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Laundry Piling Up? You Can Conquer It!

How busy are you? Are you unbelievably busy? Busy people’s lives can cross the fine line between order to chaos in no time! When you are tightly scheduled, it just doesn’t take much to tip the scales to the messy side of life. All it takes is an unplanned for interruption of your regular schedule, such as a bout of illness or your car needing to go to the shop, to do it. That’s when stuff starts piling up.

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The two areas of the home that clutter faster-than-fast are the kitchen and the laundry room. When life is on track, we can keep up with it. If we lose our rhythm, it collects really fast. So then, today let’s talk about laundry.

How do you dig out from under piles of laundry and regain peace and order? First, recognize that it is not impossible. You can do it. Now, create a plan and follow through.

Pick your strategy. What will your plan be? Decide whether you will take it on in one day, one weekend or over a whole week.

Implement the plan. You can multi-task this rescue operation with other projects that need to be done but make the commitment that you will complete “the cycle” to the end. Do not stop midstream, leaving some clothes in the washer and some in the dryer.

The Cycle:

Wash a load
Dry it
Fold it
Bring it to it’s destination
Put it all away.

Be consistent and don’t get distracted. Whether you make your way through the pile of laundry all at once or over a period of days, stick with the plan. Do not stop until all of the dirty laundry is clean and put away.

Maintain your success. After all of your clothes are clean and put away, continue this good habit so that you don’t get behind again. If life takes over, and sometimes it will, you’ve succeeded in the laundry room once before so, do it again.

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Laundry piling up? You can conquer it! #tips #momlife #cleaning #organizing Share on X

Your Tools:

The right tools make a job so much easier. How do you handle your laundry? Do you use laundry hampers, laundry baskets, or both?

How many laundry baskets do you use for the process? Do you hang some clothes in the laundry room before moving them to the closet?

To simplify the cycle, you should have at least two baskets. One for transporting the dirty clothes to the laundry room. The second one is to put in the bedroom to replace the full one you just removed.

There are some really nifty tools you can add to your arsenal that will help you better enjoy conquering that pile of laundry including: narrow laundry carts fashioned to fit between your washer and dryer, garment racks to hang clean clothes straight out of the dryer and drying racks to lay sweaters and delicates out to dry.

And while the laundry is in, run the vacuum cleaner around the house and get some exercise! FUN!

Enjoy!

How To Make The Best Homemade Blueberry Muffins

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Fresh homemade blueberry muffins are a tasty delight but how do you keep the berries from spreading their color throughout the batter when you make them? The simple solution is to use frozen blueberries.

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Wilton Non-Stick Muffin Pan

Frozen blueberries and not fresh? Yes. Adding frozen blueberries keeps their color from bleeding into the batter as you mix them in. Really! Whether you use fresh blueberries and then freeze them or buy them already frozen, KEEP them frozen.

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The Process …

Make your batter.
Take the frozen blueberries and lightly toss them in granulated sugar or a tablespoon of flour.
Now, gently blend them into the batter.
Spoon the batter into those muffin tins and pop them in your preheated oven right away. Each muffin will be picture perfect!

Baking tip for making the best blueberry muffins

Now, are you ready for the BEST blueberry muffin recipes?

This first recipe for Blueberry Buttermilk Corn Muffin by Food Network’s Giada De Laurentiis is out of this world and see that she uses frozen blueberries!

Recipe=> Blueberry Buttermilk Corn Muffins
‘

Simple tip to make perfect blueberry muffins every time! #householdhints #tips #baking Share on X

Low Carb? Try this yummy Low Carb Keto Paleo Blue Berry Muffin recipe from Wholesome Yum. Remember to freeze your blueberries before you make them!

Love crumbles on top of your muffins? 30Seconds blog has an amazingBlueberry Muffin Recipe with Crumb Toppingyou are going to want to check out!

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For The First Time I Lost Weight And Kept It Off

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I have been attempting to lose weight and keep it off all of my adult life. In fact, I think I have tried just about every way possible to do it: low calorie diets, low fat diets, low carbohydrate diets, cabbage soup diets, shakes, vitamins, meetings, crazy fad diets like eating only bananas and milk. You name it, I have tried it!

