A few weekends ago, Grandma Deb, Little T, Drama King and I tackled the boys’ bedroom and their playroom. All toys have been boxed or put into containers for future sorting. The toys that are constantly in play have found homes in either room.

We have been using wire cubes since the boys were little to store their clothes, toys, diapers, and everything else.

The best thing about the wire cubes is their customization. You can stack vary how many cubes high or wide to fit unusual areas. We’ve even used zip ties to attach one of the sides right in the middle to divide the large 14×14 cube into a 7×14 slot.

How did we tackle both rooms in just a few hours? Here’s some tips on quickly tackling even the messiest room.

1. Have three large containers available. Keep, Questionable, and Trash. Only put items in the keep pile that are used regularly and are not broken. Questionable is everything else. You can sort through Questionable stuff once the Keep stuff is put away.
2. Turn on a radio. DO NOT turn on the TV.
3. Start in one corner of the room and move in a circular pattern moving inward until room is complete.
4. Take a break every hour to stretch legs.
5. Reward yourself at the end of the cleaning session!

After we spent an entire afternoon cleaning up the two rooms, we instituted a nightly pick up routine for the two rooms. For the last 9 days, the boys have actually kept the two rooms picked up. Each night, each boy is assigned a room to pick up and the room alternates every night. So if Little T picks up the playroom tonight, he picks up the bedroom tomorrow night. And for the most part, they don’t argue about the nightly routine because they’ve seen how easy it is when kept up daily.

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My how times have changed. Last year when I participated for the first time in 5 Minutes for Mom’s Ultimate Blog Party, I was just starting out. I had no giveaways. I had no sponsored product reviews. I had very few readers, let alone many followers on Google Friend Connect, Twitter or Facebook. I’m not even sure I had a Facebook page at that point. My how our blog has grown.

Don’t forget to enter our current giveaways which have all been extended through April 13, 2011. I know you’ll be busy blog hopping for the party so make sure you bookmark us and come back later to enter.

First, I’ll introduce us, the people behind the blog.

I’m Angi, mom to Little T (7) and Drama King (6), wife to Tim and the primary writer on the blog. We live in a small country town in southern New Mexico. In fact, we just moved here a few months ago from a major metropolitan area in Arizona. When I’m not blogging, I am a web and print designer.

Tim works from home as a technical support agent. When he’s not working, he also blogs over at Your Celeb Source.

Little T is our first born. He’s a huge wrestling fan, loves the Power Rangers, and uses his webcam to make videos. He has Apraxia which is a speech disorder. He loves to talk and has progressed wonderfully but we only understand a fraction of what he says. He uses an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) device to communicate everything we do not understand.

Drama King is our youngest. He’s a huge fan of nature, loves the Power Rangers, and is a fantastic Nintendo NES player. He loves to tell people he’s bilingual because he speaks Little T-ese. It’s amazing how the two of them are so in sync with each other. He will remind you about saving the planet, saving animals, and just being a good Earthling.

If you asked me what you would see on here, I’d likely respond with ‘a little bit of that and a little bit of that.’ We do product reviews and giveaways. We share our homeschool activities. We talk about our day-to-day life. We share our favorite recipes. And sometimes, we talk about current events. It really is a little bit of this and that.

If you’ve made it this far and like what you’ve read, make sure you follow us to keep with our family.

Are you participating in 5 Minutes For Mom’s Ultimate Blog Party this year?

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Our family loves back to school time because the bargains are fantastic. We often pair up those greatly reduced prices with coupons. Of course, if you’re coupons are not organized, this can seem like a daunting task. We’ve been clipping, saving and organizing our coupons for quite some time now and have always been interested in The Couponizer®.

The Couponizer® is a complete set of tools designed to make saving money easy. It is made up of 18 category pockets for grocery coupons and other coupon and discount category pockets.

Amy Bergin, mother of three children, creator of The Couponizer®. The #1 best selling coupon organizing and shopping system in the US and Canada. To find out more visit her website.

