Tips from Featured Busy Mom Nicole Budleski
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This week’s featured busy mom Nicole Budleski shares her secrets for keeping it all together as a busy mom and business owner!
How do you keep your children’s schedules together?
My husband and I use Outlook quite a bit between the two of us to maintain everyone’s schedules. Our daughter’s elementary school web site also has a great Outlook calendar download feature that tells us everything for the year such as parent-teacher conferences, field trips, early-release days, etc. It works pretty slick!
Do you use a particular day planner ?
No, I don’t. However, I do use some of the Steven Covey principles of prioritizing tasks and not over-scheduling my day. I used to feel so defeated at the end of the day when only five of the 10 things on my list were crossed off. Now, I’m happy crossing-off the five I scheduled for myself. (Well, most of the time!)
Do you own a blackberry?
Yes, I just purchased one a few weeks ago. I set it so it only rings for phone calls. Email notifications can usually wait until I have a block of time to read them.
What is your most used ‘time saving tip’ when it comes to running your house?
I enjoy cooking, therefore I like to prepare large meals on the weekends to either freeze or reheat later in the week. I also discovered how to cut my grocery shopping time in half. I organize my grocery list in the order of the store layout, tear it in half and pass it to my husband. We each take a cart and then meet in the middle of the store to checkout. I realize this sounds a bit silly, but if your husband offers to help and you’re willing to accept selections that aren’t exactly what you would have picked out yourself then try it! It also helps keep your spouse and/or kids involved in your grocery budget and realize how much food really costs.
Do you have a favourite quick meal for your family?
Breakfast for dinner. We raise a dozen laying hens here on our property and it’s pretty easy to walk out to the coop, grab a few eggs and pull together a quick meal.
Tell us the truth ? What would we find in your car right now ?
A pair of snow shoes, a container of trail mix, partially nude Barbies, assorted Crayola markers and a couple of empty coffee cups.
What advice would you give to other moms who feel the pressure of trying to be ’super mom’?
Expand your definition of what is acceptable and cut yourself some slack.
What is your number one goal for the year ? How do you plan to reach it ?
My goal is to expand TicklerTags into the school fund raising market this year. I will be launching a marketing campaign in a few short weeks to elementary schools and parent-teacher organizations.
Nicole Budleski is a 35-year-old, married mother of two girls, ages 7 and 2. Nicole’s marketing background and knack for organizing lead to the development of TicklerTags for her daughter’s after school activities and transportation arrangements. You can visit her site, www.TicklerTags.com to see her full line of backpack reminder tags.
Mom Organization and family computers
By · CommentsHow many computers do you have in your home ? I have five (but I am a self proclaimed mom geek). As the resident geek of my flock I am in constant demand to help my friends clean up their computers. Which I really shouldn’t have to do if they are maintaining their computer.
So here are my tips for looking after your family computers and keeping their maintenance up to date.
1) Check your antivirus programs and make sure they are downloading their updates. If you don’t have one, get AVG free. Make sure you only have one anti virus program or you will find your computer will stop liking you.
2) Protect your kids ? Hey PROTECT YOUR COMPUTERS. Kids will visit any and every website on the internet and downlaod all kinds of nice and not so nice things to your computer. So stop right now and get cyber patrol. Know what your kids are doing and keep them from doing things to your computer that they shouldn’t.
2) Run a disk Defrag. Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter *do this every week. Need more ? You need to do this each week
3) Clear your internet cache. You need to do this each week. Videos: Fire Fox Internet Explorer
4) Take your videos, photos, and music off your computer. Most of us don’t have enough memory to store all of these on our computer without slowing down your computer.
5) Remove unused programs using the Control panel add/remove programs. Read More→
Abbies Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Too!
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Another of Abbie’s amazingly chewy chocolate chip cookies. This chewy chocolate chip cookie uses margerine and half a package of chocolate chips.
Abbie suggested making two batches this time so she had enough to take some chewy chocolate chip cookies to her teacher after her brothers horded all the cookies last time.
Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C)
3/4 cup margerine softened -> cream at HIGH speed
add:
1 egg
1 egg yolk -> beat together
add :
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
-> cream at HIGH speed (may be a tiny tiny bit lumpy )
In a big bowl mix:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon
1/2 package of chocolate chips
Add dry mixture 1/2 cup at a time while mixing.
Bake 7-12 min (varies by oven) until top is lightly golden.
Cool on baking sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Abbie’s Cookies are sponsored by Flirty Aprons. Check out their mother daughter aprons and grab some for your weekly baking time with your daughter!
Goal Setting for moms and families
By · CommentsTomorrow marks the start of 2010 and this mom doesn’t do New Years resolutions. She sets goals and plans. I usually draw a Life Map, though I admit I haven’t in over 3 years. Which is probably a good indicator of why I am feeling stagnant.
So for this almost always organized mom (or never organized at the moment), it’s time to go back to the beginning and set some goals for 2010 and the next three years. I wanted to share some free and affordable tools I located online to help you set goals for yourself and as a family.
Mom Goals offers tips and steps for setting goals for moms.
101 goals in 1001 days. Offers a list of goal setting and goal tracking worksheets and printables.
Tony Robbins has a great article explaining how to set your Personal mission statement. A first step in goal setting. Click here
Of course there are a lot of great goal setting resources for moms over at ListPlanIt.com as well.
Keeping Christmas simple and getting organized
By · CommentsOK, I admit it. The year end is drawing near and I officially feel I have become the almost NEVER organized mom.
They kids have gotten older and they are wanting to do more ‘their way’, instead of according to my checklists. They are involved in more outings, field trips, classes, homework and I am having a hard time keeping up.
I am learning to let go a bit as a single parent I can only do so much. My salary isn’t high enough to hire the extra help to keep up the yard, the laundry, and having to take time off to run kids to the doctor, dentist, ballet, or pick them up from school on sick days has proven a challenge.
With the New Year approaching I am starting to think about goals, plans, and dreams for the upcoming year.
I know some of the things I did this last year didn’t work – so it’s time to start thinking about new strategies for managing my family, health, and spirit.
Setting goals for the new year makes more sense to me then setting New Years Resolutions. I think it’s time to start mulling over some 2010 New Year Goals.
