Weekend Cleaning

I am so glad that I did my  weekend cleaning  a day earlier because I could have  not done it today.  We were out the whole day  due to  a  gathering held  at our church.  If you are a stay at home mom like me, I am sure that you  do clean your home by yourself as well but for those who works outside home, they sometimes have to  hire carpet cleaning durham nc to do the job for them.  It is nice when a professional does the cleaning though because they  know exactly what to do to make your whole home feel brand new.  

Goofy String

We bought a can of this goofy string at a dollar tree.  MY daughter had a blast spraying it outside.  Her enjoyment  cost only a dollar, glad there are some neat stuff that you can buy at a dollar tree.  Our kids are  constantly lolking for ways to do so we really have to  have things  to do  for  them s they won't get bored.   

FIVE WAYS TO BUILD A CLOSER BOND BETWEEN YOUR CHILDREN

Familiarity can sometimes breed contempt: if you’re sensing a certain rancour between your children, which can happen at any age, try some of these tips to build the trust between them that can support a close and happy dynamic. If your kids already get along well, these ideas will help to strengthen that bond even further.

Teach Reciprocity

Most children these days have hectic schedules with sport, dance and a host of other extra-curricular activities. Enrolling your children in a dance or sport class together will mean that they’re in someone else’s supervision, and required to cooperate. If they’re in too different an age group to do the same classes, get them to teach what they learnt in their class to each other when they come home. Even if one is younger than the other, get them to take turns to teach; mum and dad can join in too.

Get Hands On

While it may seem like a strange suggestion, from the age of about five children have the dexterity to learn massage, and you should encourage them to try it. If you’re worried about them hurting each other unwittingly, supervise them and alert them to any discomfort the other person is feeling. Once they learn what creates pain, they will learn not to do it; though practice is the only way to teach them that awareness and responsiveness. It’s also the best way to teach compassion. If you’re worried that they may try to hurt each other deliberately, massage is an excellent opportunity to work through the trust and power issues that they might have with each other. Make sure that they swap and take turns to both give and receive; both will come to realise the importance of trust in this exercise.

Share and Share Alike

Where ever possible get them to share possessions; a beloved toy might be jealously guarded, but if one sibling can show to the other that they also will take care of the object, it will increase trust and also make sharing easier across the board. And what a relief that will be to parents!

Bunk Up

if your kids share a bedroom, bunks beds are not only an economical use of space but are also lots of fun, and will be used between your kids for play as much as sleep. Check out www.bunkers.com.au/ to look at the full range available.

Get Together

Do as many things together as a family as possible; realistically meals is the main time this it’s achievable, but it’s also one of the most important times. Not only is it an opportunity to set in place healthy eating patterns and good manners that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, it’s a great opportunity to talk, to share and to listen, between parents and siblings. 

Giant Leather Cowboy Boot

I can't pass not to take a photo of this giant  leather cowboy boot when we  explore the amazing things inside  Ripley's Believe it or not in Alamo Texas.

Everyone knows that everything is big in Texas.  But this giant cowboy boot would too big even for the world's tallest man.  

Green Home Improvement Ideas

Improving your home and making it a greener and more economical space is relatively easy and won’t cost you the earth, and you won’t have to wait until a rich relative dies to get the money to do it. There are some simple things to look out for that could assist you to make changes that will be really effective. Here are a few ideas.

Seal Up Drafty Windows and Air Leaks

If your home has air leaks and drafty windows then you might be using a lot more energy to heat and cool it than what you need. Check windows and other areas for drafts by holding an incense stick up to them and seeing where the smoke goes. If it reveals a draft then you know where you need to reseal areas to ensure that you are getting the most out of the money you do spend on heating and cooling. You can save a lot of money over a year, by reducing how much you turn on heaters and coolers!

Fix Water Leaks

If you have a dripping tap in your home then you are probably wasting a lot of water annually. During the short run this may not seem like a lot of water, but over time it really adds up. Sometimes it can be as easy as tightening washers in the taps, but you may need to get a plumber in to do the work if you are unsure about how to go about doing this.

Cut Back Trees Around Gutters

Cutting back trees around gutters will assist you in having a greener home in many ways. One way to avoid costly repairs during stormy weather is to ensure that trees are kept in good order and cutting back regularly so that they do not get to the point where they can fall on your house and cause damage. Keeping trees and their leaves away from roofs and gutters will mean that you have less build up and in the long run this is an easy way of upkeeping your home. Purchasing a STIHL chain saw will ensure that you always have the right power tool handy when you need it to chop those pesky branches out of the way.

Install Low Flow Showers

If you are on tank water, or a home owner then you will be responsible for ensuring that there is enough water, or even paying for the water that is used. Installing low flow shower heads will reduce the amount of water that you are using and in the long run this can really add up to a lot of water annually that you are saving.

Buy Energy Efficient Appliances

Household appliances use a lot of electricity, so ensure that they are as economical as possible by looking for the most energy efficient ones when you are buying. Paying a little bit extra initially is worth it in the long run, when you consider that you use these appliances for years and years, and the amount of power that you could be shaving off your electricity bill.

