We have done it again!

Well, It is official, we have gone and done it again.  We are having another baby.  I am pretty sure it is because we bought a 12 passenger van 2 months ago but one can't be sure of these things.

What does that mean for the 2200 square foot house with two huge bedrooms upstairs??  It means a massive room shifting, reorganizing extravaganza.  Our den/play room/guest room is becoming the den/play room/guest room/office.  The office is becoming my (significantly smaller than we are used to) bedroom and the boys are moving into our room.  Yes, this means a complete & major house overhaul.  Now I realize, I said this last time before the twins however, in this case, we have no other options.  We are maxed out.

The question running through my exhausted first trimester brain is - WHERE do I begin?  So, my goal will be to begin in the basement with new storage shelves to house everything that we need to store.  Currently, we have bins of kid clothes stored in an area of my room with sizes for the twins to grow into and clothes that they have grown out of.  The bins of swim suits and soccer gear are also stored in there for easy access.  All must move down to the basement which will be storage and indoor gym where I can send crazy excessive children to wear themselves out.

Step two will be to get the den/play room/guest room cleaned up and paired down to make room for the office gear.  The walls could use a new coat of paint but lets cross that bridge when we get to it!

Then on to the "old" office now my much smaller bedroom.  In 10 years of marriage, my husband and I have never had our clothes in the same room let alone the same closet so, this is bound to get interesting.

After those major accomplishments the moving of the boys into our room will be fun.  Our boys have always shared with their siblings and it has been hard at times (many times).  This should be life altering and I am excited for them to have this space to call their own.

So, with all of this work and craziness why am I blogging again??  To keep myself accountable.  With the yuckiness that comes with the joys of pregnancy, I am all too quick to give up and take a nap.  In order for this massive undertaking to occur, I need to give myself several months to get the steps accomplished.  My goal is to have it done by the beginning of my third trimester (when I am too huge to do anything useful).  ANY and ALL ideas or suggestions are always appreciated as I ponder each room and its needs for our family.  As always, with each organization we will have to live with it for a while to see what works and what doesn't.  My inner organizing diva is dying with excitement and jumping up and down with glee but my exhausted first trimester body is rebelling.  Needless to say, this undertaking will be a lot of fun to watch from the outside so, enjoy!

Called up

Where the heck have I been, you ask?? Trust me when I say - nowhere. When my first two kids were born they were only 19 months apart. People used to ask me if they were twins. I would reply "no, but they are just like having twins". I would like to publicly state, I WAS WRONG.

Twins . . .

Twins are a whole new ballgame. In general, just two newborns at the same time is crazy. It is like a serious game of baseball. Juggling each kid and their needs on various bases. I am however, going to venture to say, twins AFTER having four children is the major league of crazy.

Not to say that people who have a set of twins first is not in constant need of sleep, a shower,caffeine and a clean shirt that doesn't smell like spit up. The difference is, they don't know any different. Caring for the twins is one thing - keeping them safe from the larger babies that have WAY too much love to give is another. Imagine navigating two newborns, a 2 year old and a 3 year old to take a nap in a full house, under construction with two bedrooms and an office. Major leagues baby - and I was called up.

"How do you do it?" I am asked this almost daily. The answer is - I don't. Not alone anyway. No baseball player gets to major leagues without help. They have an agent, a coach, manager, trainer, friends and family. Nowhere is the saying "It takes a village" more clearly visualized, than in our home.

I would not make it without a husband who is truly capable of running things if I were not here. To be honest, he could probably home school our kids AND manage life. But lets not tell him that he doesn't need me just yet.

I would not be here without friends who bring me coffee in the morning, help feed babies, do my dishes or just keep me sane.

I would not survive without a mother in law a half block away who can hold a kid, take a kid, feed a kid or take them all so I can nap and or shower (because these are the choices a mother has to make).

