Load Your Own Dishes In The Dishwasher

This summer I decided to up the expectations for my kids.

For one, it is no longer acceptable to just clear your plate after lunch, leaving it by the sink as you run off to play.  Now you must also dump the contents of the plate and load it into the dishwasher!

I taught them all the proper plate positioning for our dishwasher.  My 7 year old demonstrating the technique:

I have no idea why I didn't start this sooner!

Find more Works For Me Wednesday here.

To-Do List Help

I believe I have blogged here before about my love/hate relationship with my to-do list.

Basically I love having a place to keep track of the things I need to do and I love checking things off the list.

But, I do NOT love that my list seems to go something like this:  scratch 2 things off, add 4 things, accomplish 1 thing, add 3 things. . . 

You see how this is going.

I could have the most productive day but still end it with 12 more items on my list than when the day began.  Really, can you see how a girl might just want to give up?!!

Sometimes it was so frustrating I just stopped looking at the list.  I'd just keep it all in my head, but then there was the nagging fear that I was forgetting something important!

The last few months, I have found a system that has helped my sanity.  In reality it is just mind games to help me feel more productive, but it works!

Here's what I do:

I have a 3 different lists I keep in the "Reminders" app of my phone.  

One is a "Big To-Do List" where everything I need to do goes once I realize I need to do it.  These are both immediate and future to-do items.  This list is infinity long.

The 2nd is called "Today" and that is where I pick out a few manageable items from the Big To-Do List that I need to do today and can actually realistically accomplish today.

 

The 3rd list is called "Tomorrow" and as I am living today, I can move things to "Tomorrow" if they are just not going to fit today or if I think of something from the Big To-Do List that I really must get to tomorrow.  At the end of the day, the "Tomorrow" items get moved to "Today"

The beauty of all of this is really the feeling of actually finishing a to-do list which never happens with my big list but occasionally happens with my "Today" list!  Plus it keeps me more focused and a bit less overwhelmed.

How do you manage the ever-growing to-do lists of your life?

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

My Son Is Doing His Own Wash!

Do you know what has changed my life lately?

I taught my 11 year old son to DO HIS OWN WASH!!

I cannot even tell you how awesome this is for two reasons!

The first reason is obvious -- less wash for me!!  Before when I'd go collect the kid wash after going a few days without doing it, it would be overflowing and equal more than one washer load full.  Now, with the oldest child's dirty clothes going into HIS OWN HAMPER, when I collect the kid wash for the remaining 3 children, it now fits into one washer load!  It's not even just one less child's wash to do, but my 11 year old's clothes are the biggest.  Three pairs of his long jeans is a lot of washer space!  Also, he wears a second set of clothes on the days he goes to his swim team practice because they do dry-land workouts before they swim!

The second reason him doing his own wash is awesome is that it is a chore that has its own built in consequence!  Other chores like assigning him a bathroom to clean or picking up the dog mess in the backyard he can skip and not really feel any pain from not doing his chore unless I give him a consequence for not doing it.  But if he doesn't do his wash, he DOESN'T HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR!  It's as simple as that!

My kids do not have a ton of chores, but I do feel it is good for them to have jobs around the house to learn responsibility and cut down on that attitude of entitlement and the idea that mom is there solely to serve them!  And besides, doing laundry is a life skill, and he might as well learn now when I'm there to coach him on fabric softener and water temperatures!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

High Protein Snacks

In our adoption training we learned that children from hard places are more susceptible to mood swings due to changes in their blood sugar levels thus it's recommended to provide a high protein snack to keep blood sugar levels stable.

I've found this is a good practice for all children, hard places or not.

But, coming up with healthy, convenient snacks that are high in protein that my children will eat can be challenging, so I thought I'd share some I've figured out that work for us.

- Homemade snack mix
This is Little Girl's go-to snack most days for preschool.  It consists of almonds (her classroom is peanut-free but thankfully other nuts are fine), raisins, and then I add in something else like a few goldfish or wheat thins or some dry cereal.

- String Cheese
I get the most all natural I can find.  There is a surprising amount of protein packed into a little string cheese!

