Life and GPTs

I like the extra money I am getting in from Cash Crate and Deal Barbie Pays. Free money is always fun, especially when it does not take a rocket scientist to earn it. LOL. Such simple, quick, and easy work is... well... simple, quick and easy to earn FREE money. Who wouldn't love that?

Anyways, the point of this post, is that I am needing to find a balance. Since finding Deal Barbie Pays on March 2nd and still wanting to stick with Cash Crate to boost my profits this month, I am really becoming more and more bogged down. Not with completing offers or anything, but just everything involved along with it (blogging, promoting, helping referrals, and of course my family and offline life).

So many commitments, and so little time in the day to get everything done.

Of course, my family and myself comes first. If my son needs me, I am here and I will be with him for as long as necessary or wanted. I play with him throughout the day (when he wants to, funny how independent 14 month olds get). I cook and eat meals... And if I need to run a few errands or have appointments on a day, well of course those cannot be neglected.

Next comes my emails and helping referrals (sometimes comes in emails). Even if I don't have time or energy to get offers done myself, helping my downline will still help me flourish. I also don't mind helping anyone that has a question (even if they are not my referral), because good karma and a good reputation are always great things to send out to the Universe. Good things will always come back.

When all that is said and done, then I can have time to complete offers for myself (usually during the baby's first nap or after he goes to bed until midnight or later). Completing offers for me is a task to be done with complete focus. I find that offers confirm better and faster that way. I clean my computer, history, recycle bin, run CCleaner, and everything. I close all programs, maybe even restart my computer to start from scratch. My disk defrag is run weekly at the same time to keep my computer running smoothly.

Anyways, then I open one browser (maybe IE) and open my GMail and any other email program I need to check during the process. Then I open an alternate browser (like Firefox) and will use that browser for the GPT site I will complete offers on (Cash Crate or Deal Barbie Pays currently). I only do one at a time, and I alternate which browser is for emails or the GPT site. (So, the next time around Firefox would be my emails, and IE would be the GPT sites.) I also alternate which site I start with as well, and if I find one to not be confirming currently, I will switch to the other until something starts happening.

Oh and of course, lastly after all that, if I have time, is my blogging, which kind of counts as my referral support, but is still entirely on its own. Then I have to also promote it all in some way to get any kind of feedback. Just having this blog means nothing. It's not going to drive its own traffic here. Just think... how did you get here? I posted something on Twitter about it, you viewed any number of my profiles with it linked there, a traffic referral site, a forum posting I made with a link here, or a message I sent you when you asked for my tips... etc. The rarest form lately is people coming from search engines. However I have noticed an increase in traffic from searches, but that always takes time and thought when writing my posts.

All of it takes time, energy and effort. And as much as I want to spend working on offers or working on blogging (because those are my two favorite things), I still have to focus some effort on the other things to make it all worth while. So, if you have an advice for me, please feel free to leave it in the comments below or email me.

I also love to hear if you found something very useful on here. Feel free to comment, email, or let me know if I was helpful. I also take testimonials for my websites. *grin* Hey karma can be advertised for. *wink*

Home Business Ideas

I have been thinking lately of more and more home business ideas. I am still on a roll with Cash Crate, and I have even made a new blog dedicated to becoming debt free using it. So, check me out there, and once I get my check in March (which I am already guaranteed to get) I will post a pic for you all to see the proof.

In the meantime, besides pouring myself into my kids and Cash Crate, I still need more. Don't we all need more money in this income? So, until my Cash Crate really begins to add up (mostly waiting on getting more referrals, come on all and join me *wink*), I need another form of passive or aggresive income to sustain us.

My newest idea is to teach kids (or adults) how to crochet. My mother taught me, and even though I have never finished a blanket, I know how to crochet and I have always been told that I am a great teacher. The only reason I have not finished a blanket is because of my Rheumatoid Arthritis. However I think that teaching someone for 30 min to an hour a night (or day) a couple of times a week wouldn't kill my arms.

If that idea is not a break out one, I have some others. Such as:

• Tutor
• Selling on Ebay
• Pet sitting
• Baby sitting
• Selling baked goods
• Selling crafty 'recipes in a jar'

Hmm... that's all I think I got for now. Do you have any other ideas or methods you use as supplemental income?

