Happy Pioneer Day!

I can't believe July is almost over and I've only posted twice! I am often of two minds about my blog, and any other activity that means I am spending a lot of time [always so relative] on my computer. I want to preserve and share the things we are going through and doing, but not shift my whole life to the internet if you know what I mean. So since we redid our crowded little living room to free up space and I switched from a desktop to a laptop I've found myself not getting on here as frequently. That was actually a part of the remodel plan. Partly I've just been extra busy, but partly I've just been enjoying living in the real world more than trying to write about it. Sometimes I just have too many ideas going through my head to think where to begin and what to share. It can feel overwhelming. And I feel inadequate at truly expressing my thoughts, but I know I'll only get better by continuing to try. I still love to blog, and I love the little community I've connected with so don't think I'm done! :)

It is amazing how much a fresh clean organized space helps me feel freer and happier. I think it's also the artistic side of it. I was so sick of looking at our mismatched furniture and spotty carpet. With all the effort I put into cleaning - the room still didn't look good. I am so glad we changed it up. We should have done this years ago! We didn't plan to be here this long, but plans don't always work out - so as long as you're making improvements - living a little more for the now is a good idea! Especially where you spend the majority of your time. Totally worth it. Now Lily can play play-doh directly on the floor and peeing on it is not such a big disaster. So many of the little problem areas that always troubled me have been eliminated. I feel like a new person. New to do list. Spending more play time with Lily is up at the top!

What are your Mommy Secrets?

So, these aren't really secrets, but I got this idea from a blogging friend and thought it rocked! She shared things she does to make being a mom easier. She has a private blog or I'd share a link, but she got the idea for her post here - in case you want to check out this other mom's list.

Please share any ideas of things you do - we all need all the help we can get!

I should preface this by saying my house is not spotless, nor do I manage to get dinner on the table every night. I am also lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who helps me a ton, even after a hard day's work. That said...

Here are my tips or shortcuts that make everyday life just a little bit easier on me:

1. When we're just going to be around the house (which is most days because I am car-less) I keep Lily in her pajamas until nap-time. After milk and stories we brush her teeth and wash up and she always gets her pj's wet - so we change her clothes last and she always goes into her crib in a fresh, clean set of clothes. I don't have to wash and change her sheets as often and she doesn't get sick very much. PJ's are so cute anyway!

2. I always buy the next size of diapers when they seem slightly small so I don't get stuck with a bunch that are too small, or have to deal with a bunch of leaks.

3. I made my own flannel sheets for Lily which I use most of the year. The crib mattress fits so tight I can just make it flat and tuck it in. It absorbs moisture better (because that girl gets sweaty) and is easier to change than a fitted sheet.

4. I made my own window inserts out of cardboard covered in contact paper so that for daytime naps and too-early of mornings the room is as dark as night. This trick got my baby (who I thought never slept!) on to a regular 2-3 hour nap a day - 7:30 am wake-up schedule.

5.  I've sung to Lily since she was a little baby. It's something that soothed her and it still helps her to get to sleep faster. Nice because you always have your voice with you without having to think about it, and it doesn't get lost or wear out like a favorite toy (at least not permanently). I've tried to mix it up with a good variety so we don't get too tired of singing the same old song, but even if you don't think you have a good singing voice - I think your baby loves it. When I had to be away for a week after my thyroid treatment I even sang Lily's bedtime favorites into a mic and recorded them on the computer to make a CD for Mike - though I don't think he used it :)

6. I don't give Lily a bath everyday unless she really needs it, and I still use the toddler bathtub inside the big tub most of the time because it uses less water so it's quicker and it's so quick to clean. I just rinse it out with hot water from our pull out shower head, let it drip dry and we're good to go. Lily doesn't care because it's the norm.

7. When Lily asks to get out toys for a new activity I get her involved in cleaning up whatever is out first. The mess doesn't get out of hand and she has incentive to clean. This morning she cleaned up her toys all on her own, before getting some right back out again :)

8. I always do laundry first thing Monday morning when I'm fresh, and if it needs it once more later in the week so it doesn't build up. I only do two types of loads - hot and cold. Yes, I put my husband's white Sunday shirt right in to wash cold with the dark colors - as long as there's nothing new that hasn't been washed yet. If there are more than 2 loads I might separate it out a bit more carefully, but it's so nice to be able to just sort everything into 2 baskets as we go. If anything need special stain treatment I stick it on top of my laundry basket lid so it will be right there to remind me to pre-treat it. If it's a major stain like chocolate I take it right off if I can and rinse it with cold water immediately. Vinegar in the wash removes odors and kills germs like thrush and doesn't smell vinegary once it's dry.

