That time of year...

It's here it's really really here! Christmas season is upon us once again! I am one of those freaks who absolutely LOVE Christmas! From decorating, to baking, to family traditions, this time of year puts a big ol grin on this girl's face : ) Although, even with all the joy Christmas brings me there is always that little bit of stress that sneaks in. Usually it's the gift giving that stresses me out. I love giving gifts I just don't love the aftermath it leaves on my wallet. This year I decided to not let stress get in the way of any of our holiday happiness! This year is the first year I'm able to stay home with my little ones and truly enjoy the magic that Christmas brings. So I came up with a plan to defeat stress.

1. Create a Christmas binder to help keep me organized and stay on track with what needs to get done for the holidays. ( I will be posting about this in depth soon so stay tuned!) 
2. Simplify gift giving. Our family decided to do a "secret Santa" this year so we picked names and only have to buy for that one adult rather than having to get gifts for everyone. This is not including the kids they will still be just as spoiled as always : ) My friends and I are doing a cookie swap night instead of a gift swap. I think this will end up being more fun and save some money. A win win situation. As adults we try so hard to please everyone and make sure to give gifts to as many people as possible but when it comes right down to it it's not the gift that's important it's sharing your time and making memories that really matters. So that's what we are trying to do more of this year!
3. Enjoy the moment. I'm going to try to enjoy this season with my family and make the most out of it from decorating, to movies, to looking at lights, to reading our Christmas favorites, to finding Elfie (our elf on the shelf) every morning, etc. I want to enjoy this season with my kids while they are little and still believe and not get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas. 

Christmas is really a wonderful time of year if you don't let the stress creep in and  ruin it. Simplifying Christmas and appreciating it for what it's true meaning is what it's all about. We let the stress cloud our happiness too often and lose sight of what's really important. As a child we had massive Christmas's and yes I was always pleased to see that Santa came but it's really the traditions of Christmas that I remember the most. I want my children to remember Christmas not because of the presents but because we made Christmas magical for them. I encourage everyone to simplify your Christmas this year. Try to remember the importance of the holiday and not to get caught up in everything else that really doesn't matter in the end.

Thankful!

This Thanksgiving I find myself being overwhelmed with a sense of thankfulness. I've always been thankful for all the blessings in my life but this year just feels different. Maybe it's the love that surrounds me everyday from my two little boys who I adore more than they could ever imagine. Maybe it's the support, love, and friendship I share with my husband. Maybe it's because I was blessed with amazing parents and a sister I consider my best friend. Maybe it's my close friends who are like family and can make me laugh until I cry. Maybe it's because I'm fortunate enough to be able to be living out my childhood dream of being a stay at home mom. Maybe it's the miracles I witness everyday like my uncle fighting through cancer and being very sick but is still here today to make more memories. Maybe it's the healthy baby girl we are being blessed with. Maybe it's our home we live in. There are sooo many blessings in our lives and this year I can't help but feel like my heart is going to burst from joy and happiness to be living this beautiful life surrounded by the ones I love! I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of love, happiness and thankfulness! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

My cleaning schedule.

Being a stay at home mom has its rewards and challenges. One of the challenges I ran into was getting everything I need to done in a day. After entertaining children all day, making meals, and picking up toys it seemed very difficult to keep up with my daily cleaning. When I was working I usually spent the better part of every Saturday cleaning and catching up from the week. But my house wasn't really being "lived" in when my husband and I were both working and our kids were at daycare. Now I'm home with the kids everyday and our home is really being "lived" in. This is a wonderful thing don't get me wrong, but boy oh boy does this house get a lot messier! So now the question comes up, "where do I squeeze all this extra cleaning in?" Of course I could spend my nights cleaning and tidying up but spending quality time with just my husband is a MUST for me! So after doing some trial and error I found that dividing my cleaning tasks up throughout the week instead of trying to squeeze it all into one day was a much better way of doing it. I found a customizable printout on the web that was exactly what I needed to remind me on what days I do what tasks. Here's a look at my cleaning schedule.

The printout is divided into two columns, the left is our daily to do which is where I typed in our daily routine. This includes making beds, emptying the dishwasher, sweeping, and wiping down counter tops. The right side is where I typed my weekly to do list. This includes things such as vacuuming, laundry, dusting, cleaning bathrooms, yard work etc.

