Thanksgiving is meant to be a time of remembrance, family and thanks, not a holiday

of stress and chaos. Here are 9 easy ways to stay organized for an enjoyable, stress-free Thanksgiving Day:

1. LEAVE COOKING AND CLEANING BEHIND. These days, many people opt to go out for Thanksgiving, instead of cooking and cleaning at home. If you're an extremely busy person, this may also work for you. If you don't want to miss the feeling of being at home, perhaps you might have the main course at a restaurant, and later have pie and coffee at home. In addition, lots of supermarkets and restaurants offer fully cooked Thanksgiving dinners. You simply pick everything up and place it on your table ready to be served, and if you must add a personal touch, make one special dish of your own.

2. PREPARE FOR TRAVELING. If you're traveling this Thanksgiving, be sure to make your packing list well ahead of time. Check items off as you're putting them into your luggage. Bring this list with you and use it to repack when you're ready to return home. By the way, I usually suggest that you travel a few days before Thanksgiving and come back a few days after the Thanksgiving rush. Otherwise, you're going to spend a lot of time in airports, on the road, in line, etc.

3. LET'S TALK TURKEY. First, determine how much room you have in your freezer and refrigerator, and how many people you will be serving. Then, order your turkey. If you need more storage space, perhaps a neighbor or relative can help you out. Rather than defrosting a frozen turkey in water on Thanksgiving Day, defrost it a few days ahead in your refrigerator instead. This saves tons of time!

4. INVITE GUESTS IN A SNAP. If you haven't already sent out invitations, you may consider simply calling possible guests instead. You won't have to spend a ton of time writing and mailing, and you usually get an RSVP immediately.

5. CHECK YOUR INVENTORY. Check your supply of chairs, tables, dishes, glasses, pots, pans, serving plates and utensils. Arrange to buy, rent or borrow anything you don't have.

6. PLAN YOUR MEAL. Plan your meal from appetizers to dessert on a piece of paper. Make a list of all ingredients needed. Bring your list when you go shopping and check items off as you put them in your cart.

7. COOK AHEAD. Make any meals that you can well ahead of time, and freeze them. On Thanksgiving Day, just defrost, heat and serve. You will save tons of time, plus you'll be able to join in the festivities without being stuck in the kitchen.

8. GET READY THE NIGHT BEFORE. You'll be happy you took care of a few things the night before. Set the table. Get the good silverware out of storage. Lay out your wardrobe--and your kids' wardrobes.

9. DON'T FORGET THE IMPORTANT STUFF. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to be thankful for health, family, friends and all that life has to offer. Some people choose to say grace. Others prefer to simply have a moment of silence before dinner and football. Still others like to make time to read a Thanksgiving Story or a poem. Make a list of the things you want to do to make the day a special one and reference your list so you don't forget them.

{Originally submitted to The Mommies Network Blog by CharlotteMommies}

Being an at home parent may be the best job you'll ever get, but it's HARD. You're on call 24/7, and when you go on vacation, you still have the same responsibilities. And if you have a home business or work at home job, life can be even more challenging.

The first step to coping with burnout is preventing it in the first place. Don't overfill your schedule with activities for the kids or yourself. Take a little time for yourself every day. You don't need to be alone, but you do need to relax a little. Whether this may be during the kids' naps or when they're in school, even taking just a few minutes for you can really help. Then you can take advantage of the time to get things done with a clear head.

Make sure your expectations and those of your family are realistic. If you're running a home business or have a work at home job, you can't be expected to keep as perfect a house as a mother who does not. Pick a day to do the laundry, the vacuuming and other housework that doesn't need to be done on a daily basis and leave it until then - unless the urgent need arises, of course.

When you get angry, don't consider yourself an imperfect or bad parent. We all get angry sometimes. What is more important is how you react to the anger.

Make sure you get enough sleep. The more tired you are, the more stress you are going to feel, and the harder it will be to cope with it. If necessary, take a nap at the same time as the kids do, so they're not getting into trouble for lack of supervision.

