Holy Ink!

It happens to us all at one point or another, a pen was left in the wash and exploded in the dryer! WHAT. A. DISASTER! What do you do first?! Buy a new dryer and start over maybe?! 

Before you run out and spend hundreds of dollars, here is a simple solution: 

Nail polish remover works wonders on removing those ink stains in the dryer! Use gloves to prevent your fingers from getting stained with ink and getting dried out from the nail polish remover. Also make sure to have a fan or proper air flow to prevent any head or health issues. 

This was what my whole dryer looked like to begin with:

This is halfway through using paper towels and nail polish remover:

I had a nice pile of paper towels by the time I was finished cleaning:

My husband ending up lending me some of his elbow grease but it took the two of us less than 20 minutes to clean our whole dryer. It is not perfect but it looks a whole heck of a lot better than it did to begin with and now our clothes won't come out of the dryer with ink stains on them. We left the dryer open over night to make sure the alcohol fumes were completely away and I washed it with some soap and water on a rag. 

That's it! Simple solution for what seemed like a huge problem!

Happy Mommy-ing!

Back To School 2018-2019!!!

The Summer is finally over!!! I know lots of moms that are so happy to have school back in session! I learned over the Summer that my boys behave the best when we are on a schedule of some sort. So our Summer week looked like this:

Something Every. Day! No wonder I didn't have any time from blogging! But it was well worth it! My boys had a great summer, we did new things and met new people and that's really all a mom could hope for. But now we are back in school mode and I am so beyond happy! My oldest needed to do something else because he was starting to get bored with everything.
Now I am NOT a last minute type of person (not that there is anything wrong with that by any means, everyone is different) heck, I already have Christmas presents in my closet! So I got pretty much everything ready for my son to go to school as soon as we got the school supply list (which we got off the Wal-Mart App! It was SO COOL!). Plus is helps so much that his birthday is at the end of the summer and he gets lots of clothes for that!
The only thing I need to do is make sure everything is in place for us in the morning because I am a very grumpy woman in the morning and anything to make it easier is a blessing, for everyone!
My Tea :

My cup with my tea and the Kettle all filled with water so all I have to do is turn it on and add sugar! 

Back-Pack:

My son's back-pack lives in the kitchen, on his chair! It only leaves once it's time to go to school and gets put right back as as soon as we get home. Makes it easier to pack and see all his school papers.

My Purse:

My beautiful Lily Jade Cailin lives at the table too! Makes it easier to pack and grab once it's time to leave!

Clothes:

My clothes for the next day, totally helps when I am half asleep!

My youngest's clothes since I tend to wait until it's time to leave to get him. It is so much better for me to not have him under foot or have the 2 of them fighting while I am doing other things around the house. Plus he is very grumpy if we wake him too early! Then I bring breakfast for him in the car.

Snacks/Lunch:

These are our lunch pails: Spider-Man for me and my youngest's snacks and space for my oldest at school

After we drop off my oldest at school, my youngest and I still follow our summer schedule of doing something everyday before nap time. And of course it helps to have a few "mommy routines" as well to help keep everything moving in the right direction:

1. I try to do 1 load of laundry (wash, dry, fold and put away) every other day so everyone has clean clothes. Last year I wasn't so on top of this and there were a few times it bit me in the rear: my oldest has long legs but a tiny waist so even though he has a lot of the next size up (because I just know he's going to grow here soon!) he still only fits in about 5 pairs of shorts right now. So keeping the laundry going is a huge help so we are not yelling in the morning that he doesn't have clean shorts.
2. I have my oldest pick out his own clothes on Sunday night and place it in this hanging divider in his closet so he can get dressed quickly.

