My sweet H turned 5 years old recently!   Am I really old enough for a 5 year old?  I am certainly starting to feel it.  We had a fun filled day minus the part where we are all starting to fight off the sore throat/congestion bug (dang cold weather!).  

I am slowly turning into a gal of tradition.  The older my kids get, the more important it seems to be to have our own family traditions.  So I am wondering what some of your birthday traditions are?  And since I am asking you to share, I will share ours with you….

• The night before the big day, I put the kids to bed and than pull the non birthday boy out of bed to help decorate.  They have both loved it when it has been their turn to help.  
• All meals are the birthday boys choice.  Today we had waffles, peanut butter & jelly (with some carrots. And no, he so didn’t ask for those), and pizza for dinner.  So pretty much the most unhealthy food day ever and I haven’t even gotten to the cake part.  
• The hubster takes the boys to pick out one present.  Usually a movie.  I am a fan of this because the boys always feel so special hanging out with just their dad. 
• A special request cake for chef momma.  H chose spiderman.  I am pretty sure I could have done better had I thought about it more, but H didn’t seem to mind that it doesn’t even compare to the coolness of the pirate cake J had on his big deal.  
• And maybe that is it……..

Here is one that we don’t do, but always did growing up….

• On our big day my sweet parents would always let us choose the resturant of our choice for dinner.  Just me and them.  I loved it, until I became too cool to hang out with the parents.  

Please share some of your fun traditions.  It doesn’t even have to be birthdays.  The holidays are quickly approaching which seem to be a great time for starting new traditions and continuing with the old. Alright, now is when you hit the comment button…yup, right there….perfect!

I may be a bit of a clean freak.  Ok, not a bit, maybe a little OCD-ish would be more appropriate?  My morning routine consists of this: clean the kitchen, clean the bathrooms, start some laundry, vacuum, make sure kids rooms are clean, make sure all the toys are cleaned up….oh the list could go on and on. It’s never ending and I often find myself feeling like that lady looks.  UGG!  The only time my house stays clean is when my kids and husband aren’t home.  

As I was scanning through my Woman’s Day magazine (somehow I managed to get a free subscription and I love it!) I found an article titled “Countdown to Clean”.  It is full of tips on keeping your house clean and only spending 15 minutes doing it.  Do you hear the angels singing??  Wouldn’t that be joyous?  Only 15 minutes?  Really?  

Here’s how you can accomplish a clean house in 15 minutes:

Step 1:  Make the beds.

Step 2:  Make sure dirty clothes are all in hampers.  Do a quick room-by-room pickup, putting items back in place.

Step 3:  Wipe dirty counters in the bathroom and kitchen.

Step 4:  Put away all dishes.

Step 5:  Sweep the kitchen floor.

Obviously that is not a deep clean, but it will certainly help you feel less like pulling your hair out in between those deep cleanings.  There were also some great tips to help accomplish those deep cleans without taking the whole dang day.  Stay tuned.

Cold and flu season is quickly approaching.  I am pretty sure it has already hit where we live.  Everyone seems to be sick, including us! No Bueno!!  Our local health department is hitting the prevention scene hard core.  I was given some information on prevention that I thought would be good to share with you:

6 Prevention Tips

1.  Wash your hands!

Most cold and flu viruses are spread by direct contact. Someone who has the flu sneezes onto their hand, and then touches the door knob, you touch and now have those germs. Wash your hands often.  Before and after eating, after working, after visiting the toilet, after handling trash, after touching wounds, boils and cuts, after blowing nose or just after handling dirty stuff. Wash, wash, wash!  A good idea to help make sure your young children wash good enough.  Make them sing through the ABC’s.  When they are done singing, they are done washing.  

2.  Do not sneeze or cough into your hand.

Germs and viruses cling to bare hands.  When you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue, then throw it away immediately. If you don’t have a tissue, turn your head away from people near you and cough into the air.  And remember, after you sneeze, WASH THOSE HANDS!

3.  Avoid touching your face.

Guilty!  I am the ultimate face toucher.  No wonder I am sick!!   You should avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. If you blow your nose or cough, wash your hands immediately.  These nasty  cold and flu viruses enter your body through the eyes, nose, or mouth. Touching their faces is the major way children catch colds, and a key way they pass colds on to their parents.

4.  Drink PLENTY of fluids. 

Our bodies naturally need eight 8 ounce glasses of fluid a day.  If you are sick you should be drinking much more.  Water flushes our systems, washing out the poisons as it re-hydrates you.  So what is the best way to know if our bodies are getting enough fluid?  The color of your urine.  If it is dark yellow, you need more.  If it is light, you are drinking enough.  

