This week have we some home decorating tips …. enjoy!
Tuesday Tips – August 7, 2012
2
Shopping With Children And The 40-Pound Onion
I am not a very good shopper. I have my list and am focused on what I need so I can get the heck out of there – do not distract me from my purpose. When I get distracted I end up with a 40-pound onion.
* Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
This approach to shopping is clearly not possible when you have your children with you. I’ve read all the advice about shopping with children, but I’ve only seen advice for shopping with very small children and how to avoid their tantrums. I have a 9 year old and a 4 year old. No tantrums – just constant chatter and distractions.
So we went to Super Tawgwit (that’s Target for those of you who do not speak fluent L) and right away they are begging to go to the toy section. ”Not today,” I say. ”We don’t have a lot of time and I need to get what is on this list.” I think I did this in my most cheery, happy to be shopping with my kids voice, at least I hope I did. At this point I realize that L better sit in the cart or I’ll be chasing him all over the store.
On to the grocery section and right away my patience is tested. We start out in the produce section. A says “Mom, come over here, I have to show you something. This is the type of lettuce they have at school.” Really, how fascinating. I’m so glad you dragged me to the other side of the produce section to share this important information with me, my day is now complete. That was the thought in my head, but my mouth said, “that’s nice lettuce, honey, let’s keep moving, please.”
Now A wants to push the cart. Good. At the end of the aisle, I am taking over cart pushing. This is to stop the racing of said cart down aisle 2 as L screams like a banshee, what ever a banshee is.
At this point I remind them of the shopping rules – no running, no screaming, keep your hands to yourself, if you cannot keep your hands to yourself I will be happy to tie them behind your back so that you can.
There was no more running or screaming (all right, just a little screaming), but there was constant chatter. I won’t bore you with it all, but just share some of the highlights:
A (from the other end of the aisle) – “Mom, come here. (I walk back to where she is) look at this pretty color red.” Me - “Yes, A, Campbell’s Soup cans are a nice shade of red.”
L - “wait, go back, go back, go back.” Me - “why, did I miss something on the list.” L - “no, look, there is Spongebob on that can.”
A - ” can we have gum?” Me - “I don’t have any gum with me.” L - “then you can buy some!.” Me - “no, I’m not buying gum when we have a whole bunch at home.” L - “that’s not fair.” Me – “life’s not fair, buddy.”
L - “I wish we could buy toys.” Me - “L, you don’t need any toys, you don’t play with half of what you have.” L - “yes, I do.” Me- “no, you don’t.” L - “leave me alone.” Me - “I know you just did not say that to me….you are being a crabby patty and will be taking a nap when we get home” L - “no.” Proceeds to start crying…this is how I know I’m right about the nap thing.
A - “you are such a baby.” L - “no I not, you a baby.” A - “um, it’s ‘no I’m not and you are’ a baby.” L - “NO I NOT” A - “IT’S ‘I’M NOT’ AND YOU ARE” L - “WEAVE ME AWONE” Me - “both of you zip it right now.” L - “I not a baby.” Me - “I said zip it!”
A - “can we get this cereal.” Me - “we have a ton of cereal at home.” A - “I don’t like that cereal.” Me - “really, cuz you picked it out.” A - “oh, then nevermind.”
Me - “L, do not put your mouth on the cart handle, that is so disgusting! I told you to keep your mouth off stuff. You are going to get some kind of disease doing that.” L - “yeah, I like zeazes.” A - “you don’t even know that that means.” L - “yes I do.” A - “no you don’t” Me - “ZIP IT.”
We finally make it to the checkout. Normally, I keep a careful eye on what is ringing up but I was distracted…hmmmm…..I wonder why. The checkout lady is exchanging pleasantries with me while A is badgering me about putting bags in the cart. ”Mom, can I put the bags in the cart, can I? Mom, Can I? MOM” Me – “you are interrupting, A, not cool.” A – “ok, Can I?”. L is still sitting in the cart in front of me and bashing his head into my shoulder. Then he grabs the counter and tries to push himself and the cart into his sister who is standing behind the cart.
