Staying in Touch

I love sending cards.  I love picking out cards.  But gone are the days of leisurely looking through the card aisle for just the right thing.  Usually, I am grabbing bunches of cards from the checkout line at Trader Joe's.  At least they are cute! 

But now, my card sending world has been revolutionized!  There is an app called "Just Wink".  It is run by the American Greetings company. It allows you to pick out really cute, funny cards; personalize them (including adding a picture); and mail them directly from the app for $2.99.  I can't find a decent card under $2.99 at the store, and this includes mailing!

I have sent about 4-5 cards from them (including one to DH, so I could check out what they would look like), and love them!  They have so many different occassions, and tons of different cards.  Most are cute and witty.  And the best thing - I can send cards while I'm in line at the grocery store, on my lunch break, while waiting to pick up the kids, etc.  AMAZING!

This totally works for me, and is one of my favorite app finds of all time!














This is NOT a sponsored post.  Neither Just Wink nor American Greetings have ever heard of me, nor have they given me any money or product or anything.

How To Store All Those Cool Ideas

Have you heard of Pinterest? It is soooo great! It is a place where you can store all the great ideas (recipes, crafts, decorating, gifts, etc) that you find online, and categorize them and make them easy to find! You can also see what others are "pinning" and "repin" their stuff too! I love it, and has really freed up all my saved internet pages and "starred" google reader stuff.

For example, here is a link to my "crafts I want to try" page - http://pinterest.com/meganhb/crafts-i-want-to-try/

I also have categories for recipes, pretty to look at, kids crafts, cool ideas, etc. It is a great way to keep all those ideas in one place! I highly recommend it! You have to get on a waiting list for an account, but it is usually about 48-72 hours. Go here to get started, www.pinterest.com!

That's what works for me, click here for more Works for Me ideas!

Get Your Day Started Right

I am back on WW. And I am actually following the program, so that's always good. ;) The hardest thing for me was breakfast. I was having a light yogurt every morning, and while it was low it points, it also made me hungry by 10am.

At my WW meeting, someone mentioned oatmeal. Now I have NEVER been a hot cereal type of gal. My grandmothers both had cream of wheat every morning and I thought it tasted like paste. I put all hot cereals in that category. But I was desperate, so I figured i had nothing to lose. I went straight to the top and got steel cut oatmeal. Not instant- the kind you have to cook nearly an hour.

But man, does it work! I eat some of these, and I am full for the whole morning. I can't believe it. They are really tasty too! I make a full batch and night, and then divide it into 4-6 containers. Then I just heat it up at work in the morning for 1 minute in the microwave, add a tiny bit of chopped walnuts and craisins, and I am good to go!

I use McCann's Irish Oatmeal. You can buy these oats at many grocery stores, but I have found them cheapest at Trader Joe's. Having a filling breakfast really works for me! For other works for me ideas, visit We Are That Family.

Preserving Memories

Someone was asking me about this the other day, and I thought it would make a good idea to share. My mom died 7 years ago, and I still miss her nearly every day. ( I swear, a week or so ago one of the kids did something, and my first thought was to call her up!) But one thing I did when she passed continues to bring me happiness.

Several months after her death, my Dad and I went through her clothes. I pulled out 5-6 outfits, that really spoke to me. Some were just casual clothes, but they really reminded me of her. A few were special outfits (like the dress she wore to my wedding). I found a woman online who agreed to make a quilt out of these random pieces of clothing. I'm sure you could find someone on Etsy who would do it in a heartbeat. It was only a few hundred dollars, but I love it. The fabrics don't go together - either in color or pattern. It was really an eclectic group. But it came out fantastic, and now hangs in the entry-way of my house. I LOVE it. It reminds me of my mom everyday, and makes each day a little brighter.


So if someone special in your life is gone. Think about something simple like this. It works for me! For more works for me ideas, visit www.wearethatfamily.com!

A Tourist in Our Own Town

We are lucky to live in a very picturesque, historic area that is ripe for tourists. But, like many, we tend to ignore all the feature available to us. So thanks to Groupon and Living Social, in the last few weeks we have acted like tourists.

We took the Old Town Trolley (tour bus) around town, seeing all the sites. We only got off at a few stops, but had a great time. We stopped at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and saw lots and lots of money! The kids thought it was very cool. Then we walked down to the Jefferson Memorial and hopped back on the trolley. We took it past the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, etc. Then we hopped on the other trolley and took it up Embassy Row to National Cathedral. It was a random Friday when the girls didn't have school, so the Cathedral was not crowded at all. We took the elevator to the top and enjoyed the view. We stopped by and saw some of the amazing stained glass (including the cool moon rock space window), and then played hide-and-seek in the Bishop's garden. Then we took the trolley back through Georgetown to our car.

