I know I have said it before, but I will say it again. Here is a cool Buzzfeed post about ways to clean things…and to clean them easy!
#83 is my favorite…Mom and I talk about that all the time. How do you clean that weird space between oven glass??? This shows you how!
Ok, so I need everyone’s help…I need more likes on my Facebook page so I can continue to give away more free stuff. I going to dangle a carrot out there in the form of a $10 Starbucks gift card (and who doesn’t like Starbucks?!?!?). Like my page, share this post, help a girl out!
Click here for the giveaway!
*No purchase necessary. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered, associated with Facebook or Starbucks. By clicking the link and entering the giveaway you understand you are providing your information to me as the owner of The CLT Diaries Facebook page and not to Facebook or Starbucks.
So I have been slacking lately in blog posts…we have been busy…it’s been summer…and to be honest I didn’t have many compelling Clues/Links/Thought to give. I see all the cool creative things you can do with your kids over the summer and I think “I’m happy just letting my kid play in her sandbox/water table/baby pool and enjoy the summer.” Don’t get me wrong, there are some awesome ideas out there…Have you seen the giant water blobs???? … But M is happy without me having to be creative yet. Next year I’m sure I will need some of these things to save my sanity!
I do have a pretty good tip this week though!
“C”lue- So on Facebook I saw a friend post about her Paderno Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer , and so I was intrigued (Thanks Greta!). One of my goals this year was for Dan and I to eat healthier. M already eats more vegetables and healthy foods in a day than Dan & I eat in a week. So we decided to try it out! Dan wanted to play with our new gadget so he offered to spiralize the zucchini while I started a “sauce”. I took a box of Dei Fratelli Truly Finely Chopped Tomatoes that we had, put in a bit of garlic, onion powder, and a few other spices I use when I make my spaghetti sauce. I have to say, the sauce was pretty awesome, tasted fresh and didn’t have any preservatives or other crap in there. After Dan took the kitchen shears to the zucchini (it came out in one giant spiral so he trimmed it down to noodle size), I lightly sautéed them in a tiny bit of olive oil and minced garlic for 3 or 4 minutes and then poured my sauce over them
“L”ink- Before using it the first time I watched these two videos: Make the Best Zucchini Spaghetti Quick and Simple & How to Spiralize: Zucchini Both super quick and just gave me a better idea of how it was going to work. Didn’t want to waste the beautiful zucchini that I got in the Strip District that morning!
“T”hought- It was a super quick and healthy dinner. I think it took us maybe 15 minutes max and that included cleanup. I would do it again for sure and it was worth the $25 for the Paderno. Dan would like the “zoodles” a little more cooked next time. I was happy with the texture so maybe just take them out sooner for me than him.
So for Mother’s Day, I bought Mom a Groupon for a Pierogi making class and we used it a few weeks ago. Loved it! It was a great “Mom and Carrie Date” and it’s really not as hard as you think! Time consuming, but not hard.
“C”lue- Did you know that you can make the filling for Pierogis about anything you can think of? Fruit, Meat, Cheese, Potatoes. Be creative. She told us just about anything edible. The ones we made were Potato and Farmer’s Cheese. What’s Farmer’s Cheese? Think of it like a very dry ricotta. It’s Polish and can be only bought at the specialty stores. They also use Polish flour. A little lighter than regular flour and no added crap like preservatives etc. Which I like.
“L”ink- The S&D Polish Deli is where we took our class with Marta. She was fabulous and fun. Will definitely go back again for food and maybe other classes (They have Polish baking class and Polish Holiday Traditions class). She suggested buying a potato press from Ikea. You can buy here. Picture below from Ikea’s website. Saves time and energy!
“T”hought-Ok, I admit. I was scared of “Farmer’s Cheese”. Like what happened to cheddar? I was brave and tried it since it is what most pierogis in Poland are made from they told us. It’s good! Mild and very good. Will use again when I get brave and try these on my own!
Maddy just survived (Ok Dan and I survived, but you know what I mean!) our car trip to Sesame Place this past weekend. To help we bought an I Spy Bag from KidBizSpyBags on Etsy! It was great to keep her busy without sticking her in front of the iPad or DVD for 6 hours on our way there and 6 on the way back! She got it as one of her “prizes” for good behavior.
