Jan

31

HatchedIt.com: The Busy Family’s Answer to Staying on Track

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The story starts when two moms begin the hunt for a really, great tool for organizing family life. The only roadblock was that they couldn't find the perfect tool. Instead they left their corporate jobs to create one, and that's how HatchedIt.com was born.

HatchedIt.com is a free organization tool that offers a family calendar, an address book, a place for keeping up to date with news and your favorite blogs, and a place to store all of those bits of information that are important in your life. The tool also offers the ability to share all or parts of the calendar with the team that makes your family life happen (grandparents, babysitters, caregivers, etc.)

Once you've signed up for your free account, you'll find these tools at your disposal:

  • Family Calendar - Each member of the family can have their own color. You can also view the calendar by each person or together with everyone's activities all at once.
  • Groups - Groups is a neat feature where you can organize the people in your life and give them access to the parts of the tool that you need them to have access to. Think Book Clubs, Playgroups, PTA moms, etc. You can invite the groups, everyone gets a free account, and discussions and scheduling can happen right inside the tool. Say goodbye to the crazy email chain.
  • Curate It - This is where you can store photos and information that inspire you or that you might want to keep. The pair of cute shoes. The great quote. A photo of your next vacation locale.
  • News - Use RSS feeds to pull together all of the blogs and news sites that you read into one place. And put it right in the tool you'll be using to organize your life. It can't get much easier than that.
  • And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are more functions plus it's a tool that's evolving.

Check out an introduction video below to HatchedIt.com, and then visit the site for a free account. You'll be up and running in less than a few minutes.

Disclosure: I attended a Sponsored event where I learned about HatchedIt.com. All opinions are my own.

Dec

20

Pre K Scholars Kindergarten Readiness Kit DVD - Review & Giveaway

Filed Under Favorite Finds, Giveaways | 1 Comment

I've been looking for more learning activities at home since my little guy won"t be going to preschool until next fall, so I was curious when I got an opportunity to review a copy of the Pre K Scholars Kindergarten Readiness Kit DVD.

The program was developed by a mom of four who was also a former kindergarten teacher. The DVD is for computer use only, and my little guy was engaged from the first time we sat down at the computer. The program centers on the residents of "Scholarville" that are multicultural characters with different occupations related to a different letter of the alphabet.

The organization of the 22-week lesson plan is a bit different than other programs because they start with letters/sounds that are easier for the pre kindergarten crowd. Instead of starting with the letter A, the program starts with the letter P.

Each lesson includes a guessing game, animated flash cards, and printables that make it easy to incorporate into different times of the day. There is also a poster available of Scholarville. My little guy loved to point out the character that he had learned in the lesson on the "map" of Scholarville.

I would definitely recommend the Pre K Scholars Kindergarten Readiness program as an alternative to preschool or even as a supplement to preschool if you feel like your child might need extra work or is curious to learn more. In a homeschool environment, this product would be fantastic. It"s organized in lesson plans already making it easy to work your way through the education.

To make this even easier for parents, Pre K Scholars has just released an iPad app (there is also an app available for iPhones). My son is already using the iPad to learn his letters and sounds, so he really enjoyed playing more "games" that had the characters that he had been meeting during our Pre K Scholars lessons.

The good news is that Pre K Scholars Kindergarten Readiness Kit starts at only $39.95. Until December 25th, you can save 25% off of all products making this a great deal! The Pre K Scholars iPad app is only $3.99, but for an introductory period it"s only 99 cents, so hop over and grab it!

Here"s a chance for you to win your own copy of the Pre K Scholars Kindergarden Readiness Kit. Enter the giveaway up to four times below before midnight on December 31, 2011. A winner will be selected at random and will be notified via email.

Disclosure: I was provided a review copy of the Pre K Scholars Kindergarten Readiness Kit DVD and the iPad app.

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Dec

12

Girls Night In - A Twist on the Traditional Cookie Swap

Filed Under Favorite Finds, Food | Leave a Comment

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

So, I've always loved the idea of a cookie swap. The thought of selecting an awesome recipe and having a party to share it sounds pretty cool. Except that it's a lot of work during a time of the year when time is pretty hard to find.

Enter my idea for a fun girls night in with recipe sharing and yummy treats but without the time commitment of making a zillion dozen cookies. It's all about the "Cake Mix Creations." What's that you ask?

Here's how it works. All your friends pick a recipe to make that involves a boxed cake mix. When they rsvp, they also send you a copy of the recipe that they will be bringing. On the girls night out, everyone gets to sample the different cake mix creations, and you have a ready made party favor -- a list of all the recipes. Easy, peasy AND delicious.

Some simple alternatives to the regular cake involve adding flavor to cakes. Canned pumpkin and applesauce make for great alternative flavors to the boxed cake mix. You can also add fresh fruit like bananas and berries.


