Chicken-Scratch-Saturday: Holiday Pillows!

[Posted this last year on my old blog]



Last year, I read from Stacey on her blog I'm a Lazy Mom, this amazing idea of using Christmas placemats to sew together into throw pillows. She got the idea from Traci Romine at Decorating the Lazy Mom Way.

Wherever it came from, I love it.

So when I went on my annual day-after Christmas sale for next year's wrapping paper, I saw this set of two Christmas kitchen hand towels on sale for $2.50. Brought 'em home, sewed 'em up with some old pillow forms I had lying around, and voila, two of the cutest little Christmassy throw pillows you've ever seen in no time flat.
[That plain red one is one of our regular pillows]























Thank you Stacey. Thank you Traci. I love my new pillows!




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Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Since today is Saturday, that means I'm linking up with:

Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop
Tutus and Tea Parties' Pinteresting Party

Check out my full schedule over in my sidebar.

Come join the fun!

*************

Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Chicken-Scratch-Saturday: Advent Stockings

A number of years ago I came across an idea somewhere (Family Fun, maybe?) of a fun way to count down the days till Christmas.

We had done the advent chains, where you start with 24 paper chains and you rip one off each day so the kids (the little ones, especially) can see how many days are left till the big day. Some people write a bible verse on each chain, or an idea of an activity to do, some just leave them blank.

We also do advent calendars, as this is something I remember from my childhood. Somehow, my kids seem to get just as much thrill out of something as simple as looking for the daily number and opening the flap as I did when I was little.

But my favorite Christmas countdown, and it seems to be my kids' favorite as well, is our advent stockings.

















I'm still planning on throwing a length of Christmas greenery along the hooks to dress it up a bit, but you get the idea.


Pretty simple to do, and the kids get soooo excited to find out what's in each stocking.

I just went out and bought 12 pairs of red and white socks from Wal-Mart, but you could do this for free just by using socks from your unmatched socks basket.

What? Doesn't everybody have a basket full of scores of unmatched socks???

Find some wallspace where you can hang this. I happen to have a long mirror with hooks on it that I use, but you can get some of those 3M hooks that come off the wall when you're done. Those things are all kinds of awesome.

Run a string through the holes of 24 clothespins, and mark the clothespins from 24 down to 1, with 24 to the left and 1 all the way at the end on the right.


















Then have some fun figuring out what to fill the stockings with. If you haven't figured it out yet, this works just like an old-fashioned advent calendar: on Dec 1st, your kids get to see what's in the stocking hung by the "24" clothespin. Dec 2nd they open the "23" stocking and so on down the line till they've opened the "1" stocking on Christmas Eve.

The beauty of this is that you can go really cheap or really elaborate, whatever floats your boat (and your budget).

A few ideas along the range of free to pricey:

*print out some Christmas activity pages, such as word-searches, crosswords, coloring pages,
*cut out strips of red and green construction paper and put those in the stocking for the kids to make a Christmas chain,
*cut out a little Christmas tree from green paper and write "Today we find (or decorate) our Christmas tree!",
*put a Christmas cookie cutter in the stocking to let them know today's the day they'll get to help make Christmas cookies,
*put a little baggie of birdseed in the stocking with a note that instructs them how to make peanut-butter-and-birdseed-pinecone-feeders for the birds,
*candy canes,
*Christmas pencils,
*gum,
*Christmassy hair accessories,
*jingle bells and some ribbon for the kids to make necklaces with,
*surprise them with breakfast out on the way to school one day (perhaps you could write it out on a star cut-out),
*cute Christmas socks.

You're only limited by your imagination.

Each day, another sock comes down, so they'll have the visual before them of how many days remain till Christmas.

If you can't trust the kids to not peek (and really, if you can, I don't like you very much), then just fill one at a time before you go on to bed each night.

The kids have been asking me for weeks when we can start the advent stockings.

Maybe I'll need to make advent stockings leading up to the advent stockings.




