Halloween! Our first time trick or treating!

This year was my daughters first year trick or treating. My husband even carved a mickey mouse clubhouse inspired pumpkin in honor of her favorite show.

We only made it to five houses before she had a meltdown but she did pretty well considering she isn't two yet. She wouldn't say trick or treat but, she knew that if she put that pumpkin our they would put a treat in it. After the first house she ran to the next one. She wouldn't give up her bink but, she did drop her play cell phone in her pumpkin. Everyone thought she was so cute, we went to some of our neighbors that I have gotten to know. Especially me. I almost felt teary eyed when I saw how big she had gotten. Where does the time go?

I know I cant stop her from growing up, and I don't want to, but I do with the days would go slower, at least the hours where I get to spend them with her. I never thought motherhood was for me and now all I want is to be a mom and a homemaker (basically because I love to DIY, clean and decorate lol). Yea, I love my job and its a huge part of me and my personality. I definitely couldn't stand not making my own money. And I don't think being in the house all day would be good for my mental health.  And even if I could stand it, we couldn't afford it. Nonetheless, I have to admit, being a mom is way better than a thought it would be. On Halloween with little kids running around excited for candy in their cute costumes, I remembered what it was to be a kid and how lucky I was to have one of my own.

Why Children NEED Pets

I feel quite strongly about this issue. Many of my co-workers think I'm crazy to have two dogs, a cat, and a toddler. They can't understand why I would take on so much extra work for an animal. One feels some sort of weird distain for animals, which in my opinion is a sign that something is wrong with them and that they are not to be trusted because that's just not natural. I admit pets aren't for everyone. If you travel a lot, have mobility issues, financial restrains, certain housing issues, or other various reasons then a pet may not be for you. But for me, pets bring me great joy and increase my qualify of life.

Further, I don't know any different and honestly I don't want to.

Background:
I grew up with a dog and a cat... and two turtles, 5 rabbits , fish tanks, lizards (warning crickets chirp at night on feeding night), hermit crabs (warning they smell) and I'm sure some other stuff along the way. The dog had ALOT of energy and as a result spent a lot of time outside. She wasn't neglected or anything, she had a very nice shelter, was fed and watered, given medical care, played with, exercised but, I look back and wish I had been old enough to fight to keep her in with us more.  (I was only 4 when we got her.)

My parents saw no issue at that time with a dog being outside, as them now and they couldn't fathom it because who would keep them warm at night?

My paternal grandfather raised hunting dogs. Beagles mostly. They were, from what I understand, award winning hunting dogs and a family friend still breeds dogs from his line. My grandfather didn't do it for money, in fact I don't think he even took much money for the dogs, as long as they were going to good homes that really wanted them. My grandfather loved the outdoors and he, my father, their cousins and friends hunted together regularly. (Yes being an environmentalist, an outdoorsman and a hunter are not counter intuitive.) They loved the dogs but, with so many and a small house they had kennels. That's normal for hunting dogs. They weren't the house dog, my grandma had one of those as well. They also always had a large German Shepard mix to protect the kennels from animals and theft. If you ask me the 'guard dogs' were really ponies for me and tea party playmates but, I guess I saw a different side of them. My mother grew up in the country and also didn't think it weird to keep a dog outside.

But times have changed and now the dogs sleep in our beds, vacation with us and get their own Christmas stockings (ok well they always had Christmas stockings.)

Every house needs a cat and I'm not a cat person. They do their own thing mostly and if you have an indoor cat the litter sucks but,  its been found that a cats purr can help heal joints and other injuries (here's a link)  and if you get a mouse they come in handy as well.

But, as usual, I digress...

The Need for a Pet:
So on to why CHILDREN NEED A PET. I am talking specifically about the common pets, dogs and cats, but any kind of pet can teach these lessons. There are so many benefits to children who have pets and here's 7 Reasons:

1. Pets teach love. Doggie kisses, night time snuggles, a little or big shadow, learning to hug and gently pet your pets is huge. The love you feel for a pet and the dedication and unconditional love they give back is incomparable to anything else.

2. Pets teach kindness. This builds on love. "You had to be gentle with the dog." "Pet the cat nicely and she will purr." The pet had to learn to be gentle with the baby as well. The pets are our responsibility and we must love them and show them kindness.  If we can't be kind to a life we are responsible for how can we expect our children to be kind to strangers on the street or animals in the wild?

