1.  Cover Your Bases

Newspaper and paper towels can only go so far.  When you want real protection for your table you need something stronger.  My personal favorite?  Puppy training pads.  They’re designed to catch wet messes under puppy cages so they’re perfect for this project.  Essentially they’re like a giant, flat, super-absorbent diaper.  The pads have a plastic backing so they offer great protection – even against big spills like those you see below.  They also have built-in adhesive strips on the back so they won’t move around your table once you’ve got them in place.  Best of all, they’re totally disposable so you can toss the whole mess in the trash once the fun is over.  You can buy a pack of 20 for around $7 in the pet aisle of WalMart or Target.

2.  Secure the Perimeter

My kids are terrible with cups.  We rarely make it through a dinner without someone dousing the table (and themselves) with their drink.  Since the thought of a dozen cups of permanent dye tipping over scares me to no end, I hedge my bets by putting all the dye cups in tin foil oven pans.  The disposable pans catch most of the big spills and keep the majority of the dye off my table … and my kids.

3.  Stop the Fights Before They Start

“Hey, that was my egg!” or “That’s not fair, she did more eggs than me!”  Sound familiar?  Avoid the whining this year by giving each kid their own special container of eggs.  Cut the lids off your egg cartons and then cut the base into sections.  Give one section to each child.  We did 9 eggs each (an 18 pack cut in half – see picture above).  Not only will they have their own egg stash to enjoy, but they’ll also have a safe place to put their eggs once they fish them out of the dye.

4.  Keep It Together

Once all the eggs have been dyed and the mess cleaned up a whole new dilemma emerges.  Where to put all those colored beauties?  Since the original egg cartons are probably covered with drips from the previous step try this simple trick.  Place your finished eggs in a mini muffin tin.  The 24 small compartments will keep the eggs from banging together and help them store neatly in the fridge.

There you have it.  Four cheap and easy ways to make the Easter egg coloring process a little easier.  If you’d like even more tips on this topic check out this great post from Make and Takes; one of my favorite idea blogs.  Good luck.  I hope you have a happy, stain-free Easter!  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Managing the Morning Mayhem

For most families, morning is the most chaotic time of the day.  In a very limited amount of time, we struggle to get everyone clean, dressed, fed, and ready for the day.  Add in permission slips to sign, checks to write, and lunches to make – you’re lucky to get out the door at all, much less on time.  Save yourself tons of stress this year by trying our a few of these helpful hints.

Clothes Control

Help your kids help themselves each morning by making them an under-bed clothes organizer.  Look for a large shallow container equipped with wheels at your local super-store.  Trim a large sheet of foam core poster board to create the dividers.  Secure the dividers with clear packing tape and label each section with a day of the week.  On laundry day, have your kids select their outfits from the week (complete with socks and underwear), store them in their organizer and slide the box under the bed.

Send Them Packing

Most mornings we’re in such a rush that we tend to take over our kids’ responsibilities.  We search for library books, track down tennis shoes, and pack lunches.  However, all these chores can be done by our kids if they’re given a reasonable amount of time.  The solution?  Start your a.m. in the p.m.  Designate a certain time each night as “family prep time.”  Help your family remember by setting the alarm on an inexpensive wristwatch and tucking it in a central location in the house (like on top of the TV or in a kitchen drawer).  When the alarm sounds, everyone is required to drop what he or she is doing and prepare for the next day by packing lunches, preparing backpacks, and setting out jackets and shoes.

Snack Central

A simple rolling cart with drawers can be key to keeping your sack lunch supplies and after-school snacks under control.  In the top drawer, stash your sandwich-making supplies such as bread, peanut butter, plastic utensils, and a box of zip-top bags.  Small zip-top bags filled with lunch snacks store neatly in the second drawer.  Reserve the bottom drawer for juice boxes and water bottles.  When it’s time to pack a lunch, simply wheel the cart out of your pantry or laundry room.  A cart with a solid top creates a conveniently low work surface that’s perfect for school age kids.

Picture-Perfect To Do Lists

“Did you remember to brush your teeth?”  This is just one of the many reminders parents shout out to their children each morning.  Motivate even young kids to establish their own morning routine by making an easy to-do list.  First, sit down with your child and determine his or her daily morning duties – i.e. making the bed, brushing teeth, fixing hair, etc.  Next, grab your camera and snap a photo of your child performing each task.  Print the photos and arrange them, in order, on the bedroom door or bathroom mirror.  Remind all your children to double-check their lists before they head down for breakfast.

