I've got big plans for this  weekend; I plan on cleaning out my office and reorganizing all bins, sample,  files, etc. Here are some tips that help me make the most with my small home office:



•Use bins and stylish storage containers to keep like items together.


•Create floor-to-ceiling storage by adding vertical shelving.


•Chose furniture on rollers or add casters to existing furnishings; this helps furniture become multifunctional and you can roll furniture around to fit your needs.


•Go wireless and as cordless as possible.
•Find furniture that multitasks. If you use the dining room table for a desk, see if you can add space in a nearby buffet for files and a small supply of office supplies.


•Find pretty accessories, filling cabinets, post its, pencils, etc. Your office is still your home so try to decorate it as you would the rest of your house, if you do you'll want to spend more time and be more productive in your work space.

Hugh Jackman sizzles in Real Steel releasing on October 7th



Fans of celeb Dad, Hugh Jackman, will be thrilled to see him tackle a new role in Real Steel which opens in theaters everywhere on October 7th. Here’s the official movie poster below. My sources working on this movie, tell me this film will appeal to the entire family so I’ll be excited to see what Parents & their tweens or teens think of it once it releases.

The combination of steamy Hugh on screen for the ladies and the fighting & robot action for the guys sounds like a hit to me.

Here’s the official scoop from DreamWorks Pictures:

A action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

“Real Steel” is directed by Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum” franchise and “Date Night”).

“Real Steel” is about a former boxer (Hugh Jackman) who, against all odds, gets one last shot at a comeback when he teams up with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) to build and train the perfect contender for the new high-tech sport of robot boxing.

Halloween Crafts

While looking for some easy Halloween crafts for kids, I realized that Zack and Coles attention span may be just a little too short for anything beyond a coloring sheet right now! That said, I did find quite a few fun Halloween crafts for kids on Pinterest, and I might give a few of them a go.

 

 

 

I particularly love the first image, that features a glowstick Halloween lantern project. Apparently the fluid in the glowstick is nontoxic! What kid wouldn’t love a spooky glowing lantern? I am also really curious to know how long the glowstick fluid stays, well, glowy!

Hope you enjoy these easy Halloween crafts for kids!

If you're a member of Kraft First Taste, you can head over HERE and log in to get a printable coupon worth $1/1 Planters peanuts with no size restriction! Use it to purchase the single size bags available at the checkouts in many stores and they are FREE!


Kraft First Taste is a program that provides consumers with freebies and high value coupons several times per year in order to get our feedback. If you're not a member you can sign up HERE.

Coupons. com

Head over to Coupons.com for a few new coupons (zip 60606):




-$2/2 Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice

-$1/1 Burt's Bees body lotion 6-oz+

-$1/1 Morton's Ice Melt Jug, any

-$1/1 Welch's 100% Juice 6-oz 6-pk

-$2/1 Expo Washable Markers

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

With “The Big C,” a new dramedy starring Laura Linney, Showtime tries to find the humor in having terminal cancer.


Linney stars as Cathy Jamison, a teacher with an immature husband (played by Oliver Platt), a homeless brother, a spoiled son, and oh yes, stage 4 melanoma. After she’s diagnosed, Cathy takes a non-hysterical view of her situation, noting “We’re all dying, all of us… If you think about it that way, hey, I’m living the dream,” and chooses not to tell anyone about her condition. Instead, she embarks on a journey to discover herself and live life to the fullest.


If it sounds cheesy, take heart the Linney is knocking her performance out of the part. While reviews for the show as a whole have been mixed, the actress — who’s also an executive producer — has been getting raves for portrayal of Cathy, a woman who develops a backbone and has no trouble either forcing her husband out of the house or telling a surly and overweight African-American student (played by Gabourey Sidibe of “Precious”) that she can’t be mean and fat… Everyone’s laughing at your jokes, but nobody’s asking you to prom. You can be a fat jolly person or a skinny b—-.”

&

have partnered up to help children read efficiently before they finish the third grade!!






AND...

Guess what??





You can help to....All you have to do is take the pledge!!





This is the actual pledge:

I pledge to make time for reading with the children in my life—whether it's the morning paper, a bedtime story or as a volunteer—because reading puts kids on the path to graduation.

