Busy Mommy Media

Friday Faves – September 3

Rachel — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:43:04 +0000

My days are sneaking away from me. With all the chaos of transitioning from homeschooling to public school it’s been a few weeks since I’ve had time to search out some of my favorite posts during the week. It’s been a slow process but we’re starting to get into the swing of things.

I picked a few of my favorite posts from the week but I know there are so many I missed. If you discovered a great blog post this week, please feel free to share it with us in the comments of this post so we can enjoy it too.

Back to the Basics: Frugal, Non-Toxic Green Cleaning

I love this post from Keeper of the Home. We try and use only homemade or green cleaning products in our home because my 4 year old has severe asthma. I love how frugal and healthy green cleaning products can be. If you haven’t tried making your own cleaning products, you may want to give a few of these ideas a try.You may be surprised at how effective they are.

Tutorial: Felt Flash Cards/Memory Game

Stuff like this makes me wish I was a craftier person because I would love a set of these. We have loose flash cards all over our house because it doesn’t take long for my kids to kill the box and half the set of cards. I love the way this set of felt flash cards is not only fairly indestructible (although, surely my kids would find a way) but you can string the whole set on a ring to keep them together.

Top 5 Essentials to a Writer’s Life – I loved this post by Annette Lyon, partially because I know her and think she is awesome, and partially because even though I spend nearly every waking minute of my day writing, part of me still hopes to make the move back to fiction one of these days. For now, I’m better with smaller projects. After years of doing the unfinishable jobs of caring kids and a home, I like things that can be checked off a to-do list.

Quick Macaroni & Cheese (Without the Box)

I honestly think that if it came right down to it, I could live off macaroni and cheese. I don’t mind the boxed version but I am a total sucker for homemade. I love this post featured on Rookie Moms but I was shocked to read that the main preservative in boxed mac and cheese is also an ingredient in laundry detergent. Now, THAT is not going to make me feel at all guilty when feeding it to my kids. I think I’m going to have to go back to making mac and cheese from scratch.

Weekly Preschool Lesson Plans – All About Me

Rachel — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:36:13 +0000

Preschoolers are at such a fun developmental stage because they are learning to be an individual and starting to understand all the amazing things that they can do. This week’s preschool lesson plan will help your preschooler explore who he is.

This preschool All About Me theme can be done in a preschool setting, daycare setting, or at home as part of a homeschool preschool curriculum. Feel free to pick and choose activities that fit your preschooler’s developmental needs.

For activities that require specialized materials, I’ve tried to provide variations that you can do with things you have at home. Check out your local library for some of the great all about me books to do this preschool theme on a budget.

Preschool Supplies Needed this Week

Preschool Book – I Like Myself!
Colored construction paper, cut in half
Buttons
Pieces of yarn
old magazines
safety scissors
paper plate
paint
a picture of your preschooler
A Homemade Preschool Feel Box
Non-toxic ink pad
magnifying glass
empty egg carton
dried beans
A sharpened pencil
A rolling pin
Wax Paper
A large baking sheet
Ingredients for salt dough – Salt, water, flour

Monday

Circle Time - Go through your daily circle time routine, including talking about the calendar, weather, and singing the days of the week song.

Introduce the “All About Me” Theme. Talk with the preschoolers about how there are things about each of them that are the same and there are things about each of them that are different. Explore some of the things that are the same about the preschoolers in the class. Have all preschoolers with blond hair stand up. Have all preschoolers who are wearing something blue stand up. Have all preschoolers who have brown eyes stand up.

Music and Movement – Sing Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. Sing it fast and slow. Loud and Soft.

Arts and Crafts – Create page one of an All About Me Book (a self-portrait).

Salt Dough Handprint - Help your preschooler make a mold of his hand in salt dough and bake it.

Language and Reading – Read I Like Myself! Have preschoolers share all of the things that they like about themselves with the preschool class.

Preschool Math Activity – How Tall Am I?

