Winter is here! Here are some ideas to keep kids entertained during the long winter months:
• Museum of Natural History: http://umnh.utah.edu/home 1390 E Presidents Circle M-S 9:30AM-5:30 PM Prices: A $7.00,K $3.50 Free Family Mondays on the first Monday of every month. Group rates are avail with 2 week advanced reservation: A: $4.50 K: 2.50 581-5567
• Cottonwood Rec Center: Swimming, Ice Skating, Racquetball, Aerobics, Fit Kids, Zumba Kids, Basketball. http://www.cottonwoodheights.com/ Racquetball Ruckus: rent a racquetball court and bring lots of balls, let the kids have fun. Swimming is open: 12-4 & 7-9. Fit Kids: after school 45 min. class designed to encourage children to lead active and healthy lifestyles. Kids are taught Yoga, games and obstacle course agility. Designed for children 5-12. Sign up at the main office. Time: 4pm M-Th Cost: $2 single visit or $18.50 10 punch card. ZumbAtomic: Specially designed class for kids ages 6-13 using Zumba fitness concepts. ZumbaAtomic is a 100% kid-friendly mix of songs, dances, games and energy that comes together for a fun, healthy program. Kids can participate with or without their parents. Regular adult fitness class fees apply for all ages for this class. Time: 5pm Thurs. Cost $4 members, $5 non-members
• Sledding: Parks or up the canyon. Kids hike for an hour up to Doughnut Falls area, Sled back down. Bywater park has a great hill, with not many people. We winter hike about 2 times a week. There are many trails that are perfect for kids! Not only is it fun for us, it gets the kids out of the house!
• Thanksgiving Point Lights: 6-8 pm $8 per car. $3 wagon rides
• Chuck E Cheese: http://www.chuckecheese.com/ M-Th: 10:30am-9:30pm, Fri & Sat 10:30-10pm, Sun 11am-9pm. Sandy location: 10535 S State Street. Online Coupons
• Clarks Planetarium: http://www.clarkplanetarium.org/shows Free Exhibits TOO! Adult coupons can be found here: http://www.citydeals.com/?ref=CDUODk2OTU
• Classic Fun Centers: http://classicskating.com/sandy/sandyhome.html M-Th open 10am-9pm. Fri 10am-10 pm & Sat 12-10pm Monday night is Family night: $10 for a family of 5 (4-9pm only), Tues: Each activity is $2, Wed: unlimited fun for $7.50 (4-9 Only). Coupons here: http://www.citydeals.com/ref=CDUODk2OTU
• Incredible Pizza: http://www.incrediblepizza.com/draper/ Buffet, drink and $10 game card is $12 ages 4-11. M-Th 11am-8pm-game room open to 9pm. F & S 11-9 game room open to 10pm. Coupons Available on website.
• Boondocks Fun: http://www.boondocksfuncenter.com/public/draper/ M-Th: 10am-10 pm, Friday & Sat: 10am-Midnight. $12 Tuesdays.
• Skating at Gallivan Center. Then go see the temple lights.
• Zoo Lights: Sun-Thurs 5-8pm, Fri & Sat 5-9pm Adults $6, Kids $4, 2 and under free.
• Ebenezer Scrooge Ballet: Murray High School 2pm & 7 pm
• Winter Smores: Up any canyon or in back yard to camp spot where you can built a fire.
• Ski free after 3 at Alta: This is our favorite!!! Bring hot chocolate and cookies, eat in the parking lot after a fun night of skiing.
• Bouncin Off The Walls: Wed: Open bounce $5 per child 3-5 pm. 398 West 9400 South Sandy
• Dollar or Matinee Movie
• Jungle Jim’s Playland: M-Th: 11am-9pm, F 11am-10pm, S 10am-10 pm $8.19 all day pass. Riders 2 and under $5.49, single ride $1.29.
• Hollywood Connection: 3217 S Decker Lake Drive. Monday is “All Day Wrist Band $6.95. Tuesday is $5 for any show $1 popcorn, $1 drinks: Different deals on different days. M-Th 4pm-9:30 Fri 3-11pm Sat 11:30-11pm.
• Fat Cats Bowling: 3739 S 900 E. M-Th 10 am-12am/ Fri-Sat 10am-1am: More info at website: http://www.fatcatsfun.com/index.php/locations/salt-lake-city-utah.
• Make Sugar Cookies
• Gingerbread houses
• Neighborhood Front Yard Snow Art Contest: Have neighbors build a snow feature, and reward everyone with a award and a small gift. (best is show, smallest, most creative, best use of snow.)
Enjoy!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Be Good For Goodness Sake!
Plug in the website and start building an email movie from Santa that is personalized for your child! It is so incredibly easy! It takes about 10 minutes to finish the whole movie. Select your the age of your child, and follow the easy steps. Add specific information about your child and if he has been bad, needs to work on something, or has been good. You can also add cute photos!! Also don't forget to send one to your sigificant other, friend or family!!! Everyone likes to be remembered for christmas!!!
The funnest part for me was seeing that my boys thought Santa knew them. Santa knows their name, their age, and if they have a brother or sister or BOTH! My boys eyes glowed as Santa talked to them through the email. This is so darling, and watching my boys get this message from Santa really warmed my heart!
Log onto this website, and start the process.
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home
I would LOVE for you to post how it worked and how your kids responded!!!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Waiting: Keep Kids Entertained!
How many times have you had to wait for something while your kids terrorise you? This year has really tested my ability to entertain my kids while we have to wait. We have had numerous doctor appointments that have required us to wait for over an hour. Going out to diner can be a challenge if your kids are board!
Here are some of my secrets to keeping my kids amused.
A backpack with many zippers and pockets can be easily transported, and can keep many items organized.
What I put in the pack depends where we are going and what we are doing.
You can pick and choose from my list of items.
The items you do pick should be kept only for going out or waiting. These should not be items that your kids see everyday. The new item will keep them more entertained! If they see it everyday, it won't amuse them.
Basics: Needed in every pack
Pens
Pencils (sharpened)
Crayons
Scissors
Carola Markers
The List:
Coloring Books
Workbooks (Age appropriate)
Mazes (my favorite is Kumon Workbooks http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Kumon )
Design My Ride (basic car outlines, then the child designs what the car looks like- http://www.supercoloring.com/ Select the coloring page you want. Then click the picture again, then select "No Ad Version." It will open up another web page. Click the "+" to enlarge, and "Print Preview" to make sure the page is fitting correctly. Then you are set to print.
Cranium Silly Stories ( http://www.amazon.com/Cranium-Silly-Stories-Play-Again/dp/0316012068 )
Family Flip Quiz ( http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=family+flip+quiz )
Old Magazines (I have my kids search for photos-Things that start with an A: apple,B: ball, C: car. Then I have them cut (bring scissors) and paste the photos on a sheet of card stock.)
Best Knock Knock Book Ever ( http://www.amazon.com/Best-Knock-Knock-Book-Charles-Keller/dp/0806965134/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292006679&sr=1-5 )
How to Draw Books
Highlights High Five Magazine (best kids magazine! It has stories and poems and stickers, lot's of fun!) http://www.highlightshighfive.com/
Highlights Hidden Pictures http://www.highlights.com/
Brain Quest: Question flip book http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=brain+quest
Favorite Toy, or Stuffed Animal!
Batteries Included
Nintendo Ds: With a variety of games.
CD Player with head phones: I use my old portable CD player and bring CD's.
