On my daughter's iPod

Okay, so she's only 13 months and doesn't have an iPod, but we import songs onto I-Tunes.  The computer is in the kitchen so we play music during meals and snacks.  We are trying to expose a variety of music.  I thought it would be fun to list a sampling of some of the variety.  (Note Daddy adds as many as I do).  There are 63 songs and the list keeps growing.

Disco Duck, Rick Dees

Hakuna Matata, Disney Music

I've Been Working on the Railroad, Children's Favorites, Vol. 1 [Disney]

Monkeys and the Alligator, Dr. Jean & Friends 

Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond

Paw Paw Patch, Toddlers Sing Playtime

Six Little Ducks, 102 Children's Songs Vol.1

The Underdog, Spoon

Yummy Yummy Yummy, The Archies

BINGO, Toddlers Sing Playtime

Bottle Caps, Laurie Berkner

I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack

Down By The Bay, Various Artists 102 Children's Songs Vol. 2 

But I Like You, Bert & Ernie

Rhiannon, Fleetwood Mac

Oh, Susanna!, Children's Favorites, Vol. 1 [Disney]

Frazzle, Frazzle And The Frazzletones [Sesame Street]

Sometimes I just let new (new to my daughter) music play and see what she enjoys.  I can tell because she listens closely and starts bopping her head.  Then I add it to her playlist.

Recipes

I read so many recipes that I want to try. I had been putting all recipes (ones I've tried and ones I want to try) in one binder. The binder was thick, disorganized and I dreaded opening it. It had too much chaos.

About a month or so ago, I put two binders together. One has recipes that I use and have tried, and the other has recipes that I either find on the Internet or in magazines. It has worked out really well. Once I try a new a new recipe I then add it to the binder with recipes I've tried (of course that's only if we like it). It helps with menu planning, too.

Survey Police

I am a member of a couple survey panels. I find that most don't pan out or are total scams. I found this website today: Survey Police. They have people rate the many, many survey sites out there. I looked at the two I use. The one I like the best got 40% overall rating (not so good). And the other one I use got over 80%, which has yet to pay anything (but I like the surveys they send so I still do them).

I think the survey companies may have people write that they are good even if they aren't. I saw one post say that the company asked them to make a post on this survey police site. So, it's up to you to decide. I didn't find anything useful, but I might browse again ever now and then. I don't think I would use it to try a new survey site, based on the ratings my websites got, but I think it would be a good place to see if a survey website is a complete scam.

Do you do surveys online and do they payout?

Credit Card Rewards

The money that we get back on our credit card (5% gas, 2% dining and entertainment and 1% on everything else) we put into our daughter's savings. It's money we don't see and it gives it a purpose.

What's cookin' -- Kraut and Kelbasa

This is a stand-by and can't really be any simpler.

Kraut and Kelbasa
1 large can or jar saurkraut
1 link Kelbasa (I get pork)

1. Put everything in crockpot. Let cook for 4 hours on low.

**Sometimes I brown the kelbasa for five minutes before putting it in the crockpot, but it's not neccesary. You can substitute the meat with pork chop, hog hock, hot dogs, etc. )

Why walking is so good for you (and kids)

Since I just realized that it is Wednesday and I posted organization yesterday, here's my Tuesday All about the Kids post.

I take my 1-year-old for a stroller ride every day I can, weather is usually the only reason we don't go. We got the same route and take about a 30 minute walk. The time we walk varies on my daughter's schedule for the day, which seems to be ever changing. It creates a nice distraction for the day, I get some exercise, and she gets to search for birds, squirrels, dogs and butterflies (and sometimes the garbage truck). The fresh air is good after being in the house all day long. When she gets older we will transition our stroller ride to a wagon ride and then to a bike ride. It's very important that children see you out and about with them. Moving around and exercising creates a lasting impression and gives them more benefit than you realize. Sometimes it's hard for me to stop and go take a walk, but I know my daughter needs it. I am committed to creating as healthy lifestyle for my daughter as we can.

Random organizing

I don't seem to have any tips today, so I thought I would map out my organizing day.

1. My daughter is finally completely off the bottle, which means I need to sterilize and put away bottles. Today is the day for that. Our counter will finally be cleared up as we have bottle container and drying rack taking up lots of space near the sink.
2. Summer is just about past in these parts. I plan to go through my daughter's clothes (again, seems I do this every two weeks) and put away too small clothes and summer clothes. I have lots of pants for her, but they all seem too big. We might have to try some on so I know which ones I can rotate in.
3. Picking up around the house is always on the schedule. I have several things that need to be put away. Some toys for Christmas, bedding from when my in-laws were here, misc craft items, a few items I'm keeping from our rummage sale.
4. I finally am caught up on photos, but I still need to find a place to put all the albums. I'm going to try and conquer that today, too.

In short, my goal today is to get to all those things I never get too. Well, probably not all, but some.