Project Day. (aka, the day I got the dishes done)

Today is a big day around here, but I'm going to post more about that later in the week, as I forgot to take a picture of the man of the house before he left this morning. 

In other news, Jonah has been a busy guy today. 

He has been really wanting to make play dough lately. I have resisted play dough for a long while. In fact, he never new it existed until his babysitter brought some over a couple of months ago.  (funny how she hasn't been asked back lately...just kidding, we love her lots)

So, we made play dough. We made it green, per the little guy's request. And it is already put away. And by that I mean it will not be used again anytime soon. Gosh, I dislike that stuff.(rather, I dislike what it does to my rugs)

But, I sure do like making it with my favorite little man. 

Neon Green play dough (with glitter sparkles). 

 Ingredients: 

1 C Flour 

1 C Water 

1/4 C Salt 

1 TBSP Vegetable Oil 

2 tsp Cream of Tarter 

Food Coloring 

Sparkles (optional) 

Sauce Pan and Wooden Spoon 

Little helping hands.
Mix everything (stirring constantly) over medium heat until it balls up in a huge clump. 

Then, since one big project a day is not enough, we tried this new idea. 

We put baking soda in the bottom of a pie pan. Then Jonah used the dropper to drop food-colored vinegar into the pan. FUN! He loved it. I wish I could say it kept him busy for hours, but we ran out of baking soda. (at least we ran out of what I'd allotted for this project).

And THAT is how, on this beautiful sunny day, I got my dishes done. That and a little method we like to call "let the baby cry it out."

Rise and Shine

For most of Jonah's toddler life he has been pretty good about sleeping in. For a long while his wake-up time was between 8 and 9am. On several occasions he'd even sleep till 10! There were days he'd wake around 7:30, but they were rare. 

Recently (like since Elizabeth was born and we are up in the wee hours anyway) he has made 6am his new wake-up time. NOT COOL, kiddo. Not cool at all! 

To every problem, there is a solution. Now, I don't know if this is our final solution, but I came up with a plan. We will test it tonight/in the morning. 

A friend suggested that I teach him how to read his clock, and teach him to stay in his room until a certain time. Well, I don't trust him to stay in his room until the clock reads "7" just by teaching him to wait for the 7. I'm afraid he'd read 5:37 and think it was the right time to go find mom. 

So....I made a "7" for his clock and all he has to do is wait for the number on the clock to match right above it. 

We also rearranged his furniture. It is finally placed the way I'd envisioned since we moved him into that bedroom. 

Splish Splash, I was taking a...SHOWER!

Our little water-loving boy has made a big transition. He doesn't want to take baths anymore. It was the strangest thing. One day he was completely terrified of the shower head, and seemingly the next he wanted to  use it. He requests a shower every night now. I love this new phase. Showers are faster and easier. There is also much less splashing of water onto the bathroom floor! Other than me scrubbing his tooshie, he can wash & rinse himself now. Hair washing is much less of a battle.

 I bought a little shower head holder that suctions onto the wall...to adjust the shower head to his height. It is the best $4. I spent this week! Now I just need to find the right kind of non-slip surface for him to stand on...he's had a few tumbles. 

 Getting in the shower...reaching for the loofah....and showing off that he is all clean!

Here he is..."saying cheese", wrapped up in a ball (for some reason he does this the instant I get a towel around him), and finally you see him with the towel around his waist. He told me he needed it that way because "that is what Daddy taught him to do."

Tow Mater

While Jonah and I were out shopping this evening I got a text from Jonathan. He alerted me to the fact that Tow Mater was in town. Not only in town, but across the street from his work, no less. So, we hightailed ourselves over to visit Daddy at work and visit Jonah's FAVORITE character.   I let Jonah be surprised, and it was AWESOME!! He was tickled to his toes when we pulled into that parking lot! 

I could not get him unbuckled and out of the car fast enough!! 

I love seeing such delight on the face of this boy!
(I just noticed how much the above photo of Jonah resembles childhood pictures of Jonathan at his age...it's definitely in the smile)

I thought the truck was done very nicely too...it's a pretty cool replica of the cartoon guy we all love so dearly. 

And here is the sweet little guy with his stuffed Mater that was a souvenier from three of our favorite people when they went to Colorado over Spring Break. 

my great idea.

This morning I had a great idea. Or so it seemed at the time. I'm testing the idea and should have results by the end of the week.

