Working Motherhood

Sanity-Savers for Spring Cleaning with Kids

This post is sponsored by The Libman Company but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Now that the weather is warming up, it’s a good time to spruce up your interior! When you have little ones in the home, this is sometimes easier said than done. This weekend we broke out the suds and scrub brushes. I’d love to share with you some of my sanity-savers for spring cleaning with kids.

Make a List of What you want to Clean

Before you get started, it’s best to have a plan. List the areas of the house you want to clean, and be specific. Instead of listing “refrigerator”, write what you will do to clean the refrigerator, such as “wash refrigerator drawers, scrub door handles, and defrost the freezer.” Be realistic in what you plan to accomplish. If you have small children, this may not be the time to detail the garage and pressure wash your house on your own.

Get the Kids Involved

There are plenty of things kids can do to help clean the house. Give them a bucket of sudsy water and have them scrub the walls. While the quality of cleaning done by kids may not meet White House standards, it keeps them out of your way when they help out. As a bonus, they’re learning responsibility and life skills! They even get a little excited if you let them use “official” cleaning gloves! 🙂

Stick with Simple Equipment

You don’t need a lot of gear to spring clean your house. Some basics are:

A bucket or dish pan for sudsy water
Sponges or strong scrubbing brushes
Some cloths or old rags
A spray bottle
Your favorite cleaning solutions
A good mop

This weekend we tried out the Libman Wonder® Mop and I really love it! I’ve been hesitant to sue mops in the past because all that water is such a pain. It’s no fun trying to keep kids out of the kitchen for hours while the floor is drying. Thankfully, the Wonder® Mop has a power wringer that gets out more water so the floors dry faster. It works on all surfaces, so anyone can use it!

To use the Wonder® Mop, you’ll first want to make sure you sweep up all the big stuff on the floor.

Then simply soak the microfiber mop head thoroughly. Pressing the power wringer towards the mop head, squeeze out the excess water.

Snap the power wringer back into place and you’re ready to go! The Wonder® Mop’s microfiber GRIPSTRIPS™ lift 20% more dirt, leaving your floors even cleaner. It’s so easy to use, you’ll be done with the floors in no time and can get back to tending to your little ones!

Another thing I dislike about using a mop is figuring out what to do with it when I’m done mopping. I mean, I could lean it up against a wall or something but the residue of all that icky stuff from my floor is probably lurking in the fibers. But with the Wonder® Mop, you can remove the mop head and toss it in the washing machine up to 50 times!

Right now, you can save $3 when you sign up for the Libman newsletter. Check the website for tutorials, tips, and where to buy the Libman Wonder® Mop!

Turning Setbacks into Victories

Unfulfilled dreams. Missed opportunities. Searching and longing for something that’s just out of reach. I am so thankful to be able to say that these are not my memories of 2018. While 2017 had some very sorrowful moments, 2018 was the year that I finally came up for air and turned my setbacks into victories!

It has been hard to see the positive in the middle of hard times, and this year has definitely not been easy. Especially the last 6 months have been real struggle even though John works 2 jobs. But what does money matter when we have our health, sweet kids, and a happy marriage? Those are things that people who are far wealthier than me could only wish for.

The Hard Work of Happiness

So what happened that made this year feel so much better, even when it wasn’t? Personally, It was a total mind shift on my part. I made an effort to find the joy in daily life, and dug my heels in against negative thinking. I read some great books. My favorite was “Love Does” by Bob Goff. It really puts things in perspective to read his stories of amazing miracles and incredible generosity. Knowing that there are people who find hope even in situations which are far more horrible than my own, can I really complain? Nope. At least, I shouldn’t. I’m still human. 😉

2018 Opportunities and Good Memories

Because of this blog, I got even more enjoyment out of the last year. Every time I have an idea for a fun activity with my kids or trying a new dish, my second thought is always that I can’t wait to share this with you guys. Seriously! A few of my favorite posts of this year were

Next year I hope to expand my creativity and bring more family value to this blog. Feel free to hold me accountable, too!