3. I run the dishwasher at night right before I go to bed. During the day I fill it with dirty dishes so there aren't dishes piled in the sink and then unload it the next morning or after I drop off my oldest at school.
4. I have an alarm for when I need get up and one to go to bed. Sounds so funny right?! Why would I, a mom, need a reminder to go to bed? Well, when the house is finally quiet because the kids are asleep, the house is clean and everything is ready for the next day... I like to relax on the couch, watching my show (currently The Vampire Diaries!), eating those foods I don't what to share (you know what I'm talking about!) and crochet my next project in peace! Of course time would get away from me! If I didn't have my alarm, I would stay up pass 11 PM and it still takes me about 20 minutes to get ready for bed and then I don't even know how much longer it takes for my brain and body to relax enough for me to fall asleep! But I just know that with my alarm, I am in bed asleep by 10:30 PM! It helps, trust me!

Those are some of my secrets to making the week a bit less crazy during back-to-school! 

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Mommy Cards

So there's a new trend happening today among Stay At Home Moms, or SAHM, "Mommy Cards". Sounds like stationary or greeting cards but it is actually business cards for moms. Wait, I am a Stay At Home Mom... that means I have no job. These are business cards, typically used for people with jobs. So why the need for these "Mommy Cards"? What would I, as a mom, need business cards for in my life? I'm a wife and a mom with a personal blog. Not business worthy. Why invest in business cards that are probably going to get lost in my purse (link here)? 

Actually as a mom, there are many opportunities for these "Mommy Cards". This lady's blog (link here) was very informative and gave many reasons to have these cards handy as a mom:

• Setting up kids' playdates
• To leave with the babysitter
• running into someone at the store
• at offices like the dentist and doctor

Vistaprint even has many different designs for their Parent Cards as they call them (link here). There's a place for your name and then it prints out "parent of blank". Like typical business cards, there's places for address, phone, email and company name. There is also a place to put it your kid has an allergy to something, which I thought was very helpful! 

Personally, I am now volunteering at our local YMCA and I am meeting new people every week. It is much easier to hand one of these cards out to a fellow volunteer than it is to try to exchange information well kids are running around us screaming their heads off. I almost pulled out a card while I was at the bank the other day because it's easier to show my information than it is to tell it but that might just be me. I'm hopeful when summer is over and my oldest is back in school that I'll be ready to give them out to the moms. I think it is a great idea for shy people, like myself, as an ice breaker.

HAPPY MOMMY-ING! 

In-Flight Bag / No Stroller Flying

I recently flew home with my youngest for a family emergency and decided to travel light since it
was just him and me. Yes, No Stroller! I took a 2 and a half year old, by myself, on a 6+ hour flight. As per my norm, I over packed my bag! I purchased this wonderful Deluxe Organizing Utility Tote from Thirty One [link here] and it made for the perfect In-Flight bag / diaper bag while I was in California.

This bag is huge! There are 2 side mesh pockets that are big enough to hold 2 bottles of whatever in each. I packed an empty sippy cup to get us through security and then once we were thru - purchased a soda for myself and some juice for my youngest.

There are 2 outside pockets - a zipper pocket on one side and a Velcro pocket on the other. They were perfect size for our boarding passes (so I could find them easier) and my toddler leash [review here].

Inside the bag I packed everything I thought I would possibly need to keep my youngest happy.
Comfort Items for him like his blanket, a pacifier attached to a stuffed animal called a Wuby (because if it fell, it was easier to find than a simple pacifier), a stuffed animal for him to cuddle with and my shawl (for me or to cover him, lay him on, change him on, as a pillow for either of us. This thing was a huge help!).

Food Items are always a must when going ANYWHERE with children, I think! All of his favorites like fruit snacks, mini cookies, crackers, pretzels, cereal bars, puree pouches, etc. An array of foods helps keep kids happy and calm, and no one on the plane wants to hear them upset!

Toys are always a great idea when traveling with kids, especially non-electronic toys because even though kids' tablets are amazing and compact - they do eventually need to be charged and in the middle of a 4 hour flight is not the ideal time for it to die and then your kid to have a meltdown because of it! I packed just a few things like stickers, a giant pad of paper he could place the stickers on or draw, a cardboard book with his favorite character on it, a toy car that's bigger than normal (again in case it fell, it was easier to find than a hotwheel), a McDonald's toy that is like Hungry Hungry Hippo game, a PEZ dispenser without the candy in it, and a dollar photo album I put animal flash cards in.

