Lazy Mom Tip #32

Alright lazy moms... boy have I got a GREAT tip for you all today!  This one may just ROCK. YOUR. EVER. LOVING. WORLD.

I was all set to post this tip and then out of no where my BFF (and fellow Lazy Mom) emailed me the very same tip to share with you all!  See how BFF we are?!

So here's the fabulouso tip in the words of my BFF!  I totally know you're going to love it!!!

Since my 2 girls are close in age, it can be hard to remember whose clothes are whose... so I use a dot system. On the inside of each shirt, shorts, undies, etc... I put one dot (with a black sharpie pen) near the label for Annabelle. When she outgrows the garment and it's time to pass it on to Ava Raye, I add one dot next to it. So, two dots for Ava Raye. I suppose it won't be hard to figure out Turner's clothes, but I guess if we end up with another girl... she'd get three dots.

I also use this dot system for my boys.  They are close in age and very close in size, so it helps me remember who's wearing it!  Especially for their school uniform shirts.  Here's my oldest's school shirt with one dot. 

When he outgrows it, I put another dot on it to let me know it's now my second childs shirt!

One mom I know that has 6 kids uses this system because there were so many clothes to keep up with!  When she saw 4 dots, she knew it belonged to child #4. 

So how great is this tip?!  Come on... give me some love!  :)

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Swagbucks

Okay, I'm jumping on the whole Swagbucks bandwagon along with everyone else out there!

If you haven't heard of Swagbucks, then here's the deal...

Instead of doing internet searches using google or yahoo (or whoever you currently use), you use swagbucks instead!  Why?  Because you can earn swagbucks by doing so! 

What are the swagbucks good for?  You can turn them in for gift cards!  Whoo-hooo!

Who doesn't love free gift cards for something you do every day (searching the internet). 

You can also earn swagbucks in other ways, like taking their polls, shopping in their swag mall, finding and submitting swag codes, and much more.

So what are you waiting for?  Jump on the bandwagon with me too!  (This is so easy even a lazy mom can do it!)  Just fill out the registration form here and you're on your way to earning free gift cards!!

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Lazy Smores

I got an email a week ago entitled "lazy mom smores" and I immediately declared a moment of silence.  I mean, who gets an email with that as the subject line every day?!  It was TOTALLY necessary to have a moment of silence before that email was even opened.  Can I get an Amen?

When I opened the email I couldn't believe my eyes.  How to make a Lazy Smore.  I'm pretty sure I heard angelic music play.  And Stephanie over at Green Kiddos was the angel that had sent this "recipe" for Lazy Smores to me.

Lazy Smores

Nutella
Marshmallow Fluff
Graham Crackers

Spread nutella on one graham cracker and marshmallow fluff on the other. Smush together and viola! Lazy mom smores... no fire needed!  Enjoy!

Thanks Stephanie! This sounds so great!!!

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Have a lazy recipe to share?  Find out how to submit one here. 

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I did it!

I finally switched I'm a Lazy Mom to it's own domain name (http://www.imalazymom.com/)!!!  And just for the record, it did not take me so long to do it because I was lazy about it.  There was a glitch that finally was resolved so I finally got 'er done!  Whoo-hooo!

So what does this mean for you?

Well, not much if you are a subscriber in a feed reader or if you are a subscriber through email.  But if you do visit this here blog by just coming directly to our address every time, then you should probably either subscribe to us, or just change your bookmark to our new address - http://www.imalazymom.com/! 

So there ya go.  Everything looks the same, but we are at a new address.

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So Cute!

Remember when I gave these a SHOUT OUT?  Well, lookie what I picked up today....

Aren't they so cute?! I just love them! Now, go buy you some right this instant, mkay?

And for my husband who may be reading this and seeing that I spent unnecessary money on something, Don't be mad at me....

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Shout Out!

Having trouble with your kids getting their chores done?  Read about this one mom's brilliant "chore swap" idea.  I love it!

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Comic Relief

Life has been CRAZY busy 'round these parts.  So until I can have adequate time to write another AMAZING lazy mom post (they are amazing, right?) then just enjoy this little bit of comic relief....

