Cardboard

There are so many great uses for cardboard! Don't just recycle the cardboard but use it!  Here's some ideas:

• garage - my son loves using boxes as a garage for his matchbox cards, you can also use them to build parking structures
• doll house - don't forget the girls, cardboard can make the house and everything in it
• put under those older cars you have (also a money saver!) in case it drips a little to keep your garage looking nice
• paint them! great for crafts
• large boxes can be a play house for the kids to play in, you (adult) can cut out windows for them
• organize - cut slits and put together as a grid to organize a drawer into compartments
• burn it in your fireplace or outside fire pit

And when you are all done doing that, then recycle the cardboard.

Magnets

Magnets make a great craft project.  Chances are you have extra magnets you didn't know about such as the calendar ones free at grocery stores or banks.  The one that random Realtor sends you for who knows what reason.  Your local team's schedule.  Those magnets.  They are thin and flat.  They are perfect for gently scoring and gluing construction paper on.  They are great for art projects.  The grandparents will love getting home made magnets from their grandkids and the kids will have fun making them.

Omma's Brands!

I thought I'd start a new category of Omma's brands.  Like you, I have brands that I believe are tried and true.  And I'll periodically give a "shout out" to these brands.

Since I'm a babywearing Omma, I'll start with baby carriers.  A good carrier is worth its weight in gold.  Don't bother with anything that isn't ergonomically designed for both you and baby (so that means Baby Bjorn is not on my list).

My all time favorite carrier is the chunei.  It is based off the Korean podegi which less skill involved on the wearer's part.  It distributes the weight of your baby/child along your torso and keeps your child in a natural seated position.  My kids and I LOVE this carrier.  The downside of the carrier is that it is not easily adjustable between wearers (it is based on shirt size) so my DH cannot wear this carrier.

For my DH I got him the ErgoBaby Sport carrier.  He is tall and the sport has an extra four inches in the shoulder straps so that the chest strap fits where it should (on his chest).  I can also adjust it down enough for me.  The sport is a lighter-weight material than the original so it breathes better for baby and wearer which is great for summer.  The downside is that it really is a baby carrier instead of a toddler carrier.  The back panel is only 13" x 13" (vs. 16" tall on the chunei).  So as your child grows their legs may become more "pinched" in this carrier as they lose that natural seated position due to their long heavy legs.  Although weight wise it will be difficult to outgrow this as the weight limit is 90 lbs!

Unfortunately most of these "premium" carriers are not available at a regular store.  Which makes it difficult to find the best one.  There are certain babywearing groups that will have periodic meetings where you can try on different member's carriers.  This is the best way to try them out.  Otherwise do research and make the best guess possible (and find a place that will accept your return for a full refund if you hate the carrier).

Two great websites for finding out what carrier is best for your body type and babywearing needs (the first one also has a forum which you need to register for free to see but has more reviews from actual users):

http://www.thebabywearer.com/
http://www.theportablebaby.com/carrierfeatures.html

If you are feeling adventurous, you can SEW your own carrier.  Here's a link for various patterns and help: http://www.thebabywearer.com/lists/Sewing.htm

Depending on what you want, it may be cheaper to buy a nice used version rather than make it yourself.  For certain carriers the materials may be expensive.  But price it out, you could make a custom carrier for not a lot of money!  (Just be sure to reinforce all connecting pieces for safety reasons!)

Inexpensive Decorating

I felt like decorating my kitchen.  So I headed to one of my dollar stores, and I picked up some wall decals.  For $3 I got a great looking kitchen!  And I can change it whenever I want.

 

I have also done stenciling in my house.  This was fun to do and all I did was simply talked around and made it known that I wanted to stencil.  I then got offers from people "oh I have some stencils you can borrow."  Which is great, because the actual stencils are expensive.  So I got to stencil for next to nothing.  I gave the person some money to pay for the paints I used.  No overhead cost to me!

Darn those socks

No really, darn them.  I think this is a lost art.  We throw socks away when they get a hole, we don't sew them back up or darn the holes.  You don't even need fancy equipment, if you don't have a darning ball/mushroom, use a lightbulb.  Then stitch up that sock.  I got many a wary eye in college from people passing my dorm room but I had hole free socks!  If you aren't sure where to start, this video shows the basics.

Homemade Fun

We are all looking for fun things to do with our kids during these cold winter days.  I'm going to share some of my mom's secrets.

Playdough

1 c. flour
1 c. water
1/2 c. salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp cooling oil
food coloring

Mix dry ingredients in heavy saucepan.  Add oil, water, and coloring.  Cook 3 min. (med heat) until mixture pulls away from sides of pan.  Knead almost immediately.  Store in Ziploc bag.


Quick and Easy Playdough

1 c. flour
1 c. salt
1 tsp. powdered alum
1 c. water

Add flour til the texture is right.  Add coloring.

 
Bubbles for Blowing

1 c. water
4 T detergent - liquid
few drops of vegetable oil


Painted faces

Preschool children find Halloween masks difficult to deal with at times. Why not apply face paint?

2 T white shortening
1 t. white flour
5 t cornstarch
glycerin
food coloring

Blend to form a smooth paste.  Add 3 - 4 drops of glycerin for creamy consistency.  Yield should be enough for a child's face.  Using fingers, stroke in one direction, spreading the mixture over the face.

For brown face paint, use 1 T of white shortening to 2 1/2 t. Cocoa