Milestone Reached - My Daughter's Last Day of Daycare

My daughter reaches yet another milestone today.  Today is her last day of daycare.  While part of me rejoices in the fact that I will only have one child remaining in daycare, the other part of me cries knowing that my little girl is growing up.  It’s a bittersweet time indeed.

For the past year, my daughter has only been in daycare two days a week, and has spent the remaining three work days in the care of my mother-in-law.  This pattern of care was established to accommodate my daughter’s pre-school schedule, and we maintained it this summer until this week. 

Our family is going on vacation next week, since our daycare will be closed for their summer holiday, so we’ll all be going to camp for the week.  During the two weeks following our vacation, my daughter will go to my in-laws during the day, and the next week kindergarten starts.  It’s hard to believe that she’ll be going to kindergarten in less than a month, it seems like just yesterday we were driving home from the hospital with our newborn!

She’s already saddened at the prospect of no longer seeing her daycare friends, and nervous about the upcoming changes that will occur when she starts school.  It’s been incredibly helpful, transitionally, that she attended pre-school in the same school that she’ll be going to kindergarten in.  She already knows most of her kindergarten class, since they all went to pre-school together.  I know that she will thrive once she gets back into the routine of school, but until then we’re all a little nervous about the transition.

For my husband and I, it will mean another shuffling of our work schedules to accommodate the school day, and the juggling of children to two different places.  It also means that we’ll no longer be paying for daycare for my daughter, and THAT is huge for us!!  My son’s schedule will be flexed with a later drop off time at daycare, so that my husband can get my daughter to school, and an earlier pick up time so that I can be home when our daughter gets off the school bus.  It will take time for all of us to adjust to this new schedule, though I’m sure we’ll adapt to the scheduling change much faster than I will adapt to having my baby start kindergarten!

365 Day Declutter Challenge - Week 1

Week 1:  July 25, 2013 through July 30, 2013

Day 1: 9 books

Day 2: Wolf Wall Plaque

Day 3: Wolf  Wall Hanging

Day 4: Bath Set

Day 5: Lotion Set

Day 6: 3 boxes of Partylite Floating Candles

Day 7: Pedometer Watch, and Timex Watch

A Weekend of One on One Time!

This past weekend was a "Girls Weekend" for my daughter and I, and a "Boys Weekend" for my husband and son.  My husband and son left Friday night for a weekend of guy time at my in-law's camp, and my daughter and I stayed home. 

My daughter had a birthday party to attend on Saturday afternoon, which was the original reasoning behind our family separation for the weekend.  However, we opted to maximize this time apart and spend some much needed one-on-one time with each of the children.  My daughter was beyond thrilled with the prospect of having Mommy to herself for the entire weekend, and my son (being only two-years-old) was rather oblivious to the matter. 

It amazes me how different my children are when they are apart.  I had grand plans for all the things my daughter and I would do, and while we did do many of them, she was most happy with the fact that she could play alone in her room and be uninterrupted by her little brother.  Likewise, little brother took advantage of his Daddy-time by playing quietly by himself without the interruption of his big sister. 

The boys left around 6pm Friday evening, and while I was ready to kick off our weekend of "girl time", my daughter quickly disappeared to her room to play with her babies.  Since she was content, and enjoying herself, I curled up with a book and waited, hoping that she would return shortly.  After an hour, or so, she did emerge from her room, and requested that we cuddle on the couch and eat popcorn.  Since this was her weekend, I quickly obliged, and she quickly fell asleep mid snacking.  Thus ended our first evening of our girls' weekend.

We awoke Saturday morning, ate breakfast, and she disappeared outside to play in the sand.  I attempted to join her, and was given an evil eye and told that I could go do something else.  She wanted to play by herself.  I was a bit disheartened, but recalled that I myself am always excited about doing things uninterrupted while I'm home alone.  I wrapped the birthday gift for the afternoon party, and enjoyed a cup of coffee as I watched her through the window.  The smile that alighted her face proved to me that she was enjoying her break by herself.  After a short time though, I was forced to call her inside so that she could shower and get cleaned up for the birthday party.

We attended the party, and she had a great time catching up with her pre-school friends that she hadn't seen in a few weeks (some since school ended, and others since the baseball season ended).  After the party we made our way to the city, went out to dinner, and the rest of the night was her choice of activities.  I found it highly amusing that after dinner the one thing that she wanted to do was to go to the dollar store.  In her eyes, the dollar store is the most amazing place on earth!  After walking the aisles of the dollar store, we went to look at the critters at Petco, and then went to Wal-mart.  During our shopping excursion, we picked up the new American Girl movie, "Saige Paints the Sky", and some snacks to enjoy while we were watching it. 

