I love summer and all the wonderful benefits that come with it - paper plate dinners, relaxed schedules, and - thanks to days full of swimming suits and flip flops - significantly less laundry.  Of course, nothing kicks off a relaxing summer like a good read.  Whether I’m heading to the lake with the kids or simply lounging in the backyard - a great book is a summer staple for me.

So for today’s Talk to Me Tuesday post, I’m hoping you’ll pass along your favorite summer reads.  What book have you read lately that you couldn’t put down?  Is there a particular author that you can’t resist?  Is there a book you loved so much that you immediately passed it on to a friend?  I hope you’ll share a few of your favorites as well as a word or two about why you loved them.  I’m heading out on a 20-hour road trip soon so any suggestions for a fabulous, make-the-time-fly-by book would be greatly appreciated.

While we’re on the topic of summer reading, I thought I’d pass along a few of my favorite book sites, in case you’re in the market for a great read yourself:

GoodReads.com
This clever site is like a literary version of allrecipes.com (my favorite recipe site).  It’s a place for you and your friends to get together and rate, share, and review books.  It’s also a perfect spot to set up a virtual book club or join in on a discussion about your latest read.  Simple, easy to use, and totally free.  I highly recommend it.

SwapTree.com
Wondering what to do with the pile of paperbacks from last summer?  Don’t store them on a shelf, swap them!  SwapTree lets you trade in your old books, movies, games and CDs and use your credit to request new ones.  Whether you use it with the general public or just as a way to exchange books between friends and family, it’s a convenient (and free) way to rotate your collection.

Audible.com
Let’s face it, when you’ve got little kids, finding time to curl up with a good book can be tough.  However, it’s amazing how much ‘reading’ you can squeeze in when you’re listening instead of looking.  Trust me, mundane tasks like laundry and mopping are far less tedious when you’ve got a great audio book to keep you company.  You can listen to the audio books on your laptop or download them to any mp3/iPod device.  It’s not free, but in my opinion, their vast selection, ease of use, and impeccable sound quality make Audible well worth the price.

In addition to your favorite summer reads, if you’ve got other literary sites you love, I hope you’ll share them with the rest of us.  As always, to those of you that comment, thanks - in advance - for passing it on.

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It’s official.  As of today, my kids wrapped up another great school year and brought home a mountain of papers to prove it.  Writing journals, art projects, report cards - their backpacks were stuffed to the limit.  Within 10 minutes of getting home this afternoon, all three kids had scattered their stash all over the living room floor.  I’m a big fan of purging and I’m not a scrapbooker, so my first instinct was to grab a trash bag and rescue my floor.  But, as a nostalgic Mom, I just couldn’t bring myself to toss it all.  I mean what kind of parent could throw out a perfect, purple octopus painting by their 5 year-old or a “Why I love my Mom” essay by their third-grader?  So, naturally, I was forced to find another alternative. 

That’s when I remembered an idea I read about in Family Fun Magazine.  One clever Mom suggested using Priority Mail boxes to store kid art projects.  I use Priority Mail to ship all my MeckMom Etsy Store orders, so luckily I had a pack of these flat rate boxes sitting in the garage.  I pulled out three boxes and labeled them with each child’s name, teacher, grade, and the year.  Next, I started sifting through their stash and pulled out my favorite pieces.  Then, I let the kids choose a few of their favorites.  After that, I went through their family inbox (that’s where I temorarily store stuff I want to keep) and added a few more items to their box (like school pictures, awards, mother’s day cards, etc.). 

My plan from this point is to take a video of each child going through and describing the treasures in their box.  Once that’s done, we’ll pack everything up, seal the box, and move them to the big, plastic  container in the garage. 

It’s not a permanent solution - eventually I hope to make DVDs of each kid’s photos, art, and videos.  It’s just a great way to keep everything organized (and off my floor) until I have time to take on the bigger project.  The flat rate boxes are available for free at your local post office or online at usps.com.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

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Let’s face it, greeting card stores are not kid-friendly.  They stock tons of fragile knick knacks and scatter them amidst endless rows of brightly colored, cartoon-covered cards - all within easy reach of my kid’s curious fingers.  So, when it comes time to find the perfect Mother’s Day card, I skip the store and grab my greeting card file folder instead.

