I agree with Christie that spot mopping is the way to go. I’ll also add that we try to keep food and drink contained to the kitchen, which limits the splatter and sticky spots to one area. We also don’t wear shoes in the house, so it helps keep the floors cleaner, particularly on snowy/rainy days.

For hummus, I put into the food processor a couple cans of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (drained), a couple cloves of garlic (peeled), a little bit of lemon juice (from 1/2 a lemon), and a bit (not sure how much, maybe I go around the food processor twice?) of olive oil and blend. Add salt and pepper and adjust lemon juice and olive oil to taste.

Have you looked into getting paper in bulk at a place like Costco or Office Depot?

the above hummus recipe is great, we also add cumin and tahini, or a good substitute is a tiny dash of sesame oil (it’s very strong).  Also, if you don’t want to make roasted red peppers, I found you can just put in coarsely chopped raw red peppers in the food processor and it’s really good (and healthy!)  Or to make your own roasted red peppers (off topic, I know, but this was a revelation to me):  Cut red peppers in half and put them in a pan with a little olive oil.  Roast about an hour (?) till shrivelled and starting to blacken.  When they’re cool, peel off the skins and take out the seeds (easy because it’s cooked well) and chop up.  Marinate in olive oil, lemon juice, and spices overnight.

Paper: we used to go to the local newspaper plant and they sold huge rolls of newsprint for really cheap.  Great for doodling.  Also rolls of nice, thicker, whiter paper for just a little more money.

forgot to say—secret to hummus (like any other mixed thing, like soup or pasta salad), is to let it sit for at least a few hours before you eat it, to let the flavors blend and mellow.

Carolyn, check out Ikea for the paper. They have enormous rolls of butcher paper that the kids I nanny for LOVE doodling on.

If you don’t feel like making hummus (although that sounds like the cheapest and yummiest route) Costco has great hummus at a great price.  The “Basha” brand comes in nice sized tubs for much cheaper than the grocery store.

Carolyn, I wish we lived nearby;  I have tons of paper I could give you!

I still think the baked goods is the best idea—if you include a receipe card with the receipe then they can re-gift if they have allergies—if you are clever you could even make a rhyme about the gift being for the family or for the next cookie swap or something along those lines (I am not clever with words that way!)

Got this idea by seeing it on one of the teachers wall.  Take the teachers name..and put an adjective with each letter of her name.  MRS. would be M-makes me smile or merry
R-really funny S-super nice.  Then just continue with the last name.  You could use Christmas computer paper or have the child color a border.

this is a fun and inexpensive idea if you sew at all… i don’t really, but i made some and they were SUPER easy! I used rice, wheat, and rye (in different bags) and haven’t tried to add the oil yet..
http://brassyapple.blogspot.com/2009/03/diy-therapy-sacks.html?m=1

Last year I did a nice seasonal pump soap from Bath & Body Works with a matching hand towel.

The best teacher gifts are ones that speak from the heart.  A picture of your child in a frame, a nice note, a gift card to starbucks or dunkin donuts (even $5 is appreciated!).  If you give homemade baked goods please write the ingredients on a card!  Pump soaps from Bath and Body works are nice as well as Burts Bee’s lip balm etc.  Little things mean a lot! And we feel very appreciated when you do something, no matter how small it is! : )

I agree with Joan;  if you have 20 teachers to buy for, I think a $5 gift card to Starbucks, Paneras, etc is very appropriate and would be appreciated.  Especially if it was delivered in a card handmade by your child.

woah, $5 time 20 teachers = $100!  It’s a nice gift, but you shouldn’t feel obligated to spend that much!  How about homemade Christmas ornaments? Or bought ones—you can find pretty cute ones for a dollar at Walmart, dollar store, etc.  Here is a tutorial for easy, pretty Christmas stars.  I’m not too crafty, and mine came out fine on the first try.  I did white paper, though, and I think they’d look a lot better in colored or patterned paper like the picture.  http://annekata.com/2010/11/tutorial-super-simple-paper-stars/

As a former teacher I don’t think you should not feel obligated to spend much money (as so many do).  A card with a few heartfelt words from the parents is extremely valuable and a huge emotional boost to the teacher.  Let them know you think they are doing a good job (if you do, that is!) and that your child enjoys their class (if he does).  Gifts fly everywhere it is true, but your honest words say something even the fanciest gift basket or biggest gift card may not: our family thinks you’re doing a good job & supports you!!  And if you feel you have to give something gifty in addition to a card, you could volunteer extra time to the classroom…

Momof8, if you have the time, stick with baked goods.  I think $100 in teacher’s gifts is too much!

