No-Slip Dish Towels

Sometimes, Martha Stewart is a genius!  This is one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas.

We hang a dish towel on our oven door - right at kiddos level.  One of the biggest problems is that the towel always ends up on the floor right in front of the oven!

Sewing a strip of velcro has solved that problem!

Now the towel doesn't slip!  Now - can Martha figure out how to help my kids use the towels that are already out instead of just grabbing a new towel?  By the end of the day there are sometimes up to 5 towels on the floor!  At least they are washing their hands, right?

Link parties I participate in: A bowl full of lemons, Be Different Act Normal,  Blue Cricket Design,Carolyn's Homework, Craft-O-Maniac, I Heart Naptime,  Lolly Jane Boutique, Ninth Street Notions, Serenity Now, Sew Chatty, Skip to my Lou, Someday Crafts, Tatertots and Jello, Thrifty Decor Chick, Today's Creative Blog

Chore Charts - MacDougall Style

I have gone back and forth on chore charts - I"ve tried so many things.  In the end, it seems that I always just end up doing things myself and try to avoid the fight.  This year, though, I knew with the arrival of the upcoming baby, I was going to need the kiddos help.  I figured it was better to start this now and have it well established by baby time.

I started with this:

 spent 

Source: blogs.babble.com via Laurel on Pinterest

This is a Modern Toddler Chore Chart and it was perfect for my 4 year old.  I have to write in lines so that she knows exactly where to put her stickers.  This is perfect for her - she is expected to make her bed, get dressed, clear her dishes from the table, brush her hair, and clean up her toys.

I looked and looked for something for my older kiddos and ended up having to make my own. I am not a graphic designer and there are such cuter ones that could be made, I'm sure.  I did it up all cute in color and sent it off to my printer (AKA - Tom's office) and he couldn't read the fonts.  So, I print it off on our black and white printer each Sunday.  This is what works for us.  

 I customized a different chore for each day.  These include putting clean clothes away, emptying the dishwasher, vacuuming the family room or the bedroom, etc.  On top of their daily chore, they are also responsible to make their bed, practice the piano, do their home work, and all toys must be picked up before the end of the day.

At the end of the week - every square must be filled up to pick out a treasure from my treasure box.  If they missed one day of making their bed, they don't get one.  It is tough, but I've stuck to my guns.  G. was making his bed about 10 minutes before bedtime last night so he wouldn't miss a day.

The treasure box is just filled with treats - right now there is a lot of Valentines Day candy in there.  My oldest loves squinkies and my son loves food.  It is pretty random and really nothing special or expensive.

On the weekends, we have more thorough chores.  And it works best if we just ask them to help us out by doing this or that.  Our kiddos are still young enough that I have a lot of control of their schedule.  We just say after breakfast it is time to do our chores and work together to get the bigger stuff done.

We've done this for 2 months now and I'm surprised how motivated they are to fill in a sticker.  I have had to remind G. to check his charts and there have been times when he has told me that he would rather not do his chores and doesn't care about any incentive.  It is then that I pull the "well, I don't feel like doing my responsibilities either today, so are you good to make dinner?" card.  I know the way to G's heart.

I'm not sure how long this new system will work, but for now - it's awesome.

Link parties I participate in: A bowl full of lemons, Be Different Act Normal,  Blue Cricket Design, Craft-O-Maniac, I Heart Naptime,  Lolly Jane Boutique, Ninth Street Notions, Serenity Now, Sew Chatty, Skip to my Lou, Someday Crafts, Tatertots and Jello, The Real Housewives of Riverton, Thrifty Decor Chick, Today's Creative Blog

Weekly Pinterest

I noticed that Cheryl at a pretty cool life has done some posts on how Pinterest has effected her week!  I think it is a brilliant idea for a post and have done the same thing!  I love pinning away, but I try to only pin ideas that I will actually use and not just dream about.  Well, there is actually a lot of dreaming but I like to think of it as practical  dreaming :).

Thanks to Pinterest, I've done the following this week:

• Added a pin button to the bottom of my posts thanks to Julie Ann Art.
• Cleaned my Dyson - thanks to Ask Anna

• Organized my Christmas wrapping paper using toilet paper rolls, thanks to this pin:

Source: Uploaded by user via Laurel on Pinterest

• Made Orange Pull-Apart Coffee Cake - thanks to the Whimsical Cupcake.  I stayed up until 10pm (practically the middle of the night at our home) to finish this and my pregnant body could not thank me enough!

