Another summer has quickly passed us by. The kids have reluctantly gone back to school. It stands to reason that life should be a little less hectic, right? Unfortunately, that’s usually not the case. Between all of your daily ‘Mom obligations’, helping with homework and providing transportation to every extra-curricular activity under the sun, you probably have little time to devote to dinner planning.

Many times busy parents resort to hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza or frequent trips to a fast-food restaurant. That’s not healthy for you or the kids – not to mention its pretty rough on the family grocery budget.

Kitchen time savers

There are things you can do to cut down on time spent in the kitchen. Pick one day a week and prepare several freezer friendly meals. You can even go the extra mile and package them in individual serving size containers. Doing so will provide your family with a larger variety of entrée choices, on any given day.

Do you have friends that are intrigued with the idea of a one-day a week cooking spree or a meal planning service? Get together with 2 or 3 of them. Each of you decides on 2 main dishes you want to prepare. Buy enough ingredients to make the entrees for each family.

You need to plan ahead

One simple thing that you can do is keep an ample supply of fresh fruits, salad ingredients, soups and fresh sandwich fixings, on hand. Quick meals such as this are nutritious and don’t require a great deal of preparation time.

If you take on the task of meal planning and want to get in the habit of consistently putting together weekly menus yourself, you may be surprised at how much time it involves. Did you know that the typical family meal planner spends roughly 3 hours per week combing through cookbooks, choosing recipes and compiling a grocery list? That translates into 156 hours, per year. Yikes!

A menu service can help

You can say goodbye to last minute thrown together meals and eliminate the stress of dinner planning for your family by subscribing to a meal planning service. This type of service is very affordable, usually costing only a few cents per day. Menus are often designed to be family friendly and easily adaptable.

When you purchase a subscription to a service such as this, your membership will typically feature a weekly menu emailed right to your inbox. This includes seven main dish recipes, side dish suggestions and dessert ideas. As an added benefit, you receive a detailed shopping list, categorized by aisle, which makes your trip to the grocery store that much easier. Simply cross off items already in your pantry, add any other products you may be in need of and you’re off!

If you enjoy planning your own menu, you may want to consider a dinner planning service, in addition to your own choices. Why? It will still save you time, in the long run. Use the membership menu as a base. Then, search for recipes that will deliciously compliment that weekly plan.

Remember, nothing is more important than family time. Don’t let dinner planning get you down. Consider the suggestions we’ve made and you’ll spend less time
slaving over hot stove and more time with the people you love.

For a free weekly trial of a family friendly menu planning service, visit http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/info .

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Do you remember playing games as a child that you absolutely loved to play? You may still long to play your favorite game even though you’ve grown up. There’s nothing that says you can’t still enjoy your childhood favorites. If you’re looking for things to do on New Year’s Eve, here are some games for the kid in all of us.

Twister – Twister became popular in the late 1960s when Eva Gabor played the game on national television with Johnny Carson. This is the first game that was created that used the human body as a part of the game. While the game may be played with more than two people, it gets increasingly difficult when there are more than four.

Twister is played by placing your hands and feet on specific colored circles on the plastic playing mat. If you’re planning on playing Twister for your New Year’s Eve party, you can either purchase more than one game so more people can play, or everyone can wait their turn. Why not have a Twister tournament and get everyone involved?

Scavenger Hunt – Scavenger Hunt is another game that children have always loved playing. If you’re hosting the party, you are the one who makes up the list of objects to find. You don’t have to stay at your home to play. Update the game by having enough video cameras or digital cameras available for the number of teams you’ll have.

Get children and teens involved in this updated scavenger hunt game. When planning the list, have the teams find specific items that are common to each age group. Ask the groups to find the items on the list and take a photo or video of each one; that’s how they document what they’ve found on their list. You may also want them to include some items that the teams actually have to bring back to your home in order to win.

Monopoly – Break out some of the older board games that you used to enjoy as a child. Monopoly is one game that has been popular for many years. There are updated versions of the game that are different from the classic game, but the premise is still the same. This game can be played by several age groups at once so children can play with adults as long as the adults don’t mind.

You don’t have to give up playing your favorite games from childhood when you get older. Take the time on New Year’s Eve to reach back to your childhood and play one of these games for the kids in all of us. You’ll have fun and may find that you’re still a bigger kid than you thought you were.