- Boiled Eggs
I don't pack this snack for preschool, but at home it's a great way to get some protein in your kids

- Edamame
I do have to sprinkle it with a considerable amount of salt, but then all 4 of my kids gobble up this stuff!

- Greek Yogurt
Regular yogurt has some protein, but Greek yogurt has even more.  One of my kids really loves yogurt parfaits, where I layer yogurt, sliced fruit, and granola.


Do you have any high protein snacks that work for your kids?

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

Never Run Out Of Spoons Again!

Where do the spoons go?

Does anyone else have this mystery at their house?

I have no idea where our spoons disappear to (although I do blame the kids), I just know that we had gotten down to 3 spoons in our everyday silverware and maybe 8 in our nicer silverware for our family of 6 (who happen to love our cereal and ice cream)!  And I can tell you from experience that it's just no good eating your cereal with a soup spoon!

I figured out I could buy replacement spoons to match our flatware on the Internet for fifteen dollars per spoon!  That seemed like a hefty price considering I needed like 10 spoons and also taking into account the hard truth that my children are most likely accidentally throwing my spoons away when they clear their spots after eating something in a disposable container, like yogurt or applesauce!

Then I found them -- good quality, elegantly plain, stainless steel spoons on Amazon.com for $11 FOR TWELVE SPOONS!  I wasn't immediately sold on having the mismatched flatware in my drawer, but considering the low price, I decided to try them.



The results after two months of the new spoons?

Awesome!

I can't tell you how much I love having a full spoon drawer again, and the quality of the Amazon.com spoons is really good.  They feel every bit as sturdy as my more expensive stuff!

Ah, don't you just love opening the drawer and seeing that stack of spoons!  Okay, maybe that's just me after doing without for so long!

Are you running low on spoons?  I know we are not alone in this, I polled some of my friends with 3 or 4 kids and we all have the same mysterious phenomenon going on with vanishing spoons.  Buy yourself a dozen new spoons.  It will change your life!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

***Disclaimer:  I am an Amazon.com affiliate and will receive a small portion of the sale should you buy using my link, but I only mention products that I have truly used myself, love, and would recommend to close friends.***

Display for Christmas Cards

Not that we've sent our Christmas cards out yet, but other people have.  So it's time for me to put up my Christmas card display.  I have been using the same card display system for the past 5 years and it still works great; the whole family likes seeing the photos of friends and family hanging in our house!  Here's what I do:

Repost from November 3, 2009:

I love displaying the Christmas cards that we get, especially since so many of our friends have little kids and send cards with pictures. It is really fun to have all the cards up in the house, marvel at how much all the kids have grown and changed, and just enjoy all the cute little faces!

But until last year I didn't have a system I really liked for displaying the cards. But then I figured out this system to hang the cards onto 2 doors we have between our living room and breakfast room that we leave open all the time. I bought cheap over-the-door plastic hooks, tied thick ribbon I had on hand around the hook, made a bow and left a long tail hanging down. Then as I got cards in the mail I simply stapled them down the length of the ribbons.
It was so easy to put up initially, easy to add to as more cards came in, not to mention cheap! And we enjoyed looking at it so much it was the last Christmas decoration to come down (possibly even waiting until early February)!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday tips here.

How To Teach Your Child to Read

My 4th child is learning to read and I am trying a different method than I used with my older 3 children and it is working great!

I wish I'd used this program with my 3rd child as I think it would help him now reading harder books to be better at sounding out long, unfamiliar words he comes across.

The book is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.



I'm on lesson 40 right now with my 5 year old pre-kindergarten daughter who was adopted from Ethiopia at age 3 and began speaking English less than 2 years ago.  And get this, SHE IS READING!  Really, really reading! Sentences!  Words like "the" and "fast" and "she" and "feel"!

Honestly, I am truly amazed!  I began this book with Little Girl this year before she goes to kindergarten next year because I was worried reading would be a struggle for her only having been exposed to the English language for 2 years.  And I've watched public kindergarten get harder with more expectations even since my now 5th grader went through to what I saw expected of my son who was in kindergarten last year.  I don't completely agree with the rigor that has been added to kindergarten, but overall our local public school has been excellent for my older 3 kids so I do my best to help my kids rise to the expectations they'll have in kindergarten.  Also, it helps that I LOVE our kindergarten teacher.  The same teacher taught my older 3 kids and I love her teaching style and the way she interacts with the kids. 