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July 4th weekend is almost upon us, which means one thing- patriotic celebrations all wrapped up in red, white and blue! Families all over our great country will be heading to parks, beaches and backyard barbecues to commemorate the occasion with fireworks, sparklers and other symbols of Independence Day. And many of them will be pulling behind them another American icon in a certain signature color- a Radio Flyer Wagon!

Since 1917, the famous little red wagons by Radio Flyer have been a favorite of families and kids everywhere. Boasting more than a dozen award-winning wagon models and a complete line of tricycles, scooters, and other ride-ons, Radio Flyer is as synonymous with outdoor play as summer itself.

There are endless ways to enjoy your little red wagon, from standing out in the crowd at the Fourth of July parade, to toting all the ingredients for a fun summer picnic. Not only will your red wagon provide hours of outdoor adventures, it will bring a lifetime of memories too. That’s why Radio Flyer is celebrating the beginning of summer by launching the World’s Largest Wagon Mosaic. Simply capture your families’ Radio Flyer moments on camera and go to www.RadioFlyerArt.com to add your photo and help the legacy of the little red wagon live on!

Don’t forget to follow @RadioFlyerSmile on Twitter and visit Radio Flyer on Facebook for great updates and insider information.

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Usually when we hear the word “split”, we think of news of celebrity break-ups, splashed across the cover of tabloid magazines. Well, leave it to our favorite celebrity/brand team to prove that a split can be a good thing!

Kelly Ripa and Electrolux are joining forces once again to celebrate the launch of Electrolux Appliance’s new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer – that’s right, the familiar duo has split up. And to sweeten the celebration, they’re bringing in the “Emperor of Ice Cream” Stephen Bruce, owner and founder of Serendipity 3, the landmark New York City restaurant and dessert spot, into the mix.

Kelly and Bruce teamed up earlier today to make banana splits for a cause.  And now we want you to dig in, with your virtual spoon! Starting today, at www.Kelly-Confidential.com, you can build your ultimate banana split using virtual ingredients from classic whipped cream to caramel sauce to rainbow sprinkles. For each “split”, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as part of its $750,000 commitment to help fight ovarian cancer[1].

As usual, Electrolux and Kelly find new and fun ways to say thank you to those who support this great cause. Everyone who logs on to the site and builds a split will be automatically entered for a chance to win the daily prize – $50 towards sweet summer treats – and the grand prize:  the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux.

[1]From 6/29/10 – 9/7/10, Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF for each banana split made, with a minimum of $35K and a maximum of $40K.

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It’s no secret that our family loves to read. We have four 3 shelf bookcases jam packed with books; two for the boys and two for our books. And that doesn’t include the two boxes of books that Grandma Deb picked up at a yard sale a few weekends ago. Guess we need another bookcase, huh?

Over at TwitterMoms, they are talking all about summer reading right now. So, how do we ensure our kids read? For us, it’s pretty simple. We supply books that they are interested in reading. As a homeschooling family, we don’t worry about keeping our kids reading during the summer because we don’t take the summer off in the traditional sense.

We go to our local library’s book sale a few times a year and the boys get to pick out whatever books they want. They easily fill a reusable bag to the brim with books. We pick up inexpensive books on Amazon, at yard sales, or in stores. We also trade books on PaperBackSwap. Most of the books we pick up are above the boys reading level because they are learning but it encourages them to learn faster.

Reading Programs: Summer is always a big reading time for us mainly because there are so many places that emphasis reading during these few months. Last summer, our boys had a load of fun doing the summer reading program through our local library so we are doing that again this summer. They have logged over 24 hours of reading since the program started at the end of May.

Magazine Subscriptions: Little T has subscriptions to Highlights and WWE Kids. Drama King has subscriptions to Highlights High Five and National Geographic For Kids. The boy just love getting mail so getting a magazine subscription was a perfect solution for them.

