Birthdays!

OK, my youngest daughter turns the big 3 on Saturday and I kinda feel sorry for her that her birthday comes so soon after Christmas.  We all know that it isn't about the presents, but come on, she's 3.  The littlest things make her happy and she asks for "chips and cake" for her birthday, but when it comes to gift ideas that my family have been hounding me for, the response is silence.  I don't really know - she has everything under the sun, she needs.  Remember the day when gift cards didn't exist? Well, I guess now they can be a good thing - she will probably rack them up on Saturday.  Santa and family filled her wish list and there is no way I am giving away MY ideas for her! I mean come on - she's MY daughter - the parents have to get at least one good gift! But unlike her sister who is born in October, she won't have "much" to open up on Saturday morning.  Does she really understand what a gift card is now? Forget the future, when she will love the gift card, she cannot grasp an hour from now, let alone next month or two.  Thankfully she loves everything and people - she loves her family, so that will make her very happy to have them at her party.  Imagine those born on or right after Christmas...

Too Busy or Too Lazy?

Hmmm, I haven't been posting in a while - that seems OK, not a whole lot of readers out there anyway!
I have a few tips to share with you though, tips that are like trivia - not always useless, but fun to know just the same. For instance do you know...

• to vacuum a drawer with ease, just cover your hose attachment with an old pair of pantyhose - just shove the hose through a leg- and vacuum away, the pantyhose will allow the dust to get sucked up, but won't swallow up all the small pieces.
• use Alka-Seltzer tablets to clean your drains.  Crumble up 2 tablets and then pour 1 cup of vinegar down the drain.  After 20 minutes, flush the drain with hot water.
• dip your dry markers in vinegar for 10 seconds and then let them sit for 10 minutes before using. 
• use a pencil eraser to clean your jewelry.
• use cooking oil and salt to remove water rings from wood surfaces. Use 1tsp. salt and a few drops of oil to make a paste and gently rub into the stain, wait 20 minutes and wipe away.
• wrap your cheese in foil to make it last longer.
• fix a scratched DVD by spraying furniture polish onto the mirrored side and gently wipe it off with a soft cloth (like the one used to clean your glasses).

I have tried these and they work for me but I cannot guarantee if they will for you, if you know what I mean!

Just within your reach...

Ever wonder where all of those missing puzzle pieces, Polly Pocket accessories, plastic animals, and game pieces went???? Well, just reach into your couch, really reach in.  Not just lift up the cushions and pull out the 2.89$ that lies under the cushions... Reach down into the depths of the couch, between the back and the springs....that little valley of space holds some real deep treasures.  I found all sorts of things and that is not even including all the stray goldfish crackers, cheerios, and misc. crumbs.  It was an AH HA! moment.

Halloween!

OK, I just took in all of my Halloween decorations from the pouring rain.  Tomorrow is Halloween and every year we go to my sister;s house and we all go out Trick or Treating together.  I don't want kids wasting precious footsteps to ring on my door and wait, only for no one to answer...
My kids are already discussing Christmas and they haven't even put on their costumes and filled up their buckets with delicious candy yet!?!? Stores used to wait until AFTER Halloween before lining their shelves with Christmas decorations, but this year I have noticed that Captain Retail has decided that they can share the store aisles, and put them both out.  So confusing?!?! Next, we will be giving out Christmas stuff FOR Halloween...
I admit, I have bought some Christmas gifts and even wrapped them the other day because I find that if I wait too long to wrap them all at once, they all end up looking like my 2 year old daughter did it.  No fancy bows, no brightly colored ribbons, heck, sometimes not even a gift tag with the name on it.  They are just thrown into a piece of too small wrapping paper, tape stuck every which way, tears in the paper and 3 pieces of tape trying to hold it all in place, and the name scrawled in black crayon directly on the paper - no "to" or "from" - just the name in bold print. Now all I am hoping for is that I can remember what is inside each one...

The BIG 5

My eldest daughter turned five this past weekend.  I remember when I was pregnant and when she was first born, people would always say to me "Remember these moments, they will grow up so fast, the time will fly".  I had a hard time at those very moments to believe them, most times, I just wanted to get through that day.  The sleepless nights, the constant fatigue and monotony of the days.  But, WOW, time does fly and I cannot believe that she just turned five.  She is so smart for her age, no really, she is.  I would say that about her even if she wasn't mine! To think that she has learned so much in her first five years.  The heart can hold soooo much love, it still baffles me how it doesn't explode like a balloon with too much air in it.  I love my girls.  Every year they pick a cake theme for mom to make,

Here's the cake I made her this year:

Something I love to do...

This is how I have decorated my girls' room.  They love to read...so do I.

Thought I had 10

Well yesterday I thought I would take a few minutes to clean the dining room chair that the 4 year old uses (soon to be 5!!).  It had turned a darker shade of dirty.  I have spot treated it all summer and after she vomited all over the chair on Sunday night, I knew that a scrub brush and some soap wouldn't cut it anymore.  So, in my overzealous state, I decided to remove the seat of the chair so that I could take off the piece of fabric to wash it in the machine.  After I took off the seat, I removed the first set of staples that hold the fabric in place only to reveal to me a second set of staples underneath that REALLY hold the fabric in place - all 456 of them.  After prying away at them with pliers and a flat head screwdriver, I stared at the mound of metal before me and realized that a regular staple gun was not going to work when it came to putting this mess back together again. I always seem to do this to myself, I have a brilliant idea, jump into it with two feet and then realize that this is going to take me a lot more time that I thought and probably require me to buy some tool or another.  But persevere I do!
First, I had to run upstairs and send off an email to my best bud's husband who has a hardware store in his workshop - and pleaded with him to lend me a staple gun.  Then, I washed  the fabric in the machine and got it back to somewhat resembling its original color, then I laid it flat to dry as I looked over the foam that they put in chairs in between the wood to make it soft.  I realized that my daughter had bounced on it one too many times and now the foam was no longer spongy - more like a flat sponge - the poor excuse for a sponge that the other sponges laugh at, so, to make even more work, I have to buy new foam, cut it out and redo the chair seat.  While I am at it, I will also- oh so cleverly - buy a piece of thick plastic that some people use to cover all of their  furniture with (bet they don't have THIS problem - the vomit will just slide right off!!) and velcro it with 2 sided velcro tape to the seat cover! If only I would have thought of this 3 years ago!