Some tips for getting the most out of Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

FASTPASS

• FASTPASS is the key to getting the most out of your Disney experience. My husband is somewhat of a pro about the FASTPASS.
• FASTPASS can be used on the following attractions at Disneyland: Autopia, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Roger Rabbit’s Car Too Spin, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Star Tours.
• Use FASTPASS on these California Adventure rides: California Screamin’ (well worth it even though I was terrified!), Goofy’s Sky School, Grizzly River Run, Soarin’ Over California (our family’s favorite ride at both EPCOT and California Adventure), The Twilight Zone of Terror (I couldn’t get anyone to ride this ride with me!), and World of Color.
• When you enter a Disney park, check the bulletin board at the park entrance. The board shows wait time for rides and which rides are FASTPASS. You will also see which rides are closed for the day.
• Look for FASTPASS distribution kiosks near the entrance to each ride.
• Check the FASTPASS return time to know when you can ride the attraction. Don’t use a FASTPASS if you will not be available to ride the ride. Save your FASTPASS for another ride.
• A tip about World of Color at California Adventure… World of Color is a spectacular light, water, color, and movie show. You will want to use your FASTPASS to get a good viewing spot. Go early to the Grizzly River Run to get your FASTPASS for World of Color. You can hold a World of Color FASTPASS and a FASTPASS for a ride, so go get one as soon as you arrive in California Adventure.

Season

• We have visited Walt Disney World twice in the fall. While the parks have shorter hours in the fall than in the peak seasons, we loved walking on rides and waiting for just a few minutes to get on a ride.
• In addition, to short wait times, you’ll also find that flights in off-peak season are cheaper as well as hotels.
• On this trip we visited in August. Because it was the height of a peak season, we planned our days with FASTPASS, wait times, and our stamina in mind. If we were all up for waiting in a long line, we did.

Technology

• Our two-day stay at Disneyland Resort would have been far less fun had my husband not had an app on his phone. He kept us apprised of wait times. With a Kid, a Preteen-now-Teen, and a Teen, we had the flexibility to race from one ride to another. Families with younger kids will want to pace themselves due to weather, crowds, and wait times.
• Here’s an app for Disney World Wait Times.
• Visiting Disneyland? Here’s an app for wait times.
• And of course, charge those batteries. Bring all chargers on your trip. Charge digital, video, and phones at the hotel each night.
• We had a couple of Flip Video Cameras which we let our kids carry.

Safety

• Stay connected with cell phones.
• Our Teen and Preteen-now-Teen did not carry their phones as they were worried about losing them or getting them wet. Because of this we stayed in a group of 5 or we split in to a group of 2 and a group of 3. My husband and I coordinated a meeting spot if we split up to ride different attractions.
• Let each family member carry his Disney ticket in a lanyard. You can bring a lanyard from home or buy a colorful lanyard from any of the Disney stores. Each lanyard comes with a clear plastic case for holding the Disney ticket and money. We found it helpful for each child to carry his own lanyard and ticket so that it was easier to get FASTPASS.
• My older two know their name, address, home and all our cell phones, but I wrote down all our details on a piece of paper for my youngest child to carry with him. If he got separated from us, I wanted him to know how to reach us.

I was given passes to Disneyland and California Adventure. We paid for our own flights, car rental, and hotel accommodations while in Southern California. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

Christmas break was short this year. Very short. School ended for the kids at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 23rd. The next day was Christmas Eve. The next Christmas Day. The best day for Christmas Day to fall on is a Wednesday. Schools won’t Here are instructions and editorial guidelines for your post: The school system will never schedule school on Christmas Eve. Plus, the system won’t open schools for a one-day week. But, the hand we were dealt was a short Christmas break.

