WFMW - Reusing Cards

I used to be crafty and hand stamped many of my own cards that I would give with gifts. However, two kids later and not near as much time in a day as I need... I no longer seem to do that. Also, if you look at the price on many of the cards, I find it crazy to spend $3,4,5 on a card that oftentimes will end up in the trash can of the recipient.

So, my solution.

On cards that I receive, I simply cut off the front half of the card at the fold. Then I store it away for future use of my own. When it's time to give a gift, I simply look through my stash and find the perfect "new baby" card, or "congratulations" card, or "wedding" card, etc. Then I write a message on the blank back of the card, punch a hole in the top left corner, and tie it onto the gift bag with some pretty ribbon.

Voila!

It's an easy way to send the very best!

Check out other WFMW tips at We are THAT Family.

WFMW - The first garage sale of the season

Lo and behold it's finally a sunny day in April. And what does that bring?

Garage sales.

I'm a fan of garage sales, though I often wonder if I'm buying items that I wouldn't normally, or that I'm wasting money... though it's not near as much as I'd be spending if I purchased new!

Today I decided to check out Craigslist and see if there were any garage sales in my area this week. Was I excited to see there was a sale just down the street from me, and they had kids items!

Woo hoo!

Jackpot!

I could walk, take the girls outside on such a nice day, get a little exercise, and hopefully find a bargain or two! Sounds like the day is off to a great start.

So once my Little Miss woke up, I was ready to go. I'd been waiting patiently for her, she decided to sleep in this morning, which I know her tired little body needed. It was worth the wait, though I was worried what great bargains I'd be missing out on. Thankfully the day is gorgeous, and the sales were good.

I snagged a couple of educational games for her. One being a Discovery Toys jigsaw puzzle, and the other a Usborne books Alphabet game. Both in perfect, like new condition and each for a few bucks each. Much better than the original price tags! The other item, a Speedo brand swimsuit for Little Miss, for a dollar. Not the colors I would buy off the store shelf (neon orange and yellow), but it will do the job and the pricetag sealed the deal.

There were a couple of other items I had in hand, but put them back as I tried not to overbuy another person's "junk". I am very happy with what I came home with and plan to make garage sale shopping a part of our every week. You never know what bargains you may find and I'm excited to have already saved at least $15 on a swimsuit for my Little Miss today!

Garage sale shopping works for me! Have you found any great deals this year?

For my WFMW posts, check out We Are That Family.

WFMW - Easter Story Cookies

I received an email from a friend for these incredible sounding cookies. Incredible in the sense that it will invite the story of Jesus into your home on Easter morning. Amidst the excitement of Easter baskets and egg hunts, this may be another great tradition to include in your home year after year. Let me first say, I have not yet tried these, but plan to this coming Easter Sunday.

I invite you to share the story of Jesus Christ with your little ones this Easter too!

Easter Story Cookies

To be made the evening before Easter (right before bed)

1cup whole pecans
1tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important, don't wait till you're half done with the recipe!)

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was Beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1tsp vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9

For other great WFMW posts visit We Are That Family.

Backwards WFMW - Toddler hitting

Well, we're just over a week into bringing a new baby into our family. Overall, it's been a smooth transition and everybody is doing well with the change. Big sister (22 months old) loves on her little sister every time she sees her, whether she's sleeping, or eating, or sleeping. She's a big fan already and wants to give her kisses and hugs constantly.

Last night, however, we encountered a small problem.

In the midst of me nursing the baby, big sister was giving kisses and I was talking to her... telling her how nice she was being, that she's such a good big sister, etc. etc. Then she goes and bonks the baby on her head. My first reaction was to bonk her back - obviously the baby couldn't defend herself the way I could defend her, right? This reaction brought me to tears, and left me feeling awful. I know you can't teach a child not to hit by hitting - one reason I'm not a fan of spanking. My second reaction was to yell NO and let daddy take over the discipline from there.

She has had past history of hitting and biting on occasion, but these instances are few and far between and have only been directed toward her daddy or I. We have been fortunate enough to not have to discipline too often. On the occasion that we do, we use time out. Daddy set her into time out last night and she cried and wailed and screamed and cried some more. Daddy repeated to her that we do not hit and she eventually was released from time out coming back to see me and the baby. I too reiterated that we do not hit and we must be gentle with the baby...

All just in time for her to bonk her on the head again after a few more kisses (a tad more gently this time, but still!)

