Wife, Then Mama

This is my schedule for the 31 Day challenge , in which I will be practicing my BEST housewifery skills!  This is a weekday schedule, my weekends will probably be a couple hours later, and instead of deep cleaning I will be meal planning, helping Michael outside, or being lazy. 6:00 - Wake-up and Early AM Routine (just so you know this is 1.5 to 2.5 hours earlier than I normally get up) make Michael breakfast make Michael lunch throw back the blankets unload dishwasher start laundry read Bible 7:00 - Get ready (I don't ever get ready.  I tend to wear yoga pants unless I am actually out of the house...) shower dressed hair make-up 7:45 - AM Routine make beds breakfast dishes kids ready (ironically I do get the girls ready everyday) wipe bathrooms (just a quick  swish and swipe ) switch laundry pick up upstairs 12:15 -  Early PM routine lunch dishes sweep fold/put away laundry pick up downstairs vacuum deep clean - dust, v...

Yesterday I was reading The 50s Housewife Experiment on Jen But Never Jenn  and thought I should replicate it.  Then today I was glancing at Facebook (I am supposed to be avoiding it, but failing miserably) and saw Mama Gab  talking about  Nesting Place's 31 Day Challenge .  I also realized that my blogging has been a pretty big failure lately .  My house has also been a disaster more often then it should be seeing as how I am home all day, everyday with two well-behaved little girls. So everything kind of came together at once and I am going to do the challenge!  For 31 days I will do my darnedest to follow the following rules: keep to a housekeeping schedule NOT waste time on the computer or smartphone when I should be cleaning or playing with the girls not harass my husband about his computer gaming time get ready everyday (Lori if you are reading this, maybe I won't be in my pajamas when you drop Hadlee off in the morning!) Although I hav...

It seems like I don't really blog anymore.  I mean I still post, but mostly just reviews.  Which isn't really what I wanted my blog to be. I started blogging because I wanted to share my thoughts and feelings with people, then I realized that I could probably profit from blogging, which would be awesome.  So I started contacting companies with products I wanted to review, and was overwhelmed by the positive responses.  All of the sudden I was getting awesome products to try in the mail, and even better, being able give "presents" to my blog readers. I am NOT complaining.  But it takes more time to do a really good review (finding links, taking pictures, creating giveaways) then it does to just post my thoughts and feelings of the day.  So instead of lots of personal posts I just do the reviews that I am obligated to do, and spend lots of time on one or two posts.  I don't know if that is what my readers prefer.  I do know that I have a lot mor...

I love flash cards.  I know some people don't really like them, but I think they are one of the most affordable products available to teach children. Educational Toys Planet   gave me Alphabet Flash Cards to review.  Educational Toys Planet is an awesome website, that allows you to easily sort products by age, gender, price and category.  They have a gift finder, which lets you search all of them at one time.  A wish list and gift registry are available, and they ship free if you order over $75 of product.  Although I didn't order from their website, the shipping was very quick, and testimonials from customers also rave of the quick shipping times. The flash cards themselves were Alphabet Flash Cards from School Zone .  They are quality flash cards.  They have good color and are sturdy cardboard.  They are made of nice smooth cardboard, not the cheaper rough kind. Each card has a picture on one side and a letter on the other sid...

Mom with a Dandelion in Her Hair is giving away a Virtue Training Bible! Read her great review and enter for your chance to win!

So the other day Hadlee and Miss Baby were taking a bath.  I was checking on them literally every 30 seconds while I did other stuff.  My husband was quite confused why I went in there 10 times in 5 minutes.  Hadlee is quite vocal in the bathtub, constantly singing or playing with her toys, so I wasn't to concerned that anything would happen without me hearing about it, and I was only 10 feet away at most.  But while I wasn't in there, Hadlee started yelling for me.  I bolted over, terrified that something had happened.  Something had happened indeed. Floating in the bathwater were turds.  Yup.  Poop.  In the tub.  I immediately tried to remove Hadlee from the tub.  I was quite sure that it was Miss Baby that had used the bathtub as a toilet, and thought it was disgusting that Hadlee was sitting in someone else's feces water. Our conversation went something like this: Rachel:  Hadlee, get out now!  Here i...

