So, it’s almost April…and we had our April Fools a day early. Really? March 31 and we have about 1.5” of snow on the ground? I choose to ignore it and look forward to the warmer weather we are/were supposed to have this week. With that said, I'm looking forward to all sorts of colorful spring decorations and activities. One of my absolute favorites is the egg hunt. They're all over the place; your local parks, schools, and farms. Our favorites growing up, however, were done right at home. To add a new twist to a favorite spin, I found this awesome idea for Glowing Eggs for night time egg hunts. This is so simple, and looks so cool, it makes me wonder why I haven't heard of it sooner!
All you'll need are:
-glow sticks of choice. Small sticks or Finger lights are going to be the easiest, but you can also get the bracelets and twist them up like pretzels.
-empty plastic eggs.
-treats or prizes of choice.
Start by snapping and activating your glow sticks. Stick one into each egg with a reward, and tape them closed. All you have left to do is hide them! Either head out into the yard after sunset or turn off the lights indoors. Either way these eggs add an extra stimulus to an already awesome game.
Mark off next Thursday on your calendars, ladies and gents, because I found out about this pretty awesome event coming up! One of our wonder LIFamilies.com vendors, and soon to be LIWeddings.com vendor, is having her work exhibited in Bloomingdale’s Furniture Gallery in Roosevelt Field Mall! Debbie Viola is a custom finish and mural designer, and she has been commissioned by Bloomingdales to create 30 large abstract paintings, which they will be displaying during the event!
Head over from 6-9pm on April 3 for an art open reception, with live jazz music, gourmet wine and food. Bloomingdale's staff will also be on hand to explain their loyalty program to designers who attend. The art works are going to be displayed for a month, during which time 40% of Debbie’s sales will all go towards The Interfaith Nutrition Network and other charities.
So I just saw this on one of my favorite blogs and hope it works for me, too! Did you know that it’s possible to “unshrink” your favorite clothes?! I absolutely loath shrinking pants legs. I’m 5’10” to begin with, so as my jeans and sweatpants start to shrink they almost instantly become way too short to wear (I also absolutely loath “high-waters” as we always called). Here’s hopefully a solution to help my wardrobe last a while longer.
Fill up your sink with lukewarm water and a capful of baby shampoo. Allow your clothing item to soak for a while in the solution. Remove the item and wring it out gently. **Don’t rinse it out.**
Next, lay the item out on a dry towel, and roll it up (absorbing that excess water out of it). Get another dry towel and repeat that step. Once you’ve done it a second time, unroll the cloth and towel, laying it out to dry the rest of the way. As it’s drying, gently stretch the item out, little by little, to its original size/length. Once it’s dry, try it on to see how close to un-shrunk you’ve gotten it! If you need to unshrink it a little more do the usual “rinse & repeat.”
I saw these indoor grass plants and thought they were absolutely perfect for living Spring decorations! I know that the calendar says that spring is literally 2 days away, but I think that the calendar is lying to us all! It certainly doesn’t feel like it (feeling like 2 degrees yesterday, and all). This quick and cute project is a great way to not only decorate for the occasion, but to also help you brighten up for it, as well!
To start you’ll need:
-potting/top soil
-grass seed (choose shade mixes if not going to sunny area of home: Rye and Wheat grass are great, with thicker blades.)
-containers (whether mason jars, antique bowls or mugs, old cans, etc)
-pebbles
-misting bottle
Choose your container and then add a layer of about ½ inch to 1 inch of pebbles at the bottom for drainage. Fill the rest of the container about ¾ inch from the top with soil. Sprinkle grass seeds across the top, and then press them gently into it. Mist the seeds until the soil is until soil is slightly damp. Place in your desired location, and mist until slightly damp every other day. Grass should start to sprout within a couple of days. Once it has reached about an inch tall you can give it a little bit more of a watering every few days to cut back on the maintenance. Once it starts to grow in height, enjoy trimming it at will to desired effect!
Okay, friends and families, it’s time for another awesome contest! This time our prize is from the very talented THREE14 Photography, and they’re offering a contest for your chance to win a free newborn or family photography session! If you’re the big winner, your prize will include the photo session and a DVD of all of the edited images! Here’s all you need to do to enter:
Head over to this contest post. Respond to that thread with a photo showing how you and/or your family have been enjoying or coping with this crazy winter season! The more creative your entry the better! The winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries.
