HELP – I’m Trapped Inside With A Toddler

UGH! It’s been raining and raining here in NJ for the past few weeks. And there is more in the forecast for the next 3 days!

Sure the grass is nice and green, but my geraniums have been beat-up, my pansies are a mess, the lettuce and spinach in the veggie garden are mush, and the strawberries are making jam on their own.

But worse – we’ve been stuck in the house for days. Sure we head outside when we can, but Little Dude is going stir crazy! We’ve played every game at least 5 times. We’ve done every puzzle in the house. And the coloring books are on their last pages.

I’m calling out to my interwebz peeps – HELP!

Share in the comments your favorite rainy day activity. I need something new to do! Provide suggestions to those of us in the NY/NJ area that are feeling like drown rats and need something to keep the kids busy!

PS: I’m “Do Follow” so link love is provided

And spread the word – If there is enough interest and sharing, maybe we’ll vote on favorite and creative activities and give away some prizes!

Target Deal Alerts

Typically I defer to StretchingABuck for Target deal alerts, but I’m too excited! Target has two deals that you just have to know about starting tomorrow!

First, the bins that I’ve talked about several times (left) that I use for toy storage are on sale for $39 (regular price $59) I have two of these: on in little dude’s room and one in the living room. These work so well for keeping toys organized (well, as organized as they can be for a 3-year-old).

Target also has a sale on Rubbermaid storage containers starting tomorrow. The 18-gallon Roughneck totes are only $5.49!!

Since January is National Organizing Month, take advantage of the Target sales starting tomorrow! I’ll be there bright and early!!

Ask The Household Helper

I received lots of great questions when I did the Wal-Mart gift card giveaway. Now, I’m answering!

The first question is from Renee, and may other moms have asked this! “How do you balance working from home, life and the tasks of the home management senerio?” There are a few things that I do in order to balance everything.

First and foremost I plan ahead. Each week I know what I’m doing each day, where we’re going and what we’re eating. And I literally post this on the fridge so everyone knows what is going on. I even pre-plan what my business tasks will be each day.

I have routines. I follow the same pattern each day. And each day I have time for home chores, time for working, and time for family and I do these around the same time every day. My routine has evolved and changed along with my son as he has grown, so I’ve been able to fit time for work and housekeeping around his schedule.

One thing that has helped me balance tremendously is to keep my family involved with home chores. My son cleans with me, cooks with me, does laundry with me. He is learning skills that will help him for the rest of his life. Plus, he loves being a ‘big boy’ helping mommy!

Another way I’ve been able to balance everything is by asking for help! Literally one day I sat dear hubby down and said to him “if I’m going to be able to work from home and raise our son at the same time, I need your help”. And guess what – it worked! Hubby has taken on responsibility of certain home chores.

So to summarize: plan ahead, follow a routine and ask for help.

There were a few more questions just like Renee’s, so I’m going to stick to this topic for a few days and will provide some specific ideas, resources and samples for you!

Would You Be Ready?

When my son had to go to the emergency room because he was having trouble breathing, I never thought we would be there for any longer than that night. But we were admitted – IV antibiotics & steroids and nebulizer treatment every three hours from a respiratory therapist were needed.

What does this have to do with home management and organizing? Lets start at the beginning.

I always have the diaper bag filled – including extra juice and snacks. I also have little man’s book with his medical records and his insurance card in the bag. When I realized we had an emergency situation, I was ready to go.

When I realized that we would be in for an extended stay, I didn’t panic. And this is why:

• Because I was caught-up on laundry, hubby was able to bring me the clean clothes I needed back to the hospital.  AND I was able to tell him exactly where my travel bag, hair dryer, etc. were located in the house.
• Because I have de-cluttered and have kept a regular schedule for cleaning, I was not embarrassed to ask my neighbor to stop in to feed and water the critters.
• Because I was on-top-of keeping my pantry, fridge and freezer filled, there was plenty of food for hubby and the critters.
• Because I have a scheduled day to pay the bills every week, I knew we would not fall behind and didn’t have to fear any utilities being shut off. AND, I knew in my head roughly how much money was in our accounts, so felt comfortable use the ATM for cash to use throughout our stay.

Would you be ready if this was your child? Would your home and family be ready?

This experience is a perfect example of why you need to be organized. This is why I preach about the importance of meal planning, household routines, organizing and cleaning.

Come back next week – I’ll be back in full force to help you get organized and be ready for anything.

Happy New Year!

I can’t believe it’s 2008! Time flys, doesn’t it? We plan on staying in our PJs today, finish the cookies and other goodies filling our kitchen, and begin watching Stargate Atlantis from the beginning (hubby got the DVDs of the first two seasons for Christmas). Then tomorrow it’s back to work!

I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year filled with much happiness and love.

This past weekend we did Christmas all over again with my brother and his family. We had a wonderful time! I’ll share more about our visit later, but I wanted to show you the gift I received from them. It brought tears to my eyes.

It’s a tote bag made from my brother’s uniform, including his patches. It is the most heartwarming, thoughtful gift! I just love it and plan on using it every day – it’s the perfect size to use as Little Man’s diaper bag. It’s the perfect size to hold a couple diapers, wipes and his juice and snack. And it’s a great way to show my support and love for brother.

A little link love is in order – this was hand made by Sylvia, my sister-in-law’s cousin. Her website is http://www.sewtaylorddesigns.com/. Sylvia and her sister make these tote bags as well as purses and diaper bags from uniforms. My bag was made from my brother’s uniform that he wore during his first tour in Iraq (2003-2005). The fact that he was willing to give me one of his Calvary patches (the shield with the horse) shows how much thought he put into this gift too.

Dont tell hubby, but this gift might now be the favorite over my new purse!