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Shout Out!

Ohmyeverlovinggoodness. 

You must make these brownies, like, immediately and then tell me how wonderful they are. 

I would totally make them, but since my AWOL gallbladder has left me on a forced diet of lowfatness, I can't.  Until then I hope to live vicariously through you and my friend Traci who wrote the fabulous post about them.

PLUS, these bad boys meet all the requirements of lazy mom cooking!  SCORE!

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I have a confession to make...

... and I'm not proud about it. 

It keeps me up at night just thinking about it.

I cringe when it passes through my mind.

It's giving me paranoia.

It makes my hands shake.

What is it?

Come closer...

Closerrrrrr......

A little bit closer....

It's this. 

That blasted lazy pie.

It's making me eat it two times a day whether I need it or not.

It taunts me from the refrigerator.

It calls to me everytime I walk through the kitchen.

But it's okay. 

Because it's guilt-free, remember?

And yes, this is a picture of my second banana cream pie.  The first one is long gone... along with the chocolate one I made right after it. 

*sigh*

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Have a confession to share with us? (come on... it's good for the soul!)  Send it to me!

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Shout Out!

A friend told me about these great reusable snack bags today and I LOVED them. 

They remind me of this Shout Out I did about a reusable sandwich wrap!

I see pretty fabrics in my future!!!

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Lazy Chicken Pasta Salad

Carrie from Messie Confessions submitted this LAZY recipe for us lazy moms to enjoy!


Lazy Chicken Pasta Salad

2 Boxes of Bacon Ranch Suddenly Salad

1 Can Tyson Chicken Breast

1 Cup Reduced Fat Mayo

1/4 to 1/2 Cup Skim Milk

Boil pasta according to package directions and rinse well with cold water. (If I’m serving right away, I pile on ice cubes until I’m finished with the rest of the recipe.)

Mix mayo, milk and Suddenly Salad seasonings together in a bowl. Drain chicken breast and shred finely, then combine with mayo mixture.

Add cold pasta and mix well.

I serve this with a plain side salad and have dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Love it!
 

 
Doesn't that sound deliciously lazy?!  Thanks Carrie!

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Have a lazy recipe to share?  Here's how!

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Shout Out!

Earlier today a blog I follow posted a great idea for the summer months.... pick one day a week to unplug everything in your life this summer.  Just ONE day a week.  That's like totally doable.... even a lazy mom could do it!

Just pick a day and stick to it... no video games, no computer, no TV.  Instead go outside with your kids, plan an outing, read a book.  You know, what moms USED to do with their kids.

You can read the post here and you can link up at the bottom of her post with your commitment to unplug for one day a week this summer!

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God's Promises *for Boys*

My oldest son is eight and is DEVOURING books left and right.  I can hardly keep him stocked he's flying through them so fast. 

One of the things I like to give him to read at night is devotional books.  However, my son doesn't like to patiently wait and read just one page a night.  He reads devotional books like the way he reads a chapter book... or like the way he inhales a piece of his favorite cake... or like the way he drains his water bottle at baseball practice....

In one sitting, with one big gulp.

So recently I received the book "God's Promises for Boys" from Thomas Nelson.  Or, as their kids books are labeled, Tommy Nelson.  He almost sounds like a long lost cousin doesn't he?  Well, if my last name was Nelson, maybe. 

Anyway, upon my first flip through the book I very impressed with the quality of it and the pictures.  I also really liked the different sections in it...

• God's promises when... (you want to be cool, you are tempted to do the wrong thing, etc)
• God's promises about... (the man you'll grow up to be, obeying your parents, being a good brother, etc)
• God wants you to... (learn more about him, stay strong, wear his armor, etc)

So basically, it's just like a grown up version of "God's Promises" books where the problem or dilemma is listed and then there's a list of verses to help you with it.  I think it will be a great little reference book for my book devouring son.  It won't be one he can say, "There!  I read it, now I'm done with it."  Instead it will be a book he can refer to time and again.

So after giving you MY opinion of the book, I thought it would be fun to post my sons opinion of it!  Here's what he had to say in his own 8 year old way....