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Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday:
Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Natural Living Mamma's Natural Living Mondays
The Chicken Chick's Clever Chicks
A Cat-Like Curiosity's Monday Mantras
Ponder Wonder's Soul Food Monday
@ Home Take 2's Mom's Monday Mingle
DIY Dreamer's Pinterest Repin Party
DIY Home Sweet Home's More the Merrier Monday
Tuesday:
Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
Crafty Garden Mama's Tuesday Greens
The Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday:
My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Tilly's Nest's Down Home
Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk's Mom's Library Link-Up
Crafty Spices Wordless Wednesday
Thursday:
A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Two In Diapers' Mommy Brain Mixer
Friday:
Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Fresh Eggs Daily's FarmGirl Friday
Little Becky Homecky's Fantabulous Friday
@Home Take 2's Weekend Blog Walk
Oh So Amelia's Friday Chaos
Saturday:
Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop
Tutus and Tea Parties' Pinteresting Party
Sunday:
Dawn's Disaster's Super Sunday Link


Come join the fun!

*************

Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Chicken-Scratch-Saturday: Hot Coffee

Keeping Your Coffee Hot

Are your mugs cool to the touch when you take them out of the cabinet? Does your morning cup o' Joe cool off too quickly for your liking?

Try this tip...

Before filling the mug with life-replenishing coffee, fill it with water and microwave it for a minute or so. Then dump out the boiling water and fill with coffee. It'll keep nice and hot for you as you sip your way to consciousness.

















Image courtesy: astroaarti.com


***************************


Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************



In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop, Natural Living Mamma's Natural Living Mondays, The Chicken Chick's Clever Chicks, A Cat-Like Curiosity's Monday Mantras Link-Up, and @ Home Take 2's Mom's Monday Mingle
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday,   Crafty Garden Mama's Tuesday Greens, and The Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny, Tilly's Nest's Down Home, and Crafty Spices Wordless Wednesday
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop, and Two In Diapers' Mommy Brain Mixer
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday, Little Becky Homecky's Fantabulous Friday, and Oh So Amelia's Friday Chaos
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up.


Since today is Saturday, that means I'm linking yesterday's post "8 Cruelest Foods You Eat" with Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up.




Come join the fun!

Chicken-Scratch-Saturday: Good Will Halloweening

I have always hate-hate-HATED those realy cheap, flimsy, poly Halloween costumes. Not that I haven't resorted to them a few times over the years. Especially if my little one would simply not make it to his next birthday if he wasn't dressed up as some character that I could never in a million years replicate on my own, or if my little princess happened to see the prettiest princess costume EVER and would DIE if she could not have that exact one.

And even though I CAN sew, I have never had the desire to make any of my kids a costume for Halloween if sewing was involved. Never, I say.

Let's face it, those poly costumes are quick and easy, and Halloween can get super busy when your kids are little, between classroom parties, community fairs, scout parades, parties, and let's not forget the actual night of trick-or-treating. So it's very tempting to just pluck that cheap-o costume off the rack and be done with it.

But one of the things I love best about Halloween is the potential for creativity. Between decorating your house, carving the jack-o-lanterns, and helping your kids figure out what they're going to be, it's a smorgasbord of outside-the-box thinkin'.

And we all want our kids to be outside-the-box thinkers, don't we?

So. My first stop with my kids for costume shopping is not the seasonal Halloween store, and it's not WalMart. It's Goodwill.

At Goodwill, the clothing items (shirts, pants, skirts, dresses) generally run about $3.50 to $5.00. Accessories even cheaper. With a little imagination and only a few dollars, you and your child can find the perfect things to make a wide variety of costumes, such as...

pirate
hobo
prom queen, bride, bridesmaid (dead or otherwise)
clown (evil or otherwise)
cheerleader
hippie
zombie
farmer, cowboy/girl
black cat
scarecrow
goth
rock/pop star

The list is endless.

Of course, you might still need a few accessories at a Halloween store. For example, your child might find all the trappings to be a zombie, such as oversized clothing that he can rip and tear and bloody, but he'll still need the make-up. Or maybe she found just what she needed to be a cute little cowgirl, but she still needs the hat.
So get the hat at the costume section of WalMart, braid her hair into some pigtails, and add a few freckles with your eyeliner, and you've got yourself a cheap, no-sew, creative costume that your kid thought up and picked out.