3. Pets teach respect. Even the gentlest dog or cat had its limits. Children learn that there are boundaries and that you must respect the dogs food bowl, ball or tail or whatever that pet sees as a boundary. You must respect the dog/cat pet and in return the pet respects and in the case of a dog protects you.

4. Pets teach patience. They can't speak, logic through an issue or think like us. They know food is food and no matter how well trained, given the chance, I've never seen a dog resist a hotdog.  You must learn that you can't leave things to tempt them and that you have to understand that they are animals. Sometimes a dirty sock seems like a good chew toy.  They don't care that your in a hurry if they haven't found that perfect spot to do their business. You must have patience with an animal.

5. Pets provide companionship. An only child doesn't feel alone if their parents are busy because they can play with the dog or just 'watch' TV together. Fighting with your sibling? Don't worry Spot knows just how to make you feel better. You have a new baby sister and mom is always holding her? Well your cat will make a perfect baby. (My poor cat knew this all to well, she wore a baby bonnet and was held like a baby more than she wasn't.) I can go do laundry in the basement and not take a baby monitor. If she wakes from her nap or starts crying the dogs come get me. If she's getting a clean diaper don't worry the one dog must sit and watch every time and wont leave the room first. The dog is the family's companion.

6. Pets teach responsibility. The dog needs to go out or be walked. The floors need to be swept more because of pet hair. The cat litter needs to be cleaned or the dogs yard 'presents' need to be cleaned up. They must be fed, brushed, taught commands, taken to the vet, exercised and so on. These tasks may add to your 'to do' list but, having children help with these tasks, when age appropriate, can help teach your children what it is to be responsible for another living creature. A task that most children will face in adulthood.

7. Pets are good for your health. This is a fact, they have done numerous studies on this. Children who grow up with pets are less likely to have allergies, owning a pet decreases blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, pets give their owners a sense of purpose and are often used in a therapy setting as they also increase mood. I'm sure there are other benefits but, these are some of the most common ones cited in studies.

So if you are contemplating the extra work of a pet and have a child, maybe this list will help you decide.

  ~ Amy

Someone said I should blog....

Over the weekend I attended a bridal shower for a college friend.  While sipping sangria at the table someone got a stain. I quickly rattled off some cleaning tips and just thought we would move on. But one woman, we also went to college together, commented on how I seem to know how to clean everything. Its true, my mom always wanted to get stains out and there wasn't money to just throw something away and get a new one because of a small hole or a stain. We mended our clothes and removed stains. Now, I'm not saying we let things get thread barren but, we didn't toss something for sometime small. We simply fixed it.

My college roommate then talked about how I turned her on to Lestoil, my favorite laundry cleaner for oily stains and red sauces, the other woman goes to me "you should start a blog!" 'Well, I said, in fact I have. I doubt too many read it but, I figure when my daughter is grown and wants to find my cleaning solutions that she can check here.'

I thought it was such a compliment! I hope that someday my daughter does use this as a resource and teaches our tricks to others.  Then my mothers legacy will live on :)

Just Call me Suzy Homemaker

On Sunday, I decided to tackle some tasks outside while the weather was still with me. I had some things that I wanted to paint, if it isn't neutral it needs to be, and my pesky pinecone wreath still hadn't been sprayed. So I took to spraying the items that had piled up, the wreath picture frames, etc. If you had read my past posts I'm sure you have realized that I am crazy for spray-paint. Particularly spray paint that is black, white, metallic, and that's it really. So here's the wreath:

My husband agreed to forgo his beloved football, as long as he could check the stats, and help me winterize while we were outside. Let me tell you, winterizing and spray painting can be challenging tasks when you have a 20 month old. She was constantly climbing on things as we moved them around, getting under tarps and covers and even grabbed a few sprayed items resulting is war-calls on my part to prevent her from wiping the paint on her jacket. Luckily, her favorite dog was willing to entertain her a bit.

In the end we got alot done. Hoses were put away, lawn items that don't like our northeastern winters brought in, birdbath tipped, table covered, and my chairs stacked and covered.

However, we are having an Indian summer. I feel the last few years we have had this where the fall is as warm as summer.  In fact today it is over 80 degrees. As a result my flower pots still look pretty good. While I did prep my front steps for fall with pumpkins and a mum, the buckets in the back were too pretty to dump/cover, so I will have to go back out. Its worth it for a few more weeks of pretty color. I also left my screen room chairs uncovered since my toddler has a obsession with going out there to play. She is going to be VERY upset when it gets too cold.