The daily to do section is broken up by parts of the day. Before breakfast is when I get myself and kids ready, make beds, unload dishwasher and make breakfast. After breakfast is when we do 30 min T.V. time, circle time, free play, quick 10 min. pick up and make lunch. After Lunch is when we bring Dyl to school then have nap time for Blake, I do my daily chore while Blake is napping and Dyl is at school, we pick Dyl up from school, have snack, and free play. Before dinner is when I allow another 30 min T.V. time for the kids, my husband is usually home by now so he takes over daddy play time while I prepare dinner. After dinner consists of a 15 min family clean up, settle down time/baths, stories then bed. Yep that's pretty much how our days run.

My weekly to do list is broken down by days of the week. Each day has a different task assigned to it.

My cleaning tasks for Monday and Tuesday. On Monday I dust then polish our furniture, vacuum and steam clean the floors, and vacuum our basement (this is where we do circle time and a lot of play time since our play area is downstairs), Tuesday is our trash day so this is more of a reminder for my hubby to take out the trash and recyclables (wink wink) I do laundry on Tuesday's and also a thorough kitchen cleaning which includes cleaning out my fridge wiping down appliances and cabinets, and also clean the microwave.

My husband has Tuesday's and Wednesday's off so Wednesday is my day off from cleaning to enjoy our family time. Thursday is when I do laundry.

Friday's are my bathroom cleaning days and I do my floors again (vacuum and steam clean) Saturday I do more laundry and clean my windows. Sunday is my day to do outside work. Any yard work that I can do without my hubby's help and I also clean out our cars. (If you have kids then cleaning out cars on a weekly basis is a must! I'm sure you understand!)

And there you have it my basic cleaning schedule. I follow this pretty religiously unless of course there is a need for the floors to be vacuumed on a day I wouldn't normally vacuum or something like that  for example. Creating a cleaning schedule and breaking my tasks up throughout the week keeps me focused on what needs to get done and helps designate a time to do it. What is your cleaning schedule like and what helps keep you on task?

The "Fisher-Price Imaginext Batcave Playset" review

Christmas is just around the corner and I'm sure if you are anything like me you are trying to rack your brains for that "perfect gift" for someone special. If I can make this decision any easier for you I will try : ) As you may or may not know I have a four year old and last year for Christmas he received a gift that he still plays with on a daily basis! It's the Fisher Price Imaginext Batcave Playset. The Batcave is basically a dollhouse for boys. It has provided my son with HOURS of good imaginative play. There are a ton of accessories you can buy separately which makes great birthday gifts or additional Christmas gifts from relatives. When my son has his friends over to play they love playing together with the Batcave! It has five stars as far as I'm concerned. We've had it for almost a year and it is Dylan's most used toy and nothing has been broken or worn. I highly recommend this toy for your preschooler!

Here's the front view (the vehicles are sold separately)

Here is a view of the back.

There are a TON of accessories you can buy for the batcave. Here is a look at a few different characters. Most of the characters come with accessories also such as, motorcycles, cars, boomerangs, etc. 

We have a large plastic bag filled with accessories.

A few accesories to unite an open space.

So as I've mentioned before our home is an open concept layout. As you walk through our door you can see into our kitchen, dining room, living room and laundry room. With kids and for entertaining I love having an open concept home. However, I sometimes get discouraged when it comes to decorating. I like everything to flow nicely, even my decor. Here are a few tips on how I decorate to ensure each room is defined but yet blends together nicely. We chose to use neutral colors for the base of our home. For example, the walls, furniture and curtains are all neutral colors. We add some color with our decorative accents. I have some maroon and green decorations throughout our home for a pop of color. I recently hemmed my curtains in our living room because they were covering our baseboard. I used the extra material to create decor around my home to unite the rooms.

Here are the curtains I hemmed. I love the pattern on them and wanted to incorporate it into the other rooms in our home.

I used a large piece of fabric to place on top of our shelving unit in the living room.

I framed a piece for our laundry room.

I used a small piece and draped it over a basket in our laundry room.

I framed another piece for our dining room.

Here is a view into our home from the door as you walk in. As you can see having a few similar accents ties the space together nicely.

Here is a view of our laundry room from the door. More of the accents are visual creating a unified space.

I love decorating and had a lot of fun creating some decorative accents out of extra fabric! What are some decorating tips you have?

A great way to organize toddler's books.

My kids love books! We read to our little ones every night before bed and often throughout the day too. This being said it's obvious we have A LOT of books! Storing books for little ones can be difficult because they want to be able to get to the ones they want to read and they do this by looking at the covers of the books if they can't yet read. This is why bookcases don't work so well for toddlers and preschoolers. If they can't see the cover of the books then they end up pulling out all the books off the bookcase and it is hard for them to put them away after. I started putting books in bins and it seems to work wonderfully! They can easily see which books they want to read and once they are done can easily put the books back. Of course we do still have bookcases so what we do is rotate the kids books from the bookcases to the bins. This allows our kids to discover "new" books (they aren't brand new but new as in different) and keeps them interested in reading.

