The SAT that our teens take today isn’t like the one we took years ago. 

Did you know that in March 2005, the SAT became a longer, more challenging, and a lot different? The SAT is now 3 hours and 45 minutes long. What was known as the Verbal Section has been renamed Critical Reading and the Analogies questions have been eliminated and replaced with Short Reading Passages.

An SAT Writing Section has been added, which contains multiple-choice grammar questions and a 25-minute written essay. Finally, the Math Section has been expanded to include three years of high school math — in other words, it now includes harder questions in the area of algebra II.

For your teen, taking the SAT is a huge, life molding event.  It marks the beginning of a countdown to your child’s high school graduation and has us, parents, thinking seriously sending our teens off to college.

Helping our teens prepare for the SAT is crucial!  It is important to not leave this preparation solely in the hands of your child’s school.  It is important to arm your child with other materials that help them gain the test taking skills that will propel them to higher SAT test scores.

Here is a very popular and proven guide to help your teen obtain a higher SAT Scores.  The book is filled with exercises, drills, and full-length sample exams that create a true-to-life testing experience: http://parentingmyteen.com/SAT-Preparation.HTML
Here’s to helping your teen do his/her very best!

Aurelia Williams
Parenting My Teen
http://www.parentingmyteen.com

Have you Hugged your Teen Today?

I don’t think I’ve every participated in a Tuesday Toot so I decided to give it a try.  Just a few Toots from me

1. I’ve managed to work closely with Isreal (my 16yo Junior) today on creating her Spreadsheet of colleges that she wants to apply too. I am so excited that she is attacking this with such vigor and excitement and my Toot re: this is that I am taking a Step BACK and allowing my teen to grow, choose her potential colleges and remain totally non-judgemental!!
2. My Parenting My Teen site is looking GREAT!! Tricia, my VAhas been working her buns off adding content to the site and I wouldn’t be happier with the progress.
3. I met with the teachers and staff at Isaac school and talked about the utter disgust displeasure I feel towards the way things were handled this year but I did it very professionally, eloquently and backed it up with studies that I pulled off of the web.

So I want to see your Toots!  Leave a comment and please link me to your Toots

Keeping an organized home isn’t always easy.  One of the roadblocks that stands in the way of getting organized is the feeling of being overwhelmed. Have you ever walked into your home and let out a *sigh* as you look at the clutter?  Many moms simply feel overwhelmed and this feeling is understandable since many of us lead very busy lives.

Here are some tips to help you for when you feel overwhelmed or stressed out when it comes to getting organized.

1 - When you’re feeling overwhelmed take a moment to stop and brainstorm solutions to the problem. If you are staring at a cluttered desk, take a moment to jot down things that you could use to lessen the clutter (in boxes, bins, foldere..etc)

2 -  Break your organizing projects down into small steps.  For example, instead of trying to organize the kitchen in one large swoop, just choose a cabinet a day to organize.

3 - Get some help.  Recruit your spouse, friends, older children, etc. to help you come up some organizing projects.

P.S. Need more organizing ideas?  Visit: http://www.reallifesolutions.net/getorganized.HTML

The Internet is a great place to gather information and many children use the internet for both school work and pleasure (smile). As parents, we need to look at the internet as if it were a large community and in any given community there are people, places and things that you really need to be mindful of and careful around. Also as parents, we need to be aware of what are children are doing while online. It is important to talk to your child about online predators, certain websites and chat rooms.

By alerting our children to the dangers that lurk on the internet and teaching them how to avoid them, they can take advantage of all the positive aspects of the Internet while avoiding most of its pitfalls.

Here are some safety tips to consider as you guide your children online:

• Create a list of Internet rules with your child. You should include the kinds of sites that are off limits, Internet hours, and guidelines for communicating with others online, including in chat rooms and instant messenger.

• Teach your child to never to give out personal information without your permission when using e-mail, chat rooms, or instant messaging, filling out registration forms and personal profiles, and entering online contests.

• Investigate Internet Monitoring/Parental Control Software. This is software that can be safely installed on your pc that will monitor the sites that are visited and can even keep a log of what is typed into e-mail, search engines and instant messenger.

• Make sure your child checks with you before making financial transactions online, including ordering, buying, or selling items.

Take Care,
Aurelia Williams

P.S. If you want information on a good internet monitoring software that is inexpensive and easy to use, then please check out the link below.
http://www.reallifesolutions.net/pc_tattletale.HTML

What an awesome weekend!  I  took the weekend off and only worked for 30-45minutes on Sunday. 

I got to spend some AWESOME time with the family, we had a major house cleaning party on Saturday morning and then hung out the entire day (eating, mall walking, movie watching) then did nothing on Sunday but stay in our Jammies.

