Help Over the Hump: Freepeats

Wednesday is "Hump Day".  We all have long days before it and long days after it, let's try to use today to help someone over the hump.  You just might help yourself.

Today I want to re-introduce you to Freepeats.org.  I have talked about it before but wanted to talk about it again because today is the LAST DAY to get a FREE lifetime membership (normally just $4.95).  For those of you not familiar with Freepeats.org it is a great website (more like a movement) in which you list your unwanted, outgrown maternity/baby/kids stuff.  You list it to give it away to someone for free.  You give some and you can get some.  It is a great system.  With my son, I swore I was going to sell his outgrown clothes to buy new ones.  The problem is that I live where there are seasons, and by the time he outgrew them, no one wanted to buy them.  So I had to keep them for a year.  I don't have the space or the time for that, especially now with 2 kids.  The same goes with their toys.  I do not want to go through the trouble of the pricing and haggling of a yard sale.  Taking tons of pictures, itemizing everything and then packing it and taking it to the post office was a big drawback for ebay.  I got way too many spammers and no shows for craigslist.  While these sites are great, they just really didn't work for me as well as I needed them to sell or get rid of stuff.  Freepeats.org is a perfect alternative.  The only people that can see the listings are members themselves.  It is a great way to pay it forward, but this way you might end up paying it forward to yourself.  How cool is that?

Have you participated in Freepeats.org?  If so tell us your story.

Rainbow Lunch

When my friend Christa's children reached the age that they wanted to pack their own lunches, she did a little happy dance (you should see it...quite funny).  She soon learned that it meant pack a bag with as much junk food as you can find to her kids.  She came up with a rule, your meal must have at least 4 different colors of the rainbow in it.  Examples she used were RED apple, GREEN broccoli, ORANGE carrots, BLUE blueberries. She told them that whites were freebies, like pieces of bread or string cheese.  They could add those without worry, but still had to have 4 colors.  This worked like a charm and soon her kids were packing nutritious lunches.  Her daughter came home one day telling her how she lines the colors out for her friends at the table and now her friends are doing it too.  What a great way to make healthy eating fun!  Try it.

What food have you given your kids a "you don't have to eat it" pass on because it looked so nasty, you wouldn't eat it?  Baby food doesn't count, it all looks gross. :-)

The Fashion Floor

Every night when Alyssa puts her twins (boy and girl age 8) to bed she has to put down another set of twins.  To cut down on morning meltdowns about outfits, she lays the next days outfits on the floor.  Anything and everything that is worn is put down, even her daughter's barrettes.  The kids can pick out their clothes and mom approves or mom picks and kids approve.  Her son likes his in funny poses.  Her daughter likes to see them laid out to make sure it will look good.  It is a win-win!  Try it.

What was your biggest outfit meltdown?  It can be as the parent or as the kid. 

King of the (laundry) Mountain

Another great reader tip!  Colleen has 4 kids and just doing the laundry is enough to drive her mad, let alone getting it all sorted and put away.  She had always made the kids help, but it was really difficult.  She bought 4 plastic dish bins and labeled each one for each kid.  After the kids' laundry is dry, she dumps it in a pile in the living room floor (stay with me here).  Each kid is in a different corner of the room with his/her bin.  When she says go, they rush to the pile and find their clothes, fold them, and run to their rooms to put them away.  The first one back gets the laundry trophy and a special privilege (for her house, sitting in the front seat of the car) until the next King of the (laundry) Mountain challenge.  The clothes get put away and Colleen literally sits on the couch while the kids do it.  She has learned the hard way that someone needs to be there to see who makes it back into the room first.  I love this tip.  My kids are too little for the version, but after receiving this tip I bought a bin for my 3 year old.  I put his socks and underwear in it and he walks with pride down the hallway to put them away while I sort the rest.  Try it.

What is the longest you have ever put off doing the laundry?  We promise we won't judge.

Crafty Birthday Gift

Next time a birthday comes around, don't run to the toy department at the store.  Go to the craft section.  Get a small plastic organizer bin and fill it with craft supplies (pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, brushes, etc.).  This gift is perfect for a boy or a girl.  Their mom will love a gift that involves being creative, plus it is already organized!  Who needs another Hannah Montana something or blow 'em up toy?  I would love my son to get a gift like this, and I know he would love to receive it!  Try it.

