Works for Me Wednesday 4/4

A couple years ago we were at a Homeschool Support Group meeting and one of my boys hurt themselves and needed a Band-Aid. I was not prepared by my friend from Confessions of a Supermom was as she had a First Aid kit in her vehicle. The thing that impressed me the most was that it was a "build your own" First Aid Kit. I thought the idea was amazing that I have since "borrowed the idea" from her and have made 2 kits, one for inside our apartment and one for the van. I also borrowed the idea that many of the items were purchased at Dollar Tree. I really liked the fact that "making your own First Aid Kit" you get larger sizes and it can be tailored to fit the needs of your family!

I had purchased 2 pre-made kits in the past, so I had 2 First Aid boxes already. I purchased all the necessary items like Band-Aids, Triple Antibotic Ointment, Alcohol Swabs, Burn Cream, Hydrocortisone Cream, Gauze, Medical Tape, Instant Ice Packs, and more. I took the items out of the packinging so it will all fit into the kit and assembled. The kit for the car also has Kids Allergy meds, Childrens Tylenol, an inhaler for my asthmatic son, Adult Tylenol, Adult Pain relievers and allergy meds. One of my sons has Spring Allergies due to Tree and Pollen, so the Kids Allergy meds comes in handy when we are out and about.I keep the meds in the Medicine Cabinet at home rather then in the First Aid Kit. I had an idea the other day of something to add to the kit. I purchased a bottle of Peroxide and 2 travel size spray bottles. I filled the spray bottles with Peroxide and added them to each of the First Aid Kits. I am so happy that my friend was prepared that day and very excitedly share her idea with me!

The Kit for inside our Apartment

"Make your Own First Aid Kits" work for me and my family and my friends family!! For more great hints and tips visit Kristen at We are THAT Family!

Works for Me Wednesday 4/4

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Works for Me Wednesday 10/12

I know in the "age of the internet", Encyclopedias aren't as widely used as they used to be. I remember going to the library after school on many occassions to do research for homework assignments and the Encyclopedia was the best resource. Well, Encyclopedias haven't gotten away, they are even available online. Encyclopedias are still updated yearly and still sold in Print form, but they are also available online from the comfort of your own home.

I discovered a couple months ago that many libraries around the country subscribe to the online versions and then make them available to Library Patrons via their Library Card. I have access to quite a few online Encyclopedias and Educational Resources by using my Library Card right from the comfort of my own home.

I use my Library Card from the Berwyn Public Library and I have access to: Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica for Kids and Kid Info Bits, amongst others.

I also have a Chicago Public Library Card because Chicago Public Library is part of the Recriporacal Borrowing Libraries in connection with my library system. I use my Chicago Public Library Card and gain access to World Book Encyclopedia and World Book for Kids, amongst other online research databases.

I have noticed some other great online research databases that are available to Library Patrons, although not all resources are available at all libraries. A to Z Maps Online and Mango Languages are 2 great resources that some local libraries have subscribed to and I wish my local branch would subscribe to. The World Book for Kids site has a special section for Science Projects.

I personally like using Encyclopedias for research and homeschooling. I know the internet has a "Wealth" of information, but IMO Encyclopedias are a wonderful resource.

Check the website of your local library for Databases or Research Databases or ask your local librarian if they subscribe to any Research Databases. The resources available via your local library online are a wonderful tool that is not widely known, but is great for helping kids with their school work.

Library Research Databases with FREE access from your home using your library card, Works for Me. For more great hints and tips visit Kristen at We are That Family.

Works for Me Wednesday 10/12

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Works for Me Wednesday 10/5

I like to add pics to my blog, as many bloggers do. I do a couple things to "protect" my pictures from being lifted from my blog. I use watermarks and I use slideshows. I have found FREE resources to help me to do both of these!

A great tutorial I found online for adding a Watermark to my pics is here: How to Watermark a Photo. I have been using this for 8 months and it is soo easy to use. and follow.

I have been using Slideshows on my blog for a few years now. I like that not only are my pics "protected" but also that the page loads a bit faster then having a lot of individual pics on my blog. I also think that Slideshows tell the "story" in a beautiful way. I use Photobucket for storing my pics online, so I sometimes use Photobucket Slideshow tool. I have also used Slide.com, but they are no longer available to use. I found that out a couple weeks ago while trying to make a slideshow. I "googled" for a "Free Slideshow maker" and came across a really great site: Kizoa. I used this site to create about 6 slideshows for a blog post I did a couple weeks ago and I LOVE this site. It is FREE and very easy to use. There is nothing to download onto your computer. You can add music and text to your slideshows. There is a Premium version that costs $29.99 a year, but the FREE edition will work just fine for me.