If you'd like to see what else I'm pinning - please follow me here!  Happy Friday!

Organizing Tip - Using Velcro

How did that little break go by so fast?  My husband and I took a little trip to Phoenix in the middle of September.  Also, we just returned from a week in Washington DC with the whole family!  So so much fun - but travel can make things a bit busy, you know?

Anyways - almost all my drawers have little compartments to organize the contents of the drawers.  Usually, though, they aren't an exact snug fit and when the drawer gets open and closed, the little compartments move around:



This is my sewing drawer - it is home to all the supplies I need for the current project I'm working on.



This is solved by simply using Velcro!  I use the sticky back Velcro.  I stick both sides to the bottom of the container, then stick it to the drawer where I want it to go.  Then, I pull the container up and the bottom of the Velcro stays on the bottom of the drawer:



Can you see that little Velcro dot?

Quick fix - under 10 minutes and the problem is solved!  No more sliding around.  It stays put!

This is especially handy with the drawers the kids use a lot - in the kids bathroom, or the silverware drawer .

Just thought I'd share!

PS - winner of the Braced-lets is Lauren at Simply LKJ  - email me at laurelmacd@gmail.com with your shipping info!

Schoolwork Memory Bins

Our kids have been in school for over a month and I'm finally updating their schoolwork bins.  I thought I would share, but since I'm a little protective about my kiddos names, you get to see the backside.  Rest assured that the bins are properly labeled!  I thought I had already written a post about this years ago, but I can't find it.  I think it was a guest post somewhere else.  Sorry if this is old news to you!


I have three of these bins, even though my little one isn't in school yet.  There is nothing fancy about them - they are just hanging file bins.  I chose legal-sized hanging files.  When my kids are little, the artwork they bring home is bigger.  A letter sized file wasn't going to do.

Each file has the grade and the teacher's name.  On the front of each file, I glue a picture of the first day of school.  I also have them write their name and glue that to the front (but I peeled it off for the picture).  I'm not a huge saver, especially when it comes to school papers.  I. is in 4th grade and she has only filled up about half  her box, maybe a little more.  I'm hoping that these will definitely last through elementary school and then some.

My girls get bows and my bow gets a belt - G. doesn't do bows.

These have worked so well.  It is easy to file papers, it is easy to get papers out and look at them.  We keep these in the basement.

This is how we conquer the school work papers.  There are a lot of papers that we look at, give high fives for, and then toss them in the trash - a lot!  My daughter is a gifted artist and makes beautiful drawings, but there is no way that I can save them all!  She makes at least one a day!  She's getting old enough to help me edit them.

How do you organize your children's school papers?

Organizing Tip - Snack Bin

My kids need to bring a snack every day to school, and like every good mother, I make my kids responsible for getting their own snack.

To make it easier, we have a snack bin.  I throw away most of the containers that snacks come in.  I dump the granola bars straight in the bin, I put the applesauce cups in the bin.

What isn't already individually wrapped, I wrap for them.  I buy a lot at Costco.  When I get home, I separate them into snack size bags and throw those in the bin. 

When it is time to go out the door, my kids just reach in the bin and grab a snack!  Plus, if you knew my G., you would know that he is a walking mess.  I'd rather put the pretzels in the bag, then have G.  I guarantee that half would be on the floor! 

Just a little tip that makes getting out the door so much easier!

Breakfast Routines

Anyone who knows me, I mean really knows me, knows how I crave routine.  Spring Break is nice and definitely welcomed, but there are routines that I hardly ever break.  They make my life easier.  I also know that I've passed this onto my kids.  They love routine, they function better with routine, and life generally goes pretty well.  I am not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of girl.

The routine I get the most comments on from friends and family is our breakfast routine.   It's what we do and we've been doing it for years.  I took pictures of what we ate for breakfast for a school week.  Remember, I have a daughter with severe allergies, plus I rarely eat what my kids eat. Also, I'm not a foodie blogger.  I don't have time to take my pictures outside to get optimal light and serve them on cute plates with matching napkins.  With these pictures, I have three starving kids who are waiting patiently for me to take the picture before they dig in!

