My all-time favorite mom-hack came from my mom! She has some of the best ideas, and is really the reason I am, who I am, today! This post is most of a post from several years ago from my personal blog before I decided to share my ideas more widely. I hope you enjoy, the things I wrote are as true today as they ever were!
"We also got a newspaper end today. Pretty much the coolest idea ever, and one that I learned from my Mom! Basically you call your local news PAPER (they do need to print a paper for this to work) and ask them if they have any roll-ends. The idea is that they don't want to run out of paper mid-print, so they will take a roll of paper off when there is still a good 2 inches thick of paper on the roll! (which will give you months if not years of paper!) So for $2 you have all the paper you could want! My mom got a roll when we were younger and we loved it! It was paper that we didn't get in trouble if we used it, or used a lot of it! We made posters out of it (welcome home! Baby boy! etc.) We traced each other and colored ourselves in, I think it even got used as table cloths that could be colored and personalized wrapping paper a few times :) Well now our kids get to be the recipient of my Mom's brilliant idea!
It is amazing how much one woman can change the lives of those she loves and nurtures! I recently read a quote along the lines of, it just takes one woman to change a generation. I think this is true in either direction, for the better or for the worse.
My mom did an amazing job raising us and teaching us the right way to go! The little things really do make a difference! Driving us to and from school every day so we didn't have to take the bus. Being home whenever we needed her, to pick us up when we felt sick, or bring our lunch, or homework, or glasses (yes, glasses.... I did forget them frequently at first....yeah, I know....) or gym clothes when we forgot.
Yummy home cooked meals and even those veggies ;) And don't forget all those long hours she spent poking and prodding us to weed the garden, or mow the lawn, or practice piano so we could be the best people we could. Look at me now! I am looking forward to the yard work to be done here! I actually missed it when we lived in apartments! (I know mom & dad, I know... but I really have missed it!)
And don't forget the hours spent getting us ready for church and going, even when it would have been easier to stay home than to wrangle kids for 3 hours in a skirt! Or the thousands of FHE lessons that she taught and sometimes had to push through, to make sure we knew the gospel that she loved so much.
And most importantly, how much she always loved us! And no matter how many times we foolishly yelled, "you don't love me!" when we were teenagers, she always loved us. Thanks mom! Love you! I am better because of you! I am a better mom because of your example! <3"
Like I said, still all true! My mom gave up a lot for me and my siblings, but she gave a lot too, and it shows in all of us! My youngest brother recently left home to serve a church mission, a testament to the kind of woman she is!
And don't forge the paper-roll idea! Seriously, BEST. IDEA. EVER!!! I literally use the paper daily! I will use it as a drop-cloth for projects, put it on the table when the kids want to paint, we've traced the kids, sent large birthday banners to far-away family, giant airplanes, birthday invitations, tree trunks, pin-the-bat-on Batman, wrapping paper, Pin-the-tail-on the Fish, really, the possibilities are endless! When the kids want to draw another picture I send them to the roll and they will cut themselves (and their sister... unless they want to share) a piece off. I don't feel guilty about it, they aren't using printer paper, and I feel no shame tossing it in the recycle bin when we're done! Give it a go! I promise you won't be disappointed, and so cheap too! Til next time!
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