The JOY of Unconventional Parenting!

My last post was April....What? No way. Since I'm clearly behind, I'll try and post several posts back to back. Good Lord.

SO, Lets bring this up to the present. My daughter is now TWO, nearly two and a half. And in these past two years I like to think we have gained some parenting knowledge. My husband and I were rather unconventional (Yet, incredibly successful.) with our parenting style, so we'd like to share some of our strange tips.  Here's to hoping you're not offended!!!

DON'T WARM THE BOTTLE.
Now, don't be ridiculous. Ice cold water with formula is NOT  OKAY. However, Luke warm is just fine for little bellies. You don't have to worry about burning their little mouth with overly hot liquid, and you will THANK ME when your driving down the road, passing the bottle to your infant, and you have no microwave. Also, it allows you to carry a water bottle in the diaper bag to mix formula on the go. No need to heat it up or cool it down.

DON'T GIVE A PACIFIER
Are we crazy yet? Our daughter spat it out in the hospital, so we just never gave it back. No panic at the mall when the pacifier drops, no need to carry around a "Pacifier Pocket" or sanitizing wipes. She learned to self soothe and never required any sort of object to calm her down, other than a good old hug. We'll never have to "Break" her of the habit.  Which is what we all want in the end right?

DON'T USE A NIGHT LIGHT.
We even use darkening shades in her bedroom. From the day she came home from the hospital she has slept in pitch black darkness.No one here has, or ever will, be scared of the dark!!!

DON'T POTTY TRAIN ON A FLOOR POTTY
Starting at about 16 months, we got potty seats for the big potty for every toilet in our house. They're all the same: Dora, hot pink, flowers. Consistency is key. Every night before her bath, we would sit her on the potty for a few seconds. She never actually went, we were just establishing that it was HERS, and it was SPECIAL, and for BIG GIRLS. As she got closer to two, we would let her throw in a square of toilet paper at the end, and we would let her flush. Again, she wasn't actually using it. But she was getting used to sitting on it, being up so high, and having NO FEAR of it. 
Right now she is 27 months. She started displaying interest last week in the potty, I'll spare you the details. So we went out and let her choose her own big girl panties, and we took her to the bathroom every  20 minutes. (Quite a workout for mama & dada.) We went cold turkey on diapers, and immediately kept her in cotton undies.
She was potty trained in 3 days,
We allow her Pull-ups for bedtime and naps, because she's still new at this, and being asleep for 12 hours, we expect accidents.
But she has surprised us, and wakes up dry every time.
So why no floor potty? Let me list the reasons:
- Do you want to dump out a plastic bucket, wash, sanitize, and dry it after EACH potty episode?
- Do you want to carry it everywhere you go?
-Once they have it mastered, you then have to confuse them, and make them climb up a step stool, onto a new, high potty, with real water, and a loud flusher, and expect them to continue as if it isn't a big change?
Isn't the big potty the goal here? Give it a shot.
*Note: Tons of kids are successful with the "floor potty then big potty" method. I mean, have you seen the market for floor potty's? Insane. But we just found our daughter could do it in one step, thereby avoiding the aforementioned issues.

MY LAST and final point, is one of personal decision. We don't have child locks on our cabinets. We felt it gave us a false sense of security. We feared we would RELY or COUNT ON the locks to keep our child away from danger. BUT NOTHING REPLACES INVOLVED, ACTIVE PARENTING. We taught her to stay away from the cabinets, and she obeys. It's not that we're so oblivious that she may one day break that rule. But that's where active parenting comes in.... We simply don't leave her alone near dangerous chemicals or cleaning supplies. Besides, have you seen my previous posts? We clean with dawn soap and vinegar anyway! Airing on the side of caution is always best. So lock up your chemicals if that's you're style. And believe us, if she one day takes a liking to the insides of our cabinets, you better believe we'll lock them up. But by then she'll be old enough to figure out the locks anyway..so, as always, active parenting. 

We do, for the record, use baby gates, to prevent falls down the stairs. We have a very active child, so that one was a necessity.