When we got home, we snuggled up in my bed with our snacks, and the movie.  The snacks remained untouched, and my daughter only saw about 10 minutes of the movie before she fell asleep.  Moving the snacks to the nightstand, so as not to have them crushed up in my bedsheets, I tucked her in tight, and shut off the movie.  She looked so tiny snuggled up in my bed, and it made me realize that despite being five-years-old, and defiantly independent, she's still such a little girl.

The next morning, I was awoken by my little angel pouncing on me, and demanding that we finish watching the movie while we eat breakfast in bed.  I turned the movie on, and made my way downstairs to make the requested toast.  We snuggled up and finished the movie, which was a really great movie!  I really like the American Girl movies, for the mere fact that I don't have to worry about there being anything inappropriate in them.  They are nice wholesome movies, and my daughter loves ANYTHING associated with American Girl.

My plan for Sunday was to take my daughter to the movie theater.  Having never been to the movie theater before, she was beyond excited to go!  Both my children loved the original "Despicable Me" movie, so "Despicable Me 2" was an obvious choice for us.  The movie theater experience was so exciting for her!  As we sat in the theater prior to the movie starting she was inundating me with questions about how everything worked.  When the lights went down, she could hardly contain herself!  It turned out that the sequel was just as enjoyable for us as the original movie (if not more so).  We had a wonderful time!

On our way home, my daughter confessed that she really missed Daddy, and little brother.  I assured her that they would be home shortly after we got home, and she sighed with relief.  When they got home, she ran and hugged them both, and told them about her "best weekend ever", then quickly declared that "next time we have a girls' weekend, it should only be for one day, so she doesn't have to miss them so much!"  I agree, it was a great weekend with my little girl, but I did miss my boys!!

Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to Downsize, Declutter, and Simplify - A Review

Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to Downsize, Decluttter, and Simplify (Kindle e-book)
By: Francine Jay

Amazon price: $0.99 (or free using the Prime Lending Library)

This e-book is a compilation of 50 blog articles written by Francine Jay, blog author of Miss Minimalist. 

While I’m not a minimalist to the extent of the author of these articles, I am interested in simplifying and decluttering my life and home.  When I saw that this e-book had good reviews, and I was able to download it for free using the Prime Lending Library on Amazon, I figured I had nothing to lose by reading it.  I was right!

The articles are clearly written, and while some have over lapping information, they all read well as stand alone articles.  The articles cover a wide range of topics, from why and how the author chose to be a minimalist, to downsizing your wardrobe, to minimalist gift giving.  The e-book itself was an entertaining, and easy read, and the information was presented in a clear and concise manner.

I personally have no desire to establish a minimalist life-style equitable to that of Ms. Jay, however there were a number of insights that I did glean from this e-book.  The most insightful of which was Ms. Jay’s mention of removing one item of clutter a day from your home for a year.  This was the inspiration behind my 365 Day Declutter Challenge.  Other rays of inspiration revolved more around mindset; keeping things in your life that have purpose, or multiple purposes, and not hanging on to things merely because they have some sort of intrinsic sentimental value to you.  This is something that I personally struggle with, I have a hard time letting go of things that have sentimental value to me, but do I really need to keep all the cards that we were given for our wedding, or baby showers?  Do they really have any value to me if I keep them wrapped up in a drawer?  Is there any real reason to keep them, other than the fact that I can’t bring myself to part with them?

There are many ideas in this e-book that can be implemented in anyone’s life to some extent.  While you don’t have to purge your home of everything, and live in an empty shell, there are likely many things in your life that you have, or do, that you don’t need to.  This e-book is a great start to spark your desires to simplify, and I highly recommend it.

Reducing Food Waste - Garbage Night

There is nothing that pains me more than spending money on groceries, only to end up throwing the food away because it spoils before we can use it. That not only goes for the raw foods, and ingredients, but also for the countless plastic containers that pile up in our refrigerator weekly. So, what do we do with all those leftovers? We have "Garbage Night"!! My 5 year old despises the night that I declare war on leftovers and refuse to cook dinner, she's aptly named this evening of consuming leftover dinners as "Garbage Night".

My husband and I do take some of the leftovers to work with us for our lunches, which does help greatly, but inevitably we still have leftovers that hang out in our fridge.  Implementing Garbage Night has greatly reduced the amount of food that we waste each week.  While my children may not be thrilled by the idea of Garbage Night in general, they do like the buffet style dinner that we have as a result. 

