Friday Favorites- February

How to really give @ We are That family

12 Ideas to keep the kids busy on a snowy day @ The mother huddle

The emergency hug @ simple kids

uh- oh's and no- no's @ babbling brook

keep the spark hot @ how does she

planning for long plane trips with kids @ Kind birds

ideas for back to school photos @ I heart faces

10 special valentines day ideas @ Zen family habits

50 things to do with your kids when it's -50 @ serene journey

Cooking for others a guide to giving sympathy meals @ simple bites

Creative pretend play props and ideas @ simple kids

Tips for dinning out with children @ simply modern mom

12 Dates for 2011

For Christmas I made cards with 12 dates for Zach and 12 Dates for Haley. This is Haley getting ready for and going on her first date, with Daddy. They went to get breadsticks and then to get ice cream.

Haley got all dressed up, she even wore her wings.

She likes to feel pretty. She was brushing her hair and dancing around before they left.

When she came home, she had a balloon. I think she liked her date.

These are some of Haley's date cards. They have pictures to describe what she gets to go do. For example, on the one with the trains we will go to the mall and play at the play place then go to Barnes & Noble and play with the trains.

The blue cards are Daddy dates and the pink cards are Mommy Dates. Then in December we will take her on a special date together. I think that especially when her brother is born she will like the one on one time a lot.

Theses are the cards I made for Zach. The idea is that we already have a plan and now we have to go on a date each month. They are mostly cheap and certainly not fancy. But I am in charge of getting a babysitter and making the date happen. Having a plan makes it much easier to stick to.

My cards did not turn out as cute as I had imagined but they could easily be spiced up with some scrap booking supplies or computer graphics. These would also make a great Valentines day or birthday gift. I think we might start doing them as a new years tradition.

Cleaning Zones -Part 2

I finally finished my chore cards. Each week I will tackle wither week 1's chore's or week 2's as well as one quarterly chore card. That gives me 5 cards with about 5 chores to do each week that I'm home. If I do that plus my daily tasks I should be able to stay on top of keeping things clean. I listed the plan in detail here.

I like these cards because they're bright and concise and store easily on my refrigerator door.

In addition to the chore cards I made a list of seasonal chores and broke them down into monthly tasks. If I have a huge list for spring cleaning I get easily overwhelmed and none of it gets done, but by having 2-3 small tasks to do each month they yearly tasks around the house will get done. Some tasks need to be done twice a year so those are listed under 2 months.

This system is new but so far it works for me.

Here is that list.

Seasonal Tasks

January

Deep clean fridge & freezer

Self clean oven

February

Deep clean rugs, carpets, duvets & futon cover

Wash pillows and stuffed animals

Wash and clean all Reusable bags and luggage bags

March

Smoke detector batteries (DST)

Summer prep- rotate clothes and bedding (swim suites and jersey sheets)

April

Clean trashcans & outdoor furniture (including grill)

Clean off patio, porch & garage

May

Book & magazine purge

Dust all books & clean book shelves

June

Clean out clothes storage containers & purge clothes

(Put pins on hangers to mark what has been worn in 1 year)

Wash windows & clean screens

July

Wash doors, light fixtures, fans, etc.

Clean washer &dryer

Replace all filters (fridge, AC, vacuum etc.) & clean vents

August

Wash curtains

Dust photos & artwork.

Clean & organize storage space (basement or attic)

Wash and clean all Reusable bags and luggage bags

September

Mop under furniture, including closet floors

Dust walls and baseboards

October

Rake Leaves,

Update CD and DVD collections (purge & alphabetize)

November

Smoke detector batteries (DST)

Change out baking soda in fridge and freezer

Winter prep- rotate clothes and bedding (scarves, hats & flannel sheets)

December

Purge & organize craft supplies

Clean out and organize all storage closets

Purge files

What do you do for your chores? What am I leaving off of my list? or how can I make the system better?

Little Red Wagon

For Christmas Haley's great grandma and grandpa (Mom mom and dad dad) got her a wagon. While she was napping one day her uncles laughed at me while I assembled it in our living room. ( I felt so hand putting it together, even if I needed a little help getting the wheel caps on- hey, strong brothers have to be useful for something)

When Haley woke up from her nap she was excited to have a new toy to crawl into and explore.

When the weather warmed up a little the next day we decided to take it out for a stroll around the block.

Haley and her doll had fun getting carted around. Haley was ready to pounce at any moment.

It was a fun outing for all!

(made even better by her cute pig tails)