I have partnered with KidBizSpyBags to giveaway and I Spy Bag of your choice! To enter, click this link. Like The CLT Diaries on Facebook for your first entry. For extra entries you can tweet about the entry or follow @thecltdiaries on Twitter. Don’t forget to share with all your friends!
Make sure to check out their etsy page here to see all their choices and Good Luck!
So we just got back from a long weekend to Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA which isn’t far from Philadelphia. Not going to do my usual “clues, tips, and thoughts” all broken out but will give you how we went about out trip and you can take what you like from it. You always learn a bit from each trip you take somewhere and get some ideas how you might change the next time! Prepare for a longer blog post!
Trip –
Day 1: Since it is about 6 hours away if we didn’t stop, this definitely isn’t a one day trip. Because of that, we decided to leave Friday morning and come back Monday morning after breakfast. She was good in the car and I created little prize bags for her for every hour on the trip. A board book, set of Sesame Street Characters, toys that I had gotten in kid’s meals…just little things. After checking into our hotel, we headed to the park to get the lay of the land, ride a few rides, grab some food and even caught one of the shows. Grab a map when you get in. Easy to miss, but ask at Guest Realtions if you can’t find them. There we almost no lines so M was able to ride almost all of the “dry” rides (there were a few down because they had just opened Monster Land this past week and still needed a few tweaks). After dinner and a show it was back to the hotel. On the way out we scoped out a shady spot over by the Count’s Splash to stake out when we came back to ride the water rides the next day.
Day 2: Maddy decided she wasn’t sleeping in the portable crib the hotel supplied the previous night so she woke us up early at 6:30 by getting two inches from our faces saying, “Mom!” “Dan!” (She sometimes calls him what should be Dad but sounds like “Dan”…they are pretty close. You can’t blame her!). We got up and ate our free breakfast provided by the hotel. They had everything from waffles to bacon to yogurt. All three of us were happy campers. We then got ready and headed to the park for opening at 10. We wanted to make sure we could park our stroller and stuff in a nice shady area for the day while we enjoyed the water stuff. The bad part? The Count’s Splash Castle was ICE COLD. Soooo…after riding a dry ride while we were still dry we went off to explore the other water stuff. We hung out at the park until about 2 and Maddy fell asleep on the way to the car. She was out enough for me to gently scoop her into the car seat. That night we headed to Iron Hill Brewery in Phoenixville to meet my college roommate and her family for dinner. Good food, good friends, and good beer. The trifecta!
Day 3: Ok, here is where I might change things next time and go…5 days with 2 full days in the park and one in the pool or somewhere an 18 month could just run. At this point she was a little short on sleep from getting up early (even though she was sleeping better in the pack n play that we switched to and put the hotel crib mattress in it to help cushion) and not taking full naps. She couldn’t touch a lot of stuff at the hotel, had to sit in a stroller a lot, and had been in a car seat for 7 hours on the way out. Too much being confined. With all that said she was still better behaved that 3rd day than some of the others we saw having full on melt downs…the beauty of going to a place full of kids under the age of 8. The other thing I might change is not going to the “special” show that Sesame Street had that weekend. M just isn’t familiar with Max and Ruby and she spent more time crawling on the bleachers than watching the show. We spent the 3rd day going on more “dry” rides and when M got sleepy we headed to the car. This time getting her into the car seat didn’t go as well. Instead of popping her in the seat we just chilled in the air-conditioned car and M fell asleep on me. It was a good rest for Dan and I as well. We had planned on eating out of the park that night and were going to try an Italian restaurant we saw. Again maybe not the best choice. Ended up being lots of adults enjoying a good quiet Italian meal. Next time we will head to Red Robin. We finished up the night watching the parade that she loved and “spending” her treat money on an Abby doll. Heading back to the hotel for a quick swim and bed. All in all it was a good trip, but it wasn’t Disney. But is anything? 🙂
Hotel-
There are a bunch of choices that you can stay at close to SP that are considered “preferred hotels”. I chose the Comfort Inn. Few positives…
-I’m a preferred member there so with that and the AAA discount it was cheap. $105 average a night.
