Exchanging good ideas

My friend Rebeca wrote me on facebook today and gave me the idea to do a post to exchange all of the good ideas and little secrets we have that make our lives easier. That can include anything from cleaning products to super easy/yummy recipes. Things that we wish we could share with the whole world and everybody would thank us because it's so good. Think about it, and if you can't think of anything, think harder! I know you have at least one.

I'm going to start with mine.

* Brownie in a Mug. So easy. So Yummy. Great anti-stress medicine.

4 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons oil
dash of salt.
Mix all together in a mug and microwave for 45-60 seconds. It'll be slightly "fudgey." Let it sit for a few moments and put a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream on top. Sooo NOT fatening! haha. But ohhh sooo good! Give it a try and then tell me what you think!

* Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. Erases everything, even crayon marks on walls.


* Toy broom & Cleaning Supplies set. Who would've thought that such a silly, inexpensive toy would be so entertaining? My kids absolutely LOVE this almost over any other (even more expensive) toy they own.
There are more styles on this website.

See how random this was? Recipe, cleaning supply and a toy. So really, you can share ANYTHING you would like!

Rebeca here:

So my friend borrowed some of my clothes the other day, and when she returned them, they smelled SO GOOD I had to ask her what laundry detergent she uses. She said that besides her laundry detergent which is something like Gain, she also uses Bounce Dryer Bars. And we decided to give it a try. Boy, that stuff is good!! I hated it that my laundry never had that amazing fresh smell. Now it does :)

Another thing I loved: 2 weeks ago I bought this thing for our toilet bowl.

Our apartment is old and I believe it was never remodeled therefore, all the fixtures, toilets, tub, etc are old as well. There's always been this rust coming off of the toilet where the water comes of when you flush. I was always cleaning it up cuz it made me mad to see that...there was nothing I could do besides getting it cleaned every other day.
Anyways, I found this at the store. It cost me around $5 but it is worth it. I didnt clean the toilet bowl ever since we bought it. I don't need to clean it all the time anymore! It is always clean and smells good. I love it!!

Kika here:

Something that makes my life easier is the BUMBO SEAT! We don't have a lot of space for a high chair so I sit Olivia on the bumbo seat to feed her. When she wants my attention and I have to wash the dishes or (try to) cook, I put the bumbo on the kitchen counter where I can see it and do my thing while talking to her. She is entertained and the complaining stops. And when I want her to quiet down I put the bumbo on the floor and she sits on it with a book. It's funny. She likes that thing and it's very handy.

Kids shouldn't get sick

I know that now I'm asking too much, but don't you just wish your children wouldn't get sick? They just get so miserable and your heart hurts just to see them like that. If you could switch places with your child, would you? I bet most of you would. But unfortunately (or fortunately for some people) we can't. So what is the best way to care for them when they're sick? What if you have more than one child and they get sick at the same time? What are some techniques you have used that have worked for you?
I've been having a big problem lately. My oldest is going to preschool and she's been constantly sick. We live in a very polluted city, so coughs and allergies are most often. She brings in the virus and her little brother always ends up getting sick as well. When one gets better, the other one gets sick and then both get sick and so on. It's a cycle!! How can I prevent all of this from happening? It is very hard work to have sick children, let me tell you! We've been doing inhalations 4 times a day, and they hate doing that! It's bad enough that I have to force them to do it the whole time, but try doing it for half an hour each time. That's how much the doctor has told me to do. Otherwise if they don't get completely better and keep having bronchiolitis they'll end up developing asthma (for life). Oh, great!
I've been doing my best followig doctor's orders with my youngest, but since my oldest didn't have it nearly as bad as he did, I didn't take her in (I took him to the E.R). But now it seems like she's getting worse and while I'm doing everything I can to get my youngest to feel better, I'm not doing much for her. She won't let the inhaling mask get near her so she's just getting worse. I took her to the doctor a little over a month ago because of a never-ending cough (that had been going for a month already) and the doctor said that she was getting over it so she wouldn't prescribe anything. Well...I know I should probably take her to the doctor again but you know when you just know what they're going to say and you're going to get out of there thinking you have just wasted your time and that you probably know better because you are the one who spends 24 hours a day with them? Well, I'm still taking them in. Even if I have to get out of there frustrated. Because today is the 5th day of medicine and inhalation for my youngest and he's still not 100%. But that's what us moms do. We don't want to risk it, right? We'll go to any length to protect our children and their well-being. I'm just glad my children don't have and haven't gone through any serious illnesses or injuries.