What was the last birthday present you bought for a kid (not yours)?  Does not have to be a crafty thing.  I  had never bought a crafty gift before this idea. :-)

This post included in Real Life's Your Life Your Blog

"Pick It Up" Sticks

This is like a cross between pick up sticks and drawing straws.  Write different chores on a popsicle stick and put those popsicle sticks in a cup.  Let the kids pick a stick.  That is the chore they do today (on top of any other chores they are regularly responsible for).  This works great if your kids  have a wide age range.  The laundry chore for a little one could be helping Mommy sort or matching socks, while a big kid gets to do the laundry.  The trash chore for little ones could be emptying the little trash cans around the house into the big one, while a bigger kid takes the trash out.  This puts a newer, more fun twist on "Take out the trash"  Try it.

What is that one chore you can't wait for your kids to get old enough to do, so you won't have to any longer? Tell us in a comment.

Help Over the Hump: Kiva

Wednesday is "Hump Day".  We all have long days before and long days after.  It is a great day to help someone over the hump. Kiva.org is a great organization that does just that, helps people over the hump.  Kiva offers loans to impoverished people throughout the world.  You can help out with as little as $25.  This is not a donation or a hand out.  This is a loan.  The people that Kiva helps don't have many options.  The loans they give are to help make entrepreneurs.  Your money is pooled with others to loan to an individual or group.  The loan has terms and is paid back.  You actually get your money back and hopefully you lend it to another.  When you visit their website, you can see the people, the amount they need, the amount that has already been given by others, and what they are getting the loan for.  This organization is amazing and does amazing things. Please check it out and maybe even help someone over the hump.

Keep 'Em Strong Bar Bells

Since my kids have gotten over their sicknesses, finally, I have been having trouble getting them to eat.  My son has been especially difficult.  I told him that if he wanted to stay strong, he needed to eat.  To reinforce this I made a snack that was a bar bell.  I took a popsicle stick and pushed pieces of fruit on it.  At each end I stuck a large marshmallow.  He held it like an exercise bar bell, then ate it like corn on the cob.  It actually worked, holy cow!  I am still in disbelief.  Try it.

Do you have any sure fire snacks that your kids will eat no matter what?  Please tell us.

Ways to Contact Me

I would love to hear from you! 

You can always email me at momtriedit@gmail.com.  It may not be immediate, but I will answer, I promise. 

If you would like to connect with me by social media you can find me on twitter at @momtriedit.  You can also go to Mom Tried It on facebook.  I am also on Google+ under Kim Young.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

 

Kim

The Mom Coffee Break

You're at work, you've had enough for the moment and need to get away for just a minute.  Everyone has a 15 minute coffee/snack break, so you take it a recharge yourself.  So what happens if you are a stay at home mom?  Doh!  Kim (no, not me) has a great solution.  This tip seemed too good to be true, so I tried it and it worked!  Kim takes a brown paper lunch bag and puts a various games or items in them that her daughter can do all by herself.  She has put a clue in the bag that takes to her daughter through the house on a scavenger hunt that leads to a snack.  She has torn a page out of a word search book and put it in the bag with a pencil.  She has put a marker by color page in the bag as well, you get the idea.  All bags are filled with items/projects that take 15-20 minutes and are simple enough that her daughter can do them completely by herself.  The idea is to give you a break, but it actually helps them do things by themselves and builds confidence.  I tried this at home using an insulated lunch bag, since I do not have brown paper bags.  I filled the bag with blocks and a few toy animals and asked my son to build me a zoo.  Since he is three, I had to modify the concept a bit.  This kept him busy for 20 minutes!  Older children can be instructed by notes in the bag to eliminate your need to explain.  Kim says her daughter is now quick to tackle tasks, puzzles, and problems and does it with confidence.  She says she owes it to the bag projects.  Her daughter looks forward to seeing the bags on the counter and Kim looks forward to some quiet time.  Try it.

What would you do with 15 minutes of uninterrupted time?  Leave a comment and share with us.

Meat-Dirt Pile

Yes, I know.  Meat-Dirt pile, yucky sounding, but to my son it is yummy tasting.  My two kids have been sick for the past 2 weeks and both have lost their appetites.  I took cheap pre-sliced deli meat and use cookie cutters to make fun shapes.  The excess scraps I cut really small and make a meat-dirt pile and my son pretends he is an excavator and scoops up the dirt with his big scoop (his spoon).  It is pretty much the only thing I could get him to eat.  Try it.

What tricks do you use to get sick kids to eat?

