Got Carpool? You NEED Carpool Cards! What Are They? Read Below .....

As quirky as it is, my odd talent of "data organization" does come in handy if you happen to be in one of my MANY carpools! This year I am in 4 different carpools with lots of children I barely know. As a helpful (hopefully not pushy) gesture to ALL of the moms in my multiple carpools, I have put together Carpool Cards (laminated on very cool decorative paper) for EACH respective carpool.

What Are Carpool Cards?
These cards contain ALL critical information for each child in the carpool.

Child's Name & Age
Address
Allergies
Car Seat Requirements
Car Sickness Susceptibility
Teacher's Name / Grade
Mom's Cell Phone
Home Phone
Dad's Cell Phone
Dad's Work Phone
Emergency Contact Name & Number

Why is this important?
1. Your child's safety is paramount! These cards help avoid any miscommunication by ensuring everyone has each other's important emergency information.
2. Not every mom takes the time to program important numbers into her phone.
3. You can't take for granted that moms will remember if your child has a food allergy.
4. If your child is required to ride in a booster seat, it helps to also put that in writing so each mom in the carpool will remember.
5. I have (on more that one occasion) not been able to find a child I was supposed to pick up from school. I immediately turn to my carpool card and start dialing ALL of that child;s emergency numbers until I can get a "live person" on the phone to tell me if that child was either not at school, or had other plans today.
6. One one occasion I was unable to locate my OWN child. She arrived home 45 minutes late! It turns out the mom who drove that day took the kids for ice cream and forgot to call. No big deal ... I just called everyone on the card until I found out where they were :-)

No Time To Make Your Own?
No problem! I would be GLAD to make carpool cards for YOUR carpool! You can email thepurplemartin@bellsouth.net. I will coordinate ALL of the information from everyone in your carpool. Assemble the cards and laminate them on decorative paper of your choice.

Setup fee is $15.00 Each Card is $3.50.

100+ Facebook Fans = A BIG Reason to Celebrate With a GREAT Giveaway!

The Prize?
ALL of the Carolina Pad & Co's products I have used creatively in my blogs (one of each product), ONE EXTRA Large Monogrammed L.L. Bean Bag in your choice of color PLUS a $75.00 gift card towards a Customized Family Handbook or Purple Martin & Co. product of YOUR Choosing (including the beach house handbook & bridal organization handbook)!

How to Register?
Comment on my fan page about at least one of the following:
1. Why you would like a Customized Family Handbook
Don't know the benefits? Check out www.thepurplemartinandco.blogspot.com and see "My Story"

2. Your Favorite Purple Martin & Co. Blog
Can't remember? Check out www.thepurplemartinandco.blogspot.com

3. Your Favorite Mommy Data Tip or Solution!!
Can't remember? Check out our fan page on facebook!

4. Current Customer? What you LOVE about your Customzied Family Handbook!

You will Receive 1 Entry for EACH Comment you post on the public facebook fan page for "The Purple Martin & Co" between NOW and AUGUST 15th at 5pm EST. Not a fan, be sure to join - it is SUPER easy - you can search for The Purple Martin & Co in facebook then click become a fan!

Winner will be announced on August 16th. You do NOT need to be a Charlotte Resident to win! This contest is open to ALL Purple Martin & Co. current and FUTURE fans (through Aug. 15th!)

All the Best!
Lori Martin

What's In Your Pool / Beach Bag?

As the summer comes to an end, I FINALLY discovered the best solution to getting my kids (all 3) and all their gear to the pool / beach in an organized manner! If only I had more time to use it.

The Problem?
~ Getting 3 kids to the pool PLUS all their stuff in an organized manner is REALLY tough.

~ How do I prevent myself from having to DIG to the bottom of my pool bag for the sunscreen, goggles, and all the other small items? I really don't like bags with lots of pockets because I forget WHICH pocket I put the small stuff in ~ I prefer one BIG wide-mouthed bag (with a zipper top).

~ How do I keep my dry items separate from the items that will inevitably become wet & sandy?

The Solution?
~ Three of my FAVORITE products pulled together to create one perfect solution!

The Products?
1. The L.L.Bean Beach Tote With Long Handles


2. 3 Plastic Beach Totes (I bought mine at Michael's Craft Store)

3. 3 Zippered Pencil Pouches (Carolina Pad Kendall Collection ~ I bought mine at Wal-Mart) Who knew an office supply product could be SO stylish and versatile?

How To?

