WFMW-Hair bows

One of the things I like to do is use frou frouy hair bows for my kids. Since they both have hair...I mean a lot of hair...it is a challenge to get things to stay. Most cute hair things don't stay in very well. I like Gymboree's elastic bands with the curly ribbon. Elastic bands stay the best in their hair. Especially the very thick Je's hair. I have used the barrettes over plain rubber bands, but they come out sometimes. My problem is, that Gymboree hair things are expensive. Full price is $4-5 for one set. Given the number of color options that could be some serious money. I found plain white plastic barrettes on ebay, and began sewing ribbon bows on the barrettes, but since barrettes are less durable than rubber bands, they don't hold up as well. Last week, I was at Walmart and found some cute ribbon with softballs on it. Je has started softball this year, and since she is a little reluctant, I thought new hair bows might be nice. I bought some thick elastic bands, and some ribbon in her team color, lime green. It was at the Target $1 shop for scrapbooking. The set I bought had several designs, with lime green and other colors, in stripes and polka dots. I decided to try to make bows on elastic bands.

First I took one of our favorites for a pattern. Then, I laid out 10 strips of ribbon and cut them about 8 inches long. I laid the strips on top of each other, folded them over the elastic, and stitched right above the elastic band. I sprayed the ribbon with spray starch, then used a micro (1/2 inch) curling iron to curl the ribbon. It works best after the starch has dried.

And....


Voila....












I found directions online for curling fabric ribbon permanently. Instead of pins, I used wooden springed clothes pins. I think they worked pretty well. I also melted the raw edge of the ribbons to prevent fraying. I held the grill lighter close to the ribbon, but not close enough to burn it. The down side is that you have to curl the ribbon before attaching it to the band. I didn't do that so I improvised with the curling iron. I tried the curling technique using dowel rods and the oven, and it worked very well. I made another set after this one with that ribbon. It was a little harder to get the lengths even, but the finished result was pretty good.
I only used six strips of ribbon after I curled them. I was afraid if I did more I would have trouble controlling the ribbon. Next time I will try ribbon all the same width and try more strips. I wanted to do it with what I had on hand. All in all, I am pretty happy with the results. I definitely will try this again, to match the girls outfits. I know it is anal but...I like things to match. It works for me!

Works for Me Wednesday Christmas

I have a few tried and true recipes that I can reliably turn out without fear. I inherited this recipe from my mom. I spent years hearing her talk about how easy it is. And she is right. I looks complicated and difficult, but if you follow the steps it is a snap.

We usually make this at Christmas but it is good at other times. It has a winter and a summer version.

Ice Cream Roll

3 eggs (1/2-2/3 cup)
1/3 cup water
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 gallon peppermint ice cream

Beat eggs until thick and lemony (5-10 minutes) Beat in sugar then blend in water and vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients, beat till smooth. Line a jelly roll pan (11x 15 inch) with wax paper, pour in cake. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Sprinkle kitchen towel with powdered sugar. When the cake comes out flip it over onto the towel, then peel off wax paper carefully, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Roll cake up from one end. Let cake cool for at least an hour. Unroll, spread with peppermint icecream. Reroll and freeze. This a great thing to make ahead and have ready. Stores nicely in the freezer for a while. I wrap it in foil and then put in a ziplock if I want to save it for over a week. I usually get about eight slices per cake. To serve, it looks good to drizzle chocolate syrup on the plate and then put the cake on it garnishing it with whip cream. It looks nice with the chocolate cake swirl and pink peppermint ice cream


It takes half of a half gallon box. So I usually make two cakes at a time. The square package works easiest, you can slice off thin slices to lay on the cake. I used about six slices of ice cream per cake. I usually only mix up one cake batter at a time, and bake one at a time. The most important step is beating the eggs. If you don't beat them enough, the cake is not spongy it is flat.

In the spring and summer, I leave out the cocoa and substitute cool whip or whipped cream and 2 cups sliced strawberries. It is fabulous.

