Baby's Behind

My good friend and neighbor needs some serious help! Her little boy has very sensitive skin and is always suffering from diaper rash. She has tried many things and can't seem to find something that works really well. She has tried the usuals plus Butt Paste to no avail. Anyone who has dealt with this found something that works? Her little boy will thank you!

...Love...It

Ok-So I have run across so many fun Valentines day projects recently that I thought I would put them all in one place for everyone to see...Until I ran across this blog...

http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/

...and decided to stop because she has done it all already! Tons of great Valentines day ideas.

 Here are the one's that I found and loved before I decided to stop.

From Just Another Day in Paradise

How cute are these? (And the tutorials are great too)

http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2010/01/valentine-craft-1-how-to-polka-dot.html

http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2010/01/valentine-how-to-2-love-banner.html

http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2010/01/valentine-how-to-3-xoxo-pillow-and_28.html

http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2010/01/valentine-how-to-easy-weekend-project.html

From Everyday Celebrations

http://everydaycelebrate.blogspot.com/2010/01/tutorial-valentine-countdown-calendar.html

From Twig and Thistle

http://www.twigandthistle.com/blog/2010/01/diy-valentine’s-day-goodie-bags/

From How About Orange

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2010/01/paper-heart-garland.html

From Our Scoop

http://www.ourscoop.blogspot.com/

Please share your Valentines Day ideas!!! I'd like to know if anyone does anything cute for their kids Valentines day parties besides Transformer and Cinderella cards from a box.

Delivering Dinners

Does anyone out there have some ideas for great meals to take to people when they are sick or they just had a baby? Whenever I have to bring dinner to someone, I can't think of what I should bring. It should be something that is generally liked, transfers well, and not too difficult to make (Its already very likely I will mess up something easy to make, so its gotta be pretty simple for my kitchen skills.)

You will be superbly awesome in my book if you take the time to type out a recipe or give me a link to a recipe, but you will still be my hero if you just pass along some good ideas. Thanks (mostly from the recovering individuals that are subject to my cooking!)

Pulling their Weight

My great friend Amber (fabulous name, huh?) has a question I'm hoping we can all help her with. 

 

"Both of my girls help out around the house, but I need to implement a plan that has more structure. What works? Allowance? Chore charts? Letting them get 9-5 jobs so I can sit around blogging and eating Milk Duds? (I mean they are 3 and 5. High time they start pulling their weight around here!)"

Any ideas out there? What works for you?

Baby Bib with Waterproof Layer

Here is another great tutorial from my sister Abbie. Thanks Abbie!!!!!

"My son Ryan had reflux and spit up constantly until he was 10 months old. He wore a bib almost all of his waking hours. I wanted to make him some bibs, so I started looking around online. There are a lot of great online tutorials already, but I couldn't find one for a bib with a waterproof layer, so I decided to make my own.

Find your favorite baby bib and trace it onto a paper. Add a quarter of an inch around the entire perimeter and cut out for your pattern.

For each bib you would like to make, cut out one layer of fabric right side up for the top and one layer of fabric right side down for the bottom. If you are making more than one bib, you could cut out several at a time.

For the waterproof liner, I found an old nylon bag we didn't use anymore and cut out one for each bib I was making. Any waterproof nylon fabric would work for this as long as it is not too thick. If you use thick fabric on these bibs they will be really stiff. Other nylon things you might find to use is old jackets, tents, waterproof mattress covers, etc. If you don't have any old nylon laying around the house, you could try a second hand store. But please make sure the nylon you use is non-toxic.

Stack your layers. I also cut out a layer of flannel for each bib for extra spit-up absorption. Put the nylon layer on the bottom, then put a layer of flannel next (if you are using it), then add the top layer right side up, and the bottom layer right side down. Pin together.

Sew around the edge of the bib with a quarter-inch seam. Leave several inches not sewn in order to be able to flip the bib right side out.

Trim the perimeter of the bib and clip the corners..