What do you think of this book?
I think it's nice.

What do you like about this book?
I like that it shows you what they mean by looking at the pictures.

Do you know what this book is for?
It gives you information about how to be a good Christian.

These were his thoughts after just thumbing through the book on his own.  Once I showed him how to look up things by how he was feeling or by what he was wondering about, he started looking things up on his own. 

Then my 7 year old picked it up and started looking through it. 

What do you think about this book?
I don't know.

What do you like about this book?
I don't know.

Do you know what this book is for?
No.

Do you want me to show you how to use it?
Nu-uh.

So there you have it.  A book for 8 year olds and up (apparently).

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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Lazy Mom Tip #31

Happy Monday to you lazy moms!

I think I just heard about 10 of you say, "Oh... is it Monday?" 

I would guess that the 10 of you who said that either have a newborn, or about three kids, three and under.  So don't worry.  I'm here for you.  To tell you what day of the week you are on.  You're going to make it! 

So this Monday morning I wanted to post another fabulous Lazy Mom Tip!  Because we need all the tips we can get to get through this thing called motherhood, am I right? 

[This is the part where the 10 of you who didn't know it was Monday say, "YES!"] 

Let's try that again...

Because we need all the tips we can get to get through this thing called motherhood, riiiiiight?

"YES!"

Good job!

(See I told you I was here for you)

So for our next Lazy Mom Tip is this....   COLOR CODE EVERYTHING.

[Again... another good thing for you 10 moms.  If you see a color, you'll know who it belongs to while you're still half asleep.] 

You may have caught the drift of this tip on Lazy Mom Tip #1, where you may have noticed my trays are different colors.

Yes.  I've been color coding things for quite a while now.  I assigned each child a color several years ago and we've never looked back.

My oldest is blue, middle is green and my daughter is pink (of course).  Why did I do this?  Well, for a couple of reasons... first of all it cuts down on the arguing.  Just one look at whatever color it is tells them immediately WHO'S it is.  Second of all, just one look at the color tells ME who's it is.  :)  So I know who to call for to pick it up!

So what are some things I've color coded???

• food trays (from lazy mom tip #1)
• bowls
• water bottles
• ice packs (that go in their lunches for school)
• techno gadget cords (from lazy mom tip #29)
• bag chairs
• toothbrushes

Just to name a few.  I even heard one mom (who has six kids) say that she color coded their kids towels.  Each kid has their own complete set of towels (washcloth, hand towel, bath towels) so that when one is left on the floor in the bathroom she knows who to yell at.  Er, uh.... I mean, she knows who to call for to take care of it.  Yeah, that's what I meant.

This may even be a good idea for sheet sets for each child and laundry baskets of clothes to put away!  See?!  Color coding is endless! 

Now, every once in a while I can't find my kids' colors in something I want to color code, so we have to make adjustments.  But everyone still has a different color so it works even if that's the case.

So why not make your world a brighter place?  Give each child a color and make your life easier.  Amen? 

[This is where the 10 of you say, "Amen."]

So what are some things you could color code that I didn't list above?

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Make your pie and eat it to (guilt free!)

Okay I HAVE to give you a little update on the Lazy Pie "recipe" I posted yesterday. 

First of all, it turns out I'm NOT the only person who's never made this type of pie before... so there.  (Check out some of the comments made about it below the post itself)

Second of all, I did the math and OH. MY. GOSH.  This pie (the way I made it) only has 171 calories per slice and only 3.5 grams of fat!  Cha-Ching!!!!!

In honor of discovering this I had a nice piece this morning at 9:48 AM. 

It was a tough sacrifice to make, but I felt it had to be done.

Who loves you?  Lazy Moms do!

Who's watching out for your waist line (well, at least this ONE time)?  Lazy Moms are!

Who's totally awesome and gives you the best of the best?  Lazy Moms!

Wait.

I think I just came up with a cheer or something.  Scary.

Anyway, go make your pie and eat it to, mkay?

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Lazy Pie

Alright lazy moms.  Out of sheer desperation I made a lazy, lazy pie last night.