I didn’t mean to offend anyone or sound frivolous by seconding the suggestion of gift-cards.  When I was a kid, from the time I was around 8 years old, I purchased teachers’ gifts myself.  That was a different generation, so I probably spent a couple of dollars per teacher.  I would buy things like ornaments.  So I was thinking that if each child over a certain age contributed their own allowance (or babysitting money, etc) for a teacher’s gift, it could make Mom’s budget much more reasonable.  If not, another idea I thought of was Chex party mix.  You can make a huge batch of it and divide it into pretty containers.  The only ingredient in it that could be a common allergy is peanuts, but that’s pretty easy to omit.

Claire—We have a Maytag. We have owned it for 10 years, but it has been in this house for at least 20 years. I use it 1-3 times every day, with full loads, and it has only needed service once—a new solenoid valve (the pipe valve thing that switches from on to off). Our repair guy told us to never ever ever get a new washer. He even recommends to people to try to buy a used Maytag, because he said the quality of construction is much better than new. Don’t know if this is helpful, but I hope so!

Wow Mama Toad, that is really impressive!  I never heard of a washer lasting that long with that much use.  I had completely forgotten, but years ago when I was single and had my first apartment after college, I actually ended up buying a used Maytag.  I lived in that apartment for 7 years and never had to have it serviced.  (Of course, I was single at the time, so I did less than half the amount of laundry I do now.)  I wish I had kept the contact information of the guy I bought it from, but I will try to do an internet search.  Thanks for the reminder!

Hi Claire,

I have been researching washers, too, and have found that Maytag gets the highest marks, so far.  Also, it’s a good time to get one if you like the agitator, because I heard from my repair technician that they aren’t being built like that any more after this year.  I may consider a “Speed Queen” because they are built well, and have a 3 year warranty..and my old laundrymat always had them.

Good luck!

Claire—We bought our first used washer/dryer from a St. Vincent de Paul in Eugene Oregon. That is not the washer/dryer we have now, since we left those behind when we moved back to NY. But you might check Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc?

I used to have the exact same problem.  One really expensive solution that works really really well is to have someone else come and clean your home once a week!  OK, not for everybody.  However, I think the cleaners I use for washing floors and sinks are harsher than dish soap and other daily cleansers, so I strongly urge you to get rubber gloves and use them at least for heavy duty cleaning - dish cleaning, too, if you can bear it.  I haven’t had the problem for a while now, and I think it’s mostly because I moved to the South where it is warmer and moister.  For lotion, I recommend Eucerin dry skin therapy cream - in the round white tub.  Also try different brands of liquid bandaids - they are not all alike, and one really burned me.  Try wearing cotton gloves to bed after slathering on moisturizer, too.  And pray for an early spring!

Before you go to bed at night, slather your hands with lotion and wear gloves to bed. Really. If your feet crack like mine, do the same for your feet—slather lotion, wear socks. Never go outside without gloves in cold weather. Always wear socks. And try this salve for difficult to heal cracks: http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Eden-Salve_Organic—I use it all the time. My kids use it for everything. It works great.

To mmorena re split fingertips..try coconut oil which you can find in the grocery store.  I’ve found it in the imported and health sections rather than with olive oil, canola oil, etc. It’s relatively cheap compared to lotions and creams marketed for this purpose. I bought a jar about 8 months ago for my dry, split hands and have used about 1/2. It cost about $10 (and it’s organic).  It is solid at room temperature but rubs in easily and is not too greasy. Use a few times a day and you’ll feel a big difference in no time.

Hi mmorena

I put on Aveeno lotion and then wear gloves for all dishes, cleaning and scrubbing and it has made a big difference. (The warmth seems to help the lotion really soak in and soften) Also, when my hands are particularly dry and chapped, I use “bag balm” or olive oil and rub it in until it’s not slippery.

Good luck!

We live up north and the forced-air furnace really dries out the air in the winter so we have multiple vaporizers and humidifiers going around the house at all times.  It is a pain to keep refilling them but we don’t feel we have a choice.  We have a few humidity guages around the house also and we don’t let it get below 35% humidity.

I get those painful cracks too!  Prevention is the key, and you’ve got some good suggestions here.  But if you do get a crack on your fingertips, my mom gave me this idea: use plain chapstick to “fill in” the crack.  As you go about your day, you can actually use the cracked finger without feeling like you’re going to pass out from the pain.