Since Christmas break was so short, we spent lots of time at home. Opening presents. Playing with presents. Watching movies. And eating. Lots of eating. We’re n0t a “cook a 5-course dinner”-type of family. We’re more a “let’s heat up a bunch of hors d’oeuvres”-type of family. With snacking, meals, and of course, candy and dessert eating, making sure that the kids brushed regularly was essential. You know how teens want to skip the daily shower? Well, younger kids want to skip the whole toothbrushing routine. Ick, I know!

I always ask myself the question: “Just how much energy does a child need to expend to brush their teeth twice daily?” Really, how hard is it to pick up a toothbrush? Apparently, the twice daily act of oral care takes too much energy! Thankfully, we had started the kids on the Listerine Oral Care Challenge before the holidays.

Each day the younger one will place a sticker on the Listerine Oral Care Challenge calendar whenever he brushes his teeth, rinses with Listerine, or flosses. I don’t require the older two to use the stickers. As one is just out of braces and one is in braces, both know the value of regular brushing, and of course maintaining a regimen of good oral care and hygiene.

As the kids start back to school, we’ll continue our Listerine Oral Care Challenge. I an pleased to say that since starting my youngest has not once missed brushing his teeth. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, kids love using a sticker or reward chart. The fun Listerine products don’t hurt either. My kids liked using the Listerine Smart Rinse in the Phineas and Ferb or Barbie versions.

• Save $1 on Listerine or Reach kids’ products.
• For oral care advice by age, check out the Listerine Kids site.
• To learn more about the Listerine family of products, go here.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Listerine and received a sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

I’m the worst person to buy for. I buy few clothes for myself as my tastes and specifications are very limited. I can search racks and racks at a clothing store and find only one or maybe two items that I can tolerate. I don’t play video games. I don’t listen to music on my iTouch. I read, but again I can be picky about what I want to read. I love watching movies, but often purchase any movies I want. In short, I’m hard to buy for.

I recently heard about a site that is not a site where you can buy gifts, but it is a site where you can post a job that needs to be done, or an item that needs to be found. As a hard-to-buy for person, what I would really like is for someone to do something on the household “Honey Do” list. Now that would a gift come true!

You know the list of tasks around your house that are not urgent, but need to be done? The timeframe for these tasks is not specified. In my home, it is “needs to be done sometime after all the important and crisis tasks” are done. So the tasks remain not done…forever.

I have had 2 computers with monitors stored in my garage since 2010. Maybe earlier. Neither computer works. Both hard drives have been scrubbed. But, there the computers sit. Why? well, one of these days I will have a free moment to load up the computers and take both to the local dump. While I am at it, I’ll take the broken bedframe, old cans of paint, etc. My local trash service will not pick up computers, paint, or other toxic items.

So, in the name of “let’s get something crossed off my to do task list” I want to tell you about Zaarly.com. Zaarly is a site where you can post about a task you need to get done. You post what the task is — I posted asking for someone to haul my computers, bedframe, and paint to the dump. All I need to do is wait until someone is willing to do my task. A few weeks ago I posted about wanting to find a price on a camera…within hours I received an answer to my question. Stop back to hear more.

While you get ready for the holidays, think about those tasks around the house that you need to do, but would rather have someone else do them. Post to Zaarly and sit back and wait for someone else to do the job on your to do list!

Use Zaarly to find DJs, moving help, personal trainers, pet services, and so much more.

• Sign up for Zaarly using my link.
• With every signup, Zaarly will with every sign up donate $1 to Feeding America.
• Like Zaarly on Facebook.
• Follow @Zaarly on Twitter.
• Use the Zaarly app on Facebook.

I was compensated for writing this post by Zaarly and Blogger Connection. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

I see it. The kids are long gone to school. The gleaming stripe looks glossy but a little hard. The stripe of toothpaste is almost touching the sink. I sigh. My son yet again forgot to brush his teeth. Sigh.

My son’s morning routine is different to his sisters. His sisters wake or more correctly are awoken and told in no uncertain terms “Don’t go back to sleep!” They brush their teeth. Shower. Dress. Fuss about with makeup and all sorts of unnecessary processes. Honestly, the time wasted on makeup should be spent eating breakfast and getting out the door to the bus. But, I’m not a teen so what do I know?