10 Tips to Help You Get Started Earning Money Online Fast with Cash Crate

Yes, it's true. I finally cracked last night and began using Cash Crate to make some money online. I was reading an article on Work At Home Mom Revolution which directed me to Frugal Dad's post for Side Hustles To Keep Your Family Finances Afloat. He has some really great ideas, but some that would not work for me right now. However I grew more curious about other information he gave out on his blog and ended up stumbling across this post about Cash Crate being legit and how much he actually earned himself! He even included a photo of his last check for $203.22!

[For my loyal readers and friends, please click on one of my banners or visit Cash Crate.com if you are interested in joining Cash Crate for yourself. That would help me out greatly. Much appreciated :) ]

I know I had tried doing Cash Crate years ago, however I ended up not making it to the minimum (which was $10) and just became bored of the whole task. Now the minimum payout is up to $20, but I am still going to test it out.

Mostly because Frugal Dad included some helpful tips on how to get started with Cash Crate to earn money in your first month, and then I also did some research and found many other helpful hints, tips, and tricks to help you earn money the fastest using Cash Crate and with only an hour of commitment a day!

Here is a summary of the tips I have discovered, and am using myself:

1. Create a "spam" email account. Instead of using any email account that you actually look at, I suggest creating a free one that you supply to the offers. Supposedly you can use a different email address than the one you specify to Cash Crate, I'm still not sure on that. So, I created one that everything Cash Crate is directed to. I used Gmail to do so, and I applied a filter to all Cash Crate incoming emails to be forwarded to an email I do check since those are the only emails I will care to read.
   
2. Create a "spam" voice mail number. Yes, I was stoked to find this tip. Go to simplevoicebox.com or grandcentral.com (I used Simple Voice Box), and you can set up a free number that you can direct the offers to instead of one of your personal real phone numbers. The number is simply a voice mailbox that you customize, and can check (if you want). Voila. No spam phone calls!
3. Sign up for the Do Not Call list. I had already done a few offers before I found the tip about a free number, so I placed the number I was using onto the Do Not Call list in hopes that these offers will be deterred.
4. Do NOT use a fake address when completing offers. You are required by Cash Crate to provide each offer with valid information, therefore if you give a fake address you may get deleted by Cash Crate or not credited your money. Also, all the information you provide to Cash Crate directly when registering should be accurate, because they send you real checks. Giving them a false name or address will make it impossible to receive and cash these checks.
   
5. Complete the 100% free offers. After registering, go to the “Complete Offers” menu, select “100% Free” from the “Show:” drop down menu filter. These surveys don’t pay as much, but they are typically shorter and do not require a credit card to participate. These are the only offers I am going to complete. Also, sort them by 'Rating' instead of by 'Payout', because you will receive credit for the money earned from those with higher ratings faster.
   
6. Download and use Robo Form. This quick, easy, and free program installs a toolbar in your web browser, and it allows you to save profile information for things like surveys. Then with the click of a button, Robo Form will fill in required information as you have specified. Check out this video I found that shows you how to get started with Cash Crate, and has a little tid bit about Robo Form.
7. Clear your cookies before and after each offer. This will allow you to do the multiple offers, and will make it easier for Cash Crate to confirm your offers quicker. Thus changing your pending money into earned money faster! In FireFox or Flock, you can do this by going to "Tools", "Clear Private Data...", and then unselect all the boxes and only check the one for "Cookies." Then click "Clear Private Data Now."
8. Hit "No" to any and all of the special offers. You do have to submit your information to the first form as indicated by Cash Crate. However after that there will be literally dozens of "special offers" that pop up on many screens after (I don't mean pop ups). This is the most time consuming part of the whole process, and this is where Robo Form comes in handy a great deal. Even if it pops up saying you must say 'yes' to at least one offer, say 'yes' and then on the next page look for a "Skip" or "No thanks" and select that. Do NOT submit your information to any other offers except the first one required by Cash Crate. For help understanding what I am talking about, check out the video I mentioned earlier and around minute 4:00 he actually walks you through completing an offer.
9. You can hit Alt-= to fill in all NO's. When you have a page where there is a list of offers and you have to select 'yes' or 'no' to all of them (always choose no, and yes for only one if required), simply hold down Alt and hit the = key and this will fill in all the No's for you. ;) Pretty cool, huh?
10. On the final page, click on at least 2 offers, let the pages load, and then you're done. At the end of nearly every survey will be a page saying something like "Final Steps: Please complete at least 2 of the offers below." Simply click on two of the offers (usually pictures linking to the site), and let the pages load completely to make them think you visited there. Then close out of all the windows/tabs until you are back at the Cash Crate offers menu. Find the offer you just completed, and hit submit. Once it shows a banner saying it was submitted, clear your cookies like I said in #7. Voila, one offer done and pending. (Also, once you delete your cookies, you will be logged out of Cash Crate, kind of a pain, but simply reload the page and log back in. If you have Robo Form installed, it will save your log in info for you.)