I keep a few bins in their room and also some in our living area. I was surprised at how many books fit into the bins and how nicely they fit.

This method of storing books has been working for not only our four year old but for our one year old also! How do you organize your kid's books and keep them interested in reading?

A thankful craft...

It's no secret I love crafting with my minis! It is a wonderful time for them to express themselves and share some quality time with their mama! I wanted to teach my four year old the meaning of being thankful so I explained that being thankful for something meant being so happy you have that something in your life. I then asked him what he was thankful for and had him write it down on some leaves that we made.

Dylan glued the leaves down then we made some acorns that he also glued down.

This was not only a fun craft but also meaningful. It taught Dylan what it meant to be thankful for something and gave him the opportunity to reflect on what he is thankful for. Not to mention it warmed my heart hearing what he is thankful for! Love love love these precious moments with my kiddos! We hung his artwork on his bedroom door as a daily reminder to be thankful for all the things he loves : )

An organized entryway...

I love entertaining. I love filling my home with friends and family and sharing good laughs and food. Our home has an open concept layout which is great for entertaining, however, we didn't have a good spot for guests to place their belongings such as coats and purses. We have a coat closet but it is not placed by the entrance. Even for our family it is difficult not having "drop zone" where you can come in take off shoes coats etc. So with the holidays and holiday parties coming I decided to get my wheels turning. I didn't want to spend much money on creating an entryway "drop zone" so I searched my home for items I could use to create this area. Right by our door on the right as you enter there is a space I could use for this new entryway I wanted to create. I had a console table there which I could move to make the space more functional. Here's what I came up with...

I used an old coat rack I wasn't using and painted it the same color as our walls making it blend in nicely. Then I screwed our his and hers baskets into the wall. I slid a shoe tray under this little bench we had in our basement and voila an organized entryway for FREE!!

Our keys hang right by the door so we can conveniently put them where they belong as we walk in.

Our his and hers baskets work so well for us that I wanted to make sure they were a part of our entryway.

This bench works as a place for guests to place their belongings and it's also a great spot for my kids to sit while they put their shoes on. The shoe tray slides nicely under the bench so we can keep our boots and shoes right by the door.

I knew what elements I wanted to have for our entryway, a coat rack, key hook, his and hers baskets, a place to put shoes, and a bench. I was lucky enough to find what I needed to complete this little project right in my own home! We love our new "drop zone" and have already had guests over who love the convenience of our new entryway. I would love to hear how you organize your entryway!!!

Storing hand me downs...

I love hand me downs! Especially baby clothes because those little bundles of joy sure do grow fast so their clothes barely get used making hand me downs practically new. With two boys hand me downs are a given. I am pretty particular on hand me downs though and want to make sure my younger son still has descent clothes. This being said I try to take very good care of my older son's clothes in anticipation that they will soon be used again by my younger son. Of course some clothes get torn and stained (especially active boys clothes) but the clothes that are in good condition I save for Blake. This makes for a lot of clothes and the storing process is very important not only to keep them organized but also to make sure they stay in good shape. I was using plastic bins to keep all of our hand me downs in but before long plastic bins were taking over all our closet space and creating too much clutter. So I decided to try the "space bags" out...

The space bags come in different sizes (we used the large size for clothes) and all you do is put the clothes in the bag and vacuum seal them once they are full.  They hold soooo many clothes and keep them all air tight keeping them safe from insects and dust.

I organized the clothes by size then put a label on the bag.

They slide right under my son's bed where they are out of the way and also very easily accessible.

Space bags have made organizing and storing our hand me downs sooo simple! We just love them!! How do you store your hand me downs?

The dreaded laundry...

I want to apologize for taking so long to post something! It's been a busy few weeks but I have a lot of plans for this little blog of mine so please stay tuned! I hope everyone had a great Halloween! We had sooo much fun with the kids! Dylan (our 4 year old) was Batman and Blake (our 1 year old) went as a dragon. They had so much fun trick or treating and I think we had just as much fun! My mom and dad were able to join us and that just made their night! O.K. O.K. enough rambling, now for the topic of this post...LAUNDRY ughhhhh! Is it just me or is laundry like the worst chore EVER?! I have always had a major problem keeping up with our laundry and as our family expands so does the laundry boooo!! I have tried different methods of keeping up with the laundry but they all ended in failure : ( Until the method we are currently using popped into my head one day. With most problems that I have (and can do something about) I usually follow a few basic steps. 1. Identify exactly what the problem is. Which in this case is not so much putting the laundry in the washer and dryer but instead, folding it and putting it away. 2. Brainstorm. I usually write down my ideas. Any and all of them. 3. Then I look through my list of ideas and implement the ones I think will work best for our family until we find what works. So like I said, we tried a few different ideas which didn't work for us before trying the method that we are currently using and LOVE!! It is soooo simple but works sooooo well! So here it is our laundry system that actually keeps us on top of laundry!!