Here we are on Monday and its time to get back to the “Real World”  As always, the 1st step I take in organizing my week is to carve  some time out to get cozy with my BlackBerry on Sunday evenings and review the upcoming week and add in my appointments as needed.  I’m an lean mean organizing machine and I find that if I take a look at EACH day of the upcoming week and make sure to move items around so that they aren’t all piled up on one day — it makes my week much more manageable.  Also, the fact that I love to outsource (both at home and within my online businesses) makes it great.

On my list of things to accomplish this week are:

1. Monday - Re-connect with my awesome VA and be sure that we are on the same page.  She emails me each Friday with her list of things that she has completed and I always use Mondays to reconnect with her and check my list - and be sure that she has room for me (smile).   
2. Monday - Have you seen the new look at Parenting My Teen? Well a new show airs today and I will be sure to send an email out to my list letting them know they  I have some “ear candy” for for them .  
3. Monday - 1:30 meeting at Isaac’s school to discuss my disgust concerns about the overloading of work on my child.     
4. Tuesday - Hit the grocery store (I love to grocery shop)  and I shop every OR every other Tuesday.  I created my meal planon Saturday and I already have all the fixins for this week but I make a weekly Tuesday trip to the grocery store using the coupons and ideas I get out of the Sunday paper.
5. Wednesday - I’ve declared Wednesdays content and guest blog days.  I will spent time adding content to my Real Life Solutions site and posting to all of the awesome guest blogs that I belong to. 
6. Thursday - Light day for me  but I need to schedule my Mamogram  <— very important
7. Thursday - Book my flight to Florida for the birth of my Grandson.  Shayna only has 40 days to do until her due date but the Dr. is thinking that she will go a few weeks early.
8. Friday - Add emails to my auto responder, brainstorm ideas for my awesome affiliates (My VA is coming to my rescue here - AGAIN).

Daily:

1. Dont go to be bed mad or with a dirty kitchen
2. Wipe the bathroom sinks down with a Clorox Wipe before leaving out of the house each morning
3. Pick Isreal up from Softball Practice
4. Smile, Meditate and Pray

Every Tuesday & Wednesday and Friday

1. Get Isaac off to tutoring (Darn Standardized testing!!)

Every  Monday & Thursday

1. Get Isaac off to Tae Kwon Do (uhmm my kid is busier than I am this week)

Here is our Meal Plan for this Week:

Monday:  BBQ Chicken Wings, Scalloped potatoes, Turnip Greens & Corn Bread.

Tuesday: Meatball Subs (topped with sreddedd cheese) Salad

Wednesday:  Leftover BBQ Wings (From Mondays meal) rice and Corn

Thursday:  Breakfast for Dinner

Friday: Always our order out night

Sautrday:  Chili dogs, Salad

Sunday:  Salmon, Rice, Collard Greats & Salad

All of the recipes are quick, easy and fun

People are busy, kids and parents included. Make sure there is a block of time each day (with few exceptions) where the family comes together. This means work, chore and activity schedules should be coordinated for maximum family benefit.

Invest in a family calendar, if you don’t already have one, so everyone can write down his or her commitments and time can be set aside together. Whether it’s sharing a meal, playing a game or even enjoying a favorite T.V. program, make sure there is family time. Getting kids involved in extra-curricular activities has positive benefit, but over-scheduling children to the detriment of family time benefits no one.

In addition to sharing time altogether, it’s also great to set aside a bit of alone time with each of your kids

This doesn’t have to happen every day, but your kids need time to be able to regularly communicate with their parents privately. Private talks shouldn’t just be reserved for when there is a problem or issue that needs to be discussed. Set a schedule with your spouse or talk to a family member or friend that will give you time with your kids on a regular basis.

Adopt a Healthy Family Lifestyle:  In today’s hectic world, it’s sometimes easy to let healthy choices and time for an active lifestyle to go out the window. If you want a healthy outlook to dominate your children’s lives, it has to start with you. If you want healthy kids, you have to be a healthy parent.

Talk to your child about the benefits of exercise and talk about healthy food choices. You don’t have to be marathon runners or forbid any special treats completely, but add more healthy items to your regular day.

Here are some ideas to adopt a more healthy lifestyle:

• Do your meal-planning a week in advance and purchase all the ingredients you need. If you don’t plan ahead, you’re more likely to choose more fast-food options.

• Make meal time fun and get kids involved in the preparation.

• Leave a fruit bowl out where kids can help themselves.

• Prepare a veggie plate with cut vegetables that is readily accessible in the refrigerator at all times.

• Limit the number of times you eat out or take out. If you do need to choose prepared foods, make more healthy choices. If a restaurant you frequent doesn’t provide healthy choices, go elsewhere.

