Back To School - College Style

I know school has already started for most everyone, but EVERY blog out there has done a back to school post geared for moms with kids so I thought we should have a post for college students. And since you can't have a back to school post without a first day of school picture, here ya go...!

It's technically the 3rd day of school and the hubster didn't want to cooperate and take a picture with his backpack on so this is as good as it gets.

This semester I'm on campus 3 days a week, 4 hours a day so I have to bring along snacks. Otherwise my lucky classmates would get to hear my tummy rumble all through class! Plus I'm one of those lucky ones that needs something in my system every few hours in order to function.

I've made things a little easier on myself this semester. To help save on time and not find myself running late for school in the morning (since I have to leave at 7:30am, yuck!), I've prepared a few snacks ahead of time that I can just grab and go. As soon as I got home from the grocery store I washed and bagged all of the grapes and carrots that I bought by putting them into little snack bags. Now I just grab one of each as I'm heading out the door and I'm good to go.

Grapes, String Cheese, and Carrots

I also took the time to bag up some different crackers and other snacks, because let's face it, although carrots and grapes are delicious and good for you, they're not always filling or quite what you're looking for. It was super easy to bag up everything all at once and now I don't have to worry about it for a while. It was certainly hard to wake up for school these last 2 days and I know as the semester goes on it will only get harder (when I find myself wanting to go less and less), but since I had these snacks already prepared I made it to school in plenty of time and I didn't have to go without eating due to running out of time to grab a snack. The other nice thing is since there are healthy choices prepared it allows me to grab things that are good for me instead of less healthy options that are prepackaged like a candy bar. Win/win!

To my college friends past and present:
What are some things you do to help get out the door on time?
What snacks do you like to take with you?

Skin Care

I was reading a friends blog the other day, she posted about skin care and the 8 steps to healthy skin. Yes, you read that right, there are 8 steps to healthy skin. I currently mainly do # 6, 8 and occasionally 1. I'm sure there are many of you out there like me who just thought as long as I wash my face and moisturize I should be good to go... apparently not.
 Here are the steps

1. Cleanse – clean your face with a cleanser. Pretty simple, right?
2. Exfoliate – yes, every day. A very gentle exfoliation though. Avoid it if you have some major pimples so you don’t spread the bacteria everywhere.
3. Tone – apply toner to your face to even your skin’s ph level. 
4. Treat – You can just do this step at night, which would be applying some sort of anti-acne or preventative aging serum.
5. SPF – gotta protect that skin!
6. Moisturize
7. Primer – I honestly didn’t even know about this. If I understand it right, it helps your make-up last all day and prevents it from smudging or coming off.
8. Foundation – putting on whatever make-up you want

I didn't even know half of these existed! I feel like  have been introduced to a whole new world. Now granted I have two children under the age of 2, so the likely hood of me doing all these steps are slim. However, im definitely going to invest in a primer. I didn't even know that existed! I hate that a few hours after I put my make up on its already worn off.

So now im curious, how many of you knew there were so many steps to skin care greatness? Do you follow all these steps? And if so what products do you recommend for those of us that are clueless?

21 Easy Home Tidying Tips

These tips take very little effort, but can help make a home look cleaner than it actually is.

1. Put the toilet lid down. If the toilet bowl is dirty, at least with the lid down you can't see it!

2. Close all cupboards and doors. Even if you have the intention of putting something right back, things happen and you can walk away with the cupboard or door still open. Kitchen cupboards, bathroom cupboards, pantry door, closet doors, laundry door... when all remain closed, the house looks cleaner. (Especially closet doors in the bedrooms.)

3. Pull the shower curtain closed.

4. Make the bed. Even if it's just pulling the top comforter up and not straightening the sheets.

5. Fluff the pillows on the couches.

6. Tuck in all the chairs to the dining table.

7. Clear dishes from the kitchen table. If you don't plan on cleaning the kitchen right away, at least the kitchen table will be cleared, making the dishes seem less daunting when you get around to doing them.

8. Hide dirty laundry in the washing machine. It can make your room seem cleaner if you keep a load of dirty laundry in the washer. Maybe it sounds silly, why not just start the washer, but I'm talking about before it's a full load. Instead of putting the dirty clothes in a hamper, put them in the washer to collect until it's a full load to run.

9. Put dirty dishes in the sink instead of on the counter.

10. Make a dirty/clean sign for the dishwasher. Then load the dishwasher throughout the day/week and switch the sign to clean once you start it. That way you don't forget if you're still loading it with dirty dishes or if they're clean.

11. When all else fails, close the doors to all the rooms in the house.

12. Straighten the Family Room before going to bed. It may not stay clean throughout the day, but at least you can wake up to a clean house in the morning.

13. Get a shoe basket or shelf to have in the family room or near the front door.

14. Keep a small toy box in each room that toys get used. We have 2 family rooms so we keep a toy box in each one, plus one in the little one's bedroom.

