Easy {Two Ingredient} DIY Wrinkle Releaser!

Ironing is problematic with a toddler on the loose! I have a really hard time remembering to turn off an iron...even before Ellie came along! Thank God for the automatic shut off! I *rarely* am there to get clothes out of the dryer as soon as they are finished. Laundry is going on during the midst of many other things! I also have a hard time doing ironing all at one time because I usually have multiple chores going on at once. It's just the way my brain works and I'm learning to work with my personality, not against it!

The fact that an iron may be set up for extended times, and that though I *intend* to close the door to my bedroom when the ironing board is set up and Ellie is playing in the hall while I shift laundry, sweeping, or  -you name it-, I cannot trust myself to remember. That's just a fact! Therefore, I was super excited when I saw this post on Somewhere in the Middle via the Raising Homemakers' Wednesday link up a few weeks ago.

Turns out that one teaspoon of liquid fabric softener per one cup of water in a spray bottle equals perfectly effective wrinkle releaser, fabric relaxer, whatever you want to call it! I used to buy this stuff during my single overly busy teaching days, and I have to admit, I almost feel silly using it! I feel a bit lazy, but now that we have a toddler around, I do think it's a pretty handy thing!

When I pull the clothes out of the dryer (wrinkled, of course), I'm spraying, stretching, and shaking out the shirts that matter and hanging them separated so that they can dry. Voila! 

As I've been getting out wrinkled summer clothes to pack for Brazil I've realized that taking a bit of this along will really come in handy as well since ironing will be out of the question!

I bought a spray bottle and liquid fabric softener at Dollar Tree. However, the spray bottle only shoots a single stream of liquid, so I had to use a different one. In the future, I will also look for a fragrance free fabric softener because we are not used to smells and it's a bit overwhelming!

*Image Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

A 'More With Less' Valentine

Both my daughter and I are dealing with pretty bad colds, and were unable to go anywhere on Valentines day. My hubby and I aren't really big holiday people in that we don't think about them very well in advance. We love giving gifts and cards but tend to enjoy it more spontaneously than due to established holidays. For that reason and because Lydia and I have been sick, we had no plans, no cards, no gifts, 'no nothin' for Valentines day.

I had a surge of energy before Tom came home for lunch and wanted to make him something sweet. The cupboards are pretty bare as it's time to re-stock on some essentials, but thanks to More With Less cookbook, I was able to throw together  a couple of sweet (but not too sweet) treats.

 The first was "Date Oatmeal Cookies" on page 286. We don't keep dates around, but we did have some raisins and made them Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. We had all the essential ingredients and they came out yummy. At first they were looking questionable when I peaked into the oven so I made a back-up of some "No-bake Cereal Cookies" on page 287 with rolled oats in place of the dried flake cereal.

I made two very last minute cards with card-stock and crayons. One for Lydia to scribble on and one from me. Lydia's got taped to the door for Daddy's (aka "dah tee") arrival. It was the first time she'd held a crayon or scribbled! Double special!

It was simple and fun and didn't' require buying anything we didn't have! Thank you More With Less!!!!

The Traveling Toddler {Sponsor Highlight and Early Extra Entries!}

I believe I have mentioned the fact that our family will soon be heading south to Brazil. It's going to be quite an adventure, and our first traveling  experience with a toddler! I have arranged a couple of reviews and giveaways surrounding this trip.

One wonderful sponsor of this event is CSN Stores. CSN Stores has 200 + stores offering -you name it- from cloth diapers, to anything you might need in the kitchen, or any room in the house for that matter. Do you love the modern style? One of CSN's stores, ALL MODERN offers all kinds of trendy stuff for every place and occasion, including the oh so popular Eames lounge chair!

You may wonder what this may have to do with a traveling toddler....WELL, this particular toddler weighs just over 20 pounds, is not yet walking (but is *very* close), and LOVES to be carried! I've enjoyed our wrap style carrier, but now that our little one is much bigger and more active, I've been realizing that a soft structured carrier is in order, especially since we'll be doing lots of walking around in Brazil!

A friend of mine has an ERGO Carrier, which she let me try while we shopped at a consignment sale the other day. It was a great experience. I was so pleased with how well Lydia did in it. She was as happy as a lark in spite of the fact that she had missed her usual nap time.

Did you know that CSN Stores carries a great variety of baby carriers? Here's a sampling of just a few! Can you figure out what they are?

Can you look around my site and guess which one CSN Stores is going to be offering to GIVE AWAY in honor of our trip abroad? Which one will I be testing out on the trip and posting a review for afterward?

EXTRA EARLY ENTRIES

If you can identify 4 of the 6 baby carriers pictured above by browsing the baby carriers at CSN Stores and leave me a comment with your answers you can earn 5 extra entries into the March ERGObaby carrier giveaway!

Leave me another comment with a link to the baby carrier that CSN Stores carries that you'd most like to try and earn 5 more extra entries into the March ERGObaby carrier giveaway!

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. This is the second of a series of two posts including a link to CSN Stores that will enable me to offer you an exciting giveaway in March!