Tuesday

Circle Time - Go through your daily circle time routine, including talking about the calendar, weather, and singing the days of the week song.

Play I Spy Friends to help everyone get to know all of the other preschoolers in their new preschool class.

Music and Movement – Sing If You Are Happy and You Know it. Add variation to the song by using unexpected actions such as, run around, dance around, say hello, etc.

Arts and Crafts – Create page two of an All About Me Book (Things I Like).

Language and Reading – Re-read I Like Myself! Have preschoolers talk about things they do to make themselves feel better when they feel sad.

Math and Science - Preschool Biology Activity – Eye Dilation

People Puzzle – Glue a picture of your preschooler to a piece of thick cardstock or cardboard. Cut the picture up into puzzle pieces and have your preschooler practice putting the pieces together.

Wednesday

Circle Time - Go through your daily circle time routine, including talking about the calendar, weather, and singing the days of the week song.

Introduce the Preschool Feel Box . Tell the preschoolers that they will take turns reaching inside the feel box. Let preschoolers know that you expect them not to guess what is inside the feel box until everyone has had a chance to have a turn. Include any item related to the current preschool theme. You may include a sock, a watch, a small hand or foot figure, a bar of soap, etc.

Music and Movement – Do the Hokey Pokey.

Arts and Crafts – Create page three of an All About Me Book (I Am Special).

Salt Dough Handprint - Help your preschooler paint his salt dough handprint.

Math and Science – Fingerprint Exploring

Language and Reading – Re-read I Like Myself!

Start a Preschool Alphabet Wall. Hang the printed letters on the wall. Have each preschooler help to decorate the letter that their name starts with.

Thursday

Circle Time - Go through your daily circle time routine, including talking about the calendar, weather, and singing the days of the week song.

Print your preschooler’s name and several other names (maybe members of your family) in easy to read letters on a piece of paper. Post the names all over the room. Have your preschooler walk around the room and practice finding their name. Talk about the things that are different about each name. Maybe several names start with the same letter but one is long and one is short. Talk about the things that are the same about each preschooler’s name. Name recognition is an important first step to literacy.

Music and Movement – Sing the ABC’s. Have your preschooler stand up when they sing the letter that their name starts with. Sing the ABC’s again. This time have your reschooler stand up and sit back down when they hear any letter that is in their name.

Arts and Crafts – Create page four of an All About Me Book (My Favorite Color).

Math and Science – Sit in a circle with your preschooler. Tell him that you are going to blow up a balloon and you need him to count how many times you have to blow before the balloon is full. Blow into the balloon and pinch it closed after each breath so you can count with your preschooler.

Language and Reading – Read Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon . This is such a great preschool book that teaches kids to have confidence in themselves and love the things that make them different. I’d highly recommend buying this one or checking it out from the library. Ask your preschooler to think of something that makes him different and talk about why that makes him special.

Friday

Circle Time - Go through your daily circle time routine, including talking about the calendar, weather, and singing the days of the week song.

Have your preschooler find one of his favorite things and use words to describe it to you. Ask him to be descriptive and try and describe it to someone who can’t see it, just like if he was talking on the phone.

Music and Movement – Play Ring Around the Rosy.

Arts and Crafts – Create page five of an All About Me Book (My Family). Assemble the book and have your preschooler “read” it to you by making up a story to go along with each page.

Math and Science – Play the Egg Carton Counting Game.

Language and Reading – Re-read I Like Myself!. Talk to your preschooler about how special you think he is and tell him what your favorite things about him are.

Sun Protecion Shouldn’t End With Summer (Product Review)

Pamela — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:34:12 +0000

Can you smell it in the air? Fall is just about to drop and the season will change. You may be packing up the beach toys, putting away the shorts, tanktops and sandals. Depending on where you live, you are pulling out the cold and/or rainy weather gear. At this point you are probably not thinking about the effects of the sun on your children’s skin. It is a common misconception that if that clouds are covering up the sun you can’t get sunburnt, or that even if the sun is out, but it’s cold, you can’t get sunburnt. Though in the first case, the risk is minimized, in the second – it is patently not true. If you are out in the daytime you and your children are at risk of sun overexposure.

