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You read it correctly!  No weight loss resolutions for me. Instead of vowing to lose ten pounds in 2013, I'm making New Year's aspirations! I'm searching my heart for those faded dreams I postponed and finding courage to dream new ones. 

Each week, carve out some quiet time to dream and reflect in a gratitude journal. As a mother, shifting priorities and multitasking come naturally. In the face of dirty laundry, school homework and work deadlines, it is tempting to abandon those long held aspirations. Ask the tough questions. Are those old dreams still relevant? How can I make them happen? If not, what next? Not only will it relax the mind, it will recharge the soul.  

Start the new year with gratitude and a sense of wonder.  Believe in your aspirations and allow them to take flight. They will make your heart sing a beautiful song. Happy 2013!

With 14 days until Christmas here are a few tips to help you get to the end of the year without pulling your hair out.

If you have not found the time to send Christmas cards yet this year don't worry there is still time to get them out. Send e-cards. Snap a picture of the family in front of the Christmas tree, and send an e-mail blast to family and friends. Save it in your drafts, and blast it out on December 22nd before the holiday rush takes place. This will save you time, money on stamps, and is environmentally friendly as there will be less envelopes going in the trash.

If you are mailing presents get them wrapped and put in the mail before the end of the week to make sure they arrive by Christmas.

Start wrapping a few gifts each night while your children are asleep so that you are not doing it all on Christmas Eve. That way, once the kids nestled snug in their bed Mom and Dad can kick back and relax and wait for the big guy to come down the chimney.

Make sure you check toys to see if they need batteries, and purchase them now. If at all possible add the batteries before wrapping. If the gift requires a charge it is a good time to charge now, before you wrap so that it will be ready to be played with Christmas morning. There is nothing more heart-breaking to a child on Christmas day who gets the present he or she has been anticipating all year only to find out it has to charge over night before it can be played with.

Get your home ready for holiday guests. Next week wash linens and make guest beds. Pick up any clutter around the house that takes away from your Christmas decorations and festive holiday spirit.

This weekend would be a great time to make and freeze a dish to serve your family for Christmas day brunch. Don't forget to take it out on Christmas Eve and let it thaw in the refrigerator.

Charge your digital camera and download or delete pictures so there is plenty storage to capture all your holiday memories.

Start making your New Year's Eve plans now. Line up a sitter, and have a kid-free night with your hubby and close friends.

Select and outfit for New Year's Eve now so you are not running around like a chicken with its head cut off the day before or worse the day of the celebration.

Most important, don't forget to take some time for yourself. Moms are always trying to pull it all together for the big day. Shopping, cooking, wrapping, and cleaning it can all be a bit over-whelming. Schedule 30 minutes here and there to relax, read a book, take a hot bath with candles. Whatever you do just make sure you take care of yourself too!

Merry Christmas!

We all love the shopping, baking, cheer and smells of Christmas, and it is easy to get caught up in swiping that card with a big smile on your face. However, as fast as those smiles show up on your face from buying, buying and more buying the frowns will come around in January when you open your mail and the dreaded post-Christmas credit card bills come flying in. You can run, but you can't hide from them. They will show up in your mailbox in January, and you can close the mail box or hide them in a drawer, but they will not disappear. Do yourself a favor this year, and give yourself the gift of a Christmas budget and stick to the budget. Your present may not come in a pretty box with bows on it, and you may not reap the rewards of that gift today, but you will be thankful for that gift in the new year.

I bet I’m not the only one with this family memory:  Mom cooking up great smells in the kitchen preparing for a family dinner on Thanksgiving morning while you sit in front of the TV in your PJ’s watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

It’s been a tradition in our house for as long as I can remember and it’s something that has been on my bucket list for just as long!  But, with small kids and many miles between me and NYC, it’s just not in the cards for our family in the near future.  Luckily for us Houstonians, all is not lost!

Houston’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, now called The Annual Holiday Parade, is a 63-year-old holiday tradition in Houston.  It showcases large floats featuring live entertainment, giant helium-filled balloons, thousands of musicians in marching bands, drill teams, dancers, cheerleaders and clowns to more than 400,000 parade-goers who line the streets of downtown Houston. 

Seeing how I am a lover of parades and we are junkies for anything new, our family decided to venture down to Houston last Thanksgiving morning to see what our hometown parade was all about. 

I will admit, it’s a fun experience, but not without its challenges!  Here’s a bit of advice: 

The parade starts at 9, so make sure you get to the city with plenty of time to park and find yourself a viewing spot along the street.  For us, parking was easy to find for a small fee.  Make sure you study the parade route (www.ifest.org/2012-holiday-parade-route) so you can plan where to park without much of a walk while still giving yourselves an easy departure. 

