BABIES! documents the first year of life of four different babies in four different locations around the world. Check out the trailer and see what it's all about:

As part of my spring cleaning this week I've just finished the first part of getting two pair of Birks ready for Spring! Two pair down. Two to go. Woohoo!! That means - No More Socks!!! Yeah!!!

Yes, spring appears to be settling in here in Virginia and it will be time to put socks away for good - at least for me. Comfort and Joy will still have to wear tennis shoes to school but my toes are painted [Pink Flamenco, thank you very much] and I'm ready to ditch the socks until the weather turns cold in the Fall.

And Birks are my go-t0 daily shoe. They are not only comfortable but they offer great support. I got my first pair of Birks when I had a pinched nerve in my foot and had to wear custom orthotics. I found that the only shoe that offered the same relief as my orthotic was Birkenstock. So Birks became my dress shoe and I still have my first pair. Sure they have new trends and a new footbed but the straps [which are the expensive part] are the same ones I bought in 1997!

So how do you clean your Birks?
1. Need to freshen up the footbed? For a quick footbed clean just dampen a washcloth and wipe out the dirt. Rinse the washcloth over and over until the water runs clean. Let air dry. The leather will feel stiff when you put it back on but it'll get better once your body heats it back up. I promise.

2. Does your footbed need some serious maintenance? For a major footbed cleaning you'll want a nail brush, a wash cloth and the Birkenstock footbed cleaner or some diluted baby soap [hand soap might work, too]. I dampen the footbed to get any dried dirt or grass out of the way then take your dampened nail brush and go to it. You want to loosen the dirt but not grind it in - so rinse the brush repeatedly. After a few minutes I use the washcloth to wipe out the residue until the water runs clean. * I've only used Birkenstock's footbed cleaner but it appears to just be a diluted soap which doesn't foam very much which is why I think baby shampoo might be a good substitute.

3. Keep your cork in good shape and it will treat you right! The cork is what keeps the shoe stable but as we walk and live the covering wears off. I have the 'official' cork repair and it's nothing but a pot of glue with a great brush attachment. So after you've cleaned your footbeds and let your shoes dry be sure to get some glue and seal the corks of your Birks. Not only will your shoes look brand new again but they'll have more support and continue to give you years and years of wear.

The actual Birkenstock cleaning kit also includes nubuck and seude cleaners and leather protection sprays. I've never actually used these. I always use the footbed cleaner and cork sealant though and my shoes are going strong after years and years of daily wear which is a perfectly Cool Idea!

Is there anything cuter than a baby? Or more likely to make you smile? Now, just in time for Mother's Day, Focus Features is releasing a film that documents the first year of four babies in four different parts of the world. Here's a sneak peak at the little one from Namibia.

Ponijao lives in Namibia with her family, including her parents and eight older brothers and sisters. Ponijao’s family is part of the Himba tribe, and lives in a small village with other families, following traditions including speaking their own (Himba) language. The men in the Himba tribe are generally off looking after the cattle and searching for grass, so Ponijao is most often with her mother and other female relatives; she plays, eats, and is bathed through the traditional method of mixing concrete red ochre with oil. Ponijao’s favorite things to do are dance and play with other children in the tribe.



Over the next few weeks I'll have more information to share about the other kids that are part of BABIES! I hope you'll find it interesting and as captivating as I have.

Free magazines create piles in the house. It's a fact. Yes, I do read them as fast as I can and I have some that I pass on to friends. [Hi, Leanne!] But it's a fact that there are only so many hours in a day and right now I have a growing pile of magazines.

I hear some of you say - just chuck them. Sure, I could do that. But there is a method to my madness. Some of them I want to keep for Discovery collaging. I didn't really get into this when I took Lani's class in January but I want to delve into it deeper later so I'm holding onto some magazines for that reason.

So in the interest of Spring Cleaning I'm turning to my magazine piles today. I found a great box and I've gone through the living room, the hallway, the dining room and the kitchen looking in all the places where piles of mail sometimes lurk to make sure that I found all of the magazines. Now I have a box full of magazines. A very full box of magazines.

I'll keep going through them and reading the articles - and cutting out the great coupons - but the ones that I'll be keeping are now in a manageable and tidy place. Whew!