In the case of teeth brushing though, both are regimented. Neither would get up and go without brushing. One has braces. One just got out of braces. Both have had it drummed in to them by dentist, orthodontist, mom, and dad, that teeth brushing is not optional. In fact, at the orthodontist, the patients are awarded for excellent brushing.

Must be an age and maturity thing. Perhaps it is a boy v. girl thing. Or, more likely it is my son’s routine on weekday mornings. He wakes, he sits up in the bed, and in one movement he bolts downstairs. He has no time for teeth, screens await! TV. PC, DS. iTouch. He’s not picky as long as it is a screen. I can’t blame him really. His bus arrives over an hour after his sister’s bus. He has time to kill.

Because he bolts downstairs, he does not pass go. He does not collect $200. And…he does not brush his teeth. Cue…heavy sighing and tut tutting from me. Usually, I ask when he comes downstairs “Did you brush your teeth?” If he is dressed in school clothes, there is a good chance he did brush his teeth. If I have any doubts, I send him back upstairs to “check.” This is my code word for “I think you didn’t brush your teeth, but why don’t you head back upstairs and brush them.” If he is wearing pajamas, there is absolutely no chance that he brushed his teeth. Go back to where I wrote about the way he “bolts” out of bed. There’s no stop for tooth brushing when games playing and Lego building are ahead of us.

I found that we needed a system to ensure that he brushed his teeth on a regular basis. I was very excited to be asked to join the Listerine Oral Care Challenge. With this challenge, I knew that I could get my son on a plan of twice daily brushing, flossing, and mouth rinsing. How would I make this happen with a young child? Simple! I asked the entire family to take the challenge.

Kids love when mom, dad, and siblings — older and younger — join them. I placed a chart on the wall outside the kids’ bathroom. The chart shows the month of December. I made copies of the chart for all the months in 2012. I want to get the Musings from Me family on the road to good dental health. It was recently suggested to me that I should use a water flossing device. I could use encouragement to add this new process to my daily routines.

So, far the Listerine Oral Care Challenge is working for all of us. I see the chart and head straight to my bathroom. My son reminds is that he put another sticker on the chart for brushing. In just over a week, I have seen none of the telltale glistening, but slightly hardened globs of toothpaste on top of his brush. Added bonus less toothpaste mess to clean up in the sink!

Be sure to come back to see how we are doing with the Listerine Oral Care Challenge.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Listerine and received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

In the grand scheme of things, I can deal with a noisy computer and a teeny screen far better than a virus. I will never forget the time a virus attacked our home PC. It was in my pre-kids days. Even though I didn’t use the computer for absolutely every household and family task except cleaning the house, my computer was a much-needed device in our household. Once the computer was wracked and essentially wrecked by a virus, we were at a loss. We had no handy flash drives or external hard drives for backing up data. Essentially, we hadn’t backed up our harddrive nor had we installed a virus checker.

Basically one virus damaged 0r deleted every single thing on the harddrive. Gone. Just gone. The local big box computer/electronics repair department was unable to help us. We learned our lesson that day. Always back up files. And always run frequent virus scans.

I was recently asked to review ChicaPC-Shield from Chicalogic. I was game to try it. I wanted to see how it would do with my new desktop computer. While the computer is very new, I have downloaded a ton of toolbars, files, and other gadgets to make my new computer look like my old computer. I was anxious to find out what was lurking beneath the shiny exterior.

The process for downloading ChicaPC-Shield was an easy one for me.

Once you have downloaded ChicaPC-Shield, do a scan. The first scan will take 10 to 15 minutes. For subsequent scans, you can choose the Basic Scan, Full Scan, or the Quick Scan. The full version of ChicaPC-Shield costs $24.95, and you can add a Backup CD to your order for $7.95. I found the whole process of downloading and scanning straightforward. And, the new computer is as clean-as-a-whistle even with all my downloads.