Cooking: I am not the greatest cook in the kitchen but I can follow a recipe. The boys, primarily Drama King, love to help read the ingredients and directions from a recipe and tell me what to do. Right now, I still need to look over their shoulders and tell them the words they don’t know.

Electronic Readers and Games: We’ve had a few book devices and educational games that help teach reading fundamentals. These are great because the kids learn while having fun.

Closed Captions: This is something Little T really stumbled upon as a great learning tool. We’ve also used it to watch movies in other languages (usually Spanish) and close caption it in English.

What tips, tricks or strategies do you suggest to make sure kids to embrace summer reading?

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Primrose Schools, the leader in educational child care, recommends encouraging imaginative play and having a plan in place to keep children’s minds engaged during the summer months. Studies show that without stimulation, children can lose up to 60 percent of what they learned during the school year.

That’s why Dr. Mary Zurn, Vice President of Education for Primrose, has come up with the list of ideas below as a starting point for summer activities that offer a balance between the freedom of child-initiated play time and more structured activities.

Here are 11 ideas parents can use to keep young minds active during the summer months:

1.       Boredom Buster Jar: At the beginning of the summer, sit down with your family and brainstorm a list of activities that can be done alone or that you can enjoy doing together. Encourage your children to share their own ideas and help you decorate and label a simple jar as the family “Boredom Buster Jar.”  They’ll feel more involved in the project and more likely to think this is a “neat” idea, if they participate in the creation and idea generation. Next, write everyone’s ideas down on slips of paper and as a group decide which ones should go in the jar. Anyone in the family can pull any idea out of the jar to fight the summertime boredom blues.

2.       Stories Alive: It sounds too simple, but reading is one of the most important ways to keep young minds engaged during the summer. Make reading even more fun by finding ways to bring the stories to life. For example, in the book Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, children create a make-believe town in the desert out of rocks, boxes, and their imaginations. Read the book with your children and then challenge them to create their own town with materials they find in the backyard.

3.       Art Start Box: You’ll need to gather basic art supplies-child safe scissors, glue, markers, tape and construction paper. Put them in a special box along with empty oatmeal boxes and paper towel rolls, colorful magazines and bits of aluminum foil. Occasionally add a special surprise like chalk, stickers, or stamp pads so there’s always something new for the children to find. Even if you normally have these supplies around the house, it’s fun for children to know that the Art Start Box is just for them. They’ll probably have some good ideas of other household items that can be recycled to fuel their creative energies.

4.       Family Performances: Break out old clothes or costumes and encourage children to make up characters and create a play to act out.  They are the directors, actors, and producers. They can also make musical instruments out of pots/pans, wooden spoons, empty canisters and have a parade; or everyone can play along to your family’s favorite songs. Record or video the performances, and enjoy the replay.  You’ll also be capturing a bit of family history everyone will enjoy for years to come.

5.       Family Dance Party: Crank up the music and encourage your entire family to boogie down. Dancing gives children a great outlet for self-expression through their own motion and helps build self-esteem. It also enhances motor and coordination development by incorporating skills like jumping, landing and leaping. Dancing is a great activity that can involve the whole family and doesn’t take very much preparation.

6.       Fort Building: Children love to build all kinds of structures–from small towns to large towers. Constructing forts or tents is an activity that can keep children focused and problem solving for hours. All the items you need can be found around the house- some chairs, cushions, blankets, and of course adult supervision.

7.       Cookbook Fun: Have you ever shared your favorite cookbook with your children? Take it out and ask your children to choose a recipe to try. Measuring can be a fun and easy way to keep math skills fresh.

8.       Summer Scrapbook: All you need for this project is a spiral notebook. Encourage everyone in the family to draw pictures of favorite activities and collect mementos from special events throughout the summer. Children love to go back through scrapbooks and albums and tell about what happened at each occasion. They will also be building their storytelling skills at the same time.

9.       Listening Game: Lie down in the backyard, in the den or at the park and listen. What do you hear? Do you hear what I hear? Can you imitate the sound? This is similar to watching the clouds and naming the shapes, and it encourages everyone to slow down and focus on listening.