If you've done these things, or plan on doing them, DON'T WORRY, we WONT judge you. We are just here to let you know that you do not have to subscribe to what every other parent does. Your child will be fine as long as you are committed to your decision, and are HIGHLY CONSISTENT.And whatever you decide, do what works for YOU and YOUR FAMILY. Don't let other people sway you (Including me! haha).

The JOY of pretty kitchen necessities!

Call me CRAZYYYY, but I think life should be PRETTY. Even the chores. After all, I bleed Glitter.

You see, companies are making everyday objects glamorous and attractive these days to appeal to us- the consumers  Have you seen how dishwasher tabs have evolved?

Borrrrringg.....

Kinda better???

Pretty-ishhh?

Now we're talking! And have you smelled them? MMMM

(Thanks to Google for images.)

After years of bending down under the sink to get my dishwasher drops, I finally got inspired. They look great, why not make them both accessible AND decorative? 

So I whipped out an old flower vase, filled it up with my cascade tablets, and bought a spring/summer bouquet of flowers with a 40% off coupon from Michaels( Paid less than $2.) I used some electrical tape to wrap the bottom of the wires so they wouldn't poke the dishwasher tablets, thereby robbing them of their liquid-y insides...Eww. I think it's beautiful and super functional. You can change out the flowers as you like (for every season-DUH), and buy different colors of dishwasher tabs to match!! Perfect. 

So cute.... and don't you love my little Owl Tea Light holders?

Love it. 

For my dear friends who do not have a dishwasher (God Bless you, Colleen!!) Keep in mind you could always do the same thing with Tide Pods for your laundry area! 

You heard it here first!


The JOY of pretty household necessities! Xoxo

The JOY of removing STAINS of ALL KINDS!

Okay, it may sound strange to say removing stain's is a joy. But when CA$H is on the line for a re-sale, or you REALLY LOVE an outfit, getting a stain out really is JOYFUL!

Have you used Tide Pens? Shout? or Vanish Stain Remover? Have you been dissatisfied with the results?
I've never had them work on a single stain, even fresh stains. I used to nearly CRY when I got something on my shirt or pants... and now that my toddler runs around the house spilling and dripping, and otherwise destroying everything clean in our home, it was time to find a better stain remover.

Lucky for me, it was already in my kitchen.

I present to you, my magic potion...

So get a spray bottle (My green topped one I bought at Dollar Tree for $1.)
Fill it half with Blue Original Dawn Dish Soap.
Half with White Vinegar
Shake gently to mix.

Spray on stained surface -- clothing, cars seats, pillows, whatever!!! 

Rub some plain baking soda on top and smear around with fingers. Use a scrubber to really get into the material if its an old yellowed stain.
Then rinse with hot water and throw in washing machine with normal detergent. 

YOU WILL BE AMAZED~!!! 

We had an infant seat that we hadn't used in 2 years we were looking to sell. It was stained with baby formula, pee, who knows what else! (Gross, I know... Just keeping it real!!!) Honestly, it was totally disgusting. I simply removed the seat cover, sprayed the solution on it, rubbed in some baking soda, rinsed in the sink, and threw it in the washer.

I can't believe I didn't take a before picture, but here it is, one hour later, looking like NEW!!!!!!!!!

BUT IT GETS BETTER!!! 

This is also my SHOWER/TUB CLEANER!!!!!!!!

On Wednesdays, per my Cleaning Schedule (See other post) I spray down my shower with the vinegar/dawn spray and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then I return, use a sponge to wipe down the shower, rinse and I'm done!
The first time you do this, I encourage you to only do half if your tub. JUST TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE.

Vinegar has incredible anti-bacterial properties and at the same time is non-toxic for my sweet baby's bum! I always hated using chemicals where my daughter would be sitting later playing with her rubber duckies -- now I have a SPARKLY SHOWER, STAIN REMOVER and a HEALTHY CHILD!

The JOY a clean shower and a stain-free life!!!!

The Joy of a CLEAN HOUSE!

Some people hate cleaning and house chores. I am not one of those people. I LOVE CLEANING. Think I'm nuts? Convert to my system, and you'll love it too!!!!

