POISON CONTROL!

Poison Control gives me the answer before the 'Emergency Room' visit.  I have called them so many times it's ridiculous.  They ask for my zip and say, 'Oh hi Krystal how are you today?!'  I call them 'BEFORE' I need to call them.  Very few times have I actually called them during an acutal emergency.  I called them when I was pregnant and asked if it was ok to mix certain drugs together.  And, I called them today to ask if I could give my 7 year-old an antacid for her upset stomach. 

Counting, Pssh 'Yeah Right!'

For the last SEVERAL months I have been working on my 2-year-old 'T's counting.  Well, let's just say we get to 3...  And, then it all falls apart, 7, 9, 5, 2, 3...  I have tried so hard, I count everything.  I bet I have counted to 10 more than anyone in the entire world has ever counted to 10 (LOL maybe a little over dramatic).  However, you get the point.  'T' is just not interested in counting AT ALL.  Now, you give him a picture to color and he does great.  His hand-eye coordination is really great.  I am actually very impressed on his hand-eye coordination.  And, he loves to color.  We have counted crayons, markers, jumps, skips you name it we count it!

Coolest Toy EVER!

Smiley Heart Balloons

My son 'T' and daughter 'E' received a free balloon from the event we attended this past weekend.  My kids L-O-V-E balloons and think they are amazing.  Balloons are amazing, they float always trying to go higher and higher.  My favorite part of a balloons life is when they have just enough helium to make them stay right by you.  However, they do not last much longer after they reach the 'floating' part of their lifecycle.

Noiseless Fun?!

Now, do not be mislead by 'Noiseless Fun'.  What I really mean is that the 'toys do not make any noise NOT the children.  I was making smoothies one morning for 'T' and I, and it was too thick for us to just drink out of the cup.  So, I go into the cupboard and get a straw.  As I am grabbing the straw I grab an extra one and start drumming all over 'T's head. 

Removing Permanent Marker

Sharpie

Have I said how much I love ALCOHOL?!  Not the kind you drink silly, the kind you clean with.  Well, I love it to the moon and back.  It cleans, disinfects and believe it or not it removes permanent marker!  So, here's the story:

College Books

Bookbyte The Textbook way to Save

Well, I am so excited to say that my niece 'J' is starting college this semester.  I am so proud of her!  She is such an amazing person, and I love her very much.  So, now that we know how much my wonderful niece means to me.  We understand that if I have the ability to, I will help her.  With this being her first semester at college Nate and I decided to buy her one of her books.  Well, as I learned in school it takes time for the scholarships and such to come in.  So, while she is waiting for those to come in she was not able to get her books.  What is worse than not being able to get your books at college?!

GERM-A-PHOBE

Ok, so incase you did not know I am a 'GERM-A-PHOBE'!  I am a really bad 'GERM-A-PHOBE'. In fact it is so bad that I take rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle in my purse to drench the shopping cart during the winter. I also, spray the toys at the library and anywhere that may have germs... So, I spray my mixture just about everywhere.  I ended up buying one of those tiny spray bottle for $1.00 at the local grocery store in the 'health & beauty' section.

Cheap Fun

So, my son and daughter have been playing with one of my water pipe insulators for a while now.  I did not think anything of it until I threw it down the stairs, and it zoomed!  It made me think of the Nerf guns that are out there with the Styrofoam bullets.  It also, made me think of the swords that they have now that are Styrofoam.  I got a little creative on this one and thought about how much fun my kids would have.

Cleaning Blood...

About 13 years ago I gave blood for the first time, while I was in High school.  While I was giving blood the assistant principal of my school was sitting next to me giving blood as well.  Only when the nurse poked him with the larger needle he sprayed blood everywhere.  Now being the assistant principal of a school means ties, and dress shirts.

Cutting Short Hair one length

Conair Barber Shears

Something that I do to save money is to cut my families hair.  And, then I go to the salon to get my hair cut twice a year.  Eventually, I will teach my husband how to cut my hair and I will not have to pay for haircuts at all.  The best part about cutting your kids hair is you are 'allowed' to make mistakes when they are little.  You are able to learn from your mistakes and as they get older you will become better as they get older.  Honestly, I do not cut their hair all the time.  'E' and 'T' do not like their hair cut, so, I cut it as much as I can.  Now, my husband loves it when I cut his hair.  He tells me all the time how much better it feels when his hair cut. 

My 'Handy Dandy' Shop Vac

 

Vacmaster 2.5 Gallon Wet/Dry Vac
Lightweight, powerful and portable

My daughter 'E' lost her first tooth about 2-years-ago.  She was so excited that it was loose.  It was definitely one of those memorable moments...
The tooth had been loose for months.  I personally, cannot look at someone that has a loose tooth, it reminds me of nails on a chalk board. YUCK! 

Bacon (The Cheap Way)

I love Bacon, and so does my family.  It tastes amazing, especially, in a BLT (Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato sandwich).  One of the issues I have with bacon is that the texture is a little rough and the kids have a hard time chewing it.  The kids especially, have a hard time when the bacon is in a sandwich form like the BLT. 

Now, this is organic bacon that we buy from a specialty shop in town.  And, let me tell you it's even better the fresher it is.  That is definitely not a lie!

Best Ice Cream Deal in Town

When we are in the mood for ice cream we go to Meijers. This is what I do when I want to do something with the kids, but do not want to spend a lot of money or drive very far. 

Now, if you're real clever you can push the kids in a cart while they will sit there quietly eating their ice cream. This will give you approximately 20 minutes of quiet time if needed. I would recommend NOT doing this every time you go to Meijers. We actually, make a special trip to Meijers for the ice cream. That is the only time the kids will get it. They do not get treats when we go shopping, they are expected to behave during that time and will not get ice cream the next time we decide to get ice cream. 

Hair De-Tangler

My daughter 'E' has really pretty hair.  It's blond, straight and thick.  However, it does get quite tangled.  'E's hair is especially tangled during the summer.  We just recently ran out of Hair De-Tangler.  So, I used our old family recipe to make some more. 

Travel Binders

Escher's Images

My kids have probably a hundred coloring books.  So, when we travel we have a hard time deciding which coloring book to take.  I came up with a pretty good idea the other day when the kids wanted about 5 different coloring books to take.  I ripped out several pages from each coloring book.  Each child got a little bit of every one of them.