Book Sale Announcement in Logan, UT

A great follow-up to our fabulous discussion POST about children's books...

Not all, but a good chunk of our readers live around or near Logan, UT, so I just wanted to give a shout-out to this sale.  For years upon years, a wonderful woman, called "The Book Lady" by many, traveled across the country, collecting notable children's titles in bulk and selling them from her home to eager parents at her cost.  What a great lady.  Now, luckily for us, her daughter is continuing the legacy.

These sales come around a couple times a year.  Back when I lived in Logan, I would go to every single one and stock up on great, new and classic children's books at an insanely affordable price. She always has a fantastic selection.  There's always a table full of board books, cases of classic books for toddlers and young children, easy readers for young beginners, and entire book shelves of young adult novels (I've picked up a lot of my Harry Potters there).  All her books are new and in perfect condition and always at low, low prices.  If you live close, I'd definitely drop by.  Go!  You won't regret it.

NEXT SALE:  

August 16-20th

1612 East 1220 North

9:00 am - 12:00 noon

For more information, visit her website at www.thebookladysdaughter.com.

-Alyssa

Settling In

Last week my post focused on HOW to move from our current place.

Now I need advice on settling into a new house and town. I'm not too worried about myself - I can adjust, but I am worried about my 3 kids.

I know many of you have moved, so I would LOVE some advice on how to make the transition as easy as possible for my little ones.

We will be leaving the only home they've known and moving to another state and into a rather large house. We will also be too far from grandparents to visit on a regular basis (though thank goodness, not too far). I know it will take time for me to figure out the new area, so we might not be going out as much as we used to either. Overall, I'm just worried about their reactions.

Any other advice about settling into a new place would be much appreciated as well. IE - things I should do to settle in (getting a new driver's license, unpacking, finding new doctors, etc.....)

~Tannie~

Congratulations!

Laura and her husband welcomed a new baby boy into their family this morning!

He weighed in at 8 pounds 3 ounces and measured 22 inches long.

Both mom and baby are doing well.

Congratulations Laura!

Laminating 101

I had an epiphany.  Actually, my friend is the one who had the really superb idea, and it sparked my interest too.  It stemmed from laminating.  I've been meaning to laminate a bunch of stuff for a while, like my kid's worksheets, chore charts, etc.  Laminated paper is so darn useful, because it's reusable, and therein lies its awesomeness.

I always thought I had to go somewhere and pay to get stuff laminated in a professional laminating machine.  (Silly me.)  That's just how my mom, my friends' moms, and everyone I knew did it growing up.  But, driving somewhere to get stuff laminated is a drag.  Packing up the kids to run little errands like LAMINATING is just...well, ugh. So, smart people created do-it-yourself stuff called laminating sheets.  A lot of it is self-adhesive, some is an iron-on variety.  Basically just put two sheets on either side of a piece of paper and press together.  Trim off the sides, and viola!  Instant laminating.  The best part is that you can do it at home after the kids have gone to bed, which (as we all know) is SO much more convenient than the mid-day errand method.

Then someone decided that paying $15-30 for a box of laminating sheets can get pricey, and discovered that for someone doing a lot of laminating (like home schooling moms), regular old contact paper (you know, the stuff found in the kitchen aisle and Lowe's or Home Depot (about $5 a roll) to line the insides of drawers with) does basically the same thing.  Peel off the sticker and press together.

My friend looked at me, alarmed that I'd never heard of DIY laminating before.  Meh.  So I'm behind the times.  I'll catch up eventually.  Anyway, armed with this awesome info, now I need stuff to laminate.  This is where you come in ladies.  What are you favorite websites to print out preschool and toddler friendly activities and worksheets? (Obviously focus on stuff than can be laminated, given the topic of this post.)  Do you have fun job charts and other ideas that you've come up with yourself?  Let's pool our knowledge!  This isn't limited to kid stuff.  I think I might even take my to-do list and meal planning charts off the refrigerator and laminate the tar out of em', because I can.  Because laminated stuff is reusable, and (as we all know) therein lies its awesomeness, right?

-Alyssa

Moving DAY

I'm moving in less than 3 weeks. Kind of freaks me out a bit... Ladies, I don't even know where the devil to start.

