Back to School–Back on Track

By now, everyone is back to school and the after school activities have been pinned down for Fall. The craziness of the end of summer and beginning of school often sets the stage for a disorganized start to the new school year. Today we have guest blogger and mom of three, Rebekah Rosales, with some tips to help get families back on track.

Create a family calendar in a central area, like the kitchen, where everyone can write down their activities. Either the night before or in the morning, discuss everyone’s schedule. Establish school-day schedules for homework, TV, baths and bedtime and make sure your child is aware of those times.

If your routine for packing lunches and snacks isn’t working for you—try switching it up. Lunches do not have to be made in the morning. How about doing as much as you can the night before? Or maybe you are already doing night prep but it is making you unhappy because you’d rather get to sleep. Try switching to morning lunch making, just make sure to allot the proper amount of time. Get creative with easy, healthy ideas for school-day meals on websites like Pinterest. If you think your child’s lunchbox won’t make it through the school year, pick up a new one now, while all the back to school clearance sales are going on. Putting a surprise note or picture in your child’s lunchbox will reassure your child during their school day that they are loved. If your child is older, have them help pack their lunch so you don’t have to hear the dreaded, “I didn’t want that!” If possible, plan out your dinner meals for the week ahead of time. That way you are not trying to figure what everyone is going to eat when the kids are hungry and cranky. Now that you realize you are in the car driving kids around during typical dinner prep time, menu planning might be something to try. There are websites like Allrecipes.com that let you search for recipes that contain ingredients you have on hand.

Now that kids are underway with after school sports and classes, take not of what is working or not working for you, the kids or the whole family. How are your children coping with homework and other commitments? Use this as a guideline for winter activities. You can always add more activities as the school year goes along. Make sure to leave enough time for family down time and unstructured play.

Rebekah Rosales is the owner of Beach Cities Domestic Staffing, located in Los Angeles. Are you looking for a helping hand? Check them out at BeachCitiesDomesticStaffing.com and on Facebook.com/BeachCitiesDomesticStaffing

Guide To The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

I'm on CBS Los Angeles with my Guide To The Ronald Reagan Library. I encourage everyone to visit, the location and library are superb. There is something for everyone.

From The Archives: Will You Be My Valentine?

I originally wrote Will You Be My Valentine? For the now closed LA Moms Blog in February 2009. I revisited it in 2011. The kids are older and Valentine's Day brings up many of the same discussions. Chip is now in first grade...The grade I was in for a pivotal moment in my Valentine's Day life experience. It seems only appropriate we re-examine the topic. I have been talking to a lot of people this week about Valentine's policies. I have also been observing how Chip sees things and how I see things...And how I saw things when I was his age. It's interesting to have childhood memories that you know are trapped in the brain development of that age....And maybe colored by the experiences you have had in the decades since.

Now, dipping into the Traded My BMW for a Minivan archives: Will You Be My Valentine?

Election Day. Decisions. California.

Tuesday is Election Day. It is a presidential election which means higher turnout. I vote in every election, big or small. I think about all the people who came before me who fought so hard so that I could spin over to the polls in my minivan, vote, slap an “I voted” sticker on my shirt and get on with my day. It’s something I take very seriously. Voting in person is something I like to do. It just “feels” more official to me and I like to bring the kids so they can experience the process. My parents always brought me.

Here are my thoughts on the people and propositions on my ballot:

President of the United States: I could spend 4 years and a whole blog on this one. Suffice to say, California is a blue state so it doesn’t matter. Obama is going to get all 55 electoral votes.

United States Senator: Elizabeth Emken

The simple fact that incumbent Dianne Feinstein has refused to debate Elizabeth Emken is enough for me to endorse Emken. Politicians work for the people. If a politician is arrogant enough to decide their seat is locked up for them and they don’t need to allow for an exchange of ideas, questions from constituents and important issues to be heard from all angles, then they are NOT someone who should be representing anyone. Because they are clearly out of touch and only care about themselves. Dianne Feinstein is arrogant. The kiss of death in a politician. Elizabeth Emken is a down to earth, working mom. She has a son with severe autism and began a second career as VP for Government Relations at Autism Speaks. She is smart, talented and knows what challenges we face both here in CA and in the US. Visit Elizabeth Emken’s site.

