Mom Tip Monday: Unexpected Projects

Those of you who have been following my Great Switch-a-Room know that I have been confronted full force with an unexpected project. I thought it was only appropriate to share some Dos and Don'ts of unexpected project management.

Don't: Panic. That's what happened to me yesterday. I had my brain set on "moving" and it simply did not happen. Looking back (without the aggravation factor) I should have expected to have to clean the bed frames. I mean, what mom isn't going to clean something before she puts it in her children's room? Duh!

Do: Slow down. Unless you are up against a deadline imposed by someone else, you can be flexible. I wanted it all done YESTERDAY but it wasn't going to happen. I had to back off make a list of the steps that needed to happen before move in and create a plan of attack.

Don't: Lose your temper. It just gave me a stomach and headache and really made everyone's day miserable. And there was no reason. After Lion and I both stepped back and looked at the project ahead of us, we reached a compromise within a 3 minute conversation. Before that we were just standing in the garage shooting daggers at each other.

Do: Tap into your creativity. Even if you don't think you have any, a walk though Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond or JoAnn Fabrics will start the thinking and provide a little inspiration even if it is just in colors. Then prepare to reign yourself in. I have about a million ideas floating around in my head but the reality is that I will only be able to execute on paint, window treatments and art on the wall.

Well, now I am off to prep the furniture for cleaning. The kids have agreed to help so it should be an interesting afternoon after we pick up the Orangutan! By the way, the girls have decided on pink so Mom has her eye on some cute polka dot panels at Bed Bath and Beyond and I'm studying up on sponging techniques. Wish me luck!

Mom Tip Monday - Menu Planning 101

It's Monday again! And as promised this week we are working on Menu Planning. In preparation for this post I put up a quick one liner over in the MomDot forum. "What challenges do you face when you are menu planning?" Holy Smokes! The response from my fellow mom blogs was overwhelming so we will be spending more than just one week on this. Remember, if you have a question or you want to hear my take on your challenge, zip it over to me at The Zookeeper's Inbox (ineedthezoo(at)yahoo(dot)com). But more on that later.

This week we're vlogging - aren't you thrilled? It's on the old camera so you may need to spike your volume. And please pardon Orangutan's run by interruption. She's got great timing like that!

So are you ready for The Pantry Challenge? Do some digging and send me your challenge at ineedthezoo(at)yahoo(dot)com. And for those who didn't take notes while the web addresses were zipping by, here they are one more time.

allrecipes.com
kraftfoods.com
and pillsbury.com

I hope this helps you stretch that budget a little and gives you some new ideas for dinner tonight. Next week, Budget Stretchers. How I fed my family for a week for $15! You don't believe me do you? See you next week!