Aquadoodle pen

Have you ever needed to do a mass mailing?  Invites, thank yous, fundraiser letters, etc. In the past 6 months we had to do a few mailings for the kid's school and church fundraisers that we are helping with.  When I started to get everything ready for the first mailing, I thought about what I was going to use to close the envelopes.  I wasn't about to lick all the envelopes shut and I didn't know if I could bring them to a post office to have them run through a machine? And I didn't have any stickers I could use. So, I decided I would try the aquadoodle pen.  It worked WONDERFULLY!  All I had to do was fill the pen with water, and run it over the adhesive strip and close.  If you don't have one or haven't seen one, the link and image is below.  The kids use it with their aquadoodle pad and mat.  It is basically a plastic pen that holds water and then simulates a marker on the mat/pad. I am sure people that do mass mailings all the time have a better tool but this didn't cost me a thing, I already had it in the house and it couldn't have worked better!

It would be perfect for sending out graduation announcements, wedding invitations, thank yous, etc. 

Plastic placemat ideas

I can't resist buying items that can be used in MANY ways and my plastic placemats are just one example.  I picked up a few placemats about a year ago to use on the table when the girls were coloring, but I have found so many more uses for them.

Here are a few:

• Cutting Boards - They are so easy to store and clean and they are thick enough to use for cutting.
• White boards - The mats I have are mostly clear with a little design on them and they can write on them, color, etc, and I can just wipe it off.
• Craft mats - We do most of our coloring, painting, playdoh, etc. on the mats to reduce the cleanup on the table/counter
• Actual Placemats - For eating/snacking - there is something that makes using a placemat to eat so much more fun for a young child.
• Baking mats
• Play Kitchen/House - The girls use them in their play kitchen as well as when they are playing "babies"

If you are looking for a good disposable placemat for when you are in a public place, my sister has used these and they are really neat.  They adhere on all sides so your toddler won't be able to pull it off.

Baby wash cloths in the kitchen

We are almost out of the "baby" stage as our youngest is nearly 20 months old, but I am trying to find uses for the baby items we still have around the house.  We seem to have a lot of those little baby wash cloths.  For some reason we didn't use them very long for bathing.... not sure why, but we have them, so I am trying to put them to good use.  I started using them lately to wash the kids faces/hands after meals and snacks. There have been many times when the kids grab the kitchen "rag" that I have wiped the floor or the counters with to wipe their face.... so gross!  Instead of just using a wet paper towel or napkin, which I guess I could use too, I started using these soft little baby wash cloths.  The kids now know that when they need to wipe off their hands or face they use the baby wash cloth instead of the rag that is used for everything else in the kitchen.  The only downfall is that is adds one more thing to the laundry pile but they are so small so it doesn't make that much of a difference.  They are so much softer on the kids' faces that is makes it worth it.

If you don't have any of these or want to purchase more, I just saw them in wal-mart for .94 cents for 5 of them.  You can't beat that deal!