Works for me Wednesday--More Kids is Less Work

I'm not talking about having more of your own...sometimes having more kids in the house (by having company) is less work than having just your own.

This is the unmentioned benefit of the childcare co-op mentioned at this week's WFMW by We Are THAT Family.

Somehow when we have guests, my kids behave better, and I have less "she looked at me funny"/"He won't play XX with me"/"She's not playing it right" conversations than when it's just my own kids.

On Friday we had friends over for the afternoon. They played very nicely and I got a chunk of grading done. On Saturday we invited the neighbor kids to come to the park with us, and they all played tag--and I didn't have to be it :)

So invite some friends over! Your kids will be occupied and have a good time. And the other parents may reciprocate, giving you bonus time!

Works for me Wednesday--Cleaning the George Forman grill

I like cooking with our George Forman grill, but I used to hate cleaning it. It's one of the older models where you can't take it apart to wash it.

But I've found an answer! While the grill is warm (not hot, like after dinner), spread a couple of wet paper towels across the grilling surfaces and shut the grill. Wait about 10-15 minutes (long enough to clean the rest of the kitchen), then wipe off the grill. Voila, all the cooked on stuff slides right off!

What works for you? You can share at WFMW's new home, We are THAT Family!

Works for me Wednesday--Lo-cal dip

My favorite snack these days is veggies with this dip!

1 16 oz container of lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 pkg dry ranch dressing mix

Blend together with an immersion blender until creamy.

5 calories for 2 tablespoons! Can't argue with that--and it totally satisfies my crunchy/salty craving.

So what works for you?

Works for Me Wednesday--not losing baby socks

This is what I give new moms--a zippered lingerie bag. They wonder what it's for: the answer? Preventing the washer and dryer from eating baby socks. Works like a charm!

Now I need to take my own advice and get one...

For more great ideas, visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer!

Works for Me Wednesday--Simple rules

The school I teach at has a grand total of one rule. While our household isn't quite that simple, we have gone with a few basic rules, like:

--People are more important than stuff.
--Don't distract the driver.
--Love one another.

It's a fairly short list, but it covers many different things. It also means we don't need a rule for every possible infraction--they're covered by these larger, overarching principles. So for example, when Henry was blowing a whistle in the car, it was easy to tell him to please stop because that is distracting to the driver. We didn't need a specific rule about "no blowing whistles in the car"; it was covered by the bigger principle.

And by stating things in the positive, we hope that they'll be ingrained as the kids grow older. So perhaps when they start driving, they will understand that their main focus when driving should be the road, not their cell phone, the radio, or other occupants in the car (we can hope, can't we?)

So what works for you this week? Please visit Shannon to share yours!

Works for me Wednesday

We have a great strategy for getting our kids to eat veggies...APPETIZERS!

While we're getting dinner ready, we put some carrots, red pepper slices, broccoli, and whatever other veggies on the kids' plates. Sometimes we include some (~1 T) ranch "dip"--1/4 of a dry ranch dip mix packet in a 16 oz container of low fat cottage cheese, blended with an immersion blender.

Two birds with one stone--they get veggies AND it buys us a couple of minutes to finish getting dinner ready!

Works for me Wednesday -- cheap cards

Birthday (and other) cards can really add up, so my strategy is to make my own! Michaels and Hobby Lobby carry packages of 50 blank cards for $10, and they often have 50% off any item coupons, making the cards themselves $0.10. I then print (either by computer or by hand) a message on the inside, and attach a picture. Sometimes I use a picture of the recipient, or a fun picture of my own kids.

For example, I've used this picture of Henry (from his 3rd birthday) with "Happy Birthday Partner!" for birthday cards:


Or this one for a new baby, with "congrats on your newest bundle of joy":



Or for "showers of blessings":




For thank you cards (especially from the kids) I take a picture of them with the giver or of them playing with/using the gift.

Depending on where you get the photos developed, the pictures cost less than $0.20, bringing your cost per card to less than $0.30, about a tenth of the price of a card at the store!

So what Works for you? Please visit Shannon for more ideas!

Works for me Wednesday--bickering

My kids have hit squabbling--bickering about nothing, usually something silly, resulting in tattling.

What Works for Me is a Love and Logic strategy--give them jobs. So on Saturday, as I was trying to get dinner ready and they were arguing about who-knows-what, I had Henry move the laundry (take dry clothes out of dryer and into basket; move wet clothes from washer to dryer; turn on dryer) and Harmony unloaded the dishwasher (she stacked stuff on the counter).

It was a win-win-win situation--they had something productive to do instead of bickering, the argument was dropped, and two chores got done without me having to do it :)

For more ideas, visit Works for me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer!

Works for me Wednesday

One of the smartest things we brought on our weekend trip was water bottles.

Harmony's is Hello Kitty, and Henry's is Cars (I have a plain purple one from our doctor, and Patrick's is from a meeting). The night before we left, I half filled them with filtered water and froze them. In the morning, I topped them off with filtered water. Voila--drinks for in the car that are relatively kid proof! Every morning in the hotel we washed the lids, filled them to the brim with ice and then cold water.

