Trick for Cleaning a High Chair

I'm linking up with We Are That Family today.  I used to participate in Works for Me Wednesday more often, but I never think about it on the right days.  Last night when I was cleaning spinach out of the high chair seams, I realized I had both a solution and the right day to share.  

We sort of skipped puree baby foods and went straight into table food with Oliver.  He caught on really quick and has a pincer like no other.  And I'm not just saying that as a proud mom.  He has been picking up his own food (even small pieces) for months.  That's when we started giving him food actually - when he had developed the skill to feed himself.  We wanted him to have as much breastmilk as possible so I nursed exclusively until he was 7+ months old.  Around 8 months old, we started feeding him a meal of solids at dinner on a consistent basis and only in the last couple weeks have we started giving him a second meal of solids during the day.  Anyway... since he's been feeding himself for months, our high chair has seen its share of disaster.  When I realized that the seams of the plastic collected food like a magnet on steroids, Chandler suggested I use toothpicks to clean it.  Brilliant.  I probably wouldn't have thought of this for a long time.

(Before)

(After)

It works for me.

Works-For-Me Wednesday

I'm going to talk about my dog again. Because she's sorta like my child (for now). Ok, she is my child (for now). We had lots (lots) of snow yesterday and Nola has very sensitive skin so I have to be careful of how long she's outside. I knew she'd want to play so I dug up her booties from when she had surgery (to remove her dew claws) last year.


I'm quite sure people saw her and said, "oh that poor dog." But the girl had such a good time! She was shivering so I know she didn't mind the sweater and the booties annoy her initially but they enable her to stay out and play longer so really, they're for her benefit. And the scarf around her neck that I knit, yeah, I'll give you that, "poor dog." I couldn't help myself, her neck looked exposed without anything on it and she already had a sweater and boots so why not a scarf?! Plus, it wasn't like I went out and bought it... it was made with lots of love. (Yeah, I know, it's worse that I took time to make it. Do I sound like I care?!) ;)



So, dogs with sensitive skin, meet booties! They work for me. Her. They work for her.


For more tips, check out Shannon's blog!

Works-For-Me Wednesday

I don't know about ya'll but it's not uncommon for me to be in conversation with someone and find myself saying something to the effect of "I was just thinking about that in the shower this morning..." What is it with that darn shower?

I decided that too many times I forget what I'd thought of and then of course remember when it's too late.

My solution: SHOWER CRAYONS! (Crayola calls them 'Bathtub Crayons' but c'mon, how many kids need to be making a to-do list in the tub... why don't we all just admit that these things were made especially for us forgetful adults...)

Yep, perfect. Don't think I'm kidding, I love these things. I'll write my to-do list then copy it down before I leave for work. It's great! Most times I remember things simply because I wrote it down in the shower and don't need my paper list, but it's still a nice back-up!

The red crayon can be hard to clean off, but as long as you be sure to wipe it off in about a day, you're good! Just don't leave it on too long or it can be tough to clean off.

See, and you thought these were just for kids...

For more Works-For-Me Wednesday tips, stop on over to Shannon's blog!

Random...

I have a confession. I hated yesterday's WFMW post. It did nothing for me. Granted, I didn't have anything else in mind to write about. Until, of course, I'd already posted and thought of something that is valuable and works for me. I made a note of it for next week. Stay tuned, I'm really more interesting than I was yesterday. Yesterday's post made me feel lame. And honestly, had I not just read a post about babysitters I wouldn't even have thought about it, so all that was fresh in my mind. Either way... it wasn't really a post about me or anything that currently works for me.

Remember Mr. Squeakers? Well, after buying those silly little mouse hotel trappy things and waiting for DAYS for Mr. Squeakers to crawl in and take my bait, I have come to the conclusion that I'm crazy. That darn mouse never showed up... didn't leave poop or anything else behind. But believe you me, I checked my closet every day waiting for poop or chewed cardboard shoe boxes. After lots of sane thought, I've decided that there never was a mouse.

My second job has potential to hate me... I bought a size small top then decided I'd prefer medium, got home with the medium last night and realized I wish I still had the small. A little part of me wants to take it back again, but I won't. It's tempting. But I won't. I could. I really think I could. But, they might hate me. So, I won't.

Did you know that a dog only has about 2,000 taste buds compared to the 10,000 that humans have? I learned this yesterday from my page-a-day dog calendar my friend gave me for Christmas. Apparently all this time I've been sharing food with Nola and sacrificing the taste because I thought she would like it too -- don't get me wrong, I was sure it didn't taste the exact same to her -- sigh... So much for that.

I knew this would be a completely random post. I still feel like I need something super fun to make up for yesterday. I'll get over it. This is kinda cool, check it out. I'm in the top 2% of the world's richest people. Now there's a blog post. Why I feel like I struggle when I'm in the top 2%. Oh, and for the record, I thought that was wrong so I typed in 300,000 to see what it would be and it was something like several tenths of one percent (I'm sure there's a more correct way to say that, I don't do math well), so it's probably right.

Without getting on another random tangent I'll just end here for now.