United States Representative: Bill Bloomfield

I thought I had gotten away from Henry Waxman when I moved from his district a few years ago. Thanks to some redistricting, I’m facing the possibility of having Henry Waxman be my congressperson…Again. No. No thank you. Where do I start? How about the simple fact that the man doesn’t even live in LA? He has a house outside Washington for decades. If that isn’t arrogance and being out of touch with the people you represent, I don’t know what is. Bill Bloomfield is an Independent. That’s right, he isn’t beholden to any party or special interest. He rejects hyper-partisanship and believes we need to focus on solving our nation’s problems. Bill Bloomfield and I see things in much the same way. This guy is my kind of candidate. Someone who is willing to step up and get things done and leave name calling, labels and destructive politicking behind. For more info, visit BloomfieldForCongress.com

Member of The State Assembly: Craig Huey

I like Craig Huey. He is a kind and personable individual. When I walked up to him after a town hall meeting, he was open and wanted to talk even though it was after 9pm and less than 2 weeks before election day. I figured the guy was tired, but I had questions. Contrast this with the two times I attempted to speak with Al Muratsuchi, Craig Huey’s opponent. I tried to ask a question in a forum where Mr. Muratsuchi only called on older men. I was the only young female in the audience. I followed him out of the room and tried to ask him questions, he was dismissive. On a more recent occasion, I ran into him at a civic event. I questioned him about questionable budget votes he had made as a school board member and filings made by a state inspector who said Mr. Muratsuchi ordered him to hide evidence as a state prosecutor. Al Muratsuchi didn’t want to talk about any of it. I guess his record is embarrassing to him. He has blocked myself and others from his Facebook page. When I asked him, in person, why he wasn’t answering questions and why he was blocking voters from his page, he responded, “It’s run by volunteers.” It’s clear that guy doesn’t care and he is out of touch. He has run a dirty campaign against Craig Huey sending out dozens of mailers with lies. Lies that have led to court actions. It’s disappointing that this could have been a great campaign where constituents isssues and questions could have been addressed by both candidates. Only Mr. Huey cares to communicate with voters. Craig Huey is committed to ending the special interest influence in Sacramento and bringing fiscal responsibility back into the vocabulary of our state. With a successful business career and track record as a job creator and business owner in Los Angeles, Craig Huey is uniquely qualified to serve all of us.

Los Angeles District Attorney: Alan Jackson

I don’t have a strong preference here as I believe Jackie Lacey to be a strong candidate. However, I think Alan Jackson has the edge. I am particularly impressed with his resume having spend five years as a prosecutor in the Hardcore Gang Division.

State Measures – ALL props and measures are now covered below. Thank you for your patience as I updated throughout the past couple of days.

Prop 30: No

Governor Brown is pushing Prop 30 hoping Californians believe it is the answer to our public education problems. The worst part of Prop 30 is there is absolutely no guarantee any money will get to schools. It is a “backfill” bill that is set up to “fill” in all the debt that Sacramento has created. They are holding our kids hostage as a means to solve their overspending and mishandling of the state’s funds. A response of “what about the trigger cuts?!” is what we often hear. The “trigger cuts” are cuts that are currently set up to go into effect for the state school budget if Prop 30 does not pass. The legislature can meet to cancel the trigger cuts. They had trigger cuts in place last year that they canceled when the Facebook IPO yielded less revenue than predicted. These trigger cuts that Governor Brown is threatening us with do not have to take effect. Beyond that, the CA Teacher’s Union, the most powerful union in the state will not stand for the cuts to their employees. The sales tax hike provision in prop 30 would make California’s sales tax the highest in the nation. Sales tax affects the poor disproportionately. It is absolutely imperative that we hold Sacramento responsible for cleaning up their own mess. Stop catering to special interests, make cuts in other areas and stand up to powerful lobbies. As a parent of children in CA public schools, I say enough is enough! NO on Prop 30!