As I round out this last blog post of 2018, I also want to tell you where I missed the mark. The one word I chose to focus my energy for 2018 was “persist”. But as it turns out, that’s not what my life and family needed me to do this year. 2016 and 2017 were years when persistence kept me from losing my mind to grief and self-pity, so maybe I came up with this word on the heels of recent struggles. This year all my persistence paid off. I have a great relationship with my oldest, my husband and I are enjoying a strong marriage, work is going well, and my kids didn’t have a single injury this year! I think a better word would have been “surprise” because each time we found ourselves in hot water, “Surprise!” God got us through. Once I learned to trust Him with everything, I had a lot less to worry about.

In May my husband John graduated with his Bachelors from San Diego State University. We took the kids on our first family camping trip. Oh yeah, and I ran a 10K just weeks after hernia surgery. Wow, I guess 2018 was pretty great…

I look forward to the obstacles that present themselves in 2019. I know I can make it through the hills and valleys as long as I keep this in mind: It’s not the current economy that counts, but the eternal one.

Happy new year friends! May you find what your heart desires in 2019. <3

Making Time for Family on Busy School Days

Now that the girls are back in school, our evenings can sometimes be hectic. Now in addition to the regular dinner/bath/bedtime routine, we have to fit in homework too. Some weeks it feels like, by the time Friday rolls around, we’ve hardly spent any time together. I’m finding simple ways to make time for family a priority on those busy after-school days.

Give Kids Your Attention When You’re Together

Making time for family can be hard for me as a full-time working mom. But I know that when I set my phone and laptop aside and just be present with my kids, we are all more joyful and relaxed. Our time together is even more enjoyable when we’re doing something we all love. The younger ones are always ready to go in the pool, color, or play with salt dough. My oldest is into playing card games. Whatever the activity, we always have fun because we’re doing it as a family.

Give Yourself a Break from Cooking

Cooking at home is great, but it is also incredibly time-consuming. Trust me, I’ve been working long days for the whole 15 years I’ve been a parent and I’ve tried every quick-cooking dinner idea there is. But you know what’s even faster? Not cooking! We don’t do it all the time, but every now and then we splurge on a dinner that Mom and Dad didn’t have to cook.

I’m currently loving Applebee’s Carside To Go. Last night, John had to work and I was just not in the mood to make dinner with cranky kids after a long day of school. I pulled up the Applebee’s app on my phone and quickly placed an order for pickup. We jumped in the car and it was ready by the time we got to the restaurant! There is an option for Carside, where you provide the make and model of your car when placing your order either online, over the phone, or on the app. When you park in the designated space an Applebee’s employee brings it right to you!

Remember, Family Comes First

Some of our best evenings have been the ones when we spontaneously threw aside the routines and spent quality time together. Our kids are little, so sometimes this means we forego the bath (gasp!) for a late afternoon dip in the pool or a walk around the lake. If we can manage to bring takeout along with us, we have even more time for adventure!

Make Memories on a School Night

There is so much value in giving kids your undivided attention and carving out special time together. The nest time you need a quick dinner option, use Applebee’s To Go. Type in the code 5off25 and get $5 off your online order of $25 or more. Then get outside or circle up around your favorite board game and make some memories. We don’t want our kids thinking we’re too busy for them, do we?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Applebee’s. The opinions and text are all mine.

Getting Your Home Ready for Back to School

The new school year is just around the corner! I like to plan and have things organized ahead of time, do you? These are just a few tips I came up with to help you get your home ready for back to school. Get a fresh haircut as you get ready for back to school

Getting the kids ready for back to school:

Get everyone new hair cuts. Fresh new ‘do for a fresh new school year!

Go through their dressers and closets. Toss or donate clothes that are too small. Check that coats still fit. Clear out old tattered shoes that don’t fit.

Make a list of clothing items you need to shop for.

Start waking them up earlier to get into the routine before the big first day back at school.

Have a picnic to “practice” using their lunch box and opening their own snacks. Most school lunch supervisors will help kids open their packaged snacks, but it is just better if your child can do ti on his own.

