Works For Me Wednesday

Since I am busy with Vacation Bible School stuff this week I am leaving WFMW up to you guys...leave a comment with your tips, tricks and shortcuts that you think we all could use. Happy commenting!

Works For Me Wednesday

It's that time again...Works For Me Wednesday is here!!!

How about some helpful outdoor activities...since it's summer time and all.

*Side walk chalk-let your little one lay down on the ground and you trace them with a piece of chalk. Once your finished tell them to draw all their body parts...hands, feet, eyes etc.

*Wading pool-give your kiddo plastic kitchen toys and let them make you delicious meals.

*Bubbles-blow bubbles and let your little one try and pop as many as they can before they hit the ground.

*Clover flowers-you know, those little white flowers that grow in and around clover patches...we make necklaces and crowns and bracelets out of them.

*Picnic-nothing gets my little one more excited than eating somewhere out of the ordinary (the table). We take a blanket outside and eat our breakfast or lunch on it. She gets so excited!

Hope you all have a great and fun summer. Posting for the next week and a half will be kind of small...it's VBS time at our church next week. Take care!

Works For Me Wednesday

Here it is folks...Works For Me Wednesday!

This week I am spotlighting some of my favorite cleaning tips. Hope these help...

*My favorite cleaning supply is Clorox Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner. This stuff rocks! It has a spray option and a foam option. I love the foam option because it clings to the sides of the tub...thus breaking down the germs etc. and requires minimal effort in scrubbing...fabulous!

*Peroxide...it removes blood stains from your sheets. When you have a little one they are bound to have scrapes that can (and more than likely will) break open during the night. Peroxide will remove them in the early stages.

*Dryer sheets are the new air freshener. Do you have a hidden vent? Place a dryer sheet under the sides (in a dome shape over the vent) so that the air flows through the dryer sheet...instant air freshener.

*When I dust I use a Swiffer Duster with my favorite furniture polish (currently the Pledge Multi-surface). I spray my cleaning spray directly on my duster and go to town. Super easy people...super easy!!!

That's about all I have right now. Sorry it took me so long guys. We enjoyed our day at the pool. It was fabulous! Check back on Friday for a pretty cool series I hope to get off and running!

Works for Me Wednesday- Coming Soon!!!

Hey Guys! This weeks WFMW will be up tonight. I am taking a break and enjoying the sunshine.

Be sure and check back later tonight for some great tips!

Also, peak in on Friday for a little special series that I am going to try and start.

Hope y'all have a sunshine-filled day!!!

Works For Me Wednesday

It's that time again...this week's WFMW is dedicated to Ashley...my cousin (by marriage) whom I've never met but feel like I know oh so well. She has two adorable little boys and I am sure Ava would have a blast with them WHEN (notice I said "when" Ashley...not if) we meet! She requested parenting/kiddo tips...since us moms can never get enough helpful hints...what works today for us might not work tomorrow.

So here are a few random tips to give a try when you have exhausted all other efforts. This is how we have done things with Ava and they may not work for every child. This is simply what we have chosen to do.

1) Crib to Big Kid Bed Transition-Ava climbed out of her crib incredibly early even though it was at the lowest possible point...we took her crib mattress out of the crib and placed it on the floor. Once she got used to and stayed on the mattress we moved the mattress to her toddler bed. It made it so much easier and we didn't have to worry quite so much about her falling out of bed.

2) Sippy Cups-When we switched Ava from bottle to sippy cups (at about 9 or 10 months for her) we went cold turkey and she did great! We just started putting her formula in the cup and let her have at it. We also used these Nuby cups:
I honestly believe that the soft spout helped the transition...kind of mimicked her bottle but not really.

3) Teeth Brushing-We brush Ava's teeth the same time we brush our teeth. When we began brushing her teeth we let her hold the tooth brush and "brush" her teeth and then we brushed them for her. Over time she picked up how to do it with little effort.

4) Feeding-When it was time for Ava to begin eating real food we let her begin feeding herself with a spoon or fork. We would finish up feeding her to make sure she ate enough. She made huge messes but let me tell you, she can work a spoon and fork like no 2 year old I know.

5) Potty Training-We started potty training when she showed interest. And when she was ready I took a hint from this fabulous Mama and let her run around bare bottomed. We went to the potty every 30 or so minutes and she drank TONS of water. Slowly we increased the time between potty breaks and now she will go when she feels the urge. Pooping was a little harder for her which I have gathered is for most kids. Once she over came the apprehension she was good.

