The North Shelby Library is proud to be participating in Reading with Ringling Bros.
You can receive a FREE ticket to the Circus
appearing Jan. 27-31 at the BJCC Arena (for kids 2-12)
Here’s how it works: 1. Ask a staff member in the Children’s Department for a Rewards Club Card. 2. Fill in the information on the back of the card. 3. Your Rewards Club Card must be stamped by your librarian after completing and returning each book. 4. You must complete four books and receive four stamps in order to receive your FREE ticket. 5. Bring your Rewards Club Card to the Childrens’ Department to be stamped. 6. Present your Rewards Club Card to the Box Office at the BJCC Arena Jan 4th – 31st for your free ticket. 7. To ensure seating, redeem your Rewards Club Card in advance of your desired performance.
Your dance, theatre, church or school group can be in the National Tour of THE WIZARD OF OZ for all eight performances when it comes to the Broadway Across America appearance in Birmingham in March. This is by far one of the coolest things we’ve heard of coming to the Magic City and can’t wait to hear about your little munchkin’s involvement with the production!
Auditions are January 30th at the Riverchase Galleria. For more information, visit this site: http://www.wizardofozontour.com/ and click on Munchkinland!
A great gift idea for the whole family! 101 Dalmations the Musical is coming to Birmingham!
January 12-17
One of the world’s greatest classic tales hits the stage for the first time with THE 101 DALMATIANS MUSICAL. Audiences will be transported to a slightly topsy-turvy, exciting, and altogether fantastic reality that gives grand license for song, dance and spectacle in a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience!
Well, mingling with Martha herself might actually be wishful thinking on our part, but BirminghamMommy.com will be blogging live, January 14th from the Martha Stewart show in New York City!
We are so excited that we have been chosen to participate in this special blog themed episode, where we and all others in the audience will blog throughout the one hour taping of the show. BirminghamMommy submitted an online questionnaire about our site on the Martha Stewart Show Website and were pleasantly surprised when a few days later we received an email inviting us to participate.
We think this is a great opportunity for us to represent Birmingham and all the moms in our community that support us.
Stay Tuned for more updates on how BirminghamMommy.com takes on New York City, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for up to the minute details of our trip!
No ladies, we’re not talking about eating disorders, we’re talking about what seems like thousands of new toys and “things” that have found their way into your houses over the holidays. It’s a new year and it’s time to make some space, or sign up for an episode of Hoarders, it’s up to you.
-Get some big boxes. Label one “To Give” and start filling it liberally with things you don’t need or use on a semi-regular basis. Example: At one point, I unknowingly owned 3 crock pots. And guess what I never do? Cook simultaneously in 3 crockpots. Be gone I say! You can truck off to the Salvation Army or call Hannah Home or The Foundry to come to your doorstep and pick it up for you. It just doesn’t get easier.
-A great way to get rid of some of those “handy” kitchen utensils is to dump everything into a box and put it under the sink. As you need an item, pull it out of the box and put it in the utensil drawer. At the end of the month, what’s left in the box can go!
– If you’re feeling up to it, label one box “To Sell” and start adding the items that you paid a fortune for and just can’t justify giving away. But be aware, this means you WILL have to have a yard sale in the Spring.
– Don’t spend a fortune on fancy storage units. Try to think of ways to store things that are free. I use the kids’ old beatup lunchboxes to hold small items or pieces, like matchbox cars or Mr. Potato Head pieces. How many pairs of shoes does one stinking potato NEED anyway? Another tip: Keep the Publix plastic bags easy to store and get to with an old baby wipe dispenser. (That’s an Angie tip!)
– Sentiment is for the weak. Just because someone gave it to you doesn’t mean you have to keep it, or display it. Keep the quilt your great grandmother made, but toss the candle that smells like feet that your Aunt Julie gave you.
– Toys are meant to be played with. Kids can’t play with 60 things at a time. Leave out 15 and store the rest in a closet or under the bed tub. An added bonus to this system is when you cycle out and pull some of the stored stuff out, they think it’s Christmas all over again!
– Stand back and look at your room. Then put on your MINIMIZE glasses. Does that knick knack bring meaning to the room or just look like more stuff. Less is more!
– Baby steps! Do one pantry or small room so you can finish it and see the beauty of improvement. It will build you up to tackle the playroom. Or, it will make you start shutting the door to the playroom. The sense of pride you’ll feel at tackling and completing something is so gratifying. Maybe you’ll get addicted to the adrenaline high and get the whole house done in no time! Or again, shut doors until you get to that room.
