A Really Easy Way to Get Dish Scrubbers Clean!

Do you use one of those netting type of dish scrubbers to clean your dishes? Here's an easy tip for getting the scrubber clean:

Next time you're getting ready to run the dishwasher, just put your scrubber in on the top rack and make sure it's stuck well so that it can't slip down and fall below. That's it! Now run your dishes like normal, and when you pull out your scrubber, it will be clean and sanitized!

On the topic of clean dishes, I have a quick question for you:

If you have a large family, how many sets of dishes and silverware do you have on hand? I came to the realization this week that I will either need to purchase extra silverware (and dishware) in another year or two, or start washing all the dishes by hand. I never thought that would be necessary as we always had more than enough plates when the kids were babies. It's amazing how quickly we go through forks and plates now that the kids started using "grown-up" dishes!

Yes, This is Exactly What it Looks Like

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Easy Way to Get Bathtub Toys Clean

After having 4 kids, we have TONS of bathtub toys. Boats, ABC letters, cups, sponge animals, fish and more. Having a variety of toys is nice because the kids can't wait to take baths. However, when one of the kids has an upset stomach and takes a bath, all the toys in the water become contaminated. The easiest way I've found to get the toys clean is this:

Gather up all the toys into a mesh bag that closes with a zipper. A lingerie bag
or baby's laundry bag works great for this.

Zip up the bag and throw it into the washing machine to run a delicate wash on cold. Add in a little detergent or a cap full of bleach.

After the wash is done, pull the bag out of the washer and hang it up to air dry.

That's it! Clean toys! No need to sanitize each individual toy, and no worries of little sponges getting stuck in the washer. All the toys are clean with minimal work and in a short amount of time!

There is No Such Thing as a Perfect Mom

As a mother, admitting you need a break once in a while does NOT make you weak or a bad mom.  Why is it that as moms we think we have to be perfect all the time?  Think about it- with a job outside the home, weren't there times when you were stressed out?  Were there not times when you complained or felt like you needed a day off?  If you worked overtime an entire week long, did you not feel completely relieved by the time weekend came?  Why is our job as mothers any different?

It IS okay to get frustrated at times.  It IS okay to admit you need a break.  It IS okay to ask for help.  That doesn't make you weak, and it sure doesn't mean you can't handle your job.  What it does mean is that you're human. Like any other working person you will occasionally get stressed and will need a break once in a while.

If your kids are clean, clothed, well fed, educated, you play with them, and they are safe, then you're doing your job.  If your house can be easily walked through, is sanitary, you have clean laundry, your dishes get washed without having to use paper plates 24/7, and you vacuum/sweep when needed, then you're doing your job.  If you get worn out at times while being a mother, it's okay, you're human, and you're still doing your job.

You can't control what other people think or say.  However, you can decide what you're going to listen to.  Your children are important.  Your job is important.  You are investing in your children and your time with them will pay off.

When the lies come that you are not good enough, not strong enough, can't handle the circumstances that have come your way, (regardless if it is mothering or anything else) take a step back and remember the words from this song by Casting Crowns:

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

Which voice will you listen to?


"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  Galatians 6:9

Baby's Second Night

My 3rd. baby was very fussy after birth.  She wanted to be latched on to me non-stop and would root and cry when she wasn't nursing.  I found it VERY helpful when a lactation consultant came in and talked with me.  She gave me an article that I will share with you today.

The words in this article gave me the confidence to let my baby nurse whenever she wanted to, even if it was only for comfort.  This helped me greatly when my baby later became extremely colicky.  Letting her latch on and sleep with me in the evenings was the only way I could make it through 5pm-11pm without her screaming 6 hours straight!  By the way, my doctor said the colic would end around 4 months old, and it did, praise God!  It was a very tough time.

Reading "Baby's Second Night" also helped me not to worry about all the little scratches her fingernails had made all over her face.  It was better to let her put her hand up to her mouth and comfort herself rather than keeping her hands wrapped up to avoid scratches.

If you find this article helpful, or know someone else that it may help, pass it on!  The author, Jan Barger has allowed it to be copied and distrubuted freely.

Baby's Second Night

by Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC, FILCA

 Used with permission from the author

You've made it through your first 24 hours as a new mom. Maybe you have other children, but you are a new mom all over again...and now it is your baby's second night.

All of a sudden, your little one discovers that he's no longer back in the warm and comfortable – albeit a bit crowded – womb where he has spent the last 8 ½ or 9 months – and it is SCARY out here! He isn't hearing your familiar heartbeat, the swooshing of the placental arteries, the soothing sound of your lungs or the comforting gurgling of your intestines. Instead, he's in a crib, swaddled in a diaper, a tee-shirt, a hat and a blanket. All sorts of people have been handling him, and he's not yet become accustomed to the new noises, lights, sounds and smells. He has found one thing though, and that's his voice....and you find that each time you take him off the breast where he comfortably drifted off to sleep, and put him in the bassinet – he protests, loudly!

In fact, each time you put him back on the breast he nurses for a little bit and then goes to sleep. As you take him off and put him back to bed – he cries again... and starts rooting around, looking for you. This goes on – seemingly for hours. A lot of moms are convinced it is because their milk isn't “in” yet, and the baby is starving. However, it isn't that, but the baby's sudden awakening to the fact that the most comforting and comfortable place for him to be is at the breast. It's the closest to “home” he can get. It seems that this is pretty universal among babies – lactation consultants all over the world have noticed the same thing.

So, what do you do? When he drifts off to sleep at the breast after a good feed, break the suction and slide your nipple gently out of his mouth. Don't move him except to pillow his head more comfortably on your breast. Don't try and burp him – just snuggle with him until he falls into a deep sleep where he won't be disturbed by being moved. Babies go into a light sleep state (REM) first, and then cycle in and out of REM and deep sleep about every ½ hour or so. If he starts to root and act as though he wants to go back to breast, that's fine...this is his way of settling and comforting.

Another helpful hint...his hands were his best friends in utero...he could suck on his thumb or his fingers anytime he was the slightest bit disturbed or uncomfortable. And all of a sudden he's had them taken away from him and someone has put mittens on him! He has no way of soothing himself with those mittens on. Babies need to touch – to feel – and even his touch on your breast will increase your oxytocin levels which will help boost your milk supply! So take the mittens off and loosen his blanket so he can get to his hands. He might scratch himself, but it will heal very rapidly – after all, he had fingernails when he was inside you, and no one put mittens on him then!

By the way – this might happen every once in a while at home too, particularly if you’ve changed his environment such as going to the doctor, to church, to the mall, or to the grandparents! Don't let it throw you – sometimes babies just need some extra snuggling at the breast, because for the baby, the breast is “home.”