If you have read this blog regularly, you know that bedtime is a struggle at our house. Sometimes he just isn't tired, but most times he goes to bed fine, then starts screaming sometime in the night. It's getting out of hand, happening earlier and more frequently each night. 

Since the sticker chart was such a hit with Jonah for going potty, I thought I'd try making a GOODnight sticker chart for him. We went to Michael's (dangerous store, people) and got some fancy stickers.  

Near the front of the store by the registers Michael's had a display of some really big, really enticing coloring books. Jonah wanted them right away, so on impulse I bought one and deemed it the reward for filling the chart. 

We've had a routine in place for a while now, where I tell him I'll come back and check on him in a while. That usually calms him enough to get to sleep. I thought it was good enough, but this week, he's been screaming for me again. (after about 40 minutes of being in bed). Anyway, the checking on him...I would go back before I headed to bed and I'd leave his door open after checking. SO...the deal is, if his door is closed NO FUSSING. If he can avoid fussing while his door is closed, he earns a sticker in the morning. Once he fills his chart (30 stickers) he will get to have the coloring book. 

I hope he "gets" it. I hope and pray that this works. 

I sat down to type this after putting him in bed. So far, so good. I've been typing in silence! 

Potty Time!!

Well, as I have mentioned before, we have been potty training around here. We started the week of Valentines and I think I can officially say we are THERE! He's doing SO great! 

These are all the supplies (plus underwear and pull-ups) that we used to get going. Since the first week I've often asked myself why I didn't just use the normal "m&m rewards" like every other potty-trainer out there. Especially when he goes right before bed. Oops. Clearly, I didn't think ahead on the reward system.

clorox bleach spray with paper towels...on hand at ALL TIMES, lollipops, tootsie rolls, and stickers! 

Not only do we reward him for going(tootsie rolls for tinkle and lollipops for poop), but we have a sticker chart he's filling up each day that he stays totally clean all day. When that one is full, he gets a BIG reward!  

We also use this nice potty seat that fits on the regular toilet. (he's decided he likes standing better...and that is actually more clean most of the time)

Last night Jonah slept in underwear. He'd been waking up dry every day for two weeks. And he'd been asking to sleep in the underwear all week long, so I figured we'd give it a try. 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have been meaning to post this for a while. I loaded some pictures over a month ago...to use on a rainy day, when I needed a new post. 

Well, I've been asked about it again, so I thought I'd just go for it. 

I love making my own laundry soap. Before I tried, it felt overwhelming, but then I saw this method that made me so curious I just HAD to try it. Just so I don't plagiarize or steal anything I found the original idea HERE.

These are the only ingredients you will need. They can all be purchased at Walmart. (you can also use a bar soap called Fels Naptha, found on the laundry aisle.)

Powdered Laundry Soap

2 cups borax

2 cups washing soda

1 bar soap

What is the secret? What is the thing that snagged my attention? 

MICROWAVE the soap first. 

Yep. 

Have you ever seen what happens to a regular bar of soap when it gets zapped? 

SO cool! It gets big, fluffy, dry, and brittle. 

I cut it into fourths or sixths before microwaving (so it gets dried all the way through) and put each piece in for one minute on high.

Then, the dry brittle soap goes into the food processor (or some kind of blender) to be ground into powder.  (the powder WILL go up your nose when you open the food processor and you WILL sneeze)

I should say you CAN do it without microwaving. Simply grate the bar soap with a food grater (or zester, to make it really fine). But, really, where is the fun in that? 

The finished product fills a 10lb (120 load) detergent box a bit less than 1/3 full. It would take three or four batches to fill my regular Tide powder box. BUT I use much less. I think I use about 3 Tbsp. of this detergent per large load. If you have a fancy HE washer, you can use ONE Tbsp. 

The Dressing That Changed My Life

Really? FOOD that is life changing? Well, I admit that food isn't THAT big of a deal. But it's true. Before I tried this recipe I DID NOT like dressing. At all. (nevermind that I was 8 years old) 

I may have been 12 when I first had this recipe. My mom discovered it somewhere. She MADE me try it. I don't even know if I admitted that I liked it at the time. But, it has stood the test of time. I still love it. And people who try it for the first time always agree that it is the best. 

Not only does it have a fantastic flavor...it's MADE IN THE CROCK-POT. How can you not give it a chance? Who doesn't love a good crock-pot dish?!

I realize this is very last-minute for this year's feast, but if you are searching for something new to wow your guests...look no further (and start chopping!)