Prop 31: No

Prop 32: Yes

Prohibits corporations and unions from taking money from worker’s paychecks for political fundraising without consent. I attended a meeting with Gloria Romero, the leader of Prop 32, speaking and taking questions from the audience. Yes on 32 to stop union interests in Sacramento is a good start to get CA back working for the people and not the special interests. As it is now, our politicians are employees of public labor unions. CA Teacher's Union has put $22 million into fighting prop 32. Can you just imagine what that money could do for the schools? Instead, they are fighting streamlining the process of getting teachers who are child molesters out of school districts. The CA Teacher's Union is the most powerful union in CA. It has more money than Big-oil and Big-Pharma. The union gets $300 million in dues from teachers...Without their choice of giving it or not. Then the union, run by thugs does everything they can to protect teachers OVER protecting students. You can't blame them, really, they are paid very highly to do their job. So a YES on 32 gets us to level the playing field of special interests owning the political process. Passing Prop 32 also means that contractors will not be able to donate to the political campaigns of politicians who approve their contracts. What a no brainer! Here is a link to a brief video supporting Yes on 32 and here is a link to Make a Change for California which has a really brief explanation on the main page about the Teachers Union putting politics ahead of students.

Prop 33: Yes

Prop 34: No

I feel very strongly that we need to keep the death penalty. We need to keep murderers and child rapists on death row. In my previous post on the sentencing of the murderer of Jamiel Shaw, I wrote of the irony that the man was given the death penalty on Friday and this Tuesday may no longer have that sentence. Jamiel Shaw was murdered by an illegal alien gang member because he carried a spider-man backpack. For everyone who has had their lives and their families torn apart…Let’s honor the living victims and their loved ones by keeping the death penalty in California.

Prop 35: Yes

I attended a meeting last week with the authors of Prop 35. It was one of the most intense experiences I’ve had in long time. Victims of human trafficking spoke to us about what happened to them and what they have been through. Parents of a victim of human trafficking, who, due to the twisted nature of our system, sits in prison, spoke to us about what their family has endured. It may seem like something that doesn’t involve us. Unfortunately it does, there are victims all around us, from families just like ours. In our state, many vulnerable women and children are held against their will and forced to sell their bodies. The traffickers often make $700,000 per year. Trafficking drugs requires an ongoing flow of narcotics. You can sell a human being over and over. The victims of human trafficking are girls as young as 12. The FBI has identified San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego as high intensity sex trafficking areas. Shockingly, CA is weak on laws to protect the victims. A yes vote on Prop 35 increases prison terms for human traffickers, requires traffickers to register as sex offenders, requires sex offenders to disclose their internet accounts and increases fines to pay for victims’ services.

Prop 36: No

Prop 37: No

This is very deceptive and written by a trial lawyer. Prop 37 authorizes shakedown lawsuits against farmers and grocers. If this measure passes, it means more government bureaucracy, which means increased costs for food. And who pays that? The consumer. The consumer bears the burden of the increased costs. The reality is that genetically modified foods are sometimes preferable to food that has been treated with pesticides. It is better to allow the consumer to dictate what they want and allow the marketplace to cater to customer demands. The analysis is that the average household grocery bill will increase by $400/year if this is passed.

Prop 38: No

Also knowns as “Molly Munger’s Intitiative”, Prop 38 is a bad choice for California. The income tax increases affect anyone earning over $7,000/year. That is pretty much anyone who works. If you earn more than $17,000/year, the initiative raises your rates by as much as 21%. And that is on top of federal income tax. The sales tax increase affects everyone who buys things. To top it off, the tax increases would be in place for twelve years…Even if the economy improves…Or gets worse. Why anyone would vote to lock ourselves into a revenue burden like that is unfathomable. The tax hikes also target small businesses, which is the heart of the economy. This will cause businesses to close or flee California along with the jobs. Prop 38 also does nothing to help higher education or any level of education in the first budget cycle. Like Prop 30, Prop 38 does nothing to address what is wrong with California. We need to make Sacramento accountable to the people to fix the budget and get their priorities straight. Taxing every one of us will only cause more economic distress and is throwing good money after bad. Fix the system, don’t enslave California citizens for the errors of our politicians! No on Prop 38!

Prop 39: No

Increased taxes on businesses mean increased taxes for the consumer. It also lead to lost jobs for California. Businesses don’t just absorb tax increases, it’s basic math and commonsense about how the world works. Californians are already the highest taxed people in the country. We cannot add to our burden.

