It's Hot.

Getting through hot days with a 14 month old is tough. He’s cranky, I’m cranky and to top it off he’s teething and gets a heat rash from head to toe. Here is a list of a few things we did last week to cool off:

Set up fans – not necessarily in windows. Keeping the windows and blinds closed if you have no AC is important. Open at night, closed in the day. Make sure there is a fan near baby’s crib but not too close where fingers can get in trouble!

Get AC for the bedroom or common room in the house – nothing fancy needed just enough to take some humidity out and take the edge off the heat. I scored one for free from a friend but some great places to look are craigslist.org and freecycle.com. Make sure it’s working before buying and always clean/check the filter before running it in your own home.

If it gets unbearable, jump in the tub. Bathrooms tend to stay cool, put 3(ish) inches of cool water in the bottom of the tub and fill it with toys and stuff for baby to play with. I think last week we spent half a day playing in the bathtub.

Stay in the shade – if you want to be outside or have older kids too. Set up the sprinkler in a shady area. If you don’t have any shade hang a tarp off the house or post and hang out with the cool water. I do this because I’m not big on public pools, they kinda gross me out and some kids can be really aggressive.

Setup a few layers of towel on a hard surface – like tile kitchen or bathroom and get a bowl of ice cubes for baby to play with. They slip and slide all over but they are very fun and (obviously) cool.

POPSICLES! This recipe is from when I was a kiddo. Get maraschino cherries, orange juice and those neat little popsicle makers you throw in the freezer. Put a cherry in the bottom with a few drizzles of the grenadine from the jar, fill the rest with oj and pop in the freezer. We called them Sun-Rise Pops. When you pull them out the grenadine and cherry stay in the end and fades into the orange juice – looks like a sunrise! Refreshing and delicious.

If you do go outside, remember sunscreen, keep your baby ery hydrated and if either of you or the fam seem worn out get to a cool place quick. Heat exhaustion is dangerous and even more so for a baby or toddler. If worse comes to worse – go to the store or a walmart and walk around for a bit to keep cool.

Stay cool mamas,

PlusPeace

Where Have I Gone?

I haven't posted in a while - having a one year old, working full time and everything else in life is catching up to me this month! More to come next month, I've just been busy!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers!!!

PlusPeace

Peek-A-Boo, I see you (while driving)

So I thought about doing this for a while and didn’t actually get to making it yet but I have everything I need and it’s pretty easy! Ever wonder what your baby is doing in his rear-faing seat when you’re on the road? Buying mirrors for the headrest is around $25-30 – CRAZY! I got all the stuff to make mine for $6.00. Here’s what you’ll need.

-Mirror – doesn’t have to be great, a desktop or bureau top makeup mirror will work. Make sure it is smaller than the headrest in your car. I got mine at a Salvation Army for $1 – try similar places or yard sale. (After all it is yard sale season!)
-2 ft of elastic band – anything cheap will do. I got 2ft for $3 at Michaels.
-Needle and Thread – I’m sure you or someone you know has some lying around
-1 old t-shirt, blanket or sweatshirt – stay away from jersey or super stretchy fabric.
-Super Glue – got some at the dollar for…$1.
-Scissors.
-Two ½ inch(ish) buttons.

How-To:

-Trace the mirror onto the fabric (t-shirt)
-Cut diagonal slits on the corners of your outline (cut on the INSIDE of the outline not the outside “/ \”)
-Cut out 2 inches around the mirror outline – so you have a 2 inch border around the mirror.
-Cut your elastic in half so you have two strips that are 1ft long.
-Sew 1 button to the end of each strip.
-Cut small ¼ inch holes 2 inches apart (about 5) on the other end of the strips.
-Lay the strips on top of the fabric cut out so they are at least 4 inches from the outside edge of the sides and sew down the middle (by hand or machine)
-Cover the back of the mirror in super glue and set inside your outline.
-Stretch the slit corners around the corners of the mirror.
-When it is dry, bring to the car and place the mirror onto the front of the headrest where baby sits. Stretch the straps until tight and button closed in the back. To tilt the mirror so it shows little baby’s face in the rear-view mirror, roll up some of the remaining fabric and stuff between the top of the head rest and the mirror. Make sure it is tight under the elastic and will not come out.

Now go for a drive – I am at work and can’t add pictures but I have illustrations coming later tonight =]

Love,
PlusPeace

Great Uses for Old Things

So now that our babies have grown out of just about EVERYTHING – here are a few suggestions on what to do.

-Donating – always a great option. Either to a friend, Goodwill or Salvation Army (just remember carseats should not be donated)
-Bathtub – I used Bears old little baby bathtub as a play tub on the deck. I filled it up with the hose and float some duckies and ships in it and it was a blast. They also usually have that nice little drain plug on the bottom for an easy empty.
-Car Seats/Strollers – car seats should not be donated but Babies R Us and a few other baby places let you trade in your old seat for 25% off a new one.
-Clothes – If you’re a quilter or a crafter making blankets and toys out of your babies old clothes can be a great keepsake.
-Everything – why not clean out the whole house while you’re in the cleanup phase? Host a yard sale! If you don’t have enough stuff put together a neighborhood yard sale and combine junk! Use a different color sticker for each person’s stuff so you can split up the money easily.
-Small Toys – I think I saw this in a Martha Stewart magazine, take a picture of your kid and their favorite toy at that age and get some of those picture boxes (2.5 inches deep should work ok) put your lo’s picture in the back and a toy or toy artistically placed in the box, if you make one each year you’ll have a neat collection on your wall of your child growing up. What’s nice about this is it’s not just a picture it’s a little memory in there too – and great to show to future girlfriends/boyfriends hehe J

Anybody have any more ideas?

Love,
PlusPeace