Kids Archives | Kuball's Khaos

Practical Tips for Stress-Free Back to School Shopping with Middle Schoolers

Lyn — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 17:02:08 +0000

INSIDE: FIND SOME PRACTICAL TIPS FOR STRESS-FREE BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING WITH MIDDLE SCHOOLERS IN TOW. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday we were getting the smallest Kuball child ready for Kindergarten…and NOW – she is going to middle school??? Obviously, we will need a LOT of good vibes sent our way – because now we have 2 GIRL middle schoolers…..do not weep for us, just check in now and then and make sure they haven’t overthrown the parents!!! Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Those funds help keep this site alive and kickin’ but it doesn’t cost YOU a thing! Click here for the full disclosure. Getting middle schoolers ready for school seems like life or death. If they don’t have the right clothes, backpack, and shoes; they will DIE! Supplies The easiest, smartest way to shop for school supplies – Target’s School List Assist. This revolutionary way of shopping for school supplies has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years! Two things my kids will not pick using this method – backpack and pencil pouch. WHY you ask? I don’t know. I don’t ask too many questions – I tend to get this “boom-bastic side eye.” Thanks TikTok! Pencil pouches are WAY cooler on Amazon. Back packs Y’all I give up. I think every year, if I spend a little bit more on these things, they will keep them longer. FALSE! That is soooo NOT true and couldn’t be further from the truth……UNTIL – they found the BEST backpacks EVER! Meet Vera Bradley XL Campus bag – AND guess what – 50% off right now!!!! Then there’s the fjallraven kanken backpack – this one has a laptop compartment. The last one of note – Herschel’s Classic Backpack – inexpensive, holds plenty internally and even has 2 water bottle holders. ***UPDATE: Our school district decide to go with clear backpacks this year….never mind the “forever” backpacks I bought last year…..gotta start over. Thankfully, there are more options today than 14 years ago when Liam had to have one in Kindergarten. Check out these options for clear backpacks – Under Armour to the rescue – solidly built, different colors, and has a laptop sleeve. Click here to order. Of course, Vera Bradley and lululemon have clear options of their well known backpacks. But lululemon is TOO expensive for my blood – and the clear packs aren’t always available. You can tell by my above comments that I LOVE Vera Bradley bags. My kids beat their bags – and these ones have been the only ones to hold up – so click here to order the clear version. Highly rated on Amazon? Yes, sometimes that is all you need. Click here to order. Clothing Clothes just get more expensive as they get older. I’ve preached this for years – do not spend all of your money on Fall clothing! There are 4 seasons and the children will need shorts and pants with long sleeve shirts and jackets. Younger kids are ok with Target $5 pants etc…..middle schoolers not so much. The bonus is they don’t grow quite as fast so clothes last a LITTLE longer. Enter – SHEIN, Stitch Fix, Amazon, and Hollister. Shoes I don’t suppose it comes as a surprise but I like one stop shopping. Hence, shoe shopping at Rack Room is what I do! Buy one, get one 50% off allows for sneakers and dress shoes, if that’s their thing. The other bonus to Rack Room is Free coupons after purchases. SO – you could buy one pair now and use the coupon in the future to get even further savings. Hope this helps you has it has helped us….stay sort of sane during back to school shopping with our middle schoolers. Happy Shopping,

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How To Turn Your DISORDER Into ORDER In 4 Easy Steps