Work with your child to practice tying his own shoes (usually kindergarten or 1st grade). Of course, your child’s teacher will tie his shoelaces as needed. But it is a great step of independence and a source of pride for a child to be able to tie his own shoes.

Connect with the school:

Make sure paperwork and registration is complete.

Find out if the school has an online parent portal and how to access it.

Add money to school lunch accounts.

Talk with the school nurse about storing and giving medications (if any).

Print out district’s academic calendar for 2018-2019 school year.

Mark your family’s calendar with back to school night, school half-days and holiday breaks. Make a note of dates when you will need to find childcare or request time off work.

Getting the House Ready for Back to School:

Designate a spot for backpacks, such as a laundry basket or hooks by the door. We use these 3M hooks and they hold the backpacks just fins as long as there aren’t any heavy books inside.

Set up a homework station with supplies and a quiet place to do work.

Clear out a shelf for textbooks/library books.

Stock up on non perishable snacks. Back to School readiness for the whole family

Be sure and pin this post on getting your home ready for back to school, or print it out for later!

The first thumbnail below is suitable for printing on regular 8.5″ x 11″ paper. Just right-click and save! Or store the second one (a pdf) on your device and take advantage of digital checkboxes! Please let me know in the comments if there’s anything you would add to the list that might help other families.

This is the jpeg version!

This is the pdf with digital checkboxes

Taking a Breath in the Waiting

The start of summer is always a time that I welcome with anticipation. Many of you know that I’m a teacher. The last few weeks of school are crazy hectic: end-of-year events, report cards and other paperwork, and cleaning up my room from a successful school year. By the time it’s all done I’m so ready to jump right in to long days spent at the beach or pool. Those lazy mornings at home with my kids aren’t too bad either! But this summer has a different feel to it. Yes, I am on vacation for 6 glorious weeks. But this summer there is a looming cloud of unknown that hangs over all the fun things we have planned.

Here’s the whole story.

Due to recent changes in California law, my charter school had to petition for the local district to sponsor us. In order for us to continue serving kids and families, our director wrote a whole new charter. I am told that it is so detailed, it filled 16 1-inch binders! Well, everything was moving forward just fine when she took our petition to the big district board meeting. Then, out of the blue, a group of school officials and their slew of attorneys came forward with some intense opposition. They accused our school of acting in a shady manner and disobeying educational laws. Of course, these were all lies. But it made us look really bad. The big district decided they needed some time to consider the opposition, and pushed the vote back. We’ve been waiting on pins and needles ever since. Then, just days before the rescheduled meeting, they pushed it back another week.

I’m worried.

If they don’t sponsor us as a charter, our academies will close. I’ll be out of a job. Ask your teacher friends how easy it is to find a job during the summer (hint: it’s not easy). Schools do their hiring in the spring so they can plan for August staff developments. This is not to say that teachers don’t get hired right before school starts, because they do. But those positions are few and far between.

I wish the big mean school officials would consider the children.If we close, the student population that our charter has served for over 17 years won’t have a school to come to next fall. Our kiddos come to us because, for whatever reason, they struggled in traditional public schools. Our academy is small and the students are always saying that it feels like home to them. And here, they are thriving.

I hate to think what will happen to these sweet, sheltered kids in a big public school. Many of them will fall through the cracks and become faceless names on a page of data and test results. I know how data-driven and impersonal schools are because I worked in traditional public schools for 8 years before finding my love of teaching in this charter school.

We wrote letters, emailed board members, rallied families to share their voice. And now we wait.

It was emotionally draining to close up my room. I carefully packed and tidied centers, filed my favorite units in their respective places, and made lists of things I need to order for next year. The whole while, in the back of my mind was that whisper of doubt, “If we’re even here next year.”

This is who I am. I’m a teacher. I’ve found my home with this school and I have no intention of looking for another job until the end is final.

A summer of waiting.

I’m trying to fill my time with cleaning and organizing our little home, and trying not to think about how we will afford rent if I’m out of a job. We’re planning family day outings, focusing on things that are free in case even a tank of gas is outside our budget. I know it sounds depressing and dramatic, but this is our reality for now.