I've been married for 8 years and all those years we've only moved once and it was after only 2 years of being married. We moved less than 2 blocks away and we had no kids at the time. I now have 3 kids and we've lived here much longer which means we've had a chance to REALLY fill it up. We are BURSTING at the seams. We are going to have to dig into the woodwork to find all our junk. Add to that the fact that we are moving to another state (just Idaho, but STILL) thus requiring a moving truck.

I need some advice. I honestly have NO experience with a move of this magnitude.

When should I start packing?
Where should I get boxes?
What boxes did you like?
How should I pack all my dang books?
How do I keep my kids (and myself) from going insane as the house is in total chaos?

Give me your wisdom!! I seriously need help.

~Tannie~

Let's not even talk about unpacking... that's a WHOLE different post. :)

Hard Questions

Okay, like the other ladies on the panel I am LDS and we strongly believe in not smoking and drinking.  My in-laws are not LDS and they both smoke and drink (don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws and they are wonderful people!). However, lately it's been very hard to explain to Lucas, in terms he understands, how we don't smoke and drink but we still love grandma and grandpa no matter what.

So, I'm wondering how do you answer those hard questions about people that do things you don't believe in (whether it's smoking, drinking, swearing, etc.) for your little ones?

-Megan- 

All my bags are packed...

I'm *this close* to having my third baby--my little boy is due in only two weeks. My past pregnancies show that I don't have a tendency to go early, but I want to be prepared just in case. I've mostly packed my bags, with the exception of those things I use on a daily basis.


Being as this is my third time, I have a pretty good feel for what I will and won't use while I'm in the hospital. Here are a few of my must-haves for the postpartum hospital stay:

~Ear Plugs and Sleeping Mask~

With all the monitors, lights, buttons, and hallway activity, sleep can be pretty hard to come by, even if you send the baby to the nursery. Ear plugs and a sleeping mask can be invaluable for catching at least a couple hours of real sleep. And don't worry--if you keep baby in the room, you will still easily be able to hear any cries with ear plugs in.

~Depends~

Yes, I'm talking about those huge grown-up diapers that we generally associate with the older/oldest generations. But really? Mesh underwear? Um, not comfortable, and I honestly have no faith in them staying where they need to be and thus I am afraid to move too much. That doesn't really make for the most pleasant recovery time, and can even disrupt bonding time with baby at times. With Depends, they stay exactly where they are supposed to without fear of, well, messiness. I highly recommend them for early postpartum.

~Entertainment~

This is a fairly general category that will vary widely based on your own personal taste. I personally like to bring a laptop (with charger), a book or two, and a maybe a couple of movies. This is the one area where I always feel like I'm packing too much and end up coming home with things I didn't use, but I would much rather have options in the hospital than be stuck with something I don't want to watch or read. You never know what kind of mood you might be in and having even just two choices can make all the difference in your relaxation level.

~Slippers~

I may be in the minority, I'm not sure, but I kind of hate the rubber slipper sock things they give you in the hospital. Why? I can't take them off! My feet get way, way too hot if I wear them in bed, and if I get up to walk around, it hurts my midsection (not surprisingly) to bend over to get them on and off. I do much better if I bring my own slippers that I can easily slip on and off when I get out of bed and keep myself either barefoot in bed or wear my own lighter-weight socks from home.

What are your must haves for your postpartum hospital stay?

And a secondary question...

As I mentioned, this is my third child. That means I have two other kiddos who will be camping out at Grandma's house for a while until baby and I are ready to settle back in at home.

What should I make sure to pack for them to help with their time away from home?

Any quick tips on helping the transition into having a new sibling?


As always, your input is greatly appreciated!

~Laura~

Top 5

These are the top 5 must haves for my diaper bag lately besides diapers and wipes.  I always seem to have these five things in my bag no matter where I go!

1. Sunscreen - my kids are pretty fair skinned, and with a 3 month old, sunscreen is always in my bag.  I'm currently using banna boat's baby sunscreen (even on me and my hubby), love the smell of sunscreen, it makes me think of summer and water!

2. Extra clothes - this is for both my 3 month old and my 3 year old.  Even though we are basically done potty training, we still tend to have an accident once and awhile out and about.

3. Camera - I've been so good lately about taking my camera out and about with us.

4. Baby Sling - I got a free sling from sevenslings.com and am loving it! (If you want one for free, go to sevenslings.com and enter the code HVM or FAMILY2011, they didn't pay me of give me compensation in any way for this shout out.)

5. Granola Bars  and a bottle of water - It seems like whenever we go anywhere my 3 year old is hunger (he's a bottomless pit!), so I always pack some granola bars and a bottle of water.