Raising 6 kids, ages 8 and under is not possible for me without amazing women from our local college who WANT to come over and help us weekly. Women who LOVE (I mean really LOVE) to fold laundry, sort clothes, do dishes, cook meals and play with our kids.

To be honest, I am not the personality to let someone help me. I have always been the "I can do it myself" mentality since birth (apparently - there are stories). This has been a lesson in extreme humility for me personally. It has been gradual through the last 5 years but I have come a long way.

I am forever reminded that "God doesn't give you anymore than you can handle". It has taken me10 months to realize that He knew I could handle the major leagues. He seems to always send help right when we need it. When He thought I could "handle" this, he meant that I could handle it WITH his help.

Everyday, I am forever reminded of the sheer awesomeness of Gods love. I am forever grateful of being called up to the majors despite the lack of clean shirts and loss of daily personal hygiene routines.

DIY Closet System

After finally going through all of my email (cause it has been a WHILE) I have discovered several of the same question. By SEVERAL I am not implying I have a VAST number of readers hanging on my every word - emailing me daily. I just mean, I have received more than ONE (less than 100) email with the same question.

WHAT have I used to make my beloved closet system.

So, I figured since (more than one!) inquiring minds want to know . . . I shall tell you!

I bought the white shelves at Ikea - they are the billy bookcase line. The tall ones are around $40 a piece and the short ones are $25. But any matching shelves would work. Then again, I guess they don't HAVE to match if that floats your boat, same size would be good. Mine HAVE to match because my OCD requires it.

The rods I bought at home depot and are made by closet maid. My husband attached a block of wood on the inside of the shelf so the rod had more to hang on to. It just made it more secure.

I put a white "floating" shelf above the rod between the shelves (ikea lack shelf) so it was even all the way across (again with my OCD). I attached all of the book cases to the wall with "L" brackets and then put a screw through the book case into the side of the LACK shelf for stability. Honestly, by saying I, what I really mean is that my lovely handy men and free family labor did it while "I" supervised.

The wooden boxes I picked up at joann fabrics and painted them (I DID actually do this, most of it anyway). The days of the week bins are just from the dollar tree of all places and I labelled them with foam sticky letters. You might want to use extra glue because they don't stay with just the adhesive. Though, looking back now, I should have just used a sharpie.

Am I missing anything??

Oh, when we added on to the closet system in the play area, the 6 cube shelves that we used were closet maid. You can get them anywhere (target, walmart, lowes, amazon, etc) and the fabric bins are also closet maid.

Well now, you are free to go out and build a custom closet system for your home. Just remember . . . closet organization systems evolve over time, after trial and error. Be flexible and always keep your eye out of ways to tweek it to suit you and your needs. No matter how PRETTY looking a closet can be (or how they make you tear up just looking at them) it needs to be functional and suit everything you can throw at it.

GENIUS!

As fellow organization nerds, I think you should all enjoy the sheer GENIUS of my crafty friend Jodi.

Her blog has so many great ideas, useful tips and how to's with a healthy dose of organizational genius. If I had a sewing machine, I would make these for EVERY bin I own. Which, needless to say, would be a LOT!

So here . . . read THIS and get your organization crafty-ness ON!

Laundry of My Dreams

Well, the crazy construction is just about finished and we are 90% moved into the new laundry room off the kitchen.

I am down right GIDDY! I grin ear to ear, give a big sigh and feel butterflies whenever I walk through the door. Yes, it is THAT amazing! The only thing that would top this is if there was a magical machine to fold and put the laundry away as well. But, I digress . . .

The most impressive thing in the room is the large folding bench that houses 10 laundry baskets - like drawers! The original idea came from this great blog that I really enjoy - Ana White - formally known as Knock off wood. I saw this laundry dresser and instantly knew I had to have it!

After measuring the room, we realized that we could make a shorter, longer version. With lightening speed, my father whipped it out the vary last day he was in town. A bit of sanding, primer and paint - throw in some cheap-ish laundry baskets from walmart, and it has become the star of our new laundry oasis.