Now, how to carve that jack-o-lantern this year....





Image courtesy: coolest-homemade-costumes.com
*********************


Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!



***************



In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop, The Chicken Chick's Clever Chicks, A Cat-Like Curiosity's Monday Mantras Link-Up, and @ Home Take 2's Mom's Monday Mingle
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday,   Crafty Garden Mama's Tuesday Greens, and The Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny, Tilly's Nest's Down Home, and Crafty Spices Wordless Wednesday
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop, and Two In Diapers' Mommy Brain Mixer
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday, Little Becky Homecky's Fantabulous Friday, and Oh So Amelia's Friday Chaos
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up.


Since today is Saturday, that means I'm linking yesterday's post "Chick Update" with Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up.




Come join the fun!

A Tip For Tuesday - Edible Bowls

For an easy-to-clean-up breakfast for the kiddos either at home or on the go, make some instant oatmeal in a large measuring cup. When ready, pour into ice cream cones (the kind with the flat bottoms work best). Kids can top their oatmeal with raisins, coconut flakes, mini-marshmallows, or even a few sprinkles, just like at an ice-cream sundae bar. After all, the more fun their breakfast is, the more likely they are to actually ingest some of it! When they've finished eating, there are no kitchen bowls to wash nor are there messy paper bowls to gather up in the car and toss (if they've eaten en route to school). Edible bowls, what could be better?!















Image courtesy: noimpactman.typepad.com


*********************

Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday, Southern Mama's Blog Hop at Sew Encouraging,
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post
"It's Good To Be Home" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and "Meeting My Babies" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday.


Come join the fun!

A Tip for Tuesday - Egg Separating Magic Trick

OK, this is very cool. Not that I've ever had a terribly difficult time separating the yolks from the whites when I've needed to, but now that I've seen this I have GOT to try it!

The video clip is in Chinese (or something), but just watch and you can follow along without knowing what she's saying.









Thanks, Granny C, for sending this to me!!!


*********************

Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post "Justifiable Roostercide?" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and "I Have Arrived" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday.


Come join the fun!

A Tip for Tuesday

OK, for all you Moms of school aged kids out there, I'ma gonna lay a tip on ya'.

And I'm even going to play off my recent post "I Hate Frugality."

All those leftover notebooks of your kids from last year? You're going to repurpose one of them to be used as a
Sh** I Have To Sign For School Notebook.

I've just taken a run-of-the-mill comp book, ripped all the used pages out (recycled them, of course), and if I sign something for school? I write it down in the notebook.



[I have not yet gotten crafty with my notebook. This is the sad state I found it in.]

Now, I just keep a simple running tab. New date, new sh** to sign, new page.

I write down the date I received it, what the form was (like a permission slip, the parent/teacher contract, syllabus, whatever), and when it was sent back in with the kid.



Then later, when I get one of those e-mails from a teacher that says,

"Thanks to all the parents who sent in the blah-blah-blah. Your cooperation is appreciated. For those schmucks who haven't sent it in yet, get your act together. We all know who you are and we laugh about your ineptitude in carline."





I can confidently pull out my trusty
Sh** I Have To Sign For School Notebook.
and see at a glance if indeed I did send in the blah-blah-blah or if it is truly time to panic.

Now, you can go ahead and get all fancy with it if you want. Three kids? How about a 3-subject notebook? Whatever floats your boat. Point is, write it down. Because if you're anything like me, no WAY you can keep it all straight up in your noggin.

And there you have....

My Tip For Tuesday!

You're welcome.





*********************

Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post "Comin' Atya Live" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and "It's Good to be Home" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday.


Come join the fun!

A Tip for Tuesday - Chore Boards

When our kids keep up with their chores and responsibilities, they earn privileges such as later bedtime, an extra soda, a pack of gum, extra screen time, that kind of thing.

Trouble is, with eleventybillion kids in this family, and about three brain cells left, I lose track pretty quickly of who's earned what, and who has what chores, and who woke up late and who's taking this Friday's soda next Tuesday.

So we use chore boards.