So daddy fetched her up and took her straight to bed. She screamed in bed and she wailed and when she finally settled down we went in and told her that hitting was not nice, we do not hit. And basically turned out the light for her to fall asleep in her clothes and without a bedtime routine. Thankfully she was tired and doesn't need a routine on a consistent basis to sleep well. She slept all night.

So, after all of that... I need suggestions. I need help! How do I keep my toddler from hitting, especially her baby sister. Thanks in advance for your knowledge!!!

More backwards WFMW posts can be found at We are that Family

WFMW - Digital photo organization

So a VERY unorganized area of my life is sadly our family photos. I can remember growing up and my mom having boxes and boxes of printed photos, some in albums and most were not. She used to fuss and complain about not having them organized and she still has yet to complete this lifelong project of getting her photos in order.

I've become my mother.

But, I'm working to stop heredity in it's tracks.

With digital photos you would think that it would be much easier to organize photos. It really can be, though there are many reasons why it's not. Let me count the ways... or at least a number of reasons that, for me, it isn't.

1) I take hundreds upon hundreds of photos. Often of the same event. How many pictures do I need of my daughter splashing in the bathtub on the same night? Apparently 32.

2) Sometimes I will download my photos the same day that I took them, sometimes I don't download them onto my computer for weeks at a time - or until the memory card is full.

3) I have gazillions of folders on my computer that contain said photos. These folders are not organized. They have many different names and dates that don't always tell me what is in that folder.

4) Sometimes if I download photos onto my computer, and I don't delete them off of my camera's memory card, the next time I go to download the next batch of photos the first ones get put onto my computer for a second time... or third.

Okay, that's it for now. I could keep going however, but I have many more points to make in this WFMW post, so I'll stop.

Now another big trouble that I have gotten into using digital photography rather than film is that I never, ever, ever print my photos out. In fact, the last photos I printed were 21 months ago after by Little Miss turned a month old. I printed out her one month photos and started her a nice album... but now it sits screaming for more photos to be added to it's emptiness. How sad is that?

I know that I'm not the only one. It's a sad fact that our family photos are not getting displayed, we're not able to sit down and look at them together - at least not unless we're sitting in front of the laptop. In fact, as I took the weekend to organize and determine the best plan of action for this photo solution I looked back at so many photos, so many moments, so many memories I had in fact forgotten - because I don't have those wonderful family photo albums I so desperately want.

So my solution. Let me spill.

Before baby number two arrives I figured a couple of things.

One. I wanted the past many years organized and easily accessible.

Two. I wanted to get them ready to print, so I can have those albums I desperately want.

And three. Most importantly I wanted to ensure our photos are SAFE. What in the world would I do if something happened that I lost all of those thousands and thousands of pictures? I would cry. It would devastate me for the rest of my life.

So, with the help of an external hard drive I moved all of our photos off of our computer. I then basically made a folder for each and every month of every year I have photos dating back to. And then I started sorting, and sorting, and sorting. This was a tedious and a time consuming task. But to sit and enjoy so many pictures which I haven't seen since I took them, it was so much fun! The many duplicates I had, I carefully deleted. The pointless pictures I no longer needed, I carefully deleted. And I spent much of my weekend at this task.

Fortunately, they are now all in order and ready to be printed. Unfortunately I can not afford to print all of the pictures because there are just too many of them. So my next step will be to determine what I can afford for photos each and every month and watch for good discount codes and ever so slowly print my photos and IMMEDIATELY place them into my family photo albums.

I'm hoping that with the birth of baby number two I will start in the present with one set of albums and hop back to work up from Little Miss's first month at the same time. I think this plan will make it fun to compare what each child was doing at the same age and also what they looked like in comparison to one another.

Oh and another SUPER IMPORTANT tip! I'm also saving all of these photos to CD's as another means of backup. I'm hoping I can get a few months on a CD and keep them in a nice CD folder together, labeled well. And I'm going to send them to live somewhere other than our house - maybe my husband's office desk, or our safety deposit box.

So there you have it, this is working for me at the moment and hopefully will continue to work for years to come. I feel one HUGE area of my disorganized life coming together and it's a relief. Do you have any tips or suggestions on how to keep your photos organized in today's digital world? I'd love to hear them!

More Works For Me Wednesday posts can be tracked at We Are THAT Family.

And for more ideas on photo organization check out Organizing Junkie!