Lyn — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 00:30:00 +0000

INSIDE: WE TURN A BOY ROOM FULL OF DISORDER INTO ORDER IN 4 SUPER EASY STEPS My nephew might be the cutest little guy in the world (I’m sure everyone sees him this way, it is NOT my bias). But he has made a mess for the ages! My sister is a busy, single mom with a limited budget and this room has just gotten away from her. So I (and some helpers) have come to the rescue to do a boy room makeover for the record books. Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Those funds help keep this site alive and kickin’ but it doesn’t cost YOU a thing! Click here for the full disclosure. Current Situation: I don’t think they have ever thrown a toy away….what do you think? Quite simply, this picture is the definition of DISORDER. A small mess that doesn’t get taken care of right way…it becomes overwhelming and then you just close the door instead of tackling it. Well, turning this DISORDER into ORDER in 4 steps was my mission! What we had: What we needed: Thankfully, we have amazing parents and they ALL donated to the cause!!!! The bed was part of a no longer used room in my Mom’s house. The dresser was a find on Craigslist but made-over by a our stepmother. Like all declutter projects, we start here: 1 – Clear the clutter and PURGE Before we got there, I had my sister talk to my nephew about kids that were less fortunate than him. They want toys too, and if he isn’t going to play with them….he should give them away. He agreed so when we got there, we went right to work. We pulled out the things that were in the way, but he wanted to keep. And then the real work started. We made a donation bag, a trash bag, and ONE giant keep bin. Donations – any toys that weren’t broken got donated. LOTS of “baby” toys! Trash bag – we found broken crayons, action figures without hands….it didn’t seem right to donate those….. Keep bin – I was so proud of him! We got almost everything in ONE bin. And there it is. 2 – Clean A quick trip to Target for Swiffer Dusters, Mrs. Meyers multi-purpose spray, and Windex. Of course, that is not ALL we bought….but I had you going for a second didn’t I??? We cleaned off the bookshelf, overhead fan, and gave the night stand a good scrub! Once we removed the bed, we vacuumed the carpet, baseboards, and corners to remove any rouge cobwebs. 3 – Fix up the “keep” items The bookshelf was in good shape. The plastic drawers got a good scrub, and we put them in the closet for future use. The nightstand?? It had seen better days…..after cleaning it with Mrs. Meyers... I grabbed some flat black spray paint and went to town on the nightstand. And I’m kicking myself because there is no before picture of the nightstand. Here is the finished nightstand in his new room – 4 – Replace like things together We needed to bring in the new furniture for this to happen. BUT……first we took all his clothes out of the old dresser and laundry baskets. My sister went through them deciding what could stay and what needed to go. She put them into the NEW dresser in an organized fashion. He has too many pants (in my opinion) but I wasn’t going to fight that battle today! I’m not going to show you the dresser yet…….. Once the mess was fixed, we could get the room decorated. Want to follow the transformation? Come see related posts: Just start somewhere,

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Challenge 2020 – 12 Months of Giving

Lyn — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 23:00:00 +0000

Last year, I challenged you all to a more organized home….it was a lot to take on, I know! BUT – didn’t it feel great? Well, challenge 2020 is 12 Months of Giving. Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Those funds help keep this site alive and kickin’ but it doesn’t cost YOU a thing! Click here for the full disclosure. Declutter your home while donating to those in need. Let’s take each month and challenge ourselves to removing it from our home and giving it to those who need it more. We will start here: January and November – Food Find your local community kitchen using this website – Food Pantries You will find your state and city – each city will have a list of food pantries. Connected to that are websites that instruct you on how to donate. Donations are usually accepted during certain hours and a list of what they DON’T take will be on the site. No donation is too small. The great part about food banks is they give things to people based on their family size. Don’t be afraid to give away ONE can of something you won’t use….someone will use it. The other option is to give to your local homeless shelter. This is a little trickier. They are VERY limited on what they will take because one box of cereal won’t feed everyone…….. February and August – Clothing If you spend each weekend in the month of February and August cleaning out closets and dressers, by the end of the month I am willing to bet you have at LEAST 2 trash bags FULL of unused clothing…in ALL sizes! Here is where some research might be needed on your part for our Challenge 2020 – 12 months of giving. There are plenty of organizations that help get clothing to people in need for cheap. Goodwill stores, Salvation Army, Rescue Missions…..but most of these places CHARGE for the items. If you want totally free – do your homework. Check out this website – Money Crashers – they have a list of nationwide clothing donation sites. March – Towels Donating to a local animal shelter is a good way to offload some of those not so needed towels. You know the ones you got for your wedding that don’t match your style or the 45 extra beach towels that you’ve accumulated over the years. This is an ultimate list of things your local animal shelter always needs: Want to find a NO-KILL shelter to donate to? Check out Best Friends for all the shelters in your area. ***Update – obviously 2020 has become a WAY bigger challenge to most of us than we could have seen when starting this Challenge 2020 – 12 Months of Giving. I did not follow through on several of these months because of this pandemic. BUT – maybe that should be the bigger reason to continue this challenge!!!**** April – Books I know, I know…..how many of you read physical books these days? I know I don’t very often. BUT – there is nothing like having a book on the beach….and I DO live at the beach…so I have some. I’m sure if you thought about it, you do too, especially to continue our Challenge 2020 – 12 months of giving. And then there is the kids……have books they don’t read anymore? Too young for the growing kids? Give them away! Sure you can give them to your friend’s kids….I know I loved when people gave me books for my kiddos. But there are other options too. Check out these places to see if they would like your books: May and December – Toys In this house, we have short attention spans. Meaning – lots of toys we “have to have” for Christmas end up being dust collectors by Spring. So…twice a year I go through bedrooms and the toy/playroom and find a bunch of things that my kids have outgrown. Instead of giving them to Goodwill……are there places that could use them….for free? June – Dishes I know that plates and bowls are not replaced every year, but if you have 5 pie plates? Do you really need them ALL? Or maybe you bought the newest Pampered Chef – if you have that one….why do you need another? July – Personal Hygiene I have this co-worker that takes every hotel shampoo and soap, every time she goes anywhere. She donates those items to our homeless population. AND let me tell you, they are SUPER grateful for those items. How many of you go on trips and bring your own personal care items? I know I do…except maybe body soap. So, is it wrong to take the shampoo and bring it back to our homeless? I don’t think so. So where can you donate personal care items? Let’s check it out: September – Home Decor If you can’t find a way to upcycle your furniture for yourself or someone close to you, consider donating it. Of course, pillows and appliances certainly apply as well. Make sure you call before you haul appliances though, some places will NOT take appliances. Here are some ideas to get you started: October – Warm Jackets and Blankets I picked this month to go through your jackets and blankets because it isn’t quite panic time in many parts of the country. We know that it will get VERY cold, VERY quickly. Going through your closets (and the kids’) to find jackets and blankets BEFORE there is a huge need makes more sense…to me anyway! Jackets are usually used for one season in this house. The kids grow so much from one winter to the next. And honestly, the jackets are kept in pretty good shape. I always offer them to friends first. But I’ve found that the older I get, the more I notice the kids at school getting out of the car with NO jackets!!!! Therefore, here is my list for giving jackets (I’ll get to blankets in a minute): Ok, now let’s talk about blankets – so many people need blankets. There are the usual places – homeless shelters. In general, just find a homeless person and give them a blanket. They aren’t going to turn it down. But there are some places you may not know need them: The bottom line is – don’t throw away those “less than” perfect blankets. Don’t give them to Goodwill – Give them away for FREE to people who shouldn’t have to PAY for them. Catch my drift???? Finish the year strong – November and December – Food and Toys/Books Like we did the previous months of our Challenge 2020 – 12 months of giving, keep in mind that these are the months that families are struggling to keep the lights on while figuring out how to play Santa. I read an article that said the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots campaign will take “gently used” toys. They give them away in a different way than the “new, unwrapped” toys. How do you feel about this challenge? Can you do it? Something specific each month of the year, declutter your home and help someone in need…..sounds easy….right? Let’s do it!!!! Let me know what your ideas are!!!! Happy Giving,