As a doc I would tell you all the same things everyone else has said (especially the gloves.)  I have two more things I tell people.  First if it is really bad, buy some hydrocortisone (over the counter) and put it on, then slather on some thick cream (the dermatologist all seem to like AquaPhor but if expense is an issue you can get the Walmart brand of Eucerin or use Crisco—it all works out about the same) and wrap your hand in plastic wrap and then put on a mitten (I use a long sock) and sleep with it overnight.  Second if you have a deep crevice get a friend to help hold it tightly together and saturate a Q-tip with Super Glue and roll the Q-tip over the wound.  Don’t get the glue inside the wound (it will slow healing if it is inside.)  Avoid water for the rest of the day after you put on glue.  You can add more glue on the outside if you think it is getting thin—you will be able to tell b/c you have that odd feeling of having super glue on your skin.  If you go to the doctor with a small cut often it will be closed using Derma-bond.  When I was in the Air Force (during the Clinton years) our budget was non-existent and we all used Super Glue (or Crazy Glue or whatever) for years!  Good luck

I agree with everyone who has mentioned the gloves.  When my hands get cracked, I use petrolium jelly, then put the gloves on top and wear them to bed.  I also use gloves *any* time I am out in the cold weather (even just to step out and get the mail) & this has been hugely preventative!  Finally, I have found that overdoing the lotion-applications can make things worse (not exactly sure why—maybe because it keeps the skin kind-of wet?), so I use a good, thick *foot* cream twice a day and that’s it by way of lotion.  Oh yeah, and when the cracks are really bad soaking in warm oatmeal and patting (not rubbing) your hands dry can speed healing.

that was for JJs mom!

I will not try to advise you, but share our personal experience. We get our insurance through a small business program operated by our state, and we do not have dental coverage. We determined that paying our dentist out-of-pocket was much much cheaper for our family of 8 than buying insurance. We also do not have eye coverage. My husband and I and three of our sons wear glasses, but it works out cheaper for us to pay personally.

Donna -

Metlife administers our dental plan. We haven’t had any complaints. I don’t have any experience with Aetna.

No tips about getting into the season except maybe to focus on the spiritual stuff and let the other things slide as much as possible. That and maybe some spiked egg nog. <g>

Donna, you have my sympathies.  Holidays, especially Christmas, were tough for my dad when I was growing up.  I suspect the reason had to do with my grandfather’s early death, but I never knew for sure.  My mother used to nag him about keeping up appearances for us (not helpful).  If the holidays are tough for you, think about why that is, and see if you can overcome whatever it is for your family’s sake.  If not, be honest with them that the holidays are tough for you, and tell them (if you can) that you want to share their happiness.  If your children are not old enough to understand, at least share with your husband.  If he is the problem, find another person, a relative, priest, or girlfriend, to help.  A prayerful attitude will help, too - but do try to get at the root for your own sake and that of those you love.

We use ziplocs for puzzles and cloth drawstring bags or pencil boxes for other multi-piece things.  They fit fine in toy boxes, but we now have a bookshelf for storing toys.

Rubbermaid used to have a clear tote that was about a 5 gallon size - roughly 18” deep x 12” wide x 12” high.  Unfortunately it is discontinued now, and most of mine, after about 8 years of use, are cracked.  They are the perfect size to store different types of toys, fit nicely on shelving, including the top shelf of a closet, and BEST of all, the snap on lid could not be opened by my children until they were at least 5 or 6.  One has all the Little People people and accessories.  One has all Army guys and vehicles.  One has my small selection of infant toys (we don’t have any infants, those are for guests).  Two have My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop co-mingled.  We use our toy box for dress up clothes.  It’s overflowing.  Toy boxes are great for bulky items and balls, and dress up clothes and stuffed animals. 

You CAN get your 18 month old to keep like items together.  Bins, like mine, or wicker baskets or those fabric baskets that fit on shelves can be designated for certain items.  Photos help a child know what goes where without mommy’s help, but otherwise, to say, “Let’s put all the blocks in this basket and all the cars in that basket” is a game most tots will enjoy.  Day cares and preschools label bins and shelves and teach the children what goes where.  If THEY can do it with dozens of kids, you can do it with one!

We use baskets or a tray (a la Montessori-style) for each multi-piece toy.  It is not a perfect system (at least not right now with an almost-2-year-old who doesn’t quite get the concept), but it works pretty well (and on her better days my toddler is really quite anal about keeping things separated into their correct baskets.  But that may just be personality, I don’t know.)  Either way, a bonus to the baskets is that they look kind-of pretty sitting out… and since each basket is less stuffed than a toy box would be, you can more quickly see what you’re looking for and things are less likely to get broken / smashed / etc.  [Something I have heard of people trying, although I have not done it, is labeling each basket with either words or a picture depending on your child’s age, so they can see exactly where each toy goes.  It may be worth a try… although my guess is that kids notice which basket is for which toy and the labeling really just helps the busy moms remember. ]

M&Ms; for rewards.

Hi Jen,
We’re about to embark on potty training as well. I just finished the book Pottywise and found it to be helpful- granted we haven’t tried to implement yet. But it has helped me square away in my head what our process is going to be.  One thing you might want to start looking for now is the type training pants you’ll use. I couldn’t find any in my area that were 18 months and had to order some. So that has delayed our start date a bit. Good luck!