It’s springtime here in the South and to my family, and probably many of yours, that means that there is a lot going in our lives. In my family we have three children, ages 8 months, 6, and 9. The two boys are playing baseball right now and my husband is the coach of one of the teams. This means we spend four nights each week at baseball games after work and we practice on Saturday and Sunday. The oldest boy has guitar lessons once a week after school. In addition to those extracurricular activities there is a lot of work that has to be done to the yard to get it ready for spring. We’ve been planting new areas, mulching, and just in general cleaning it up. All this can take several hours each weekend. The pool has to be re-opened and then somewhere in there we have to keep the house orderly and clean. Oh…and we do try to eat from time to time! So…if your family is like ours, spring can be both a really fun time and it can also be a bit stressful.
Here are some tips to be more efficient and reduce your stress:

• Crock-pot!!! The crock-pot is your kitchen friend & savior. Okay, so maybe it’s not the gourmet, three-course dinner you strive to provide but you can put it on in the morning and have a tasty, nutritious meal to eat before the ballgame. It’s definitely better than the concession stand hot dogs! 
• Daily & Weekly To-Do list. Throughout the day I jot down things I need to take care of that evening after the kids are in bed. I also keep a list of things I need to accomplish by end of the week. It’s proven that simply keeping a written to-do list helps reduce stress by eliminating the repetition of things you need to do in your head. It creates anxiety and a sense of being overwhelmed that is unnecessary. I use the note feature on my IPhone to keep my to-do lists and it feels really good to backspace over a completed task!
• Put some things off! Is it a must-do or a like-to-do? Go through your list and decide what really doesn’t need to happen right now. You probably have some projects on your list that aren’t pressing. Sports will be over by June or July and most families have a break until the fall. If this is the case for you, let some things slide. For instance, my husband and I (ok, so MOSTLY  me) would like to re-do the laundry room. Well, that’d be great but it’s not causing immediate issues…it’s simply aesthetic… so it’s on hold for now! *sigh* I keep a House To-Do List for projects that I want or need to do that are not creating immediate issues that must be solved.
• Keep it in perspective! So the above described lists are growing for you and now they are starting to freak you out. If it isn’t costing you financially and isn’t hurting your health there’s no need to stress! With the laundry room example from above…it’s not hurting anything so don’t allow it to mentally stress you.
• Take an evening off. Here and there…just ignore your To-Do lists for an evening. Have a glass of wine under the stars with your spouse. It’ll reduce some immediate stress and get you rejuvenated to tackle a project the next day.
• Use the grandparents for a Saturday. One issue with knocking out a bunch of projects in a day is having constant interruption from your children. Ask the grandparents, friends, or other relatives to take the children for a few hours on a Saturday and stay focused on completing as much as you can in that time. You’d be amazed at how productive you are when you don’t have to stop to break up a fight, get a glass of juice, or remove lipstick from the family cat. Even when kids are playing with each other and letting you work they have an amazing ability to distract you constantly.
• Hire some help. If you’re the do-it yourself type, sometimes you just have to give in and bring in the professionals. My husband is super-cheap and prefers to do all his own yard-work and as much of the house maintenance as possible. One of our projects recently was to paint the kitchen a new color. It took us two months to buy the paint and then the paint sat in the garage for two weeks while we tried to find time to paint the kitchen. Painting the kitchen would take us, off and on, through the weekend to complete. So…we finally decided it was worth the $150 to bring in a painter. It was done in four hours and $150 was worth the time we would have lost with our family.
• Hire a cleaning service! Seriously, it’s worth every penny. My husband and I argued about this (again, b/c he’s cheap) for years before we finally did it. It was totally worth every penny and he agrees. It’s so nice to know that on Wednesday the house will shine and we won’t have to be involved to get it there! To save on the cost, see if they will come in every other week. You can keep it up in the off-week by touching up the high-traffic areas and then they’ll come in and give it the ol’ elbow grease the next.

Just a few things to help you keep your sanity during the busy spring and summer! There are a plethora- that’s right, I said ”plethora” –  of ways to reduce your stress levels but I think the best way is to just keep it in perspective!!!!

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In this economy we know that a lot of people are trying to get more out of what they already have in their home. A great way to make an old piece of furniture new is to use our decorative boutique drawer knobs.

 If you have a night stand or chest of drawers that is in decent shape but you’d like to give it new life, you can add our drawer knobs and give it a whole new look.

If the furniture needs some work you can refinish it with paint or a new stain color and then pick drawer knobs that match your nursery décor to make it feel like a completely new item! Or simply give it a worn look with some sandpaper and the right touch.  

Our boutique drawer knobs come in a variety of colors and designs that you will love.  Check them out at www.sugarpatchbaby.com.

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Visit our baby boutique at www.sugarpatchbaby.com

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With the Easter fast approaching here’s some tips for insuring your children have a fun and safe holiday!

• Be careful when selecting candy and items to fill your babies Easter basket. Jelly beans, candy eggs, M&M’s and small trinkets or toys are a choking hazard to little ones. Items that can be gnawed but not swallowed whole are best! 

•  Shred colored paper to fill the Easter baskets. Babies can choke easily on the plastic grass that is typically used. Although a tummy full of paper isn’t ideal, it is much safer than the plastic grass.

•  It’s easy to get distracted when lots of family and friends are around for an Easter dinner or lunch. Be sure to keep small foods out of the reach of your infant. 

•  When dying eggs insure that only boiled eggs are sitting around for babies to get their hands on. Fresh eggs are MESSY and can carry salmonella!

