Friday, September 26, 2008

Right Again

I use vinegar to clean everything. It's cheap, safe and very effective (for cleaning tips and uses go here). 

However, my husband loves bleach. It's more of an obsession, really, but he uses the stuff all the time in the kitchen. I tell him frequently that vinegar does the same thing without filling our house with fumes, but he wanted me to prove it. 

Hubby, here you go. 

Does vinegar kill bacteria? According to WikiAnswers, 

"Yes, vinegar DOES kill many bacteria and viruses, including many very dangerous ones that can be in food such as E. Coli O157:H7 (see for example scholarly research that shows this http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/1998/00000061/00000008/art00005 ). It is probably good to use in the kitchen and other places that you may be worried about harsher chemicals like bleach getting into food."


Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Wacky Wednesday

I wish I could say that what I am about to describe is not a normal evening in my household. 

It all started with the dry erase marker on the wall. I guess it was boring to just color on the marker board. Maeve even stood on a pile of stuff so that she could write higher and blame it on someone else. Right. It's a shame that her brother is shorter than she is.

Maeve then decided to take her creative endevors to her brother's neck and head. And butt and leg. And one little dab on his hand. 

So we headed upstairs for bath time. Our dog, a full blooded labrador who fits the description of the breed to a tee, came upstairs with us. As the tub was filling, Bridget, our dog, got excited. Afterall, the bath was for her, right? I was distracted for a few seconds because Finn was (again) trying to throw something into the toilet and Maeve was singing Cherub Rock so loud that the neighbors could hear her. I believe it was at this point that I was also wiping pee off of the floor. Anyway, Bridget jumped into the tub. 

After convincing our 60 lb dog to remove herself, all the while holding Finnegan so he wouldn't climb over the side of the tub, I attempted to drain the dirty water. Except the drain is sort of plugged (note to self: never dump dirty steam vac water into the bath tub) and it took forever for the water to drain out. More pee on the floor, wet dog, slippery tile, anxious kids and finally...BATH.  


Tweaking

I figured out how to change the template, but it still needs work. The picture of the heels needs to go and some margins will be adjusted. All in good time.

The Problem with Sheets

Clean sheets attract pee. At least in my house.

Last week Finn peed on his sister's bed. I put on a clean mattress protector, clean mattress pad and clean sheets. Maeve peed. She has been potty trained for a long while now. 

The next night I put on a clean mattress protector and mattress pad. I hate making beds so I skipped the sheets. She peed again. 

The third night, I was fed up with changing sheets so I put a comforter over Maeve's mattress. Guess what? No pee. 

Do I tempt fate and give her sheets? Only if they're already dirty. 

Sunday, September 21, 2008

I Cannot Settle

There are a few things that get me riled up. Settling for less is one of them. And not knowing you are settling for less really gets me going. 

As stated in a previous post, my sister was recently married. Her wedding photos are finally available for viewing online. I know there are people who will rave about the photos and then ask for my opinion. My answer? The content is good, but the quality is not. 

From a personal stand point, her photographer is great. A long time family friend who is bubbly, friendly and genuine. Professionally, however, she has a little work to do.  Photography is one area in my life where I require perfection and I'm irked about my sister's pictures.

First, the white balance is off. My sister's dress is blown in almost all of the pictures. You can't see the gorgeous details in her dress or see that it is gold instead of white and there is way too much contrast between her face, dress and background. 

Second, the photographer didn't use the rule of thirds. Every picture is centered and while the people in the photograph look nice, the photo is relatively uninteresting. I don't like being distracted by background when there's so much more happening at a wedding. 

Last, the photographer used Shutterfly. I have nothing against Shutterfly, but with something as special as a wedding, there are better, more professional options available. You get what you pay for and now my sister will have low quality pictures on low quality paper. 

After discussing all of this with my husband and ranting about people settling for less, I may be about to embark on a new adventure. Details to come, but let me just say that I will specialize in maternity, infants and children. 

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Man Cold

Man Stroke Woman is a hilarious sketch comedy on BBC. We purchased the first season and this is one of the clips. It makes me laugh every time.  

Monday, September 15, 2008

Expecting Puppies?

We have a black lab name Bridget and yesterday morning Maeve spent several minutes talking about Bridget's puppies. Their names are going to be:

Pie
Whipped Cream
Soy Milk
Water
Apple Juice 
Cherry Juice
Green
Blue
Rainbow
Balloon

Maeve also informed me that we will be keeping three of the puppies; Blue, Green and Rainbow. I explained that three puppies is too many and that we can only keep one. She chose Green. 

All of this may be amusing so far, but it should be known that Bridget is not pregnant. 

Friday, September 12, 2008

I Don't Own Make-up

The last time I wore make-up was in 2003. At my wedding. 