So don't laugh at me, okay?  But I have NEVER made this type of pie before.  You know, the kind where you buy the graham cracker crust pie thingy that's all ready and waiting for you on the baking aisle?  And then you pour in your pudding concoction and let it all set?  And then you pile some whipped cream on top of it all?

Yeah.

That kind.

Are you laughing at me? 

At any rate, I figure I may possibly be the only person in the world who HASN'T done this kind of pie yet, but just in case I'm not, I thought I'd share this lazy pie recipe with you all.

Now, remember!  To be a lazy mom recipe it has to meet all these cooking requirements.  With the most important one being.... it must be easy enough for a lazy mom to do it. 

Soooo, this recipe totally qualifies.  Without a shadow of a doubt.

Without further ado.... here's how you make a lazy pie.


Lazy Pie

1 ready made graham cracker pie crust
1 package of pudding mix (any flavor you want)
1 3/4 cup of milk
1 tub of whipped cream

Once you get the above, it should look something like this on your counter.... (minus the gorgeous flowers, the empty banana stand, the empty paper towel holder, and the almost empty olive oil bottle - well, hopefully)

Simply whisk the milk in with the pudding (make sure you follow the package directions for PIE on the pudding box).

Then pour your pudding mix into your pie crust....

(aren't these pictures so helpful?! I mean this is so stinkin' complicated.  Good thing I took the time to take them and post them, right?)

Then refrigerate the pie for at least an hour....

Then when it's all set and firm (or something like that) dollop your whipped cream on top!

For extra fun, sprinkle something on top of it too!  For instance, this banana cream pie I just made would be cute with some crushed vanilla wafers sprinkled on top of the whipped cream, am I right?  Totally. 

So there you have it.  A pie so easy even a lazy mom can make it.  Which I totally just proved to you because I just made it in literally five minutes. 

SUPER. EASY.

I can't believe I hadn't made one till now. 

I guess my desperation paid off for once!

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A Social Parade!

Hello, Hello!

Today I'm linking up to a social parade! 

Not really sure what that means, or why I'm doing it, but I am!  How's that for being lazy.... Too lazy to figure this thing out, but willing to post about it anyway.  This is one of those moments when you should just shake your head and choose to love me anyway despite my shortcomings, mkay?

So if you're new to I'm a Lazy Mom.... you can find out more about us here. 

Look around for a while and if you like what you see, feel free to "follow" us over there on the sidebar, or subscribe to us. 

If none of that makes sense to you, or you're too lazy to figure it out (like apparently I am today) then you can very easily have our lazy, lazy posts on this blog emailed directly to you instead.  That's super convenient and lazy-friendly for sure.

If you'd like to hop in on the blog parade, just go here and join in!

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Shout Out!

I just stumbled upon a great website called Kids of Integrity.  It provides lessons and activities for growing godly character in kids! 

It looks perfect for homeschooling moms, dinner time moments, or for summer reinforcement.

You can view and download the lessons here.  I especially like the Object Lessons, the Practical Suggestions ideas and the Planning Card!  All of the areas look great! 

I think we may do this when schools out for the summer.  Maybe focus on one character trait a week. 

Gotta love Focus on the Family!

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Crack me up.

I couldn't resist posting another Swagger Wagon video.

(video)
You can thank me later.

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Lazy Mom Tip #30

Ohmygoodness!

We here at I'm a Lazy Mom are celebrating!  Celebrating the amazing feat of hitting 30, count 'em 30 Lazy Mom Tips!

Yes, that may be a bit lame in your opinion, especially seeing that we started posting them back in 2007, but you fail to remember that we're LAZY.  So see?  30 blog-o-licious tips in three years is mind boggling when seen in that light, am I right?! 

Right. 

So today, before I get to tip #30, I have an announcement to make!  In honor of our 30th tip, I'd like to inform you that my honey has graciously given the Lazy Moms our own domain name! 

Don't laugh.