Plan fun activities once in a while to relieve stress. Depending on your needs and the needs of your family, this can be alone or with the entire family. Go to the beach, a park, zoo, mall, wherever it is you can relax and just have fun.

Consider planning or even cooking meals and snacks in advance. It's easy to give your children healthy snacks if you have sliced vegetables and/or fruits ready to go in the fridge. A few minutes' work early in the week can save you time. Meals may also be prepared in advance and frozen for those nights when you're simply too tired to cook. Plan your meals for leftovers that will freeze well, and say goodbye to expensive frozen dinners from the grocery store.

If writing out your schedule helps you, then keep a written schedule. If it makes you feel overwhelmed, then don't. Just because your best friend says it keeps her on schedule to have a calendar with everything she needs to do on it doesn't mean the same will work for you.

Finally, don't let other parents make you feel you owe them favors just because you're at home and “have time. You're doing a full time job taking care of your family, not just loafing. Your schedule may be just as full as theirs, if not more so.

I realized about a month ago that my two kids were playing in the family room more and more. I’m fairly certain this is because there was no empty space on the floor of the playroom. So they were taking toys from the playroom into the family room. And I noticed that the toys they were playing with were always the same. Most of the things in the playroom sat untouched. So why did we have a playroom filled with toys that neither child ever used? A playroom that was so packed with old toys that there was no room to actually play?

To give you a good visual of what I'm talking about, this is what our playroom looked like about a month ago:


I set up a plan and executed it, and this is what the playroom looks like today:
 


The first step of my plan was to remove all the old toys that were no longer used. I thought this would have to be a covert mission, but the kids actually didn't seem to mind me taking away all those old toys. [Note to self: I should have done this months ago!]

Once the room only contained toys the kids actually play with, I set to work determining how I could organize everything. I came up with five "zones" for the room. Here's what they are.

Dolls and Figures Zone
This zone includes the dollhouse, pirate ship and all the little dolls, figures, Zhu Zhu pets, Transformers and anything that goes with little dolls and figures. My daughter and her friends have been spending a lot of time in this area. And I must say the dollhouse is getting a lot more use now.


Projects Zone
This zone was set up to include arts and crafts, school-related stuff and any other "project" types of things. We have a small table and chairs, workbooks and coloring books (in the red containers on the shelf), and science kits (on the bottom shelf). You can see the markers, crayons and other arts and crafts items in the picture above. They are on the top shelf in the previous zone but right next to the table, so it works. I am determined to keep the top of this table clear so they can actually use it!


Building/Construction Zone
This zone is all about building stuff. We have a train table that is now used as a Lego table, with the Legos stored underneath. We have Zoobs, wooden blocks, and other building and construction stuff. There's plenty of floor space to build on as well. You can see my son was working on a Lego project on the floor when I took this picture.


Pretend Play Zone
This is another one of my daughter's favorite areas. We have a small kitchen and all the stuff that goes with it. We also have doctor kits, a magic kit, baby dolls and stuffed animals here, so she and her friends can play all sorts of pretend activities.


Games and Puzzles Zone
This zone is where we've stored all our board games, Beyblades and Pokemon cards, and all sorts of puzzles and games. The book shelf is here too. That is one thing I have not purged yet. I need to remove the baby and toddler books and bring some of their age-appropriate books down from their bedrooms where they usually read.


I will say this was a huge project but I'm so happy with the results. Just removing all the old stuff (and there was a lot of old stuff) made a big difference. If you have a playroom, I highly recommend reassessing it and taking out all the stuff your kids don't play with anymore. And putting like things together in "zones" to make it easier for them to find the toys they do want to play, and know where to put them when they're done.

Now let's just hope they manage to keep it cleaned up so it never looks like that "before" picture again!