A great example of a blog post using both of these methods can be found HERE.

Using Watermarks and Slideshows on my blog "Works for Me". For more great hints and tips visit Kristen at We are That Family.

Works for Me Wednesday 10/5

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Works for Me Wednesday 9/21

I am a "Book Worm" I love love love reading! I love Library Day and Social Networking for Book Lovers. I have at least 40 books checked out at a time from the library. (granted some are for homeschooling, but many are leisure reading) So about 18 months ago I discovered that I can join some Book Review Programs and I joined about 4 well known publishing book review programs. I have recently joined about 4 more book review programs and I love it! I am getting some great books and I enjoying reading and posting my opinion of the books. I hope I have encouraged others to buy some of the books I have posted about!

I have recently been trying to "keep up" with the Book Reviews and making sure I read and post by the date I am supposed to. A couple months ago I came up with the idea to post them on my Springpad Account and set up reminders for the day before they are due to be posted to my blog. That has been working wonderfully. I was also struggling with a way to keep the books organized and all in one place. The other night I came up with an idea and I immediately jumped onto the computer to put the idea to work. I created a "Book Review" form. I at first created it as a simple box form. I then thought how cool it would be to have use it as a bookmark, so I created it as a bookmark also. I then grabbed a small "tote" I already had that I purchased at Dollar Tree and put my books in there. I printed out the box form version and filled them out and put them in the books. I put the "tote" on the top of my reading area bookshelf.

The book tote on top of my reading area bookshelf

The folder contains the forms and also letters from publishers

I am soo happy with how my idea "came to light" and I am sure this will be a huge help to me! I hope it will also help others, so I am sharing my creations below for others to print and use.

Book Review Form

Book Review Bookmark

Using Springpad and the Book Review Bookmark or Form Works for me to keep up with Book Reviews. For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We Are That Family.

Works for Me Wednesday 9/21

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Works for Me Wednesday 9/14

I am a "perfectionist" by nature and like things to look "clean and orderly" even my blog posts. I have been noticing that my Blog posts on Blogger have been unproperly spaced between paragraphs lately. I would try fixing them before posting without no avail. I even tried to google to see if this is a common problem on Blogger. I couldn't find anything online. The only info I found was that the "Extra spacing" comes from 'copy and pasting" from one website onto the Blogger Post Editor. I truly believe this because I do that a lot.

I then "googled" Blog Editor thinking if I type on another format and it could upload to Blogger for me, that it would solve the problem. I used Windows Live Writer and also a couple of Blog Editors from Chrome extenstions. I was still having the same issues, too much spacing between paragraphs. I was getting very frustrated. I decided to try using NotePad, you know that "app" that comes preinstalled on all PC's. Woohoo!! Success!! I was very pleasantly surprised how well it worked. My spacing is "clean and orderly" even when I copy and paste.

I just open up Notepad. I just begin typing the text or copy and paste text from either my blog or another resource. Once I have the text all typed out, I copy and paste into the Blogger Post Editor and viola "clean and orderly" spacing.I can then upload pics and create the links using the Blog Editor and the correct spacing is still there! I am such a happy blogger with proper spacing and it was a simple solution!

Using Notepad to create proper spacing on Blogger is "What Works for Me". For more great hints and tips visit Works for Me Wednesday blog carnival with Kristen at We Are That Family.

Works for Me Wednesday 9/14

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Works for Me Wednesday

Ever had a document that you would love to share on your blog or via email and have found it difficult to share? I found the best solution a couple years ago: Scribd- a document sharing website and social networking site. I discovered Scribd while searching online for some Homeschool printables. I was hooked immediately!

I really like the ease of use of Scribd for uploading and saving my own documents. I also search Scribd to find documents or ebooks that I can use from others who are posting their documents. The documents can be made public or private.

Scribd has evolved over the past couple of years and has changed for the better since I started using it. Once you upload a document it gives you various ways of sharing including on Facebook, Twitter and other social network sites. Scribd also provides "embedding codes" so the document can be easily added to blogs, websites and more. You can follow other users that post documents of interest to you.

Scribd WORKS for me for document sharing and for finding FREE documents of interest to me, especially to use in our homeschool.

