Spring cleaning tips for busy parents

Do you have the spring cleaning itch yet? Life is hectic here, especially in the spring. Soccer season starts up again and the kids want more time to play outdoors. Also, the sunlight consistently streams through my windows - illuminating dust, sticky kid fingerprints, and crummy floors. I would love to be able to keep up with a spotless home, but the reality of kids and activities just doesn't let that happen.

When I do have some time to clean up the place, I like to focus on one task at a time. Helpful cleaning tips are always welcome - anything to save me time.

Spring-cleaning tips for parents

Toys and art supplies
I get overwhelmed when I enter the kids' messy spaces. It is much easier to focus on one task at a time. One spring-cleaning day may include sorting through the books. Another may be tackling the creative explosion in their art area. By concentrating on a small, themed task, I am less likely to run screaming from the room. Of course, getting the kids to help can (sometimes) be beneficial as well. Just make sure they are prepared for a lot of donating and purging.

Sticky fridge
Mix salt and soda water for an awesome refrigerator cleaner. It's like a facial scrub, but for the inside of the fridge! While things are getting removed for de-gunking, take the opportunity to throw away those hidden items that are well past their expiration date. Re-stock the shelves and drawers in an organized manner.


Baseboards and crown moulding
Our white baseboards and moulding love to collect dust, and I hate to stretch and bend to clean it off. Try this hack: Wrap a lightly damp hand towel around the bristles of a standard broom. Secure it on the broom with a rubber band, then walk your way around the house to wipe the dust away.


Clutter containment
My husband cannot understand why I love to bring home new baskets, bins, and shelves. As our family clutter grows, it becomes more and more important to have a place for everything. Obviously, we do not put everything away neatly all the time; but when it is time to straighten up, knowing where to toss each item is a big time saver.

Vinegar can be your spring-cleaning (or all-year-round) friend. To discover my favorite cleaning uses for vinegar, click over here: vinegar for cleaning

The sun is coming back soon! If you need to clean, do it quickly and efficiently. Then get outside to play.

Spring break in the "top-shelf" 2016 Ford Explorer Platinum! #Ford #Auto

According to professional reviewers at AutoWeek,  
"Ford dumps everything it can find into [this] top-shelf Explorer." 
 This rookie auto reviewer, mom, and blogger definitely agrees. The vehicle is loaded!

Our spring break plans included a short 3-night road trip to a theme park and indoor water park resort. We were thrilled to be able to use a gorgeous, totally maxed-out 2016 Ford Explorer Platinum for our adventure. When your current vehicle is about to reach it's 11-year birthday with a dent on one side, kid crumbs galore, and pretty basic interior gadgets, any brand-new vehicle is exciting and full of special electronic perks. I am fascinated by push-button start, heated seats, massage seats, full-size third row seating with powered up/down/stow, Sirius radio, and a buttery soft leather interior. This new Ford Explorer has all of those luxury features and more.

Kale, and other trends I just don't understand

 

Disclaimer: I am not a trend-setter, trend-follower, or trend-y.

My top spring must-haves?

• Propane in the grill - because, thank goodness, it is finally the time of year to make the husband cook. Not that I can't grill (girl power!), I just let him do it. Letting someone cook for me? Yeah, I am never going to complain about that. 
• Capri pants - no certain brand, just comfortable capris to keep me cooler than in jeans without subjecting innocent bystanders too much of my white, white legs before summertime.
• Prescription sunglasses - I'm a glasses wearer (ditched the contacts a few years ago to support my little girl in glasses) and I cannot survive the sunny days without my Rx shades. Spring means a lot of time outdoors!

I understand that many 30-something ladies may have a much more elaborate brand-name-filled list, possibly with a toolbox full of favorite beauty tools and some fabulous looking attire that costs more than most of my entire wardrobe. This working mama of two follows few trends on purpose. As an active social media user and consultant, however, I am online a lot. I see all the hashtags and pins and Instagrams of the latest and greatest whatevers out there.

