Tip Tuesday: Creative Reward System for Your Kids

So, I finally found a reward system that works for my son. My son is 6 and without going into too much detail on his needs, he was having a hard time adjusting to life as an elementary student. He is use to being with me most of the time since he has been born. I wouldn't call him a Momma's boy (although I see nothing wrong with loving your Mom. :), but he wasn't use to being away from home for that long. He was never one to want to stay the night anywhere but home so you could imagine how elated I was that he was going to start school and I was going to get some grown up time or at least a little bit of alone time. Well, I could go on and on, but I will give you the short version.

 

Since he didn't want to stay at school, he began acting out and the school system being what it is in my neighborhood (I won't bash them, but wonder how some still have a job), my son's needs weren't being met and they would just call for me to come and get him. Well, after fighting for months and months they have finally given in to my demands to have him in a specialized class to deal with his developmental and sensory issues. After just one week in the new school and class, his behavior towards school completely changed for the better. An incentive that I have for him has worked tremendously as well so I thought I would share this little tip with you all.

 

My son loves puzzles and he loves rewards, but to reward a child with candy or a toy every day for being good...well, that's really not helping them. A child shouldn't be constantly rewarded with candy and things every day for behaving how they should already be behaving. So, I thought lets reward him with 2 puzzle pieces each day he does well and when the puzzle is completed, then he will get a reward that was chosen as we started the puzzle. It could be a dinner out with just Mom, a toy, go to Chuck E. Cheeses, etc. My son chose a toy that he has been wanting for a bit. Read on to find out exactly what I did to have such a turn-around with my son and I hope it will be helpful to you or someone you know as well. Please feel free to share this with anyone you feel could benefit from it.

 

 

Things you will need:

• 1 Puzzle (I used a 35 piece since he is so young.)





 

 

• 1 Permanent Marker
• Assemble Puzzle and flip it over.
• Discuss with your child how they want to number it. (My son wanted to go around the outside and work his way to the middle. It's important to have your child be a part of the process and get him or her excited about the reward.)

 

 

After numbering the puzzle pieces, disassemble the puzzle and place it back in the original packaging. Part of the fun on earning the puzzle pieces is searching for the numbers in the box and pulling them out. Also, when they earn more, they can look at what they have and tell you the next two numbers they are looking for. I figured, might as well do a little learning in the process right?

 

The last thing is optional:

 

• 1 small, clear storage bin (I use a 6.2 Qt. Sterilite Modular Latching box for this size puzzle which I will link below since my son decorated his. I purchased mine at Walmart)  
• http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-6.2-Qt-Modular-Latching-Box-Bamboo/31955089(not a sponsored link)

I found that having a small bin to place the assembled pieces in has helped to keep it off of a table where it could be messed with by other siblings or get in the way. I have the bin on top of my refrigerator with the puzzle box sitting on top and ready to go. I found that a clear bin is best so that I can lift it up and my son can look at the bottom of it to see the progress of the puzzle.

 

I hope this Tip Tuesday has been helpful. Again, please share with anyone that is looking for ideas to get their child to behave, do their chores, homework, etc. Someone I know who is a counselor loved this idea that I had and now shares it with some of her clients. If you give this a try, I would love to know if it works out for you. Good luck parents. Kids can be a handful, so sometimes it takes some creativity to get them going. Don't forget to like my page on Facebook by clicking (here) and be on the lookout for some more content very soon.

Happy 10th Birthday, Facebook!!!

Can you believe that Facebook has been around for 10 years? What started out as an idea, turned into a social media giant! I remember when I first logged in to social media and it wasn't Facebook. I started out on MySpace, but it was short-lived for me. Once I was introduced to Facebook, my other account was all but forgotten.

Today, we are able to connect to people around the world because of Facebook. We use it to reunite with family and friends who we haven't seen in years. We use it as free advertising by creating a page to promote your business. It's used to get the word out about a product that has been recalled and even to watch out for a suspect in a crime.

One of the greatest things about Facebook is the stories of people being reunited with their child who was missing by posting pictures and it being shared all over the site. Such a powerful tool to have literally at the tip of our fingers.

While I can go on and on about the great things Facebook has to offer, it also must be used wisely. Clearly, you do not want to announce on a status that you will be on vacation for a couple of weeks in another state. Regardless if it is only friends and family on your page, that status can fall into the wrong hands and you come home from your trip to find your house was vandalized or wiped clean of all your valuables. Just a few words could cause that much harm.

