Thanks to the few that responded to the “Tips & Tricks” Contest!  The winner will be given their gift card at the November 21st meeting (tomorrow!) Here’s what was shared:

• I love to use old berry cartons (the plastic ones) from Strawberries or Raspberries for containers for crayons, chalk, markers, etc. They are easy to see what’s inside & stack neatly in our cabinets.
• Get a babysitter to stay sane
• I take so many photos of the kids with my iPhone, but then they just seem to get “lost” in the literally thousands of photos that I have in there.  So, to preserve some of my favorites, every year I use photos that I upload to Instagram & have little books made from Printstagram.  They make great stocking stuffers & keepsakes to look at the year in review in photos (and they are inexpensive, 2 books for $12).
  
• Something that has helped a lot in our family…from newborn up till now (5 year old) is using a white noise machine in the kids rooms for sleeping. It has helped our newborns sleep through the night and it has blocked sound from waking up sleeping babies and kids in our house…a great invention. We even have travel sound machines that we use when going places. If you are in a noisy hotel or home or another person, they are great for creating the ambience of home.
• I can’t pick just one! 1) I write a letter to my kids on their birthdays. I can’t keep up with baby books and photo albums, but 1 letter a year seems doable. 2) Take pictures of your kids’ preschool artwork instead of saving all of them 3) The reference books Baby 411 and Toddler 411 are like having a pediatrician right beside you – I refer to them often! 4) Always have chicken noodle soup, saltines, ginger ale, and pedialyte/Gatorade in your pantry for the inevitable stomach bug…you won’t feel like running to the store.
• Do MOPS & preserve a little of yourself!
• Wet/ dry bag! I really like the ones from planet wise. They are nice for the diaper bag since we cloth diaper. They are also great to put soiled clothes in too! They come in a variety of sizes and adorable patterns.