On the days when my husband and I both work, dinners are always a challenge. I usually need to throw something together on the fly, while simultaneously feeding the toddler, entertaining the baby, and emptying the dishwasher from the night before. My goal: make something tasty and healthy, hopefully without creating a giant mess in the kitchen that I’ll just have to clean up afterwards.

Some handy tools that help me out in this endeavor:
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My daughter has her third birthday coming up. She likes dinosaurs, so I spent an evening on Amazon.com looking for dinosaur stuff—ideally stuff I could get shipped for free. The evening went by so FAST. I thought, “You know, this was supposed to save me time over going to the store.” But look! I found some great stuff! And if YOU need dinosaur gifts for a child, perhaps this WILL save YOU time!

The first thing I found was
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For those of you who like tangible organization tools (as opposed to software), and you’re tired of the same old Day Runners, Day-Timers, Franklin Coveys, etc, this post’s for you. I’ve been looking at day planners recently, both because of a request to cover them here and the growing realization that the combination of two small children, a part-time office job, ongoing freelance assignments, and a swirling maelstrom of doctor’s appointments/errands/grocery lists/home and garden projects/ET-BLEEPING-CETERA is resulting in what you might call a need for improved personal productivity on my end.

Ahem. So, planners! Preferably interesting and/or unique ones! Let’s check them out:
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After my first son was born I remember reading a parenting book that was supposed to be a collection of tips and tricks from Real Parents Just Like You, except the advice it contained had a real pod-person feel to it and I questioned the legitimacy of contributors like “Anne, mother of 7″ who suggested that dry oatmeal was a fun sensory stimulator for young children. “Just fill a box or plastic tub, and let the good times roll!” Sure, maybe a mother of seven has nothing better to do than vacuum a metric crapload of oatmeal out of every crevice in her house, but somehow I doubt it.

I’d rather read a collection of suggestions that address real-world issues, and “My children do not have nearly enough Quaker products crammed in their bodily cavities” isn’t really a concern I’ve experienced. I still consider myself a mouth-breathing amateur at this motherhood business, but here are a few of the tips I’ve learned over the last couple years, should anyone be in the market for creating a new oatmeal-free book:

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The other day I was giving the kids a bath and I realized I’d forgotten their kid-specific gentle no-tears infant-and-toddler-safe liquid soap in the other bathroom. So I washed them both with my Philosophy “Cinnamon Roll” bubble bath, and while I don’t recommend this course of action (it surely isn’t meant for 8-week-old babies), they smelled SO GOOD afterwards. Such a nice change from the Sour Milk/Hint O’ Poo combo they had going on beforehand.

I don’t normally share my own spendy bath items with the children (I mean, for one, they totally don’t appreciate the fine sensation of a quality bodywash), but I definitely tend to bogart their own hygiene-related products for household use. It’s nice to know all that money you’re dumping into the bottomless Kid Stuff Bucket can go to more than one purpose, you know?

Here’s a brief list of some products and their various uses, feel free to add your own in the comments section:

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I hope you’ll indulge me in another post designed entirely for my own benefit, but I so enjoyed reading what foods are a constant hit with your kids, I was hoping we could talk about a similar subject: what activities are guaranteed to distract your children?

You know, when you’ve got dinner on the stove and the laundry is whumping around in the dryer for the fiftieth time to ‘de-wrinkle’ and the phone is ringing and you seriously have to pee and you just need five. Damn. Minutes? And you’ve got a whiny, bored kid following you around making his whiny, bored noises, and he’s watched all the kid’s programming you can ethically deal with for the day, and what you’re looking for here is an Ooh, Shiny to throw in his direction?

Here are the ones that work for my whiny, bored kid:

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Housework, huh yeah! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again, y’all!

(This blog intro apologizes profusely to Edwin Starr, and promises not to describe some of the dance moves that accompanied the author’s off-key singing.)

I have a cleaning service come to my house every two weeks and it is the best investment on EARTH. They stay on top of the maintenance cleaning like toilets, tubs, floors, and dusting, which is an incredible help. Of course, with a husband, toddler, and constantly-shedding dog rampaging through the house every day, nothing stays clean for very long.

I like a non-filthy house, but the never-ending process of trying to keep it decent is about the most unsatisfying activity I engage in on a regular basis, even more so than wiping a poopy butt that isn’t even mine. Whatever you do, no matter how great it looks, it’s going to go to hell in a matter of hours and you’ll have to do it all over again. O Sisyphean Tragedy!

So let’s talk about cleaning-related products that make the entire process marginally less sucky, okay? I know, I know: cleaning products? Sorry, we’ll do something more fun next time, I promise.

My personal picks:

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Okay, one last holiday gift-related post and then I think it’s time to move on to another topic, such as: How To Keep a Festive Spirit During the Holidays When You’re Trying to Work, Raise a Child, Keep the House From Collapsing Under the Weight of Its Own Filth, and Find Thoughtful Gifts for Loved Ones ALL AT THE SAME TIME OH MY GOD.

(I’m hoping you might have some pointers for me on that one. Other than “flop into a fetal position and cry” because I’ve totally tried that and it just stuffs up my nose.)

Today’s gift links are a mixed bag, just some general ideas for those who may be hard to buy for. As always, your mileage may vary, and your own suggestions are more than welcome!

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Well, the holiday shopping season has officially started, at least according to the national news, which seems to have embraced an annual tradition of focusing on the increasingly weird measures people are taking in order to be first in line at Wal-Mart on Black Friday (this year: camping out in tents like Star Wars geeks). Do any of you venture out among the crowds on this traditional trample-your-neighbor-for-the-cheapest-DVD-player shopping day? I’ve never been tempted, mostly because I like my feet shaped just the way they are, rather than flattened under the weight of a thousand wild-eyed bargain-hunters barreling towards the electronics aisle.

I do almost all of my shopping online these days. I’ve always liked poking around stores looking for the perfect gift—at least when the store in question isn’t crowded to the point of asphyxiation—but I no longer have the luxury, really. I mean, there’s no such thing as browsing with a toddler, you know? You had better get in and get out, military-operation-style, or woe to all within earshot.

Plus, the free time, it just isn’t there. Between working, freelancing, home life, and everyday errands, there aren’t many opportunities to hit the mall. So, thank goodness for digital shopping carts. And last-minute shipping.

For the most part, I use Amazon (they’re running their own Black Friday sale today, by the way) for holiday shopping, but there are a few other sites I like to check out this time of year. I’ll share mine if you share yours, okay?

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At my day job I work for a Mac company focused on productivity software, so I get a lot of exposure to all sorts of applications designed to make your life easier/more efficient/organized by shiny, colorful icons. There’s a thriving market of people who love software that helps them stay organized, and get downright fetishy about the methods they use to do so.

While I’m not exactly a software-life-hack junkie, I’m not a total Luddite either. There are a few applications/websites I do rely on on a weekly, if not daily basis.

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