Leapfrog Leapster: With games. (My Favorite for a nice dinner with family! They ONLY get to play it when we go out to eat! They are not allowed to play it any other time!!!)
ipod, or ipod Shuffle: I actually don't let my kids use mine, I don't want to have to worry about them loosing them or causing damage. The CD player has been enough for my kids.
Phone Games: Pull up a game on your phone and show them how to do it.
Digital Camera: Take photos of them and then show them. Have them make funny or silly faces. They can use it too, but I have found this can get a little annoying.
Portable DVD Player: Perfect if your child has to try to be motionless.
Over the summer we had to have our little 5 year old sit in a completely dark room for 40 minutes. I had find things to entertain him in the dark. Here is what I came up with.
"What is it?" Put items in a bag that have a specific feel: Legos, paper clip, marshmallow, plastic fork, little toys, playdough. Don't use anything that you will have to wash your hands, keep it clean.
"What does it smell like?" Put items in plastic baggies that have a specific smell: Oranges, apples, lime, lemon, garlic, vanilla drops, honey, BBQ sauce, candy.
Tell a story: Pick a topic, and each person tell a portion of the story.
No Bag No Worries
I SPY: Find an object in the room and use one description word, "I spy something red."
Name Game: 1. Write out one persons name, and use word to make a sentence of each letter. 2. Reverse the your names and see what it spells. 3. Try to see how many words you can make out of the letters from your name.
Alphabet Words: Name a word that starts with each letter of the alphabet.
Perfect Sequence: Have the child follow your moves in sequence, keep adding a move. Example: Touch your nose, child touches their nose. Touch nose, elbow, then the child touches nose elbow. Touch nose, elbow, clap. Child touches their nose, elbow and then claps. (additional moves: snap fingers twice, tap knees, wink, blow a kiss, ect.)
Concentration: Pick a topic like animal. Go around the group naming different types of animals. When an animal is repeated the games starts over.
Picture Words: Draw the word into a picture. Example: Draw a bow, with the "W" drawn as a bow.
What's Red: Make a list of everything that you can think of that is red. Change the color and make a new game.
Say it again: Each person make up a simple sentence. Have each player read their sentence aloud in the following ways: 1. As if they were out of breath. 2. Didn't understand. 3. It was really funny. 4. Frightened. 5. Sad.
Telegram Fun: Create an abbreviated telegram by giving initial letters only. Each person make what they think it says. Example: CISITH: can make Cat Is Stuck In Tree. Help.
There are so many ways to entertain your children. Changing up the activities every time really helps to make any event fun.
Traveling with little ones can be challenging too. Especially when driving long distances or flying on a long flight. Although movies are really great entertainers for kids, they will get restless if you pull them out in the first few hours. If your flight is longer than 2 hours you will want to plan to have something else to entertain in the beginning of your flight. The flight usually has a drink and food, and I make my kids wait at least until they are finished with their drinks and snack. I try to start an activity first, like drawing, coloring or a maze. Maybe another snack that I have brought with us. Then the DVD. The longer you can stretch the first few hours the happier you and your child will be. When your child starts to get really restless that's when we pull out the video. The last few hours of a flight are hard for anyone. The video will let them and YOU relax for the final hours of the flight.
Have fun!
Here are some of my secrets to keeping my kids amused.
A backpack with many zippers and pockets can be easily transported, and can keep many items organized.
What I put in the pack depends where we are going and what we are doing.
You can pick and choose from my list of items.
The items you do pick should be kept only for going out or waiting. These should not be items that your kids see everyday. The new item will keep them more entertained! If they see it everyday, it won't amuse them.
Basics: Needed in every pack
Pens
Pencils (sharpened)
Crayons
Scissors
Carola Markers
The List:
Coloring Books
Workbooks (Age appropriate)
Mazes (my favorite is Kumon Workbooks http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Kumon )
Design My Ride (basic car outlines, then the child designs what the car looks like- http://www.supercoloring.com/ Select the coloring page you want. Then click the picture again, then select "No Ad Version." It will open up another web page. Click the "+" to enlarge, and "Print Preview" to make sure the page is fitting correctly. Then you are set to print.
Cranium Silly Stories ( http://www.amazon.com/Cranium-Silly-Stories-Play-Again/dp/0316012068 )
Family Flip Quiz ( http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=family+flip+quiz )
Old Magazines (I have my kids search for photos-Things that start with an A: apple,B: ball, C: car. Then I have them cut (bring scissors) and paste the photos on a sheet of card stock.)
Best Knock Knock Book Ever ( http://www.amazon.com/Best-Knock-Knock-Book-Charles-Keller/dp/0806965134/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292006679&sr=1-5 )
How to Draw Books
Highlights High Five Magazine (best kids magazine! It has stories and poems and stickers, lot's of fun!) http://www.highlightshighfive.com/
Highlights Hidden Pictures http://www.highlights.com/
Brain Quest: Question flip book http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=brain+quest
Favorite Toy, or Stuffed Animal!
Batteries Included
Nintendo Ds: With a variety of games.
CD Player with head phones: I use my old portable CD player and bring CD's.
Leapfrog Leapster: With games. (My Favorite for a nice dinner with family! They ONLY get to play it when we go out to eat! They are not allowed to play it any other time!!!)
ipod, or ipod Shuffle: I actually don't let my kids use mine, I don't want to have to worry about them loosing them or causing damage. The CD player has been enough for my kids.
Phone Games: Pull up a game on your phone and show them how to do it.
Digital Camera: Take photos of them and then show them. Have them make funny or silly faces. They can use it too, but I have found this can get a little annoying.
Portable DVD Player: Perfect if your child has to try to be motionless.
Over the summer we had to have our little 5 year old sit in a completely dark room for 40 minutes. I had find things to entertain him in the dark. Here is what I came up with.
"What is it?" Put items in a bag that have a specific feel: Legos, paper clip, marshmallow, plastic fork, little toys, playdough. Don't use anything that you will have to wash your hands, keep it clean.
"What does it smell like?" Put items in plastic baggies that have a specific smell: Oranges, apples, lime, lemon, garlic, vanilla drops, honey, BBQ sauce, candy.
Tell a story: Pick a topic, and each person tell a portion of the story.
No Bag No Worries
I SPY: Find an object in the room and use one description word, "I spy something red."
Name Game: 1. Write out one persons name, and use word to make a sentence of each letter. 2. Reverse the your names and see what it spells. 3. Try to see how many words you can make out of the letters from your name.
Alphabet Words: Name a word that starts with each letter of the alphabet.
Perfect Sequence: Have the child follow your moves in sequence, keep adding a move. Example: Touch your nose, child touches their nose. Touch nose, elbow, then the child touches nose elbow. Touch nose, elbow, clap. Child touches their nose, elbow and then claps. (additional moves: snap fingers twice, tap knees, wink, blow a kiss, ect.)
Concentration: Pick a topic like animal. Go around the group naming different types of animals. When an animal is repeated the games starts over.
Picture Words: Draw the word into a picture. Example: Draw a bow, with the "W" drawn as a bow.
What's Red: Make a list of everything that you can think of that is red. Change the color and make a new game.
Say it again: Each person make up a simple sentence. Have each player read their sentence aloud in the following ways: 1. As if they were out of breath. 2. Didn't understand. 3. It was really funny. 4. Frightened. 5. Sad.
Telegram Fun: Create an abbreviated telegram by giving initial letters only. Each person make what they think it says. Example: CISITH: can make Cat Is Stuck In Tree. Help.