•  Live animals are cuddly and cute and of course all babies are fascinated with them. Unfortunately, baby chicks, little ducks, and bunnies can all carry diseases such as salmonella so never buy these animals for your children.

•  If  you plan on hosting or attending an Easter egg hunt that involves older children as well as infants be sure to split the kids up into groups according to age or size. The stampede that ensues at the start of the Easter egg hunt can lead to trampled and bruised babies.

These tips can ensure a safe, happy holiday! 

Be sure to visit our baby boutique at www.sugarpatchbaby.com

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 Whether it’s your first child or a second or third, there is obviously a lot going on in your life to get ready for the arrival of your new baby. One of those tasks is creating the tranquil sanctuary we women call a nursery. I just had my third child, and my first girl, so even though I have a  nine and a six-year-old boy, we had a whole new world to create for this feminine bundle of joy. Transforming a room into a nursery can seem daunting but it really can be done in a single weekend.  This will provide you with a lot of time to work on other things, especially since it’s probably your man who will be doing all the work on the nursery, leaving you with a whole weekend without him distracting you from thinking about colors, outfits, and the like.  He’ll be too busy cursing in the new nursery to bother you. Don’t worry, you can wash all that manliness and cursing out after he finishes. This is important: buy him some beer and always assure him that it is coming along nicely even if you are concerned.

Long before the weekend arrives you’ll need to start preparing. The first thing you’ll need to do is to pick out the crib bedding you will be using so that you can match the paint. If your dream nursery has a theme – ladybugs, dandelions, nautical, etc – the crib bedding is a great place to execute said them. Pick a color of paint for the walls that works well with the bedding you are using. Paint is a cheap way to make a new look without a whole lot of work You also want to use a color from the bedding to pick out the curtains that will tie the room together. Your bedding, curtains, and walls need to work well together for a polished look. In advance you’ll also want to consider if you’ll be using any new molding, beadboard, etc. A great resource for home improvement projects is http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/. 

You can find instructions, tools required, and supplies needed. Keep in mind, step-by-step instructions on the internet always look and sound easier than they are in reality. I know this to be true because my husband reminds me of it every time he works on a weekend project. The guys that create those instructions are professionals and anything done repeatedly is easier than figuring it out for the first time. Never fear, he’ll figure it out, it might just take a few extra supplies to replace his first tries at that new cut.   The point is, you don’t want to have to make several trips to the hardware store throughout the weekend, so make sure you have all tools, nails, glue, etc that are required to complete the project. This will allow you to limit your extra trips from 17 to just a couple.In summary, before the weekend arrives you’ll need the following:

• Crib, changing table, dresser … baby’s furniture necessities
• Crib Bedding
• Coordinating Curtains.  I personally prefer curtains that do not exactly match the crib bedding, but rather pull out a color or texture from the bedding to utilize on your window treatments.
• Paint.  Use an “inspiration piece” to pick the color.  I use the crib bedding and pull a color from there. Often, it is the less prominent color in the bedding that give the nursery the most pizzazz.
• Décor Accessories.  The accessories are often what will pull the room together. I like to choose decorative frames, a wall growth chart, wooden wall letters, a rug, even matching trash cans and tissue box holders if its in your budget. Don’t forget those extra touches to really drive home your theme if you have chosen one.  It’s often the little things – hand painted dresser knobs, a few pieces of art, a little sign on the door – all good places to tie the them together.  But word to the wise… don’t go too crazy.  A lady bug here and there is classy – a lady bug on every possible surface in the room is overboard, and likely to frighten your baby. Just kidding, but seriously, don’t take the theme to far.
• Project Specific Supplies.  I love the cottage look of bead board, but a chair rail or crown molding can also add an extra special touch to the room.  Many project suggestions found at  (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/ )

 Now that you have all the supplies ready for the weekend, it’s time to get started. If the room you are changing is empty right now then you are ready to start the process. If not, go ahead and get everything out.  Once the room is cleared out, the first step is to prime (if necessary) and paint. Once the paint is dry you can start with any new molding or beadboard that you picked out. Ladies beware – this is where most of the frustration comes in for your man so it might be a good time for you to take the kids to the store to shop for the new baby. They probably don’t need those words in their vocabulary so best to just get them out of the house for a while. Now that the hard work is out of the way, it is time for the curtains that you picked out. Once those are hung, move the babies’ furniture into place and it is on to the fun stuff: accessorizing!  Don’t let your husband leave yet. Somebody has to hang this stuff on the wall. Decorative frames, wall letters, rugs and growth charts are all great ways to add a lot of character to your nursery with just a little money.

Once the accessories are hung and you have the right colors and textures in place you and your man can stand back and admire your babies’ glorious new home.

So…preparation is the key to completing the nursery in a weekend. Make sure you have everything ready to go on Saturday morning so you aren’t wasting time on trips to the store. Be prepared and it’ll go smoothly. Oh… Don’t forget to thank your man properly for a job well done!  It’ll keep him motivated for that new laundry room you’ve been wanting.

Visit our baby boutique at www.sugarpatchbaby.com

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Hi folks! Welcome to Sugar Patch Baby’s blog.  We are a Chic Children’s Boutique with a passion for babies!  Our baby boutique features boutique baby clothing, designer nursery decor, trendy baby gear and more. At our blog you’ll find talk on anything and everything related to children!  From “How to Decorate A Nursery” to “Picky Eaters” we’ll talk about it!  Visit our baby boutique at www.sugarpatchbaby.com

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