Cookies, Crayons, Classes, & Chaos

School Dangers

As I think about kids heading back to public schools I have several concerns:

LOSING OUR CHILDHOOD PLAY

40% of elementary schools are or have considered eliminating or reducing recess time at a time when childhood obesity is an epidemic.

SCHOOL VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY SCHOOLS

Over 200,000 students were hit, sometimes beaten, by school staff during the 2006-2007 school year.
Children with disabilities were more likely to receive these forms of physical discipline. Many of these children suffered from autism or autism-spectrum type disabilities.
Corporal punishment is legal in schools in 20 states, but is outlawed in most juvenile correction facilities.
The American Psychological Association, among other groups, has adopted resolutions to official oppose corporal punishment because of deleterious effects and human rights concerns.

SCHOOL VIOLENCE AND BULLYING

90% of students in 4th through 8th grade report being victimized by bullying of some kind

POSITIVE ACTIONS: Thankfully there are some things we can all do.

Help ensure your school creates policies around positive disciplinary approaches, rather than corporal punishment.
Get a kid to support peaceful playgrounds or host play dates in your community.
Support the International Play Association's declaration of a child's right to play.
Check out these ideas and resources for movement, play, and physical activity for children.
Support the Alliance for Childhood efforts to restore childhood play in kindergarten, reduce childhood obesity, moderate computer use and standardized testing, and fight commercialization of childhood.
Get educated about bullying and help implement successful bully-prevention programs in your school such as "Steps to Respect."

Fun Fuzzy Fleece Fabric Mittens & Hat for American Girl Dolls and you

Not that I'm anxious for winter or anything....but my daughter is ready to do some sewing projects.

Here are some instructions for winter stuff:

Easy fleece hat for you and your American girl doll or other 18" doll such as My Generation, Madame Alexander, etc.
A variety of fleece hats from Martha Stewart, including jester, solid, striped, pom-pom styles
Fleece mittens customizable for different sizes
Slippers by Tom

I must admit, I'm mired in the current discussion of health care reform (for people). However, health care for dolls has become a more pressing issue in our household at the moment.

Yes, thankfully I can afford this luxury to think about the dolls because our family has a good health insurance plan.

Here are our doll health care priorities:

(1) Detangling curly hair on 18" Our Generation doll from Target.

First you have to figure out what kind of hair your doll has, Most likely it is synthetic unless it is a very old doll.

These are great instructions for cleaning, detangling, and curling synthetic doll hair.

Basically we'll need a metal hair pick* never touched by human hair, and one or more detangling products depending on severity: Downy fabric softener, human hair detangler, Windex, Fantastic, or Son of a Gun vinyl car cleaner by STP if things are really bad. *For dolls without curly hair you can use a wig hair brush. Dolls with curly hair need to have ringlets each combed separately with the pick.

NOTE: I trolled the blogs and discovered that although "Our Generation" and "American Girl" dolls are quite similar by many accounts, some folks say that the hair and sizing are different. Apparently "American Girl" dolls have hair that is much easier to brush. And 18" dolls vary in size across manufacturers and even within the same brand. Here is a great article on comparing American Girl dolls to their knock-off counterparts. So we've probably got the worst hair situation then since my daughter picked the "Alexis" Our Generation flower girl doll with beautiful curly locks that tangle when you just change her clothes. Lesson learned -- get the doll with the straight hair next time.

(2) Hair transplants. My daughter's 12" doll needs a new 'do after being a customer at the beauty school practice salon. I've also got a 4' doll from my childhood that is nearly bald.

Here are some great instructions for re-wigging a doll. None of our in-need-of-help dolls have wigs so I'm hoping that the hair plugs can be cut off and a new wig added.

If the instruction for detangling don't work, maybe Alexis will be getting a new wig!

(3) Dermatology appointments. That same 12" doll, above, and her friend Dora, need serious facials. Ink marks every where.

It turns out that a dollar bottle of acne cream (10% Benzoil Peroxide) and 2 hours in the "tanning bed" (sunlight or light bulb) is a simple effective solution.

Here is a nice tutorial on what to do and what not to do!

Homeschool Curriculum

We've been considering different curriculum options, trying to find the best fit for our family.

National Connections Academy
Calvert School
Christopherus Waldorf-Inspired Curriculum
Global Village School

And here's a free handy simple resource for the pre-K and Kindergarten crowd.
Brightly Beaming Early Childhood Curriculum and home of "Letter of the Week" Curriculum

Want to win a free sewing machine?

I finished my first instructable!!

I was motivated to post my instructions for my "heirloom purse" on the instructables web page.

Instructables is currently having a craft contest with winning entries receiving serger or singer sewing machine.

If you want to check it out, just click the "Singer Kids Craft Contest" icon at the top of my instructables. Good luck to you!