Currently I have $6.30 earned in my Cash Crate account and $24.15 pending, and that was only from signing up late last night. Also, this is the first of the month, so I have 27 more days to earn at least $13.70! I have high hopes that I will be receiving a check around March 15th. LOL. 

Do you use Cash Crate? Did you have a good experience or a bad experience? If you have any other tips or tricks, please share below. Did you find one of my tips helpful? If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, feel free to post a comment below or email me at mel [dot] bail [dot] mama [at] gmail [dot] com.

My Own Reading Program for a One Year Old

As I type, I have been in the midst of working on my very own version of how to teach my son to read. I have seen the infomercial for "Your Baby Can Read" and was astounded to find out how big of a trend this is. They have a system and it does seem to work on so many babies ages 3 months to 3 years.

I also found so many sites dedicated to Dolch words for beginner readers, word card suggestions, even a short article by Gwynne Spencer about how she taught her son to read using manicure scissors at 3 years old!

Then that got me thinking, 'If Gwynne created her own method that encouraged her son at 3, why can't I create my own method for my son at 1?' He is already interested in learning so many new things, like sign language, new foods, new places, etc. He is an open book for me to write LOL.

So, here I am, ready and willing to get started, and my first step was to identify the words I wanted to teach him. I was reading this article on eHow.com where they suggest to make 100-200 word cards and show them to your baby 3 times a day for no more than 30 seconds each. How you do it is by showing one new word a day until you get to 5 words, then retire the first word, etc etc. For more details, please go read the article, it is very informative.

I decided to identify my own 100+ words that I would like to teach my son. I started with his body and his environment. Mostly words that are easy for me to show him.

As I got over 100 words, I began thinking of an idea I had when I was younger... I wanted to write words on name cards for objects around the house and then tape them to each object, like what they do in preschools. I did this for a short while with my step daughter, however with many moves and all, the cards became torn or lost.

But that would be perfect to lead my son into the venture of reading. My goal is going to be to make these name cards again, and as I tape them up I will have my son with me. I will read the word, show him the object and then he can help or watch me tape it on (hopefully out of reach and for good, otherwise I will be replacing them often).

Then the everyday game I want to play is by making index cards with the words of the objects on them. I will show him a card, read it off, and then go show him the object. Eventually I want him to be able to run around and show me the objects as I show him the card. I have no goal for a length of time for him to learn, and I am taking a more direct approach than one word a day. I am going to treat it more like with sign language. I sign to him as often as I can.

I will do the same thing with the reading cards I make. Every time I say the word, I will show him the card (and probably sign as well). At this age, kids are sponges to information. Their brains are still developing and capable of taking in much more information than most people give them credit for. My son was able to pick up on his routine in only 2 weeks, and then we moved and he still was accustomed to his routine in the new environment.

I have been astounded by my son's intelligence and I really want to give him more credit than I have been. No more am I going to think, 'oh no he is too young for that,' because he can never be too young to be exposed to the real world and education.

Do you have any amazing teaching stories of your kids? Please share with us here. All links welcome! Videos of your kids being amazing would be great, too.

Simple, Quick, and Easy Ways to Clean Your House, Restart Your Day, or Just Feel Better

My mother told me it was always the little things that count. Sometimes, you just need some kind of pick-me-up or 'start over' button. Or there are those days that you just feel blah.

When you feel just completely dragged down, and you wish you could crawl back in bed until tomorrow morning, don't. Try these simple, quick, and easy ideas to get yourself going again.

1. Make Your Bed ~ such a small task, but your bed is usually about 75% of your bedroom visually. If you make it nice and neat, then 75% of the bedroom is clean (or at least looks that way).

2. Change Your Clothes ~ I am not big on the whole idea of getting completely dressed even if you are not going out. Street clothes are not as comfortable to me as sweats and a tank top, mostly because all jeans are too tight on my pregnant belly. So, instead, just change your clothes into a clean pair, whether it's jeans and a Tshirt or another pair of sweats and a tank top. Whatever makes you feel better, comfortable, and relaxed.