Turn inside out. You may want to use a pencil to help. Fold the unsewn area under and press. Press the entire bib.

Sew around the entire perimeter of the bib.

To finish, I added a snap for closure. Velcro would work as well."

All you Cougars...

So my little sister is a freshman at BYU and is starting to look for housing for next year. I know its been a while for some of us :) but does anyone have a place that they would recommend? Something super close to campus (she doesn't have a car) and, of course, clean and affordable. Or do you have any tips for her on how to find good housing? What to look for? What to avoid? Even telling her where NOT to live would be useful!
We would appreciate any help!

Done with Diapers?

It was only a matter of time until we had a potty training post! Besides getting children to sleep, it can be one of the most frustrating parts of parenting small children.
I have a cousin that is having a hard time potty training one of her kids, and I'm sure there are more of you going through this right now. What's hard about potty training is there are a thousand different opinions on the matter and everyone usually thinks their way is the best. Honestly, I think the best approach is probably a little different for each child.
That being said, here's what I think about potty training: (Please don't be offended if it is different than what you think. Its just my opinion and its just what worked for us.)
I am totally in the "earlier-the-better" camp. I think waiting and waiting until your child "shows interest" will just result in you wiping poopy behinds for much longer than is needed. (And all the diapers you can save from the landfill, the better!) From The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, "In 1957, studies found that 92 percent of children were toilet trained by eighteen months." This tells me that it is possible to train early.
So let me now tell you how I potty trained both of my kids. (Tyson was fully trained by 2 1/2 and Eliza by 2. Both were pooping in the toilet by age 2). I got the basic idea from the Baby Whisperer. Just start talking to them about it at a very young age, 9 months to a year. When they poop say, "You are going poop. When you are older, you will go poop in the toilet just like mommy and daddy." Its as simple as letting them know what they are even doing. If you do this they will recognize it very early and learn to associate it with the toilet. When my kids got closer to age two, I would run and put them on the toilet whenever I thought they were going to poop. At first, we didn't make it in time very much and I would just change their diaper, but I would never just let them poop in their diaper without running to make it to the toilet first. Then whenever we did make it to the toilet in time, I praised them like I never had done before. I told them how proud I was and gave them a treat. It is a pain but they get it after a short while and then YOU DON"T HAVE TO CHANGE POOP ANYMORE! I think poop training should be done early because this is the age when they crave your praise. If you wait until they are older they don't care as much what you think and they can become very stubborn.
I gotta be honest though. Training them to pee in the toilet was not as easy and I don't feel like I am expert enough to offer much advice in that arena except just be patient and consistent and take them to the toilet pretty much all the time until they get it. Oh and get some training underwear (the kind that is super padded) and have them wear multiple pairs at first. That way, if there is an accident, most of it is absorbed by the unders.
Ok-that is my training regimen but what have you done???? I'd like to hear what has worked for you and see if we can help my cousin out. She has tried many things already so hopefully we have some new ideas for her.

Vinegar and No-Poo

Does anyone remember This Post I did about how awful my hair has been since we moved into this house? To update you, I ended up cutting about eight inches off because I just could not handle the tangles. Since then, a great friend of mine sent me this link. (Thanks Alicia)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2009/04/this-might-just-save-my-hair/
You should read it if you love your hair. It says to use vinegar in your hair if you have really hard water. I don't do this all the time because I forget and I haven't put some in my shower, but I have done it several times recently.  When I use vinegar in my hair it makes a HUGE difference. My hair is so soft and smooth on those days. If you have hard water you should just try it. A little experiment for you. Try it and then comment and let us know if it worked for you.
I also ran across some stuff about people who don't use shampoo. Its the no-poo movement. Check it out Here. Has anyone out there actually done this? I'd love to hear about it. I'm a little scared to go that extreme.
Also something else I was wondering. Lets suppose you do use shampoo. I know you aren't supposed to wash your hair every day, but how often do actual people wash their hair? I have a hard time not washing my hair because of two things. I often have curly hair and so I have a bunch of gel in it. It is not pretty the next morning. I promise. Also, when I work out I get sweaty head. Yup, its just who I am.
Ok, I think I need to summarize what I am asking here.
Number 1-If you try or have tried using vinegar, I want to know how it went for you.
Number 2-Does anyone have experience with the no-poo thing and how did it go? (or is it going?)
Number 3-How often do you wash your hair and do you think I am right to wash mine all the time because of the aforementioned reasons?