-They provided breakfast. It was a little buffet but all of us were happy with it. One less thing to pay for and we ended up being three doors away so it was quick in the morning too.
-New outdoor heated pool. Very nice. Almost too warm for Dan but M and I loved it. Like bath water.
-We called before we booked because I had seen some reviews on the website about a shuttle. They confirmed it would run from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This however turned into a negative. They no longer do the shuttle and the person have us wrong info.
-It says on the website that they have entertainment for the kids Friday and Saturday mornings but when we were there it was Saturday and Sunday. Face painting and balloon animals. Nice touch.
-Fridge and microwave in the rooms. Fridge was nice. Microwave not really used.
-They gave us a sheet with stuff about the area, bottle of water, and a bag of chips. Nice touch.
-Staff was very nice and accommodating. Helped with anything we asked.
Now some negatives…
-Rooms seemed a little run down…chipping in the tub, hole in the couch, bathtub wouldn’t drain, rooms seemed high in humidity even though the ac was running. Rooms were also a little smaller than what I’m used to at a Comfort Inn
-The lack of shuttle.
-Area wasn’t the best. Besides a 7-11 and a weird Italian place, there wasn’t a lot right there.
As you can see the positives out weighed the negatives. I might look at a different hotel next time, but maybe just end up there anyway.
The park has both “Wet” and “Dry” attractions. A lot of people wore their bathing suits under their clothes. I’m not big on being squishy all day so we split it up but it’s possible.
“Dry” rides-Lots for M to ride even at her age. Dan and I were able to go on with her. There are 15 dry rides and she was able to go on 11. She even tried the bigger kid slides and was super proud of herself for going down!
“Wet” rides- Lots of baby pools and splash parks that the bigger kids and little ones can enjoy together. We went on the lazy river and they provide life jackets but it wasn’t so lazy. Be prepared for waterfalls, sprays and more! There were also a bunch of water slides but it was too cold and M was just a little too little to try them. Next time!
Shows-SP has 3 shows that are about 20 minutes long and feature the characters. M enjoyed those. She however did not enjoy their “special” show that they brought in for the weekend. I didn’t mind it because I knew the characters but if your kiddo doesn’t know them skip it. There is enough other stuff to do at the park. If your kids do like the theme of the show for the weekend jump online ahead of time and reserve. It doesn’t cost and you skip the line. Know that some of the shows are not indoors. In the shade but it was still warm. Especially when you pack people in. As for the parade (there is an afternoon and night), it was super cute! Don’t sit any further to the entrance than Abby’s surf shop. We sat closer to the firehouse and it was a great spot. The characters stop 3 times to do some dances. Take a towel, blanket or something to sit on.
Tickets-Because we were going to be there for 3 days we saved money by buying a season pass. You can look at all the ticket choices here or season pass info here. We just bought the lowest level of the season pass (Maddy was free because she was under 2). If we would have thought about it ahead of time I would have bought one of us the next level up (you can buy different members in your party different levels) because it would have saved us on parking. The middle season pass gives you free parking (would have saved us $17 a day but buy online before you go because benefits aren’t retro active!) and have saved us 30% on the dine with the characters if we had wanted to go. M isn’t too fond of the characters up close. She likes to wave and blow kisses from across the street. The lower pass did give us 30% off of food and merchandise. They have these waterproof wristbands that you can get and it loads your credit card on so when you buy stuff they just scan it. It would have been very convenient if we could load our season pass on too. But when you went to buy something to get the discount they still had to scan your pass. No use in getting a locker. We just took the minimum in valuables and were able to keep an eye on the stroller most things we did.
Food- It was amusement park food. Just okay. Nothing like Kennywood. No potato patch fries or fried Oreos. Eating is one of my favorite things at Kennywood. Can’t say that about SP. Every meal includes a drink which was kind of annoying for me. I would rather see it separate because I tend to share with Dan or M. The kids meals at half the size of the adult meals but not half he price because they come with a character plate and cup. Eh…not impressed. We didn’t try the ice cream but M did get an Elmo cupcake. I’m picky on my bake goods but this was pretty good. Also, they have a cup you can upgrade too for $2.99 with a meal. It’s then $.99 for the rest of the season for refills. Dan bought it separately for $7.99 before we knew you could upgrade. Still a good deal for us because Dan drinks a lot of Coke Zero.
