WFMW: Travelling with Necklaces

I am very excited to share that very soon we will be making our nearly 16 hour trip home for a much needed visit with my family and friends! Let me clarify, I am excited to be at home for a while, not quite so excited for the travel itself with 2 young children! (Pray for us as we take the kids on some long international flights back to the states- my big boy Zachary is going as an infant in lap which should be interesting!)
But it had me thinking, how am I going to get my jewelry there without all my necklaces turning into one big tangled blob! That's when inspiration struck! I don't see how I didn't think of it sooner... snack size Ziploc baggies!!
After reading a post by ohamanda, and hearing her own tips for using large Ziploc bags for the children's outfits (tip #7), or to keep delicates separated from everything else neatly, I thought why not use the teeny tiny ones for my necklaces! Now I haven't done this yet, so I don't know how well they will stay untangled from themselves, but at least if you ask me, it is a lot easier to untangle one necklace from itself then from a wad of 10 others!!

I have no doubt this will work for me! Do you have any travelling tips or tricks you would like to pass on to me? I would appreciate any helpful suggestions, particularly for flying with young ones!

This is linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

WFMW: For the Splatter

When my daughter was first learning to feed herself, I rushed out to the store to buy a $15 splat mat to put under her high chair to spare as much of the carpet as possible from any stains her food may leave.

Honestly I wasn't very impressed by the overpriced piece of vinyl. It was never big enough to cover the range of my daughter's throwing arm. I often imagined I had a baseball star in the making for how far she managed to chuck the raviolis!

Now I know better, I need something, wider, longer, and cheaper!

For my son I went out and spent about a third of the money to get a vinyl tablecloth. It works wonderfully! I have more options in size, and it can still function as a tablecloth when I need it to (if I give it a good wipe down). It actually seems to even stay in place better since the underside isn't vinyl (at least on carpet). And I can choose the pattern and color I want as well, so it can match my decor or rotate with the seasons, if I feel the need for a change (or if I just get tired of looking at one particular design).

Tablecloth splat mats work for us! How do you keep your floors clean with toddlers pitching their food all over?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

WFMW: Journaling for Our Children

It is so nice to know the things I try to teach Natalie do get through sometimes, at least the most important things.

As we were leaving for church one night last week, I looked up at the sky in which the sun was setting. It was a beautiful sight, pink and orange stripes ran across the sky from the horizon. I said, "Look at the pretty sky, Natalie!" and then she looked up and exclaimed, "Jesus painted the sky!"

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A few weeks ago Natalie had her blood pressure taken for the first time at the doctor's office. She did not like it, and now asks if she has to do that everytime we go to the doctor's....

Well as we went out to the car on our way to church a different night last week, I was holding Natalie's hand in the parking lot of our building. I gave her hand a little squeeze, and in a silly but curious way she asks, "Mommy, are you taking my hand pressure?"

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While I love sharing these funny and cute moments with everyone out in the bloggy world, I have decided to start a journal for each of my children- though Zachary isn't talking quite yet. I will record all the funny things they say and do, so not only I can look back on them when I need a laugh, but also so they can have a treasured keepsake someday to share with their own kids as they too discover the joys of parenting a child who speaks their mind- however silly or goofy the thoughts may be!! I already bought the cutest little journal for Natalie's cute words!

This works for us! How do you record these treasures for your own children?

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And if you are a sentimental sap like me and love that idea- you just may love recording your youth with Janna over at Mommy's Piggy Tales beginning October 7th! It will be a 12 week session (though you may write as often or not as you choose), and each week we will be sharing memories from a different age inour lives! Just think about having your story written out to share with your children and children's children!! What a great way to leave a legacy!! Check out one of my posts from the last session.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family and
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WFMW: Tired of Snacking on Smashed Up Granola Bars?

I always find other moms using something in a different way then it is meant, but still making life easier for them, and think "Wow how creative and clever!"

I walk away wishing I had thought of that myself!

Well now it is my turn!! Even my husband has been pretty proud of me!

My problem: I throw granola bars, the soft kind, into my purse or the diaper bag, for a quick snack later. Sometimes later is a matter of days, sometimes weeks even, but I like to carry some with me for that moment when I need an extra pick me up, or the kids are getting hungry as I sit in traffic. BUT no matter how recently I added them to my bag, they get smashed by the ten million other things I 'need' to carry with me as well!
My solution: While cleaning up a few weeks ago, I picked up my husbands glasses case. It is one of the hard kind that snap shut. I looked at it more closely as a light just went on inside my head! It was the perfect size for my granola bars! I can even fit two of the kid's bars inside one, so I only have to carry around one to two of the cases (the extra for my own snack). I am quite pleased now to be able to pull out a bar for the kids and not have to carefully peel the sticky goop that used to be a granola bar off of the wrapper! YAY!!

Try it and tell me what you think! Do you have any other tips or tricks for totting snacks around for the tots without them getting smashed or demolishing them into crumbs?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.