What things are the current it items for bag?

-Megan-

A few tricks I've picked up...

Every now and again, I come across a food-saving tip that sticks out in my head. Better even is when those tricks really work! Here are a few food preservation techniques I've learned since I've run my own kitchen:

Put a slice of bread in the bag with freshly-baked cookies.


The bread will harden, but the cookies will remain soft.


When storing potatoes, place an apple in the bag.


The apple will delay the growth of eyes on the potatoes.


When preparing avocados or guacamole, leave the pit in the mixture and add lime or lemon juice (to taste).


These two things (especially the juice) will keep the avocado green much longer. Be sure to refrigerate as well.

Do you have any food saving tips from your kitchen?

~Laura~

Traveling with Kids

At some point this summer we will be taking a trip that involves being in the car for at least 8 hours with two kids under the age of 4, yeah not something I'm looking forward especially since one will still be nursing. So I've been looking around for tips for traveling with little kids and came across a site called Delicious Baby.  This is a wonderful site done by Debbie, a mother of three kids under the age of 6.  She goes everywhere with her kids! They've been to Europe, including Turkey, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.  I love her tips for traveling with little kids and she also gives great tips for traveling while pregnant and nursing.  And while she doesn't talk about traveling with kids in cars really, she does give just some great over all advice on how to baby proof your hotel room, great travel products for kids, and easy to travel with toys.

Go check out her site, http://www.deliciousbaby.com/!


-Megan-

Reader Requests 2011 - Post 7

This week we are talking about babysitting. Check out what our reader said...



"I have a 15 month old daughter and we still have yet to find a babysitter. We have family and friends that we can trade off with which is nice, but when trading off with friends and family it makes things hard because we have to drop her off at their house and often when we go out it's almost her bedtime. It would be nice to get a babysitter that we'd pay to come over to our home so we wouldn't have to worry about bedtimes or getting a big diaper bag together when we go out.

I definitely fall in the "worrier" category as a parent so the thought of a teenager watching my child does make me feel a bit uneasy. I also have a child that doesn't eat well (especially for other people) which makes me worry a lot when leaving her with someone, but I really would like to go on more dates with my husband. We live in a ward with very few youth (and most of which are younger youth) so that has made finding a babysitter tough as well.

My questions are:

What have you done to find a babysitter?
How old were your children when you started leaving them with a teenaged babysitter?
What qualities do you look for in a teenaged babysitter?
Are there any ways to help me worry less when leaving her with someone?"

So help her out!! Share your advice about teenage babysitters.

Couple Time: Money Matters

When I first got married, my husband was fresh off his mission while I had been living independently, working to pay all my bills myself, for over three years. I determined that I obviously was the most logical choice as financial manager for our new little family. I therefore took it upon myself to track all of our income and expenses, pay all the bills, and even start building up our emergency fund (now that all our savings had been used up on the wedding). I was so sure that I could handle it and my husband would never have to worry his pretty little head about money.

Funny thing, though--he actually wanted to know what was going on with our money. Huh. He didn't want me to just take over and not tell him anything. Go figure.

That launched the next stage. He took over and despite his many attempts to include me, he basically ran the show for the next few years. I would get too annoyed trying to sit down and do anything with him and often it was easier for him to just do it himself than try to do it together and end up fighting.

Sometimes I'm glad we're not newlyweds anymore.

We have improved over time, but we still hit snags now and again when we try to go over finances--particularly when the income doesn't quite match our (my?) desired expenses.

Money and financial issues have often been listed as one of the highest causes of marital conflict and divorce. No one is immune from having to work through these kinds of issues in their own marriage. I am interested to know how you can turn your own marital finances from this:


to this:

aren't google images great?

So...

Who manages the money in your family? Husband? Wife? Or do you do it together?

How do you prevent money from becoming a trouble area, particularly when the budget is tight?

Any tips or tricks for keeping the peace when money is involved?

~Laura~

This post is intended mostly for looking into the relationship side of managing finances. If there is interest, we can certainly do more posts about the nitty-gritty how-to of family money management. Just let us know!

How To Take Your Own Pictures

That's my boy almost two years ago.  Isn't he cute?  (Just nod your head.)

