Blog Posts by Yahoo! Contributor Network

Organize your mudroom with the help of your kids.

Your mud room is the buffer zone between the great outdoors and your living quarters. It stops kids with wet boots in their tracks and provides you with an opportunity to wipe off the dog's paws before heading inside. Cleaning the mud room can be a family-friendly activity that teaches kids a sense of responsibility and perhaps just a little more appreciation for your housekeeping efforts.

1. Hook. Put taller children in charge of placing coats and jackets on the hooks that line the walls. Leave it up to the youngster to figure out whose jackets go on the right hooks; this is great object lesson to encourage labeling one's belongings!
2. Wipe. A smaller child makes a perfect shoe rack wiper. Assuming that there is plenty of detritus that has blown in, let the youngster go to town with lukewarm water spiked with just a bit of vinegar.
3. Wash. Walls need to be washed down, too. It is amazing how many fingerprints and smudges build up in this little area. A sturdy sponge and a

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Serve your children mini pizzas on game day.Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest unofficial holidays of the year. It's also one of the biggest eating days of the year. While you may be making great dishes for the adults, what about the kids? Most kids won't enjoy the same foods, but there are a number of foods they will love that are also healthy. Whether it's a health-conscious taco dip or caramel apple wedges, kids are going to love these Super Bowl snacks.

Taco Dip

Taco dip doesn't have to be loaded with calories. A kid-friendly version could be made with taco meat that is made with ground sirloin or 98% fat-free turkey breast. You could then add a layer of low-fat shredded cheese, lots of lettuce and chopped tomatoes, plain Greek yogurt, fat-free refried beans and salsa.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

An alternative to chicken wings for kids are baked chicken nuggets. All you need to do is cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, dip in egg whites, and roll in bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for around 15-20 minutes, or no

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Serve breakfast for dinner this week.

Without a dreamy nap or a luscious glass of wine, how can a tired, out-of-ideas-for-dinner mama morph into a fun mama? Serve breakfast for dinner! Take it from me: breakfast for dinner is a good change up from the everyday dinner doldrums. Your kids will think you're fun, even a tad devilish. They'll never have to know that these are healthy recipes, too!

Sweet Potato Waffles
My Pinterest Reality

So good, the kids will never know they're eating a sweet potato.

2 cups of white, whole wheat flour (or 1 cup all purpose/1 cup whole wheat)
3 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. ground flax seed
1 large sweet potato, baked, peeled and pureed
2 cups milk
1/8 cup melted butter
1/8 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ground flax and nutmeg. Set aside. In a separate mixing bowl combine sweet potato, milk, butter, eggs,

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Getting a head start on homemade Valentines cards.As a crafty mom, I love to make things with my kids and celebrate the holidays in special ways, but my schedule doesn't always allow the time I'd like. For Valentine's Day, our tradition is to make homemade Valentines for cousins, friends and grandparents. Valentine's Day can sneak up on us, leaving our special crafting time a little chaotic and unprepared. This year, however, will be different. We're going to get a head start on our homemade Valentines, use our time wisely, and savor those memories in the making. Here's how:

1. Prepare materials in advance - In our family, homemade Valentines require red and pink construction paper, sequins, glitter, patterned paper, glue sticks, scissors, and tons of markers. One way to get a head start on making Valentines is to ensure your supply cabinet is stocked ahead of time with all the right materials, then pack them all together in one convenient place, along with envelopes, stamps, and the names of all card recipients.

2. Pre-make blank

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Stock up on tissues before your kids get sick.

Now that cold and flu season is officially here, you'll want to make sure your family is well-prepared for stuffy nose symptoms and other common side effects of those cold-weather health problems. Making sure kids adopt some good habits for keeping germs at bay will take some time, but there are several things any mom can do to make sure family members aren't spreading germs or making their symptoms worse.

Here are some useful tips to take care of your kids' stuffy nose symptoms:

Stock up on tissues. Keep tissues in every room of the house so that kids can blow their nose as needed. Invest in some high-quality tissues that contain moisturizers and other emollients. These tissues will prevent skin irritation and are much softer than your average tissue. Encourage kids to throw away a used tissue shortly after using it so that they don't spread germs.

Run the humidifier. Keep skin moist by running a humidifier in the drier areas of the home. A humidifier can be especially Read More »from Fix Your Kids' Stuffy Nose Symptoms

Of all the areas in our homes, bathrooms are some of the hardest to keep clean, and this is even harder to do - and more important - when you have kids. A kid-friendly bathroom should never be chaotic or messy and, in fact, if you develop a routine and stick with it, your kids are more likely to do the same.

Here are the best ways to go about making your family bathroom easy to use and keep clean.

Use medicine cabinets, drawers and shelves effectively. Color-code hairbrushes, combs and toothbrushes. Everyone gets a color, and there's no arguing over whose toothbrush was left on the countertop. I can't tell you how much trouble this has saved me when organizing toiletries for my three kids. If you have enough drawers for each child, assign one to each for toiletry items like brushes and combs. Otherwise, purchase a bin or washable carry case for them to store these items.

If your children are older, they'll appreciate the use of a separate organizer for skin cleaners,

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Sleepovers don't have to be stressful!

Preparing for a sleepover can seem like a daunting task. After all, you're the adult host of a horde of kids who just know it's going to be a great night full of fun and games! It doesn't have to be as complicated as you might think, however.

Follow these easy steps for a stress-free, last-minute sleepover.
1. Lay out rules! It's your home, and you're the adult. Make sure your guests know the routine, what time is lights-out, and whether or not you allow certain video games or movies in your home. In my house, for example, we don't allow any phone calls after 9 p.m., sleepovers or not. We make sure everyone knows this ahead of time. Set boundaries, be firm about it, and you'll all be able to enjoy your evening that much better.

2. Make sure each parent has your contact info and you have theirs before kids are left in your care. You never know when someone will forget their medicine or need a goodnight from mom, and it's inevitable that if someone's going to get a scraped knee, Read More »from Multitasking Mom's Guide to a Last-Minute Sleepover

Encourage your kids to participate in active video games.

It can be hard to stay active when the weather outside is dark and gloomy. Working out indoors often seems like the only solution, not only for myself, but for my children, too. How can I make sure that my entire family is active when the weather isn't cooperating? These indoor workouts will entertain children of all ages when you've got energy to burn.

Video games

No longer the stagnant video games of my youth, today's video game systems encourage players to get up and move. Whether you're participating in a dance competition, bowling, or even doing jumping jacks as part of a fitness program, modern video game systems are a great choice to help your family stay active when you're stuck inside the house. Turn participation into a competition (adults vs. the kids tends to work well in our home) with a prize for some added incentive.

Races

Toilet paper races, egg races, and seeing how far you can skid in your socks across the front hallway are all fun activities that can

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