Monday, May 2, 2011

Practical Tips and Tidbits

I hope at least a few of these tips will help make your life a little easier.
A tip we came up with this morning as a 1 1/2 hour trip was necessary for an infant checkup: If you are bottle feeding or using a bottle to feed a preemie breast milk, and need to warm up a bottle where hot water is unavailable, take along a glass-lined Thermos bottle filled with the hottest tap water possible for warming up a bottle (presently in a cooler). The water in a glass-lined Thermos will stay hot. When ready to warm the bottle, pour the water into a container larger than the bottle (preferably with a lid to prevent spilling) and set the bottle of milk in the container until warm.

If you have trouble getting your children into the tub before bedtime, tell them that the last one to take a bath must clean it.

A fun activity during bath time for older babies and toddlers is to blow bubbles for them to burst in the tub. Sometimes they will land in the soapy water and remain for a few seconds, which is such fun for little ones.

When a toddler hates to get out of the tub, and his fingers are shriveled like a prune, simply pull the plug.

If you want your children to begin helping you with housework, play the "waiter and waitress" game, with Mommy and Daddy as the customers.

If you have a kitchen table with grooves in it, as part of the design, but crumbs of food are difficult to remove from the cracks, use a lamb's wool duster for dry crumbs, before wiping the table with a clean dishcloth.

If you want to ensure that your family will eat what you have prepared for dinner, avoid sugary snacks (give only fresh fruits and vegetables), and wait until they are good and hungry.

If dinner is going to be a little late, boil or saute an onion. The aroma will tell your family that dinner is on the way, and hopefully you won't have to hear those dreaded questions, "What's for dinner?" or "When will dinner be ready?"


To get children to eat cereal using less sugar, mix equal amounts of sugar and powdered stevia in a salt shaker. They can gradually be weaned off sugar, as more and more stevia replaces the sugar, which breaks down resistance to colds, flu, and other illnesses.

Let your children or any group of children you are working with know that whoever says, "Me first," will be automatically be last.
If you can't get your kids to clean up after themselves, hide everything you pick up in a secret place and charge a nickle or dime an item as ransom.

Train children not to complain or tattle, by giving them a limited supply of complaint tickets. Each time they complain or tattle, they must give you a ticket before you will listen. The child will think twice before using up one of his complaints.

Keep a journal of your first year of marriage, because by your tenth year of marriage, it may feel like in your entire married life you haven't had ten minutes to yourselves.


When you finally find something after looking all over the place for it, put it back in the first place you looked, because that's probably where it belongs anyway.

If you want to be discreet about the number of birthday candles on a cake, arrange them in the form of a question mark.

Attach an inexpensive thermometer on the outside of your bedroom windows. You will be able to make better decisions in choosing what to wear. A thermometer outside the kitchen window or a room where you spend a lot of time, is helpful as well.
Keep suitcases smelling fresh by storing unwrapped bars of soap or fabric softener sheets in them in between trips.

For the least expensive and most effective deodorant, put about 1 teaspoon of baking soda in your one hand, and dribble a few drops of water to make a paste. Rub the paste under the arms for a safe, non-aluminum protection. One application may be effective for up to five days.

Packing an extension cord for trips will eliminate the problem of cords not reaching in hotel rooms or wherever you are staying..

When windshield wipers begin to wear down, rubbing briskly with sandpaper will extend their life. When dirty wipers streak your windshield, scrub them with baking soda and water.

Long before another baby is due to arrive in your family, find small inexpensive gifts for the other children at yard sales, Goodwill, or a dollar store. Wrap them and give to the older children after the new baby is born. This is a great idea for grandparents and friends to consider in giving gifts. I've been having fun giving my three year old grandson "surprises" as his baby brother is home from the hospital now.

If your child's slide has lost its speed, rub a sheet of waxed paper on it and watch the difference. Even the waxed linings from cereal will work.

If you have a hard time clearly seeing a splinter in a finger, dab some iodine on the spot. The splinter will darken and you will be able to locate and remove it more easily.

If shoelaces lose their plastic tip, dip the frayed end in glue and shape to a point.

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