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Craft Room Makeover

Lyn — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 13:30:00 +0000

Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Click here for the full disclosure. I used to think having a craft room was something only my Grammy could have. In her room, she had her sewing machines, paints, wrapping paper, yarn……GOD I could go on and on….that woman was DEFINITELY where I got my crafting gene from. But in her room – all of us felt like we were professional crafters. (Whatever that actually means!) SO – if we want one, shouldn’t we try to make one? My kids and I agree on this – YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As my kids get older, they have less of a use for a toy room and more of a need for creative spaces that allow them to make messes art. It was easy to convince them to convert the toy room into a craft room. Since I just did a laundry room makeover, I can’t spend more money on this project. I need a BUDGET – a REAL one! Not something that I kinda have an inkling of an idea of. I need a price and that’s all I can spend. How about ZERO DOLLARS??? Let’s talk about what I already have in the room. Ikea storage drawers and cabinets Bookshelf Target bin organizer Elliptical (HAHAHAHAHA – it has more dust than the laundry room did) TV/gaming consoles Sewing machine Loads of plastic bins filled with useless toys Stained rug Actually, there was a desk in here but the boy child stole it for his own room….so I need to figure out what I can use instead! With the kids on board, I sent them to the room with garbage bags and told them only to return when they had thrown away all their toys. HAHA – 5 minutes later – 7 year old is in her room with the toy she thought she “lost forever” and the 9 year old begging for me to come help her because “its just so hard to throw away toys.” SO let’s begin our craft room makeover – Remove AND Purge We did these together this time because it was MUCH easier to go through as we were moving things. 2 trash bags full of broken toys – Buzz and Woody would be so sad! But Mama was happy because the kids are finally beginning to understand why less is better! As we purged, we put like things together. Barbies together, games together, Build-A-Bear….the list goes on, but you get the picture. Rearrange Since this is a loft area, we are not painting it (the man cave is next door) until we’ve all agreed on a color – which will be never. I drew out what I thought would be a good design, but as I got moving…things changed a little. We got the nix on buying a new desk for me…..but we grabbed a table and chairs for the girlies. I also decided to get the elliptical out of there. However, I don’t really have another place to put it yet…..now it’s sitting in the man room bothering hubby. Oops! We moved some shelves over to make sure we keep it neat. Too much open space is asking for trouble. Organize Since we already had a lot of storage options in this room, we just needed to make the most of what we had and keep like things together. We got rid of the “baby” books and the “baby” stuffed animals. And started using the Ikea towers for useful things. We placed puzzles, board games, barbies, and LPS’s in the drawers and that gave us room for our plastic bins. Paint and paint brushes along with drawing supplies are now housed in these plastic bins (which were lost under the previous rubble.) I was able to move all of my sewing stuff into the white tower. I forgot I had all that fabric. Guess I should probably do something with all of that. I had a lot of help on this project….I think a certain little person who just turned 10 wants to use it to paint until her little heart is content! Now we have to come up with a place to put their art work. Wanna see before and afters??? I don’t like the carpet, but it serves a purpose and will stay for now. Stay tuned for the wall art…..I promise I will come up with something. Do you have a craft room or a toy room that needs a makeover? Will this craft room makeover help you decide how to get started? Happy Crafting,

