HatchedIt.com is a free organization tool that offers a family calendar, an address book, a place for keeping up to date with news and your favorite blogs, and a place to store all of those bits of information that are important in your life. The tool also offers the ability to share all or parts of the calendar with the team that makes your family life happen (grandparents, babysitters, caregivers, etc.)

Once you've signed up for your free account, you'll find these tools at your disposal:

• Family Calendar - Each member of the family can have their own color. You can also view the calendar by each person or together with everyone's activities all at once.
• Groups - Groups is a neat feature where you can organize the people in your life and give them access to the parts of the tool that you need them to have access to. Think Book Clubs, Playgroups, PTA moms, etc. You can invite the groups, everyone gets a free account, and discussions and scheduling can happen right inside the tool. Say goodbye to the crazy email chain.
• Curate It - This is where you can store photos and information that inspire you or that you might want to keep. The pair of cute shoes. The great quote. A photo of your next vacation locale.
• News - Use RSS feeds to pull together all of the blogs and news sites that you read into one place. And put it right in the tool you'll be using to organize your life. It can't get much easier than that.
• And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are more functions plus it's a tool that's evolving.

Check out an introduction video below to HatchedIt.com, and then visit the site for a free account. You'll be up and running in less than a few minutes.

Disclosure: I attended a Sponsored event where I learned about HatchedIt.com. All opinions are my own.

The program was developed by a mom of four who was also a former kindergarten teacher. The DVD is for computer use only, and my little guy was engaged from the first time we sat down at the computer. The program centers on the residents of "Scholarville" that are multicultural characters with different occupations related to a different letter of the alphabet.

The organization of the 22-week lesson plan is a bit different than other programs because they start with letters/sounds that are easier for the pre kindergarten crowd. Instead of starting with the letter A, the program starts with the letter P.

Each lesson includes a guessing game, animated flash cards, and printables that make it easy to incorporate into different times of the day. There is also a poster available of Scholarville. My little guy loved to point out the character that he had learned in the lesson on the "map" of Scholarville.

I would definitely recommend the Pre K Scholars Kindergarten Readiness program as an alternative to preschool or even as a supplement to preschool if you feel like your child might need extra work or is curious to learn more. In a homeschool environment, this product would be fantastic. It"s organized in lesson plans already making it easy to work your way through the education.

To make this even easier for parents, Pre K Scholars has just released an iPad app (there is also an app available for iPhones). My son is already using the iPad to learn his letters and sounds, so he really enjoyed playing more "games" that had the characters that he had been meeting during our Pre K Scholars lessons.

The good news is that Pre K Scholars Kindergarten Readiness Kit starts at only $39.95. Until December 25th, you can save 25% off of all products making this a great deal! The Pre K Scholars iPad app is only $3.99, but for an introductory period it"s only 99 cents, so hop over and grab it!

Here"s a chance for you to win your own copy of the Pre K Scholars Kindergarden Readiness Kit. Enter the giveaway up to four times below before midnight on December 31, 2011. A winner will be selected at random and will be notified via email.

Disclosure: I was provided a review copy of the Pre K Scholars Kindergarten Readiness Kit DVD and the iPad app.

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I had the opportunity to preview The Christmas Spectacular starring the World Famous Rockettes that is currently playing at the Citi Perfoming Arts Center in Boston's theatre district. It was amazing. It's truly a show for all ages from the little ones to their great grandmas. The songs are catchy and festive, and the Rockettes are, as expected, mesmerizing.

The sets also delivered more than I expected. Using a multimedia projection, the audience is literally taken on a delightful holiday themed trip through Manhattan. If you weren't in the holiday mood when you arrive, you will for sure be more than festive when you leave.

There's still time to see the Rockettes before they leave. In fact, keep reading for a chance to meet the Rockettes.

kimworld readers can take advantage of a lovely discount on the non-peak performances that are on the schedule which means you could snag a ticket for under $20! What a great early present or stocking stuffer!

Here are the deets on how to take advantage of the 25% Discount for certain non-peak shows that are remaining.

How to Buy Tickets at 25% off*:
1. Log onto: www.citicenter.org/radiocity

2. Select one of the following non=-peak performances for your 25% off discount:

12/20/2011 at 2 pm, 7:30 pm
12/21/2011 at 2 pm, 7:30 pm
12/22/2011 at 5 pm, 8 pm

 12/23/2011 at 2 pm

12/26/2011 at 5 pm
12/27/2011 at 5 pm
12/28/2011 at 5 pm

3. Enter Promo Code: ROXMOM11
*Offer is not valid for Gold Circle - $130 seats, for which there are no discounts. There is a 8 ticket limit on this event. Non-Peak seat pricing ranges from $25 to $89.

I'm also giving a four pack of tickets away to one lucky reader for the 5 p.m. performance on December 28 at the Citi Performing Arts Center - Wang Theatre. PLUS a special meet & greet with The Rockettes before the show. See below for details on how to get up to three chances to win. Drawing will close on Tuesday, December 20th, and the winner will be notified via email.