With that said, use this tool wisely and only good can come from it. Happy 10th Birthday, Facebook! And of course, congratulations to Mark Zuckerberg for creating such a massive movement in our history. I'm sure he is already included in high school textbooks. lol

Speaking of Facebook pages, be sure to 'Like' mine! :) I do Tip Tuesdays, some DIY projects are in the works, as well as savings, beauty and fashion posts. Oh, and of course, Giveaways!

Mayday1101 www.facebook.com/mayday1101

Have a great day, everyone!

Tip Tuesday: Hate Vegetables? Keep This One!

For those who are trying to be healthy or continuing to keep up with your New Year's resolutions...Good for you! Staying fit and eating healthy can be a challenge; especially for those who can't stand the taste of vegetables. Vegetables are a very important part of eating right because they offer the healthiest and most beneficial needs to your body.

All vegetables are important, but if you just can't stand them, I suggest at least keeping this one in your day-to-day choices; Spinach. Spinach has so many benefits and is rich with vitamins A, C, and K, Manganese, Folate, Beta-Carotene and Iron. Another plus is that it is so easy to add to a meal. Sneak it into lasagna, pizza, salsa, pasta salads, and smoothies. Get creative.

Below are links for more information on the benefits that spinach offers your body:

Vitamin A: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/

Vitamin C: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002404.htm

Vitamin K: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002407.htm

Mananese: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/182.html

Folate: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/

Beta-Carotene: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/999.html

Iron: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/

(These are not sponsored links.)

(Picture Credit: Google Search)

 

 

I hope this week's Tip Tuesday was helpful. I have some exciting projects coming up that I will be sharing with you soon. If there is a DIY or any other suggestions you would like to see, please leave a comment below and I will see what I can do. I hope everyone is having a great day! 

100th Blog Post and Plans for 2014!!!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I sat down to review a product I have been testing out and noticed that this is my 100th blog post! It doesn't seem like I've had my blog that long.

So, have you picked your New Year's resolution yet? I have so many and I have no plans on narrowing it down. I will be making major changes this upcoming year and I can't wait to include you all along the way! I will be making more content on my YouTube channel and am working toward figuring out a schedule and hope to have consistent content available in the near future. Also, I will be doing more with this blog and possibly working on a new layout at some point next year. I'm looking to do more product reviews, DIY's and much more! Psst...don't forget random giveaways on most of my social media from time to time as well. So fun! :)

I am also going to be putting jewelry up on my Etsy shop that I created this year. I will be announcing the opening of my shop when the inventory is up and ready to sell. There is no set date on that as of yet, but I will update as progress is made. I thoroughly enjoy making quality jewelry pieces for myself as well as friends and family. I feel I am ready to expand my hobby and start selling my creations to the public. On top of that, I will be finishing up my Associates degree this Winter semester so yes...busy, busy my way, but the drive is there and I am ready for anything.

I found that doing my blog posts, creating YouTube content, making jewelry and doing projects really makes me happy. So, for 2014 I plan on going for it and not holding back. Many things happened this year that really deterred me from my goals, but I have overcome those obstacles and am ready to take on 2014 with a fresh start and outlook.

A New Year is a time to start over, get over the past, look toward the future and go for it! I would love to hear what you have decided for a New Year's resolution. Feel free to leave a comment here, on my Facebook page or on Twitter. Be sure to hash tag #mayday1101 or tag my name @may_day1101 on Twitter so I can find it easier. I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Check back soon for a product review of Meaningful Beauty!

Where To Find Me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mayday1101

Twitter: @may_day1101

Instagram: @mayday1101

YouTube: www.youtube.com/mayday1101

Keek: @mayday1101

CVS Clearance!!!

It's that time of year again! CVS is having their annual 50-75% clearance sale on select makeup items, nail polishes, etc. Look for the round pink and green stickers on products.

Also, keep an eye out for price tags crossed with red or black marker. Sometimes they haven't gotten around to putting the clearance stickers on yet or may have run out of them since they will be marking down a lot of products.

The type of clearanced products may vary by store, but one thing goes for all stores...the good deals go fast!

