Cozi Blog

Meet Miss Venus Fly Trap

I think I’ve found the perfect pet.

This is nothing against my dog, of course. I love her more with every passing day. Granted, I started at a  pretty low point because she’s only one week older than Alice, and in case anyone is wondering whether it’s a good idea to have a puppy and a newborn at the same time, I can say with certainty that are not enough diapers in the world to contain the mess.

My point, and I do have one, is that I love my dog with all my heart.  But for ease of operation and general usefulness, it’s hard to beat a Venus Fly Trap. They won’t make cute noises or lick you, but after almost nine years of parenthood, I’m realizing that cute noises and licking are sort of overrated. Eating flies, on the other hand, is always welcome.

In fact, Miss Venus Fly Trap, as the kids have named her, caught a fly this morning. I’ve checked on her progress several times. She’s a model for slow, calm eating, or so it looks at this point. It could be that she’s in desperate need of a Heimlich maneuver because the fly is almost as big as her head or whatever you call those serrated pod things that wave around on their slim green stalks.

But until she keels over, I choose to believe that she’s savoring the meal, something I wish my kids would do. And I know other animals, like snakes, could be viewed as good role models because they, too, eat vermin and take awhile to squeeze lunch through the system, but I’m really not up for that kind of drama.

My brother has a corn snake that once got loose. They found it in a Nilla Wafers box with a suspicious bulge in its midsection. It gave me nightmares. I can imagine the same is true for Nilla Wafers, and what have they ever done to hurt anyone? 

It’s not just Miss Fly Trap’s promise to eat our flies and teach my children manners while laying off the Nabisco products, though. She also doesn’t shed. Not fur or skin. Nor do I have to take her to the vet. Nor am I expected to stick my finger in her mouth and brush her teeth with chicken-flavored toothpaste, as you are supposed to do these days with your dog. When her old teeth get tired, they just turn black and shrivel up and then I snip off the stalk and toss it in the compost bucket.

I never thought I’d celebrate anything turning black and shriveling up—not since certain dark thoughts I had about a mean high school teacher. But hey. This is the beauty of middle age: the ability to look at shriveling in a whole new way.

Still, my favorite part about Miss Venus Fly Trap is that she reminds me of my own childhood, and specifically, Mother’s Day. We once bought one for my mom as a gift at the local hardware store. This was after we bought her measuring spoons, which made her cry. Unfortunately, she was not crying Tears of Joy. These were Tears of After All I’ve Sacrificed for You Kids, All You Thought to Buy Me Was Measuring Spoons?

We never made that same mistake again, and by buying a Venus Fly Trap just before Mother’s Day, I am sparing my kids the same fate.

Just to be certain, though, I will state for the record that I do not want or need measuring spoons. Or a kitten. Because we already have a dog I love, along with the perfect pet. Life is pretty good that way.

--Martha Brockenbrough

Staying Sane During Spring Sports Season

Spring has sprung, and if your family is full of busy, young kids, your family calendar is undoubtedly bursting with spring sports events. With baseball, lacrosse, spring soccer, tennis, and swimming all hitting between March and June, no season seems busier than spring for kids’ sports. Some of you may have multiple kids, each in a different sport, or if you’re really lucky (LOL) you might even have a child playing multiple sports simultaneously.

Fortunately, Cozi doesn’t have a limit on the number of activities you can add to any given day in your family planner, so while your family might reach the breaking point on insane busyness, your Cozi calendar won’t let you down.

In addition to adding all your kids’ sports practices, games, clinics, and tournaments to your family calendar, you can also use Cozi to help with other spring sports planning.