Personally, I'm just thrilled to have an evening where I don't have to worry about what I'm going to make for dinner!  We typically end up having Garbage Night at least once a week; some weeks we don't have enough leftovers to warrant a Garbage Night, and they are all consumed as lunches, while other weeks we end up having more than one Garbage Night.

While my children have a love/hate relationship with the night of leftovers, I'm always excited to use up what we have already made, reduce the food waste, and have an evening where I don't need to think about what to have for dinner.

365 Day Declutter Challenge: Day 1

Day 1: Nine books by Charlaine Harris. I'll be listing these today to a local Facebook group.

365 Day Decluttering Challenge

The Challenge: 

To purge one item from my home each day for 365 days.  The goal, to be free from 365 items of clutter!

My Rules for this Challenge:

1.      At least one item each day must be selected for removal and placed in an area designated for these unneeded items.

2.      In the event that I’m not home on a certain day (or days), upon my return, an additional item will be selected for each day that I’m away from home.

3.      If multiple items are selected in one day, this does not negate the need to remove an item on subsequent days.

4.      I will document on my blog, at least once a week, the items that were selected for removal, and the final destination of each item.

5.      Repurposing an item to be used elsewhere within my home, does not count towards this challenge.

6.      Items already deemed “yard sale” items do not count toward this challenge.

Means of Removal:

1.      Donation to a friend, relative, or charity.

2.      Selling on Ebay, Craigslist, Facebook Groups, or other online venue.

3.      Yard Sale.

Designated Purge Area:

At this time, it will be my bedroom, since that is where I have been storing my stock of items for our upcoming (yet to be scheduled) yard sale.  However, I’m guessing that this area will soon be moved to the basement, since my bedroom is beginning to feel like a thrift store.

Let the Challenge BEGIN!

Unpaper Towels - A Tutorial

A few months ago I made the announcement to my husband that I would no longer be purchasing paper towels, and that the roll of paper towels sitting on our kitchen counter-top would be the last paper towels in our home.  He looked at me in confusion, and skepticism, quite probably wondering why I was suddenly waging war against the paper towels, but he didn't argue with me.  Unfortunately, I don't recall precise date in which I made my declaration, though I know for certain that it's been at least six months since we have had paper towels in our home, and I have yet to have one of those moments in which I said, "I wish I had a paper towel!"

The decision to banish paper towels from our home was based on a number of factors, the foremost being cost.  Let's do some quick and simple math:  If your household goes through two rolls of paper towels a week, and you pay $1 per roll, over the course of the year that's $104 spent on paper towels alone!  I know I can think of far better uses for that $104/year than buying paper towels!! Other factors included the fact that it would decrease the amount of trash that we have each week, and that it is simply more eco-friendly to use a reusable item rather than a disposable one.

So what do we use in place of paper towels?  We use Unpaper Towels!!  Okay, so honestly, they're just glorified rags, but they serve a specific purpose, and thusly need a name.  If you're unable to make your own as shown below, you could always use old washcloths or rags to serve similarly.

Unpaper Towel Tutorial

My Unpaper Towels began their lives as a bath towel, and a pair of flannel pajama pants.  The towel was getting rather frayed, and the pajamas had ripped and were no longer wearable.  I like the absorbency of the terry cloth, and the additional bulk of the flannel, but you really could use just about any scrap fabric that you have laying around.

To begin, I made a template out of a piece of newsprint.  My template measured 10.5" x 10.5".  With a 1/4" seam allowance this would result in an Unpaper Towel that was roughly 10" x 10".  You could make them larger or smaller, depending on your preference. 

For the flannel pieces, I began but cutting off all the seams from the pants, as closely as possible to the stitching so that I would have the largest pieces of flat fabric that the pants would yield.  The thin strips from the seams, I put into my waste pile (and later used to stuff my daughter's Tooth Fairy Pillow), and the elastic waistband went into my scrap bin.

Step 1: Pin the paper template to the fabric.  Trim the fabric so that it is the same size as your paper template.

To make things easier, I cut the towel along the decorative edge, so I was left with a rectangle of terry cloth without the fancy stitchery. (See below)

Step 2: Repeat Step 1 with your terry cloth piece.  When you're finished, you should have two pieces of fabric that are the same size.

I was able to get six 10.5" x 10.5" pieces out of each of my fabrics.

I only had small scraps of each remaining.  I added these scraps to my box of random scraps, you never know when they may come in handy.

