WFMW - The Perfection Game and Fine Motor Skills

I am always on the look out for cheap ideas to teach my sons especially those items that are great multi-taskers. This week it is the Milton Bradley game of "Perfection" that works for me.

We use it as a puzzle to practice fine motor skills since the little shapes can only be picked up and placed in using a mature "pincer grip", great for shape recognition, eye-hand coordination and when I tell my 4 year old to start at the top left and work across each row he is practicing a great early literacy skill while training himself to think left to right, top to bottom!!!! All that and we have never even turned it on yet!

Now that is a great multi-tasker!!

WFMW - Quiet Dr. Office Distractions

Recently I did a post on my son's delay of bedtime by playing with pipe cleaners (you can read the original post here so the rest makes sense to you). In an effort to get them away from him, so he would actually go to sleep I threw them in my pocketbook.

Fast forward a day - We were sitting in the pediatrician's office and the boys were starting to get antsy to say the least, so I reached into my pocketbook for some paper for them to scribble with and my son saw the pipe cleaners. To my surprise he wanted to play with them again. They both sat still the whole time while I made shapes, letters and numbers for them to identify.

Again, the picture below is not a secret code, just an example of what we were doing.

So I guess the moral of the story is, keeping some pipe cleaners in my diaper bag is what works for me!!

For some more great tips, stop by We Are That Family to see what others are posting about today.

WFMW - Traveling Snack Bag

This is our "traveling lunch bag" that is always in the car except when it comes in to be refilled. It is stocked up with lots of goodies such as goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, juice boxes, cereal in baggies, lollipops and plastic cups - although the cups are not for drinking.

You see, my kids have a snacking addiction. Despite the fact that they get three square meals a day, which they eat and wholesome snacks throughout the day they are always looking for more. Especially after grocery shopping or if I have to go through the drive-thru convenience store. They always request that a bag of pretzels or a box of cereal be opened immediately. It was not long after I had a strained neck from doing the constant passing of food to the back seat in two directions while holding on to the steering wheel and looking straight and also finding what looked like a small family of "maggots" congregating around a stray Cheerio on the floor of my car (please do not judge) did I think to add cups to our snack bag. Now when a package gets opened they each get a cup eliminating most of the spillage and the strained necks!

Works For Me Wednesday - Sticking To My Budget

In an effort to keep our money budgeted my new plan is to purchase a store gift card and try to stick to that amount monthly. For instance, for groceries and miscellaneous items that I usually pick up at Target I would put no more than $50.00 at a time. I always have extra cash on me just in case I go over but I spend a lot less when I "think" I only have $50.00.

Since I like to play along with the CVS $5.00 Challenge on Keeping the Kingdom First, I put $15.00 on the card. It adds an extra spin to the game as I see how long I can keep the card going for using my coupons and Extra Bucks plus it stops me from going crazy at the register on things I don't need like lip balm and candy!

Coupon Organization

Recently a friend asked, how I keep track of all my coupons and receipts. Here is my solution -

A small photo album that is meant to hold 100 photographs is the perfect size to hold coupons and receipts and only cost me $2.00. The address labels and stick-on index tabs make it super easy to thumb through.

The main labels for my book are as follows:

1. Kids


2. Household


3. Cleaning


4. Laundry


5. Health & Beauty


6. Frozen


7. Dairy


8. Condiments


9. Soup


10. Sides


11. Snacks


12. General Grocery


13. Baking


14. Drinks


15. Stores

Each section is then labeled with address label stickers with a "sub-category" such as -Health & Beauty: soap, teeth, shampoo & conditioner, etc.....

It works for me especially since it is fairly compact and fits right into my diaper bag or pocketbook.

More Fun Baking Soda Uses

• Make your good crystal really shine by giving it a short soak in baking soda and warm water.
  
• Use baking soda to clean marker stains off of your hands (good for the little ones)
  
• Combine baking soda with a little bit of white vinegar to form a bubbling paste and use your toilet brush to scrub out stains.
  
• Use baking soda as a great non-abrasive cleaner for your stainless steel sinks which can easily be scratched by liquid cleansers and more abrasive powdered cleaners.
  
• If your hands smell from cutting up onions and garlic while cooking, sprinkle some baking powder in the palm of one hand then add enough water to form a paste, scrub hands and rinse-the odor should be gone.
  

How To Tell If Your Baking Soda is Old

Do you know how old the baking soda you have in your cabinets is? I don't. Although I bake a lot, I am sure that box has been sitting in the plastic bag for a long time. Remember, you are only using a teaspoon or two at a time. Well here is your test. Pour some white vinegar or lemon juice over a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. If it doesn't bubble up - IT IS OLD!

The Wonderful World of Baking Soda

For the life of me, I can not remember which blog I recently saw a list of ways to use baking soda other than in a recipe. I had to laugh to myself as when we purchased our home over 5 years ago the previous owner not only left me a 10 page note on how to clean her home (including details and a shop vac for the sole purpose of dusting the crawl spaces) she also left me a copy of "Baking Soda - Over 500 Fabulous, Fun and Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of - by Vicki Lansky". I can not tell you how many times I tried to throw this book out but for some reason I always rescue it from the garbage.

For all who are Green or would like to be, remember that Baking Soda is environmentally benign and is found naturally in mineral deposits, lake sediments and groundwater. It is even found in our oceans where its bicarbonate chemistry seemingly works to stabilize the carbon dioxide content of the earth's atmosphere.

During the next couple of weeks I will post some little known tips and uses that I find interesting that go way beyond the open box in the fridge:

1. Clean a stuffed animal or fabric toy that can not be machine washed by shaking it in a bag with baking soda which will absorb any odors, dirt and grime. Let the toy sit in the bag for 15 minutes then brush, shake and/or vacuum off the baking soda.

2. If you have added to much vinegar to a recipe, add a pinch or two of baking soda to neutralize the acidity.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the water when you cook cauliflower to keep the cooking odors down and the cauliflower snowy white.

4. To make your omelette's fluffier, add a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for every 3 eggs.

5. To keep your babies white walking shoes white, try cleaning and polishing them with a little baking soda on a wet wash cloth.

More tips will be coming soon......