As an added bonus, to help THREE14 get their new Facebook page going, the more Likes we get on their fan page the more prizes will be given away!
If they reach 100 fans/likes, there will be a second winner, and they’ll receive a $200 gift certificate!
If they reach 150 fans/likes, there will be a third winner, who will also receive a $200 gift certificate!
Multiple entries are allowed, and only one photo/activity should be shared per post! Contest ends 3/21/14 at 11:59pm. Session needs to be held between 5/1/14-9/30/14, and on location (your home, park, etc) within 30 miles of Floral Park. Winner will be announced 3/24/14!
Good Luck!!
So, Graco is officially at it again. Shortly after the NHTSA started the investigation against Graco, Graco recalled an extra 403,000 car seats. So who’s on the chopping block now? Here are the newly recalled models:
2006-2014 Argos 70 Elite, Ready Ride, Step 2, My Ride 65 with Safety Surround, My Size 70, Head Wise 70 with Safety Surround, Nautilus 3-in-1, Nautilus Plus, and Smart Seat with Safety Surround.
Again, these car seats are being recalled do to their buckles sticking when trying to get your child in and out. If you contact the company they will send you replacement buckles, because the rest of the car seat is still structurally sound.
Now the NHTSA is still not satisfied. They believe that an additional 1.8 million infant seats should also be recalled, as they utilize the same buckles. Graco has yet to recall them, saying that parents can remove the whole carrier if need be, in case of emergency, so the buckles sticking wouldn’t be a risk.
If the infant seats are recalled this will be the largest car seat recall in history. Is it possible that that’s why they’re not playing it safe and recalling them all?
Yikes! I saw this and thought it was interesting to share. After the big Graco car seat recall last month, I know a lot of people were very happy to find out that their car seats weren’t included on the list of recalled models. Well, now Graco is feeling the heat again because federal safety officials want to know exact HOW those other models made the slip.
The safety recall last month had to do with the buckles of millions of car seats. Once they became gummed up with good and liquids (spilled by our little ones, of course) they became more and more difficult to unlatch. This could become especially hazardous in the case of accidents and fires, when getting your little one out immediately is obviously prudent.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration now wants Graco to hand over every piece of information and research relating to both the recalled and non-recalled models, proving that the other models do still meet their necessary safety regulations. Graco of course says that they’re happy to comply and confident in their decisions: that the remaining car seats were tested vigorously and meet all safety regulations. Time will tell if that is indeed so!
Remember, if you have one of the recalled models, all you need to do is order your free replacement buckles online HERE. The seats are still safe to use while waiting for the replacement buckles the company claims. Here are the customer service contacts for Graco, as well: (800) 345-4109 or [email protected]
I am one of those people that goes through far too many clothing items, not because they’re old or don’t fit, but because I wear/spill/stain everything! All of my favorite camis and tees have been through the torment of store bought spot cleaners and oxi-detergents, but I am always looking for an easier (and better) fix! Here are a couple awesome home treatments that I found, thought I’d share, and hope save my current wardrobe!
I love this one! Spill some of your precious red vino? Blot with a damp clean cloth. Dab with a little white wine (in between sipping it) to break down more of the stain. For anything that is left, sprinkle baking soda over it and allow it to absorb the residue for 20 minutes, and then remove it with a cloth.
If you spill the grease from that pizza or cheese burger onto your favorite shirt, that doesn't mean it’s done for anymore! As soon as humanly possible break out your talcum powder or cornmeal. Sprinkle it generously over your stain, and let it absorb the oils. Dust away with a dry cloth.
Get something gummy stuck in clothing or furniture? Freeze the goo with an ice cube, and then scrape the mass majority off with butter knife or comb. For the remainder, dab on a little clear dish soap. Rinse off with a damp cloth.
Remove ink stains with a little bit of rubbing alcohol. Dip a clean toothbrush into the alcohol, tap off any excess, and then gently scrub your ink stain away.
For coffee or tea, first mix together 1 cup of water and 1 cup of white vinegar. Sprinkle or spray the stain, dab with a clean damp cloth, and then with a clean dry cloth. Next, mix 1 tablespoon of clear ammonia and 1 cup of water, spray stain, dab with a clean damp cloth, and then with the dry.
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