Let's be frank.  We love our kids.  Love em' to death.  And if you're like me, you can hardly resist taking about A MILLION pictures of these little cuties and posting them for the whole blogosphere to see...but what's the secret to getting these precious pictures to turn out?  I mean, we want to adequately portray the maximum level of cutness for all our friends to see, right?

My background:  I graduated two years ago with a bachelor in fine arts, emphasis in painting and drawing.  Not photography.  But training in photography was part of my degree, and in the scant two years I've been a mom, I've taken A LOT of pictures.  Think tens of thousands, including all my boy's milestone pictures (because paying a studio for them is dang expensive) and a few family picture sessions here and there for friends.  Here's what I've learned...(NOTE:  These tips are geared toward beginning photographers with limited access to photography equipment.)

A.  LIGHT: When your camera takes a picture, it essentially just makes a record of the light in the room.  No light = no pictures.  The essence of this idea makes sense.  If there's no light, you can't possibly see anything, and neither can your camera.  The same is true for poor lighting.  Poor light = poor pictures...like the light that comes from all our light bulbs.  Everyday light bulb lighting stinks.  That's just how it is.  Remember back when you were little and spent all afternoon playing outside?  When you came inside, the house felt DARK, right?  Well, your camera thinks so too.  That's why indoor photography studios always have those big, expensive lights that practically blind you.  So, if you don't have access to a studio, (like 99.999999999 percent of everyone...including me) there's two things you can do:  

1) Take pictures by windows.  For beginning photographers without expensive camera equipment, natural light is your best friend.  Please, TURN OFF YOUR FLASH and make use of window light to avoid the deer-in-the-headlights full-frontal flash that completely washes out faces and makes good photos hard to take.  Especially when taking portraits, I try and avoid using my flash like the plague.  Don't have windows everywhere?  I have that problem too.  There's just some rooms in my house that I don't take pictures in.  The downsides of turning off your flash is that you'll have less light to work with, which often means blurry pictures.  Help avoid blurry pics by steadying the camera against a wall or the floor, prop it up on something non-moving like books or a bag of beans, or use a tripod.

2) Go outside.  The best times to shoot are early in the morning or later in the evening (try to avoid the 2:00-directly overhead sunlight).  The best weather to shoot in is a cloudy day.  If it's sunny outside, try shooting in the shade.  We're aiming for soft light, not the harsh stuff that leaves funky shadows on your child's face. 

B.  PERSPECTIVE:  Get down at eye level with your child.  Some of the best pictures I've taken have been with the camera down at my hip or on the ground, snapping pictures from a baby's eye view.  

C.  TEXTURE:  Remember seeing all those adorable newborn pics where the baby is wearing chunky, knitted hats or sitting in fuzzy fur?  There's a reason photographers do that.  Different textures create interest in your photos.  Dress your child in handmade knits, big ruffles, multiple layers, and different patterned fabric.  Set them against highly textured backdrops like old brick walls, weathered fences with peeling paint, wheat fields, old buildings, etc.  Where are these locations?  It's different for every city, but try driving around a bit.  Some of my favorite shooting-spots have been in small, downtown side streets or alleys that don't get as much attention, so the bricks look weathered, the paint looks old, and the metal has started to rust.  Ah.  Beautiful.

D.  FREQUENCY:  My photography professor once told me about this amazing pro-photographer who had a success ratio of about 1:20.  Meaning, out of every 20 pictures he took, one would turn out good enough to keep.  I'm not nearly that good.  My success ratio is about 1:40. I delete the other 39.  That's the beauty of the digital age.  Take A LOT of pictures...from all different angles and zooms, especially when your subject matter is kids.  You never know what they'll do in front of the lens.  

E.  EDITING:  When done well, picture software editing can do wonders to enhance your photos.  There's free programs like Gimp or Picasa out there, but I'm a personal fan of Adobe Photoshop.  Yes, I know it's expensive, but worth it in my opinion.  There's just some tools in Photoshop that other programs don't offer.  (Try out a free trial at http://www.adobe.com/downloads/.  It lasts for a month, so if you're new to Photoshop, it's a great place to get a feel for it.  I'd recommend starting with Elements 9 (the more basic package) and moving onto the CS5 trial (same tools as Elements, but with a lot more "stuff" added).  You can always purchase older versions like Elements 8 or CS3 online for much less money than more recent releases.) I wish I could give more specific tips, but the best I can say it just to try out the software for yourself.  You learn as you go.  If you have any specific questions, please post them in the comments section.  I'll do what I can to answer them.  