ONCE we were done with that I decided to do some baking. I made a chicken pot pie, a apple pie, and homemade applesauce. Let me tell you, don't use salt in your applesauce! I used a online recipe and it called for a small amount of salt, that in the end pretty much ruined my applesauce. But my pot pie and apple pie were perfection. The apples I picked off the trees myself and  made the crust myself (my great-grandmothers recipe).

I took the pie to work because my husband and I are trying to watch our weight, and it was a huge hit! People said it was the best pie they had ever had. Glad to hear I made my mom proud. But to be honest, on Sunday I would have made Martha Stewart and even a stepford wife proud!

Little Wicker Chair

     

So my mom saw this as she drove past a garage sale in a small town in the Catskills and screamed for my dad to stop the car. For ten dollars she picked up this little chair for my toddler. It is in great shape but just needed a fresh coat of paint.

Eleanor decided to help me of course, as always.

 

Here's picture of the back, you can see that the paint has chipped pretty badly off the bottoms and that it just looks worn.

This is the paint I used. I love rust oleum products. I bought two cans and used one and some of two. It maybe could have been done with one can but intend to go heavy on the first coat.

 I save old boxed from toys to paint on so I don't get the grass all different colors. Lets be honest it ends up getting painted, but at least the bulk of it is on the box and there's no grass stuck to my project when its done.

 

After one heavy coat. It looks really nice. I like the antique white. It makes it more modern feeling but stays true to the style.

 

I gave it one more light coat and just went over the spots where it seemed like it needed it. I think it looks pretty good, though the sun may not do it justice.

Lillian seems to be enjoying her freshly painted chair! She loves being outside and we sit on the screen room every day. I think she will get some years of enjoyment out of this yard sale find!

Added Saftey of a Gate

When we put our flagstone patio we took a railing of a lower useless deck (it was too narrow to sit on and snakes just denned underneath it because it was right on the ground). So we saved some and my husband made a gate to keep our toddler from going down 14 stairs. He wasn't that handy when we married but three years in and he's made some progress! He made it all from recycled wood from the old deck. I'm still painting it but here are some pictures:

He had just finished building it with leftover wood from the old railing.

 

I still need to give it a second coat and go around the hinges but it looks pretty good!

The Railing is Done

This is a follow up post to my previous one regarding our screen room.

Securing Our Screen Room

 (This picture reminds me how badly we need to have the house painted. maybe next years budget.)

While we are still in the process of rescreening some of our more tattered screens thanks to our dogs, and the ones the squirrels literally ate through, I thought I would show our railing.

No more worrying about my toddler falling! YAY! coffee on the screen room can resume!

Securing Our Screen Room

When we bought our house it was winter. The inside of the home had been renovated but the outside was in direr need of some TLC. Nonetheless the weathered two story screen rooms were instantly my favorite rooms in the house. I love drinking coffee and looking out over the yard, my gardens and watching the dogs sunbath while thumbing through a magazine or a book. Since I had a baby these moments are limited but, very much valued.

However, when I had my daughter it became apparent to me that there was a problem. The elderly woman that owned the home before us, the original owner, never had children. She never worried about them falling two stories. It hadn't occurred to me that the screens went to the floor until I was on maternity leave and was sitting out there. Call it maternal instinct but, it suddenly hit me that something would need to change.

So after over a year of debating the best way to secure the second story screen room without it looking out of place or ruining my view I decided to go with preform rails from HOME DEPOT. these are very similar to the railings on the rest of the deck and I don't think take away from the aesthetic. I showed these pictures to my co-worker and he thought they added to the look, which made me very proud of my choice.

 

This project is taking us sometime because we have to stop and start with the baby and we had another hiccup when we discovered there was a large yellow jacket nest in our drainpipe. My poor husband was stung. (I think its safe to say this was a good inclination that we are overdue to clean the gutters). But I wanted to post some of our progress.

This is where I am going to give some credit to my husband. He was not very handy going into the marriage but he has really proved himself on this project. A man who never used a power tool until we were in our house, now had all the bolts and brackets and thought through almost all the issues. I was pretty proud.

 

 

We still have to do the other side and attach the rail behind the drainpipe. OH and put the screens back in, which I'm thinking I will replace because they are old and kind of dry rotted with some holes. But its coming along.

 

I'm also repainting all the existing white on the deck. it was definitely due, it hadn't been done since the year we moved in, three years ago.  I have to say projects that I would have done in a day now take 3-5 because I stop to play or feed or clean or just calm my little one. Kids really do make things go slower ! But they are only little once, so I try to embrace the 'breaks'.