• Keep lists in the shopping list section for each sport or for each child. Include lists of key dates coming up so that you can see them at a glance.
• Add directions for game locations so that you can call in for directions while en route.
• Having snacks and drinks in stock can make or break your pre-game prep, so remember to keep game-day essentials in a dedicated shopping list.
• Keep a separate checklist for items to pack up on game days. For tennis tournaments, you might need stadium chairs, but for lacrosse games, you’ll need field chairs. If you keep a separate list for what you need for each sport, you’ll never find yourself without a seat!
• Kids love to have extended family cheer them on at sports events. During the spring sports season (or all year round!), consider adding extended family members to your Cozi account to allow them easy access to sports schedules. If you’ve added directions to lists in your account, family members can access game information and directions without having to ask you. (NOTE: If the extended family members have their own Cozi accounts, don’t forget to use different e-mail addresses for them in your account so that you don’t create an account conflict.)

So take a deep breath, add your key dates to your calendar, and create a slew of lists to get your spring sports season off to a winning start. The season will pass more quickly than you imagine, and you want to keep it as simple as possible and enjoy the fun!

Tips for a Modern Baby Shower

Looking for some unique ideas for a baby shower this spring? As every savvy auntie knows, there is a trend toward being eco-friendly with these parties, so take note of ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle while baby shower planning!

Invitation Tips:
On your baby shower invitations, ask guests to bring a small book instead of a card to begin Baby’s first library.

To cut down on paper waste, ask guests to wrap their gifts in nursery-themed fabric…cute, useful, and eco-friendly.

Decor:
Try the following colors to bring your baby shower theme together:
Girl—Fuchsia, pink, and lime green
Boy—Aqua, blue, yellow, and lime green
Unknown—Yellow, aqua, and lime green

Hang bright-colored onesies on a clothesline. These can be given to the mom-to-be as additional shower gifts. Use one of these onesies as a guest book, providing fabric pens for special messages to the mom-to-be and baby.

To reduce waste, use ceramic dishes, drinking glasses, silverware, and plates instead of disposables.
Fill baby bottles with bright-colored candies, and place around the party tables, side tables, and gift table.

Use pacifiers of all colors as confetti around the party room.

For your centerpiece, place brightly colored floating candles in a large bowl of water to add festive color and light to your party table.

Games:

Guess the Baby:
On your invitation, ask each guest to bring a picture of herself as a baby. (You may want to remind guests to bring the photo before the shower, because without the photo they can’t be involved in the game.) Take the picture from each guest as she arrives and lightly pencil a number on the back, being careful not to damage the photo. Make a list so you can tell later which photograph corresponds with which guest. Then give each guest a piece of paper and pencil, show all the guests a photograph, and tell them the number. The guests write down whose photograph they think it is. Do the same with the next photograph. The guest who identifies the most photographs correctly is the winner.

Don’t Say “Baby”:
The object of the game is not to say the word “baby” at any time during the shower. Give each guest a diaper pin when she arrives and ask her to pin it to her clothing. If one guest hears another guest say the word “baby,” she can claim the speaker’s diaper pin. The guest who collects the most pins is the winner. (If you want, you can set a time limit of 30 minutes so that people can relax after that!)

Mom Trivia:
Ask the mom to give you 20 interesting pieces of information about herself. They can be anything, but facts about the mom when she was a baby or a kid would be particularly fun! Use these answers to create a quiz for the guests to take. Whoever gets the most questions right wins!

Menu:

One of the best and easiest ways to create snacks that match a baby shower theme is to purchase small cookie cutters in the shapes of a baby carriage, teddy bear, baby bottle, baby rattle, etc., and use them to create cute tea sandwiches filled with smoked salmon, cucumber and dill, egg salad, and/or chicken salad. The cookie cutters can be used to make darling iced sugar cookies as well.

Other snacks to serve at your baby shower include:

• Chips and dip: French onion dip with chips, salsa and guacamole with tortilla chips, or spinach or hot artichoke dip with pita bread cut into small baby shapes using the cookie cutters
• Cheese and crackers: A variety of crackers along with a blend of hard and soft cheeses
• An assortment of fresh-cut vegetables with a ranch dip
• Chicken skewers served with teriyaki or peanut sauce
• Shrimp served with cocktail sauce
• Mini quiches
• Seasonal fruit salad 
• Deviled eggs
• Olive and sweet pickle relish tray
• Nuts
• Chocolate truffles
• Personalized M&M’s
• Mini fruit tarts served with a small scoop of raspberry sorbet

Place the nuts and candies around the party room to get people who don’t know one another mingling!