Keep the SPF

A lot of time people only think to put on the sunscreen and sunblocks in the spring and summer time. But if you are headed to the park for a day of play, you still need to put on some sort of protection for your child. Some form of sunscreen should be in your diaper bag year round. If you are like me, you are constantly worried that you will reach into the diaper bag or – worse – your purse only to pull out a hand covered in cream because at some point or another the nozzle or top of the sunscreen or other lotion bottle got opened and subsequently the contents were squirted all over the rest of the bag. It is just not a happy situation. The very clever people at MD Moms have provided a great solution to the mess – Babysafe Sunscreen Towelettes!

MD Moms Sunscreen Towelettes

Let’s face it: babies like to go outside – and so do their parents! These award-winning soft wipes are saturated with a gentle, sweat-proof, broad spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen that’s enriched with Vitamins E and B5, marine silk, aloe and oat, to protect, soothe and moisturize even the youngest baby’s skin. Each wipe contains enough sunscreen to cover baby from head to toe, with no fuss and no mess. They’re a dermatologist-approved way to keep baby protected from UV rays at any age, anywhere, anytime.

Contains no phthalates, lanolin, mineral oil, petroleum or waxes
Contains physical sunscreens, titanium and zinc oxide, as the only active ingredients. No chemical sunscreen ingredients.
Broad Spectrum: protects against UVA and UVB rays
UVA rating: PA+++ (provides the highest level of protection against UVA rays)
Clinically tested, hypoallergenic & dermatologist approved
Made in the USA. No animal testing
Water resistant and sweatproof
Each wipe has enough sunscreen to cover the average 2 year old from head-to-toe
Only $1.73 per premeasured application! (When using even half the recommended dose, typical lotion sunscreens are between $2 – $5 per application)

TSA-approved for carry-on luggage

Here’s What I Think:

I am guessing that you all are probably realizing that I am very concerned with the smell of things. Because my very first action with these towelettes was to smell them, and they smell rather pleasant. You can still tell they have sunscreen in them, but it is not overwhelming. I must say I was very excited about the prospect of sunscreen in a towelette form, because my kids just hate in when I put the cream on or, spray it on, and this product did not disapoint. They didn’t even realize I was putting on sunscreen when I wiped them down with the towlettes. I assume they just thought that I was giving them a little bath. I was pleased to see that there is a generous amount of sunscreen on each towelette without it being copious. I also really like the way they are packaged. You can get them in a small pack with 15 towlettes or you can get them in single packages – great for tossing in the picnic basket – because the packages are water and sweat proof (which means nothing is getting in or out!)

You can purchase this product on Amazon:

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a sample of this product from MD Moms, I was in no way directly compensated to publish this post. These are my real and honest opinions.

Winning Wednesday – September 1, 2010

Jennifer — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:52 +0000

Busy moms are often pressed for time, but entering blog giveaways can help you score some great products for your family for free. With some perseverance and a little luck, you too can be a winner! Busy Mommy Media has scoured the internet and discovered some of the greatest blog giveaways for mom bloggers so you can spend your precious free time entering giveaways instead of searching for them.

Winning Ways

Can you believe it is September already? It will be the holidays before you know it. I know I have talked about this before, but if you want to make a serious dent in your Christmas budget, now is the time to start entering blog giveaways like crazy. Set yourself a goal and enter a certain number of giveaways a day. If you do it consistently, the win notices will start to come.