5.  Get some fresh air.  

I struggle being cooped up inside for too long.  A regular dose of fresh air is important, especially in cold weather.  Central air tends to dry you out and makes your body more vulnerable to cold and flu viruses. Also, when you are stuck indoors, your germs are stuck indoors.  

6.  Eat healthy, energizing food.  

Eating the right foods will give your body the energy it needs to fight off germs.  Some food that will benefit you greatly including dark green, red and yellow veggies along with fruit.  There have also been some studies that say eating a daily cup of low-fat yogurt can reduce your susceptibility to colds by 25%.  

In honor of the upcoming back-to-school time, each day this week I will be posting some very useful information for you and your students.  Today we will discuss…

Backpack 101

When I was a kid, backpacks were a status symbol.  You were really awesome if you had a Jansport backpack. Isn’t that ridiculous!   I begged my parents for one when I was in middle school cause I wanted to be that “cool” kid.  Eventually they gave in, but I don’t think I ever attained that status.  And remember how you were supposed to wear your backpack? Heaven forbid you wore yours with both straps on.  One strap was the “in” thing and you had to make sure your backpack was sagging as low as possible.  If it was hitting you in the back of your knees then you had it down.  This girl almost has the cool factor.  If she would lean ridiculously far to one side, she would for sure be “cool”.  

Apparently this isn’t good for your back.  Hmm…ya think?  

Here are some recommendations on selecting the proper backpack and the best way to wear it….

• Your child’s backpack should not weigh more than 10% – 20% of his or her body weight.  Hypothetically speaking, if your child weighs 70 lbs, the backpack should weigh between 7 and 14 lbs. 
• When looking for a backpack, make sure to choose a lightweight one with wide padded shoulder straps.  Narrow straps can restrict circulation and cause pain by digging into your child’s shoulders.   
• 2 straps are better than one.  Backpacks with only one strap do not distribute the weight evenly.  To help distribute the weight evenly, find a backpack with a waist strap. 
• Find a backpack with adjustable straps.  It is recommended that the backpack fit snugly on the child’s back, at least 2 inches above the waist (No more saggy packs…darn.)
• Teach kids to lift their pack properly; Squat and use their legs to raise the load.  Encourage them to use their locker instead of carrying their books all day long. 

(Sources:  Woman’s Day, 9/01/09 issue and American Academy of Pediatrics)

If you have kids, you know how much stuff comes with them.  At each stage of their lives you have to have different stuff.  When they are newborns you need diapers, wet wipes, blankets up the wazoo, burb clothes, a bagillion changes of clothes, baby lotion, booger suckers, and much much more!   As they get older you need toys and stuff to help their creative juices flow.  But where or where do you store ALL OF THAT STUFF??!  

How about in here….

No, I am not that organized.  I wish, but not even close.  This is a picture of my friends ultimate child creativity center.  You wouldn’t believe the amounts of fun stuff she fit in this armoire….

-Play dough (with cookie cutters, and a kit made for playing with clay)
-Bean bags
-Puppets 
-Card games
-Bubbles (with accessories)
-Water colors
-Puzzles
-Sidewalk chalk
-coloring books
-craft stuff (paper, stickers, crayons, markers, colored pencils, scissors, tape, glue) 

Isn’t that amazing?  And here is the best part of all….

It closes to hide…the mess?? Except it isn’t messy at all.  Can you come to my house Jess??  I’ll trade you…I can cook a mean batch of homemade oreo’s and you can organize my house.  Deal??

Last night I found out some horrible news regarding a dear friend.  My stomach sunk. I am telling you this because I have learned a 2 very good lessons from this friend…

About 2.5 years ago we were moving into a brand new house in a brand new neighborhood.  There was only one other house on our street and we were instant friends with these people.  Then I found out my husband was going to be deployed for a year.  I was in a new neighborhood, I was 500+ miles from any family, and I had two little boys.  I was so scared, but knew I could do it.  I am a military wife…that is what we do. 

My husband began his deployment and I did ok.  My neighbor was great for me.  She had two little girls the same age as my boys, so we wasted the days together…I didn’t have time to sulk in my miseries.  Then I found out they were moving.  I was scared once again.

My husband was given a 3 day break before going overseas, so we went to Park City and just enjoyed spending every second together as a family. While we were gone my neighbors moved out and the new neighbors moved in.

Instantly, I didn’t like my new neighbors.  I hadn’t even met them, but I knew I didn’t like them.   He was a recruiter for the military, at the time I was bitter towards anything military.  The military was in the middle of ripping my family apart for a whole year.  I didn’t like them.  Instantly.  

After dropping my husband off at the airport and having no idea when I would see him again, I came home to a bunch of hud on the side of my house that I knew came from the neighbors.  It wouldn’t have been a big deal usually, but I was extra emotional and had no idea what to do with all of it, so I blew up.  I had the neighbors garage door opener, so I stormed up to their house, gave my new neighbor her garage door opener and REEMED her for leaving THEIR garbage at my house.  That probably wasn’t the “welcome” that she expected.  She stood speechless while I ranted and then stormed back to my house.  I later found out she went back into her house and bawled.  