All in all, it was a good trip! Will do it again!
So you have heard all the tips…drive when they should be napping, take lots to keep them busy…and so on and so on. We are heading out tomorrow for a 6 hour car trip (that’s if we don’t stop) with M. Her longest yet. Say some prayers!
In the meantime, here are some things we are planning…
“C”lue- Snack, iPad, little trinket for each hour if she is being good ( I wrapped them in brown paper sandwich bags…easy to wrap but still fun for her to open), her little people, books, and more! I bought one of those I Spy Bags (Look out next week for a giveaway!) and she loves looking for little things so hoping that will help too!
“L”ink- This website has some great ideas. We have the iPad holder (got it at Walmart) and love it! Click here.
“T”hought- Once M gets a little older, this is a great idea for the car. Keeps things contained! Click here.
“C”lues- I pulled some of these from Facebook, some from my personal use and some from Pinterest
Dawn Dish Soap Use…
GREASY STAINS ON CLOTHES
My favorite use for Dawn. Just a drop rubbed into a stain will help release the grease and bye bye stain!
GREASY HAIR PROBLEMS
Kiddos get into the darndest things! My cousin’s little one and my girlfriend’s little ones put Vaseline in their hair. Dawn is mild enough to use on their hair and strong enough to remove the most stubborn grease.
HAIR PRODUCT BUILDUP
Once a month use original Dawn as you would shampoo. It will remove excess oil from your hair and scalp and strip away any build-up of styling products without any damage. Perform this once a month and you won’t have to buy expensive salon products that do the same thing.
REPEL HOUSEPLANT INSECTS & APHID CONTROL ON TREES
A safe, effective way to repel insects from your houseplants, including aphids, spider mites and mealy bugs. Put a drop of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid in a spray bottle, fill the rest of the bottle with water, shake well, and mist your household plant and trees with the soapy water. It’s good to rinse spray with clean water when done.
CLEAN YOUR HOUSE
Try this recipe from Merry Maids: mix 3 drops Dawn in 1 gallon water and fill a spray bottle with the solution. Spritz and wipe as you would with any window cleaner, clean ceramic tile and no-wax/linoleum floors.
You can also use the spray on: Woodwork, e.g., baseboards, shelves, and wainscoting. (Dry as you go–wood doesn’t like too much contact with water.)
PETS AND PESTS
Use it to bathe the dogs. It kills fleas on contact and is much cheaper than expensive shampoos.
CLEAN GARAGE TOOLS
After you have finished your automotive repair or house project, soak your dirty tools in Dawn before you put them away to remove all the oil and grime. Dawn also helps prevent rust from forming on the tools. Also works as a driveway cleaner after a project. If you have gasoline or motor oil stains on your driveway, you can use the kitty litter method to clean up the excess oil and then use a scrub broom and a solution of biodegradable Dawn dishwashing detergent and warm water to safely and effectively remove excess motor oil from the pavement.
ICE PACK
Partially fill a strong zip-type sandwich bag with Dawn dishwashing liquid, close and freeze. The liquid soap stays cold much longer and it can be re-frozen many times. It will conform to the place you need an ice pack.
TUB AND SHOWER CLEANER…Check out my link here. Use this all the time.
REPEL ANTS
Dan hates bugs. So do I for that matter. Spray counter-tops, cupboards and any other area where you see ants with a solution of Dawn and water. Wipe dry. The slight residue of Dawn that remains will not be a problem at all for kids or pets, but ants hate it. Should you see a trail of ants, go ahead and hit them with the Dawn spray.
STRIPPING CLOTH DIAPERS
Add a squirt or two of original Dawn dish soap to your washer and run a hot wash, then rinse until there are no more bubbles. Dawn is a degreasing agent and helps stripping by removing oily residue. Be sure to rinse, rinse, rinse until the water runs clear.
UNCLOGGING TOILETS
A cup of Dawn detergent poured into a clogged toilet allowed to sit for 15 minutes and then followed with a bucket of hot water poured from waist height will clear out the toilet.