WFMW - Toy Storage

We are lucky enough to have an entire room in our house dedicated to being our central playroom. Little Miss loves to go in there and spend her time, playing with many of her favorite toys. Momma and Daddy love that she is able to go in there and entertain herself while we are busy with other tasks. Unfortunately it does not take much time, or effort on her part to turn the room upside down. In fact, I often think she enjoys pulling out every single toy and scattering them from one end of the room to the next, it's all a part of her fun!

But not part of Momma or Daddy's! Oy!

When we set up the room we even included an armoire with bins to house some of the toys she would play with often, and placed inside the cabinets books and educational materials mostly to keep them organized. Since the introduction of our playroom however, it seems the number of toys in our house has doubled and things are constantly out of control in a once uncluttered space.

Also, Little Miss has gotten to an age that many of her toys have multiple parts and pieces, and I know it's only going to become more so in the years to come - with smaller, and smaller parts. So I decided it was time to take many of those toys and put them out of her reach unless she's being supervised, or at least only playing with a few at any giving time... instead of... All.Of.Them.

So I recently purchased some 12 gallon bins at Walmart and started sorting. Currently I have two bins that are housing some of her Little People. I sorted the people, animals, and parts to each set and placed them into individual plastic bags along with the main toy itself. It not only makes it easy for us to pull out one set at a time, but will help her in keeping some order to the madness that will ensue anyways.

Another bin will house some of her other toys that I find to be major clutter culprits. Puzzles, pegboards, her Mr and Mrs Potato set, etc. It's all about keeping the toys themselves together and allowing her to play with one at a time. We'll then pick them up together, place them back into their bags and bins and get out another toy. In the meantime we will store the bins themselves out of reach in the hall closet which has plenty of floor space.

I know that this won't keep our playroom in constant order, and we'll still be stubbing our toes on something as we pass through, but it's a start. It'll be a nice benefit to have some extra control over the chaos and not feel so overwhelmed each and every time we "Clean up, clean up. Everybody, everywhere. Clean up, Clean up. Everybody do your share".

WFMW - A new try at coupon organization

Last year I began my attempt to become a coupon shopper.

I spent endless hours collecting, clipping, sorting, storing, and so on. In the end I used only a handful of coupons because I was so worn out by the task. I found it tedious and I found it impossible to really know what I had clipped, and where exactly I had stored it.

I originally started out with a cute little coupon file folder. I sorted my coupons by basic categories: breads/grains, canned goods, etc. This worked just fine except again, I never really knew what I had without shuffling through the little accordion booklet and I didn't have much patience as I stood in the aisles with my then 7 month old child who demanded constant interaction. Though looking back I must say a 7 month old strapped in a carrier as opposed to an active and mobile toddler seems like a luxury.

So I researched a new plan.

I had found that a number of women keep coupon binders. These binders are sorted out similar to the categories mentioned above, but using clear plastic baseball card holder sleeves. So, instead of thumbing through my little file, I'd have every single coupon in clear sight as I turned through my pages. This approach was nice in that I could see what I have, but the time it took was even more daunting. Not only was I now clipping all of my coupons (and yes, all, because you never know when there will be a great sale on something you may otherwise never buy), but I was also having to fold them and store them into little pockets making sure I was able to see the product description and expiration date. Ugh! More time I seemed to be wasting. Especially considering how few coupons I was really using in perspective.

After all of that work, and all of that time spent, I gave up on couponing for awhile. It didn't seem worth the effort. Why spend so much time every week clipping and sorting to not get the reward? My coupon binder was retired and put up on a shelf until I pulled it out just this past weekend with a new game plan.

On to attempt #3 at coupon organization. And let me say now, I think I've found a system that can work for me and I'm excited about it!

With the exact same binder I already had, I tossed out all of the categorized tabs and coupon sleeves. Still mostly full of coupons which expired in 4/08. It was time for a fresh start, but how was I going to do any better? I had read about the idea of not clipping coupons at all, not even sorting through a coupon circular, just storing it away for when I would actually need a specific coupon out of it. There you have it, hours of time I would spend clipping were saved. Instead of clipping one single coupon I instead dated the outside of the circular and slipped it down into a full page protector and organized my circulars by week. Voila!

So, how will I know what coupons I really have and what coupons I should be using when the time comes? Here is where I give another big shout out to the many women who help find great coupon deals and post them on their blogs for those of us who are new to this bargain hunting world.

I posted a list of blogs earlier this week that have helped me, and there are more out there! I have found that most bloggers who post a great deal will direct you to the exact circular you need, to find the coupon you need, to score said great deal. Shuffle through a few pages and make a couple of snips and I'm done clipping. It's that easy!

