DM Tip: Pony Holders

This is our hair basket:
It contains a brush, water spray bottle, detangling spray, and several zipper cases of elastics, clips and various accessories, all of which are always jumbled, and to which you can never find a match when you need one. When the girls take ponytail holders out of their hair at night, they end up on the floor, in the bathroom, in the laundry - anywhere but back in the hair basket.

But a tip I read recently is helping to reign in the chaos - keeping ponies on carabiners.
It's especially nice for us since we have several sizes of ponies and the little ones are really hard to keep track of.
We ordered a set of six carabiners from Amazon ($6), and when they arrived Ginger helped me load them all up. One empty one stays in the girls' bathroom to receive used ones at night. She thought it was a super fun activity. And I love that everything is a little more contained.

And as a bonus, the case of pony carabiners is Poppy's new favorite toy!

Some Christmas Good Stuff

So I've been meaning to get these posted for a few weeks and now it's probably too late to do anybody else any good this year, but that's how it goes.

How Much Ribbon? I read an article on gift-wrapping in the newspaper a few weeks ago and finally learned the invaluable answer to this plaguing question. When you're wrapping a gift with the ribbon going around four sides and a big simple bow, you measure out 7 times the length of the box. I've used this trick all month and it works every time!!! For example, on a shirt box, I measure out about 4 times the long way and 3 times the short way. For a big square like this, I measure 7 times the length from halfway up one side, over the top, to halfway down the other side. Obviously it varies for different size/shapes, but 7 is the magic number!!!

Christmas Card Display Awesomeness - I saw something like this in a store in England last May and thought, That's the perfect way to display Christmas cards! I'll have to find it online and order some when I get home. An intense internet search ensued (just couldn't figure out the right search words!) and I was about to give up when I finally came across a review that led me to Photojojo and The Astounding Magnetic Photo Rope. Displays everything without tape; the wires just hang from a nail or tack; weighted bottom so they don't fly around. Super strong magnets hold even those multi-layered handmade cards. And the ropes couldn't be smaller or easier to store! Best Christmas investment I made this year (except the tree skirt below.) If you don't see your Christmas card in the picture, it's either because

1) It's cut off at the very bottom of the picture,
2) You are LAME and haven't sent me one, or
3) I don't like you enough to hang it up.

The Perfect Tree Skirt - After a few years of searching for THE ONE that I would love year after year, I found it at Land of Nod (where, by the way, you could get me ANY baby gift.) Finally, the absolutely perfect must-have tree skirt. It was expensive so I thought maybe I'd wait until after Christmas and try to get it on sale. Then I realized, this skirt is so darn cute it's not going on sale; it's going to sell out! So I scrounged up some funds and got it full price (but with free shipping!) And sure enough, I went to the website yesterday to get the picture for this post, and it's not there anymore. SOLD OUT. Yay for getting it when I could! Is this not ADORABLE?

(This picture is from the blog of the original designer -

the current skirt says Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays.)

David Archuleta's Christmas CD - It's called Christmas from the Heart and the cover is oh-so-cheesey. And I'm not an Idol fan at all. But I like to get at least one or two new Christmas albums each year and this looked promising from the reviews. Well we got it about a month and a half ago and it's all we've listened to that whole time. We all have our favorites - the girls like "Angels We Have Heard on High" for the Glooooooooooria part (and Hazel goes around the house singing it with the alternative melody he uses.) Me, I usually judge an album by the way they do "Oh Holy Night" and his is fabulous. He's also got a seriously peppy tune I'd never heard called "Pat-a-pan" and we all dance like fools to it in the car.

Egg Carton Lunches

I went to a friend's house for a church planning meeting recently, and she had us stay for lunch. "We'll make the kids egg carton lunches!" she told me, as if everyone knew what this meant. I figured it out quickly but would never have thought of it on my own, and that's the kind of thing to post on the blog.

She'd been saving egg cartons for awhile for this event. Instead of the typical plate, each kid got an egg carton for lunch. In each egg holder was some different food item that was small enough to fit. Granted, we did not strive to fill them with the healthiest foods on earth - after all, it cancels the fun if the food inside is unappealing - but we did OK.

Top: peanut butter pretzels, cheese, Craisins, clementine, apple, goldfish

Middle: strawberry, mini muffin, fruit snacks, strawberry, clementine, chocolate raisins
Bottom: jelly beans, apple, Teddy Grahams, marshmallows, peanut butter pretzels, chocolate chips

They were a hit with the kids, with something for everyone and the marshmallows disappearing first. There was even some trading - jelly beans for goldfish, etc. I think it was most popular with Jayda, the 1-year-old. She would eat something, close it up, shake it happily, open it, eat something, repeat. Adorable, fairly contained, and smile-evoking. A keeper idea!

