ML Interest Tag: efficient

The Secret to Stress-Free Mornings from the Country’s Most Savvy Moms

by Erin Lem
Partner Content

With lazy summer mornings replaced by hectic “get everyone out the door” with two minutes to spare wake-up calls, we’re guessing you’ll need more than a cup of coffee to get your brood ready for the morning hustle. We spoke to savvy moms across the country to get their tips on how they conquer their mornings and get back into a groove once school starts. Read on for their tips and hacks, and then share what’s worked for your family in the comment section below.

1. Give Them Choices
Lisa Jackson empowers her kids to make their own choices in the morning. Get dressed or eat breakfast first? Brush teeth or put sunscreen on? By giving her kiddos choices, Lisa tells us that they’re more likely to quickly choose their marching orders and get everything done in time!

 

2. Stay Organized & Prep the Night Before
A lot of the savvy moms we spoke to said that their #1 rule for conquering stressful mornings is to stay organized by packing or laying out everything their kids need the night before. We know it’s often easier said than done, but we love this idea. Read below for each mom’s take on this morning tip.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BIbEBRzhpDA/?taken-by=nashvillehills

 

 


3. Give Them Their Own Shelf
Trial and error in her morning routine brought Dana Leigh to the realization that by giving her kiddos their own mud room shelf they’re able to keep the morning stress to a minimum. She tells us that each kid has his or her own shelf where all school supplies are kept, including backpacks, shoes, books and coats!

 

4. Play Tunes
Make your morning a dance party. With just the right tunes, your kids will be distracted by the lyrics and be moving and grooving in no time says Ken Kinzie and April Riehm. What songs would you add to your morning playlist?

 

5. Learn By Doing
If you have two littles at home take some advice from Erin Kreitz Shirey: have them learn by doing. Her older one lines up her own shoes, lunch and bag at the door before she brushes her teeth. And now, her littlest one does, too!

 

6. Designate School Shoes
Samantha McBride is all about designating one good pair of shoes just for school. That way her kids know what exactly they need to slip on their feet in the morning. Her extra bonus tip: Put ’em near their backpacks so it’s the last thing your kids do in the morning.
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7. Be Efficient
When you have maybe a dozen things to get done in a 15-minute window, you need to multi-task and be efficient, says Kendra Stanton. While her kids chow down on their morning breakfast, she brushes their hair.

 

8. Ask Your Kids to Dress Themselves
If Junior doesn’t like what you picked out for her to wear, let her choose her own outfits. That’s what Sara Olsher does with her daughter. In fact, her daughter is even responsible for cleaning up the big pile of rejected outfits that inevitably end up on the floor.

 

 

Thanks to their clever parents, these kids are for some awesome mornings. Plus, they’re doing it all in style, outfitted in KEEN Kids’ Encanto shoes. Love the shoes and want to get in on the fun? Click here to see KEEN’s newest collection of school-ready shoes and as an added bonus, get 15% off your order when you use code RedTricycle2016 at checkout. Offer valid July 29-Sept 20, 2016. 

 

What other morning tips should we add to our story? Tell us how you conquer mornings in the comment section below.

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Eureka! Why a Trip to the National Inventors Hall of Fame Is a Great Idea

by rtcarolynross

Convince your wanna-be Ken Griffey, Jr. or Ronda Rousey that professional athletes aren’t the only ones to earn a spot on a hall of fame wall when instead of heading to a sports shrine, you visit the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Alexandria, Virginia. Individuals like internet network engineers Radia Perlman or Victor Lawrence, both among this year’s 16 new inductees, are sure to inspire intellectually curious young minds.

A Collection of Master Minds
Largely responsible for helping to make the internet faster, more efficient and globally accessible, Perlman and Lawrence represent just a fraction of the vast intellectual talent pool, and resulting cultural milestones the Inventors Hall of Fame was built to honor. Relocated from Akron Ohio in 2008, the museum is located at the US Patent and Trade Office complex, and features a newly renovated exhibit space along with a Gallery of Icons dedicated to the now 500 plus inductees. Ever wondered who made technology like the Hubble Space telescope possible, or developed modern electronic telephone architecture?  You can find out at the Inventors Hall of Fame museum, not to mention its comprehensive and searchable website. 


Gone Camping
And are you still looking for camp options this summer for your Thomas Edison or other inventor in the making? With a one of a kind creative problem solving curriculum inspired by the work of National Inventor Hall of Fame inductees, Camp Invention is up and running at local elementary schools in Olney, Farifax and Alexandria for future U.S. patent applicants entering grades one to six. After school programs are also offered at the same sites.

What’s New? 
In addition, a new interactive exhibit features singular advances in the world of motor vehicles and photography that will pretty much knock the ear buds off your budding IT guy or gal. Intellectual Propery Power illustrates how trademarks and patented material contribute to some of the most important inventions that we take for granted every day, like modern vehicles and selfies.