Earlier this week I wrote a post on Kelly McCausey’s WAHM Talk Radio blog that generated a lot of buzz!  It’s all about the best free resources for work at home moms.  But, there are so many great freebies out there that the list continues!  Here are five more great free resources for work-at-home moms that I know you will flip for!

1. Internet Marketing Sweetie Marketing System – If you don’t know Alice Seba yet, you are in for a real treat.  She is an industry leader in internet marketing (and all-around fun person), and you will not believe that this online course is totally free!  After listening to the one hour interview, reading through the 70-page action-oriented workbook, and learning the “10 Commandments to Being an Internet Marketing Sweetie,” you will be miles ahead of other moms as you start (or jump-start) your online business.
2. Free trade magazine subscriptions – These are brought to you by Sparkplugging, which offers work-at-home resources and community for Web 2.0 entrepreneurs.  With hundreds of magazines and trade publications to choose from on any topic under the sun, you are sure to find something to help you with your business.
3. “4 Quick Ways To GROW Your Subscribers, Customers, and Business Reach” – This special report is written by Vera Raposo of Small Business Branding.  Vera tells us why posting a newsletter subscription form on your website or blog isn’t enough anymore.  She then outlines exactly what to do to create a funnel through which qualified, ready-to-buy customers will come to you.
4. 20+ free marketing webinars from Hubspot.com – If your marketing efforts still include cold calling or mass mailing, then you need to head over to Hubspot, quick!  The new focus is on inbound marketing, and by watching any of the free webinars you will learn what it is all about.  They have 20+ archived webinars on the basics like Twitter, search engine optimization 101, and marketing in a recession, or more advanced topics like “How to Combine SEO, Blogging, and Social Media for Results” and “Optimizing Landing Pages for Lead Generation and Conversion.”
5. Make Your Price Sell! The Masters Course – Whether you are selling products or your services, pricing is crucial.  If your price is too high, you will turn away customers.  If your price is too low, you will leave money on the table.  If you set your prices awhile ago, it is probably time to review them to make sure they reflect the current market.  The expert moms at SiteSell will guide you through these tricky waters.

Do you know of a great free resource that WAHM’s will love?  Please share with us!

Angela Green is an intern blogger at Kelly McCausey’s WAHM Talk Radio, and is having a fabulous time learning from other work at home moms, sharing resouces, and meeting friends along the way!

Think back and remember how your son was when he was a little boy. Sticky kisses and muddy hands were to be expected. Now maybe your teenage son barely talks with you. You may feel you need help raising a teenage son in today’s world.

Even though your child used to look up to you, which is expected, now they look to their friends for support and a sense of importance. No matter how distant they may be, it’s important to keep the lines of communication open with your teenage son. You also want to set boundaries and have expectations of them while they’re still in your home.

It’s quite likely that you’ll butt heads over everything with your teenage son. Your son is growing up, and hopefully maturing along the way. He has to try to exert his independence as he finds his way in the world. It’s something every teenage son does, and has done throughout history, as he tries to become a man.

The most important thing to remember is that you don’t want to alienate your teenage son while he’s learning about himself and his place in the world. Learn to trust your parenting skills and to trust your son’s decision-making skills. While he’s living in your home, however, you’ll want to keep curfews and house rules intact; continue to expect him to follow those rules.

Expect your teenager to change as he grows and matures. Learn to adjust to those changes as much as possible. He is growing in many ways – emotionally, physically, and mentally. Begin to gradually let go as he pushes against the barriers you have placed around him to keep him safe. Loosen your grip on him by allowing him to stay out later during the weekend but continue to expect him to do his schoolwork and do it well.

Stay involved in his life as much as possible. He’ll try to push you aside and he’ll rebel, which is also to be expected, but you need to remain firm with your expectations of him. Give him more responsibility and opportunities to prove to you that he is trustworthy. Praise him for the things he does right and do so in front of his friends, if possible.

Think back to what you thought and felt as a teenager. Even if you weren’t a boy, you can still remember the things that your parents did that drove you crazy. Try to put yourself back in that place and then think of how you would have liked your parents to react to you. Try to be understanding of what your teenager is going through based on that.

Do things together. Participating with him in things he enjoys may help him open up and let you in. Take him to a concert by his favorite band – just remember to bring the earplugs. If he’s involved in sports at school, do everything you can to be at his games.