I wonder what the kids and families of our school are doing? Are they also holding their breath, not knowing where they’ll be in the fall? That’s go to be such a disappointment for them.

So… deep breaths. Focusing on blessings even during this time of unknown. Finding words of encouragement for my fellow teachers, even when I want to break down and cry. And above all, faith and trust that God has a plan for me, the students, and for this school.

If you feel led, you may find the contact info for board members here. This is public information, and anyone may email them and share their thoughts on the importance of charter schools, either in favor of or against.

Please pray for us and for our student population. We don’t live in a world where things are “fair”, but it would be nice if the big guy didn’t always win.

The Glamorous Side of Working Motherhood

No matter what your situation, the working mom vs. the stay at home mom debates can get pretty heated. We all feel strongly about our role and want to feel valued for what we do, so the working mom debate is not an area I want to dive into today. Moms of every variety are giving it their all on a daily basis. Selflessly they nurture little ones and support the family, often sacrificing of themselves to do so. But for a moment, I want to lift up the working moms. Especially the moms who would much prefer to be home with their babies because this is the group where I find myself. As much as I love my job, and try to remind myself that working is a privilege that not all women can enjoy, I’d still rather be home with my kids. So if those feelings resonate with you, then read on.

You Have to Look Presentable

Don’t laugh, it’s true! When you have to step out of the house every day and take your place in the world, you typically do it with makeup on and your hair done, right? Be honest, would you really spruce up so nicely (and so early in the morning!) if you didn’t have to go to work? I’m a teacher, so I’m off during the summer. On those days you’re more likely to find me in yoga pants and flip flops – and no makeup!

Via

You Have Extra Income

The real blessing of working, even part-time, is that you do have a little more wiggle room in the budget. Even with my husband and I working three jobs between the two of us, we’ve got enough in the bank to cover the bills and and have some left over for fun stuff. I’m really careful with the budget, and always make sure that we allow for some “no excuses” spending money for each of us.

You Get to Talk to Adults!!

Follow me on Instagram @Simply_Sweet_Days!

Every time I start feeling crabby about having to work full-time when I really don’t want to, I remind myself of the fact that for at least 8 hours I get to talk to adults. People who don’t use words like “potty” and (hopefully) won’t erupt into a fit of giggles if someone says “poop”. Yes, coworkers can be dramatic and difficult to deal with at times, but you know what? I can avoid these people if I want to because I’m not their mom. Of course I miss my kids terribly and would always prefer to “watch this” one more time than sit through a staff meeting. But it’s pretty nice having a balance of adult time and kid time in my daily life.

I know there are a lot of women out there who are proud of their independence and prefer to work than to stay at home, and I applaud them. I am thankful that my job of being a teacher combines all my favorite things: learning, creating, and helping kids. There are still many days when I’d rather be home with my own children, but on these days I reflect on the impact I’m having on young learners and how much I love teaching. That, and the blissful lunch with adults when nobody’s trying to poke anyone with a fork and I get to for-real laugh at adult humor.

You are doing a great job, Mama. Hang in there!

Overcoming Challenges to Self-Care

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NewYearNewWater #CollectiveBias

I’ll be honest. Rest is not in my vocabulary. As a mom of 4, I’ve always just figured that people with this many kids just don’t get rest. That the busy, on-the-go lifestyle is embedded in you once you leave the hospital with baby #2 (or 3 or 4…). But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The key to finding balance in your life is to overcome your challenges to getting rest and practicing self-care. Here are some thoughts on how to do that.

Overcoming Challenges to Self-Care

Don’t let your excuses stop you

I have a goal this year to go to the gym once a week. Shortly into the new year I started missing gym day because it was too hard to find time to work out. To me, time spent at the gym was taking away from the time I had to spend with my kids. A friend recommended I try exercising in the living room with my kiddos instead. It’s not my ideal workout, but I do get my heart rate going and burn some calories. Plus, my kids love doing workout DVDs with me. And I love anything that helps them burn off some of their energy!

