I won’t be posting next week because I’m taking the week off to enjoy with my family. Hope you have a great first week of August!
Jul 31
Quiche is one of my favorite things to make on Christmas morning. I pop it in while we open gifts and it’s ready to serve by the time we’ve all worked up an appetite. It’s also very filling so it keeps everyone satisfied for a while.
Today’s breakfast idea comes from Andi, a friend of mine and fan of 3 Girls and A Pug. She’s sharing her favorite quiche recipe.
Quiche
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup Bisquick
2 cups cubed ham
1 cup grated cheese (I like to use cheddar)
a couple dashes of salt and pepper (or to taste)
Blend eggs, milk, and Bisquick together. Then add ham, cheese, and salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.
Jul 30
Even though summer is still in high gear for most families, the retail world has already turned the spotlight to Back to School shopping. Now is the perfect time to cash in on those clearance racks filled to capacity with bathing suits and Capri pants. Here are my tips for making the most of the clearance sales so you’ll be set for next summer.
1. Buy for now and later. You may find that your kids are short on shorts or hit a growth spurt and have already grown out of their bathing suit. These items which are normally $10-20 are now reduced by 90 percent and are sometimes as low as $1.99. If you’re good for this year consider stocking up for next year. Most of the time you can guesstimate what size your kiddos will be by the next time summer rolls around. It’s also a great time to make purchases on adult apparel, too.
2. Beware of bargains that aren’t such a great deal. Not all clearance racks are created equally. Thirty-percent isn’t much of a discount. Dig a little deeper or don’t be afraid to walk away if it’s not in your price range. The whole idea of a clearance rack is that it’s supposed to save you lots of money or it’s just not worth it. Don’t be lured just by the idea of a sale. You have to know what the original price in order to determine if it’s a good enough buy to make the cut. Look for special one day sales and coupons you can use to get an additional 10 to 50 percent off the clearance price. Those tend be the deals that payoff the most.
3. Stock up on non-clothing essentials too. Plastic plates and cups, bug spray, beach towels, and sand toys are also filling up clearance sections as stores make space for pencils and papers. Again, those same deep discounts can apply to these seasonal items so keep your eyes peeled for items that you’d like to have on hand next Memorial Day and beyond. Some items, like sunscreen, can expire so make sure you know an item’s storage limitations before you purchase them.
4. Tuck it away for safe keeping. Since it will be another nine months before you’re looking for some of these items you want to store these items somewhere you can find them when you need them again. I store our items in a plastic Rubbermaid tub that I label and put on a shelf in the garage.
Question: What’s your strategy for getting good deals?
Jul 29
Even though Back to School is around the corner, summer is still in full gear. August is typically one of the hottest months of the year in most places. Do you hit the beach or the lake? Crank up the air conditioning? Lay out at the pool? Sip lemonade or treat yourself to an ice cream cone?
Question: How hot is it where you are? And what are you doing to beat the heat?
Jul 28
You’ve finally cleared out the clutter and you’re ready to restore your favorite items to the room. Before you begin putting the furniture back in place and hanging pictures on the wall, you may want to freshen up the room first with some spring cleaning. A clean room will give fresh life to your newly organized room. Below are four must-do items to get your room white-glove worthy.
To read the rest of this article go to: http://organization.adviceandreviews.com/2009/07/put-a-little-spring-in-your-step/
Question: What do you do to deep clean a room you’re doing a makeover on?
Jul 27
Once a year, for four days, my oldest daughters are the same age. No, this is not a witty riddle. The truth is, they were born only 361 days apart. When I arrived home from the hospital after giving birth to my second daughter, I threw a birthday party for my oldest who was turning one. Everyone thought I’d lost my mind, but I guess I’d just accepted this concept as normal somewhere after the shock had worn off that I was going to be a mom of “Irish Twins.” (Irish Twins is the unofficial name for siblings who are born within the same year.)
I don’t remember much about those first few years with the “twins.” I’ve forgotten how much work it was just to get to the grocery store or to eat a meal without someone on my lap. I’ve forgotten that I didn’t get a full night of sleep for years and years. Or the endless months I changed the diapers on two sets of cheeks. I also don’t remember the faces of the strangers who would comment on my young family, but I haven’t forgotten their less-than-supportive looks and comments. If I had a nickel for every time someone stopped me at the store and said, “You’ve sure got your hands full,” I’d be a millionaire. (Just a note to all people who’ve said that: Stop saying that to people. It’s not helpful!)
I do remember many days where I’d watch my husband leave for work and I desperately wanted to grab onto his leg and beg him not to leave me. I do remember having a meltdown when buying a double stroller. I figured it was a royal waste of $100 since I couldn’t imagine ever leaving the house alone with two babies.
Those first few years were a blur that has now faded into some of the best years imaginable as the girls have grown closer than I’ve ever seen two sisters become. They even shared their own language for years that no one understood but the two of them. My husband and I watch them some days and marvel at the close relationship they share. They share everything from birthday parties and friends to clothes and books. They are each other’s best friend and worst enemy at the same time. But it’s something I’m not sure many siblings experience. We always joke that they’ll have to marry understanding spouses someday who won’t be jealous of their close ties but instead will embrace them.
Jul 24
Eggs are a relatively cheap item to eat, are fast to prepare, and make a great source of protein. I buy eggs in bulk from Costco and try to sneak them into our breakfast meal plan a couple times a week. I can bet there’s at least one or two members of most families that aren’t big fans of eggs, myself included, but there are some ways to make eggs more edibile for everyone. (A little salt on eggs goes a long way in improving the flavor of eggs.)