3. Do a Load of Wash ~ Sometimes I get into a funk where I only want to wear about 3 outfits. So, I have to do laundry more often. If you have nothing clean that you would like to wear, then wash some.

4. Go For a Walk ~ As long as weather permits, put on those walking shoes and get out there. Some fresh air can do loads to rekindle your spirit. You can even take the kids. That should wear them out for a good nap when you get home.

Do you have any other tips, tricks, or suggestions? Comment below with them, or email me to add them.

Decluttering ~ Day 4

If you saw me on Twitter today, then you should know about most of my progress. Oh and I have to share my ChoreBuster chores for the day:

1. Cook Breakfast & Lunch
2. Declutter House
3. Wash dishes

"Declutter house" is set to occur every 7 days, and I did not choose a start date but ironically it randomly chose today's date and me to start with. LOL.

Anywho... I had an hour of energy this morning and was able to downsize 1 giant box and 3 laundry baskets of random clothes that came over last night from the old apartment to only 2 laundry baskets (small ones) of clothes to keep. The rest will be going over to Salvation Army first thing tomorrow (they are closed today, and we just had a snow storm last night so we didn't want to leave it outside overnight).

I am also purging a small tupperware container filled with old McDonald's toys I collected as a kid (Barbies and Pokemon), two purses, and all my old Halloween outfits (yes, I kept all of them for years).

Now we are off to have dinner at a friend's house tonight. They have been helping us move, and still offer more. Once we get the house, food, etc in order over here, we will be inviting them over. Also, I am going to write a thank you note to the wife's work, Wild Side Florist. They so generously offered up the services of their delivery van and gas yesterday to help us do a day's worth of moving!

Decluttering ~ Day 3

I didn't post anything yesterday on my decluttering efforts simply because my camera died, so I could not take a pic of my efforts. However, I would like to post saying that I did end up purging two large black trashbags filled with old clothes from myself, my son, and my daughter. (The hubs barely has any clothes to begin with.)

So, keeping that in mind here I am at Day 3 and this is what has gone on today.

Hubby dragged over some more things from the old apartment, and put most of them in the kitchen instead of in the basement as per our plan. So, now I have 2 large bins, 2 large boxes, 2 boxes of baby clothes and 3 laundry baskets worth of things to go through.

I tackled the smallest and quickest thing first, the baby clothes. Hubby found these, I guess, in one of the closets at the old apartment and they contain lots of things given to me while I was still pregnant and working by an ex-coworker. I never even opened up the boxes! Needless to say, some of the items were too small for my son, however I was surprised to come across quite a few that actually did fit him.

So out of 2 diaper boxes stuffed full of baby things, I have resorted and will be keeping barely one box worth of it all. The rest will be brought over to Salvation Army first thing in the morning.

Decluttering ~ Day 1

Yes, I will be updating my progress everyday of my decluttering project. I outlined the steps here for this, but in case you missed it, they are:

My Plan to Declutter Our New Place

1. Everything that is not 100% essential to our everyday survival is being moved into the basement here.
2. Each day, I will bring up one bag at a time and go through it.
3. I will only keep things that are essential, and not keep things simply for material or sentimental reasons.

So, that is the plan, and I am asking you all to help encourage me to keep at it. Emails, comments, tweets, anything to keep me motivated, updating, and moving. This is a new year, and I am determined to not force my kids to live in clutter anymore.

Okay, well rant over, this is supposed to be an update. What have I gotten done today? Well, I finally went through Ronin's old toys to make room for the new ones he got for the holidays. Here is a pic of the box I brought over to Salvation Army.

It is hard to tell from the picture, but this box is really deep. I counted and it is about 20 toys in all (maybe a bit more). Not a bad start in my mind.

Have you donated or decluttered anything today?

I'm back. Did you miss me?

Of course, I have to start with a cute for the day.

Above is a pic of my son being his adorable self, playing with my cell phone.

How can you not love those eyes?

Now onto my update... we are here, we are getting settled, and the Internet is back on. *Angels singing* Very poor planning on our part, however with a 1 year old, winter storms brewing, and living in a poorly heated/insulated apartment, can you really blame us for up and leaving as soon as we signed the lease to our new place? All I needed for motivation was to wake up the next morning, realize the heat was cranked to 90, but we were all still bundled up and freezing, and to feel my son's ice cold hands that I can never keep covered.