My Favorite Thanksgiving Dish

Crock-Pot Dressing:

8 in. square pan of cornbread

8 slices of day-old bread, toasted

4 eggs

1 med. onion, chopped

1/2 C. celery, chopped

1 1/2 TBSP sage

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 TBSP butter

(there is a bit of prep work...doing the bread...but that can be done the day before, if you need to save time)

Saute the onion and celery in the butter before adding to the pot. 

Throw in everything and cook on low for 4 hours. You may want to stir a couple of times...and I guarantee you will not be able to resist sampling. 

(*note: I like to let it get really well-done..."dry," but that is a texture issue on my part)

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

Growth Chart

I recently created another craft idea I saw on Pinterest. I actually "made it my own" using a few different ideas. 

I didn't take any "before" pictures, but just imagine a very plain straight-from-the-lumber-yard piece of plywood and you can imagine it for yourself.

Here is the after.

After I decided on a layout.

After I painted and sharpied.

After I kept Jonah out of the middle of all of it!

I used foam letters to spell out that quote I found. 

I used a fancy metal yard stick, fancy ink pen/marker, and a plain sharpie for the lines. 

I hung it so that the bottom was 18 inches from the floor, to ensure that the "2ft" mark was in the correct place. 

I plan to always use that orange marker for Jonah. Then, if we have any other children I'll choose a different color for each of them. In 20 years we will have a very colorfully filled  height chart that can move to any house in which we might live. 

I found it on Pinterest.

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's the newest social network that I'm aware of. I am really quite addicted to discovering new things there each day.

For example, just look at all these photography ideas!

Or how about all of these nuggets of wisdom?!

Maybe you're looking for some activities to do with your child.

There are also ideas for home decor and simple crafts that are lots of fun.

I'd like to feature a few of my very favorite things that I'd never have seen otherwise.

Pencil Art by Dalton Ghetti. (seriously...you should google him)

Simple but beautiful Toilet Paper holder. (I actually made one of these and I love it)

And last but not least, these CUPCAKES definitely take the cake. 

(just looking at them makes my mouth water and my tummy hurt all at the same time)

(oh, and if you are on Pinterest and don't already follow my boards...feel free to click the "follow me" button in the right hand column of this blog)

How To: get your sink clean...sort of.

Do you struggle with keeping the bathroom sink clean?

My new method doesn't involve any cleaning products.

All you need is a change in perspective.

First:

Get the sink REALLY dirty.

How did that sink get dirty?

before

after

Oh, just a little haircut for this sweet boy.

Final step: 

Wipe & rinse sink clean. 

It will appear more clean than it did before. Promise.

Oh, one more step...guess you could call it the 

"After the Final Step" step: go play with that cute boy! 

New Shelf

Jonathan has been wanting to add a shelf to our bathroom for a few weeks. (relieve the coutertop of clutter....bet you've never had that problem, have you?...well, sadly, WE do. Or, more correctly, I do.) He had some manly, boring ideas, but I just wasn't sure how to describe what I was envisioning. So, I got on Pinterest and searched for shelf ideas. I found THIS and loved it right away:

it's cute, it's funcional, it's not too complicated!

perfect.

This is our replication:

 we put a back on ours 

...and ours is more "functional" than "decorative"

I like ours even better than the inspiration! 

see how pretty the "frame" is!

(jonathan cut molding and I painted it) 

added bonus...we attached ($0.13 on clearance!!) knobs 

to the side so I can hang my necklaces. 

another Pinterest idea...put screen material in a frame for earrings. 

Helpful Hints: Washing Overalls

I know, I know. I just did that post about our Mountains of Laundry!  Today's is a bit different. I'm going to give you one of my secrets of the trade. This is one of my favorite "tricks" to keep baby clothes looking nice.

Jonah has these really cute overalls:

They are called "turtle in my pocket."

The little stuffed animal is attached with a really thick thread and can pop in and out of the pocket to be played with (or chewed on, as the case may be).

I don't know if you can see it, but there are turtles printed at the hem also. 

Overall, they are pretty cute (pun intended)!

Problem: overalls (specifically the buckles)  have a history of getting tangled/mangled in the wash & breaking in the dryer. Plus, I have to protect the cute little turtle in the pocket.

Solution:

Turn the overalls inside out, which puts the vulnerable parts on the inside.

Then, put them in this laundry bag!! This particular one  is intended for lingerie, which makes it the perfect size for baby clothes!

No more tangles. 