600 Dulany St. (Alexandria, Va)
571-272-0095
Online: invent.org

Have you visited the National Inventors Hall of Fame? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

–Carolyn Ross

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Red Tricycle Is Hiring Local Sales Reps!

by Sara Olsher

Red Tricycle is looking for Local Sales Reps to manage and grow local advertising for our collection of newsletters and local and national sites. Our Sales Reps are responsible for generating sales revenue from local businesses for Red Tricycle by identifying prospects, developing strategic plans, preparing presentations and proposals, negotiating rates and schedules, and communicating results and/or challenges to management.

What We Offer:
Red Tricycle is a vibrant and fast-growing start-up focused on offering clarity and solutions for moms, who are the primary decision makers for over $5 trillion a year in consumer spending. Red Tricycle is already the #1 resource for families planning their weekend.

We offer a highly attractive commission package on an entrepreneurial team that continues to outpace the competition year after year. Positions are remote, so you can avoid the commute!

What You Offer:
The ideal candidate will have the following qualities:

  • Very strong and extensive relationships in the travel industry with media buyers and key decision makers
  • The ability to work independently to craft creative and efficient solutions to marketers’ requests for proposals
  • Superior communication skills
  • A track record of meeting and exceeding sales goals in the travel category; at least 3 – 5 years of sales experience
  • The ability to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment

Job Responsibilities:

  • Selling and executing local marketing solutions that leverage Red Tricycle’s digital products
  • Cultivating, developing and maintaining relationships with advertising decision makers at the client and agency level
  • Meeting and exceeding weekly goals for outbound activity
  • Customizing various sales aids, visual presentations, research reports and sales support data to close deals

If interested, please send cover letter and resume to admin@tinybeans.go-vip.net.

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Just Opened: CREAM San Francisco

by Erin Feher

Ice cream and cookies is a combo that is not easily improved upon. Yet CREAM has pulled it off, and dessert lovers are rejoicing (and lining up around the block). The latest (and first San Francisco) location has recehtly opened its doors on 16th Street between Valencia and Guerrero streets in the Mission District.

The Recipe
CREAM’s foolproof formula is using still-gooey cookies straight from the oven (with more than a dozen varieties to choose from), and pairing them with just about any ice-cream flavor imaginable. But your not done yet—next, customers get to pick from a rainbow-colored bar of toppings, from classic sprinkles to crumbled graham crackers to fruity gummy bears, to finish off their master piece. Considering each dessert is made to order, and demand is high, CREAM has developed a fairly efficient system that makes the wait minimal (maybe a few of those third wave coffee joints should take notes). But with all those choices, we can’t promise the little ones will make up their minds in a timely matter.

The CREAM Story
CREAM’s first outpost was opened in Berkeley and 2010 by the Shamieh family, who wanted to share their family tradition of making ice cream sandwiches at home from scratch, and letting the kids go wild with their flavor combinations. Today, all eight Bay Area locations serve ice cream and cookies made with their proprietary recipes.

Choices, Choices, Choices!
18 cookie choices (including 4 vegan, and 4 gluten-free options) can be combined with 25 different ice cream flavors (3 soy) and topped with one of 14 toppings. The resulting dessert (or lunch or dinner, for those so inclined) is a hearty treat, and each sandwich, all the bells and whistles included, is only $2.99. If you want to go even bigger, their ice cream taco is nothing if not a photo op: 3 scoops of ice cream in a taco-inspired waffle shell, and 3 toppings ($5.99). Our first visit? We opted for double chocolate chip cookies, mint chip ice cream and graham cracker topping.

CREAM San Francisco
3106 16th St.
San Francisco, CA
415-400-4551
Online: creamnation.com

Hours: Mon.–Thur., noon–11 p.m.; Fri.–Sat., noon–1 a.m.; Sun., noon–11 p.m.

Have you tried CREAM yet? What’s your favorite flavor combo?

—Erin Feher

 All images courtesy of CREAM San Francisco

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Happy Mom Monday Tip #3: Express Gratitude

by drealestercontributor

Today’s Tip: Express gratitude for one you love.

Research shows that gratitude is one of the most powerful—and efficient—ways to strengthen a romantic relationship (or any relationship, for that matter).  Gratitude is relationship-strengthening because it requires us to see how we’ve been supported and cared for by other people.

Celebrate the one you love by detailing all the things that you appreciate about him or her.  Cut out a dozen paper hearts, and write one thing you are grateful for on each.

We’ve teamed up with  our friend Christine Carter,  to bring you 52 simple tips (one each Monday!) on bringing joy and happiness into your own Mommyhood. Get more happiness tips by taking the Raising Happiness class or by reading Christine’s blog.

Want more great tips?
Happy Tip #1: Disconnect
Happy Mom Tip #2: Stop Rushing Around

Also, check out our great Expert Q&A with Christine talking about how she finds her own happiness.

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