Since my daughter was born almost two years ago, I've been creating a system to keep our home sparkling, spending only a FEW MINUTES A DAY. Most days, its LESS than 15 minutes. You can clean your house for 15 minutes a day right?

With the help of other bloggers, I've made a Cleaning Schedule.  It is broken into several categories:

The Daily Calendar I follow for a specific TIME of the day.
The Weekly Calendar I follow for a specific DAY of the week, with the exception of Friday.
Friday's Calendar rotates through four different chores, one for every Friday in the month. and...
The Yearly Calendar has items I clean TWICE and THREE times a year, every 6 months, and every 3 months. 

Here is my actual schedule. It's based on a 3 bedroom home, no garage or basement. 3 people and cat's only. Please do not judge how often I clean something. This is specific to MY FAMILY. If you want to clean your tubs more or less, or wash down your walls more frequently, that's your business. I won't judge you, either!!! P.S. In reality, I vacuum every day. *Sigh*

Cleaning Calendar
DAILY

Morning

Wipe bathroom counters/sinks

Empty dishwasher

One load of laundry 

(Yes-1 load, 5 days a wk.)

Chore of the day 

(*See below.)

Evening

Load/Run Dishwasher

Wipe kitchen counters

Quick-sweep/ spot clean kitchen floor

“Pick up baskets” & put away toys

Garbage & recycling out

CHORE OF THE DAY

Monday: Vacuum & Swiffer EVERY floor
Tuesday: Clean mirrors and windows
Wednesday: Scrub toilets and tubs, clean drains
Thursday: Mop floors, clean out fridge
Friday: Scramble Day Duties
Saturday & Sunday: Catch up & Rest

 SCRAMBLE DAY FRIDAYS

1^st: Disinfect door knobs, light switches
2^nd : Disinfect bath toys, clean microwave & stove top
3^rd : Wipe down baseboards, doors & ceiling fan blades
4^th : Wash sheets/blankets, disinfect trash cans

YEARLY

January & July (2x a year)

Clean/De-grease stove hood
Clean oven
Wipe out lamp shades
Wipe window blinds
Empty cabinets and pantry shelves and wipe clean
Vacuum and mop utility closet

March/June/September/December (Every 3 months)

Wipe front of kitchen cabinets
Donate clothes/toys to goodwill
Scrub fridge shelves
Wash Rugs
Clean toaster and toaster oven trays

Vacuum and dust vehicles 

Organize dresser drawers

I keep this list posted on my pantry door, inside a page protector sheet. As I achieve the yearly tasks for the appropriate month, I mark it off with a dry erase marker. Yes, I look at this list every single day, and do that days chores. If something comes up that I can't do something that day, it gets added to Saturday or Sunday. 
You will be astonished how quickly you can Windex the mirrors around your house. Definitely in under 15 minutes. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! 

Please tailor this list to meet your house requirements, and relax, knowing that your house gets a GOOD DEEP CLEANING in every area, at least once a year!

The JOY of a clean house. xoxo

The JOY of making dryer sheets last!

Did you know you only need half a dryer sheet per load?

When I buy a fresh box, I pull the stack of dryer sheets out, and taking them a small stack at a time, slice them in half. I then place them inside my tupperware container I've decked out to look like a Snuggle box, and keep it on top of my dryer. 

 When it's laundry day, only pull out one half sheet  for your whole load. You now have TWICE the dryer sheets! $$$ KA-CHING!! 

Fun Fact: All winter long I keep a small ball of crumpled aluminum foil in the dryer to combat static! Works like a charm.

Keeping your dryer sheets in a sealed container keeps them fresh and smelling awesome longer. So even if you can't bear to cut your dryer sheets in half, at least seal them up. Okay?

The JOY of gaining more, by using less. xo

The JOY of Meal Planning!

It’s taken me a year to get this down to a science. I believe I have one of the easiest methods out there, but everyone has their own way that works for their family. Try out the method that works best for you. Here’s mine:

First - Make a list of Main Courses and Sides. These should be things that you already know how to make.  

You may include things like frozen pizzas, and other things you frequently make, even if its not homemade. Of course, I recommend making everything homemade. Its cheaper and healthier to make food yourself. If you don’t believe me, you’ll find out after a few weeks of feeding your family for under $20 a week.