Once parked, we basically followed the crowd and scoped out what we thought was a good spot to sit – unfolded the chairs, laid out the blanket, handed out the snacks and waited.  It was a little tight and there were a couple of people in front of us who were standing just behind a rope we thought had been placed up to keep the crowds back.  I was a decent spot considering the crowd and we were happy.

About 5 minutes before the parade was to start, a police officer made his way down the street and removed the rope that was keeping the first line of spectators at bay.  When that happened, everyone flooded forward to the street and we were left pretty far behind the sidewalk with about 3 layers of people between us.  So, the lesson here is – stake out a spot, but don’t get too comfy in it just yet.  Mingle around a bit and wait for the “barrier” to be released so you can move forward and get a nice spot close to the street and the action.

 So, we learned our lesson there, but it didn’t hamper the spirit!  It was a brisk day so we packed our hot chocolate and coffee, got the kids on the shoulders and enjoyed what we could.  Because there are so many floats and helium balloons, there was plenty to see and listen to and enjoy and it definitely got us into the Holiday spirit.

Remember I mentioned coffee and hot chocolate . . . about 45 minutes or so later, we all started to feel the effects of our warm little treats.  My husband went on a mission to find the nearest port-o-potty and even tracked down an officer or two before we realized all of the restrooms were on the opposite side of the street which meant crossing the parade route now in full-effect.  If we had made it across, it was still quite a trek from there, so it started to become quite clear we didn’t have many options. 

So, our parade experience ended with us all packing at the speed of light, racing down the street to the car and hunting frantically for the nearest McDonald’s. 

When I asked the boys if they wanted to do the parade again this year, the only thing they remembered was how bad they had to go to the restroom and that they got to have french fries for the ride home from McDonald's.  But, what I remember was a fun morning spent outside with the family and thousands of other Texans enjoying some rare, brisk air, excitement of the season, goose bumps from the wonderful high school bands from all over our area and a Papa Smurf balloon that seemed to touch the tallest skyscraper.

If you are up for an adventure this Thanksgiving, I would recommend heading down for the parade – just make sure you are near a potty and you are dressed warm.  If not, stay in your jammies on the couch and watch it on TV, I guarantee you’ll have fun either way!

For more information on the parade, visit the website at: http://www.ifest.org/2012-parade-info/.  

About 8 weeks ago I told my family that we were going to take a challenge and not eat out for an entire month.  I really thought that this was going to be hard, because during that time my boys were in the middle of their football, cross country and soccer seasons.  My husband was up for the challenge, but the boys were not too excited about it, because their guilty pleasure (as well as my husbands) is Taco Bell after game night.  What I learned, and what the rest of my family learned, throughout this process is that eating at home every meal is not a sacrifice.  We get healthier meals, we saved big time on the dining budget, and all it took was a little planning and preparation on my part.  Yes, it is easier to say I am going to just hit the drive through or pick up a pizza on the way home.  And believe me there were a few times I really thought long and hard about it, but I can say we not only made our month, but we have been at it for about 8 weeks now.  (After six weeks into not eating out we finally ate out once to celebrate both my boys making All-A's/All-S's on their first nine weeks report cards.  And, we have not eaten out again since then.)  A couple of tips I can share for those wanting to take the challenge:

*          Plan your meals.

*          Prepare as much as you can in advance. 

*          Cook double your meals and freeze one for later.  This works well with soups, spaghetti, and chili.

*          When preparing meals with ground turkey or ground beef cook extra and freeze the extra for the next meal.

*          Use leftovers in your next meal, i.e. what you may have left over from dinner can be used in a breakfast burrito or omelet.  Leftover Mexican food works well for breakfast the next morning.  You can even stuff your breakfast burritos after dinner and freeze them for later use.

*          Moms if you stay at home or work from home try to prepare as much of your meal as you can before the kids get home from school.

*          Use your crockpot.  Fix it and forget it until dinner time.  You can check out momswhothink.com for crock-pot-recipes or you can click on the link:  http://www.momswhothink.com/crock-pot-recipes/crock-pot-recipes-for-the-crockpot-and-slow-cooker.html.

*          Pack snacks and sandwiches on game days or days when you know you will be away from the house for a while.  This will alleviate the temptation to hit the drive through or your favorite family friendly restaurant.

*          Talk to your children about the benefits of eating at home.  It's healthier and it's cheaper.

*          Get your family excited by making a plan for what you will do with the money you save from not eating out.  For every time we would have eaten out or were tempted to eat out we put $20 in savings.  You can put a savings jar in the kitchen for everyone to see (motivation).