Check out this great document sharing website here: Scribd. 

For more great hints and tips visit Kristen;s blog carnival WORKS for me Wednesday  at We are THAT Family.

Works for Me Wednesday

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Easy to make Individual Jello Cups

Our family really likes Jello and Pudding Cups, although I don't like the expense. A couple years ago I found these 4oz cups at Dollar Tree that would be perfect for individual Jello and Pudding cups. I purchased 4 packs of 4 cups and we have been making our own jello and pudding cups since then. I buy packages of jello and/or pudding and we get 4 cups per box for about .50¢, rather then $1-$3 per 4 pack. I am in the process of looking for "made from scratch" jello and pudding recipes rather then buying the boxes! 

A couple weeks ago my 17yr old niece was here at my place for a couple of days. She made some pudding right in my 2 cup measuring cup. I thought that was "genius". I decided to "borrow" her idea the other day when I was making Jello cups. I mixed the Jello right in the 2 cup measuring cup and I was sooo pleased with the ease of making it and especially pouring it into the individual cups.

I am sooo happy with how easy this system is and will continue to use this method. I had been mixing in a bowl and found it difficult to get the liquid into the cups good, many spills happened. I know this method will lessen the spills and I will only have one thing to wash now!

Mixing Jello and/or Pudding in the measuring cup "Works for Me". For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We are THAT Family.

Easy to make Individual Jello Cups

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Works for Me Wednesday

We are currently on a 2 day Road Trip, going home today. I am sure there will be many family vacations and more with summer break coming up. I think this tip is very timely.

I was gathering things to pack this past weekend for our Road Trip and an idea came to me as I began thinking about all the chargers and gadgets we would be bringing with. I saw a power strip I had just purchased a few weeks ago and I grabbed it to pack. I recalled that hotels barely have any outlets in the room and we are always "fighting" for the outlet to charge our phones, hand held game units and more. I thought "wow a power strip will expand our outlet from 1 to 6 and eliminate the need for "fighting" over the outlet". I am so very glad I packed it for our Road Trip. It has worked wonderfully!

I will be keeping this power strip in the "hotel bag" that we have. I have a bag that is always packed with flip flops and cups that is only for when we travel to hotels.Flip Flops for going down to the pool in and cups that I purchased at Dollar Tree so we don't spill drinks.  As I pack today, I am packing the power strip into that bag and it will stay there so we will never forget it when staying at hotels.

A friend of mine, whose husband is a pilot and she a former flight attendant, warns that if you are flying and want to bring a power strip, pack it in your checked luggage, not carry on, otherwise TSA might freak. I am so very glad she had the foresight to think about that, as I don't fly much at all, so that never crossed my mind.

Bringing a power strip when traveling and staying at a hotel truly has worked for me!


For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We are THAT Family.

Works for Me Wednesday

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Works for Me Wednesday

I really love Dollar Tree, especially in the Spring when they are stocking all their spring and summer items. We went to Dollar Tree last week and I found something that I had to buy.

We use lots of paper plates in our household for breakfast and lunch, we don't have a dishwasher in our apartment. A couple years ago I had purchased some Straw Paper Plate holders from Wal-Mart. They were OK, but they get dirty, get stuck on clothes, and tear very easily. We ended up throwing them out last summer. We have been "doubling up" on plates since then. I did not like doing this as it "doubles" the expense of paper plates because then we run out twice as fast.

I found some really nice Paper Plate Holders last week at Dollar Tree. They are made of hard, durable plastic, are washable and come in variety of colors. I purchased 3 packs, each pack has 4 holders. I bought the boys "Colors", as we color code things for the boys since they are so close in age.

Here are the pics:

We have been using these daily since Friday and we really like them! It cost me $3 for a total of 12 holders. I am going to go back very soon and get a few more packs. I will save the other packs for summer time picnics and camping. I have learned with Dollar Tree: If you see something you like, buy it in multiples as it might be gone for good the next time you go!!

These Paper Plate Holders WORK for ME!!

For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We are THAT Family.

Works for Me Wednesday

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Works for Me Wednesday

A couple months ago I made the switch to Blogspot blogging platform. I had 3 different blogs: 2 at Homeschoolblogger and 1 at Xanga. HSB made some changes last summer and it made it less friendly to customize the blogs nicely. Xanga has been good, but I wanted more to my blog that I just couldn't do at Xanga. So I combined my blogs into one and made the switch to Blogspot. I didn't import any of my stuff over, just started anew! 

