My desk-diaper-play-kitchen-ma-bob

I've seen many online DIY tutorial thing-a-ma-jigs recently on how to convert a desk, nightstand, shelf, or porcupine into a child's play kitchen. They are great. Using materials you have on hand is much better than purchasing everything separate or a prefab kit. To demonstrate how awesome these things are I shall now plug someone else's blog; her husband actually installed a semi-working sink. Thank you Nap Time Crafter.

So for our oldest's 3rd birthday I am hoping to turn what used to be a desk into a play kitchen. If you read some of my older posts there once was a desk that became a diaper station. It shall now and forever more be the basis for a play kitchen. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe. We'll see...

I promised more than a year ago to post a pic of the diaper station, here it is. Not much changed I can assure you.

Stay green,

Yasha

Baby feet wine glasses.

Ok I'm bored and bad things happen when I'm bored. I love my wine glasses but they are a bit vanilla. So I decided to put my kid's first foot prints on them.

Step 1. Gather your supplies.
You will need:

• Tracing or printer paper
• a fine tipped pen (I use Zig 05 tip)
• a copy of your baby's footprints or other picture you wish to use
• scissors
• scotch tape
• Rubbing alcohol
• paper towel
• glass paint (I used Gallery Glass Window Color found at Hobby Lobby)
• fine tipped paint brush (I used a 0)
• a steady hand

Step 1: Trace and cut out foot prints.

Step 2: Tape the prints inside the wine glass. Wipe off the outside of the glass with alcohol to remove oil from fingers.

If you are adding handprints or a name place ALL of the designs before moving to step 3.

Step 3: Using the origional prints for reference; carefully paint the prints onto the OUTSIDE of the wine glass.

Enjoy!

Stay green,
Yasha

I'm Speechless.

wow

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Christmas presents for Grandparents

While at the Goodwill today (browsing for more frames) I noticed some very nice photo albums. Hmm, Grandparents like pictures of the grandkids right? Just how expensive are these albums? 50 CENTS!?

Score!

Now how to fill them? I know Walgreens has deals on 4x6 photos from time to time. Usually, 10 cents each. I think I could swing that. It looks like the grandparents will be getting more pictures of the grandkids this year. Won't that make them so happy?

The coffee table said what!?

Well let me just go deal with that!

Ok I'm back and I think the coffee table took the worst of it. Ok, ok. I'm not punishing the family coffee table. I'm merely bringing it new life. Follow along with my sporadic posts as I refinish this wonderful piece of history. Well it should be history. At least if you consider a hand me down from your mother in law a piece of history.

Step one: Sanding off the old finish.
We'll call this step half done.

The annual Halloween creation!

Last year, a pumpkin. This year, a Fall Fairy! Ok so I like the whole orange, green, brown color scheme. So sue me. I'll post more pictures when it is finished but for now I have most of the skirt finished and I need to start on the head band and wings.

My "new" old picture frames

I have some old picture frames that just don't match. You know the kind, every shape, size, material, and color ever thought of. Some how my taste has changed over the years and I decided to buy new frames while never throwing out the old ones.

I finally got fed up with my frame fetish and decided to fix the problem only to discover a new and much larger problem.

I'm broke.

So what to do? What to do? Hmm... Don't I still have a can of spray paint around here somewhere? I do. I do! Hooray!

I am now the proud owner of 7 "new" black frames. All it took was a little bit of time and effort. No my frames don't all match in size or shape but they are all the same color. It gives it a kind of eclectic feel without being overwhelming. Since the color scheme in my living room is pewter and black this worked out pretty well for me.

Tips for decorating on a tight budget:

• Look around. You may have something you can use. The picture frames and spray paint I already had.
• Check resale, yard sales, and charity stores. Since I'm painting all the picture frames the same color and don't care if bevels or sizes match I could get any frame I want.
• Redefine your limitations. For the longest time I wanted frames from only one collection. One shape, one size, one bevel. I'm much happier with reusing my old frames and actually being able to display my pictures than having to wait and save up to buy the new frames at $8 a pop.

My next project will be a DVD stand that currently has a wooden finish. It will soon be black to match the rest of the living room!

Stay green,
Yasha

Let's talk Safety!

The American Academy of Pediatrics has now changed their guidelines on rear facing car seats. They have rewritten the guidelines for clarity. They also encourage everyone to follow the new guidelines as they are deemed more safe for children.

Remember the AAP is not trying to take over your car, impinge on your rights, or interfere with your parenting style. They publish the results of all research in an effort to inform parents. They are only trying to provide important information on how to help keep your child safe.