This weekend we went to Mount Vernon (with a family friend). It is less than 20 miles from our house and I don't think I'd been there in 15-20 years!!! It was a lovely day and we had a great visit. They even provide a kind of scavenger hunt map for kids!! The house itself is very impressive, and we learned some fun things. (Did you know George Washington wanted to make the house out of stones, but it was too expensive, so he did it in wood planks, had them cut to look like stone blocks, and mixed the wet paint with sand to make it feel like stone?) The new museum and visitor's center were very impressive. The kids all loved the cool holographic head of George, who seemed to follow you around the room.
So playing tourist in our town is what works for me! For more works for me, visit Works for Me Wednesdays!

Great Kid's Book Find

Of course we have read dozens of Dr. Seuss books over the years. But I had never before seen the "Cat in the Hat's Learning Library" series. These are rhyming books in Dr Seuss style that actually TEACH something. They are great!! They have them on LOTS of topics - space, insects, the human body, mammals, etc. The kids love them and I have actually learned some stuff too! I highly recommend. We bought about 8 so far, and will probably end up with the whole library. I may even buy some for my children's classrooms. Amazon has them for about $9 - a little pricey for a kids book, but ya gotta love learning with rhyming! lol!

These Work for Me! For more Work for Me tips, visit: www.wearethatfamily.com.

Quick and Easy Gift

Saw this awesome tutorial and thought I would try it. They are fast, easy and cheap.

1) buy a few 1/2 yards of fleece in different colors/patterns
2) cut them into 6" widths (the length of the fabric)
3) sew 2 of them together right down the middle (just eye-ball it)
4) cut fringe the whole length (making sure you don't cut through the middle)
ENJOY!

That's it. So easy. When fleece is on sale, you can make these for less than $1 each! The girls are making these for their friends. They have helped me sew them and are cutting all the fringe. Have fun and try lots of different patterns/colors together!

For more ideas, visit WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY!

My Fancy Girl

B turned 6 last week. And being the fancy girl she is, she wanted a Fancy Nancy party. It was a huge success. All the girls were invited to wear their "most posh ensemble" to the "soiree". As each "mademoiselle" arrived, they were provided a boa and 'pearl' necklace.

We had 3 stations with fancy crafts. We decorated headbands with flowers and bows; clips (for hair or dresses) with flowers and bows, and flipflops with ribbons. I have no pictures of this, because DH, Nana, and I were busy working the stations.

Here are the supplies, mostly purchased at the amazing Halo Heaven, which is basically Oriental Trading for girly girls. LOVE IT!


Following the crafts, the girls had tea sandwiches and punch.


We also did a photo shoot with the girls at their fanciest:


Lastly, we finished with "parfaits". (My daughters don't like cake??!!)


All in all, a smashing success!
(a great picture of B and Fancy Nana, who really got in the spirit!)

That's what works for me! For more works for me ideas, visit We Are That Family!

By the way, got the awesome Fancy Nancy dress B is wearing on Etsy. I LOVE that site. Type in nearly ANYTHING, and you can find it. And if you can't, you can post it and solicit people to make it for you! Have to love that.

Personalized Pretty Necklaces - DIY

The blogosphere is full of tutorials on washer necklaces and stamped jewelry. I have never seen both. So I decided to make these for my girlfriends to commemorate our recent trip to Key West (these are not my favorites, but I gave those away before taking pics!):



I really can't believe I haven't seen these more places. Basically, I took a washer, stamped my message on the back, then turned it over and decoupaged and added Diamond Glaze. The end.

Works for me for fun, easy mementos of a great trip! For more works for me, visit We are That Family.

Great Deals!

I am a big fan of Groupon. It is a website that sends out a daily deal for things near where you live. Recent group-ons that I took advantage of include:

• $25 for $50 at a local greenhouse
• $75 for a family photo shoot, including 1 hour of photography and 20 images on CD with printing rights!!
• $20 for $40 at a local trendy restaurant for brunch
• $10 for 3 games of laser tag

Groupons only come weekdays and are only good if enough people commit to buy. They often have deals for spas, golf outings, and eating out (everything from gourmet restaurants to ice cream parlors!) They cover many areas of the country, and are expanding all over. If you haven't tried it, I recommend it! Here is a link to join up (full disclosure - I get $10 of groupon bucks if you sign up through my link!):

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu404290

Getting great deals on stuff I want - that's what works for me! For more works for me ideas, visit We Are That Family!

