tips

here are a few tips that I have learned and thought I would pass on.

1)Use the hottest water out of your faucet when filling your pot to boil something. It cuts way down on time spent waiting for it to get little bubbles so you can add your pasta.

2)Call local branches- I hate calling 1-800 numbers. I almost never do anymore because I figured out that you can call your local bank (chase, Wells Fargo) or phone company. I keep those numbers saved in my phone and call them instead of waiting to dial a pin and account number and talk to an automated system about a problem.

3)Scope things out online- Ikea is one of my most favorite stores and my kids like it also but only for about an hour. So I try to scope things out on their web site first so that I dont have to run around that ginormous store hauling my kids and my wayward cart. (are those carts the worst or what?) Online you can even check your local store to make sure they have what you are looking for in stock.

4)Brown your meat when its fresh- Thawing meat is so frustrating for me when I have 1 hour to make dinner (and I dont like to use a microwave). When you bring home 10lbs of meat
from costco, take an hour to brown ALL of it with onions or whatever you like and then freeze it in freezer bags. Its so much easier to thaw and its already cooked for whatever you are adding it to.

5)Call a different time zone- Its hard for me to make phone calls during the day with my kids screaming in the background. And now that we are on the east coast it feels like everything closes by the time I get them to bed so now i just call the stores in California with questions.

5)Make your own white noise- When we move for the summer and we live in an apartment its hard to keep this place quiet while Neal naps. So I just put a load of laundry in the washer and dryer and turn them on and leave the laundry door open. And at night I run the dishwasher and all the bathroom fans. It has really seemed to drown out the music from my computer and Grace's playing.

6)Buy clothes for your kids when its the right season- I have wasted so much money buying Grace something for "next year" and then when the next year comes around it doesnt fit, I dont have anything to match it or I dont like it anymore. So now I just buy my kids 5-7 outfits at the beginning of that season and they wear them once a week. I bought Neal 4 different colors of the same long-sleeved onsie and I rotated them with different pants all winter long. It was simple and easy to keep track of. And his drawers were not full of things that he just never wore.

I bet none of this is new to you, but hey! If so, great.