We saved at least $40 on drinks, because everywhere we went, we had our own cold one. If we were going somewhere not appropriate to bring a water bottle (like the organ concert), we left them in an insulated bag in the car. We use them for local trips too--any drive over a mile, and the kids want them with us.

So that's what worked for me this week! Please join Shannon to share what works for you, or see what works for others!

Works for Me Wednesday--Parenting

Parenting is hard. You're on 24/7, and the "instruction manual" is lacking details (I don't recall the Bible discussing potty training). And if you mess up, you mess up someone's life--not something to take lightly.

One thing that's helped us is parenting partners. When Henry was 2 and Harmony was a newborn (and for the next year or so), we regularly hung out with the neighbors across the street. Since we've been back from sabbatical, we've done a lot with Jen's family, and more recently, the family who lives upstairs.

What's great is that we have someone to share frustrations with, bounce ideas off of, and trade childcare. For example, last night we had seven kids at our house--our two plus Jen and Charlie's girls and the boys upstairs. The kids had a great time, and it allowed the parents to do important things without helpers. (Believe me, we've had our share of kid free time in return!) Sometimes kids will listen to another trusted adult more than their own parent, and if we can help foster those relationships with people we know and trust (instead of with a stranger down the street, who we may or may not agree with), all the better!



Things that help make it work:

1. Kids of similar age. They don't have to be *exactly* the same age, but similar enough that they play together.
2. Similar parenting philosophies and strategies. Once again, they don't have to be exactly the same, but they're similar enough and compatible enough that we have common ground rules.
3. Similar schedules. The family we used to hang out with, we don't spend as much time with them because their life is on an earlier schedule (they're heading to bed when we're heading out to play).
4. Geographic proximity. Henry is loving having the boys live upstairs (though it may be a little TOO close--they want to play every second of every day!)

So what works for you?

Works for me Wednesday--cheap microwave popcorn

Microwave popcorn is pricy--even on sale the cheapest I've seen is $1/3. The bag of popcorn is much cheaper, but I get weary of washing the pan (er, Patrick gets weary of it--he's the dishwasher in the house!)

The answer: homemade microwave popcorn!

Place ~1/4 cup popcorn in a lunch size paper bag. (if you like, you can spray the popcorn with non-stick spray first--I haven't noticed a difference in performance). Fold the top over 1/2 inch, three times. Place bag in microwave; turn on popcorn setting (or 5 minutes, if you don't have a popcorn setting). Stay close; when the pops slow down to one every couple of seconds, turn it off.

If you want, you can eat it straight out of the bag--no dirty dishes at all!

For more Works for Me, visit Rocks in my Dryer...

Yadsendew em rof skrow

If the title stumped you (it sure was hard to type!), it's ok! This week is "Works for Me Wednesday" in reverse--you post a problem, and see if anyone can solve it for you, or at least have suggestions!

Henry (age 5.5) rarely spends the entire night in his own bed. (He still has occasions of bedwetting, but this it's getting better, knock on wood...but the night wandering continues). This wouldn't be a problem, except I can't sleep when he's in bed with us--there isn't enough room, and it's hard for me to fall back asleep once I'm awake.

We've tried sticker/reward charts, new beds (they'd be bunk beds but we can't have him getting out of them at night!), talked about bigger kids that he admires staying in their own bed all night, praising him for staying in his own bed, punishing him for getting out of bed, and pretty much it's the same as it's been ever since we moved to NY and he was able to get out of bed on his own.

Suggestions??

And if you're looking for an answer to a practical problem, try posting it at WFMW!

Works for me Wednesday--fast breakfast!

Tuesdays are long days--I have class from 8-11 and lab from 1-4...and somewhere in the middle I need to get grading done and a lecture written for Wednesday. I'm also out of the "getting up early" groove, so between packing the kids' lunches, finding their clothes (both of which I try to do the night before), and getting their breakfast, mine is usually eaten on the way to work.

But I've discovered a fast, healthy, portable breakfast!
--Put piece of bread or english muffin in the toaster
--crack egg in small bowl and scramble; microwave 25 seconds
--Slide egg onto bread (add a piece of cheese if you like) and walk out of door!
voila! A homemade egg McMuffin sandwich in less than 2 minutes!
Calorie count: less than 200, yet has protein to hold me through lunch.

What's you're "works for me Wednesday"? For more ideas, visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer

Works for me Wednesday--inaugural edition

I lost my digital camera a couple of years ago between Thanksgiving and Christmas...and I now have no memories of the event. I'm lost without pictures to jog my memory!

So when I got my new camera, I stole a "works for me" idea from my mom. I cut down an address label so that it fits on the top of my camera and added my phone number, so that if it's ever found (by a nice person), it has a chance at being returned. I'd take a picture, but well, it's on my camera!

The label has also been helpful at family gatherings--several of us have similar cameras, and it's easy to figure out which one is mine.

For more Works for Me Wednesdays, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer (and read about her trip with Compassion to Africa while you're at it!)