Each lesson in this Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book only takes about 15-20 minutes and really it is a sweet one-on-one time with my Little Girl each afternoon after her preschool and while the big kids are still at school.  She enjoys the lessons and reminds me we need to "work on my reading!"  I got a bunch of those gold, silver, green, blue, and red foil stars and I let her pick a star after she finishes a lesson and put it on a chart we made to show her progress through the lessons.

The lessons can be a little monotonous for you as the parent because the book wants you to follow each step exactly and tells you word for word what to say as you walk your child through the activities.  But, it works and it takes all the thinking out of the deal for you, which is nice when you are frazzled on a busy day!

I like that the book focuses a lot on letter sounds and sounding out words, sight words only get you so far and understanding phonics helps with spelling later.  Also, I like that the book includes a reading comprehension section where the child sounds out words in a short story and then you ask them questions about what they just read.  And there is a writing aspect, too, at the end of each lesson where the child practices 2 different letters.

We are not through with this curriculum, but even if I stopped now at lesson 40, I am a happy customer and believe this is a wonderful method to teach your child to read!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

***I was not compensated in any way to endorse this book.  I am an Amazon.com affiliate and will earn a small percentage of the sale should you make a purchase using my link.  I only recommend products I have truly used and loved.***

Breakfast delivered right to my front door!

I have 4 kids.

As much as I try to avoid highly processed foods to feed my family, breakfast cereal is an exception.

We eat it for breakfast about 5 days each week.  I know it would be better to cook a from-scratch breakfast each morning, but that just is not going to happen on most school days and with one child allergic to eggs I struggle to find healthy breakfast options for her anyway.  I do at least pick the healthier cereals, ones with more protein.

But, all that being said.  Six of us eating cereal 5 days every week adds up to A LOT of cereal.

So, wanna know what I'm loving right now?

This delivered right to my front door every few weeks:

Cracklin' Oat Bran Cereal, 17-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 10) from Amazon.com.

The price is comparable to what I'd pay at my local grocery store!  And the convenience of fewer items on my grocery store list, not having to fill up my cart with just cereal, and an automatically replenishing supply is awesome!

Even the dog is happy!

Now, to bring back the milk delivery (and not pay a fortune for the service). . .


Find more Works for Me Wednesday here. 

A Checklist to Help Kids Get Things Done

My 10 year old was having some trouble managing all the tasks associated with his 5th grade life, complete with swim team practice 3 to 4 times per week, school work, and his safety patrol duty.

He was leaving dirty clothes everywhere, forgetting to bring his lunchbox and water bottles in from the car, he was getting to bed too late, running late for places he needed to be, and having to be reminded tons of times about basic tasks.

So, this weekend we created a checklist of all the things he needs to do after school, including tasks for before his swim practice and tasks for after.  All tasks have an end time.  And we even agreed on some consequences should he not have the tasks completed on time, some privileges he'd loose.

It's only been 2 days, so I'm totally asking for a fall by saying this, but so far, it's WORKING!!

He is like a new kid!  A new focused kid who can accomplish many tasks efficiently.  I'm not having to go behind him and do all the things he should be doing for himself!  And (this part is really huge) I'm not having to remind him of anything!

Some tasks take seconds, like lunchbox by sink or agenda signed, and some take longer like homework done.  But even he has been amazed at how quickly he can get through the list when he focuses on getting it done!

Oh and he's already figured out a quick way to eliminate a task.  He used to shower after swimming in the master bathroom and would leave it a mess with a wet swimsuit, towel, clothes on the floor, and his watch on the counter. My husband and I got tired of wading through the mess all evening after our son had gone to bed and we faced the choice of waking him up to clean it or clean it up ourselves.  So, the task of "Mommy and Daddy's bathroom picked up" went on the list for sure.  But, guess what?  Since the checklist, he's gone back to showering in the kid bathroom -- hooray!

I laminated it so he could use a dry erase marker to check off tasks.

So far, this checklist works for me!!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

When life hands you cups . . .