The report states, "The previous policy, from 2002, advised that it is safest for infants and toddlers to ride rear-facing up to the limits of the car seat, but it also cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum. As a result, many parents turned the seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated his or her first birthday. [...]

New research has found children are safer in rear-facing car seats. A 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention showed that children under age 2 are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are riding rear-facing.

'The ‘age 2’ recommendation is not a deadline, but rather a guideline to help parents decide when to make the transition,” Dr. Durbin said. “Smaller children will benefit from remaining rear-facing longer, while other children may reach the maximum height or weight before 2 years of age.'" (American Academy of Pediatrics).

In a NY Times article written recently about this new policy it provides a quote from a Pediatrician at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York, “It’s a horrible term,” she said, “but E.M.T.’s call the rear-facing seat ‘the orphan seat’ because in a bad car accident, that child is often the only one who survives,” (New York Times).

Many car seat manufacturers, until recently, did not make car seats that allowed children to be rear faced upwards of 20 lbs. With these new recommendations those same manufacturers are now providing alternate choices to consumers concerned with the safety of their children. Many companies offer car seats that can fit children up to 40 lbs in a rear facing position.

American Academy of Pediatrics. AAP News Room. 11 March 2011. 10 July 2011 .

New York Times. NYtimes.com. 22 March 2011. 10 June 2011 .

Where have I been?

Oh here and there. Went into early labor and now on bed rest. I don't get around much so I may not get a chance to update often!

The Cheap Chef

How the heck do you stay within budget every month if you cook at home? I swear it seems like you just can't keep to the budget. You plan and plan and by the time it's time to cook recipe A you want B or "Hey let's try this new recipe we have the ingredients for it" happens and now recipe C, you were supposed to do on Thursday, is now missing carrots.

So how do you do it?

Don't plan ahead as much. Well planning is a large part of saving but it isn't everything. A meal plan for our house is generally vague. I may say, "Ok today we will have X and Saturday I feel like making Y," and then go buy the ingredients. But for the days in between I usually look to my fridge and pantry for guidance.

Usuing what you have. When you go out and buy ingredients for certian recipes your grocery bill can add up quickly. Instead of buying for one or two recipes a week buy basics and use them. Almost everyone has ground beef or turkey in the fridge or freezer, so look into using that in different ways. Burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, Taco meat, stroganoff, burger steaks, and salad toppings are some of the things you can make with ground meat.

Buy basics. Ever watch the old shows and someone was shopping? You always see some lady with a list saying, "Flour, milk, eggs..." This used to be a very basic concept. Shop for the basics. With flour, milk, and eggs and perhaps 2-3 other ingredients you can make pancakes, crepes, french toast, fried chicken, deviled eggs, muffins, a cake, noodles, tortillas, and cookies. Wow, that sounds like breakfast and lunch plus dessert!

Out of flour? Improvise! I learned from my mother, bless her heart, when you have 3 things on the stove and you just realised you ran out of milk, it is time to improvise. Run out of milk baking a cake? Use oil to suppliment. Run out of butter baking bread? Use applesauce. Out of carrots for your salad? Olives or gherkins can substitute.

There are so many ways to substitute when cooking. By searching the cabinets you can find plenty of ideas! I hope you have fun making and altering recipes. Good luck.

Stay green,
Yasha

Let it snow. Let it snow. Ok Mother Nature I'm done!

As the jingle bells fade away the snow comes in truckloads from the sky. How wonderful! It's every kid's dream! Just look at all those snowmen, that clean white landscape, and those people bundled up hurridly rushing to appointments.

Ok, I'm done. Mother Nature I've had enough. One week ago the city shut down for 8 inches of snow. It was closed for 2 days, businesses resumed on the third but it wasn't until the fourth that government offices started to resume. So no big harm right? Not really but residents that live outside the city cannot get in; the roads were still not clear yesterday.

Last night our weathermen, both local and national, told us 2-4 inches overnight! Yay! Not too much, just enouh so my kid can go out and play in it. This morning my husband flips on the tele and the weathermen are saying, "Oops!" Oops? Oops!? Is that all they can say!? We currently have 17 inches and counting. Yes, and counting; it is still snowing.

So I'm done. Mother Nature I'd like you to stop now. Let's call a truce. I didn't really mean it as a kid when I wished for 2 feet of snow so school would close. I'm sorry. Can we be friends now?

Stay green (err, white),
Yasha