My total comes to $140 which I thought seemed a little high for what I bought but then again, it’s Target and you always spend more than you think you will and I just wanted to get the heck out of there.
Later, I can’t stop thinking that something is wrong with that amount. Looking at the receipt I see a charge of $60.68 for one yellow onion. What?!! Yep, my one yellow onion weighed in at 40 pounds. There must have been something else on the scale! How could I have missed that? Oh yeah, I was distracted.
So, the next day I take my onion and receipt and head back to Target to get refunded and buy the ONE thing I forgot the day before – diapers for the dog, $6 at the most. The Target people were very nice, even returning the full amount and letting me keep my onion for free. So I get a refund for $60.68. I proceed to spend $40. That place is dangerous.
* from crappypictures.com
Do you have any shopping with kids tips?
Tuesday Tips – July 31, 2012
Vacationing this week so I’m sharing my favorite Travelling with Kids Tips…..
Refinishing Wood Furniture
It was time for L to get into a big boy bed, and after a few phone calls and attic and basement searches, I have my mother’s old twin bed. It was still in good shape for being 60+ years old, but it needed just a little work.
Refinishing wood furniture is not that hard to do, and I really love doing it, so I decided to strip the old polyurethane and stain off and redo it to match L’s other furniture.
Click on the link for a full tutorial on How To Refinish Furniture. It is a messy job, but so rewarding to know you did it yourself. I’ve done a few pieces that I’ll share, but first, the bed.
Before & After
Yes, it is Thomas The Train Overload, but L loves it.
Antique Washstand
I’ve also done an old washstand that belonged to my husband’s grandparents. Here is the before and after:
Before
After
Vanities
For some reason, there was a trend years and years ago to paint your beautiful wood furniture a white and greenish/goldish color. My grandparents did it and so did my in-laws. I inherited vanities from both.
Here is my in-law’s old vanity before and after:
Before
After
My Grandparent’s vanity had a lot of intricate detail that took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get the paint stripped off, but it was worth it.
Before
After
With a little work, you can turn something “not so trendy any more” into something beautiful. Here is my How To Refinish Furniture tutorial to help you along.
Scooby The Chihuahua Update
It has been almost two months since Scooby, my diaper-wearing chihuahua has been on a medication called Anipryl for his Canine Cognitive Dysfunction.
He has been doing better…he doesn’t have that blank look in his eyes anymore and doesn’t stare at nothing for 20 minutes. He also has been responding to his name and basic commands. I have been feeding him moist dog food and he gobbles that up so his appetite is better.
I took him to the vet for a checkup and he has gained 1 pound which is good. Unfortunately, we found that he has a mast cell tumor.
What is a Mast Cell Tumor
“Mast cells are cells that normally occur in the skin and other tissues, such as the intestines and respiratory tract. They are part of the immune system (defense mechanism) of the body. They contain large amounts of histamine, heparin, and proteolytic enzymes (enzymes which break down protein). These can be toxic to foreign invaders, such as parasites, and are released when the mast cell is triggered by the immune system.
A mast cell tumor is formed from many of these mast cells. Because of the histamine, heparin, and enzymes present in mast cell tumors, they can create problems when damaged or removed. Large amounts of these substances can be released into the body and have significant effects on heart rate, blood pressure, and other body functions. Sites where the tumors are removed can sometimes refuse to heal and can become difficult to manage.” from Pet Education.com
Scooby’s Prognosis
Due to Scooby’s age and health, we are unable to remove the tumor. We have to monitor him to see if he starts displaying any of the signs of vomiting, blood in the stool, etc., which would indicate that it has affected his internal organs. At that time we will have to determine his quality of life. Right now he seems okay.
I know that the Anipryl will work for a while and then his cognitive function will decline again, and I know that the tumor will only get worse. I also know that I have to prepare myself for the inevitable, I just hope it doesn’t come too soon.
Tuesday Tips – July 24, 2012
Today’s tips are Anti-Aging Tips. Being over 40 myself, I follow all 5 of these!
