sorry

Please forgive my absence. It has been a busy, busy 11 days. But I will have lots of good posts to share. Stay tuned!

new thing

Ever since I saw a pin on Pinterest about washing your fruit with vinegar, I have been researching it a lot! It is reported that cleaning fruits and vegetables with vinegar can kill approximately 98 percent of bacteria. 

There are so many different variations, but in the end I have started using an apple cider vinegar wash in a bowl (you can use white vinegar too). Basically you fill a bowl with one part apple cider vinegar and 3 parts water (or something similar) and you let them soak and mix the berries gently. After soaking you wash them in cold water and pat dry. Easy! (I was shocked by the dirt at the bottom of my bowl.)

For hard skinned fruits and vegetables, you can fill a spray bottle with vinegar and spray them directly and then rinse under water.

Here are some resources I found:

http://www.realfooddigest.com/how-to-wash-your-produce/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14540742

http://www.livestrong.com/article/255880-how-to-clean-fruits-vegetables-with-vinegar/

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/cleaningtipsandrecipes/qt/Produce_Wash.htm

I feel better knowing the fruit and vegetables my kids are eating are pretty free of bacteria and dirt.

giveaway!

I have a giveaway at my Family and Frills blog on ocfamily.com. It's for a Little Mommy Baby So New Doll. My daughter adores her sweet doll and I want another little girl to love one just as much. Head on over to enter!

Click here!

we started

I read in Tim Tebow's book, Through My Eyes, that his parents would reward each of their kids with $1 whenever a grown up would comment on their character. I loved it so much we have started implementing it. Teaches kids what is most important, having good character. My kids totally get it too.

i wish

I love the "Seventies" Medium Boston Bag by Gucci! 

I spotted it on Bethenny Frankel at People.com. 

If I had an extra $1800 sitting around I would definitely buy it. 

A girl can dream!

when

When you let the baby get dressed by himself, he will inevitably go find his brother's swim goggles, his sister's floaties, and a sword. And he will wear it all with just a diaper on. I love two year olds.

st. patrick's day

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner. 

Check out my Family and Frills blog over at ocfamily.com to see some simple ways to celebrate.

lovely class

Last week I posted about a lovely kids class over at my Family and Frills blog on ocfamily.com. 

Go over there and check it out!

a favorite

CamelBak kids bottles are still my favorite on-the-go choice. They work just as great for my two-year-old as they do for my six-year-old. They are sturdy, they wash well, and they last a long time. I especially love that I see them at Target now, so easy. At $11.99-$14 each, they are worth the price because they outlast all sippies and water bottles. Love!

pretties

I needed a cheap and easy way to hang all of my necklaces because they were getting all tangled up in a drawer. I saw on Pinterest that someone had used a tie hanger to do so and I thought that was a perfectly easy thing for me to do. So I went to Target, spent less than $10, and voila! I kind of love it.