Want to find out about ChicaPC-Shield? I have FIVE free one-year subscription keys to ChicaPC-Shield — a $29.95 value! I will choose the first 5 readers who do two of the following AND leave one comment stating what they did. Use one comment for both entries. Here’s what you need to do to win:

1. Tweet this: I entered @MusingsfromMe’s #giveaway 4 @Chicalogic software 4 women by women 2 keep computers running smoothly. Enter> http://bit.ly/qcM9lh.

2. Visit ChicaLogic Tips & Tricks. Share one article that you found interesting in the comments below.

3. Share a computer nightmare that Chicalogic could have helped prevent.

For more information on ChicaLogic:

With a kid, a preteen, and a teen in a multitude of activities there are only so many hours and minutes and seconds in a day. My husband and I are only two people. We have only two cars. Only two drivers for now.

As you can imagine, weeknights and weekends are a complex web of who will drive which kid to what activity. Throw in the days when we need to get three kids to three locations in the same time frame. Add in the activity where a parent needs to stay. Consider the activity where I need to pick up a kid who isn’t my own kid and drive them somewhere. Factor in the last minute changes in plans frantically texted to me by a kid who just learned of the change in plans.

Are you exhausted? I know I am…every single day. My life was so much easier in the days when I would put the baby and the toddler in the minivan and drive to the library for storytime. By the time we got back from storytime, all three of us were exhausted and ready for a nap. Some weeks the storytime was our only activity. I look back fondly on those nonstressful days where I had little to no reason to leave the house with my children.

The Heck’s are a family just like mine and yours. The Heck’s son Axl is in football, while Sue is in cross country. Mom and dad wonder how they will decide who goes to which activity. I’ll bet Axl only wants Dad to see his games. But, what about Sue…I am sure she wants Dad to be at her games too. The Heck’s are the family in the show The Middle…and the Heck’s aren’t a million miles away from my family.

It would be so much easier to send kids to school each day and have each family member stay home each evening and weekend. But, as you know this is not possible when your kids want to do activities that interest them.

The second season of The Middle is out on DVD. You can purchase it using my amazon affiliate link. Or buy it from major retailers or purchase it online.

I have been hired by Warner Bros. WBWord division to promote The Middle Season Two on DVD. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

I was asked the other day about lost items. More specifically, kids and lost items. We all have days don’t we when we send our children off to school dressed in pants, shirt, socks, shoes, jacket, backpack, and perhaps glasses. Only to find these same kids tottering off the school bus without the jacket or missing a composition book.

Here’s how I handle lost stuff…by age:

For a preschooler and kindergarteners

• I assume that stuff will get lost all the time.
• I label everything with a Sharpie pen. Fortunately for me, all 3 kids and my husband and I share the same first initial and last name. Makes sharing hats, gloves, snowboots, so much easier. Less stuff gets lost if labeled.
• I talk to little ones about the cost of items, how sad they would be to lose a special shirt, and how much work is it for their preschool teacher to have to find missing items all day long.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk.

For elementary schoolers

• I introduce or re-introduce the concept of money. For instance, “Grandma bought you that fuzzy sweatshirt. You know it cost a lot of money. So you need to keep track of your stuff. If you want to take off your sweatshirt, you can put it in your backpack right away. I would hate to go to the Lost & Found shelf and not find the sweatshirt.”

For middle and high schoolers

• I don’t have to worry about them losing any clothes, shoes, or jackets that they either purchased with their own money or chose as an Xmas/birthday gift from a grandparent. My kids NEVER lose anything special to them.
• Now, we have had an issue with expensive electronics. I told my girls that they weren’t allowed to take an ipod/itouch/mp3 player to school for use on the schoolbus. I tell them that these items are costly and cannot be replaced.
• Once my girls started middle school I started loosening rules right, left, and center. First rule to go was the No ipod rule. My 6th grader begged to be able to listen to her music rather than having to hear all the kids talking loudly on the bus. She “got” the concept of money and the value of objects and still has the ipod she got as a 9-year-old.
• Next rule to go was the No Cell Phone rule. By the end of 7th grade I relented as my tween was coming home to an empty house every so often. I wanted to be sure she had a way to call me if she forgot her key. She was very careful with her phone. Her phone came in handy the couple of days when it was too foggy for me to see whether or not she got safely on the bus.

