From pinned to practice: chalk, wasps and blueberry breakfast cake

This week I tried out 4 pins, all with limited success.  I guess you win some, you lose some. :P

#1. Use chalk to get rid of grease stains

Source: budgetsavvydiva.com via Pamela on Pinterest

The first was this laundry tip - to use chalk to get rid of grease stains.  I had a shirt and a dress that had oily spots on them, so I figured I'd give it a try.  I didn't have regular chalk on hand, just sidewalk chalk, so I'm not sure if that made a difference.  I rubbed the chalk on the stains, but I wasn't sure how long to leave it before laundering.  Since I had a load waiting to be washed (and I'm not an overly patient person) I waited about 15 minutes.  I took before/after pictures, but the stains really didn't show up in the before pictures, so I decided not to post them, since you couldn't really see a difference anyways. After one wash I could still see the spots on the dress, and a few of the spots on the shirt, so I rubbed the chalk on again and let it sit overnight before washing again.  The shirt came out nice and clean, but the spots on the dress were still there, just smaller.  However, I think the dress may have gone through the dryer before I initially noticed that it was stained, so that might have been a factor.  And there's a possibility that the stains weren't from grease but from something else, since I don't remember how they got there. :P  So, I'd say that this method works, but probably it's best to do it on fresh stains.


#2. Cover cups with cupcake liners to keep wasps out of drinks

Source: diyhshp.blogspot.com via Pamela on Pinterest

The second pin I tried was this tip - use upside-down cupcake liners as cupcake covers to keep wasps, dirt, etc out of drinks.  I hosted an outdoor potluck brunch yesterday, so I thought this would come in handy.  However, I was disappointed to find out that the cupcake liners didn't really fit nicely over my cups (even when I tried with my narrowest cups).  They must've used very narrow cups in this picture, or had oversized cupcake liners.  I could get a cupcake liner to cover the cup, but every time I touched the cup, it slid off (even with the straw through), which made it pretty useless.

So, in order to get the liners to stay put, I had to flatten them out, and then fold them down around the cups.  It worked, but it doesn't look as nice as the Pinterest picture.  The other downside of this, if young kids are drinking from these cups, is that you need to remind them that these are just covers and not water-tight lids.  Annika almost spilled her drink since she's used to being able to tip a lipped cup.  So this works (no one had a bug in their drink), but it's not as great as the picture leads you to believe.


#3. Homemade wasp trap from an empty pop bottle

Source: completegarden.wordpress.com via Pamela on Pinterest

This was the third pin I tried out - homemade wasp trap.  Again, I thought it would come in handy for our outdoor brunch.  However, not a single wasp ended up in my trap (and there were definitely wasps around).  Not sure what I did wrong...  Maybe not enough syrup inside?

#4. Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Source: alexandracooks.com via Pamela on Pinterest

Finally, I tried out this recipe for buttermilk-blueberry breakfast cake, to serve at our brunch.  Mine didn't turn out as pretty (and I forgot to take a picture of it before serving :P)

I accidentally added the blueberries to soon, so the whole cake was sort of purplish.  Also, some of the comments after the recipe said that it was a bit dry, so I added extra buttermilk and I may have added a bit too much (it was quite moist).  And to top it all off, when I went to bake it in the morning (I mixed it all the night before and stuck it in the fridge overnight), my internet wasn't working and I couldn't double-check the recipe to see how long to bake it. :P  Luckily I remembered the right time and temperature, but it probably could've used a little longer, since it was quite "moist" in the middle.  Despite all this, it still tasted pretty good (there's lemon zest in there, and I really like the blueberry/lemon combo), and I may try it again.

So that was my week.  Go check out my friend, Andrea, to see what pins she's been putting into practice!

PS. by the way, the brunch went really well, despite the so-so turn out of my pins (and no one was stung by a wasp!).  Thanks to everyone who came! :)

Flying with small children: my experiences and advice

We have travelled by airplane quite a bit with our kids (Annika was 9.5 months old when she first went on a plane and Emmett was only 2 months old for his first flight), and I've learned a lot over the years, so I thought I'd share some of our experiences and advice. 

• Be prepared for the unexpected.  I can't stress this enough. 
• I learned this one the hard way when we were travelling home from Florida last year and got stranded for a night in Minneapolis.  We only had our carry-ons with us, not our checked bags, and I wasn't sure if I'd have enough formula and diapers to get Emmett through till the next day when we got home.  At the time I was weaning him off nursing, so I still did have a little milk, but not much.  So Carey made an early morning run to a local drugstore to buy more formula and we ended up buying diapers in the airport (2 diapers and 5 wipes for $5!! And they weren't even the right size).  So the lesson I learned is this - always be prepared for an extra night/day.  Make sure you have more than enough of essential things (like diapers and formula, or in my case - my contact lens case and glasses) in your carry-ons. 
• Pack jammies and a change of underwear in your carry-on bags. 
• Most toiletries can be obtained from a hotel, or from your airline (we were flying with Delta, and they gave us these handy toiletry bags that had toothbrushes, combs, toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent, etc and even an extra t-shirt), so don't worry too much about bringing along that stuff in your carry-on.
• To help kids with their ears:
• for babies, try to time a feeding with take offs/landings.  The sucking will help clear their ears.  A soother can also help.
• for older kids (but not quite old enough for gum), we like to use lollipops.  These are a huge treat for Annika, and she's never once complained about her ears hurting.  Emmett was a bit more of a challenge this year, as he doesn't take a soother or bottle but he's a bit too young for a lollipop.  So we gave him water in a sippy cup and some Cheerios.  He seemed to be fine.
• To keep kids entertained:

• Bring along a combination of old, favorite toys and new, exciting toys.  Bring toys that are small, so they don't take up too much space, but not so small that you have to worry about losing little pieces.  Little People are a good size, in my opinion, and they appeal to a wide range of kids.  Annika likes to act out little stories with them, and Emmett likes to chew on them and bang them on things.  Win-win.  This year I bought a bunch of little finger puppets that were also a hit with both kids.
• Movies are great for older kids, if you have a portable DVD player or laptop computer.
• Coloring/activity books or sticker books are also great for older kids.  Lately Annika has really been into "picture searches" (like in Highlights magazine, where you find the little items in the big pictures), so we found a bunch of those online and printed them off for her to do.
• One year olds are the hardest to entertain.  At least our one year old is.  We had one flight coming home that was 3 hours and 17 minutes and Emmett did not sleep at all during it (except finally when we landed he dozed off).  So how did we entertain him?  Little toys, snacks, walks up and down the aisle, snacks, peeking over the seat at all the people, snacks, looking out the window, snacks, letting him stand by my feet (not much room for that, but he could still do it briefly) - oh, and did I mention snacks?  Good thing he didn't suffer from motion sickness! 
• Do not underestimate the value of "found" toys.  Our kids got great entertainment from playing with the barf bag (Emmett would put all his toys in it, shake it, dump them out and then start the process all over again), looking at the plane safety card (Annika must have studied it for 10 minutes) and playing with the lid from Carey's coffee cup (thanks for the idea Wes!).  Kids find the weirdest things entertaining - just go with it.
• If all else fails - drug 'em.  Just a little bit of Tylenol to make them a bit drowsy.  Even my doctor recommended this, and I wish we had done it with Emmett for the long flight.  We considered giving him some when there was about an hour left in the flight, but by then we figured we'd almost be landing by the time it kicked in so it wasn't worth it.
• Consider shorter flights, if possible.  On the way down to Florida we had 3 flights, the longest being about 2.5 hours.  Even though it's more ups and downs, and it might take longer to get there, it might be worth it.  Both Carey and I thought that the kids did better on the way down (with the shorter flights), than on the way home (with the longer flight). 
• To keep yourself entertained:

• Don't worry about this.  You won't have any time to read a book or do whatever you'd normally do when travelling without kids.  I don't even bother packing anything for myself other than maybe a magazine or my iPod.  And I don't think I even touched those while travelling this time.  When the kids did finally fall asleep, I think I quickly perused the SkyMall magazine (I love seeing the crazy stuff that people come up with and try to sell) and then closed my eyes and tried to sleep a bit myself.  When travelling with kids, it's a bit like having a newborn - sleep when they're sleeping!
• Other bits of advice:
• Check with your airline about bringing along baby-related stuff.  We were able to check a car seat for free (we had to pay for our other checked bags), as well as gate-check our stroller for free.
• If you're not happy with your seating arrangement, ask at the gate if they can make changes (e.g. change where you're sitting, or get an empty seat next to you, if you're travelling with a baby-in-arms).  It never hurts to ask - the worst they can say is no, and most likely they'll do whatever they can to accomodate you.
• Helpful items to bring - stroller (good for loading up with all your carry-on bags), baby carrier (this is great for when your baby sleeps on the plane, so your arms don't get tired from holding them), kiddie leash (to make sure that toddlers don't run away in the airport).  Dress in layers to accomodate changing temperatures in airports/airplanes/your destination and have shoes that are easy to get on and off (for at security).  It's also handy to bring along an empty water bottle, so you can fill it up once you're past security, instead of buying expensive airport water bottles.  Also bring along lots of snacks.  LOTS (unless your kids are prone to motion sickness, then you may want to limit what they eat).
• Don't worry about it if your kids cry during the flight.  Well, I mean, do whatever you can for your child, but don't worry about what the people around you think.  Most likely they don't even notice over the noise of the plane or with their earphones in.  And even if they do notice and are bothered, it's not your problem to make them more comfortable.  Just focus on your child and know that you're doing the best you can in a less-than-ideal situation.
• Stay calm.  This one is hard for me, since I tend to get a bit stressed when travelling, and especially when things start changing at the last minute (which seems to happen to us on almost every trip).  However, it's important that you don't freak out in front of your kids, since they will take their behavioral cues from you.  Like I said, this is still something I need to work on (I freaked out a little bit on our way down), but I think it's very important for the kids to know that the parents are still in control, even if you feel like you're not.

So, there you have it.  Most of this is probably common sense, but I just thought I'd share it anyways, in case it comes in helpful to someone else out there.

A few quick tips and tricks

A little bit of miscellaneous stuff for a Wednesday morning....

Does your hair get product build-up, or your shampoo seems to "stop working" and your hair doesn't feel clean?  I found this super easy trick for really clean hair on eHow (I love that website).  All you need is a little baking soda.  When you're in the shower, put a squirt of your regular shampoo in your hand, and then add a pinch of baking soda (maybe about a teaspoon or so?  I don't measure, since I'm in the shower!).  I keep a small, plastic container of baking soda in the shower, so I don't need to worry about the box getting wet.  Mix them together in your hand, and then lather up.  Let it sit for a minute or two, then rinse well.  Follow up with a light conditioner, and presto - clean hair!  I usually do this about once a week.

Another quick tip, this one is from my mother.  When you wear a camisole under a sweater, do you find it slips down at the neckline?  I have a few that do that, and I'm constantly pulling them up.  My mom gave me this easy tip - take 2 small safety pins, and pin the strap of your camisole to your bra strap on each side, and your camisole won't slip down anymore!

So there you go - happy Wednesday!!