By that night, we had the two kids beds, the couch, the spare mattress, and all of our electronics moved into the new apartment. I could barely get out a post saying that we had signed the lease. However my family's health was so much more important than any of that. I can sort of relate it to a fire, only much much colder and none of our stuff was burnt.

So now, we are here with the good majority of our things moved over, and just some more of the clutter to pack up and move over here. Yes, we are taking our clutter with us. However, we have a plan in place for getting through it all.

My Plan to Declutter Our New Place

1. Everything that is not 100% essential to our everyday survival is being moved into the basement here.
2. Each day, I will bring up one bag at a time and go through it.
3. I will only keep things that are essential, and not keep things simply for material or sentimental reasons.

I have many tools and advantages at my disposal now to help me keep up with this new plan. First, as I mentioned in my previous post, Salvation Army is right across the street! A declutterer and frugal shopper's dream, right? Also, this apartment comes equipped with a dumpster right in the complex. But of course, I think it is all possible, because of the basement storage space we have. No one else uses it right now, so we are free to store as much as we need to for now. But of course my goal is to tone it down to practically nothing within the next few months.

If you want to see some pictures of our new place, click here. So far they are all of the place empty before we moved anything in. I have a few as we started moving things in, but my flickr upload limit is practically reached just with these. So, I will wait to post better ones instead.

MultiTasking Tips

I am kind of a multi-task guru. I have been known to calculate many things in my head while talking to someone or reading an article. I have no idea how my mind works so well, but I am thankful it does. I want to share some tips about activities or times that can be multi-tasked simply. No unnecessary mind tricks here.

Simple and quick, there are certain everyday things that can be combined by nearly anyone, especially mothers like myself.

Filing/Sorting ~ TV Watching
Are you like my mother and tape (or DVR) all your favorite shows that are on during the day and watch them at night after the kids go to bed? Well, this is a perfect time to tackle that stack of papers that is always staring you in the face. I sometimes use my bed or living room floor to spread everything out while I sort, toss, and go through my important and junk papers. You can do this during the whole show, or just during commercial breaks.

Phone Calls ~ Dish Washing
Although phone calls can be combined with an array of other things as well, I personally suggest combining them with dish washing. While washing dishes, rarely do you have to think about it, so your mind is free to carry on a conversation (or two).

Car decluttering ~ Waiting during travel
Whether it is waiting to pick up the kids from school or in line at the drive-thru, there are a multitude of times during a commute that will allow for spare minutes to clean up the car. Often this is a neglected part of our day, especially if you live in apartment like I do. I do not have a garage (or even parking lot) to use while cleaning out my car. So, when there are times I know I will just be sitting there waiting, I always have empty plastic bags that I can use to fill with trash or car clutter. Then when I get home or to the store, I simply throw the bag of trash away or bring in the clutter items and put away where they belong.

Hygeine ~ Bathroom Cleaning
I have always had a habit, since I could reach the bathroom mirror, of wiping the mirror down while I brushed my teeth. Now that I am in my own place, that habit has extended to wiping down the sink, toilet, replacing the toilet paper, and even fixing the towels (yes I have a bit of OCD). I have often thought of occasionally washing the tub and shower out at this time as well. So, if you are in the bathroom and have at least one hand to spare (like brushing your teeth, waiting for the curling iron to heat up, or even while using the facilities) use this time to tidy up a bit around you.

List making ~ Refrigerator/ Pantry cleaning
Ok, I am guilty of not following this one, but it's still a good idea. While you are making your grocery shopping list for the week or month, clean out expired/unused items as you go along. This will clear up space for items you need or are planning on buying. This will also make put away time easier when you get home.

Toy cleanup ~ Playtime with kids
I love to sit on the floor and play with my son, and ever since he has become more mobile and independent there is less need for me to be as involved. However I still love to be there. So, while I am now watching my lil one run around and discover things for himself, I take that time to sort and wash his toys (the ones he is not playing with of course). This allows me to make sure his playtime is fun and safe, while also allowing me to stay involved in his days without being overbearing.

16 Days of New Things ~ Days 10/11/12

Yes, I know I have not updated into the New Things, but I have been learning and busy doing so. I have found quite a vast resource while diving into the new lifestyle of frugality. Now, I am ready to share it with all of you.

