My 6th anniversary gifts…

So, we’ve been living in Ft. Collins, Colorado for 4 years now. We always wanted to go to an NBA game here in Denver. We are not huge fans of the Nuggets or other team, but it was something we wanted to do before we moved back to Puerto Rico (a year from now). So, this year, we decided to treat ourselves and go to the game. We had our son be taken care of by a good friend. So we went to the game and had a wonderful time (even though the Nuggets lost lol). It was something. Definitely is not the same to watch a game in the TV and watching it live. The energy of the fans was incredible as the enthusiasm. When we came back to town we stopped to have some drinks at Chili’s, and a Molten cake OFCOURSE! We had a wonderful time. And the funny thing, my husband kept joking he was celebrating 10 years (when they are really 6)!!! I wonder if he feels like its been 10 years! Am I that difficult! hahahahahahaha

So in the morning we went to pick up our son and run some errands. When we were coming home, my husband deviated from the route. I was intrigued. But in the way I notice a place downtown where you can bring your kids to get wet with some water spouts. Robert happened to have his bath suit in the car. So, we parked get Robert ready and start walking. Suddenly my husband shouted, “look Robert the spouts! we are going there!””but mommy can’t go with us”. He looked at him and at that EXACT he stopped and gave me an anniversary greeting card. Awwww. Then he said “Because mommy has to be somewhere else”. WHAT! In that exact place we were in front of a door leading to a Spa, and the anniversary greeting card was a gift certificate for a WONDERFUL MASSAGE, a WONDERFUL FACIAL and a WONDERFUL PEDICURE! And my they were EXCELLENT! The best I’ve had in a long time. It took me completely by surprise, and that is something my husband have. He always surprise me! He has always great gift ideas. In the past he has given me spa certificates, but for mothers days when we lived back in Puerto Rico. And he always do it in a way that gets me by surprise! What can I say, I’ve had a wonderful anniversary!

LOVE YOU DARLING!

What gifts have surprised you? Which have you liked the most?

Happy #6 Anniversary to Us!

Well, 6 years ago, while I was walking by the aisle the love of my life was waiting for me as I always dreamt it would be. One of the happiest days of my life for sure and now here we are. 6 years later, still at honeymoon stage. We have had our moments, ups and downs. Really UPs and really DOWNs. But we have survived and we love each other more everyday. There’s not a day, really not even when we are mad a each other, that my dear husband hasn’t made me laugh! He has the most beautiful smile that I have ever seen (other than my son) and has the best sense of humor every day.

We met each other in a Salsa Dancing class. He was the instructor and I was the 3 foot student! lol Back then we were seeing other people, but one year later we met each other again in my birthday. Ever since, we’ve been together. Is great when you can see yourself in your beloved’s eyes and better yet when you know down in your heart that you will walk hand by hand the journey of life as one, growing together, learning together, getting old together. It make your life complete. What can I say he’s been a wonderful husband, a wonderful father, a wonderful friend, a wonderful lover… I have no complains. Really, other that he doesn’t like tomatoes, mangoes or papayas, nothing! lol

I love his smile. I love his sense of humor. I love his sensibility. I love his sincerity. I love his kiddy side. I love his snuggling. I love when even in his sleep he say I love you. I love his caring. I love his support no matter what. I love he is down to earth. I love he is playful all the time. I love his silliness. I love he is hardworking. I love how he love my family. I love EVERYTHING about him.

Just some pictures of us to share! :)

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How I organize our Refrigerator

Today I was at home with Robert. When I was going to grab something I noticed I was not keeping up with the fridge! So it took me about 10 minutes to fix everything again. I do implement some tips I learned here and there (nothing my own idea) that have worked for me. So now that everything is back to normal I know what I need to shop for.