Currently, the first two baskets are what I call the "INTAKE" baskets. That way, I can be flexible with my loads and no one has to figure out WHAT system I feel like using that week. The rest are sorted loads ready to throw in. I even have a couple of baskets for pool towels.

The possibilities for this bench are endless! I am sure I will be trying them all to find works best for us. In the meantime - it shall be my new favorite organizational toy!

TWINS have arrived!

Well, our twins have arrived and my quest for organization had taken a short break. The lack of sleep has been daunting, my laundry mountain has turned into the Cascade mountain range, I am potty training a toddler, school is out which means EVERYONE is home and BORED and our house has been under construction since the day after I arrived home from the hospital.

This craziness has brought on some fun exciting new turns however! The "construction" is our unused sun-room being transformed into a laundry room / mud room off of the kitchen. GLORY!!! The new laundry room will be finished soon and my life will dramatically change - FIRST FLOOR LAUNDRY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Having two newborns is twice the work and twice the lack of sleep . . . However, they are twice worth it. They are very good babies who love to snuggle and I get twice the amount of adorable baby smiles looking back at me.

Reorganization Take 2

I realize that the office doesn't seem like a priority for organization when awaiting twins however, the fact that I cannot see my feet made it one.

One entire wall of our office was littered with last years art and school supplies, craft projects and sewing goods. It was getting out of control and hazardous for small children and sneaky big kids alike.

With a LOT of help (due to my lack of bending abilities), I managed to get it all organized into my BELOVED mod podge containers and get it up on a shelf.

Is this the designer dream office I have been plotting for years - no. But it is JUST what was called for in our phase of life. My philosophy for the house this last year has been: Do what you can, when you can, for now. You can always add or design more later.

Now, we have a desk for the boys to get their work done, a place to store ALL of the crafty artsy fun supplies and a clear space I can waddle through without stepping on crayons with my bare feet.

Reorganization Take 1

With the arrival of the twins in about 4 weeks, the house transformations are just about finished - for now. Of course, with my crazy pregnant lady eye, I have found MANY more projects that I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to take on but alas - priorities.

I started with the kids room and my beloved closet system creation.

We have taken out half of the play area to accommodate the TWO closet rods and bin shelves that were seriously needed. I just picked up three closet maid 6 cube shelves to flank the rods. The cube bins now hold their socks, slippers, underwear, under shirts, school pants and school gym uniform. With summer coming up, I am thinking of putting a bin on top for swim trunks.

Since our boys are getting older, this will be their changing area and where ALL of their clothes will be kept. I have lifted up their beds for storage underneath as well - where they now store their PJ's and spare sheets. There is also a large dresser for the boys to keep their jeans, tee shirts and sweat pants across from their closet.

The extra cubes hold extra diapers for the girls, pillow cases and crib bedding. Though, I may end up putting the swim trunks and swim suits in there as well. As with all new systems we will need to try it out to see if it works for our family. There are more photos here.

I have moved ALL kids books into this window nook. It doesn't always stay cleaned up but it is a good out of the way spot for the kids to grab books.

The girls have inherited their own dressers. PJ's are still kept under the crib as well as the diaper changing things. In our house, bedtime consists of my husband and I grabbing a spot on the floor and getting everyone ready. With the diapers and PJ's under the crib, it makes it easy to just grab supplies instead of running around the room for things. It may not work for everyone but it fits in with our families system.

there was ANOTHER one . . .

Well, we found another baby on our ultrasound this week!!

This is why I have been so sick - TWINS!!! #5 and #6!!

So. . . you can expect a MAJOR reorganization of the ENTIRE HOUSE!

AAAHHHHH!!

I might have to even scrap my beloved closet system in the kids room and start again. I have so many configurations going through my head! should my toddlers share a queen bed or move to a single & toddler bed? where do we fit another dresser? where do we build another closet? Is it time for my boys to have bunk beds? If so, where do we put them?