If you are interested in how to live a frugal lifestyle, and are serious about trying all avenues, then I suggest visitng About.com. I have always loved this website, and they are filled with a vast knowledge on an array of topics.

Right now, I am reading the article called 'Simple Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bill.' At first, I thought it would be just how to coupon effectively or how to track prices, but the steps and articles they link to involve so much more. Also, they put all the information right at your fingertips, so it is now just up to you to read, follow, and live frugally.

There are 10 steps involved under this article and they are:

1. Only Buy On Sale
2. Plan Your Menu Around the Sales
3. Be Willing to Substitute
4. Buy Ingredients Instead of Prepared Meals
5. Shop Seasonally
6. Switch to Generic
7. Buy Reduced Price Items
8. Shop at Drug Stores
9. Cherry Pick
10. Stack Discounts

Simple right. I love it! However then reading under each number, I was amazed and thrilled to find additional and very helpful resources.

Such as, under #5, they have a link to the articles 'The Cheapest Fruits and Vegetables Month by Month' and 'The Best Time to Buy Everything.' Yes, everything! Food and non-food items. This list covers when you should stock up on party, grill, and pool supplies, the best times to buy winter or summer clothing, etc. A very useful tool for someone like me that never had to or was taught to pay attention to those things. I always just thought it was common sense to stock up on Christmas decorations after Christmas or Halloween candy after Halloween. However this list is not just about those items or times.

Also...

I have also started a price book, however I found anther extremely helpful website, Uncommon Way to Wealth, that actually has a free Excel spreadsheet that you can download. It has all the formulas, etc already entered (which I was having trouble figuring out). So, all you have to do is read the sample page that explains how it's easiest to use, and then start entering your prices on the Price Sheet.

There are many, many more resources on this website, but I have only skimmed the surface into my frugal living. So, I would rather have all my ducks in a row before I begin diving any deeper. However I have noticed that these articles have opened so many simple doors for me (no key required). How great is that?!

Check out these websites and let me know how helpful or accurate you think they are. And, tell me... have you started a price book? If so, what is included in yours?

15 Days of New Years Resolution ~ Day 4

Today's resolution by Jessica is "Fight the Frump."

Huh?

Yes, I said the same thing. Basically it's to lose weight, but it goes deeper than that. Jessica explains it as "having confidence, introducing a little more glamour and fashion into our lives, and looking healthy because we’re living a healthy lifestyle." Amen to that, sista!

For most people, losing weight will make them feel better about themselves. Also, if you watch shows like TLC's What Not To Wear, then you know it is a major DON'T to lose weight and not get rid of your old "fat" clothes simply because they are comfortable. If your body changes drastically, then you need a whole new wardrobe.

I am guilty as sin of this faux pas. I had my son last December, and when I found out I was pregnant last month it was not a big deal wardrobe-wise because I was still wearing (and keeping) ALL of my maternity clothes! Big no-no.

Well, being a stay-at-home mom for the past year, I have been slipping deeper and deeper into Frumpy Land. I only wear jeans when I am leaving the house, and on occasion I have been known to wear the same shirt or sweater over and over. There was also a time that I would only bathe with my son, and still neglect to wash my own hair! I am so busy worrying over every little aspect of his life, that I completely neglect myself. Even worse, I am right back in the loop this new year.

So, I am going to adopt this resolution to Fight the Frump and add it to my 43Things. Being pregnant and already in Frumpville (yes I changed the name, I can do that, I am mayor), it is going to take a lot of extra energy to achieve this goal in the next few months and then keep it up after the baby is born in April.

Well, I also have to spill the beans of my naughty little trick from today, because it goes along with helping me to Fight the Frump. Today, hubs and I finally paid off our layaway at KMart, and brought home all the items. That included the Wii Fit that I have been absolutely dying for. As soon as we make it home, yes, I begged hubby to set it up for me. (Don't worry I will save the box to wrap up so Mack will think that Santa brought it and set it up for us. LOL. She's at Grandma's until Sunday anyways.)

Yay I finally got my Wii Fit!

Although I am preggo, I couldn't set a goal to lose weight just yet, so I actually put it so my goal was to gain weight (yes it lets you do that, and you can change your goal every 2 weeks). I won't go into many details just yet, I will save them for my review, but I do like it and hubs and I have decided to work on it for 30 minutes twice a day (or at least him). He lost 1.8 pounds in only 30 minutes earlier today! Which, if accurate, is awesome!