Take baby steps by making healthy choices

Good nutrition is beneficial for your mind, body, and spirit. It’s so simple, but eating 5 fruits and vegetables a day can do a lot to improve your physical and mental health. While I was stocking up on groceries, I saw that our local Vons had a special on wanu water. It’s this fruit-flavored water drink that’s packed with essential vitamins like vitamin E, vitamin K, and vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6, and B12. The B vitamins are a natural source of energy, and I could always use more energy! wanu also comes loaded with Folic Acid, Biotin and Fiber. You can get 24% of your daily recommended intake of fiber from one serving of wanu. Because fiber supports a healthy weight by making you feel fuller longer, it’s one of the main reasons I drink wanu. It’s at Vons, Safeway, Albertsons, and Pavillions. Use this coupon and get $1.00 off the purchase of any two (2) 16 oz. bottles of wanu. 3 wanu water flavors

Schedule some “me” time

Self-care doesn’t have to be a day spent at the spa. You can simply set aside some time to read a book, go for a walk, or get a manicure. Put it on the calendar and make yourself a promise that you’re going to do it. And, just as you would keep a doctor’s appointment, make sure to keep your appointments for self-care.

Celebrate small wins

When you DO make and keep an appointment with yourself, give yourself a pat on the back. You had to be intentional and put in effort to make that self-care activity happen. Reflect on how it feels to have done something nice for yourself. Remember that good feeling the next time you don’t think you have time to spend on yourself. Last week I took a walk on the beach by myself. It was only for about 30 minutes but I savored every moment of it, just enjoying the sound of the waves and the fresh ocean air.

Find your passion

What is it that you love doing? If you’re not sure, try out new things and you will find something that you can’t get enough of. It’s funny, I always thought I was a terrible artist. Then one day a friend invited me to a painting and vino class, and it turns out I’m not too bad at painting! So don’t be afraid of trying something outside of your comfort zone.

Be thankful

Even if I can only squeeze in 30 minutes a week for myself, at least I got some time to take care of my personal needs. Taking better care of my body is becoming more important to me. I’m thankful for low-calorie drinks like wanu water. It’s refreshingly sweetened with monk fruit, so it has 0 grams of sugar. It may seem silly to be thankful for something as simple as a drink, but you’d be surprised how much better it feels to always be in a gratitude state of mind. I’m thankful for anything that tastes good and only has 10 calories, like wanu water does. I’m also thankful for each glorious sunrise, getting to work on time, the opportunity to help a friend… Everything! Living out thankfulness truly gives me a sense of peace.

Sunday is for Lesson Plans and Laundry

They say that the only things that are guaranteed are death and taxes. I disagree. As a teacher mom, I am also guaranteed to spend my Sundays working on lesson plans and laundry! I’m totally not complaining though, because I get to spend summers with my kiddos. That makes up for a lot. 🙂

This weekend flew by, even though it was a whole day longer due to Veteran’s Day! We started Sunday with a trip to church. After that, we went on an errand to get my favorite face soap at Sprouts. You’ll have to check out my haul to see what it was (also available online here). The rest of the day was spent chilling at home, playing out front, and trying to get some lesson planning done.

In this vlog of our daily life, you’ll get to see all the mess behind the page Simply Sweet Days! Lucky you! The kids get spooked out by a big, hairy, scary BUG. Johnny finds new places to store his stuff. And, although he’s MIA for this video, John gives me a gift that proves he’s the most thoughtful husband ever.

The only unfortunate thing about a “Daily Life” kind of vlog is how long it can be. I scrunched down our day into short highlights, but it’s still a lengthy video. I won’t even be a little bit sad if you skim through, but I would appreciate it oh, so much if you’d subscribe to my channel so I can get a custom YouTube web address. YouTube only lets people customize their web addresses once they reach a certain number of followers, but no worries – I’m getting closer to the magic number every day! I think it’s 100…

I’m not sure how often I can do these daily life vlogs. The time consuming part isn’t shooting the actual video. That was super easy. But it takes a few hours to cut out all the extra bits and the zillion times I say “um… so…”.

