The Ice Cube Alarm Clock

One of my biggest concerns about Ethan starting Kindergarten was our morning schedule. I wasn’t worried about getting the kids up in time, I was concerned that my habit of hitting the snooze alarm… repeatedly… for as long as an hour… would make us all late. My solution was the Ice Cube Alarm clock. I told the boys that when they wake up they can get 1 ice cube and use it to get me out of bed. If you’re looking for an effective way to get both your kids and yourself up and moving in the morning, this is it.

On a  typical morning I now wake when I hear footstep hurrying down the stairs.  If that doesn’t bring me out of dreamland, the sound of the ice maker dispensing a cube certainly does.  I then pretend to sleep while I wait for the cube.  Luckily the boys haven’t caught on to the entertainment value of putting the cube down my shirt and usually go for an arm or a foot.  They’re so funny and cute when they do this that I really don’t mind at all and it sures makes them happy to get up.  The only problems we’ve had is that it is now a race to see who will get me first.  I think I will change the rules and tell them they EACH need to get a cube and wake me at the same time.

The only other rules we have is that they have to be quiet (which is easy since they prefer the sneak attack) and they are NOT allowed to do this to mom or their sister.  Their uncle, however,  is fair game whenever he sleeps over.

Cell Phone Flashlight

A few weeks ago we had a power outage in the middle of the night.  I woke up when I heard Ben crying and making his way down the stairs.  After stubbing my toes a few times I met him at the bottom of the stairs and carried him over to our bed.  Curious as to what time it was, I made my way to the kitchen and found my cell phone in the basket where I keep my keys.  When I flipped it open I was blinded by the light on the display.  That was when inspiration it…my cell phone makes a good flashlight!  I used it to find my way back to bed, hitting a button whenever the screen dimmed.

Next time your lights go out, instead of fishing blindly in the junk drawer for your flashlight, grab your cell phone.  It will provide a nice combination of light, time, and, of course, a phone.

Easy gluing for kids

Grandma Penguin got the boys each a little wood kit and last night we decided to put them together. The kits contained about a dozen wood pieces that you glue together and then can paint. Last night was the gluing stage and tonight will be painting.

I was a little unsure of the best way for the kids to apply the glue when I remembered a tip from a woodworking show - use a paintbrush! Each kit came with a cheapo brush so I set them to work ‘painting’ the glue onto the appropriate surface and sticking them together. Worked great and we had a lot of fun.

Solution for faulty diapers

ParentHacks has the answer for what to do when you have a faulty diaper.

If the tab breaks as you’re trying to put a disposable diaper on your squirmy little one (and isn’t it always when you’re in a hurry?), there’s still hope!  Go ahead and fasten the tab on the other side.  Now put on a second diaper right over the top of that one - intact tabs holding both securely.  When it’s time for a change, remove the broken-tabbed inner diaper, and refasten the former outer diaper securely.  Voila! 

Link

Obvious solution, yet it never occurred to me.  Tips like these are what I love about ParentHacks.

A Cheesy Tip

I’ve been on a cheese and cracker kick lately, but the flavors I like (sharp cheddar, horseradish) are not popular with the kids. During our last trip to the grocery store I noticed they had their deli muenster cheese (or ‘monster’ cheese as the boys call it) cut into big blocks. I grabbed one for them to eat with crackers and mentioned it to Heather while waiting for our order at the deli. The deli woman overheard us and said they can cut any of their deli cheese into blocks like that. In retrospect it is so obvious, but I never thought of asking for muenster or white american cheese in a big block.

Next time you’re planning on having cheese and crackers, get a block of your kids’ favorite deli cheese so they can join in too.

Nigel Marven - Arctic Exposure

With the writer’s strike in full swing and no new shows in our TiVo todo list I decided to do some searching and find a few good nature shows to watch with the kids.  As luck would have it, Ethan and Ben’s favorite wildlife presenter, Nigel Marven, has a new series on Animal Planet called Arctic Exposure.  The series follows Nigel as he takes us to  see all the amazing wildlife in the Canadian arctic as Spring arrives.  We all love the show and so far it has been very kid friendly and informative.

We will definitely be looking to buy this when it comes out on DVD.  In the meantime, check out the schedule and I recommend starting from the beginning because Nigel makes several visits to some of the animals to see how they are doing (like the adorable arctic fox cubs).

TIP -  If you have a TiVo, take advantage of your keyword search tool.  I performed a keyword search for “Nigel Marven” and saved it.  Now whenever one of Nigel’s shows is on any channel it will be recorded.  This is also a great way to record talk show appearances.

Christmas decoration storage tip

A little early for posting a tip on putting Christmas decoration away, but I figure most parents are a little too crazed after the holidays to be looking up tips. Just read this one and file it away in memory for when the time comes.

A couple years ago we bought one of those inflatable outdoor Christmas decorations. Setting up the decoration was easy and the kids loved it. What I didn’t like was untangling the tied down strings the following year! I tried wrapping them up when I put them away the year before, but they still got tangle and it took forever to get the mess straightened out. When I put them away that year I came up with this idea for preventing a repeat of that birds nest and it worked perfectly.

	I cut the flaps off of two boxes (had plenty of these lying around after Christmas) and cut 4 notches on each side.
	Next I put one end of the string through one of the notches to hold it securely.
	Now wrap the string around the cardboard and secure the other end in the notch on the opposite side.
	Repeat for the rest of your strings. That’s it! A cheap and easy way to store these buggers.

My last piece of advice…don’t bother trying to fit these decorations back in their original box. Buy a big rubbermaid, I prefer clear, and throw them all in there along with the extension cords and timers.

Backyard ice rink tip - keeping your hose thawed

I came up with a nice, easy way of storing my hose for the ice rink season. My first year doing this I learned the hard way that you should never leave your hose outside in the winter. It will freeze and take forever to thaw out. I started keeping the hose in a rubbermaid to cart in and out and stored it in the basement next to the furnace.

This year I decided to use a big red bucket that we use for ice and drinks during parties in the summer. The trick is to coil the hose in the bucket starting with the end you attach to the faucet. Leave enough hose sticking out so it will reach the faucet. Coil it all in neat so you get no kinks and voila, a much neater and more management hose storage. I just hook it up to the faucet and pull out however much hose I need to reach the rink. The handles on the bucket are useful for keeping the ends in the bucket so I don’t drip on the floor when I bring the whole thing inside. A warm hose makes your ice resurfacing go much quicker.

Sunny, 70, and snow?!?

We enjoyed the unusually warm September and what better activity on a beautiful, warm, sunny Autumn day than to have a snowball fight!

Where do you find snow on such a warm day? Behind your local hockey arena! After the boys had practice we went into the back parking lots to play in the snow. The Zamboni dumps the ice shavings in the parking lot to melt after it cleans the ice.

Grocery shopping with kids

I’ve mentioned before how we believe in the team shopping technique.  We all go to the grocery store together and split up.  I usually have both boys with me which at first was very challenging, but we keep coming up with ideas to keep them entertained and behaved.

Our latest game is spotting the bad guy.  The bad guy is someone we never see, but he likes to take grocery items and put them in the wrong place.  Once you start looking for them you find them everywhere.  I am amazed at how good Ethan and Ben have become at spotting misplaced items.  Whoever spots it first is tasked with picking it up and helping me find the correct location.

Sure, this makes our grocery trip longer, but I’d rather have a long trip with well behaved kids than a short and miserable trip.  The added bonuses are the kids are learning to be good citizens and looking for this stuff has got to be doing wonders for their visual acuity and pattern recognition.  For me I get a little extra exercise running around the store returning things and I’ve also become very familiar with the layout of the store.

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