Clean House: Day 30 - Arts & Crafts supplies

1. Gather sewing/craft items; divide into groups
2. Toss any unusable scraps or packaging
3. Wipe drawers with damp dusting cloth
4. Replace items by type; Label outside of drawer or container for easy access. Store duplicates elsewhere

TIMESAVER: Color-code storage boxes or labels, such as red for knitting, blue for sewing, yellow for stamping, etc. etc.


There ya go! 30 days to a clean house! You're all done! Yay!!

Clean House: Day 29 - Toy Closet

1. Group toys by categories: blocks, board games, dolls, puzzles, army men, cars, books, etc.
2. Discard broken toys
3. Put outgrown toys aside for donation, storage, or rummage sale
4. Store keepers by category in bags, boxes, or plastic bins. Label or stick a picture of what’s inside on outside of solid containers
5. Stack containers; label shelves for board game storage.

Questions from the Little Ones

Not long ago, my little ones began asking questions about babies, where they came from, and how they get out of where they are. Since that time, we learned that my oldest daughter, DQ, is expecting. Due to the many conversations that DQ and I have had, my little ones now have new questions that I honestly am not sure how to answer. I'm hoping that someone out there will be able to help me answer the questions of very inquistive little 4 y.o. and 6 y.o. girls.

A bit of background, our family is a blended family. My husband, DH, has 4 grown children from his previous marriage. They have blessed us with 8 grand babies. I was also married to another man many years ago and my DQ and The Teen came to us during that marriage. Then I met my husband, got married, and 5 years later welcomed our Little Bird and Kangaroo.

Now, I'm baffled by how quickly the questions have come. Here are a few:

1. Why did DQ's Daddy give them up? When I answered that he didn't GIVE them up, we had DIVORCED...that led to the What is divorce? question.

2. Mommy, Sissy has a baby in her tummy. Where's the baby's daddy?

4. Is the baby gonna come out AFTER Sissy's married?

5. You mean you don't HAVE to be married to have a baby?

6. Is the baby gonna live with us?

There are many more but I'll leave you with these for now. If you have any advice on how to answer my little ones questions, please help. Especially the ones dealing with morality.

Clean House: WEEKEND 4 - Garage

1. Sort garage items, tools, sports equipment, gardening & lawn supplies, etc.
2. Group old paint, pesticides, and other chemicals. Call city sanitation for disposal info.
3. Clean & sweep floor
4. Check for rodent & pest infestation
5. Vacuum & clean windows & shelves
6. Clean, oil, & sharpen tools
7. Check tools & machinery for damage or wear; schedule repair & maintenance as needed.

TROUBLE SPOT: Avoid water damage by moving items up off floor to shelves, tool-hanging systems, or onto long , thick nails pounded into studs.

100 Places to Take Your Kids....

....Before They Grow Up

Hubs and I had a date night tonight and ended up at our favorite place again....Target. :D When you walk into a Target store, there is usually a section of 3 or 4 small rows packed with $1.00 items. Tonight I found a real jewel. It's a little paperback book from Frommer's. I googled this title "100 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up" but all I'm finding is "500 Places..." I think THIS particular little paperback is just a watered down list but what a list it is! I'm not going to get into all the little tips and hints this little book contains but I figured it would be okay to provide you all with the list in the index. If anything, it will give you some summer vacation ideas!

Enjoy the list (in no particular order) and feel free to comment back if you have ever been to any of these places.

1. The Grand Canyon, AZ

2. The Redwood Forests of California, Crescent City, CA

3. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks,Visalia & Fresno, CA

4. Devil's Tower, WY

5. Arches National Park, Moab, UT

6. Petrified Forest & Painted Desert National Park, Holbrook, AZ

7. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI

8. Niagra Falls, NY

9. Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Durango, CO

10. The Seattle-Victoria Ferry, Seattle, WA

11. Cruising the Mighty Mississippi, Various locations along the Mississippi River

12. Scouting Alaska's Inside Passage, Juneau, Alaska

13. Boston Common, Boston, MA

14. Escape to Alcatraz, San Francisco, CA

15. Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse Memorial, Keystone & Custer, SD

