I bought our first Marble Run set when my son was about 5. He already loved the building aspect of the toy but being able to run a marble through his creation was mesmerizing. When my girls got to about the same age, we actually picked up a second set of the interlocking plastic marble run tubes so they could all build their own individual marble runs or construct one ginormous creation together.

My son is now 14 and my youngest daughter is 8, but as you can see from the picture you are never too old to create a marble run. They spent about an hour working the angles, adding funnels and moving parts in order to maximize the height and fun factor.

I just heard that another set – one with some motorized parts and marble elevators (Quercetti Marble Run with Motorized Elevator) is on my daughter’s Christmas list already! I can’t wait to see what they end up building with a third set added in.

Here are some of the better Marble Run sets – click on the image for details and ordering information.

Quercetti Transparent Marble Run Quercetti Marble Run Vortex Quercetti Marble Run with Motorized Elevator Super Marble Run by Galt Toys Quercetti Super Marble Run Vortex Plastic Marble Run – 62-Piece Kit Plastic Marble Run – 48-Piece Kit Wooden Marble Run Singing Tree Marble Run

This year I have three kids in three different schools which means three different breakfast schedules and out the door times. I have posted a list of healthy breakfast ideas inside one cabinet and quick, healthy snack/lunch ideas on another. Hopefully this will help make mornings a little easier and get rid of the “What can I  pack  for lunch?” question. Check back later this week and I will put the lists together for you so you can print them out and hang on the inside of your cabinet.

My menu this week:

• Monday – Pierogies with kielbasa and fresh, steamed green beans
• Tuesday – First day of school but also a sports night – Pot roast with carrots and potatoes in the crock pot – a family favorite
• Wednesday – Another busy sports night – BLT sandwiches and tomato soup
• Thursday – Grilled chicken, patty pan squash, roasted red potatoes
• Friday – Hamburgers on the grill, corn on the cob, salad

Need more inspiration? Check out my Menu Plan Monday archives or head over to Laura’s at Organizing Junkie for links to hundreds of menus this week.

Don’t forget to submit your family oriented blog posts to our blog carnival called the “All Things Family” blog carnival - enter your submissions by 5 pm today to be included in this week’s edition.

All you need is a few simple ingredients. For our recipe we mixed together 4 cups of rolled oats (not the quick cook kind), 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1/2 cup slivered almonds, and 1/2 cup sunflower seeds in one bowl. Then in the other bowl we melted together one stick of butter, 1/2 cup honey, a splash of vanilla and some cinnamon (just a touch).

Mix the wet ingredients in to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until well coated.

Preheat the oven to 350 and spread the granola mixture out on a foil lined baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes and then stir. Cook another 5-7  min.  until mixture is golden brown.

Let the granola cool a few minutes then break it up onto a cool surface or another pan. When completely cool, transfer the granola to an air-tight container and store for up to two weeks in the fridge.

We served the granola over vanilla yogurt and mixed in some craisins at the last minute, too. YUMM-O!

Here are a few more granola recipes you can try, too:

• Big Oven’s Homemade Granola
• Healthy Homemade Granola
• Best Homemade Granola
• Joy of Baking’s Homemade Granola

• Monday – Steak, corn on the cob and salad
• Tuesday – Honey mustard marinated chicken, patty pan squash, new potatoes
• Wednesday – Slow cooker pork chops, homemade applesauce, broccoli and salad
• Thursday – Taco salad
• Friday – Baked macaroni and cheese with salad

Need more inspiration? Check out my Menu Plan Monday archives or head over to Laura’s at Organizing Junkie for links to hundreds of menus this week.

Don’t forget to submit your family oriented blog posts to our blog carnival called the “All Things Family” blog carnival - enter your submissions by 5 pm today to be included in this week’s edition.

Every 40 seconds someone’s son or daughter is reported missing, totaling over 800,000 missing children in the United States each year. Whether you are in a crowded shopping mall, amusement park or even a neighborhood park, as a parent, turning around and not seeing your child induces instant panic and a sinking feeling in your stomach.

There are a few steps parents can take to help shorten the time it takes to locate their child should he or she ever go missing. The first step is to remain as calm as possible and other tips that can help include:

• Teach your children to look for other moms or dads to ask for help if they ever get separated from you.
• Practice memorizing last name, address, home phone and cell phone numbers with your children by turning them into a rhyme or pneumonic device so the child can recall it when they are scared.
• Check around your home in places that would be easy to hide or places where young children might get trapped.
• Keep a current photograph on hand.
• Notify local law enforcement and the media and report where they were last seen, what they were wearing and other key pieces of identifying information.
• Contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) on their toll-free telephone number: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
• Consider renting or purchasing a GPS locator for your child that can notify you if you child leaves home and allows them to send you an SOS message if they are in danger.

For more information on protecting your children and securing your own peace of mind please visit www.securatrac.com.