We have family Bible devotionals at least once a week with our 4 children who range in age from 10 to 4 years old.  I've found that as we read the Bible together and discuss important, heavy topics of life and faith, it's also important to have an element of fun!

So, I'm always looking for easy ideas (like things that need nearly zero advance prep) for fun activities we can do during this time.  

Because we hardly ever watch TV, I had no idea about the show Minute to Win It but recently I was somewhere where they had Minute to Win It games as an ice breaker activity and it occurred to me that the games would be great to add some fun to our family devotional time.  Sure enough,  the website for the show has some great game ideas!

A week ago we did a game of seeing who could stack the most small paper cups in one minute.  It was super fun and so easy to prep for as we already had the cups!  My kids loved it so much that even after the game time was over they entertained themselves building with the cups (which made me totally wonder why we even have toys)!

Do you have any good games your family plays together?

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

Getting Out The Door Easier

Sometimes it's the little tips that can really make day to day life with kids easier!

Often I'm curious about how other moms do things like feeding their people and wash.  I think that's why I've loved Works for Me Wednesday over the years.  I don't have as much time as I used to for going through the tips every week, but every once in a while, I do find a gem.  Something typically so simple yet full of the wisdom that only comes from having lived it.

Whoa, so that's a heavy lead in for my super basic tip I'm sharing today.  But, do you want to know what's working for me lately, making my chaotic life just a little bit easier here in the season where school and activities are kicking off again right smack dab in what is always the the hottest month of the year?

Reusable water bottles, pre-filled with water and waiting, ready to go inside my fridge.  Enough water bottles for all four of my children plus myself!

We've only been doing this a few weeks and honestly I have no idea why I didn't do this sooner.  No more rushing out the door to get somewhere only to have 4 children decide they are dying of thirst and must get some water for the car ride and thus wait several minutes that feels like billions while various children attempt to fill water bottles from our fridge dispenser but mostly just manage to get water all over the refrigerator door and kitchen floor!  Really the whole thing made me so close to going back to disposable bottled water stocked in the fridge.

But, then I saw these babies on Amazon:
the girl version: 



and the boy version:



I bought one of each set to have spares.  They are super cute designs, BPA free, dishwasher safe, and have already been dropped more than once by my crew and not one has broken!

Also, what is certain to secure my award of "Mom of The Year", I grab a cold water bottle for each of my kids and take it with me to pick them up from elementary school.  Considering my younger ones have to wait with me for 15 minutes while my oldest finishes safety patrol duty, it certainly cuts down on the whining if I have a cold drink for them!

A key thing to remember and perhaps the only downfall of the water bottles I've found: they do not wash and refill themselves!  But, when you force yourself to do it, it is much better to refill the bottles and restock the fridge late at night when all is calm and quiet than filling bottles when you are 5 minutes late somewhere!

***Disclaimer:  I was not compensated to endorse this product and am recommending it because I truly use it and am happy with it.  I am an Amazon.com affliate and will earn a very small (think fractions of a penny) portion of the sale should you purchase something with my Amazon link.***

Find more Works for Me Wednesday tips here.

Making Time Apart Easier for Young Kids

When we took our oldest 2 kids to the Dominican Republic for a mission trip our 6 year old and our 4 year old got to go to Nana and Papa's house.  They had a blast, went tons of fun places, and drank chocolate milk every day (or so they've told me many times since they got back, to which I reply, "I'm happy you had chocolate milk at Nana and Papa's house, but if you had chocolate milk every day at home then it would not be a special treat when you got it at Nana and Papa's house." -- blank stares is all that answer gets me!). 

I knew they'd be very well cared for with my husband's parents, but I worried they'd get homesick.  Especially our Little Girl, who joined our family 19 months ago via adoption from Ethiopia.  This was the first time I'd left her overnight and unfortunately it had to be for a week this first time, but I did feel she was ready and that staying with grandparents she loves and is comfortable with and having a brother stay with her would all help.  But, I had my prayer partner praying over the situation and had been praying myself for months because there was the potential for it to go badly.  I mean this is a little girl who has had the experience of losing her first family forever and I worried she'd think we'd left her forever.