BUT, I didn't stop there. I wanted to know more about the coupons I had on hand and not rely fully on others to find those deals for me. I wanted to be on top of my coupon stash and not miss out on any product coupons before they expired, whether it was to get a great deal or merely save myself 75 cents on a product that I will plan to buy either way.

That was when I stumbled back upon...
http://www.taylortownpreview.com/

What a great website!

You will see if you go to this website that it has listed all of the coupons in any given insert. It tells for any given week which coupon inserts you should have and the coupons included inside, along with expiration dates. What a handy service! I printed these out for the inserts that I have and keep them in the back of my coupon binder for easy access. I also have a list of anticipated 2009 coupon circulars by week!

Here are the many ways I plan to use this list in the coming months:

- I'm able to flip through them at any given time and scan through to see if I may by chance have a coupon for a product I may be planning to buy.

- I'm able to skim through the expiration dates to quickly determine if my insert is outdated, or if there is a coupon that I will want to use soon before it expires.

- I'm able to cross out coupons I have clipped and have used so I'll know at first glance if I still have it or not if additional sales on the product arise.

- I'm able to feel organized and better know the coupons that I have in each circular without having to flip through and make notes on coupons I don't want to forget to use.

I've also added additional vinyl page protectors to store my deal lists for the week, envelopes to store the coupons I'm planning to use, envelopes to keep my ecb's, receipts, etc. It's nice having it all neatly stored in one place!

In addition the binder I am using has many various pockets and places to store everything from my scissors, to extra pockets for restaurant coupons/ kid coupons/ Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons... I'm really excited about this system and have enjoyed using it so far.

It's working for me, maybe it will work for you!

Holiday Traditions

For WFMW, I decided to pull out the mistletoe and nativity scene and start thinking about the holiday traditions we'll create in our home over the years. I'd love to hear about any of your special traditions as well - so leave a comment if you please!

---------------------------------------------------------------

I am starting to feel the Christmas Spirit wafting in and out of my heart. My days are starting to be spent thinking up traditions and plans for my family, and doing a bit of online gift shopping.

Traditions are an important part of the holiday season to me, as I remember having a number of them during my own childhood. We had many common traditions that many families follow, but we also had a few that became our own over the years (it will never be Christmas without Elvis and the Chipmunks). I find traditions a fun way to help remember such a special time of year and make them even more special to a family.

For my growing family I have plans in my head for MANY, MANY traditions. They range from quite small in nature, to bigger and more important ones that I hope my children will pass on to their own. Most importantly I want our traditions to include the different facets of Christmastime: Jesus, Family, and Santa (in that particular order of importance).

In today's culture it is so difficult to notice the role Christianity has to Christmas. With all of the media advertisements, emphasis on gift giving and receiving, Christmas decor, and of course Old St. Nick, it's an easy part to overlook. However, I hope to make that the central part of the Christmas holiday for my family.

So, how do I plan to accomplish such a task?

Really, it will be simple enough with a bit of work on my part, and some creativity. Primarily, many secular traditions have a Christian story that fit them and I plan to showcase those and their importance. Santa Claus, in all of his splendor, will be God's helper - they'll talk, discuss which children have been good or bad, etc. I have no intention to dismiss Santa Claus in any nature as he is such a visible aspect of the season. Christmas gifts will remain few in number in my house, though this is a much more difficult task I am learning each year. My original intention was that each child would receive three gifts from Santa Claus, just as Jesus received three gifts from the wise men. I still plan to follow through with this tradition, but I have, for Christmas #2, decided to include three additional gifts from Momma and Daddy instead of only one more. That will be our limit. Especially considering the many gifts they are bound to receive from family and loved ones. And our goal will be to teach giving, not receiving.

Another tradition I plan to implement into our home is to decorate a Jesus Tree (aka Jesse Tree) each year. This is an advent tree in which you place one ornament each day until Christmas Day, each symbolizing a story from the beginning of the Bible through the birth of Jesus. Our tradition will be to place the ornament on each night at bedtime and we'll discuss that story and say our prayers. This is a tradition that I am most excited about and plan to make my own ornaments for. Thankfully Little Miss is still young enough that this doesn't have to be just perfect yet this year.