We don’t have that much space but we manage to have the essentials in place. I have read that having the vegetables and fruits handy makes it easier to consume them. You don’t eat what you don’t see. Another thing I have learned is to keep similar items together. I have two plastic boxes (shoe box sized), one I use for dressings and sauces and the other one I use for veggies. I have those two next to each other at an eye level. Right in front of us when you open the fridge. The fruits we have in an open box in the door. That way that’s the first thing you see when you open it and is accessible for Robert to pick up whatever he wants for fruit snack. The stuff we use to make up sandwiches we keep together; jam, cheese, jams and jellies all in two rows. That way when we want to do one, we know where to look everything. Instead of looking around where the needed things are. We have also have a tray (square one) with everything we need for stews (as good Puerto Ricans, we stew everything). There we have the “Sofrito”, olives, tomato sauce (that has it’s own bowl; we always use that one), and sweet red peppers.

Another things we use are the keeper bowls. These are great! There are for onions (both yellow and purple), garlic, tomato, lemon, and lime. I bought them at the local Sunflower Market store. These are great since they keep whatever is inside fresh much longer and the bowls are cute! I truly recommend them. Just Google it and you will find where you can buy them online; they make great gifts! Here some pictures :

  

So if everything has its place is better to keep organized and to notice what you need in case you run out of something! Keeping your fridge organized makes your homemaking much easier. I would love to learn tips from everybody else! What do you do? Would you share it with me? :)

Want to take a look at someone else’s fridge? lol This place is great for that: FridgeWatcher.com. Here you can see fridges around the world. Is interesting how different we all are! Let me know what you think!

Our Molly Fish: We have a baby!

Here where we live, we can’t have dogs, or cats or anything like it. The only pet allowed to have is fish. So a while ago we bought a 16 gallon tank with different fish (which don’t exist now! long story) But now we have some Molly fish and from all the ones we bought at the beginning, just two survived, two Mickey Mouse Mollies. The mommies usually have tons of babies but this one I never noticed it was pregnant. One day when feeding them I noticed a flash in the back of the tank. I looked at my self but I didn’t have any jewelry that would make such a reflection. I kept looking and there he was! One orange point in the tank! Soooo cute! She probably ate the other ones (the cruel part of Mother Nature). I couldn’t help myself and called my husband right away. When he was home with Robert we tried to look for it but it was hiding (AND MY DH didn’t believed me!). About three days after, my DH noticed it… he was so excited like a kid. He called my son and he was too very excited and called him NEMO! lol

He keeps hiding so, sometimes I don’t know if he is still alive. For some reason his mommy died yesterday so when I was cleaning the tank when removing her I moved some rocks and there he was! ALIVE! We also bought (like a week ago) two other couples and both are pregnant! I need to buy the net to isolate them when they are ready to give birth to their fries but this time I need to be looking after them to do it on time. With the sunburst ones a gravid point can be noticed in her belly towards her tail. But in black mollies! How can you notice a  black point in a black molly? lol Well, in black mollies they say they look round like about to explode and square in the belly. I’ll keep you posted. We are excited to see this babies be born! :) Not to say it has been a great exploring experience for my son, who has asked a lot of questions! :D

I cannot tell how small and tiny and cute they are. If you want to take a look at Molly Fish giving birth you have to watch this video (although this is a guppy giving birth, but is the same, they both look alike and are livebearers). Is so funny with the music! I will remind my husband to put this music when I give birth to my next baby! lol (yeah right!)

Guppy Fish Giving Birth

9 Must Have’s for First Time Mom’s

I was looking at a cousin’s baby shower and it made me thing about mine when I was pregnant with Robert. After the party was over, we got to look carefully to all the gifts. As Robert was born and grew up, I noticed that some things are definitely essentials and others don’t. I also found in the way things that were great and others I never had that I wish I had.