Now that's not so hard is it??

https://reading.target.com/pledge/



So now I'm going to wait right here for a couple of minutes while you go take 'the pledge'

I don't want you to forget the link or anything like that.

And we all know how procrastination works...yeah, yeah, I'll get to that later....

and then...well let's face it, sometimes we never get around to it !!

And I think that this is just to IMPORTANT to put off !!

Go ahead...I'll still be here :)



Ok, so now that we've all taken 'the pledge' let's talk about what we should do next...



If you don't have your own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends' children, etc...

you could always volunteer to read to children that you might now know.

And volunteering (well there's another thing that just really makes you feel good!!)

is not only rewarding to you, but there are so many kids who would benefit from it.



If you can't think of anywhere to volunteer on your own,

you can always check out

VolunteerMatch.org









I sure hope that everyone reads this post and is encouraged not only to

take 'the pledge' but also to pass the word on to others.

I hope that if you have a blog, you will blog about this !!

I hope that you will post about this on facebook, and twitter, and every other

social networking site that you belong to.

I hope that you will tell all of your friends about this !!

I hope that you will share this with EVERYONE you know !!

Heart To Heart Cereal
Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters


This is a delicious blend of crispy oat flakes and crunchy oat clusters made with sun-sweetened wild blueberries, nature’s #1 antioxidant fruit.

Helps Reduce Cholesterol—1g soluble fiber from oats*
Helps Support Healthy Arteries—6 natural antioxidants, including green tea and grape seed extract; 100% daily value of 3 B vitamins
Helps Promote Healthy Blood Pressure—low sodium**

Blueberries are nature’s #1 antioxidant fruit, and they provide powerful flavor punch in Kashi® Heart to Heart Clusters.

* In a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, 3 grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oats may reduce the risk of heart disease.

** Heart to Heart Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters cereal is low in sodium and may help reduce the risk of high blood pressure as part of a low sodium diet.

Disclaimer: I was given 5 boxes of various Kashi cereal to test and by no way did this determine my ideas and LOVE of this particular cereal! I love this stuff and will continue to buy it for life!

I Just Won 10 Swag Bucks on www.swagbucks.com

I Just Won 10 Swag Bucks on www.swagbucks.com

mommietofourrugrats

mommietofourrugrats

Life and you ask yourself this.......

One of the most fundamental and most difficult things that many of us have to do is to make a decision. It only takes a yes, or a no, to change the entire course of our lives.
If you could, do 10 years over again, would you? It might not be realistic to go back in time and do ten years over again, but it's possible to prevent regret from occurring in the next 10. I know you're not going to really meet your future self, but you can pretend you did. You can know some of the things that will happen because if you keep doing the same things you are doing now, you will keep getting the same results.

Seven Questions That Will Prevent Your Regret
Say that dream sequence with your future self happened. Would you follow your own advice to make sure the next 10, 20, or 30 years of your life were void of stupid mistakes? Ask yourself these seven questions and see if you're willing to make the decisions that will prevent that regret.

Would you make sure you exercised every single day?
Would you read more books and expand your mind?

Would you floss your teeth, and take care of your gums?
Would you let go of a friend or end a relationship?

Would you change jobs, or go back to school?
Would you say I love you more to your parents or children?

Would you settle for a good life when you know you can have an extraordinary one?

Tag your it.......
I was tagged!

The ABC's Of Me:

A. Amy Marie

B. Best friend? Well, I would have to say Emily(mysis) or Venessa

C. Cake or pie? Umm...probably have to say any cream pie but i love bday cake!

D. Day of choice? Doesnt really matter!

E. Essential item? My purse

F. Favorite color? Red

G. Gummy bears or worms? n/a

H. Home town? Hammond In

I. Favorite indulgence? Seafood

J. January or July? July (warm summer weather)

K. Kids? Ashley,Katie,Cole and Zack

L. Life isn’t complete without? Ill have to get back to this one!

M.

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 Sister Emily

O. Oranges or Apples? Apples

P. Phobias? really dont have any im kinda a adventerous person

Quotes?