ANYWAY. Put your two lists into plastic page covers, and stick them on the fridge or somewhere you won’t lose them. My toddler often steals them off the fridge and adds her scribbles.

Getting Started!!!!!!

Look in your freezer and fridge first, see what you have on hand that needs used up, or could be used to make a different meal. Then check your pantry (soups, pasta, mixes.) Write down what you see.

Now, go to your 2 lists of meals you know how to make. 

Using the ingredients you already have, see if you can make any meals without buying a thing. (This is my favorite. We call it our “Chopped” challenge like on Food Network- Using only things on hand to make a meal.)You’ll be surprised HOW MANY meals you can make if you really try. I usually get to about Thursday in my weekly plan.

Try to plan for variety in a week, Beef on Monday, chicken on Tuesday, soup on Wednesday and so on. Try not to repeat the same flavors back to back. Keep in mind you will be eating leftovers the next day, so you wouldn’t want meatballs on Tuesday, then again for lunch on Wednesday, followed by meatloaf on Wednesday night. Too much beef!

Ask your husband/children if they have any special requests for the week.

Work through the week (or whole month) planning out what you want to eat. Then write a grocery list of what you need from the grocery store. Start with a goal of $50 MAX per week for groceries. I don’t care how big your family is. Try it. The longer you do this, and the more you use the freezer method, you should be able to get your total even lower. 
HOWEVER, if the store is running a GREAT deal on meat, or soups, or something you use a lot of, use your extra cash to bulk up your freezer & pantry. Say your planned meals were about $30. Go ahead and spend the extra $20 occasionally to buy the sale items. A few times a year you will have to spend over $50 to get your stockpile of chicken/beef and treats built up again. But believe me, its infrequent. 

Post your weekly plan on the fridge, and check every night if you need to thaw something for the next day. The day of- just relax! You know what you’re making! You have all the ingredients you need! Make delicious food!

Note: The fifty dollar limit does NOT mean you cannot enjoy steak, organic produce, Ben & Jerry’s, or other expensive splurges. I think we've eaten healthier, and had more options as a result of this method that we ever did before. Say you’re planning out the week of Father’s day. Let’s say Father’s day is a Monday. Pencil it in and plan the rest of the week budgeting out for the cost of daddy’s steak. Pasta salad and baked potatoes are very cheap to make for steak sides. Add a bag of potato chips and you’re good.  Have the extra pasta salad for lunch with a sandwich on Tuesday. Use the extra potatoes in that 5lb bag to make mashed potatoes with baked chicken on Wednesday. Have toasted cheese & tomato soup on Thursday. Super cheap. Make pulled buffalo chicken salads on Friday, and use up the  potato chips that evening for your Red Box movie night. Saturday grill up veggie skewers with shrimp, and make bruschetta for an appetizer. Sunday go out for lunch. Boom! You did it.


How to use Freezer Meals with Meal Planning:

To me, the best part of freezer cooking is what LITTLE time it takes to make a meal when you’re simply thawing out an already cooked supper, and adding fresh elements.

Say Tuesday is my Spaghetti night. 
Monday evening, I go to the freezer and pull out my 1lb bag of Basic Beef Mix. I put the Ziploc bag in a mixing bowl in the fridge to thaw. 
Tuesday evening: While I boil the noodles, dump the Ziploc contents into a skillet to warm up, add a jar of spaghetti sauce, put some garlic bread in the oven and I’m done! 
Dinner in 9 minutes!!!!


Say Wednesday is my taco night.
Tuesday evening, I go to the freezer and pull out my 1lb bag of Basic Taco Mix. I put the Ziploc bag in a mixing bowl in the fridge to thaw.
Wednesday evening: I dump the Ziploc contents into a skillet and heat. Grab your tortillas/hard shell tacos from the pantry. Build tacos on plates. Add cheese, lettuce, whatever you want for toppings! 
Dinner in 15 minutes!!!

The JOY of Freezer Cooking

A few months ago, we started using the FREEZER as our go-to appliance in the kitchen. Weird, right? Little did we know how it would literally CHANGE our life.