1. Receiving Blankets: These are great. For me they were perfect to let baby know is sleeping time. Read my post about it.
2. Microwave Sterilizer: I like this better than boiling. You can just put stuff and is ready in a zip! You can even put stuff and leave them in the microwave overnight until next day without messes over the counter.
3. Timer: Oh this is a great one. Is a great tool for everything. Is a great tool to even time yourself to do chores without overwhelming. Read my post about the timer.
4. Wipes Warmer: I wish I had this! Is cruel to wipe the babies bottom with cold one! :(
5. 2 oz. bottle: These are so cute and are a great way to control over feeding water and juices!
6. Veggies Bags: these are excellent to wrap up diapers. This way you have no more smelly trash cans! Well, now you can find mini trash bags for diapers that even come with fragrance, but I stick with the veggie ones, they are free! :) And it was funny that my DH had his special way to wrap them up. It was a complete technique I never mastered! lol
7. A&D Cream: they now even come with zinc! This cream is my #1 choice. Easy to clean up and works great! Is a must.
8. Baby Einstein DVDs: great tool to let mommy do stuff around the house while baby is entertained.
9. Nursing blankets: I wish I had these. They came out when I was not nursing Robert anymore. They look cute, come in different patterns and colors and make your nursing private and cozy for both mommy and baby!

What would you add? Some may agree with me other might not. I think is a matter of opinion and your experience. But if I were to recommend someone “must have’s” these would be the ones! :)

WHAT’S IN YOUR LIST?!

Smell the Roses: Flying Kites

STOP! at least once a week… and smell the roses. What have you done this week to stop your busy life and enjoy small things around?

On Friday we went kite flying. We visited a great park for the first time. It has a huge field excellent for sports and kite flying. It was Robert Enrique’s first time doing it, so he had NO idea how it worked. He was so excited. Although there was not much wind, it was enough to fly it for a while and enjoy some time together. We looked like kids running around. It reminded me when I was a kid and went kite flying in El Morro Fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We used to fly Gayla Kites hahahaha. Lots of memories came to my mind.

We had a great time. He was waiting for a long time to do it, but crazy weather didn’t allowed us to do it. Here some pics!

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Kids Tummy Ache: Aromatherapy solution

Yesterday night was a long one. Robert was with tummy ache and nothing else… NOTHING! Tummy aches can be signs of different things, but I suspect the cause was bad digestion. He was complaining a lot and had some constipation but he pointed to his upper stomach rather than his lower belly.

So I made up a fast lavender/peppermint mixed in some sunflower oil and rubbed his  tummy. Peppermint oil has been recommended for TUMMY ACHES and MIGRAINES. Lavender I used because it was at bedtime and the pain woke him up and he had some anxiety.  So I added the lavender so he would calm down and he did. He had a pleasant sleep although mommy was awake most of the night checking on him. Sounds familiar!? This morning he was jumping like a monkey like nothing ever happened! I can tell he loves the aromatherapy rubs I make for him for any ailment.

I certainly use Aromatherapy for us as much as I can. Is certainly a pleasant way to treat many ailments in a safe and natural way.

For those interested in using Aromatherapy in Kids, I truly recommend Valerie Ann Worwood’s book, “Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child”. Look at my Amazon Widget for it (is in the blog’s left’s column).

Have you read this?

A way to prevent and treat any flu...

Blankies and the Victory over the Battle of Cleaning them!

When I was getting out the towels for this week, I noticed my son’s safety blankets in the bottom of the face towels shelve. I put them there a while ago. When Robert’s clothes don’t fit anymore or toys are not his age, we usually ship them back to Puerto Rico with the idea of reusing with another child. Apparently I left those in there because we didn’t have enough things to ship. But the funny thing is that now that we have a box to ship I had to take them out and I felt really nostalgic. It was like accepting that another stage was gone.

Before Robert was born, I bought some receiving blankets and crochet the border with beautiful designs. I really liked to prepare them and ever since I do them as baby shower gifts. But when I was doing them I was thinking on how kids attach to their safety blankets and now I can talk by experience about it.

I loved the blankets because for us it was a “sign” we used to let Robert know it was time to sleep. The moment we put in his face (not covering it obviously), he immediately associated it with sleeping and then everything was much easier. It worked like a charm, EVERYTIME. But, how did we managed the battle to clean it? Simple, we had like 10 of them. He used a new one every week and we got him used to it since he was a baby. Period. When we put him on daycare, we told this to the teacher, to let them know that we were going to bring a new one every week, and they actually kept the same and wash it for us. So he used the same one for school but at home he still knew he got a new clean one every week.