*This post is an excerpt from an article published by Organize Magazine, Sept/Oct 2007, Volume 02, pg 42-49, authored by Maria Eckersley, photos by Lanola Kathleen Stone.

• An Eye for An Eye: Often the most successful discipline takes the least amount of effort.  When my 9 year-old daughter left the lids off the markers and ditched them on the carpet (for the third time), I grabbed one of the washable markers and wrote “I love my MOM!” in big letters on her arms and forehead – then sent her out to play with her friends.  She was mortified, of course, but I’m pretty sure the message sunk in.
• Stairs to Nowhere: When I was little, my Dad would make us run laps around the house (one lap for each year of age).  I adapted this technique for my own house by making my kids run up and down our 15-step flight of stairs.  I love this one because it can be used for almost anything.  If they take 45 minutes to finish a 10 minute chore, 5 sets of stairs.  If they completely ignore me when I ask them to turn off the wii, 10 sets of stairs.  If they get out of a math test by telling their teacher I’m in the hospital having a baby, …well you get the idea.
• A Different Kind of Pillow Fight: There are few things I hate more than shouting – especially whiny shouting.  When they were little, I used to force the offenders to sit across from each other and sing the BYU fight song until they could be friendly again.  Now that they’re older I don’t have as much time to be the mediator so I’ve instituted a new rule – the kids are welcome to shout at each other as loud as they can as long as they cover their faces with a pillow and shout through it.  Generally I’ve found that the muffled result causes a lot of laughter and cools down any heated tempers.

Ok, you know the drill, I shared a few of mine now it’s time for you to share yours.  Good news!  This month I have a great little commenting incentive for you.  Mariah from the Etsy shop ‘look what Mariah Made with love‘ has generously offered to give away one of her incredibly popular Onsie Cuddle Sacs to a very lucky commenter.  These adorable little newborn garments are a perfect example of form meeting function – they’re made of gorgeous materials (don’t you just love that chunky grosgrain ribbon at the bottom?) and the clever design makes those frequent newborn diaper changes a cinch.  Whether you’ve got a little of your own or just want to have a fabulous baby shower gift on hand – you’ll definitely want to give this giveaway a try.

The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday (June 21) at midnight CST.  The winner will be chosen at random, contacted by email and announced here.  There’s no catch…you can choose any fabric you like from her collection and the shipping is included.

As always, to those of you who participate, thanks in advance for passing it on.

*This giveaway is now closed.

And the winner (chosen by the iPhone app iChoose) is #16 Rachal.  Congratulations on your big win, Rachal.  I’ll be contacting you via email tonight.  Thanks to all of you for sharing your parenting wisdom.

That’s when I came across a great idea called a Nightmare Snatcher from a company called Spiderbite on Etsy. Essentially, it’s a journal designed to catch and trap my kids’ biggest nighttime worries. They simply draw a picture of their particular fear inside and the furry monster on the cover will snatch up the fear and trap it for good.  Spiderbite’s Nightmare Snatcher Journal worked so well for my son that we ended up making our own (less fancy) version for my other kids. My kids call them Monster Catchers.

My kids love having their monster catchers, but they loved making them even more.  I let each of them pick their favorite color of fur and they designed their own monster faces.  It only took about an hour to create all three of them.  They have kept them tucked under their pillows ever since.  We’ve made several for friends too.  They make really fun and inexpensive birthday party gifts.

Since these little journals have been so successful in my house, I thought I’d pass the instructions on to you as well.

Please understand that this is an inexpensive, homemade version of Spiderbite‘s really great idea.  If you’re in the market for an authentic and artfully-crafted Nightmare Snatcher Journal I strongly encourage you to visit their Etsy store and check out their fantastic selection.  They average around $25 each and are well worth the price considering the quality of the materials and the level of craftsmanship.

