The Listerine Foot-bath (by Dave)

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Robyn

Washing Feet We had a great weekend visiting Virginia and seeing family. This included a day on a farm with chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, etc. etc., and lots of running around in bare feet or shoes without socks.

By the end of the day, when we loaded the little ones up into the van we had the most horrible collection of nasty-smelling feet! My de-tox solution? I took a bottle of off-brand Listerine look-alike, poured about a 1/2 inch layer into a large flat bottom plastic bowl, and one by one bathed the childrens’ feet with the help of a wet-wipe for scrubbing soles and between toes. Then each one got a soapy-water rinse to decrease the intense medicinal smell.

The result, a group of tingly fresh-smelling feet! Now, the new dilemma: what to do to treat the toxic shoes?

Another helpful thing about Bandette–by Dave

Posted on October 4, 2009 by Robyn

We use our Bandette (TM) products for all our children to label their cups, bottles, and sippy cups. One added benefit to identifying which cup belongs to which child is that we can help reduce waste with the toddlers. Three Children with Bandette

We routinely have a house rule that food and drink stay in the kitchen. But sometimes the smaller tigers tend to stray and we may find a sippy cup in the sunroom or living room or (heaven forbid) a bedroom. Often these drinks will go right down the drain, unless they are still cold and recent pours.

By filling sippy cups half-way, we can help reduce the amount of wasted drinks. It also increases the number of times we have to fill them, but that’s better than finding a sippy cup full of day-old milk later on. Without Bandette, it would be more difficult to do this since it would be hard to keep track of the cups, and we’d be washing many, many more cups since we wouldn’t be able to tell who used which.

Now, when the little ones ask for more drink, we tell them to go get their cup and they do so. This also teaches them to keep the cups nearby so they can find them easily.

About Babysitters….by Dave

Posted on October 4, 2009 by Robyn

There are good babysitters, then there are exceptional babysitters…

When I was in training in Miami, one of my professors gave me some sage advice. She said “if you find a good nanny, keep her, and never breathe a word about her existence.” Then she told me the story of how she had a great nanny, she mentioned how great the nanny was to one of her neighbors, and the next week saw her neighbor running down the street to catch the nanny and hire her away.

I consider there to be several levels of babysitters. I will rank them in order of increasing value:

The ‘negative experience’ sitter: you’d be better off leaving the children under the keeping of the neighbor’s pit bull. One friend relayed the story this week of how a college-level sitter she trusted decided to take her children, without her permission or knowledge, to her sorority meeting. She took them there in her car without using car seats, and returned them with the youngest daughter with a 102 degree fever. I am sure there are other horror stories one can come up with.
The ‘just showing up’ sitter: you come home to find the nanny with her feet up, the soap opera on, the baby screaming in a soaked-through diaper and crust up the back to the hairline, the older kids are running wild through the house, and the floor is covered in toys and some form of unidentifiable crushed food. One or more of the children have cut their own hair.
The ‘I know what your children really need’ sitter: usually an older sitter who may have had children of her own. She decides she knows better than you do about what is best for your little ones. They tend to be of two breeds: the “Supernanny wannabe” hyper-authoritarian type, and the spoiling “I know your Mommy and Daddy wouldn’t normally give you this candy but…” type. Enough said.
The basic model standard sitter. You come home. The kids are safe and accounted for. The house is still standing.
The great sitter. The kids have learned something new. The sitter has engaged them in play or crafts or some kind of outdoor fun. The children are safe and happy. The little ones are still down and sleeping at naptime. The house is in relatively good shape, and the children don’t need an immediate bath.
The exceptional sitter. All of #5 above, PLUS the house is CLEAN, the sitter is not frantic, and she mentions she recruited the children to help her clean up. Extra points if the laundry is in process. Sitter is straight from heaven if any laundry is folded. Definitely above and beyond the call of duty, but guarantees Mom will ask her back with tears in her eyes.

We have had many very good babysitters over the past several years. There is a short list, however, of truly exceptional people we have had. Last night was one of them.

Robyn and I went out for dinner to celebrate our 11^th anniversary. When we came home the house was spotless. It was such a great thing to witness Robyn come in, see a spotless kitchen and gasp, then heave a sigh of relief and give a glowing word of thanks to the sitter for making it a ‘perfect evening’ (and I thought I was doing well with a nice dinner). I will bet she emptied the cookie jar.

….and, NO, I am not going to reveal our sitter’s name….