I found some great resources along the way as I was setting up my blog to "fancy" it up! I had an idea of how I wanted my blog and through doing some "Googling", I found great tutorials, templates, backgrounds,buttons and more. I was thinking I would have to pay a blog designer to design my blog the way I wanted it, but I didn't have to. It was all FREE via the resources I found. 


Many resources I found led to other great resources and so on and so on. 

Here are the wonderful resources I found:

Beautiful Blog Designs has great FREE Templates and Tutorials. 

I was led to LeeLoublogs from the above resource. LeelouBlogs is by far my favorite FREEBIE for templates and backgrounds. Make to read about the difference between a template and background The template comes with lots of "Fun stuff" and a background is just a "background". You can install both, as I did, but there is a slight difference. I like the Template because it comes with Post Dividers, Favicon, Sidebar Title Dividers, Blog Header and more. A Background is just that a background design. 

Beautiful Blog Designs and also Simply Blog it Backgrounds both have a nice list of Blogs where you can find free templates and backgrounds. Some are the same on both lists, but there are lots of options! 

Some of my favorite were/are: 
Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates
Hot Bliggity Blog
Dotty Dot Dot
BlogaholicDesigns

I really wanted to have a Navigation Bar at the top. This would allow readers to jump to all the posts of a particular "label". In order for the posts to appear when a reader clicks on a particular catergory, you must add a "label" to your post when posting. I found a great tutorial that was very easy to follow and got me the resulted I wanted:
Creating a Navigation Bar or Menu Tabs

I recently added the current navigation bar with the drop down menu. I used this tutorial to create a Horizontal Drop Down Menu Navigation This type of bar allows for subcategories to drop down in menu when you hover or click on the menu category. 

Do you want others to promote your blog on their blog? I found a really nice and easy tutorial about creating "Grab the button".  Creating a Blog Button

Sneaky Momma Blog Design has tons of tutorials for all levels of bloggers. 


Do you post personal pics on your blog and don't want them "captured" for use elsewhere on the net? I personally make slideshows for my blog when posting lots of pictures. Although, when I am posting only a couple of pictures, I create a watermark on my pictures before posting to identify that the pic is mine. I use this tutorial:
Creating Watermarks on Pictures

Do you post a lot of recipes on your blog or other things that readers might want to print? Want to make it "Printer Friendly". Here is a great tutorial on Adding a Printer Friendly Button to each post. 

Want a "signature" to automatically post with each new post? I used this tutorial to Create a Signature for my posts

Tired of the same old fonts? Want something different? I used this list to change some of the "font family" on my blog: Font Family List


Want to know how many visitors you are getting on your blog and your blog stats? BraveNet has lots of great tools and widgets for your blog.  

Some other neat sites I found that could be useful for designing your blog:

Blogger Tricks

Spice Up Your Blog

Blogger Buster

Beautiful Blog Design Tutorials

It didn't take me a lot of time to get my blog the way I wanted and I am really content with my blog look and design and I did all for FREE!! I can now update and change my blog around when I want and "fancy it up" with any cost whatsoever!! I would enjoy seeing some "newly designed" blogs if anyone uses any of this info!!! 



For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We are THAT Family.

Works for Me Wednesday

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Works for Me Wednesday

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about My Favorite Recipe Sites and Tools. I have been using those methods and sites for a while now, and will continue to do so. I recently found out about a favorite new site for Menu Planning that is truly amazing!!

Saymmm is a fairly new site that is an "all in one site". You can meal plan, store recipes and recipe links, find new meal ideas on the site, create a grocery list(both printable and for your mobile phone), and more. You can do all this for FREE!! (there is a Premium Plus version that does cost money, but the FREE version has plenty of FREE features)

I signed up for Saymmm about 3 weeks ago and used it for the first time this week. It is very user friendly and easy to use. I like that you can do a menu plan by the week or by the month. Saymmm generates a grocery list based upon the recipes you are using. You can add or delete from that grocery list or create your own. You can add your recipes or recipe links to your favorite recipes and organized them into categories. You can view your account from any computer or internet enabled cell phone. This is a great feature if you are away from home(at work or other place) and need to be reminded of dinner plans. The grocery list is also viewable on any internet enabled cell phone, so no need for "paper lists". They have some awesome features for Bloggers. The features include being able to clickable/printable grocery lists and recipe links! 

