It's over....why I broke up with my Swiffer Wetjet

In my home cleanliness is next to Julieness. I believe in keeping a organized and clean home at all times. My sister is the same way.... it must be some kind of sisterly OCD. I have a rigid schedule I impose on myself, because frankly my husband, my sons, or my dogs don't really care! If something throws off my schedule I struggle the rest of the week to catch up. No really I do! So Mondays are the BIG day, house cleaning day. It has been since I married my husband in 1991.

When we moved into our current house in 2004 one of my main goals was to never let it get "real dirty". You know always wipe the baseboards, dust everything, and mop mop mop! So I bought my first (of several) Swiffer Wet Jets. I knew it was going to be the bomb! Keeping my house free of dirt and grime...

So every Monday I busted out the Wet Jet, changing pads as I went. Sometimes using 4-5 over the course of the day. And man, these floors, they had to be spotless with all of the elbow grease I was putting in, right? Not so much. My first clue was when my great nieces came over. They would crawl around all over the place and low and behold... Dirty knees!! WHAT?? That was totally unacceptable to me. 

My second clue came when I hired someone to clean my grout. In my mind it wouldn't take that long to clean it, I mean geez I mop every week, right? Well, not so much. In fact he said, " ma'am (for future reference don't call me that) your tile sure is dirty, you must use a Swiffer Wet Jet". I replied, "yes, every week" and he said "all that does is push dirt into your grout". At this point I almost snapped. Seriously, all of these years I haven't actually been cleaning! Ugh!!

So,the final clue and cause of the breakup for me came a couple of weeks ago when I decided to hand scrub my floors, just for good measure. Holy smokes! The amount of dirt and grime that I got off of my floors made my skin crawl. How could my Swiffer even call itself a mop? It looked like it literally did nothing to keep my floors clean. 

Thus begun the struggle. What would I use in its place? What would be easy, but also do a good job?After much reading and research I decided to buy a Twist and Shout Mop. 

I ordered it from Amazon, follow this link Twist and Shout Mop

So today I tried it out. It.was.awesome.  It was easy to use, cleaned my floor to perfection and didn't leave a too wet floor to dry for hours. I used in in conjunction with my new favorite cleaner, Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle in the super awesome Gain scent.

My floors are spotless, my house smells fresh, and I am one happy OCD mom! Good bye Swiffer Wet Jet..... HELLO clean floors. ~XOXO jules

Float on

On April 19 we commemorated 5 years since my Dad passed away. If you haven't lost a loved one, you can't even fathom the emotional devastation that happens to you and everyone you love. Losing my Dad was HUGE, it was by far the biggest event that has happened to my family. It taught me a lot, about what's important, who I am, who I can count on, and what I should be doing in life. After a long period of mourning it also taught me to enjoy every minute of every day. Now of course that can't always be the case. Bad things, bad moods, bad people make that impossible, but I do always try my best!!

Probably the single most important thing my family did was turn the negativity of losing my Dad into a positive force. First of all we enlisted to raise money and awareness for The Alzheimer's Association by participating in The Walk To End Alzheimer's each year since he passed away. We chose The Alzheimer's Association because Alzheimer's Disease greatly contributed to his death. If you lose a loved one choose a cause that they believed in, or raise money for a cure for the disease that contributed either directly or indirectly to their death. Not only will it bring your family together, it will bring them together as a force for good.

For information on joining The Walk to End Alzheimer's click here http://www.alz.org/

The toughest days to face after we lost my Dad were definitely holidays, but more importantly his birthday and the anniversary of the day we lost him. I struggled to come up with a way to commemorate these important dates without going too over the top (yes, I tend to do this). Then I had an "A-HA" moment..... notes to Dad, or about Dad, attached to balloons and released. My mom loved the idea and along with my sister, brother, and aunt we started the tradition. The first time was a bit of a bust. I learned two things:  DON'T buy the balloons the night before and LIGHTER IS BETTER! My long winded sister wrote a novella and put it in a large envelope that was WAY too heavy for a balloon to handle. We've even released them from home if we can't find a time to get to the cemetery.

In the face of tragedy it isn't always easy to see the good. But by taking the time to get involved in a cause TOGETHER the healing process will begin that much faster. ~XOXO jules

A few thoughts about Easter..

Here's hoping everyone enjoyed a wonderful Easter celebration with family, friends, and the big bunny himself. Around here things were quieter than usual with most of the family being out of town. My mom was the only guest we had!! I wanted to share a couple of variations I had from my earlier post about Easter decor. I mixed up the carrot vase a little by adding a burlap bow. I am obsessed with burlap and bought a large spool of it at Hobby Lobby. I think the vase looks cuter with it.

I also changed up the mason jar flower holder and turned it into a tealight candle holder instead. The great thing about this is it's versatility. You could change the candy to anything seasonal... candy corn for fall, red and green candies for Christmas.... you get the idea.

My last little tidbit about Easter is a dessert I made. This dessert was simple to make and could also be changed up for different holidays. Here's what you need for 

Peekin Peep Cake in a Jar:

Peeps (any variety, for Easter a bunny worked best)

mini M&Ms (go for the seasonal colors)

Butter loaf cake (you could make a cake but why?? I bought Entenmanns)

thawed container of Cool Whip ( reddy whip would also do)

Mason jars

Cube the cake into about inch size pieces. Place a dollop of whipped cream in the bottom, sprinkle with some M&Ms, place Peep in jar peekin out of the glass. Place cake cubes behind the Peep and fill to top. Top with whipped cream and M&M's. Cute and delish!!

Thanks for reading... XOXO jules

Eggstraordinarily Easy Easter Ideas

Easter is right around the corner so it's time to get hopping on easy Easter decor. I love to push the easy button but also demand a lot of cuteness when I am preparing for holiday festivities! I thought I'd share a couple of ideas that are cheap and easy to do.

Easy Easter Centerpiece 

All you need is:
a vase (any shape or size will do)
whole baby carrots
fresh flowers

Now is the easy part. Fill the vase with carrots being careful to stand them upright. Fill the vase with water. Place flowers decoratively among the carrots. Done!! Easy and CUTE!

Mason Jar Easter Decor

For these cute little arrangements you will need:

Mason jars (any size will do)

Jelly beans (enough to fill your jars)

Flowers ( I used silk)

Pour jelly beans into jars to the top. Stick one flower stem in. DONE! Couldn't get any easier than that. You could also use these little cuties to hold place cards on the dining room table.

This last idea is just something goofy I've always done with my boys. Years ago I purchased plastic bunny foot prints at my local dollar store. You could also just print some off of the internet and cut them out. On Easter morning I place them on the floor as a clue to where the Easter Bunny has hidden their baskets.... and yes I still do this!

(Pardon the interruption of Bentley and Otto)

Celebrate the little things

Family dinners are a must in my house and have been ever since my boys were born. I think it's a vital component to a happy family life and I hope my boys will continue this tradition when they start their own families. Several years ago when my boys were much younger I started a new family tradition the "red plate". Each night a random person was chosen to eat off of the special red plate. It was a special honor!! Whomever was given the red plate had to share something good that happened to them that day. Initially it was awesome, everyone took it seriously and it truly opened up a dialogue at the dinner table. BUT after a few weeks the boys were over it. We continued the tradition for about a year before tabling it. I still think it was a fantastic way to come together and celebrate the little moments. What do you think? ~XOXO Jules