- What's the best laundry stain removal product you've found? (and what didn't it get out?)
- Do you use coupons? Where do you find the best ones?
- How do you plan your meals? Around the store circulars? Around ingredients in your kitchen?
- When did you train your kids to use a sippy cup?
- Did/do you make your own baby food? What have you found that works well/doesn't work well?
- If you use cloth diapers, what kind do you use?
- How do you know how much/what to feed your baby? (especially if you're still nursing?)
- When did you wean your babies? (Or did they do it themselves?)
- If you could stock up on food, what would you stock up on?
- Do you keep a routine for cleaning your house? (i.e., mop every Tuesday, bathrooms every Wednesday, etc.)
- Are you overwhelmed by the number of cool blogs that are out in the blog-o-sphere?
- How do you keep your freezer organized?
- How do you keep your life organized?
- Do you have a household notebook?
- Do you remember to send birthday cards to your relatives?
- Do you feel like your life is organized?
Okay, I could keep going for a long time if I let myself, but then I'd never get any answers. And, isn't that the point (sometimes) of asking questions?
Posts
11 comments:
I'll jump in at the household routine question - not really, except for the schedule of my housekeeper!!
Yes, I already have tons of things on my blogroll and I know I haven't even scratched the tip of the iceberg.
I don't have a notebook, but I think it would be useful. I am pretty organized, but am always on the prowl for more ways to organize things!!
And no, I don't remember to send cards. Sorry!! :-)
Laundry stain removal - SHOUT in the spray bottle. If you do it right away, it gets everything out. If you leave the stain for a few days, it still does a decent job.
Coupons - I used to when I had more time! :)
Meals - I plan them based on what sounds good to me at the time.
Sippy cups - Ky started using one a little past a year old. Maezie is sort of using one now, but not very well. She's 8 1/2 months.
Yes, we make our own babyfood. Here's what I did. I cooked up a pot of potatoes, a pot of chicken, a pot of green beans, a pot of peas, and a pot of carrots. I took each pot and put it in the blender until smooth. Then I took small freezer baggies and made "meals" out of random variations of the above ingredients. I even seasoned some with garlic, and some with basil, and some with pepper. I would label them and put them in the freezer. Make sure each baggie holds a portion that is good for about two meals or so, so that once you defrost it, you use it right away.
As far as fruits go, they are easy to cut and mash up, so you should always do those fresh if you can.
We also used this little "baby food mill" for our firstborn, hand-grinding up stuff that we were eating. (She always ate "real" food, not babyfood. Now she's 2 1/2 and a GREAT eater! She eats baked salmon, steamed asparagus, raw broccoli, and raw spinach, among other things! She likes all the fruits, berries and cherries especially! I really don't know any other kids her age who eat the wide variety of things she does, and I attribute that to the fact that we always fed her whatever we were eating!!)
http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?erube_fh=k...
Now with our second child, I don't really have time to cook up a month's worth of meals in one day, so I broke down and bought the Magic Bullet (roughly $50 at Target). http://www.target.com/gp/search/178-9427... It is the PERFECT size for making one zap of babyfood at a time. I just throw whatever we're eating in the Magic Bullet, feed her what she'll eat of it, and then put the rest in the fridge for the next meal. So far her favorites are my homemade chicken noodle soup, and last night we had veggie spaghetti (seriously, like 8 different kinds of veggies) on whole wheat pasta, and she loved that!! Clean up on this thing is a SNAP! It makes frozen drinks and all kinds of things too - it's a bit pricey, but for the easy clean-up and the ability it has to make really small portions at a time, I think it's worth it.