There are so many ways to entertain your children. Changing up the activities every time really helps to make any event fun.
Traveling with little ones can be challenging too. Especially when driving long distances or flying on a long flight. Although movies are really great entertainers for kids, they will get restless if you pull them out in the first few hours. If your flight is longer than 2 hours you will want to plan to have something else to entertain in the beginning of your flight. The flight usually has a drink and food, and I make my kids wait at least until they are finished with their drinks and snack. I try to start an activity first, like drawing, coloring or a maze. Maybe another snack that I have brought with us. Then the DVD. The longer you can stretch the first few hours the happier you and your child will be. When your child starts to get really restless that's when we pull out the video. The last few hours of a flight are hard for anyone. The video will let them and YOU relax for the final hours of the flight.
Have fun!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Deals...Deals...and MORE Deals!
There are so many sites that offer deals or coupons. You can buy a discount or coupon for pretty much anything!
They all offer great deals, with huge discounts.
Here are a few sites, just to name a few…
Media One Deals Utah
Presented by local Utah news agencies. This is the of best!!! Great local deals!
Citydeals
This site offers many types of deals with different discounts. They don't just offer one a day like the other sites.
Groupon
Groupon is one of the best state to state sites. I have had the best luck with them. I bought a paragliding experience from them, and it was a great deal! Deals are located all over the United States. If you travel, you can by deals where ever you go. I watched the California link, and bought surfing lessons for when we went to California!(we had to plan to use the coupon.)
Living Social
This is a new site. They don't have deals everyday. I have not bought from this site.
Deals That Matter
This site offers deals mostly around South Jordan area. Great deals.
Screamin Daily Deals
Screamin Daily Deals isn't my favorite. Their customoer service is aweful! If you sign someone up hoping you will get a referal, think again. Unless the person buys with in 2 days of signing up, you will not get a fun $10 credit!
KSL Deals
Local deals! Really great site! On this site we bought Olympic Park passes for 1/2 off.
http://www.utahsrealdeals.com/
Channel 4 deals. These are deals until they are gone, not just a daily thing.
My EZ Deal
Coming soon.
How do you tell what coupons are right for you? Is it worth your time to buy it, or will it just a waste of money?
Every morning my email account is filled up with a bunch of coupon offers. Which ones do I buy?
Here are a few questions you can ask before you click the "BUY" button.
Is the coupon in your area?
Or do you drive near that area regularly?
If the answer if "No" to both those questions, I would suggest you don't buy the coupon.
No matter what type of deal it is, if you are not driving near that location you are not going to use it. It is not worth buying it.
The only exception to that rule is if it is an internet coupon, or an activity that you or you family would love to do.
If it is a fun activity you want to do, here are some questions to ask.
When does the coupon expire?
Will you have the time or when will you do it. If yes, then make a plan, and write it on the calendar.
Another question is if you really like what you are buying? If you like yogurt, but only go once a month, then you might only want to buy one coupon for yogurt. Just because it is a deal doesn’t mean you have to buy a ton of them. I had a friend buy a laser hair removal coupon. Then when she went into the doctors her skin was too sensitive to do the laser. Now she is out the $120 for the coupon. Just be careful.
You can get some really great deals! I love that I have been able to go and do so many fun and interesting things. Hope these tips help you to decide which ones are best to get!
They all offer great deals, with huge discounts.
Here are a few sites, just to name a few…
Media One Deals Utah
Presented by local Utah news agencies. This is the of best!!! Great local deals!
Citydeals
This site offers many types of deals with different discounts. They don't just offer one a day like the other sites.
Groupon
Groupon is one of the best state to state sites. I have had the best luck with them. I bought a paragliding experience from them, and it was a great deal! Deals are located all over the United States. If you travel, you can by deals where ever you go. I watched the California link, and bought surfing lessons for when we went to California!(we had to plan to use the coupon.)
Living Social
This is a new site. They don't have deals everyday. I have not bought from this site.
Deals That Matter
This site offers deals mostly around South Jordan area. Great deals.
Screamin Daily Deals
Screamin Daily Deals isn't my favorite. Their customoer service is aweful! If you sign someone up hoping you will get a referal, think again. Unless the person buys with in 2 days of signing up, you will not get a fun $10 credit!
KSL Deals
Local deals! Really great site! On this site we bought Olympic Park passes for 1/2 off.
http://www.utahsrealdeals.com/
Channel 4 deals. These are deals until they are gone, not just a daily thing.
My EZ Deal
Coming soon.
How do you tell what coupons are right for you? Is it worth your time to buy it, or will it just a waste of money?
Every morning my email account is filled up with a bunch of coupon offers. Which ones do I buy?
Here are a few questions you can ask before you click the "BUY" button.
Is the coupon in your area?
Or do you drive near that area regularly?
If the answer if "No" to both those questions, I would suggest you don't buy the coupon.
No matter what type of deal it is, if you are not driving near that location you are not going to use it. It is not worth buying it.
The only exception to that rule is if it is an internet coupon, or an activity that you or you family would love to do.
If it is a fun activity you want to do, here are some questions to ask.
When does the coupon expire?
Will you have the time or when will you do it. If yes, then make a plan, and write it on the calendar.
Another question is if you really like what you are buying? If you like yogurt, but only go once a month, then you might only want to buy one coupon for yogurt. Just because it is a deal doesn’t mean you have to buy a ton of them. I had a friend buy a laser hair removal coupon. Then when she went into the doctors her skin was too sensitive to do the laser. Now she is out the $120 for the coupon. Just be careful.
You can get some really great deals! I love that I have been able to go and do so many fun and interesting things. Hope these tips help you to decide which ones are best to get!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Stop the SWEAT!
In the 1980's there was a commercial that said "Never let ‘em see you sweat!" Remember that? I do, and I could never get my body to cooperate and stop sweating. Starting at my tween years, and continuing up to a few years ago I would lather myself up with that white stuff. I would buy anything that said something about “extra protection” cause I sure needed it! I did find that my body began to need more and more of it. Just a normal deodorant wouldn’t work for me, I had to have more. It got to the point that I had to get a prescription to help stop the sweating! My husband told me about the “Crystal” he used, and that it really worked great. I gave it a try, and it didn’t work at all for me, I was a sweaty mess!!! My body and sweating was getting worse and worse so I, in desperation, tried it again. I dedicated myself to using it for 6 months, and if it didn’t work then, I would stop. The first few months were really hard. I couldn’t stop my body from sweating, and I seemed to sweat more. Some of the days were so bad I had to take a shower twice just to control the sweat. Finally after about 3 months my body started to decrease. The waterfall that had seemed to run from my arm pits was finally getting under control! All those years of using antiperspirants had finally worked their way out of my body. By the time the 6 month mark hit, I was amazed at how much less I sweated. The best part about it was that I wasn’t worried about “hiding” my smell, or sweat anymore. I still sweat, but not at all like I used to!
The Crystal has been such a huge positive change in my life.
Here are my tricks:
You HAVE to use it everyday.
You have to wet the top to apply, use warm water not cold.
It can damage your marble countertops. It dulls the top surface. We haven't had a problem with cultured marble, or granite.
Don't tap it on your fauset, it is mineral based and will eventually cause hard water deposits on that area.
If you miss or forget to put it on you will KNOW it!
If you get stinky, you have to wash your armpits, not just re-apply.
The product works by stopping the bacteria growth. If you start to smell, bacteria is already growing and they don't just die with a reapplicaion.