Take Stock Before You Restock

I don’t know about you but when my kids came home on the last day of school with the contents of their desks in tow, I noticed something – that box of 12 colored pencils we “had” to have, still looked brand new! And so did half of the notebooks. Before you rush out to buy tons of new school supplies, take stock of what can be reused from last year. Then combine all your kids school supply lists into one and shop throughout the summer for items as they go on sale or buy them in bulk from my personal favorite online resources, Bulk Office Supplies or Discount School Supply.

The same thing goes for the kids clothes. Where we live the temps are warm enough in September for the kids to wear their summer clothes still – and my kids always seem to have a last minute growth spurt before the school year starts. Get the kids to try on their summer school clothes and items from last year and make a list of must buys and a list of buy once the weather cools down. I never buy my kids jeans before October – and then I wait for stores like Justice Girls Clothing (my girls favorite) to have their massive sales.

Post a routine

Kids always do better when they know what to expect! Help your kids (especially those Kindergarten and 1st Graders) develop a morning routine and practice it before school starts. I love charts that I can post on the refrigerator (remember my summer chore chart?) and I have created a very simple one that is picture-based so that kids of any age can go through it on their own. Yes, you can have one of your very own!! Download the morning routine reminder to hang on your own fridge.

Take it a week at a time

Use Sunday afternoons or evenings to get your week planned out. Keep the family schedule in a location that everyone can see. I have a Magnetic Dry Erase 3 in 1 Board by Board Dudes hanging in the mudroom so everyone can get a feel for the events of the week at a glance and its easy to change.

I also keep a planner on my desk. I just ordered the new MomAgenda Home Office edition because it has room for my schedule and notes, but also has space designated for each child and dinner and pockets for important papers, too. You can get them in a variety of sizes and fun colors. Everyone in the family knows to check the book for important phone numbers, general schedules and upcoming events, too.

Create a Backpack Zone

Find a location in your house that is convenient and create a backpack zone. In our house it is the mudroom. Backpacks, shoes and jackets all get parked there when not in use. It makes it much easier to find everything in the morning if you aren’t hunting high and low all over the house for it.

Create a Home Study Zone

Give your kids a regular spot for doing homework – somewhere with good lighting, minimal distractions, and access to the supplies they may need to get the tasks done. Our kitchen table is the homework zone. There is no TV near by, the kids have plenty of room to spread out and I can monitor their progress without having to sit right there with them.

Joe Bruzzesse of Our Thinking is a Middle School expert and author. He has created a list of supplies to keep on hand for homework and projects. We have a china cabinet in the kitchen that houses art and school supplies. This summer the area got a little out of control so I spent some time this weekend clearing it out and reorganizing. One bin contains paper, notebooks and journals. Another bin contains pencils, pens, crayons, markers, rulers, scissors, tape and such. The bottom cabinet holds art kits (translation – beads) and coloring books.

What are your best back to school tips? Feel free to share them in the comments!!

(photo: Celiac Family)

Since her family must eat gluten-free, the crust of the fruit pizza was made from a gluten-free sugar cookie mix. If you didn’t know the cookie was gluten-free, you would have never known – it was amazing!

Anyhow, summer time is the perfect time for fruity desserts – from that gorgeous fruit pizza to a simple fruit salad topped with ice cream and everything in between. Some of my other favorite summer fruit desserts include:

• Strawberries dipped in chocolate
• Rhubarb Vanilla Compote
• Fresh watermelon popsicles
• Healthified Peach Cobbler
• Ginger Poached Pears with Blueberries

What’s your favorite summer dessert?

More than one of my friends has an abundance of yellow squash and zucchini in their gardens right now and I am more than happy to take any and all extras! One of the easiest and tastiest ways to cook squash and zucchini is to simply slice it thin and saute it.

How To:

• Thinly slice 1-2 yellow squash
• Thinly slice 1-2 zucchini
• Thinly slice 1 onion
• Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into a pan and heat
• Add squash, zucchini and onion to pan and begin saute
• Add a few tablespoons of Ken’s Zesty Italian Salad Dressing (or any italian dressing, but Ken’s is the best) to the mixture
• Saute until veggies are all soft

From prep to plate, this dish can be ready in under 15 minutes and it is super healthy.

College students from around the country are getting ready to say goodbye to summer and hello to dorm rooms, classrooms, football games, parties and college life in general. One of my all time favorite places to find organizers and gadgets to make my own house more fun and functional, Organize.com, is sponsoring a Dream Dorm Sweepstakes, $2,500 in Prizes!.

The giveaway entry is super easy and you could win one of the following prizes:

• One Grand Prize Winner will get a $1,000 Organize.com e-gift certificate (retail value),
• One First Place Winner will get a $500 Organize.com e-gift certificate (retail value),
• Two Second Place Winners will get a $250 Organize.com e-gift certificate (retail value),
• Five Third Place Winners will get a $100 Organize.com e-gift certificate (retail value).

Organize.com has such a great variety of organizers for back to school whether you are a teacher, grade school student or college student!