Yes, you read that right. During naptime earlier this week, while the rest of the house was sleeping, my precious son decided to take my stick of deodorant from my bedroom and smear it in several different places in his bedroom. In his words, they were drawings of "dinosaurs". Some were just practice ones because they didn't turn out, and then one or two were "good ones".
For me, it meant several really sticky, greasy messes to clean up. His locations of choice included two places on the wall, the headboard of his bed, the side of his dresser, and the wicker ottoman that sits beside his bed. Yes, wicker. So of course, the deodorant was also embedded in the little cracks between the fibre weaves.
How I cleaned it up:
1. Having never had to clean deodorant off of anything before, my immediate reaction was to head to my trusty friend, Google. Believe it or not, apparently this kind of thing hasn't happened before, or at least, it hasn't happened to anybody who's thought to write about it and share their wisdom with the rest of the world. The best I could come up with was how to get deodorant stains out of clothing...not really all that helpful.
2. Since Google failed me (*sob* I can't believe it...), and I was left to my own devices, I decided to attempt to tackle the problem using the old tried and true method of vinegar and hot water. I made sure the water was as hot as I could stand, and I added a significant splash of vinegar to the bucket to make the solution as effective as I possibly could.
3. Then I took a regular kitchen cloth, and Reuben and I went off to the bedroom to do some serious scrubbing. (His punishment was that he had to stay inside and help me clean up while Daddy and Kaylee went out to play in the sprinkler. One of these days, he's going to learn he's not allowed to take Mommy's things from Mommy's bedroom.) So we set to scrubbing with less than stellar results. Deodorant is extremely greasy, and it didn't take long before my cloth was coated in it. It was very difficult to rinse off, so that by the time I got to the last and worst section of deodorant-covered wall, it took me quite some time to get it cleaned enough to call our job done. In the end, it felt like all I was doing was smearing the deodorant around more, and you could still see the greasy outline of my son's "dinosaur" drawing.
4. Talking to my Mum later, she suggested dish soap as a way to cut the grease, so I went back for a second shot at the residue I just couldn't get off with the vinegar and water mixture. The dish soap seemed to work well, although it took quite a lot of rinsing to get the soap off the wall. Unfortunately, I think I waited too long to try it because after the wall dried, you can still see a grease stain on the wall, but I couldn't feel anymore residue on my fingers. It really doesn't help that the paint someone used in that room is the non-glossy stuff, so everything just soaks right down into it right away. Whoever THAT genius was clearly wasn't thinking when they painted a potential child's bedroom with that kind of paint...
In conclusion, I think dish soap is the answer for getting deodorant off the wall...or any other surface it might happen to have been rubbed on. Heck, it may even be the solution for getting it out of clothes, although the Google searches generally conclude the vinegar and baking soda option works best.
I think from now on I'm going to keep my deodorant under lock and key...
Showing posts with label Homemaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homemaking. Show all posts
Friday, July 08, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
On smells in my house...
I got to do something yesterday that I haven't done in absolutely ages: sit alone at a Tim Horton's with nothing but my coffee and a book for company. It was glorious. I even had a moment of epiphany as something I was reading made me suddenly stop and think.
You want to know what I was thinking about?
How to make my house smell better.
Yep. That was my deep and profound thought. The first time in ages that I get to sit and think by myself during daylight hours, and the best thing I can come up with is how to change the odor in my house to something more pleasing than cat pee and garbage.
A few solutions came to mind. First things first, I need to change the cat's litter box and the soiled newspaper from around it. I don't know why, and we even recently bought her a larger box, but she still has a horrible habit of missing the box when she pees. Yeah. Yuck. (Don't deny it. You know you said it, too.)
I should probably also start a habit of taking the garbage out more frequently, as in before it becomes so crammed full I can barely get the bag out of the can without ripping it. Ditto this for my bowl of compost, although I am slightly better at emptying this on time just because the bowl gets full pretty quickly when you have two kids that frequently don't finish all their food.
There's always the standard air freshener options like deodorizing sprays and scented candles, but who wants to be breathing in all those nasty chemicals I'm sure they're chock full of?
I could try some natural air freshening options, like pot pourri or pots of cinnamon sticks boiling on the stove, and maybe I will do some research on some of that later.
And I'm sure it would also help if I toilet trained Kaylee and eliminated her diapers from the garbage mix. But go figure, she hates the pull-ups I picked up for her last time I got groceries.
Overall, one thing has become glaringly obvious to me. I am really just not that perfect housewife whose house is always sparkling clean and smelling of sunshine.
And frankly, I'm okay with that. (Although I might still try to do something about those nasty smells...)
You want to know what I was thinking about?
How to make my house smell better.
Yep. That was my deep and profound thought. The first time in ages that I get to sit and think by myself during daylight hours, and the best thing I can come up with is how to change the odor in my house to something more pleasing than cat pee and garbage.