I like my face the way it is and am not big into putting on bunch of weird chemicals only to be kissed off later by my children. Well, I suppose eye make-up isn't kissed off, but I can't stand to have my eye lashes coated in goo.

My sister got married at the beginning of August and I was a bridesmaid. I decided to get a little crazy and wear make-up. I laughed and told the girl applying my make-up that the last time I wore any was at my own wedding. She stopped what she was doing and said, "Aww, hon, you should take some time for yourself. You deserve it." 

I thought that was hilarious and really, if I were to take some time for myself, I would do something like shower. Daily and without the help of a 17 month old.

Moral Responsibility

We were in one of our favorite thrift stores today when I started wondering about how morally responsible it is for a religiously based ministry to sell expired, off the market infant car seats.

Car seats, in general, expire six years after their date of manufacturer. Upon expiration, you are to cut the harness straps and do everything possible to destroy the seat. I think I remember reading somewhere that they can be recycled too. 

I am thrifty about a lot of things, but I don't cut corners with car seats. 

The customer in the thrift store was looking at two infant car seats for her newborn grandchild. When asked about the price, the employee explained that since the car seats only had three point harnesses the price was donation only. The customer had no idea there was a difference between a three point and five point harness and was encouraged by the employee to look at another infant seat in the front of the store for comparison. 

I stood there and watched the whole thing, trying to think of what to say. It occurred to me, however, that perhaps an expired car seat is better than no car seat at all. 

As we were leaving the store, I saw the customer load the two expired seats into the back of her very new car. And I have to wonder if she was just trying to save a buck at the expense of her new grandchild or if she truly could not afford anything else. 

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

A Tutu for You Too?

I've made three tutus so far and it's kind of fun. They don't take very long to make and I feel very crafty when they are finished. I made Maeve a white tutu with rainbow star ribbons, but it got rejected because it was white. 

Maeve only wears green and blue. How could I have forgotten? 

On a seperate, but somewhat related note....

We were at Pottery Barn Kids today and saw pretty butterfly and peacock costumes. Both costumes would be very simple to make, but I checked the price anyway to maybe save myself some time. The cost? A whopping $119!! The materials would cost no where near that. Seriously, who pays that much for tulle, some wool felt and a leotard? 

On the other hand, if anyone wants to pay $119 for a darling hand-made tutu, I'll throw in free shipping. 

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Watermelon

I hopped on the treadmill tonight in an effort to lose the last bit of baby weight (as a side note, my baby is now 17 mo old). I survived. Admittedly, I was only on the treadmill for 15 minutes, but had I not had a prior commitment to my huband (who proposed to me six years ago today, by the way), I would have probably stayed at it at least another minute. 

The impressive part, at least for me, is that I actually ran for awhile. And broke into a sweat. If my boobs weren't the size of the watermelons we have growing in our garden, I might enjoy running. I guess that's both a perk and drawback to breastfeeding. 

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

B is for Butterfly


A couple of days ago, our cable, phone and internet weren't working so my husband went outside to see what was wrong. I'm so glad he did because he came back with this:

Saturday, September 6, 2008

So Cho


Maeve helped me make cherry crisp a couple of night ago. By "help" I mean tossing the butter in the bowl and then moving on to her own little project.

So Cho.

So Cho is a wonderful combination of uncooked oats, flour and water. It varies in texture and can either be a thick paste or a beige colored watery substance. Maeve says it's delicious and I must say it was unlike anything I've ever tasted.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Gotta Love Allergy Season

The cruel thing about the mild temperatures lately is that when I have the windows open, I sneeze like a mad woman. I have been taking my allergy medicine religiously for two weeks now and it seems to be taking the season off in terms of effectiveness. 

So I was standing in the kitchen this evening making dinner when I started having a sneeze attack. It was one sneeze after another after another and if any of you have had children, you know where I'm going with this. The last and most powerful sneeze was the one that broke the camel's back, so to speak. 

Yes, I peed my pants. 

I wish I could say that it was just a few drops, but I haven't been so great about doing kegel exercises. I laughed myself all the way into the bathroom.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Everything Tastes Better with Ranch

Seriously. 

My favorite is called Litehouse Ranch.

I was introduced to this brand a long time ago by a friend who has recently gone dairy free. More for me.

A is for Art

We kicked off "preschool" this week with an art project. A very messy art project. 

The kids each had an 11x16 canvas. At one point, Maeve said she was making herself (as in, on her body instead of on her canvas) look like Frankenstein. Unfortunately, the camera battery only allowed for one picture. 

The big success of the project is that not once did Finn try to eat the paint.

The Sweetest Thing


"Mom, I wish I could be wrapped in ooodles and ooodles of paper and be your present."

"You already are my present, Maeve."