Whomi…staying hip while staying organized

I just recently got the chance to review some fun organizers from Whomi.  Their organizers were featured in Oprah magazine announcing that most women today use paper to organize their busy schedules.  I know the calendar in our kitchen always has appointments and reminders on it.

Between my husband, the dog, the cat, two kids, grocery shopping and all the tasks in between, I am constantly jotting things down.  Most of the time I find myself scratching something down on a napkin, a torn off piece of envelope, or whatever else I can find.  Whomi has fun ways to organize your life with simple and colorful organizers.

Clarity Agenda (Compact size $25)
This calender lets mothers view their crazy schedules right along side their kids’ crazy schedules. I love this calendar because it fits right in my purse and allows you to keep track of your own schedule on top and has space for the rest of the family’s schedule on the bottom.  So you know what’s going on with everyone.  It comes in two sizes the original size and a more compact version of the original.

• Weekly Planner tracks multiple family members all in the same view
• Color-coded lines for each family member
• 30% of customers use color-coded lines to track:
• View your entire week in one easy snapshot
• Portability enables scheduling on the spot
• Beautiful and unique shape, layout and graphic design
• Vinyl cover for durability
• Clarity Agendas are January-December 2009, with a Monday through Sunday weekly view
• A separate August 2008-December 2009 Monthly calendar is included in the top booklet

There is even spaces to write down birthdays, contacts name and numbers, and favorite books and movies along with a full calendar with holidays marked of course!  This was a very well thought out weekly planner, I love how its designed!

Every Day Pad ($19.50)

Organize your tasks by days of the week.  I think this is such a neat idea because you have a little mini pad for each day of the week!  Not only is it extremely multifunctional, it is such a fresh idea to boring pads of paper.

The To-Do Collection

Here is another brilliant idea by Whomi.  I have never seen pads like these but they are ideal especially when I am lining up tasks to do.  Men inherently never know what needs to be done around the house (sorry guys!), so now I have a place to put who needs to do what and there are no questions about what needs to get done.

-ME YOU TOO PAD: ($16) This helps to delegate such tasks and nobody is guessing about what they should be doing.  This is great for me because I can hand my husband his sheet of paper and send him on his way  LOL!

-HOME WORK PLAY PAD: ($16)  This pad is handy when you have tasks that need to be done in specific places. Separate tasks by where you’ll be when you need to get things done.

I love all the bright colors these organizers come in, and they are certainly a different spin on the same old boring stuff.  Real thought and consideration went into their design, and they are actually a helping hand for busy moms like me.  Anything that is designed to simplify our lives, is such a blessing and helps devote more time to having fun when you have a handle on all the things that make life busy.  Whomi has done a great job and I highly recommend them if you want to stay organized!

Getting back on the saddle

Hello everyone!

Well, I am finally up and running again after a very long week!  We lost power for about three days (due to 80mph winds), I am busy trying to finally catch up.  We are all sick as a result of the windows being open all that time, and we have been busy trying to replenish our food supply, as we lost both freezers of food and the entire refridgerator of food.  Our next task this weekend will be to cut up our beautiful maple tree that didn’t survive the high winds (I was so looking forward to seeing its leaves change!), and to get my windshield repaired that was cracked by a falling tree while driving!  I am attaching a video of just how crazy it was here, and this is when it was just picking up!

Leap Frog….Jump into learning

It is amazing how fast kids grow in their development especially at the toddler stage. My two year olds are picking up new things every day and I am amazed at how fast they grasp things. They both already know their colors, and are starting to count and say their ABC’s. I know I may be a little biased, but I am impressed with my little guys.

With LeapFrog they make learning easy and fun! The boys could hardly wait to break these toys out of the box and started playing and learning right away! LeapFrog’s Fridge Words™ Magnetic Word Builder is such a neat toy! The boys love trying to fit the letters into the slots and hearing what each one says. They were even repeating some of the letters and dancing to the ABC’s. It has three modes of play which is great, because as the child grows and develops you can advance the skill level.