The tablet we have is a Kindle Fire and we did purchase the Amazon Freetime Unlimited for it (great value! $4 dollars a month for thousands of apps, videos, books and games my kids just love! We have a storage issue because my kids love it so much!). I also brought with us a portable charger, 2 charging cords, a tablet stand, my Ipod charger (which I had my Ipod in my purse), a jack splitter and his headband phones. Everything fit perfectly in a Thirty One Zipper Pouch!

And finally the normal diaper bag necessities: diapers, wipes, sanitizing spray, sanitizing wipes, boogie wipes, medications, toy/pacifier/cup leashes, band-aids, lotion, sungalsses for my youngest, etc.

This bag was huge and heavy but it was prefect for flying alone with my youngest without a stroller! I had all my stuff in my purse and all his stuff (plus a few things of mine) in this amazing bag, with room to spare!

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Taking 2 Under 6 to the Dentist

I hate the Dentist! I've always hated going! They never tell you you're doing anything right, it's always what you're doing wrong in my experience. Until I was about six I went to an adult dentist and did not enjoy it one bit. Then my mom found a children's dentist for me and my two younger siblings and he was a sweet old man that was gentle and talked me through the whole thing in order to calm my nerves. I do not want my past unpleasant experiences to dictate how my children perceive the dentist. After a lot of research, I found a children's dentist that's in the same building as my dentist. Again he is a sweet old man, he is very patient with my kids. All the hygienists are extremely patient, they talk to my kids like they're the most important people in the room and I'm allowed to be in there with them which was very very important to me. So how do I do it by myself?

1. I make the appointment at the end of the school day, just late enough that my son only misses the last 20 minutes of school so hopefully there aren't a bunch of kids there or a long wait time.

2. I get there early to fill out paperwork, because there always seems to be more paperwork I have to fill out at every visit.

3. In the waiting room they have video games  but I also brought along snacks, juice cups and tablets with headphones just in case.

4. To make things easier on myself for after the appointment I decided to make dinner using the crock pot that way no matter how long it takes (with a 5 year old and a screaming Terrible Two Toddler, extra time is always a good idea!) the main component of dinner will be done and ready for us when we get home. I just have to heat up the taco shells, my husband already shredded the cheese from earlier in the week and set the table.

Mom Tip: When we used to go to the dentist as kids my mom would pick us up from school and have us brush our teeth in the car. I didn't understand the reason then because they made you brush your teeth again when you got there and then they brushed them with their dentist tools. As a mom though I completely understand where she was coming from. Not that my kids are old enough to understand and brush their teeth before we go - so I just gave them breath mints and hoped that their teeth aren't so bad.

Their visit went great! We honestly spent more time in the waiting room than we did in the exam area. My youngest screamed when they counted his teeth, so that was all they could do for him. The hygienist did give him a treat bag with a new tooth brush, sticker and bathtub toy. She also gave him a plastic mouth mirror, hoping it would allow them to do more. It did not but my youngest liked his new toys. My oldest was very good! Since they examined my kids at the same time, my focus was on holding my youngest and helping the dentist, and my oldest was left with his hygienist. He did everything he was told and they both had no cavities!

Happy Mommy-ing!

My Cures for the Hun-Angry Mommy Monster

I'm a mommy of two, as many of you know, and like many mommies out there there's not always time for me to sit down and eat a meal without having to share it with my youngest or make both kids something too. The new lingo is putting hungry and angry together to make hun-angry, and I think that describes the majority of the hungry mommies out there! We have to share our food with our children and many of us hide the foods we don't want to share and eat them during nap time or behind a closed door or when our back is turned and stuff it all in our mouth quickly. These are a few of my quick go-to food that I love. They're not necessarily the best thing but they're quick so yummy to eat.

I suffer, not suffer - live with PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, like severe PMS -a blog on that coming soon!) after my second pregnancy so I get cravings like I'm pregnant, but I'm not, and some of these are my current cravings that I've had for about 6 weeks.