6) Teething-We weren't big on Orajel or Teething Tablets. They were solely last resort items. We would wet wash cloths and put them in baggies and freeze them. Ava would gnaw on them and soothe her gums. We also would put her Sassy (her pacifier) in the freezer for just a few minutes to give her a little burst of coolness on her gums.

7) Patience (the most important)-This one is hard sometimes. So grin and enjoy these times!

Well, that's about all I have right now...I have a few other parenting tricks up my sleeve...maybe I will share them soon.

What are some of your parenting tips? Comments are open to any one. If you don't have a blogger account simply click to post as Anonymous and be sure to type your name in the box with your text. (Amanda? Ashely? Brandi? (by the way thanks for following along with our crazy life).)

Works For Me Wednesday

So....it's 8:15 PM and I am just now sitting here trying to think of a WFMW post. Ah...nothing like a little procrastination.

As a Stay-At-Home-Mom, one of my jobs is to try and save us as much money while grocery shopping as possible. I have played The Grocery Game (although I no longer do) and I clip coupons. We only grocery shop majorly once a month so that is generally when I buy my meat and the sides that will go with them. I will go throughout the month to buy produce and other items needed. Anyway...Here is what has worked for me while preparing to go shopping.

1.) Buy the paper every Sunday. Once you have your coupons in hand, clip the only the ones you know you will use. I don't clip coupons for things we don't buy...it wastes my time and my coupon space.

2.) Our local grocery store does Buy 1 Get 1 Free on meat. I don't put meat on my list until I see what meats are on sale. You can't beat B1G1 Chicken Breasts.

3.) I make my "Menu Options" list based off the meat on sale. I then pair my meats with side items and then throw on the toiletries/staples needed and VIOLA!!! An instant Shopping list.

4.) Once you have your list made...compare shop. Look at ads from your different local stores. I have no problem going to more than one store to save money. Look for the best deal on items from your list and buy them at the cheapest location. (Here's another little hint related to this...I am not big on Brands so we buy what's on sale...and I will put side items with my meats that are on sale...ie...sometimes our local store will do 20 for $10 canned veggies or B1G1 frozen veggies). It's all about getting the most for your money.

5.) Once I have made my list and scoped out the ads I go to my coupons. I pull out all the coupons I will need for that trip and put them in a snack size baggy and toss it in my wallet with my list. That way you won't be thumbing for coupons in line. All you have to do is open your baggy and hand the cashier all of the coupons.

6.) Sign up for your stores program. Some offers are only available to those who participate in the programs. I know our local grocery store does. CVS does the "Extra-Care Bucks" (free money) on items purchased that can be used on a future purchase with their card. Programs pay!

That's about it. Sorry for the choppy randomness. Going on vacation this past weekend has really thrown a loop in our routine.

Now...It's time for some night night lovin with Ava!

Works For Me Wednesday

Welcome back for another installment of "Works For Me Wednesday"! This week I am going to share some vacation tips...since we are going on vacation this weekend...what? A vacation? WOOHOO!!!

Moving right along...

When we travel with Matt's Mom and Dad in their RV we exclusively live out of our suitcase. LITERALLY! All three of us. Here are some of the helpful hints I have figured out...

• When packing, roll your pants and other things that might not get wrinkled so easily. For us rolling rather than folding gives us a little extra room.


• Plastic baggies are a travelers best friend. We put all of our toiletries in a plastic baggy to prevent them from accidentally leaking onto our clothes.


• Our suitcase has a top zippered pocket and we put all of our dirty clothes in that pocket so that they don't get mixed in with clean clothes...that way there is no deciphering of whether a pair of underwear are clean or dirty.


• Two words...WRINKLE RELEASER!!! This stuff really works. Unroll your pants, spritz them with some WR and viola! Unwrinkled pants! (Works on just about everything.) I hate to iron in general so I even use wrinkle releaser at home.

• We pack shoes on top and we pack them soles up. That way dirty shoe bottoms don't dirty your clothes. We try to pack as few shoes as possible. Generally we carry shoes that can be warn with just about every outfit instead of a pair for each outfit.


• We don't over pack. If we are going on vacation for 3 days we might carry 4 or 5 outfits each so that if something happens to an outfit we have a backup.

Well, there you have it folks...K-Mommy's Vacation Version of WFMW!!!

And yes, we will be gone from Friday until Monday. Posting is not guarnteed. I plan to relax as much as I can. Expect a full update when we return. :o)

Kristen will be here (you knew she currently lives with us, right?) to feed the fish and hold down the fort. Thanks Chickie! Enjoy getting to spend time with your Hubby while he visits home!

**Ironically...we leave Friday morning and we have NOT even started packing...better get on that huh?...There's always tomorrow...