So, in addition to praying, I talked to her a ton about it.  To the point that she finally got very firm with me and said, "I KNOW that, Mommy!  I KNOW you are coming back!"  And all I could think was "Praise God" for that confidence because that must only come from Him!

And I also made these:

A dollar store gift for each of the kids to open every day we were gone with a tag attached that counted down the days until we'd be back.

Over the top?  Maybe, but I think it works to make the time apart just a little easier on the little ones.

Don't worry, I do not intend to send them with gifts for each day when they go away to college!  I just plan to go with them, move right into the dorm -- kidding!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

Cloth Napkins for Kids

We made the switch away from paper napkins a couple years ago and I have really liked it.  It is not hard to throw dirty napkins in with a load of wash I'm already doing every day or every other day.  And I like not having to buy paper napkins at the store; one less thing for my grocery list makes me happy!  Also, it's something small our family can do to better care for the world God gave us.

For dinner we use cloth napkins, and for lunch I was using old baby washcloths for the kids to wipe their hands and faces.  Several of the washcloths had gotten holes, but instead of spending money on new ones, I thought of an idea while cleaning out.  We had several soft flannel baby blankets around the house, but no babies anymore (sigh, that phase leaves so quickly, doesn't it?).  So, I cut the blankets up into small cloth napkins just the perfect size for the kids to use!

I love how soft they are!

I could have/should have gone the extra mile and sewed up a hem around the edge, but I knew adding that step would likely mean the blankets would never turn into cloth napkins, so I just cut around the edges with pinking shears.  Good enough!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

A Father's Day Treasure Hunt

Our Father's Day tradition is to send my husband on a treasure hunt for his presents. The clues relate to memories with the kids throughout the past year and send him all over the house until the last clue leads him to his presents!

I do around 6 clues and now that my kids are able (I actually started this when my 1st was a baby) they help with ideas and hiding the clues.

Examples of some past year's clues:

clue: POP ART!!!
location: a sticky note with the next clue will be taped to the Pop Tart box (my toddler screams "Pop Art!" at breakfast each morning until he gets a Pop Tart to go with his cereal.

clue: "Dr. Wink looked at me and said, 'You have a very rare and acute case of Pinkititis.'"
location: a sticky note leading to the next clue will be found on the page containing that sentence in the Pinkalicious book my daughter has had us read a hundred times and memorized herself."

clue: You pulled my 1st loose tooth here
location: presents will be found on my 6 year old's top bunk bed.

It is really fun coming up with the clues, hiding them, and, of course, watching the hunt! My kids and I follow my husband around as he follows the clues.

This little tradition makes Father's Day more fun and special!


Here's my 3rd child's favorite lovey, his Big Duke stuffed bulldog that was holding a clue last year:

And my older daughter's favorite doll was the answer to the very last clue and held the present!

All the clues from last year on sticky notes:

Find more Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

Coming Soon: Summer 2013

Our summer officially starts next Thursday when school is FINALLY out for my oldest 3 kids.  And I can't wait!

The plans?

1 week of VBS at our church, 1 week at our favorite spot in Florida, and a 1 week mission trip to the Dominican Republic for my oldest 2 kids, my husband, and me (the littles will stay with Nana and Papa).

BUT, other than those week-long things and swim team practice and meets during the month of June, we have a lot of BIG plans like:

- days of wearing our pajamas ALL DAY LONG and not getting in the car once!

- blueberry picking!  Followed by blueberry pancakes for dinner!

- checking out tons of books from the library and seeing just how many we can read this summer

- letting each of my oldest 2 kids take a night of dinner each week and cook it with me assisting

- teaching the 10 year old to do wash!

- visiting our children's museum, the zoo, the pool, the SeaWorld waterpark, the pediatrician (for those overdue well-child visits!)

- organizing the kid closets and rooms

- having our annual family "Outdoor Day"

- letting my kids practice their typing and Bible verses with scripturetyper.com

- reading chapter books outloud (my 10 year old is lobbying for the Narnia books)

- working on handwriting practice for all the kids (I bought these workbooks)

- helping my kids write and illustrate their own books (using these: Create Your own 3 bitty books)

- sewing with my 7 year old daughter

- Doing this fun idea I found on Pinterest - save Batman and Robin by melting Mr. Freeze's ice with water guns!