Once the shock is gone - I am going to get down to business! So, hopefully, I can keep you all up to date with the house and LIFE changes!!

In the meantime - any new organization products or suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!! It might be time to reinvent the wheel!!

New addition means NO POSTS!

Just to give you all a heads up . . .

It has been a very long time since I have given you all a post. Not that you are on the edge of your seat waiting daily for word from me. I am 10 weeks pregnant with baby #5 and MISERABLE! When I can keep my children fed, dressed and alive while keeping my own food down and clothes from stretching out, I am sure I will be up to my crazy organizing self!

I have BIG plans for the house - ORGANIZING and GUTTING rooms!! It will be very exciting!! Mostly for me but I shall pretend that you will be excited with me. In 6 weeks when the reorganization of our home begins, I will keep you all posted. This baby was just the motivation that I needed to get our home to run like a well oiled machine!

Happy Fall and I will post soon!

Garden drama

My "adventure with gardening" has had a few losses and a few new “pets”.

First . . . my acorn squash and several of my zucchini plants have died. They just wilted and then the stems disintegrated in my hands. Some say it was a mildew and others a borer. It could also have been a sickness that cucumber beetles possess. I lost a couple of cucumber plants to them as well so I am apt to blame them. I cannot totally complain – we have been eating zucchini with EVERY meal for the last two months. Plus, the acorn seeds I saved not thinking they would grow, produced ONE acorn squash. It may not sound productive but it was an experiment after all.

I have managed to save at least ONE zucchini plant and it is producing as we speak!After spending countless hours on garden net I cleared out the dead stuff and mounded dirt on the damaged parts of the stem. In a couple of days, I will be eating MORE zucchini. Now, “lovingly” referred to as Zombie-cchini.

After coming home from vacation, we were bountifully blessed with four eggplants, a pound and a half of tomatoes, three zucchini and a “pet” groundhog. He/She (not named of course!) was living under my sunroom DIRECTLY behind my veggie bed. It had to walk down the center plank, past all of the green onions and broccoli to get to its home. Naturally, I was a raving lunatic and utterly distraught for two straight days!My amazing husband JUMPED into action. Luckily, our neighbors across the alley had just caught two the week before and still had the trap they borrowed. I waited to rest of the evening, and most of the night and then halfway through the next day. Still no sign of the silly pest! Upon further reading, it seems that the groundhog does not like the “pitter patter” of stomping children and the noises of a house with four children ages 7 and under. So, with the assistance of my mother in law and sister in law (and their subsequent knee braces and crutches), we all headed out of the house for the day.

By the time we arrived home, the PEST was in its cage and ready for my husband to find it a new home – across THREE highways and far away from my veggies.

Our last "pet" is one we have had for a while and I REALLY like her (or him). One night, while tidying up my living room, I “stumbled” (after a screech and a jump) upon a small praying mantis on my husband’s chair. How it got in our house, I will never know – though, I have PLENTY of suspicions and animal loving boys to blame! I quickly grabbed my husband and, without actually TOUCHING it, instructed him to take it straight to my veggie bed.

Well, after a couple of months – I still have a pet mantis! Whenever I am out there, I will find her hiding somewhere, eating all of the pets I don’t want. She is a very useful pet and getting quite large – I guess that means that she is eating VERY well!!!!!

Experimenting with Gardening

It has been QUITE a while since I have posted anything and here is why - I have started a Veggie garden! I have been engrossed in it to the point of near craziness and have discovered a new 7 month hobby to occupy me (because I am not busy enough).

After hearing and reading about "The Square Foot Garden" concept, I realized that THAT is exactly the kind of growing that would work in the city. We are blessed with a decent size yard for our area but nothing large enough for rows and rows of veggies and sections of orchards that I, longingly, envision in my head.