In today’s world of typing, texting and tweeting, the written thank you note is being left behind, the remnant of an earlier—and perhaps more mannerly—time. Yet the seemingly old-fashioned art of carefully crafting a note of thanks in one’s own handwriting is the one thing that truly tells the recipient just how much his or her kindness is appreciated.
Even before they can complete entire sentences, children are taught to say the simple phrase, “Thank you.” Even before they are able to write, children should be trained to express their thanks in writing. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy certainly saw the value in teaching her children early.
Before Caroline and John were writing their own notes, Mrs. Kennedy would sit down with her children and blank thank you notes. As they dictated their thanks—and we can only imagine how many gifts they received—she wrote. The children would pen their own “signature” and off it went.
A thank you note need not be an ordeal for children. You can start off with a sentence or two on a scrap of paper. All that’s necessary is four simple sentences. The first, second and final sentence should reference the gift. The third sentence should be about anything but the gift. An example:
Dear Mimi:
Thank you so much for the terrific yoyo you sent for my birthday. I’ve already learned to do two new tricks and am working on my third.
I’m looking forward to showing you our new house you when you come for a visit next month.
Thanks again for the great present!
Love,
John
Four simple sentences, and the note is finished. If four sentences are too much, don’t insist on four, making an ordeal out of the process. Work up to four gradually.
To make writing notes more enjoyable, visit your local stationery store with your child and look over its stock of note cards preprinted with names and fun images. If you buy the design your child loves, he or she will look forward to an opportunity to use it. When it’s time to mail, chose a stamp design that’s equally as much fun.
When should a child write a thank you note? Whenever someone has shown him or her a kindness. Thank you notes are appropriate for birthday and holiday gifts (even when they don’t fit, are the wrong color or are generally yucky), for special things a caregiver, teacher or family friend has done for your child, such as when a friend has invited your child to join his or her family on a trip to the beach or to a special concert.
Remember, children model their parents. If they see you writing thank you notes, they are more likely to follow suit. And parents have lots of reasons to write them.
When was the last time you wrote a thank you note?
Kathie B. Martin, APR is President of The Etiquette School of Birmingham
Ten minutes into our most recent visit to The McWane Science Center, I realized I had never had the talk with my three-year-old.
No, not the one about the birds and the bees.
The one about men who try to give candy to children or strangers who invite little girls to come play with their puppies in windowless vans.
When McWane is too crowded for my taste, I take my two girls straight for the relatively enclosed Just Mice Size room. There’s only one official entrance and exit, making it easier to contain little wanderers.
Still, when Miss D. took off to climb the castle while I stayed below with her little sister, I started to get nervous. I knew she was just above my head, but I couldn’t see her. I trusted her not to run off (as much as one can trust a three-year-old); it was everyone else in the world I distrusted.
I yelled her name, then scanned the room and took in the women chatting on a bench by the door while their kids played somewhere out of sight. Those mamas weren’t panicking. They didn’t look like their mouths were drying out or as if they were picturing episodes of America’s Most Wanted starring their own families.
I was starting to wonder what their secret was when Miss D. answered me. Her voice came from right above my head. She was just where I thought she was, not being dragged out the front door and into the big, bad world I had never discussed with her.
A moment later, she came barreling down the slide and took off for the water table. Her sister, Belly, and I followed. I tried my best to keep my eyes fastened on Miss D. for the rest of our visit while maintaining a grip on Belly’s little hand. They are both mobile now. They have different interests and vastly different speeds. It is becoming a challenge to keep them together in public play spaces.
And so, it is time to have the talk with Miss D.
I’m dreading it. She is just getting over her fear of dragons and bad fairies. Those things, I have told her repeatedly, are not real.
She listens to the news with me in the car. When reporters start to tally death tolls in far away places, Miss D. says, “Don’t worry, Mama. That’s not real.” I don’t contradict her. I want her to feel safe in the world for as long as possible.
But I know it’s time to have the talk.
I wonder, though, if I could put it off a bit longer and just buy her a really long leash.
Country-Fried Mama is a transplanted Yankee raising two girls in the land of college football, sweet tea, and refined manners. Visit her blog at www.countryfriedmama.com and follow her on Twitter @countryfried.
Birmingham Bargain Mom had this great idea to blog about 52 new things you try in one year. We got so excited and so she invited us along! And then, we find out one of our readers Brandi is going to do it too and voila’…..a phenomenon has begun!
