Author: jeannegonzalves

Calendars for larger families

I see all these awesome picks of family command centers on Pinterest and am inspired to do the same.

The only problem is their calendars are tiny, at least for my family.

Between the calendars for 2 schools, the library, family birthdays and events, plus whatever classes we’ve managed to enroll the kids into – there is JUST NOT ENOUGH SPACE to enter them all into the calendar.

So I searched, and searched during my lunch hour at work to find something that could work, and stumbled onto… DESK CALENDARS! The size was big. The boxes per day was big. And some even had lines, 5 lines – to separate out my kids activities. Bonus – my refrigerator is the top/bottom one so the top or freezer door fit the calendar perfectly.

The first month – I used regular pens and filled out on the kitchen table.

The second month  – I used a sharpie so I could write on the calendar while it was on the freezer door and not have my pen quit working on me.

The third month – I found my system. I used different color fine point sharpie pens so we could color code by kid.

Here’s hoping we get through the rest of the school year.

About Us

We have five children including 2 sets of twins. Currently ages 7,7,5,2,2. That’s 2 fraternal twin girls, a single boy, followed by 2 identical twin girls. Life After 5 – kids that is, has definitely changed.

 

Water bottles for kids

Our kids have gone through their fair share of water bottles since the older twins started pre-school. I also love thermal water bottles for cold water or my hot coffee.

Here’s some quick reviews on the ones we’ve tried.

  • Top pick- Zojirushi. Available on Amazon. Most expensive, but worth every penny. When the older twins started school I got them the pink ones in 120z. They were a great size for their age and were used the next year in Kindergarten. Our younger twins are still using them 3 years later. We bought the older twins 16 0z bottles for first grade since they were running out of water with the 12 oz.
    • Pros: Great quality. All pieces on the lid are removable and can be taken apart for a thorough cleaning and sanitizing unlike the Contigo mentioned below. Keeps drinks cold for hours even when water bottles are in the sun at school.
    • Cons: Higher price, no “fun” kid designs but the classic colors means they’ll grow with them
  • Cozyna – Available on Amazon. Seemed like a great deal – I got two for the price of one Zojirushi. They look like the Zojirushi but they are definitely not the same quality. After 2 weeks, the lids broke. I exchanged them for new ones but they broke again 2 weeks later. All 3 went back to Amazon and that’s when we got the 16 oz Zojirushi.
    • Pros: Looks like Zojirushi, and cheaper
    • Cons: Poor, poor quality lids.
  • Contigo- I really wanted to like this, and thought I found the “one”. Before I bought any for the kids I used it myself for water, then coffee. The insulation is so good! Then one night as I was washing it, I saw “crud” drop into the sink. I thought – please no. More and more came out and with my mom OCD – I used straw brushes to get it all clean. I soaked the lid overnight and was horrified at what came out the next day. I can’t imagine what I was drinking every morning! It looked like dried creamer. I was so sick. The lids on these are “innovative” but you cannot take it apart to clean every nook and cranny. After that, the search for a water bottle with lids I could fully take apart started and that’s when I found the Zojirushi mentioned above.
    • Pros: press open lid is easy to operate
    • Cons: All the working parts of the lid means you can’t get to all the parts to clean it.

Update September 2016: The Zojirushi’s have held up after a whole year of school. This is the 2nd year we’ll be using the 16 0z’s, and the 4th year of the 12 oz’s for the toddlers. They get banged up a lot, only have minor dents and the lids are as good as new.

 

About Us

We have five children including 2 sets of twins. Currently ages 7,7,5,2,2. That’s 2 fraternal twin girls, a single boy, followed by 2 identical twin girls. Life After 5 – kids that is, has definitely changed.

Plastic plates for kids – what you should know

I adore those little kid plate sets with the matching cups and spoons and forks. I am thankful when anyone gives those to our kids as gifts.

But.