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Here is what the show promises:

Discover endless riches when Disney On Ice presents Treasure Trove comes to your hometown! Disney On Ice sets the gold standard with its newest skating spectacular. Get tangled up in Disney's 50th animated feature with Rapunzel and Flynn and enter the worlds of your other favorite Disney princesses -Tiana, Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Mulan and of course, the one who started it all, Snow White. Ahoy, Mateys! Set sail with Peter Pan, the always sassy Tinker Bell and the cantankerous Captain Hook and his pirate pals on an adventure beyond Never Land! Trek the wilds of Africa with Simba, Nala, Pumbaa and Timon as they discover the true meaning of the 'Circle of Life.' Tick-Tock! Tick-Tock!
Don't be late to a very important date with Alice and the Mad Hatter as they march with the Queen of Hearts' Army Of Cards. Be sure to see this show full of memories guaranteed to last a lifetime.

And here is a quick preview:

Thanks to the nice people at Disney on Ice, I have a four pack of tickets to give away for the 7 PM show on Monday, December 26th. Enter the giveaway below by sharing your favorite Disney character. Enter now through next Sunday, December 18. Winner will be emailed and have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the winner status. If there's no contact, a new winner will be selected.

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Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

So, I've always loved the idea of a cookie swap. The thought of selecting an awesome recipe and having a party to share it sounds pretty cool. Except that it's a lot of work during a time of the year when time is pretty hard to find.

Enter my idea for a fun girls night in with recipe sharing and yummy treats but without the time commitment of making a zillion dozen cookies. It's all about the "Cake Mix Creations." What's that you ask?

Here's how it works. All your friends pick a recipe to make that involves a boxed cake mix. When they rsvp, they also send you a copy of the recipe that they will be bringing. On the girls night out, everyone gets to sample the different cake mix creations, and you have a ready made party favor -- a list of all the recipes. Easy, peasy AND delicious.

Some simple alternatives to the regular cake involve adding flavor to cakes. Canned pumpkin and applesauce make for great alternative flavors to the boxed cake mix. You can also add fresh fruit like bananas and berries.

You might think that the different options for cake mix creations is limited to different flavors of cake. Oh no, never fear. There are so many awesome recipes out there. There are cakes, cookies, cupcakes, truffles, pancakes, and even dinner rolls! And don't forget the cake pops. The different cake pops that you can make (both in flavor in design) are endless. Take a look at my pinterest collection of cake mix creations to see a few samples.

What's your favorite creation to make with a boxed cake mix?

Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

You'll be in good company. Joey McIntyre, Jasmine V and Tedy Bruschi will be special guests to help kick off the tree lighting. After performances by Joey McIntyre and Jasmine V, Santa will flip the switch on the tree and debut the "Yes, Virginia" window scenes.

At 6 p.m., you can venture inside Macy's for opportunities to meet the special guests. Plus the first 250 people to purchase a LaCoste fragrance will get an autograph from Joey McIntyre plus a copy of his new Christmas album, "Come Home for Christmas."

While you are at Macy's, don't forget to drop off your letter to Santa. Macy's "Believe" campaign is back for a fourth year (over 4 million letters collected in the first three years). Until December 24, Macy's will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for each letter to Santa that is dropped off at Macy's "Believe Stations." Great fun to benefit a great organization!

Special kudos to Macy's who is partnering with local blogger Mommy Niri to donate gifts for Room to Grow, a fantastic non-profit that supports babies born into poverty through the first three years.

You should give to receive, right? And there's nothing I love more than a mailbox full of Christmas greetings from friends and relatives. I know not everyone gets into Christmas cards as I do. But I love everything about the process of Christmas cards from the planning of the card, selecting the card, making the list, writing notes, and finally dropping them in the mail. It really starts the season for me... even if that means I'm licking envelopes and affixing stamps on December 22 well past my annual (and almost never achieved) goal of Thanksgiving.

When I was a kid, there wasn't much you could do to a Christmas card to really make it your own. You could sometimes custom print your names or include a photo or the dreaded Christmas letter, but, in reality, most Christmas cards were picked up in a store by the box.

When I started sending my own Christmas cards, that's where I started too. I would spend lots of times looking for the perfect box of cards to reflect a little bit of me and after I got married, "us". One year it was a painting of a Christmas scene of the city that we lived in, and another year it was a funny card that I hoped would give a little laugh in the midst of what can sometimes be a crazy stressful season. Still another year we picked a card that benefited on of our favorite charities.

Then the photo cards started becoming popular. We were starting to get photos of our friends' kids, dogs, and sometimes the friends' themselves. Then we had a baby. Christmas cards became an even more important tradition for our holidays. Along with nearly everyone else, we choose to send out a photo card of our little guy with the hope of sharing his lovable mug and active spirit as it is at that particular moment in time. Looking back at the three Christmas cards we've sent since he arrived is already an amazing trip down memory lane. I can only imagine what years and years of that will be like for both us and our recipients.