Prop 40: No

Los Angeles County Measures

Measure A (Advisory Vote Only): I do not feel I know enough to say

Measure B: No

The Adult Entertainment Industry is already the most regulated in the state. Porn actors take blood tests every 14 days. The industry has proven it can regulate itself. A no vote is a must in order to keep the porn industry from going underground and therefore putting more people at risk. This would also cause a loss of jobs and revenue to Los Angeles when we have already experienced the flight of mainstream entertainment. There are thousands of regular people who work in the porn industry one day and mainstream another, just doing technical jobs like gaffers, grips, caterers. Why we would pass a measure that would cause lives to be endangered and jobs and revenue to be lost is just stupid. No on B!

Measure J: No

Elmo, Sesame Street and me

There are only a few things I’ll drop everything for. Meeting Elmo is one of them. Sesame Street is my show from my childhood. These kids today have way too much choice when it comes to tv shows. Chip and Lulu? Sure, they like Sesame Street…But not like I like Sesame Street. So the e-mail came in saying that Elmo would be hanging in an hip restaurant inside a hip Hollywood hotel and “would you like to interview him? Oh, and feel free to bring your kids.” Here is where I need to explain the complete awesomeness of this invitation. Me and Elmo, one on one and the kids can come too. Back when I was in the Sesame Street demographic, living outside Boston, the closest I ever got to this was when the human Sesame Street characters would make public appearances at places like malls. For example, I got to see Gordon at The Northshore Shopping Center in Peabody, MA. I was in the front row with my younger brother and Gordon came up and asked him a question. My brother froze. I whispered the answer and he said it. I spoke to Gordon via my brother while sitting on the floor of a mall in the 1970’s with hundreds of other kids. Now, a personal invitation to meet with Elmo. If I could have told my six year old self to just hold on…

I’ve had some great opportunities with Sesame Street. In honor of the 40th Anniversary in 2009, I was invited to meet with Caroll Spinney who plays Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird and Fran Brill who plays Zoe and Prairie Dawn. Henson Studios, founded by Jim Henson, who created the Muppets has invited me on several occasions and I’ve had the opportunity to meet two of Jim’s five kids, Lisa and Brian. They were both amazing to meet and told fun stories of growing up going to Sesame Street. Imagine that. How totally cool.

A couple of days ago, I picked the kids up straight from school and pointed the minivan towards Hollywood. It was kind of funny when we walked into the restaurant and I asked the girl at the host stand if she knew where Elmo was. She looked at me confused. I said, “red, puppet. Elmo?” A nice man sitting nearby said, “He’s in there.” And pointed to a private dining room. How awesome! One of his people stepped out and showed us in. There we were, sitting with Elmo talking about the latest happenings on Sesame Street. Elmo was fun, enthusiastic and being that he is 3 1/2, he got along especially well with Lulu. In fact, Lulu kind of took over the interview! Here is what we learned: The 43rd season of Sesame Street premieres today on PBS. One of the biggest changes this season has to do with “Elmo’s World” which has been the show closing segment. This season kicks off “Elmo The Musical,” which is replacing “Elmo’s World” after 13

Elmo The Musical new for the 43rd season of Sesame Street

years. In each skit, Elmo will use his imagination to make math musical - singing, dancing and taking kids along with him on fun-filled interactive adventures. Some of the adventures coming up this season include Elmo imagining himself in “Sea Captain the Musical,” “Mountain Climber the Musical,” “Prince Elmo the Musical” and “President the Musical.” The math component builds on the STEAM curriculum that Sesame Street integrated into the show last season. STEAM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math and all figures into getting preschoolers to think artistically and critically. I personally think this is really great. Critical thinking is so important and something I have felt to be lacking in education.

As usual, there will be many celebrities this season, including Charlize Theron, Maya Rudolph, Steve Carell and Don Cheadle. Elmo told me that he is really excited that the band Train and rapper Common will be visiting Sesame Street this season too. There will also be muppet spoofs giving nods to popular shows. We can look forward to “Birdwalk Empire” and “Upside Downtown Abbey.”

Sesame Street VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Elmo gave Chip and Lulu some goodies from the Sesame Street Store. The store is a great place to look for Sesame merchandise that you don’t really see anywhere else. There are plenty of things for grown ups, the iPad cases, watches, reusable tote bags and coffee mugs are some of my favorites.