New Eyeglasses For Us

When I was renewing my driver's license, I  needed a new pair of eye glasses since the old one I was using was giving me severe migraines already.  Hubby was also advised by the doctor to have an eyeglasses because he was having trouble in reading  small  writings.  Gladly, hubby has an insurance from  his  work that paid most of it.

We went to a local  Eye Center here in the area.  The eye doctor that attended to us was not friendly at all.  But we got our new eye glasses and that is all that matters.   The doctor suggested that I  should get the bifocal eyeglasses but I can read  just fine without an eyeglasses so I  declined.  I only need an eyeglasses to see from far distances.  

Both of our eyeglasses, we only paid $135 I think.  The insurance covered $200 and some.

5 Ways to un-hoard your House

There are some of us who opt for sparse and simple surroundings: less is more kind of people, the minimalists of the world. Walking into their homes feels like taking a deep breath. It is calming and the eye is drawn to the few well-placed furnishings on display.

Then there are the rest of us: the people who don’t throw anything away; the folk who can’t bear to part with our accumulated treasures. Walking into our homes evokes a chaotic, cosy, colourful, what do I look at first, kind of feeling. And in the case of more serious hoarders: how can I walk across this room without knocking into something?

When clutter begins to take over your home you need to do something. And what that something is depends on your personality and your circumstances. If you are an “I cannot part with it’ type of person or if you are considering moving to a bigger place, than using a storage facility is the answer for you. There are some really good options out there, like a Fort Knox storage unit, which allows you to hire the amount of space you need, for the amount of time you need, be it long or short term. You still have your stuff, its safe because of their excellent security and you have room to move in your home. It really is an excellent solution. Or you can give away or sell your extra belongings.

The most important thing you can to do is to make the decision to un-hoard. And stick to it!

Tips for pain-free un-hoarding

Un-hoarding doesn’t have to be horrible. Here are some really helpful guidelines to make the job of de-cluttering simple and relatively stress-free.

Step 1: Decide what you can do without – Take your time and think about what you use, what makes life easier for you and your family and what things you find particularly beautiful to have around. Consider getting rid of anything that doesn’t fit into these criteria. This is particularly easy if you are using a storage facility to keep your stuff and not having to say the big goodbye to it, because if you miss it you can bring it back.

Step 2: Practice having space – Try living in your space minus the extras. Simply take some of the excess stuff out of a room and put it in another room for a day or two and feel the difference. This can be a very liberating experience as you begin to get real joy out of having extra space; you may also find the room feels re-energized and more flowing.

Step 3: If you like it, make it permanent – You can take out and put back in until you feel really comfortable with the final layout of your room. Once you have the right look and feel for you, make it permanent. Sell, give away or store the items you will no longer be using.

Step 4:  Move to the next room – Once you start this process you make well find it becomes addictive. Once you have applied the principles of un-hoarding to one room, move on to the next, and the next. If you do this one room at a time, the process is less stressful and threatening. Change, one room at a time, is do-able by most hoarders.

Step 5: Enjoy your new space – Once you have finished, you will feel as if you have a whole new home. Now is the time to enjoy the feeling of having space; room to move; calm instead of chaos.

One word of warning: don’t go out and buy more clutter to fill up the empty spaces! Unless of course it’s with something you simply must have, can’t possibly do without!

Labor Day Shopping

We took the kids to the mall on Labor Day  just to let them  have some time off from  school and our ordinary routine at home.  

I am blessed to have wonderful kids who don't give us any hard time anywhere  we take them.  We rewarded them with  some  toys that  we bought from Smart Toys store.  We also dropped by at  Toys R Us to buy my  son's classmate a birthday present.  Hubby also bought me a dress that I really love!

Midol

I am one of those unlucky women who   suffers from dysmenorrhea every time I get my  monthly period. That's why I never ran  out of pain reliever   in my medicine cabinet.    I use Midol, it's one of the few that really works for my  menstrual cramps.  Sometimes, I t is not only cramp that I get but  also couple with migraine so I  am really in agony.

How about you, do you get cramps  during your period?  Do you take medicine to  relieve the pain?  

Internet-Enabled Refrigerator

As time begins to pass by, many homeowners start to get the urge to upgrade some of their household appliances. Not only will these enhancements add value to the home, but they will also increase the comfort level of the house. Here are some of the most innovative household appliances on the market. 

Internet-enabled refrigerator

Once upon a time, a home’s refrigerator was used to only store foods. Today, things have changed quite a bit. These new, high-tech refrigerators enable home owners to perform multiple activities at once. With just the touch of a button, the person cooking the meal can easily access the internet and watch television on the embedded screen within the refrigerator. 

Odor removal machines

Foul odors can stay inside of a home for weeks at a time. If the home owner does not get rid of the odor in a timely manner, then it is likely to absorb into the furniture and carpeting. This creates a potentially embarrassing situation when guests are invited over to the house. Installing an odor eliminating unit will help to ensure a fresh home at all times. Check out http://www.odorfreemachines.com/apps/home-odor-removal.html to see an example. 

Detergent-free washers

Unlike the typical washing machine that requires the use of laundry detergent, these new washers use a chemical called dihydrogen monoxide to get the clothes clean. It is a win-win situation for both the home owner and the environment because it decreases the need to purchase any laundry detergent.