Works-For-Me Wednesday - Potty

I'm going out on a limb today for the people who read the WFMW series. And I say it that way because as a single gal with no children this post may seem a little odd. However, what's important to note here is that for a little over 12 years, I babysat lots of children and was a nanny to two for several years. When I say "nanny" I mean that I was at their house for more than 6 hours per day on most days of the week. They were great kids and I had a lot of fun. My role was often that of a mom so I often picked up all sorts of mom-like habits and thoughts. Bare with me here...

I also worked at a children's boutique in college and worked with lots of parents. It was a small boutique and we had a very devoted customer base so it wasn't uncommon to form relationships with these women.

One of these customers had a son, Andrew, who was around age 2 at the time. Now, we had a restroom in the store that was so cute and the most child friendly thing ever, minus the tiny toilet, but that's another post(!) -- I can remember once when Andrew had to go "potty" and instead of going to the store's bathroom, he was rushed outside. Now, I'm thinking, seriously, a tree?! But his mom had a small training potty in the back of her van and that's where Andrew was used to going when they weren't at home.

Isn't that genious?! Maybe this is my lack of true parenting experience and it's written somewhere in a mommy book that this is something you do but I was amazed at this idea! Being with my kids all day and carting them around (they were 19mos and infant at the time I started and 5 and 4 when I left) left me in limbo many times. What a perfect solution! And since I'm a total germaphobe this was the greatest solution ever!

So there you have it, my Works-For-Me Wednesday post for moms, from a girl-who-thinks-this-is-the-coolest-idea-ever-but-has-no-children-other-than-an-adorable-21-month-old-little-brown-dog (that is completely potty-trained!). ;)

By the way, Emily over at Chatting at the Sky wrote a really cool four-part piece about babysitters, I'd encourage anyone who uses babysitters to check it out! Be sure to read the comment section for more discussion!

For more tips, check out Shannon's blog!

Good Things

I still have Christmas errands to run, bows to tie, cookies to bake, and antlers to find! Did I mention laundry to wash? Thanks to the Works-For-Me Wednesday series I learned about unhooking my dryer from the wall. Long story short, my builder is a complete and utter moron and my dryer vent takes too many 90* turns from the dryer to the exterior wall where it should vent. So... for the last 7 years my dryer has run ohhh about 8-10 cycles (yes, that's almost 11 hours) to dry ONE load of laundry because the dryer can't (no dryer can...) push the heat out so the condensation builds and thus the clothes stay wet in the dryer. Thankfully mom lives close by and I've been carting wet clothes to her house to dry them. But that's a pain when it's freezing or pouring down rain. (But thanks Mom!)

Thanks to Christine's brilliant post, I went to Lowe's, bought a bucket, patched the sides with pantyhose and made my own vent. And guess what, it makes my laundry room really cozy! So, thanks Christine!

I made sure to put lots and lots of duct tape around the hole in the wall though. We all remember the Mr. Squeakers incident. And by the way, I am not sure he really existed. I bought a live capture trap and filled it with cheese and peanut butter but no Mr. Squeakers. Never heard of again, no left over droppings, no more squeaking, nada. So... we're still on the look out but I'm hoping he left when he heard me scream. :) And that's okay with me. I like him better when he's away.

Be sure to think of me when you're washing and drying your clothes. You just don't know how good you have it. Meanwhile, I'm having to run the dehumidifier while the dryer vents in the house because I have poorly installed windows so the moron builder had to buy me a dehumidifier so mold wouldn't grow.... don't even get me started there. Just know that my house is super warm from the dryer vent and the huge dehumidifier that is running nonstop. If you're chilly, stop by, we'll warm you up in no time! And bring your dirty clothes while I'm still on the laundry high!

Til tomorrow...

PS, send some up and keep your fingers crossed... Caveman's flight is due tomorrow evening but an awfully big snow storm is heading its way to Boston so his flight may be bumped to Saturday (boo!).

Peace out!

Works-For-Me Wednesday - Crocs

So, I'm trying something new and am going to contribute to Shannon's Works-For-Me Wednesday carnival! I had so much fun with the Christmas Tour of Homes I thought this might be just as fun!

I'll start with something totally and ridiculously simple!

.... you know those shoes Crocs? If you're like most people (which you may not be, but if you are...) you either love them or hate them. Since I'm not actually like most people (haha) I am impartial. But if I had to choose a side, I'd say love. But only because of my use for them. I bought them because they were popular and everyone had a pair. Really, I hated them. They were too wide, too big, and no, they were not the "most comfortable things I'd ever put on" my tootsies. AND I tripped over them because of the material they're made of...

So why do I love them? Because, if you have a dog and don't have a fenced in backyard (like me!), these shoes make the best outdoor bedroom slippers ever!

They're perfect because I can wear my big comfy wool socks that don't fit into any regular sized shoes, they slip on and off easily, and they are easy to rinse off if I accidentally step into any doggy piles that someone didn't pick up. I wear my crocs when I take Nola out in the morning and evening so they stay by the door. Also, in case you're interested, they now have crocs with a winterized lining of fluffy fleecy stuff. I don't recommend the wool socks and the fluffy fleecy stuff, but maybe that's another Wednesday! :)

Next Wednesday is Christmas Eve... Merry Christmas!