I bought these four laundry bins at the dollar tree. They fit right in our linen closet in our main bathroom (please excuse the ugly floors they are an upcoming project for us in the near future!) There is a bin for each family member and as soon as there is a full load it gets washed and dried. I take the clothes right from the dryer into whose ever room the laundry belongs to  and put it away. The reason this works so well for us is because it eliminates the need to fold and sort the clothes before putting them away. By just focusing on putting away one family members clothes at a time it cuts the "putting away" process in half! We have been doing our laundry this way for months and it is still working wonderfully for us : )  

Two little men and a princess!!

My hubby and I are, as you may or may not know, expecting our third child in March! We are sooo excited and defiantly could not wait to find out the gender of our baby. We are not so good at the whole waiting thing... So last week we anxiously went to our ultrasound appt. and once we knew our baby was perfectly healthy we wanted to know, PINK or BLUE!!! We have two little boys who we ADORE and would be so happy to have another, but I think deep down we were hoping for a little girl. So the results are in and we are happy to announce, IT'S A GIRL!!!!!! My husband had a feeling the whole time it was a girl but I thought for sure we would be blessed with another boy. When the ultrasound tech told us we will be having a girl I instantly I started dreaming of dresses, bows, ruffles, dolls and so on and so on! You see my boys are my world and I couldn't love them anymore if I tried! But knowing this is our last baby I'm excited to be able to experience raising a daughter also! My mom and I are incredibly close and I look up to her so much so it has always been a dream for me to have a daughter to share that mother daughter bond with. My older son was THRILLED because he has been wanting a sister since we told him we were expecting and our younger son is still to young to understand but I'm sure he will be just as happy! I feel so unbelievably blessed to have such an amazing husband who is already an amazing father and two boys who I love more than I think is humanly possible and now to be adding a little girl to the mix. My heart is filled with joy and I know with a wonderful daddy, a loving mommy and two of the best big brothers our daughter will be blessed as well!   So now that we know the gender of our baby the fun begins...SHOPPING!!!!

Hooked on hooks!

Hooks come in a variety of sizes and function. They are a great way to maximize your space inexpensively. Here are a few ways we use hooks to help keep our house organized and tidy.

My hubby is a "hat guy" so to keep them all together in an easily accessible place all I did was place small hooks behind his closet door and hung his hats there.

These are the hooks I used for the hats. I got them from Walmart they came in a pack of 8 for .97 cents! Now that's what I call an inexpensive upgrade!!

We have a small coat closet and needed a place for our frequently used bags and our son's back pack. The answer...well hooks of course! We use an over the door hook to keep some of our bags and we wanted to place our son's back pack lower so he can reach it and easily put it back so we used a command hook.

There is nothing worse than being in a rush and realizing it's raining then trying to search for an umbrella. To save us from this annoyance I used a small hook that screws into the wall to keep our umbrellas. I put this hook inside our coat closet. It's easy to grab on the go and we never have to search for them again.

Inside cabinet doors are a great place to keep all of those things that you use on a regular basis. We keep our measuring cups and pot holders here. Again, they are easily accessible and never get lost in drawers.

Key hooks are a must in my opinion. To create this key holder I used screw in hooks that you can find cheap at any home store and then just added the key above for decoration. If you get in the habit of keeping your keys on the hook you will never have to search for missing keys again!

Our home doesn't have a closet we could use for cleaning supplies so instead we hung this utility rack and keep everything organized in our basement stairwell. These utility racks are great because there are a lot of different hooks you can use and it's very sturdy.

My closet is pretty full with clothes so I use an over the door hook to keep my most used purses.

I love chunky necklaces but they can be tricky to keep organized so I use this key hook and place my chunky necklaces on that. It separates them and keeps all in one spot.

 

 Here you have just a few ways we use hooks in our home. Hooks are inexpensive but they can really make a difference when trying to utilize the space in your home. The possibilities are endless and we are always coming up with new ways to organize with hooks! I would love to hear how you use hooks to organize!

Just for kids!