Source: greenjello.typepad.com via It on Pinterest

- And this idea for Scrap Fabric Paper Dolls (I certainly have a ton of scrap fabric!):

Source: servingpinklemonade.blogspot.com via It on Pinterest

- Making a lot of homemade ice cream and popsicles

- Creating elaborate Lego creations

- Family game nights and family movie nights (complete with popcorn)

- Re-discovering the joy that is shopping with 4 kids!

Yes, that is one of my children reading on the bottom tier of the cart.  If you happen to run into us in the Target this summer, feel free to point and laugh!

There you go, 18 ideas for summer.  If you want even more ideas, here's a link to my 2009 Summer Fun List with 36 items.

Apparently the 2009 version of me is way more ambitious than the 2013 me!


Find more Works For Me Wednesday here.

There is Still No 5 Year Plan!

Our hearts go out to those affected by the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.  Our family is praying for you.  May God's comfort be felt in tremendous ways for you today and in the coming weeks and months.

The following post was originally published in October 2010, but it is still true today (except now we've been married nearly 14 years!).  We still do not have a 5 year plan, and in fact have found that life is better without one.  Just desperately seeking God's plans!


Some time very early in our marriage (or perhaps even before we got married, I can't remember now, it's been over 11 years) we had a long-term plan.

Very long-term, stretching a good part of 25 years or so.

It was detailed, too, with things like exactly when we'd buy our first house, have our first child, have our second child. . .

There was no third child in that plan!

And certainly no fourth child!

There was probably a trip to Paris and Hawaii in there, but definitely not to Ethiopia.

And adopting a child from Ethiopia? Would have been unfathomable to us eleven years ago!

My husband had in the plan one of the two of our hypothetical children getting a full scholarship to college (wishful thinking!), which helped the finances look a little prettier.

Then as life happened, which it always does, I think the plan evolved into more of a 5 year plan.

And as we more and more let go of our plans and began to earnestly seek God's plans for our lives, even the 5 year plan melted away!

And now?

I don't think there is even a 1 year plan!

We pretty much have no idea!

When we went to get our travel shots a few weeks ago the doctor talked about a certain vaccine we wouldn't need just for the 2 one week long trips that were on the agenda, but we'd need if we planned to spend any large amounts of time in Ethiopia in the next 10 years. I looked to my husband questioningly and he nodded that absolutely we should get the extra shot, so that when it's time for us to go be missionaries in Africa we'll be all ready to go!

So now instead of intricately planning our our lives, we are praying to "live a life worthy of the calling we have received." Eph. 4:1

But, the amazing thing to me is that as God has changed our plans, He also changed our desires. Things we wanted for our life eleven years ago not only don't matter anymore, but are actually things we don't want now!

God changes hearts and replaces earthly desires with heavenly ones. That helps to explain lines like this one from the Steve Camp song, "Run to the Battle": "Some people want to live within the sounds of chapel bells, but I want to run a mission a yard from the gates of Hell."


Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

Getting My Kids to Declutter

Each of my 4 kids has a fabric tote/bucket on a shelf in our breakfast room (that we don't actually use for breakfast).   The buckets are to hold whatever treasures the child wants to hang on to, but I don't want to find all over the house -- think small prize trinkets, birthday party favors, crafts.  The shelf is in a prominent spot in our house and I walk by it a thousand times each day (to and from the laundry room and kitchen), so it bugs me when the kids' buckets become so full that I can see stuff coming up over the tops.  

My solution?

Cookies.

I bake some homemade chocolate chip cookies for the kids and give them each one for an after school snack.  Then I ask them if they'd like a 2nd cookie.  Their eyes get wide.  I NEVER offer a 2nd cookie!

Yes!  Yes, they DO want another cookie!

"Okay,"  I say getting each of their buckets down and putting them onto the table, "Then bring me some trash!  Cut down what is in your bucket by half (I use the term "50%" for my math-oriented kids) and I'll give you another cookie."

It worked!  No whining, no complaining, just trash bag filling!

It took my sentimental, pack-rattish child a rather long time to whittle her treasures down, but even she came through and earned that 2nd cookie!

A cookie for their trash?  Works for Me!

