JAK CHAT

The Sisters Converge by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann It'll be like a family reunion of sorts when the "sisters" come together at the historic  Pfister Hotel  in downtown Milwaukee next week on Sunday. I am so excited about spending the day with some of my awesome friends at yet, another amazing event benefiting  Children's Hospital of Wisconsin  and  Make-A-Wish of Wisconsin . This event is another brainchild of my one time client, turned BFF, Tammy Flynn. Then of course, there's Mollie. We took a time management course together a few years ago soon after I launched  Just Add Kids . Our desire to boost productivity and Mollie's desire to organize my office (okay, so she got sick of me pushing that daunting task off week after week) started a friendship that only few could withstand. Then there's my personal coach, Julie. Yup, I've got one of those, and she rocks... READ MORE... and she climbs rocks, and stairs (I joined her team for the Lung A

Heather's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by JAK's guest blogger from Racine, Heather Gaither That title is a literary nod to one of my favorite children’s stories. If you haven’t met Alexander yet,  let me introduce you . He’s an asset to every family’s library. BR was one week old. A 6-inch snow had dropped the temperature outside to a miserable 5-degrees Fahrenheit.  (That’s  -15 , Celsius friends.) And I had to go OUT IN IT WITH THREE KIDS. After thirty minutes of donning coats, scarves, hats, boots, gloves (Has anyone seen my PINK gloves?  Mom, I can only find one boot…etc. etc.)  we finally piled into our newly-acquired minivan. I decided,  in a moment of exhausted-insanity  to make a “quick” stop at a local drugstore I’ll call… Balgreens  (for reasons that will be made clear in a moment). So, corralling my brood through the store, lugging a 15-lb car seat and  robotically chanting   No candy…No toys…No…  I picked out the three things we needed and poured my eff

   This Chick is #1 By Just Add Kids Founder Paula Herrmann Launching this business, Just Add Kids, just over 3 years ago, has given me the opportunity to interact, network and meet so many other moms in the area. So many different walks of life and home situations, yet the one thing that binds us is motherhood and our need to get out and have some fun with our kids and family.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    In May of 2011, I was pleased to deliver the"Color Mom Beautiful" contest prize to a young boy artist and his mother. Little did I know that I had met one ofJust Add Kids biggest fans! Well, you know, she had 3 young boys at the time and really looked to JAK for things to do/places to bring the boys to (and sometimes the hubs!). Fast forward a year later with many correspondence in between, I ge

Sponsored by Next Step Goals LLC Written by Julie O'Keeffe Henszey  Self-imposed and culturally-prescribed boundaries can hold you back. I know of a person in the South who won't drive her car for more than a couple of hours by herself. She feels she lacks the capacity as an adult woman. It seems to be based on traditional southern cultural norms around male and female roles. My friend in Arizona, on the other hand, drives herself three hours to the nearest airport, my sister and I have each traveled alone to Africa, and sixteen-year-old girls now attempt to sail solo around the world. So let’s talk boundaries! Ask yourself these questions: 1. What boundaries are holding me back? 2. Are they self-imposed or culturally-imposed? 3. Does anybody really care what I do? 4. What if I walked over the boundaries? Boundaries can be a good thing, particularly with speed limits, murder laws, and required immunizations. It’s best not to drive too fast, kill anyone, or forget to immunize yo

Ma-Ma-Ma-Mia! by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann Another year, another season, another reason.... Fat Girl in a Skinny World has popped outta the closet yet once again! It's been a whirlwind of ups and downs since Mother's Day last year when my double (ahem, triple) chin was accidentally captured on digital self portraits. The slightest of touch on my iPhone prompted Fat Girl's spring revival, (See Get Out! Outta the Closet ) one that totally fit the pattern of previous resurrections: hot and heavy into the weight loss activity, to abrupt halt. Those cycles typically last 6 months. Whether FGSW's rebirth lasts 6 months or longer, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm pleased that the lapse of time between activity has shortened. Plus, this time, I've got a short-term goal in mind which is time-sensitive, that's achievable, and comes with teamwork, accountability, and training. Are you interested in positively progressing toward better health and welln

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! A Product Review By JAK's guest mom blogger from Pleasant Prairie, Bonnie Hahn   I live very near a Woodman's.  I know, lucky me, right?!  For those of you who don't know what Woodman's is or have never been to one, Woodman's is the end-all-be-all of grocery stores.  They have it all.  I mean all of it.  Everything.  Everything there is to have, they have it.  All you have to do is want it, and be ambitious enough to look for it. My favorite part of Woodman's is their clearance carts.  Every time I enter the store, I grab a cart and immediately head toward the area where a myriad of bargain-laden carts wait for me in all their shiny chrome splendor.  Expired items, half-wilted produce, all the stuff nobody else wants...all overripe for the picking. There are also a couple different locations around the store that hold different clearance items, but I'm not letting  that  cat out of the bag.  Suffice it to say that yesterday I came across a fan

She Caved (kinda) By Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann Last week, I blogged about the ungrateful and entitled generation of kids we seem to be raising in   "Well Bred?" . The week before that, it was in regards to my 10 year old daughter's Christmas list, where the Apple iPhone5 topped her very short list. That article was appropriately titled "I AIN'T BUYING iT!" . You do get the whole caps/lower case "i" thing, yes? And by the way, I stuck to my guns. Today, I ran across this nationally publicized story about a mom who DID buy her son an iPhone. Have you seen this story?  Read more...     Gregory’s iPhone Contract    12/25/2012 Written by Janell Hofmann Original post published at  www.janellburleyhofmann.com Dear Gregory Merry Christmas!  You are now the proud owner of an iPhone.  Hot Damn!  You are a good & responsible 13 year old boy and you deserve this gift.  But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations.  Please