Taking care of sick children sure is a LOT of work, though. I admire moms that have 4, 5, 6 (or more) children because sometimes it seems like I can barely make it with two. My patience level gets at its highest sometimes and I get completely exhausted. Before I had kids I wanted to have about 6 children. Now my number has gone down. Way down. Before we have kids we're so totally oblivious to what having children is like, even if we think we know, we know nothing.

A few days ago my aunt and I were talking about the fact that our children seem to always be getting sick and one topic led to another and we ended up talking about all the things that happen before we get to church in the morning and how people that have no children (or even couples that only have one child) have no idea all the things that may happen before we get there. And that sometimes we're even judged by the fact that we're late!
Anyway, I went a little off the subject here, but I've been a little too exhausted lately and just needed to get it all out. I know that this is all part of motherhood and we all go through the same things, even though sometimes it seems like we're totally alone. I love being a mother and wouldn't have it any other way. ;)

Healthy Recipe Exchange

For me one of the biggest challenges in staying healthy is eating healthy! I try and cook healthy but most of the time the rest of the family wont eat it. It's so hard to find a healthy recipe that the whole family will eat! So I thought it would be fun to share recipes that are healthy and family friendly. If you have a recipe that your family likes and is healthy please leave a comment with a recipe. Here's mine:

Zucchini Spaghetti Casserole

1 bag penne noodles boiled and drained
1 large zucchini or 2 small zucchini chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 can Spaghetti sauce
lots of cheese

In a 9x13 pan combine cooked and drained noodles and chopped vegetables (you can change veggies to different ones if your family likes different ones), pour spaghetti sauce over, top with desired amount of cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mommie Binder Follow Up.

A lot of you said you were making a Mommy Binder. So now I would love for you to share it with the rest of us!

What did you include in your binder?
How has it helped?

And send us a link with a picture! We all love to see pictures right?!

Questions for mommies V

Here are some more questions I got from some of you:

- Why do some women take longer to get pregnant than others? Is there anything you can do to be more fertil?

- What challenges did/do you have while breastfeeding and how to overcome them?


Please comment!

An Alternative to Shampoo

A few weeks ago I ran out of shampoo and wasn't able to get to the store for a few days. Luckily I remembered a friend telling about using baking soda instead of shampoo to help your hair be less greasy and have less dandruff. The idea was that the baking soda actually helps the scalp skin stay moisturized instead of drying it out and that the baking soda doesn't have sulfates and other harsh chemicals that damage your hair. So I decided to try baking soda. At first it was a little weird because it didn't lather and I wasn't sure if it would actually clean my hair. Surprisingly it did a good job at getting all the grease and baby food out of my hair. It is supposed to take 2 weeks for hair to adjust and for you to see the difference. I tried it for 2 weeks and I am seeing a difference. My hair is less greasy and softer now. I am going to stick with it as my shampoo!

So here's how you do it for any who want to try:

• Grab about 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda with one hand and in your hands mix a bit of warm water into it to make a paste.
• With your fingers rub/massage the paste onto your roots and scalp, add some water if necessary.
• Don't worry about getting the ends of your hair, they will get clean with conditioner and water.
• Wash it out while massaging your scalp.
• Condition hair like normal.
• Try for 2 weeks.

Do any of you know of natural alternatives to shampoo or conditioner?

Questions for mommies IV

- Did any of you ever give any vitamins for your kids before they were 1?

- How was it when when your children started eating solids? Is it normal if they don't like any kind of baby food whatsoever?

- How do you deal with picky eaters?

Becoming a picky eater or just a stage??

So, what do you do when you have a child that used to be a super good eater and all of the sudden she doesnt want to eat anything unless it is yogurt or juice??

I am about to go crazy these last days. Rachel was a happy girl, eating everything and anything you would put in front of her, specially if it was rice and beans, meat, banana, breakfast  cereal (honey bunches of oats) and now she doesnt want to eat anything. Seriously, I dont know what to do!!! I've tried everything already. She wont eat unless I am by her side and threatening her that she wont have juice or go play after dinner/lunch until she eats everything. Sometimes i just give up and let her go... and i end it up feeling so bad that she might be hungry during the night.
So, please, give me some advise.
I just want her to be a good eater again. I love seeing her eating everything in her plate and even asking for seconds.
Sometimes I think it is just a phase (an early terrible twos, maybe??) and that she'll go back to her eating habits again in a few days....but it's been a couple weeks already and nothing has seemed to work.

Please, help!!!

PS: I made this post on my personal blog and some friends gave me their opinion and help.  Some of them told me it might be just a stage and that my daughter will get back to her eating habits; others said I could try some different strategies to get her excited again about food. If you have sometime, go check the answers out at my blog