Anyways, so yes the Wii Fit will be part of my routine to battle my Fibromayalgia, stregthen my mucles for childbirth, and then get my body back after April. I will Fight the Frump of being a stay-at-home mommy.

15 Days of New Years Resolution ~ Day 3

Getting Organized is a major hassle for about 90% of the people I know. And yes, I am included. Especially with a newly 1 year old running (yes running) around grabbing things, organization is void in my household.

However, Jessica is suggesting it, and I must adopt this one as well, because otherwise I may as well lose my sanity if I don't get all the papers, documents, etc in proper place.

Jessica identifies 3 main aspects to help anyone get organized (check out her posting for more in depth about each category):

• Online Organizing Systems & Resources
• Getting a Good Calendar or Organizer
• Being Consistent

Well, until I had my son, I could never keep up with a calendar. However in the past year, doctor's appointments, counseling, dentist appointments, school closings, day care, and Girl Scouts with my step daughter have made it absolutely necessary to keep track of the family's activities. A few times I had lost my calendar, however I would always find it under the clutter and get right back on track. I found a method and I have to stick with it otherwise I will get confused.

When I started blogging, I took Jessica's advice to track things using Google Calendar. That did not last very long, because I do much better when things are written down rather than online. This allows me to plan on the go, as well as visually see at a glance what is coming up. I did want to keep up with Google Calendar because it has the feature of auto email and pop up reminders. However I cannot guarantee that I will be sitting at my computer when I need to be. So until there is a time that will actually be more convenient than my small paper calendar notebook, I am just going to stick it out the old pen and paper way.

So, with all that being said, I would like to interject that not only should you be consistent in whatever method you go with, you should find a method or tool that works into your life now.

Don't forget to enter to win a set of custom napkin rings for the New Year. It ends tomorrow!

16 Days of New Things ~ Day 3

I am happy that we are getting a lot more feedback generated for this series. Today marks Day 3 of '16 Days of New Things'. If you would like to join us, simply RSVP with the Mr. Linky below and/or add your comment below.

Today I would like to share with you how to teach your infants and young toddlers sign language. I was set on doing this since I was pregnant with my son for many reasons. First, I had a friend in middle school that was deaf and I learned sign language (mostly the Alphabet) to communicate with her easier. Second, my nephew has laryngeal papillomas, which prevent him from being able to talk loudly among other things. His speech therapist has also been working with teaching him sign language so he can better communicate to his family, and I would like my son (his cousin) to be able to communicate with him as well, especially when they are older.

And lastly, there are many benefits to teaching your young children sign language, including my favorite, the fact that they can communicate before even learning how to speak! A few months ago my son would eat everything and anything and never seem full, but suddenly he would only sit at the dinner table for about 5 minutes and then throw a hissy fit to get down. I could not figure out if he was still hungry, full, or just wanted to still run around and play.

I had been using signs for months, and I started overemphasizing 'More' when I knew he wanted something to eat (like snacks I fed him one by one). When he would hold his mouth open (which I knew he meant he wanted more) I would show him the sign for 'More' and help motion his hands in the same way. After only a month, now he can do it all by himself, so my problem of not knowing what's the matter (in terms of More) have been solved.

So, those are the benefits in a nut shell, now how can you do it. Just as I said how I taught my son 'More.' You know what your kids are trying to say (some of the time) and if you do then take that opportunity and use their frustration to teach them how to communicate. Since they cannot grasp verbal commands yet, the physical signs are easy and perfect for them. My son picked up on me asking him where is 'Water' was after only a week! Then it got harder when we mixed up what was in his bottle (milk, juice, and water). However if you keep a seperate cup or bottle for each different item, it will be simple for your young toddler to grasp the signs and meanings right away.

Now your turn, what is something new you have learned today? Or do you have something that you know about that you would like to share with others?

15 Days of New Years Resolution ~ Day 1

Ok, so this started yesterday and I was a part of it, but I forgot to post the information here. Sorry... please forgive me. However I am sure you got your fill of me yesterday with my 16 Days and Unconscious Mutterings.

So, just quickly, Jessica Knows is having a wonderfully great and helpful series to those who want to get the New Year started on the right foot, 15 Days of New Years Resolutions. Yesterday it began, and I signed up with 43Things.com (again) to keep track of my goals and progress.

