sales

Toys r us has 70% off
http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2276203&f=PAD%2FOutlet%2FYes

and Disney has and extra 25% off summer stuff
http://disneyshopping.go.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10051&categoryId=13593&langId=-1&N=0&Ntk=p_categoryID&Ntt=13593&Nu=p_productID&CMP=EMC-eml&att=20080630DSIH

the toys r us I found about from an email newsletter
http://archives.zinester.com/27072/161905.html

A trick for getting well

If you or your children get sick with colds, strep, etc., you can soak the toothbrushes in a little diluted bleach in a glass for a few minutes and then toss them in the dishwasher. It saves replacing the toothbrushes so often. As your family grows you will understand that this little thing can get very expensive! Cleaning them this way may also be a good preventative anyway... maybe once a week or so?

Publix/Home Depot rebate update

FYI the rebate offered at Publix for a $25 Home Depot gift card is still good for a few more days. For any of you in Tally Town the Park Avenue location has rebate forms upon entering the store in the turnstile that holds the advertisements. They are small and green.

Since you have to buy $20 worth of Conagra foods to receive the gift card I used this as an opportunity to load up on food storage. We now have chocolate pudding cups coming out of our ears.

Have fun shopping!

Losing Weight

I heard this idea tonight from a friend. She and her husband decided to have a contest on a weekly basis to see who can lose the most weight. (They measure it by percentage, like on the show, "Biggest Loser") The person who doesn't win has to complete a task for the other in the following week. She said she wants to win this week because she really wants her hubby to do a project of putting up some shelves in the playroom. Just think of all honey-do's you could have done! Great motivater!

Mom songs

So I added music. I heard the song today...You're gonna miss this and I was like ooo that's good perspective. So I remembered some other good "mommy" songs. Enjoy!

Shower Songs

Our kids were taking waaaaaaaaaaay too long in the shower so after all the nagging and idle threats didn't work we implemented a fun new rule. We play a song on a CD and they have to be completely done and ready to turn the water off by the end of the song. Sadie just rocked out in the shower to a Miley Cyrus tune. :)
This rule actually started at the perfect time--when the kids were learning about conserving water and energy at school.

Recipe Blog

Alright. So Jennifer and I were so on the same page about wanting to have some sort of recipe blog. I went out (as in...out on the Internet) to look for a cute layout, and I found the perfect one! So, in the next couple of days, be watching for the launch of our very own recipe blog!

I'm so excited, and I'm going to see if we can't get featured on Tip Junkie. Who knows though, since it will be such a new blog. But hopefully, if we can, it would generate some traffic and help make for a really successful recipe swapping forum!

I'm trying to think of the perfect name. If anyone has any brilliant name suggestions, please e-mail me (as to retain anonymity) {lindseymiller.mail@gmail.com} and then in a couple of days I'll have Jennifer set up a poll and we can all vote for our favorite!

Money Savers ~ great rebates!

If you shop Walgreens or CVS then you know they have ongoing rebate programs. Sometimes they send you giftcards and sometimes you receive a check in the mail. I will be getting almost $45 back from Walgreens soon!

Right now Publix has a rebate agreement with Home Depot. Can't find a link with the form you need to mail in, but I bet you can find it in the stores or in their mailer or newspaper insert. Details include: buy $20 worth of participating Conagra foods and get a $25 gift card from Home Depot. You can also buy $10 worth of Conagra foods and get a $10 gift card from Home Depot. I bought ketchup, mustard and peanut butter for food storage. I will continue to try to find a link and will post it if I find one. The deal is over on June 28. I think these must be postmarked by July 2. Mine will be in the mail tomorrow!

And hurry on this one! Sears will give you $75 in Shell gasoline if you buy $100 worth of Dockers clothing or accessories (except shoes). You can submit one per person, TWO per household with separate receipts and forms. This deal expires June 15. Must be postmarked by the 28th. Try this link for info: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/v_10153_12605_Clothing?sbf=Brand&sbv=Dockers&adCell=A1

If you know of any other good deals, please share!!

A Hola for the DHs!

I'm not sure what DH stands for but I see if everywhere representing your spouse. So I wanted to give a shout out for mine. I have a great husband! Mechelle Stone once told me to say something positive about your spouse, too your spouse everyday....I don't think I've hung onto everyday, but when she first mentioned it I realized I probably wasn't doing that once a week. So I think it does good things not just for him but for me. It works even better if I'm saying something nice about him to the kids with him present. Also, in general this week I wrote on my fridge "BE GRATEFUL". Life is not perfect but it's amazing how many comforts we enjoy and worries we don't have to worry about. I'm trying to keep that outlook!

homemade diaper cream

My mom gave me this recipe from an old army pediatrician. You mix equal parts hydrocortisone cream, anti-fungal cream and milk of magnesium. (You can adjust the amount to desired thickness) It works great and it soothed my kids skin better than some of the creams on the market.

Once again...