I have found I need to cover all the skin around my armpit, LET IT SIT for a moment. You don't have to let it completely dry, just soak in for a minute.
If you wipe it off by putting a shirt on, you will find it won’t work as well.
Don't drop it, it will break. Then it can scratch and burn as you put it on. (no fun!)
I don't like the "Spray Crystal." It's cold, and didn't seem to work as well.
Dedicate yourself to the product, don't jump between different things.
If you give it a try just remember you have years of antiperspirants that will want to make you sweat, keep on trying!
(PS This also works on my boys smelly feet!!! I use one for body and one for my boys feet. YAY!)
Hope it works for you!!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sharpie Baby!!!
The scenario: Your child has a fever. You grab the bottle of Ibuprofen and open it. Then you realize you don’t remember the dose, and you tip the bottle to check the dosage. The Ibuprofen spills onto the counter top and floor. You then check the bottle, looking closely at the small print for the dose. Find it, give it, and then clean up.
There is a better way!
Write with a sharpie pen your children’s name/s on the bottle. You can also just use the first initial of each child. Then put the exact dosage that the child should receive, and I always put how often you can give it also.
Example:
R= ½ t 6-8 hrs E= 1t
I also mark my children’s prescription bottles with their names and amounts.
This makes it so much easier to know the exact dose and be able to do it quickly.
Also I like to make sure the times that medication is given on our calendar. That way everyone is on the same time line, and there is less chance of a double dose.
Example:
E= Ace- 8:30 AM
E= Ibu- 11 AM
Use abbreviations for medications: Ace for Acetaminophen, Ibu for Ibuprofen, anti for antibiotic, A for antihistamine. Whatever you choose will be great! Just makes it easier to use abbreviations.
I used this system when our whole family got strep last year. It helped me to keep track of who needed what and when. We were able the finish the whole 10 days of treatment with out missing a dose! I also put helpful sticky notes on tables and mirrors so I knew when the next dose would be.
I came up with this idea when my oldest had surgery as a baby. Not only did he need an antibiotic they also had him on two separate doses of pain killers. It was crazy trying to juggle the medications he had to take. Using this helped me keep track.
Hope you find it helpful!
There is a better way!
Write with a sharpie pen your children’s name/s on the bottle. You can also just use the first initial of each child. Then put the exact dosage that the child should receive, and I always put how often you can give it also.
Example:
I also mark my children’s prescription bottles with their names and amounts.
This makes it so much easier to know the exact dose and be able to do it quickly.
Also I like to make sure the times that medication is given on our calendar. That way everyone is on the same time line, and there is less chance of a double dose.
Example:
E= Ace- 8:30 AM
E= Ibu- 11 AM
Use abbreviations for medications: Ace for Acetaminophen, Ibu for Ibuprofen, anti for antibiotic, A for antihistamine. Whatever you choose will be great! Just makes it easier to use abbreviations.
I used this system when our whole family got strep last year. It helped me to keep track of who needed what and when. We were able the finish the whole 10 days of treatment with out missing a dose! I also put helpful sticky notes on tables and mirrors so I knew when the next dose would be.
I came up with this idea when my oldest had surgery as a baby. Not only did he need an antibiotic they also had him on two separate doses of pain killers. It was crazy trying to juggle the medications he had to take. Using this helped me keep track.
Hope you find it helpful!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Save Your Chicken!
I've killed many a chicken tender by cooking it too long. Over cooked chicken isn't something I am proud of, but has happened often at our dinner table. Making sure the chicken is fully cooked has been my goal, but the result has been chewy unpalatable chicken. For my birthday my sister bought me a meat thermometer. It has SAVED my chicken! The thermometer is called “Thermoworks Super Fast Digital Thermometer.” This thing is the BEST! This thermometer takes the temperature ever 3 seconds, and show the reading immediately. No more waiting for the metal core of the BIG BULKY meat thermometers to warm up. This one is so quick! You will be amazed, and your chicken will be tender and YUMMY! Everyone will be asking for second helpings!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Snowbird Tram Ride
It's that time again to take a trip up Little Cottonwood Canyon and ride the tram at Snowbird. This weekend and next is customer appreciation days. Bring a can for the Utah Food Bank or pay $2 and get a ride up the Snowbird tram! You can ride the tram to the top between 11am-5pm. This is something our family does every year, and we love it.
Bring your can of food to the tram ticket window and get your passes. Some years it has been busy, and other times there is hardly anyone there. You will want to bring jackets and warm clothing because it will be windy and very likly cold at the top. The ride up is so fun for kids. If your kids have a tendencly to get motion sick, you might want to stand by a window in the direction you will be traveling. The tram lifts over the supporting poles and may make the kids a little motion sick. The ride is a great way to see all the fall leaves, and get the chance to see the top of the canyon. There honestly isn't much to see once you get up to the top it is pretty desolate and windy. Once you get to the top you can walk to the base, or ride the tram back down.
Here is a link to the days of the customer appreciation:
http://www.snowbird.com/events/summer/customerappreciation.html
Bring your can of food to the tram ticket window and get your passes. Some years it has been busy, and other times there is hardly anyone there. You will want to bring jackets and warm clothing because it will be windy and very likly cold at the top. The ride up is so fun for kids. If your kids have a tendencly to get motion sick, you might want to stand by a window in the direction you will be traveling. The tram lifts over the supporting poles and may make the kids a little motion sick. The ride is a great way to see all the fall leaves, and get the chance to see the top of the canyon. There honestly isn't much to see once you get up to the top it is pretty desolate and windy. Once you get to the top you can walk to the base, or ride the tram back down.
Here is a link to the days of the customer appreciation:
http://www.snowbird.com/events/summer/customerappreciation.html
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Stay Put Sheet Design!
Many mornings my kids beds look like they slept in a tornado. The sheets are swirled around in a huge twist and completely untucked from the bottom of the bed. The morning re-making of beds, by retucking and repositoning sheets has been frustrating. Asking the kids to make their beds was pretty much impossible. They are still a little to young to understand how to tuck in the bottom of the top sheet.
A few months ago I started thinking of how I could make it easy to keep my boys sheets tucked in. Something that would work even with their all night pulling and tugging. My first attempt was with store bought corner sheet elastic snaps. They didn't work! Not even for one night, and were a pain to put back on when they came off. Several evenings I worked on designs, ways to place elastic, extra fabric, or velcro to hold those sheets in place. There were 5 attempts at making my kids sheets stay in place! None worked until..... NOW!!!!!!
I figured it out with my "Stay Put Sheet Design!" It is SO EASY, it is just sewing a small pocket in the bottom of the sheets!
A design that finally works!!! Not only does it work, it is so super easy to make and so simple and easy to use!
Asking my kids to make their bed is now a dream! The bottoms of my boys sheets stay tucked in, which makes it easy for them to make their own beds.
So here is the trick.