A few solutions came to mind. First things first, I need to change the cat's litter box and the soiled newspaper from around it. I don't know why, and we even recently bought her a larger box, but she still has a horrible habit of missing the box when she pees. Yeah. Yuck. (Don't deny it. You know you said it, too.)
I should probably also start a habit of taking the garbage out more frequently, as in before it becomes so crammed full I can barely get the bag out of the can without ripping it. Ditto this for my bowl of compost, although I am slightly better at emptying this on time just because the bowl gets full pretty quickly when you have two kids that frequently don't finish all their food.
There's always the standard air freshener options like deodorizing sprays and scented candles, but who wants to be breathing in all those nasty chemicals I'm sure they're chock full of?
I could try some natural air freshening options, like pot pourri or pots of cinnamon sticks boiling on the stove, and maybe I will do some research on some of that later.
And I'm sure it would also help if I toilet trained Kaylee and eliminated her diapers from the garbage mix. But go figure, she hates the pull-ups I picked up for her last time I got groceries.
Overall, one thing has become glaringly obvious to me. I am really just not that perfect housewife whose house is always sparkling clean and smelling of sunshine.
And frankly, I'm okay with that. (Although I might still try to do something about those nasty smells...)
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
The continuing saga of my yellow rubber gloves...
I have no luck with my rubber gloves. There's nothing special about them. They're just yellow rubber gloves that you can buy at the grocery store, and I use them for when I do dishes. The cold air of winter gives me enough trouble with dry skin, and constantly having my hands in water doing dishes only makes the problem worse. So I wear gloves.
The problem is that I have gone through at least four pairs of gloves in the last two or three months. First the issue was with my cat. Apparently she has a taste for yellow rubber, and I wasn't very good at remembering to put my gloves back under the sink when I was finished doing dishes. It was partly logical thinking on my part; I would drape them over the sink so that they could drip dry before I put them away. But of course, in those few minutes or hours while they would lay there drying, the cat would inevitably snatch them up and chew the fingers off of them.
And of course, she always picked the right-hand glove, which is the hand that I use to hold the dishes in the water.
So after losing three pairs of gloves this way, I have learned to always put my gloves in the cupboard under the sink to dry, and I have managed to keep my current pair of gloves safe from my glove-eating feline.
But now, it seems my gloves themselves are betraying me. Go figure, one of the fingers has sprouted a tiny hole in it, and now every time I do dishes, the glove slowly fills with water, negating the purpose for wearing them in the first place.
And wouldn't you know it, it's the right-hand glove that got the hole.
I blame it on a stray fork or knife piercing my poor defenseless glove, although my finger seems to have escaped unscathed, so I have no idea when or how it actually happened. All I know is that once again, I have to buy another pair of rubber gloves.
I can't win.
The problem is that I have gone through at least four pairs of gloves in the last two or three months. First the issue was with my cat. Apparently she has a taste for yellow rubber, and I wasn't very good at remembering to put my gloves back under the sink when I was finished doing dishes. It was partly logical thinking on my part; I would drape them over the sink so that they could drip dry before I put them away. But of course, in those few minutes or hours while they would lay there drying, the cat would inevitably snatch them up and chew the fingers off of them.
And of course, she always picked the right-hand glove, which is the hand that I use to hold the dishes in the water.
So after losing three pairs of gloves this way, I have learned to always put my gloves in the cupboard under the sink to dry, and I have managed to keep my current pair of gloves safe from my glove-eating feline.
But now, it seems my gloves themselves are betraying me. Go figure, one of the fingers has sprouted a tiny hole in it, and now every time I do dishes, the glove slowly fills with water, negating the purpose for wearing them in the first place.
And wouldn't you know it, it's the right-hand glove that got the hole.
I blame it on a stray fork or knife piercing my poor defenseless glove, although my finger seems to have escaped unscathed, so I have no idea when or how it actually happened. All I know is that once again, I have to buy another pair of rubber gloves.
I can't win.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
God's Sense of Humor
Shhhhh...I have a secret. Don't tell anyone.
I'm actually beginning to like doing dishes.
Yes, you read that right. The one chore that has been the bane of my existence is now becoming the one chore I enjoy doing the most.
Why the sudden change you may ask? Well, it seems that God has a funny way of taking things in life that I never said I'd do or things that I say I hate and turns them into things I do or things that I enjoy. For example, I always said I'd never live in Hamilton. (This was as a kid growing up; I'm not sure why I had such a bad impression of this place.) And now, I've been living in Hamilton for almost six years. I always said I'd never marry a truck driver. (Again, not really sure why I said this.) My husband is a long-haul truck driver. I always said I'd never marry a smoker. (This one is self-explanatory.) My husband is also a smoker...although this we might still try to work on. :)
And now, lo and behold, the chore I always said I hated the most, God is turning it into the chore that I almost look forward to doing. Before you think I've gone completely off my rocker, let me explain further why this is. Doing dishes has become a time of day when I can actually get the kids to more or less leave me alone, and I get to spend time thinking, praying, and having a bit of a breather. My kitchen window has a great view of a beautiful birch tree, and I get to watch the little birds making their homes in it and the tree coming back to life after winter. Added to all that, there is definitely a nice sense of accomplishment in going from a cluttered counter to a clean kitchen, just by doing a sink full of dishes and wiping things down.