15. If you have pets, have a toy box specifically for pet toys.

16. Put things away as soon as you're done using them. Toothpaste, hairbrush, bread, peanut butter, etc.

17. Plug in an air freshener.

18. Rinse dishes while making dinner. It's also a good time to unload the dishwasher and load dishes as you go.

19. Use a mail sorter so mail doesn't stack up on the counter.

20. Put your purse in a closet or cupboard instead of on the counter.

21. Open the blinds. It helps make your house seem bigger and your mess seem smaller. Also, open the windows for some fresh air.

5 Random Cleaning and Organizing Tips

Rinse Your Plate

Cleaning plates is a tough thing if it's kept for some time uncleaned. Rinse your plate after dinner and have all family members do the same and it makes washing plates so easy. It is a small and simple habit but makes a lot of trouble easier.


Cleaning the Microwave

Cleaning a microwave is easy. Fill up a cup of water and put it in there on high for a few minutes. The steam from the cup will loosen any stuck-on food, and then you can just wipe it away. It’s that simple.

Change a Dirty Job into a Clean One

Make trash collection less of a chore. Instead of making one trip to empty all the trash cans that have trash bags, and then making another trip to replace those bags with fresh ones, you can handle both tasks in one trip. Store a few new trash bags at the bottom of each can you use. When you remove a filled trash bag, you can replace it immediately with a bag from your stash of new ones.


Folded Sheets

Place fitted and flat sheet and extra pillow cases inside matching pillow case set and store on closet shelves. 
 

Organize Cards

Store card games inside dollar store soapboxes.

Compliments

My husband gave me a compliment the other day that has made a huge impact on how I view myself now.

First, a little back story...

My whole life I've felt like I'm surrounded by people who do things just a little bit better than I do. In elementary school my handwriting was good, but my friends were better. In Junior High I was in choir and felt like a pretty good singer, but my peers were better. In high school I played softball my freshman year and was pretty good, but my teammates were better. Then when I got married I felt like a pretty good housewife, but listening to comments in church, my ward friends were better. I've always felt like a good writer, but my husband is better. Now I feel like a pretty good mom, but my Facebook and Pinterest friends are better.

Then one day my husband told me he thinks I'm a good singer. I laughed it off and told him he was crazy and he continued to say he thought I was better than certain people (which I won't name, but people I view as good singers). It's hard for me to take a compliment so I just moved onto a new topic, but what he said has really impacted my day to day operations.

First of all, I've always loved to sing, but I've been surrounded by people who are good singers so I've developed some insecurities in my own talents. In church I started singing soft enough that nobody around me could really hear me, but by doing so it made it hard to hit any high notes so I would "mess up" and feel even less capable in my abilities. But, hearing my husband tell me I'm a good singer has given me confidence. Now I project when I sing and I don't care who hears me or who's better than me!

But it's more than that. His simple compliment has changed how I look at myself. I feel more confident about a lot of things because I've realized that it doesn't matter who's better. What matters is who tries. I may not be the best singer, but I try. I may not be the best wife, but I try. I may not be the best mom, but I try. I do what I'm capable of doing to the best of my abilities and at the end of the day that's all that matters. It's not about who packs their husband a lunch everyday for work or who puts together elaborate activities for their kids that they found on Pinterest. It's not about who sings better or who's more athletic...

...It's about how you approach your talents and how they make YOU feel. Nobody else matters when it comes to your own abilities and personal strengths.

So I'm proposing a challenge.

Give someone a compliment, but make it worth while.

I'm not talking, "cute shoes, great haircut, good lesson". Those are nice things to hear, but sometimes they seem meaningless. They're conversation starters or silence fillers.

Instead, compliment someone on their talents. If you liked their cooking, tell them why it was good. If they taught a good lesson in church, tell them what hit home for you. Tell your husband what he's good at and why. My husband could have said he thinks I'm a good singer and left it at that, but he kept going. He gave me a reason to believe what he was saying was true.

Give someone a self-esteem boost because at the end of the day we all have our own insecurities and compliments can go a long way in helping us feel more confident. Even the people who we think are so confident on the outside, have insecurities on the inside. So compliment away. You never know what impact you can have on somebody's life!

Video Games

I think a lot of wives find themselves frustrated with their husband's playing video games and don't know how to handle it. We all have different levels of tolerance and while some wives may get annoyed after 5 minutes of gaming, other wives may tolerate a few hours before they feel frustrated. Here are some of my thoughts when it comes to video games.

1. My husband plays as a hobby. I can suggest limitations, but I can't stop him from playing completely unless I'm willing to give up my own hobbies which is something I would never recommend.
2. He plays video games to unwind from his frustrations at work just like some people choose to watch tv or read a book.
3. We have rules about video game ratings and what games are acceptable in our home. He's not allowed to play games with graphic violence or language in front of me and especially not in front of our child/ren.
4. I try to remember that he works full time with tons of over time, goes to school, does his homework, and gets good grades so it's okay for him to indulge every now and then and play for longer periods of time than I would normally like.