Even when I did lose weight, it never stayed off. I always returned to the eating style I knew best – eating anything and everything I wanted to without restriction. Finally, about a year ago, I hit a day of desperation when I weighed myself and saw that my weight had arrived at a miserable all-time high. That is when I said “I’m done! Why try anymore?”

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I had run out of ideas. There was NO willpower left. I was stuffed into my clothes and totally uncomfortable. Losing weight was something I didn’t even want to think about but, with every labored breath, I had to. I weighed in at 156 lbs. that day. One hundred and fifty six pounds on this little 5 ft 2 inch frame is a lot. I barely got my pants zipped up! Ugh.

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So, as I was hauling my gear into the school, I whispered “Lord, you have to have an answer but I sure don’t know what. Help me! Please????” It was a Tuesday in January and I was about to teach my little preschoolers a favorite lesson about “Letter K is for Kangaroo.”

By 9:00 am I had finished setting up my room. Soon the children would arrive and it was time to go down the hallway to the ladies room one more time before they did. That is when I saw her. Sarah! She teaches kindergarten in the classroom next to mine. I took a double take. She was skinny! I mean it. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of weeks but she was suddenly really thin and looked gorgeous! With minutes to go before class started I said “How much did you lose and how did you do it, Sarah? You are so thin. You look great!” She quickly said “I lost 24 pounds in 4 weeks on Trim Healthy Mama. My hubby lost 29 and it was so easy!” I couldn’t believe my ears. “Trim Healthy what?”

What is Trim Healthy Mama?

I looked for my next opportunity to dig for more information. I needed to hear that name again and I wanted details! First, she told me that Trim Healthy Mama was not a program. I liked that. I didn’t want to join any programs or groups. Another plus, I could borrow the book from the library. That was perfect. I was so tired of investing money in trying to lose weight and failing. I didn’t want to spend a dime till I was convinced this was something I could do. [By February 18, 2017, by the way, I ordered the book from Amazon! I needed to have a copy of my own.]

This was starting to look suspiciously like an answer to prayer. It does – doesn’t it? I had asked God what I was going to do to lose weight and in less than an hour heard about THM? Hmm. My hopes were up. So, right after work I called the library and reserved a copy of “Trim Healthy Mama Plan.” I could hardly wait to get my hands on that book!

How I FINALLY lost weight and kept it off after years and years of trying - Yippee!! #weightloss #diets #healthyeating #THM Share on X

The Trim Healthy Mama Book

The book is big. Really big. 310 pages, including intro and indexes. At other times, that might have stopped me right there but, as I said, I was desperate! Plus, I had prayed. I had to take that under consideration. This could be my answer and then I was going to let the size of a book stopped me? Never!

TIP=> it comes in SPIRAL BOUND which I think you will appreciate because you can easily open it up and lay it flat.

As I was reading the introduction, I learned that the FIRST copy of the book – written by two hilarious sisters Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison – was a whopping 640 pages! Yikes! Do these girls love to talk! LOL That first book had been roughly written. They wrote it just to help people discover the food freedom that they had found. They weren’t looking to start a movement. Their weight loss discovery came from an “I am DONE!” moment concerning the endless cycle of yo-yo dieting and still being overweight. They prayed for an answer. Hmm. I am sensing a pattern here. Eventually, Trim Healthy Mama was born.

Then their first book rose to the New York Times Best Seller List using NO promotions and no advertising campaigns. Does that ever happen? They say that the first edition was riddled with typos and misspellings yet it STILL skyrocketed to popularity. Why? Because it had the best news we diet-weary women had ever heard. Everyone following the plan was experiencing the “mystifying Trim Healthy Mama Shrink!” You really will not believe how you will be able to eat and actually lose weight. Gotta try it!

A funny side-note about the SIZE of that FIRST BOOK>> Pearl and Serene started to hear that many of their followers were taking their super-huge Trim Healthy Mama Plan books to the local office supply stores to get them cut in half! I kid you not! They wanted to be able to use the cookbook in their kitchens and take the part with the plan elsewhere with ease. So, to solve the problem for their many readers, the authors shrunk the plan book to its now 310 pages and published the other half as their first cookbook, appropriately named “Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook.”

Don’t cook? Relax! If you are not into elaborate cooking do not let the fact that they have a cookbook scare you. It is totally easy to follow THM without making special recipes. In fact, this plan is perfect for all types of eating personalities: from health-food experts to drive-thru frequenters.