He still uses his special pillow and teddy bear to sleep (the ones you see in the picture from this post and he is using his blankie and pacifier too), but he is over his “remonis” (that’s how he called his blankies). I miss him sleeping with them and now I feel nostalgic by letting them go.

Planning and Hosting a Party when having kids

This weekend we had a Latin Potluck party. It was crazy. But definitely food pre-prep made the day. When you have kids around and you are getting ready for a party at your house, things can get really crazy. But if you get to organize the schedule well, everything should go smoothly or at least less crazy than if you haven’t planned anything.

This past week was really hard for us, but we survived. My husband had final exam and project and I was helping him plus planning this party. But one thing that save the day was plan a menu that was pre-prep friendly. If you have a crazy schedule and have kids, pre-prepping the food can get your party going plus you get to take care of your family too. Have things you can prepare in full or partially ahead of time and freeze or refrigerate.

Steps to follow:

1. Plan the pre-prep friendly menu.
2. Then shop at your pantry. See what you have and make a list of what you need to shop for.
3. Check your shopping fliers online and see if they have those listed items on sale. Get manufacturer coupons for that list if they are available! You can save some money! :)
4. Make a list on what you can prepare ahead to freeze of refrigerate.
5. Start preparing depending on the time it takes. If you need to bake something, do that first, so while is baking you can prepare something else.

I prepared ‘sorullitos’ or in English ‘corn fritters’. These I could prepare ahead of time and flash froze then put them in Ziplocs. I also prepared the sauces that go with these too. I prepared ‘tostones’ or fried green plantains to be ready to fry. I flash froze them too and put in Ziplocs. I cut and seasoned the chicken things (I bought them without bones to make it easier) for the rice with chicken. I prepared 2 different drinks and refrigerate them. All this I did the day before at my own pace. Then on the party day, I prepared the rice and stewed beans 2 hours before so at dinner time I only had to warm it. If I had prepared the menu not pre-prep friendly, I wouldn’t be able to do it.

If you get your kids to help in whatever they can, is even more fun to do. You can plan the menu, not just pre-pre friendly but kids cooking friendly. They can help chopping, washing, setting the serving area, even cleaning around! Good luck with your parties this summer. I bet is going to be a lot of them! Enjoy your parties from start to finish!

Growing Seedlings Tips

There are some tips I have learned by reading, reading and doing more reading around the web. I bet everyone has their own tricks, and you are more than welcome to share! meanwhile I will share mine. But the main idea is treating them like your BABIES!

1. Keeping moisture: For sure if you plant seeds and water them, they will sprout. But when the moisture is kept in the soil the seeds are planted, they sprout sooner. That’s why for me the strawberry boxes and cling paper work great. Also I have used clear fruit cups on to of yogurt cups. These create like a greenhouse for the seeds.
2. Keep them warm: I have tried both methods, normal and under a lamp. When pots are under a lamp, they keep the soil warm. So if you have Moist and Warm soil, the baby seeds are going to be more than happy.
3. Water Carefully: These seeds are very delicate when they  sprout. So, they need to be watered carefully to keep the soil moist. Two things I do, I use the little cup that comes with medicines and water them carefully. Another way is to use a water sprayer. Yes! The mist is so delicate with the soil that it doesn’t disturb the seeds, specially when they are trying to “fix with the soil”. These two ways help to keep the soil moist and NOT DAMPED! Here to pictures with both methods.

These tips have worked for me. I have started my seedlings again because the ones I started back in March didn’t stand the hardening off. I can’t wait to see them grow and start my garden for this summer!

So far, my seedlings started to show up just a few days after planted. Here is one picture of one of them last night (left) and one from this morning (right). I have done all these tips. But I will keep reading for more tips to keep them safe.

Have you noticed that using the paper rolls help you keep an eye on moisture?! You can tell by looking at it if it needs water or not! :)

For timeless tips go to : Timely Tips on Starting Seedlings at Home

Starting Seedlings Again!

Oh well! Apparently my first seedlings didn’t survived the hardening off. So, I started some seeds today AGAIN!

