Meaningful Birthdays

I try to make my kids' birthdays memorable, even if they're still so little that they may not remember. Someday they will... when they start I'll be ready for them!

Last week my daughter turned four. On her birthday evening, as I have the past four years, I composed her birthday letter. Her birthday letter is a one or two page account of the past year. I told her how much he loved watching Scooby Doo, some of the things she says often, and the fact that she learned to swim underwater this summer. I figure by the time she's an adult, a package of birthday letters will be something really cool to have.

Something else I like to do for my kids is make their birthday cakes. It takes me weeks to figure out what I'm going to do, and then usually the better part of a day executing it. I have to say that they usually don't turn out quite like I envision them, but this year Avery's cake was pretty close. We had her first real birthday party this year, and I was proud when I saw a mom or two sneak a cell phone pic of my cake. I'm also getting better with working with fondant and all my frosting tools. Trust me, the day before I was more than tempted to call Walmart for a last minute cake, but it was big and beautiful and tasted great. The party was good too, and at the end of the day yesterday I had a very happy three, er, four year old. Happy birthday to my Avery Rose.

Easy Way to Earn a Few Extra Bucks

My husband once told me about a friend of his who was committed to picking up every coin he saw. At the end of a year, he was surprised to find how much money he actually made by simply bending over and picking up change. I have the same philosophy with some of my online endeavors.

I came upon BeRuby.com a few weeks ago. It is a portal site that leads you to the sites you visit often (twitter, gmail, google). Every time you log onto beruby.com and then click on your mail icon or google icon you make a penny or so. So now, rather than clicking on my gmail icon to read my email, I click on the beruby icon, then click on my gmail icon. It takes one extra step and I can earn a penny or two when I do it. In the few weeks I've been there I've made nearly $5.

They also offer percentages back if you use some of their links to purchase things online. So, for instance, you want to send flowers to your aunt you can go through beruby and get 5% of your purchase right back. Over time, this can add up!

You can also earn a dollar for every person you have sign up UNDER you up to $5. Then you make a percentage of everything they make. So, the bigger your network, the more potential you have to make money.

So, as far as I can tell it's definitely worth trying. There's nothing to download and I haven't gotten any spam from them.

Here's my referral link.. I'd love it if you signed up and used it!

http://us.beruby.com/promocode/u8KyZU

Vocalpoint: Awesome Coupon Source

A few months ago I signed up at Vocalpoint. It's a place where people come and give their opinions of different products. They will also occasionally send you really nice coupons for free products.

The first set of Vocalpoint coupons I received was six coupons for Rice Krispies. One was for a free box, outright and there were five more for a dollar off each. I hit our local supermarket, which was having a sale on Rice Krispies for $1.50 a box. I walked out, completely giddy, with six boxes of cereal for $3.

Since then I've received similar coupons for Kashi cereal, Pantene, and most recently for Dole fruit jars. One coupon is for buy one get one free, and there are five more $1 off coupons.

Since signing up I haven't received a lot of spam from them (I think I'll get maybe one email a month), so they won't clog your inbox or spambox with anything.

It doesn't take long to sign up and you can save tons of money while stocking your pantry. Click here to register.

Save Money on Herbs

I love having an herb garden. There is nothing better than fresh pesto, rosemary potatoes or sage-stuffed roasted chicken. Each spring I plant herbs and each spring has me out in the garden wondering which of my herbs survived the winter and while I'll have to replace. Last year I got lucky and my thyme and sage survived while my rosemary and oregano bit the dust. This year I'm doing something different- I'm starting cuttings inside this winter.

I've started lots of plants this way. I have a plant of my great grandmothers that I'm scared to death to lose, so I have started that one over and over for fear I lose one. I figure starting new herbs will be similar.

Start by clipping the herbs close to the ground.



Bring them inside and clear the lowest leaves. Leaves left on the stem below the water level will just rot and hurt the chances of your cutting producing roots (which is the goal).



Place the cuttings in water on a sunny windowsill. Over the next several weeks, they will produce roots. Fight the urge to clip and use them during this time! When spring comes, the plants will have enough roots so that you can plant them outside.



Buying fresh herbs to plant in your garden every year can become costly (at $3 to $5 per plant). Starting your own will definitely save you money.

I've pictured rosemary here. You can also do this with the following herbs: lavendar, lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, tarragon and thyme.

Reminder: Do Something For Yourself

All mommies tend to put everyone first and when you work outside the home, your boss is just another someone in that line of people who need something from you. When you are working full time, want to maximize the amount of time you spend with your kids, keep your home organized and dinner on the table it's often difficult to find time for yourself. However, it is so important to do. I've heard Dr. Phil say a number of times "if momma ain't happy, ain't no one happy." Whether or not you like Dr. Phil, the saying is quite true.

So, try hard to find time for yourself. If your spouse can watch the kids while you go out for an hour or two, have him do that. Perhaps you have friends that wouldn't mind you dropping the kids at their home (maybe someone in your shoes with whom you can later return the favor). If you have no one to help you watch the kids call in sick one day (or take a personal day), drop the kids at daycare, and spend the day alone. You can shop, go to a show or just lay in bed all day reading a book. Recently I joined a gym and get up in the morning at 5 am so I can run for an hour before I go to work. What a difference this has been making to my mood (and my waistline!).

It's often tough to give yourself permission to take time alone to recharge, but remember how important it is. Every time I do something nice for myself, I'm a much nicer person to be around.

Blessed are the Cheesemakers

Several years ago a friend of mine showed up at a party with a selection of cheeses he'd made. They were delicious! I tucked that back in my mind as something I'd really like to try someday.