We’ll be trying one new thing a week. There are three of us here at BirminghamMommy, so we’ll have 3 new things – listed by name, of course.
We would LOVE for you to join us! Any takers? Just blog about it (what you did that was new, did you like it, did you not, would you do it again…) Link up so we can all share in the “New” of 2010!
If you are on twitter – be sure to include your post there too and use: #52newthings
You can find Birmingham Bargain Mom on Twitter @BhamBargainMom and you can find us there @BirminghamMommy
Also – if you keep up with things on Facebook – you can find Birmingham Bargain Mom there too!
Auburn fans, please look away now. Bama fans (there’s only one of us here at Birminghammommy! And it’s ME!) – we’re getting ready to make history again and we all know that those of us who won’t be in Pasadena will be at home throwing the ultimate game party. But there’s no need to break the bank here! We’ve got some tips to help you throw a great party on a skinny budget. Got more ideas? Please share them!
Use Evite!
Head to the dollar store for red and white paper products
Purchase some poster board and make a banner to hang at your front door or cut it out in the shape of a football, paint and place on your door!
Grab 6-10 balloons (dollar store, grocery store, party store) and place them at the entrance
Provide the main course and a few dips & chips, popcorn…, then ask guests to bring a side dish or appetizer. If appropriate, have it BYOB. For recipes – check out a wide assortment of food over at Mommadrool’s Blog or check this out! And don’t forget to dig through those coupons to snag a deal on what you do need to buy!
Temporarily move another household TV into the kitchen as this is always a gathering place
For the Kids:
Make sugar cookies in the shape of footballs and set up an area to allow the children at the party to decorate
Set up an adult free zone and have an area that’s just for the kids, if old enough give them an arsenal of movies they can put in on their own… or set up a movie theater let them have popcorn and candy…
if you don’t own one, ask to borrow a pack-n-play to put in a quiet room away from the party – should any small guests need a break.
Dig through your craft bin and find some kid-friendly crafts to keep those little hands busy – even spare coloring books can buy you enough time to watch that final touchdown!
So you want to start the year off with some order amongst the chaos? We’ve got the scoop on the best efficiency websites for planning your days. After all, we want to be more efficient, not keep stirring the chaos, right?
So get yourself organized (you know, if – like me- you’re not and want to be) and the rest will follow suit!
This simplistic and stylish to-do list lays your week out in front of you. In its crisp design, teuxdeux helps you create order amongst the chaos. If you’re just moving (or trying on) online calendars – this is a good baby step to take. I particularly like my someday bucket – it’s proving to consist of a funny little list.
Task.fm’s motto is “outsource your memory”. Yes, please! This simple reminder website takes in what you need to remember to do, when you need to remember to do it and then sends you either an email reminder or text. I usually choose text and so far it has reminded me of a doctor’s appointment, a late pick-up day at school and even to buy dishwasher detergent the next day. Best of all, you can just type things in everyday language and it makes sense of it for you. This is especially useful for me as I don’t usually make sense. But it works!
30 Boxes motto is “30 Boxes lets you connect with the people who matter most.” With this online calendar you can get organized, share, remember dates, etc… It’s the online planner you never knew you needed. What you’ll find is just what it says – 30 boxes to fill up with life!
Integrates all aspects of family life onto a calendar – including your photos, to do lists, reminders, family journal, even your shopping list! In addition – articles for living simply are accessible right on site. We love this one, but would consider it the Big Mama of online calendars as it does just about everything – and then I suspect it would try to do a little more.
Google calendar is a basic calendar, but I can integrate it with my other google accounts (personal and business entries on one calendar!)…Also, it can be synced with my phone – so good news all around.
I use Evernote as a “life scrapbook” of sorts. I am constantly using the app on my phone to record something I need to remember to do, take a photo of something I want to recall later…
Google calculator is great – great because sometimes….well, sometimes I’m just lazy. Instead of finding the calculator accessory on my computer (you know, that daunting task that takes all of 1 minute) I can go to the google search bar and type in what I want to compute. Done.
What can I say, I can’t live without Alice now that I’ve met her. She’s great. She’s cost-efficient and she works hard. And oh yeah, her delivery is free. We’ve told you before how much we love her, so we’ll spare you the rambling… But the long and short of it is this: I’m running low on body wash and stamps? Not a problem – I’ll have them within 2 days. Done. Be careful, once an alice customer, always an alice customer
Real Simple is both a fabulous magazine and ultimate destination for people wanting to, well, live simply. I have come back to the site time and time again for their checklists – from tag sales to organization – they’ve got one for you