Because I'm excited about it!  So if you find I'm a Lazy Mom by way of our address every time you visit, you may want to change that tactic.  In fact, why don't you just subscribe to us already?  Or have the Lazy Moms laziness inspiring posts sent to you by email?  I mean, aren't we an item yet?!  I sure thought we were by how many times you visit.  But maybe you were just leading me on.  *sniff*

If you are a totally super cool full-of-awesomeness subscriber or receive our posts via email, then you shouldn't be affected, but if you are, just come looking for us over at http://www.imalazymom.com/, mkay?  We'd hate to see you lost in the great abyss that we call the world wide web without us!  That would be scary.  Like, totally.

I plan on changing our lazy, lazy site over to our new address at some point today.  However, since I am a lazy Lazy Mom (and I don't just play one one on the internet) you never really know when it may happen.  So I'll keep you posted.  Sound good?

Okay!

Enough of the craziness!!  Let's get on to the tip!

Tip #30 is a great tip brought to you today by the letter T.  

T, as in, Trudy. 

She emailed it to me a while back and it's a good one!

Here's what she had to say...

We kept a bag of books and quiet toys in the car when our son was young. This bag was only to be played with if we went out to eat dinner. They kept him from getting bored in a restaurant . He played happily and we were able to have a leisurely (sort of) dinner.

As a second tip to that, we went out of town every weekend and we had a different bag of toys in the car for the car ride.

Isn't that a great idea?! 

So what are some toy packing ideas?  What toys would you pack in a bag to be used only when eating out?

Leave a comment below to help us lazy moms out!

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Happy Mother's Day!

Well, we may not be SUPER Moms, but we are Lazy Moms!  :)

Enjoy YOUR day!

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Get Your Swagger On

This is for all my mini van driving lazy moms. 

WORD.(video)

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Makes my life easier....

Our amazing library system makes my life TOTALLY easier. 

It's no secret around here, we *heart* the library like crazy.  There are just so many wonderful treasures to be unearthed there and we do so often.

The library makes my life as a mom easier for a couple of reasons.  The first being that our library is three blocks away from our house.  Can anyone say CONVENIENT?!  Because it sure is.  And we take full advantage of it!

The second reason is they have so many videos!!!  Now I know that probably isn't cool to say.  I should probably talk about their amazing selection of books instead of movies, but I'll get to that in a minute.  For now, I must brag about their video selection.  Not only is there a treasure trove of OLD movies (which is fun when the mood strikes) but our library is AWESOME and also has new releases as well!  I haven't stepped foot in a movie store in I don't know how long.  Which is good, because I HATE movie stores.  Seriously.  This is one instance where the word hate fits my feelings for something perfectly.

And Third of all...  er, uh, Thirdly.... uh, In third place?....  whatever. 

My third reason for why the library makes my life easier is that it's all connected!!!!  What does that mean?  It means that all the area branches in our neck of the woods are all connected, so it's like you have access to 20 library's instead of 1.  IT. ROCKS. 

I can request a book from another branch and it is delivered to my branch to pick up.  LOVE IT!  And don't even get me started on their online catalog system!  It's fab. U. Lous.  No lie!  I just hop onto my computer and I can search the whole catalog of books, videos, magazines, whatever!  FROM EVERY BRANCH.  With the click of a button I can request a book and they email me when it's ready to be picked up. 

Yes.  It's awesomeness.  And THAT'S why the library makes my life easier. 

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What makes your life as a mom easier?  It could be a product, a service, whatever!  Tell me about it!

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National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer. 

I know we are all busy moms with full days, but take time today to pray for our country and our leaders.

"If a sparrow can't fall to the ground without His notice, how can a nation stand without His guidance." -- Benjamin Franklin

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Lazy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free!}

Are you ready for another lazy dessert?!  I know I am! 

Lazy Mom Diane sent this in for us and according to her they are yummy, yummy!!  Thanks Diane!

Lazy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter (can use chunky or creamy)

1 cup white sugar (I use 1/2 a cup and it still tastes great!)

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or put parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes before trying to move the cookies.
 
I made these for the first time on Sunday...yum yum yum. Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!  -- Diane
 

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Shout Out!

Remember when I told you about Boogie Wipes? 

Well now you can win some!  Head on over to The Review Stew and see how!

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Laundry Confession

It's that dreaded time of year again.... getting the summer clothes out and putting away the winter ones.  Ugh.