NOTE:  If it's your very first round into into photo-editing, I recommend saving a copy of the original picture in another file.  Keep it safe.  I had a lot of mess ups in the beginning and wished I had a back-up copy of the original to go back to. 

(Ah!  His chubby cheeks kill me.  It's a good thing I'm having another baby soon, otherwise these old photos might just do me in.)

And that's a very basic intro into kiddo-portrait photography.  The tips have obviously been skewed towards infant and toddler photography, since my boy's only two and a half, but everything written above is easily adapted to taking pics of older children as well.  Now the stage is yours.  What are your favorite kid-photo-taking tips and insights?  Do you have any specific questions?  If you have one, where are your favorite locations to shoot in your city?  Let's hear it, my friends!

-Alyssa

Coloring contest winners!

We hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!

Here are the top six entries from our coloring contest (chosen at random and in no particular order)

Congratulations to all those little artists :)

And thanks again to our new panelist, Alyssa, for illustrating that cute image for us! We are so excited to have her as part of the Village!! Check out her bio in the right margin to read a little more about her.

Buying a Family Vehicle

With another baby on the way we are of course thinking a new car (HA HA - new as in, one I don't own yet). We have two cars now, but they are both tiny (Corolla's) and won't fit 3 carseats. We really don't have much of a choice and have got to get something bigger. While it'd be easier (and certainly more gas efficent) to just buy a larger sedan (some will fit 3 car seats) my husband and I are thinking of buying a family vehicle since we want to have 4 or 5 kids. We'd like to get something that will last us several years.

So, give me your advice on buying a family vehicle......

What type of vehicle do you own, or have you looked at owning? A minivan? An SUV? (Keep in mind that we'd like a vehicle that seats at least 6 or 7).
Did you buy it through a dealership or the newspaper?
Did you buy it new or used?
How much did it cost?
What are the advantages of a Minivan vs. an SUV?
What should I be looking for in a family vehicle?
What general tips can you give me??

Kids' Birthday Parties--Friend Parties vs Family Parties

So my kids have birthdays coming up in the next couple months. Up to this point we have always had family birthday parties for them (with the exception of a few very close friends). But now my oldest has little friends her age that we do joy school and have play dates with often. She is getting invited to their birthday parties often and loves it. I think she would love to have a party with her friends for her birthday but I know that my family would want to come too (and of course we want to include them as well). I am just starting to think about how to do that. Do we have two separate parties--one for friends and one for family? That could get time consuming and more expensive as I would end up making two sets of cake, decorations, etc. Or do we just have one big party and invite both family and friends? But then what do the adults do while all the little kids are playing party games? And what would I do to include older cousins who would not enjoy games on the same level as my young kids? One friend suggested that she invites all her little girls' friends to their party for the first hour and they do all the children's games and activities and then her family comes for the last half hour to open gifts and eat cake and ice cream. That was definitely an idea that got the wheels in my head turning, but I would love to hear more!

What have you done to balance both friend and family parties for your children's birthdays?
(I would love it if you answered the italicized questions above!)
Or do you not do parties and instead have your own birthday traditions?
Please share!!

Also feel free to check out the post below on staying fit during pregnancy!

Fair?

My question today is somewhat psychological, so please bear with me while I try to explain!

My oldest daughter is 2 and a half, my second is 10 months. I've been noticing lately that I don't treat them the same--obviously! The problem comes in that my 2 year old is also noticing that I treat her sister differently than I do her, and she doesn't understand why.

For example...

J (2 yr old) was climbing on the car jack laying on the garage floor. I asked her to get off and when she continued to climb, she had the consequence of sitting on the porch step until she was ready to listen again. M (10 mo. old) was climbing on the car jack--I picked her up and moved her away without really saying anything. All J saw was that she got in trouble and M didn't, even though they did the same thing.

M goes to bed with a pacifier every night. J has taken to getting out of bed and taking the pacifier from M so she can have one while she goes to sleep.

M drops food on the floor from her high chair--I pick it up and throw it away. J throws food on the floor and gets in trouble and has to clean up her own mess.

Get the idea?

While I see my responses changing based on differences in age and development, J sees that she gets in trouble and M doesn't.

So...

How do I teach the toddler why she has different consequences than her little sister?

How do I make sure that everyone feels loved while still teaching boundaries and consequences?

And for my own sanity...Any suggestions on the aforementioned pacifier situation?

