I Pinned This - Letter to Disney Princess

We have a big princess fanatic in our house. Sometimes I stop to question how this happened and the only answer is: it must be an inherent princess trait. Chloe was born loving princesses and had many of the old Disney classics memorized after 1-2 times watching (which made me look like that mom that lets her kids watch hours of TV but she really just absorbed and remembered every word!)

When I saw this pin, I knew it was something we HAD to try! (And I was very much expecting it to be a myth and wait for months for no response.

Here's what Pinterest promises:
if you write a letter to a character at disney (walt disney world communications p.o. box 10040 lake buena vista, fl 32830-0040), they will send you an autographed photo back! Could be a fun project for teaching how to write a letter! gonna do this with my kids :) (couponingtodisney.com)

Here's what I did:
Without much promise for a response, I made a fun game out of writing a letter to a Princess. She picked Repunzal and away we wrote about our love of Tangled and Eugene. (It goes so far that one of us is Eugene or Repunzal at any given time of the day and we recently had a huge meltdown before our last hair appointment because her hair would turn brown.)
Anywho.. And then we waited.

Guess what showed up in the mail about 3 weeks later!!

XO!

Stained Clothes and Smelly Towels

Laundry is not something I hate doing. I don't mind washing, drying isn't so bad and as long as I can watch something (or listen) good on TV, I will fold and fold. What I do hate... putting clothes away! If I could, I would leave the nicely folded clothes stacked in organized piles all over the living room floor. (And sometimes I do for hours.) I know I'm not alone, right?!

One part about laundry I really enjoy is the thrill of getting a stain out of something that you know is a stubborn one. The cleaning aisle at the store is one of my favorite to browse and see what's out there, and over the years, I've tried A LOT of stain removers that didn't really do anything that detergent alone wouldn't do. Since having kids, I have been on a mission to make the clothes last as long as they can (mostly because Chloe and Aria don't grow out of a size for what seems like forever - my 5 month old is still wearing 0-3 month stuff for example). After searching and scouring the interwebs, I may have found the mother of all stain removers...

1 part Dawn dish soap
2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide.
(And if its a old stain, like your husbands yellow arm pit stains, add a dash of baking soda)

I usually mix it up in a little dip cup, pour onto the stain and scrub with an old toothbrush for about 3 seconds then toss it in the washer!
Strawberry stain on white shirt, gone!
Mud, gone!
Bottoms of socks that have ran through the yard, not gone... But much whiter!

After a crazy day at daycare in the sandbox and yard on a sweaty day... yuck! 

Not perfectly white, but a VAST improvement! 

This recipe has even been used on our carpet when someone, ahem Chloe, attempted to secretly color on the carpet. (And maybe that time I spilt hot pink nail polish all over the floor - but I tried this after lots of other attempts)

Something else that happens on a regular basis is our laundry room: Vinegar! If your towels smell after being used a time or two, throw 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar in with your regular detergent and fabric softener and wash as usual.  The difference is unbelievable! I do this with every load of towels I do and never notice a smell anymore.

What laundry tips or tricks do you have?

XO!

2 Ingredient Shower Scrub DIY

If you're anything like me... winter is a KILLER on your skin.  My skin is very dry all the time, but with these bitterly cold days, I can't do anything but iiiiitttttccccchhhhh. Here is a scrub that you can make and take with you into the shower once a week to help slough off the dead skin and moisturize what's left.

You need Brown Sugar and Olive Oil - that's it! You have those in the cupboard on any given day.

Don't worry about any specific measurements, just put in enough brown sugar to cover your body keeping in mind it will "melt" a little when you pour in the olive oil.

And you're done!  How easy was that?

*Be careful in the shower when using this scrub, the olive oil can make the floor slippery.

Bonus Scrub
My mother-in-law used to sell Mary Kay and I was always gifted products during Christmas or birthdays. One of my favorite things I was given was the TimeWise Microdermabrasion set. (it also came with a shimmery lotion which I really like, but it's not moisturizing enough for the winter)

The sad news about this stuff is the cost.  If it wasn't a gift, I would have never spent the $40 on it.  