Each kid has a small dry erase board on the fridge. Down the left-hand column are all their daily responsibilities, and a place for their weekly rotating chores (on a magnet that I can move from one board to the next each week).

Lets me keep track of things like getting up on time, getting themselves ready for school (including remembering to pack their lunch, sneakers if it's gym day, homework, etc), treating others respectfully, doing their homework, doing their chores, you know, kid work.

Marks are tallied, privileges are earned, negotiations are made.

In our house, we have five major rotating chores:
dishwasher (empty once or twice a day)
pets and trash (feeding pets, taking out trash and recycling)
barn (taking Annabelle to the barn every night, letting her out in morning)
dinner helper (helps make dinner)
table helper (sets and clears table, puts away leftovers, washes non-d/w items)

We also have a million other chores that are assigned at random, and are not included in the weekly rotating chores. Things like cutting the grass, pulling weeds, running the vacuum, straightening up as needed. We just count those as "extras".

Since we have six kids, that means one of them gets a "star of the week" free pass. Much coveted.



So I like chore boards. Helps shape them up, makes clear my expectations, and lets them earn rewards for a job well done.

Of course, if you have some old dry erase boards that need repurposing, you can use my trick I posted here last week.

Have fun creating your own!






*********************

Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post "Beulah as Biographer" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and my post "Mother of the Year Award" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday


Come join the fun!

A Tip For Tuesday - Reusing Dry Erase Boards

If you're anything like me, you have a million and one dry erase boards in use. I use them for chore boards, calendars, art boards for the kids, you name it.

Problem is, as quick as I come up with a use for one, I come up with a way to tweak my system. But I usually mark 'em up with Sharpies to make my grids or labels or whatever, so they don't just wipe right off.

They're not the boss of me, though. I learned how to get Sharpie off a dry erase board. And I pass that knowledge onto you now, so you can breathe new life into your wipe-off boards. Just in time for the new school year.

All you have to do is scribble a dry erase marker over the Sharpie lines, and then wipe off.

Just like new again.

A blank slate, ready for your organizational genius.



















*********************

Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post "The Library Card" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and my post "When I First Saw You" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday


Come join the fun!

A Tip for Tuesday - School Supplies

It's August now.

School starts back up the end of this month.

I have started nesting. Taking inventory of, and organizing the school supplies that I keep in an old secretary.

When I get the school supply lists, I always make this my first stop. There are always oodles of items left over from previous school years with plenty of life left in 'em.

The secretary is just an old thing we inherited from a friend's Mom who was downsizing, so it didn't cost us a thing.

In the top shelf area, I keep any required reading collected over the years, along with a few children's classics.

One drawer is set aside for pencils, glue, book covers, calculators, etc.

One is for composition books, spiral-bounds, loose-leaf and graph paper.

In the bottom drawer, I stow all the folders, page protectors and dividers.

I have another drawer for clipboards and assorted odds and ends.

Because binders are pretty large, I store them separately in a Rubbermaid bin next to the secretary.









Any piece of storage furniture could be used for this purpose. An old dresser, some shelves and baskets. We keep ours by the front door, but a study or even the dining room would work equally well. If the kids are running low on papers or pencils or what-not during the school year, they know to always check this cabinet first.




Happy organizing!





*********************

Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post "BlogHer '12" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and my post "Btw? She's Back!" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday


Come join the fun!

A Tip For Tuesday - Save on Hand Soap (NOT diy!)

I don't know about you, but I like the foaming hand soaps for the bathroom sinks.

With kids in a constant state of motion, I always wonder if the soap is really being distributed well across their hands, and I think the foaming hand soaps ensure that it is.

However, they cost more, and I'm always looking for good ways to save money.

Now, before you go get your iron kettle out and curse me for telling you to make your own homemade soaps or reuse your bar soap slivers, just chillax a sec.

It's nothing like that. All you have to do is buy those big giant, "economical" soft soap refills. When your foaming hand soap dispenser is empty, just fill it about 1/3 of the way with the refill stuff, and add water to the top. Swirl it around a bit and replace the dispenser thingy, and voila, you've refilled the bottle for a small fraction of the cost of replacing the whole thing. Plus, you've reused your dispenser, so less stuff going into the landfills, and all that.