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Kids Bathroom Clean Up

Lyn — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 15:30:34 +0000

INSIDE: LONG OVERDUE KIDS BATHROOM CLEAN UP WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK I am not going to lie…I don’t pay any attention to the kids bathrooms. Which is not smart because it also serves as the guest bathroom. Therefore, it is time for a kids bathroom clean up! The oldest kid is old enough to pick up after himself and no one else uses his bathroom. The girls have a Jack and Jill bathroom that guests use. Well, I have neglected it for several years for several reasons BUT today we tackle the issues and start planning a new decorating scheme. Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Those funds help keep this site alive and kickin’ but it doesn’t cost YOU a thing! Click here for the full disclosure. When we bought the house, we loved the idea of the girls having a bathroom in between their rooms AND separate sinks. I envision teenage years with LESS drama. The thing is….I never painted or hung a picture…I know you are shocked. I’m not really sure why I put off decorating rooms for so long. I haven’t done my own bedroom either….I’m a procrastinator, that’s why! So each girl has a sink and vanity in the main part of this bathroom. The toilet and shower have a separate smaller room with a door. The vanities are a problem. We have these lovely ladies that come every other Friday to clean the house. They literally move anything in their way and hide it in a drawer or cabinet. Well, this is what happens when they do that in little girl’s bathrooms. And the drawers aren’t much better. They gave up on trying to find anything in there. It was getting frustrating. They claimed they didn’t have enough toothpaste and hair ties, when I knew I just bought them some….it was time to take their bathroom back! Like every organizing project – 1 – Remove all items and PURGE! Empty bottles of hair spray, mouth wash, and shampoo were kept under the sink. There were cups and washcloths all over the place. So many useless things…in the trash, washer, or dishwasher. 2 – Organize like things Hair things in one place. Teeth things in one place. And so on…. 3 – Clean Wipe all sides of the cabinets and drawers with Mrs. Meyers. 4 – Replace Put everything back as you organized in step 2. Remember, it has to make sense to the user. I asked each girl how they wanted to organize their things. Of course, they needed a little guidance but they did a great job! We took a quick trip to The Dollar Tree and grabbed some plastic bins, organizers, and shelving separators and put them to work. I’m really proud of the girls and the end products. They picked some items at The Dollar Tree to use in the future…”like for hair dryers and curlers for when I’m 10.” Before and after: And now, they are ready to have a real bathroom. They want paint and mermaids, pictures and a real towel rack, AND rugs that match. It’s not too lofty of an idea. But I can’t keep all these things in my head anymore. So – I had to make a design board. I know, weird, right? But I found an app that helped me organize my thoughts with their thoughts and then I could get the end product that everyone was going to be happy with. I think we are getting somewhere with this. The cabinets are scratched and I really want to try my hand at painting them (even though there is a naysayer among us). If we stick with a gray, then we can match the master bath cabinets….yup, yup…making sense? The shower curtain and rug are currently in the bathroom. We want to keep it because it isn’t too kid-ish and incorporates all their favorite colors. I decided that I dislike painting. Probably why I let Kris do it most of the time. So….this is my starting place. More to follow. Sometimes cleaning and making things more organized can lead to bigger changes. BUT you have to start somewhere. Happy organizing,

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3 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Clean Up