I will be sharing a little more about how the plan works soon but let me tell you today that my results are the best thing that has happened to me in my eating-life. They won’t impress those who look for the spectacular but may I say that I lost slow and steady even with MANY departures from the plan – such as the week when the power was out in my hometown from a gigantic windstorm. It was winter and way too cold to grill out. Most of the restaurants could not open except for a couple of the famous fast food providers. So, I ate pancakes with sausage from the drive up every day for breakfast that week without remorse. Funny thing, too. I didn’t gain any weight at all!

My results on Trim Healthy Mama>> I lost 12 pounds in 9 months. Then another four came off for a total of 16. For the first time since I had anything to say about what was for dinner, I did NOT eat any Halloween candy and only dug into sugary desserts at the Thanksgiving table instead of a feast lasting for days. Previously, my yearly cycle was that I would start bingeing from October 31st through to Super Bowl Sunday! Only after Valentine’s Day did I get serious about losing weight and that was because I had gained a ton. I would slim down a bit over the summer months in time to start the climb up the scale the next time October arrived.

So, for me to not gain weight at all through the holidays is a miracle. A real miracle. I am only 5′ 2″ tall so 16 pounds lost really shows. And, I now can bend over to tie my shoes and not have a stomach in the way. Plus, walking is a breeze! I love to be on the move, now, because it is so easy to move. Aches and pains are gone! This plan is something I can and will do the rest of my life with delight! Do I ever eat “normal” food? Well, yes, I depart and put something with sugar in my mouth occasionally but I really don’t need to. Cravings are gone and the sweet treats on this plan are so scrumptious, why would I?

More Trim Healthy Mama Testimonials >>

Trim Healthy Mama Books>>

Summary of the Trim Healthy Mama plan [Very quick read but lacks the detail & personality of the big one.]

Trim Healthy Mama Plan [The smaller “BIG” one! 310 awesome pages – I highly recommend starting here!]

Trim Healthy Mam Plan [The first edition 642 page version]

Original Cookbook>> Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook

ALL NEW Cookbook>> Trim Healthy Table [It has the lazy lasagna recipe that everyone is raving about!]

100 Days of Inspiration – Devotional for Women of All Ages and Stages [Trim Healthy Mama]

My Trim Healthy Mama Friendly Sweets Recipes>>

Gooey Chocolate Lava Cake in a Mug

Dreamy Creamy Low Carb Cheesecake in a Mug

Low Carb Cheesecake Recipe of My Dreams

Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes with Blueberry Topping

Sugar Free Cream Cheese Cookie Recipe

Keep an eye out for my next Trim Healthy Mama post that tells you the simplicity of this plan.

BTW… this is NOT a sponsored post. I just love THM! I am, however, an Amazon affiliate so if you buy anything from Amazon – including THM products and books – through links on this blog, I will earn a small commission. In advance, “thank you for shopping Amazon through me!” … ♥ Sinea

Enjoy!

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Letter G is for Garden Preschool Lesson

What we learned about seeds and plants:

Stems grow up – roots grow down – this simple fact is new to many 3 year olds. Watch the joy on their faces as they learn!
Plants grow from seeds.
How to plant a garden:
1. Dirt – seeds get planted in dirt. Preparing the dirt for the seeds is the first part about making a garden. You must loosen the soil and remove roots and large debris.
2. Worms – God put worms and bugs in the earth to keep the dirt loose. Don’t be scared of worms. They are friendly and it is OK for them to be there.
3. Stones – a few small stones can also stay. They are good for gardens. They help the water to drain through.
4. Seed – plants grow from seeds. We plant seeds in the dirt and they will grow into plants someday.
5. Sun – seeds and plants need sunlight to help them grow.
6. Water – seeds need drinks of water. They get those drinks from rain or people can water them.
7. Patience – the seed that you planted will come up but it takes a few days. Watch and wait. It will come up soon.

Timing: I planted my lima beans about a week before I taught this lesson. It took 3-5 days to see the plant peek above the surface. After it did, progressive growth could be seen every hour. Lima beans grow fast! [ By the way, if you don’t have lima beans, dry kidney beans work, as well.]

