Favorite Cleaning Products

The holidays are quickly approaching and We Are That Family is hosting a special holiday themed Works For Me Wednesday. The first thing I think of when company is coming is getting the house in order and face it, we all have plenty of things we would rather be doing or even need to be doing this time of year. I decided several years ago if I found a cleaning product that really worked or made my life easier, I would buy it. Even if it meant forking over a few extra dollars. So without further adieu, here are a few of my favorite (cleaning) things...

I have tried every bathtub cleaning product out there, including homemade and green cleaners, and nobody gets the job done like these little guys. I remember being so disappointed as a kid when my mom burst my bubble by telling me the little hard working bubbles with brushes for feet in the commercials were not real. Real bubbles or not, this stuff gets the job done!


Glass wipes make cleaning mirrors and shining faucets a cinch. Stick with the name brands though. I've found the cheaper ones don't work as well.


I love my Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. They're great for cleaning counter tops and scuff marks off the walls. Also works great on all those huge plastic kiddie toys.


Krud Kutter is a miracle cleaner! I used it to wipe down the laminate bathroom floor in our previous home and was shocked to find it was a light shade of tan, not the lovely brown and gold we'd been staring at for years. Krud Kutter cleans anything including laundry stains.


I have Clorox/Lysol cleaning wipes stashed in every bathroom in the house and the kitchen. It doesn't take long to wipe down the counters, cabinets, toilets...with these babies on hand.


The newest member of my cleaning arsenal is a mini microfiber dusting wand similar to these that I picked up at Dollar Tree recently. It actual makes dusting pretty fun...just ask Sport and Spice! Best of all, it's machine washable so I'm not constantly having to buy refills.

Check out this week's WFMW for more tips for a sress-free holiday.

Easy Green Beans

This is the only way I cook green beans. Very tasty!

1 pound fresh green beans
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 pack Italian dressing mix

Melt butter in a pan. Add beans and seasoning mix and saute until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. For best taste, allow dressing mix to caramelize on beans.

I've also used Ranch dressing mix and the results are just as yummy.

This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday. Visit Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for more recipes.

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY November 3, 2009...
Outside my window...a nice crisp fall day. Can't wait to get the kids outside.
I am thinking...about what to do for dinner. Hubby may or may not be home and Lord knows I don't want to strain myself if he's not going to be here.
I am thankful for...a great weekend full of trick-or-treating fun and an All Saints Day party yesterday. The kids had a blast!
From the learning rooms... Practicing cursive handwriting at the moment. We will be studying Native Americans for the next few weeks and continue our space unit in science. We also started reading Three Cups of Tea - the junior edition -- today for book club. I loved the adult version and am looking forward to looking more in-depth at Pakistan and Afghanistan.
I am hoping...to find some good ideas for homemade Christmas gifts soon.
I am hearing...Spice practicing counting by twos.
I am wearing...jeans, a brown cable sweater I snagged at our recent swap and love, and comfy brown shoes.
I am reading...19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Not my usual fare so while it's a good read, I'm moving along very slowly.
Around the house...Ghosts, goblins, and Jack-O-Lanterns wait to be put back into hiding til next year.
From the kitchen... no real plans this week since Hubby is iffy for most of the week. We'll just wing it.
One of my favorite things...a relaxed day where we don't have to go anywhere.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Co-op classes tomorrow, a field trip to a western museum Wednesday, tennis for Sport tomorrow and Spice Friday, and a haircut for me Saturday. Yay!


To read more daybook thoughts head over to Peggy's blog.

Muffin Tin Monday

We dine from muffin tins just about every Monday, but I don't usually participate in the themes posted by Her Cup Overfloweth. That would require planning ahead, so we just eat whatever's on hand. I knew we would have to participate this week though when I saw that the theme was Outer Space. We are studying the solar system at the moment and, besides that, it's one of Sport's favorite topics. Here's what I came up with at the last minute this morning.



Mini bagel for the rings of Saturn (Sport preferred to think of it as a black hole though.)
Cheese stars
Planetary pepperoni
Yogurt squeezer for astronaut food
Milky Way candy bar from the Halloween bucket for the galaxy
Crescent moon apple slices

Head over to Her Cup Overfloweth to see what other mom's did.

Homeschool Bling!