I hope this motivates you to take the challenge, and I hope the tips above get you well on your way to a healthier lifestyle and a little extra savings to do something special with your family.  If you and your family do decide to take the challenge please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and let me know how it worked for your family.  Feel free to share the tips that worked as well.

Since I owned a laundry business my family and friends think I have a Ph.D. in laundry.  They come to me with all their laundry questions, and I don't mind one bit.  From many of their questions and personal experience I have tips for just about all your laundry needs.  Here are some of those tips I want to share with you:

*          Add 1 cup of vinegar to a load at the beginning of the rinse cycle (use vinegar in lieu of fabric softener).  It will make your clothes soft and fluffy while cleaning your washing machine at the same time.

*          Do not add too much bleach to your laundry, because it will turn your clothes yellow.  It will not make them whiter, and over time bleach will weaken the fabric causing holes and tears.

*          It is not necessary to add more detergent to your laundry when your laundry is very dirty, because extra detergent causes more suds which can prohibit dirt from being washed off the fabric.  Excess suds can also leave a residue on your clothes causing them to be stiff.

*          Take clothes out of the dryer when the buzzer goes off.  This will keep your clothes from shrinking.  If you can remove your special pieces of clothing while they are still damp and hang them this will help prevent shrinking as well.

*          If you don't have time to fold your laundry when the buzzer goes off at least take them out of the dryer and lay them over a chair or sofa to prevent wrinkles.

*          I get asked, "How do I keep my HE washing machine clean?"  often, and I found the best thing to do is use one cup of vinegar in a wash cycle.  Also, leave your washing machine open whenever you are not washing.  This will allow your washing machine to dry out completely, and will keep the machine from leaving any unwanted smell in your laundry.

Right about now you are probably sitting around wondering, "What the heck am I going to do with all this Halloween candy?"  Well, fret no more, because I am here to help. The ten ideas below will get you well on your way to dwindling down the candy jar.   Unfortunately, the first few ideas are not waistline friendly, but you can always make the treats and share with your neighbors, friends and co-workers.

1.           Chop up chocolate candy bars into small pieces and use the pieces as ice-cream toppings.  You can sort the candy bars and make a variety of toppings, i.e. Snickers, Butterfingers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, etc.  Plan a family ice-cream sundae night at home.  This can be yummy family time!

2.         Use the M&M Pretzels as a substitute for pecans in your favorite praline recipe. 

3.         Melt your favorite Hershey's Miniatures and use as fondue with your favorite fruit or pretzels.  I can't think of many things much better than chocolate dipped bananas (and you get a serving of fruit in too-that's a win-win in my book!).

4.         You can also use the Hershey's Bars to make hot chocolate.  Melt your bar, add milk, warm and stir.  Yummy! 

5.         Check with your dentist.  Many dentist offices offer prizes for turning in your Halloween candy.

6.         Send candy to our soldiers overseas.

7.         If you have a birthday party coming up soon, buy a piñata and use the leftover Halloween candy to stuff the piñata.

8.         Donate your candy to a shelter or nursing home.

9.         You can freeze chocolate.  Put your chocolate candy bars in a Ziploc bag, freeze, and use it with your Christmas baking.

10.       Take it to the office, and share with your co-workers.

Hopefully, this will help you put some of that candy to good use.

Today I realized I have been scratching the wood floor in my husband's office each time I move his plant across the floor when I am watering. The white scratches on the beautiful hardwood floor were driving me crazy so I tried the Minwax Wood Finish Stain Marker. It works! All you have to do is color over the scratches, wait a few minutes and wipe with a paper towel or soft cloth, and your ugly scratches are no more. I was so excited that I took the marker to the dining room table, the living room floors, and the cabinets. I felt like I was giving everything a makeover, and it looked great when I was done. Warning!! Do not use this marker in front of your little ones, especially those who love doodling on your wall and floor. They will think it is okay to take their pink, blue and purple markers to the floor and furniture, because they saw Mommy do it. It wouldn't be too much fun trying to clean that mess, but if you find yourself in that situation the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works wonders on just about anything. Before I forget...you can find the Minwax Wood Finish Stain Marker at Ace, Home Depot or Lowes. It comes in different colors like red mahogany, cherry, dark walnut, etc. to match the different wood colors you may have in your home. The price ranges from $8.00-$10.00, and it is money well spent.

My girlfriends often ask me how I stay so organized and keep it all together.  Really, I don't know; I believe it's in my DNA.  Organizing things make me happy!  It comes natural for me.  I don't have to work at being organized.  For some people art, playing music, sports, etc. come natural for them.  For me, it's organizing. I love sharing tips on organization with my dear friends and readers.    I love having an organized house, closet, car, pantry, whatever.  I have been accused of being a bit OCD, and that did bother me at one point in my life.  However, I have learned to embrace it, and I realized my OCD tendencies allow me to share tips on what's worked for me with others.  Hopefully, I can help some of you get organized too.