For a parting favor, send the guests home with personalized mint tins. These are a cute remembrance of the event, and also quite useful!

--Lisa Kothari, Peppers and Pollywogs

Decision Making Made Easy

An inability to make decisions can be an enormous burden. It's one of the biggest reasons my clients have trouble staying organized, and I often use decision-making tactics to help them reduce their clutter. I simplify the process by reducing the number of options for them, and I ask a range of strategic questions that will result in a reduced number of options or final answer. I also help them weigh the pros and cons. I have yet to apply Suzy Welch's technique. Have you heard about it?

Suzy Welch has come out with a new book, 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea. I have yet to read this book, but it's on my list. Suzy Welch has applied her new 10-10-10 technique to assist in the decision-making process. The technique is simple: When a decision becomes difficult to address, ask yourself three questions:

1. How will I feel about this decision in 10 minutes?
2. How will I feel about this decision in 10 months?
3. How will I feel about this decision in 10 years?

Suzy talked about her book on the Today show recently. She explained that in the book, she illustrates how her technique works with examples from her own life and from real-life scenarios of others. I was quite intrigued. I plan to apply this tactic with my clients and in my own life to see how it goes.

My only critical thought is, how new can this tactic be? It seems we have all used some similar means to obtain a decision, right? How do you make decision-making easier?

--Sara Bereika, CPO, Neat Organizing

The Tooth Fairy Gets Busted

Although Alice doesn't yet have any loose teeth, she has started writing notes to the tooth fairy. The first one went like this:

TOOTH FAI

RY WE ARE GOING GO SLE
EP ON TOP
BUNK
LOVEALICE

It took me a while to translate, but I did eventually figure out that Alice was informing the Tooth Fairy that she and Lucy have ditched the bottom bunk for the top. And while the Tooth Fairy probably figured out they were there before she received Alice's dispatch, I thought it was awfully cute that Alice took it upon herself to initiate the correspondence.

The Tooth Fairy replied, of course. She even attached a wee rose of pink silk and stuffed the whole thing in an envelope left over from Alice's birth announcements.

Alice was delighted by the note. But she had a question. "Mom, did you help the Tooth Fairy? Because this rose is exactly like the ones in your desk."

"She has permission to use my supplies," I said. "Now stay out of my drawers, little missy."

The next day, snoopy Alice fashioned a fake tooth out of paper and Scotch tape. She dictated a longer note to Lucy:

Dear tooth fary I am sorry that I left a facke tooth. I rilly want you to geet this note. I have three questions. 1) Wat's your name? 2) Are you a boy or a girl (circle one). 3) If you could use teer droops, what would you whair? Can you draw your head?
Love, Alice

This is four questions, so Alice is not only snoopy, she's sly.

Nonetheless, the Tooth Fairy—Rosabella Sarsaparilla, a female of her species—assembled an attractive reply. Rosabella Sarsaparilla hoped this would satisfy Alice, as the task of assembling cunning notes in the wee hours of the morning is sort of a pain for the Tooth Fairy.

But Alice had more questions. The next day, this was under her pillow:

DEARTOOTHFA
IRY HOW DO I GET TO
FAIRYLAND?

The Tooth Fairy was stumped at first. Was this a time to write a meaningful piece about faith, wonder and imagination as the keys to being transported to realms beyond? No, the Tooth Fairy decided. It was not.

That sounded too hard. So she wrote directions:

Fly to Squeezledump Downs and turn left at the Redenbacher Gate. When you see the Arkwallader, show him your Paskatoony Rim.

As far as I know, these directions work perfectly well. They will certainly not get you anywhere but Fairyland. But then Alice wrote one more note, which was sort of a stumper.

I AM NOT A FAI
RY
I AM A HUMAN
LOVE, ALICE

When Rosabella Sarsaparilla wrote her response this morning, she told Alice that she loved her and her sister. She said she realized that Alice was only human. Then the Tooth Fairy assembled her attractive letter using one of the last of the wee silk roses and birth announcement envelopes.

