The House Fairy not only encourages and inspires your children to clean their rooms and keep them clean...she also helps with good manners. This video might even enlighten some adults you know.

Do  you ever wish your kids would simply hang up clothes or put them in the laundry rather than dropping them on the floor or tossing them over a chair?

If your kids are three to ten, the House Fairy can help you help your kids get chores done and get out to play.

Watch this short video and see if they like what the House Fairy has to say about helping Mom and Dad.

Did you know the Easter Bunny is going low-carb?

It may not look that way at Walmart, but it’s true. As an alternative to candy, he’s filling the hollow eggs with notes of appreciation, motivation and inspiration and you can do it too.

You know how we all love fortune cookies, well your kids will love hunting for eggs and getting note-after-note of encouragement, fun activities and surprises to find.

Your dentist will be happy too! (Well, we hope so anyway.)

Here’s the list we got from the Big Bunny.

        Redeem this not for a foot rub.
        Redeem this note for a back rub.
        This note is good for one download at iTunes.
        Redeem this note for a book, next time we go shopping.
        Your laughter makes us happy.

Are you thinking about Easter? 

Do you have visions of sugarplums dancing in your head?

Does your mouth water at the luscious looking Easter candy being displayed at your grocery store?

If so, I think you’ll find this very enlightening.

I received this email this morning and it became the subject of my blog.

        Dear Pam,

Posted by Pam Young

Have you heard people say, “The kids today have short attention spans and because of quick-paced television, they’re used to watching three to four-second bites and become restless when the action is diminished.”? HOG WASH! As I sat in an Amtrak station waiting for a train that was 38 minutes late, I watched a grandmother read Curious George to her five-year-old grandson.

From my vantage point, she appeared to be a rather listless reader, void of expression, sound effects and lifted eyebrows accompanying some of Hans and Margaret’s incredible thoughts, yet the child was glued to his grandma’s side listening to the story.

When that book was finished, he pulled another from his backpack and she proceeded to read it in the same mundane way. The train turned out to be an hour late and the child remained interested in her reading the entire time. So much for the short attention span.

So here are what I believe are 6 benefits of reading bedtime stories to your children.

1. Cultivates Imagination

Now that visual stimulation is served up via television, IPads, IPhones, Xbox etc., children rarely get to tap into their imaginations unless we read to them, or until they can read. As a child, I loved radio (it was before we had television) because my imagination provided the visuals. Because we don’t have kid radio, unless we read to our kids, their ability to use their precious imaginations and be able to visualize will weaken.

I remember one Christmas, my daughter Peggy bought a bunch of children’s books at a neighborhood garage sale and recorded reading them on a cassette tape recorder for her non-reading cousins as gifts for Christmas. As adults, those cousins still speak of how they loved her gifts of being read to.

My husband Terry and I recorded books on CDs, the same way Peggy did with a cassette recorder. This way our grandchildren could listen to us read the books we gave them as gifts.

In this video clip, my sister Peggy and I share some great Halloween tips and important advice.

In this video clip, the Slob Sisters demonstrate the crazy ways they came up with last minute Halloween costumes for kids and how fun they were to throw together. As usual, their television talk show hosts were somewhat speechless (that happened a lot!) when they'd shove coat hangers into tights and smear their faces with Karo syrup and coffee grounds.

The important lesson here is when we become more organized we set the stage to play with our creativity. We become creatives! Clutter gets in the way of our creativity. Decluttering and ending your "stuff management" days will pave the way to fun, creativity, new adventures and excitement on Halloween as well as all the days of the year!

Have you learned valuable lessons outside of your home life that reflect on what goes on in your house? I'm in a chorus and I love all the women in it; all 110 of them! When I joined ten years ago, it was as if I had an instant set of new friends that shared one of my passions: singing harmony. I’d like to pass on to you some lessons I’ve learned from being in this family of singers that might help you have a happier family life.

1. LOVE

Love is the most important element in any happy group. Every one of the singers in my chorus loves music and loves what happens when we sing together with love as our reason to be doing it. Our supreme goal is to have that love reflected out to our audience, lifting each person and changing the atmosphere in the room.

Of course we love our families and when all of our “To Do” lists are crossed off and our fondest figuring outs are quieted; our love is the most important part of our experience as moms.

Child Locked in Antique Safe

A few years ago, I was at a grand opening of an internationally known bronze sculptor’s establishment. It was held in an historic building that has been restored to its original integrity. After the festivities, a child accidentally closed the door to an antique, walk-in safe, seeming to seal her younger cousin inside! The mother of the child in the safe went nuclear!

She had been one of the main organizers of the event and all the fussing and preparation for the big ceremony paled to the agony of this mother as she stood on the outside of the safe in hysterical horror. As it turned out, the safe had not locked. All it took was a screwdriver and a few minutes to nudge the heavy door open.

What I observed was a mother who was instantly reminded of what was really important in her life. Love of her child. Organizing the event, which I’m sure had consumed much of her time, was insignificant compared to her child’s life in that moment.

2. JOY

Let Them Eat Fat!!!

"Fill 'em with fat, right off the bat!" That's my motto for kids healthy eating. Yep, you read that right! Now before you all go running to report me to the first lady, let me explain a little. If your kids are like mine were. they're hungry all the time, and nothing seems to stop the little munchkins from rummaging around the kitchen like homeless guys in the park. Round and round they go pulling open drawers, cabinets, oven doors; you name it, searching for something to eat. Not even the dog dish is safe.

Well, as you might guess, it's low carb cooking to the rescue. You see, it's fat that stays with your body and gives you the kind of energy that lasts.....through the tree climbing, sprinkler jumping, roller skating days of summer fun. You'll love this easy, healthy snack that's better than ice cream and fun to make too. Guaranteed to shut up your craving for junk food!

In this video, I show you how to makes a snack for your snuggle bunnies that will stop the scrounging for something to eat.