Family, being the second most important part of the season, will be emphasized by time spent together. Everything from a special day putting up the Christmas tree with a traditional meal each year, Christmas music, and hot chocolate - to driving around looking at Christmas lights while singing Christmas Carols, to family movie nights watching favorite holiday movies. We'll also celebrate Christmas in our home as a family, and then with our extended families each year. I want to place emphasis on giving as well, though we will do so frugally and being good stewards of the money God has blessed us with. I want our children to be involved with gift giving throughout the season to family, friends, and those who are in need. These are just a few of the things that come to mind for family time, however I know in the scheme of things there will be many more.

And finally, the secular Santa Claus oriented aspect of Christmas will also be observed. We of course will visit Santa each year and take the traditional photo. We will leave out cookies with milk and a note the night before his arrival. And we will also have a few of Santa's elves who will live with us each December. These elves will be our guests, but will also be in our home watching the children behave and misbehave, all the while reporting back to Santa Claus himself. They will cause mischief and bring gifts, as well as, take Christmas wish lists back to Santa at the North Pole. This is a cute tradition that a friend of mine does with her own children and that I fell in love with the moment she told me about it. I've been waiting many Christmas seasons to start this tradition myself!

So as you can see, Christmas will definitely be multifaceted in our home, often many of the parts overlap in nature showcasing the importance and fun of the season all in one. Hopefully though, more than anything, my children will observe the true reason for the season shine through it all.

WFMW - Kitchen Towels

We waste paper towels at our house. I bet we could go through an entire roll in a day, between my husband and I. They are such handy dandy little things. We use them mostly for wiping up small spills on the counter, wiping off Little Miss after she eats, cleaning off the highchair, and drying our hands. All of this and they are used up and in the trash before we realize it.

A couple of months ago I decided I'd start using plain white dishcloths as much as possible instead of succumbing to our need to use paper. White so that I could bleach them and keep them looking new. So I went and bought a few dozen of the cheapest dishcloths I could find and tossed them into a kitchen drawer. They have been so handy and I feel like I keep my kitchen a bit tidier because of them, just grab, wipe and toss into the laundry. I have been making every effort to have a hand towel set aside for drying our hands on too.

But, where do I toss my dirty cloths as they begin to pile up?

I have placed a 10 qt handled bucket underneath my kitchen sink to store these dirty little guys. That seemed to be working well, until a few extra days would pass that I didn't take them upstairs to throw in the washing machine and we starting having issues with mildew. Yuck! I throw all of the dirty cloths in this bucket, wet or dry.

So I now start out with my bucket half full of hot water and oxyclean and just add dirty dishcloths as I go. Once full, I carry the bucket to the washing machine and pour it in, water and all. I may have to wash a mini-sized load of dishcloths every few days, but I'm sure it's saving us some cash not wasting all of those paper towels. Not to mention, it's doing our planet some good too.

For more WFMW posts, go here.

A day to myself

My Little Miss has started preschool. She is scheduled to go two days a week. One so that I can sleep after working the nightshift before, and one so that I can take care of our home without sacrificing the time that I spend with her every other day of the week. It really is a win-win situation for us both.

I was beginning to notice that much of the time that I spend with my daughter is spent in the kitchen doing dishes, cleaning, vacuuming, or doing laundry. I am often more focused on taking care of the home than nurturing my relationship with her. I was sacrificing our time together for other things, things that are definitely still important and that she needs to know are important, but not more important than her. So I figured out a solution to fit both of our needs.

I believe that preschool has a lot to offer children, in many aspects. She is getting to interact with other children and other adults to develop social skills, she is attending a Christian preschool which has a great curriculum, she is getting to have new and different experiences that she would not have being home with me every day. I'll just be so excited once she is able to talk and tell me about her day and everything she did! I also believe that being around other little ones will help her with her developmental tasks such as walking and talking sooner.

For me I now will have one day a week that I can get done what I don't feel I ever have enough time to do. I can focus on areas of my home that need my attention and not have to worry about a soon-to-be toddler underfoot. We've lived in this house over a year now and there are still many things that need unpacked, or at least put away. Moving at the end of a pregnancy, having modified bedrest restriction for two weeks, and then having a new baby in the house really zaps any motivation and extra energy to get a house in order.

So yesterday, on the first day of school, I spent the entire day sorting laundry and clothes that have been piling up forever. I am attempting to organize the closet in our guest bedroom with all of the baby items Little Miss has outgrown, as this will be the nursery for our second child when we are blessed with one. I had a dinner prepared when my husband came home, which I've been slacking on for the past couple of weeks or more. I did cheat and use the crockpot, but it was convenient and still delivered a hot and very yummy meal that we both gave 2 thumbs up. I went shopping without having to entertain a child the entire time which made my trip so much faster and efficient. Overall it was a successful day.