R. Reasons to smile? My 4 healthy kids

S. Season of choice? Summer

T. Tag 5 people: You,You,You,You & whoever else wants to!

U. Unknown fact about me? Im very outgoing when you get to know me and Im a big tomboy!

V. Vegetable? broccoli

W. Worst habit? being to tense!

X. Xray or ultrasound? Ummm ultrasound I guess...I'd rather not have either honestly

Y. Your favorite food? Seafood or chicken

Z. Zodiac sign? Libra

Want Some? Yummy!!!!!

Orange Creamsicle Fudge

Ingredients
7 ounces marshmallow creme
12 ounces white chocolate chips (1 bag)
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 heavy cream
12 tablespoons salted butter
3 teaspoons orange extract
3 drops red food coloring
5 drops yellow food coloring (suggested)

Directions
1Line a 9 inch square pan with "Release" foil or line with regular foil and spray with cooking spray.
2Place marshmallow crème and white chips in a large mixing bowl.
3Combine sugar, cream and butter in saucepan.
4Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring once or twice, until mixture reaches 235°F
5Remove from heat immediately and pour hot cream mixture into mixing bowl with chips and marshmallow crème.
6Stir well with a wooden spoon -- mixture might look slightly stretchy and unappetizing, but don't worry, it will smooth out.
7Remove 1 cup of mixture and set aside.
8Stir orange extract and a few drops of each color food coloring into mixture which remains in bowl.
9Stir until it reaches a lovely orange hue.
10Adjust colors if needed.
11Pour orange mixture into prepared pan. Pour or spoon white mixture on top.
12Drag a knife through both to make swirls.
13Using a sheet of foil, press down slightly to smooth top.
14Let cool to room temperature (about 40 minutes) then chill for one hour or until set.
15Lift fudge from pan using foil handles and using a large knife, score into squares.

My Mommy!!

ONE MORE DAY!!!! THE KIDS SAY!!!
ST NICHOLAS DAY!!!!

In many places St. Nicholas is the main gift giver. His feast day, St. Nicholas Day, is December 6, which falls early in the Advent season. Some places he arrives in the middle of November and moves about the countryside, visiting schools and homes to find out if children have been good. Other places he comes in the night and finds carrots and hay for his horse or donkey along with children's wish lists. Small treats are left in shoes or stockings so the children will know he has come.
Where St. Nicholas is prominent, his day, not Christmas, is the primary gift giving day. Parties may be held on the eve, December 5th, and shoes or stockings left for St. Nicholas to fill during the night. Children will find treats of small gifts, fruit or nuts, and special Nicholas candies and cookies. St. Nicholas gifts are meant to be shared, not hoarded for oneself.

IN POLAND:
St. Nicholas, called Sw. Mikolaj, is a saintly, dignified figure in Poland; he comes as a bishop, carrying a crozier. Descending from Heaven with an angel helper, he travels on foot or in a sleigh pulled by a white horse as he visits homes in the countryside. When he appears, the eager children cry, "He has come! He has come!" St. Nicholas' presence fills the room with his smile, the twinkle in his eye, and his welcoming, booming voice. Children recite their catechism and prayers.
St. Nicholas rebukes or praises, as appropriate, before distributing holy pictures, red apples or oranges, and pierniki (saint cookies made with honey and spices). If he doesn't come in person, treats are put under sleeping children's pillows or left in freshly cleaned and polished shoes left out for the saint. St. Nicholas acts in his traditional religious role as a protector and patron saint while encouraging Polish children to be well-behaved, as there are switches for naughty children.
On Christmas children eagerly await the end of Wigilia (Christmas) dinner, for then they will unwrap their presents and discover if they have received what they requested in letters to St. Nicholas. Sometimes the good saint appears again, asking questions to determine how the children have behaved. Then he distributes the gifts and quietly disappears to visit other excited children.

BOP IT calls out commands and you react fast. Includes Bop It game unit and instructions.Get ready to react fast. Turn on the BOP IT game unit and get ready to Bop, Pull, and Twist your way to victory. For even more of a challenge, activate the microphone and Shout It, too. Choose to play alone or invite your friends for a game of Party Bop—you’ll all have to use your knees, elbows, and hips to win.The better you get, the more skill levels you unlock, so think fast and be the BOP IT master.
I threw this item in the cart to entertain my kids while I shopped and had to get it because they wouldn't stop playing with it! They were having so much fun, and so was I. I told them we were getting it as a gift for their cousin, but am going to surprise them with it for Christmas.