...not my own idea, but I saw this and thought it was a super-cute idea that might help out in the kid-motivation department this summer.

P.S. - Check out the rest of her blog...she's got some really fun-looking ideas for crafts for the kiddos.

What are your favorite books on parenting?

I have 2 favorites:

1. Scriptures

2. "The Power of Positive Parenting" by Glenn Latham

Too many towels in the bathroom floor?

Once you young moms have more puppies (or babies or whatever) the towel mountains in the bathroom floor or the towel collections in the bedrooms will grow! Some years ago when all 7 of mine were home the towel moutains got totally out of hand. (Five of them are still here and we are still battling this problem!) It occurred to me one day that if we just put an extra shower curtain rod up in front of the one that holds the shower curtain, we could keep more towels UP and kids wouldn't be pulling down everyone's towel from the single rod when they pulled the shower curtain back and forth. It worked really well! We also had my mom put her computerized mammoth sewing machine to use to embroider first names on towel sets for everyone in our family. That way, there was no fighting over which towel belonged to someone. Our towels are very worn now... I think it's time for replacements! Hmmm.. good Christmas present!

Buy this

I really should be a spokesman for this company because I love this product to pieces. This is actually meant for pets, which I don't ever plan on having, (hahahahaha, too bad kiddos!) but seriously I am constantly cleaning up pee, poop, breast milk, spit-up, vomit, etc, and this stuff works wonders.

For all you green gals out there admittedly this is probably toxic-er than toxic, but so is my kid's poop so I'm sticking with it for now.

Later!

Scripture Study

Decide on a time for your daily family scripture study. We chose 6:30 a.m. Someone reliable is in charge of getting up before everyone else and going to the computer and turning on a hymn or primary song (Turn it up loud!). It's on the church music website, under Interactive music player. It will play any hymn or primary song, with or without parts, with or without singing.
http://www.lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,4996-1,00.html#
Then all the children come running happily to sing a song and gather for scriptures. LOL... OK, that's the idea, but ours do actually come out, maybe half awake, but they come. I think the music is a nice way to wake up in the morning and it sets the mood. Sometimes we sing along, sometimes we just listen. Then we read for about 20 minutes and it really sets the mood for the rest of the day. (plus, zero mommy guilt, because the scripture reading for the day is accomplished!)

Tip for the tips page :)

When you post please put labels seen below in the bottom left. That way when we have a 1000 posts :) and we're needing help with something specific like organing our linen closet or summer ideas we can find it more easily. THANKS for the posts I'm excited. I was talking to Mary Ann about starting a recipe blog but don't want to overkill my welcome here. If anyone else thinks that's a good idea let me know or just go ahead and start it!

Didn't come up with these on my own...

...but I'll take the credit anyway! Check out this great post. It has LOTS of great little ideas. I'm on my way to the dryer right now...

Dusting

After folding laundry. . . while on your way to the trash can to throw away the used fabric softener sheet, dust something. It's called recycling. The used fabric softener sheet picks up dust well. Use it to dust a couple of rows on your blinds, some picture frames, a few shelves or your TV. Then throw it away.

Storing linens

Somebody taught me this in a homemaking meeting (yes, before the days of Enrichment Meeting). Fold your sets of sheets together and place the sheets and second pillow case altogether inside the first pillow case. They will lay flat in your linen closet and fold nicely to the shape of half a pillow case. When you need a set, they are all right there together! Saves time and makes for faster bed changes in the middle of the night when little ones get sick or wet the bed.

Tickets

Okay, now that summer is here the ticket system is back. I think I got this idea from Family Fun but we've been doing it for about 3 years. The kids earn tickets for doing chores, practicing piano, reading, good behavior, etc. (You can buy a huge roll of raffle type tickets at Walmart for cheap or make your own.) Each ticket is worth 10 minutes of TV, computer or X-box time OR they can save their tickets and every Friday they can "buy" stuff from my "store" which is stocked with candy, toys, play-doh, art stuff, whatever. I've found they'll skip their favorite TV show for a Laffy Taffy at the end of the week.
Tickets can also be taken away for complaining, bad behavior, whatever and we don't make them use tickets for family movie nights. I think that's about the gist of it but you can customize the idea for your own kids.

Tantrums!

When it comes to tantrums.... just leave them alone. Let your child cry or pout it out alone. They seem to get over it more quickly.... at least this works with Riley and of course I'm still learning :)

Starting us off

So I have this crazy idea of mom tips, this can include anything mom related, sky's the limit.

#1 To start us off I learned something today that most of you probably know already is that you can buy any cake decoration toppings from Publix, that they put on their super expensive (yet delicious) caks, like Dora or whoever and then get a reasonably priced (and still delicious) cake from Sam's and put the decorations on it. For those times when you're not making the three tier princess cake yourself :).

#2 If the kids are arguing in the van I can sometimes put on classical music and it will temper the mood. It works better if I catch it before any huge blowups, but it's saved me a few times.

Okay, unleash your wisdom to us!