So from the photo above I'll start left to right:
• Easy Mac/Rice A Roni Instant: these are my go-to hot/microwave lunches. If I have the time, I do prefer to make Mac and cheese from the box because, in my opinion, it tastes WAY better. But the instant is good when I'm in a time crunch. The Rice A Roni is super good and I like eating the chicken flavor with ketchup. I can't make this from the box to safe the life of me, I always burn it, so I love this! About 3 to 4 minutes for each in the microwave with a little water and I have a hot lunch!

• Dr Pepper/Mnt Dew Kickstart: I always drink one of these a day. I haven't met a mom yet that doesn't need some form of daily caffeine, especially moms of toddlers. Dr Pepper has one of the highest contains of caffeine for a soda per can and I love these tiny bottles so I can re-close them and take them in my bag without the fear for them spilling or needing to drink it quickly. The Kickstarts are wonderful! It's an energy drink without the added chemical junk most other energy drinks have added to them. It's only 80 calories and tastes great!

• Hormel Gatherings Snack Tray: above is what is left of my "grown up Lunchables". I absolutely love these in the honey ham/mild cheddar cheese flavor. They last about 3 times eating and although it's probably not the best thing for me to be eating, the way I see it is I'm eating protein which is always a good thing.

• Naked Brand- Green Machine/Sparkling Ice- Cherry Limeade: I don't drink these every day, these on on occasion because they are a little pricey. I love Naked Brand Green Machine in the mornings when I want to feel healthy, I feel like I'm doing something good for my body by drinking it. I hate green foods! I don't eat salads, rabbit food I call it, so this drink has all those green salad-y veggies inside it along with fruits to make it taste yummy! I love cherry limeade! I prefer the Walmart brand Clear Sparkling water because it's clear and cheap but the bottle is 32oz, heavy and huge, it doesn't fit in my bag or my car cup holders. So I do like that this bottle is smaller and easier to take along with me and I just recently found them in an 8 pack of cans so I a excited to start getting those soon.

• Little Debbie Snack Cakes: I am currently obsessed with these yummy, oh-so-bad for you cakes! They are 300 calories per pack of two, as my husband likes to point out since we are trying to exercise and be healthier as a family. But these are another craving from PMDD and I can't go a day without eating these.

•BelVita Breakfast Cookies/Stash Fusion Breakfast Black & Green tea: these are a morning staple for me! The breakfast cookies we have Monday thru Friday in the car while we wait to drop off my oldest at school, I have 2 and my youngest has 2. They are very tasty, have whole grains and are very easy to take with us. They are messy when they break but other than that I love these! The Stash Fusion Breakfast Black and Green Tea is a morning staple for both me and my husband. I have it every morning, I'm a mess without it. I do not like coffee and I like that it has green tea in it but it doesn't taste like green tea. I do put too much sugar in it but I am slowly cutting back the amount I put into my morning tea (I drink decaf black tea at night). We have to order it on Amazon but it's well worth it.

•PEZ Candies: I absolutely love PEZ candy!  I use to buy the dispensers with three candies, sometimes you can find the refill hanging pack that has six candies and that's okay too if you can find it. I ran across this huge bag at my local Toys R Us and bought two bags of it!! I love these candies because they're so small, I stash them in my car for meltdowns, I stash them in my purse for me or to calm my kids. I can hide these under a blanket if I am crocheting on the couch and eat them right in front of my kids. I love these candies!

• Not pictured: some of my other favorite snacks are Fiber One strawberry cheesecake bar, Quaker mini rice cakes in Caramel, Simply Balanced fruit leather in strawberry from Target, drinkable yogurt  in a strawberry flavor and whole grain Goldfish/Cheez-itz (I mean, what mom of a toddler doesn't eat Goldfish crackers?!). I need to drink more water so I do like Crush brand grape water enhancer packets. I keep one in my purse, I really need to get better at drinking one or two a day. They do contain aspartame which is not good for you but I hate drinking plain water so a little bit of aspartame is better than no water at all in my opinion.
Well those are my cures for the Hun-Angry Mommy Monster. What are your cures for your Hun-Angry mommy monster?

Happy Mommy-ing