They are usually not BPA free, or if they are, not microwave safe and only safe on the top rack of the dishwasher. That means heat causes them to melt some of the materials, which could be toxic.

One day I hope to find a set that are BPA free, microwave AND dishwasher safe. In the meantime, they are used for snacks and food we don’t heat or are not hot when they hit the plate i.e. we don’t put freshly cooked eggs or steaming veggies on them.

I also try to remind dear hubby and anyone who helps with the kids they should be handwashed only to avoid the heat problem.

So cute, but also, so dangerous.

About Us

We have five children including 2 sets of twins. Currently ages 7,7,5,2,2. That’s 2 fraternal twin girls, a single boy, followed by 2 identical twin girls. Life After 5 – kids that is, has definitely changed.

IFTT

If you haven’t discovered it yet, IFTT or If This Then That, is a service that lets you schedule things to happen automatically between apps you use all the time.

IFTT has “recipes” you can “program” to make these apps talk to each other or consolidate all the different notifications, feeds, updates you get into your favorite app.

For example, I use Gmail, Google Calendars, Evernote and much much more to manage our life with kids plus work. Like everyone else I need to know the weather first thing in the morning, check our schedule, the latest news, and things I planned to do that day. Before I started using IFTT, I was opening/checking at least 5 apps.

I set up an IFTT recipe to send all that information to Evernote first thing in the morning. When the alarm on my phone goes off,  all I need to do is

  • See the weather for today – and delete the note
  • See a digest of my daily calendar from gmail – and delete the note
  • Read my daily Skimm of news – and delete the note
  • Scan my notes with reminders due that day in case I need to add to my calendar or send a text/email.

By that time, the kids are awake and my “alone” time is over. The rest of my apps will have to wait their turn to get any attention, if there’s any time left before bedtime.

 

About Us

We have five children including 2 sets of twins. Currently ages 7,7,5,2,2. That’s 2 fraternal twin girls, a single boy, followed by 2 identical twin girls. Life After 5 – kids that is, has definitely changed.

The hunt for clothes hangers for “bigger” kids

My older twins recently turned 7 and their clothes have surpassed the “kids” hangers I usually get at Target, Walmart, etc.

I am on the hunt for clothes hangers that are bigger for the older kids’ clothes so they don’t fall off but smaller than adult size hangers that overstretch them.

I dutifully turned to Amazon, thinking if I order now I can get it in 2 days or less. No such luck. This is turning out to be harder than I thought.

After some initial research, I decided to just measure the hangers we already have. Here’s what I know:
The baby hangers are about 10″ wide/long. These work for clothes up to 18 months if they’re small.
The toddler hangers are about 11″ wide/long . These work for clothes 24 months to sometimes size 4T. This is what we use for the 2 year old twins’ clothes.
The kids hangers you can usually buy from Target are 12″ long. These are fine for my 5 year old’s clothes who is a 5T and they worked for some of my older twins’ clothes up to size 6.
The hangers that come with the older twins’ clothes from the store are sized 7/8 or M. These are about 14″ wide/long. I’m learning how difficult it is to find these so be sure to say yes when the store asks you if you want to keep them!
Adult hangers are 16″ wide/long or longer.

I have so far learned that “junior” clothes hangers sized 14″ wide/long – can be bought in bulk, but unfortunately they are usually only for tops/dresses, and don’t have the bottom “bar” you can fold pants over. There are separate 14″ clothes hangers for bottoms like skirts, shorts and pants that come with clips.

What I want are 14″ junior clothes hangers that come in a “combo” style – meaning I can use them for tops/dresses and have clips for pants/skirts.

Who knew these would be so hard to find? I would just use adult size hangers but they stretch out the arm holes. Also – with 3 more kids after these twins’ I know I’ll get my money’s worth out of them. Sigh.

If I find them – I’ll be sure to post pics and links. If you know where I can get them – please comment and let me know!

