How do you clean up after the holidays?  For us, it is a tad more interesting.  Madison’s birthday was yesterday (she turned 5!), so we always have the quick cleanup that needs to be done from the time we get back from visiting Wisconsin and her birthday party.  I usually get about a week if we are lucky.  Since we have the basement now, Bill let me keep up the Christmasy decorations, but we did pull down the Christmas tree.  I need as much room as we can get, and this is pretty much the only way I was going to get it.  I figure everybody will hang out downstairs for her party just like they did for Christmas Eve.  The sad thing is that we are the only one on the block who still has their outdoor lights up.  Now, we don’t leave them up till June or anything, but it seems that it is kinda odd that on 8th of January that everyone has packed up everything already.  Now, I’ve slacked this week, and I have to get all my cleaning done tomorrow with the kids underfoot.  This should be interesting.  My sister is arriving tomorrow, so its not quite the end of the world if she’s the only one who sees my non-clean house.

How do you clean up?  Do you have a set plan?  Do you just do a little bit each day?

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.

I’ve been on a blogging hiatus since we were gone to Wisconsin. I really didn’t blog about it too much since I didn’t think it was wise to let the internet know that we weren’t home. However, we are back now and I am hoping to get back to blogging a little more frequently than I have been. My parents only have dial up, and that is just not worth my time to even try and do. I don’t know how my dad looks for cheap auto insurance or even checks his email. It is so slow that I can’t stand it at all. We are trying to talk him into getting DSL, so hopefully, I’ll be successful with that. I am hoping to get some of our pictures downloaded later tonight, so I can show you what fun my kids had. I am hoping that everyone had a great Christmas and got everything they wanted.

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.

Now is the time of the year to talk with your kids about fire safety.  With many of us stuck in our homes (see the post before this about being snowed in) and having real Christmas trees, this is a talk we all need to have.  Even if you don’t have a real tree, your kids definitely need to know what to do if a fire would happen to break out.  I know that everyone thinks it won’t happen to them.  However, I am sure that the people who have house fires think that also.

Liberty Mutual has a great website dedicated to being fire smart.  This is a great way to start a conversation with your kids.  There are some great forms on this site that help you develop your fire plan and to just help you start the conversation.  Even though my kids are still pretty little, this is a conversation we started having with Madison last year already.  They even have sections especially for children, parents, and educators.  You are also able to search your local firehouses and learn about them too!

Be safe this holiday season and make sure you check out BeFireSmart just in case.

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.

No, it’s not mine.  Instead, the Big Box Of Awesomeness is over at Drew’s Blog.  This is a box of swag that he wants everyone to guess what’s inside.  Now, I think so far we’ve figured out an Izea cup holder and obviously a tshirt (since we can see that).  However, I have a hint for you.  I know something else that is that box.  Want to know what it is?

This is a Magic Frame. You can put 40 4×6 photos into it and be able to switch them in and out at will.  Now, Drew is having a contest to see if people can guess what is in his box.  You now know one thing — Go enter!!!!

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.

I have found my new favorite place to shop online.  Why do you ask?  I just found the best deal ever on a Leapster 2 by using Shop.com.  Now, Leapster 2s on their own run around $79.99, so when I saw this one, I got super excited.  See, this one with a game is $79.99!  This gets even better too!  If you look closely at the Leapster, it is Star Wars!  Now, Madison is a Star Wars freak, so I can only imagine how excited she would be to see this under the Christmas tree from Santa!  I am excited, and this isn’t even for me.  Also, because it black, this can easily be passed down from Madison to Will.  I don’t have to worry about hearing that it’s a girl color!  (Yes, I am thinking that far ahead).

Now, Shop.com has over 2,000 stores, so you can definitely find something for everyone there.  You can type just about anything in the search engine on there, and it’ll pull it up.  You will see all the stores that carry that item plus how much each one wants for it.  I also love that purchases can be made using one universal “shopping cart” to buy everything at one time or by clicking over to participating merchants’ sites.  You can easily get all your Christmas shopping done at one site and know you are getting the best price!  I love that this takes some of the time and stress off me.  I love that I found her present, and I was just browsing through the toys! Shop.com also has expert advice, shopping tips, and articles.  My only complaint is that you can’t search through the toys by age (which is important when you have an 18 month old, since he still sticks everything in his mouth).

If you want a one stop shop for your Christmas shopping this year, Shop.com should be it.  See you there, because I am going to do some more shopping!

Copyright © 2011 My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact mythoughtsideasandramblings.com @ gmail.com so we can take legal action immediately.