My daughter and I had a lot of fun upcycling this vintage cloth napkin and a broken necklace.

What is your vote for repurposing souvenier spoons and their display racks?

WHAT TO DO WITH THE SPOONS?

My maternal grandmother helped me to start a souvenier spoon collection just like hers, as a child. I think most of my spoons were from grandpa and grandma's many travels, but I think I legitimately collected a few myself!

It seems like I always forgot to get a spoon while I was actually in the state and had to find it afterwards.

A few years ago grandma had put all of of her spoons and display racks in a box. I found it with my name on it when we were going through grandpa and grandma's things.

So now our two collections are together. I definitely don't want to part with the spoons. But I'm also pretty sure I don't want to display them in the hodge podge of racks. There are way too many spoons to fit and I think our walls would be covered if I displayed them all!

So I had some ideas....

(1) Display groups of spoons in antique glass jars.
(2) Create spoon chandeliers -- without flattening the spoons like people do to make windchimes out of old silverware -- and without drilling holes in the spoons but just use wire wrap.

I thought the spoon chandelier was pretty unique, but I guess I'm wrong. I found several pretty inspirational ones online. But hopefully I'll be able to put my own unique twist on mine. Here's what others have done:

Check out some cool spoon mobiles and lots of repurposed stuff turned into lights.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE SPOON DISPLAY RACKS?

I'm a self-confessed pack rat. I probably could just get rid of the racks, but not until I have completely convinced myself that I couldn't do something creative and useful with them first!

It turns out others have some suggestions:

(1) Turn it into a hankie display rack (lovely, but not necessarily useful...the vintage linens are better off in a drawer)

(2) Turn it into a jewelry hanger (useful since I now have tons of grandma's jewelry to add to the stuff she gave me before -- but I'm not sure it is very efficient.) This is a beautifully re-done rack by a talented Etsy crafter.

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Inspired by bits and pieces

I've been really inspired lately.

Our family has been sorting through my maternal grandparents things now that they both have passed. So I've been incorporating these new treasures into my much more (but still a long way to go) organized home.

My mom says I'm a lot like her mother because I like to do crafty things like her. So it's no surprise that I gravitated toward some of Grandma's craft supplies.

Yesterday my daughter wanted a purse for her doll clothes and wanted to work on it right away. I went through my boring fabric scraps and then I remembered I had a stack of vintage linens from Grandma's things.

So I grabbed this pretty napkin -- one that didn't belong to a set I might want to use as real napkins later!

My daughter and I hand-sewed the sides, with needle and thread from Grandma's supplies. It was a 4-generation project in abstentia!

Then I sewed on the string of pearl craft beads from Grandma's other craft supplies. I thought it was pretty cute! Apparently, so did my model aka daughter.

Research into the Genetics of Panic Disorder

I find it so interesting (and delightful!) to see the research on the neurobiology of panic disorder (see description below).

At least four (probably 5 or more) generations of my family suffer from panic disorder. Panic attacks and panic disorder were thought to run in families because it was learned behavior, which only added to the stigma of having this.

My affected family members and I have strongly felt there was an underlying biological element to the panic attacks. While certain environments could foster a greater likelihood of panic attacks occurring, we all said they "came out of the blue" with no relationship to what we were doing.

I distinctly remember being hit by a panic attack while I was getting a drink at the fountain in middle school for no reason at all.

Mine started before I went to school. I was miserable for so much of my childhood. I couldn't describe it to anyone.

It was an incredible relief when I read about panic attacks in my "abnormal psychology" textbook in college.

Once I could describe it I learned that it affected my dad, all his siblings, my grandmother, and probably her mother as well. I know some of my cousins experience similar symptoms. We're watching the next generation.

I'm pretty sure my son is affected. Even as a small infant I saw in his eyes that he was having an attack. (I've heard this from other mothers as well). He has likely had them his whole childhood too.

I'm greatful that research is progressing and hopefully we'll learn what works for children as well as adults.

Some research....

What is Panic Disorder? from National Institutes of Mental Health:

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder and is characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress. More about Panic Disorder »

Signs & Symptoms

People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. During a panic attack, most likely your heart will pound and you may feel sweaty, weak, faint, or dizzy. Your hands may tingle or feel numb, and you might feel flushed or chilled. You may have nausea, chest pain or smothering sensations, a sense of unreality, or fear of impending doom or loss of control. More about Signs & Symptoms »

Treatment

Effective treatments for panic disorder are available, and research is yielding new, improved therapies that can help most people with panic disorder and other anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. More about Treatment »

Getting Help: Locate Services

Locate mental health services in your area, affordable healthcare, NIMH clinical trials, and listings of professionals and organizations. More about Locating Services »

Hogwarts Summer Correspondence Courses have begun!

The Hogwarts Owl Post service has finally delivered the registration letters to Master Kendrick and Miss Rosalie!