OK, maybe bling is too strong of a word, but here's a short list of places that offer discounts or other rewards to homeschoolers. Most require proof of homeschooling. This will vary by state, but in Georgia most places simply ask to see a copy of your declaration of intent to homeschool that must be submitted to the state board of education each year. If you're wondering if a retailer near you offers such a discount, I find the best way to find out is simply ask if there is an "educator's discount" rather than a discount for homeschoolers. They tend to take you more seriously that way. : )

JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts - Sign up for the educator's discount and receive 15% off all purchases. Upon registering, you also receive a 20% off coupon for one time use. The best part about the JoAnn's discount is it can be combined with their 40% off coupon that comes in the Sunday paper and it can be used on every purchase. I've used the discount for everything from art supplies and home decor items to fabric and patterns to make Spice clothes. Hobby Lobby may have a similar program, but I have not been in there recently to find out. I've also heard Michael's offers a discount, but the last time I was there and asked the cashier looked at me like I had turnips growing out of my head so who knows. I'll have to try again next time.

Borders/Waldenbooks/Barnes & Noble/Books-A-Million - Each of these stores offers a 20% discount to educators. The discount is supposed to apply to "classroom materials" only, but I find that is left up to the discretion of the cashier. I hand over my card with every purchase and see what happens.

Hancock Fabrics - The Red Apple Card gives you 15% off.

Staples - Sign up for the Teacher Rewards card and earn points for each purchase you make. I don't spend enough there to get much out of this, but I do love their ink recycling program. If you have the Teacher Rewards card you earn $3 for every ink cartridge returned to the store - regardless of the brand or type of printer. You earn credit for up to 10 cartridges per month. I had fun spending my $30 recycling rewards check last month on magazine holders and dry erase markers. Office Depot has a similar program.

Scholastic - When I was a kid I loved bringing home the little flier each month full of books. Once my mom narrowed my original 20 or so selections down to a more reasonable number, it was so exciting to bring home a new stack of books to delve into each month. When I started homeschooling Sport I knew one of the things I would miss was those darn catalogs. Now we get it all shipped straight to our house and while we do not get a discount, we do get to earn free books and bonus points to be redeemed for other cool items just like a classroom teacher does. To sign up as a homeschooler, you have to send in your first order pre-paid. Go to their website, check out the fliers, then call 1-800-scholastic to place your order and mail the check. Once your first order arrives, you will have a customer # that can be used to access the book clubs online. While you're at the site, check out the book fair section and see if there are customer appreciation warehouse sales in your area. If so, get on the mailing list! We love the warehouse sales and have found huge deals there.

I've also heard Blockbuster offers free rentals on educational materials, but I haven't tried it yet. Let me know if you've tried this one or know of a place offering a discount that's not on this list.

This post is part of We Are That Family's WFMW carnival. Check it out for lots of great tips and ideas!

Workbox Wednesday

We've been studying space in science, focusing on the moon lately. Here's a sampling of our workboxes last week:

We started out with this book. It is the spine for Sport's current Noeo science unit. We read about the moon in here...

then read this book I picked up at the library to explain things a bit more on Spice's level.


The highlight of our day was recreating the phases of the moon using Oreo cookies. I based the project off of the info found here. We only focused on the 4 main moon phases though to keep things simple and lessen the sugar intake. The kids had a blast, especially after the sugar started to take effect.

Sport's complete project.


Spice works on her phases.


God created the moon and it was good!


Looks like Sport had a good time.


We wrapped things up with an activity from Pop Bottle Science.

My sister-in-law gave this to Sport for his birthday a few years ago. Bet she didn't think we still had it! This activity focused on the craters on the moon. For some reason Spice has been fascinated by the idea of craters on the moon. We filled the bottom part of the bottle (it comes apart) with flour then dropped small objects (raisin, chocolate chip, marble, candy corn...) into the flour to show how craters were formed. Some objects were dropped gently just an inch or so away and others were dropped from way up high (do this outside if you don't want flour everywhere) to show how different sizes of craters were made. We all agreed these activities made for a fun day of workboxes.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

This time of year, my thoughts turn to one of my favorite things to bake...chocolate chip pumpkin bread. This is based off of a recipe I found in Quick Cooking magazine several years ago.

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 can pumpkin
1-1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips*

Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and applesauce. Add pumpkin mix to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan then remove and place on wire rack. Slice one loaf and serve immediately. Wrap the other loaf up and stuff it in the freezer real quick so you won't eat it too. It's that good!

*The original recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups of chocolate chips, but I actually thought that was a bit too much and if I'm telling you there's too much chocolate you'd better believe it!

This recipe is being linked to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday. Head over their for more recipes.