10.    Camping Out: Pretend to camp out in the backyard. Plan a meal, pack a backpack and set up a campsite. You might even decide to spend the night!

11.    Scavenger Hunt: Make a list or picture cards of common household items and have your children find the items on the list. Invite friends or neighbors to join in the fun to make it a competition.

To find these and other great tips for parents, check out Dr. Zurn’s blog at DrZandme.com. And don’t forget to grab Dr. Z’s Widget while you’re there!

For more information on Primrose Schools, visit www.primroseschools.com.  You can also check them out on Facebook and Twitter!

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I was thrilled when I was selected for the Glue Dots Summer Bonding Project through TwitterMoms. Drama King is a huge arts and craft kid. He loves coloring, painting, and making projects. You can’t imagine the look on his face when I told him we were going to try out a new glue process. You would have thought he won the lottery.

Of course, Drama King had a million projects running through his mind and he’s been working primarily on his own for the last few weeks. I had to show him how to apply glue dots a few times before he got the hang of it but now he can zip though a project in record time. Although there are times, he has opted to use glue sticks or standard glue because “it just needs more than a dot.”

Drama King has made numerous musical shakers out of toilet paper rolls, construction paper and rice, photo collages from magazine, shapes and letters cut outs, animal stick puppets, and many other projects. Some of these we have made in the past with standard glue or glue sticks but this time we tried making them with Glue Dots. While the Glue Dots are a lot less messy and extremely easy to use, sometimes you really need more than a simple dot. This is where the Dot N Go dispensers become useful. The dispenser is similar to other rolling dispensers (think white out lines) and rolls out a line of dots quickly.

The only downfall I noticed is they are time consuming to individually place dots for young children and the Dot N Go’s are a tad large for little hands. Although after some trial and error, kids will learn how to use the dots but if you have a child that gets bored or frustrated easily; you might want to stick to standard glue or glue sticks.

Glue Dots Adhesives are a safer, easier, mess-free alternative to typical tapes and glue guns. Glue Dots provide the strength you need in an adhesive without the mess and dry time required of liquid glues. Glue Dots bond instantly to a wide variety of surfaces including: Paper/photos, Metal, Wood, Plastic, Textiles/Fibers, Plastic, Foam, and more! Find Glue Dots at a retailer near you or online today!

**Note: Glue Dots are Acid Free and Non-Toxic. Learn more about Glue Dots Products and Uses Here

Join Glue Dots on Facebook and Twitter @gluedots!

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I have always hated wearing a bra. They are itchy, uncomfortable, and down right annoying. Maybe it’s because I don’t really know my size or maybe I do and I just really hate being bound. I’ve had many fittings and have just never found a bra that is perfect. I’ve settled for ones that are the best of the worst.

Then I got an email letting me know that Playtex recently launched www.PlaytexBraMakeover.com, a site where women can go to apply for a bra makeover or nominate a friend. If chosen, the winner will be flown to New York to receive a Bra Makeover with style expert Alison Deyette. Deyette is a fashion and trend lifestyle expert who has been featured on Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker and TLC’s Ten Years Younger, as well as in print publications including Good Housekeeping, The Washington Post, and O Magazine. Apply for your chance to win a Playtex Bra Makeover today. The last day to apply is Friday, May 21st, 2010.

The 10 winners selected for a Bra Makeover will also star in their very own webisode wherein a makeover candidate will receive a fitting with Deyette and walk away with the perfect Playtex products. A new webisode will premier on www.PlaytexBraMakeover.com every two weeks.

Maybe this is my chance to get a Bra that I really love.

By posting this information, I am entered into a contest to win a free bra from Playtex. I did not receive any compensation for this post and thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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Grilling is a fantastic way to make a meal and because we live in Arizona, we can grill year round. We tend to grill commonly grilled foods and haven’t ventured into the land of new foods so these might seem common but they taste oh, so yummy!