Product Review: Tide Stain Release

First I want to say that I am doing this product review completely on my own because I wanted to see if it really worked.  This is not endorsed or propositioned by anyone. I bought the product myself.  With that being said...I wasted my money.  I bought the smallest sized package which was enough to be added to 10 loads of laundry.  It had a chance to impress me, but it didn't.  I might have seen a tiny improvement, but it was not worth the extra cost.  The price was $3.79 at Target which makes it an extra 38 cents a load for not very noticeable results (if even that much).  This product is just a "booster" and doesn't clean on its own.  You still need to use your regular laundry detergent.  I use Gain Laundry detergent.  When I added Tide Stain Release to the laundry along with my regular detergent I did not notice a change.  My results might have been different had I used a cheaper or less effective detergent, but I don't see myself switching detergents any time soon.  My 3 year old son is pretty hard on clothes.  He loves actually being a bulldozer and lying in the dirt as he pushes it with his body.  I am not about to switch to a detergent that "might" work.  I am also not about to waste my money on a product that I do not see results from.  I do not recommend Tide Stain Release.  I will just stick with a spray on stain treatment as needed.

Have you tried it?  Were your results different?  Please share your thoughts.  I would like people to be able to make the most informed decision possible.

Picture Perfect Postcards

In this age of internet technology it is very easy to keep in touch with friends and family, well sometimes.  My grandparents have internet, but it is dial up and it is on the world's oldest, slowest computer.  I share pictures of my family on photo share sites, but the grandparents can't (and don't) access them.  I have started putting clear Contact paper over the front of regular photos of the kids and writing on the backs as if they were postcards.  When Great-Grandma gets the postcard, she just peels the Contact paper off of the front and viola the most recent picture of her favorite (that is what I tell myself) great-grandbaby.  She can show it off to all of her friends.  It costs the price of a postcard stamp.

This works great for holidays, too.  Forget buying expensive photocards, just wait until Snapfish or Walgreens Photo has a awesome promotion. Get a bunch of copies of the photo you like the most and turn it into a postcard for family and friends.  These postcards make the best thank you notes.  You have already taken a picture of them opening that present, now turn it into the most personalized thank you note ever!  Freebies 4 Mom and The Frugal Girls will let you know when there is a great photo processing deal. This is a great way to add that extra touch to your correspondence.  Try it.

Creating with Calendars

When my son moved into his "big boy room" I wanted it to be super cute without a super price tag.  I took a lot of time creating handmade designs that my son later took down with his toy tools.  When I went to redecorate his walls I swore I was going to do it super cheap, but I didn't know how.  I remembered a trick I did when decorating his nursery.  For the nursery I bought a previous year's calendar (in the theme I was decorating in) from ebay and cut the pages out.  I glued the pages onto matte board I bought from a craft store and stapled them onto the wall.  The staples hold it up, but make very small holes.  With a new tendency to pry things off the walls with his hammer and screwdriver, I did not want to glue onto matte board and waste my time and money.  This time I just used Handy Tack and put the pictures straight onto the wall, I did not want staples on the floor if he pried them off.  I got 12 beautiful pictures (of tractors) to cover his walls and it cost me $1.00.  This is really great if your child likes licensed characters, because we all know that those cost the most to decorate with.  Check your store or online for expired calendar deals.  Try it.

What is your child's room decorated in? Share with us by leaving a comment.

Help Over the Hump

Wednesday is "Hump Day".  We all have have long days before it and look forward to the days after it.  I challenge you to help someone over the hump today.  Since I have this on the brain, give someone a cookie today!  A cookie makes everyone's day better.  If you have the opportunity today, grab some refrigerated cookie dough and make a batch.  No time?  Just buy some from your grocer's bakery department.  Keep a few for yourself (you don't have to be a total humanitarian) and give the rest to a friend, neighbor, or the mail carrier.  Try not to give to a total stranger, you wouldn't eat baked goods from a stranger, and chances are they will just throw them away.  If you are going through the Micky D's drive thru, order a cookie and ask them to give it to the car behind you.  You will make someone's day and who knows how far it will reach by the end of the day.  You will probably end up making your own day!  Try it.

Share your story and inspire all of us, leave a comment telling us what you did.

Animal Dice

We try to come up with new games at our house, some don't work very well, while others are hits.  Animal Dice has become a huge hit.  I took regular dice and put animal stickers on them.  We have come up with a lot of games to play with the same dice.  We roll the dice and see which animals match, or which is different.  We roll the dice and see which animals match by having the same habitat.  And sometimes we roll just one of them and then spotlight that animal by researching it, trying to find it (ladybug, caterpillar for example), or acting like it for a while.  It is quite fun and very educational.  Try it.
What games are a favorite at your house?  Share your family favorites by leaving a comment.