 

 

Apparently our Cocker Spaniel rubbed against the rails because when we finally sat down at night we saw that Bon Bon looked like this. We should have named her Shadow because she always has to be with you even in the close to 100 degree heat and her new white markings prove that to be true.

 

I will  post once its complete but, I thought I would share our progress.

 

My latest obessession: Kate Spade New York

Kate Spade New York!
So, let me start from the beginning. I am a full time lawyer, mommy, wife, which means pretty much I'm all things to all people. I'm constantly busy, 10 minutes late and in a rush. I have to carry with me everything I need for 12 hours.  With a toddler, I'm finding I carry too many bags. A diaper bag, my work tote, my purse, whatever else I had to run in and pick up at the grocery store or the pharmacy.
So I have been on a quest for a good looking, larger tote style bag with some interior pockets and a optional cross body strap- because sometimes I just don't have a free arm.
But finding one I like, that is well made and cute is HARD!

I am not much for pattern and I do love designer bags, I'm a old fashion leather Coach girl. Last summer I 'broke' and modernized with a bowling bag style cross body satchel in grey leather from Michael Kors. And don't get me wrong its GREAT bag (a good addition to my gorgeous black coach satchel for winter and my painted leather beige purse for summer also Coach because I am who I am) but it sometimes is overflowing.

Point is I'm not really trendy usually when it comes to bags and I don't want a bunch clogging up my closet because I just don't need them. I just want well made, classic bags that I can use day in and day out without worry of broken handles and outdated patterns.

So why suddenly Kate Spade New York? Its easy: feminine design with scalloping or a small bow, and the STRIPES. I love her stripes!

cape drive card holder

*cape drive card holder

*Kate Spade New York Hawthorne Lane Small Ryan Tote - I LOVE this one but it doesn't have a long handle option. WHY KATE WHY?

*Kate Spade New York Catie Striped Bag

*Kate Spade New York Crossbody - Fairmount Square Monday - Black/Sandy Beach


Its pattern but when will stripes go out of style? I cant foresee it happening. But finding exactly what I want is near impossible, even if I go to other brands, that I can actually afford, so sorry Louis Vuitton, you're out.

But im having trouble finding one that is everything I wanted.


*This "cobble hill stripe adrien" is close and cute but its cotton and leather, how do you clean that when you accidently drop your coffee when your toddler starts a temper tantrum while holder her and everything else?


*This "cameron street stripe candace satchel " comes close but, I don't know if I like the firm square shape. It might be the closest I'm going to get though.

I have to wonder if other full time "all things to all people in all places at all times" have the same dilemmas I have?

*This is not a sponsored post. All of the above opinions are my own. All pictures are property of KATE SPADE NEW YORK https://www.katespade.com/.

Can't Keep Up!

Despite my best efforts I can't keep up with my housework, cooking, shopping list. It seems likes it never ends. Pre- baby I kept everything in its place and would not go to bed unless my house was camera ready at all times. Now, I'm lucky if there isn't toys under feet, laundry in the living room, and the office, we just keep that door closed because who has time to file?

My friends are proud of me being able to let go...  I honestly try to remember that these days with my daughter will fly by and remembering her smiles are more important than the mess. But it's really hard for me.

                     (she's "helping" me clean up boxes from her birthday)

My mantra right now is: I'm a full time lawyer, mother and wife. I can't do it all.

Ohh I wish I could. I'm spending as much time cropping the mess out of my photos as it would to clean it up, ok not ,true cropping is a lot faster, but still, I could probably at least fold some towels.

PaInT paint PAINT

The week before Easter my sister agreed, as she is always my partner in crime, to come and help me do some painting in my house. We moved in three years ago but the color of the main area I really liked, Agreeable Grey by Sherwin Williams and rest of the house was plain 'contractor cream'. We had painted the nursery a minty aqua (Valspar I can't remember the exact color) before our little one was born but other than that, I had just been doing touch up with the paint the contractors left. (Our house was a flip.)

All the walls were done with flat paint. I hated it from the moment we moved in. The creator of flat paint should be brought on trial. It shows every bump, mark, scrape. Not so friendly with a husband that's less than careful, dogs and a toddler. I had literally scrubbed down to the sheetrock in some places.) So I decided it was time to paint the guest room, which had seen better days after a friend had stayed with us for a period of time, the bathrooms and the hall. And this time use a washable, wipe-able paint, in a satin sheen.