9. When I buy ground turkey (we don't do beef) - I season it and do it up into burger patties to freeze - 2 per freezer bag so I can knock them apart easily if I just want one. This saves so much time and money because you don't have to think what you are going to use it for until you need it. Just get out how many patties you need to have turkey burgers, brown for spaghetti, or whatever. I like to use just one patty in a recipe sometimes so we get the flavor while using meat more sparingly like the Word of Wisdom instructs. Goes farther and saves money too!

10. When I buy canned goods or boxes of dry goods I write the date (month/year) right on them before I put them on the shelf. It helps us to use the oldest stuff first when you can't always organize things perfectly right away. A lot of food containers have complicated date stamps and I don't have the time to go online to figure them out.

11. With pretty much 3 households sharing one kitchen it's pretty difficult to keep the dishes from piling up. For me, I just try to clean up after myself and not worry about the rest, because I just can't! When I cook I do try to think about how I can use the least number of dishes (ex: Cut veggies before meat on the same cutting board, use the knife for butter first and then to spread the messier condiments) and I clean up as I go. It's become a habit so it's not like I'm frozen, calculating, before making a move. As I go, taking dishes off the stove: I rinse the pots and pans or let them soak right away so I can avoid extra scrubbing.

12. Some of my favorite cleaning products:
Vinegar
All detergent - less perfume than special baby detergents.
The Works - toilet and shower cleaners - remove soap scum so easily!!
Barkeeper's Friend for stainless steel pots
Resolve Stain Remover Spray

13. I have an ongoing To Do List in an excel spreadsheet on my computer, another tab has my To Buy List, other tabs have goals and friend and family's addresses so all my organizational lists are right in one place and I can just print them off in a rush. I am working on organizing all my family's medical records into a single binder.

14. I try to plan a week's meals before we shop. Once I did a whole month in advance which was kinda crazy, but nice too. I want to switch over to a meal planning routine a lady at church shared with me, but I haven't gotten there quite yet. It's an improvement on what I was doing because you leave one day open to account for leftovers or going out, and you have a super organized grocery list and recipe book and schedule of all the meals you rotate.

15. I don't clip coupons - I just shop where I know the things I buy are typically cheaper like Walmart and Costco and one or 2 local grocery stores. I only use coupons when they fall into my lap because they make mess and just take too much time and energy for me - and shopping at fewer places saves money on gas - so that's good enough for me. If something I typically buy is on sale I stock up - just make sure you keep the expiration dates in mind.

16. When we eat out - we bring a to go bag for Lily - A large Ziploc bag with a cheap square plastic plate, a bib, and some kid friendly utensils. We usually just take a sandwich and offer her something off our plates rather than shelling out $5 for our picky eater to try one bite. When she's done we can just stick the dirty bib and plate back in the Ziploc bag and the server doesn't have to deal with Lily's mess.

17. When Lily first started eating solids I bought a large rectangle vinyl tablecloth and cut it in half so I always had a drop cloth I could easily wipe off protecting the carpet in our kitchen area. Suction cup bowls - love those!

18. Lily is a picky eater so to make sure she's getting more of the nutrition she needs I mix some liquid toddler vitamins in with half orange juice/half milk. She loves it and downs it no-worries every day! She also eats her yogurt better every morning with a sprinkling of Rice Krispies to make faces on her spoon. The best part is they don't have to look any more like faces than her scribblings look like what she says they are.

Well, that was more than I thought I had - I think I will stop there! I realize you probably already do some of these things and others might not work for you, but please share any tips you have with me! Anything to make life easier and give us more time to just enjoy living!

For the Love of Movies

One project finished! Love that feeling-don't get it enough, I guess I need more simpler projects. I just converted our DVD's over to slim cases to save space. We essentially live in two rooms which serve as our shared bedroom, family room, play room, food storage including 1 mini fridge, and office to...how many home businesses do we have now? Needless to say, space is precious! I must be organized for my sanity. I probably spent more time than most people would to make our movie covers look nice, but this is our collection, and once it's made it doesn't need re-doing so I wanted to do it right the first time. I use photoshop all the time so it wasn't really so bad. I re-used the backs and fronts and just made templates for the side titles, I even threw in a little color coded categorizing for easy organizing. I just made 3 categories: Classics, Animation, and Live Action - which is basically any movie with live actors in it even if there is some animation too. I know technically classic movies are live action too, but sometimes we feel like a new movie and sometimes an old so this is how I did it for us. Yay! twice as much space means twice as much room for new movies! We are not into cable so we usually get each other movies & older TV series on DVD for pretty much every occasion. I love the no commercial and no worrying what your kids are watching aspects of having a personal library. This is what thrills you, Lissy? Well, I always thought it was a good thing to be easily amused and it is the little things in life that give you the most joy.