Thanks so much for checking out our vlog!

Easy Dinner Without The Guilt

In our house, we’ve got family members in 4 different schools. Right now we’re right in the thick of everyone’s new school schedules, different back to school nights, registration days, meet & greets, and getting supplies. We’ve managed to keep our family from feeling chaotic because we make it a priority to preserve our family time together. We do that by saying no to things that are more than we can take on, and by rotating through our easy family dinners. Keeping healthy food in our tummies helps us feel good, but we choose dinners that are easy to prepare so we still have some quality time as a family.

Pizza: Dinner Without the Guilt

Now typically we don’t consider pizza to be a healthy meal. But Papa John’s just came out with a gluten-free crust pizza that is actually pretty amazing. It’s made with ancient grains, including Sorghum, Teff, Amaranth, and Quinoa. The crust is thin and has lots of flavor, and the pizza has that great Papa John’s quality that we love. I’ve honestly never seen my little ones gobble pizza up the way they did this pizza. You may have seen my Facebook post about it. Papa John's Gluten Free Crust is our favorite easy dinner without the guilt!

You know I love a bargain. We ordered our pizza online so we could use a promo code GLTN2T for a small 2-Topping Gluten-Free Crust Pizza $9.99. We picked it up from the store and the whole way home my little ones were talking about how excited they were for pizza.

I’ve had gluten-free dough in the past and have found that some can be flaky or bland. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this pizza crust was very tasty!

On busy weeknights, I feel better about not cooking a family dinner when I know it’s a healthier option like this pizza. We chose to add sausage and pepperoni since we were getting a 2-topping special. The price was just right and the pizza was delicious!

Ordering online made it easy to customize our pizza.

First, navigate to the page for Papa John’s pizza with gluten-free crust. Then you just choose the cheese you want Add meat toppings, if desired Than maybe some veggie toppings and that’s it! You click the button to add everything to your deal, and proceed to checkout just like any other online shopping experience.

Papa John’s has a variety of customizable options: square or round pizza, spicy or regular sausage, Parmesan Romano or 3-cheese blend… You can pick and choose what you want on your pizza to make it fit your taste, and with that ancient grains gluten-free crust you don’t have to feel guilty about it!

So Much to be Thankful For

Have you ever gotten stuck in a slump, where it seems so easy to start dwelling on the hard things? This is me lately. Actually, this is me every August when I go back to work after 6-8 weeks of being home with my kids. I know that, as a teacher, I am beyond lucky to even have that time with my family. But when it’s over, I still feel bummed at returning to the stressful working mom routine.

Emily, Madeline, and Johnny came in to “help” me set up my classroom 🙂

I decided I didn’t want that heaviness weighing on my heart anymore. So today I just sat down and started listing all the things I’m thankful for. From the mundane to the grand, I write down every nice thing I’ve got going for me.

-I actually HAVE a job

-I was born in the USA

-My family is healthy

-My husband is thoughtful and loves me and our children

-I have a safe place to live

-My husband can go to college

-Both my parents are still living

-We have our own cars (ok, one is missing a front bumper and the other is 20 years old but hey, let’s not go there, right? 😉

-I belong to a wonderful online community (that’s you!)

-I have friends who love and support me

I could go on forever!

My oldest is such a good sport when I *need* a Snapchat selfie!

This is a habit I’m going to start doing on a regular basis. I’ll call it a thankfulness journal. Instead of taking all life’s little blessings for granted, I’ll write them down. Then it’s so much easier to focus on the good instead of the yucky stuff.

The thing that makes a thankfulness journal work is not to argue with yourself. See what I did there, with the thing about the cars? When I make excuses for why that nice thing isn’t so nice after all, I’m really saying I shouldn’t be thankful for it. When really, I am filled with joy every time my car makes it the 33 miles to my work because that’s just one more day we don’t have a car payment!

Let me know in the comments if you found this helpful, or if you want to join me in writing a thankfulness journal.