BeeBeeTx's Profile

I appreciate what lisa ici said.

Speaking as a mother, a graphic designer, and a person who was taught very little by my parents about proper portions/nutrition in general, and who didn't pay much attention in school health class, and who has had a lifetime of weight issues ... I am a huge fan of the plate design. It is an easy reminder that you need a variety of foods on your plate, and helps remind you that you shouldn't make a meal of just one item.

Not everyone is raised knowing that mac and cheese is not a vegetable, or that you shouldn't eat the whole box at once. Consider yourself lucky if your parents emphasized healthy eating habits, 'cause bad eating habits are a booger to overcome. Kudos to USDA for continuing to try to educate the children of our country.

I feel I am just now getting a handle on this ... and my daughter is four, and we have a baby on the way.

1) Limit the amount of clothes. Exactly what the first commenter said. It is overwhelming to wash/dry/fold/put away a giant pile of tiny clothes. The fewer clothes you have, the easier it is to deal. My daughter has her own dirty clothes hamper, and I wash a load with *only* her clothes, thus limiting the sorting I have to do.

2) Buy matching sets, or create outfits when shopping. Most of my kids' clothes are from thrift stores. I make sure each shirt has a specific pair of shorts/pants/skirt to go with it. The top and bottom get folded together and put in the drawer or on the shelf. This way the child (or another caregiver) can easily find matching outfits, instead of digging through a pile of shirts then a pile of shorts.

3) Storage setup for my daughter: A small armoire for folded clothes (I like being able to see them all at once); socks and panties in the bottom drawer; playclothes dresses hang in the closet on a low rod; fancy dresses are up high. For my son, all of his clothes are in a dresser. All of the family's shoes live in a closet in our main hallway.

4) If you buy/inherit clothes for future use, put all clothes of one size together in a labeled box in the closet. Don't buy more than will fit in the box.

5) Have a designated place for storing too-small clothes until you need them for a future kid, or make frequent donations to Goodwill or a friend.

Use the same neutral comforter/duvet on each bed -- khaki or white could work. Then each child could have sheets and a decorative pillow in his/her favorite color.

Other colors that complement both pink and blue:
orange
brown

For fabric, you could use stripes polkadots for the girl, and stripes solids for the boy.

Several moms I know (myself included) were able to work out an "alternate work location" setup with our employer OR we work on a freelance/project basis with our employer. All of us had 5 to 7 years in-house with our companies, so we already had in-person relationships with our managers, co-workers and clients. Our fields are graphic design (me), proofreader -- we are the part-time freelancers -- and a manager of traveling salespeople (who works 50 hrs/wk and whose husband has a flexible job of property management).

One thing to think about if you are currently a stay-at-home mom: How many more years are you going to have young kids at home? If you're attending college for four more years, will all your kids have started school by then? At that point, you will just need to worry about the summertime.

If you already have a skill that could be done at home -- then try it out by getting a few freelance clients. You really have nothing to lose by trying it out.

We love our Leachco Safer Bather. It is a large
flat sponge that an infant can lay on or a toddler can sit on.