Apparently, though, she left the text of her reply on the computer screen when she left the house to get some exercise before the rest of the humans woke up. Alice noticed that the words on my screen were the same as the ones on her Tooth Fairy note.

Lucy covered for me, telling Alice there was NO WAY I was her Tooth Fairy. But she typed the following message for me:

Mom! This is   lucy.  that  was    not  nice! To alice.
Now  tell   us   the   rell   story. Martha! By lucy.

You know a kid means business when she calls you by your first name. When I got home from my workout, Lucy took me into the backyard.

"I'm old enough to know the truth, Mom. Are you and the Tooth Fairy the same?"

I put my arm around her and tried to get my mouth to tell the truth. But it wouldn't behave.  So I tried to change the subject. "Aren't those flowers pretty?" 

"Mom!" Lucy said. "I read this book that said the Tooth Fairy speaks thoughts through the parent's brains and they just know what to write. Is that how it happens?"

"It's something like that," I mumbled. "Look, a bird!"

Then Alice came out and tried to give me the third degree. She was even easier to distract with nature than Lucy. But maybe it's time for me to fess up. Alice already put it pretty well. I AM NOT A FAIRY. I AM HUMAN.

And so I'm afraid the era of magic and fairies and nightly note exchanges is coming to an end at our house. I'll miss it, probably even more than the kids. 

--Martha Brockenbrough

Financial Literacy for Youth - Tips & Activities

Did you know that April is Financial Literacy for Youth Month?

“April showers bring May flowers”. Remember this saying? It means that a rainy springtime will bring abundant flowers in the coming months. So what do rain showers and flowers have to do with April being recognized as Financial Literacy for Youth Month? Lots!

Like flowers, we nurture and cultivate our children with the anticipation that they will blossom into vibrant, beautiful young adults. So, when we start teaching them about personal finance, we need to remember that learning about money is no different than any other growth process -- it takes time. We need to start talking to children about money when they are young and give them small, continuous but relevant bits of information that they can absorb. Then, we can sprinkle on more information to help them build a strong foundation.

It doesn’t have to take tons of time to do and can be a fun learning experience for the whole family. And, since April is Financial Literacy for Youth Month, now is a great time to start. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

Instill the habit of saving money. Any simple empty jar, plastic zip bags, or a piggy bank will work great. For tweens and teens, check out the cash cache. When starting, the amount isn’t overly important. Just have them put some amount in daily or weekly.

Open a savings account for your child(ren). Take them with you to the bank and explain what a savings account is and why people use them. Use everyday opportunities as teachable money life lessons. Using coupons, shopping for re-financing rates, writing out checks, on-line bill paying – these are just some of the things you can explain and share with your kids while you do them.

Schedule a family fun night and play personal finance related games. Monopoly and Monopoly Junior, Life, Pay Day, and Cash Flow for Kids are a few favorites. For younger ages, create counting and matching games with coins or play “store."

Watch movies or DVD’s about money and related life lessons. Afterwards, ask your kids what the movie was about, what the lesson was and how they can use what they learned. For pre-school/elementary ages, check out The Money Mammals. Other movies – Pay It Forward, National Treasure, Boiler Room, The Pursuit of Happiness.

Read books together. Visit Children's Book About Money for a good listing by age. Ask your child what the book’s message is and what they learned from it.

So, start sprinkling a few of these activities into your family time and you will be on your way to raising children that blossom into financial responsible adults!

Stacey Sherman is the owner of Family Life By Design, a company dedicated to coaching and training families and youth in the important life skills of Home & Family Management and Personal Finance. She is a Certified Family Manager Coach and Creative Wealth International Coach based in North Carolina.

Great Garage Sale Tips

While driving around most neighborhoods on a sunny, spring afternoon, you'll notice that garage sales are as plentiful as daffodils. And why not? Garage sales are a spring rite of passage for good reason. They’re a great way to declutter your house of extraneous items and turn your spring cleaning into an unexpected source of cash. Here are some tips for making your garage sale a success.