The concept is simple - you can grow a lot of food in ONE SQUARE foot of dirt. So, my husband built me a box (4ft by 10 ft) - NO digging required and I mixed the soil (1/3 peat moss, 1/3 manure & 1/3 vermiculite) then filled the box. As my mothers day gift, the whole family went to the nursery and I picked out my starts.

In the raised bed I planted: 1 green pepper, 3 Roma tomatoes, 6 red leaf lettuce, 6 romaine lettuce, 4 zucchini, two acorn squash (from seed), 5 celery, 5 broccoli, 4 eggplant, 1 burp less cucumber, 10 green onions, 9 spinach, 4 cherry tomatoes, Italian parsley, rosemary, 2 sweet basil, sage, creeping thyme (edible) and curry.

You can see up to date photos of the bed here!!

In large pots (I picked up at BIG LOTS for $16 bucks) I planted: 2 Roma tomatoes & 2 burp less cucumbers.

You can see up to date photos of the Pots here!

I was also given several Cherry Tomato plants by my green thumb neighbors so I have a few more containers and pots around the yard with 5 more tomatoes. We REALLY love tomatoes!

Lastly, after watching several youtube videos on making my own potato bin - I did it! I think I will do things differently next year but, we will have potatoes in the fall!

My experimental gardening has been going well for the most part. The weather was CRAZY hot during the first few weeks so the spinach went to seed and never recovered. I finally pulled it out and put in a few more green onions I had in the kitchen.

I have spent most of the summer battling CUCUMBER BEETLES. They have really attacked the cucumbers I have in my bed. When I thought they were controlled, I got a total of 2 cucumbers and now the virus that they spread has taken hold and my cucumber is pretty much dead. I have decided NOT to pull it out because it still has a few places for them to attack and I don't want them to move to the cucumbers that are in the pot.

Yet another bug I have discovered while gardening is the CABBAGE WORM. It is a white moth, that lays it eggs on cabbage and broccoli leaves. The eggs then hatch and these green worms eat the leaves and eventually try to work their way to the head of the broccoli (in our case). They are "cute" according to my bug loving son but my 14 year old brother in law wasn't too fond of finding one on his plate for dinner (not my doing). They are very hard to spot because they are the SAME color as the leaves and they are usually found on the back of the leaves or on the stalk. If you see little black or orange pellets on your produce, start checking the leaves and stalk around it for a worm - those are their "left overs".

My newest PEST is the SQUASH BUG. They are U-G-L-Y and kind of smelly and really annoying. I found several batches of eggs on the underside of my acorn squash leaves today. In the last two weeks, I have been killing two bugs a day. Ironically, I pick them up and SQUASH them. ha ha ha ha ha

They like to bury down to the roots of your zucchini and squash and eat away. Keep an eye out for this obnoxious bugs and get to them FAST!

Adventures in Felt Food

I have been having a ridiculous amount of fun making FELT play food for my kids play kitchen. There are NUMBEROUS blogs to check out on the subject and you can get great ideas on etsy (or just buy them if you don’t want to make them yourself).

Here are a few Links I think you should check out; they are VERY impressive!

Homemade by Jill (she also has LOTS of links)

American Felt & Craft blog

Ivers (check out her felt food photo stream)

So far, I have made a pizza (which is a little more involved than I originally thought but, I think it will be worth it in the end). I am making all of the toppings separately so my kids can get creative in their pizza toppings

The sauce and cheese are essentially one piece of felt just edged. I currently have basil (or spinach) and tomatoes for a margarita pizza. I will also be making mushrooms, pineapple, pepperoni and possibly even green peppers. We will see.

I have also made orange slices and fried eggs. With plans for pancakes after my pizza project is done.

Feeding The Masses

It seems to me that my kids are ALWAYS hungry. I feel like I am CONSTANTLY preparing food (& cleaning up after it). Well, I finally got organized this month and even on day two I have noticed how much easier it is to feed the masses.