My greeting card box is a simple accordion style file box with built-in dividers.  I bought it to coordinate with my other office stuff at Staples for around $18, but you could use a cheaper plastic version or a three-ring binder stocked with sheet protectors as well.  Essentially, I divided the box into the basic card categories (thank you, holiday, birthday, etc.) and labeled the dividers with return address-size labels.  To help keep things tidy, I store the cards in the open slots and stash all the envelopes in the back.

Whenever I’m kid-free and get a chance to visit Hallmark or the greeting card aisle of Target, I try to stock up on a random collection of cards to replenish my supply.  That way when special events such as birthdays and baby showers pop up on my calendar I’ve always got a few great cards to choose from. 

I’m not much of a ’saver’ (I like to keep digital copies), but if you have a hard time parting with hand-written notes from friends and family you could also use this system to keep your treasured cards safe and organized.  Just make sure your file box or binder is made of acid-free materials like this plastic version from Amazon.com.

This little quick fix is cheap, easy, and completely convenient - three of my favorite organizing adjectives.  :)  Just thought I’d pass it on.    

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As a Mom, sometimes it seems like I spend half my day “picking up” after my family. I often spend so much time getting the small stuff in order that I never make it to the deep cleaning. Consequently, I’m always looking for cheap tools to help speed up the the process. Two of my favorites are my Butler’s Broom and my ultra-handy Grabber.

It’s kind of amazing how quickly the kitchen floor can go from clean to crumb-covered. Even if the mess is isolated to a certain spot (like that pesky area under the stools) - the kitchen gets so much foot traffic that the initial mess seems to spread within minutes. My solution? Catch the mess early with a Butler’s Broom - or better yet, make your kids do it. I bought this handy little tool in the cleaning supplies section of Wal Mart for around $10. Its short size makes it very kid-friendly and allows it to tuck away neatly on my pantry door. It’s perfect for sweeping up small messes and reaching into tight corners. As a bonus, the handle-mounted dustpan saves you from bending down and it’s large enough to hold even the bigger kitchen clean-ups. I’ve used mine several times a day for the past two years and - although it’s starting to signs of wear - still works like a charm.

My Grabber was another Wal Mart find that I can’t live without. On any given day, I probably pick up dozens of random items off my floors, tables, sofas (and pretty much any other horizontal surface). I guess it might have something to do with the 4 people in our family that are less than 40 inches tall. You long time readers might remember the stash boxes I created to help deal with this pick-up-after-yourselves problem. Although the stash boxes and our weekly stash box challenge help a ton, I still hate bending over a zillion times a day to pick up what remains. That’s where this handy tool comes in. Designed to help people with disabilities extend their reach, the Grabber is perfect for Moms looking to streamline their clean-ups.  It’s narrow and lightweight which makes it incredibly convenient for grabbing kid shoes, papers, matchbox cars, couch cushions and pretty much everything else that wanders out of place each day. Best of all, the long handle virtually eliminates the need to bend over and provides extended reach for when your son decides to stash his rotten apple core behind the way-too-heavy-to-move-by-yourself armoire.

I loved having my Grabber during pregnancy - especially during that last trimester when I couldn’t bend over to tie my own shoes, let alone pick up Polly Pockets. If you’ve got a baby shower to attend in the near future, I highly recommend skipping the sea of traditional pastel baby presents and picking up a Grabber instead. Trust me, yours will be the first thank you card she’ll write! You can find the Grabber at various sites online or in the “as seen on TV” section of your local Wal Mart for around $10. Just thought I’d pass it on.

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Sorry it’s been so long since my last post.  For the first two weeks, I was in full baby-prep mode and needed every free moment to get organized for the big day.  Our newest addition arrived on April 4th and (thanks to my doting Mom) I’ve spent the last 10 days recovering and thoroughly enjoying every minute of his little life.  He’s a beautiful, healthy, chubby guy and I feel incredibly blessed to have him join our family. 

Now that I’m back on my feet, I hope to be back on track with my weekly blogging as well.  Just to warn you - little Will seems to have a knack for getting hungry as soon as my laptop hits my lap - so my posts may be a bit sporadic for a few weeks.  If you haven’t already, you may want to subscribe to my new posts via Feedblitz.  It’s a free service that will deliver all new posts directly to your inbox.  I’ve got lots of great posts on the docket for the next few weeks and I’d hate for you to miss them.  You can find the Feedblitz subscription link on the right.