Lyn — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 16:30:38 +0000

INSIDE: 3 WAYS TO TEACH YOUR KIDS TO CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES….THANK ME LATER! Have you created monsters? Cause I have… And now they need to be taught how to clean up after themselves! My kids want to help me organize. We go to Target or The Dollar Tree and they ONLY want things that will help us organize (not really – they also want the dumbest toys I’ve ever seen but that’s not the point today) which is wonderful except I’m not sure they truly understand the meaning of organize…. Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Click here for the full disclosure. Those funds help keep this site alive and kickin’ but it doesn’t cost YOU a thing! This is what they did to “organize” our family office – They took “organizing tools” from all over the rest of the house and unorganized the office. So, how can I make them understand what organization ACTUALLY is?? I’m going to use the same ideas that keep me organized – the magical 3 ways to keep clean up easy Time Management Organizing isn’t just putting stuff in its place. It is figuring out a system that works for YOU! Because each of them is their own kid – time to rethink how we structure THEIR time at home. Ask yourself: Kids are on their best behavior for 7-8 hours at school, sometimes they need to get the wiggles out. Older kids need this too, even though their wiggles look a little different. The point is let them decompress, if they need to. If they do better finishing homework immediately, then have them do that. Again, each kid has different needs. The next part of this is keeping them on task. Use timers to keep them focused. If you say, you have 30 minutes to “play” and then you have to sit down to do homework, set a timer. Stick to it. Then make it clear that they can go back to playing as soon as they are done with homework. If they drag their feet, they are wasting their own time. NOT YOURS! I came up with these cue cards to serve as reminders. Now they won’t forget what they need to get done after school – Cleanliness Being clean is SO different than being clutter-free. It is extremely important to teach this to children. Cleaning up after themselves involves more than tidying up. Teach them: Giving them chores they can understand will help teach them how to be clean. Creating age appropriate tasks that they can achieve BUT also see the importance of keeping it clean, like the toilet….I thought everyone understood why that thing needs to be clean…..apparently, it is not COMMON sense. Again, cue cards to help them remember – Proper Places I can decide where everything goes in my house, but if it doesn’t make sense to the “OWNER,” what good is it? However, there are a few “rules” to this process: So learn to embrace how the kids organize their stuff. Teach them to keep like things together and let them do it. They do not need expensive organizing “tools” to make this happen. The Dollar Tree has some great options for keeping things corralled without breaking the bank. Using these tips, I took back the office. I went through everything they “organized” and here is what we ended up with: I needed to come up with an idea of how to disperse the things I removed from the office. Here is my solution: They argued, said ‘we’ll do it later,’ and even went to hide. After about 10 minutes of these shenanigans, they both sat down and went through the boxes. They were amazed at the things I found. I heard a lot of “Oh thank you Mom for finding….” They do not always follow my suggestions for cleaning up. I have to be consistent with telling them to pick up and clean up DAILY!! It’s just as hard for me as it is for them. It’s all a work in progress. And teaching your kids to clean up after themselves with help you keep your sanity too! Do you have to teach your kids to get more organized? Are they clean? Do they leave a trail of messes? Happy Organizing,

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How to Remove Candle Wax from your walls, carpets, and warmers

Lyn — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 02:05:52 +0000

I am sure you can all agree….candles are a joyful part of the home’s decorations and scent. BUT what happens when its accidentally knocked over by a small child or a large dog? I am convinced that wiping it up immediately is sacrilegious or something. Because no one ever tells Mom when it happens. They get the closest older sibling and hope that child can figure out how to best cover it up. Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Click here for the full disclosure. For example, a Scentsy plug-in was recently elbowed by a small person. Instead of getting me to help, my middle child decided that she would just turn it off and tell on the culprit when I finally noticed it (several days later). Another situation, dog gets pushed into another Scentsy plug-in and the OLDEST child merely unplugs it and moves it to a different outlet. 🤦‍♀️ Well, I have to determine the best way to remove the wax the walls and carpet. The wax is already dry so I cannot just wipe it up and hope there isn’t a lot of residue….it’s too late for that option. I think we will do this MythBuster’s style 🧪 . I will read an anecdote, try it out, and give you proof (or lack thereof) in pictures. Hair dryer The idea for this method came from Cleanipedia. And a million other places…..but the idea is that you reheat the wax, slowly with a hair dryer, and wipe it up with a paper towel. You know, like you would have done if you had known when it happened. Ironing This method came from This Old House. Apparently placing a towel over the wax-laden area and running the iron over it will make the wax adhere to the towel….however, I guess we should use a paper towel because if it were a cloth towel, we’d be back to square one…right??!?!! Scraping This scraping idea comes from Healthy Home Cleaning. She says we should use a stoneware scraper to remove the wax. Well, I don’t have a Pampered Chef one, but I have one for the Lodge Cast Iron stuff we have, this exact kit in fact. Dissolving Today.com says that we can remove candle wax from fabrics, such as clothing and walls by rubbing with nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol. I used all my nail polish remover during our spa day at the Beach House a few weeks ago and have not replaced it yet. SO – I will use rubbing alcohol. Cotton Balls I think the best part about candles and Scentsy is that we can change the entire mood with a change in the wax smell in our home. So what do you do when you are tired of the current smell? Removing Scentsy wax from a Scentsy warmer is actually easy….wish I had known this a long time ago….but that’s ok. While the wax is still hot (warm) and the warmer is still on, place a handful of cotton balls in the warming plate. Overall, I would say that all these myths have some level of truth to them. Some of them MUST be used as part of a step-by-step process. The only fail (and maybe it’s different for clothing) was the rubbing alcohol. It started to strip the paint, and even some of those reference sites recommended using rubbing alcohol to clean off the residue – I don’t recommend that. Scraping worked but it could not get all the pieces up. However, I imagine using ONLY the hair dryer on those larger puddles would take time. SO good combo for the floors for sure! Nonetheless, I cleaned up 3 messes I’ve been putting off for a LONG time…now I know – it’s actually easy! My MythBuster’s episode is complete! I hope it helps you. Even if you just try one…..that means you are cleaning up a mess…just sayin’. Happy Clean Up,

