Category: Tricks

Five Favorites – You Must See This Fabulous Way of Cutting Grapes!

Posted on by Amy

1. I know. That title sounds a little dramatic. But truly, this is my favorite new thing. A new, totally awesome way of cutting grapes in half (The video is only a few seconds long. Watch it. It could change your life):

I tried it today and it really works. BUT, because my grapes were really small, all the plates I have had too much of a lip on them so many of the grapes ended up with just barely the top shaved off. So. I improvised.

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I used two lids of the same size. Same technique. Perfectly cut grapes. Genius. I know this seems sad, but this just made my life so much easier.

2. Caterpillars.

DSC_0130My girls love “raising” butterflies. How awesome is it that you can buy caterpillars on the internet and have them delivered complete with food, ready to grow, metamorphose, and fly away?

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3. These DVDs.

DSC_0138I love Scholastic picture books and these DVDs are great. There are tons of them, and each DVD has four to six stories on it. Many of them are fully animated (not just pictures from the books flashed on the screen), and my girls really enjoy them.

I’ve had a set for a while now, but kind of forgot about them so we haven’t watched them lately. Then I got a “Diary of a Worm” easy reader book for Miss from the library and she asked me to watch the story DVD. We only have “Diary of a Spider,” but I was able to find “Diary of a Worm” at the library. We watched both of them tonight.

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Bonus that I don’t have to read the actual books. They are not my favorite to read.

4. The AbMat

It simultaneously makes sit ups easier and harder. They’re easier because I don’t need to hook my feet under something or struggle at all to complete the move. Plus, since giving birth to Lass (10 lbs, 7 oz), my tailbone sticks out in a weird way and it’s painful to do regular sit ups on the floor. Not with this thing. The sit ups are harder because you extend your stomach muscles farther and work them better. My stomach ends up super sore from doing these. In a good way.

5. This book.

DSC_0139I learned about this book from a friend, and I’m so glad I bought it. Miss (without prompting) composed a morning offering prayer that goes like this:

“Oh my Lord, I love You so much that I could give this day to You. Amen.”

So we say that every morning at breakfast (she’s very proud that we do her prayer every day), and I read the day’s devotion and we talk about it. They remind me if I forget, and they ask me to bring the book when we travel, so I think they like it too.

For more favorites, go here.

Getting Rid of Fruit Flies – A Preschool Science Experiment

Posted on by Amy

I loathe fruit flies. All summer I was very particular about handling things in my kitchen to prevent their taking up residence there. I always place fruit waste in plastic grocery bags before putting them in the garbage, I run my disposal frequently, I cover the bananas in the bowl on my counter, etc.

We managed to avoid fruit flies for the summer. Then I don’t know what happened. Perhaps I got lax in my precautions (though I don’t think I did). We have had some of the disgusting and annoying little bugs flying around our house for the past week or so.

A couple of days ago, I enlisted the help of my two older girls to experiment with the best way to get rid of them.

In the past, I have tried various strategies to kill the flies, with not much success. This time I went to Pinterest to find some suggestions.

There were tons of them, but I picked out three different methods and some different substances to attract the flies. I reminded the girls what an experiment is. We talked about our different methods and the importance of both attracting the flies and trapping them. We discussed how each of our methods would try to accomplish these two goals.

The three methods we used (from left to right):

1. Wine in a bottle with a paper funnel.

2. Dish soap, apple cider vinegar, and water (with bubbles on top).

3. Apple cider vinegar and plastic wrap across the top with small holes.

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I asked the girls to hypothesize which method would catch the most fruit flies.

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Lass thought the wine with the funnel. Miss thought the soap/cider/water mixture (we had talked about how the flies would land on the soap and get stuck in the bubbles).

The results:

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A discussion followed about the possible reasons that the vinegar/water/bubbles mixture caught so many more flies than the others. With some help, they came up with the hypothesis that the flies were able to smell/access that solution better because of the wide open top of the glass.

I could not quite believe that the wine was not a better lure, since my experience has been that any time I sit down with a glass of wine, if there is a fruit fly somewhere in our house, it will circle around my head and my glass for the entire evening as I try to sip and enjoy. So I suggested that we try a second test to see if the flies like cider vinegar or wine better.

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I guess this was just crummy wine, because the cider vinegar/bubbles caught 11 flies, while the wine/bubbles caught only one.

So, if you ever have fruit flies, take it from us with our fancy preschool science experiment, and use our winning method: two squirts of dish soap, water to make bubbles (about half of the glass) and then about the same amount of apple cider vinegar.

