MommaSaid's Linger

by Jane Louise Boursaw

Reel Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Reels
MPAA Rating: PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar
Genre: Family, Fantasy, Remake
Runtime: 108 minutes
Directed by: Tim Burton
Cast: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman

SYNOPSIS: Nineteen-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen’s reign of terror. More…

It’s more important than ever to instill healthy money habits in our kids before they leave the nest. Did you know that 18-24 year olds represent the fastest growing age group filing for personal bankruptcy? What’s more, 45% of college students are in credit card debt with an average debt of over $3,000!

Parents are best able to encourage financial self-reliance in their children by paying them an allowance, but piggy banks just won’t cut it for this tech-savvy generation. Allowance is a vital teaching tool- as long as it’s implemented effectively.

Anton Simunovic is Founder and CEO of www.threejars.com, which teaches kids how to be responsible with money and the importance of giving back. He is an expert when it comes to finance and kids and has 6 tips for effective allowance: More…

by Dara Chadwick

I sure hope this post isn’t depressing. I don’t mean for it to be.

Maybe it’s because my daughter and I just celebrated our birthdays and both of us are noticing changes in our physical selves. Maybe it’s because I always miss my mother during birthday celebrations. Or maybe it’s because I have a couple of dear friends who are both dealing with life-threatening illnesses right now. Whatever it is, I was inspired today by this column from The Bahamas Weekly.

In it, the author asks the question: “Would you feel differently about your body if you knew its shelf life?” More…

by Brette Sember

In most divorces or separations, the children live together at one parent’s home. There are times though, when the children end up in different households after a separation or divorce. In general, courts believe it is in the best interest of siblings for them to live together. A divorce is hard enough, but to ‘lose’ a parent and also a sibling at the same time is a huge change. More…

by Lisa Zamosky

There are few things for which we feel a greater sense of ownership than our own personal health information. Medical records — files containing information about our health conditions, the treatments we’ve had and the medical diagnoses we’ve received — are about as personal as it gets. Yet, gaining access to medical records, and our own health history, is often more trouble than it should be. In fact, it’s among the most common patient complaints consumers file with state medical boards. More…

Today is my dog Buff’s 12th birthday. (Happy birthday, Buff!) Too bad he can’t get any freebies at pet-friendly places like PetSmart. However, the humans in his life can enjoy more than a dozen freebies on their birthday. This list of 14 birthday freebies comes courtesy of Kate Arcieri, editor of Red Plum.

1. Enjoy free ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery when it’s your big day. The way to get your freebie is to sign up for the Cold Stone Creamery Birthday Club.
2. Dairy Queen also will give you free ice cream on your birthday –this time a Blizzard! The catch is you have to join their e-mail club and on your birthday you‘ll receive a BOGO coupon- buy one Blizzard, get one free.’
3. Yet more ice cream on your birthday –this time at Baskin-Robbins! Sign up for the birthday club and you‘ll also receive coupons for money off throughout the year.
4. Enjoy free jousting and a meal at Medieval Times on your birthday.
5. Your kids get free stuff from Toys R Us on their birthday.
6. Sephora will help you feel pretty on your birthday with free makeup. You need to stop in to a Sephora location during the two weeks surrounding your birthday to receive this gif tand there’s no purchase necessary. Check the Sephora website birthday-gift link here</a> to see what they’re offering when. It used to be lip gloss; now it’s eye makeup.)
7. Your kids can enjoy free pizza at California Pizza Kitchen on their birthday.
8. Red Robin gives you a free burger to chow down on when it’s your birthday. You’ll need to register for the Red Robin eClub to get this delicious benefit.<
9. Fuddruckers will give you a free burger on your birthday, plus something else special. You won’t know until your big day gets here, but itit’s worth taking the few seconds to sign up for the freebie club so you can find out.
10. Sign up for the OJ loyalty club and you’ll  get a BOGO coupon for free 20-ounce Orange Julius drink when you sign up, plus another on your birthday.
11. Get free Queso or empanadas when you sign up for On  The Border’s e-mail club and you don’t even have to wait until your birthday to redeem!
12. While kids eat free everyday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m at Denny’s , they can get something free on their birthday, too. Just sign up for Denny’s Kids Birthday Club
13. Boston Market will send everyone in your family a coupon for free stuff on their birthday — if you sign up for the Boston Market VIP Club.
14. Have your cake (or tiramisu) for free on your birthday at Buca di Beppo. To get this freebie you have to join their eClub. As of this writing, when you signed up, you also got a coupon for a free appetizer.

This WalletPop article on birthday freebies includes some other goodies that I hadn’t heard about, but which I would definitely note and take advantage of on my next birthday. Heck, at this rate, you could eat all day for free!

Tell us! If I‘ve missed any freebies, please post a comment here so we can add to the list! (Someone just emailed to let me know that Disney gives you free admission on your birthday good to know!)

