Review, remove and recycle

'Tis the season to start looking through all those broken toys, unstuffed stuffed animals, torn books and limbless dolls and decide what to do with them after receiving more toys and dolls from Santa. It is this time of year that I do my "winter cleaning" and start to throw away those broken and unrepairable toys. I give away those repairable toys, dolls and books as well as those games that have one piece missing that could be substituted or any toys that are past the age of my children. I also go through clothes to see which ones can become official play clothes and which ones should become rags. Or even, some can be given away. I always find it a nice way to start the New Year with an organized house. And, even if the holidays are over, there are still families and children in need of things that we are fortunate enough to replace. Think about it and review, remove and recycle!

Free flower at local flower shop for teachers!

Fremont Flowers is giving one free flower to each student to present to his/her teacher on September 2nd, the first day of school! Stop by between 10 am and 5 pm on September 1st to get a free flower for your child's teacher! Fremont Flowers is a family-owned flower shop established in 1956 whose address is: 37085 Fremont Blvd. and the phone number is 510-894-6343. What a wonderful way to make a great first impression on your child's teacher!

Back to School Shopping and Organizing

It is that time again...time to shop for school supplies, new clothes (or uniforms) and get back into the bedtime routine. It is difficult when the summer often means a more relaxed schedule, lazier days and often vacation or camp fun. But, the earlier we get back into the groove for the first day of school, the better. To help ease the pain, here are several sites to help you organize your to-do list and ramp up into high gear for back to school.

Organize and buy school supplies - Check the school supplies list and then go through your crafts bins and closets to see if you have left over supplies you can use. Then, scour ads and coupon sites for the best deals. You still have time to do this! You may also want to try dollar stores for some good deals on basic supplies. For backpacks suggestions, check out the Family Education web site. Some backpack companies, like Jansport, have lifetime guarantees and will repair or replace backpacks free.

Organize and swap or buy school clothes - Most parents have a good network of other moms and dads who are also going through back-to-school. Instead of everyone buying new clothes, see if you can swap clothes. Kids usually outgrow clothes before they outwear them. So, you all save money that way. If you still need to supplement clothes, stock up on basics like solid long sleeved shirts, jeans, sweaters and skirts. There are many places with back-to-school sales right now such as Old Navy, Kohls, LandsEnd, Sears, Macys and The Gap. Or you could even hit the second-hand stores or check online at Craigslist or eBay.

Label clothing - Any sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets or extra change of clothes should be labeled to avoid losing them. It is best to do this before the school year starts and you have a busy morning and forget.

Make medical appointments - If your child is starting Kindergarten, he/she has most likely already seen the dentist and had his/her five year well check as that is one of the criteria for entering the public school system. If he/she has not, you will want to do this before school starts to show they are current on vaccinations and seen a dentist. If your children are not new to the school, you may still want to get all those doctor, dentist, allergist etc. appointments out of the way before school starts to start fresh. For a back-to-school health checklist, click here.

Mark the calendar - Start to write important dates on the calendar and circle the first day of school so your children can count down the days until school.Fill out paperwork - If you received any paperwork in the mail, fill it out ahead of time to be able to drop it off promptly the first day of school.

Start a school folder - Make a new folder for school newsletters, event flyers and PTA information so you will know where to put them and find them. Once school starts, the whirlwind begins!

Set up a study area - If you don't already have a designated homework/study area, make sure you have it set up by the time the first day of school comes. If you need to buy a lamp or extra supplies for this area, you can do it the same time as you buy school supplies. Your children can then be introduced to the area and even start using it before school starts. This area should be distraction and clutter free for the best results. Organize this space so all your kids can personalize it, including file folders and/or bins for each child to use.

Get back in touch with school friends - Now that everyone is starting to return from camp and vacation, it is a good time to re-connect with former school friends. Make a playdate, sleep over or just a time to meet for ice-cream to get back in touch with your classmate friends. It will make it easier to start the first day if the connections have already been made.

Family Car Stickers

We have all seen them around and I have even contemplated getting them -the cute little family car stickers that are on the back window of many vans, station wagons, SUVs and even some sedans. Everyone is proud of their family and this is one more way to show that. But, you need to be careful when you disclose information about your family too. Not to make you paranoid, but you need to remember that there are bad people out there ready to take advantage of any information you give them about your family. No names should ever be used on these stickers and even showing the age appropriate relationships in the family can put you at some risk. If someone saw you and your children coming out of the car, they would know how many children in the family, if there are pets, sometime what sports are played. Someone trying to make contact could use this info to try to act familiar with your family and especially your kids. It takes one moment of your son or daughter running back to the car with friends to wait for you while you finish talking to the coach or teacher for someone to approach and use this info. And, if you have a school bumper sticker also, that will help them even more. Again, be proud of your family, but be safe and remember how this information can be used.

Another blog with this same information which quotes a news update from Fox News:

http://simplesahm.com/2008/10/warning-vinyl-car-stickers-may-be-a-safety-hazard-for-families/

Healthy Halloween Handouts

Healthy Halloween Treats are really a no-brainer. But, I think we are so conditioned to buy the candy we see in all the stores that I thought I would include a quick note on this...You don't have to be too creative to come up with these and more, but hopefully, this list will give you ideas and save you some time.

Crayons, stickers, colored pencils, colored chalk, bookmarks, fancy erasers, glow bracelets (can even be used while trick or treating!), temporary tattoos, tiny bubble bottles (one of our favorites) individual fishes crackers bags, fruit leathers and granola bars. You can even have a variety of things and include some candy to let the kids decide. Most likely the big kids will want candy, but the little kids will think colorful erasers and crayons and bubbles are more fun!

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Baby Tip for Teething - Bath Toys

I have a 9 month old that just got her lower incisors and has been biting everything! I have given her teething rings but she only seems mildly interested by them. One thing that I happened to notice works well though, which makes perfect sense - RUBBER BATH TOYS! She loves chewing on the little rubber animals and it seems to calm her down. So, if you haven't already thought of this, just a little tip!