When it comes to picking a card to send, the standard box cards of my youth are nearly a thing of the past. There are tons of options, both photo and non-photo, that are just wonderful. This year, I am really in love with the different shapes available for cards, and it's making our choice even that much more fun to make.

Take a look at some of the different sizes and shapes Christmas cards that Tiny Prints has available this year. I really love them all.

I love this card called Banner of Dreams. It's shaped like a classic card except that it doesn't open, just a flat card with room on the back for a quick note.

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Tiny Prints also have several shapes available for many designs. This is one of my new favorite shapes, and it's in the running for my final order this year. I think Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, and Uncles all over are going to really love getting these cards in this ornament shape that can be easily popped on the tree for display. Just look at the Banner of Dreams card in the round ornament shape.

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Speaking of those awesome ornament cards. Love, love LOVE the Whispering Snowflakes design.

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This is the card we purchased last year. It was very simple. We had a great photo of the lad that was the perfect shape, and I loved how fun the design was. The design is called Simple Bars, and it is still available at Tiny Prints.

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Finally, I think this card would be great for a large family or if you have so many awesome photos that you can choose one. It's a tri-fold card called Merrily Woven.

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Tiny Prints provides simple, modern, and unique stationery from Christmas cards, New Years cards, party invitations, and address labels to thank you cards. Once the holidays have come and gone, Tiny Prints will still be here to fill your stationary needs with their exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers.  All year round, you’ll find business cards,birth announcements and even custom wedding invitations. Come try the easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality for yourself. With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch!

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what's for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens!

Eating was something that my little guy was interested in from the get go. It was sort of love at first bite when we started solids at the four month mark. He wasn't so interested in the typical rice cereal so we fed him mostly veggies and fruits right from the beginning. I would steam or bake fruits like apples, pears, and bananas. Then I would mix it with veggies like broccoli, squash, and carrots.

I would cook the fruits and veggies in batches and freeze for quick use. We used prepared baby food too, but I always felt better when I added some of our fruit puree with the bottled food. It just tasted a little bit yummier.

Figuring out how and what to feed a baby can seem like a guessing game.

I love this cute Plum Organics video illustrating the game of babies and their love for fresh fruits and veggies.

I made a lot of the baby food that we fed my son. So then as he was able to eat more than purees, we could just prepare the food chunkier and chunkier until he was eating the actual raw (or slightly cooked) veggie or fruit. Even though we didn't really plan it that way, that process was our baby feeding magic.

We loved the organic fruit and veggie squeezies like Plum Organics and other brands that are on the market now. They are quick, easy, organic and actually taste like the fruit and vegetable that is printed on the pouch. (I know this for a fact, because, in fact, the pouches are yummy snacks for moms as well as the little ones!)

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Plum Organics, visit their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/PlumOrganics.

Visit the PopChips web site to learn more about this tasty snack.

I am so excited to see what all the hub-bub is surrounding these stores. I was lucky enough to be able to  listen to a presentation by and chat with the Wegman's Northboro Store Manager Kevin Russell at a community presentation. Wegman's sounds like a pretty amazing company for employees to work and for customers to shop. He said that this store will be unlike any other store that currently exists in the market. That's a pretty bold statement, and I can't wait to check it out.

He also said that there will probably be some superfans camping out the night before the opening. That is pretty unbelievable for, um, a GROCERY STORE.

The store is going to be at the brand spanking new Northborough Crossing, an outdoor shopping center at the intersection of Routes 20 and 9 that also is home to BJs, Kohls, TJMaxx, and BabiesRUs/ToysRUs.

Check out a the video of a recent opening in Maryland. Sort of makes me want to suffer the opening day crowds (i'm getting the ikea sweats thinking about that crowd).

Also, be sure to visit the Wegmans Northborough web site to sign up for their Shopper Club (which gives you benefits including an aisle-by-aisle shopping list AWESOME) and visit the Wegman's Northboro facebook page where you can witness some of their super fans in action including a customer who penned a haiku. Plus learn some of the lingo and fave products -- black & white halfmoon cookies,  Zweigle's Hots, beef on wick, Vegetarian Oyster Sauce, spiedie marinade, french vanilla muffins, Wegman's Basting Oil, Multigrain bread, Finishing butter, sponge candy, salt potatoes,  and Dinosaur BBQ sauce...just to name a few.

And, finally, if this facebook post where someone literally leaves their grocery list in the comments and store employees track down what they will carry in the store is any indication of the level of service customers can expect, Wegmans should be a really great experience.

Here's some helpful directions to Wegmans Northborough for your trip, and an interesting article in Boston Globe about Wegmans and its namesake Danny Wegman.

Will I see you there?