Step 3:  Place your fabric wrong sides together, and using a 1/4" seam allowance, stitch down the first edge.

Showing that the wrong sides are together.

Step 4: When you reach the corner of the fabric on the first side, lift your presser foot, and turn the fabric at a 90 degree angle, and continue stitching down the next side.  Repeat once more so that you have three sides fully seamed.

Step 5:  Continue stitching the last side as in Step 4, but leave a few inches of the fourth side unsewn (for turning right side out). Remember to back-stitch to secure the end of the seam.  Remove your Unpaper Towel from the sewing machine.

Step 6: Turn the cloth right side out, by pulling through the opening left in Step 5.

Your Unpaper Towel should now look like this.

Step 7:  Tuck 1/4" of fabric in the unsewn hole back into the hole along the edge of the fabric.

Step 8:  Keeping the edge still tucked, place it under your presser foot, and begin stitching using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Step 9:  Continue top-stitching down the edge of the fabric to the corner.

Step 10:  In the same manner as in Step 4, when you reach the corner of the fabric, lift the presser foot, turn the fabric 90 degrees, and continue stitching down the next side.  Repeat until all four sides are top-stitched.

Step 11 (Optional - I did this to keep the fabric pieces held together more):  When you reach the corner that you began with, turn the fabric 45 degrees, and stitch across the diagonal of the cloth to the opposite corner.

You should now have an Unpaper Towel that looks like this!! 

Step 12:  Find a place in your kitchen where they will be easily reachable, and display proudly!

Tooth Fairy Pillow

I'm not sure when it happened, or how the word of it spreads, but apparently in order for one to receive a prize from the Tooth Fairy, one must possess a "Toothy Fairy Pillow".  It is no longer adequate, nor acceptable to merely leave one's tooth beneath one's bed pillow on the eve of the Tooth Fairy visiting.  No!  One must leave their fallen tooth in a pillow designated and designed for such a task.  Much as a Christmas Tree is a social requisite of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy would be remiss should a lost tooth not be properly left in the sanctity of a Tooth Fairy Pillow!

Okay, I fully admit, I was naive.  Certainly, I had seen Tooth Fairy Pillows in catalogues before, and while I thought they were cute, they seemed a bit excessive.  Why can't the Tooth Fairy just pick up teeth old-school style, and fish them out from underneath the bed of the sleeping child, where the sacred tooth was sure to fall after the child restlessly tosses and turns waiting for that whimsical fairy to sweep in and steal their beloved tooth.  It wasn't until my daughter lost her first tooth that I finally understood how ingenious these little pillows were!  Being able to avoid sneaking into the room of a sleeping child and riffling around in the dark in search of a microscopic tooth tucked somewhere within the bedding of the fitfully sleeping child, by simply retrieving the tooth from the pocket of a pillow hung on the OUTSIDE of the child's door, PRICELESS!

After listening intently to the pleas of my daughter, as she explained to me the necessity of having a Tooth Fairy Pillow, and thinking about the ease of the Tooth Fairy's exchange should she indeed have one, I set out to find one of these new childhood necessities.  My first stop, of course, was Amazon.com, which did prove fruitful, they had a vast assortment of these little hanging pillows, in all shapes and sizes.  My two favorites are posted in the links below.

Unfortunately, being in a frugal frame of mind, I couldn't justify buying a tiny pillow that would only occasionally be put to use.  Off to my sewing room I trotted, and within minutes I had found everything that I needed to construct a Tooth Fairy Pillow myself.  Armed with a small amount of green fleece, a small scrap of pink felt, a piece of ribbon, a remnant of lace, a needle, and some embroidery thread, I set to work!

I hand stitched lettering (ineptly, but I *think* it's legible) on one side of the felt, and top-stitched it wrong sides together to a piece of fleece the same size.  I then stitched that to the front of one of the larger pieces of fleece, sewing along three sides, and leaving the top open to create the much needed "tooth pocket".  Placing the two main pieces of fleece wrong sides together, and sandwiching the edge of the lace between the edges of the fabric, I then sewed it all together (leaving one corner open for turning).  Using the small mountain of serger trimmings that had been piling up in the waste basket in my sewing room, I stuffed the little pillow with those shreds of scrap fabric.  Finally, I hand-stitched the remaining opening closed, and VOILA!  The result is this lovely little pillow.