Think stocking stuffers for the makeup lover in your life. As someone who enjoys both makeup and great savings, I would love to see what you get. Feel free to post your awesome finds on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/mayday1101 or tag me on Twitter @may_day1101 or Instagram @mayday1101. Be sure to use the hashtag #cvshaul

Can't wait to see what you find! Don't forget to share this post with your friends. :)

Black Friday/Cyber Monday: How to Get FREE Shipping and Cash Back

It's that time of year again! How are you spending it? You can choose to go to the stores and wrestle for that last toaster and stand in line for hours to save a few dollars OR you can get most of those deals online from the comfort of your own home. What's better than that? Well, let me tell you. lol

How would you like to get cash back on your purchases from thousands of stores online? Ebates can do that for you. Sign up for ebates and go to the site you wish by going through the ebates site first and you are on your way to earning cash back. Ebates sends your "big fat checks" through paypal or you can have a check sent to your house. All you have to do is go to ebates.com, use the search engine to enter the store you are looking for, click the shop now and it will take you to your desired website. That's it. You can place your order on Walmart, Ulta, Macys...and much much more. A few days after your order is verified, you will see money in your Ebates account. This is clipped right from my very own account. This is just from my recent Christmas shopping online purchases.

 

 

So, if you feel like you do a lot of online shopping, this could be the right choice for you. Click this link to be taken to ebates so you can check it out for yourself and see if it is something you would use. :) http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=wYQ2DuOa1JcghQy80JKSFw%3D%3D 

 

This is my referral link, but there is no obligation to sign up. Now, what about free shipping you ask? A lot of websites are offering FREE shipping on any purchase online. Look for coupon codes on the homepage of the website. Also, Amazon offers many different programs that you may qualify for to get FREE shipping at this busy shopping time of the year. They offer Amazon Prime, Amazon Student and Amazon Mom. I have a past blog post that I will link below that will fill you in more on those programs. 

 

How To Get FREE Shipping on Amazon: http://mayday1101.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-to-get-free-shipping-on-amazoncom.html

 

 

I hope this blog post was helpful to you and that you enjoy your online shopping experience this year. I did all of my Christmas shopping online last year and I loved it! I saved time, stress, wear and tear on my vehicle, no filling up the gas tank, I was warm, wore my pajamas lol, and the list goes on and on. All of my shopping will be done online this year as well. With that, I leave you with one question...What are you most excited for this holiday season? Feel free to leave a comment below or on Twitter. Be sure to tag me @may_day1101 and use the hashtag #tistheseason. Have a great day everyone! 

Tip Tuesday: Don't Juggle Too Much (How To Not Feel Like a Circus Act)

WELL, HELLLLLO THERE!!! I know...it's been a little bit since I have done a Tip Tuesday or a blog post in general; I have had a lot going on. I thought the lessons that I have learned from being so busy could serve well as a Tip Tuesday or maybe even just a life lesson. Even if I can help just one person, this information will serve well.

Without going into a long heart-felt story (I'll save you the tears and the whoa-is-me type feelings), I have found myself in a juggling act so to speak with family, education, career, housework, ect. Free time? What is that? I would love to know. So, I found myself feeling as if I was juggling all these things in the air and nothing was getting accomplished. To add to the juggling act, more responsibility was getting put on me so now here comes the circus act...juggling and spinning dishes on a spindle. That is what I can equate my life to until just recently (hours ago to be honest).

So where is the Tip Tuesday in all of this you ask? Here it goes. We live in a world where people expect instant results. We get tugged in so many different directions and for some reason society nowadays has become to act in an ‘I want it and I want it now’ mentality. One person can only do so much and when all you are doing is this circus act, nothing is getting done and you could come across as irresponsible when that is not the case at all. This is when you need to take a step back, re-evaluate everything you have going on and reassess what is really important. For me the list goes something like this:

#1 in my life is my family.

#2 is everything else.

With that being said, we still need time to enjoy ourselves as well. A lot of times when we become adults, we get caught up in this fast-paced world and we can even lose ourselves in it. Yes, we need to make sure family, education, career and things like that are met, but all those spinning dishes? I think some of them just need to be let go. If it is something that is sucking the happiness from your life or it's just too much and it's not an absolute need...then why do we need to keep it spinning? No one wants to look like a circus clown.

These are my thoughts on it anyway and I would love to hear yours as well. Feel free to comment with those thoughts right here or even share this post with someone who it may help. I am in no way a counselor or suggest that you take this advice. This is what I have found to be helpful in my life and if you find that it is helpful for you in any way, it was worth sharing.

That's it for this week's Tip Tuesday! I hope that I can let go of a few more spinning dishes :) so that I can bring more consistent content coming your way! Until next time! :)