About Us

We have five children including 2 sets of twins. Currently ages 7,7,5,2,2. That’s 2 fraternal twin girls, a single boy, followed by 2 identical twin girls. Life After 5 – kids that is, has definitely changed.

School papers everywhere!

3 of the five are now in public school. The older twins are in first grade and the boy is in kindergarten. I used to take pride in how organized I was but I must admit school papers is proving to be a challenge.

How do you manage all the papers that come home from school?

Here’s what comes home to us:

  • Homework for the week
  • Worksheets they completed at school
  • Extra credit work
  • Flyers about school programs
  • Forms to sign
  • Art projects
  • School Newsletters
  • Classroom newsletters
  • Sign up sheets for volunteering, supplies
  • Special project instructions
  • Award tickets
  • School calendars
  • Meal calendars
  • Invitations

On top of this we get emails from the school, calls from the school and emails from the teachers.

I should mention I work full time so I only have the evenings and weekends to manage this. At the moment we are using gmail, google calendars and of course an incoming basket to manage the piles of paper to be sorted through for what we should keep or toss.

I would love to hear your ideas on how to improve our school paper organization. I am hoping to have a system down before the two little ones start school in a couple of years!

About Us

We have five children  including 2 sets of twins.. Currently ages 7,7,5,2,2. That’s 2 fraternal twin girls, a single boy, followed by 2 identical twin girls. Life After 5 – kids that is, has definitely changed.

My Review of Amazon’s 2 hour shipping with Prime Now

It’s a Saturday afternoon and I’m wanting a sports watch with a timer asap. I pick up my phone to place an order with Amazon and noticed there’s not only same day shipping but 2 hour delivery. I quickly checked if they delivered in my area and almost danced for joy when it said yes. I downloaded the Amazon Prime Now app and start browsing.

I found the watch I wanted but the price was less than needed to get 2 hour shipping. Just then I remembered my laundry. I went to the laundry room to move the clothes to the dryer and saw we were almost out of detergent – on laundry weekend! I returned to my phone and checked to see if Amazon Prime Now could deliver detergent in the two hour window. Of course they could!

I then turned to my husband and asked what else he may need before we could get to the store? Hairspray – check. Shampoo – check!

I really wanted that watch and detergent so I checked out. I did notice there was a driver tip but decided to go ahead anyway. At check out it said delivery within one hour was not available so I confirmed I wanted the 6 to 8 pm delivery time. I also said it was ok to leave the delivery unattended at the door.

I forgot about it when the kids started to ask for dinner. Hubby wanted to go out so we left. On the way home, I remembered I placed the order. When we pulled into the driveway I saw the package by the front door. It was delivered by 8 pm.

I opened my treasures, put on my new watch, started the laundry, and handed my husband his shampoo and hairspray. That was way faster than me remembering to pick up supplies which would likely take another 2 days.

Amazon Prime Now with 2 Hour delivery saved the day!

Pros:

  • 2 hour delivery
  • Delivery in my area

Cons:

  • Delivery Fee
  • Limited selection for now
  • Requires separate app

About Us

We have five children  including 2 sets of twins. Currently ages 7,7,5,2,2. That’s 2 fraternal twin girls, a single boy, followed by 2 identical twin girls. Life After 5 – kids that is, has definitely changed.

Mommy Tip for labeling kids stuff

A cheap way to label your kids stuff is with good old fashioned clear tape. Simply stick on, write your kid’s name with a sharpie pen, and stick another piece of tape on top to keep the name from washing off.

To  make the name stand out, use clear tape for shipping boxes. Apply the shipping tape first because it’s wide, stick on a white address label, write your kid’s name with a sharpie, and apply another piece of clear tape on top.

Keep your kids secure by placing labels INSIDE their backpacks, jackets, shoes and lunch bags. Write your phone number along with their name.

Something I’ll be trying this year is to create a QR code that is scannable with instructions to scan it to find the kids name. This requires some work on the part of the person that found the item, but the kid’s name is not visible from far away.