And don't go sending me your trash to get a cookie.  You only get a cookie for throwing away large amounts of stuff from MY house!


Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.

Yes, a vacuum cleaner is my best friend.

The entire 1st floor of our house is hard floor, either tile or hard wood.  Between the crumbs spilled by the kids and yard debris brought in by our super furry dog, the floor needs to be vacuumed daily.  I do not usually actually vacuum it every day, I just wear shoes inside the house (my "inside shoes") to avoid stepping on grit -- I hate the feel of grit under my bare feet!

We have a central vac. system that I use to do a thorough vacuum once or twice a week, but to haul out the long hose more often than that was troublesome and not happening.  Over the years I bought many different lightweight cordless, stick vacuums to use for quick clean-ups, but I've found their batteries stop holding charge after about a year and I got really tired of buying new ones or using one with a weak battery!

So, this time I decided to go with a corded vacuum, but stole a tip I learned from a beach house we stayed at last summer -- I hooked up an extension cord to the vacuum to make it a longer distance without unplugging/replugging.

And it works great!  The cord does not even bother me and it is so easy to whip out and do a quick vacuum or hand to a kid who is acting annoying and therefore earned some vacuum time!

Here it is, my new best friend:

See the extension cord in the background?

Here's the vacuum again:

  

Only don't buy it on Amazon, because it's $19.88 at Walmart .  I know, I know, I don't really like going to Walmart either (Target is my happy place but Walmart is too dark and crowded with stuff or something; it makes me feel claustrophobic) but it's worth it to save nearly $12.00!

***This is not a paid endorsement.  I paid for the item with my own money and truly do love it.  If you purchase it through my Amazon.com link, I will receive a very small advertising fee.***


Find more Works For Me Wednesday here.

Great Joke to Play On Your Kids

Want to know a super funny, harmless joke to play on your kids?

Pick them up from school and tell them you have a special treat for them -- Brown E's.  Of course they will hear "brownies" and be so excited.  When you get home, make a big production of slowly opening the foil lid you've put on a baking pan, then bring out a brown letter E!  "Here's your brown E!"

Oh, it is so funny!  Just hilarious!  Because a few of my kids were slow coming out of the car and one detoured to play on the swings in the backyard before coming in for snack, I managed to one-by-one do the joke to each of my 4 children last Friday.  It was really funny to see each of their individual reactions!  And the kids that were now in on the joke had fun watching their siblings fall for it!

My 10 year old son thought it was the funniest thing ever!  

My 7 year old daughter was the most mad:

The 7 year old:  "Hey!  You said you had brownies, THAT'S NOT A BROWNIE!"  

Me:  "Well, what color is it?"  

The 7 year old: "brown."  

Me:  "And what letter is it?"

The 7 year old reluctantly, "E".

Me:  "So it is a BROWN E!"

She did come around and saw the humor, though!

Because I'm not a totally mean mom, I did really have a pan of brownies hidden away ready to offer them once the Brown E fun died down!

On Monday, I packed each of the 3 kids that go to big school, a construction paper brown E in their lunch box because they wanted to play the little joke on their friends at lunch, "Hey do you want my brown E?"

They had fun playing the joke on their friends!  My kindergartener said one of the cafeteria workers saw him do the joke to his friend and she started laughing!  And my brave 4th grader played the Brown E joke on his teacher, luckily she thought it was funny, too!

So, spread the laughter -- who could you play the brown E joke on?

Do you know of any other good jokes/pranks we could enjoy -- good clean fun where nobody gets hurt?

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here and Wordful Wednesday here.

Super Easy, Super Healthy Snack

Snack foods are hard when you are trying to eat healthy, whole foods.

Sure, there's always a piece of fruit or raw carrots, and we do those a lot, but sometimes you want something else.

Lately to satisfy the times I really want crackers or for my husband, his snack food temptation is chips, we've started eating a handful of almonds.  

Plain, unsalted, non-roasted, natural almonds.  

Can't beat this ingredient list:

The first couple days they will seem too plain, because your taste buds are likely used to saltier/more processed foods, but stick with this snack and it will grow on you.  Not to mention the protein fills you up much better than a strictly carbohydrate snack!

Find more Works for Me Wednesday here.