(this solution is also great for tights)

Linked with:

Works for Me Wednesday @ We Are THAT Family

Lesson Learned

Yesterday I had a momentary (ok, honestly, it was more than just a "moment") freak-out. My freak-out was momentary temporary and rather unnecessary.

You see, Jonah got some really cute shoes for Christmas. They were a gift from...you guessed it...his Auntie Em!! I wanted to put them on him, but I COULD ONLY FIND ONE. Oh dear. I searched everywhere. And, with a sinking pit in my stomach I remembered cleaning out Jonah's room the day before. I'd filled an empty diaper box with trash and it had gone to the curb (& been picked up) that very morning. 

See the lonely, mate-less shoe:

I was  certain that Jonah had slipped the other shoe into that "trash" box when I wasn't looking. I was sick over the loss of that shoe. And I was reminded of this verse... "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break and steal." Matthew 6:21 So, I guess my lesson learned is to not get so worked up over "things." I'd like to say this is when I stopped to pray and ask for help in finding the shoe. However, I don't think I did. 

Later in the day, something occurred to me.  I'd found some socks in the tub when I'd last gone to run bath water. So, I checked the tub.

toys, but no shoe. OH wait, what's that?

do you see it? it took me more than one glance, but I FOUND THE SHOE! Praise the LORD...and I did.  So, my second lesson for the day was leave the bathroom door shut!

How To: ClipYour Baby's Nails

Have you every tried to clip a baby's fingernails? Have you every tried to clip my baby's fingernails? Difficult. Very tricky. One wiggle and it's all over. The fingers are tiny, thus tiny little nails to trim. Tiny, but sharp when unattended. So, here I go again to tame the weapons growing at the end of his fingers. What to do? How do I do this...then....the LIGHTBULB. Thank you YouTube.







 Here is my solution:

This video captured my baby's attention and I was able to trim his nails before it was even done playing. 

You wanna see him enjoying it? Here ya go:

 

I wonder if this method will work for haircuts?

Happy Night

 

Well, last night Jonah and Mommy had a very happy night. It all started in the Walmart parking lot, believe it or not. Jonah got the silly idea to chew on the collar of his shirt in a way that made it squeak...and cracked himself up big time!! He laughed almost all the way home from the store. When we got home, it was going to be just the two of us for the evening as Jonathan was out a little later than usual. I didn't feel much like preparing a full meal, (did I mention we'd just come from Walmart) so we had scrambled eggs. I thought it might be fun to have a picnic in the living room floor. After I made the eggs I spread a blanket and called Jonah over to eat. When he came into the room and saw that blanket he cracked up laughing all over again! It was so cute!! Every time he looked down at that blanket he laughed again! Eating picnic style is tricky with a 1 year old. He thought he should get to stand up to eat, but I made him sit. So, he'd get up after every bite and laugh before he'd sit to take another bite. Some of the times, I guess he didn't want to sit, because he would hug me and try to take a bite (as cute & sweet as it was, it didn't work).

You can see evidence of the cracking up! He laughed and laughed all night! I love it! The picture with the plate is posed, he didn't really hold the fork through dinner!

After we ate our eggs, an apple, and some yogurt, Jonah played for a while. Then he got in the tub...and had some more happy times! It makes me so happy to see him so happy and healthy. The only sad time of the day was bed time. He cried a bit more than usual...I guess we'd just been having too much fun, he didn't want it to end. I love that sweet baby!

Let's Read a Book!

Jonah loves his books! And we love that he loves his books! I decided to take the easy way out in posting this today! I love how easy the collage is to post! I'll give a detailed account of what you see here!

First of all, Jonathan spends a lot of daddy-jonah time reading to him! It's great!

Their favorite book is ...


But in the pictures they are reading....
(except you can't really look inside, sorry)


Ok, so back to the collage....can you still see it?? I can't. Sorry if you have to do a little work to enjoy this post.

So, after the pictures of Jonathan and Jonah reading there is the picture of Jonah trying to decide what to read...he has so many good ones, it's hard to choose. His selection here is all Dr. Seuss, which is Mommy's favorite! His room is Dr. Seuss themed! Someday he might even have a birthday party in the same theme...but not this year, but that is another blog for another day! Back to the topic at hand!

Next, we have a picture of Jonah reading his very first piece of mail. He got a card in the mail from Grandma Atkins, thanking him for the letter he sent her. We don't see Grandma Atkins in person that much, so we choose to correspond through the mail sometimes.

And, finally, there's Jonah saying: "Hey ya'll, thanks for reading the blog today! You can come read with me too!"