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| The idea is simple. Without adding extra material, you are simply sewing a pocket at the bottom of the top sheet. The pocket hooks over the bottom/foot end of the mattress. To do this, place the top sheet on bed and set the upper edge of the sheet about 3 to 4 inches down from the top of the bed. At the lenght you would put it if you were making the bed. |
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| With the sheet sitting with the top exactly where you would want it, go to the bottom of the mattress. The top sheet will fall down the thickness of the mattress, this is the part you usually tuck under the foot end of the mattress. Mark on the sheet where it hits 1/2 way down on the thickness of the mattress. I like to use a safty pin, but you can use a marker or what ever you like. This is the point you are going to fold over and start sewing from, and make a small pocket for your mattress to sit in. The part you are marking is the bottom of the pocket. |
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| I used a safty pin to mark the "fold over" point. Whatever this distance is, make a mark on the other side of the foot side of the sheet. The points you are marking are where you will fold over the material. You want them to be the exact same length at the foot of the sheet. Fold over the sheet at the point marked. Sew a straight stich from the mark point up to the top of the folder over point. Do this along the left and then on right side of the sheet, creating a pocket. |
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I like to have the print inside the sheets when I make the beds, so I put my print on the outside as I am sewing. After sewing, you turn the sheet back right side out. As you make the bed, the sewing cannot be seen as it is hidden inside the sheet pocket. |
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| Here you can see the sheet is sewn together just on the edges. For a twin sheet you will sew about 14 inches or so on each side. After you have sewn both sides, turn it inside out. You should have a nice little pocket on the foot end of your sheet. |
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| Now that the sheet is sewn together on both sides making a pocket, you simply make the bed as usual. The bottom of your sheet has a nice little pocket to snug around the bottom of the mattress. With this design my kids sheets will not come untucked from the bottom! It is easy to make and unmake the bed with out velcro, or extra fabric YEA! PS I HAVE NOT USED THIS DESIGN FOR ANY LARGER SIZE MATTRESS. YOU WILL NEED ENOUGH FABRIC TO TUCK IT UNDER THE MATTRESS. Hope you like it as much as I do!!! |
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Creative Easter Fun!
At our house the Easter Bunny delivers lots and lots of eggs. Those eggs sometimes appear before Easter morning. They decorate cute areas all over our house.There has got to be something fun you can do with ALL those Easter eggs???
With the help of my cute boys, we came up with a few EGG-games you can do with your kids.
Egg Toss
Find a spot where you can toss a bunch of plastic eggs around, and not break or tip things over. A hallway is the perfect spot. That way the eggs are contained to a small spot and don’t go flying around the room. The narrow Hallways make it easier for the kids to throw the eggs back and forth and collection easy!
We marked the first line on one end of the hallway with blue painters tape. We then marked the other end line the same way. We measured to the middle of the two lines and placed an blue tape X to mark it.
The eggs were given out and a bucket was placed on the blue X. The kids started trying to toss the eggs into the bucket. If they missed it would roll to the other person. If they made it we would all clap and cheer!
When the bucket is full and all the eggs are gone, you all win!! You can dump it out and play again.
Long Distant Toss
The goal with this game is to increase the distance from the player to the bucket. The player starts off at one end of the room or hallway. That starting point could be marked with blue tape. The bucket is placed about a foot away from the player. Then after every egg is thrown, the bucket is moved another foot away. Move the bucket until you reach a wall. Egg Hide and Go Seek
This is perfect for two players. Player one is given 4-8 eggs. They are asked to go and hide them around the house, or in a specific area. While player one is hiding, player two is hiding their eyes. When player one is done, player two goes and finds the eggs. When player two has found all the eggs, the game starts again. Player two hides eggs, while player one hides their eyes. It is so fun and the kids love hiding them in different spots, and fun places.
All the games were really fun, and we had a great time as a family. I really had to be active with the game, because my boys could get out of control. As long as I participated they did really good!
Enjoy!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
My Favorite Things....
We ALL have our favorite things. What is the best tasting, most flavorful, most useful!
There are so many products out there, how can you ever tell what is the best? I have started making my list of "Favorite Things" related to food.
All of these products have been found through testing, and retesting. It makes me cringe thinking of ALL the money I have wasted on stuff I didn't really like, but bought because it was cheep. Not only did it not taste very good, we didn't eat it very fast. Now with my list of "Favorites" The food storage turn over is better! Nothing going to waste. Also, I can keep an eye out on these products and buy them when they are on sale!
Here is my list with a brief explanation.
Adams Peanut Butter-NO Partially Hydroginated Oils here....just peanuts and salt. If peanut butter can be healthy, then this is the closest thing.
Best Food Light Mayo- Best tasting LIGHT mayo on the super market shelves! I've tried them ALL!
Wish Bone Salad Dressing(Light)- "Light" ANYTHING can suck, but their dressing is quite yummy!
Cattlemens BBQ Sauce-This BBQ sauce ROCKS! ALL of the flavors!
Eletes Baby Dill Pickles- These pickles get eaten fast! YUM!
Dan's Food Crab Salad- Seriously this is my down fall! I LOVE it, and can't help eating tons of it with salty crackers. JUST HEAVEN! (For freshness, check the container at the store, if it is LARGE(over a foot in length), then it is fresh and could last a week. If it is a small container at the store, it won't last as long in your fridge.)
Gulden's Mustard- like mustard, LOVE GULDENS! If I am going to have mustard, it's gotta be Guldens!
Frenches Mustard- If I can't get Gulden's Then buy Frenches, the no name is just icky!
Boars Head Lunch Meats-These are more expensive, but you gotta figure you are not paying for the WATER added to the other cheeper lunch meats. Their Chicken is the least expensive, and still really good.
Miso Mayo-Yummy replacement to mayo. Fabolous on fish tacos.
Silk LIGHT Soy Milk- Much better flavor than the original.
These are just a few of my favorite food items. I hope they give you some insite into what is good when you are shopping at the store. Try them, you might like em!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Crafty Easter Vase
Willams Sonoma has some of the finest and most beautiful decoration ideas. The only thing I don't like is the extremly high price. In the latest cataloge they have a great idea for Spring eggs. They show a beautiful glass vase, with colorful eggs in it. The vase itself is listed for $69.00, and it is very beautiful. If you want to add the monogram it increases to $79.00, not exactly in my price range. The look is really nice, and it is the perfect look for my easter eggs. Not being detered by price, I knew the perfect place to go to find something similar, Tai Pan Trading. Tai Pan is one of my all time favorite stores. It is good not only for decorating, but also to find amazing crative ideas. At Tai Pan I found a similar vase for $7.00!!! It is almost the exact design, for 90% off the cataloge price! How cool is that! The eggs in the vase are "Robin Eggs" from Whoppers candy. I actually bought 3 bags thinking it would get filled up, I was wrong. I really needed about 15 bags! Especially with how quickly my kids eat the eggs! Easter is on it's way! This vase will add a nice touch to any spring decorations. PS sign up for email from Tai Pan and recieve 25% off coupons! That's Even Better!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Organize Dinner!
I found this great new idea for planning dinners. Her name is "The Food Nanny" and I happened upon it while watching BYUTV. She has such great ideas, and plans for making dinner not only good, but FUN! Here is the link to the BYUTV website:
http://www.byutv.org/foodnanny/
She also has her own website for her book:
http://thefoodnanny.org/
Our local library here in Cottonwood has her book, and I am on the waiting list to see if it is a book I would want to buy. I will update this when I get the chance to review it!
I do have a food planner you are welcome to have. it is in Excel format, just so you know. My plan follows exactly what she has listed, Just email me and I will send it to you!
You can also use this plan for breakfast and lunch. Just change the daily title to breakfast/ lunch items: Scrampled eggs, french toast, pancakes, or salad, sandwich and soup, ect. Plan it to what you need.
The fact that you have something to follow for the week makes it so easy to plan and set up for that day.
http://www.byutv.org/foodnanny/
She also has her own website for her book:
http://thefoodnanny.org/
Our local library here in Cottonwood has her book, and I am on the waiting list to see if it is a book I would want to buy. I will update this when I get the chance to review it!