Pick Your Battles

I have learned that with your kids there can be many thing to fight over. One thing I have surrendered on is clothes. As long as you are not vulgar and are seasonably dressed - I don't care. And my kids have worn some crazy stuff. B loves to wear layered looks - often pairing a layered dress with a layered skirt. K will wear soccer socks with capris and a sweater in winter. One of K's teachers sought me out to tell me what a cool mom I was for letting K wear what she wears to work. I took that to mean that social services is around the corner. :) Here are some recent samples, that are actually much milder than usual:

pants are too short - so long socks - none of colors match at all(you can't really see, but she is wearing strawberry soccer socks - I pointed out they weren't green, she said the stems are!)
notice all the tiers

this is actually pretty good!


Picking my battles is what works for me! For more works for me ideas, visit We Are That Family!

Learning Boards

When I redid the girls' room, I had come out with this idea of them each having a whiteboard by their desks. We could use it for reminders or even as a teaching tool. Instead of a pricier white board, I just got 2 12x12 picture frames from Ikea, and some whiteboard markers. I flipped over the stock picture and used the white side. Works great. Well, ok, the yellow doesn't really show much - but the rest of the colors are fine.

We have been using it for math and vocabulary. Each morning they wake up to a new word that they look up in their dictionaries and then write what it means (not the definition, but what they summarize from it). They also get a math problem to solve.

The best part - the girls LOVE it. They think it is so cool and can't wait for us to come in and "score" them!

That's what Works for Me! For more things that work, visit Works for Me Wednesdays!

Crafting it Up!

I have been doing all kinds of crafts for Christmas. And there are so many great ideas to be had online. My favorite one is One Pretty Thing. It finds all the best ones from the whole webisphere and puts them together. Great ideas every day - without having to visit millions of blogs.

Of all the things we have found, so far we have made this:

• gorgeous ornament wreath - so easy
• awesome Christmas joke advent calendar - the kids will LOVE this
• christmas tree made out of ornament balls
• these awesome snowflakes - fast and easy

Lots more to go!

Still want to make these: boa feather tree - the girls will LOVE these!, memory ornament - isn't that the best idea!!, awesome ornament for some new babies friends are having,

Happy to get betting my crafting groove on again! That's what works for me this Christmas! For more Works for Me Ideas - visit: http://www.wearethatfamily.com/

Vacation Memories

(From top to bottom- skyline of NYC by K, T Rex at Natural History Museum by B, Statue of Liberty by K, Statue of Liberty by B)

So last weekend the girls and I went to NYC with Grampa. I was trying to figure out ways to make sure they remembered the trip - and things for them to do to keep them busy in restaurants and on the bus ride there. It couldn't be easier - some markers and blank paper.

The first day at lunch I asked them to draw some of the things they had seen. It was awesome - I figured I'd get 3-4 pics from each. I probably have 25 total. They just ran with it. They drew all kinds of things - things we weren't even sure they noticed as we walked around, but clearly they did!

I have now taken pics of the drawings (and scanned them) and we will include them in our scrapbook next to photos of the real thing. What a great memory - and SO easy! I just carried a large envelope with the blank paper and a pack of markers in my purse. When the finished the picture I would mark who drew it and what it was on the back and put it back in the envelope. INSTANT memories.

That's what works for me! For more works for me ideas, visit: www.wearethatfamily.com

Kindle Review

So last week I got a Kindle. I had been wanting one for a while, but the price (just went down to $299) and the fear of buying too many books kept me from it. Then my awesome MIL gave me some belated birthday money, so I went for it.

Got it last week. and so far I LOVE it. Truly. Although I could see how it could bankrupt me. One of the features I love is that you can "sample" any book you want to buy. So you can download a chapter to see if you like the writing. That is a great feature! Also, you can buy and download any book in about 60 seconds. SCARY! We did a roadtrip this weekend, and being the fast reader I am, I finished my first book on the way up. What to do? Download another one (or two) for the trip home. So great. Good news is most books are $9.99 (cheaper than even the big paperbacks these days!) and many classic books are free. I got 13 bobbsey twin books to read the kids for $.99 total!