It was fun for the girls to check each morning to see how many flies had been caught by each method. Miss was especially into it. Lass, my sweet, sensitive girl, seemed to be in denial about the demise of the bugs on the bottom of the glass. “I think they’re just taking a bath,” she said, as I poured them down the drain.

What Does One Really Need for a New Baby?

Posted on by Amy
I know several people who have recently become first time parents, or are about to become first time parents in the next few months.  Some of these people have asked me for my opinion or advice on a few things, including a few questions about the items that are really necessary for a new baby.  That, plus the fact that I’m about to have another baby myself, have had me thinking recently about just what a new parent really does need for baby.  Of course, there are the obvious things, clothing, diapers, a place to sleep, etc.  But in thinking about the things that really made my life easier, I came up with the following list and wanted to share (plus, this is a fun excuse to post some old photos of my girls).
1. A few good swaddle blankets.  I have always preferred the blankets that fasten in some way, like with velcro (this one is Kiddopotomus).

This one is my personal favorite, The Miracle Blanket.  These are like little baby straight jackets and were the only swaddle that my girls couldn’t wiggle right out of.

These Halo sleep sacks with the velcro swaddle wrap are nice too.

I have lots of Aden and Anais swaddle blankets too, but I usually use those for other purposes.  I always just found the regular blankets to be too easy for my girls to wiggle out of.  I love swaddling.  Both of my girls were pretty great sleepers, and I attribute this at least in part to swaddling (it helped that they were also both pretty huge and big eaters).  I also found that sometimes when my girls would just get fussy and I couldn’t seem to soothe them in other ways, swaddling often helped calm them right away.  It was the perfect way to get Lass to settle when she would get fussy in the evenings.  I know not everyone is a fan, but great swaddling blankets are a must-have here.

2. A video monitor.  We started out with a regular audio monitor with Miss.  I had read a book that said that video monitors weren’t worth the money and recommended just getting a good sound-only monitor.    At some point before Lass was born, the monitor I had wasn’t working very well, so I decided to replace it with a video monitor.  I am so happy I did.  Not only is is great for keeping an eye on a newborn, but it is fantastic for watching a toddler too. When Miss transitioned to her big girl bed, it was fabulous.  We take them with us when we travel and have broken two monitor screens this way, but I have continued to replace them because they are such a great tool to have.

3. A swing or bouncy seat, or both if possible.  Miss loved her bouncy seat.  She would fall asleep in it when nothing else worked.  She had her days and nights mixed up for a bit, and liked to wake up and want to play at 3 am.  My husband and I spent many nights, half awake, bouncing her back to sleep in her bouncy seat.  Lass was a swing baby.  That swing could get her to sleep so easily.  These items were so helpful with the girls that my husband used to take them apart and we’d travel with them on road trips.  We even put the disassembled bouncy seat in a suitcase on more than one occasion when flying somewhere with Miss.

4. A good nursing pillow.  Especially if you’re new to breastfeeding, and/or with a tiny baby who is new to nursing, a good pillow is such a help.  I always have one right at my rocker in my baby’s room for night time nursing especially.  I have been known to doze off while nursing and the pillow helps keep baby in place.  My favorite is the Boppy though I know some people swear by the “My Breast Friend” pillow.  I tried that one and didn’t like it much.  Plus the Boppy is good for tummy time and helping with sitting too.

5. A Bumbo.  Speaking of sitting, a Bumbo is just an awesome little thing to have once baby is old enough to use it.  I think both of my girls were able to sit in it around 3-ish months.  I used it for feeding both of my girls when they first started solids.

I also found it to be a great way for Lass to be able to be upright and part of the “action” with her sister before she was actually able to sit up on her own.

Edit 8/16/2012 – You will notice in a few of the photos above, my girls are sitting in our Bumbo on a table.  In light of the recent Bumbo recall, I want to point out that I never leave my girls unattended in the Bumbo, whether up on a surface or on the floor, and I did order the new buckle just to be extra safe.  You can get a belt for your Bumbo as part of the recall here.  Please never put your baby in a Bumbo or other seat and leave her unattended.

6. A good carrier.  Okay, everyone has different preferences when it comes to baby carriers.  I started out with a Bjorn and a Moby Wrap and a ring sling.  I never found the Bjorn to be comfortable, and the ring sling just didn’t work for me at all.  I liked the Moby, but since it was stretchy, I couldn’t use it for long before my girls were too big for it.  I eventually found that my favorite carrier for teeny tiny newborns is a woven wrap.  The one I have is a Babyette.

And my favorite carrier of all time is the Ergo.  I love my Ergo.  It is so comfortable, even when worn for hours, like when Miss went on her first antiquing expedition with my mom and me.

And it is a carrier that my husband can and will wear too.

It even works for hiking.