Fridge Words™ Magnetic Word Builder | Ages 3 & Up | MSRP: $24.99

With LeapFrog’s Fridge Words, kids can create more than 325 three letter words with singing magnetic letters. Three modes of playinclude : Letter Hunt, Word Builder, and Word Hunt. Encourage little ones to learn letter names and sounds, spell three letter words and replace letters to make rhyming words.

LeapFrog’s Learn & Groove Guitar is just as much fun. The boy’s love “rockin” as they call it. I think they picked this up from my husband. They both love to hold it and dance it is so fun to watch. I love toys that incorporate music and learning. Music plays a huge role in infant and toddler development so, kudos to LeapFrog for having these brilliant two in one toys. Another thing I like about their toys are that they offer a lower sound setting so it isn’t loud or annoying and the boys can still play with it. This is probably one of their favorite toys and I can see them using it for a long time.

Checking in on behalf of DoubleBugs

Hi! This is Tanya… Laurie’s friend from Mommy Goggles.

I wanted to let you all know that Laurie is out of commission right now. She lives in an area where Hurricane Ike’s aftermath decided to venture her way. With 80+ MPH winds last night , it blew power lines over and her electric is out. They estimate anywhere from 3-7 days, or more.

Please say a prayer for her and her family that the power is back on. Having two toddlers in the house, it is hard enough keeping everyone happy with the power out.

Thinking about you Laurie!

A simple recipe for Fall

While was out shopping at Whole Foods over the weekend they were having a sampling day which is one of my favorite times. They had all sorts of recipes to try! There was one that I thought was soo good that I had to try it. It is a fruit appetizer and it is so yummy! It just reminds you of all the sights and smells of Fall.

3 Apples of your choosing (slice them up thinly and small enough to fit on a small slice of bread

1/4 cup of softened cream cheese

6 oz of Vanilla Yogurt

French bread sliced in small little rounds, or even a pumpkin bread.

1/4 tsp of cinnamon or more for your liking

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Mix the cream cheese, yogurt, ginger and cinnamon together till smooth and refrigerate for one hour.

Slice up you apples, spread bread with mixture and top with an apple slice. This is soooo good, and even can be used as an apple dip. Try it out..it will be on my favorite recipe list!

New CrockPot Recipe

As a stay at home mom, as you can imagine, I do a lot of cooking and meal preparations. I have recently been getting burned out on all the same things and was looking for a new recipe to try or just something different that the boys haven’t had. So I got out my crock pot which I love. It is one of those things that is so nice to have, especially when you don’t have a whole lot of time to be standing in the kitchen. I love the idea of being able to toss it all in there and just let it go for the day. So here is what I did and I made up the recipe all by myself…so I was quite proud! LOL

It is such a simple idea but it turned out to be really good. I put mine over two pieces of butter bread! You can also serve it over biscuits, sort of like chicken and dumplings. I served it with a fresh salad, and a dessert. You will have to give it a try and let me know what you think! You can also leave me a favorite crock pot recipe if you like too!

Wordless Wednesday

ikookie Organic Cotton

I love organic cotton, it feels so much softer than any other cotton against the skin.

Organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, which makes it ideal for your baby’s skin. Not only is it good for your baby’s delicate skin but it is good for the environment.

At Ikookie, they have your baby’s best interest at heart and only make their products with %100 certified organic cotton. They carry a wide range of organic cotton products for baby (0-24 months including bodysuits, t-shirts, yoga pants, sleep suits, blankets, towels and more.

My boys just recently received the yoga pants($11) and t-shirts ($8). These outfits are the cutest things ever, and after only one washing are so soft. When I put them on the boys, they started romping around and I could just tell they loved how they felt on them. They look incredibly comfortable and the boys can move around freely in them which I like. I wish they made these for me! So adorable, right down to the little tags on back and made for their sensitive skin.

Ikookie has some of the cutest stuff for your little cookie, the prices are reasonable, and I hope that they eventually carry toddler sizes as well!

Oyikes! The perfect bag for Moms on the go.

I have been in search for one of those everything bags. With having two toddlers it is hard enough just trying to manage them, let alone all of the stuff I need to tote with me in a given day. O Yikes bags are the perfect solution. They aren’t necessarily a diaper bag but, they are a bag meant for you to keep all of the things you need on hand.

