School Zone Safety

Please accept my apology for my lapse in blogging lately. I just moved my family 1000 miles with about 10 days' notice. (CRAZINESS!!) So... I've restored enough order to my life and home to resume blogging.

Since school starts for my kids tomorrow, I thought I'd share a really great article I read in the newspaper this morning... It helps clarify the laws regarding school zones and increases understanding about them and why they're structured the way they are. The entire article is on the Tacoma News Tribune website, but my favorite points include:

• The speed limit in a school zone is only 20 mph because research shows that "a child has approximately an 80% chance of surviving if struck by a car going 20 mph, versus an 80% chance of being killed [or a 20% chance of survival] if struck by a car going 27-28 mph. Plus, according to the article, it only saves about 6 seconds to go 8 mph faster through an average 600-ft-long school zone. It's just not worth six seconds!!
• Fines for school zone speed violations are double the normal fine for speeding and, in Washington state, cannot be waived, reduced, or suspended.
• School zones with signage that states "... when children are present" are in effect anytime children are present, year-round, 24-hours-a-day.

• Stopping for a school bus: I had to quote the entire paragraph, because it is just that important: "You must stop behind a school bus with its lights flashing red and stop sign extended if you are in the same lane or an adjacent lane -- either in the same direction or an opposite direction -- or if it's at an intersection you're approaching... Don't start again until the signals are turned off and children have left the roadway." You do NOT have to stop for a school bus when the stopped bus "is traveling in the opposite direction and the roadway has three or more marked traffic lanes, is separated by a median, or is separated by a physical barrier."

Please note that these laws and requirements are only applicable in Washington State, although laws around the country are fairly similar. Be sure to check with your own state to determine laws and requirements specific to your community.

Here's to a safe school year!!




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Stinky Washer

Ever open the lid on your washer to throw clothes in and it smells musty and mildewy? Do yourself a favor, and leave the lid to the washer OPEN between uses to let it dry out. No more stinky washer -I promise! :)

If you want to start with a clean washer, follow the instructions I found for cleaning your washer on eHow:
1) Let the tub of your washing machine fill with water, leaving the lid up.
2) Add 2 cups of white vinegar to the washing machine.
3) Allow the washing machine to sit there with the water and vinegar in it for 1 hour.
4) Restart the washer (with mine I'd just have to close the lid) and let it go through a full wash and rinse cycle.
5) Once the cycle is done, open the washer, let it refill again with water and put in 2 cups of bleach.
6) Allow the washing machine to sit there with the water and bleach in it for 1 hour.
7) Restart the washer and let it go through a full wash and rinse cycle again.




If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at Cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Chore Charts & Kid Bucks are on Etsy!!

I've set up shop on Etsy to make it easier to purchase my Chore Charts & Kid Bucks system. Please visit my Clever Homemaking Etsy Shop (click here) to purchase my completely customized system!

I also altered the pricing to make it simpler. They are priced as a set "per child." Each "set" for sale consists of one chore chart with two chore cards, one AM/PM list, and one set of Kid Bucks (8 bills each of 1's, 5's, 10's, 20's, 50's, and 100's). Also included are one Kid Buck Menu and Allowance Chart per family.

Please see the Etsy listing for more details including current pricing, or feel free to contact me at cleverhomemaking at gmail dot com.

Thanks!




If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at Cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Road Trip Fuel Cost Calculator

How cool is this? AAA's website has a Fuel Cost Calculator. You enter your starting point and destination, along with your car's make, model, and year and it will tell you an approximate cost of gas for your trip, both one-way and round-trip. [They only list major cities so you have to choose the closest major city as your starting point and destination.]

SO handy when we planned our recent 1000-mile road trip (hence my lack of posts in the last ten days - you forgive me, right?). And yes, it is fairly accurate. :)



If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Making the Bed of a Potty-Trainer

When your child is in the midst of potty training and has an accident in the middle of the night, you are so very tired that the last thing you want to do is remake the bed - right?

So don't. :)

Make the bed up to start with like this:
1st layer: waterproof pad/cover
2nd layer: fitted sheet
3rd layer: another waterproof pad/cover
4th layer: fitted sheet
(then proceed as usual)

When your potty trainer has an accident in the middle of the night, all you have to do is pull off a couple of layers and "TA-DA!" the bed is ready for sleeping again in no time flat.

Sweet dreams!



If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Grating Soft Cheeses

Before trying to grate soft cheeses (like mozzarella), first wrap it in plastic wrap and toss it in the freezer for 30 minutes. It'll be much easier to grate.

Once it is grated, it can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.




If you're reading this on a feed reader or on Facebook, check out the blog homepage at cleverhomemaking.blogspot.com.

Ant Killer w/o Chemicals

Along the same lines as the Weed Killer post I did recently, I wanted to share a way to kill off those nasty teeny little ants that seem to come out of the woodwork (literally!) this time of year withOUT the use of harsh and dangerous chemicals.