Well, that day came this weekend. I went onto eBay and found a 30-minute mozzerella cheesemaking kit on auction and ended up getting it for about $6.50 plus shipping. It was enough to make thirty pounds of cheese. It also sounded like something fun for my daughter to help me with.

We started with a gallon of whole milk straight from the supermarket and followed the directions exactly. I'm sorry to say I don't have photos (next time!) but it was super easy and definitely something we'll be doing more of. My little girl loved helping me. It was pretty safe for her, because the temperature of the cheese doesn't get much above 100 degrees. I told her we were making a surprise and she didn't figure out what we were doing til the end.

The cheese was (yes, was... we ate the entire batch- about a pound or so) delicious. It's absolutely devine when it's warm. I look forward to making another batch or two to freeze, and to use on homemade pizza. And I'm planning on starting to bid on a hard cheese kit from eBay soon.

Costwise... it cost me about $0.50 per batch for the materials plus the cost of a gallon of milk (less than $3). When I buy mozzerella balls at Sam's it costs me at least twice that, and the homemade tastes so much better. Not to mention we can make this into string cheese, which can be very pricey for what you actually get.

Cheesemaking... definitely a money saver and a fun thing to do with your kids.

Multitasking at Bathtime

One challenge I often face is justifying taking time to clean my house when I get to spend so little time with my kids. I work all day... all I want to do is come home and spend time with my family, not clean my house. At the same time, I like a clean house- so it gets tough.

A couple years ago, my daughter was taking a bath and I was just sitting on the floor reading the latest issue of Bon Appetit. I looked up and was grossed out at how dirty the mirror was. So, I got up and cleaned it. Then I cleaned the sink, vanity and toilet too. It honestly took me ten minutes! By the time I was done, my daughter was finished with her bath and I left the bathroom very satisfied that I'd killed (or cleaned, as it turned out) two birds with one stone.

I do this routinely now. I think of little ways I can spend time with my kids while I'm doing chores. In fact, last night while I was cleaning her bathroom she told me a very interesting story, so I had a little free entertainment!

Save Money AND Clean Green

I embrace green cleaning whenever I can. There are a few things I'd rather use a stronger, disinfecting cleaner on (e.g., toilets) but whenever I can I use natural ingredients to clean with.

I've done most of my cleaning these days with white distilled vinegar. It doesn't smell great, but the smell dissipates rather quickly and the fumes aren't as harsh as bleach-based cleansers. You can also add a little lavendar or tea tree oil to your cleansers to give them a better smell and more of a disinfectant property. I also love the fact that it's SAFE for my family. I can clean the tub with my green cleaners and don't have to worry about not getting all of the cleanser out before the kids' next bath.

Another benefit to using vinegar to clean with is that it is CHEAP! You can purchase a gallon for about $2 and it should last you weeks.

In case I've convinced you to try cleaning with vinegar, here's a simple way to clean your bathroom vanity (or any other surface). I like adding baking soda because it reacts with the vinegar to produce a fizz that seems to lift the crud off better. Plus, it is slightly (but not overly) abrasive. Another plus- it's cheap too.

It works best if you put a 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water into a spray bottle. You can purchase these for about a buck apiece. I keep my baking soda in a bottle too (buying a shaker bottle for this is on my to-do list).



Sprinkle baking soda over the surface you wish to clean, then spritz it with the vinegar solution. It should fizz for a few minutes.


When it finishes fizzing, rinse it clean. I like using microfiber rags because they're really absorbant and do not leave lint behind.




There you go! Cheap clean and easy peasy!

Saving Money with Castile Soap

Oddly enough, I am quite picky about handsoap. I like the foamy stuff better than the gel (I feel like I am using less I think!). I also do not like to use antibacterial agents. Not only are the unneccesary but they're bad for the environment. Soap, water and a bit of scrubbing is all you need to rid yourself of bacteria anyway.

Having said all that, I have a money-saving tip involving handsoap.

I simply re-use foam dispensers I got from Bath and Body works and fill them with Dr. Bronners castile soap. Castile soap is a type of soap made from olive oil rather than animal fat, so appeals largely to vegetarians. I like it because it has so few ingredients and is SAFE. Bonus... if you ever buy a bottle of Dr. Bronners, you'll have a hoot reading his label, found here.

It's important to dilute the soap. The bottle costs between eight and nine dollars but it ends up worth it. Trust me.

Once you start drawing air from your pump. Add the soap.




Add about this much. Top off with water. Viola!

The Monday Blahs

How does that old song go? Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.

It's tough getting to spend the entire weekend with your kids, only to have to send them off to daycare on Monday morning while you drag yourself to work. Granted, the weekends aren't always dreamy- I think because they are a little disruptive of everyone's routine- but I think we all love family time.

So, what are ways to make Mondays seem less sad?

Talk to your kids about the fun you'll have at the end of the day together. Ask them what they think they'll be doing during the day. Talk about your weekend, asking them what their favorite part was. It's not even too soon to begin thinking about what you want to do next weekend.

If your experience is like mine, however, your kids will not mind going back to school. They have more friends, more toys, and honestly probably more fun. I think *I* am the one with the biggest problem.

So, what do I do? On Mondays I try to download any pics of the kids or our time together over the weekend. I also have a digital picture frame (GREAT Christmas gift for the weekend homemaker, by the way) that I download some of those pictures onto. All day the pictures of my family flash up and make me smile.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not always sad to return to work on Monday. But some days are worse than others. Just knowing that we'll all be together again very soon usually goes a long way to making me feel better.

Hang in there, fellow working moms!