Burgers
2 pounds ground chuck
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp season all
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Optional Toppings
your favorite cheese, bacon, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, etc

Directions
Combine all ingredients. This is Drama King favorite part because he loves to squish the onions and spices into the ground beef. Divide the mixture into 5 balls. Because our boys typically don’t eat a full patty, I take one of the balls and divide into two. I end up with 4 good sized burgers and 2 smaller burgers. Press each ball into a round flat cake. Grill burgers to your favorite doneness. Tim grills them for about 4-5 minutes per side. When they are almost done, he puts on a slice of cheese to allow it to melt onto the burger.

DO NOT press down on the burger as this while dry it out. DO NOT turn the burger more than one time.

And of course, you’ll need your favorite hamburger buns. A lot of times we make our own buns from scratch, either plain or onion. We always server our burgers with fries, usually homemade double fried french fries. A fresh salad would make a wonderful side, as well.

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Can anyone tell me what the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iCraze is all about? I’ve seen an iPhone in action. I have a an iPod collecting dust on my desk. I haven’t been overly thrilled about any of them. iPhones require a contract with a cell phone company that we do not use. The iPod on my desk is small and outdated. I tried using it once by loading songs onto it to keep Little T happy during a long road trip. It failed miserable. It never played a song and I just tossed it onto my desk to never be touched again. I never could understand why I’d want to carry a bunch of music with me. But that’s obviously just me since tons of people are using iPods all the time.

So when I heard about the iPad, I figured it was the same hype but strangely, this time, I am actually interested in having one. Although, I’m not interested enough to buy one at their ridiculous price tag. The main reason is that I’ve heard about an AAC app that would aid Little T is communicating. From what I can tell, I doubt it would replace the device we just fought to get through his insurance company but it would definitely come in handy for quick outings and is something I could carry in my messenger bag to have available to him on demand at all times. The device we have is heavy and not convenient for him to carry at all times which leaves poor mom (or dad or grandma) toting around the box.

On top of that, there are tons of fun games that could easily keep Drama King or Little T occupied while we’re out running errands. And, of course there’s some benefit to me. I would finally have the e-reader I’ve been debating for the last year or so. I’d also be able to use it to jot down thoughts or ideas for blog posts as they come to me. Like when I had a great idea last night before bed but didn’t get it written down so I’ve forgotten it.

I’m participating in a contest at Best Kids Apps, a blog about iPhone apps for kids, for a chance to win an iPad. All thoughts contained in this post are my own and have not been swayed by the chance to win.

Another iPad contest is at Environmental Suppliers Directory

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Some giveaways are so enticing that I cannot ignore them. This is one of those giveaways. My boys love Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, cartoons, and aliens so Planet 51 is the perfect combination for them.

We are giving away 2 copies of the Planet 51 DVD ($28.96 value) and 1 copy of the Planet 51 Playstation 3 game ($49.95 value).

PLANET 51, which will be available on DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack March 9th, 2010.

Enter here.

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A Veggie Tales DVD will be a fantastic addition to our collection of kid movies. Too bad we have to wait until after the new year to get it because MomLogic is on out of the office until the new year. We watch holiday movies all year so it’ll get watched as soon as it gets here. I’ll update when we’ve watched it.

Read more about the prize.

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It’s so awesome and Drama King will be thrilled when he finds out he won a comfy throw and a plush frog. He absolutely loves to cuddle up and watch a good movie. I doubt he’ll even care that it’s a Disney character.

Read more about the prize.

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I’m entering in a sweepstakes to win a new van.
If you could take your family on a road trip anywhere, where would you go and why?

To Michigan as we’ve been thinking about moving there and it would be fantastic to check out the area first. We live on the west coast so we’d make sure we stop along the way at all the places we’d love to share with our two boys. It would be a fantastic trip for our homeschooling family. We’d even stop to visit extended family we haven’t seen in years.

Read more

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