Back when my teen was 10, we drove to Williamsburg. We had a new van with very deep cup holders. As we pulled in to a gas station, I unloaded my youngest and my oldest’s ipod fell out of the van on to the ground. We had a long discussion about where to store an item…a valuable item…and how much it costs to replace a costly item. I also told her that although her name and phone number were engraved on the back of the ipod, it was unlikely that anyone would call us to report it. Sad state of human affairs, right?!

• I look at a child losing items as a way to teach the child the value of the money used to purchase the item. A case in point…when my 1st grader constantly left/forgot her composition book at school, I would drive her and her younger siblings to school to retrieve the lost book. One day I realized that I wasn’t helping her at all. I told her that I wouldn’t drive her to school again. I told her that she would have to call a friend and have the friend tell her all 20 spelling words which she would have to write down. Not surprisingly she  started bring home all her homework materials.

So how do you deal with kids and lost items? Leave a comment. Thanks!

Runaway Bunny.

Guess How Much I Love You?

Berenstain Bears Go to the Dentist

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The books listed above are among my favorites. I have spent many hours reading books to my children. Do you love reading to your children? What is your favorite book to read to your child? Kids love books!

My oldest was about 18 months old. We were browsing in a bookstore. I was looking at books while she sat in the stroller. As I perused a book, I heard laughing coming from the vicinity of my stroller, I was astounded to see her laughing out loud at a book. She was giggling and chuckling. I had never seen a little child laughing about anything at that point…and never with such gusto. She has continued her love of books to this day.

Many families are well in to the school year. But perhaps your children are not quite ready for school. Whether your children are in school or daycare or at home, books are a key part of a child’s learning experience. I want to let yoou know about a fun partnership that is putting books first.

Reading Is Fundamental has teamed up with Buddig for the Be A Reader campaign. The Be A Reader campaign aims to get young readers “right back-to-school track.” Books are a key part of our household. From board books to chapter books to the children’s first dictionary, books can be found in every room of our home.

The Make a Sandwich and A Story Sweepstakes was launched earlier this month by Buddig and Reading Is Fundamental. To foster and nourish a love of reading, Buddig is giving away Scholastic children’s books and school supplies through the Make A Sandwich and A Story Sweepstakes.

The details of the The Make A Sandwich And A Story Sweepstakes:

• Sweepstakes ends on Oct. 30, 2011 at 11:59:59 (CST). So, you have plenty of time to enter!
• Enter the sweepstakes by looking for specially marked packages of Buddig lunchmeats, enter the code at Sandwich and a Story, and complete the entry form to enter the sweepstakes.
• Who can enter? The Buddig Make A Sandwich And A Story sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.
• How often can you enter? 5 entries per person/email address per day.

Now for the information that everyone wants to know…what will you win!

• Five Grand Prize winners will receive a Scholastic book library plus a Buddig backpack filled with school supplies (ARV $200).
• 400 First Prize winners will receive a Buddig backpack (ARV $13.00).
• 118 winners each week beginning on August 22 will receive a free Scholastic book (ARV $10.00).
• The Total ARV of all prizes is $19,160.
• So, what are you waiting for…go enter!

More about Buddig and the Be A Reader campaign from Buddig:

“For more than 100 years Carl Buddig & Company has nourished families. Now Buddig is nourishing children’s minds as a proud supporter of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and the national Be A Reader campaign. Buddig believes that reading and literacy go hand-in-hand with good nutrition to support a lifelong love of learning.