Submitted by Julie, member of TriangleMommies.  Originally published on Just Playin' Around, July 5, 2011

It's 6 p.m. and the end of yet another hectic day. You're stressed and rushing around the kitchen like a mad woman. You've got hungry kids underfoot, a barking dog, homework deadlines, soccer practice sooner rather than later, and on top of that... you have no worldly idea of what to prepare for dinner.

Sound familiar?

Although it's a common scenario in many  households around the dinner hour, it doesn't have to be for your family.

One option that I've found to be a no muss, no fuss way that simplifies getting dinner on the table
for my family (without the chaos) is to use the two week meal planning method.

The basic idea is to make a list of 10 to 14 of your families favorite main dishes (I usually plan 5 meals a week, leaving 2 days open for leftovers and/or take-out) to build your meals around, and then simply put them on a two week rotation, serving a different one every day.

That's it, it's that simple.

Now granted there's not a ton of variety here, but chances are you're probably regularly preparing a handful of tried-and-true winners anyway.

Think about it, your family is eating meals whether you take the time to plan for them or not, so then why not put some forethought into it, right? You will save time, money, and your sanity!

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when planning meals for your family:
Always keep staples on hand. A variety of frozen vegetables, pasta, peppers & onions, potatoes, rice, salad greens, etc.

Be flexible, nothing has to be written in stone. Work in a new recipe now and then, serve the meatballs on Tuesday instead of Thursday, if the zucchini is looking a little withered this week, buy the broccoli instead. You get the idea.

Determine what ingredients you will need before heading to the grocery store. After you have decided what recipes you want to make for the upcoming week, check your cupboards and fridge to see what you already have on hand. If you've got it, use it. Grab the remaining items from the grocery store.

Love your leftovers. Allow some space in your weekly schedule for "Leftover Night." Just heat them up and add a nice crispy green salad with crusty bread and let the family go to town! You practically get the night off and a chance to clean out the fridge.

When planning your weekly menus, be sure to keep your families schedule of weekly evening activities in mind. On nights when your family has many activities planned, go for something quick and easy like. Save the meatloaf for a lazy Sunday afternoon when time is on your side.

As you can see, meal planning doesn't have to be a complicated or time consuming ordeal, especially if you give the 2 week meal planning method a try.

Wouldn't it be such a relief to know that you don't have to worry about dinner every night? You will no longer dread dinner time, but in fact, you will actually look forward to it.

Bon Appetit!

Originally posted on FrederickMommies.com

Are you like me and do you find yourself eating out a lot with the family? We don't do it that often, but in this summer heat and the crazy busy weekends we tend to have we find ourselves picking stuff up out and about more often than we normally would.

So while sometimes I make sure to hit the grocery store for a full and complete shopping trip, recipes planned for the week ahead and all (because honestly there's nothing easier than tacos and frozen pizza - sometimes!), there are other days where I find the money sliding out of my account more quickly than I can imagine.

And I am always looking for ways to save, so I figured I'd share some ideas with all of you ...

First and foremost, it's essential to look for those Kids Eat Free deals. It's not always the place you feel like eating at, but if you can do it - DO IT. Chick-fil-a on Tuesdays has kids eating free, and did you know that if you trade in your kids' meal toy they get an ice cream? And it's not just a small tiny scoop, either. It's the real deal. Last time we went kiddo got her choice of toppings. I mean, seriously? How can you beat that?

I know that places like Moe's also have free kids night, as do Backyard Burger (newly advertised!), and Twisted Fork has kids eat free after 4pm on Sundays! And oh my goodness, for those weeknights when it's just too danged hot to cook? Torero's Mexican Restaurants have kids eat free Monday through Thursday nights! What? That's insane. But totally amazing news!

Fat Daddy's has a great 99c kids' meal which is large enough to feed an adult, honestly. And most of these places usually have child-friendly entertainment at their locations, as well, to keep the kids busy while mom and dad eat their dinner.

Another way that I tend to save money is my trusty CitiPass book. There are loads of coupons in there, and there are also plenty that I don't use. So I try to approach local moms (especially on TriangleMommies) and we do lots of coupon swaps. So if there is a restaurant in Holly Springs I likely won't get to, and there's one closer to me you won't see, either, we can make an excellent trade and I'm going to happily go there and get one entree for free after I purchase the first one!

