I've been thinking about making this post for over a year now and I am finally doing it. I wonder how many of us have little tips or tricks that, if shared, would save the rest of us time or headache. I know that I often do things the hardest and most time-consuming way possible (like this intro to my post). So here is my humble list of things I've picked up from others along my way. I'm sure some things on this list are old news to you, but then again I was asked once, at the grocery store, by a young, confused college student "What is the difference between mayo and mayonnaise". I learned from that experience that not everything is common knowledge to everyone. So maybe some of these tips will help you or maybe you just aren't ready to hear it yet. :) Enjoy.
- Removing the core from iceberg lettuce. Just hold the head of lettuce "core side down" and whack it on the counter top and the core pulls out with ease.
- An easy exfoliant. Put a nickel-sized amount of hand dish washing soap in the palm of your hand and add a bit of salt. Rub them all over your hands and rinse. Ahhh...nice and smooth. (Thanks, Meaja.)
- Extra coupon power. Grocery stores and stores like Rite Aid, often have coupons in their ads. If the coupon says "vendor coupon" or "Rite Aid coupon", etc. then you can use a manufacturers coupon (found in Sunday's paper) in addition to it.
- Freeze the meat so it don't stink. Whenever there is a sweet sale on ground hamburger or chicken breasts, I buy a large amount and freeze it in Ziploc bags. Most of my recipes call for 1 lb. ground beef, so I divide up 1 lb. portions into bags so it's easier to thaw. I cut the fat off the chicken and usually put 2-3 chicken breasts in each bag.
- No more hiccups. My mom gave us a teaspoon of sugar to get rid of hiccups. It always worked, but doesn't seem so healthy. Nowadays (that's right, I said nowadays) I plug my ears and drink water. Works every time! Using a straw to drink the water makes it less tricky.
- The black-eye look is out. Have you ever blinked just as you put the mascara brush to your eye? Or has your older brother ever elbowed you while you were applying mascara just 2 minutes before leaving for church? An easy way to get mascara off your skin is too apply a little foundation, using a Q-tip, to the messy area and it comes right off. Wish I had know that years ago...maybe I wouldn't have been so mad at my brother.
- Poor little Derek whined every morning before Kindergarten as I combed his hair. I used to wet the comb under running water and drips of water always ran down his face. One day I saw my sister wet her boys' hair with an old hair spray bottle that she filled with water. Brilliant! They still complain about the cold water, but the light mist is much more pleasant than drips of water running down their neck.
- The Ped Egg is more than just a dumb name. I laughed when Dave bought it for me for Christmas a couple years ago. But the thing really works. You just can't scrub too hard...sometimes calluses are there for a reason. I was sore after the first time I used it. (Laurel, you just gagged...didn't you? Sorry.)
- I shouldn't admit this, but both my boys have learned the letter sounds from a DVD, "The Letter Factory" by Leap Frog. My mil recommends it for all her preschool students and my kids have loved it. Both of my boys knew all the letter sounds by age 3...no thanks to their mother. :(
That's pretty much my list (that would interest any of you anyway). I really want to learn more tricks from you, so please leave a comment or make a post on your blog!
12 comments:
You're right... gagging with the talk of Ped Egg!
Your last tip is a good one! We bought the kids "Letter Factory" just after Cmas like you suggested. They love it and already know quite a few letter sounds because of it. Thanks for the tip!
Wow, I will definately have to try some of these that I haven't!! Letter Factory worked for us too!! Loved it!! :)
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing! I just got a ped egg for Christmas and I'm so in love with it, I can't believe I've gone without for so long. I forgot that my feet could be smooth.
A friend told us about letter factory and my kids loved it too! My 3 year old can read phonetically so much earlier than the rest thanks to this great movie. I wish I'd known about it sooner. A couple of other great resources we love are www.starfall.com (reading website) and www.coolmathgames.com. Its weird to sometimes have my kids fighting about who gets to play the crazy taxi game that drills their multiplication knowledge.
Thanks for all of your great tips!
Agreed - "The Letter Factory" is a good resource - you gave me that tip a while ago.
Anyone who knows our mother well enough knows that she reuses everything - tinfoil, straws, Ziploc bags, and even dryer sheets. I don't exactly follow in her footsteps on this one. But, I do "reuse" my dryer sheets by using them to dust the area where I'm folding clothes - usually the laundry room or my bedroom.
For babies a little bit of gripe water clears up the hiccups right away!
Here is another tip for you. If you have some serious caked on stuff in your microwave and it is in a hard to reach place. Get a bowl full of water and place it inside of the microwave. Turn on the microwave for about 6 min. The water and steam will loosen up the caked on stuff. You may have to do this a couple of times. It really works.
Camille
I use a pizza cutter to cut my kids sandwiches or cut crust off, or even make French toast into sticks. It works a lot faster than a knife
This tip is for all the kids listening.
1) "Magic Markers" really are magic! If you take one of these, draw on walls and carpet, your mom will "magically" smile at you.
2) Putting toothpaste in your moms shoes will make your mom buy you candy.
3) Gum IS a fun toy to play with. When you get bored of it, and gum gets boring fast, just stick it on the couch.
4) Baths are for chumps.
5) Your mom is bluffing, you will get dessert even if you don't eat your dinner.
Shall I go on?
I love it! Ok...so I am getting the ped egg thing. I have been hesitant wondering if it worked or not. so now I am sold :) sorry you don't get a commission check from it :) about the water dripping down the boys neck and face... I tried the water spray bottle and Alex hated that it was cold water and it still kind of dripped.. so my silly solution to the morning hair blues: I get a washcloth wet with warm water and a hand towel around their neck (like I am going to cut their hair) and I wipe down their hair with the warm/wet wash cloth. It is so much faster than that sprayer (for me at least) and the boys stay dry under the hand towel. :)
Great post for my first blog post of the year to read :). Good idea! Here's mine. . . if you cut the onion in half first, it's easier to peel the skin off. If you go right when the meat department is closing at the grocery store they will often sell you the extra fresh hamburger for big discount. . .and they might even wrap it in 1 lb packages for you. My favorite educational website for preschoolers/kindergartners is starfall.com. Cut your toddler's hair when they are in the bathtub before you run the water.
How about a parenting post next Natalie ? :)
OK, so I'm a little slow when it comes to reading blogs! But I need to redeem myself from Heidi's shower. I was supposed to give her a great laundry tip, and the only lame, no-brainer idea I could come up with was, "Fold the clothes right when the dryer turns off...less wrinkles that way". So here goes! Keep a bottle of pretreat stuff by the laundry hamper. Train everyone to spray stains before putting the dirty item into the hamper. The stain will have time to soak, and there is a less-likely chance that unnoticed-stained clothes will go into the washing machine.
Love, Mom
(How do I get Gary's name off my comments?)
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