Hmmm, looks like my links didn't work. But you can go to www.kidco.com and find the food mill, or www.target.com and find the Magic Bullet. :)
Feeding is different with every kid. With Kyleigh, we had her on a schedule : she ate three meals a day with us and nursed on demand, until she was about 12 months old, then I started slacking off on the nursing and only did it in the morning, at night before bed, and before her naps. Maezie still prefers nursing to food, so she gets a meal a day, maybe, and somedays she gets three. Mostly she just nurses on demand still. She's happy and healthy and chunky, so I figure that until she's closer to one I don't really have to worry as much about her eating tons of people food since she's getting plenty of my milk.
I weaned Kyleigh at 17 months. I went slowly down in feedings. One month, I'd start leaving out the before nap nursing, and substitute it with a bottle of milk/formula instead. Then the next month, I'd leave out another feeding, etc. I quit nursing her at 17 months because I was feeling pressure from people around me to quit nursing her. I honestly wasn't ready. It breaks my heart now that I cut her off before we were ready, just because of outside influence! So - I plan on nursing Maezie to at least 18 months, or when she decides to wean herself. My cutoff is probably 2, but we'll see. Nursing is just so good for them!!
I WISH I had a routine for cleaning my house! It's a wreck!
My life is FAIRLY organized, but I'm a procrastinator and so things tend to get unorganized really quickly. If I would just stay on top of things, I'd be awesomely organized! But oh well. :)
Hope my answers help!
Great questions! I only have the answers that have worked for me. I love Oxiclean spray. It will take out anything, even if it's gone through the dryer. But, on some things it's taken out the color of the fabric. I'll email you the rest of my answers.
Sounds like you have good ideas.
I blend food at school for students in the mini food processor or with the food blender with a handle in a bowl. You can blend to the desired consistency with added milk or a water. Some things don't need much extra liquid. Baby rice cereal makes a nice thickener if you get it too thin.
I go to smartsource.com and coupons.com to print coupons.
I read a neat tip for easy meal planning once. It suggested preparing the same thing the same day of each week. Such as Meat Loaf on Monday, Turkey and Stove Top Stuffing on Tuesday, Tacos on Wednesday, Frozen Lasagne on Thursdays and so on. It could be items everyone really likes and items you would keep the ingredients to. You could probably vary the sides. If that sounds monotmous, a rotating menu every two, three or what ever number of weeks could work. I know someone who makes her special spaghetti every Monday night for her family and anyone else who might come in. I have heard many say they serve breakfast food at night like pancakes or waffles which is easy.
I think breaking up household jobs up duing the week is good. Also, I have read you need to polish furniture only once a month and just wipe dry in between.
Ok, we will stop lurking :)
Great laundry detergent that rarely needs a stain stick: Persil. Google it. You can get it online. It's shipped to the states alot.
Birthdays: Birthday alarm. It's great. At least you can get a reminder and send an email card.
Baby food: Baby is 24y/o and that is so long ago forgot...but do remember home made carrots and green beans. Quick, before she won't eat them anymore.
Stock up on food: spaghetti sauce, brownie mix, vanilla pudding [cook and serve is the "real" pudding], nuts.
You have the cool blog in the blogosphere.
Hi! I just came across your blog (over at Steph's). I have only read this post (so far). You little one is just a doll.
To answer your questions.......
A stain remover found in the baby dept. at Wal-Mart in a pink and white bottle (sorry, don't know the name). Also, the shout in the spray bottle.....BUT PRETREAT!
I plan meals one month in advance. it saves money and time. I don't have a lot of each. I stay home with my 2 year old twins and live on a farm. When I first started I did a week at a time as not to get too overwhelmed. I buy on sale and with coupons.
The boys were 13 months old, 10 months adjusted age, when they went to sippy cups. We went cold turkey and never looked back.
Coupons I get through the Sunday paper. If they are good enough and the quanity is good I might buy an extra paper or two. Coupons save us thousands of dollars a year, no exaggeration.
I did not make our own baby food, we used beechnut, it tasted more like real food. Found it at Winn Dixie (on sale) and also at Sav-A-Lot.
No cloth diapers.
MY kiddos were premies so i let them eat until they stopped and then we also had a minimum amount and thre was a lot of coaxing.