Now today I get to focus on my family. Little Miss and I will spend the day playing and laughing. This momma has less on her plate the rest of the week and more time to devote to her daughter. I feel so lucky that this is what I have found that works for my family!

For more WFMW posts, check this out!

WFMW - Mr. Sandman

Let me start off by saying that I know my tip may not work for everyone. In fact, without a daughter who sleeps through the night 99% of the time and a husband who is willing and able to get up with her on rare occasions it need be done, it wouldn't work for me. However, I work a crazy schedule nowadays, a schedule that has me going from working night shift to being a mommy during the day, and back and forth, back and forth. It's weary and it's tiring sometimes and my body doesn't always know when it's supposed to sleep. In fact, it is 1:00 am right now and I woke up after a couple of hours of sleep really thirsty and now feel like I have my second wind for the day. Not bad as I can get things done around the house without interruption but by daytime and with an almost one-year-old underfoot I'll be dragging if I don't go back to sleep soon.

My solution, a little pill Mr. Sandman likes to refer to as Ambien. It really is a wonderful little drug. I'm not a sales rep and I'm not a doctor, so I don't want to insinuate it will be so wonderful for you, but for me, well... it is.

I currently take it only 2 or 3 times a week and get some of the best sleep I've had since my pregnancy and the nights of tossing and turning with constant bladder fullness were so disturbing. It is an absolute necessity for me when I'm needing to sleep between my two night shifts. No matter how nice my fancy sleep mask, no matter how silent the world becomes with my earplugs, I need something to help me relax and fall asleep. Especially in helping me to stay asleep. Imagine waking up mid-day knowing how beautiful it is outside, knowing you could be spending it with your hubby and Little Miss, and you won't fall back to sleep no matter how tired you may feel. And then imagine staying up another full night running on only maybe say 4 hours of sleep. Oh no, it's not good.

Unfortunately plain ole Ambien never has quite cut it for me and I've averaged about 6 hours of sleep under it's care. Not bad on say a random super-early Wednesday morning when I just need to fall asleep so that I can function in the morning, but to make up for staying up all night... well, I've now discovered Ambien CR. Woohoo! This stuff is amazing. This past Saturday I slept an entire 8.5 hours during the daytime, I was refreshed and so energetic for my second night shift of the week. This little pill is made to help you fall asleep AND stay asleep just as the commercial guarantees. I now truly can participate in "Coma Sleep" as my fellow night shift comrade Stephanie calls it.

Again, I want to mention that this may not work for you, but it sure does work for me Wednesday... and Thursday... and Friday... and whatever night or day of the week my body just decides to retaliate against my craziness of a work schedule. And as always check out Shannon's place for more great tips, and always, always, always check with your Doctor to see if Ambien may be right for you.

WFMW - Sealing Envelopes

This is a simple tidbit that I forgot to include in my WFMW post about my card organization drawer a couple of weeks back. Brought on by my husband's refusal to lick an envelope and the death of George's fiance on "Seinfeld", I found an inexpensive alternative to the human tounge.


The foam brush! They cost pennies and will last forever. Just dip the very, very tip into water, and you may even want to blot it on a paper towel to get out the extra water. Then, just wipe it along the glue strip on your envelope. Voila! It's like magic, and no more nasty taste that haunts you for days!

Check out other WFMW tips over at Shannon's!

WFMW - Sending Cards

One of my New Years resolutions year after year has been to improve myself in the area of sending cards. Birthday cards, anniversary cards, thank you's, get well, just thinking of you - the whole array. I love receiving cards in the mail and have wanted to be better about doing the same for others. It seems anymore that it is becoming less common to send written mail and cards to people through the mail system. With the internet, cellphones, and other forms of technology at our fingertips, the art of sending cards and letters is becoming lost.

I am not the best about taking the time to do this quite yet, but it is a work in progress. With any desire I have, I have to get a system in place, plan, and prepare before implementing it. It's just a quirk I have. So I give you my card system...

Initially I had to designate a space in my home that would be easily accessible to organize and store my cards and such. In our eat-in kitchen there is a drawer on the opposite side of the counter, away from the hubbub of the kitchen itself. It's accessible, but out of the way. In there I store my cards. I have a wide assortment of boxed sets, encouragement cards, birthday cards, get well, sympathy, all for the times that I just need to pull out a card without having the chance to go to the store. I also have a stack of thank you cards to pull at a moments notice to send. I have also included in this drawer preprinted address labels, both for my dearest family and friends and return labels, stamps, a pen, and our address book. Everything I need, all in one spot. What a concept.


