Night Time Prep

A good way to make sure your day starts well and continues that way is to do what you can the night before.

• Have clothes picked and set out
• Know what is for breakfast
• Have book bags packed and ready to go
• Get lunches (if needed) packed and ready
• If there are any after work or after school activities, have clothes and gear ready
• And if your feeling adventurous, put dinner in the crock pot

You are in control of how your day goes, why not give yourself as much prep time and possible!

Going Places

Don't forget to enjoy your family in beginning and middle stages, before you know it the kids are going to be teenagers and not really want to hang out all day with mom and dad.

Fortunately, there are places around Topeka that are kid friendly and a great for making memories.

The map below offers just a few popular places my family and I like to frequent on the weekends or especially days off.

Kansas Historical Society

This is a great place for learning about the state they live in!  Also, there is an activity center for a more hands on learning about the good ol' days.

The Topeka Zoo/Gage Park

Animals are always a hit and the park and train ride are just the ticket to relax when the weather is beautiful.

Children's Discovery Center

Small fee for a fun day of hand on activities.  Here, it will be hard to run out of things to do.

Mulvane Art Museum

This is by far my family's favorite.  It's free and kind of like a hidden treasure.  Unlike the Discovery Center, this is a more quite hands on place that taps into their creative/artistic side.

Going Bonkers

The name pretty much explains it!  Great place on a rainy day and they need to get their energy OUT!

Chuck E Cheese

Fun IF you go in the middle of the day.  Otherwise it can get very overwhelming and crowded.

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Meals in Minutes

Feeding the family is really important but it's a little hard for the 21st Century Mother to find time after a long day of work, school, activities, and carpooling to fix a delicious meal everyone will love in just a few minutes.... Or is it?!

The website, MomsWhoThink is a great place to find quick, delicious and family friendly meals.  Here you can find meals in the following categories:

30 Minute Meals

Dinner Meal Plans

4 to 7 Ingredient Dinners

8 Week Dinners

Healthy Recipes

Kid Recipes

Easy Recipes

...and many more.  Remember to plan out meals, this will make it really easy to stay on task.  Planning what to make every night will help narrow your grocery list as well. Which will allow you to be more efficient at the store.  Which will allow you a few more moments to b r e a t h e !

Happy Cooking!!!

Mommy's Little Helper

If by chance you have children that do not feel like being creative for the day, there are many other things they can do to preoccupy their time.  The younger the kids, the more they like to help because they are trying to gain more independence, so start them young!  Even if they are older, there are many things your children can help you with...they are part of the family too!  Make sure they know that keeping the house clean isn't just moms responsibility, but a family effort. 

Here are some ideas for ways the kids can help out!

2-4 Year Olds
Putting away and organizing their toys
Help dust

4-7 Year Olds
Feed pets
Water plants
Dishes

8-10 Years Old
Vacuum
Dinner
Trash

11 Years Old and Up
Mow lawn
Laundry
Car wash

The most important thing is not to call them chores.  Who wants to do those?!  Make sure you let them know they are helping.  This way they can take pride in their home too!  These things will last a lifetime and help for the dreaded day the leave you and live on their own.

~*~ ARTastic ~*~

Now that the house is clean and organized lets entertain those kids! 

According to Artsz.org there are many important reasons to include art in your childrens lives:

• It stimulates both sides of the brain
• It teaches them to think creatively to solve problems
• It promotes self esteem

These reasons are enough to do crafts with your children but the best reason is the bonding time!  Especially when the kids are still young, there are many crafts and activities you can do together that are simple, fun and NON messy; like the video below.

 

Of course there are other times crafts can come in handy.  When the day hasn't left you with time to be simple, have fun, be non messy or bond, artwork can keep those little fingers and minds busy while you get other things done like dinner, homework or just a little YOU time.

For those times, the video below is really helpful.



This is a really great idea because they can make enough for the the Christmas tree so it should keep them busy for a while!

Regardless of WHY your children create art,

 the most important thing is that they ARE.

Bare Necessities!

While advice has been offered on what to do and how to do it, I thought it would be good to show you some one the Bare Necessities to make it all possible!

1. Calendar
This is vital.  Like our last few posts emphasised, write down everything here.  It keeps you and the rest of the household in the "know". Credit

2. Mail
Have a centralized place for mail, bills, card, stamps and pens.  These things do not need to take up space clutter other areas.  Keeping everything together will make it easier to find and prevent items from getting lost. Credit

3. Toys
Make sure all those toys have a place too.  All these bins are perfect for categorizing items like dolls, trains, colors, dinosaurs, animals, and cars.  This is great to learn grouping for the child and also for when they want to play with blocks, all they have to do is grab the "block" bin. Credit

4. Car

Take organization one step further to your second home.  Don't let things fall on the floor, under the seats or even worse, under your foot while driving!  Make sure everything is put away and tidy before getting out of the vehicle. Credit

5. Laundry

Even organizing the clothes will help you be more efficient when doing laundry.  You will not have to waste time sorting out that pile of clothes and you will know for sure that you have a full load to do. Credit

6. Shower

This cleaner is a must if you want to maintain a clean shower.  Just spray this all over in the shower when you get out and it will prevent mildew and soap scum from building up. Credit

7. Counters

Clorox wipes are great for wiping as you go.  You can wipe down the bathroom or kitchen sink, clean off door or draw handles and have them to ready to clean up the everyday spills. Credit

8. Magic!
If you have little ones, medium ones or big ones....you NEED one of these.  This will get rid of paw prints, hand print or any other little grimy messes that are left behind. Credit

These are the 8 Bare Necessities needed to help you on your way to organization and cleanliness.

Place. Back. Habits.

Last week it was all about making a schedule and keeping it.  This week, focus on how to become organized and stay that way.  With all the focus on the events throughout your day/week/month, it is vital to stay on top of all the household chores.  Here is a small list (that you can personalize to fit and include things in your household) of things to do to make it easier to maintain order.

• Have laundry baskets with two sides, one for colors and one for whites.  This will make it easier and not to mention more efficient to keep up on the laundry since they will already be separated for you.  Keep up with and constantly have a load in so that you will not get behind.
• Multi-task with clean up.  While you are brushing your teeth, wipe down the sink.  Make sure things are put away and and there are no spots on the mirror.  Change the toilet paper roll or spray the shower down with a no scrub cleaner.  Continuously maintain the little clean up.
• If you are in the kitchen waiting for that water to boil, wash those other dishes, you have already dirtied, by hand.  This can also help save water if you do not have to run the dishwasher as much.
• After the kids are done playing with one thing, make sure they put it away before getting something else out.  Bins that are categorized are great tools to help with this and a reminder that everything has a place.  Label them and it can also be a matching game!
• Remember if you take it in the car, you need to take it out.  Don't let the front seat be another place for clutter. 

Finally, if you can remember these three things, you will be good to go...

Have a Place.

Put it Back.

Start good Habits.