1. Hard-boiled eggs. What kid doesn’t love eating with her hands? Hard-boiled eggs can be made ahead of time, and if you wrap a piece of bacon around the egg, the salty meat flavors offset the strong egg taste. My kids even gobble them up as afternoon snacks.
2. Homemade Egg McMuffins. I use a slice of meat (Canadian bacon, deli sliced ham, turkey bacon, sausage patties, etc.) and one egg piled onto a buttered, whole wheat English muffin. You could also add a slice of cheese if you like, too.
3. Breakfast sandwiches. Follow the same directions as the McMuffin above but use two slices of your favorite bread (I love sourdough) instead of the English muffin. Changing one ingredient really can fool young mouths and eyes into believing it’s really a different menu item. Wrap it up in foil and you can eat it on the go.
4. Breakfast burritos. I combine a meat source, cheese, and hashbrowns (if I have some) into scrambled eggs and load them onto a warmed tortilla (15 seconds in the microwave.) Want a kick? Add some hot sauce or salsa to the recipe.
5. Go traditional. You can always make a standard bacon-and-egg breakfast plate with toast on the side or an omelet with vegetables hidden inside if you can get away with it. The classics are always crowd pleasures.
6. Try something different. Maybe poached eggs have a better texture for your egg-cautious kiddo? Or perhaps your kids would devour a quiche or frittata. You don’t know until you try, and eggs make a relatively inexpensive experiment.
Question: How do you like your eggs?
Jul 23
A few weeks ago I looked at the leather seats in my car and felt distressed by the endless scuff marks and general wear and tear they’ve taken from the kids over the years. From soccer cleats to camping trips, it was really a losing battle I was trying to win. While I regularly clean my seats with special sprays and treatments it seemed like it just wasn’t restoring my beautiful leather to it’s natural condition, and I’d all but given up.
But then I read a random cleaning tip in Good Housekeeping that you can use Neutrogena liquid facesoap to clean leather seats. I tested it out and was amazed that the kid grime easily lifted off and my seats look great again.
Do you have nail polish on your carpet? My friend said she used shaving cream to remove it and it worked like a charm. (I always wonder how someone finds out which random household items clean up hard to clean items. What act of desperation makes you put shaving cream on your carpet to get rid of nail polish spills?)
Another hard to clean spot is the microwave. In fact, it’s one of my least favorite jobs on the planet. Our microwave is built into our cabinetry and I’m too short to even see in there half the time. I figure ignorance is bliss, right? So when I do clean it out it’s pretty horrendous. I like to put a damp cleaning cloth with a dab of dish soap into the microwave for 15-30 seconds. It steams up and loosens the caked on grime and the then you can just wipe it down with a towel.
Question: What household items have you found to clean hard-to-clean items?
Jul 22
I feel like I have two speeds in my life: slow and go. The trouble is I seem to get stuck in one speed because I have a hard time finding the clutch, so to speak, to shift gears. I would estimate that I spend 80-90 percent of my days in go mode, but when I downshift to slow the other 10-20 percent of the time it’s a little slice of heaven. (By the way, slow mode doesn’t count if you’re sick. And if that’s the only time you slow down, then you really need to keep reading.)
No matter how hard it’s been for me, I’ve made a conscious effort this summer to be on less of a schedule. I’ve still demanded my kids brush their teeth. (I know. I’m so mean.) But generally we’ve rolled from day to day without making many plans. By comparison, during the school year we’re scheduled nearly every minute of every day. I know I’m not alone in this crazy lifestyle. It’s been wonderful to take a break from it all and relax. I often don’t get a free minute to myself while they’re awake, but I feel less stressed when we’re not tied to our agenda for the day and we can move at a snail’s pace. I’ve relearned the valuable lesson that, “A less stressed mom equals a happier home.”
Don’t get me wrong—we’re not cooped up all day. We still do many of the same things we normally do in a summer, but it feels better to skip a few things and slow it all down a bit. For me, I seem to be enjoying the time we have together more and we’re actually having fun trying new things together.
Trying to find second and third gear this summer hasn’t come without a few stalls or bumpy moments. It’s very similar to learning how to drive a car with a manual transmission. Remember peeling out a few times or killing the engine when you don’t apply the accelerator enough? It’s hard to strike a balance between letting it roll and hitting the gas. I’ve had to take a few ”mental health days” or afternoons to restart my engine over the past few weeks. I’ve also had to count to 10 or call a girlfriend to vent more times than I count on one hand. But the good news is I think I’ve finally found a few gears we can drive in without leaving anyone in the dust.
Question: Any suggestions on how to keep this more relaxed vibe alive beyond Back to School night?
Jul 21
A fellow mom from school stopped by recently and was in shock when she saw my house. She couldn’t believe I had time to organize. I live in a relatively small space and I feel like the walls of our home are caving in on me if our house begins to get cluttered and unorganized. I feel like I don’t have time to be disorganized. If our house feels chaotic, so do I.
I doubt there is a person on the planet who enjoys being disorganized. It’s frustrating to misplace an important document or to pay late fees for bills that get tucked away and forgotten or to lose or damage a valuable item because it wasn’t stored properly.
Here are some tips for getting organized.
- See your organizational fantasy. Imagine what your ideal bedroom, home office, or garage would look like if it were perfectly organized. How would you feel? What would it look like? What would you see? What would you not see? Keep that mental image with you and jot down a few notes about your organizational fantasy to give you a goal to shoot for when you’re down to the nitty gritty and you need motivation.
For the rest of the article follow this link: http://organization.adviceandreviews.com/2009/07/dreaming-of-an-organized-home/
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