I used to like this process when I only had one little darling to do it for.  But as each child arrived on the scene it became more and more laborsome, and you should all know by now that I do NOT like laborsome.  (Have you read the title of this blog lately?)  Ugh.

This job became even more laborsome when my little darlings started school.  They wear uniforms at their school, which I really like, BUT they add a whole other pile of clothes to go through each spring and fall.  Ugh.

So I thought I'd show you what havoc this causes in my home and in the process make you all feel like better moms than me. 

Your welcome.

Here is the current condition of my laundry room floor where the laundry chute unloads itself...

Yeah, we pretty much just step on it all to get to the washer and dryer.  It used to land in a tub, but someone ran off with it, so now it just falls helplessly on the floor.

Here's the current condition of my dryer...

Laundry within and piled on top.  Ugh.

Here's the hang up area, which looks nice and neat, but there's so much of it!

Now here's the whole winter/summer sorting area up in our living room.  Brace yourselves....

Makes you want to go hide in a dark room somewhere and never come out doesn't it? 

Oh wait. 

Maybe that's just me.

So those sticky notes over the different piles of clothes tell me what each pile is exactly.  Among them there is the ever so popular...

And of course the crown jewel among lazy moms...

But there are other not so popular ones like this one...

Just looking at that one makes me want to cry.  Ugh.

So there you have it.  My out-of-control laundry confession.  Don't you feel better about your laundry situation now?

Your welcome.

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Have a confession you'd like to share?  Write one up and email it to me and I may post it!

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Yea!

Lookie what was waiting for me in the mailbox today...

What a treat!  I just love Thriving Family.

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Lazy Mom Tip #29

For all you lazy moms that like to travel, you are going to LOVE. THIS. TIP. 
But even if you aren't much of a traveler, you will still benefit from this tip so read on because you are going to love this too!

*Ahem*

This tip has to do with the cords in your life.  You know, the gazillion cords lying around your house to various techno gadgets.  If you gathered all your cords up from around your house I bet you'd be surprised at how many cords you actually have.  I know I was!  I had to gather up cords for our weekend trip to Chicago that we just got home from and boy howdy, there were a lot of them.

• ipod cord
• camera cord
• laptop cord
• ear bud cord
• phone charger cord

Phew!  Five cords for me alone.  FOR ONE TRIP.  My husband packed just as many.  Add in any kids' cords and you've got yourself a hot mess.

So what's a lazy mom to do??

This....

Color code your cords!!!  I put color coded thing-ma-jiggers on each cord for TWO reasons....

1. First of all, for the obvious reason of telling which cords were mine as opposed to everyone elses.  It worked great.  I could tell which cords were mine in an instant.  PLUS there was no arguing over if it really was mine.  I had proof!  (Back off baby!)
2. My second reason was for something entirely different.  How many of you out there have accidentally left a cord behind?  Come on, who's done it?  I know it's shameful, but fess up!  I know I'm not the only one out there.  I left a phone charger cord behind once in Minneapolis.  It was SO frustrating too.  Why?  Because when you call the hotel to ask them if a cord was left in your room, they go rummage through a box of a million other cords that people left behind and there is NO WAY TO DISTINGUISH YOURS FROM THE OTHERS.  That's why I put a color band on mine as well.  In case a cord went AWOL and I needed to have someone look for it.  I could simply say, it's the cord with a bright orange band on it.

Isn't that a brilliant tip?!  I thought so. 

So what exactly did I use to color code my cords???  Take a closer look....

Recognize what it is?

Yes!  A pipe cleaner!  I always have multi-colored pipe cleaners on hand when traveling (see? I don't just play a lazy mom on TV, or rather, the internet, I AM ONE! I use our lazy mom tips all the time!), so I cut one into fourths and then wrapped one around each cord!  Worked great!!

For an even lazier way, do what a friend of mine suggested doing... use some fingernail polish and paint a bit on each cord. 

Or you could even buy colored zip ties and use those if you were concerned with the pipe cleaner falling off (which is next to impossible the way I wrapped it!).

Have an idea of how to color code your cords?  Leave a comment below to share!

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