Hearth and Homemaker

Organizer for Little Girls' Hair Accessories

If you have little girls in your home, you have probably amassed a collection of what my daughter calls "pretties"...miscellaneous hair bows, pony tail holders, scrunchies, barrettes, hair clips, etc.  After a long time of scavenging for just ONE matching set of pretties (ANY set!) in drawers, baskets, sandwich baggies, etc., I finally decided I needed a solution. 

A quick trip to the local home improvement store produced several possibilities:  a myriad of plastic storage boxes, intended for use in sorting tackle, hardware, or craft supplies.  I have two different boxes now:  one is clear, with no handle, and larger clasps, which is the type mostly used for craft supplies, and this is what I use this for my daughter's "pretties".  The other one I have is more of a tackle/hardware sorter, which has a clear top and a handle, and that is used for my own hair accessories.  Both boxes have adjustable compartment walls, which allows extra room for bows, or less room for hair clips.  For puffier hair bows, you might need a larger, deeper box.

I would have liked to include a picture of the actual box I have, and how I have the hair accessories arranged, but my digital camera card is missing.  So instead I added a picture of a similar box, available at Home Depot.

Before I place a set of barrettes or clips in the box, I clip each set together, so they don't get separated.  The nice thing about the box is it keeps them all in one place, and I can easily send a child to the bathroom and have them bring back a brush and the whole "pretties" box, rather than let them paw through it, making a mess and not finding what I asked them for.

It's an inexpensive solution, and it Works For Me!

Houseplants

Mrs. Wilt over at The Sparrows Nest recently posted about her new Bromeliad plant and about Toxic Plants.  I recommend particularly the Toxic Plants post, as it lists the plants you want to avoid having in your home or yard if you have children or pets, or if your yard is unfenced and open to your neighbors' children and pets who may wander through.

I'm not a person with a green thumb.  I often neglect my plants to death, particularly if they are outdoor plants, or indoor plants placed up high--which, as a mom to many little ones, they always are.  The longest a plant has lasted for me was a year, and that was only due to my husband's diligence in trying to save the poor thing.

When I was single, I had two plants in my apartment that did fairly well.  One was a China Doll tree.  The other was ivy.  My China Doll tree was so cute, with tiny leaves, and it was pruned into a spherical shape--much more attractive than the tree pictured here.  It managed to hang on, though it didn't grow much, in spite of my sporadic watering schedule. 

The ivy was even more tenacious.  Though it was in a dark, windowless bathroom and never saw the light of day, and was also often deprived of water, it stubbornly hung on.  Some leaves occasionally yellowed, but would green up upon the offering of a drink.  It would be the perfect plant for me today, were it not for the fact that ivy is poisonous. 

So ivy is out for families with pets or children, but since I didn't see the China Doll tree on Mrs. Wilt's list, you may want to look into it as an option. 

Preventing SIDS

If you are like any mother out there, you have read about the risk of SIDS and the current commands issued to us by "experts"  who tell us we must lay our babies on their backs if we want them to live.  (Of course, they have told us the same thing in the past about putting our babies on their sides and their stomachs--in the time my mom has been alive, "they" have had us flipping our babies around every decade or two, in every possible position!)

Research done by a New Zealand chemist indicates that the real cause of SIDS is toxic gases put out by today's chemical-laden mattresses.   According to an article on healthychild.com, " Chemical compounds containing phosphorus, arsenic and antimony have been added to mattresses as fire retardants and for other purposes since the early 1950's. A fungus that commonly grows in bedding can interact with these chemicals to create poisonous gases (Richardson 1994).  These heavier-than-air gases are concentrated in a thin layer on the baby's mattress or are diffused away and dissipated into the surrounding atmosphere. If a baby breathes or absorbs a lethal dose of the gases, the central nervous system shuts down, stopping breathing and then heart function. These gases can fatally poison a baby, without waking the sleeping baby and without any struggle by the baby. A normal autopsy would not reveal any sign that the baby was poisoned (Sprott 1996)."

There are contributing risk factors that raise the risk of a SIDS death occurring, including immunizations, which weaken the immune system and leave the infant more vulnerable, and laying a baby on their stomach, which puts the baby face-down into the toxic mattress.   Many people in  New  Zealand have taken to wrapping their mattresses with a special protective cover that is supposed to  provide a barrier to the toxic gases, protecting the infant.  There have been no reported cases of  SIDS deaths in a properly-wrapped mattress, according to the article.