For Instance...the car.  I purchased an inexpensive basket (from the Dollar Tree).  It is red to match my vehicle.  I keep the basket on my front seat, because it keeps things I typically put on my front seat or floorboard from spreading around the car and dropping to the ground when I open the door.  I must confess some may not have problems with this, but I am not the best driver in the world, and it doesn't bother me a bit to admit that.  So, when I am driving things have a tendency to end up on the floor.  The basket keeps all my things in place.  When I drive to the mailbox I put my mail in there, and it stays put.  Before that it would be all over the floor board and in between my seats.  I hated that.  I lost a bill one time, because it fell between the seat and the center console.  I didn't miss that piece of mail much.  Good thing is I found it before it was due.

I also keep a small note pad, ink pen, and a pencil in my center console.  Yes, they match the car too.  I find that while I am driving (when the kids are not in the car of course) I think of all these things that I don't want to forget.  When I am at a red light I jot them down in my notepad.

In the pantry I like to be able to find things easily.  I don't have time to waste looking around for the ketchup bottle (I don't keep mine in the refrigerator, because it does not come out quick enough).  Every moment I can save counts.  A great way to organize is by using the small shoe-box sized totes and label the front of it (so the hubby and kids can find things easily too).  If you don't have a label-maker you need to get one.  This is an essential tool in getting organized and staying organized.  I like to label everything!  You can put your totes in the pantry, and you can stack them up if you don't have lots of room.  Now obviously the tote thing doesn't work for can goods and boxed items, but it's great for those extra K-cups that don't fit the carousel, protein bars, gravy packets and so on.  If you can fit it in the tote it works, and it keeps everything nice and tidy.

The closet was my most favorite organization project ever.  I am fortunate that I have a big closet to work with.  We purchased the house we live in, because of that closet.  We lived here 5 years before I had the time to create a "boutique" closet.  Of course, it is still a work in progress, but I love it!  A great way to organize your shoes is with photo boxes.  You can purchase those at Michaels.  I chose a color scheme that I wanted to go with in my closet, and I selected boxes in those colors.  At the front of the photo box is a place for you to label what is in the box.  You can use your label maker and create a label or you can get creative and photograph every pair of your shoes and make labels with the photographs using return address labels. You can check out the "boutique" closet project in greater detail on my personal blog at

http://managingahouseholdoneblogatatime.blogspot.com/.

I hope these tips set you well on your way to getting organized.  Just remember the best way to tackle a project in getting organized is to work on one small area/project at a time.  That way you can see your results quickly which will motivate you to tackle other projects in your home.

Making your own laundry detergent

I have a recipe to pass along to you.  It sounds too easy not to share.  I am not sure that recipe is the right word, because you definitely do not want to eat this.  I would think of it more as putting on my scientist hat to create a personalized laundry experience for my entire family.  As Moms we have to pull out the creative genius all the time, don't we?  Truth be told I have not personally created my own laundry detergent, BUT a very good friend of mine has, and she swears by it so here goes:

Recipe:

1 large glass container with lid.  (You can find these at Wal-Mart, and they are really inexpensive)

4 lb Borax

4 lb Arm & Hammer super washing soda

2 small (or one large) container of OxiClean

(1 small box arm & hammer baking soda) optional

3 bars of Fels-Naptha or Zote soap (you may use both- I heard the Zote is great) Grate all bars with a cheese grater (You can only find the bars of soap at Wal-Mart and HEB)

Large bottle of Purex crystals (You can add two)

Mix all in a 5 gallon bucket, store in your container.

1-2 scoops per load

This should least 4-5 months

Oh, and you can get creative with this project if you are feeling arts and crafty.  You need something to keep your laundry detergent in, right?  You can decorate your glass laundry container with ribbon and/or paint.  You may just want to add a little color to your container in order to brighten up your laundry room.  Who says laundry can't be fun?  If that's not your thing you can just purchase that glass container, put your detergent in it and call it day.

I am planning on whipping up my very own batch after Halloween,  and I envision adding lavender and vanilla oil in lieu of the Purex crystals for a personalized scent for my family, but right now Halloween is on the brain.  I am spending all my free time creating Halloween goodies and crafts.  In fact, if you are looking for easy Halloween crafts to do with your children you can check out my personal blog at  http://managingahouseholdoneblogatatime.blogspot.com/  However, please email me to let me know if you have tried creating your own laundry detergent as I would love to hear how it has worked for others.  Also, if you have other laundry detergent "recipes" please do share!