If you sprinkle a little bit of cornmeal where you see the ants trailing, they will take it back with them and eat it. Their bodies can't digest it and they die. (Okay, so a little inhumane for the ants, but no worse than a chemical ant poison.) You get an ant killer without the risk of harming children, pets, etc that you get when you use harsh chemicals.

I had a family member's dog recently get into an ant poison stash that was seemingly impossible for her to reach. (I understand something in the ant poison smells attractive to dogs.) Poor doggy got really sick, has been to see the vet twice, but will be okay. Still on the mend nearly a week later. Could easily have killed her.

Don't risk it. Try this simple solution first. I've used it and it worked great!

Amish Friendship Bread

I was recently given a couple of "starters" for this bread and it is REALLY yummy! I found a recipe for the starter on AllRecipes.com and thought I would share the recipe for this delicious treat with you...

Amish Friendship Bread Starter:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 cups white sugar, divided
• 3 cups milk

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Pour into a gallon-size plastic ziplock bag. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Do not refrigerate. Continue with directions below:

Amish Friendship Bread

Do not use any type of metal spoon or bowl for mixing (the metal will kill the yeast). Do not refrigerate. It is normal for the batter to rise and ferment. Each day you mash the bag, also let out excess air.

Day 1: Do nothing. (This is the day you receive the batter. The bag is dated.)

Day 2: Mash the bag.

Day 3: Mash the bag.

Day 4: Mash the bag

Day 5: Mash the bag.

Day 6: Add to the bag 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Mash the bag.

Day 7: Mash the bag.

Day 8: Mash the bag.

Day 9: Mash the bag.

Day 10: Do the following…

1) Pour the contents of bag into a non-metallic bowl. Add 1 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, and 1 ½ cups milk. Stir until smooth.

2) Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into ziplock bags (1 gallon size). Label the bag with the date (this is “Day 1” above). Keep a starter for yourself and give the others to 3 friends along with a copy of this recipe. (Note: if you keep a starter, you will be baking every 10 days.)

Baking Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2) Add to the remaining batter:

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ cup milk

½ tsp salt

1 cup oil OR ½ cup applesauce + ½ cup oil

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1 large box instant vanilla, chocolate or banana cream pudding (5 oz size)

3) Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 1/5 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl.

4) Grease 2 large loaf pans. Sprinkle some of the cinnamon / sugar mixture in the pans.

5) Pour the batter evenly into the two loaf pans. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon / sugar mixture evenly over the top.

6) Bake for one hour. Cool until bread loosens from the sides of pan. Enjoy!

Note: You can freeze the starter. Just be sure to label which day it is on so you'll know where you left off when you want to use it. Give it at least 3 hours on the counter to defrost and come to room temperature before you use it.

Filtering the Dust...

My house is constantly dusty, and I know it comes from the central air conditioning / heating system. But I learned of a way of "filtering" the air as it comes from the vents and keeping your house a bit more dust-free (and allergen-free). You should always purchase a good-quality filter for your system and replace it regularly, as your unit recommends. The dirtier it gets, the more dust it will blow around your house (yuck). Then, use a piece of cheesecloth under the vents to filter the air before it blows into your house. Pull the register out, stretch a piece of cheesecloth over the bottom of it and put it back in its slot (checking it to make sure it covers the whole vent but doesn't stick out). Nifty, huh?

Kid-Friendly Movie Reviews

I don't know why I neglected to mention this site when I did my "Top Ten Web Links" a month or so ago... I use this site all the time!

I'm never sure what a PG rating on a movie means anymore. Some PG movies have been shockingly "nearly-PG-13" in my book. And many PG-13 movies should have been rated R by my standards! I don't take the kids to see anything that isn't rated G before checking it out first anymore...

Before I go see just about any movie (with or without kids) I look it up on this site:

http://www.kidsinmind.com/

The site has a rating system (on a scale of 1 to 10) to give you an idea of how much sex & nudity, violence & gore, and profanity there is in the movie. It even breaks it down and tells you the details of why the reviewers came to that particular rating. As a parent and an individual, you can make an educated decision whether you want to view a particular film or not.

For instance, there is one movie in the theaters right now (I won't mention names) that looked absolutely hilarious on the previews and has some of my favorite actors in it. It was rated PG-13 so I thought it might be okay. After looking it up, however, and realizing that it had a rating on Kids-in -Mind of 7.3.4 (and after reading the detailed review of the sex & nudity rating of 7), I decided I'd rather not see it. We decided to see something else instead.

Another site with family-friendly movie reviews is Parent Previews. While the information on Parent Previews is not as detailed as Kids-in-Mind, it still offers reviews that can help you determine whether a movie is one you want to see or not.

"A Stanford University psychologist, Albert Bandura and a number of associates have amassed a great deal of evidence that has repeatedly and powerfully shown how models on TV and on the theater screen can teach new behavior patterns and influence or even change opinions, attitudes, and values." source

I choose not to give that kind of power and influence on my children and family to Hollywood. No, thanks!