Whether you are reading to your children at the library or telling a bedtime story after a busy day, you are fostering your child’s lifelong love of books. During the yearlong Be A Reader campaign, parents and their children are encouraged to create their own reading and literacy experiences wherever they may be. As a proud supporter of RIF, Buddig will provide a minimum of $100,000 through May 30, 2012 to help children across the nation discover the joy of reading.”

Like Buddig on Facebook. Now Liking the Buddig Facebook page will not help you win the Make A Sandwich and A Story Sweepstakes, but you could win a Motoroloa Zoom!

Find out about the range of Buddig products on Buddig.com. Perfect for school lunches, picnics, and seizing time with your family.

I was compensated for this post. The views expressed in this post are my own. I blog follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

A friend asked about my tween’s knee socks. The knee socks are bright. And by bright I mean neon. Sometimes striped. Often with a repeating pattern of frogs or Nemo fish. The socks could be argyle or plaid. But, for my tween the brighter the better.

I told my friend that with tweens all bets are off. Elementary and middle schools have strict dress codes, which saves some aggravation in the mornings. The kids know not to argue about what to wear. The rules are usually…

• No t-shirts with offensive messages on the front.
• No images having anything to do with drugs or alcohol.
• No spaghetti strap shirts.
• No bare midriffs.
• No low rider pants showing underwear.

So, you would think that the dress code would mean there would be no further discussion about dress. Uh no. We still spar about foot wear. I say “No!” to flip flops. She says “Yes!” I say “No!” to shorts in the winter months. She says “Yes!” It’s a battlefield many mornings. My teen went through a brief phase where she wore one outfit to get on the school bus and then changed in to a second outfit after PE. I would see her get off the bus in a dress and say “What??” I made it clear to her that if she was ever abducted on her way to school, I would need to give the police a description of what she was wearing when she left for school. I know this may sound extreme, but I also wanted to nip in the bud the whole “I’ll wear ‘mom-approved’ Item A and switch it for ‘kid-approved’ Item B.” She agreed…reluctantly.

We spar about t-shirts. While the girls would never ask to wear a tee with an inappropriate or offensive saying, they have been known to pick up a shirt with something about hating homework or “I Hate Math.” These t-shirt slogans are a no go for me. I don’t want a teacher to look at the shirts and make an inference that my kid hates doing homework. I may be overreacting, but I have drawn a line in the sand. No anti school tees. Period. Ditto for “I hate my brother/sister” tees.

Dots Fade 02 Dots Fade-DF11-002 is a high quality, fashion design sock, designed in Sweden. Dots Fade-DF11-002 is one of our comfortable, colourful socks, available for both men and women.

And then there are the dress choices that are no exactly inappropriate…not anywhere near offensive…but just a little off center. Examples…if you know my kids you’ll know I have a bunch of examples to choose from…

• Neon or brightly colored knee socks
• Toe socks worn with flip flops. Ow! My toes hurt just thinking about wearing these socks.
• Tigger ears, antlers, bunny ears, and probably any other “ears on a headband.”
• Jewelry and lots of it. Only a “No” on PE days.
• Makeup — “No” if the child is in elementary school. Minimal makeup…lip gloss…if child is in middle school. I allow my high schooler to wear makeup if it is minimal and tastefully applied.

When my girls were 8 and under I had them in matching dresses (my girls are 2 years apart but have worn the same size clothes since the youngest was 6 and the oldest 8), Disney Princess outfits, and Osh Kosh clothes. Around 8, both discovered Justice and basically all bets were off. Justice is better than Forever 21…but not much. By 12, both had moved on to Hollister/Abercrombie/American Eagle/aeropostale — more normal…less of the too-grown up clothes. Oh, how I miss those days.

I look at my tween in her favorite look…a pair of gold, sparkly Ugg boots with a pair of striped or Argyle knee socks…with a pair of shorts…in the winter. All I can I say is Tweens!

The links in this post are to Happy Socks via Commission Junction.