Thanks for your patience and your well wishes, everyone.  I’ll be in touch! 

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Happy Easter everyone.  First off, let me say thank you for your insightful comments in regards to last week’s Talk To Me Tuesday post.  I was floored by the huge wealth of fabulous Mom-tested advice that came streaming in all week.  I’m going to have to have give away free stuff more often.  You guys are a fantastic resource and fully intend to take advantage of your brilliance. 

My 5 year-old daughter had the privilege of picking the winning comment number today.  She drew the number 26.  So congratulations to Lisa.  I’ll be sending you an email shortly.  Thanks again to everyone that participated.   I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend.  More great tips and simple solutions to come soon.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

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Well, it’s official…less than three weeks until the big day.  You’d think, since this is my fourth, that I’d have this whole baby thing down.  Yet, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last eight years of motherhood it’s that you can never have too much good advice when it comes to managing your ever-changing family.

So, for today’s Talk to Me Tuesday post (sorry they’ve been a bit sporadic), I’m asking for your very best baby advice.  Whether it be survival suggestions for those first few sleepless months, tips and tricks for juggling busy schedules, or baby products that you can’t live without…I hope you’ll pass on all your bundle-of-joy wit and wisdom.

As a fun new twist for this Talk to Me Tuesday post I’ve got a great giveaway for you.  A few weeks ago I was searching Etsy.com for handmade baby supplies when I came across a sweet little shop aptly named The Pat-a-Cake Baby.  I was charmed by their trendy fabrics and ended up purchasing several of their perfectly packaged products.  One item I was particularly drawn to was their diaper diddie (TM).  It’s a clever little tool that tucks easily into your diaper bag and doubles as both a diaper/wipe holder and a comfy changing pad.  Unlike the boring vinyl versions you can find at the store, this diaper clutch is soft, thick and utterly adorable. 

Thanks to the generous donation of Jamie (the stay-at-home mom behind the Pat-a-Cake Baby Shop), I’ve got a fabulous diaper diddie (TM) to giveaway to one lucky reader.  You can see more photos and read the full product description by clicking this link.  Whether you’ve got a baby of your own or you simply want to have a charming gift on hand for your next baby shower, you won’t want to miss out on this great giveaway. 

To win, simply pass on your favorite baby tip in the comment area of this post before Saturday night (just one comment per person please).  On Sunday, I’ll draw a comment number at random and send an email to the winner.  The shipping is on me, so start thinking of your favorite baby tip now and join in the fun.  As always, to those of you that comment, thanks - in advance - for passing it on.

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My 8 year-old has been home sick with a cold for the last two days.  As all Moms out there know, life doesn’t slow down when you’re kids are home sick.   No matter how much we wish we could tend to our kids hand and foot; work, laundry, dishes, and dozens of other daily to-dos demand our attention too.  Sometimes it can be tough to keep track of the little things our kids need to get them back on their feet.

Last year, I read about a simple solution to this problem in Family Fun magazine.  One smart Mom wrote in a suggestion about making marks on a water bottle to help keep track of your kid’s water consumption.  I can’t remember exactly how she did it but the idea stuck with me.  So, when my daughter came down with a fever yesterday, I decided it was a good time to test it out. 

Yesterday morning I removed the label from a plastic water bottle and added several lines on the side with a sharpie marker (click on the photo above for a better view).  Next to each line I added a time of day (11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm).  After setting up my daughter on the couch with blankets, pillows and tissues, I gave her the bottle and told her that her that her big job was to get the water level below the marked lines by the various times.  Surprisingly, the goal marks really seemed to help her.  She managed to down the entire water bottle before bed time without a single reminder from me.

As a side note, I also used the bottle to track her medication throughout the day.  I often forget when the 4-6 hour window is up (that might have something to do with the big list of to-do’s I mentioned earlier).  To help myself keep track, I added a little orange dot to the water bottle timeline each time I gave her a dose of Tylenol.  Whenever I needed to know if it was time to give her another dose I just checked her bottle for a quick reference. 

Granted, these aren’t groundbreaking ideas.  They’re just simple solutions that can make your child’s next sick day just a little easier.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

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