1. Insert the 3 Plastic Beach totes inside the L.L.Bean Beach Tote. They serve as plastic dividers (with handles for portability!) to separate your items.

I put pool toys in one tote, dry items (towels, change of clothes, dry swim diapers) in another tote, and sunscreen & shower items in another tote.

Dry Items Stay Dry, The Plastic Totes keep my L.L.Bean Bag Dry, Items are easily identified and best of all NO Digging to the bottom of the bag.

2. I put travel sized shower items (shampoo, shower gel, small shower body puff) in the 3 zippered pencil pouches. The kids each take their own zippered pouch with shower supplies into the pool shower to rise off after swimming.

3. The L.L. Bean Tote serves as the best wide-mouthed bag to carry it all with ease!

Now if only I had thought of this great idea at the beginning of the summer! Here's to next season!

"Taming That Toddler" ~ Should Be An Olympic Sport!

Molly stringing beads & buttons on pipe cleaners at Reed Gold Mine!


My "Molly Martin BUSY BAG" & Contents

Hello Purple Martin Moms!

I just overheard my 8 year old say to my husband .... "WHAT if Molly had a TWIN?" Then she shuddered ... "that would be AWFUL." Well, even though Molly (aka the Mo-Nado) has set records in our family-of-5 for being the most difficult toddler ... EVER ... at least she provides us with lots of humor and some interesting fodder for my blog. That being said, today was just one of those "Molly Days" again where she screamed, yelled, and wore on all of our patience.

Yesterday, however, I took my kids on a field trip to the Reed Gold Mine in Midland, NC. We went with some friends with the intention of touring an underground gold mine (a historic landmark) and then panning for some gold ourselves.

I had wanted to leave Molly with a sitter, but my friends said we could make it work. My friends were amazing AND I was prepared! I knew I was NOT going to take Molly on the tour of the Gold Mine once the guide said ... "I hope we ALL behave in the mine! Remember, we will be 30 FEET underground and MUST not touch anything .... EVEN the rocks on the ground are OFF LIMITS."

Well ... since Molly likes to do snow angels in the MUD, I figured the experience of "behaving" in the Gold Mine (30 feet underground) was better left to her older siblings (ages 5 & 8).

Instead, Molly & I took a little hike around the property and settled on a bench where I took out my NEW Molly "BUSY BAG!" It was a HUGE hit!

Here were the contents:
* One sandwich sized Tupperware filled with stray lego pieces for her to build with
* One small (retractable) measuring tape (we even measured the circumference of a tree)
* One roll of stickers from the Dollar Tree (cost $1.00)
* One small "Gladware" bucket containing random beads & buttons
* Misc. brightly colored pipe cleaners from old craft kits (which we used to string the beads & buttons - great for fine motor skills!)
* A plastic wallet sized folder that I used to hide misc. pictures I cut out of magazines in the different pockets (pictures of flowers, birds, dogs, etc)
* A few stray toys I found in our junk drawer
* One "super cute" zipper pencil pouch I found at Wal-Mart (Carolina Pad & Paper Co) that I put crayons into with a few tiny note pads for coloring - the pencil pouch keeps crayon marks OFF of the other items & I stashed it in my purse for our lunch outing!

I zipped ALL of these surprise treasures in a collapsible lunch tote that I bought at the Dollar Tree for $1.00. She had fun opening & closing it as a stand alone activity!

Total Cost ~ $4.50 (lunch tote & stickers from The Dollar Tree + Carolina Pad Pencil Pouch from Wal-Mart)

One would think I had enough "stash" to keep her busy for HOURS ~ an entire plane ride perhaps ~ but in reality, my busy toddler was able to be entertained for exactly 45 minutes. A near record in her book!

I felt like I had won a "gold medal" when my task of "taming my toddler" outlasted my five year old's attention span of panning for gold!

Instead of the medal, I'll settle for the satisfaction of knowing we weren't ASKED TO LEAVE the Gold Mine (unlike our last excursion experience).

The Sad Sate of My Glove Compartment....a coming to terms, & a cute solution!

Ok moms, so the last time I left you I was telling you about my horrific drive home from Atlanta where my toddler (who turned 2 today) screamed 3 out of the 4 hours it took us to get home. It was awful. Well, somehow during a moment of peace, my 5 year old son (who has a fascination with the police and constantly reminds me NOT to speed ~ how kind of him!) asked me what would happen if we DID get pulled over. I told him the police would not be happy with me for breaking the speed limit and that he would ask me for my drivers license and registration card. He seemed happy enough with my response.