You might think that the different options for cake mix creations is limited to different flavors of cake. Oh no, never fear. There are so many awesome recipes out there. There are cakes, cookies, cupcakes, truffles, pancakes, and even dinner rolls! And don't forget the cake pops. The different cake pops that you can make (both in flavor in design) are endless. Take a look at my pinterest collection of cake mix creations to see a few samples.

What's your favorite creation to make with a boxed cake mix?

Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

Nov

20

Favorite Finds: Christmas Cards from Tiny Prints

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Thanks to Tiny Prints for sponsoring my post about Christmas cards. Even though my opinion of their products and services happens to be over-the-top positive, trust me, all opinions are truly my own.

You should give to receive, right? And there's nothing I love more than a mailbox full of Christmas greetings from friends and relatives. I know not everyone gets into Christmas cards as I do. But I love everything about the process of Christmas cards from the planning of the card, selecting the card, making the list, writing notes, and finally dropping them in the mail. It really starts the season for me... even if that means I'm licking envelopes and affixing stamps on December 22 well past my annual (and almost never achieved) goal of Thanksgiving.

When I was a kid, there wasn't much you could do to a Christmas card to really make it your own. You could sometimes custom print your names or include a photo or the dreaded Christmas letter, but, in reality, most Christmas cards were picked up in a store by the box.

When I started sending my own Christmas cards, that's where I started too. I would spend lots of times looking for the perfect box of cards to reflect a little bit of me and after I got married, "us". One year it was a painting of a Christmas scene of the city that we lived in, and another year it was a funny card that I hoped would give a little laugh in the midst of what can sometimes be a crazy stressful season. Still another year we picked a card that benefited on of our favorite charities.

Then the photo cards started becoming popular. We were starting to get photos of our friends' kids, dogs, and sometimes the friends' themselves. Then we had a baby. Christmas cards became an even more important tradition for our holidays. Along with nearly everyone else, we choose to send out a photo card of our little guy with the hope of sharing his lovable mug and active spirit as it is at that particular moment in time. Looking back at the three Christmas cards we've sent since he arrived is already an amazing trip down memory lane. I can only imagine what years and years of that will be like for both us and our recipients.

When it comes to picking a card to send, the standard box cards of my youth are nearly a thing of the past. There are tons of options, both photo and non-photo, that are just wonderful. This year, I am really in love with the different shapes available for cards, and it's making our choice even that much more fun to make.

Take a look at some of the different sizes and shapes Christmas cards that Tiny Prints has available this year. I really love them all.

I love this card called Banner of Dreams. It's shaped like a classic card except that it doesn't open, just a flat card with room on the back for a quick note.


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Tiny Prints also have several shapes available for many designs. This is one of my new favorite shapes, and it's in the running for my final order this year. I think Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, and Uncles all over are going to really love getting these cards in this ornament shape that can be easily popped on the tree for display. Just look at the Banner of Dreams card in the round ornament shape.


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Speaking of those awesome ornament cards. Love, love LOVE the Whispering Snowflakes design.


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This is the card we purchased last year. It was very simple. We had a great photo of the lad that was the perfect shape, and I loved how fun the design was. The design is called Simple Bars, and it is still available at Tiny Prints.


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Finally, I think this card would be great for a large family or if you have so many awesome photos that you can choose one. It's a tri-fold card called Merrily Woven.


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Tiny Prints provides simple, modern, and unique stationery from Christmas cards, New Years cards, party invitations, and address labels to thank you cards. Once the holidays have come and gone, Tiny Prints will still be here to fill your stationary needs with their exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers.  All year round, you’ll find business cards,birth announcements and even custom wedding invitations. Come try the easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality for yourself. With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch!


Jun

5

Juice in the City Launching in Boston

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Special thanks to Juice in the City for sponsoring today's post. Sign up for their email newsletter so you'll be the first to know when the Boston deals are live!

Juice In The City Boston

Boston Moms, mark your calendars. Juice in the City will be hitting Boston this summer! Juice in the City is a deal site with a fantastic business model where local moms not only benefit, but play an integral part in the day-to-day deals.

Juice in the City deals are for local stores (yay! for money staying in the community) that local moms enjoy and trust. In fact, the deals are sourced *by* local moms, so you'll know that when you see a deal that the business is already a favorite of a mom in your

There are a lot of deal sites popping up, but Juice in the City's reliance on local moms to source deals for fellow local moms really sets it apart. In fact, the company was started by two moms on Mother's Day in 2010.

Take a look at this quick segment from a NBC affiliate for a quick intro to Juice in the City and how it operates:



Juice in the City is currently hiring moms who live in Brookline, Newton, Beacon Hill, and the North End to be Local Business Consultants (LBC). LBCs are savvy moms that know the neighborhood and all of the hot places to shop, eat and be.


The Local Business Consultants receive training and guidance to help source really great deals in the towns and neighborhoods. The best part is that local business consultants receive a cut of sales (a minimum of $100, $200 or $300 depending on the deal with the possibility of more) for the deals that they source. A great win-win. Are you a mom in Brookline, Newton, Beacon Hill, or the North End that is savvy to your neighborhood/town? Apply here.

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