Some of them, I understand. Like coffee, for instance. Moms like to talk about coffee on social media because (1) it is the fuel of life: we need it to survive our children and/or coworkers and whomever, whatever else is vying for attention, and (2) we want you to know just how tired we are. We drink the coffee to survive, and we talk about it to bond. Coffee is trendy. Wine too. Those, I understand. Pass the mugs and glasses, please. I'm all in.

But what about Kale?

Seriously, the barrage of "OMG, can't wait to have my kale salad" and "kale chips are the best snack ever!" posts on social media had me fooled. I began to think that, perhaps, someone finally found a green vegetable that tastes like a potato chip! I was ready to throw myself on that bandwagon.

Elegant flower arrangements to bring spring color indoors #DIY #flowers

Spring flowers, shrubs, and trees are blooming in the southeast! The Atlanta area is alive with pink and white fluffy blooms on trees and daffodils and tulips beginning to show their sweet little faces. The forsythia bushes seem to have popped overnight, absolutely bursting with golden color.

Sometimes, I like to cut a few stems off of our outdoor flowers to bring the burst of color indoors. Pinterest has some really elegant flower arrangement ideas for displaying your own yard beauties.  Bring your outdoor flowers indoors!

Forsythia will provide a long stem without much green foliage when the golden flowers are blooming. It has a simple look and feel and is gorgeously displayed in a flower arrangement using understated clear glass, like in this example:

Decorating with Glass Bottles

 

This forsythia arrangement (and a little DIY) gave a plain glass vase a totally different feel with wine corks:

Fabulous Forsythia

Enter to #win 4 Adventure Passes for Stone Mountain Park: It's Spring FUN Break time!

Are you in or near Atlanta next week for Spring Break? If so, you should not miss Stone Mountain's extraordinarily entertaining Spring FUN Break week!

Spring FUN Break at Stone Mountain takes place from April 4 - 11, 2015. Special attractions and entertainment will delight the whole family, including:

• RIO: The 4D Experience
• Clint Carvalho's Extreme Parrots
• Easter Bunny and Penelope the Parrot at the Character Meet and Greet
• The usual fun features including Geyser Towers, Sky Hike, The Great Barn, Summit Skyride, and the nighttime spectacular laser show 

Spring into adventure at Stone Mountain Park with Spring FUN Break featuring attractions and entertainment, fun for the whole family!

Stone Mountain has offered one of my readers a family 4-pack of Adventure Passes! I highly recommend you visit during Spring FUN Break for the special featured entertainment, but the winner may select a date any date between April 4 - July 30, 2015. Tickets will be made available via will call once a date is provided by the winner. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
A winner will be emailed within 24 hours of the giveaway close. Winner must respond to the email within 24 hours or a new winner will be chosen. If winner opts to visit during Spring FUN Break, they should provide the date of visit in the email reply. (Otherwise, a future date can be emailed to me by July 15th.) 

Good Luck!

Happy spring! It's a Kitchen Aid stand mixer #giveaway - #WinKitchenAid

We are celebrating spring in the south! Easter Egg hunts begin tonight and tomorrow, trees are in full bloom, and outdoor play is BACK! A few local bloggers have teamed up to celebrate spring by offering you a great giveaway! The Kitchen Aid stand mixer is one powerful, helpful, awesome kitchen tool and now it comes in a rainbow of colors!

Spring is in bloom and what better way to celebrate then by bringing a little color into your kitchen! I’ve partnered with JaMonkey to share this awesome giveaway with you. One lucky winner will get to pick the KitchenAid Artisan 5 Quart Mixer in the color they want. Make sure to visit all of the sponsors blogs! JaMonkey Really, Are You Serious? Redhead Baby Mama In the Kitchen with KP Balancing Mama Mamalicous Maria JaMonkey KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway Our Facebook Fans get an extra entry! (Lucky you)

Open to US residents only. Giveaway ends at 11:59pm (EST) on April, 17 2015 . One winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Facebook or Pinterest. Facebook and Pinterest will be completely released by each entrant. One entry per person. Entry includes filling out the Gleam form above. Winner will be chosen using random.org. and will be notified via email within 48 hours of the giveaway closing time. Winners will be announced on the post, not on Facebook. The winner must respond within 48 hours of receiving the email or a new winner will be chosen. No purchase necessary.This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Visiting Atlanta with kids - make your #SpringBreak plans for a city adventure