Hope that made some sense! Let me know what you think.

Laura

Requests From Our Readers: Week 26

This week we are talking about allowance. Check out what our reader said.....



"I have a 4 1/2 year old and I am wondering about allowance. I got an allowance growing up, but it wasn't a lot and I don't know how old I was when my parents started it. My daughter has never asked, but she also never has money. Her friends (who are sisters) purchased a new movie with their allowance. I love that they could choose to use their own money for a purchase like this. I like the idea of giving her something to save for a fun prize for herself or a present for someone else. Right now, she has no concept of the value of money other than quarters are better than dimes, which are better than nickels, and those are better than quarters. She doesn't know how much $5 really represents. I'd love for her to have a better understanding of saving, spending, and paying tithing at church.

Does anyone have a system that works for them for the allowance of young children?
When is a good age to begin?
How do you set it up and how much do you give?
What are the requirements for obtaining allowance?"


Help her out and answer her specific questions about allowance! And thank you all for reading.

Disturbing the Dust Bunnies

March or April starts to roll around and I start to think of the dust, disorganization, and dirt that has been hanging around my house all winter. I am not a SUPER germ freak, but I LOVE organization and order - so Spring Cleaning really appeals to me.

I think Spring Cleaning is different for everyone. My family cleans our house from top to bottom every weekend. This usually includes cleaning all floors (mop or vacuum), dusting, and of course scrubbing the bathroom. We also do daily chores like dishes and toy pick up... you get the idea. But this to me isn't enough for a good Spring Clean.

So each year I make a "big deal" out of spring cleaning... below are some steps I've followed that have given me success.

#1 - Make a List: I think this is SO important. How do I make my list? I go into a specific room and think of EVERY thing I possibly can that needs to be cleaned. I scan the entire room and move around the space until I think I've thought of all that needs to be cleaned. I divide the list up for each room. I am sure to include things like washing the walls, doors, and baseboards, and moving large appliances or furniture. I also take pictures down and Windex the glass on them, and we take the blinds down and wash them. In addition I try to organize and dejunk. I make my list on the computer so I can easily add to it later, but I print it off when I'm done so I can have the satisfaction of crossing off the things I've accomplished. This list will of course be different for each person, but if you are interested in seeing my 2010 Spring Cleaning list then let me know in the comments and I can e-mail you a copy.

#2 - Buy Supplies: After your list is complete, make ANOTHER list (a shopping one) of all the things you'll need to buy to finish all your tasks. Your spring cleaning list might include something like painting something, or fixing a cupboard door. So make sure to think of nails or other household supplies you need. Check all your cleaners and get something specific (if you don't have it already) to do heavy duty work. I got a cheap, but fabulous heavy duty green cleaner from Don Aslett's and it worked wonderfully on everything. We bought a new scrub brush as well and some rubber gloves. We also bought plenty of paper towels.

#3 - Organize the Crew: Involve your WHOLE family. If you are like me then cleaning by yourself isn't the most fun. I don't do Spring Cleaning alone, but wait until my husband can help. I also have my kids help as much as I can. We actually don't separate often either - we stay in the same room to keep each other company and then we move on to the next room when that one is done. We also listen to music to pass the time.

#4 - Split it Up: Don't try to do it all in one day, you'll get burnt out!! It took us at least 2 solid weeks to get all done with our cleaning this year. We did about 3-4 hours on two consecutive Saturdays and we also spent about 1-2 hours on SEVERAL weeknights before bed. It was frustrating that it took so long, but I was also not up for doing 10 hours of straight cleaning in one day. And I felt so good when it was done.

That's it for my tips... how about yours??

How have you made Spring Cleaning successful?
Do you make a list?
What supplies have you used?

Hammers and Nails and Screws, oh my!

My husband and I recently purchased our first home, a house that is 50 years old and needs a little updating. We are replacing all the flooring and repainting all the walls, just for starters.

Add to all that work the two small children...

What do you do with your kids while you are remodeling?

It's difficult to have the kids around when there are open buckets of paint, power tools on the loose, and Mom and Dad's minds are trying to focus on other things to get the job done.

When you don't have a babysitter available, what tips and tricks do you have to keep the kids out of trouble while the projects are in progress?

For those times when things can't be cleaned up in a day, how do you keep the projects protected?

Any other answers to questions I haven't thought to ask about remodeling while being a parent?

Thanks!

Laura

image from www.lightquotes.com