I'd say the only place we feel most comfortable, is at home. We can really be free to be ourselves, act anyway we want, say anything we like, and do anything we choose. Once we leave the safety our homes behind, it seems that all bets would be off. We would really need to be aware of how we handled ourselves in every situation of our lives.

There are tons of times during the day where it would be so much easier to just throw my hands up in the air, toss a couple profanities into the wind, and go about my day. I think we all know how that would be perceived though. I would seem crazy... Or craziER. So for the sake of appearances, I keep my words to myself, my hands in my pockets, and I keep on trudging.

Censorship is all around me right now. I feel like I do watch what I say, making sure not to hurt feelings or step on toes. Perhaps too much sometimes....

There are many people out there I would love to tell them exactly how i feel.....but in time in time!!!!!

We all have deep dark secrets and I’ll confess one of mine if you don’t judge me.

Sometimes I feel superior and smug. Like I’m a GOOD mom and I have my life all sorted out and my children are well behaved. Until the inevitable cosmic smack-down puts me firmly back in my place, reminding me that I am NOT such a good mother and my life is NOT so very in order and my children are DEFINITELY NOT well behaved.

I have a headache one major one that I have had for the last few days.....why must many ask, haven't i taken anything for it? Well I have but it hasn't helped because
I trying to be the good mom had bought the kids some yogurt drinks the ones in the bottles that are supposed to be good for them! Well my son Zack decides he wants to open the package and ZING! Just barely, out of the corner of my eye, I see it… something flying through the air(yup hits my head).Time goes by… enough that I’ve calmed down and told Zack in no uncertain terms what I think about his behavior. Well its over I have to get thru it (adapt, improvise, overcome I swear Ive heard that so many times growing up and now still!
Im done complaining!

It’s hard to believe that I’ve actually been looking forward to getting “back in the rhythm” of things and greeting the arrival of autumn. The randomity of summer holidays brings with it a certain unpredictable chaotic beat to life that I find exhilarating, at first.

“I don’t have enough time” rolls off the tongues a few more times than we’d like to admit. One of the solutions to not being able to get it all done in a day, is efficient planning and organization.

If you’re at a place where you would like a little more order and peace in your life, try putting these 5 steps to simplify your life to work:
1. Set simple goals. Let’s not tackle your entire life at once, OK? (I’ve tried – it can’t be done.) Narrow down what you want to accomplish. Concentrate on work or home, not both. Maybe concentrate on just papers, or just your closet. That brings us to …
2. Decide where to begin. I know – you take a look around your home, or your office and there’s so much that needs attention that you don’t know where to begin. I’ve got 2 strategies for that: either pick the one thing that is causing you the most stress right now (remember to narrow it down) or pick something easy to start with. An easy project that can be completed in a day or two gives you a feeling of success and lets you move on. On the other hand, getting rid of the biggest stressor in your life can be very powerful.
3. Use a timer. This is a sprint, not a marathon. If you approach this task like a marathon – spending hours until it’s done – you may complete it, but you’ll have no ambition to continue. Rather than spending an entire Saturday cleaning out the garage, work in 15 minute sections throughout the week. Maybe some days you can get in 2 or 3 sessions. 15 minutes is manageable without burning you out. Setting the timer can also help prevent you from starting to clean out a closet and then spending the next hour re-reading an old journal/trashy novel/love note you found inside.
4. Put like things together. Sure, you might need a pen or two in the kitchen, some in the office and maybe one by a phone, but do you really need them scattered all over the house? Is there a place where your extra pens and pencils live? If not, make one. Do the same for things like keys, shoes, and those endless plastic bags you bring home from the store.
5. Reduce what you have. Do you really need 3 copies of “Organizing for Dummies”? Or in my mom’s case – 100 rubbermaid containers with no matching lids? I have learned that yes, I really do need 3 spatulas and 2 sets of tongs, but endless knives? Not so much. Bless someone else with whatever you have too much of; it will do you both some good.
Put these steps to work – that means take action! – and look at this as a long term project. Don’t expect to finish by the end of the month. Ideally, once you get things under control, you could continue to use these habits to keep things that way.