Reading on it is not at all like reading on a computer screen. It looks like a print book. And the Kindle is so easy to use. I am totally hooked. I will miss being able to hand over favorites to friends, but I can tell them the titles! And how great is it to be able to have so many books in the palm of your hand (it can hold up to 1500!!). It fits easily in my purse and I can carry it everywhere. It also holds a charge for a long time! If you shut off the wifi (except when you are buying books) it can go for days without being charged.

So, while not a cheap expenditure, its what works for me! For more Works for Me, visit: www.wearethatfamily.com

Information Central

With 3 kids and our busy lives, it is often crazy to keep track of everyone's schedules. We have soccer practices, soccer games, tennis lessons, swimming lessons, softball games, tickets to baseball games, etc. It gets insane. So..what's a busy mom to do? I got a GIANT calendar that I hang in my kitchen and it keeps ALL our information. I have found this great calendar really works for me. I am not in any way affiliated with this organization - but just found this great resource at More Organized Mom.


The calendar is BIG. It is 11X17 and hangs on the wall using those big "L" hooks. It is great. There is space for everything we are doing, all the stuff we need to bring to preschool and school that day, and I use it to list what we are having for dinner each night. It is spiral bound and only printed on one side - so it is easy to flip ahead and add all your important dates and events.

I have been using it for 3 years, and it really works for me. For more tips, head on over to "We are That Family".

Pit Stop

Ok, I found out something a week ago that seriously changed my life. Do you ever see those women on the beach (or just wearing sleeveless clothes) that have perfectly shaved arm pits. I mean, it looks like there has never ever been hair under those arms?? It makes me crazy, and wondering what I am doing wrong. I have always assumed they waxed their underarms - something I could never imagine doing. But now I know the secret!!!

Do not shave your underarms in one direction. I have always shaved them from up to down. But if you shave them both up AND down and Side to side you will get rid of all the hair!!! Apparently arm pit hair grows in multiple directions, and so to get it all, you need to shave in all directions. I have done this now for a week, and it really works!! However - warning - I told a friend about it and she cut herself the first time she tried it - so be careful!

But for summer-sweet arms, this is what works for me! For more tips, visit Works for Me Wednesdays at We Are That Family!

Blog Readers

So I read a lot of blogs. (current count=136). I read mom blogs, crafting blogs, diet blogs, foodie blogs, a few political blogs, and shopping blogs.

I could NOT do it without a feed reader. Basically, a feed reader keeps track of all your favorite blogs so that you only read ones with new content. That means I can check in with all 136 blogs in about an hour, sometimes less. I love it.

I use Bloglines. It is not perfect - sometimes it has glitches- but I am used to it, and not prepared to have to move all 136 blogs to some other service. Unless someone has a really good one? I love feed readers, its what works for me! For other works for me tips, visit: http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2009/05/wfmw-my-organizing-secret.html

In Praise of PodCasts

So a colleague of mine just discovered iTunes. He has had a iPod for a while, but had just burned his cds, and not downloaded any content. I was telling him how I love to listen to podcasts on my iPod, and thought I would share some of my favorites here. These are great - and FREE!!! Gotta love that.

1) NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me - if you have never heard this hysterical NPR newsquiz show - i LOVE it - it is awesome and comes out weekly.

2) NPR's Selected Shorts - short stories read by actors. I do not like reading short stories. But listening to them is perfect.

3) The Dis Unplugged - all you ever wanted to know about Disney World and trip planning.

4) WDW radio - more about Disney

5) KCRW's Good Food - a foodies heaven. Recipes, restaurant reviews (for southern california), and interesting information about food.

Any other great podcasts I should add to my list?

Vacation Planning

So I am in process of planning two big vacations. What I cannot do without is a notebook. I have three dedicated notebooks for my trips - where I write down, and tape in, anything to do with the trip.

1) My trip to Paris. This is next week and I cannot wait. I am going with 6 of my girlfriends. Of the 7 of us, 4 turn 40 this year - so we are celebrating. A whole week in an apartment in the City of Lights - without kids or husbands. I am sooo excited. For this trip I have all information in a pretty travel journal with tabs. I have sections for shopping, eating, sightseeing, logistics and other. I have either written down information or cut and pasted information in. I plan to bring this with me on my trip.

2) DisneyWorld. We are taking our girls on a trip to Disney in November. I have been planning this from last February. I have a simple spiral notebook that I have used to write tips I have heard/seen, all of our advanced dining reservation confirmation codes, etc. I have even started to paste in maps and such.

These notebooks are the way I stay organized, and have all the information I need in one place. That is what works for me! For more tips visit rocks in my dryer!