Make “My Garden” Tags: To make this activity special, I made “My Garden” tags and glued them on craft sticks for the kids to put in their cups. I printed a sheet of the tags on white card-stock and laminated them first, to protect them from moisture. Next, I cut the tags out and glued them on the craft sticks using white school glue.

Laminator!

And remember to get plenty of laminating sheets, too!

Letter G is for Garden #preschool lesson Share on X

Here is a copy of the garden tags for you to print and laminate:

FREE Printable “My Garden” Tags

How to Grow a Lima Bean Plant

Supplies

Paper Cups

Dry Lima Beans

Dirt – prepared

Large Spoons

“My Garden” Tags

Directions

Using a skewer or a ballpoint pen, poke 3 – 5 holes in the bottom of each paper cup for drainage.

Dig some dirt from your garden.

Prepare the dirt by sifting through it by hand. Remove debris, roots, bugs. You may leave the worms in the dirt if you would like to.

Print, laminate and make the My Garden signs.

Bring the dirt, seeds, cups and signs to school along with 2 or 3 large serving spoons.

Have your children spoon dirt into their cups about 2/3 way full.

Have them poke their finger into the middle of the dirt and drop one lima bean in it.

Scoop one more bit of dirt on top of the seed, covering it.

Now they can put their sign into the cup.

Instruct your students and their parents to water the plant when they get home.

Remind them that they should keep it on a plate. There are holes in the bottom of the cup and the dirty water will drain out. You can have your children water their plants in school if you are going to keep the gardens there but if they are traveling home with them it may be best for them to wait.

“BYE BYE PLANT!” Eventually, someone is going to get tired of having a lima bean growing on the kitchen counter. When you and your child are ready to say “goodbye” to it, first soak the dirt with water and slowly pull the plant out so that your little one can see what the roots look like. Remember the preschool lesson: roots grow DOWN, stems grow UP!

Check out the complete ☑️ Alphabet of Preschool Crafts & Lessons A-Z

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Fun Things To Teach Preschoolers About Frogs

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One fascinating thing about frogs is their life cycle. We learned it in a few ways. I showed the children a diagram of the life cycle and pointed out that, after they hatch from eggs, they begin looking like little fish. They agreed that tadpoles look just like fish! I sent them home with a picture of the life cycle of a frog that they could share with their families.

Next, we saw a brief You Tube video that taught about amphibians but it concentrated primarily on frogs. (see it below)

For our daily lesson, I read “Frogs” by National Geographic Kids to our class. It is full of beautiful pictures. This book is perfect for teaching a lesson about frogs for students in preschool, kindergarten and the younger primary grades.

Now this was special>> one of our students caught a frog in her yard and she brought it to school, so we had a real live frog for everyone in our class to see. And my students got to see how to capture a frog, too. LOL Yes, I opened the container for the children to get a better look at the little guy and he hopped out. Gee whiz, frogs can MOVE FAST! Thankfully, I got him safely back into his container. Disaster overted!

Getting movement into our day: we hopped like a frog as we walked down the hallway at school all day long!

5 Fun Facts About Frogs

Frogs are amphibians

Frogs hatch out of eggs.

Frogs breathe through their skin.

A group of frogs is called an “army.”

Baby frogs, called “tadpoles”, look like little fish.

*More fun facts about FROGS here.

If you live near a creek or a pond, take your kids frog-hunting. Put together a little critter habitat for your frog to live in at home for a while before you release him back in the wild. If you do not have easy access to frogs, you can buy a kit and watch it grow!

Give your preschoolers a day of fun learning all about FROGS! #STEM #preschool #kindergarten Share on X

Want a really fun frog craft to do with your kids? This F is for Frog Preschool Craft is very special. The frog “hops” on its lily pad!

Enjoy!

Painting Rocks Is Fun And They Make Great Gifts

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If you are looking for a different kind of craft to make with your kids, try painting rocks. It is fun and full of possibilities for gift giving. Painted rocks make great paper weights, accents for gardens, even game pieces for tic tac toe! What other ways can you think of for using painted rocks?

How to Paint Rocks

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1. First, find some smooth stones or rocks. You may have them right in your own backyard but, if you don’t, stop by your local Dollar Tree and buy some. They often have collections of rocks in their craft section and it costs, you guessed it, a DOLLAR!