Disco Mom Takes on Meal Planning

A couple months ago I posted my shopping list m.o. and my friend Kat made the key comment - she said, "What I want to know is the secret to actually planning out meals ahead of time!" MOST EXCELLENT point. Meal planning makes grocery shopping faster, more concise and often cheaper but it's confusing, time-consuming and a pain in the butt. I'm sorry, there's no way around it - this is going to be a long post.

My meal planning success varies from week to week but for the most part I've got a rhythm. I usually sit down Sunday or Monday night (I shop early Tuesday morning), write out 6 meals - main dish, any sides, etc. - plus one night is always left open for leftovers, eating out or mac & cheese from a box. I also write next to everything where the recipe is found, if necessary - magazine or cookbook and page number, so I can find everything again easily. Then I look at my calendar, especially what's going on in the afternoons and evenings, and assign days to each meal according to prep and cook time needed and what will work for each day. I go back through the meal plan and recipes and make my shopping list. Then I put the meal plan on the side of the fridge where I can see it easily that week. When the week is over I put the paper in a file folder I keep; sometimes I look back through to get meal ideas.But how the heck to come up with six good meals every week that aren't always the same thing and don't break the bank or hurt my brain? There are several ways I go about it, depending on what is the strongest motivator that week.

Circulars - When keeping the grocery bill minimal is priority (like the week before payday), I decide where I'm going shopping, look through the circular that comes in the paper (most are online, too), and base meals off what is on special that week. I also buy extra of things, especially meat and canned goods, that are on special so I can use them another time.

Cookbooks - I've got so many awesome cookbooks, most of which I have under-used. When I really want to delve into a cookbook I like, I go flipping through to find things that 1) look good; 2) sound good; 3) use in-season or on-special foods; 4) are easy; 5) I think my kids might like; 6) you get the idea. This is one of my favorite ways to meal plan but it takes the most time.

Clean Out the Kitchen - Like I mentioned, when things go on sale I sometimes stock up. But I don't have an extra fridge/freezer, and cupboard/storage space is limited too so at least once a month I need to clean out. I go through the fridge, freezer and cupboards and list things I have or want to use up, and base meals off that. This is another one that keeps the grocery bill smaller.

Old Standbys - At least once a week we have a meal that requires no recipe at all: spaghetti and salad, homemade pizza, casserole, Trader Joe's frozen orange chicken and rice, BBQ chicken and roasted potatoes, etc. Cuts out 1/6 of the work every meal planning session!

"Programs" - This refers to set plans that you repeat each week, like eating fish once a week. Or like I try to do one slow cooker meal each week (or I did before my slow cooker broke and it threw me off my game.) A few other "programs" I do or have done in the past:

1. Print off a Month of Menus from Woman's Day (they are awesome!) and highlight a few that look good. Make one a week.
   


2. Choose a great cookbook, like Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats and make one meal a week out of that book. I have a new cookbook called 52 Weeks of Proven Recipes for Picky Eaters. I make one meal a week out of it, on Friday nights, so that's another night I don't have to think about, just look up what the next menu is. I'm going to do a separate post about this book once I've done it for awhile and know whether it's a success or flop. We're on week 4.


3. Robin Miller of Food Network has a program called Quick Fix Meals. It is ideal for people who can't stand meal planning because she usually gets two or three meals out of one major prep. For example, in her Thai One On episode, you make a peanut sauce and do some extra ingredient chopping on the first night that you also use later in the week for meals #2 and #3. You can find all the recipes online, along with the week's gameplan and shopping list for each menu. She's done half the work for you!


4. Choose a dish or appliance. I mentioned one slow cooker recipe a week - it's awesome. I keep a binder of slow cooker recipes to try and although over half of them are not worth repeating or recommending, I keep at it in the hopes of finding the needles in the haystack. Or plan to use your breadmaker once a week and have sandwiches with fresh bread. Or your rice cooker, and have fried rice or burritos or rice and beans once a week. Weekly waffles anyone? (Grilled cheese sandwiches in the waffle maker are popular with my girls, though a bit messy to clean up...)
   