This next suggestion might not work for some places, but I have the best find in buying myself a kids' meal at Pei Wei. They have no problem with my purchasing the kids' chicken lo mein, which actually tastes better than the adult one (less odd spices, I guess) and is way cheaper. It's a smaller serving, but it suits me just fine, and I recommend considering it for yourself, as well. Places like Cracker Barrel will also serve adults off the kids' menu, for no extra charge. What a steal!

And an option for those who might want a smaller serving and find themselves not in the mood for leftovers is to ask if you can order a half order/plate. I do that at IHOP all the time as I'm usually not going to get myself four large pancakes for breakfast. And pancakes don't reheat all that well after hanging out on the plate for a bit. And if a half-serving doesn't work, why not check out the a la carte menu? Restaurants like Bob Evans have that available and you can order that way any time of the day.

Now I know some of these places may be local to me, but there have to be opportunities to save this way by you, too. Just look into the details. Don't be afraid to ASK questions. These restaurants want you to take advantage of these deals, because it's going to bring you back and have you ordering your grown up meals for yourself, and maybe even a drink or two!

So head on out ... and be sure to report back on your findings and experience. It's info we absolutely NEED to share with one another. Because seriously -- in this heat -- who really wants to turn the oven on every night?

-- NOT ME!

Andrea blogs regularly over at http://goodgirlgoneredneck.blogspot.com - she is a SAHM who enjoys reading, writing and lots and lots of ice cream! You can also find her on twitter @goodgirlgonered.

As the beginning of school fast approaches, we are faced with another year of lunch box choices. Children form their eating habits ealry and it is wise to get them into the habit of packing and eating a healthy lunch.

Most heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis and other life long diseases begin to develop in childhood. Usually, it is a handful of foods that do the most damage and so a handful of changes can go a long way towards a healthy diet.

Let your children help pack their lunch box and offer them healthy choices. Tell them the benefits of their choices. Children truly do like to be educated and it is amazing at how much healthy information they will retain and perhaps even share with others. By offering them choices, they will feel as if they have had a say in their lunch and you will be confident that they will make a wise healthy choice. By adjusting your child's lunch box menu, you can add energy to their day, years to their life, and a healthy attitude about eating in the future.

Remember the following tips and do not forget " A handful of changes goes a long way".
1. Milk should be 1% or fat free. Whole milk is the largest source of saturated fat in a child's diet. Milk keeps hearts healthy and arteries clear.
2. When using cheese, opt for low fat or fat free. Cheese is the 2nd largest source of artery clogging fat.
3. Switch from regular lunch meat to low fat or fat free. Often they taste quite the same!
4. Always offer a fruit choice. Apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, fruit cups or applesauce. Try serving them in a variety of ways to keep it exciting. Also offer yogurt or peanut butter as a dipping sauce.
5. Always offer a vegetable choice. Vegetables reduce your child's chance of heart disease, cancer, stroke and blindness later in life. Offer small carrot sticks, celery, cucumbers. broccoli or small salads. Offer ranch dressing for vegetable dip.
6. Use whole grain bread instead of white bread. The label must indicate that it is "whole wheat".
7. Limit sugary snacks such as sweets, cakes, candy and doughnuts. Most teachers will appreciate this as well.
8. Replace regular potato chips with baked chips, pretzels, nuts, breadsticks or low fat crackers. Also beware of Olean (olestra) products, these can cause cramping and diarrhea. They can also rob your child's body of important cancer fighting carotenoids and phytochemicals. One ounce of Bugles contains as much fat as a McDonalds Quarter Pounder.
9. Use 100% fruit juice, water or flavored water for drinks. Most other juices have only 10% fruit juice and as much sugar as soda.
10. If you use Lunchables, buy the low fat Lunchables. Regular Lunchables get 2/3 of their calories from fat and sugar.

