From One Taxi Cab Driver to Another

Good Monday Morning Beloved Readers, I am being featured over HERE at Brooke's place Covered in Grace.  If you have some extra reading time, go stop by and say hello.
Today though...
I would like to go down on record as the mom who warns all of you younger moms about something that no one ever told me about. And that is that once your lils get into double digits something very strange happens to your life. You no longer live in a home but rather out of your car.

Do you think I'm joking? Well, I kid you NOT. Ask anyone who has children in double digits how often they are in the car on a weekly basis, and then ask them if this has changed since their children were younger?
So, let it go on record that you heard it here first, having double digit children = living out of your car. You can now add Taxi Cab Driving to your list of careers. 
Now, I would not just leave you with this bomb shell of information without some helpful tips. Some of these things you may already know or currently have in your car, but just in case you don't, let me help you out. First off, keep pens and pencils handy because children of this age are always needing you to sign something. It used to be that I kept a good amount of pacifiers at the ready, well now I just replaced that spot with pens. All kinds of pens, because they often get snagged for homework and come in handy when you are reading your "go to book" and need to underline where you left off.

Which brings me to survival tip Number two- Always have a "go to book" waiting in the car. At this season in your life you find that you wait outside for events, and other functions quite a bit so in all that waiting, even if you do have your smart phone and can check your email sometimes it's just nice to pass the time waiting with a good go to book. It can't be a book that is hard to get back into. It has to be one that you can leave at a moments notice and pick right back up again a few minutes later. I usually go to the Sweet Potato Queens for this book because they make me laugh, and because they are easy to leave when I need to go on to the next event.
*(But, I must warn you about the Queens you might have to wash your eyes out after reading some of their stuff cause those ladies can be naughty.. funny, but naughty. I should point out a disclaimer here, if you do find your eyes knee deep in a Queens book  I would like to say I don't whole heartedly agree, or advocate what they say. They just make me LOL... so don't judge)
Speaking of the next event, you may have noticed by now that you will be in the car for some time, and you might get hungry so that brings me to  C.  keep a good stash of snacks handy.  I find that pickle flavored sunflower seeds are my favorite, and granola bars are the kids favs. The reason I like the seeds are that they are not high in calorie, but helpful in making you feel like you are doing something with your hands when you are waiting at the lights. Oh the endless waiting. The eternal red lights!!

Hurry up and wait. Hurry up and wait. You will go from one place to the next just to wait some more. The scenery will change but the action will not. Do I sound bitter? I'm really not. I have come to terms with waiting. I think me and waiting are on a first name basis. Mr. Patience and I have a pretty good relationship, but every now and then I like to show him who's boss and get the first cup of coffee before the coffee pot is done pouring. I just get right in there with my cup and say, "Yeah... take that Mr. Patience!!" Ok moving on...
The final note of advice I have for you rookie Taxi Cab Drivers is to keep the essentials well stocked, lotion, wipes, kleenex, chapstick, and sometimes even nail polish. Ahem... yes fixing the chipped nail look can be done with this job sometimes... ya know multi taskers unite!! And beyond that I would only advise that you keep your Playlist OH SO happy!! Oh... and remember that all this busy means you have healthy, happy children who are able to go from here to there and that my friends is something to smile about. Your fuel tank bill.... not so much.

Don't forget who told you first. 
I would love to know if you other taxi cab driving mom's have some tips for me that I didn't list here?
 

Tip Me Tuesdays

I really love finding out everyday life tips that work.
I mean there are plenty of DIY's out there that we might not ever have time for, but who of you out there can't use more every day practical tips? I know I sure can.

One tip that I would like to share with you all on this episode of Tip Me Tuesday is a tip I learned a long time ago. I thought that most people knew this tip, but when talking to a friend the other day I realized that in fact not everyone does know this tip.

This said friend opened my freezer to find a candle holder in there and she said, "Um.. Noel what is a candle holder doing in your freezer did one of your kids put it there?" To which I replied "Duh !" No I didn't, I actually hate that phrase, and just for a bonus tip, if you are a child caught using that phrase in this house, it might mean you have an extra chore or two to do, because ... "DUH!!" coming out of the mouth of lils has got to be the worst.

Where was I? OH yeah, I said to this beautiful friend that doesn't burn her candles often(but should burn her candles because that's what they are there for folks);
"The candle holder is in there because when the wax freezes up it just pops right off, and out of the candle holder and it's easy peezy lemon squeezy from that point on to clean the candle holder."

To which she looked at me like, I wanna see this with my own eyes and so I showed her my lil trick and now I'm telling you.
Great lil project to show your kids too.

SO there you have it folks. Your Tip ME Tuesday.
And really friends, readers, fellow candle owners if you have candles that you own that you don't burn it's just wrong. Life is too short. Burn your candles.
Count them I think there was at least 3 or 4 tips in this post?
Inquiring minds want to know, do YOU have any further everyday good life tips that you would like me to know?
I would love to use your tip and give YOU the credit here for it.

Tip Me Tuesdays and The Winner Announced

The winner of the Tip Me Tuesday contest is... drum roll please.... Debi- (your super cool gift will be in the mail today)
Here is what she won:

AND-

Here is her cleaning tip:

"I love cleaning tips! I think my most recent favorite is cleaning the burners on the stove. put the burner things in a big ziplock (i double bagged mine) add a little ammonium (I did maybe like a 1/4 to a 1/2 cups worth), seal it up and let it sit overnight. (i put them in the garage so my house wouldn't stink if it leaked). Then the next day just plug your nose pull/dump it out. scrub with a sponge in the sink and watch the black go away with nearly no effort....seriously, they looked brand new! I like brand new looking with very little effort. :)"


I haven't had time to try this yet,(read post below to see why) but when I do, I will post pics.

I am looking for more cleaning tips in the mean time. So if you have thought of some more I would love to hear them. See you next Tuesday, for Tip Me Tuesday.

Oh and P.S. if you live on my street, Tuesday is also Trash Day. You just got two tips for the price of one. Happy Tuesday.

Tip Me Tuesdays(and a giveaway)

I just found this really great blog that gives you all kinds of tips and ideas. Everything from cleaning to crafting. If you are interested in more tips click on the link at the bottom of this blog. But now; Here is my latest cleaning tip that I didn't learn from the blog, but from my friend Christine when she was visiting this past week. She's a lean, mean(not really mean so go with it)cleaning machine so you might want to listen up. If you have a cooking pan with left over gunk in it even after you have scrubbed and scrubbed...

You can simply put a dryer sheet in it with a little water and let is sit over night.

It gets the gunk to loosen up and you scrub it clean one last time.

The result is a shiny pretty pan. Now it's your turn. What cleaning tips can you share with me that could help my beloved readers? If I pick your cleaning tip to use for a future blog there will be an awesome prize in it for you. Don't forget to check back next Tuesday for Tip Me Tuesdays, that's when the winner will be announced. In the mean time Happy Tuesday.