The coupons.com bar is reset for April. Sadly, I don't see a reprise of the $3/1 Huggies coupon but if you need to restock on cereal or yogurt I think you're in luck. Also, there are some great coupons for holiday related cookie dough.

Hop on over to the coupons.com bar and print them now before they're gone!!

Yep, it's that time. Some of you might be on Spring Break this week. We're on break next week so there's some attempt to get cleaning done this week while Comfort and Joy are still in school.

If you haven't found Totally Together Journal, put together by Stephanie O'Dea of A Year of Slowcooking fame, then you need to hop on over and check it out. Better yet sign up for the daily emails because she does a really nice job of posting a daily reminder of things you can get done around the house everyday without driving yourself nuts. Truly, I'm not keeping up with her but I like the way she thinks and they are good reminders.

Yesterday, I did cleaned out my inbox. Usually I'm a clean as I go person - this goes for all of my cleaning and especially my inbox - but I've gotten behind lately. This is an easy thing to take care of while you're sitting online, too.

Just sort your inbox by name and go through it to see if there are things you can go ahead and delete or move to folders. I usually max out the number of folders that my Yahoo mail will give me so I consolidate them every few months as well.

In a matter of 15 minutes I deleted 250 emails and that's only from a few months of laziness and truly just a couple of weeks of being behind. If you haven't cleaned your inbox in a while it might take a bit longer. Or not. Depends on how worried you are about being careful.

So as you're cleaning the house - fridge, dusting, bathrooms, floors, etc. - let's not forget about the places that we spend time in these days. Our email inboxes. Make them efficient and tidy and they'll work better for you. Well, I think so and for me that's a Cool Idea.

Have you filled out your U.S. Census form and mailed it back yet? If not, take a few minutes to do it this week before you a) forget or b) lose the form.

Yep, that's usually my modus operandi. I open important documents and then put them someplace so Comfort and Joy can't 'help' me with them then I have to move them for some reason or I forget what I did with them.

This time instead of just looking at it for another week or two I filled it out and walked it to the mailbox. I'm sure you've already done the same thing. Right? If not, take the 10 minutes and do it now. It's a Cool Idea and you help your community get the services that it needs.

The first good news is that the Cellfire coupons are reset. Actually, they reset last week so hop on over to the right hand sidebar to download the ones you want.

Also, there's now Cellfire service for Blackberry's. Just got to www.cellfire.com and download the application and you can download the coupons to your wireless device. Nifty!!

And another great piece of info... Cellfire coupons can now be used at Fred Myers stores! So if you're a Fred Myer shopper in the Northwest US hop over to the righthand sidebar and set up an account. It's super easy to download the coupons directly to your store loyalty card and you don't have to worry about making sure you keep up with your coupons again!!

Here's what's available:
Pillsbury Italian Meal Brd Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury(r) Italian Meal Breads
(Includes any Loaves, Breadsticks, Dinner Rolls, and Pizza Crust).

Betty Crocker Cookie Mix Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy any flavor 17.5 OZ. OR LARGER Betty Crocker(r)
Cookie Mix.

Pillsbury Frozen Grands! Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy any TWO Frozen Pillsbury(r) Grands!(r) Biscuits,
Cinnamon Rolls, OR Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clustrs Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley(r) Granola Nut
Clusters.

Betty Crocker Potatoes Save $.40
Save $.40 when you buy any flavor Box or Pouch Betty Crocker(r) Potatoes
(Except Potato Buds(r)).

Green Giant(r) vege's Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy TWO any variety Green Giant(r) Frozen Boxed
Vegetables.

Nature Valley Granola Bars Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor/variety Nature Valley(r)
Granola Bars.

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel(r) Save $.55
Save $0.55 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury(r) Toaster Strudel(r)
Pastries.

Romano's Mac Grill kit Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Romano's Macaroni Grill(r) Restaurant
Favorites(r) Dinner Kit.
Betty CrockerFruit Snacks Save $.50

Save $0.50 when you buy TWO BOXES Betty Crocker(r) Fruit by the Foot(r),
Fruit Gushers(r), Fruit Roll-Ups(r) OR Fruit Roll-Ups(r) Fruit
Stickerz(r) Fruit Flavored Snacks.

Yoplait(r) Delights(tm) Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Yoplait(r) Delights Yogurt Multipack.

Yoplait(r) 32oz Save $.55
Save $.55 when you buy any flavor 32 OZ. Yoplait(r) Yogurt.