Are you trying to decide what to do with the family over spring break? If you are in Atlanta, take advantage of our numerous family-friendly attractions and fun festivals that are taking place over the next two months. Not from Atlanta? Maybe you should put it on your vacation bucket list. A big city may not be everyone's first thought for a family vacation, but Atlanta has tons to offer. The Atlanta Convention and Visitor's Bureau website has tons of information about events, dining, attractions, and a hotel search so if you don't quite know where to start your planning, click over there.

Here is a list I published in 2013. Amelia is older now and we have Andrew too, but these attractions still rank as our very favorites. I haven't been yet, but don't forget that Atlanta just recently opened the College Football Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Civil Rights Museum which, I hear, are captivating for older children as well as parents.

The new international terminal welcomes the entire world to the ATL

Visiting Atlanta with children? What to do:

• The Georgia Aquarium - numerous exhibits through several galleries and an exciting dolphin show. Be sure to check their specials and events via the website for deals and dates.
• Imagine It! Children's Museum - Winter/Spring 2013 special exhibit was "Body Carnival: The Science and Fun of Being You". But right now, check out "Super Kids Save the World" until May 3rd, 2015. The museum offers various ticket deals as well as special events and summer camps. 
• Legoland Discovery Center - We took Amelia and out-of-town family to Legoland at Phipps to escape the heat (and have returned a few times since!). Legoland offers several 4D movie experiences, a couple cute rides, and all the Lego building you can handle! Not to mention an entire Atlanta cityscape built from... what else? Legos!
• Atlanta Braves - I admit, we have yet to take Amelia to a game; I thought she would be bored. My conversations with the Braves folks changed my mind and I can't wait to take her soon! Check out Braves Kids, where you can get special VIP access to child-friendly activities (like running the bases after Sunday games!), free admission to the Braves Hall of Fame, a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich, a letter from a Braves player, and more. And at Turner Field, you can also let the kids release some energy in the Taco Mac Family Zone. And after every Friday home game? Fireworks! Check the most recent information to see what's happening in 2015.
• Atlanta History Center - Includes one of the largest Civil War exhibitions in the country. They also have something for everyone, with the farm house, Swan House, outdoor areas, and 1996 Olympics memorabilia. In past years, they have offered a "Sheep to Shawl" event - a full day of engaging activities at Smith Family Farm, which includes music and storytelling as well as demonstrations of various period crafts. Check their website for the latest events, exhibits, and dates/times.
• Stone Mountain - A bit of a drive from the city, but well worth it. Stone Mountain has just about everything for all-day family adventures. In the spring and summer, enjoy Geyser Towers and the laser show. In the winter, Snow Mountain snow tubing is so much fun! Check out the Stone Mountain event schedule for all the info - I could not possibly list everything here!

But wait... there's more! Atlanta also has The World of Coca-Cola, The Center for Puppetry Arts, The Atlanta Botanical Garden, Zoo Atlanta, and the Inside CNN Studio Tour. You could entertain the entire family in Atlanta for a week. 

Big cities may not be a first thought for families looking to travel, but I highly recommend visiting Atlanta with children. We have a perfect mix of city culture and good old southern hospitality!

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Georgia Aquarium

We met Freddie the Falcon this weekend!

Spring is lovely in #Atlanta! Two favorite outdoor family attractions

Spring break is almost here! It is funny, I was not thrilled with the seemingly gazillion snow days this winter, yet I am counting the moments until Spring Break. Even more time for the child to be out of school... why is it different this time?

It is different because the baby is 2 months old and sleeping much better. I am more rested and able to have fun with Amelia again. It is also different because it is SPRING! Cold, gray days stuck at home with snow and/or ice are not nearly as appealing. I am hoping for sunny and blue Georgia skies during the upcoming break.

