I’ve shared before about how much I love books.

Well, what I really  love are fun books that reinforce the things we are learning in school.

Now that Miss E has started kindergarten, we are having lots of fun with alphabet books.  We own a couple of really fabulous ones.

We recieved The Hidden Alphabet from Great Grandma a couple of years ago. 

Normally I am not a huge fan of lift-the-flap books (only because they are so easily damaged), but this one is so great.

It’s full of such fun artwork.

Our other favorite right now is a hand-me-down from Grammy… A is for Annabelle.

It’s all about “grandmother’s doll Annabelle”, and all of her wonderful accessories.  Very sweet.

What are your favorite books about the alphabet?  Give me some new ideas!

I’ve been meaning to share for awhile about one of my favorite household helpers:

I love vinegar.

I was a little hesitant to try it out in the beginning, but after using it for awhile I have to admit it’s become a little bit of an obsession.

You can read all about the disinfecting powers of vinegar here.

You can also check out 1001 tips for using vinegar.  This is where I got a lot of my uses for it when I was starting out.

So what do I use vinegar for? 

1. Laundry.  It disinfects, works as a fabric softener (I no longer use traditional fabric softener), and is a great odor remover when added into a warm water wash cycle.  It works great for smelly dishrags, towels, stinky socks, and of course the ultimate dilema in our house, smelly little girl panties.  I have found nothing other than bleach that so effectively eliminates the smell of urine.  Hope that’s not too much info for you…just trying to be helpful.

2. Cleaning Bathrooms.  In light of the above info, I also use vinegar to clean my bathrooms.  I’ll bring out the bleach when we’ve had an illness in the house, but for everyday normal cleaning I just use a squirt bottle of half vinegar, half water.  It works great.  I’m thrilled to be able to eliminate all of the chemical residue that used to be in our bathrooms, where little girls like to touch everthing and then put their hands in their mouths.  One bit of disclosure though…cleaning the toilets with vinegar will take a little more “work” than the good old Clorox gel.  Just so you know.

3. Unclogging Drains.  I learned this trick from my friend’s grandma… when the drain in the kitchen sink is going a little slow, I will pour some baking soda in it, then add vinegar.  This keeps the sink draining smoothly all the time.

Those are the main, daily things I use vinegar for.  Sometimes I’ll find other random uses though.

So, onto the question I know everyone will ask…doesn’t it smell bad? 

In my experience the smell of vinegar only lingers for about a half an hour, at most.  And once it’s gone things just smell clean.  It seems to neutralize odors in such a way that there just isn’t a smell at all.  So instead of a clean smell as in a Pine-sol smell or a Bleach smell, it’s just a clean fresh smell. 

And the best thing…you can buy it in giant bottles at Costco for practically nothing.  So in addition to cleaning effectively, and minimizing chemical exposure in the house, I’m also saving money.  Pretty great, huh?

So tell me, what are you thoughts on vinegar?

*image courtesy of google.

Ok, I have a real treat for you today!!!

Are you ready?

My favorite breakfast smoothie:

*First let me clarify that I am one of those lucky people who will end up in a clammy, trembling heap if I don’t have a constant stream of protein in my diet.  So the more protein I can pack into my breakfast, the better my whole day will be.

So, my fave smoothie contains: 

1/3 c. plain yogurt

1/3 c. milk

1/2 a frozen banana

2 yogurt (ice) cubes (I try to keep a tray full of plain yogurt ice cubes in the freezer)

about 2 tbsp. of natural peanut butter (the kind where you have to stir up the oil)

My blender has a “frozen drinks” settings, so I run it on that a couple of times (there must be NO lumps or I won’t drink it).  The banana being frozen, and the ice cubes made of yogurt make it extra thick and creamy.  It’s so good!  You’ve got to try it.

**FYI: Hombre hates this drink!   I am not allowed to drink it anywhere near him….he kind of has issues with peanut butter.  So you know it’s got to be good or otherwise I wouldn’t put up with the dirty looks every morning.   

(P.S. Yes, there is a weird black spot appearing in some of my pictures lately, and yes, Hombre is going to make me cry my eyes out by sending the camera in for repairs, and yes, I have absolutely. no. idea. how to live for a single day, let alone several without a camera.  Now you know my tragedy!)                                            

I should be cleaning right now…

We’ve been going non-stop for three weeks straight and it is definitely obvious in my house!

But I don’t feel like cleaning

My favorite thing I want to share with you today is….(drumroll)… … …handkerchiefs.

I love handkershiefs.

I’m not sure how long ago I started using them, but it kind of started as an experiment when I was trying to eliminate some of the things we spend money on and then throw away.

I just bought the plain white ones in the men’s dept.  at Wal-mart. (Be sure to watch where you are looking )

And after several months of using them I have to say, I wouldn’t be sad if I never saw a kleenex again.  I love them that much!

I could elaborate on all the reasons why, but instead I’m just going to tell you that you should try them for youself.  They’re not terribly expensive, and you might just love them as much as I do.  Just don’t call them “hankies” whatever you do.  I don’t know why, but that word really annoys me!

Now I have to show you how I’ve been trying to lure all of my family into a handkerchief obsession…

My birthday gift for all the ladies this year has been hand embroidered handkerchiefs.

I made these so far for my grandma and my aunt.  I figure maybe the prettiness will be an extra enticement.

These are some I made for my cousin.

Now I just need to make myself some pretties…I’ve just been using the boring white all this time!

So tell me, have you ever or do you now use handkerchiefs?  What do you think????