Today was an eye-opener for me. I realized that my children are heavily dependent on - me. Of course I am a central figure in their life - I knew that. But they seem to need me at a level that I just cannot sustain.

Let me explain. My husband took a vacation day today, so he was home. With beautiful weather outside, I put my gardening hat on and went a little crazy. My daughter and I visited the local gardening store and picked up far too many flats of annuals - more than mommily possible to plant in one day.

Sure enough, the evening arrived too soon. I took a break from planting to drive the boys to their practices and run a few errands. Upon my return, my yard was just as I left it - strewn with flats of plants and gardening tools. I told my husband that I needed to finish up and would be in shortly, “why don’t you take charge of dinner and serve a wonderfully healthy meal of hot dogs?”

“Sure ” was the reply.

From that point on, every two minutes - I kid you not - every child including my husband called outside to me - EVERY 2 MINUTES. “mom, I need this”, “mom, help me with that”, “mom, dad said I can’t do whatever” and on and on. The final straw came when one of my older children came outside and wanted me to toast his hot dog bun because no one else could do it the same as me.

Now, I know it is nice to be loved and needed but this is ridiculous. And - NO - I didn’t toast it for him! But I realize that my children (and my husband) need to become more self-sufficient. Oh sure, they would manage just fine without me, but if I am there - I am like a crutch that they use to lean on.

I really don’t know what the answer is but I know that I will “burn out” being everybody’s everything.

It must be spring! I am on a cleaning and organizing binge. But there is too much for me to do in just one day or even one weekend for that matter.

I have developed a two list method to tackle spring cleaning that is working well for me.

I have my standard “to do” list which I prepare daily. And now I have my “to do when I have time” list which is ongoing.

Every time I come across something that needs fixing, organizing, cleaning, or some other sort of attention - it goes on list number 2. If there is a particular drawer or closet that needs a rehaul, it goes on the list. Recently, a few of the throw pillows in our family room burst at the seams (apparently the boys had a few too many pillow fights!) Mending went on the to do when I have time list.

If I don’t make a list of these little “special projects” then I will promptly forget.

But the key to this system lies in moving one special project from list number 2 to list number 1 on a regular basis (daily, weekly, whatever works for you). In this situation a third list - called “Honey Do” - can also be very useful!

If you have any spring cleaning tips that work, please comment!

Last weekend, as I prepared for a major grocery shopping trip, I could not find my handy dandy weekly circular.

The store of my choice around here is Stop&Shop, so I went to their website to see if the flyer was posted online. Happily, it was there, but even more interesting were the features offered online.

The circular was interactive. I could turn the pages and click on individual items to get more information. But the best thing was that I could make a list - right on the site - as I reviewed the flyer. If my favorite cereal was on sale, I just click the “add to list” button, easy as pie.

After my list was complete, I printed it out. The items were listed by category, along with the sizes and related price.

This made the actual shopping so much easier! I only had to visit the produce section once. No more backtracking for something I forgot. Having the sizes and prices was also helpful - sometimes the labels on the store shelves are missing - no more guessing which size of popcorn is on sale. Awesome!

Giant Food and Shop Rite both have similar features on their sites. Check out your local store online - you may be surprised.

Yesterday, much of our area was hit hard by a Nor’easter. Five inches of rain fell in one day. Despite lots of local flooding we, thankfully, made it through relatively unscathed.

However, we did take a few precautions, before the storm hit, to prepare for the worst.

10 Things To Do To Prepare for a Storm

1. Have plenty of flashlights and new batteries. Battery operated camping lanterns work great.
2. Shop for a stash of nonperishable food and water.
3. Cash on hand. Visit the ATM before the storm hits.
4. Full tank of gas.
5. Charge your cell phones.
6. Have a battery operated radio on hand.
7. Buy or make extra ice for coolers to preserve perishables if power fails.
8. Bring in wood for fireplace in case of power failure.
9. Move stuff off the basement floor in case of flooding during a major rain event.
10. Pack an overnight bag with a few essential in case you need to make a quick exit.

Depending on the type or severity of the expected storm these steps may not be enough - but at least it’s a start.