I started the followings:

• Herbs: Thyme, Oregano, Parsley, Chives and more Basil
• Tomatoes: 2 Cherry, 4 Endless Summer, 4 Rutgers
• Onions
• 2 Cauliflower
• 6 Romaine Lettuces

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As you can see, I used what I have to start my seeds and didn’t bought  any special pots or anything like it. This way I am EcoConcious and not buy more stuff when I can use things I have around that make the job. I used yogurt cups, strawberry boxes, and normal terracotta pots for my herbs. The strawberry boxes are perfect since they have the lid that retains the moisture inside and has great drainage holes too. Inside I used toilet paper cardboard rolls cut in the middle with potting soil inside. This work as those you buy in stores. You can directly plant in the ground when they grow up since the cardboard will disintegrate in the garden soil.

Also you can observe that I used cling paper on top of my terracotta pots. This to help out the soil and pot to keep the moisture and act like a lid on top. I fixed it in place with a rubber band on top. It has worked like a charm in the past (except for the cilantro seeds). When doing this, the seeds usually sprout in a week! Otherwise they take too long to sprout…

We are cleaning up our garden plots in two weeks. Meanwhile, let’s see if these babies grow up! :)

I want to share my Garden Plot Plan. Is in Excel.

Is a 20’x 14’ Garden Plot (actually there are two in there)

Z: Carrots | LR: Romaine Lettuce LO: Other Lettuce | Cab:Cabbage

Cuc: Cucumber | HabV: Green Beans | HabR: Pink Beans

HabN: Black Beans | Peas | GARB: Garbanzo Beans

Tomatoes: Rutgers, ES: Early Summer, Ch: Cherry

BP: Bell Pepper: color coded, Green, Red, Mixed (Pink)

PH: Cubanelle Pepper | AJ: Sweet little peppers

Corn | Cauliflower | Broccoli

I will post pictures as seeds sprout and grow, as well as the garden updates! So, don’t get lost… Come back!

Busy Mom, Busy Dad, Happy Kid: Surviving Grad School with Kids

We are a week far from finishing this semester. This one has been one of the most challenging one for sure. But we survived with a busy mom, a busy dad and the result has been a happy kid. Even though having a kid (or kids) while going to grad school might be a challenge is totally rewarding!

This semester I had my Preliminary (or Proposal) Exam. It was for sure a rollercoaster of emotions. But I really appreciate two things: that my mom was around for 2 weeks to help with everything around and a very supportive and patience husband. I had mixed emotions all the time. I was relaxed one minute, and the other I was all stressed out. After my exam, all that was gone! I cannot imagine how is it going to be with my final exam! But one thing didn’t changed in all this time with stress, and it was spending quality time to with my son and paying attention to every nonsense thing he had to say! I think that paid off to survive this semester.

This week my husband needs to turn in a final homework, a project and his final exam. Yes! all during this week! I’ve been helping him around with the typing thing but he is so stressed that his immune system gave up and now he is with a cold! For sure I will be all over him with vitamin C and the Thieves oil! (not today… the humidifier is way up in my son’s closet with a bunch of stuff on top). But my room will smell like clove tonight! :)

I have found that in busy times like this, a routine is a MUST! It helps you survive any unplanned situation and stressful planned ones too. So, going around the clock knowing what to do exactly with your kids, helps you move around without collapsing in the way. It has worked with Robert and I hope it keeps working!

But believe me… is very rewarding when you stop to smell the roses! Even in an innocent conversation with my son, today we got one of the BIG QUESTIONS… “when I was in your belly, the doctor put a red medicine in your belly so I could come out through your belly button. Yeap! Just like magic!” I LOVE MY KID’S INNOCENSE. Even in stressful times you must enjoy this little moment that will never come back! “Right MOM?”

Dehydrating Veggies Results

This experiment was fun to do with Robert. He helped to peel the carrots and arrange them in the trays. He sure had lots of fun. The dehydrator was ON all night. In the morning I turned it OFF after 10 hrs of dehydration. These were the results…

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They sure looked tiny! :) Robert was amazed how all of the veggies shrunken! This was a great learning opportunity for him. It is said that you should never dispose of learning opportunities for your children, so as much as this was fun for him, he learned about water in food and how this machine helped to take it out to preserve the food.