Honey Nut Cheerios Save $.55
Save $0.55 when you buy ONE BOX Honey Nut Cheerios(r) cereal.

Select Cheerios(r) Save $.75
Save $.75 when you buy ONE BOX cereal listed- Frosted Cheerios(r), Apple
Cinnamon Cheerios(r), Banana Nut Cheerios(r), Fruity Cheerios(r),
Chocolate Cheerios(r)

Yoplait Kids Zone Save $.80
Save $0.80 when you buy TWO any flavor Yoplait(r) products listed: -
Yoplait(r) Go-GURT(r) Yogurt - Yoplait(r) Trix(r) Multipack Yogurt.

Pillsbury Holiday Cookies Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury(r) Refrigerated Holiday
Cookies

Pillsbury Cookie Dough Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy TWO PACKAGES any variety Pillsbury(r)
Refrigerated Cookie Dough.

Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy TWO any flavor Betty Crocker(r) Box Supreme
Brownie Mixes.

Safeway Only

Betty CrockerCookie Mix/Frosting Save $1
Save $1.00 on TWO when you buy any flavor 17.5 OZ OR LARGER Betty
Crocker(r) Cookie Mix AND ONE TUB any flavor/variety Betty Crocker(r)
Frosting.


Betty Crocker Warm Delights Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE any flavor Betty Crocker(r) Warm Delights(r)
Bowls OR Betty Crocker(r) Warm Delights(r) Minis Bowls.

Bisquick(r) Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy 20 OZ. OR LARGER Original Bisquick(r) OR
Bisquick Heart Smart(r) Baking Mix, OR 10.6 OZ. Bisquick(r) Shake n
Pour(r) Pancake Mix


Kroger AND ShopRite Only

Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy any flavor Betty Crocker(r) Box Supreme Brownie
Mixes.

Betty Crocker Warm Delights Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy ONE any flavor Betty Crocker(r) Warm Delights(r)
Bowls OR Betty Crocker(r) Warm Delights(r) Minis Bowls.



ShopRite Only

Fur Fighter Refills Save $1
Save $1 off Scotch Fur Fighter Refills for Upholstery.


Scotch Fur Fighter Save $4
Save $4 on a Scotch(tm) Fur Fighter(tm) Hair Remover Starter Kit.



Safeway, King Soopers, Fry's, QFC, Ralphs, Smith's ONLY

Star Olive Oil Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy ANY Star Olive Oil, 17oz or larger.

Need a break in the kitchen at the end of the week? Or just need to restock your Restaurant.com account? Either way today's a great day to hop on over [click the picture above to link directly] and check out what's available because Restaurant.com is offering all their products at 80%. Personally, I love getting the $25 certificates for $2! And you can do just that until March 31st using discount code COOK.

Most certificates are good for a year but be sure to read the details for each location, as they may differ. So, treat yourself or someone else to dinner out using this deal and it'll cost you much less than usual. And that's definitely a Cool Idea!

Yesterday I looked at how much it costs me to make lunches for Comfort and Joy to take to school each day. I spend $2.53 for two lunches each day which is significantly less than the $3.43 which is the national average that parents spend on the lunches with which they send their kids to school.

Would it sometimes be easier to send $2 to school and let them eat with their class? Sure. And sometimes they do. Joy eats with her class once a week as part of her development plan. Comfort probably buys lunch once a month just for fun.

One of the reasons I make their lunches is that I can control what they are going to eat and make sure that it has some nutritional value. I can say that our school does a good job of making nice food for the kids and it starts out as real ingredients and not as food in frozen compartments but it's still institutional food. Also, we try to drink organic milk and juice when possible and that's not an option at school.

It's important to pay attention to the food our children eat at school. Slow Foods USA has information about school food nutrition and a way to write to your elected officials if you're interested in making your voice heard. If you're looking for menus and recipes to help build your kids lunch hop on over to The Lunch Box. And if you want a very illuminating view of school lunch from the inside out hop on over to Fed Up with School Lunch which is a blog being done by a school teacher who is eating what her high school kids eat every day and writing about it.

We've all heard that making sure that tummies are full is the first step to being able to fill up brains but I don't think we want to fill their tummies with just anything. Let's make sure that we're giving them a good start and helping them to build good habits. Personally, I think that's a really Cool Idea!