A few times a week, make your family-time a physical activity. What you’ll do will depend on your parents ages and interests, but you might try:

• Go for a nature walk
• Visit a local aquarium, zoo or other attraction that requires walking.
• Enjoy a game of tennis, golf or even bowling. Choose activities the kids like. If it keeps them off the coach, it’s probably a good thing.
• Get family chores done. Wash the car together, vacuum, but make it fun with great conversation and play.
• Encourage your children to get involved in sports on their own. If there is a sport they would like to earn more about, enroll them and let them get extra physical activity.

Real Life Guidance to Finding More Family Time- you’ll discover EXACTLY how to find more time for your family AND get everything else done too!

Disney World Savings Guide - See How Easily You Can Have A Disney World Vacation For A Fraction Of What Others Pay

This is an email that I received that I just had to share.

I just want to thank all of you for your educational emails over the past year.

Thanks to you, I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel.

I can’t use the remote in a hotel room because I don’t know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.  

I can’t sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.

I can’t enjoy lemon slices in my tea or on my seafood anymore because lemon peels have been found to contain all kinds of nasty germs including feces.

I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pass-time while driving alone is picking your nose (although cell phone usage may be taking the number one spot)

Eating a Little Debbie sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.

I can’t touch any woman’s purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.  Yuck!

I must send my special thanks to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown)  who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the  $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa’s novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won’t crawl in my back seat when I’m pumping gas..

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put ‘Under God’  ! on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face…disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don’t support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda & Singapore a nd Uzbekistan .

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their  recipe.

Thanks to you, I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big brown  African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

And thanks to your great advice, I can’t ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

I can no longer drive my car because I can’t buy gas from certain gas companies!

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s beautician… Have a wonderful day…

Oh, by the way…..

A German scientist from Argentina, after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse.

Don’t bother taking it off now, it’s too late.

Have you heard of or thought of going Vegan?  Personally I have been trying to cut down on a lot of meats in my home and I’ve become a lot more health conscience over the past 6 months.A vegan diet focuses mostly on plants for food. These include fruits, vegetables, dried beans and peas, grains, seeds and nuts. There is no single type of vegetarian diet. Instead, vegetarian eating patterns usually fall into the following groups:

• The vegan diet, which excludes all meat and animal products
• The lacto vegetarian diet, which includes plant foods plus dairy products
• The lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, which includes both dairy products and eggs

People who follow vegetarian diets can get all the nutrients they need

I have a great online friend (LaTara Ham-Ying) who is the owner of Vegan Family Living and she just recently posted a great entry to her site entitled “What are the steps to going Vegan“  Be sure to check it out

The lemon has been used as a medicinal treatment since the days of ancient Rome. Lemon juice has been used in this country to treat the common cold for ages. Why does it work? Let’s look at the origin of the lemon to find out.

The lemon, like any other fruit, grows on trees. The fruit does not develop from the flowers on the tree, but rather are present with the flowers. Lemons are thought to be a hybrid fruit—originating from the citron and the mandarin. Lemons have a bright yellow skin that is thick and pale yellow pulp. Lemons are hearty fruit with a strong pungent odor.

Now, let’s examine the common cold. Colds are caused by a virus that mutates. The strains of the common cold are too numerous to count. The average person may have two or more colds per year. Because the cold is caused by a virus, there is no cure. Modern medicine can only treat the symptoms.

The problem with colds is that they affect the entire body. Your cold may start with a sniffle, but it quickly progresses to sore throat, headache, chest congestion, fever, aches, sneezing, and chills. Once more, if one person in the house has a cold, everyone is sure to get a taste of it no matter how much you clean. A cold virus is highly contagious. It may take a week or two for the virus to run its course and leave your system.

Here’s where the lemon and its medicinal juices come in as a natural remedy for cold symptoms. The lemon contains over eighty percent of the daily recommended value of Vitamin C. This is from the juice of one lemon! Vitamin C has been shown to boost the immune system. When more white blood cells are present to fight infection, the life of the offending virus is cut short. Instead of taking pills, drink lemon juice mixed with warm water and a splash of honey. The water cuts the acidity of the lemon. The honey is added for a more pleasant taste. Lemon juice also decreases the toxicity of the virus in the body. Your entire body won’t be wracked with pain and suffering like it is when the cold is untreated. In effect, lemon juice shortens the duration of the cold.

Give it a try. Your body won’t be filled with medicines that leave you feeling groggy and disoriented. When you first notice cold symptoms, begin drinking the lemon mixture right away. Twice a day should provide enough Vitamin C to do the job. Compare your outcome to ones in the past when over the counter medications were used. Stay well the natural way.