PUT A DATE ON THE CALENDAR: Nothing is more motivating than a deadline. Once you decide to go for garage sale gold, check your family calendar for a date when your whole family is free. Make sure you have enough time to clean out your closets and drawers before the big day, but don’t schedule it so far in advance that you have time to forget about it. After choosing the day, add an all-day appointment to your family planner for all family members, and don’t forget to add reminders!

SCHEDULE DECLUTTERING DATES: In addition to the date of the actual garage sale, schedule some family appointments to sort through all your stuff prior to your garage sale. After all, this is your big chance to turn your junk into someone else’s treasure, so let no room, closet, or drawer go untouched in your pre-garage sale sorting.

MOTIVATE YOUR FAMILY: Not everyone in your family is likely to be as excited about the garage sale as you are. To get enthusiastic cooperation for your efforts, give them a reason to feel invested in the project. Maybe you can encourage the rest of the family by telling them that all proceeds from the garage sale will go to a special family outing or purchase. Depending on how much you can sell, you might be able to fund a family day at the water park, a trip to the county fair, or a special dinner at your family’s favorite restaurant. Whatever motivates your family is the card you need to play.

PUBLICIZE: Put your kids to work making garage sale signs, and advertise in advance for your sale. You might have to add some markers and poster paper to your shopping list, but the kids will have fun on this part of the project—and your garage sale success depends on people knowing where and when to find your treasures!

GET NEIGHBORS INVOLVED: Scheduling several garage sales on the same block on the same day might seem like adding competition for your sale, but it can also increase publicity and draw out more treasure hunters for all! Bringing in additional families for a multi-family garage sale will add extra fun and more goods to pull people in.

KEEP THE KIDS BUSY: Prior to the big day, you need everyone’s help with sorting and organizing, and some kids will enjoy helping out at the garage sale, too. If your kids will need an extra diversion on the day of the sale, consider letting them host a lemonade stand or a candy stand in conjunction with the event. If other neighbors will be jumping on the garage sale bandwagon, all the neighborhood kids can get together to plan and implement an entrepreneurial side project.

National Organize Your Files Week - Yippee!

The third full week in April (4/19/09-4/25/09) is National Organize Your Files Week-- aren't you excited? How will you celebrate?

What do you mean, you're not celebrating?

Let's just get this out of the way-- Nobody really gets excited about paper. Even those of us who teach about managing paper and help others file things for a living really don't love it either. We just don't mind when it's someone else's paper. Our own papers are much less fun.

Why is that? Objectivity! If it's someone else's paperwork, you have no emotional attachments or guilt related to the decisions in the piles. You can breeze through them faster.

We talk about how all clutter ultimately is delayed decisions and actions. Paper is a very concentrated dose of this-- each pile of stacked thin sheets is compactly and efficiently holding potentially hundreds of delayed decisions and actions in a small 8.5 x 11" space.

When going through your own paperwork and mail, try to step back from it mentally and concentrate on these three questions to help you get through the piles faster:

1. What is this? What does this paper want from me? I have had years of practice refining this skill... scanning the paper to quickly figure out the bottom line. You can learn this too! Look for the first question or sentence in the letter; anything that is bolded, underlined, highlighted, large, or red; and the last sentences in the letter. Look for catch words and phrases like "Pay by," "Due Date," "Return by," "Statement Enclosed," or any actual dates on the page.

2. Does this paper fall into the category of Action, Reference, or Trash? (Just remember A.R.T.) Once you've figured out what the paper is and what it wants from you, you can decide if you want to take action on it, keep it in your files, or shred/recycle it. If it requires action, keep it separated from the papers that you're simply keeping for reference. This is half the battle, my friends. Don't mix the two together.

3. If this person or company knocked on my door or called me on the phone, would I spend time talking with them? For all of the catalogs and junk mail sales pitches directed your way, pretend that you are a super-busy executive who has time for only the things that matter most. Try to quickly bottom-line what they're selling and whether you are remotely interested, and don't fall for the trap of essentially "going out shopping" in the middle of the day by leisurely browsing through catalogs. Save the catalogs for a time when you really want to shop and put them together in a reading basket. Don't let them distract you from sorting all the way through the pile.