New Rooms on a Budget

After I posted yesterdays post about children's bedding I started thinking about redecorating bedrooms. I actually have never done most of these things but they are things that I'm thinking of doing when I get around to it! And everything on here is super affordable.
I have run across a few ideas for wall hangings. First, is this idea from the Homemade By Jill blog. Its just three blank canvases (use some 40% off coupons or, even better, wait until they are 50% off), decorative tissue paper, and mod podge. How cool is that?

Next are these wooden frames from Ikea. You just find your favorite fabric, stretch it tight around, and staple it in the back. I couldn't put a good picture on here but you can go to their website and browse the bedroom ideas to see how cool it can look. They had nine of them arranged in a three by thee square.

Don't forget letters. You can buy them in various fonts and sizes at JoAnns or Michaels. You can paint them or mod podge them with fabric, decorative paper, or tissue paper.

Here is something that I did do for Eliza's room. (Rachel-I think these are the colors you are going for too. Unfortunately, I got the quilt at Target and they don't carry it anymore.)

You can just sew coordinating ribbon or ric rac onto plain bed skirts, curtains, pillowcases, etc. Its super easy. I actually made the bed skirt myself but I bought the white curtains and coordinated them all with the same ribbons.

Here is another project from the Homemade by Jill blog. She just took an old, ugly dresser and mod podged scrapbook paper to the front and switched the nobs. I'm thinking I might try that on a book shelf I have, just on the inside of it. If I do, I'll take pictures and post them someday!

And don't forget the homemade headboard. The Pink Wallpaper blog has a good tutorial.

And, even though I'm too cheap to buy most things from Pottery Barn, they do have a place on their website with design tips. I liked this idea of a memory wall. (For a pattern to sew those little chairs, click here.)

Ok, so those are just some of the ideas I've had swimming around in my head. Its actually nice to get them all down in one spot, so when I get motivated to tackle some projects, I've got it all right here.

I'd love to hear your ideas, as well!

Affordable Children's Bedding

My good friend Rachel has a question that I hope we can help her with. She is wondering if anyone knows where she can buy affordable bedding for her little girls. When she looks online she can find very cute stuff, but out of her price range. Does anyone have any suggestions for her? Where should she look?
(She is specifically looking for something that is lime green, watermelon pink, soft pink, and white)

Altering a Waistband

Here is a tutorial from my sister. If you have waistband issues with your pants you might want to give this a try.
"My pants never fit right. Usually when pants fit my hips and legs, the waist is too large. I don't know if it is because I am oddly shaped or what, but I am thinking that maybe other people also have this problem. I absolutely hate wearing belts, so I have come up with a way to alter my waistbands so that I don't need a belt.
Start by making one inch slits with a seam ripper on the inside band of the pants about where both hips are.

Thread one inch belt elastic through the waistband. Pin one end so it is flush with the slit.

Using a satin stitch, sew over the slit so that it is completely closed and the elastic is secured.

Try on the pants and pull the belt elastic to the desired length. Pin in place and cut the elastic so that it is flush with the slit. Using the satin stitch again, sew over the second slit so that it is also completely closed and the elastic secured.

I also have super skinny kids and this can also be done on children's pants with smaller elastic. Often an extra step is involved with unpicking the stitching that is usually through the existing elastic. I usually leave that elastic in the pants and just add another piece of shorter elastic."

Thanks Abbie! Please share if you have any tips for altering your clothes to fit better.