Featured Giveaways

Enter to win a Texas Instruments Math Makeover Prize Pack @ Busy Mommy Media (9/6, US only)
Enter to win a Yoplait Splitz Picnic Prize Pack including an insulated Picnic Bag @ Great Blog Giveaways (9/14, US 18+)

Giveaways for Moms

Enter to win the InStyler, a rotating hair straightener and curling iron @ Shefinds (9/3, US 18+, exc. FL)
Enter to win Two professional nail art kits from Art Club @ painted Lady fingers (9/15, Worldwide)
Enter to win a Bored Inc. Tee of Choice @ HSUper Parents (9/10, Worldwide)
Enter to win a $100 Stella and Dot Gift Certificate @ Busy at Home (9/14, US 18+)

Giveaways for the Young or Young at Heart

Enter to win a Crazy Forts! Construction Toy @ DadLabs (9/2, Worldwide)
Enter to win a Kidorable Umbrella @ Love Hate Reviews (9/11, US only)
Enter to win a child’s size homeschool t-shirt (2 winners) @ The Johns Family (9/7, US only, no PO boxes)
Enter to win a Crocheted Character hat from The Head Said @ Fabulous Family Reviews and Giveaways (9/11, US only)

Giveaways for Baby

Enter to win 1001 Healthy Baby Answers book @ The Twinners Reviews and Giveaways (9/08, Worldwide)
Enter to win a Best Bottom Cloth Diaper System @ Fabulous Family Reviews and Giveaways (9/14, US only)
Enter to win a $25 gift card to BobbleRoos – baby and toddler bedding and more @ Fabulous Family Reviews and Giveaways (9/12, US only)
Enter to win a Hip Violet Handmade Stylish Baby Bib @ HSUper Parents (9/09, Worldwide)

Giveaways for the Foodie

Enter to win a Funky Monkey Snacks Sampler Pack @ The Twinners Reviews and Giveaways (9/10, Worldwide)
Enter to win Two free product coupons for Amy’s Kitchen and a tote bag @ Featured Product Reviews (9/7, Worldwide)
Enter to win your choice of Teaquilibrium Herbals @ Closer To Lucy (9/3, Worldwide)
Enter to win a box of 24 Divvies cookies in the winner’s choice of flavor. (These cookies are dairy, nut and egg free.) @ Mom’s Plans (9/06, US 18+)

Giveaways for House and Home

Enter to win a 36″ lighted Noble Fir Wreath from Balsam Hill (a $130 value) @ Busy at Home (9/14, US 18+)
Enter to win a $30 Target Gift Certificate @ Anonymous 8 (9/07, Worldwide 18+)
Enter to win a Pampered Chef Ulimate Mandoline, @ Goodnight Moon (9/1)
Enter to win a $65 CSN Gift Card @ Carol’s Crochet Place (9/9, US and Canada)

Jen’s Giveaway Pick

Enter to win a $50 Sunglass Hut Gift Card and a Eucerin SkinFIRST Everyday Protection Prize Pack @ Beauty Junkies Unite (9/06, US 18+)

For more blog giveaways, visit Great Blog Giveaways. Remember, you can’t win if you don’t enter!

Until next time,

Jen

Working From Home Without a Home Office

Del Kroemer — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:36:21 +0000

Not everyone has the space to set up their own home office in a separate room. If you find that you would like to work at home but are worried that you will not be as productive without a home office, there are a few things that you can do to ensure that your day and your business run as smoothly as it would if you had the home office space.

Clear Out a Closet

I run my “home office” primarily from my kitchen. I have a laptop set up on my table and I cleared out my main walk in closet to use it as my office space. I went to the dollar store and stocked up on plastic filing trays, and all of the standard office equipment such as pen holders, stickers, a hole puncher, file folders with labels, and everything else I thought I would need. I also have four shelves. One has business books for reference, another shelf has my in and out work trays and my mail basket, the third shelf has all of my assorted office supplies and the fourth shelf has my all in one printer and supplies. I have 2 stacked cardboard filing boxes with hanging file folders, all labeled for my client work on the floor in the space beside my shelves.