You may feel like you’re losing your teenage son, but if you tell them that you love them it can make a big difference. You know raising a teenage son in today’s world isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible. More than anything else, they need to know that you love them and that you’ll always be there for them, no matter what.

Summer is finally here and with the kids home all day this is the perfect time for a picnic. Pack up some food, cool drinks and a blanket and head for the park, playground or even just the backyard. You can even entertain your little ones with a picnic on the kitchen or living room floor on a rainy day.

Of course you could just fix some PB&J sandwiches, pack a couple of juice boxes and call it a picnic, but there are so many other fun and delicious things you could prepare. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

A New Twist for PB&J
Pack a few rice cakes, a small jar of peanut butter, some raisins and other dried fruit as well as some apples. When it’s time to eat, spread peanut butter on the rice cake and let your child decorate it with the dried and fresh fruit. Raisins become eyes, a slice of apple the mouth and a berry makes a great nose.

Crackers and Cheese
Buy some hard cheese, such as cheddar, slice it (or buy it pre-sliced from the deli), and cut shapes out with small cookie cutters. You can also use cookie cutters on thicker slices of ham, salami or bologna. Serve with an assortment of crackers, and fresh fruit, such as grapes or berries.

Deli Style Sandwiches
Get some sub rolls, a little mayo and mustard (the small packs you get at fast food places work great for a picnic), and a variety of deli style sandwich meat and cheeses. Top it all off with a few leaves of lettuce that you washed at home and brought in a plastic baggie. Let each family member create their own sub with their favorite meats and cheeses. A bag of chips completes the meal.

“Fried Chicken Strips” With Veggies n’ Dip
Use some crushed cornflakes to bread chicken breast strips and bake them in the oven until done. You can do this the night before the picnic and refrigerate the chicken strips – they are delicious cold. Cut up some veggies like peppers, celery, cucumber, broccoli and cauliflower and add some baby carrots. Bring a little ranch dressing to use as a dip and your picnic is complete.

Desserts
Fresh fruit of course always makes for a great portable dessert on a picnic. Some homemade or store-bought cookies are another great option. Bake a batch of brownies, cut them and bag them after they have cooled completely for a chocolaty treat.

Grab a cooler, fix some sandwiches and head out to the park, playground or even the backyard for a picnic. Don’t forget lots of water on warm days!

Want more family friendly recipes and crafts ideas? Visit http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/info for a sample weekly menu plan your entire family will love and www.kinderinfo.com for tons of craft and activity ideas that are sure to keep your little ones entertained.

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Raising children seems to get harder each year. As they grow up they’re faced with peer pressure and may become friends with people we may prefer they aren’t friends with. With teenage sons it’s bad enough, but raising a teenage daughter in today’s world may seem nearly impossible.

If your daughter hasn’t reached her teens yet, you may want to do everything you can to prepare yourself for it now. There will be some major changes in the coming years and you need to know what to expect.

Try to think back to when you were your daughter’s age and all of the things you felt and thought at the time. Remember how you thought your parents were clueless? It’s quite possible your daughter thinks the same thing about you. But she also has to face some problems you didn’t have to deal with.

No matter how frustrated you get with your daughter, do your best to keep communication lines open. Expect there to be conflicts over any number of subjects: boys, clothes, and friends. Try to listen to her opinions and remember what it was like to be her age.

Take time to meet any boy she dates. Get to know him, explain your views, and give her specific rules to follow while dating no matter how archaic she may feel they are. Honestly, she wants limitations because they show her that you love her.

Let her know how you feel about her possibly becoming sexually active. Tell her that you want to answer her questions rather than her finding out about sex and its consequences the hard way.

You’ll probably also bump heads about what your daughter wears. Fashion has changed dramatically since you were your daughter’s age. Hollywood and New York dictate what is fashionable and let’s be honest, quite a bit of it is barely there and looks trashy. Try to compromise on clothing, but stick to your values as much as possible. It is possible for your daughter to dress modestly in today’s society, but you may have to spend extra time shopping to find the right clothes.

It’s quite possible that the friends your daughter has have been with her for many years. They may have met during grade school and grown up together. If this is the case, you most likely know her friends. If she’s recently made new friends, it would be a good idea to develop a relationship with them as well. Invite her friends over so you can learn about them and their values. Encourage friends you know, and make it a point to get to know new ones.