When we got home (and one HUGE headache later from said screaming toddler) I peeked in my glove box to make sure that my registration was in fact IN the car where I thought it was ~ I wouldn't want to be misleading my 5 year old that I was always following the traffic rules & regulations!

After digging and digging and MORE digging .... then uncovering an old candy wrapper, some crunched up oil change receipts and some other junk .... I finally DID happen upon my registration card (as I had suspected). It just started to bother me that it took me 10 minutes to find it when the glove compartment is only 12 inches wide by at most 8 inches deep! It was indeed a DISASTER.

It wasn't a value statement or a general sense of me "not caring" it was just someplace I rarely open unless I have to .... and when I do open it, I am generally in a HUGE hurry and just throw what I was looking for back in it haphazardly.

I wanted to give myself a fun reason to organize my small glove compartment disaster & I happened upon it in the least likely of all places .... the Target office supply aisle! I found this really fun, bright & colorful vinyl 13 pocket expanding file folder. I had used a more sturdy (cardboard) version to help my daughter organize her artwork a week or so ago. I had a feeling that this slimmer and more flexible version just MAY fit in my glove compartment to help me organize my chaos.

It Did! I was able to label the tabs as follows:
* Registration & Insurance
* Owners Manual
* Service History & Receipts
* Wheel Lock & Tire Warranty
* & First Aid Stuff ... I stuck some bandaids, Neo-to-Go (neosporin spray) and some tylenol in there .... just so I am BETTER PREPARED for that next AWFUL road trip :-)

Back to School Special!

The Purple Martin & Co. is offering a back to school savings of 10% + one free month of updates to your family handbook through August 30th!
Become a fan of our facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Charlotte-NC/The-Purple-Martin-Co/106671367396?ref=nf

AND register to follow our blog! You will receive 10% off of any handbook product / service rendered through August 30th PLUS one additional month of free updates (the standard package comes with 3 months of free updates)!

There is no better time than now to organize your family's critical inforamtion. Give us a call (704) 724-9108 (or email thepurplemartin@bellsouth.net).... we are here to help & simplify the back to school process!

Favorite Way To Fix the Travel DVD Dilemma!

Ok Moms ~ New "Stylish" way to fix the DVD Travel Dilemma! Favorite Product ~ Carolina Pad & Paper Co's JACKIE Laptop Case and Whimsical Flower Binder! (www.jackiemcfee.com) See photos (and read further) to check out a fabulous way to travel with your kids' DVD player AND their DVD's in one super cool case / binder any girl (young, tween AND teen) would be excited to carry around!

The Problem? How many of you are tired of asking your kids to bring their favorite DVDs in the car for a road trip only to find AFTER you are on the road that half of the cases they brought didn't contain an actual DVD? The problem is that the way DVD cases are designed, we have to actually OPEN the case to see if our kids put the DVD back where it beloged after the last time we viewed it. With my kids, the chances of this happening are slim to never.

Our other travel DVD issue is that our family has an 8 year old, 5 year old, & a toddler. My 8 year old can not be subjected to toddler appropriate shows for an 8 hour road trip to grandma's. The only solution was to lend her my portable DVD player to use in the back seat so she can watch "Mary Kate & Ashley" instead of our beloved purple dinosaur friend.

The Solution? A fashionable way for my 8 year old to travel with BOTH her favorite DVD's and the DVD player in ONE portable solution!

How'd We Do It?
1. Purchased the JACKIE (www.jackiemcfee.com) Laptop Case (with handles AND a detachable shoulder strap) at Wal-Mart for $19.99 + tax. (you can also shop Caroina Pad online at www.carolinapad.com where they currently have FREE shipping on orders of $30 or more!)

2. Purchased the JACKIE Accessories case in coordinating pattern to keep the cords contained in the laptop case (optional as the case does have a pocket for the laptop case & a separate section where you can store the cords.)

3. Purchased the Whimsical Flower 3 ring binder in matching color scheme for $4 at Wal-Mart.

4. Purchased Office Max Brand 3-hole punched clear CD / DVD sleeves.

5. Had my daughter select her favorite DVD's that she wants to keep for "travel" purposes and she put them in the sleeves.

6. Put DVD Cord, DVD Player, & New DVD Binder in the laptop case for easy travel!

The Result?
A Fabulous Way to have DVD's ready for "on the go!"
No more headache when it comes to "missing" DVDs because we have eliminated the DVD cases - less bulk too!
No more "where's my DVD cord!" when we arrive at Grandma's!
Less headache ~ Easier Travel ~ Economical Solution!