Those lttle bottles of foaming handsoap cost a couple bucks a pop.
The big giant refill bottles cost about $5.00.
So for what you would spend to buy two of the little ones, you can buy enough to refill about a bazillion bottles, give or take.

So there you have it. My Tip for Tuesday will save you money and save the planet.

No iron kettles required.


*********************

Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!



Holy handsoap, tomorrow is the last day of voting for the Circle of Moms contest!
To vote for me, click this pink badge, then scroll down till you see my blog, and click on the thumbs-up button. Hurry now!
Thanks!



***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post "It's Happened Again" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and my post "Glass Half-Full" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday. Come join the fun!

A Tip for Tuesday - Teaching at the Table

Ours is not a homeschooling family.

I'm not that brave, but my hat is off to all those that are.

That being said, I do try to make sure the little buggers are learning a few things now and then. Even when they're NOT in school. You've all seen the video, right?




Yeah. Not on my watch. Such as....



To that end, I've got maps, and I'm not afraid to use 'em.

We currently have a giant US map on our dinner table, covered in clear plastic, so we can wipe the spagehetti sauce off of Seattle and the milk off of Milwaukee.

Every now and then, I take the US map out and replace it with a world map.

Sometimes we play I Spy games with the maps
I spy a large country bordered by Russia and China....

or quiz each other on capitals. My oldest and my youngest, in particular, are kind of geography nerds and they like challenging each other in this way.

I'm hoping the others pick it up by osmosis or something.

So. Maps. They're what's for dinner.


*********************


Hello? Is this thing on? For some reason, my ratings on the Top Mommy Blog thing have been slipping lately, though my blog views are way up (thanks to all my awesome followers, new and old!). Can you take a sec to vote so I can get back on the first page? I hate not being in the top 25. Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!



Also? If you're feeling generous with your clicks, please vote for me in the Circle of Moms Top 25 Moms With Big Families contest. To vote for me, click this pink badge, then scroll down till you see my blog, and click on the thumbs-up button. You can vote every day till the contest ends. Thanks!



***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post "Escaped" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and "That's My Girl" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday. Come join the fun!

A Tip For Tuesday - Toddler Straws

When my kids were little - toddler to preschool age - there was an item I took to carrying in my diaper bag that made things a bit easier whenever we ate out.

Flexi straws.

For little ones, whether they're a baby sitting in a high chair, or a young child sitting on a chair at a table, they have a hard time drinking from a cup without the contents spilling all over them. Putting a straw in it makes it even worse because the top of the straw is up too high, and when they tilt it down to reach, the cup titls, too. And spills.

But a bendy straw? No longer an issue, even when the cup is up at an awkward level.

And a toothbrush holder is the perfect thing to keep them in to keep them clean in the bottom of your purse or diaper bag.

The model I used in this-here little photo shoot? My adorable nephew.

Couldn't you just eat 'im for breakfast?


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Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!



I've been nominated for another Circle of Moms contest! This one is for Top 25 Moms With Big Families. To vote for me, click this pink badge, then scroll down till you see my blog, and click on the thumbs-up button. You can vote every day till the contest ends. Thanks!



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In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Here's the schedule I keep:
Monday: Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Tuesday: Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
and Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up
Wednesday: My Life and Kids Finding the Funny
Thursday: A Rural Journal's Rural Thursday Blog Hop
Friday: Deborah Jean's Dandelion House's Farmgirl Friday
Saturday: Camera Critter's Life With Dogs Pet Blogger Hop and Country Momma Cooks Saturday Link-Up

Since today is Tuesday, that means I'm linking my post "Lucky Me" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up, and "Everything I Needed To Know, I Learned From the Amish" with Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday. Come join the fun!

A Tip For Tuesday - Laundry, Simplified

Multiple Choice Test:

Q) What is the hardest part of the laundry for you?

a) Putting it in the washer.
b) Putting it in the dryer.
c) Sorting and folding.
d) Putting it away.

If you're like me when I was young and foolish (and had young and foolish children), your answer is probably c, followed closely by d, but a and b you can likely do in your sleep.