Use Any Available Wall Space

I have a big bulletin board tacked up on my wall close to my back door. On this I have a calendar, reminder notes, schedules, and other odds and ends that I can look at with a glance and be reminded of what I need to do. I have a row of clipboards hanging on pegs beside the board for day to day work for each client I am presently dealing with for that week. I have a mail bag hanging on another hook for packages and things that need to go out to the UPS delivery service. I make the most of the wall space, because it is valuable space too!

Get Organized on Your Computer

Get the most from the programs you use online and offline. For your email, create as many folders as you need to keep track of all correspondence with clients, customers, service companies, sub contractors, or any other essential persons you deal with in your business. On your computer, keep all of your completed work or notes in separate folders for each client.

Print them off every month and keep a hard copy in your filing cabinet, or if you prefer to use flash drives or CDs, burn a back up of your files on a disk in a regular routine. This way, you will never lose your clients important information or completed work. I also upload any files to my server that I think I may need but do not want to be bothered digging through burnt CDs or my flash drive for. Also, if I am working on something and a client pops online asking for a particular file, I can simply send them a url to download the file themselves.

A home Office Is Not a Home Office Essential

If you are creative and organized, there is certainly no reason why you cannot effectively run a business without a separate room for a home office. With the help of the programs available for free online, you can store and save files, manage your invoices or other paper work without the need to keep physical paper files if you don’t want to. A place for your laptop, a comfortable chair, and a few shelves and you should be ready to get down to business and make some money.

Pull-Ups Coupons

Lorie — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:35:32 +0000

I have three who use pull-ups right now. They are quite expensive, so I try to always have a coupon. I have found that at Walmart, I can get the name brand for less than the generic if I use a coupon. I love the pull-ups website. You can go on there once a month and print two coupons for $2.00 off. So, if you have kids who use pull-ups consider signing up on the pull-ups website to save money of those expensive things.

Start Planning NOW For Christmas

Lorie — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:20:13 +0000

I know your saying it’s not Christmas yet, but guess what it’s going to be here before you know it. Are you going to be ready? Christmas is less than 4 months away. You may be saying, I don’t want to think about that right now. I’m here to tell you if you want to plan a frugal Christmas you need to plan now. Being frugal does not mean giving up celebrating holidays, it does mean planning ahead and setting goals. Here are a few ideas to get you started in your planning.

Plan a Budget

Look at your budget and consider how much you have to realistically spend on Christmas. Try not to even consider credit cards because that will only get you in more debt. Plan a budget and stick to it! You will do even better if you start this at the beginning of the year. Anytime though is better than waiting until the middle of December to try and figure out where you are getting the money for Christmas gifts.

Start Saving

Once you know how much you plan to spend, start saving. Take how much you are planning to spend and divide it into the number of months you have left and you will know how much you need to save every month for gifts. You can even start taking your extra change and putting it into a jar. This is an easy way to collect some extra cash for the holidays. I have also heard that people collect swagbucks and turn them into Amazon gift cards. They don’t touch those cards and use them for Christmas gift money. Do what works best for you and your family.

Make a Christmas List

Write down every name you need to buy a gift for, don’t forget gift exchanges at work and other events you may be attending. Write down what you plan to buy them and how much you will be spending. As you collect enough money to buy the gifts, buy them and mark them off. This will cause you a whole lot of less stress when it gets closer to the day.

Consider Homemade Gifts

Homemade Gifts usually take more of your time, but if you plan now, you will be able to make those for your family and friends. Homemade gifts add that special touch that you took the time to do it and did not just go out and buy something. The first time I made homemade gifts, I was surprised at how much everyone really appreciated them. Homemade gifts can really save you some money if you find that you have more people to buy for than your budget allows you. This year I am planning to make homemade jelly and loafs of homemade bread and put them in a basket for much of my family and friends gifts.