Raising a teenage daughter in today’s world may be more effort than you’re prepared for. Reach down inside, remember how you felt as a teen, and keep talking with your daughter. Try to meet on common ground, your love for each other, and you should be fine.

You may very well know some of your teenager’s friends because they grew up together. And if your teen and their childhood friends grow apart, they will soon make new friends. As a parent, you want make an effort to get to know your teenager’s friends for some very good reasons.

Has your teen changed in dramatic ways recently? If so, you may be concerned that your teen’s friends are a bad influence on them. If you don’t know those friends, can you accurately determine the reason for the changes? If you get to know your teen’s friends you may be able to understand why they’ve changed the way they have.

Don’t become accusatory about your teen and their friends. Try to avoid saying, “You’ve changed so much since you made new friends. I think you should stop being friends with them.” This may be what you’re feeling but this is the time that silence is truly golden.

Instead, ask your teen if they want to invite their friends over to play video games or watch a movie. You can plan on having a snack which will give you a chance to get to know your teen’s friends a little bit while they’re in your home. If your teen is hesitant, don’t push it. Tell them you’d like to leave the suggestion on the table and they are welcome to discuss having them visit later on.

Allowing your teen to bring their friends to your house serves another purpose as well. The more your teen and friends spend time at your home the less worrying you have to do about where they are and what they’re doing. Find other ways to meet them if your teen doesn’t want to bring them home. Offer to drive them to and from the mall if none of them have driver’s licenses, or think of another way to meet them.

Try to understand why your teen is friends with these particular people. Are they going through a phase or have their interests changed? If you can’t figure out why they’re friends, don’t be afraid to ask. You may have to reassure them that you’re not prying on them, but that you’re merely interested in learning more about them.

Do what you can to discourage relationships that you know to be unhealthy either because of drug or alcohol use. Limit the amount of time they can spend together; do whatever it takes to keep them apart. At the same time, encourage healthy friendships they already have.

Stress to your teen the importance of following your rules while living at home, including those regarding friends that you deem to be inappropriate. They may not like the rules, or being kept from a friend, but in the end they’ll realize it was for their own good.

Getting to know your teen’s friends is important because you may be able to recognize a bad influence before they do. Give them the benefit of the doubt concerning many things, but if drugs or alcohol are in the picture, do everything you can to protect them – whether they want your help or not.

It’s the age that most parents look forward to and dread at the same time. Your child is nearing the age where they can learn to drive. You’re looking forward to it because that means there’s another driver in the house, but you’re dreading it because you know your auto insurance is going to jump. Did you know having your child take driver’s education will help save you money?

If you’ve already started to look at insurance for when your teenager learns to drive, you may have noticed that your premiums will rise dramatically when you add a teenage driver to the policy. Here’s how you can combat those rising costs and how driver’s education classes can make a difference.

In most states, any teenage student who takes driver’s education classes can expect to earn their parents a 5% to 15% discount. Obviously, taking driver’s ed while in high school doesn’t guarantee your teen will remain accident free. You can hope this is the case, however.

Teenage students who have taken driver’s ed and keep their grade point average high may also earn another discount. In fact, some car insurance companies will give a 10% to 25% discount for maintaining a straight-A.

Another way to earn possible reductions in your car insurance is to restrict how often your teenager is allowed to drive without your or another adult present. You may have heard this called a “graduating license requirements.” This would require an adult to drive with the teenager for several months or at least 50 hours of adult supervision while the teen driver completes up to 50 hours of driving.

You may be able to save even more money if you compare several insurance companies and choose the company that provides the best price. You may find that remaining loyal to the same insurance company isn’t the best decision once you add a teenager to the policy.

If you buy an additional car for your teen to drive, don’t buy a sports car. This will make your insurance rates increase. Instead of the sporty car that your teen might prefer, get them a sedan that insurance companies deem to be a safer car.

Encourage your teen to leave the cell phone off while driving so they won’t be tempted to talk and drive at the same time. This has been proven to be a dangerous combination. You may also limit the number of friends they can transport at one time. Both of these are considered to be risky activities.

Driver’s education will help you save money when your teenager receives their license and starts driving. There are other ways, as indicated above, that will also help lower your insurance rates. Use whichever tips will be most beneficial for your family and then ask your insurance agent if there are other factors that may help.