Another alternative is to buy crib mattresses (or adult mattresses, if you co-sleep) which are made out of organic cotton and wool, or 100% natural latex made without chemicals and using 100% organic covering materials.  Yes, they are very expensive, with prices starting around $300 for a crib mattress, but if you are expecting a baby you have nine months to save up (or perhaps you can get some relatives to go in on it for you as a shower gift) and a healthy sleep surface is more important than a baby bouncer, swing, or other baby gadget.  These mattresses can be ordered online through many websites, and sometimes ordered through a local health food store.

The Amby Baby Hammock is another choice.  It is a free-standing frame with a secure hammock-like bed that hangs from a sturdy spring.  It looks a little bit similar to a one-armed baby swing.  The baby can lay on his back in the hammock without getting a flat head.  It, too, is pricey, but can be easily purchased second-hand online.  It is not organic, but it is a better choice than a traditional crib mattress, as the baby can be comfortably placed on his back in a more "womb-like" environment.  I will be following up this post with another reviewing the Amby. 

For more information on vaccinations and their possible risks/side effects, visit the Vaccination Information & Choice Network.  Be sure to know everything about a substance before you introduce it into your child's body. 

If you are a co-sleeper, consider buying a mattress wrapper, or even better, find a way to invest in an organic sleep surface.  The Natural Bed Store has 100% natural latex mattresses that, while expensive, seemed to me to be a good buy, as far as quality vs. pricing goes.  After all my own research, their Heaven & Earth mattress appears to be the best quality in a price range that...well, I can't really afford, but that I'm willing to save up for.  If the tax return that the IRS lost ever gets processed and shows up, that will be our first purchase!

Works For Me Wednesday...um, I Mean Sunday!

Like many bloggers out there, I love the Works for Me Wednesday posts done through Rocks in My Dryer.  But you should be aware that my "Works for Me" posts will most likely NOT be on Wednesdays.  Why?  Well, I'm a very busy lady.  With five little ones under foot, I may not always remember...oh, who am I kidding.  I'm just plain forgetful!

So my posts might be more like "Works for Me Tuesday" or "Works for Me Thursday"...or even, like today, "Works for Me Sunday".  Not as catchy, but honest!

My tip for this week (or is it for last week?!) is a tip I left as a comment on someone's blog, regarding potty training.  In my experience (training three children so far) for some children, nothing will really work until they are at least open to the idea.  I normally do NOT bribe my children to do things...I expect them to do as they are told.  Not that they always do it!  But that is the expectation, or there will be repercussions. 

But potty training is different.  We'll do just about anything to cut down or eliminate the number of poopy messes that we have to change, won't we girls?  So most of us resort to bribes.  I've found that I can bribe my children with the most coveted of rewards...money, candy, stickers, toys, you name it, but if they're not ready, they'll just whine for the reward but refuse to do their duty...or doodies.   ;-) 

What I do is take a break for a while from the begging, pleading, cajoling, and bribery, and try again in a few weeks.  Then I try a bribe I haven't used in a while.  Once they're open to it, you're bound to hit on something they want.  For two of my children, this was pennies in a piggy bank.  I bought a plastic red piggy bank in the Kmart dollar section, and placed it on top of the toilet tank.  It's unbreakable, so no big deal if it falls off.  (The piggy pictured is ceramic, unlike the plastic piggies I purchased.)  You may rethink the placement of it if your kids are "toilet dunkers".)  Then I kept pennies up high in the medicine cabinet where they couldn't be gotten at, and would dole out one penny for a pee, and two pennies for a poop. 

The excitement of being able to put the money in, shake the piggy, and peek inside the hole was enough to send them running to the bathroom at the first sign of a full bladder.  At least, that's how it Works for Me!

Welcome to My Home!

Come on in and sit a spell.  There's a cozy little rocker over by the fire.  Would you like a cup of mulled cider?  How about some warm, chocolatey homemade cocoa?  Please, make yourself at home!

This is my own little corner of the blogosphere, where I spend my time relaxing and thinking up new ways to create a cozy home for my dear husband and many little ones.  The many topics on my mind are home organization, cooking nutritious meals, sewing, homeschooling, and ways to show my family that I love them very much!

So sit back, relax, and ponder with me on these and many other thoughts and ideas.  Welcome, friend.