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Every parents worst fear…lice!

Lyn — Sat, 11 May 2019 12:30:57 +0000

**Warning – long post ahead** Today was no different than yesterday except one thing….every parents worst fear….LICE!!!!!!!!! I picked the kids up at 5:59pm. Literally one minute before after school closes. I knew I was going to get an ear full from both girls! 😤Work was busy and time had gotten away from me. Thank god Kris has handled dinner all week….or we’d all be eating cereal for dinner! As I pull in to pick up the girls, the curbside pick up guy greeted me with a weary smile. I said ‘cheer up! It’s almost Friday!!’ He said ‘I need to give you a heads up about something….’ Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Click here for the full disclosure. I brace myself for something like your kid is a jerk or has a hole in her head or got in trouble for being rude but what I got was ….’we’ve had an outbreak of LICE!’ I thought ‘oh ok no big deal.’ I said, ‘what does an outbreak mean?’ He said ’15 people were sent home including 3 adults.’ 😳😳 Back story Let me back up for a minute, I have a younger sister and younger brother. None of us ever had lice. I chalk it up to being greasy whops. Whatever, I can call us that….you CANNOT! So my medical career has taken me into some pretty strange places, and I’ve seen lots of cases of lice. Infestations, mild cases, over-reactive parents, over-reactive hairdressers, not responsive enough patients….there are all kinds. None of that prepared me for this past winter. I got a note home saying ‘a student in your child’s class has been diagnosed with head lice…take precautions…blah blah blah.’ Not my kids! We are too greasy. Plus I spray their hair with detangler every morning, and we don’t shower every day yet. They are FINE! Right???? NOPE! She came home the next day scratching like a crack head, and apparently, her teacher noticed too. She was sent to the nurse to be checked. Got the all clear….but her teacher (who knows what I do for a living) said ‘have your mama check you.’ So like a gorilla mama, I checked that child’s head. I saw nothing. The next morning (it was a weekend THANK GOD!) I was doing homework, and she said ‘my head really itches today!’ I look again and notice the tell-tale sign – red, irritated scratch marks behind the ears. Crap! I still don’t see live bugs or even the nits. Until she starts to walk away, y’all I freaked out! I caught that bug in my fingers and smushed but inside I was screaming!!!!! Not my baby!!!!! I ran to one store and bought the last box of treatment…went to the next store and bought their last 2 boxes….and called my mom!!! MOM – buy your drugstore out please!!!!! When I calmed down and realized that I knew what to do and that my child needed me to reassure her that she was going to be ok (really my mom had to tell me to calm down and relax about 45 million times). I thought about how those 2 drugstores could be almost out of lice treatment. Obviously, there is an outbreak. OMG what if it’s some super strain and I can’t get rid of it?!? Calm down…..she needs you. I checked the smallest baby and she was good. But I’m paranoid now…so I decided to treat both of them. I am a medical professional and believe in science. I went for the chemicals!!!! Yup, the organic eating, organic gardener went straight to chemicals! I knew by my reaction that I could not afford to have a house full of these frickin things! I explained what we were going to do to the girls, and off we went. We spent the better part of the afternoon combing out their hair with that tiny nit comb. Overall, I found only a few live bugs and some nits on one kid. The other was fine but glad I treated her anyway. I stripped beds, washed pillows, sprayed couches and car seats. Now I looked like the crack head. The worst part was I couldn’t help but look at the child’s hair. I was constantly on the prowl for bugs. It was disturbing, and I’m sure it has scarred her for life. 2 days after the initial treatment, we combed again. I found nothing. Phew!!! 2 days later combed some more, still nothing. On the 7th day we retreated her hair. It is what the manufacturer recommends, so there has to be science behind it. Still no bugs! What a relief. Current situation In January, I started putting tea tree oil in their detangler to prevent any future issues. So imagine my gut-wrenching when I heard him say those words!! ‘We have an outbreak’ while I’m running late and having no desire to be anywhere but my bed….🙄 Please don’t do this to her……..Not again!!!! She said she was checked and cleared. Phew 🤦🏻‍♀️ but like a mother gorilla, I had to make sure, I had been here before. So every day for 3 days I picked apart her hair looking for signs….🥺 Still nothing. 