1. Organize: Be sure to provide your child’s school with enough notice of an address change for any final documents they may need to send. Also, once you’re in the new house, you may need to access important documents like your child’ school records for new enrollment. Be sure to keep those documents set aside for quick access and maybe make some copies in case you forget which box you packed them in.

2. Take Stock: You can finally clean out that playroom or your teenagers musty bedroom! This is your opportunity to really “clean house” (pun intended) and decide what you “pack”, “recycle” or “give to friend.” You could also consider having a garage sale and adding the money to your moving fund or donating what profits you make to a local charity.

3. Pack your life up: Everyone’s favorite part – the actual packing. If you were able to get rid of a good amount of items through your cleaning efforts, this part might not be too bad. For little ones, you can have them get involved and pack their toys, stuffed animals, all their “non-breakables” in a designated box. This will keep them preoccupied and they can feel a part of the move. Also, if you are moving long distance, remember travel arrangements for your pets. There are pet-exclusive airlines available such as Pet Airways, and regular airlines have travel options for pets as well.

4. Make arrangements: If you have little ones, you might want to arrange child care for the actual moving day so you are 100% focused on the move and little ones are safe away from all the activity. Also, you can do a final cleaning of your house/apt for the new tenants or arrange for a cleaning service.

5. It’s Moving Day!: Unpack one room at a time, starting with the bedrooms. The whole family will be tired from the commotion of moving, so making sure each family member has their bedrooms setup so when it comes to bedtime, everyone can just crash and recover from the day.

For more tips, click on this link to Realtor.com.

Do you find yourself stressed out, low on energy, at your wits end (possibly with a headache), do you feel anxious because you’ve got 20 things on your plate at one given time? Welcome to the world of parenthood. We probably have the toughest job in the world!

After hours of listening to whining, chasing my oldest daughter around the house to do her homework, finishing my own work while cooking dinner and then receiving multiple phone calls in between, by night, I’m ready to call it a night and my kids call it mommy’s Spoonk time.

Spoonk let’s me rest peacefully at night and in the morning, it gives me energy to tackle on all the day’s tasks. But you ask, what is it? It’s an acupressure mat that’s relieves tension and does much more than that. It’s been seen everywhere and more specifically featured on the Dr. Oz show.

I bought this for my mom because she deals with a lot of pain related issues and she loves it. My husband used it after his sinus disease surgery and it helped with circulation. And of course, I use it every day!

For people who’ve never experienced acupressure or acupuncture, you may feel a slight discomfort, but the more you do it, you get comfortable doing it.

If you were to get acupressure or acupuncture done on a daily basis, you would be charged a hefty fee, mine charged me $65. A Spoonk mat costs $59.99 for the regular sized mat, but I got lucky as they often do a Groupon offer for 50% off and I scored an amazing deal. Not only do I save a ton of money, I have it on hand for whatever whenever and no appointments are needed! Is it time to Spoonkify your life?

…that I will put more content up in the future.  Both my kids were at home with me during the summer while I transitioned into an editor position.  A lot has been on my plate, but I haven’t forgotten about my readers.  Once I get more settled into my daily routine, I will start bringing some more interesting news.

These are some of my current happenings:

• New position as content manager/editor – more content that I am reading and publishing on a daily basis
• Just started Kris Carr’s “Crazy Sexy Diet” cleanse, she is da bomb!  First heard about this cleanse through Whitney at Ecovegangal.com.
• Got 3 back to back parking tickets when I parked my car in my driveway and parking spot.  How is that possible, City of Los Angeles parking enforcement?
• A recent 3.5 earthquake rocked my world.  Well actually, it freaked me out (right near me).  Out of all the earthquakes it literally jerked my building around to the point that I thought the “big one” was starting to happen.
• My younger daughter is clearly ready for preschool.  She is utterly bored at home, but we can’t transition her until we move.

So there it is.  I promise I will report back soon with some interesting topics and or stories!!

A snapshot taken from the previous Seventh Generation website.

I’ve done my share of ad campaigns including both print and commercials, but this one (w/Seventh Generation) is by far the most special.  I believe in their products and their mission.  I use to go to their website all the time just to look at my daughter at that special age (she was only 9 months old).  Time flies and she is already 6 (plus, who would have predicted I would have another baby, now 2 years old).

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!  Hope your 2012 is filled with love, happiness, health, abundance and everything in between.  I look forward to this new year and can’t wait to see what’s in store for all of us.

