Cleaning up the YUCK!

SORRY!! I HAD SOME PICS OF THE PRODUCTS I USE, BUT I DELETED THEM BY ACCIDENT :-)

Let me warn you that this post today is going to be a bit yucky!! So if you happen to be eating right now, you may want to stop.  It's going to deal with an issue that all parents must go through, but one that we do not like!!  If you have children you will at some point experience the gross task of cleaning up their puke :-(....yuck, gross, ewwwww! 
Whatever you call it at your house....puking, vomiting, throwing up, hurling.....it's all gross! 
And most parents have dealt with a kid who didn't make it to the correct area to dispose of their last eaten meal. My kids have puked on the carpet, the mattress, themselves, me, the floor, the shower...yes, it happens. And my kids don't even get sick very often, so I know some people have been through much worse because some kids seem to stay sick. 
So, whether it is a stomach virus or last nights mixture of burritos, watermelon, and ice cream....we must deal with it at times. Almost always at my house, the first thought when someone gets sick on something is to throw it away, burn it at the stake....jk. But seriously, what can we do when something that can't just be thrown out gets something so gross and smelly and germy on it???
I have discovered through the years some very helpful products that I'm going to now share with you. It took some trial and error and sometimes multiple things are needed for me to feel like the item in question is now CLEAN (yes, I'm a teensy bit of a germaphobe), but to me, it's worth it.

CLOTHING and/or other WASHABLE items (stuffed animals, pillows, etc...)
                   Quite by accident I have discovered a product that works great for anything that can be thrown into the washing machine. It is something that all parts of the country may not have accessible at the local store but here in these "huntin'" parts, we do! It is hunter's laundry detergent. The kind that men get to use on their clothes to remove the "human" smell from them. This supposedly helps when you're hunting, but I wouldn't know. My husband was given some of this and not long after I had some gross covered sheets to wash from a sick child. I decided to try this stuff since it removes all human smells and IT WORKED!!! YAY!!! Really, it did. Most of the time, with regular detergent, even after one or two washings, the smell of vomit would still linger some. It is just a really strong smell. But I noticed with this stuff it doesn't. Sometimes I will still run the clothes through a second time on hot with our regular laundry liquid just for a sanitizing and freshening up effect. I'm sure this type of laundry detergent can be purchased online if you don't have it locally and I'm sure there are different brands too. I'm not sure of the price because I haven't had to buy any yet. Still using what my husband was given. But because it works so well, it would be worth it to get some to keep on hand. It is super concentrated so you shouldn't have to use much and it would last a long time unless this type of thing happens very frequently at your house. 

Non-machine washable items (carpet, mattresses, furniture, etc...)
                       Not all things can be picked right up and thrown into the washing machine. That can present a problem. But I have some solutions for you. You would of course need to remove as much as you can before cleaning. I would recommend gloves or a plastic shopping bag over the hand if you have no gloves, some paper towels, and a garbage bag. Get these items out of the house asap to prevent odor issues. My next step is to get my bottle of KIDS n PETS (seen in the middle above). This is a great product that I always keep on hand. It is good for a multitude of messes and really does work. It sounds super gross, but it apparently has an enzyme in it that eats away at any remaining yucky stuff.....( I told you to stop eating:-)....I give any soiled areas a good spraying of this and just leave it alone to work it's magic for a while....30 minutes or more. The directions state you can just let it air dry or use a wet towel to blot it up. If there is a stain I will use a towel and water and work on the area. If not, I use a dry towel to blot up any liquid I can and then spray the area with a good dousing of a disinfecting spray. This is to help with the germs and again, I let it do it's stuff for a while....30 minutes or more. Usually this has taken care of the smells but I will spray another light mist of the KIDS n PETS and then let it air dry, just to make sure anything that soaked way in can get taken care of. That's the good thing about this product, whether it is puke, pee, or other accidents, this stuff will actually get rid of anything left instead of just covering up a smell. Again, you will have to look for this at your local store or order online. It's great stuff. 

OTHER TIPS
         1. If you are sensitive to the smell of vomit, it is a good idea to get some face masks. These can be picked up at a dollar store in a pack of about 10 and will help if you have to clean up something really gross and smelly.
         2. Febreze (seen above)...this is something great to use on furniture, mattresses, stuffed animals, carpets, and any other soft thing that need freshening up.  Sometimes I will use this the next day or a few days later on spots just to make sure it doesn't smell.
          3. Some would think it's over-kill but remember I'm a bit of a germaphobe, so I will get out my steam mop and use the carpet attachment (just let's it roll over surfaces) and steam any mattresses, furniture, or carpet that has been thrown up on. Yet another way to deal with germs!!!
           4. If needed I use my carpet cleaning machine  on carpets, furniture, and mattresses. Just an extra step of cleaning if I feel it needs it. 