I soon found out there are many ways to go about Freezer meals. Typically you pick a day, cook for several hours straight, and freeze everything once it’s cooled. Although I use this method every several months when my stock runs low, there are also easier ways. An alternative is to simply cook extra of your normal meals, with the intention of freezing the leftovers. This way is more practical with my toddler running around. I personally have found success using both.

If you want to try a cooking marathon day, once every several months, start with these suggestions:

Buy chicken and ground beef in bulk whenever it goes on sale. Literally you can never have enough. Cook some of it up with taco seasoning. Cook some of it up with peppers and onions and carrots. I usually have between 7 – 10 lbs on hand, some cooked, some not.
As for the following recipes for beef mixes and chicken stock, I have to thank Natalie over at aturtleslifeforme, the blog. It was a great launching point for my love of freezer meals. Thanks, Natalie!

 Basic Beef Mix to have frozen

 Mix 2 lbs. of ground beef, chopped onions, green peppers and carrots into a non-stick skillet and allow to brown. Adding shredded carrots is a *tasteless* way to incorporate more veggies into your diet. I swear you can’t even see them.  Once this is all cooked and cooled, divide into (2) gallon size freezer bags (If you were using more than 2lbs, divide into more bags so that you end up with roughly a lb of meat per bag + the veggies.) We like to add a thawed bag to spaghetti sauce, but you could also make sloppy joes or use it to top nachos.**See my next post for an example of how to incorporate this mix into meal planning.

Basic Taco Mix to have frozen

Cook up 2 lbs. of ground beef and add taco seasoning. Cook till brown, cool and divide up between 2 gallon size freezer bags.  It’s great to pull out for tacos, taco salads, topping for a baked potato, or nachos. **See my next post for an example of how to incorporate this mix into meal planning.

Chicken Stock and Shredded Chicken

  It’s also useful to make your own chicken stock and shredded chicken. Simply put bone-in chicken pieces in a large pot with water. Add a lot of carrots, celery, onions (quartered) whatever spices you like.  I simmer it, covered for about an hour or until the chicken is cooked, but the longer it simmers, the better.  Pull your chicken out, throw away the veggies and let the broth cool.  Once the broth is cool, freeze it in 1 cup increments (Quart size bags) for chicken stock for other meals.  Shred the chicken into small pieces, and freeze the shreddings into quart size bags too. You can make buffalo chicken salad,BBQ it for on top of a baked potato, chicken salad, chicken tacos, or enchiladas.


I make beef mix, taco mix, chicken stock and shredded chicken every few months during a cooking marathon. It usually takes me about 3-4 hrs to end up with 10 or so pounds of beef and taco mixture, 10 or so cups of chicken stock, and 6 quarts of pulled chicken. SO WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned for how to use these freezer meals in meal planning.


BUT- say you don’t want to go to all that fuss yet….You can still make freezer meals!

If you make more lasagna (or other casseroles) than you can eat in two days time, take the remainders, slice them into fat strips, wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and put in a labeled freezer bag. The night before you want them, thaw them in the fridge. Then heat up the slice in a baking pan in the oven, with garlic bread at the same time. Walla! Dinner in a flash. Don’t waste anything you worked hard to prepare. Freeze it instead of putting it in the fridge to be forgotten! That’s a great meal that’s ready on a day you’re just too tired to cook!



I freeze *literally* everything. Just make sure you label and date everything.  Here are some of my freezer staples:

Chopped Onion and celery

Chopped *Stop Light* Peppers (Red, Yellow, Green)

Grated Carrots
Frozen potatoes – French Fries, Hash browns, Tator tots, etc.
Butter Blocks
Shredded cheese – all flavors
Hamburger/Hotdog buns
Loaves of Bread
Cooked Pancakes/Waffles (30 seconds in the microwave and ready to eat!)
Hotdogs
Bacon/Sausage
Pepperoni
Beef Mixtures
Marinated chicken, steak, shrimp
Juice Concentrates
Fruit Puree’s
Casseroles in strips


Most things do just fine in the freezer for 3-6 months, some items can be stored up to a year. Google if you don’t know!