Since I had all of the materials on hand, the only cost to me, was the time that it took to construct it.  Personally, any time that I get to myself, and get to hide away in my sewing room is invaluable!  I love crafting and creating something out of scraps that I have laying around.  I was quite proud of myself, but the true test would be what my daughter thought of it when I presented it to her.  When she arrived home, I proudly handed her my creation, and was paid in full with a huge ear-to-ear grin, a giant bear hug, and an "I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!"  Never before have I received a greater payment than the love and adoration of my children!  This little pillow was well worth the time spent crafting it, just to see the joy on her face.

A Tisket, A Tasket, I Bought a New Laundry Basket!

It was a difficult decision, and one I dreaded making, but the time had finally come when my dear friend could no longer keep up with my demands, and we needed to part ways.  It was bitter sweet; I was excited about the prospect of something new in my life, yet at the same time this friend had been with me since my dorm days in college, and had served me well.  My dear laundry basket.

I received my laundry basket as a gift from my parents for Christmas, during my first year of college.  It was my trusted companion on the countless trips home from school, harboring my dirty laundry on my way to my parents' house, and my freshly laundered clothes on the way back to campus.  It moved with me from my dorm room to my first apartment, to my second apartment, to the house that my husband and I rented when we were first married, and finally to our current home.  In the past 5 years, it has served not only as a carrier for laundry, but also as a number of imaginary vehicles for my children, and doll bed for my daughter's stuffed animals and dolls. 

When the first of the four handles broke years ago, I was annoyed, but not terribly upset.  I continued to use the basket faithfully for years.  A few weeks ago the second handle broke off entirely as well, and again I was disappointed, but not enough to give up on my trusted friend.  It wasn't until the third handle broke, and I was forced to try to carry my laundry out to the clothes line with three sides of the laundry basket bending and buckling under the weight of the damp laundry, that I finally decided that it was time for me to part with my old friend. 

But, what to do with my old laundry basket?  It's plastic, but is it recyleable?  For now, it will house stuffed animals in my children's room, but what will it's ultimate fate be when it becomes to decrepit to serve a useful purpose in our home?  With this dilemma in mind, I set forth on my search for a replacement.

I decided, after much thought, that a more eco-friendly laundry basket would be a good choice.  I had in my head, a picture of what I was looking for.  I wanted one of those "old-school" wicker laundry baskets, the kind with the handles woven into the pattern of the basket.  With that in mind, I began scouring the internet for the perfect laundry basket.  I had no idea how daunting that would become.  I found BEAUTIFUL hand woven wicker laundry baskets that were EXACTLY what I had pictured, but I couldn't muster the courage to spend the amounts of money that were being asked.

Amazon.com did prove fruitful in my search though, and I found a laundry basket that was close to what I had envisioned, and the price was much more palatable.  The reviews on Amazon.com for this basket were scattered.  Some people loved it, some people hated it.  I decided to throw caution to the wind, and give it a try despite the fact that some people weren't madly in love with the basket.

My new friend arrived on my doorstep last night, and was given it's debut today with two daunting loads of laundry that I had to lug out to the clothesline.  In my opinion, this basket was well worth the investment.  It's just as large as my old plastic laundry basket.  It serves it's purpose of carrying my clothes from the washing machine to the clothes line, and back again.  It's much more attractive than its plastic counterpart, and it's bio-degradeable should the need arise for it to be disposed of.  Granted, I don't think it would hold up to a game of race car, in which my son sits in the laundry basket, and my daughter drags him around the house, but then again, that could very well be why my plastic basket broke as well.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with my purchase, and more than happy to pass my plastic laundry basket onto my children as a bed for their stuffed critters.

The Tooth Fairy Debacle - What's the going rate for the Tooth Fairy?

 It happened, and it happened without advanced notice, my five year old lost her first tooth!  A monumental event in the life of a child, my daughter was overjoyed to join the ranks of her pre-school classmates that had already lost their first teeth!

As a parent, I was thrilled for my daughter, and saddened for myself as she met yet another milestone that marked the end of her baby years.  Together we cheered, we danced, and we celebrated the loss of the pearly white baby tooth!

Then as we were describing the Tooth Fairy process to her; how she would put this tiny tooth under her pillow at bedtime, and the Tooth Fairy would sneak in after she was asleep and replace it with... with what?!?!? I was ill-prepared, I hadn't expected a visit from the Tooth Fairy for at least a few more months, and yet in a matter of hours we had gone from discovering that her tooth was loose, to it being held proudly above her head in her little fingers like the torch of the Statue of Liberty!  Thank goodness for Facebook and the instant access to countless friends and relatives with small children!  As soon as my daughter deposited her tooth in my hand and went on her merry way to play outside, I set to work and asked the question on Facebook, "What IS the going rate for the Tooth Fairy?!?!?!" 