2. Next, wash and dry the stones.

3. Paint each stone with a base color that will be your background. Use Acrylic Outdoor Paints. For texture, you can dot the paint with a dry sponge. Allow each rock to dry well before proceeding to the next step.

4. Now, lightly draw the outline of your design onto the rock. You will use it as a guide for the paint. Chalk or pencil work well for drawing the pattern or words on.

5. Carefully paint the design, using a different brush for each color. Again, allow the paint to dry unless it is your intention is to blend colors. If so, go for it and mix away!

6. Finally, paint the whole rock with a clear sealant such as Modge Podge to protect the color.

Tip: if you will be layering colors, dry each layer well before adding the next one.

River Rocks for painting!

Rocks and stones can also be purchased at local hobby shops or delivered right to your door by ☑️ Amazon.

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Delightful Design Ideas for Rock Painting

Here are some delightful design ideas for rock painting. Do not let the artistic expertise scare you. Some of the cutest little rock paintings have been made by amateurs like you and me! How about making pet rocks or pet CACTUS rocks [pictured below!] Cutest idea ever!

Lady Bug Rocks

Painted Owl Stones

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Under The Sea Rocks

Tic Tac Toe Game With Painted Stones

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Lady Bug Painted Rocks

Lovely Beach Scene On A Rock

Inspirational DIY Painted Rocks

Encouraging Words – Adventure Is Out There Rocks

Blue Birds in Nest

DIY Words On Rocks

Faith in The Rock

Tiny Bird Painted On A Pebble

Rock painting kit for kids and adults, too! Fun for the whole family. Ad

Painted Cactus Pet Rock

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Painting Rocks Is Fun And They Make Great Gifts Share on X

What other designs and uses can you think of for rock painting?

Enjoy!

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Word of encouragement and inspiration engraved on a beautiful hand-sized stone!

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Keep Your House Clean In Just 30 Minutes A Day

Best Vacuum Cleaner EVER – especially for pet hair!

Does a great job picking up pet hair of all kinds (people hair, too!)

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Keep your house clean in just 30 minutes a day - 15 simple tips! #cleaning #home #tips Share on X

10 Easy To Make Hair Accessories For Girls

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10 cute DIY hair accessories for girls #hairstyling

Give your girls a new look by making cute, stylish hair accessories for them. They will love having something new to wear every day and you can have the fun of making them together!

This blog contains Amazon affiliate links. ♥

Melted beads make the prettiest #DIY hair accessories for #kids

DIY Melted Beads Accessories – The 36th Avenue

Ever had a melted bead set? Well, your girls will love making these adorable handmade hair accessories and jewelry using ☑️ MELTED BEADS!

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1 Minute Flower Hair Barrette – Domestically Speaking

This sweet little barrette takes just a minute to make!

Colorful Hanging Seed Bead Hair Clips – Love Maegan

Big girls, little girls, ALL girls love the look of these ☑️ decorative hair extensions!

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Colorfully combined hair ropes make lovely hair decorations!

Desire Deluxe Hair Chalk for Girls Makeup Kit of 10 Temporary Color Pens Gifts, Great Toy for Kids Age 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Years Old Blue – Green – Grey – Pink – Purple …

DIY Button Hair Clips – Bead and Cord

Pretty buttons make excellent hair bling!

Chains make pretty hair decorations #DIY

Hanging Chains DIY Headband – Love Maegan

You won’t believe how easy this hanging chains headband is to make!

Little girls and preteens love making friendship bracelets together!

Repurposing T-Shirts Into 5 Strand Braided Headbands – Make It Love It

Love it! This pretty headband is made from a t-shirt!

Ribbon headbands for little girls #crafts

How To Make Ribbon Braided Headbands For Girls – Pandhall Learning Center

Butterfly Hair Clip Tutorial – Kurlicues

How to make a ponytail streamer #hair #accessories

Ponytail Streamer Tutorial– Mama Momtourage

10 cute #DIY hair accessories for girls #hairstyling #kids Share on X

Enjoy!

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It is the best pet hair vacuum cleaner I have ever used and I love it.

Amazing Gift Ideas For Coffee Loving Moms

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Got a coffee lover in your family? Give her a gift that will tantalize her tastebuds and decorate her space. Some of these gift ideas are DIY crafty, others are “get out the credit card and click.” All of them say “You are LOVED Mom!” the way only a coffee lover – like me – understands!

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