I usually do a combination of the above, depending on the week. But right now I always have 1) an open/easy/whatever day, 2) Fridays come from 52 Weeks, and 3) Sundays are often slow cooker or leftover days because we have church from 1 to 4. So that only leaves four meals a week to plan. Robin Miller could take care of three of those.

Or I could do 1) one from a Month of Menus, 2) one standby night like grilled burgers, 3) something from the circular (like chicken thighs are on sale so I put garlic & rosemary under the skin, brush with lemon curd - no joke, it's DELICIOUS - and roast until they're so golden I want to cry), and 4) one from that cool vegetarian cookbook I don't open enough.

Or (ok, I promise this is the last example!) 1) a pasta bake to use up half a box of bowties in the cupboard and a jar of sauce in the fridge getting old, 2) a zucchini-rice frittata to use those three zucchinis from my friend's garden, 3) something from Rachael Ray's 365, and 4) BLT's because bacon is BOGO at Safeway.

Voila! Another week of dinners is done!

Have other suggestions or things that work for you? Please share!

Mom Tip: Shopping List

Kind of random but here's how I do my grocery shopping list. I keep a magnetized paper pad on the fridge and write down things as I run out or as they occur to me. Then Saturday or Sunday when I make my menu plan for the week I write down everything else I'll need.

But the list is all jumbled, not in categories - RECIPE FOR SHOPPING FAILURE!

Between scolding, wiping noses, giving snacks, and issuing nonstop threats with one or both kids at the grocery store, I'm lucky to get anything on my list, much less read through and double-check it in every aisle.

So on my computer I have an excel list divided into categories. I take my handwritten list, enter it into the computer and print it out - makes life much easier!

But since moving to Virginia, with it's overwhelming shopping choices, I shop at four or five different stores, depending on the sales, or what area I'm going to be in for other errands. And of course all stores are arranged differently, and it's hard to keep track where things are in each one. It makes me crazy to have to backtrack when I've got ticking time bombs in tow.

So for the stores I frequent the most, on the back of my list I've written down the aisle numbers and what they contain. Then I've come home and made a custom list in excel for each store, not just with categories but with aisle numbers so I can really hopefully get what I need in each aisle:


I guess it kind of sounds obsessive but grocery shopping with kids is a science and takes as much preparation as possible. And even then it can be harrowing. Since preschool has ended I've taken both girls a few times, and usually come home in a deep sweat and having forgotten several things anyway. And in a bad mood to boot. So I'm back to my NY routine, which is getting up at 6am to shop before Ed leaves for work. Even so, the shopping list thing helps a ton so I'm not searching like crazy; after all, who likes to think at 6am?

Genius on Accident

Many of the world's greatest ideas, discoveries and inventions happened on accident. Newton's apple, Doc's flux capacitor, et cetera. It seems to be no different in every day life, especially in parenting since there's no way of guessing what in the world is going to work, and no kid is the same. I'm amazed at the stories other parents tell of how they get their babies to sleep, how they keep their toddlers from taking off their diapers, how they get their kids to clean their rooms or sit still for haircuts. All genius out of necessity. Here are a couple of my contributions.

"Eat Your Vegetables" - No surprise that veggies are not popular at our table. I do what I can - sneak them in, threaten and reward, look the other way, depending on the day. One night we had a side salad, and Ed and I both served up using tongs like the ones pictured. I offered Hazel some salad and she said no as expected. It was a whatever, look the other way, night. So Ed and I were chatting over dinner and we didn't notice that Hazel had become fascinated with the tongs and was carefully serving herself some salad, a few lettuce leaves at a time. I told her she could serve as much as she liked but she had to eat everything she put on her plate. To my amazement it worked and the kid ate a pile of salad*, and still does whenever the tongs are out. Genius.

"Five More Minutes" - Recently Ginger has shifted her morning wake time from 7-7:30 to 6-6:30 which quite cramps our style, since Ed gets home late and her crib is in our room. We usually pull her into bed with us in the hopes she will chill out or even sleep a little longer like she used to, but she is rearing to go and we get climbed on, kicked, whomped and talked to for the next 20 minutes or so until getting up sounds better than putting up with her any longer.

Last night, though, while getting ready for bed, I had an idea. I saw some plastic Easter eggs in a cupboard, which reminded me that on Easter Ginger played very nicely and quietly in her crib after waking up, playing with her basket contents...and eating jelly beans out of plastic eggs (see picture.) So I put together an everyday basket for her - a sippy cup of water, a book, and two plastic eggs - one with Cheerios and raisins and one with gummy fruit snacks inside - and put it in her crib. I was so proud of myself, and Ed was impressed. Of course the best part was that it worked. I don't know what time she woke up but I did hear some water slurping and egg shaking. But when she did stand up and call to get out, I finally looked at the clock. It was 7:10. And the eggs were empty. Very genius.