The responses I received were varied, and ranged from $1 to $20 for the first tooth!  Yikes, it seems that some children have VERY generous Tooth Fairies!  Knowing my own daughter, I know that if she received $20, or even $5, for the first tooth that she would fully expect that the Tooth Fairy would either continue with that amount, or even increase it with subsequent teeth.  The dilemma ensued... How much was this tooth worth? 

Whispered conversations were had, between my husband and I, as our daughter's bedtime approached.  Not wanting to set precedent of too high of a rate of return on baby teeth, we opted to have the Tooth Fairy leave a dollar as a reward for this prize tooth.  After she was soundly asleep, the Tooth Fairy slipped into her room and replaced that tiny little tooth with a dollar bill, and the deal was sealed.

All that night I feared that she would be disappointed with the Tooth Fairy's offerings.  Had the Tooth Fairy left enough?  Those fears were swiftly negated the next morning, when she came bounding out of her bedroom waving her Tooth Fairy dollar above her head and with a HUGE gap-toothed grin on her face!!

I guess the Tooth Fairy did okay after all!

How a Call to the Phone Company Saved Me Money!

Perhaps you've read other resources that recommend contacting your utility companies in an effort to get lower rates?  Have you tried it? 
I had previously tried calling our phone company (through which we have a bundled phone and internet service plan), and after speaking with a rather unfriendly customer service representative about my account, I was told that there was nothing she could do about my current rates.  Feeling defeated, I hung up the phone and assumed that the person that I had spoken to was correct.

When I received my bill last month, I opened it with dread, knowing what the amount of the bill would be.  Disheartened, I turned to the last page of my phone bill, and immediately called their customer service line.  This time my call was answered by a very friendly and helpful customer service representative who was more than happy to review my account with me, and offer me options to reduce my bill.

By making this one simple call, I was able to reduce my phone/internet bill by $26/month!!

It doesn't always work, but it doesn't hurt to try, and this time it paid off.  I'm quite happy that I attempted to negotiate a lower rate after my first failed attempt.  That one phone call, and five minutes of my time will result in an annual savings of $312 for my family!

Free 30 Day Trial of Amazon Prime!!

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Vinegar - The Household Staple with Hundreds of Uses! Part 2

Let the fun with vinegar continue!!  Here are some more household tips and tricks using that magical clear liquid!!

• Rid your house of ants by spraying undiluted vinegar around doorways, windowsills, appliances, or anywhere that the pests like to hang out.
• Deter fruit flies by setting out a small dish of undiluted vinegar.
• Clean the wheel of your can opener with undiluted vinegar and a toothbrush.
• Clean shower door tracks by filling them with vinegar, let sit for an hour, rinse with hot water, and scrub the grime away.
• Clean woodwork and wood paneling with a solution of 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup vinegar, and 2 cups of warm water.
• Remove water rings from the finish of your wood with equal parts vegetable oil and vinegar, rub with the grain of the wood.
• Remove skunk odors from your pet by wiping them down with a solution of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water.
• Keep cats out of your garden by soaking a cloth in vinegar and setting it in your garden.
• Kills fleas by adding a small amount of vinegar to your pets drinking water.
• Prevent cats from eating your plants by spraying the leaves with a solution of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water.
• Keep frost off your car windows by coating them with vinegar.
• Remove winter road salt residue from your shoes, or car interior by spraying with a mixture of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water and blotting with a clean cloth.
• Make your own all purpose window cleaner using a few ounces of vinegar and a quart of water in a spray bottle.
• Stop bug bites from itching by applying a cotton ball soaked in vinegar.
• Soothe sun burned skin by spritzing with vinegar.
• Make nail polish last longer by wiping your nails with cotton balls dipped in vinegar.  Let dry, then apply your nail polish.
• Vinegar can be used as an antiseptic on cuts and scrapes.
• Kill weeds and grass that are growing in unwanted places by pouring undiluted vinegar on them.

Beyond Baking - Household Uses for Baking Soda

Baking Soda can be used for far more than just a leavening agent in your baking! There are countless household uses for this simple pantry staple!

• Baking soda can be used as an antacid, mix 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda into a glass of water and drink to relieve heartburn

• Use it as toothpaste by mixing 1/2 teaspoon with enough peroxide to make a paste

• Rub a mix of baking soda and water on your skin to relieve the pain from a sunburn, or the itch of an insect bite.

• Add a couple of tablespoons to your baby's bath water to help relieve a diaper rash.