So, I removed all the trays and put each one of them in canning jars. I bought the big  Liter size Mason Jar. They sure look empty. It was two bunches of green onions (3 ea), 3 pounds of carrots, and 4 bell peppers. Now you know how they look when they are dehydrated and how small space they take.

I will continue experimenting with dehydrating fruits. Lets see how it goes! I’ll keep you posted! :)

Right now I am using some carrot and bell pepper in a soup. I will report results! :)

Food Dehydration

I’ve been reading about food storage for a while and found lots of information about dehydrating food. A while ago I watched some videos in Youtube about food dehydration. I found a great series of videos by Dehydrate2store. They are EXCELLENT! This woman explains out of her experience. She patiently explains a lot of things that if written you might not catch exactly what is meant. I love this series of videos, so I truly recommend it!

So, I decided to give it a try given that I am planning my garden and will have lots to harvest (hopefully), so dehydration offers a great way to preserve for future use). As a mother’s day present, I bought myself a cheap dehydrator. I bought the Nesco 5 tray one. Is nice that is has clear trays, where you can see the process going on! and it was about $40 at Walmart. Today I decided to experiment. I chopped some green onion, carrots, and bell pepper and put some garlic cloves there too (just out of curiosity). I will post results.

Meanwhile, I am waiting for my son to finish watching TV and everyone to go to sleep before turning it on. This because I turned it on and is kind of noisy (a drawback for me, but what can I ask for a $40 dehydrator!)

If I really get it and find its use I might invest in a more expensive one. Excalibur is the one Dehydrate2store uses but that one is around $200! No way I am investing that kind of money just for fun.

I am grieving my garden seedlings! I am really sad!

I can’t believe it. In two week we were going to transplant our seedling into our garden. But yesterday when I got home 80% of them were dead! :( I HAVE NO IDEA WHY!

I started our seedlings like a month ago and I did noticed that they were not growing anymore! But they were watered if needed, and were placed next to my sliding door so they had some sun in the afternoons. We had chives, parsley, thyme, oregano, two types of lettuces, and onions. OH and the only tiny plant of cilantro that sprouted. The ones that survived were the cauliflower, broccoli and pepper plants, which are growing slowly but were not dead. And from the herbs, only basil survived, but doesn’t look good! What should I do?

Meanwhile I have plans to start new seedlings this weekend. I will start the same that died PLUS the tomato and other pepper ones. In two weeks we will clean up the garden and have them planted.

I am fan of the Square Foot Gardening method, so this year I am going to do it, even though I am not doing the raise bed thing. I already planned my garden. I will have two garden plots, so hopefully everything will work out. I will post pictures though!

I really miss my plants! It is sad to see the pots all empty! :( OH well!

For more on Square Foot Gardening go to MY FOOT SQUARE GARDEN site, is a really nice site. Although the site I learned all about gardening is  GARDEN GIRL TV!! I love Patty’s approach! and I love the supportive message board! If anyone is visiting from there: WELCOME TO MY BLOG AND THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

Keeping up with the Bathroom… Tips and tricks!

As many of my friends know, the bathroom is my husband’s task as  mine is doing the dishes. :) BUT to make his job easier I am the one who keeps it tidy every day AND IT JUST TAKES less than 1 minute!

So this is how your bathroom looks like when you clean it up and de-clutter it? Want to keep it like that every day? I am sure you do! I don’t know where I learned it, may be I read it in the web? Probably but what I do makes lots of sense and makes the job lots easier plus you don’t have a messy bathroom. That way you don’t have to run to fix it really quick because you know some one is on his/her way to visit you! :D

OK, this might sound strange, but when you GO to the bathroom you can evaluate what is NOT OK in it. Twisted towels? Clothes in the floor? Messy bottles in the shower? Messy bottles in the counter top? Hair Brushes or combs out of place? Waste basket out of place or full? etc etc etc! WHY NOT DO IT?