Weekend Recap

I have tried and tried to get these pictures to the bottom of my post but Blogger isn't cooperating with me. Hope you enjoyed them...

This weekend has been wonderful!

It started off with my hubby taking off on Friday (our anniversary)! We relaxed around the house, went to the park and played, ate Mexican food, went to the splash pad and played...I could go on and on. We had such a good time and Ava and I really enjoyed our time with Daddy.

Saturday we had a family reunion (Matt's Dad's family). We had a good time. I forgot my camera so no pictures...sorry! There was lots of good food and fun had by all.

And that's about it...Hope you all have a great week!

PS Comment with some ideas about what "Works for Me Wednesdays" should be about. My posts are open to all commenters (anyone at all...Matt? Amanda? Brenda? Nonna? Granddaddy? Mia? Pop?) Anyone and everyone can comment. Let me know what you think.

Works For Me Wednesday

I enjoy cooking. (see here)

Today's post is all about some of my cooking shortcuts.

I love recipes. I have cookbooks galore and tons of loose recipes. To maintain order of all those loose recipes I use a pocket folder. Yep, a regular old pocket folder. I can thumb through and find what I need and easily pull it out to use or loan to someone.

I love cinnamon toast. But mixing cinnamon and sugar EVERY.TIME.YOU.WANT.TOAST is inconvenient. So....I got a handy dandy shaker from the Pampered chef and made up a batch of my cinnamon sugar concoction and keep it on hand so I am always ready for cinnamon toast.

Ever cook pasta that sticks together as soon as you drain it? Put a little oil (I use EVOO) in the water before it boils and that always helps my pasta not to stick together.

Aluminum foil is my friend! I line everything with aluminum foil if possible to aid in clean up (you're welcome honey!).

It works for me...and I hope it might work for you!

Works For Me Wednesday

It's that time again....

This week I am gonna spotlight several secrets revolving around your freezer...since that is all that currently works on our Refridgerator.

A friend sent me an email quite some time ago about Household Secrets...you know, using something totally off the wall to clean your bathtub and such. Well, it also included some pretty cool things for your freezer too!

Tip #1
Do you have candle holders that have wax in the bottom and you just can't seem to get it out? This has worked for me...put them in the freezer (I didn't even try to scrape mine out, just stuck them right in). I forgot about left mine in the freezer for about 2 days. I took them and and stuck a knife dwn in there and it all popped out in one big piece.

Tip #2
Have a little one that likes to chew gum? If your kiddo gets gum on their clothes just stick it in the freezer for a few hours (or longer...see tip #1) and it picks right off. Woohoo! And you thought you could only keep food in the freezer.

Tip #3
Got a teething Baby? We would wet clean wash clothes and put them in zipper baggies and freeze them. Instant chewie!

Tip #4
I don't know about you, but our mail gets wet if it rains. (We are too cheap frugal to buy a new one.) One time our Water Bill was soaked. We let it dry out and then opened it. Low and behold...the return envelope was sealed shut! I put it in the freezer and with little effort I had it opened. Too cool, huh?

Tip #5
Have you ever left your purse or make-up bag in the car just to come back later and find that your lipstick (or concealer) is all melted? I HAVE!!! Stick them in the freezer in their tubes and in a few hours you will be able to use them again. They may look a little funny but they will be useable.


That's all I have time to write right now...do you have any freezer secrets?

Works For Me Wednesdays

Welcome to my very first "Works For Me Wednesdays" post! I am super excited about sharing with all of you some of the easy, short-cut things that work for me. I hope you enjoy!

As many of you know, I am a stay at home. That doesn't mean that I don't work. My job is to raise our daughter to be a well-mannered, God-lovin, intelligent little girl. I am also the one who buys the groceries and attempts (notice I said "attempts") to maintain a clean semi-tidy home.

Today I am going to talk about a new process that seems to work for me when buying groceries and planning our meals. I used to make a "menu" where I wrote a meal for each day of the week etc. and rarely did we ever eat what was supposed to be made that day because honestly I like to cook based on my tastes that day and not off of a pre-made menu. While I made up the menus, I didn't like being told what we were gonna eat each night. We would waste so much food because I would pull food out of the freezer and then never cook it because I wanted something different for dinner and it would spoil. I know...I'm bad.

Anyway...I have come up with a new system and it seems like it will work. I now make a "Meal Options" list. I write out all the meal options we have on hand and each night we go to the list and decide what we want the next night. That way we all have a say in what we eat therefore causing less waste. As we prepare a meal we mark it off the list. Pretty easy and works for us!

Give it a try and let me know if it works for you!