• Use it as a deodorizer by sprinkling it in areas with odors (inside smelly shoes, the cat's litter box, etc).

• Add it to the water in you flower vase to keep cut flowers fresh longer.

• Leave an open container of baking soda in your refrigerator to absorb food odors.

• Sprinkle on your carpet, and vacuum up to freshen your carpets (and your vacuum).

• Absorb toilet odor by pouring a cup of baking soda into the toilet bowl and allowing to set for an hour before flushing.

• Use it to scrub sinks, showers, and counter top by sprinkling it on the surface and wiping with a dampened sponge.

• Combine with water to make a paste, and use it to clean stainless steel and chrome around your house.

• Sprinkle it around your tomato plants to sweeten the taste of the tomatoes.

Personally, I have yet to find anything that makes my kitchen sink sparkle the way that baking soda does so effortlessly!  Go dig your box of baking soda out of the cupboard, and give it a try yourself!  You're sure to be amazed!
 

What our vacation taught me...

For the past ten days, my family (my husband and I, our two children, my mother-in-law, and my father-in-law) have been vacationing in my in-laws' camp in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Our family is very fortunate to have this camp as a vacation destination, and my husband and I feel quite blessed that his parents are so willing to share it with us.

The camp itself, is a quaint little building made up of an open living/dining/kitchen area, and has three small bedrooms. Due to the fact that the camp is so small, it's sparsely furnished, housing just the bare necessities.

The picture above is taken from one corner of the camp, showing the living/dining area, and the tiny kitchen.

This photo is taken from one corner of the bedroom that my husband and I share with our two year old son.

So, what was it that I learned from this vacation? Despite having vacationed here countless times in the past, the reality of the situation never really hit me until this past week. There we were six people (four adults and two children), living in this tiny little house, without many of the luxuries that we take for granted at home. No washing machine, no dryer, no air conditioning. My children have a small box of toys at camp, compared to the rooms filled with toys that they have at home. Yet, even without all of those luxuries we function, we live, and best of all... we have a great time. It made me realize how unnecessary so many of the things in our lives really are.

While we were there, my five year old daughter lost her first tooth! A momentous occasion in her life, and one that will be even more memorable to her because we were at camp, and entirely focused on each other. It didn't take fancy toys, or electronic gadgets, to bring about the complete joy on her face when that tooth came out! The tooth fairy didn't care that she was sleeping in a tiny bedroom, she still came to whisk away that first tooth!

Our two year old son, made great strides in potty training while we were there. A feat that had seemed so unobtainable the week before we left for our vacation. The pride he took in using the potty like a big boy, and watching my baby grow into a young man in the course of that week was worth more to me than any gizmo or gadget.

I felt instantly enlightened by the realization that it really is the simple things in life that make it worth living. Watching my children grow, celebrating their milestones, and being together as a family for all of it. It made me realize that even though I've been making these steps towards minimizing the unnecessary from our lives, I still have a long way to go. We don't need "stuff", we have a beautiful family that is far more important than anything else in this world. My children are my everything, and I want them to fully feel that.

After spending the past few days pondering all of this, thinking about the simple pleasures, and all of the fun and exciting things that transpired in that tiny house in the middle of nowhere, I'm even more encouraged to purge the unneeded from our home, and from our life. Simplify what we have, and keep only that which is really important.

Vinegar - The Household Staple with Hundreds of Uses! Part 1

Vinegar is a marvelous thing!  It really is!  This common household items has countless uses beyond use in cooking!

I've already mentioned in this post, that vinegar can be used in place of fabric softener in your laundry, but there is so much more that vinegar is useful for!

Cleaning with Vinegar:

**Please Note: Never use white distilled vinegar on marble, as the acid content of the vinegar could damage the surface**

Undiluted white distilled vinegar can be used as an all purpose cleaner.  Fill an empty spray bottle with vinegar, and use as you would an other cleanser:

• Spray counter tops and wipe clean with a rag. 
• Clean the grime from the top of the refrigerator by spraying and wiping clean with a damp rag.
• Clean grout by spraying with vinegar; let it set for 10-15 minutes and then scrub with an old toothbrush.
• Disinfect the bathroom by spraying sinks, counter tops, and cabinets with vinegar and wiping clean with a dampened cloth.
• Clean mildew and soap scum from your tub and shower by spraying with vinegar and wiping with a dampened cloth.
• Clean stained linoleum by spraying with vinegar, allow to set for 10-15 minutes and wipe up.
• Disinfect doorknobs by spraying with vinegar, and wiping dry.
• Clean a grease splattered oven door by spraying with vinegar, allow to set for 10-15 minutes with the door open, then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

