My Toot this Tuesday is about getting my first ever blog party all set up. I am talking about MommyFest. This is the 5th year I am hosting this event and I was thinking of a new twist to the event so I set it up as a BLOG and decided to tackle my first ever BLOG Party. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I love BLOGs - they are easy to set up and maintain. I love the way that visitors can comment and the interactivity - I love that we can give lots of link-love …. I just love BLOGS! I am hoping that a lot of moms participate in this event and that we all have lots of fun - make new friends and discover new blogs to follow.

I also am so proud because I gathered a great set of speakers for this year and the topics are just right on the dot - all interesting topics for all kinds of moms. You can see our guest line up and topics by clicking here.

If you want to join in the FUN - come join our BLOG Party - find out how, click here!

If you want to see a video of me sharing my excitement and talking about MommyFest, you can view it here.

I hope our paths cross at MommyFest!

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Learn more about Tuesday Toot and post it on your blog. Leave your info in the Linky below and make sure to leave me a comment.

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JoJo talks about the various communication personalities like …
Gabby Gloria
Shy Sheila
Bold Betty
Careful Carla
Amiable Annie
Analytical Andrea
Dynamic Darla
Negative Nellie
Positive Polly

JoJo says that each one of us has one or a combination of these different personalities. We may also start as one personality and grow into another one in time or depending on the situation that we are in. Listen to the audio or download the transcript and see which communication personality you have.

Transcript of the Interview - Click Here

I also talked about the upcoming Mommyfest Event - May 12-16, 2008 and the topics and guest speakers that we are having.

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This week - I wanted to share that I was interviewed for an episode of CrafterCast about “Time Capsule Albums”. This is a fun weekly podcast hosted by my friend, Tsoniki Crazy Bull. Above is the video I made a couple of years ago about Time Capsule Albums. This is an easy project even for newbies at scrapbooking or even if you are an avid scrapbooker. It’s easy to complete and a lot of fun to make. You could even make one up and give it as a gift for Mom this coming “Mother’s Day”. Watch the video and let me know what you think.

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Learn more about Tuesday Toot and post it on your blog. Leave your info in the Linky below and make sure to leave me a comment.

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Minimize

Minimize the amount of laundry you do by creating new standards of “dirty”. If you wear a pair of jeans for two hours then put on your shorts, are the jeans dirty? Not in my house. Pajamas put on a clean body at night after a bath and worn once aren’t dirty either. Ditto for a towel that blots a freshly scrubbed body. Teach your kids that dirty means it has food or obvious dirt marks on it. The exception? Underwear of course!

Minimize sorting by putting a hamper in each bedroom that has 3 slots. One for whites, one for darks, one for mixed colors. For kids that are very young, try cutting out a large circle from construction paper for each category. Tape these on the wall above the hamper to show where to put each color. Alternately, you could buy inexpensive colored bins that match laundry colors.

Train your kids to bring you their dirty laundry at the beginning of each day or at some other time you choose. Don’t turn socks right side out for laundering. Show your family members how to take off their socks without bunching them into an inside out ball. If they don’t choose to listen to your sock lessons, let them turn their own socks right side out.

You may be able to minimize sorting even more by washing more clothes together. Many times light colors can go into the wash with mixed colors if you use cold water and the items aren’t brand new. Typically only cheap clothing fades anyway so buy your kid’s clothing from the nicer stores. It will last longer and wash well.

Some important questions to ponder: Do underwear need to be “folded” or can they be neatly placed flat in drawers? What about small T shirts and shorts? Do socks need to be matched up or can they be thrown into plastic boxes in a drawer and matched up by the wearer? Important questions, these!

Delegate

In some homes, the person who dirties the laundry is responsible for taking the laundry to the washing up area. If clothing doesn’t make it there (meaning it’s stuffed under beds, in corners of closets or otherwise lying on the floor), it doesn’t get washed. Natural consequences work well for laundry. The first time your daughter doesn’t have her favorite shirt that she just has to wear to the mall, she’ll remember to get it to the laundry room. When hubby has no boxers, he may be motivated to get them in the hamper too. Developing “laundry on the floor blindness” is helpful for a Mom!

Older kids can be taught how to use the washing machine and dryer. Kids ages 2 and up can help with folding and getting clean laundry to their dressers. Even a toddler can “match corners” to fold washcloths and put their undies and socks in dresser drawers. Most youngsters think folding laundry is fun. Keep this myth going with them as long as humanly possible!

Don’t Procrastinate

Some tasks don’t take longer to complete if you procrastinate a bit. Vacuuming, for instance, takes roughly the same amount of time to complete whether you do it daily or weekly. Laundry is not one of these chores. Doing a load of laundry a day is preferable to tackling a mountain of dirty clothes that have set in stains, bad odors and maybe even mildew. Be sure to finish the job completely- putting the load into the dryer quickly so the clothes don’t sour. Then remove from the dryer promptly for folding so they don’t wrinkle.

As long as we continue to eat, sweat and move about, we’ll have to deal with laundry. Hopefully these tips will help you spend a little less time dealing with the repercussions of being human!

Here are some tips to help you tame the laundry beast.

Carrie Lauth is the host of http://www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com. For more housekeeping with kids tips, visit http://www.natural-moms.com/homekeeping_organization.html.

LadyPens.com - Awesome Articles by Awesome Women!

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She shares simple and doable tips on how we can stop being negative and start thinking positively. Some highlights of her interview are …

This audio is really inspiring and empowering a must listen for every woman.

Also mentioned during this episode - The MommyFest BLOG Party and The MommyFest Chocolate Giveaway Contest. We are taking sponsors for Mommyfest until 5/2/08 - to purchase a sponsor’s spot - click here.

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What: The 5th Annual Mommyfest Event
When: May 12-16, 2008
Where: Online at http://www.mommyfest.com/2008
Admission is FREE

Feel free to post this in your blog and help us spread the word!

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I am getting everything set up for the 5th Annual MommyFest Event and I am soooo excited. Here are the details:

What: 5th Annual MOMMYFEST Interactive Online Event
When: May 12-16, 2008 (5 Days)
Where: Online at http://www.mommyfest.com
Admission: Free

I am actually throwing a BLOG Party for Mommyfest and I hope you can come and join us. It’ll be fun. You get to meet other moms and learn more about them, make new friends and find interesting blogs. I am currently working on th eprize and contest list and the schedule of events and speakers. I will make sure to update you all on how things are coming along. In the mean time, please bookmark the event site - http://www.mommyfest.com - and I hope our paths cross during Mommyfest 2008.

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