Here’s what you’ll need to create your own…

• 1 standard size composition notebook
• 1 section of furry fabric cut to around 17″x11.5″
• 1 sheet of white foam paper
• 1 package of assorted googly eyes (I like the great big ones for this project)
• Tools: a hot glue gun, a pair of sharp scissors, and a fine point marker or pen

Step 1:  Lay your composition book flat on the wrong side of the fabric and trim all edges so you have about an inch of excess on all sides

Step 2:  Fold your fabric over your book figure out where you’d like the mouth to go.  Hold that spot with your finger and mark the underside of the fabric to mark the mouth opening.  Cut on the mark to create a narrow slit with your scissors.

Step 3:  Fold the fabric back over the book and use your pen to mark the mouth line on your notebook.  This will give you a guide for your teeth placement in the next step.

Step 4:  Take a small section of your white foam paper and cut out some jagged teeth.  Use a hot glue gun and glue the bottom edges of your teeth to the mouth line mark on your notebook.  Fold the fabric back over the notebook and pull the tips of the teeth through the slit.

Step 5:  Use your hot glue gun to adhere the fabric to the spine of the notebook.  Make small notches in the corners and small slits at the top and base of the book spine to allow for easier covering then continue gluing the rest of the fabric.

Step 6:  Trim the excess fur off the inside overlapping fabric (this will help the book close a little more completely)

Step 7:  Figure out where you’d like to place your eyes and trim the excess fur in that area.  Use your glue gun to adhere the googly eyes to the fabric.

Step 8:  Use your remaining white foam paper to cover the ugly inside covers of the notebook (colored cardstock works too).

That’s it.  A simple, inexpensive way to beat back the monsters in just 8 easy steps.  One word of caution, this type of fabric sheds like crazy at first.  When you get home from the craft store I highly recommend taking it outside and shaking it very vigorously.  In fact, if the weather’s nice, I recommend saving yourself a lot of clean up by doing the entire project out on your deck or patio.  Good luck, everyone and happy monster catching.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

I have a fairly thick mattress to begin with, so adding an additional four inches of foam made it virtually impossible for my even my deep-pocket sheet set to stay in place.  It would look nice and taught while I was making the bed, but the moment I laid down I could feel the elastic corners start to creep up the edge of the mattress.  By the morning, I was left with a saggy-sheet and a crumpled bed.

My first attempt to solve the problem was a $10 set of sheet-securing straps I found at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  They promised a secure fit, but they were incredibly hard to put on and popped off all the time.  I gave up on those after only a few days.  Then, while walking through the dollar spot at Target, I found the answer I’d been looking for – elastic mitten holders.  You know, those little things that attach mittens to your kid’s coat sleeves?  I snapped up two pairs for a buck each and figured it was worth a shot.

Amazingly, my little $2 solution worked perfectly.  They were a snap to put on (literally) and they kept the sheets taught all night.  I’ve used them for several months now and I’m still a big fan.  If you’ve got sagging sheets or simply don’t want to invest in the pricy deep-pocket sheets for your thick mattress, you may want to give this simple solution a try.  You should be able to find mitten holders in the winter clearance area of any big box store or in your local dollar store.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

That’s why I was thrilled when I read a fantastic laptop-saving idea on one of my favorite blogs – ParentHacks.com.  The contributor, Marisa, recommended covering your keyboard with plastic wrap to protect it from crumbs, spills and sticky liquids in the kitchen.  I was a little skeptical at first.  I thought the plastic wrap might make it hard to use my touchpad.  Much to my delight, it worked beautifully.  I was able to navigate a web page, type and scroll without any trouble.

The first time I tried this, I cut the piece of plastic wrap so it was just big enough to cover the keyboard and tuck under the sides of the computer.  However, it was tricky to move the computer around the kitchen and didn’t protect the bottom of the laptop from my messy counters.  On subsequent tries, I found it worked best to wrap completely around the base of the laptop so the ends “grab” each other on the underside of the computer.

I’ve also found that this is a great way to protect your laptop from sticky kid fingers too.  If you share a computer with your kids, you’ll definitely want to give this simple solution a try.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Until that happy day arrives, I’m afraid I’m stuck with the status quo…sticky tubes of crusty toothpaste and scary kid toothbrushes that look as if they’ve never encountered running water.  In the past, I’ve used plastic baskets inside the drawer in a feeble attempt to protect the wood.  Of course the big problem with this solution is that it assumes your kids will actually put their dental supplies in the baskets and not just shove them in the back of the drawer, like mine seem to do.  Plus, every now and again you’re actually obligated to clean those sticky baskets – gross.  I needed a better plan.