I have designated a drawer in my fridge and a bin in my cabinet JUST for snacks. It took a bit of time, separating and bagging things when I came home from the store but it is worth it in the long run.

As for making lunches. . . Through this blog, I have been blessed with ideas shared by people all across the globe! I cannot even believe that I can say that! SilverMoon Dragon shared with me a GREAT idea for getting school lunches ready. She just prepares all of the items ahead of time and then her children pack their own lunches! BRILLIANT!

I made turkey wraps for all of my family this morning and cut them in half. That way, they don’t waste the other half and I won’t have to make them again tomorrow. Plus, if someone is extra hungry, they can grab one out of the fridge.

I have also made a box full of bagged lunch items: veggie chips, pretzels, raisins, dried fruit, trail mix, seasoned toasted garbanzo beans, and fruit bars. Along with the celery, carrots and cheese sticks in the fridge, my boys can pick three items to go with their drink and sandwich (or wrap).

One last thing that I did this morning was to cook up a family size package of chicken tenderloins in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. They can now be used for our chicken pizza tonight, quick protein snack before soccer practice, sliced on top of a salad or diced up in a lunch wrap. Since my 10 month old still eats fairly simple, they are perfect for her as well. So, for $8, I have a multipurpose food ready to go, feeding a family of 6 for about a week.

Medication Organization TAKE 2

Since we have triple ear infections this week, I thought I would take pictures of the colored bands and measuring spoons I was talking about in my previous post.

Here is the make-shift dry erase board we are using currently. I have designed a print out for a clipboard that will be a little bit easier and less likely that my children will erase the information on a WHIM.

Three out of my four have ear infections so the color coded rubber bands are working great. now, I just reach in the fridge and grab the right color. Is this a perfect system? NO! Lack of sleep, mental fatigue and the emotional roller coaster that comes with sick kids cannot be a good combo for flawless perfection. But, the more I "over" organize the least likely I am to REALLY mess things up.

Here, I have taken my daughters hair bands and put them at the dosage levels. Since I didn't find green and blue bands to go with the bottles, purple is close to blue and green and yellow make great color buddies. Hey, the theory works in my crazy sleep deprived brain, so I am just going to go with it!

The NEW Spring Organization

There is nothing like the sun coming out and the weather warming up to make you want to gut your entire house, sort what’s left and put it in a bin (I guess that is just me!). Though, for us this month, we are finding new daily challenges that seem to make that organization job move to the back burner. With spring also come spring sports. We are in our first season of sports for our kids and we are trying to figure out how to live a normal life without living it on the field or in the bleachers.

We need to make some changes to my son’s diet, which is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. I am having to rework ALL of my recipes, and of course, my groceries. This is also changing my grocery budget – so I guess the question remains – WHY is it so expensive to get food that is nitrate, sugar & dye free? Growing your own veggies can be SUCH an inexpensive hobby. Why would adding MORE junk to your food make it cost less? Standing in the aisle of the store, reading all of the labels makes me feel like I am completely ignorant. Why do you have to be a rocket scientist to know what is ACTUALLY in your food? Apparently I need to spend weeks studying it all but, lets be honest, and WHO has the time for that? I know I don’t! What this also means is that I will not be able to do the: run to the store with four kids after school thing anymore. They barely hang in there for a three-item dinner pick up – if I have to stop and read every time they won’t make it.

Happily, this thought brought me back to organization! How can I get the groceries that I need without making the two-hour trip to Wal-Mart at midnight once a month?Research seemed to be the answer. Knowing WHAT foods is on our “can eat” list. So I am setting a personal goal – every time I go to the store, find 5 things to put on the list of the foods that we can eat. My husband has started to do the same.

Part of that research also means what stores to shop at. Trader Joe's has a GREAT selection of organic and preservative free foods at reasonable prices. It is no ALDI (though, i have found several things to put on my list) however; it is a good alternative to grocery stores. Other places to hit with a wide variety (at least in our area of the US) are Whole Foods and Giant Eagle Marketplace.