 

ScholarShare–California’s 529 College Savings Plan

Saving for college can seem insurmountable, especially if you have multiple children. I get it. In fact, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that college tuition rose 439% between 1985 and 2005. Tuition for my college has more than doubled since I graduated…If that trend continues, it should cost roughly 5 times more for my kids to attend my dear alma mater. Nowadays, it feels like saving for anything is tough to do. I know. Although it “feels” easier to just put college savings “off”, I’m here to tell you that it’s not easiest in the long run. Here is why: The earlier you start saving for college, the more time the money has to grow. Time is your friend when it comes to investing. There are various ways to save for college and I recommend you do your homework to find out what method is best for you and your family. In this post, I’m going to let you know about California’s 529 College Savings Plan, ScholarShare, managed by TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. There have been a number of changes to the plan making it more attractive than in past years. If you looked into the California 529 in the past, I recommend you give it a second look. For those who are unfamiliar with the state 529 plans, you are allowed to participate in any state’s plan. Since I have readers from all over the country, I’m pleased to be writing about something in which all of you can participate.

September is College Savings Month and the perfect time to start contribution to a 529. One of the biggest benefits of using a 529 plan is that all the money (contributions and earnings) is tax free when withdrawn to pay for qualified education expenses. The Scholarshare website, ScholarShare.com has lots of information about how their plan operates, how to plan for college savings and how to open an account. Features of ScholarShare that I like are: the choice of nineteen investment portfolios for your account, accounts can be opened with as little as $25 and ongoing contributions can be as low as $25 (that’s less than a dollar per day!), low plan fees which means your account gets to keep more of your money, extensive customer service support online, by telephone and in three office locations in California. I love a mobile app! ScholarShare has an Android App called Saving4College and there is one for iPhone coming soon. The recent changes that have been made to the ScholarShare program have raised their Morningstar rating from “average” to “above average”.

How about some free money to kick off your college savings efforts? In celebration of College Savings Month, ScholarShare is running a Facebook contest two winners will receive $1,529 to open a new ScholarShare account or contribute to an existing one.  Just “LIKE” their page and then share your college savings story – could be about yourself, saving for your child’s education, savings tips you might have, anything about saving. Simply go to ScholarShare’s Facebook page and click on the Share Your Story Tab to enter. Entries must be submitted by 9/26/12.

Some other great aspects of saving for higher education via a 529 plan are: If your child receives a scholarship, you can withdraw an amount equal to the scholarship amount without penalty or tax. Account funds can be used for educational expenses other than tuition such as books, room & board, supplies and equipment. Account funds can be transferred to be used for educational expenses of other family members. An account is owned by the person who opened it, the beneficiary is not the account owner, therefore, allowing the owner to have control of the account. Only thirteen states do not give taxpayers a deduction for contributing to a 529 plan. Unfortunately, California is one of them. I really wish California would add this incentive to encourage college savings. Maybe if enough of us trying to save for college bring this to the attention of our state legislators, it will get on their agenda. I have already contacted my representatives in Sacramento and I hope my readers in CA will do the same!

If I leave you with nothing else about college savings after you read this post, let it be this: Start saving, even a little bit, but start saving now!

Disclosure: I attended a dinner with ScholarShare and TIAA-CREF where I learned more about The California 529 Plan. I am being compensated for this post. The content is my own.

Getting to Learn All About Teacher

In nursery school, we didn’t have official room parents and I frequently found myself stepping up to handle Christmas and end of year class gifts. Being someone who tries to give relevant and useful gifts, I tended to ask the teachers and aides what their favorite stores and restaurants were. We would put together gift bags with some swag and give everyone gift cards to a few of their favorite places.

Early in my teacher gifting career, I even asked at the school office as to whether they had a lists of the teachers “favorite things” or “wish list”. The nursery school director said, “that would be a great idea! But, no, we don’t.” Recently, I read a post over at my friend Jen’s blog, Tiny Oranges, about putting together a questionnaire for your child’s teacher to fill out at the beginning of each school year. What a great idea! With all the events that may come up, holidays and teacher appreciation day come to mind, it makes life easier to just refer to the questionnaire. If you have a room parent, they could give it to the teacher and then share it with all the parents. Just think, we could save so many teachers the pain of receiving ANOTHER red ceramic apple that says “#1 Teacher” on it and, instead, get them a gift card to their favorite sporting goods store. Let’s band together to share the questionnaire! I wrote my own questionnaire that I will give to Lulu’s nursery school teacher. Feel free to use it for your kids’ teachers. Have a great school year!