Moms these days have more than ever to keep up with. It’s essential to have some kind of system for keeping track of it all. (Little scraps of paper everywhere don’t count!)

Someone has come up with a mom-friendly solution. The Mom’s Essentials organizer. It’s not too big, and not too dowdy. It’s got mom appropriate sections like areas for meal planning and grocery lists, web sites you want to keep track of, people you’re supposed to call, a weekly to-do list at a glance, even sections for stuff you’re going to delegate (since we moms need to be reminded that yes, we CAN delegate!).

Maybe it will help you keep your stuff together in 2009.

It was recently reported that Beyonce’ Knowles (aka the new Mrs. Jay-Z) stated that her and Jay would not be sharing their wedding photos with the world. Now this might get a rating of poo poo from others, but I think it is nice to keep some things to yourselves – even if you are a celebrity.

While I understand that being in the spotlight means you get to be dissected by fans, friend and foe along the way – it doesn’t mean that some things can’t be more private.
I think the obvious things that would make the list would be nuptials, birth of children, death of loved ones, etc. I think the new reality t.v. mentality leads the public to believe that they have a “right” to these glimpses into any and all lives.

Don’t want to share photos of that new baby? Psh, too bad, we’ll get a picture one way or another.

So I say you go Beyonce’ – at least she’s making an attempt to hold her memories and picture close to her heart, instead of in a magazine spread going to the highest bidder.

A lot of couples choose to manage their fertility by use of “natural family planning” (NFP) methods. They want to avoid the side effects of hormonal birth control or the annoyance of barrier methods.

Natural Family Planning is made a little easier with Cycle Beads, invented by Victoria Jennings, Ph.D, an anthropologist who specializes in reproductive health. She directs the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University.

Cycle Beads provide an easy to use visual guide that helps a woman track her cycle. The beads are colored differently and correspond to the days of the month. Each day a woman moves a small rubber band to the next bead. When the band is in the section of white beads, a couple needs to either abstain or use another method of birth control if they want to avoid pregnancy – or have sex if the goal is to get pregnant!

You can listen to an interview with Dr. Jennings on the difference between various methods of natural family planning and how Cycle Beads came about here.

Today’s kids, according to statistics, spend half of their time interacting with screens. Are there any negatives to this? What might our kids be gaining, or missing out on with so much screen time?

Dr. Michael Osit knows. He is a licensed clinical psychiatrist and author of Generation Text: Raising Well-Adjusted Kids in an Age of Instant Everything

In the book, Dr. Osit shows parents how the combination of high-tech interaction and immediate gratification is making our children at risk develop a distorted sense of self, poor work ethic, a sense of entitlement, and weakened social skills, as well as increased aggression.

But the news isn’t all bad.

Instead of being anti-tech, Dr. Osit gives parents suggestions on how to appropriately use technology. He even mentions that for shy kids, technology can bolster their social life. You can get his book or listen to this interview with Dr. Michael Osit here.

It seems that every month we hear about another ingredient in products we buy everyday that has harmful effects.

The latest to hit the news is parabens. Parabens are found in about 80% of the personal care products on store shelves, and even some food products and other items.

When I heard the words “breast cancer” associated with parabens, I had to do a little more digging to find out are parabens dangerous for me to use. The data is not very convincing that parabens are linked with any health problem, but after doing some research I decided to avoid it.

It might be worth looking for the “paraben free” label next time you go shopping for moisturizer, makeup or sunscreen.

Taking care of your skin is so important. It is the only skin you’ll ever have. You determine how well it will look now, and in the future. Therefore you want to be certain that the products or other items that you are using to care for your skin are the best possible.

This is why it may be advantageous to create your own natural skin care products rather than chancing it with the items you buy in the store. These products are often filled with harsh chemicals and other mysterious ingredients that you would not want to put on your skin if you really understood what they were. When you make your own products, you know exactly what goes into them. You can also save money, and even give away your products as gifts!

Did you know that you have many great items already in your home that can be used to create your natural skin care products? Everything from fruit to honey, oatmeal to eggs can be used to creative skin lifting products, moisturizing products, and more natural skin care remedies.

It can be as simple as creating a natural face lift with two egg yolks and a teaspoon of sugar, or a bit more complicated such as this bath milk recipe.

Cleopatra’s Bath Milk

• 2 cups powdered milk
• 1 Tablespoon Jojoba or Sweet Almond Oil
• 2 Tablespoons dried rose petals (can be obtained at large health food stores)
• 1/2 cup ground oatmeal (grind oats finely in your blender)
• 10 drops lavender essential oil or other favorite oil

Mix all ingredients well and keep in a glass jar in the refrigerator. To use, put as much as you like into your bath under running water. You can also buy reusable muslin tea bags at the health food store and place the mixture in these. To use, just drop one in the bath water.