Another great item I have that resides in this drawer is my birthday/anniversary calendar. This thing is fabulous. It's about 8x10 in size and works like a flip chart, one page for each month. On each page is listed the number of days in the month and allows you room to write birthdays and anniversaries for those you know. It's a great item to have, keeps all of your important dates in one place, and it's whimsical and fun!


The third key to my card system is my 13 pocket binder system. In here I have labeled the tabs by month of the year. Ahead of time I make sure to have purchased any birthday or anniversary cards that I will need for an upcoming month to have stored away until I need it. Sometimes you just can't run to the store for a card 5 or 6 times in one month, so it's best to stock up on your first trip. If I'm feeling adventurous, I'll even address them ahead of time. And for technicality's sake... I store my birthday/anniversary calendar in the 13th pocket of this organizer.

There you have it. It's my system. It's a work in progress, and I still am not that great about getting cards sent out to all those I care about. It has helped me definitely however to be better organized and I'm improving in this area. I want my Little Miss to see this as something that we do for others and for it to encourage her as well.

You can head over to Shannon's place @ Rocks in my Dryer for some other great tips!

WFMW - Control Journal Part 1

I have mentioned in the past how I am working on a control journal for nothing more but to get my life under control. This journal is going to hold some great stuff that I will be able to use throughout my day to keep my world in order. Flylady is the source of inspiration for my control journal and deserves much of the credit for this process I am undertaking. My WFMW posts for the next few weeks will take you through my journal and the great stuff I have decided to include inside.


First off I had to purchase the perfect "journal". Seeing as how I am trying to remain frugal and not go overboard on my spending I hit up Wal-Mart and found the perfect binder. This is a 1.5" three-ring binder that cost just under $10. It has pockets throughout and zips up around the outside, all nice and secure to keep everything safe and sound. Most importantly it is a wonderfully, eye-catching red color. I chose red over the more subtle colors for a few reasons. First, it is less likely to be misplaced. Second, it will catch my attention as I attend to business throughout my home, it will not be as easy to ignore. And third, red tells me to have fun, I don't want the business of running my home to be just that, a business. I want to bring joy and excitement as I tend to my daily chores and duties such as grocery shopping.

As part of my control journal I decided to use this as a means to organize my coupon collection. I have had such issues with missing out on some great deals because I can't keep all of my coupons straight and organized in the accordian type files which many people choose to use. I have stumbled upon this coupon binder system a few times this year and decided to put it to the test and see if it will work for me. So far, I'm more than impressed, though it had been a process at getting it set up.

The basics of this system are that you use baseball card pocket pages to store and sort your coupons. I have dividers in place to separate by category as you would in an accordian coupon system. I have sorted in categories such as: canned goods, household items, beauty items, meat, cereal/grains, etc.





I still have a handful of coupons to sort and put in their place, but I'm enjoying being able to view each coupon and tell in an instant what I have. The pages I purchased were very inexpensive - 9 sheets for less than $1.50, I purchased 4 sets to get me started. I do believe that I will place a white sheet of paper between each individual sleeve so that I can get a better view of my coupons, if not each layer of coupon seems to blend with the next.

This binder has many pockets throughout and I am planning to include scissors, a calculator, and sticky notes to mark the coupons I'll be planning to use as I organize my shopping trip. There are pockets inside too that will be perfect for putting my weekly store advertisements and for storing my ECB's from CVS. Another item that fits this grocery shopping section of my Control Journal is that I will include my price comparison list in which I can keep track of the best prices for certain things I purchase frequently from store to store. That way I can ensure I'm getting the best deal or needing to buy elsewhere.

I almost giggle at the insanity of this new addiction in my life. I never would have guessed that I would find such pleasure in couponing that I would take such measures as this.

Now I have to ask how do you organize your coupons?

Check out more WFMW posts at Rocks in my Dryer.

WFMW - Self Defense

Yesterday I attended a MOPS meeting in which we had a presentation on self-defense. I left feeling both empowered, yet scared to death of the men hiding behind trees and bushes waiting to attack me. We discussed the statistics for my particular city. The numbers were scary. The speaker informed us of how many sex offenders live within our city, the number of carjackings that take place per year, the number of home break-ins, the number of children that go missing nationally each year. I was astounded, I still am. Oftentimes we build up a false sense of security based on the perfect image of suburbia in which we live. Believing that nothing bad happens in our neighborhoods and to our kids, but that is all a fictional standard that reality does not hold up to.