When we first moved to our house and organized our kitchen I put all of the kid's dishes, silverware, straws etc. in with ours. Every time our son wanted to help by getting his own plate or silverware he needed our help. I got my wheels turning and thought of a way so he could easily access his own dishes, cups, silverware etc. After all we are supposed to be raising independent little people...right?! I always encourage independence it gives them confidence in knowing they can do something without mom and dad's help and it also makes our job a little easier! Yay for that!! So here's what I came up with as a solution...

We have a lazy susan which I hated using for food. So instead I converted the top shelf into our kid cabinet! I found these neat little bins from you guessed it the Dollar Tree and it nicely separates their bowls from plates.

We keep their cups, sippys and silverware in this bin.

And straws and ice cream bowls in this bin.

 By separating their dinnerware in categories it allows them to easily see and grab what they need. My older son is four and he sets his own place at the table and helps me unload his dishes from the dishwasher. It is a great way to foster independence along with confidence. We love our kid cabinet and I strongly suggest creating a special spot for all your kids dinnerware! I would love to hear where you keep your kid's plates, cups, silverware, etc. 

Fall decorating on a dime.

I love everything fall! The colors, the weather, the smells, just EVERYTHING about fall! Needless to say it would be very easy for me to go overboard with decorating for the season. As you all know we are a one income household so that means we live on a budget and I'm always trying to find ways to stretch a dollar. Here are some fall decorations that I've found for pennies!

I put together this fall festive candle by using leaves and berries that I found at the Dollar Tree. I just placed them in a vase I already had and added the candle.

This arrangement was made up by Dollar Tree flowers, pumpkins I found at Walmart, berries, and pine cones.

The pumpkins came in a large pack from Walmart I put some in the vase and then scattered the rest around my house.

This was made again by using Dollar Tree flowers and branches I found right in my yard.

Here's another Dollar Tree arrangement this time I used a smaller vase so I just cut the stems down to size.

Yet again more flowers from the Dollar Tree! This time I stuck them in a plant I already had

The small pumpkins add a touch of color throughout our home.

Last but not least you can't forget about kitchen towels. I found these at Walmart for 98 cents!!!

Without spending much money at all I put together these fall decorations that add some warm colors to our home. Don't forget to look right outside your house for inspiration. By using branches, leaves, acorns and pine cones you can get creative and make some beautiful seasonal decorations for free! How do you decorate for fall?

Toys, toys, and more toys!

Let's face it kids and toys go hand in hand. Most kids have A LOT of toys so how do we keep them all neat and organized if we don't have a lot of space? I was faced with this question so I followed these steps.

1. Assess your space. Figure out what works for your family when it comes to the placement of your child's toys. For example, do you spend most of your time in one general area? If so, then try to figure out if there is an area of that room to place your kid's toys. 
2. Find a storage solution that works for that particular space and the toys being placed there. 
3. Purge your kid's toys. Too many unused toys creates unwanted clutter. Keeping your kids involved in this process makes it much easier. Every year before their birthdays and Christmas together we go through their toys and "find new homes" for their old toys to make room for the new. We make a pile of keep and donate. I explain to them that other children will love their unused toys and they will go to good homes where they will be played with more often. Knock on wood, this technique has been working so far.
4. Get your kids involved with the new placement and organizing of their toys.

Here's a peek at our home and where we chose to place our kid's toys. I would love to hear where you keep your kid's toys.

We have an open concept home and our living room is one of the first rooms you see as you walk in so we didn't want it looking like a toy room.

We chose to designate the far wall for kids toys.

We chose this shelving unit from Ikea because it blended in with our decor and the cubbies provide a lot of storage. I have separated my kid's toys by keeping my older son's toys on top and my younger son's on the bottom. Each basket holds a different type of toy for example, cars, power rangers, blocks, etc. By organizing them like this my kids know where their toys "live" and where to put them back.

We chose to double our laundry room as a toy room. It's right off the kitchen so I can help keep them entertained even if I'm cooking. The table and chairs are not only used for breakfast, lunch and snack but also as a place to do crafts and puzzles.

We keep all of our craft supplies in the basket above the kids table for convenience.

On the opposite wall is this shelving unit. It holds my older sons puzzles and toys in the top two bins and my younger sons toys in the bottom two bins. Behind the doors on the bottom are a few more smaller bins with toys for my younger son to play with and explore.

Our basement  is unfinished but we wanted to create an area where our kids could go and expel some energy if the weather doesn't permit us to go outside. We painted the concrete walls and put a carpet down. We keep our Wii and a variety of other toys down here. My kids have a BLAST!

 

 

We like to keep our  big active toys down here.