5 days after the initial ‘bad news,’ we got THE news. She was checked again, because 29 people had confirmed cases….yes I said 29….crazy…they found teeny tiny live lice and a few nits. OH GOD! I stopped and got more chemicals…..went home and immediately pulled out my gorilla instincts. Even though I still saw nothing……….I treated her. What harm would it do? Well, there were 3 tiny bugs and maybe 10 nits. So we caught it REALLY early! Thank goodness! But she couldn’t go to school, which meant mama had to stay home with her. This leads me to my current frustration Treatments – if your kid has LIVE bugs or NITS…..they need to be treated……………not with mayo, vinegar, or garlic! Use medicines! I’m not saying use the strongest, most potent stuff, but these bugs have been around for 10,000 years! They aren’t going to go away easily! I’m sorry…..I don’t want to put chemicals on my kids either BUT I don’t want them to lose sleep, infect their friends, or miss days of school for something that can be PREVENTED and TREATED! Pyrethrum is actually safe. There are a TON of studies online that prove it has low toxicity to mammals and it highly effective in killing louse. READ THE DIRECTIONS! Dry hair, apply in sections, add water when finished to create a lather, THEN rinse. NO more than 10 minutes! COMB – I know, it’s easy to put the chemicals on and be done. But that isn’t the end. You HAVE to comb the bugs and nits out of the child’s hair. Yes, it is time consuming (and to some gross) but it is a necessary part of the treatment process. Launder – Wash all sheets, pillows, bed spreads, and stuffed animals in HOT water. No special laundry soap….no special cycle….JUST really HOT water! Lice die after 5 minutes of exposure to heat of 129 degrees. Clean – DO NOT spend your life’s savings on cleaning supplies. Just vacuum, launder, and if it can’t go in the laundry, zip it up in an air tight plastic bag for 2 weeks. Lice die after 2 days without human blood. The 2 weeks is overkill but better be safe than sorry. Hair brushes/combs – These need to be cleaned too. DO NOT forget them. Pull out all the hair FIRST!!!! HOT tap water mixed with the lice treatment soap in the bathroom sink will do the trick. Let them soak over night, rinse and air dry. Isolation – Do NOT send the kid to school or day care if there is an active infestation. I get that it is a pain….you want to treat them and move on, but you need to be sure they are not going to infect their friends or re-infect themselves! This might mean a day out of school or work. DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE! Even though the American Academy of Pediatrics says it is NOT necessary….I promise with the amount of selfies and hugs I’ve seen in these kids….keep them home. Just ONE day! Kill the bugs, remove the nits, and move on. We all need mental health days anyway. RE-comb – every 2 days….AT LEAST!!!! Wet their hair and get that nit comb out! You will find dead bugs and nits….they need to be removed or the infection will continue. RE-treat – 7-10 days later…..do it all over again! You might not see anything but that doesn’t mean a microscopic nit isn’t in there….DO IT AGAIN! Now I am wondering…why?!? Why do we have lice? Why does it continue to affect our children? Well, after hours of research (and subliminal scratching my own head) the answer is simple….they are worse than cockroaches. Scientists have carbon dated lice back to 7,000BC?!? Mummy’s have been found with lice and nit combs. So….if they’ve been around this long, chances are they aren’t going away any time soon. What’s our next move? Prevention!!!!! Ok – my tea tree oil in the detangler isn’t a horrible idea. And a very wise lady told me hairspray or mousse in the hair will prevent them from sticking. I sprayed the tea tree oil detangler AND hairspray for 5 days (post outbreak) and it still happened! A friend, who’s child was also a victim of this outbreak, had been washing her kid’s hair with that special lice repelling shampoo….it didn’t work either!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY?????? There is NO scientific proof that tea tree oil prevents lice. There is a SMALL amount of scientific evidence that supports lice dying when exposed to the combination of tea tree AND lavender oil. BUT no one has a way to prevent them. So……..let’s think about this. My greasy head, tea tree OIL, lavender OIL, coconut oil….all these “home” remedies have ONE thing in common……..SLICK HAIR! If they can’t grab the hair, they can’t lay their eggs. NOW we are onto something. How do you keep your hair slick enough that lice can’t attach but not so greasy that you look like you belong on Jersey Shore? Since I already have detangler with tea tree oil, maybe I will add lavender and mint…..I’ll see how this works. Then maybe I’ll market it…..stay tuned. The next part of prevention is NOT sharing articles related to the head. I have preached and preached and preached some more about not sharing hats, scarves, headbands, ponytail holders, brushes, etc…we don’t try them on in stores, and we don’t share them! So how does the head to head contact happen?!? They don’t fly or jump….so….stay away from everyone? No hugging your friends? No selfies…..Yeah, good luck with that! I knew I didn’t like hugs for a reason! Get out the Aquanet!!!