We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded by advertisements, commercials and endorsements from celebrities.  All having a common goal in making us think that drinking Coke is the new black, biting into a burger from Carl’s Jr. makes us sexier and TV dinners are perfect for all of us folks that are pooped by the end of the day.

While these are all attractive ideas, they don’t make us a healthier society, nor teach our children anything about living a healthy lifestyle and the consequences of not doing so.

I try to lead a healthy lifestyle myself–something that my mother passed down to me–and I definitely want my children to live the healthiest and most fulfilling lives themselves.

There are four specific things I do with my children on a daily basis that not only saves money, but teaches my children a healthier lifestyle and good habits…

Read the rest of the post at Savings.com.

So what person doesn’t like free?  Especiallly with many households trying to make ends meet and not having the luxury of spending money, other than paying off bills. It’s always nice to hear about free food, free events, and anything free in general.  I am always trying to find activities to do with my little ones that don’t cost an arm and a leg, and can create a lifetime of memories.

Summer months can be fun and difficult.  I love spending time with my children but the truth is that they get bored and I get bored, trying to do the same old same old.  However, it’s not easy to plan a field trip everyday considering the added costs that come with it.  So this is where “free” and “summer” comes in to save our days, weeks, and summer months!

I’ve listed some free activities and free food options to make all of our summer lives easier and more fun with our adorable children:

Coco’s and Carrows Kids Eat Free All Summer Long: Dinner promotion runs nightly from 4pm until close, starting July 8 at all participating restaurants.

Chipotle’s Free Kid’s Meal Deal: I love going to my local Chipotle because they offer healthier options (even Vegan options with the Garden blend) to the normally not so figure friendly Mexican food. Recently, I was excited to get an email from Chipotle with a new kid friendly promotion.  From August 1 through August 22, when parents eat a burrito, salad, taco, or burrito bowl, kids eat free.  I will definitely take advantage of this offer since I frequent the one near my home.

Free Bowling at 300: From now until September 7, kids 12 and under can join 300’s Summer Kids Club program at no charge, and every Sunday through Friday before 4pm, kids get one free game and free shoe rental.

Target Free Sundays: Every third Sunday, Target sponsors a free day in select museums across the country.  To see if there are any in your local area go here.  My children and I go to the Free Target Sundays at the Japanese American National Museum and they have fantastic activities for the kids as well.  The last Sunday my children got to make backpacks, luggage name-tags, and also did a stick on activity.

Whole Foods:  While this may be an odd choice for some of you as a destination spot, my children and I love goin to Whole Foods.  They offer Kid’s Club activities, which includes making healthy snack options and even doing a craft project or two.  The last time we went to a Kid’s Club event, my daughter made my husband an apron for Father’s Day.  Also, being a part of Kid’s Club means that your children get to choose an apple or a cookie from the store as their treat for coming to the store.  You can’t lose on this one!

Westfield Malls:  They have Kid’s Club events that range from cooking classes to crafty activities and sometimes they will have local musicians come and perform.  My children love going to these little events because they get to play and if it’s a cooking class, they get to eat too!

Have a Happy Summer!

Awhile back, I wrote about the Activeion Pro (to read the post go here).  It’s a great cleaning tool that was earth-friendly, money-saving, and safe for children.  Activeion took the same great product and upgraded it to fit the needs of a home cleaner.  The ionator HOM™ does everything the Pro did, but not only does it kill bacteria, it also kills the H1N1 virus (a.k.a. swine flu).

Last year, everyone was going crazy to get the vaccination for the the swine flu because it was a new strand of virus that were making people fatally ill and unfortunately taking the lives of many.  Every day I would read a new story about how another child died from the swine flu, which is every parent’s nightmare.

ionator HOM™ is not a vaccination to the H1N1, but it effectively kills the virus on your table-top without the use of any harsh chemicals (when used as directed).  For me, this was so great because I have a baby and a preschooler that touches everything and I mean EVERYTHING, and this will rule out the potential of them touching an unclean surface and transferring those bacterias + H1N1 virus into their nose or mouth (my preschooler occasionally picks her nose and my baby bites down on her fingers).  The thought of anything being transferred from a surface to the mouth, makes me quite queezy.

My daughter and I have been using the Activeion Pro since last year and we love it.  We don’t need anything but water to clean and sanitize our home.  My daughter is only 4 years old (she just turned 4) and she uses it to clean surfaces after play.  Although the Pro was heavy for her, she managed to place it on the floor and angle it just right, to clean her play area.

