Hanging out at Toy Fair…. #TF12

February 14, 2012 by 10 Comments

Sorry for the lack of posting! 🙂 This week, as most of you know, is NY Toy Fair, where I am hanging out to “get the deets” on all the best and most fabulous toys, games, and collectibles this year. I’m also meeting some bloggers face to face, which has been a fun and fantastic experience, yay! Just a few with some captions- I’ll give you more details later when the show is over 🙂 Just to whet your appetite for what’s to come!

OK- so some of my thus-far favorites…

National Geographic Dino Dig by Uncle Milton

How great is this? Education meet super fun….and dinosaurs! This is a teacher’s dream! Homeschooling mommies, are you awake? LOL. I love this, I’m so happy that a great company like National Geographic has partnered with Uncle Milton to create these. You can dig, you can discover, you can excavate….you are your own paleontologist. Plus there is all the dino learning fun facts. LOVE.

La Dee Da Dolls- fashion, creativity, and travel inspired….need I say more???? Yes! I do!
These adorable dolls are APPROPRIATE- they are not the typical skanky and body disproportionate dolls that make me feel like they encourage eating disorders and body dysmorphic [Read more…]

Filed Under: travel

Re-Tweet Club! Come On Over and get Re-Tweeted! @MryJhnsn @Blessed_Elements @CloserToLucy

February 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Laws That Affect Teens and Parents

February 14, 2012 by 1 Comment
Right about around the time when a teenager gets their driver’s license, parents and teachers start talking more and more to them about how important it is to keep that law, along with sharing some of the consequences that arise when they don’t. What a lot of adults may not be aware of is that over the past several months, there were some laws, in certain states, that were passed that don’t just affect young adults, but them as well.
No More Sexting
In Illinois and Connecticut, both teenagers and adults can face misdemeanor charges for sexting; more specifically, for sending or receiving any kind of nude (or semi-nude) pictures.
Stop the Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying resulted in some really unfortunate results, in some cases even suicide, for a lot of people in 2011. So much so that if caught and convicted, it could now earn you probation, community service and/or counseling. California is so strict against it that they have expanded the definition of the word to certain posts that are placed on social media sites, and Illinois now has the right to suspend or even expel a student for posting threats to students or administration on websites.
Regulations on “Bath Salts”
Did you know that is has been reported that one in nine students have tried synthetic marijuana; not just before, but within the past year? Although K2 and Spice are technically “legal drugs”, a dozen states including Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Tennessee have passed laws banning them on the basis of being synthetic pot, which is illegal. Arizona passed a law last year stating that the possession or selling of Spice is a class two felony. If convicted that brings a minimum of a four-year prison sentence.
Filed Under: family

Take Over Tuesday Link up ~ ALL Platforms! @tsue1136 @momsmutterings @closertolucy @Crystalnjoe1105

February 13, 2012 by 2 Comments
Welcome to

Take Over Tuesday Social Media Hop

Gain Friends and Followers
In All The Right Places
Your Hostesses are:

Closer to Lucy

Have Sippy Will Travel
3 Princes and a Princess 2

Just Like June (formerly The Thrifty Things)

That’s What She Said

Add your link to any or all of the Social Media Follow Groups below! Follow as many people as you would like and be certain to leave a comment on their [Read more…]
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Return of the Coupon Series- Yay!

February 11, 2012 by 10 Comments

The following is a guest post by Outside the Box Mom:

questions about using coupons

Thanks to your comments on this series, we have some great questions to address…

Question: I have tried and tried to learn to coupon with no luck. I am always amazed by you ladies that can coupon and coupon well!

Answer: “In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck.” Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars

Start small and slow. Look at your old grocery lists and old receipts to pick the most expensive item or the total cost of items that that you buy most frequently. Use coupons on those items. Then, watch for those items to go on sale. When you pair a sale and a coupon, you get the most savings.

Once you are comfortable with with using a coupon on 1 item or a few items, work your way up to at least 10-15 of the items on your regular grocery list. Once you begin to see your grocery bill decrease and your grocery budget stretch further, you will want to try more and more deals.

Having a positive attitude any time you try something new will take you a long way. You can beat yourself up that Betty down the street saves 90% on her grocery bill, only spends $20 a week, and gets in [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Helping Your Child Balance School and Extracurricular Activities

February 11, 2012 by 1 Comment
Are there any parents out there who feel like kids today are way busier than we were at their age? It seems like between school, homework, and activities, they are rushing around all day long, rising early and getting to bed late, and you’re right there with them. Apparently, they need all of these things in order to be competitive for college, but when your 5th-grader isn’t getting to bed until midnight, you might start to wonder if the system is a bit flawed. However, you don’t want to deny them the fun activities they look forward to (sports, music, clubs, etc.) just because they have a pile of homework to attend to. Their academics are certainly important, but so is being a well-rounded individual (and having a little fun once in a while). So here are just a couple of tips to help them balance their busy schedules.
For starters, you may need to pare it down. While it’s great that your kids want to participate in different activities every day of the week, the truth is that it’s running them (and you) ragged. So get your active kids to decide on just one or two activities that they really love so that they have at least a couple of days a week where they’re getting a full night’s rest. As the parent, it’s your responsibility to set boundaries and ensure the health and safety of your kids; unfortunately that sometimes makes you the bad guy. But you don’t have to totally deprive your kids of fun [Read more…]
Filed Under: education, kids

Weekend H0P Along- Weekends with Lucy and Sam :) @CloserToLucy

February 10, 2012 by 8 Comments

Let’s link up…Everyone is welcome, there are only two rules rules.

1) Follow your hostesses Have Sippy Will Travel and Closer to Lucy

2) Family friendly blog links only.
If you would like to our spotlight co-host mail Lucy at closertolucy@gmail.com please include Weekends with Lucy and Sam in the subject line.

If [Read more…]

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How to Take Great Family Photos

February 10, 2012 by 3 Comments

Whether you like old-school film photography, you prefer the ease of digital cameras, or you go to a photo
studio for annual family portraits, you might be distressed by the fact that these quality representations
meant to capture and preserve a moment in time are populated by blinking eyes, vacant expressions,
rabbit ears, and even people looking the wrong direction. Despite your best efforts to keep your family in
line for the split-second it takes to compose a decent photograph, there always seems to be one goofball
fouling up the works. It’s not like you need a Stepford-family moment, but is it too much to ask that one
family photo a year comes out presentable?! Apparently so. And yet, there are steps you can take to ensure
that the next photo comes out flawless. Here are just a few tips to get you on track for some truly fantastic
family pics.

1. Get close. For family photos, one of the best ways to get a really warm feeling is to squish
everyone together. Even with groups that are fairly close normally, this may be no easy feat simply
because people have personal space, so this type of forced, full-body contact might be pretty
uncomfortable. But asking everyone to hug the person next to them could create a family photo
that makes you smile every time you look at it.

2. Color code. The nice thing about getting everyone wearing matching outfits is that it brings the
focus squarely to the family. Not only does it help the body mass to blend into the background,
but [Read more…]

Filed Under: family