I do have a food planner you are welcome to have. it is in Excel format, just so you know. My plan follows exactly what she has listed, Just email me and I will send it to you!
You can also use this plan for breakfast and lunch. Just change the daily title to breakfast/ lunch items: Scrampled eggs, french toast, pancakes, or salad, sandwich and soup, ect. Plan it to what you need.
The fact that you have something to follow for the week makes it so easy to plan and set up for that day.
Monday, February 22, 2010
State Park Free Entrance!
Check out this link for you free pass into any State Park!
http://www.slcolibrary.org/le/lesp/index.htm#promo2
Summer is on its way, and now you can have free access to a state park.
Have your spouse pick up one too!
http://www.slcolibrary.org/le/lesp/index.htm#promo2
Summer is on its way, and now you can have free access to a state park.
Have your spouse pick up one too!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Stay Safe This Spring!
Spring is a wonderful month! Love all the spring flowers, and the warmer weather. Just be aware that Spring is also the highest increase in sexual offences. You can NEVER be too careful with yourself or your children! Keep your self safe by educating yourself, and your family! This spring make an effort to teach, and educate yourself and your children. Teach your children what is appropriate and what is not. What can they do IF someone were to approach them and you are not around.
Educate yourself on what you can do if you feel unsafe! If you know what to do and something were to happen, you will have an easier time dealing with it. You will be safer!!
In college I took a class called RAD, Rape Awareness and Defense. It was very enlightening, and educated me on what to do. It was a great class. I have had a few strange experiences. I was in the library a few years later and I had a young man (18 years) come stand by me. I didn't think much of it, BUT was still aware of him. He started doing inappropriate things, but when I would glace at him he would stop and smile acting like nothing had happened. When I moved away, he moved back right next to me. Because of my class I knew to pay attention. After I moved twice, I turned to him and confronted him asking "What are you doing!!!" He smiled and walked away, but I had caught him in the act. I went right up to the front desk and told the library staff. You just never know when it is going to happen.
I have listed some sites you can look at and educate yourself. These sites have photos of the offenders on them, you may want to take a glace at each of them. You want to be familar of who the offenders are in your area. I was in Reams last year and a guy followed me around the store, I started getting worried. At first I thought I was just being silly, but when he found his way onto every isle I was on, I started to get worried. I could tell he wasn't shopping for food!!! Nothing ever happened and I had the manager walk me to my car. After that happened I wish I had looked at the list of offenders, just so I was aware. Not that all sex offenders register.
I tell you this because you can be anywhere, and it can be anyone! Don't be fooled! Just stay aware. I wish I could say the experience I gave was my first experiences of being stalked, but it isn't. No one is immune from having something happen to them!
There are several sites you can go to:
This site is one of my favorites! It shows the offender and a basic color code of their offence!
http://www.familywatchdog.us/
This site is the National Sex Offenders Redgistery: A good site to know the photos and locations of offenders in your area.
http://www.nsopw.gov/Core/PublicRegistrySites.aspx
Click on your state.
Scroll down, on your left side is "Offender Search" click on it.
Look on the right under "Most Wanted" Click on "Sonar."
On the top left click on the "Search...for offenders in your area"
You will need to put in your address.
Please stay safe and keep yourself educated! I am very passionate about staying safe, and sharing information that could save you from a bad experience!!!
I am willing to answer any questions or offer helpful advise.
Educate yourself on what you can do if you feel unsafe! If you know what to do and something were to happen, you will have an easier time dealing with it. You will be safer!!
In college I took a class called RAD, Rape Awareness and Defense. It was very enlightening, and educated me on what to do. It was a great class. I have had a few strange experiences. I was in the library a few years later and I had a young man (18 years) come stand by me. I didn't think much of it, BUT was still aware of him. He started doing inappropriate things, but when I would glace at him he would stop and smile acting like nothing had happened. When I moved away, he moved back right next to me. Because of my class I knew to pay attention. After I moved twice, I turned to him and confronted him asking "What are you doing!!!" He smiled and walked away, but I had caught him in the act. I went right up to the front desk and told the library staff. You just never know when it is going to happen.
I have listed some sites you can look at and educate yourself. These sites have photos of the offenders on them, you may want to take a glace at each of them. You want to be familar of who the offenders are in your area. I was in Reams last year and a guy followed me around the store, I started getting worried. At first I thought I was just being silly, but when he found his way onto every isle I was on, I started to get worried. I could tell he wasn't shopping for food!!! Nothing ever happened and I had the manager walk me to my car. After that happened I wish I had looked at the list of offenders, just so I was aware. Not that all sex offenders register.
I tell you this because you can be anywhere, and it can be anyone! Don't be fooled! Just stay aware. I wish I could say the experience I gave was my first experiences of being stalked, but it isn't. No one is immune from having something happen to them!
There are several sites you can go to:
This site is one of my favorites! It shows the offender and a basic color code of their offence!
http://www.familywatchdog.us/
This site is the National Sex Offenders Redgistery: A good site to know the photos and locations of offenders in your area.
http://www.nsopw.gov/Core/PublicRegistrySites.aspx
Click on your state.
Scroll down, on your left side is "Offender Search" click on it.
Look on the right under "Most Wanted" Click on "Sonar."
On the top left click on the "Search...for offenders in your area"
You will need to put in your address.
Please stay safe and keep yourself educated! I am very passionate about staying safe, and sharing information that could save you from a bad experience!!!
I am willing to answer any questions or offer helpful advise.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Life Caputred in Photography
Treasured moments, fun times and amazing events are all captured in photos. Looking back at what you have done in your life, and the events is amazing. Our family does a lot of fun things, and I take my camera everywhere we go. I used to keep photo albums, and years ago I used to scrapbook. Looking back now at those pages I am almost embarrassed to show them to people! They have weird backgrounds and crazy cut up photos. I have now found a better way to keep your all your memories alive!
Photo books! I have tried many of them; Costco, Inklies, Snapfish, and shutterfly. They just don't display my precious photos in a great way. The photos are too grainy, or the color is off.
The ONLY place I have found is MyPublisher.com. Their books are of amazing quality, something you can keep a life time!
I have made three books using Mypublisher, and I have never been disappointed. There is a little learning curve and some tips and tricks that can make it easier.
Mypublisher Tips and Tricks
1. Before downloading there are a few requirements. You must have 1GB of RAM, and 500 MB of memory. Here is a link to their system requirements page: http://www.mypublisher.com/support/help1
2. Download their software onto your computer. That takes less than 5 minutes.
3. Pick a time line you want to have your book in.
Examples of timelines.
Full year of events, from January to December.
Baby's birth
Trips
Family Fun(all the fun things during a year, or just in a few months)
Birthdays
My preferred way to work on a book is to show a year of events. That way it will include all trips and birthday and family events. It is more expensive as a book than a single event, but it is less expensive than ordering a book for every event. I also like having a single book for an entire year containing all the fun things that we have done.