Jeans Pillow Craft
I love that my friends are sharing their crafty work with me to post on the World of Laura B. This simple craft comes from my good friend, Jersey Girl C. She may have lived in the south for a long time, but she is all Jersey Girl. Kind of the ying to my Midwest peaches and cream yang.
Jeans Pillows
Now I was going to rewrite her directions here in my own words, but I thought it would be fun to compare directions that a Jersey Girl would write vs. a Midwest Girl. So here it goes:
Step 1
Midwest Girl: ”Take a pair of old jeans you no longer wear”
Jersey Girl: ”Take a pair of jeans you ripped the a** out of because you gained weight”
Step 2
Midwest Girl: ”Carefully cut each leg off below the inseam”
Jersey Girl: ”Cut the legs of said jeans off”
Step 3
Midwest Girl: Fill each leg with stuffing. This project used unrolled 99-cent Ikea pillows. And tie each side closed with bandana
Jersey Girl: Fill each leg with stuffing. This project used unrolled 99-cent Ikea pillows. And tie each side closed with bandana (we actually spoke the same language here!)
Step 4
Midwest Girl: To close the pillow ends, use two coordinating colored bandanas for each pillow. Fold each bandana corner to corner to form a triangle, then cut in half along the fold. Tie coordinating halves to each end of the pillow.
Jersey Girl: Use two bandanas but cut them in half like triangles. Tie closed.
Yes, our styles of writing are a little different – hers is straight to the point and mine is a little more flowery. We complement each other well.
This simple and cute project cost Jersey Girl C less than $5 to make both pillows. Not only crafty, but thrifty as well.
If you have a favorite project or craft you would like to share, let me know.
Mom’s Helping Hands Dish Towels
For Mother’s Day, I had my kiddos and my friend’s kiddos make these adorable dish towels with fabric paint. I painted their hands and they laid them on the towel, then I added the words “Mom’s Helping Hands”, their names and year.
Cute, isn’t it? And I purposely wiped out L’s name on the pic
I made the unfortunate choice of white towels, though. I mean, you know white dish towels don’t stay white and they came out so cute we didn’t want to ruin them.
Well, my friend, a.k.a. The Fabulous Neighbor T came up with a great idea for hers which I just had to copy.
Using a tension rod between the cabinets on either side of the kitchen window, she was able to use rod clips to hang her towels as curtains. Here is how mine turned out:
So cute!
Now I get to enjoy my kid’s creation every day and it will stay crisp and white. They can even be thrown into the washer and hung right back up.
Do you have something special your kid’s made that you display in a unique way?
Tuesday Tips – July 17, 2012
This week’s tips are a direct result of the sunburn on my shoulders. Sing it with me…to the tune of John Denver’s Sunshine On My Shoulders…
“Sunburn, on my shoulders…hurts so badly. Sunburn, almost always makes me cry.”
Experimenting With The Kids
It has been a little warm around the World of Laura B lately. Too warm to be outside and we have been lazing around the house, watching TV and doing nothing. So, I decided to do a little experiment that I found on Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas. She has a list of 15 fun experiments to do with kids.
Since I have that giant box of baking soda from my post on 25 Uses for Baking Soda, I decided to go with the baking soda and vinegar experiment.
I put a few drops of food coloring on plastic spoons, covered them with baking soda and used varied amounts of vinegar in some clear glasses.
The excitement began when we added the spoons to the glasses. Lots of fizzing which the kids loved.
Once all the fizzing died down we decided to try adding more baking soda or more vinegar to see what would happen. More fizz! Both A and L loved it.
When it was all done we had quite the colorful display…
A and L then had fun mixing colors to make “potions” until L decided he would drink it. Fun time over.
I got two votes for “mom of the year” after we did this, but quickly lost the votes when we dropped donations off at the Humane Society and I wouldn’t let the kids get a puppy. I did regain my votes by stopping at Chik-Fil-A on the way home. Yeah!
What have you been doing to beat the summer heat?