Their first assignment is to gather supplies.

We've already got the feathers (for making quill pens) from a trip to the park last summer when the geese left behind lots of feathers. I knew I was saving those for a reason!

Then we're off to find just the right sticks somewhere in our yard or in the neighborhood to use as apprentice wands. We've found lots of inspiration at Alivans where they handcraft many beautiful things from wood to stimulate children's imagination.

Kendrick likes this wand and Rosalie likes this curvish one with a crystal (only in pink).

See more phenomenally creative ideas for wand construction at dadcando.com here and here.

Baked Oatmeal by Shayne Cripe

Baked Oatmeal by Shayne Cripe

1 c. Vegetable Oil (canola)
1 1/2 c sugar
4 eggs
6c quick cooking oats
1T + 1t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
2 c milk

Mix oil, sugar and eggs 'til yellow and "glossy". Add milk. In separate bowl, mix oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Mix well. Add "dry" ingredients to liquid and beat on medium speed 'til blended. Add stir-ins*. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake 30-40 min at 400.

*Stir-ins: dates, raisins, blueberries, raisins, apples

Serve warm with brown sugar, milk or whatever desired. (I added approx 3 cups blueberries. I've also added apples )

Easy Asian Salads

Here's a couple of super quick ways to satisfy that craving for that wonderful Japanese salad you get with the miso soup before sushi!

(1) Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing + Marzetti Asian Sesame Salad Accents + Lettuce

(2) Asian Cole Slaw (Same as above, just substitute a package of broccoli cole slaw for the lettuce.)

Chair as closet storage?

Notice the similarity between the stadium/camping chair and the stack 'n stax closet organizer?

This might be a really good use for our stadium chairs since (a) they are no longer allowed in our stadium and (b) we don't go anywhere anymore since having kids!

Organization in high gear!!!

We're on a roll now!!!!!!!! Here are some of the main projects we're working on. No wonder my poor garden is suffering. But I'm committed to getting our inside organized before we're stuck in the house again next winter.

(1) MUDROOM SHELVES -- ORDERED

We finally settled on the shelves for the mudroom!!!

I ordered 2 of these rubbermaid configuration closet kits to use as a full mudroom on our 8 foot wall near our entry way door.

It's was nice that it took a while to decide to go with this because when I finally went to order it, it was on sale!!!!

And even better I got free 1 day shipping!! So it will be here in time to have it set up for my birthday. It feels so good to know we're getting organized!!
And on top of that, there will be enough spare pieces left over to start organizing the shelving above our "new" (free from MSU surplus and newly painted) desks.

(2) CARPET CLEANER -- DONE

We also got a carpet cleaner. It feels so good to have cleaned our carpets and even some furniture.

We got the top rated residential model according to reviews of purchasers, the Hoover Steam Vac with Clean Surge model F5914-900.

(Consumer reports unfortunately does not have any ratings on carpet cleaners at this time. Their old reports indicated that residential models were definitely inferior to professional models, but something is better than nothing!)

And this too was on super sale!!

Even though these are "steam" vacs, no residential carpet cleaners actually use steam. And unfortunately, none of the "real" steam cleaners have extractors so you have to mop up the wetness if you use them on carpet.

I hope that when I get the top rated home steam cleaner, I can use it on the carpet, and then suck up the steam and dirt with the carpet cleaner.

PANTRY -- IN PROCESS

DRY GOODS DONE. We've got almost all of our dry goods into the Anchor Hocking Montana glass jars now! We've reorganized and added some shelves in the kitchen. It's not perfect, but I it's so much better.

REFRIGERATOR PARTIALLY DONE. I've got a couple of these Rubbermaid "slide 'n stack" baskets in the fridge now and I need a few more. I *love* them!! It's created so much more space!!

One basket holds the snack sized yogurts. Another basket holds the sandwich condiments and sandwich cheeses. I want another one for jellys, jams, cream cheese; another for dairy; and another for snacks.

CANNED GOOD HOLDERS -- Finalizing research and then need to order.

I'm still comparing Neuhome's 3 tier back-loading drop-down can rack and FIFO's front loading rotating can rack.

PRODUCE KEEPERS -- Assessing needs and conducting research.

I'm still comparing Rubbermaid's produce savers, Tupperware's Fridgesmart containers, and Progressive's produce keeper.

PULL OUT DRAWERS -- Assessing needs and conducting research.

I still need to measure kitchen cabinet items and determine a good configuration. Then I can compare storage volume and prices for the wood pull out drawers, wire sliding racks, and slide 'n stack baskets. All are available at the local big box hardware stores.

Free curriculum resources for homeschool or summer enrichment

*Links to free curriculum across various subjects here and here.

*Instructions and resources for free lapbooks.
*Free French lessons.