4. Chose a book. There many different books to choose from, I have only made the "Deluxe." The only difference between the "Classic" and the "Deluxe" is the size. "Classic" is 11.25X 8.75, and the "Deluxe" is 15 X 11.5. Both come in Linen, book cover and Leather. The Linen comes with a window that shows one photo highlighting the book. The "Book cover" is a paper that covers the hardback. Although I love the look of the book cover it isn't attached to the book and easily comes off. The book cover could easily be damaged with out proper handling and care. It does however look fabulous on the book, and give is the best finish look. If you choose one size of book, I would highly suggest staying with that size. Staying with the same size with multiple books creates unity and makes them look neat. That way you can store them in the same place, right by each other. Tip: Once you start a book you cannot change the "Style." of the book. My favorite is the "Best Seller." It gives the option of full page photos, journaling. The "Just Photos doesn’t allow any comments, and the "Story Teller" has large sections for writing. The only downside to "Best Seller" is you cannot tell a story, it limits your comments to just under a photo, or a full page taken up by writing.
5. Downloading photos. When I download my photos from my camera I have my files arranged by year and then months. Usually I have three months in one so I don't have to go into too many files. Three months of photos is just enough photos to collect and organize. Sometimes I will download the photo with the month that it was taken. Sadly last year I lost 1/2 the year when my computer crashed. I had saved my photo book on another computer and was able to finish my book the best I could with my remaining photos. You can export a book to a jump drive and keep it safe incase of failing computers.
Here is how you save your photo book to a separate location. I would highly recommend that you do!
Go to FILE at the top Left. Click on Export file. Bring down the "Save In" at the top and click on desktop. Name your file. Make sure you are saving it as a "Dime Package" Then you drag and drop the dime package into your removable flash drive. Just make sure your drive has at least 2 GB of memory.
6. Making a book. Before downloading ALL the photos you want in a book, think about what photos at going to be at the start of the book. Just download the photos that will be in the start of the book. If you have hundreds of photos to move into your book, it can become crazy to organize them. Plus adding too many photos slows down your computer and can make it really annoying to add photos to a page.(you may notice this at the end of making a book) Start with a small group, and finish the first section of your book before moving onto the next. Delete the photos you don't want to use, so they don't get mixed up. You can reload them if you change your mind. You can add pages as you go if you story increases. It is a little difficult to add pages into already finished areas. You can do it, it just will move all the pages after that section potentially changing the way you wanted it to look. I had to do this several times in my 2008 book. Every time I added a page, I actually had to add TWO pages just to keep the sequence of the pages the same. I would highly suggest keeping a time line and trying to finish a section before moving on.
7. Details. Make sure as you place a photo that it doesn’t have any white on the edges. In the case of black backgrounds, make sure the photos line up on the edges. If you need to you can enlarge or click on the + once or twice. Just make sure the photo is filled in completely. You can also check this in your review before purchasing. Click back into "Make Book" to make adjustments. Spend the extra time necessary to fix problems and review.
8. Writing. Creating a story really helps the viewer know about what is happening. Personally I like to have my photos tell the story, and have people ask me about events.
9. Review. Spend the time to review. Check out each page and each photo. Spend the time to make it perfect. You will be happier if you do.
10. Purchase. Once you get to the purchase you are almost done! Lots of time and energy put into this little book! This time ordering my book I had a few dilemmas with the download. Every time my photos got to 50 uploaded, the computer would come up with an error message. ("Failed to generate project for upload") I tried to upload numerous times and it would always stop between 50-60 photos. I called for help, even changed computers. I almost gave up hope, but these were my photos I lost with my computer crash. I finally counted up 50 photos in my book, deleted the page, then reloaded the page with the same photos. I did the same with the next page, finding the area around 60 photos. The book loaded, and I got my book. Something was wrong with the pages in that area of my book. So, if you are uploading and the computer seems to stop at a certain number of photos, TRY this idea. Hope it works for you too!
If you are downloading the software for the first time, you have the option to sign up for the email, DO NOT do so until your book is ready!!! They give you a coupon good for a "Buy one, Get one free." The coupon expires fairly quickly, so don't sign up for the email until you are ready to purchase.
Yearly I have seen a coupon for 50% off you book. If you can wait, and don't have a time restraint, then waiting is the way to go! I saved over $200 on my last books. I ordered two of each, one for each kid. I waited for the 50% off sale so I didn't have to pay $400 for books! With that coupon I figured that my photos cost me about 20 cents each. They are beautiful, just like a hard print. PLUS they are in a book beautifully displayed for my enjoyment.
I LOVE my photo books! Finally I have my photos in beautiful books that I am proud to share!
http://www.mypublisher.com/
If you want access to my book to see what I have done, email me and I will send you the link.
Photo books! I have tried many of them; Costco, Inklies, Snapfish, and shutterfly. They just don't display my precious photos in a great way. The photos are too grainy, or the color is off.
The ONLY place I have found is MyPublisher.com. Their books are of amazing quality, something you can keep a life time!
I have made three books using Mypublisher, and I have never been disappointed. There is a little learning curve and some tips and tricks that can make it easier.
Mypublisher Tips and Tricks
1. Before downloading there are a few requirements. You must have 1GB of RAM, and 500 MB of memory. Here is a link to their system requirements page: http://www.mypublisher.com/support/help1
2. Download their software onto your computer. That takes less than 5 minutes.
3. Pick a time line you want to have your book in.
Examples of timelines.
Full year of events, from January to December.
Baby's birth
Trips
Family Fun(all the fun things during a year, or just in a few months)
Birthdays
My preferred way to work on a book is to show a year of events. That way it will include all trips and birthday and family events. It is more expensive as a book than a single event, but it is less expensive than ordering a book for every event. I also like having a single book for an entire year containing all the fun things that we have done.
4. Chose a book. There many different books to choose from, I have only made the "Deluxe." The only difference between the "Classic" and the "Deluxe" is the size. "Classic" is 11.25X 8.75, and the "Deluxe" is 15 X 11.5. Both come in Linen, book cover and Leather. The Linen comes with a window that shows one photo highlighting the book. The "Book cover" is a paper that covers the hardback. Although I love the look of the book cover it isn't attached to the book and easily comes off. The book cover could easily be damaged with out proper handling and care. It does however look fabulous on the book, and give is the best finish look. If you choose one size of book, I would highly suggest staying with that size. Staying with the same size with multiple books creates unity and makes them look neat. That way you can store them in the same place, right by each other. Tip: Once you start a book you cannot change the "Style." of the book. My favorite is the "Best Seller." It gives the option of full page photos, journaling. The "Just Photos doesn’t allow any comments, and the "Story Teller" has large sections for writing. The only downside to "Best Seller" is you cannot tell a story, it limits your comments to just under a photo, or a full page taken up by writing.
5. Downloading photos. When I download my photos from my camera I have my files arranged by year and then months. Usually I have three months in one so I don't have to go into too many files. Three months of photos is just enough photos to collect and organize. Sometimes I will download the photo with the month that it was taken. Sadly last year I lost 1/2 the year when my computer crashed. I had saved my photo book on another computer and was able to finish my book the best I could with my remaining photos. You can export a book to a jump drive and keep it safe incase of failing computers.
Here is how you save your photo book to a separate location. I would highly recommend that you do!
Go to FILE at the top Left. Click on Export file. Bring down the "Save In" at the top and click on desktop. Name your file. Make sure you are saving it as a "Dime Package" Then you drag and drop the dime package into your removable flash drive. Just make sure your drive has at least 2 GB of memory.