What accidental genius ideas have you stumbled upon, either in parenting or regular everyday life? Do share, you never know how many people may fall on their knees and gratefully proclaim you GENIUS!

*"Salad" means mostly lettuce and a few carrots or cucumbers. At one produce store I found these small Mediterranean cucumbers that have soft skin and no seeds; she loves those and eats them like crackers.

Yogurt Pies

Here's a total blast from the past. I used to make these all the time when I was a kid...and, ahem, a grad student, but I haven't thought of them in years. Then out of nowhere they popped into my head yesterday and I wanted them.

The beauty of yogurt pies is that they are simple to make and delicious to eat. They're also super easy and fun for kids to make, and while not exactly good for you, somewhat healthier than other things I can think of that satisfy the requirements of one's sweet tooth. They're cold and sweet and a lovely pink (or peach or green or whatever yogurt you choose) color. The recipe does not require any kind of perfection so anything goes.

Yogurt Pies

12 ready made individual graham crusts
1/2 to 1 carton of Cool Whip
About 20-30 oz. of any flavor yogurt

Stir the Cool Whip and yogurt with a wooden spoon to combine. Eat as much as you like. They can be in any proportion you want, adding more of whichever until you like how it looks and tastes. This is a very satisfying experience. Who doesn't love to stir yogurt and Cool Whip together? It's so fluffy and fruity and...Hazel put it nicely:
"Ooh, swirly!"

Use a large spoon to fill the pie shells. Do not fail to lick the bowl...and spoon. Place on a cookie sheet or tray, cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid, several hours. Eat with your hands or a fork. Heck, top with more Cool Whip if you have any left. YUM!

Is it easy being green?

Oprah says it is. Last week I caught a rerun about Being Green and it did get me thinking, "What can I do? What can I change?" After about 10 different segments, though, I started to feel that it's not so easy, and that if I don't do everything they talked about I am letting the world down. Luckily my perspective has settled down after a few days, and I've been taking mental stock. I already have a few environmentally sound habits. I could try to pick up a few more.

One of Oprah's guests was Elizabeth Rogers, author of The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time. Sometimes I'm a sucker for a good how-to guide, but not this one. I don't need the simple steps like using fewer paper napkins and refusing ATM receipts. True, I could do those, but I still need to do some glaring basics. I already know I should avoid styrofoam and use the back of printer paper. I know I'm late to the game and I'm proceeding in baby steps, but I think I can do a little more. Besides, there's plenty on the internet and that doesn't use paper like a book...

Here's my mental stock -

Already doing:

• For big shopping trips I bring my own fabric tote bags. I've been doing this for years so it's second nature to grab a pile of them on my way out the door. The other advantage to using these is they hold more and have long handles. This is handy for hauling groceries across a parking lot, down several blocks, through a series of locked doors, and up several flights of stairs. I don't know what it is to park in a driveway (or garage, even!) right by my front door.
• Recycle plastic, glass, paper and metal
• Reuse ziploc and plastic shopping bags
  
• Use refillable water bottle from home instead of buying bottled water
• More as a consequence of our location and forced lifestyle than as any effort we're making, we use very little gas for the car, and walk or use public transportation for the most part. But hey, I can still claim we do that.
  

Ready to try:

• Non-toxic household cleaners - I ordered Shaklee's Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate and some spray bottles. If I like the clean it produces I'm definitely willing to switch. We haven't had any problems with more mainstream chemical cleaners, but I know I'll feel better using non-toxic products, both for my family's health and the good of the environment.
• Eco-friendly detergent - I still have 1/2 a bottle of Tide I'm going to use up, but then I'm willing to try a new natural detergent like Charlie's, Seventh Generation, Allen's, etc.
  
• Non-chlorine diapers - I'm a Pampers fan myself but I just ordered a package of Seventh Generation non-chlorine diapers to try out. I found it leaked in the overnight trial but works great for daytime (shorter time span.) These are notably more expensive than other diapers, but I will continue to buy them when I can and maybe alternate with cheaper ones. Of course cloth diapers are the ultimate way to go green here, but I'm not quite there yet (at least not until I have my own washer/dryer.)
• This is kind of a general one, but I'm ready to consciously buy more organic food and maybe even clothes. I know it can be better for my family and the environment, and I want to support organic growers. Again, weighing the cost, and keeping practical. But I am looking forward to living near a Whole Foods again!
  