And when you’ve got more than one babe in the mix, it is essential.  Before she was mobile, I could carry Lass and still be quite active with Miss.

I’ve also tried a Mei Tai style carrier, which I’ve never gotten comfortable with, and a few different slings, like the Hot Sling.  I don’t love the Hot Sling, as I don’t find it to be super comfortable, and I am just not comfortable using a sling with a tiny one.  But, the Hot Sling was great to use during the first six or so months of my second two pregnancies.  It allowed me to wear Miss, and then Lass, once I couldn’t wear the Ergo anymore because of my belly (I’ve never been very good at a back carry and found the hip carry to be uncomfortable), since I could carry the girls above the belly with the sling.

7. An upright, freestanding immobilization device.  For us, this has been our excersaucer.  I love this thing.  Miss used to sit in it in the garage while we worked out.

Both Miss and Lass have spent many shower times in this thing. It allowed me to take a shower with my baby/toddler in sight and unable to get into things, so I didn’t have to waste precious nap time minutes with showering.

And this past summer I discovered the portable/outdoor version of this.

I occasionally used it at home, but it was most useful when out and about.

I took it to the pool and used it as a high chair for Lass.  I took it to outdoor concerts, parks, etc.  It folds up like a lawn chair and has a bag with a strap to carry it.

Okay, so those are my essentials.  Each of the above things made my life with a tiny one, and then a toddler plus a tiny one, much easier.  I had to learn what would work and what didn’t through trial and error, but I am so glad I discovered each of these things.  I know not everyone will think these items are important, and others will have their own lists of essentials.  So, feel free to share.  What things did you find essential to surviving the early months of parenting or of adjusting to two or more babes?

Grease 2

Posted on by Amy

No, I’m not referring to the bad movie from the 80s. Though as bad as the movie was, I did think Michelle Pfeifer was so cool. But anyway, this is about the update on my hair.

The solution? Dish soap! “Dawn gets grease out of your way.” Yes, it really does. I didn’t have Dawn brand dish soap, but the stuff I have worked just wonderfully! This was another suggestion from my mom. She’s super smart. Thanks Mom!!

Greased Lightning

Posted on by Amy
About a week ago I started noticing that I was having trouble getting my hair clean. I would wash it and it would still feel dirty. I attributed it to our hard water. I was thinking that, since we hadn’t put salt in our water softener in a while, the water must have gotten really hard and wasn’t washing all the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair, naturally making it feel greasy and dirty. I mean, it was really gross. It looked greasy and flat. It felt greasy and dirty. Even immediately after washing it. So I got salt and had my hubby put it in the softener. It didn’t help. I washed my hair twice, scrubbing my scalp and the roots of my hair until my arms hurt, and then put conditioner only on the bottom of my hair, not on the roots at all. It didn’t help. Two days ago I prompted him to put another bag of salt in. Still didn’t help.
So I started to wonder if maybe the problem wasn’t the water but my hair or my scalp. I have heard of women having things like postpartum acne or other skin issues. I experienced for myself the oh-so-common postpartum hair loss a few months after Miss was born. My hair is really thick right now because I haven’t yet started to shed my pregnancy mane this time. So I started to wonder if maybe this was another weird thing that can happen after having a baby. I had never heard of postpartum grease-head before, but why not? So, naturally I turned to the internet to so some research.

(Notice the flat, greasy-looking hair. I did take a shower and washed the heck out of it!!)

Well, from what I have read online, it looks like my problem may very well be related to postpartum hormones and scalp changes. One mom put it this way on the Alphamom website:


I had the double whammy of my scalp deciding to go haywire around the exact same time [as her hair falling out]. . . starting around two or three months postpartum my scalp became RIDICULOUSLY oily. My hair would not come clean, product build-up galore, greased up like a 90s grunge rocker, etc. (italics added)

So what’s a mom to do?? I talked to my mom about it last night. Though she had never heard of such a thing either, she suggested maybe trying to rinse with vinegar. So I did. It didn’t work either. Though I will say that I didn’t do a very good job of it. I kind of sloppily poured the vinegar over my head (which was coooold!!), when I think, in my case, I should have targeted its application a bit more. So I’m going to try again using a squirt bottle to get it down in my roots and onto my scalp a better. If that doesn’t work I’m going to try vodka cut with a bit of water, which is another suggestion I found online. The mom quoted above eventually solved the problem by buying super cheap shampoo rather than her fancy salon stuff, but I already use super cheap shampoo! Anyone else ever have this problem or have any suggestions how to fix it?? I know it will eventually go away on its own (probably around the time my hair starts falling out in clumps) but I really don’t want to wait that long. It’s gross!