A couple of months passed and I decided I should start going to the gym.  The first class I went to, my neighbor was there.  We hadn’t spoken since I yelled at her, so it was pretty awkward.  After going to the class a couple of times and her being there each time, I decided it was time to apologize.  She was so nice, accepted my apology, and then invited me and my boys over for dinner.  I gained an amazing friendship with Mindy.  We went to her house every monday night for dinner, went to the gym together daily, and our kids became the best of friends too.  To say the least, we saw a lot of each other and I am so thankful for it.  She was my saving grace. 

8 months later, my husband was home, and we were moving to a different state for work.  Mindy and I stayed in contact for about a month and then life got the best of us and we haven’t talked since.  It has been a year.  There have been so many times that I have thought about calling her, but haven’t.  Last night I learned that my dear friend Mindy was diagnosed with cancer 4 months ago and is undergoing chemotherapy.  I should have called her.  I should have been there for her.  She was there for me at my lowest time, why didn’t I call her?  I am truly saddened.  

So now you are probably wonder why I just told you all of this.  Well, for two reasons…

Reason #1.  Don’t make judgements.  I instantly judged Mindy.  Her husband was the person that gets young kids to sign up for the military, but he hadn’t even served overseas.  He really had no idea what the military was.  I just didn’t like them.  I later found out how wrong I was.  Mindy and her husband are some of the best people I have ever met.  They opened their home to my boys and I when we needed it the most.  They became my family.  I missed out on a lot with Mindy because I judged her.  

Reason #2.  When you feel like you need to do something…DO IT!  I started feeling like I should call her about the time she was diagnosed with her cancer.  I should have acted on my feelings. I am kicking myself now.  I was scared it was be an awkward conversation.  A simple phone could have brightened her day.  JUST. ONE. SIMPLE. PHONE. CALL.  

Today I will make that ONE. SIMPLE. PHONE. CALL.  I don’t care if it is an awkward conversation.  If I were in her position, I think I would love to hear from an old friend.  

My challenge to you is this….do something special for someone.  It doesn’t have to be huge.  Just do something.  Act on your feelings to serve people.  You never know what they are going through and how it could help them.

Sorry for the absence….we just got back from the hubsters annual family reunion.  We had a blast but it is good to be home.  The only not so fun part of being home is the huge amount of laundry that is waiting to be washed.  I DESPISE LAUNDRY!  Everything about it, I just don’t like.  If you show up at my house unexpectedly you are most likely going to find a pile of clean laundry on the floor.  Dumb huh?  And it is not uncommon for me to completely forget about the load that is waiting to be put in the dryer.  I just don’t like it AT ALL!  

So in my effort to be a better (which is something I have been working on since the day I got married) I have asked a few people what their laundry routine is.  I have one friend who spends every Monday washing every last piece of dirty laundry she can find laying in her house.  I have another friend who has a goal to do at least one load a day.  So what works for you guys?  How exactly do you stay on top of the never ending task of dirty laundry?

I am proud to admit, that as of late, I am much better about doing the laundry and getting it 100% done.  Now that we live in a little dinky apartment (I have to remind myself often that it is temporary) it just isn’t easy to hide the laundry mess, whether dirty or clean. 

So here is what I do to keep on top of it….

1.  I only start a load when I know I am going to have the time to complete it….this means folded and put away.  Whether this be an all day event or just one load a day, I am not set in stone on.  If I have a day where not too much is going on, then I will spend the day doing it.  If I don’t, then I just make sure to always be looking for the time when I can start and FINISH (key word here) the load.  

2.  I enlist the help of my boys.  If they are old enough to change their clothes 4 times a day then they are certainly old enough to fold and put the clothes away.  ”H” learned how to fold clothes at preschool and one day shocked me with his skills.  He probaby regrets ever doing that, because he is my go to man when it comes to folding clothes.  ”J” also tries to fold, more like wad the clothes up in a big wrinkly ball. His main task is to fold under-roos and pjs, cause I don’t care if they get wrinkly.  They are also in charge of putting their clothes away.  They are good helpers and surprisingly it lightens my load a bit.  

3.  Designate spots of your laundry happenings.  Since we live in a tiny apartment we only have a two laundry baskets for the dirty clothes.  When we lived in our bigger home, I had one in every room.  This way you know exactly where ALL the dirty laundry is rather than having to search through each room for the dirty clothes.  When it comes to folding the clean clothes, I use “A’s ” room because that is where the least is going on.  If you are lucky enough to have a laundry room, set it up so that you can fold and hang clothes in there.