I always use VALSPAR paint. I've tries Behr, Benjamin Moore, Glidden, Olympic, American Tradition (by Valspar), Dutch Boy, and that's just for wall paint. I could do a whole other post on spray-paint, furniture paint and polyurethane.

So this time I made the mistake of asking the sales person's opinion. I had picked all Sherwin Williams colors, because I just love their color wheel but, I had planned to buy Valspar. He told me he had been a rep for both and that he thought Sherwin Williams was more durable and that it was the only way to get a color guarantee.  Against my better judgment I made a rash decision, and went with Sherwin Williams.

I WONT MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN.

Valspar is superior in my opinion and here's why. Sherwin Williams showed every roll, edge mark, change in pressure. It didn't cover as well as Valspar and therefore didn't go as far either. I mean don't get me wrong, if I couldn't get Valspar I would choose Sherwin Williams over Behr, Olympic and Dutch Boy (I can't remember what I didn't like about Benjamin Moore but I just remember not liking it as well).

~ I only photographed one bathroom. I painted both Sea Salt by SW. Its a chameleon color as its blue/gray/sage. it looks blue during the day in this bathroom and a slate grey at night but in the smaller downstairs bath, it looks more sage/grey. I really love it. If you don't want to commit, this is the color for you.~

Valspar pretty much covers in one coat, goes on even, you don't see streaks or marks from your edgework, assuming you don't drip or leave pressure lines, no paint can forgive that. It wipes down easily and wears well

I just like it better. Lesson learned. Going forward im going back to Valspar.  (Ohh but for trim work I like Glidden high gloss).

~The guest room we painted Anew Grey by SW. It was a last minute decision. My sister thought that my choice of Dorian Grey was too dark for this basement level one window room and she was right. As a note, we painted the hall Agreeable Grey again but in the satin sheen.~

If your thinking of painting I hope you will consider my review, because Valspar is superior. I know I know SW just bought Valspar- well all I can say is I pray they don't change the formula.

*this is not a sponsored post.

Humidifier Tip

Even though we are having a mild winter here in the Northeast, the heat is still on at my house. The lack of snow, hasn't meant a lack of dryness from my forced hot air heating system. With a little one in the house, there is a delicate balance of keeping her warm and not turning her into a sweat monster.

Since my daughter started daycare, she has struggled with colds. She has also had a cough on and off since she was small. The doctors and my mom have said repeatedly, keep her nose clear, use saline and a humidifier. I was lucky to have a coworker give me two humidifiers she wasn't using. I had one in the nursery and one in mine. But a few weeks ago, she had a terrible nose bleed that woke her up and scared me half to death. She had a few more after that and it seems that we now have it under control. But I realized that her play area in the house, and likely her daycare, does not have enough humidity.

I plan to have one put on our furnace but I haven't gotten to it yet. The money always seems to go to something else.  Luckily I went down to my grandmothers house, my personal antique and thrift stop, and did some more cleaning up and out. I found a humidifier in the box. I could see it had been used but it wasn't old. So I took it home. after washing it and cleaning it with vinegar,  I used a magic eraser to clean out the hard water deposits. My grandmothers water is very high in iron so you can see the orange residue clearly. I got as much as I could out but when I ran it I could still smell the deposits. So I decided to add some lavender essential oil.

Within minutes the whole house smelled of lavender. When my husband came home from work he commented on how nice the house smelled (normally he calls the humidifier the stinky water machine).

When I refilled the other humidifiers I added a few drops of the essential oil to them as well. No more stinky water machines. The house smells fantastic and we have much needed humidity.

I'm sure with would work with whatever essential oil you prefer but, remember to get high quality pure oils and remember that they are very concentrated. Its better to go lighter and add more later than to overpower with scent.

What does Zika mean for the Olympics?

With all the talk of Zika, what I haven't heard said is Rio 2016. The summer Olympic games are to be held in Rio de Janerio this summer. Few realize that people have already started going down to Brazil for qualifying trials. I know this because one of my best friend's boyfriend is competing. What about these people?  They go down for a few weeks to qualify and then come back. What are their chances of contracting and spreading the virus? Are appropriate measures being taken? We have learned that Zika can be transmitted sexually. So even if these people aren't pregnant, and I assume they are not, they can still bring the disease back with them.  We can't  assume that Olympic athletes wont be pregnant because I believe that the Olympics averages a certain number of pregnant women competing in each games. Not to mention, even if you aren't pregnant it makes you very ill.