Remember that you can click on the pictures to see them bigger!  Also, I LOVE vintage ads, magazines, clothes, games, books, etc.  I just also love to snark on it.  Because sometimes it is pretty ridiculous  :) I have never actually heard of Trimfoot Shoes , but they still exist, apparently they distribute under other brands.  One such brands is Baby Deer , which is a pretty cute name I think.  I also think it is funny that in this ad they say they are for babies and preschoolers, but in the paragraph they say they are for kids from birth to teens. You can't get an encyclopedia from Encyclopedia Britannica anymore, they are strictly an online company.  Which is sad, but makes lots of sense.  The internet has made us lazy.  I remember being in school and finding books excerpts, magazine articles and encyclopedia entries posted online to use as my references when a report required multiple types of references.  So Encycloped...

Did you enter to win the $25 Comfy Joey voucher and lose?  Well, GREAT NEWS!  Comfy Joey is amazingly generous and I am able to offer not one, but TWO more vouchers!  Along with the Dolly Sling, I was also given a Newborn Wool Sling .  I was super excited when I got the sling in the mail.  I love baby-wearing , and trying out new carriers is always fun. The Newborn Wool Slings are for use between birth and 25lbs.  Miss Baby is 25 lbs. so she is right at the top of the weight limit (they are safe up to 30 lbs. 25lbs. is for comfort).  It is a handwash in cold water item and should be air dried.  This sling is so cozy and cuddly that I have not gotten a chance to use it very much, because we have had a quite warm summer.  It is a grey, tan, and cream houndstooth with silver rings, which means it matches everything you could possibly want to wear it with.  The sling is very well made, and the rails are pretty easy to adjust. ...

I don't know when this picture was taken, I am guessing I was either 2 or 3, so sometime in either 1988, 1989, or 1990.  Probably sometime in October-March based on the clothes we are wearing. Anyways, I don't really have a story to go along with this picture, I was pretty tiny so I don't remember it, and I was never told a story about it. I picked this picture because not only is it adorable, but it is of me and my grandpa.  Last week my grandpa was working outside, got off balance and hit his head on his Gator (like a really expensive combination tractor/power wheels for adults, for those of you non-hicks that don't know John Deere very well LOL).  He then spent a few days in the hospital because of brain bleeding. Thankfully he was able to go home, and as far as I know is doing okay.  He fell again once he got home, but didn't need to be hospitalized.  So when I was scrolling through my pictures and saw this one, I thought it would be a nice thing to...

A lot of people say they are making a "Fall Bucket List", but I don't like that term, because: I prefer the word Autumn to Fall, it just sounds prettier, and because its called a bucket list because its stuff to do before you "kick the bucket", and while I can't make any guarantees, I don't PLAN on kicking the bucket before Winter starts. I am a stickler for not starting seasons before they start, so I won't be making an Autumn 2013 album on Facebook until September 22nd.  I don't really know why it irritates me when people start saying its Fall/Autumn as soon as school starts, it doesn't really matter at all.  Anyways, these are some things I really want to make sure I do before December 21st 2013 (the beginning of Winter). Go to the pumpkin patch - I have gone for the last couple years, and want to go again this year.  Miss Baby needs pumpkin patch pictures! Make candy corn dresses for the girls to wear to the pumpkin patch.  Or...

Today is the start of September, and that means time for the start of another giveaway! I am mixing it up this time, and trying out Giveaway Tools instead of Rafflecopter, so let me know what you think! On to the review! Deus Filia is a mother/daughter company, that specializes in 100% genuine Baltic Amber baby teething necklaces.  The necklaces are handmade in the USA, and unlike any other company that makes teething necklaces, she guarantees her work!  Deus Filia is a great company to support, not only are the products made locally (well to me) in Rainier, Oregon, but Tanya was wonderful to work with.  They are also a Christian company, which makes me extra happy to do business with them. :) I was generously given a Golden Bronze and Black Brocade Ring Sling to try out and review.  The first thing I noticed about the sling is that it is gorgeous!  Seriously, this has to be the prettiest baby sling there is!  It makes me wish I had some fo...