On the days when I'm feeling frustrated that my husband is playing video games and being oblivious to his surroundings I first ask myself what kind of day has he had and if he needs an escape more than I need his help. It helps me be more sensitive to his needs and allows me to approach the situation differently. If  I feel it's more important for him to help me put away laundry or whatever the case may be - rather than stew about him playing video games while thinking he knows I want his help and he's choosing to ignore me, or snapping at him for not helping which only makes the work load that much more unpleasant, I calmly ask him to help me put away the laundry because it's too much for me to do by myself. There's never been a time when he hasn't helped me after I've directly asked him. It may take him a while to actually come help because he needed to get to a safe point in the game, but the point is he still helps and that's what really matters.

Like I said before, we're all in different situations and our husbands have different desires toward playing video games so our experiences are all different.

• What are ways that you handle your husband's video game appetite? 
• Do you only allow a certain amount of time per day/week that he can play? 
• Are there rules for when he can play like once the chores are done? 
• Do you have a budget for buying video games? 
• What do you do to feel less frustrated by it?

Quality Time

What's something you and your husband do as a couple to spend time together? Read books? Go on walks? Play boardgames? Put together puzzles? I'm looking to add some new ideas to my list so give me all you've got!

Thank You Challenge

It's a little late and short notice since we're already 2 days into the month, but here's a fun challenge to show your husband you appreciate him. We all know November is the month for giving thanks. Your challenge is to give your husband a thank you note everyday this month. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate. Make it as simple as you want. I'm doing mine on post-it notes and sticking one to the steering wheel of his car everyday so when he leaves for school in the morning he'll see it. On weekends I think I'll put it on the bathroom mirror or the lid of the toilet (he definitely won't miss it there)! Have fun with this challenge and be creative with why you're thankful for your husband. Point out the obvious, but also thank him for more personal things and even silly things! After all, you have 30 (or 28 if you don't make up for the two days we've missed) different things to be thankful for.

Here's a tip: I suggest writing all of them out at the same time so you don't have any repeats.

Show Your Appreciation - Revised

It's important to me to tell my husband I appreciate the things he does for me. I want him to know I notice the little things he does because there's a part of me that likes to think he'll keep doing it! And there are certain things that I expect my husband to do, like open the door for me or put the babe in the car when we're going somewhere and it's easy to overlook those things and not say thank you.

In order to make sure he knows I appreciate him I try to say thank you in different ways and not always just verbally which can sometimes seem meaningless. Recently I sent him an email telling him how much I appreciated something that he did for me and that what he did really made me feel like he cared about me. I mean, obviously he cares about me, but it's nice to be reminded sometimes. The reason I emailed him was because he had a conversation with me that I really appreciated and I wanted him to know that I was grateful he brought the topic up. I didn't want it to go unnoticed that what he did meant a lot to me and I felt an email would have been more heartfelt than a simple thank you.

Not everyone is on the texting bandwagon, but it's a great form of communication for the two of us. It allows us to talk while he's at work or school and carry conversation we wouldn't otherwise have if our only option was to talk on the phone or wait until we're in the same room. I tend to say thank you in texts often!

Occasionally I've given him a card, but it's not something I think he truly appreciates, so I don't do it often.

The biggest one and probably the easiest one for me is to thank him through prayer. When we pray together he can know I'm truly appreciative of him through the things that I say. I want him to know that I'm thankful he's a student and provides for our family, that he holds the priesthood and has a testimony, and that I think he's an amazing dad and I love watching him play with our child. Prayer is an easy way for me to let my husband know I appreciate the things he does for me and my family.

Revision:
It's been brought to my attention that I should clarify what I mean by this post. My husband and I say thank you plenty and for most everything. These are just things I do to go above and beyond verbally thanking him so that he knows it means more to me than just in the moment that it happens. For example when he takes the initiative to clean the kitchen because he sees that I'm having a hard time catching back up, I thank him right then, but I also try to bring it up again later by saying something like, "It's such a relief that the kitchen is clean so I can focus on something else, thank you so much for doing that" so that he knows it really did mean a lot to me. And I can thank him for things other than acts of service, like being a worthy priesthood holder. I hope that clears things up and nobody thinks that we use these other options as our only way of saying thank you! :)

What are ways you show your appreciation to your husband?

More time with the husband!

Do you ever feel like you don't get enough time with your husband? I know I do! Between his work schedule and our son, I feel like we never get enough quality time! For us one thing that has made a huge difference is his lunch hour. I know what your thinking... really his lunch break, its only an hour how could it make that big of a difference? We'll my friends, allow me to enlighten you!

Everyday, my husband calls me when he's on his way home for lunch. We talk on the phone clear up until he pulls in the driveway. Then he'll walk in the door and give me a hug and a kiss, and usually say something mushy. Then I'll make him a sandwich on homemade bread (my contribution to being a stay-at-home-mom) and we'll spend that hour together, talking, catching up on shows we missed. etc. The point is we spend it together. Usually the baby is napping and it is a complete hour of just us! It is pure bliss. It breaks up the day so I don't feel like he's gone for 8 hours, and gives me a chance for some adult conversation! This simple hour spent together has made such a difference to us, and has become one of my favorite times of the day! I wouldn't trade it for anything! If it's an option for you then I challenge you to try it! It works for us. Just think of how fun it would be to get an extra hour with your hunny!