As a new mom, I feel very strongly that we need to take an aggressive look at Zika. Transmission, cures, and how to protect unborn babies. I can't imagine the heartache of learning that a mosquito bite caused my baby to have incredible deformities. There are warnings that pregnant women shouldn't travel to infected areas. And, that women in affected areas should consider holding off on pregnancy until 2018. (This is something that is very interesting, telling a woman that may be at the end of childbearing years, that she has to wait. This may be a first world issue and not so much an issue for Brazil, but still, we should think about how this virus is effecting women's reproductive choices.) I am aware that the evidence is not conclusive yet that Zika causes microcephaly, the most linked birth defect to the virus.
Do we have time to wait for the research to conclusively decide when in a matter of months the largest international event will be at the center of the outbreak?

There is an underwhelming article in the NY Times from January of this year that states that 500,000 people are expected at the games this summer. Approximately 200,000 of them will be Americans. You can read this extremely brief article here. It doesn't mention the trials that are going on now. It is silent on the lack of public concern by the International Olympic Committee. CNN also wrote an article, a bit better than the NY Times in my opinion (and I never thought I would say that). It states that there were concerns with Rio hosting the Olympics before the Zika epidemic. They estimate that 600,000 are expected to attend and 16,000 athletes. They ask, should the Olympics be postponed? Can Rio handle hosting the Olympics and battling an epidemic at the same time?  To read that article visit it here.

This a my photo taken during my trip in 2009.

I have my own concerns about Brazil hosting the event. I went to Rio and the Pantanal during law school. I traveled around meeting with different people from different regions, the government, the indigenous communities and just sightseeing. But I was warned, stay away from the edges of the cities and don't go in the water after it rains. That's because the favelas are so dangerous that a blonde haired blue eyed American like myself would be a target in the favelas. As for rain, there is an inadequate sewage system in Rio, so when it rains raw sewage goes into the ocean. did I mention hat when the waves get so high that some of the streets flood? Don't wear open shoes after it rains either. So a city that cant handle it existing sewage, in my opinion, shouldn't be hosting a huge international event because of basic health concerns. Add Zika virus to the mix and by a month after the games we will have an international crisis.

This is my photo taken during my trip in 2009.

Is the International Olympic Committee even talking about this? Have they offered to contribute funds to research? Can they really handle another embarrassment after Sochi? Do they care about the athletes and their families, friends, co-workers, people of the world in general?! One has to wonder.


by Amy Z

How to get Blood out

BACKGROUND: Tomorrow my Daughters first birthday. Sigh, the first year has been wonderful, as I had an angel baby newborn. She has slept through the night since she was 10 weeks old, only getting up when she's sick with a stuff nose or teething. Last week however, one night she woke up screaming like something was wrong but at first I couldn't figure it out. I brought her in my room, it was dark, but I noticed something on her cheek. When I clicked the light on, I saw blood and there was some on the other cheek. At first I thought it was coming from her mouth as it was on her binky but, then I realized that it was a nose bleed. Within seconds both her and I were covered in blood. Scary yes, but a nose bleed I knew how to handle. Once we pinched it off, I got ready to wash our clothes. (I also recently suffered from menorrhagia, a post partum complication that was delayed due to breast feeding. This also required some blood stain removal).

The point is, that these incidents made me realize that I hadn't shared my generations old solution to set in blood stains. Sure getting a new blood stain out isn't so bad, rinse and scrub with gentle soap (I use just hand soap) when fresh and then wash with oxiclean.

But what about a blood stain that's set in? that can be hard to get out. Well, my grandmother told me that her local butcher told her the secret to keeping his white apron clean of blood stains: MEAT TENDERIZER.

 picture from mccormick.com
I don't know why, I just know that this is what they did and this is what I've done. If you have a set in blood stain proceed with trying to loosen the stain with cold water and gentle soap (DO NOT USE HOT WATER). Then once you have done the best you can liberally apply meat tenderizer to the stained area (the powder/seasoning not the tool). I then gently (using the fabric itself if possible) rub it together to get it really in the fabric (I recommend doing this after you have rung out the cold water but while its still wet). Then I let it set, usually overnight.

Next day wash, with detergent and if you want with oxiclean (or other oxidizing cleaner). Something about the tenderizer loosens the stain and will help you get those set in blood stains without ruining the color of your fabric. Good for women issues, sports uniforms, sheets with nose bleeds, you get the picture. Hope this helps save your fabrics!