The cold and blustery winter months are upon us and for many that means problems with their skin. Whether you suffer from dry skin all the time, or your skin becomes chapped from being outdoors in the wind or from forced indoor heating, or any other number of skin issues, I’m sure you wished there was a cure for what ails you.

Did you know there are actually many ways that you can care for your skin, naturally without having to purchase anything from your local drug or department store? That’s right, you have the ability to do your own skin care regimen at home for pennies, because most likely you already have everything that you need right in your own home.

Some ways that you can care for your winter skin naturally include:

Exfoliating: Especially if you have dry skin, exfoliating that old, dead skin can help allow moisture which you need to get into your pores once you have ridden them of those dead, flaky skin cells. To exfoliate you will need a physical agent like ground walnuts or apricot hulls, or an enzyme, which basically eats dead skin cells. There are even foods that are rich in enzymes which you can use to create your own at home mask to use in the process of exfoliation. These foods include pineapple and papaya. Milk also has fatty acids that mildly exfoliate. This is why the traditional milk bath has been so popular.

To create an easy inexpensive natural exfoliant, mix sea salt with olive oil. Smoothe in on in the tub and rub your skin gently, then rinse in the shower. You can do the same with sugar – not so great to eat, but awesome for your skin! Add a drop of your favorite essential oil to make it a spa treatment and relax you.

Eating: Yes, something that you already do on a regular basis if done correctly can change your skin. For example to help dry skin, include foods in your diet that are rich in fatty acids. Some of these foods include salmon, olive and coconut oils, avocado, and nuts. Incorporate these into your daily diet to see what a difference they can make. What may look like dry skin may even be eczema or a rash caused by food allergies, so be alert to that possibility too.

Make Your Own Treatments: You can also make your own at home masks and treatments to treat other skin issues. Some common combinations are oatmeal, honey and water to create a mask, or avocado and honey. Smear these on your skin, allow to dry and then rinse them off.

A simple honey treatment to moisturize your skin and make it glow? Pat two drops of honey on your face after cleansing, while still damp. Your skin won’t be sticky with such a small amount.

Skin care is important to the health of your skin as well as your appearance. It’s best to care for your skin as naturally as possible, so why not try these options for caring for your dry winter skin.

Interesting find here…this is the first mascara I’ve used that is NOT waterproof but behaves like it is. It is lightweight, I apply a few coats of it to my eyelashes and it does not flake, smear, smudge, or otherwise mar the skin around my eyes.

It comes off easily in the shower, but holds up rather well while out running errands and working 10-hour shifts during the day.

Gone is the noticeable tendency of waterproof mascaras to “flake” and leave unattractive little black specks around your eye area. How do they do it? I have no idea.

This is also one of the few mascaras that, because of its lack of stiffness, I’m able to apply a few coats for a more dramatic eyelash when transferring into evening to go out to dinner, etc. At a mere $3-$7 a tube, what do you have to lose?

Find out more: Revlon Fabulash Mascara

From where to shop and eat, to where the best places to live or work are, most people will freely share their ideas about these things with others. This can also translate to what the best products and services are out there and people talk about them with their friends and families via word-of-mouth. It’s what drives the market in many cases. This is called “reviewing” and it’s a popular way that many are cashing in via online blogs.

Blogging, which actually had its start in 1995 but has gained more popularity in recent years, is a way for people to spread the word about their opinions and first-hand reviews on things. Blogs are everywhere, thanks to the free services like WordPress.com and Google’s blogger.com that allow anyone to build a blog in a matter of minutes from any computer. A blog is essentially an online journal where you can share a lot of opinions and reviews of things daily and this Just Add Sweat guide will show you exactly how to get yours set up.

If you love sharing your opinions and reviews about different things, then you have the skills needed to build a review blog and start earning money for your reviews. How? Companies know that consumer reviews are a powerful marketing tool to get the word out about their products and services.

Many are willing to pay big bucks to people who are willing to review their offerings. There are paid surveys that companies send out to carefully targeted consumers. They can offer anywhere from $1 to $10 or more per review and are mostly sent out via email to people who sign up to do them. Combine this with posting the questions and answers on your blog for more earnings.

There are also research studies and product reviews that may include trying an actual product for a period of time and then writing an honest review. Those can pay between $15-75 for each review and you get to keep the product afterwards.

You can also earn from reviews by selling advertising on your blog and earning commissions from companies who sell the products you review.

The potential to earn a good income from writing about products and services on your blog are endless. Just do a quick search online and you will find hundreds of ideas what to write about and where. Chances are something you just tried recently is available for you to write about on your blog.

Recommended Additional Resource:

To learn the step-by-step details of how to set up your up your review blog, pick up your copy of the Just Add Sweat Guide to Start a Review Blog. You’ll not only learn the nuts and bolts of how to get started, but how to make money and enjoy your new business.