6. Making a book. Before downloading ALL the photos you want in a book, think about what photos at going to be at the start of the book. Just download the photos that will be in the start of the book. If you have hundreds of photos to move into your book, it can become crazy to organize them. Plus adding too many photos slows down your computer and can make it really annoying to add photos to a page.(you may notice this at the end of making a book) Start with a small group, and finish the first section of your book before moving onto the next. Delete the photos you don't want to use, so they don't get mixed up. You can reload them if you change your mind. You can add pages as you go if you story increases. It is a little difficult to add pages into already finished areas. You can do it, it just will move all the pages after that section potentially changing the way you wanted it to look. I had to do this several times in my 2008 book. Every time I added a page, I actually had to add TWO pages just to keep the sequence of the pages the same. I would highly suggest keeping a time line and trying to finish a section before moving on.
7. Details. Make sure as you place a photo that it doesn’t have any white on the edges. In the case of black backgrounds, make sure the photos line up on the edges. If you need to you can enlarge or click on the + once or twice. Just make sure the photo is filled in completely. You can also check this in your review before purchasing. Click back into "Make Book" to make adjustments. Spend the extra time necessary to fix problems and review.
8. Writing. Creating a story really helps the viewer know about what is happening. Personally I like to have my photos tell the story, and have people ask me about events.
9. Review. Spend the time to review. Check out each page and each photo. Spend the time to make it perfect. You will be happier if you do.
10. Purchase. Once you get to the purchase you are almost done! Lots of time and energy put into this little book! This time ordering my book I had a few dilemmas with the download. Every time my photos got to 50 uploaded, the computer would come up with an error message. ("Failed to generate project for upload") I tried to upload numerous times and it would always stop between 50-60 photos. I called for help, even changed computers. I almost gave up hope, but these were my photos I lost with my computer crash. I finally counted up 50 photos in my book, deleted the page, then reloaded the page with the same photos. I did the same with the next page, finding the area around 60 photos. The book loaded, and I got my book. Something was wrong with the pages in that area of my book. So, if you are uploading and the computer seems to stop at a certain number of photos, TRY this idea. Hope it works for you too!
If you are downloading the software for the first time, you have the option to sign up for the email, DO NOT do so until your book is ready!!! They give you a coupon good for a "Buy one, Get one free." The coupon expires fairly quickly, so don't sign up for the email until you are ready to purchase.
Yearly I have seen a coupon for 50% off you book. If you can wait, and don't have a time restraint, then waiting is the way to go! I saved over $200 on my last books. I ordered two of each, one for each kid. I waited for the 50% off sale so I didn't have to pay $400 for books! With that coupon I figured that my photos cost me about 20 cents each. They are beautiful, just like a hard print. PLUS they are in a book beautifully displayed for my enjoyment.
I LOVE my photo books! Finally I have my photos in beautiful books that I am proud to share!
http://www.mypublisher.com/
If you want access to my book to see what I have done, email me and I will send you the link.
Friday, January 8, 2010
20 Stickers...Catch Them Being Good!
Kids are so challenging and can have serious effects on the stress levels at home! Past experiences and knowledge has taught me that outburst, yelling and any physical punishments are nothing more than an adult tantrum. Your tantrums are not teaching your kids to behave correctly; you are showing them that you are not in control. Even though I had that knowledge, the fighting and relentless resistance to my requests got really overwhelming. The noise that comes from fighting is so extremely nerve-racking to me!!! Over the last year the stress and frustration in our home reached beyond extreme. Crying, yelling and tantrums were not just something my kids did. All of my many hours reading parenting books and parental education seemed to have spun down the drain. Then I came up with the “20 Sticker” idea. The main focus is that you as the parent are rewarding ANY positive behavior or success. You WANT your kids to do something good so you can reward them. Catch them being good, and reward that behavior.
20 Stickers : Catch ‘em being good!
Reward good behavior with a sticker. Once 20 stickers are on your chart, the child get a reward of their choice. Giving stickers should be completely random at the parents discretion.
Good Behavior could be helping siblings w/o being asked, putting on shoes with out being asked, NOT complaining when asked to do homework, a sweet smile or hug, positive behavior or expressions, , doing anything nice or helpful. REWARD IT!
In the beginning give out lots of stickers for all the good behavior you see. Then after the first reward is given, then you can limit it a little more. They will point out their good behavior, and I just say “I get to catch you being good, but that was NICE!!!” Sometimes I will give a sticker for something I ask to be done; “Help your brother get his shoes on, please.” If it is done with out complaining, the sticker is rewarded.
Reward: Let YOUR CHILD choose the reward, you can help and make suggestions. It should be their choice, within reason. Begin making normal family activities a reward, don’t just give it freely, use it as a reward.
Reward Ideas: Trip to the dollar store for a $5 shopping spree, dinner out with mom, go to the movie of your choice with popcorn, sleep over at grandparents, anything fun that they come up with. (No trips to Disney, unless you want to make that something they can work for with 20 charts….AND you already plan on going! )
Our sticker chart put where everyone can see, BUT the kids can't put their own stickers on. The stickers I use are also in a secret place so I am the only one to access them.
Enjoy!
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Years Resolutions!
Did you know you are 10 times more likely to do something if you write it down??
It's TRUE!
Write down your resolutions.
Make a list of things you would like to accomplish over the next year.
Places you would like to go, improvements you would like to see.
Motivation is the key, and writing it down keeps you on track.
I saw an interesting segment on Studio 5, and I wanted to share it!
You will be amazed at what a new hobby in your life will do!
(and what it will do for your brain!)
http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=71&sid=9131744
Best wishes to all for a happy and eventful New Year!
It's TRUE!
Write down your resolutions.
Make a list of things you would like to accomplish over the next year.
Places you would like to go, improvements you would like to see.
Motivation is the key, and writing it down keeps you on track.
I saw an interesting segment on Studio 5, and I wanted to share it!
You will be amazed at what a new hobby in your life will do!
(and what it will do for your brain!)
http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=71&sid=9131744
Best wishes to all for a happy and eventful New Year!
Why MIGRY???
You may be asking "Why MIGRY?" (Mig-ree)
When my first baby was born I struggled with his colicky midnight crying. One day I found myself standing in the library looking the huge amount of parenting and baby books. Overwhelmed I checked out my maximum of parenting books. Lugging thirty heavy books to the car I thought “There has got to be an easier way!”
From that point I have checked out Almost all the parenting books out of the library. The information I learned is priceless to me. I just wish I had a source that I could have gone to with a question, and learned it the easy way. Why keep something good secret??? If you can help someone or make someones life better by giving them something you know....HOW AWESOME IS THAT??? Especially for that other person!
Thus, MIGRY was the idea. When I find something fun, interesting or educational I try to share it. By sharing it, everybody wins.
If you have something you want to share, and don't mind me posting it....PLEASE send it to me. Not only would "I" love the idea, others may benefit from it as well.
Best Wishes for the New Year 2010!
When my first baby was born I struggled with his colicky midnight crying. One day I found myself standing in the library looking the huge amount of parenting and baby books. Overwhelmed I checked out my maximum of parenting books. Lugging thirty heavy books to the car I thought “There has got to be an easier way!”
From that point I have checked out Almost all the parenting books out of the library. The information I learned is priceless to me. I just wish I had a source that I could have gone to with a question, and learned it the easy way. Why keep something good secret??? If you can help someone or make someones life better by giving them something you know....HOW AWESOME IS THAT??? Especially for that other person!
Thus, MIGRY was the idea. When I find something fun, interesting or educational I try to share it. By sharing it, everybody wins.
If you have something you want to share, and don't mind me posting it....PLEASE send it to me. Not only would "I" love the idea, others may benefit from it as well.
Best Wishes for the New Year 2010!
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