Sorry, I couldn't bf.
I keep stocked up on food, nothing in particular, but a lot of everything. We have enough to feed our family for 3 months at any given time.
No routine. I just know when it needs it, it gets cleaned and I have a friend that cleans (deep cleans) 2 times a month.
Yes, overwhelmed completely, but I know there is a limit with my time on the net.
I just keep the frozen food rotated, so that nothing stays too long.
I used to think I was really organized and now I do the best I can with littles.
I do have a household nb, but do not use it. I keep a nb with my to do's in it and everything else neatly at my desk.
I have a card box that has each month in it and I have listed b'days, annivesaries, ect. At the beginning of each year, I fill it up and I never am late getting a card.
I think for the place I am in right now, I am organzied and happy.
The one piece of advice I can give is www.moneysavingsmom.com.
She and learning to use CVS has saved us so much money. She gives the deals for lots of different stores and it is great becuase she is honest and it's free. Crystal is a wonderful Christian.
Blessings!
Randomly as I remember your questions...
I'm working on assembling a household notebook. SimpleMom has some good resources, as does MomAdvice if you're looking for some free printables.
I made my own babyfood, using veggies and chicken with either broth or water in the food processor. A cheap little grinder that you can find in the baby section will work as your baby gets older and can tolerate a bit chunkier food. I found the no salt added canned vegetables worked best for making food.
I'm letting my daughter wean. If you're going that route, be prepared for it to take awhile...my daughter will be 2 in March.
I stock up on cereal, pasta, pasta sauce, salsa, meat (for the freezer), toilet paper and kleenex, basically anything that I have space for, is a really good deal at the time, and that isn't going to expire before I can use it!
I'm terrible at organizing my cleaning, if you're looking for a schedule, flylady has some good resources.
Great questions! :)
Hi...I will now stop lurking!
1. We use Shout...not too crazy about it, but it is okay
2. I plan basedon store ads and on what I like or am in the mood for. Also on what our week looks like (if it is crazy busy, then I go for easy fast meals)
3.I did make my own baby food. I only made fruits and veggies because I did not have the stomach to grind up any type of meat. Pears, apples, sweet potatoes, and peas were the easiest to make. I froze portions in ice cube trays and kept them stored in large ziplocs
4. I did not cloth diaper...kind of wish I did.
5. I didn't breast feed very long so don't really have any answers for numbers 5 and 6...moving on to question number 7
7. I would stock up on Dunkin Donuts coffee, snack food for the kids (Goldfish), frozen veggies, and meat that goes on sale.
8. I do have a house cleaning routine: Monday I sweep/mop/clean baths/clean kitchen sink and countertops, Thursdays I vac/dust/wash linens and on Fridays I sweep/mop and clean bathrooms again.
9. I am totally overwhelmed by the number of totally cool blogs out there
10. My freezer is super-small so there is much chance for organization
11. I keep my life organized through my household notebook..thanks for the link!
12. yes...usually.
13. I do feel semi-organized but always think there is great room for improvement!
i just wanted to say hi. and thanks for becoming a follower on my blog!! i'm guessing you read the cloth diaper post...so i think that'd answer your question about the cloth diapering. and i LOVE it.
i started introducing a sippy cup around nine/ten months. because by a year i would have them on full sippy cup. i had to wean my kids all between six and eight months. because i was already pregnant with the next one. and was exhausted from being preggo and nursing!! but with my current baby i plan on being done nursing around a year. i have read that the milk from you is no better than the whole milk after one year. plus that is what i feel led to do. i think you should do what YOU want and not what others influence you to do on the nursing. if you are comforable with a baby who is walking and talking and still nursing...then go ahead and do it. i don't think i'd be as comfortable with that. i also quit nursing my first around the same time she got teeth, she was a late teether, but she would bite me. i took it as my sign to QUIT! it hurt. :0)
Post a Comment