Use Coupons and Drugstore Programs

A couple of years ago, I made a plan each week and went to places like Rite Aid and CVS. I used coupons and took advantage of sales and rebates or extra care bucks. I used these to get LOTS of free stuff. I placed these things in a basket and wrapped it nicely with a shrink wrap kit that I bought at the Dollar Tree and had very nice gifts. Some things in the baskets were razors, candles, tooth brushes, lotions, shower gels, shampoos, and I even found a great deal on some books that I included in the baskets. Everyone really loved the gifts that I gave that year and I spent very little money on those gifts and I started collecting early and this made it so easy to just put them together in early December and be done with my gifts.

Don’t Forget the Other Holiday Expenses

There are a lot of other expenses for the holidays. You need to plan for those as well when you are planning. Food is a big one for lots of families. Consider stocking up on items like sugar, flour, and other baking supplies you may need. These items can cost a lot if you wait until December to buy all you need. Make a list of what you plan to make and start stocking up on those items. Gift wrapping is something else you will not want to forget about. This area can cost a lot of money! You can get lots of nice wrapping stuff at Dollar stores for a whole lot cheaper and they start selling it in October so you can stock up. Don’t forget to see what you have leftover from last year before you start buying. I also think wrapping items in recyclable bags is a nice touch because most cost $1.00 and you are giving them another gift that they can use and you are helping the environment at the same time.

If you want to have a frugal Christmas, to stay in your budget, and stay out of debt then consider planning and preparing ahead of time. Planning ahead will give you the gift of peace this holiday season and take away a lot of the stress.

Frugal Date Nights at Home

Lorie — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:54:07 +0000

Date nights after marriage are really important because they help keep the marriage fresh, like when you were dating before marriage. Keeping the romance alive is all about making time for each other a priority. In the beginning of my marriage, we both had good jobs and went out on a lot of date nights. After the kids came and I quit my job to stay at home with them, date nights became few and far in-between. I had to sit down and really think about things we could do that did not cost a lot. The other problem was child care cost. This would make going on any date seem impossible. I came to realize though that after you have kids is the time you really need a date night. Just being able to talk to your spouse without being interrupted is so nice. You get to focus on each other and not worry about the kids. Since child care expenses are always a problem, we seem to do a lot of date nights at home after the kids have gone to bed. I really think that when you spend less on a date night for some reason they seem to be more meaningful and the ones I remember most. Here are a few ideas we have used for frugal date nights at home.

Movie Night

After the kids go to bed, we like to watch a movie together. We get the movies from the library or the Redbox, along with pop and popcorn made with our air popper. Sometimes we even pick out some $1 candy from The Dollar Tree. Make sure you pick a movie you both will enjoy. This never costs us a lot of money and we have a nice quiet evening together. You could also watch a show on television together. My husband and I really enjoy watching American Idol together. So pick something to watch and spend some time together.

Do a Project Together

The other day, I had a lot of dishes to do. My husband said he would do them with me. We put a movie on for the kids to watch and told them we would be busy. We got the dishes done but also spent some time talking together. It was nice uninterrupted time, which we do not get to have very much. My husband later told me that it was a lot of fun and maybe we should wash dishes together more often. I think it was one of the more memorable times we have spent together and we also got a project done in our home that really needed to be done. So, take a look around your house, is there something you need to get done that you can do together? I don’t think doing the dishes all by myself would have been that much fun. So, make getting a project done fun and time to spend together at the same time.

Game Night

After the kids go to bed is a great time to play games. My husband and I have played cards together and it’s always fun. You could also play board games or even video games. We have a Wii and I like to challenge my husband to some of those games. Sometimes, though, two people are not enough to play a game, so you could invite another couple over and have a group date.

These are just a few ideas to stay at home and have a frugal date night. Do you have an idea to share? Please leave it in the comments. Just because you have kids or no money does not mean you can’t plan a fun, frugal date at home.

The Benefits of a Laptop When Working From Home With Children

Del Kroemer — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:48:37 +0000

More moms (and dads!) are getting in on the action of starting their own home business or working from home in general. But often times the ability to have a room for an office is not practical for some and with children to chase around an entire house, you may end up spending little time in an office if you do have one. This is why laptops are the best solution and highly beneficial for work at home parents.