16. The Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD

17. Wall Drug, Wall, SD

18. Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, CA

19. Carlsbad Caverns, Carlsbad, NM

20. Assateague Island, VA

21. El Yunque (Puerto Rico's Rainforest), Rio Grande, PR

Famous Bridges

22. Brooklyn Bridge, NY

23. Golden Gate Bridge, SF

Fantastic Aquariums & Zoos

24. Monteray Bay Aquarium, Monteray, CA

25. The San Diego Zoo, CA

26. The Bronx Zoo, NY

27. Dinosaur Valley, Glen Rose, TX

28. La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, CA

29. Cahokia Mounds, Collinsville, IL

30. Canyon de Chelly, Chinie, AZ

31. Puako Petroglyphs, Big Island, HI

32. Concord, Lexington, & Lincoln, MA

33. Remembering the Alamo, San Antonio, TX

34. Gettysburg National Park, Gettysburg, PA

35. Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, HI

36. The International Spy Museum, Washington, DC

37. San Juan Fortress, San Juan, Puerto Rico

38. Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, MA

39. Williamsburg, Jamestown, & Yorktown, VA

40. Philadelphia, PA

41. The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, New York, NY

42. Amish Country, Lancaster, PA

43. Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT

44. Stockyards National Historic District, Fort Worth, TX

45. California Gold Rush Country, Hwy. 49 from Nevada City to Angels Camp

46. National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC

47. Black Heritage Trail, Boston, MA

48. Dr. King's Legacy, Atlanta, GA

49. Alabama's Civil Rights Trail, Montgomery, Birmingham, & Selma, AL

50. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY

51. Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA

52. The Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA

53. Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, NC

54. National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC

55. Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL

56. Edison Historic Site, West Orange, NJ

57. Hoover Dam, Boulder City, NV

58. Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA

59. Mauna Kea, Hawaii

60. The Cable Car Hills of San Francisco, CA

61. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

62. The Art Institute of Chicago, IL

63. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA

64. Graceland, Memphis, TN

65. The Nashville Music Scene, Nashville, TN

66. Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH

67. Hollywood, CA

68. Newport's Mansions, Newport, RI

69. Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA

70. Orchard House, Concord, MA

71. The Mark Twain Home, Hannibal, Missouri

Presidential Homesteads

72. Lincoln Trail, Hodgenville, KY

73. FDR Hyde Park, NY

74. Yosemite, CA

75. The Appalachian Trail, Jump on anywhere from GA to Maine

76. Yellowstone National Park, Cody, WY

77. Nantucket, MA

78. Mackinac Island, Michigan

79. Bicycle the Rim Road, Crater Lake, Oregon

80. Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, CO

81. Monument Valley, Kayenta, AZ

82. Canoe the Everglades, Everglades, FL

83. Sea Kayak in Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine

84. Apostle Island National Park, Bayfield, WI

85. Swim with a Million Tiny Lights, Vieques, Puerto Rico

86. Biscayne National Park, Homestead, FL

87. St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

88. Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica, CA

89. Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY

90. Fenway Park, Boston, MA

91. Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

92. Notre Dame, South Bend, IN

93. The Kentucky Derby, Louisville, KY

94. NASCAR Classic, Daytona, FL

95. Ballooning over the Great Red Rocks, Sedona, AZ

96. Denali National Park, Alaska

97. The Cyclone, Brooklyn, NY

98. Millenium Force, Sandusky, OH

99. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk, between Monteray & San Francisco, CA

100. The Mall of America, Bloomington, MN

Happy Traveling!!!

Clean House: Day 26 - Front Closet or Mud Room

1. Pick up everything from floor; sort & replace where they belong
2. Make a pile of things that go elsewhere
3. Cull extra hangers
4. Place a storage crate for each family member in the closet
5.Label individual hooks for family members
6. Remove, clean & store any out of season items

Clean House: Day 25 - Windows

1. Clean window ledges & sills w/ vacuum
2. Use window cleaner & clean windows
3. Wipe off any smudges w/ paper towels

Clean House: Day 24 - Laundry Room

1. Clear top of washer & dryer
2. Wipe down surfaces, Check inside surfaces of dryer for gum, ink, or other buildup
3. Check hoses, filters, & dryer ducts. Clean and repair as needed.
4. Clean iron as needed
5. Vacuum, sweep, mop floor
6. Check supplies and make a list

TIMESAVER: Get hanger caddy from local dry cleaner to recycle extras.

Clean House: Day 23 - Blinds

1. Close blinds & firmly brush across slats w/ a treated dust wipe, lambs wool duster, or disposable foam brush. Reverse slats & repeat. OR cover your hand with a cotton glove or sock and run each slat between your finger and thumb.
2. Dust vertical blinds w/ dush brush attachment on vacuum
3. Remove smudges & fingerprints w/ a warm, damp sponge.

TIMESAVER: If you’ve had these blinds for a while….treat yourself….go by new ones each time you get a room done! My personal favorite tip!!

Guess what I woke up to this a.m.!

On Friday morning I noticed that Kangaroo had a little redness to her right eye. Thinking it was allergies or even a bit of something in her eye, I ignored it. Bad move! By Saturday her eye was swollen from all the rubbing and stuck closed. Fast forward to this morning, and guess what! I wake up with the same dadgum thing! Yay. (Hear the sarcasm?)

We have doc's visit scheduled for this afternoon and I'm hoping he'll be generous and give a family sized prescription to knock this stuff out.

The last time we had conjunctivitis in the family was when I was still nursing Kangaroo (about 3 1/2 years ago). I had heard that a drop of breastmilk would cure this monster. So, I tried it and lemme tell ya...that breastmilk is a miracle elixir! However, since I'm no longer breastfeeding, I have none available. :(

That being said, I called the doctor and left a message. I was thinking that I would save myself a trip by describing the pink eye to him over the phone and then have him call in a prescription for eye drops. Several hours later and he still hadn't returned my call.

Then Kangaroo starts complaining about her ear hurting. She hadn't said anything prior to this so I didn't know what to think. I called the doc's office again and told them, "Never mind the message to the doc. I'm bringing her in."

It's a good thing too! Kangaroo has a double ear infection in addition to the pink eye! After fighting the evening traffic, we finally arrived back home with a week's worth of antibiotics and eyedrops.

Hopefully, she'll feel better very soon.

Clean House: Day 22 - Kid's Rooms

1. Either tidy or supervise kids efforts to clean up rooms
2. Place a crate or box on closet floor to hold outgrown items
3. Spot-clean windows and mirrors w/ windex
4. Dust surfaces & vacuum or dry-mop floors
5. Help kids organize their stuff w/ over the door storage systems or plastic crates.

TROUBLE SPOT: Initiate a no-food rule for bedrooms.