If the imminent springtime loveliness makes you want to do a little happy dance, then I would recommend the Atlanta Botanical Garden.March and April are simply gorgeous because all the bulbs are in bloom. Children will enjoy romping through the Children's garden, and everyone will ooh and ahh in the orchid house. The botanical garden makes for a really fun and happy day.

In Atlanta for Spring FUN Break? #Win Stone Mountain adventure passes!

Atlanta area counties are anxiously awaiting spring break this week - breaks begin next week, with a few counties getting out one week later. When our break begins, Amelia, baby Andrew, and I will be doing the Hometown Tourist thing while Daddy works. Vacation weeks like this make me so glad to live in a family-friendly city with so many activities to offer.

With the weather warming up (highs in the 70s next week!), outdoor activities are on our agenda. One of the best all-day outdoor attractions in metro Atlanta is Stone Mountain. We enjoy Snow Mountain in the winter, and I am looking forward to sunny, warm strolls around the park in April. And with no school for a week, perhaps we can finally stay late enough for the Lasershow Spectacular!

Hometown Tourist: A spring break #staycation with the kids

Many parts of the country are still covered in snow, and here in Atlanta we still are facing on-again-off-again temperatures as low as 40 degrees. Mornings are chilly! However, the all-day sunshine is just around the corner and spring break is almost here. It is time to plan how you will make your family memories.

Our spring break is not going to include a big vacation this time around. We will spend just a couple nights away on a mini road trip. Otherwise, we will be at home. Daddy will be working, so I am the activities coordinator for most of the week!

What do you do when you have extra time with the kids? And it's finally not a snow day!?

How to be a Hometown Tourist with children

Have you visited your local family attractions in a while? Pick a couple and be a tourist in your own hometown. Here are some tips for making your hometown the coolest vacation around:

Talk it up. Get the kids excited just like you might do for a vacation. Let them know about the fun days you have planned ahead. If every spring break day is mundane, that's no fun! Give them something they can happily anticipate. Even let them count the days on the calendar until the fun day begins.

#WW: Spring color

Springtime in Atlanta always means gorgeous colors! Even the flowers at my house are behaving nicely:

Lilac

Oh glorious dirt

I'm still playing Mom-nurse to my sweet little girl today. She is feeling good, but needs to take it easy a couple more days. If I get a few moments, I'm going to dig in the dirt. I will take a gamble that winter is finished down here, and get some flowers in the ground. It makes me happy to come home and see some color in front of the house.

As I catch up post-vacation and post-surgery, I'll share a couple archive posts with you. In honor of flower planting season, how about this one from 2010?

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DIRT CAKES & WOOD CHIP PIES

Moms, if you spend any regular time with your kids at a playground, I bet you've noticed that there is an attraction even more compelling to little hands and feet than the colorful selection of slides, swings, and climbing walls.

Dirt.
Glorious, fascinating dirt.

Or woodchips.

I don't believe I have been to any of our area playgrounds and not witnessed a kid (or five) playing with the ground covering. And more often than not, they explain to passersby that what they are making is, in fact, some kind of food. Amelia helped one girl make a pizza out of woodchips last week. Today she took dirt from around the baseball field where Daddy was playing and made cupcakes on the bleachers.

When Amelia gets into her dirt projects, there is no convincing her to do anything else.

See those fun swings over there? "Not yet, Mommy. I cook."

Hey, look - a doggie. Want to go see it? "No Mommy, stop! I cooking."

If I bought a square of land and filled it with nothing but with dirt and woodchips, would it become the coolest park around? Possibly. But if other kids are anything like mine, I can bet a wad of money that they'd take one look at it and ask a very simple question.

"But where are the swings?"

Sometimes you just can't win. I've come to accept this. (Sometimes.)

Spring is in the air...

Our forsythia bushes are popping out their yellow buds. The cherry trees are splendidly pink. Even my daffodils are beginning to bloom.

Spring is on its way! I am ready to welcome it with open arms. Spring brings me a new outlook and refreshes my spirit. Colors begin to appear overnight; our browns and grays are transformed into fresh greens, yellows, pinks, and whites. The sun burns the clouds away so we may enjoy the wide bright blue skies.