My husband and I tend to do a bit of traveling ,and I am always in need of a carry on bag that can handle the necessary things for the boys like diapers, wipes, my laptop, keys, wallet, cell phone etc. without bringing on something so monstrous, that it takes up what little seating room and space you have on an airplane.

O Yikes is the perfect solution! Their bags were created with a focus on staying organized. The bags have many features alone, but can be customized further with matching accessories.

They have developed several cool and innovative bags for parents on the go, and most importantly something that is functional. Their bags have ample sized pockets and a place for everything to keep yourself organized. One of my favorite features in the stand alone laptop sleeve, it is nice because I can tuck it in the bag or just take the laptop tote separately….a great feature to have when you need to get through gate security at the airport!

O Yikes offers the Slingback and the Messenger Bag. Both of these bags can be equipped with matching accessories which makes them unique. Packages include the 24.7 and the 9.2.5. The Messenger bag is designed to keep up with your busy lifestyle of being a Mom, going to work, or traveling. The Messenger 9.2.5 includes a nice mesh see through accessory case for all the little things and a laptop sleeve. It also comes with plenty of pockets and an easily accessible front pocket, ideal for holding documents, maps, passports, or magazines. The hidden side pocket is perfect for your cell phone or mp3 player.

Another nice thing that I love about O yikes bags are, that they fit comfortably on my shoulder and the strap doesn’t slide off. I carried the bag with my laptop a good deal of time, and I felt no discomfort. The slingback version is even nicer, because it can be worn to rest on your back. Nice when you need to hang on to it but move it out of your way.

This bag has definitely become a quick favorite of mine, simply because it is so versatile and practical. Definite thought and consideration went into its design and it comes in plenty of cool colors (like Blueberry Keylime), my personal favorite, and also more neutral yet hip colors for Dad as well.

I would definitely recommend this everything bag, if you are a busy Mom like me. I love it! Check out O yikes bags today!

Where have all the check out people gone?

I had to do my grocery shopping a little late last night. My husband was over at the neighbors house with the boys, on one of those big blow up water slides, enjoying the last of the hot weather, while I went off to do the grocery shopping. I headed up the street to Meijer, a frequent shopping excursion for us. It seems like, I should be setting up a camp at the grocery store these days.

I am usually a very fast shopper, and I tend to get in and get out of the place and home. It took me about 15 minutes to get the necessities and I headed to the checkout. This is where things always get a little hairy for me. This day in age, the whole idea of talking to an actual person has gone flying out the window and it seems the grocery stores are following suit.

Here I am, standing among about 35 check out lanes and only three of them are manned with and actual person. There are several weary souls including myself pacing up and down trying to decide which of these looks the best, in terms of wait time. Meanwhile, you look over and the self checkout lanes are packed with people, who were probably doing the same thing about 10 minutes before me. So I am standing in line behind two people, and one lady is behind me, and I see that there is a problem at the register. Some lady is saying something is ringing up wrong. By now about 25 minutes have passed, I am moving nowhere, and I am getting sick of the repeat commercials on the mini tv’s they have now at the registers. So I make the fateful decision to turn around and head off to the self checkout with my cart full.

I get there, and I step up to the screen and hit my start button and I start to ring out my 15 cans of green beans. When it all begins to backfire. I start to scan my green beans one by one, which you cannot just enter how many you have apparently, and the machine is stating that the weight of the item does not match whats on the belt. HUH?! So, the machine is already squawking at me and the guy needs to come over and correct it. Then after all that hassle, the machine is telling my stuff is backing up on the belt like 8 times. Finally I get my stuff bagged and I head out. Of course, I had to check to see where the lady was that was behind me in the previous checkout (to see if I beat her) and the person in front of me was still sitting there and the lady behind me was reading a magazine.

So I ask you….where have all the checkers gone? Sounds like a song LOL And why have all the wasted space for 35 check out isles…why not put in a massage parlor there while you wait? Someone needs to send them this sales pitch! HA!

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