Even if you do not have these stores near you, MOST grocery stores will have an organic section within the store. Some store brands even have an organic line of foods like Safeway. The organic section of our Kroger store always intimidated me. I thought that it was WAY too pricey for us and it didn't matter if we had a few extra things in our food. BOY was I wrong! I found cereals that were cheaper than the regular aisle and if you just scan it every time you are there, you will find some great alternatives and reasonable prices.

This change in the way my family eats cannot happen overnight but at least we are learning A LOT along the way. In the mean time, I am going to get cracking on my veggie garden – it is MUCH MORE budget friendly and a fun hobby to get into.

Happy Eating!!

Here are just a couple sites I have found interesting or helpful. If you have any other helpful info, please share!

http://www.hippiedippiebebe.com/health/nutrition/best-lists-of-food-additives/

http://www.foodb.com/Preservative_Free_Diet.cfm

The Quest for Medication Organization

OH, what a week this has been!

Growing up, I was allergic to SO many different kinds of medication that I really had to be careful what I was taking. Even over the counter things were dangerous! Makes me think, with all of the medication given out so often throughout ones lifetime, whether medical/drug allergies are going to be a continuing trend.

Here seems to be the dilemma in our home currently, kids with different medication allergies. What is the best way to keep them all organized so everyone in our home (who is administering medication) knows whom gets what? AND . . . how BEST to keep track of different medications taken at different times for different children.

Well, simplicity seems to be the answer here at our house! I have just come up with a florescent list hanging in the medication cabinet AND in the hall closet where we keep our extra medication. As if that isn’t enough, I have added a note behind my ID in my wallet (in case of an emergency) and in my “mama” planner. Short of stapling it to their heads, I think they MAY be safe. When it comes to REALLY dangerous allergies however, I came across these fantastic bracelets with a usb plug to store all of your medical information. A VERY smart idea indeed!

Then, to answer the administration of medication issue . . . I was just using a simple dry erase board, which I drew check boxes on. I have since; come up with an easy chart with I can print and keep on a clipboard. Also, to save time, I have put thick rubber bands on the bottles with each Childs name on them so I don’t have to read through them all to find the right kids medication. (A friend of mine gave me this great idea for kid’s cups and it has been working for medication as well.) You can also get different colored bands for the measuring cups or spoons so you can adjust it to the dosage. This made it a little easier, just be sure to double check before you give it just in case the band shifts or use small bands that will not move (like little girls hair bands). You can even MATCH the colors on the bottles with the measuring spoon so you can do it all quickly with little mistakes. This is good because with more than one sick child, you tend to have VERY little sleep and a LOT of coffee in your system.

I also have FANTASTIC spring-cleaning goals in regards to the disastrous hall closet that we now “lovingly” refer to as the BLACK HOLE! I am going to get different bins (surprise, surprise!) for each family member and then keep their regular medication and a brief medical history in each one. Just simple notes like, allergies or surgeries, nothing crazy long or unnecessary. I used to keep this information in a binder separated for each family member but, it was growing quite large due to all of the people in our family and i like the idea that it can all be in ONE place.

HOPEFULLY, it will solve the hour-long search for everyone’s medication and it will save my toes from getting hit with falling objects every time I open that closet door.

**Now, I know that by posting this, I am making sure that I do this job, so you are all going to help keep me accountable. Sorry for the added responsibility!

Over The Shoulder BABY Holder

We have had a pretty CRAZY two weeks with hosting parties and dealing with sickness. My 9 month old was very sick and wanted to do nothing but be in my arms. “AAWWWHHH, how sweet” says you, but not so easy on the caring of other sick and needy children. Not to mention the cooking, laundry, dishes and just plain keeping our house from burning down. (Which would explain why it has taken me sooooo darn long to blog again)

I have taken a liking to two different baby carrying devices in the last two years and I use them EVERY DAY with both the toddler and baby.

