Tip-of-the-Day~Oven Cleaning

Recently we bought a house and the stove/oven were disgusting! I spent 2 days scrubbing and disinfecting this thing! Day one was the slowest progress even (granted it was about 10pm when I started the process and I was up until 1am before I decided it was time to call it a night) however Day two was much more progressive. The reason ***drum roll*** I used the BBQ brush! I must say this has been one of my most genius thoughts lately! This worked wonders on the inside of the oven, but was even better on the racks! Oh and I have a gas stove so that made cleaning those pieces quicker and easier as well.

So the tip???? USE A BBQ BRUSH TO CLEAN YOUR OVEN! Just a little hot water with dish soap works perfectly! Then you just wipe it out with either paper towels or a washcloth (if you're cheap like me).

Tip-of-the-Day~Frugality 1

To save time, water, and money bathe kids together or shower with your spouse.  All three of my girls get in at once and whomever I'm not washing (Boog washes herself but waits until I'm done with Bug and Cookie) gets to play while I wash the other.

Anyways just fill up one bath (your money and water saving are awesome but the time you save not refilling or trying to keep the others from coming back to the bath after they are in their pajamas is amazing too!

Tip-of-the-Day~Make memories

So I missed posting yesterday because I was visiting with family. Today I will post 2 tips today.

This post comes about because this last weekend we took a family day  trip and it was so nice to just spend time with our kids. I know there were things Dallas and I could be doing at home but I feel ,especially for Boog, the kids got a lot from our trip to Nauvoo and Carthage Illinois.

I think too much today kids are getting memories and time spent with loved ones replaced by material things. Those material things only hold attention and last so long but memories can last forever especially when you take pictures.

Anyways spend time with loved ones and make memories you never know when they will be gone.

Tip-of-the-Day~Road Trips with kids

Mainly this deals with the many potty breaks younger kids "need" during road trips.

Our solution in this house it to bring along a potty training toilet that way you can stop anywhere!

This also works great with potty training and having to drive even 15 minutes somewhere.

Tip-of-the-Day~projects

This is a simple tip...one I should have minded with my last project.

Measure twice! Cut once! Ugh....such is life :)

Tip-of-the-Day~Indulge Yourself

 Whatever it is you indulge yourself in something you enjoy.
Food, shopping, a movie, spa, massage, time alone, a trip, whatever it may be indulge and enjoy something for yourself once a month (unless it's a big thing like a long trip that costs a lot of money then maybe twice a year depending on your income and responsibilities).

You will feel refreshed and happier after you do something for yourself and indulge in something you love!

Tip-of-the-Day~Christmas Bliss

That's right I'm already thinking about Christmas and what to do for it...truth is I have been since March!

This tip is to help alleviate the stress associated with Christmas. Start early buy a small gift one month maybe save for a couple to purchase a larger one and just find a place to hid them...however don't forget you have them! To avoid "losing" them in your hiding spot (let's face it we have all done that thinking we cleverly hid something then completely forgot about it) right after you hide it place the name of the item or "X's gift" in your calender on your phone set for the beginning of December so you can start slowly wrapping them.

If you are a handmade crafter (such as myself) then start projects early and avoid the late nights close to the holidays that turn us all into Grinches.

Anyways I will be starting a bunch this week, already have one going, and finishing 2 more hopefully in the next week as well.

Tip-of-the-Day~Finding Pets

1) Check your local shelter first!!! Often the animals come spayed/neutered and are up to date on shots and medicines. Our shelter even microchips the animals. Also all shelters do promotions (especially when they are getting crowded) so watch for those and it really cuts the cost, but don't hesitate to get an animal if you find "the one" when it's not during a promotion.

2) Know the time, space, and money you are willing to put towards your animal and select accordingly (a low maintenance do that doesn't require a lot of attention for those away from home for most of the day or a cat who doesn't mind being left alone)

3) DON'T settle! If the animal it the specific breed/type you want BUT there is NO CONNECTION then don't get the animal! The right one will come along.

4) The "RIGHT" one may not be the breed/type you were anticipating. We wanted a short haired no shedding dog (such as a Lab) but the one that found us (well connected instantly with Dallas and was great with our 3 girls) was Alice who is a German Shepherd/Lab and German Shepherds have an undercoat therefore they shed A LOT!!! Dallas was worried about this but I told him I would sweep and vacuum EVERY day to keep it under control and that is what I have done. When you find the animal you connect with don't be put off by anything that connection doesn't always come and you CAN make adjustments to have that animal (besides uprooting and finding a new place I don't think you should do that unless you were wanting to anyways)

I'm telling you when that connection is made you grab hold of it (this was her first night with us and the ONLY time I allowed this to happen)

She is so good with our girls I love it!

The girls love her too (this is just a week after getting her)

Tip-of-the-day~ Avocado prep

Ok so Boog LOVES avocados and I like to make guacamole so the need of knowing how to easily pit and "peel" an avocado became a necessity for me.

You will need an avocado, knife, cutting board, a spoon, and clean hands.

Here are the basic steps to getting an avocado editable-y ready:

I start at the top of the avocado and push my knife down until it hits the pit then rotate it around until there is a slice around the entire avocado.

Second I twist one side (helps if your avocado isn't as ripe as it needs to be other wise you usually can just pull it apart, but I like to twist them ;)) in order to get the halves to come apart.

Now you have one side that has a pit in it that needs removed...

Third I squeeze the sides of the avocado just a little to help loosen the pit then I take my spoon and go around the pit and it will pop out.

Now the pit is gone.

To get the avocado out of the peel I do the same thing as I did with the pit I take my spoon and place it inside the peel between it and the fruit and make my way all the way around at a slight angle so that you get under all or it.

Here is the peel free of the fruit after going around it. Now do it to the other half (if you will be using it as well)

Now you are ready to enjoy your avocado!

The technique of going around the peel with a spoon also works wonderfully with Kiwis!

Hope this was helpful to someone ;)

Tip-of-the-Day~getting around fast

This is especially helpful when you have kids.
I set clothes out for the family before bed and when it comes doing the girls' hair for church and they want something fancy like an up-do we do it the night before and just pin back what came loose during the night. Ladies you can do this too. Just think ahead and you can save so much time...try outfits on and determined what you want to do hair wise before bed.