So stop fighting it, and get rid of those two hellish choices. I learned laundry from a sage of a large-family Mom years ago, and it has changed. My. Life. Neither my sofa nor my bed has seen piles and mountains and heaps of laundry in years.

I graciously pass that wisdom on to you now.

I'm beneficent that way.


It's really quite simple. Instead of throwing in mixed loads and then sorting afterwards, wash each person's laundry seperately. Each family member should have at least one hamper of their own. In our family, there's a hamper in each person's room, as well as hampers downstairs in the mud room. When one of them needs to do laundry, they just gather their laundry from their room and downstairs, and throw it in the wash. I usually switch it for them, and sometimes I fold it when it's done, and they take it to their room and put it away. Even the folding is pretty simple, as I have a pole above the washer, so all shirts (even t-shirts) get hung in their closets. Sticking a shirt on a hanger is way easier than folding.

When they're putting their clothes in the washer, they keep out any whites. They each have a zippered mesh laundry bag in the laundry room for their white socks. On the weekend, I do a load or two of whites, and throw all the mesh bags in. When they're done, I just give each person his or her bag to take to their room and put away.

I do my mine and Fred's laundry on the weekend, as well as any towels, sheets, blankets, curtains (cough - almost never) or any other assorted and sundry items.

My kids have been doing their laundry like this (or at least being significant helpers) ever since I first learned about it, back when my youngest was maybe four. Even little kids can gather. They can throw stuff in the washer. With a little help, they can add detergent. They can sort socks, put underwear and PJs in their drawer, fold towels.

This is NOT my laundry room.

Nor is this.









I would post a picture of mine, but you don't need to see that. Trust me.

I have a family of eight, and I am here to tell you I am NOT overwhelmed by laundry. I do not have a beautiful, dedicated laundry room with high-end, state-of-the-art appliances. I have an old top-loading washer and a boring old dryer squeezed into a cubby in the upstairs hall bathroom. I almost never have piles of laundry sitting about, and I almost never feel behind with it all.

Remember, it's so simple: each person's laundry seperately. That's really all it takes.



And just think, with all the time you free up, you can catch up on all those bon-bons you're behind on. You can finally take up knitting or learning the guitar.

And with all the laundry off your sofa, think of the things you'll find:

The remote.
$785 in assorted change.
The missing hamster.
Four phones.
That neighbor kid from across the street.


Try it today, don't delay!

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Images from Pinterest, courtesy: southernliving.com and loghomefloorplansonline.com
Also: reviews.crateandbarrel.com, and superstock.com
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Thanks for stopping by.
If you like my blog, I hope you'll be able to take a minute to add yourself as a follower.
Come back soon! I'm here every day, rain or shine...

~Anne


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Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs.
You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.




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I'm linking up my post "Ode to the Mom in the Grocery Store" with Heavenly Homemakers "Gratituesday". Come join!





Also linking my post "LOL Lunch Date" with Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link Up. Come check it out!

A Tip For Tuesday

I made this menu board in my kitchen.

Just a little chalkboard paint is all it takes.

I put a few coats on the strip of wall next to my refrigerator. At the top, I wrote "Today's Specials", with Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.








Below that I wrote about 30 or so of the dinners we eat most commonly.
I write the date next to each dinner I make, that way I can keep track of which dinners I've already made, so I don't repeat too often, and so I know when it's OK to reheat, and when I should pitch what's leftover in the fridge.






After I've gone shopping, I place a mark next to any of the dinners I've just bought the stuff for, so I know what I have on hand to make in the coming week.

I've had this up for a few weeks, and it's worked out really well.

Plus, now when I get asked the question "What's for dinner?" 47 times a day, I can answer "Look at the board" instead of ""spaghetti" or "tacos."

Wait. I guess that doesn't help much, does it?



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I'm linking up my post "Reason #796 Why I Love Her" with Heavenly Homemakers "Gratituesday". Come join!



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Thanks for stopping by.
If you like my blog, I hope you'll be able to take a minute to add yourself as a follower.
Come back soon! I'm here every day, rain or shine...

~Anne


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Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever. Thanks!