• Use fewer paper towels - I admit I use them a lot. But I've started more consciously keeping dish towels around the kitchen and on the table to wipe hands on, and old baby washcloths to clean faces and hands after meals.
  

Maybe someday:

• Cloth diapers - I feel like this could be my ultimate green contribution to the environment, considering how many millions of diapers our family uses. And they have come a long way since even Hazel was born - they are very user friendly these days. I just can't face it until I've got my own laundry, but that is only 6 months away. I should also consider cloth wipes.
  
• On Oprah's show, a family had their energy company come do an energy audit of their home, resulting in energy-saving suggestions like outlet gaskets, low-flow showerheads, and window weatherstripping. This seems like a great place to start conserving energy and energy bills...when I have a home.
• Energy saving light bulbs - I saw an Oprah a few years ago with Leonardo DiCaprio pushing these bulbs. It sounded reasonable so I got some for our living room. I kept them in for 6 months but couldn't stand the life-sucking flourescent light and switched back to energy-sucking incandescents. I don't know, I'm very particular about my mood lighting. That living room didn't have any windows (cheap dungeon basement apartment), so the light bulbs really affected things. However, I would use these bulbs in places like laundry room, porch light, garage, home office. I just don't have any of those rooms right now.
  
• Hybrid car - why wouldn't I? Our clunker is not getting any younger so we will be in the market for a new car, possibly two, in the next few years. There are several makes and models of hybrid cars and it's a smart and responsible way to go if you can find one to fit all your safety and other needs. A glaring gap in the market is a hybrid minivan, but apparently it's on the way. That's what I'm waiting for.

Obviously there's always more a person can do. I'm sure most of you are doing more than I am, but we all start somewhere.

What do you do? What products or activities have you embraced in an effort to treat the earth right? What other suggestions do you have for me?

Mom Tip: Getting Sand Off

Have you ever gone to the beach (or other sandy place - lakeshore, sandbox, whatever), especially with a baby, and become frustrated at getting sand all over hands & feet, face, legs, in the diaper, and you can't clean your hands off well enough to brush it off, especially when things are wet? Wipes just spread it around. The only solution seems to be a complete bath or shower, and that's not always immediately available.

Well I read a tip in a magazine and decided to try it out. Today was Hazel's friend Kaleigh's birthday party, at Manhattan Beach (which is actually in Brooklyn.) Lots and lots of sand. Hazel dug in it for two hours, and was buried up to her chest at least twice. When it came time to leave, she had sand caked to almost every inch of her, even inside the diaper. Time to try the tip.

The Secret? Baby powder.

Worked like a charm. We used it on our own hands and feet and all over Hazel. Just sprinkle it on, rub it a little, and the sand falls right off leaving clean, smooth skin. (Of course I forgot to empty her pockets before laying her in the crib for a nap, so there was sand all over when she woke up. But anyway...)

Next time you're going to the beach, toss baby powder in your bag and try it for yourself!

Mom Tip: Washing Stuffed Animals

Now updated with picture of the real (and real clean) Cosmo!

Hi guys. Please don't write me off for my recent lapse in posts, nor for my occasional domestic expositions, like this one. Different things come up at different times in life.

Hazel has a favorite stuffed animal, a teddy bear named Cosmo. (I name all of her dolls and animals from our list of baby names that will realistically never make the cut.) Sadly, Cosmo has never been washed in his 27 months with us. Disgusting, I know, but his tag says "surface clean only", which I've never bothered with, and I was afraid of ruining him in the washer. Bad, bad news if Cosmo got ruined (no back-up.) But last night I realized Cosmo was so gross it was worth the risk of losing him - none of us could go on with him in our lives that dirty.

I read a tip in some parent magazine about washing stuffed animals. Those parent magazines hunt me down, I get 3 or 4 of them and I've never paid for a subscription. I do like to read some of the features, though - they always make me realize my experiences that seem earth-shattering are actually universal, and I'm on par with the good and the bad of other mothers. Anyway, the tip was to put the bear in a pillowcase and knot it, then run it through the washer and dryer. I looked it up on the internet just to see if that same tip was out there, and it was on several sites.

Cosmo came out perfect, and several shades lighter, I might add. I never knew he was light brown, and now he just smells like Dreft, and not kid sweat. So thumbs up on the pillowcase technique - it really works.