Luckily, the lotion has lasted longer (since I don't use it as often) and was able to create a similar scrub for my face.  And you're not going to believe this... it's even easier than the sugar scrub above!

A small amount of baking soda and a teeny amount of water.  Approximatly.. $.02 compared to $20.. I'll take it!  Plus, I feel like it works just as well, as long as you use your regular facewash before this. 

Now all I need to discover is a good hair treatment and I can have a spa day at home for pennies! 

Until next time... XO! 

I Pinned This - Doll Detangler

I know I'm not alone in this... you're perusing Pinterest and something catches your eye (ha, that's funny - 2392 things catch your eye).  "Hmmm... I wonder if that really works" crosses your mind, almost out loud, and onto a board it goes.  Maybe never to be seen again, who are we kidding.

As I try things from Pinterest, I am going to let you know if they turned out as promised by the description or comments left by others or if it was a - bum bum bubum - epic failure.

Does this look familiar? If you have any daughters, you've run across this post and asked "How'd they get a picture of our doll?!"

This isn't our Repunzal, but it looks EXACTLY the same... shouldn't her magical hair not tangle?

Here's what Pinterest promises:

Detangle doll hair! Go to beauty supply shop and got a wig brush. It has metal bristles with no little knobs on the ends. Supposed to glide through the hair with ease and no static that a plastic brush would cause. Also ran across several sites that made a solution of about 2 TBSP of fabric softener and the rest water - put this is a little travel spray bottle    (Cookie & Claire)

Here's what I did: 

Combined 2 tbsp of Downy and water in a large spray bottle - large is the only size we had around that house that was empty was I filled it about 1/4 of the way with water.  Shake Shake Shake. Spray on Repunzal as you do with detangling spray on your own daughter and let sit for a minute or two.  Instead of a wig brush (mostly because the closest beauty supply store is 55 min away) I used the plastic brush that came with her.  Patience and lots of spraying later: 

To ensure that my work wouldn't be undone in a matter of minutes, I braided up her hair and secured with a elastic hair tie. 

Tip: To learn the 5 strand braid, here is an awesome tutorial! How to: Five (5) Strand Braid by LuxyHair

XO! 

DIY Cleaning Schedule

I've been "working" as a stay-at-home-mom for 8 months now (WOW!) I still don't have it all figured out, it's not as easy as I thought it would be, and our house is still a disaster almost all the time. I know I've talked about this before, but it's something that does really bugs me and I'm trying hard to correct.

To help feel less overwhelmed each day, I created a schedule, of sorts, to help manage what needs to be done each day and what can be left to another day in the week.

Some things are done everyday:
Some things are conquered once a week, or as needed (which sometimes is 5 times a week)

(Bonus Tip: With this being on the front of the fridge, it's not only my eyes who see it.  Meaning... the hubby might notice that I haven't gotten to wiping the counters for the evening and lend a hand)

I made some kid friendly ones as well for my little helper who is always wanting to do what I'm doing, whether it's more helpful for me or not.  I love it because it keeps her on track of what needs done in the morning before leaving for school, too, and I find myself trying to hurry her onto the next task as often - hallelujah!

These are her everyday "chores" - Brush hair, make bed, etc.

These are her extra "contributions" - sweep, change sheets, etc.  She does 1 of these a day.

Do they enforce things getting done on a daily basis?  No.  Do they help keep on track and feel less bombarded with chores? Yes.  I'll take what I can get.  Maybe when spring comes and I can open the windows for some fresh air, I'll be more apt to keep up with chores (ha). 

*The circles aren't cut perfectly, the colors are matched up well... it was a quick job.  I will probably re-make them until I'm satisfied with how they look then laminate them for longer durability from little hands that like to move them 30 times a day. 

Do you have a cleaning schedule you stick to? And how do you hold yourself accountable? 

Until next time... XO!