Knowing what is not OK, it literally takes a minute or two to put everything back on its place before getting out of the bathroom.

Fix the towels (30 seconds), fix the bottles in the shower (30 seconds), close the curtain or door (5 seconds), put clothes on hamper (30 seconds), put away what doesn’t belong to the countertop (maaaaybe 1 minute), put brushes away on its place (5 seconds). OH! Fix the carpets (5 seconds).

THERE! YOU ARE DONE! WHY NOT TRY IT!

IF you promise yourself to do this EVERY time you GO to the bathroom, believe me it gets easier and easier. I do it in AUTOPILOT! :) What has been the consequence, that I don’t do it that often anymore, because when other notice tidy things they unconsciously try not to mess it up!

Other tips in the bathroom!

-Clean Mirrors with vinegar and newspaper. Keep it simple and green!

-Leave a hand towel by the sink and ask everybody in the family to dry it up when they are done washing their hands. THIS IS A MUST TO KEEP UP WITH A NICE BATHROOM! My GOD in makes a HUGE difference! I taught this to my son as part of the routine of washing his hands and brushing his teeth since he was little. My husband didn’t liked it at the beginning BUT NOW that  HE IS IN CHARGE of cleaning the bathroom, HE NOTICES the difference it make. He just needs to disinfect with a wipe once a week and that’s it! Same with counter tops!

-Leave what IS NECESSARY over the countertop. Sometimes we clutter the space and that’s how it makes us feel. CLUTTERED! We just keep toothbrushes, toothpaste, liquid soap and a candle!

-Keep the shower curtain or door closed! It makes the bathroom look cleaner. And psychologically makes you feel better! You be the judge!

 

-If you keep toiletries under the sink, assign baskets or boxes to types of toiletries. For example: we have hair stuff in one, beauty products in other, and Q-tips+cotton balls+cotton pads in another. It makes it easier when you need to put stuff away!

Did you noticed how the towels are folded in the first picture? Spa like! They look awesome! You might want to check out my technique of folding towels to looks just like that !

My way to organize towels in the linen closet

Yes! I’ve been there, where you want to pull out one specific towel and the whole bunch comes out and get all messy in the floor. You try to keep up with it, but it seems like there is never space and folding them after laundry might get to be complicated if you want them to look fancy in your closet.

Well, I learned a way to deal with this years ago. And since I live in a small apartment it seems to work like a charm. Even my son can pull out a towel and the other ones don’t get messy. They look absolutely organized and in my opinion takes less space and don’t stick out of the shelve size.

The trick? HAVE YOU EVER THOUGH OF ROLLING THEM instead of square folding them? Yes! Rolling them!

Instructions:

1. First, take the two corners from the shorter side and put together with the other two corners.
2. Fold sideways corner to corner but leaving like 2” space (do not fold all the way; this is so it doesn’t have twisted messy ends)
3. Start rolling from the loose part to the end and Voila! DONE!
4. Then Stack them together in your closet.

May be some pictures might help…

Steps:

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Result: Organized and elegant looking towels in your very own linen closet!

There are 15 towels organized here! :)

Hope this tip helps someone get the job done! Let me know how did it go! 

Making it BIG Technique: how to get your kids engaged in almost everything you want…

I bet sometimes (or should I better say, all the time?) parents wants to get kids to follow instructions, appreciate something we give them, wants them to eat what we cook, pick up toys faster, etc.  Well sometimes us parents need to get creative when we try to engage our kids in what we want.

When Robert was little, we were going to feed him a hot cereal. He refused to eat it. To get him to eat,  I told him that cereal was a special one I bought for him about BOB THE BUILDER. :) He loved it and ate it all. The next time he refused again (this cereal was different), I told him that because he loved the other one I bought another one about the BACKYARDIGANS. Again, he loved it and ate it. So, this brand of hot cereal carried different types, and I bought two additional ones and named them: Go Diego and Thomas the Train. TO THIS DATE, when I am preparing hot cereal for breakfast I ask Robert what cream he wants and he still refer to them by their “special names”.