If you can't find peppermint ice cream you can use mint chocolate chip. This is a great dessert for those heavy holiday meals, the mint is a nice taste and it isn't heavy. It also has the added bonus of looking fancy and difficult but it really isn't hard. If I can make it then anyone can do this. I promise.


Go check out Rocks in My Dryer for more works for me tips.

Works for Me Wednesday: Hair Things

I have girls. This is not new information I am sure but it is relevant. You see, girls come with hair. And my girls have a lot of it. Je's hair is very very thick. Even thicker than mine and that is saying something. It also has the same texture as her dad's which isn't as great for her but she has a lot of hair. Last year when she cut it for Locks of Love it was a big change, but her hair has grown back mostly. It isn't quite as long but we're close. Long hair is easier to do for me since I had long hair for probably 30 of my 34 years. It's what I know. Which is why I was less than pleased when Jo cut her hair last spring. It is finally growing out and I trimmed it recently to even it up. All this is a long winded into to the hair things. I used to keep our ever growing collection of hair ribbons, barrettes and things, in a basket on the counter in the bathroom. Then it grew to two baskets. And they were overflowing. Now maybe it is just me, but I like the hair things to coordinate with their outfits. I also love Gymboree hair things but they are way expensive. I will write another post sometime on making my own hair things. I still need practice, but they are looking pretty good.





I went to Big Lots and bought one of those drawer things. It is a small Rubbermaid cabinet, with three drawers. I labeled each drawer, Barrettes, Elastic Bands, Scrunchies and Pretties. Then I put each hair thing in the proper drawer. I showed the system to the girls. Now the counter is clear of hair things. The really great thing is that my kids like to put their things in the right drawer. Je especially loves to do it. I will toss things on the counter as I walk by, to be put away later, and when I go back later, she has already done it. So it really works for me.

Go on over to visit Rocks in My Dryer for other tips.








(I didn't know I would want to do this so there are no pictures of the old way. I simulated as best as possible. It still looks better that before.)

I have been hoping for a sunny day to take pictures up at church to show you the finished project, but it has been overcast for the last week, so hard to show you the new look. I may just take them and be done with it!

WFMW--Getting back my share of the bed

Before you read: insert tongue in cheek and hopefully be amused by post.

I live with a bed hog. I love my husband but he is a toothpick and I am not. Yet I end up with roughly 1/3 of the bed and he has 2/3 of the bed. And when the kids come in the get in on my third of the bed. A couple weeks ago, I found the feather bed that my mom bought me in college. She thought the twin bed in my dorm room was horrible so she decided I needed a feather bed to sleep better. It worked then. It has been folded away in the ceder closet for years and during a recent cleaning spree I found it and decided to try it out. It is twin size and our bed is a queen so I could only put it on half the bed. My half. I am just loving it. I slept so well the first few nights that I didn't immediately notice the side benefits. It provides a natural barrier to encroaching husband. I love to snuggle when I am awake, but when sleeping I want my own space. I don't like to be constricted, restricted, or breath warm air. I have my half of the bed back and right now when it is so hot and just hard to sleep, I am delighting in the space! It is working for me!

Don't worry we are happily married but a girl needs her half of the bed. It's a sleep thing.

Reducing Junk Email

Two years ago, when we got DSL internet, it came with new email addresses. I already had a yahoo address that I had created for a yahoo group for my high school alumni reunion. (I didn't know I could use other addresses) I had been using a juno address since 1998 for my personal email address and since it was free, I was keeping it, expecially since it was such a longstanding address. But my juno address was tricky since I used dashes in it, not all websites or email programs recognize the dash as a legitimate character in an address. I was so glad to have a new email address without baggage. I sent my new address to the people who I trusted to not fill my inbox with junk, and kept the juno address for the junk. I go by juno every few days to clean it out and make sure that no "real messages" are there. Now, whenever I am required to give an address online I give the juno address. Those pesky sites that use the email address to then send tons of junk mail send it there. I routinely clean 75 + junk mail emails out but it is a simple matter to click the box to check all the messages then unclick the ones I want to keep. Then my main email is less cluttered by the junk I don't want, and I can keep in touch with anyone who didn't get the new email, or can only find the old one. So keeping an email address just for online sites which require it, works for me.