When someone is sick, it's a bad thing. My kids always apologize for getting sick on anything, when it happens because they know I don't like to clean it up. But, as a mom, I understand they can't always help it. For me, once my child is cleaned up and doing better, the next thing is to get the germs and smell out of the house as fast as possible. The products I use work and I hope if you try them they will help you too.

Now, gross talk over for a while...you can get back to your snack!

The Games we Play

Our house is a fun one. We like to play! My daughter prefers dolls and Polly pockets, my husband...sports, and my son...games! All kinds of games...board games, sports, and especially video games. We have a Wii and a Wii U at our house, along with all the attachments and gadgets, and of course....Wii games...lots and lots of Wii games. At last count, we have about 50 games! 

Without proper organizing, those games could really get out of control and it would be really hard to find the one you want when you want it. We found all too soon in our Wii ownership that placing the game discs neatly back in the cases after playing them was not going to happen very often. 

So, I came up with a system to organize them and still have them easy to find and easy to put away. I purchased a zip-up CD case that was able to hold lots of discs, about 100 I think. Next, I gathered all our game discs and a permanent marker. I removed the discs from the cases and went to work numbering each one. I numbered the disc, the case, and the CD slot with the same number. Assigning each game disc a number makes it easy for us to know where to put the disc back when we're done with it. It also makes it easier to locate the case if it's needed. 

Game #12 looks like a fun one!

In addition to marking the front of the case, I marked the edge of the case with the number also. Because I opted to keep our game books in the original cases I wanted to file them away where we could get to them if needed.  

This system has worked very well for us and kept the games in much better shape than just throwing them in a basket (which is what was happening before :-(  

Neatly arranged on the shelf :-)

                             Easy to flip through and find the game you want!

Of course, we had to jazz up the front of the case too :-)

There you have it....a better way to organize all those game discs. This system would work well for any collection of discs that needs organizing....computer games, CD's, DVD's. And it's a great way to save space. This nice little case that zips up and files neatly away is much smaller than all those cases. 

Now, if you will excuse me...#27 is calling my name :-)

Teaching My Kids to Pray

Prayer is an important part of my life.  I talk to God on a daily basis, several times a day. Sometimes it's to thank Him for all that He has blessed me with. Sometimes it's to ask Him to meet a need. Sometimes it's to petition Him on behalf of other's needs. He is always there and always listens. I know He cares because He loves me. 

It's important to me that my kids know how to pray too. I want prayer to be a part of their life and for them to know that they can go to God with their needs and trust Him to do what is right. I've found that with prayer, like a lot of things, it's best to lead by example. When a need arises in our home, we pray about it. If one of us gets hurt or is sick, we pray for them. Whichever of us takes the kids to school for the day, we pray for them on the way there. We pray openly at home and that is also the style of prayer at our church. The point being...our kids see and hear us praying. Praying for them, for ourselves, for others. And they are learning what prayer is all about.

It's become common for them to tell us of needs they hear about during the day and pray for those at night. We have a nightly routine before bed of gathering together either on the couch or in one of the bedrooms and praying together. We start out with the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer and then each take turns praying our own prayer too. We also each thank God for something from that particular day. With kids, you never know what you're going to get...like "thank you God for the 2 hour delay from school this morning" ;-) or "thank you God for my toys"....but that's ok. God hears them and I believe He appreciates them thanking Him for the things that are important to them. And trust me, when I say that nothing will melt your heart like your 4 year old praying out loud for you....as in "help mommy's head to quit hurting" or "touch Daddy's back"...so sweet. 

And we are quick to point out when God has heard and answered prayer and thank Him for it. It's not that we want them to think they can take their "wish lists" to God and He will grant their requests. It's not like that. We just want them to grow up knowing that prayer works and it is something they should do. And we don't skimp on it when we have overnight guests either. Cousins or friends, whoever they have staying over is included in our prayer time. They don't always pray with us and that's ok. The good thing is that our kids are learning to pray comfortably in front of others. 

I can only hope that my kids will continue to value prayer as they grow up. It is a comfort to be able to go to God and tell Him anything and know He hears. I pray for my kids daily and I love it when they pray for me. And I'm sure God understands if they, every once in a while, thank Him for chocolate milk ;-).