When I we give him something, we make it looks MORE than it is. For example: “Robert, I have a BIG surprise for you!” When I show him it might be a lollipop, a piece of chocolate, a small toy, but his face is like I bought a giant chocolate bar just for him. “Robert, WOW, look at that, you are sure are faster than Superman when picking up toys!” (and he do it faster). “Look Robert, your muscles are growing when you eat all your food!” (and he shows his muscles and proud face and eats all his food). “I am going to win you to put the seatbelt on!” ”You are a BIG helper, you are my FAVORITE helper!” (then he enjoys helping putting things away like groceries). “Wow! You sure get dressed faster than daddy!” “I love that toy! Is awesome, Wow!”

Got the point? When you makes things more important than they are, to their eyes they look much bigger, more important, more valuable, more special!!!

The last day of last month passed and the first day of the month arrived: the Budgeting for the month headache!

In our wildest dreams we wish money falls from the sky or grow on trees! Well, it doesn’t and my dad made it clear in my childhood that it really doesn’t. Is the product of our hard work and you need to put it to good use! That’s why we budget every cent we earn!

So, Yes. The last day of the month is a headache for us. Why? Because that’s the day we balance our budget envelopes, analyzed the past month’s expenses and create the budget for the next month. And after all the struggle trying to figure out expenses without receipts (yes, we sometimes forget to put receipts in the envelopes), we finally set up our budget for this coming month and still have money to save! Whoohoo! At least this time was less stressful with a beer and some tequila rose on the side! :)

This past month was a crazy one. My mom was visiting and she paid for many things, but we still save the receipts to know our real expenses even though we didn’t pay for them. The other expenses we did paid, and we had to move things around from envelope to envelope. Also we had unexpected expenses too, that were not budgeted, and we went overboard in one category, I guess because of the stress of the month!

But the bottom line is… we DIDN’T USED THE CREDIT CARD AT ALL! This is the 4th month without using it! We feel proud about it, because even though unexpected things happened, we had figured most of the month out and still could manage unexpected things without going into debt!

So, today, with my happy face, I will go to the bank to cash a check with the amount of money needed to fill my envelopes for the month. And I will say to the teller the same thing I say when I see her/his face when they are cashing such a high amount… “IT WORKS FOR ME!”

Extra Expenses for the month: Robert’s school registration

Want to know how we budget?

Budgeting: why we use the envelope system

Budgeting has been a key to our “survival” in difficult times. If we hadn’t learned how to do it, we would’ve been in big Credit Card debt. We use the ENVELOPE SYSTEM. This system calls for cashing the amount of money that you need for the month and allocate it in different categories. Then using Credit Card (CC) or ATM cards is not permitted since you are not supposed to need it (because you cashed all the money you needed).

The psychology behind is that using cash is that you spend less, since you are paying with physical and tangible money. When you give away a $20 bill to buy groceries it hurts more than to swipe the ATM or CC. When you notice that the money in the envelope is much less, then you will spend much less, because you cannot spend more than budgeted. With an ATM or CC is easier to overspend because you don’t set a budget for it and if you do you probably go over budget most of the time.

For us it has worked like a charm. We don’t have CC debt anymore and we barely use the ATM. This month we did and that was a great example to let us know that there is a category we need to budget for.

SPENDINGS AND ENVELOPES CATEGORIES

Bill we pain online: The House Rent and Cell Phones

Bills we pay bay check: Robert’s School and Hot Lunch

Automatic Payments: TiVo

Sinking Funds going to Internet Savings Account: Future House Down Payment (we treat it as a bill to pay in order to force us to save), Christmas Gifts, Moving Expenses (we are planning to move next year)

Sinking Funds going to Envelopes: Clothes, Auto Insurance+Repair+Maintenance (3 different envelopes), Mail, Extra Gifts. This sinking fund is not used all the time. Money that is not used is rolled over the next month.

Monthly Envelopes: Groceries, Gas, Haircuts, Dinning Out, Entertainment, Doctor, Medicines, Movie Renting, Carwash, Stipends for DH and me, Robert’s Overnighter at school. Again, if something is not used either is moved to another category or rolled over into the next month.