3 Step process on how the ionater HOM works:

It’s very simple.  No complicated instructions to look at and no time consuming set-up.  You literally charge the battery and when it’s done charging, you simply fill it with water and start cleaning. With the ionator HOM™, my daughter had an easier time holding on to it and transporting it from room to room because it was smaller in size and lighter.  I love the smell of cleaning our tables with the ionator HOM™ because it smells like a clean doctor’s office, thoroughly sanitized (some of you may not like that, but I do!).  If you are a professional cleaner who needs a more commercial approach to cleaning without the chemicals and toxicity, the ionator EXP™ (the professional version of the ionator HOM™) would be your solution.

Activeion is giving my readers a $20 off with coupon code “MITH” until 06/10/2010 for the ionator HOM™.

(Disclosure: Product was provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the product.  This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)

FOR THE GIVEAWAY

If you would like to have a chance at winning your very own ionator HOM™ you must (mandatory) visit http://www.activeion.com and leave a comment here telling me something you learned about the product/technology or why you would like to try the ionator HOM™.

For Extra entries (please make every entry separate even if you comment on multiple posts):

• Follow @Active_ion on Twitter (Tweet about why they would like to try the ionator HOM™)
• Become a Facebook fan of Activeion (Post a comment on the wall that you were sent by Mommas in the House and tell them specifically how you would use the ionator HOM to clean up your messes).
• Subscribe to Mommas in the House
  
• Follow @Mommasinthehous on Twitter.
• Tweet about the giveaway and link back (unlimited entries)

Giveaway ends May 24th, 2010 at 11:59pm PST. Please make sure you leave a valid email address so that we can notify the winner. We will notify the winner, and the winner has 48 hours to respond. If the winner fails to respond within that time period, we will choose a new winner. Open to US residents only.

Happy Mother’s Day to all my mommas!  This year I wrote my mother a poem for her Mother’s Day gift and wanted to share with  you.  I hope everyone has a day full of love, happiness, and thanks.

“Your words ring true”

Every day I want to say,
Happy Mother’s Day!

Through you I have learned the lessons in life
and therefore I always pick up the pieces
and be a good mother and wife.

I am thankful for the courage you instilled in me
you gave me the inspiration to be free.

Growing up it was hard to appreciate,
all the ups and downs that felt like mere fate.

Everything that you said was very true
and every day I stop and thank you!

It has come a time when we both celebrate
that being a good mother is never too late.

So mom and grandma, up above,
Happy Mother’s Day
with all my love.

Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers.  I love the smell of it, the vibrant colors, and what they represent.  However, sometimes it’s nice to get something different.  Something that doesn’t go bad within a week and something that you could cherish forever.  I’m not an accessories type of gal, but I love getting necklaces as presents.

When my husband got me a white gold necklace with a four leaf clover charm on our anniversary,  I was touched because he wanted me to think of him as my lucky charm (of course he is!).  Everytime I open up my jewelry bag and I come across that necklace, I always think of that day and smile.  With any kind of jewelry, there is always some sort of sentimental connection.  Jewelry makes any person feel person special and that is why, for most people, we get it on a special day or occasion in our life.

With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I thought a necklace would be a nice gift to give to any special mother in your life.  Just because it’s jewelry doesn’t mean it has to be very expensive.  Just look at your local newspaper and I’m sure there are tons of Mother’s Day jewelry specials on print.  I thought I would share some of  the Mother’s Day necklace options that I came across.

My daughter will be making her grandmother a simple necklace with the Melissa and Doug Wooden Stringing Beads.  It’s only $16.99 and you can find it online or at Toys R Us and I saw it at Ross for $14.99.  A fun project for you and your daughter, and will definitely bring a smile to a grandmother and any special mother in your life.

I love Etsy.com because you can virtually find anything and everything there.  The prices are just right and the necklaces are either “one and only” or custom made to your preference.  I found a cute one from Bead Creations International for $46.50.  You can personalize it so they have the childrens’ names on it.

If you want to buy a jewelry that supports a good cause, Ebay has a worldofgood.com which supports shopping for a good cause.  I found a beautiful Sterling Silver Filigree Fair Trade necklace for $78.

A necklace that is simplistic but also meaningful for a special mom.  Marie Todd makes these chic Initial Necklaces in 14K Gold ($295) and Sterling Silver ($100).

Want to spend some good money on some bling-bling necklaces?  With a celebrity following, Jennifer Meyer (wife of Tobey Maguire) makes a really pretty Nameplace Necklace for $975 (not cheap, but if you have the money, totally worth it!).

With whatever you decide, I’m sure it will be super-special for that mother in your life.  Life goes by very quickly, so cherish your mother as if Mother’s Day is everyday because it really is!