The speaker discussed our needs to be aware of our surroundings and to establish a confidence in ourselves that may deter us from being victims. She spoke to us about our choice whether to fight back or not. We learned how to fight back, how and where to attack. We learned how to keep ourselves safe and how to better protect our family. I have so many thoughts running through my mind. Though some of the information I heard today I already knew, or even practice, it was great to feel informed and know what I could do if need be.

I have listed many of the key points we discussed so that other women may feel safer and more knowledgeable if faced with such a horrible situation.

- Hit, kick, fight with as much power behind the swing as possible. You will only have gross motor skills available when your pulse is racing. Use blunt, powerful,moves to fight back. If you fight half-heartedly you will probably make the attacker more upset and violent.

- Do not leave the point of attack to go to a secondary location with the attacker. Nearly all women are killed if they leave with the attacker, they are now in a position of power. Do all you can to stay at the site of attack.

- Do not end up on the ground. He will be in the position of power. Enough said.

- Mace is a great defense and will eventually bring anybody down on their knees. Have some on your key chain and within easy reach at all times. Don't be afraid to use it. Check out http://www.mace.com/ for some great products.

- If attacked direct bystanders to call the police and shout out, "This is a stranger, I do not know this person." Most people will not interject into what they perceive to be a domestic dispute .

- Go for the eyes, nose, temples, sternum, feet, and groin when fighting back. Don't go for the groin first though, many male attackers are suspecting this as a first move. If it is a premeditated attack, they will probably be wearing a cup for their own protection.

- Always look in, under, and around your vehicle when approaching it. Keep all of the doors locked other than then one you are using to enter inside. Worry first about yourself and your children. You would rather have the stroller or your groceries stolen than get abducted or killed.

- If somebody enters your home, put as many barriers between them and yourself as possible (master bedroom, master bathroom - two locked doors between them and you). Have your cellphone handy for calling the police, they may have cut the phone line.

- Keep your home doors locked, keep your garage door closed even when working outside in the yard. Sliding glass doors are easy to lift and remove from their frame whether they are locked or not.

- If somebody comes to your front door, do not open it. Have a conversation through the door and call their supervisor to verify the persons need to be there for whatever reason. Make sure your front door has a peephole or a way to see the person on the other side. You can always refuse to let them in!

- Make sure you have adequate lighting around the perimeter of your home, and motion detector lighting is very effective to have.

- Close your blinds at dusk. Keep the bushes in front of your home cut low. Do not put anything of value within sight of your windows for others to view from outside.

What do you do specifically to keep yourself safe and what tips do you have for other readers about protecting themselves and their families?

WFMW - Carseat Questions

With one infant child safety seat in our little car, there was no question where it would go. I knew that I'd be placing it in the middle of the backseat. Now that Baby Girl is moving up to a convertible carseat and we are needing to buy a different vehicle, so that it will fit, I have questions.

Soon enough we will be purchasing a minivan. When we find the right one, for the right price. I am definitely interested in the second row bucket seat style, but don't know which side to place the child safety seat. I see advantages to both scenarios. Opposite of me she will be in better view, but we will both be on opposite sides if there were to be a side impact crash. I do realize soon enough when we add to our family that there will be a child on each side of the vehicle, but for now which side would you choose, or have you chosen? I need advice in this area.

This week Rocks in my Dryer is hosting a backwards edition to WFMW, so you may be able to help out other people too. Check it out!

Works for me Wednesday

Just as every momma has the desire to buy her child toys all of the time it can get expensive. I have a bad habit of buying new toys with each trip to the store and I'm always able to justify why she needs that certain one. If you came into our home you would think we had more than one 9 month old living here because of the plethera of toys! Obviously buying toys all of the time can become a little hard on the checking account, so I have made it a point to make toy buying as inexpensive as possible. My first attempt at this took me back to my own childhood and my daughter is in love with this 99 cent find.



Bubbles are so versatile! We can play with them just about anywhere: the kitchen, the bathtub, outside when the weather begins to warm up a bit. They are also a great way to practice her sign language and we use signs for "playing", "more", and "all done". I'm so glad they caught my eye on our last trip shopping or who knows what else I'd be tripping over on the living room floor!

Check out more WFMW ideas over at Rocks In My Dryer!