WFMW

I had a brainstorm reading another WFMW post and thought I should share. I don't really use this idea anymore since both girls are past this stage but I used it when they were not potty trained. Swim diapers are reusable. I read a tip that someone suggested reusing them if they don't get pottied in but even if they are pottied in you can toss them in the washer and let them air dry for another swimming trip. I think in the several years that my girls were diapered, I bought two packages (maybe three) of swim diapers. I was teaching lessons every week when Je was little so she went swimming a lot the summer I was pregnant with Jo. I taught lessons again when Jo was around 2 and not potty trained so she wore swim diapers weekly for several months through the fall and winter, then spring. By last summer, she was reliably potty trained so I threw them away, but they lasted a long time. I think I only bought a new package because I needed a different size. They will last through several washings. If a package has 10 diapers in it, I probably got at least 50 swim trips out of it. If the girls had had a BM in the diaper, I would have thrown it out right away, but neither child ever did that, they were pretty reliably regular in that regard. I shared this tip with many of the swimming parents in my Parent/Infant/Toddler classes and most of them tried it with success. It worked for me!

Works for Me Wednesday I'm Bored Edition

Since my girls haven't started school yet, I have to come up with activities all year round to counteract the "I don't know what to do" blues. I am a compulsive clearance shopper. I hit the back aisle of Dillon's often to see what they are closing out at bargain prices. I can probably direct you to the clearance aisle of most of our major stores. I love Big Lots, Tuesday Morning and other similar discount places. When I find a bargain, I stock up. After New Year's a couple years ago, Dillon's cleared out their party supplies. One of the things was a light up star wand. They were patriotic colors and when you turned on the switch the lights flashed red white and blue. They were marked to ten cents a piece, so I bought $2 or $3 worth. Or at back to school time I will buy boxes of crayons for a quarter, markers for a dollar a package, glue and paper. Stickers are also a big hit and you can find them cheap. I also use the tons of free mailing labels companies and charities send soliciting money.

Whenever my kids get bored or restless, I go into the closet stockpile of toys or colors and pull out a new item. The newness lasts for days of fun.

Another good idea is videos from the library. They are free to check out and then you have a new movie without spending money. Our library lets you have some of them for up to three weeks and doesn't charge late fees.

Check into a family zoo pass. We buy one every year for less than $40 and go whenever we want.

Sometimes I suggest a trip to the grocery store. It breaks up the monotony and we get needed things.

Our shopping mall has a kids play area and the girls love to play in there.

In the summer in Kansas, it gets very hot. August is often too hot to play outside, but inside the kids don't get much exercise. We rescued one of those mini trampolines from our neighbor's trash. It was in good shape so we brought it inside and let the kids jump around on it. I put it away periodically and pull it out whenever they are getting restless. I rotate the toys in the toy box, too. Last week, they were in the storage room and found the big chest with the toys I had put away for awhile. They have been playing with them all week. Yesterday, they "discovered" the toys in the toy box in the family room. Some they hadn't played with in weeks. An old toy forgotten is a new toy again. Works for Me.