Most mothers teach their kids to cook and clean. Leah Ingram’s mother taught her to compost. These days she’s passing along this green message to her own daughters as they all try to live a green and frugal lifestyle as The Lean Green Family. She’s the author of “Suddenly Frugal:How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less.” Visit her blog, Suddenly Frugal.

by Jamie Novak

When is the last time you experienced ODS (Organizing Distraction Syndrome?) Here are some of the symptoms, starting an organizing project but not completing it, oh wait that’s basically the only symptom.

It goes something like this:
You start a project. Let’s say you set out to clear your bedside table. It seems like a simple enough organizing task that’ll just take a few minutes. You start with the overflowing stack of magazines and while sorting them into recycle and to-read piles, you flip one open and see an article about a website on how to stop junk mail. Well you don’t want to forget that, so you better do it now. After all, it will only take a minute. So you hop on the computer and look up the site, and since you’re on the computer anyway, you just take an extra minute to check your email. While reading a joke of the day, the phone rings. It’s your neighbor asking you to pet sit. You can’t think of a good reason not to fast enough, so now you are on the hook. You get up to put the dates on your calendar, and while in the kitchen, you start a load of dishes and grab a snack. Now it’s time for dinner, and you stare into the fridge wondering what in the world you’ll make. By now you’ve been in every room of the house, but the bedside table still looks the same. A clear case of ODS.

So what’s a Mom to do? Try this: Before you set out on your organizing task set a timer for exactly 18 minutes, the rule is you can’t leave that area or start another task until the buzzer goes off. If something off topic comes to mind write it down and keep going.

The good news is organizing does not have to cost a dime! Here are some ideas of what you can do with an item from your recycling bin during your 18 minutes:

1. In the medicine cabinet. Adhere a magnet to the inside of the medicine cabinet door or under one of the shelves. Then you can stick tweezers or clippers to the magnet so they are within reach.

2. For necklaces. Keep your necklaces tangle free by placing them in a CD case prior to traveling. Not only will they be protected, they’ll lay flat and will not be tangle into those disorganized knots.

3. For socks. Do you have a pile of unmatched socks? Most of us do. Instead of trying to match socks after they’re laundered keep them together through laundering process by clipping matches together as soon as you take them off using a clothespin.

4. As a drawer organizer. In a desk, makeup or junk drawer egg cartons make great organizers. They are shallow enough to fit in a slim drawer, you can leave the lid open to hold larger items or cut the lid off and just use the “cups.” You can even customize the size by trimming down the number of cups to suit your needs.

5. For cords. Bend the extension cord back and forth then insert into the tube. Don’t forget to label the tube so you know what’s inside.

And if all else fails, when company is at your front door and you still have clutter on every horizontal surface don’t panic. Simply scoop the clutter into a springtime basket (or two) and quickly cover with the faux grass and a stuffed bunny or some candy- no one will catch onto your clever clutter disguise.

Have a clutter-free day, Jamie.

Enter MommaSaid’s Housewife Award contest by March 15, 2010, for your chance to win a copy of Jamie’s new book, “Stop Throwing Money Away.”

Best-selling author Jamie Novak is the creator of BiteSizeLiving.com. Her newest book Stop Throwing Money Away, is on shelves now and you can see even more free ideas at JamieNovak.com.

by Mia Geiger

One of my favorite things about having a baby was telling her how much she meant to me. I’d whisper mushy sentiments to her over and over. How could I not, what with those tiny toes, button nose and scrumptious smile?

I also read books to her that expressed similar sentiments. Even if she didn’t understand the meaning of what I was saying, the gentle words of the stories were soothing, and the pictures of babies and toddlers were fun to explore.

Maybe it was all those new-mom hormones, but whenever I saw a book that talked about a mother’s love and the preciousness of a baby, I was helpless. I’d borrow several books at a time from the library, and when I spotted an especially lovey-dovey book at the bookstore, if I could, I’d splurge. Looking back, it wasn’t such a bad habit!

Share and enjoy these books that say “I love you” with your new little one: More…

by Judy Gruen

All I wanted was an elegant pair of salt and pepper shakers. The trouble was, the pair I thought I wanted was at Nieman-Marcus in Beverly Hills — a city only two miles from my home, but atmospherically it is as distant as Jupiter.

I changed into something a little more upscale to avoid the possibility of my not being allowed into Nieman-Marcus in the first place. After all, even Target shoppers have our dignity. I was unnerved to be in a store where merchandise is displayed like museum artifacts, with miles of airspace between each garment or handbag. That much excess real estate just screams “expensive.” I’m much more at home in stores where the stuff is jammed so tightly together you need a crowbar to pry the sweaters apart on the rack. I also love the proletariat pleasure of laughing at the originally marked prices on the tags, which all have red lines crossed through them. You can’t do that at Neiman-Marcus. More…

Keeping Kids Safe From Burns

by Kathy Sena

As any mom who has turned down the temperature on the water heater, set a pot of boiling water on the back burner of the stove or bought two dozen electrical-outlet covers at Home Depot will tell you, burns are a big concern when you have young kids in the house. They’re a too-common cause of children’s injuries, typically resulting from hot water, flames, hot surfaces, chemicals and electrical appliances. More…