The Block Bin

Coloring time always brought a little more drama than it should have at our house.  The crayons would roll off the table and dogs would grab them.  Or they would roll off and get stepped on.  One day while my son was coloring and I was picking up blocks, I realized a great way to keep the crayons from rolling off the table.  I took one of the giant plastic building blocks and turned it over and used it as a stand to hold the crayons.  The block displays the crayons in a different way and kind of showcases them.  I noticed my son used more of a variety of colors than he did before.  I honestly think it was because he saw the colors better this way, but that just might be crazy mommy thoughts.  You never know.  ;-)  Try it.

Calling all "Green" Moms!!

These went fast.  Thanks to everyone that agreed to try it out. 
I need to find a mom that uses all natural cleaners.  I have a product that I would like to have "tested out" but I don't think it would be fair if I did it.  This product is an all natural cleaner, and I don't use those (yes, I know...bad, bad me) so I would not have anything fair to compare it to.  The product is The Grime Fighter from BabyGanics.  You can read about it here.  I need a mom/dad willing to try this product out and write a review for Mom Tried It.  The mom/dad should NOT already be using this product.  Are you interested?  Email me.  I have four trial size bottles that I will mail out to four different moms (or dads).

Sibling Savings

Another reader idea!  Hannah emailed this in to me.  To promote sharing and comradery amongst her 5 children (ages 12, 9, 8, 5, and 3) she has started a program.  Every time she or her husband sees a good deed that one child does towards another (helping them with homework, chores, or putting together a toy or puzzle) they drop a few coins in the bank.  At first they would tell their children that they were putting money in the bank, but soon after just started doing it without notifying.  You can imagine a house with 5 kids in it would have enough activity to be able to do this without anyone noticing.  At the end of the month, Hannah and the kids dump the money out and go to the grocery store.  They buy a box of novelty ice cream with the money, you know the expensive kind that normally the kids would never get.  The catch to the ice cream is that everyone has to agree on it.  With usually only 6 in a box, it can get tricky, but the kids have really learned to compromise and bargain.  Hannah and her husband said that kids will often come to them in private and tell them a deed that happened between the other siblings that the parents were not aware of.  While Hannah says that there are very much still moments of strife in the house, everyone is learning much more respect for each other and doing a lot of teamwork.  I love this idea because even the sweet reward requires them working together and learning to compromise.  Great idea Hannah, thanks.  Try it.

Power Plate

Nanci, homeschooling mom of five (ages 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9), emailed this tip.  Her house has  "Power Plate".  This plate has a wild design and does not match any of the other plates.  At every meal, one person has the "Power Plate" at their place setting.  The person that has the plate, gets served first, leads the family in saying grace, and gets out of doing dishes after the meal.  Nanci makes sure that the plate is rotated evenly throughout the family.  She has found it really helps enforce concepts like taking turns, following a leader, and respect.  Her kids love the plate and look forward to seeing who is going to get it.  Believe it or not, they actually get excited for a brother or sister that gets it when they don't.  Wow, now that is impressive!  Great tip!  Try it.

The plate shown above is from Zak!  Really cool looking products that are fun for kids and the family.

Hands On Menu

I can't tell you how many times I have made a meal for my son and when he gets it, he decides he does not want it any longer.  When we talk about the meal before I make it, he is fine with it.  While I am making it, he is fine with it.  I decided it must be when he actually sees it, that his mind grasps it better and he decides he doesn't want it.  To help with this problem I have made cut outs of food out of construction paper.  For meals or snacks I lay out different food shapes for him (ones that I am willing to fix) and let him decide which ones he wants to eat.  It has really helped me out by having the meal I fix actually be the meal he eats.  These cut outs give him something tangible to associate with his meal.  It is no longer imaginary for him.  It makes him feel "big" to be involved in the decisions, while he is actually learning about meal planning and nutrition.  Don't get me wrong, him learning these concepts is wonderful, but the best part of this is that it is a huge sanity saver for me!  Try it.

Living Room Library

I have a really hard time getting my 3 year old son to sit down and read.  He would rather run and run and run, oh and a jump or two here and there.  To get him to slow down and have some "quiet reading time" I set up our little play tent in the living room.  In the tent I put a chair along with a selection of books.  It really works and it makes reading time more fun.  We pretend we are in a teepee on the plains, or an igloo in the arctic, or just the local library.  You do not have to use an actual tent to create this space.  You can use a sheet and some furniture, or just section off an area of a room with furniture or blocks.  It will spark your kids imagination and make learning a lot more interesting.  You can even experiment with different themes to make the books come alive.  We have read books about polar animals while in an igloo in the arctic, or pretended we were in a construction trailer on a construction site while reading (you guessed it) construction books.  The picture shows that even the little ones get involved when having this much fun!  Try it.