Have a safe and healthy back to school!!!

Originally posted on CharlotteMommies.com

I love "do it yourself" projects. I think I get it from my father who taught me how to fix cars and fish for food as a child. To this day, it's hard for me to buy fresh fish from a supermarket when I know I can put a hook and worm in the water and get it myself. So, when our dining room chairs needed reupholstering, I figured, "It can't be that hard," plus I had my trusty helper: RJ!

First, RJ, myself and my mother visited a local fabric store and selected a print we loved made of outdoor material. The fabric we chose is waterproof and allows for easy clean up when soiled. Perfect for a home with a 3.5 year old toddler and infant just learning to eat solids!

First step: Remove the padded seats from the chair base. Four screws and they were off!


Next: Remove the old seat covers. They were simply stapled on so it was easy to separate the fabric. Pull and tug! Watch the staples RJ!


Once the old fabric was removed we measured the new material and cut it to fit. Children's rounded tip scissors didn't seem to work on the fabric. Go figure!

'Spring Ahead. Fall Back.' That little saying always helps us remember whether we should set the clock ahead or back one hour. Similar little sayings, are also great for helping you to get and stay organized. Here are just a few:

1. A HOME FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE. Every item you have, no matter what it is, should have a designated home. For instance, the home for your magazines might be your magazine holder, which is located on your bookshelf. Or your home for your extra file folders and labels, might be the top shelf of your office supplies cabinet. If an item doesn't have a specific home, it's considered to be 'homeless.' Something that is homeless, tends to get lost. Designate a specific home for all of your stuff. Then, be sure that everything taken, gets returned to its home when done being used.

2. DON'T PUT IT DOWN. PUT IT AWAY. When you remove something from its home, the best thing to do when you're done using it, is to put it away. Yes, sometimes it seems easier to just place it on the kitchen table until later, or to put it on your desk until tomorrow. Unfortunately, this often results in many items being out of place, which can leave your home or office in disarray. Never mind the fact that it presents a bad example for other family members, or staff members. Don't give clutter a chance to form. Put it away now. You'll find it when you need it, and your environment will remain clutter-free.

3. FILE, DON'T PILE. It is very easy to get overwhelmed with paper. Our paper volume increases on a daily basis. Between lists, mail, bills, school papers, documentation, warranties, etc., it's often seen as a pain to take the time to handle those papers immediately. However, if those papers begin to transform themselves into piles--and they usually do--it's going to be even more of a pain to get them under control. Piles tend to get taller and taller, until even the idea of dismantling them seems colossal. This results in lots of piles, and even more stress. If you DON'T need a piece of paper, get rid of it immediately. Either recycle it, or give it to the appropriate party. If you DO need a piece of paper, file it right now. Don't put it down, even for a minute. Either place it in your filing cabinet, your Tickler file, your bill paying system, etc. If you take the time to file it now, it won't stand a chance of growing into a huge pile.

4. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. Clutter and chaos go hand in hand. The more things you have, the easier it is for clutter to form and grow. Always remember to place your emphasis on quality over quantity. In other words, it's not important to have a lot of things, many of which you never use. It's more beneficial to have fewer things, all of which you use and/or enjoy. Simplify your life and you will get and stay organized!

5. FIND EVERYTHING YOU NEED WHEN YOU NEED IT, GET EVERYTHING DONE WHEN IT'S DUE. Many people think that getting organized is about being neat and tidy. On the contrary, a person who is not very neat or tidy, can be very organized. Being organized actually entails 'finding everything you need when you need it, and getting everything done when it's due.' If you can master these two things, you are well on your way to being organized.

Post submitted by Maria Garcia
{Originally submitted to CharlotteMommies}

French Muffins were always the first request on a Saturday morning when I was young. Especially if we had friends sleeping over. We would beg and plea for our Mom to make these. She really only made these muffins for sleep overs and special occasions. When she did make them, I can remember waking up to the smell of cinnamon filling the house.