*Free elementary life science curriculum from Mister Q's lab.

Summer DIY projects for your outdoor living space

I got so inspired by these projects from Canadian Home Workshop!

Sailboat Sandbox

Tree Bench

Weather-resistant "stone-look" concrete bench

Sports organizer

Outdoor laterns made from dishwasher-steamed veneer and string lights

Free Summer Activities

Here are some great activities for family fun, especially if you need things to do over the upcoming summer break!

Free admission to art institutes, museums, etc. on specific days courtesy of Target all year
Free bowling for kids all summer long at various locations
Free Hogwarts summer correspondence school and activities to do from home

Please comment with your suggestions as well!!!

Ikea hack shoe rack

This idea came via the "Ikea hacker" blogs and the the "Ikea hacker" section of the "Instructables" blog. These "hackers" repurpose products from Ikea.

In this hack, Ansleybleu turned this Ikea Akurum kitchen wall cabinet into a shoe storage cabinet with a few modifications.

Here's the breakdown:

AKURUM top cabinet to refrigerator - $41 (30" x 24" in Arliq white as shown with doors; Without doors: $17 for base frame and $10 for 2 pack of 30" x 12" shelves)
CAPITA legs - $10 (4 pack, 4" legs)
LANSA Handles - $6.99 (2 pack, 6" handles)
(Other sizes and styles of cabinets, legs, handles available)

TOTALS for 7.5 linear feet of storage, plus 2.5 linear feet on top

Option 1: Shelves with doors, handles, and legs: $57.99
Option 2: No doors: $37.00

Still more shoe storage ideas

The never ending search for the perfect shoe storage continues...

Revisiting our Priorities:
(1) Visually appealing (we have to stare at these from the dining room table)
(2) Maximizes space (allows 3 pairs of men's shoes per row)
(3) Sturdy (Waterproof, rustproof, easy to clean, not wobbly)
(4) Cost effective (less than $2/linear foot)
(5) Allows for storage above for coats, keys, etc.

3 Tier Mesh Shoe rack ($39.99 for three 25" shelves)

4 Tier Wire Rack ($19.99 for four 25" shelves)

Stackable storage closet shelf ($9.99 for one 18" shelf)

Stackable Chrome Rack ($29.99 for two 30" shelves)

Stackable Wire Shelf ($8.99 for one 24" shelf)

Shoe drawer ($6.99 for one 12 7/8" L x 8 7/8" W x 6" H container) by Sterilite

6 quart storage tote ($19.99 for twelve 13 1/2”L x 8 1/4”W x 4 3/4”H that tapers approx. 1" down from top to bottom) by Sterilite

Cool tool for designing shelving spaces

For quite a while now we've been trying to configure a "mud room" that is in our dining room. Gotta love those 70's ranches with no entry rooms!

I've used several online tools to configure closet spaces. Most have been clunky, limited, and not flexible enough to deal with open wall spaces.

But I've really liked using the "Interactive Closet Designer" for Rubbermaid's "Configuration Series." (It does have a couple of quirks with the vertical spacing though.)

And I've liked this product the best for our particular application. Based on reviews, the "Configuration Series" seems more sturdy, more adjustable, and is easier to install than their "Selectives" series.

This is an example of one of the configurations we were considering for our "mud room" (basically a wall in the dining room next to the entry door). It allows for ample shoe storage, a place for in season coats, and a few backpacks, sports bags, and briefcases.

"Post-Harvest" Storage Guidlines

I didn't even know that there was an academic field devoting to storing my fruits and vegetables!

How cool is that for a blend of science and practical life?!!

And it's good news since many folks are trying to grow more produce at home for taste, health, and money savings.

Refrigerator vs. Countertop? Here's the answer from UC Davis' Post-harvest Technology and Research Center and the Home Orchard project.

Storing nuts, flowers, fruits, vegetables? Here's an *insanely detailed* database of how to store them all from the Sydney Postharvest Laboratory. Look up produce by specific type and level of ripeness and you'll get several pages of information about how to store it. Very cool!!

Which produce can be (or not be) stored together, and what should I eat first after bringing groceries home? Here's a set of guidelines from vegetarian times.

Based on these separate sources I'm going to have to do a cluster analysis based on storage type (fridge vs. counter) X ethylene producing (yes vs. no) X ethylene sensitivity (yes vs. no) X ripeness level. I'll get post details of this!

*UPDATE* Here is the link to compatible fruit and vegetable storage groups!!

In the meantime, here are a couple of nifty ways to store produce in and out of the refrigerator:

Out of the refrigerator....

Slide out vegetable bin

In the refrigerator.....

**Disclaimer -- These are plastic. I've been trying to rid our kitchen of plastic. But I figure the health benefits of eating more produce and vegetables will offset potential risks of the plastic at this point in time.

Produce Keepers from Tupperware