Pizza Packaged Pictures

Now that you have displayed your masterpieces, what do you do with them when you don't want to throw them away?  Crystal, mom of 4 kids under 7 yrs old (and homeschooler), shared a tip that she uses.  Use a pizza box to store those pictures and crafts.  The larger shape can accommodate unusual shapes and thicknesses.  Pizza boxes can easily be stored under a bed or stacked in a closet.  Make a craft out of decorating each box.  This is a great way to recycle items already in your house.  A big thanks to Crystal for the awesome tip! Try it.

Freepeats

Okay, normally I will not post on Sundays, but really wanted to share this with everyone.  Are you familiar with Freepeats?  It is a great website that allows parents to give away baby and maternity stuff.  It is an awesome way to pay it forward.  This site (really a movement) is all over the U.S. and was started by Angie of Baby Cheapskate.  I have given away formula checks and diaper coupons on this site - remember I live 2 hours from the nearest "big city" this accommodates so I can't do items or clothing.  Check out this site for giving and getting free baby/kid stuff.  The membership is normally $4.95 for a lifetime membership, but they are waiving fees in September to celebrate their success!

Try it.

Mom's Museum

Well, we have had one week of Pre-K and the pictures are flooding the house.  Do feel taken over as well?  I made a gallery frame to display our "favorite" piece of artwork.  My son and I made this together.  It was a lot of fun.  I bought a piece of foamboard from the dollar store and cut it in half.  I took craft foam paper (you can use construction paper or just paint directly on it) and cut out his name and fun shapes, we used stars.  We glued the stars and his name on with a glue stick, he did that.  I also glued 2 clothes pins on with regular glue.  The clothes pins hold the displayed artwork without having to tape or glue and makes it easy to exchange pictures.  Every day Cole picks out his favorite drawing, and we display that one.  This works great to display high scoring quizzes and tests, too.  The easiest way to hang this is to use "Ticky Tack" or "Handy Tack" found at Walmart and craft stores.  Since it makes no holes, you can put yours wherever.  They are inexpensive and fun to make, you can make one for every kid to display their favorites and you won't be overloaded with pictures.  Try it.

Bathtub Barrier

When my son had just started bathing in the bathtub, he reached for a toy while pressing his hand against the side of the tub.  His hand slipped and as I was desperately trying to grab him in time, his face smacked the side of the tub and he got a small chip on a tooth that he had only had for about a month.  I was devastated!  I told my neighbor and she shared a tip she used for her grandson.  Take a swim noodle (on clearance everywhere now) and cut it to the width of your tub.  Even though they float, you will want it to fit nice and snug so it will stay in place.  The noodle creates a barrier for the toys to stay within arms reach.  Try it.

*Normally I like to show things in use, but please understand I do not want pictures of my children bathing out on the open internet.  Trust me I will show off my kids enough in posts to come. :-)

Schoolwork Saver

School has started and all of the paperwork that comes with it has started, too.  There is everything from permission slips, parent newsletters, and lunch menus to that treasured artwork or high scoring test.  To keep them from getting smashed, torn, or stained try this tip.  Get an empty chip can (you know the brand) and clean it out.  It is better to get the original flavor so you do not have to try to get out the smell of sour cream and onion.  Decorate the outside of the can with contact paper, we used construction paper and stickers.  These fit great in the backpacks and will keep rolled up papers protected inside.  Great way to save those papers and be creative.  Try it.

The Quick Cool

You can make food hot quickly, but what happens when it is too hot?  You set it out to cool or throw it in the fridge for what seems like an eternity.  When my son started eating "regular" food, I was always setting food out to cool and it took forever.  Food that is hot off the stove or out of the microwave is just too hot to serve kids.  I put a plate in the freezer and keep it in there.  When food is too hot, I take the plate out and put the hot food on it.  It cools down much faster.  I keep this melamine plate in the freezer and it works great.  I did keep a ceramic plate and it worked even better, but during one hurried meal, it slipped and broke.  It made a huge, dangerous mess.  Thank goodness this happened when I only had one kid to scoop up out of the way.  So, I recommend a plate that will not break.  This tip works great for saving time and sanity.  Try it.