Toddler Watch

Can you imagine walking around all day without a watch or any way to tell time? I would have an anxiety attack before I even got to work…and I’d probably be really early since I’d be so scared of being late.

Well, my toddler can’t tell time yet. Since I cannot strap a watch on him and tell him that his gran is going to pick him up at 2:30 and I’ll see him at 5:00, I had to create a Toddler Watch for him. A Toddler Watch is just a collection of pictures that shows the child’s daily routine. It helps him feel safe, which in turn helps him learn to self-regulate, which in turn helps him manage his emotions, etc., etc., etc. All of these things are essential for him to move out of my house before he is 30 grow up into a happy, healthy adult.

“Knowing what comes next in the routine helps lower stress and provides a sense of safety for young children.” ~Dr. Becky Bailey.  

This project can be as simple or as fancy as you want it to be. I just happen to like fancy, so I created daily routine cards and added text in Photoshop. I am going to print these 4×4 pictures from mpix, laminate them, and connect them together with a ring. One copy will go to school and one copy will stay here at home. This could just as easily be completed by writing down your child’s schedule and printing photos of those things happening throughout the day. Stick those pictures in a small photo book from your local pharmacy and you’re finished.

We will continue to edit this Toddler Watch as his schedule changes and it will eventually turn into a Big Kid watch.  I’m sure I’ll miss the days of telling time through pictures as he gets too big for these kinds of things. Until then, I’ll just soak up every ounce of these messy, silly faces..

Chokin’ Some Weed

A Case of the Crabbies!

Have you ever come across some of that icky green that is so nasty, just one look at it can make your whole face go funky.  You know the stuff I’m talking about…

OOOOOO, You So NAAAAASTY!

Sorry to anyone who thought I was actually referring to reefer.  The grass I’m talking about is the stuff that pops up in your yard every spring and can be a real pain to get rid of.  (Hmmm, I wonder why they call it CRAB-grass) There are chemicals you can use in the Spring, but they can be costly and have to be timed just right or they’re useless.   Once it starts growing, other chemicals are available but they don’t always do the trick.  So what’s left?  Well, don’t go drown your frustrations with a bunch of munchies just yet. There is a simple and all natural way to get rid of these little nasties, choke them to death!

Let your Bermuda do the deed.

If you look closely at Bermuda grass, it has little horizontally growing lines called runners. (These are the things that you often see growing down peoples’ curbs when they don’t edge.)  This is how Bermuda spreads and it’s also how Bermuda grass kills off the competition.  So how do you use those runners to do your dirty work?  Step 1: After a good rain or an ample watering, when the ground is soft, grab the nasty grass down by the root base.

Be sure to gather up all of the branches of the crabgrass you are pulling on in your hand and, if you can, get your fingers just below the top soil for a good grip.  Step 2: Once you have it, twist and pull, being sure to get the roots out.

Once the area is clear, the Bermuda runners will spread through the area and any weed roots that are left will be choked out by the runners as they steal the nutrients and strangle the roots.  The perfect murder!

A little tip: After you have removed the unwanted’s, keep your yard trimmed short.  This will allow the ground to get hot and Bermuda grass grows best when the ground is 80 degrees and up.

Water it heavily 2 to 3 times a week and watch the once fugly portion of your yard change into a picture perfect curbside view!

Oh, So Lovely!

Now you just have to get rid of the bodies!  I reccomend a few episodes of Dexter for advice on how to do that ; ) Or you could just throw them in the trash.

Shower Door Stopper

As a Home Builder in my day job (my night job being part-time superhero protecting pregnant Erin and Baby Grayson on our evening walks) I come across a LOT of small issues that don’t necessarily have obvious solutions. In said day job, I often have to devise my own clever way of solving these seemingly innocuous issues before they become something big, or just to make someone happy. I take this trick of the trade home with me and when I come across an issue that is bugging me or needs attention, I’ll either call upon the power of Google to find the answer or, when Google can’t help me, I’ll develop my own simple solution.

This was the case with my shower door. (I say MY shower door because Erin has her own bathroom with Jacuzzi tub and wall mount for a TV)

As you can see, my glass shower door opened up right into the edge of the corner seat inside, creating a possible glass-break/slice-foot scenario. Now one would think that there would be a specialized device to prevent this while keeping the aesthetic quality of the shower intact (anyone could strap a giant rubber bumper on the edge of the tile but who wants to see that in their walk-in getaway) Unfortunately, I could not find any easy, ready-made solutions for this so I made my own. The answer…regular old door stops.

Now, I didn’t want to screw into my tiled splash and risk doing permanent damage to it; so I call upon the power of the Silicone. (That’s right, it’s not just for making celebrities look weird in their Golden years)

A healthy portion on the back side of the base…

…and then just stick into place.

(Honestly, I didn’t mean for those last 2 lines to rhyme)

Let it dry for a few hours, 4 to 8 so the silicone can get to a strong and solid state. and then just insert the stops.

I stuck one at the top and bottom to give it a little extra support.

And now my door, and my feet are safe from the breaking of the glass!

By placing the stops next to your hinges, they are almost unnoticeable from the exterior.

And don’t worry about getting any silicone overflow onto your tile. The best thing about pure silicone is that when it dries, it sticks strong but you can still scrape it off easily like the Elmer’s glue boogers you used to make when you were in elementary school. Don’t lie, you know you did it.