking at a client's Credit Card bill.

#2 This month it says they owe nothing, RED FLAG!!! Actually, they still owe $7,160.00. Do you realize how much interest will accrue if they don't make a payment this month? Look at the fine print, here goes: "Please note: Interest will continue to accrue on this loan. "

#3 Fortunately, this client is not past due but if you are, you will need to play catch-up, in other words, try and find even more money that maybe you thought you would have this month. Do you have it this time?

#4 Try never to be late on a payment. These charges add up quickly. Some people actually pay more on late charges than the actual bill.

#5 After all of those "other payments" due here is the grand total. Don't you wonder sometimes, WHY????!!! What have I done???!!!

#6 Are you ready to pay this bill on time, (for a change) this month? Or are you, once again, short on cash?

#7 How much you have left to pay on the loan.

#8 The total amount owed on a loan before any payments are made.

9. This is last months amount you paid, did you pay it? Was it tight?

#10 Your total now.

I calculated this client's bill. If they pay the minimum on this credit card, like they were doing, it will take approximately 183 months (15 years) to pay off this one credit card!

In that time they will have paid $21,045 including interest. That is if they never used the credit card again.

If you have credit card debt, you need to pay it off as soon as possible!

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Post written by Brenda Ludecke from No More Mortgage.

Getting Rid of Summer Hair

2006-09-25T11:57:00.000-05:00

After a summer of running around in the hot sun, laying out on the beach, and swimming in chlorinated water, your hair needs help, but which is the fastest way to get your hair healthy without spending an extra five minutes in the shower?

I have tried every thing ranging from 5-10 minute hair treatments, but in my opinion nothing works as good, for the time spent, as VO5 Hot Oil Treatment. I know, what? you are saying, VO5?!! Are not they the ones that sell the $.99 shampoos? Yes, they are and even though I do not purchase their shampoos or conditioners I think that the oil treatment works pretty good and best of all it is FAST.

The treatments come in little tubes that you heat up in hot water for one minute before use - I usually get a cup with hot water and leave it in there while I soap up. After the minute you put it in your hair, before shampooing, for one minute, then you rinse, shampoo, and condition. That easy. And since it is done before you shampoo and condition there is no heavy residue or staying extra in the shower to rinse it out. My kind of treatment.

Clothes Shopping for Kids

2006-09-18T13:15:00.000-05:00

I get compliments on my kid's clothes all the time. I get asked where do I buy their clothes and how much do I spend? The answer is always the same online and not much.

I believe in getting the best value for my money the fastest way possible. I am not one of those moms that pays $139 for a Diesel shirt for her 5 year old. I do however like to buy quality name brand clothes at reasonable prices. This is where The Full Attic comes in. They have wide assortment of new and used kids clothing, but the best part is that they only sell name brand clothes, not Target or Kid R Us clothes, plus I get to do all my shopping online when the kids are fast asleep.

If you know of another wonderful online store let us know, we love a good bargain.

Going Back to School

2006-09-11T14:01:00.000-05:00

My daughter started kindergarten this year. To be totally honest the husband and I were dreading her starting school mostly because of the impact it would have on our schedules. We have never been morning people, so her first day of school would not only be a first for her, but also for us.

Here is a list of things that help me have a happy and good morning -

I figured out rather quickly that getting her clothes ready the night before was a big help, it also kept me from running around in the morning looking for stuff. She can also voice her opinion (and she has one about every thing) on the outfit. If she does not want to wear a certain thing, or if it does not fit, then we figured it out before hand.

I also check her backpack every afternoon for notes from the teacher or especial needs that need to be addressed. I sign things, read things, and enter things in the calendar as I see them.

Bedtime, a big issue. I can see a big difference on the days that my daughter goes to sleep on time as oppose to the days when I have to shake her for her to wake up. When she falls asleep on time she jumps out of bed in the morning and wakes me up before the alarm even goes off. She is also more alert, happy, and ready to face the day.

Buying versus taking a lunch to school - we do both. We add money into her lunch account big chunks at a time, that way I do not have to remember every week. There are days when she wants to take a lunch, so I make her one. But there are those days when she wants to take a lunch and I have not gone grocery shopping, or really do not have time, that I am glad the school lunch money is there.

Of course there are those days that nothing goes as planned. On those days I figured I am doing well if I just get her to school on time.

The Last Hoorah of Summer

2006-09-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Labor Day is the last major holiday before summer ends, what a better way to wave goodbye to the season than to make a simple, but delicious fruit salad that will compliment any dish in your barbeque.

Ingredients:

2 cups tart apples, diced

1 cup seedless grapes, green

1/2 cup Mandarin orange sections

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup pecans

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 cup whipped cream

1/4 cup sugar

Preparation:
Coat apples with lemon juice; mix in grapes, orange sections, marshmallows, and nuts. Combine sugar and whipped cream. Mix thoroughly. Fold fruit into cream. Serve immediately or chill. Serves 6.

Who are you?

2006-08-28T18:39:00.000-05:00

I got my mommy calling cards this week. They are amazing and I have gotten so many compliments already. If you have ever had anyone call you by your kids name or introduce you as (your kid s name) mother then you definitely need these cards.

Marlynn Schotland over at Event Bliss did such a good job. I was even able to move things around and add my business info to the card. I am so happy. Now when someone goes into their purse to dig for a pen I just whip out one of my information cards.

Event Bliss has many designs to choose from and a flat fee of $5 per order.

Exercise

2006-08-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

Yuck, the thought makes me cringe, but it has got to be done. I used to think that it was best to exercise at night after the kids went to bed, but I have recently discovered that it is way better to do it in the morning.

When I waited until the last minute I used to have guilt follow me around all day. I always had exercise in the back of my mind while I did other stuff that needed to be done. And at the end I would exercise haphazardly because I was putting it off so much I just did not want to do it at all. Now that I get exercise out of the way in the morning I feel like I have so much more time during the day. I exercise for 30 minutes by doing a stationery bike, or combining 20 minutes of Pilates with 10 minutes of weights. I have a lot more energy during the day, but the best thing is that I no longer feel the guilt of having to do it, I now want to!

Summer Bubble Fun

2006-08-14T16:47:00.000-05:00

For instant and inexpensive fun, add 3/4 dish soap (Dawn Ultra or Joy Ultra work best) to 6 cups of water. Have the older kids make bubble wands from pipe cleaners (Chenille Stems); they can make different shapes by twisting the metal and holding it together with some tape. For younger kids use cookie cutters, big shapes, a heart, a star, or circle, work best. Have Fun.

Yummy Fruit Cobbler Recipe

2006-08-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1 cup self-rising flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 can of fruit (any kind)

Melt the stick of butter in a 350 degree oven (rectangular glass dish works best). Mix the rest of the ingredients together. When the butter is melted add the mixture to the dish. Finally add the can of fruit on top, spread the fruit around. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Top with vanilla ice cream and enjoy.

Hello - Our First Entry

2006-08-01T16:07:00.000-05:00

We are all busy, whether you work a 40-hour week outside of the house or stay at home to take care of the little ones. We all have things that we HAVE to get done, like cleaning, cooking, laundry, paying the bills, exercising, and countless other things that just add up. But how do we get all that done and still have time to spend with our family?

Here at Tips for Busy Moms we will give you ideas on how to cook a quick meal, clean up in a hurry, get those stubborn stains out fast, and of course quick and easy arts and craft for the kids (in the time it takes you to do a load of wash).

So, stay tuned, we are really excited about this new opportunity and hope to be able to provide you all with some really good information. Also, feel free to leave us some comments on what has worked for you and what has not. We are all in this together.

-Tips for Busy Moms