Today's theme: Handy tricks for moms

You acquire a lot of "tricks" as a mom, and today I thought I'd share a few that I've learned, in the hopes that some of you will return the favor (if I ramble...it's the caffeine. See yesterday's post)

Summer fun:
We are cheap. If you know us, it's pretty obvious. But we still like to have fun, and want our girls' to feel the same. In lieu of fancy play equipment for Grace we have done some things to make her outdoor experience more enjoyable.

• TIRES! Ask around, and I guarantee you can find as many old tires as your heart desires (ha I rhymed!) We even found an old tractor tire to use. We buried some in the ground, and they serve as "the pits" in which Grace is currently attempting to communicate with China (Kai-lan maybe? hehe) Others we buried part way at various depths to create "the snake" for all her hopping pleasure. The tractor tire is also set upright, and has become a make-shift slide (thank the stars she hasn't discovered hopping off of this one!)
• Need a sandbox or water table? Ok, ours doesn't have sand or water (dirt instead), but it will! I promise! She won't always be a dirty mange. How about an under-the-bed storage box? They are low and large...perfect for little ones and easy to move about! And they even come with a lid to keep out wild critters (or cats in our case!) Bryce plans on making a mounting system for ours so that it will sit off the ground a bit.
• Grace doesn't like the sprinkler. It scares her because it's a bit strong. I got an idea from another blog that works great! Take a sprinkler hose, you know, those really long ones, and run it across the yard. A lot less pressure and it won't soak your lawn! (we are actually able to use the soaker hoses because we have really strong pressure out here)
• With the annual Rockaway beach trip approaching in a couple of months, I've been thinking of how awful it's going to be lugging that annoying beach gear around with an extra little one. I think I'm bringing one of Grace's sleds. It's not too big, so won't take up needed room in the van, but will come in SO handy on the beach to pull stuff around (including tuckered out little girls!)

Other random things:

• Teething rail for the crib! Our crib, don't ask me why, didn't come with plastic rail guard. Grace chewed it to bits one cranky afternoon, and I've always wondered if the ingestion of crib chemicals led to her kookyness! Since then I've looked and looked for rails to put on it, and the only ones I've found are stick-on gummy covers. Which naturally have gotten horrible reviews! They do make tie-on guards made of things like terry or cotton knit, but they are upwards of $20...each side! So now that Ayla-girl is teething, I'm going to make one of those fabric ones myself, but with velcro! That way they'll be easy to remove and wash, and the crib won't get eaten alive again.

• Does your purse look like World War 2 now that you're a mom? Even with a diaper bag, I always have to have the "little" things in my purse in case I need them in a store. You know, the teething tabs, tylenol, chapstick for Grace (I swear she didn't get it from me! *whistle*) etc, etc? I made up a few tiny drawstring bags out of muslin to organize things in there. I'm going to revise that and make some out of different prints for different things, like flowers for Ayla's things, crazy-tantrum-throwing frogs for Grace (ribbit!), etc. Since the system was started it's been a CINCH to find things!

Ok, more on this later!