WFMW Birthday Edition

When I first heard that Rocks in My Dryer was doing a birthday edition of Works for Me Wednesday, I didn't think I had any good birthday ideas, except get my sister to make the cake because she makes really interesting cakes for the kids birthdays. They are really cool looking and are fun. She makes some odd recipes for the cake part and sometimes they don't seem all that kid friendly. What happened to chocolate and white as kid birthday staples? I digress. As I thought more, I realized that I have a very inexpensive way to get gifts for those parties the kids are invited to. We have a great dollar store in town, Deals. It is a chain I think. When we have to find a gift for a birthday, I take the girls in there. The get to pick out several fun things for the special person and I put them in a gift bag. For younger kids, sometimes the number of gifts is the big deal rather than the money spent, and Deals has some nice things for a dollar a piece. I can usually find some really nice toys and trinkets for between $5 and $10. If the party has a theme, I will try to get gifts around the theme or add a small theme related item to the stash. Last time, Je was invited to a party for a boy in her preschool class that we don't know very well. I think the whole class was invited. One of Je's friends is the boy's aunt (dad was married before) and Je wanted to go see her friend at the party. The day before we made a trip to Deals, and bought a car, ball, an action figure, and a plane kit. I added a book I found based on the movie Cars, the party's theme, and the whole thing was pretty economical yet fun. This is especially good when you don't know the child very well and don't know what would be a great gift, and when you want to be thrifty. It works for me.

Works for Me Wednesday Cleaning Curtains

I am not a religious cleaner but when I do my bi-annual window cleaning, I do the curtains too. I take them off the rod and run them through the dryer for 10-15 minutes with a Bounce dryer sheet. I have used the housebrand in a pinch but the more expensive kind really works better. I rehang the curtains while they are still warm from the dryer. They are dust and wrinkle free. I have mostly valances and toppers but my mom has rental houses and has used it with drapes and sheers. The tumbling heat gets out the dust and wrinkles and the dryer sheet gets the odors. With some of her houses, renters have violated the no smoking no pets policies, and unless the smell is really bad the Bounce takes care of it. My home doesn't have those odors, but the dryer sheet smells good and freshens up dusty window dressings. It works for me.

Works for Me Wednesday Pot Rescue

I have often thought of what I could post for WFMW over at Rocks in My Dryer but until this week had no inspiration. I realize I am late to the party this week but if I wait until next week I'll forget my favorite kitchen clean-up secret. When I was in college, I burned something on the bottom of a pot when I was cooking. I can't remember what it was. My roommate's mother was visiting that week and she suggested a solution to cleaning the pot. She told me to put a little water in the pot, just enough to cover the bottom completely. Then she said put baking soda in the water and turn on the stove. When the water had all boiled away, I had a white crusty stuff that scraped easily off the bottom of the pot and took the burned on stuff with it. Then I could clean the pot as usual. I don't know how much baking soda to use, I just dump. I have used this recently to get the macaroni noodles and peas I let boil dry. Sometimes the baking soda doesn't quite get all the edges of the pot, but it loosens it enough that a little swipe with steel wool and the black crud is all gone. It works for me and saves my pots.

Cheap Dates Extrodinaire

One of the cheapest things we do is get a pizza from Papa Johns on Customer Appreciation Saturday. Every third Saturday of the month they offer a large Pizza for $5.99, cheese, sausage, or pepperoni. My husband loves Papa Johns so for him it is a big treat. We get at least one and then have it for supper after putting the kids to bed, and watch a movie from our collection that we don't get to watch with the kids.

Another cheap idea we love it our babysitting co-op. There are six families and we have a ticket system for free babysitting. It's a good for dentist appointments, school committments, or dates, and many other uses. We are all Christian families so we can feel pretty good about the people we are leaving our kids with and with the ticket system, we are "paying" for our time and not taking advantage of friends or family.

When we do that for date night we often go to this Mexican restaurant, and get an order of chicken fajita's to share and a couple of diet cokes. With free chips and salsa that gets a meal out, with a waiter for less than $15. Can't beat that.

We've also played cribbage or Mexican Train dominos for a nice date night after the kids are in bed.

Take a drive and make a stop at Sonic for a fun icecream treat or special drink.

Watch for coupons in the paper for mini golf, batting cages, or go-karts, buy one get one free.

Find a local tennis court that you can spend an hour.

Every year for our anniversary we go out to a nice supper, and then, since Christmas is four days later, we finish our Christmas shopping, at the mall. We have been doing that since our honeymoon, five years before we even had kids.


Any activity done together, is a great date. Even if it is only the church league softball game, or cleaning the garage.