My favorite by a mile is the MOBY WRAP. It can be used from newborn to 36 lbs and has several different ways to tie and utilize it. The wrap holds baby secure, close and keeps them comfortable; all the while freeing up BOTH of your hands! I can bend over and unload the dishwasher without feeling like she is about to slip out and drop on her head.

I have even put two kids in it (only once). It is NOT an official Moby hold and their weight combined was UNDER the 36 lb limit. ALSO, I was NOT running around the house busy doing things, I was JUST stirring dinner on the stove and they both wanted to be held.

If you are pregnant or just had a baby or you have a clingy toddler . . . BUY ONE, you will NOT regret it. I found mine on ebay and got a deal because the owner got it as a gift and didn't want to "figure it out". I has been a Godsend for me!

I tend to use the moby while at home or walking because it takes a minute to tie and adjust and I don’t like it dragging on the ground while tying. Mainly, because my kids tend to bite on it and at least I know when my floors were last mopped; the same cannot be said for the floors in the grocery store or the parking lot of the mall.

With that said, I have discovered (with the help of my SUPER creative and smart friend J) a quick and cheap ring sling.

Since I have NO skills in the sewing department, she introduced me to the NO SEW SLING idea. I purchased online a set of large aluminum rings. Then, I took my old college wall tapestry (dug up out of the basement) and after washing it (of course) I whipped up a sling in 10-15 minutes. The site was really detailed and it had a link to a youtube video as well.

I take it everywhere because it is quick and easy to put on, cinches right up and looks REALLY cool. I used a HotSling for this same purpose with kid three because it was small enough to carry in my purse and quick to slip on. But I really like how the ring sling cinches up so I can feel more secure about using almost both of my arms.

I realize that there have been sad and tragic stories in the news lately involving baby carriers. An important thing to remember when using ANY baby/infant carrier is: if you would not HOLD a baby in that position, then you shouldn’t be using a carrier or fabric to hold them in that position. The toddler hold (sitting on your hip) is only to be used with older children who can hold themselves upright and has complete control of their neck and back. Just use common sense when placing your child in one. There are many informational videos on the proper hold and how to use any baby/infant carrier online. I have always found a TON on Youtube.

Winter Afternoon Clutter & Chaos

When you spend time at home and REALLY having a productive day, you cannot help but feel an amazing BURST of satisfaction, peace and joy. Then. . . 3 PM rolls around and your clean oasis is once again, invaded by the scattering of coats, shoes and a MOUNTAIN of papers from school. UGH, how many papers does one kid have to bring home everyday?

We fell in love with our home for many reasons but the big one was that it is open.You walk in the front door and the living and dining rooms are right there. Ordinarily, you can contain said invasion within an entryway or hall. We, sadly, are without either. I didn’t want to build a wall but I needed SOME separation within our large room so we picked up a large shelf with lots of cubbies. We placed it LIKE a wall between the dining room and front door. Our make-shift entryway of sorts.

Luckily, there are four rows across so, each child has a basket for shoes, bin for scarves, hats and gloves and the big kids have a magazine holder to contain the mountain of school papers.

Does all of this get put away right when they walk in the door?? OF COURSE NOT! But, my second son’s chore everyday is putting away all of the

shoes, coats, and cold weather bulk. So, at least it gets done MOST of the time!

Being a family of 6, we seem to have a LOT of coats and this winter we have needed them ALL! With one coat rack and one closet we have had to make adjustments. I just grabbed an old tension rod (or old shower curtain rod) and stuck it above our single rod inside the closet. Since we have little ones,

the little coats work well on the top rod.

Now, in the winter, when all of our coats are out of storage keeping us toasty, we can actually hang them up instead of tripping on them when we walk through the door.

Well, a mom can dream can’t she?