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How to Make the Most of Teacher Appreciation Week

Lyn — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:00:41 +0000

INSIDE: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK EVERY YEAR! I love my children’s teachers. AND I tell them every chance I get! WHY??? Because they are helping mold my children….this is a HUGE job. They are underpaid, under-appreciated, and I’m sure not all parents are thankful for their help. Dumdums! Well, this teacher appreciation week we did something special! ***Special edit: This was written before COVID – and ladies and gentlemen – I feel this MORE today (3 years post-COVID) than I did in 2019**** Having said that, the school sends home a list of things you “can” do for the teachers. However, I do not have time to make something everyday for them. I am busy….and I can only do so much. Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Click here for the full disclosure. Those funds help keep this site alive and kickin’ but it doesn’t cost YOU a thing! We got cute teacher cards last week while we were out collecting Mother’s Day and all those birthday cards….from guess where?!?!? Target! Teachers are always needing extra supplies. They spend a lot of their own money on pencils, tissues, hand sanitizer…so…I always buy 2 bottles of sanitizer when school starts for each class. But by the time school is almost over….tissues is a favorite. I think both girls teachers asked specifically for tissues. So tissues they got! But that’s not fun so we threw in a cute little fruit infusion cup. Of course, we can’t add fruit…that would be gross…we went with the next best thing…. The chocolate filled cup, tissues, and card thrown into a bag with tissue paper! BOOM!!! Be kind to your teachers,

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School Picture Ideas

Lyn — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 01:00:57 +0000

Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Click here for the full disclosure. How many of you have a pile of school pictures that you have no idea what to do with? Well, today I have some school picture ideas for you! Personally, I feel like a failure when it comes to showing off the pride of school pictures. You feel compelled to order them, because you want to have memories of each year…..yet, you NEVER give them to family and you don’t have enough places in your house to display every picture school takes (especially when they do fall AND spring pictures). So I’m trying to figure out the best way to display each year’s school picture without overwhelming the walls, desktops, and entertainment center shelves. Ask the kids. Do they feel like every picture needs to be prominently displayed forever? Mine said, “No just until the next one comes around.” Pick ONE place. Does every person that enters your home need to see these pictures? (Pizza delivery guy???) My opinion is NO! My close family and friends that come INTO my home should see my precious munchkins. So I will pick a place that is not in the direct line of sight for everyone that knocks at my door. Matching frames. Do they need to be matching? Honestly, I don’t know. If you are hanging them on a wall, it might be cool to have different sizes, shapes, colors etc…displaying them on a desk might call for matching. What I do know is Target has great deals on multiple packs of frames if that is what you choose. I think that in the grand scheme of things, displaying each year (or season) of school pictures is plenty. The kids feel special, you feel like a good parent, but the decor of the house isn’t totally thrown out the door. I decided to continue with the idea of displaying them in the office. To be fair, I already have a plan for a photo wall of their little lives….so….don’t be too sad when you see what I’ve taken down. Drum roll please. Wait…..it’s nothing major and maybe that’s more the point. Quick changes can make a world of difference!!! Just do them. Making these small changes made the room look more like home AND it forced me to clean off the bookshelf. Maybe that was my kick in the ass to move to this room next?!? We never painted it because it was the playroom for so long. Recently, we moved the playroom upstairs and made this the home office. Fortunately, this room just needs a coat of paint and a little bit of organization. Just do something,

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