This is my 50th blog... can somebody say YAY! My original intent was to have a nice place to come & keep track of memories for the kids as well as keep the grandparents & long distance family & friends in the loop. That is still the goal. However, in the process I have learned that this blogging thing is like therapy for me. It's my new hobby :) OK, maybe more that a mere hobby. Stephen's new nickname for me is "blogaholic". Sure the kids will have a place to come when they get older & reminisce (I seriously need to figure out how to back this thing up on my hard-drive) BUT I've also traveled through blog world & realized that there are so many other opportunities that come along with this blogging thing. So w/o further ado...
In honor of my decision to go back to work full time AND go back to school I introduce...
I need your help people. Seriously! My life is about to get pretty darn CrAzY. I know I have family & friends that read this & I have my faithful followers (all 6 of you ;)...) in blog world. But this non-domesticated "but trying really hard to become domesticated" mom needs your help.
ANY mom , whether she is a working mom or a stay at home mom (which by the way, as far as I'm concerned is still considered a "working" mom), has her hands full & can use as much help as she can get. I know this blog carnival won't be as flashy & fun as most... I just hope that it will not only be helpful to me, but to you as well.
So what are your mommy tips?
tip: (noun) a useful hint or idea; a basic, practical fact
money saving, time saving, family bonding... whatever you have found to be a blessing as a mom & want to pass along to others. I invite you to share...
Here goes... my 1st
- We have instituted family date night. On Friday night SOMEONE goes out on a date. We take turns taking the older girls out (me & Maddy/ Stephen & Liv & visa versa) It's nice to spend individual time with the girls... BUT we will also have mommy/daddy date nights so the girls can see that we love to spend time together as a couple as well. When you have a busy house full it can be easy not give as much individual time as you want... so having the schedule guarantees it. Its also a nice way to celebrate our family. The dates don't have to be expensive either. Here are some free date night ideas: Mickey Ds playland, reading books at Barnes & Noble, game night, take a walk & talk, bike riding, go to the mall & window shop, crafts... what I've found is that it really doesn't matter what we do they just LOVE the alone time w/ us!
- To save $ I make a WEEKLY menu before I go grocery shopping. The weekly menu helps b/c I can check the grocery sales & make my menu around the sales. I can also look at the weeks activities & plan around them.
- Here's a good "2 day dinner" idea:
Roast (a 3 pound roast works for us)
Day 1: Roast w/ carrots & potatoes (slower cooker.. LOVE it!)
Day 2: Roast tacos (shred the left over roast & mix w/ a little taco seasoning. Heat CORN tortilla in a little olive oil on the stovetop, eat the roast on the warm tortillas w/ fresh chopped cilantro, lime juice (roll the lime on the counter hard w/ your hand before you slice- somehow makes it juicier), salsa, shredded cheese & sour cream... YUMMY- This is a Linda specialty)
- Subscribe to a fun online magazine... Oh, I know just the one, My friend Carmen just so happens to have one (how convenient) .... Check out Fresh Wind Here
- When things seem to get really hectic in the house & you really need a break just pull out the duct tape, tape the kids up & lock them in the closet. It works every time!... Um, OK, unfortunately that is considered child abuse... never-mind, scratch that last one
OK, your turn! Watcha got?
PS- despite all this blogging, Mom's Tuesday Tips logo making, lebanese food eating, clean sweep video editing & sock folding I've been doing lately ... I seriously am still looking for a job! Please say a little prayer... I know the right one is out there for me, daggonit!
okay, you know as bad as I do that I want to keep my mouth shut and learn how NOT to be so anal about my mexican food recipes (that, BTW, have been passed down for MANY, MANY generations so we must keep the MX heritage going) I have to say this is Kasie's version (not mine) of "Taquitos de Barbequa" or Roast Tacos. I guess since YOU are cooking them and it is YOUR house, YOU can do what you want... but YOUR recipe doesn't live up to the "mexican heritage" that I am trying to preserve (lol). But I have to give you credit where credit is due. I'm proud of you for even getting that far. You're becoming a great cook and if you tap your heals together three times, you may even find true happiness in cleaning! HA!
ReplyDeleteyour "domesticated" friend, Linda
Ok so I love this new tuesday tips thing. Thank you for the props on the e-zine (to bad it's repeat month! LOL!...but seriously something awesome is coming this March!) Perhaps you should become a professional blogger! That's my tip...there's money to be made and you can work from home! And you must show me how you created that logo...cause I've been trying to turn the logo hubby did for me into a button that people can add to their sites. See ya later!
ReplyDeleteOK, Leenda, my bad... I totally should have mentioned that the "Taquitos whatever whatever" was my americanized rendition. Silly me. However do I get any props for the lime rolling thing? BTW... I'm pretty sure I could tap my heels until they were black & blue & the whole happiness/cleaning thing would never come to pass.
ReplyDeleteCarmen- I'm so diggin your tip. You're a genius. I shared your tip w/ Stephen & he just rolled his eyes :) He'll come around. I'm about to send you an email about the logo.
Love you guys!
I do the menu thing also. I only cook TWO meals and make em last all week. Of course I only have three mouths to feed.... Not 5. But the whole menu is awesome and does help me budget and stay focused on not spending extra money. Plus it avoids me standing in front of the fridge for thirty minutes saying... hmmmmm whats for dinner. ANYWAY.... I also have CHORE night where every wednesday the kids and I set the timer for one hour and we just clean. Lance normally cleans his room and sometimes will pick up the den as well. Mackenzi normally just plays in her room but its one hour that I can get that not so normal everyday chore done.. like cleaning the bathrooms, or changing the sheets, etc... Plus... teaching Lance that yes... mommy has chores too. He thought because I didn't have a set time, that i never did chores. funny.. huh?
ReplyDeleteAnyway... I'll think of some more for ya!