POISON IVY
Poison ivy spreads through the spread of the oil within the blisters. Washing the affected area with Dawn, especially on children who keep scratching the blister’s open, helps dry up the fluid, AND keep it from spreading.
OILY SKIN
Dawn makes a great facial cleanser for oily skin. A drop or two combined with warm water will do the trick.
PAINT OR GREASE REMOVER FOR HANDS
Dawn combined with corn oil makes for the perfect paint or grease remover. Simply combine a little bit of both in your hands then rub it over affected areas. The corn oil and the dishwashing liquid both help to dissolve the grease and paint – yet leave skin soft, unlike harsher paint removers.
CLEANING THE KIDDIE POOL
Plastic wading pools can get very gunky, very fast. Dump the water, then scrub the pool with Dawn and a sponge. More potent cleaners like bleach will weaken and dry out the plastic in the sun. This worked great cleaning Maddy’s summer toys as well. How about the big pool? Squirt Dawn down the middle of the pool and all of the dirt, suntan lotion, etc. will move to the edges of the pool for easy clean up! AND it makes the pools sparkle.
MANICURE SECRET
Soak fingers in full-strength blue Dawn. It makes the cuticles soft and easy to work with. And it removes the natural oil from the fingernails, which allows the polish to adhere very well.
NON-TOXIC LUBRICANT
Sliding glass doors, door knobs, hinges etc. It lasts much longer than any aerosol type spray that I have tried. And Its non-toxic! It does a great job of cleaning the parts that its lubricating as well! Just a tiny drop needed.
SIDEWALK DE-ICER
For icy steps and sidewalks in freezing temperatures, mix 1 teaspoon of Dawn dishwashing liquid, 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol, and 1/2 gallon hot/warm water and pour over walkways. They won’t refreeze. No more salt eating at the concrete in your sidewalks. Must try this during the winter.
EYEGLASS DEFOGGER
Simply rub a small drop of Dawn on eyeglass lenses, and wipe clean. It will leave a very thin film that will prevent them from fogging up. Baby Shampoo will do the same on this one.
“L”ink – Did I miss some? Check out Pinterest for more ideas here
“T”houghts- There are lots of other dishwashing soaps, but Dawn truly is the best. Nothing cuts the grease like it!
I’m soooo looking forward to this nice long weekend. Kicking it off with a work thing at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PGG Aquarium Friday morning which is always a fun time, rolling into a fun time at Soergel Orchards Saturday morning, and then looking at a weekend of sandbox playing, swing set swinging, and hanging in the baby pool with M. The weather in Pittsburgh is supposed to be beautiful!
Sorry I haven’t posted in a bit, but we have been getting ready for Summer at the Theiss house (Cleaning, scrubbing and making our “New to Us” items shine! This week I will give you a few tips on how to save on things for the summer with the kiddos!
“C”lue…if you don’t shop second-hand for your kids toys, why not start? There are so many places you can do this from Resale shops, Garage Sales, Cragislist, Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Red White and Blue stores! We got M a sandbox, swing set, water table, Little Tikes Basketball hoop in the past few weeks for under $150.
“L”ink…If you still need somethings for the summer keep an eye out on Just Between Friends Facebook Page here. They have some large consignment sales through out the year and are just starting something new with selling items through facebook. Their items are in great condition so why buy new when you can buy gently used? Your kids won’t know the difference!
“T”hought…so I hate to give up my secrets, but my favorite is Thrift Stores! I have gotten M (and me) some great finds there. I swear the kid dresses better than me! 🙂 It’s great for play clothes, but also for dresses and more too!
So I had to try. It’s all over Pinterest and my feet needed some help after this long winter!
Sounded crazy but it worked! I adjusted the recipe so it covered both my feet and I added some baking soda to help whiten my nails. Mix 1 cup listerine (any kind but I used the clear. I kept hearing some people say the blue turned their feet blue), 1 cup vinegar, two tablespoons of baking soda, and 2 cups of warm water. Soak feet for 10 minutes. I then scrubbed with a foot scrub and got a shower. I didn’t want my feet smelling of vinegar.
It was a nice way to spend 15 minutes
on Mother’s Day! Relaxing!!
thecltdiaries 