 So without any more explanation . . . this is what we'll probably be eating most days of the week.

Monday Muffins

 My husband happened to be home at breakfast time, so he gets a plate too.  On the menu for the day, maple spice muffins, cottage cheese, and peaches that I canned last summer.  M. has a gluten-free breakfast bar.  And I drink a Green Smoothie, can't get enough of these!

Tuesday Toast and Eggs

Can you guess which plate belongs to which person?  The two big kids get scrambled eggs with a whole wheat bagel thin and a side of peaches.  G. has a slice of ham, because he is a carnivore and loves meat.  M. has tapioca bread, cottage cheese and peaches.  I have scrambled Egg Beaters with spinach and peppers on half of a whole wheat bagel thin.

Wednesday Waffles

This is G.'s favorite morning.  I make whole wheat cinnamon waffles for the oldest two with a side of applesauce.  M. gets a gluten free, egg free toaster waffle.  I ate a grapefruit and a cup of Greek yogurt.  G. eats about 3 of these before he heads for school!

Thursday - nothing starts with Th, so I usually do Cereal/Oatmeal

But on this typical day, nobody wanted cereal or oatmeal.  G. has granola, M. has tapioca bread toast with almond butter, and I. has a bagel thin with peanut butter.  I probably had a Green Smoothie, and so did M.

Friday Free Choice

I didn't take a picture - it usually ends of being a free for all.  M. likes Gorilla Munch and a smoothie, I. tries to get as much sugar as she can cram into a breakfast, a G. usually eats everything that is left over from the week (muffins, or waffles).

So to recap:

Monday Muffins

Tuesday Toast

Wednesday Waffles

Thursday cereal/oatmeal

Friday Free Choice (it used to be french toast)

I have done this so often, that if I didn't make waffles on Wednesday there would be mutiny with my kids.  I don't always make the same muffins, and I try to offer a variety of fruit and dairy.  G. and M. usually have milk when they wake up.  I'm not a nutritionist so please don't judge.  I'm just trying to give my kids a breakfast that they'll eat, that I can throw together pretty quickly, and I feel pretty good about it.  The routine helps me from thinking "what am I going to feed you" while they are banging forks and spoons on the table waiting for food.

Anyone else have routines with their food?

Words I Think About

"Sure, the season is hectic, but you only have a few years to put tradition in their hearts.  I've just learned to stay organized so I can make things magical year after year."  Jennifer Grayson, December 2010 BHG

While the rest of you were oogling (I know that's not a real word spellcheck!)  photos, I ripped out this quote.  I absolutely agree!  Every year, I make a list of everything we want to do during the holidays (starting before Thanksgiving) and everything that might involve.  Mailing Christmas cards involves writing the letter, choosing pictures, addressing the envelopes and actually mailing them.  I write down every detail on a huge calendar and hang it in my laundry room.

Then, I write down a copy and place it in my Christmas Binder.  I blogged about it here, years ago.  I carry it with me anytime I go shopping. 

This is how I can really enjoy the holidays, make sure I'm not missing anything, and try to really make it magical for our kids.

How do you stay on top for the holidays?  I really am curious?

A Good Mail Day

My new calendar just came!  I love this day.  I've been using the Busy Body Book for 3 years now and I don't think I could ever switch or adapt.

It's cute, it fits in my purse if I need it, I lay it on my kitchen desk and am not embarrassed.

Oh, I love a big, empty, blank calendar!  I love filling all the important dates - I love picturing the year about to come. I also can never throw away the old calendar.  They become journals to me.

It has several columns for every day.  I usually divide it into KIDS, APPOINTMENTS, TO DO, PIANO LESSONS, and MEALS.  But I'm a doodler, so there is plenty of space for notes and doodles on the other side.  There are months-at-a-glance at the beginning, but I just take it a week at a time.

There are pages of tear out to-do lists in the back!  I love these!!

There is a huge pocket on the back cover - I usually stuff coupons in there. or sweet cards from my family.

This is last years calendar - I clip my game plan and my chores to the front.

Guess I have to clean out the fridge and clean the kitchen today - my schedule says so!