School starts here in Florida in mid August (so different from the northern states we are used to…) and while the getting back to a schedule is welcomed, managing it can be challenging!
Remember the Cozi home organizer system we talked about before? They have a special offer to add to their great organizing software just for your Back School organizing needs.
Every time you use Cozi to get organized for the new school year between now and September 5th, you’ll be automatically entered for a chance to win a $500 Target gift card. They are giving away one each week!

Cozi can help make your move from summer to fall a snap. Here are some ideas:

• Coordinate new fall schedules all in one place. Multiple school calendars are no challenge for Cozi. No matter how many school schedules, after-school activities, and carpools you have to coordinate, Cozi’s color-coded calendar helps you keep everything straight.
• Organize your shopping. Quickly create multiple school-supply lists, back-to-school clothes shopping lists, even a checklist for the new morning routine. Send lists to your cell phone, or call toll-free (1.888.808.COZI) and get them.
• Capture your back-to-school memories in your family journal. Take a picture of your kids as they head off to school. When the year ends, you won’t believe how much they’ve grown.

With Cozi, you don’t have to get those back-to-school jitters—and you might even get $500 to spend at Target.

Sign in to Cozi now!

Summer time…reading on the beach… improving yourself and preparing for the fall season is a great topic for one of your books. A trip to your local bookstore or public library will offer you many choices in the personal and financial aspects of your life.

What areas are you wanting to improve in the later part of this year? We typically like the Dummies series on various topics and they usually list classic, time tested book titles, authors and web sites on the subject – making this a great place to start on your self-improvement project.

Education is one of the greatest investments – for a lifetime.

Wall-E is a much beloved figure around the Duck household, even before the movie came out. The very first Wall-E toy that we got for Lil’ Duck was this Interaction Wall-E, who loves to chatter and play. Lil’ Duck loves to play with him, the switch is easy to turn off and he likes to play with this Wall-E while off a lot, making him “talk” on his own and such. When we got it, we told him to be gentle to Wall-E’s head per the warning on the back, but we have picked him up by his head and dropped him a few times and nothing happened yet, he’s pretty sturdy. The front flap easily pops on and off if a certain child tries to stuff things “inside” and snaps it off, no harm done. It’s a little loud, but so are most of his toys. Well worth the purchase as he adores it and plays with him constantly, I think the many hours spent with this toy already will only multiply in the future as there is no sign of retiring this little guy in the near future ;). Plus, he plays so nicely with our iDance Wall-E!

I found this new site with many truly helpful suggestions and ideas on how to save on the family and household budget. Hey, if a mother of seven can save and have the time to do these same tips, then so can I! We all are needing to stretch our grocery budget, and still find ways to provide nutritious and satisfying meals for our families. To help us busy, budget-conscious moms and others like you to overcome this challenge, Libby’s has launched a FREE online resource. You can log onto http://www.getbacktothetable.com/ which features Cost and Time Saving tips.

Plus you will find:

• A recipe database featuring nutritious and tasty recipes that take just ten minutes to make for under $10 or less to prepare for a family of four.
• Downloadable tools for managing grocery budgets and planning out the week’s meals.
• Expert advice from Hannah Keeley, mother of seven and author or The Total Mom Makeover: The Six Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Health, Family and Life.

Visit the site to learn new tips and be prompted to use the ideas you already know in an encouraging and helpful way.

With the summer heat in full force, we all would like a cool treat every once in awhile. Have you tried the new Skinny Dippers?

Weighing in at just 80 calories per pop, the perfectly-portioned Chocolate-dipped Ice Cream Snacks are available in rich vanilla, creamy caramel and refreshing mint flavors. Skinny Dippers contain no trans fats or artificial sweeteners and are only 3 grams of fat, making them a great option for guilt-free indulgence for the entire family.

New Skinny Dippers are available nationwide and have a suggested retail price of $4.99. For additional product or nutritional information, visit www.gettheskinny.com.
This new treat joins the many other delicious treats of The Skinny Cow frozen snacks, including seven flavors of ice cream sandwiches, three ice cream cones and three ice cream bars catering to our low fat need (or removes the guilt!).

These Skinny Cow frozen snacks don’t skimp on flavor or choices and will make you think again that the low fat ice cream truly is a delicacy. Try the Mint Fudge Ice Cream Cone and the Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich - Delicious!

When I received an email from Jennifer Hill Robenalt introducing us to this software planner for families, I was skeptical because most software organizers just don’t work well for multiple people. Also, how practical would this really be for a family – yes I am tough to impress at times :).

I checked out the link for Cozi and was favorably impressed. From the web site samples it does appear that they have accomplished their goal to provide a one-stop “organizing solution” for the entire family.

The technology could very well be the key in getting your older children to actually use the planner – wouldn’t that make life so much easier! The color coding of multiple family members and being able to see all the schedules at once earns my attention :).

We encourage you to take a quick tour and view all the features. You can try Cozi for free and see how the features work for you and your family. Sometimes you find solutions when you least expect it!

Some further information regarding this planning software: (more…)

I’ve previously written about how much I love Alli’s Originals sterling silver jewelry, but it’s been a while and Shannon’s theme for the week inspired me again. It’s been about a year since I first got my necklace and I still love it. Now, it would normally last anyone else for many years, it’s easy to take care of and never would break, but I have the Lil’ Duck, so I’ve replaced it once & got the cutest little gems to trade around on it also and now the second one is missing, somewhere in my house, in the depths of the ducky stash that is a 3 year old’s treasures… so I’m going back to Alli again for a replacement, as I miss being without it (even though as soon as it arrives, the other one will appear…). She also is always adding new products to her line, personalized necklaces are only one part of what she does (for example, pet id tags, key chains, bracelets & more). Plus she is just so sweet ;).

See other WFMW’s here…

Check out this contest…

Swiffer and Warner Music have teamed up and created a contest called the “Swiffer Break-up Music Video Contest.”

Here’s the best part : The Grand Prize for the contest is $15,000.

Here’s how it works:

Swiffer-lovers can submit a short video to YouTube that demonstrates how they “broke up” with their old cleaning products and now use Swiffer for all their cleaning needs.
If you enter, you receive 10 downloads of “break-up” songs to use in the video (that’s one of the requirements).

The top 10 videos will be posted to YouTube for the general public to cast a vote for their favorite and the video with the most votes wins $15,000.

You can find a complete list of rules, prizes and approved “break-up” songs at the Swiffer brand channel.

Please keep in mind that this contest ends tomorrow, 1/30 so have some fun making your video and you might be a winner!