You Can Take Your Laptop Anywhere

If your children are watching TV in the living room, you can sit on a couch beside them and work. The lightness of the laptop and the wireless capabilities should provide you with everything you need. If you want to work in the kitchen or take the computer out back in the yard while they play, it can all be done with ease. No cords are required, and with a quality laptop you can run your battery for up to 6 hours without having to worry about plugging it back into the wall. With a strong modem that is centrally located in your home you should have no problems still receiving a signal and browsing online whether you are inside or outside your home.

Use Your Laptop as a Mobile Device

With the benefits of software such as Skype –which allows you to talk to people from around the world for free- you can plug in a microphone and headset device and hold conference calls, one-on-one trainings, discuss project details with a client, or participate in group discussions on a social level. With the use of a noise cancelling headset, you can cut out the sound of your children, allowing them to continue playing while in your vicinity.

Laptops Are Space Savers With Loads of (Hard Drive) Space

You do not need to worry about the lack of storage space that a laptop may consist of or how much space it’ll take up wherever you are. Laptops were made to be portable and are perfect for use in the home or on the go. With the recent changes in some of the modern laptops, you can purchase one with almost as much hard drive space as a desktop. If you do have the need for more space, you can purchase a 16gb flash drive that is the size of an eraser and conveniently load and store it on a shelf in your kitchen closet. That way you won’t have to worry about your children getting onto your laptop and wiping out your files or projects due the next morning!

Your children may want to emulate you when you use a laptop. Since it is so compact, you could give them your old laptop, or even find a deal for $100 around back to school time. This is a great way to encourage them to learn how to search for things online, play games and strengthen their interactive skills, listen to music, and learn to sit quietly “working” away beside you for hours. These are some of the benefits you can reap when using a laptop while working at home with your children.

Balancing Meals and the Mayhem of Working from Home

Del Kroemer — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:19:30 +0000

When you work from home, seemingly simple activities like family meals can bring additional mayhem. Luckily, there are a number of things that you can do to balance your meal preparation, saving time and simplifying meals without sacrificing your working time. Implement the following tips to gain control over your meal preparation.

Plan Your Meals Ahead of Time

When you have a good idea of what meals you will be preparing throughout the week, you can cut down on shopping and preparation time from day to day. Plan your meals according to your schedule so that you assign easy meals to hectic days and more complicated fares for weekends and when you have more time.

Take Advantage of Crock-pot Cooking

With a crock pot, you can prepare a meal in the morning and it will cook throughout the day. Crock pots are ideal for soups, stews, roasts, grains, vegetables and a variety of other meal options, greatly simplifying the cooking and meal preparation process so that you can get more done throughout the day.

Get Help From Your Hubby

Let your spouse know how he can pitch in with the meal preparation throughout the week. Make sure that he is participating in meal preparation throughout the week, or get everyone involved by giving everyone a task as part of meal preparation. Meals where everyone can have a task, such as chopping or shredding vegetables or mixing ingredients can get the entire family involved.

Prepare Ahead of Time and Freeze

Many foods can be prepared in large batches and frozen for later reheating. When you are short on time, you can pull out the frozen ingredients and reheat them. This works especially well for pastas and sauces, lasagna and casseroles, for example. There are numerous cookbooks available that teach the art of freezing meals ahead of time for easy preparation later.

Utilize Takeout When You Must

There is nothing wrong with resorting to takeout when things are hectic and you need some free time. Keep a folder of takeout menus and highlight healthy choices so that you can make good choices even when resorting to take out. Every take out restaurant will have a healthy option or two, though you should not be afraid to resort to pizza to satisfy the family when things are really hectic.

There are many tips and techniques that you can harness to make meal time simpler for your family. You can free up some time and make meal time stress-free for yourself and your family just by doing a little bit of planning, delegating tasks to other family members, taking advantage of a crock pot and using your freezer to your advantage.