Also, I 'subscribed' through 43Things to all the women that are following Jessica Knows series so that when they come up with a new goal, I can cheer them on. Unfortunately, you are limited to only 5 cheers a day I think, so this isn't helpful if you have 10+ people that start a new goal per day. However, I will check out their blogs, etc and keep up with motivating them as I would love for others to motivate me.

So, check out Jessica series (start here to find out more about it), then check me and the others out on 43Things.com, and join us. We are also twittering about it using the hashtag #15DaysNYE. Simply go to Summize.com and type in '#15DaysNYE' and it should bring up all tweets including that tag. If you need help, simply email me at mel.bail.mama {at} gmail {dot} com or tweet me @Mama4Kids.

Don't forget to enter to Win a set of custom napkin rings for the New Year.

16 Days of New Things ~ Day 2

If you missed Day 1, check it out here. There were some wonderful contributions over there.

Oh yeah, here we are at Day 2 of my "16 Days of New Things" series, and if you are reading this on my site then you can see the new thing I learned last night. That's right, I made this layout all by myself. I wanted to try my hand at my own web design, and my goal was to start it next year. However last night, I was just in the mood, and it did not take me long at all. A few googled words and phrases, along with still a few kinks to figure out, and viola! My new layout.

I made the graphic in Photoshop (by the way click that link and you can see my other Photoshop art) a few days ago, and then decided to go with a simple plain colored background. I am still not sure about how I like how the colors mesh. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Now your turn, what is something new you have learned today? Or do you have something that you know about that you would like to share with others?

16 Days of New Things

What do you think of our new look?

I have always tried to make a point of learning something new each and every day. Now these do not have to be big things, anything little counts. If you didn't know about something or how to do something, then you are learning something new. This improves your life skills in many ways.

I want to extend this goal out to my blogging community readership, and if this is received well enough I may consider taking it onto its own blog permanently into the New Year.

So, beginning on Monday, December 15th and going roughly until the end of the year I will post a new thing that I learned or can tell others about each day. The topics will more than likely vary greatly as I have quite a random knowledge base.

Then for anyone that wants to participate, simply comment on one (or more) thing(s) you learned on that day. Or provide other readers with some knowledge that you have to share. Some examples to get you all on the right track: how to get my son to sleep on his own, a new recipe I found, a helpful organization tip, a great motivational blogger, etc.

The only thing I ask is that you keep the language 90% clean, be creative, and have fun. Also, don't feel that you have to post every day otherwise it will be a task that will just discourage you. Instead try and subscribing to my feed via email so that you are automatically sent my new posts. Then you can begin reading and hopefully feel motivated to take part.

How does this sound to you? What kinds of things do you think you would be interested in seeing? Or what information could you share with others?

What is my niche?

So, it has been pointed out that I don't really have a niche on this blog, or at least one is not directly referenced anywhere. Well, yes, you caught me. As I have said before, I am a new blogger. I am trying to find my niche, my way, and grow a readership while I am at it. I have been following JessicaKnows' 15 days of Marketing, which started out easy but then I got stuck.

Being so new, I don't have any contacts and barely any tweeps that I keep a consistent daily banter with. I sort of jump into conversations very unannounced and often very unappreciated. Yes, that is making me feel insecure, unwelcome, and unmotivated to keep going. However, I just keep at it and hope that I will find my niche.

I have also read in so many places that the best way to receive feedback for how you are doing is to ask. Well, correct me if I am wrong, but I have been asking. I am practically blue in the face over it. And what do I have to show for all the questions I shovel out on a daily basis? Zippo! Am I asking the wrong questions to the wrong crowd? Or am I just being too overexcited with this whole blogging thing? Perhaps it is not for me. Well, back to the first issue, what is my blog about?

Well, I am a mom. I love to write, surf the Internet, read, play video games or computer games, learn new things, and all the while develop myself into a better person. I am here to share my journey, my experiences, and my discoveries.

I am also here to offer a hand or ear or anything else needed to others in my place or similar. I have always known what it is like to suddenly be thrust into a new area with no one beside you. I was a Marine brat (kid) for my whole childhood. I moved every two or three years to a new state, and was forced to make new friends, learn new cultures, and keep learning and growing while I was at it.

For better or worse, that was my life and it made me who I am. So, there... I am not sure what that makes me, because I do not think I am as clever as most in this blogging spectrum. I guess I will just keep reaching out and growing, and possibly just find out what I can offer to others.