A diluted vinegar solution of 1/2 distilled white vinegar, and 1/2 water can be used for many other larger tasks:

• Clean the shelves and walls in your refrigerator by wiping with a rag soaked in the vinegar solution.
• Remove stains in an aluminum pot by boiling 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in the pot.
• Remove wallpaper by using a paint roller with equal parts of vinegar and hot water.  Apply to the wallpaper to saturate.
• Clean fireplace glass by wiping with a rag soaked in equal parts of vinegar and water, and then wipe dry.
• Clean glass baby bottles by filling with equal parts vinegar and hot water, let sit for an hour and scrub with a bottle brush.

Other cleaning uses:

• Deodorize your garbage disposal by freezing distilled white vinegar in ice cube trays.  Run several cubes down the disposal while running cold water.
• Clean the microwave by putting 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of water in a microwave safe bowl.  Heat to boiling in the microwave.  The steam will loosen the baked on food.  Wipe clean with a damp rag.
• Clean the inside of your dishwasher by dumping 1 cup of undiluted vinegar in it, and running a full cycle.
• Clean stains and smells from your plastic containers by wiping with a rag soaked in undiluted vinegar.
• Remove labels and stickers by covering with a rag soaked in undiluted vinegar.  Let set overnight, and the labels should slide off easily.
• Remove odors from your dishcloth by soaking it in vinegar for an hour, and then drape over a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.
• Remove buildup on faucets by wrapping them in a cloth soaked in undiluted vinegar.  Let set for a couple of hours (or overnight) and wipe clean.
• Deodorize your toilet by pouring 3 cups of undiluted vinegar into the bowl and allowing to set for 30 minutes, scrub with a toilet brush and flush.
• Clean linoleum floors by mixing 1 cup of vinegar per gallon of water, and mop.
• Remove paint splatters from windows by applying undiluted vinegar to them with a paintbrush.  Allow paint to soften, then wipe clean.
• Clean old concrete by undiluted vinegar and allow to dry before painting.
• Clean paintbrushes by soaking them in a pot of undiluted vinegar for an hour.  After soaking, heat the pot of vinegar on the stove, simmer the brushes. Rinse clean.
• To disinfect children's toys, soak them in a sink full of hot water and 1/2 cup of vinegar.
• Clean sticky grime from your scissors by wiping with a rag soaked in undiluted vinegar.

Online Budgeting with Mint.com

Online budgeting has never been easier!!

Have you heard of Mint.com?  If you haven't, I highly recommend that you try it out, and here's why:

What is Mint.com?
Mint.com is an online budgeting site, but it's more than that... Mint.com gives you a realtime look at your finances via a secure internet connection.  It allows you to set up your budget and your goals, tracks your spending, tracks your goal progress, alerts you when payments are due, and gives you up to the minute accounting of your net worth!  All of this in one little website!!

How does it work?
While the setup is a little bit daunting, it's well worth the effort.  You provide Mint.com with your financial information (please note, this includes usernames and passwords for your various accounts), and it compiles all of that information in one place.  It shows you the balances of all of your cash accounts, and compares that to the balances owed on your loans, credit cards, and other obligations.  You can also input your street address, and it will calculate the value of your home and include that in your net worth. 

What are some of the benefits?
Mint.com auto-categorizes your spending based on transactions.  If you use your debit card and make a purchase of $100 at a local grocery store, Mint.com automatically recognizes the grocery store chain, and deducts that $100 from your grocery budget.  If Mint.com doesn't know how to categorize a transaction it alerts you so that you can update that information, allowing more accurate reporting.

Aside from alerting you when a transaction needs categorizing, Mint.com will also alert you when the balance in a checking or savings account gets low, or if you have an upcoming bill due.  As well, Mint.com will offer you savings tips and ideas based on fees that you pay on your current accounts.  Ultimately, bill paying, and account choices are yours to make, but Mint.com makes it easier for you to see what your options are.

Mint.com Mobile
Not only can you access Mint.com via computer, but it is also available as an app for both Android and iPhone!  You can have access to all of your account balances at your fingertips at all times.

You no longer have an excuse for forgetting when bills are due, or inadvertantly overdrawing your checking account, Mint.com has your back on these things!  The greater advantage of Mint.com; it's completely free!  The longer you use the system, the more intuitive it becomes.  It begins to recognize your spending patterns, and allocates the transactions to the appropriate categories with more accuracy.  It's a powerful site, and a wonderful tool for keeping track of you spending and finances!