Last week, as I was lining my cookie sheet with aluminum foil to avoid having to wash it later, it dawned on me.  Why not get rid of the baskets all together and opt for an easier, disposable solution.  I grabbed the foil and headed to the kids’ bathroom.  Ten minutes later (nine of which were spent trying to clean the old toothpaste off the bottom of the drawer) I had a sparkly-clean drawer that was toothpaste-proof.  Now, when the goopy mess starts to build, I just toss out the foil and add a new sheet.  It’s cheap, easy, and totally kid-friendly.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

I found these huge, pink carabiner clips in the hardware section of WalMart (around $3 each).  I have no idea what their intended purpose is, but I use them to solve my grocery bag dilemma.  When I’ve got a trunk full of sacks to carry in, I grab a carabiner and hook the handles onto the metal ring (I can usually fit at least 6 full bags on each).  The padded handle helps me keep a tight, comfortable grip even when I’m hauling the heavy stuff like gallons of milk or sacks of flour.  Getting the sacks off the clip is easy too – I just push in the gate and twist the carabiner around allowing the sack handles slide right off.

It seems a shame to head back out into the cold just to put the carabiners back into the trunk so when I’m finished with the groceries I toss them into my purse.  Next time I’m in the car, I grab the clips and throw them (literally) into the trunk.  It’s not a fancy solution, but it works like a charm.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

First, I bought an inexpensive drawstring mesh laundry sack for each of my kids.  I found them in the laundry aisle of WalMart for around $2.  Next, I used a sharpie to label the loop at the top with the size and season (ie Girl sz 5/6 Spg/Sum).  At our house the bags are stashed in their closets right next to their drawers so they’re easily accessible.  If your kid’s closet is short on space, you could hide them under the bed or hang them on the back of the closet door.

When laundry day rolls around I divide the kids clothes into their baskets and then pull out any clothes that are out of season and put them in a separate pile.  The kids put their regular clothes in their drawers and then add the out of season pile to their mesh bag.    Once the weather has permanently changed (and the chances for short sleeve weather are slim to none) I take the entire bag down to the basement and store it in a labeled Rubbermaid container.

The really nice part about this solution is that it’s totally kid friendly.  If we have really warm day, it’s easy for the kids to pull open the drawstring and dig around in their bags for a pair of shorts.  Likewise, it’s even easier for them to put the shorts back in the sack the following week.  It also makes finding clothes for younger siblings tons easier.  Since the bags are labeled with size and season, when my younger daughter grows into my older daughter’s size all I have to do is find the right size bin, choose the right season, and bring the entire bag of clothes upstairs.

Granted, it’s not the prettiest solution.  If you’re the kind of person that hates looking at a sack of unfolded clothes this may not work for you.  If you’re like me, however, and you don’t care how your kids closet looks as long as it’s functional – this solution might be just the right fit.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Last year, I read about a simple solution to this problem in Family Fun magazine.  One smart Mom wrote in a suggestion about making marks on a water bottle to help keep track of your kid’s water consumption.  I can’t remember exactly how she did it but the idea stuck with me.  So, when my daughter came down with a fever yesterday, I decided it was a good time to test it out.

Yesterday morning I removed the label from a plastic water bottle and added several lines on the side with a sharpie marker (click on the photo above for a better view).  Next to each line I added a time of day (11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm).  After setting up my daughter on the couch with blankets, pillows and tissues, I gave her the bottle and told her that her that her big job was to get the water level below the marked lines by the various times.  Surprisingly, the goal marks really seemed to help her.  She managed to down the entire water bottle before bed time without a single reminder from me.

As a side note, I also used the bottle to track her medication throughout the day.  I often forget when the 4-6 hour window is up (that might have something to do with the big list of to-do’s I mentioned earlier).  To help myself keep track, I added a little orange dot to the water bottle timeline each time I gave her a dose of Tylenol.  Whenever I needed to know if it was time to give her another dose I just checked her bottle for a quick reference.

Granted, these aren’t groundbreaking ideas.  They’re just simple solutions that can make your child’s next sick day just a little easier.  Just thought I’d pass it on.