I chose this picture as a way to send my love to anyone out there who is kind enough to stop by here these days.  Consider yourself hugged (and much appreciated).  It's feels good to get back to blogging - I've missed y'all! 

The main reason I started this site was to provide a place where moms could share their experiences and help one another survive and thrive in Parenthood.  Enter in Totally Tip Tuesday, where I pick a parenting topic that on the brain and ask you, dear reader, to offer up your best aspiring-supermom tips.  You never know who might put your advise to good use, just in time to save their sanity.  So please speak up!

Your fellow mamas need you!  I need you!
This week's Totally Tip Tuesday Topic comes straight from the trenches of the Horsley Home, where I have broken up no less that 29 fights in the past 2 days. Now don't get me wrong - I've watched enough Super Nanny to know what to do when I encounter my children trying to kill eachother.  What I am seeking is a way to PREVENT the fighting! I need to figure out how to encourage a peaceful co-existence between my kiddos.

How do you promote love between siblings?

Oh my goodness - January is almost over!  Has it flown by as quickly for you as it has for me?  I've spent this past month gearing up for what I hope will be my best year yet by organizing, prioritizing and energizing myself and my fam.  But if I've learned anything from 2010 it's that I can't do it alone.  No Mom is an island, as I'm sure you well know, and without the support of loved ones and the aid of some super-helpful tools, tackling resolutions quickly becomes a wicked uphill battle.  I figure, why make it so hard on myself?  Here's my first Mommy Resolutions for 2011 and how I'm getting it done.  (I plan to share one each week, that is if I actually get started on them!)

1 - Get Organized!  I'm embarssed to admit that I spend WAY too much time rummaging through mounds of school papers, digging through diaper bags and making extra trips to the store for that one essential ingredient I forgot to pick up.  Thankfully, I've discovered some great organizational tools that are helping me clean up my act (and my house!).

Quite possible the best $8 I have ever spent -  no lie!  This unobtrusive IKEA paper tray sits in a little corner of my kitchen and keeps my counters mercifully clutter free.  What I love is how each tray slides out independently and also comes off it's track so I can easily pull it out and go through the contents.  I keep "Important - Must Deal With Pronto" stuff up top, "Get To Sometime Soon" stuff in the middle and "Someday When I Have Some Free Time (aka probably never)" stuff in the bottom.

I also picked this up at Ikea:

Which is doing wonders for all the stuff-clutter in our home.  I've labeled each basket as "Mom", "Dad" and "Kids" so that anytime I step on a Lego or clear the latest issue of Imprimis off the table (yes, my husband's a political junkie) I just plunk it in the appropriate bin and can keep moving.

Next-up is the age-old diaper bag dillemma: I've got 3 kids with 3 different needs, not to mention my own must-haves for family outtings.  In the past, that was the makings for an organizational nightmare which weighed 50 lbs and never seemed to have what I need when I needed it.  Then I was introduced to the Clic-It diaper bag, which has recently been rocking my mommy world! 

Despite its mundane appearance, the Clic-It packs a secret punch - it comes with all sorts of handy accessories that can attach/detach, which makes it easy to customize my diaper bag to fit the needs of the moment.  I use the insulated bottle bag when I'm packing drinks to the park (clicking it in makes sure they stay upright!), but snap it off for church and bring the oraganizer pouch (packed with crayons) instead.  An impressive number and variety of built-in pockets also helps keep everything in it's place.  And while I'd like to see the Clic-it color-schemes get a little funkier, I'll chose parenting function over fashion any time.

Lastly, our budget and my sanity were both tested to the limits last year by the word "Groceries".  Then my sister passed along the tip that meal planning has helped her stay more focused and organized at the store, as well as cut down on buying unnecessary items.  So I'm having a go at it, with a little help from this cute Whoops Bunny Magnetic Weekly Menu Planner:

So far so good!