The Pleasant Times

Here are some home-making and house-keeping tips for the upcoming holiday season:

'Tis the season to pull out your extra-large pots and pans for preparing great feasts! A discovery recently made in my house was that a dollar-store pizza pan was just the right size to serve as a lid for our over-sized frying pan. Lids are expensive to buy in large sizes, and as long as we remember to use a potholder to lift this "lid" it works just fine!

Tired of the space that numerous boxes of tea were taking up, I emptied all the boxes of individually-wrapped tea bags, and "filed" them in a cereal box that has one side cut off. This slides into the cupboard   quite nicely. Tea bags are "filed" according to flavor and type.

Some Cleaning Tips:
Keep a "Goodwill" bag or box by the front door, and "cull" as you clean.

When the bedroom is in an absolute horribly disorganized mess, make the bed first and then pile everything on it. This is a good tip for older children who should be able to clean their room by now. The rule is, you can't go to sleep until it is all cleaned off and put in its proper place. Not only is the idea of a good night's rest motivating, but the rest of the room, wiped clean of all the clutter (that is temporarily on the bed), looks so good that it is encouraging to keep it that way.

Tips for Tired Mothers:
Make a mental note of what time you wear out each evening; try to put the children to bed an hour before that time. If it seems too early, they can have a quiet reading time in bed for a while.

If you have many children, and one wants something, the want can become infectious. For instance, if the sister asks for apple juice, you know that any other child within hearing will be wandering into the kitchen asking for what lil' sis  has. May as well pour out enough juice or serve enough snacks at one time , according  how many children you have. It will prevent you from having to go back to the kitchen five times. Also, it will keep you from getting annoyed by having to answer the "May I have some juice, too?" question multiple times.

If you have many children, ideas can be infectious. "Why, look at this interesting thing," mother might say. Suddenly here comes one child to see. Then, two more. Then, others. "May I see? Let me see! May I see too? Mom! Joey is blocking my way! I want to see!!!" Each one seems to come at a different time wanting to see what it is. Instead of showing it ten times (or according to how many children you have), make sure everyone is all assembled before you tell everyone to look. Or, if it is simply a casual remark said to self and unimportant, try not to say "Why, look at this...." out loud!

These last two tips may seem rather silly to place here, for certainly mothers already know them! Yet mothers can be tired sometimes, and forget things, and not know why they are suddenly annoyed at the children asking them questions all day.