See if these questions will help you make the piles disappear more quickly! It leaves you more time to celebrate occasions like National Organize Your Files Week, which I plan to celebrate like author Katherine Mansfield, who said, "Tidied all my papers. Tore up and ruthlessly destroyed much. This is always a great satisfaction." Next post: dealing with the actual files already in your cabinet. Share your favorite paper tips in the comments!

Certified Professional Organizer Lorie Marrero is the creator of ClutterDiet.com , an innovative program allowing anyone to get expert help at an affordable price. She is also the author of The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life (get 15 percent off with the code - cozi2009 ) Her organizing books and products are sold online and in stores nationwide. Lorie has been a spokesperson for Brother label makers and FedEx Office, and she is a sought-after expert for national media such as CNBC, Good Housekeeping, WGN News and Woman's Day.

Stop Procrastinating - Spring Into Action!

Winter months sometimes drain us and make it easy to put things off. When spring comes, it shines new light on those things. That light can expose dirty windows and dusty corners and it can bring a sense of renewed energy to tasks that seemed foreboding during the dullness of winter. Now is the time to latch on to that energy and start closing those “open circles” in your life. Here are some ideas to help you stop procrastinating and “spring” into action!

When you look at all of the projects that need your attention, begin by prioritizing. You may discover that some items are no longer worthy of your attention. They are stale and you need to let them go. Pick the top three tasks in front of you and break them down into smaller step. Many times you will find that there is a step that has you stuck and you need to get more information to move on. The treasure here is when you realize you actually need to delegate some smaller pieces. Then your project becomes do-able.

Now set goals and put things on your to do list and your calendar. Set deadlines to create some urgency and accountability to yourself. Create accountability with someone else too. Tell someone your intention and suddenly you are on a team!  Taking it one step further and getting a partner will really help you get to completion.

Insert small rewards in your process. If you think about it, you have built some pretty strong procrastination muscles by rewarding yourself every time you avoided the task and did something you liked better instead. Now reward yourself when you stick with it!

Engineer an environment that prompts you to stay on task and minimizes distractions. Use timers and alarms to keep on track. Avoid any negative self talk and just dig in. If it feels like you still don’t know where to start, just commit to work on it for 20 minutes and things will illuminate. Work in cycles with breaks and rewards so that you stay energized and motivated!

Leslie McKee is a Certified Professional Organizer and Family Manager Coach. She empowers her clients to live more simply and with purpose.

Alternative Ideas to Requesting "No Gifts"

Today, more and more parents are opting to request No Gifts on their kids’ party invitations. It often doesn’t work out very well, as some people adhere to the guideline while others ignore it altogether and bring a gift. The fact is, people want to bring something to a child’s party. If you’d rather not receive traditional gifts but don’t want to suggest no gifts at all, here are some creative alternatives:

• Host a book exchange. Guests bring a wrapped gift and everyone takes one home, or the kids can open them at the party.

• Give your child an experience rather than a party. If friends are invited, the experience is the celebration, not the stuff.

• Hold an inexpensive gift exchange (under $10) so that every child receives a gift.

• Request art supplies and donate them to a shelter.

• Hobbit Practice - Better to give than to receive! Each child receives a gift, but they do not bring one.

• Request a donation to a great organization like the Heifer International.

• Contact a favorite charity and ask for a wish list. For example, the Humane Society may need leashes, collars, toys, etc. Ask guests bring these items in lieu of birthday gifts to donate and make the wishes come true! Have the birthday child deliver the donations to his or her chosen charity.

This is a great round-up of alternatives to traditional party gifts. Also, if you are concerned about the amount people will spend on a party gift for your child, it is appropriate to write in your invitation, Gifts under $__ would be appreciated. Providing a price guideline on the invitation can help keep gift-giving budget friendly.

Happy gifting ─ or not!

--Lisa Kotharis, Peppers and Pollywogs