The only "Downfall" of Saymmm and I hope they add this ability in the near future, is that it only allows for planning for one meal a day. I plan all our meals each week(breakfast, lunch and dinner) and I can only use Saymmm to input my dinner plan. I hope that in the future they allow for inputting more then one meal plan per day. 

Check out all the great features of Saymmm:

1. Plan Meals with Ease
2. Grocery Shopping List
3. Recipe Organizer
4. Ideas for Meals
5. Share with Friends
6. Mobile Phone Access
7. Using Saymmm on your Blog

I will probably continue to use my Menu Planning document until Saymmm adds a feature that allows for inputting more then one meal a day. I will be using Saymmm for a Recipe Organizer, Grocery List Creator and other aspects!! Saymmm is an excellent Menu Planning Tool and it Works for Me!!

For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We are THAT Family.

Works for Me Wednesday

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Works for Me Wednesday

I am usually a very organized person and don't normally forget a lot of things. Although, within the last year or so, I have had lots more activities, life happenings and more on my plate and I had begun to forget many things. I needed something that would remind me of appointments, activities, and more via email. I began looking online for something of the sort and came across SpringPad. I signed up and became a "member" about 10 months ago and then never used the service. I kept allowing myself to forget and not be organized. I was still receiving emails and I follow SpringPad on Twitter, so about 2 months ago I  discovered they had changed things up a bit and also added an app in the Android market!! Woohoo! I quickly visited the site again, added the app to my Android phone and now I am on my road to not being forgetful! Not to worry if you don't have a "Smartphone" because it is still web based and as long as you have internet and email access you can make great use of SpringPad. 

I really like the layout, the ease of use, the simplicity of the site(not too many "add ons"), the ability to share "my stuff" with others, the email reminder alerts, and the "Notebooks". I also like that I can save/bookmark websites of interest. The Notebook feature allows me to have "notebooks" for different topics, projects or upcoming events. For instance, I have a Recipe Notebook that I have either typed recipes saved or recipes that I find online in that Notebook. I can access the recipes from my Smartphone when cooking and no need to print them out!

I use Chrome browser and there is an "extension" that makes adding things to your account very easy! In All browsers you have the "SpringPad Clipper" that is installed on your browser toolbar for adding things to your account! 

You can see How SpringPad Works and also the great Features!! Check out the SpringPad Blog written by Katin for some great info on the updates and features and tutorials on how to use SpringPad! Also, here is a post from another blogger who compares Springpad to other services and explains why SpringPad was his choice!!

SpringPad has endless options and possibilities on helping you organize your life, your schedule, your household, your job and much more! SpringPad works for me and I hope it would work for you!!

For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We are THAT Family.

Works for Me Wednesday

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Works For Me Wednesday

Cups, Cups, Cups that is what this post is all about! We live in an apartment which we rent, where except for the Kitchen and Bathroom it is wall to wall carpet. We also have 3 boys who tend to be "rough and tough" and can create spills often. I don't want them to be restricted to just the kitchen for taking a sip or drink of something, but I also don't want to be cleaning up spills constantly on the carpet. The carpet is only 6 months old due to a flood in our apartment last summer. Although, even with the old carpeting which was probably 10yrs old or more, I used this idea.

My solution to prevent spills and restriction to kitchen is: Lidded cups!! I have different cups for different situations. I also make sure everyone has "their" cup for each of those situations. Our boys are only 16 months apart each, so I tend to color code them and everyone gets the same color as much as possible or a color close to the original color. I normally use Blue, Red, and Yellow. If I have to I will substitute with Green, and if absolutely necessary pink. Cups are hard to find in red, so we do use pink sometimes for indoor cups. My oldest is blue, my middle guy is red, and youngest is Yellow/Green. We pretty much use the same cup for the different situations all day, we just rinse and reuse when getting a refill.

Here are the cups we use in our apartment:

 The 3 on the bottom are the boys, the blue on top is DH's, and the teal one is mine.

Left to Right: Husbands, Mine, Joshua, Daniel, Nathan

Mine is the Blue cup and the boys use the Zoo cups. (DH doesn't drink smoothies)

These are not lidded because our dinner table is in the kitchen. 

The boys cups are bottom row, DH has black cup and mine is purple. 

I found these on "End of Summer" clearance for .50¢ for all 5.

Lidded cups for everyone in the family has really worked for us! It really does prevent spills and messes on carpet that we would have to replace if it got ruined. 

For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We are THAT Family.

Works For Me Wednesday

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