So there it is people. Point and laugh. Doing dishes, the chore I previously detested with all my heart, has now become the one chore I love.
I'm actually beginning to like doing dishes.
Yes, you read that right. The one chore that has been the bane of my existence is now becoming the one chore I enjoy doing the most.
Why the sudden change you may ask? Well, it seems that God has a funny way of taking things in life that I never said I'd do or things that I say I hate and turns them into things I do or things that I enjoy. For example, I always said I'd never live in Hamilton. (This was as a kid growing up; I'm not sure why I had such a bad impression of this place.) And now, I've been living in Hamilton for almost six years. I always said I'd never marry a truck driver. (Again, not really sure why I said this.) My husband is a long-haul truck driver. I always said I'd never marry a smoker. (This one is self-explanatory.) My husband is also a smoker...although this we might still try to work on. :)
And now, lo and behold, the chore I always said I hated the most, God is turning it into the chore that I almost look forward to doing. Before you think I've gone completely off my rocker, let me explain further why this is. Doing dishes has become a time of day when I can actually get the kids to more or less leave me alone, and I get to spend time thinking, praying, and having a bit of a breather. My kitchen window has a great view of a beautiful birch tree, and I get to watch the little birds making their homes in it and the tree coming back to life after winter. Added to all that, there is definitely a nice sense of accomplishment in going from a cluttered counter to a clean kitchen, just by doing a sink full of dishes and wiping things down.
So there it is people. Point and laugh. Doing dishes, the chore I previously detested with all my heart, has now become the one chore I love.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Some New Recipes
I've gotten back into trying some new recipes again lately, partly because with Spring coming, I'm feeling adventurous again, and partly because Reuben's had some health issues that have necessitated a change in diet for a little while (no yeast, very limited sugar). The limited sugar thing presented a huge challenge as far as how to do any sort of baking. No yeast would be easy enough because I could just make muffins, but try to make muffins with no sugar! And don't get me started on cookies with no sugar... Here's an oatmeal cookie recipe I tried:
1 cup honey
1 egg
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat together shortening, honey, egg, water, and vanilla until creamy. Add combined remaining ingredients; mix well.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 12 to 15 minutes.
I also added about 1 tbsp cinnamon and 1/2 cup of raisins. The final result was both chewy and flavorless. I wasn't thrilled, and neither were the kids. I have doubts that I'll make another attempt at sugar-less cookies, unless I try some sort of ginger cookie with molasses as a sweetener.
We also Grilled Chicken Rollers.
They were quite yummy, but you need to make sure you have the barbecue hot enough or the chicken won't be done in the time they say.
1 cup honey
1 egg
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat together shortening, honey, egg, water, and vanilla until creamy. Add combined remaining ingredients; mix well.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 12 to 15 minutes.
I also added about 1 tbsp cinnamon and 1/2 cup of raisins. The final result was both chewy and flavorless. I wasn't thrilled, and neither were the kids. I have doubts that I'll make another attempt at sugar-less cookies, unless I try some sort of ginger cookie with molasses as a sweetener.
We also Grilled Chicken Rollers.
They were quite yummy, but you need to make sure you have the barbecue hot enough or the chicken won't be done in the time they say.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Menu Plan Wednesday
Well, it's been a whole week with no post, so at least you get my menu plan today. I'll try to do better in the future. :) Here's our menu for the week of Feb 9 to Feb 15.
Wednesday - Roast & potatoes
Thursday - Spaghetti
Friday - Soup (not sure what kind yet, but there's a distinct possibility it's coming from a can)
Saturday - Sweet & sour chicken
Sunday - Pancakes
Monday - the kids get hotdogs; Tim & I are having one of those new PC Dine-In Tonight frozen entree things. The one we got is Creamy tarragon pan-seared chicken. Just our little way of celebrating Valentine's Day without going out. Maybe we'll wait till the kids are in bed and eat by candlelight. ;)
Tuesday - Easy Chicken & Broccoli
Wednesday - Roast & potatoes
Thursday - Spaghetti
Friday - Soup (not sure what kind yet, but there's a distinct possibility it's coming from a can)
Saturday - Sweet & sour chicken
Sunday - Pancakes
Monday - the kids get hotdogs; Tim & I are having one of those new PC Dine-In Tonight frozen entree things. The one we got is Creamy tarragon pan-seared chicken. Just our little way of celebrating Valentine's Day without going out. Maybe we'll wait till the kids are in bed and eat by candlelight. ;)
Tuesday - Easy Chicken & Broccoli
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Menu Plan Wednesday
Well, it's a snow day today, and the kids went to Laura's a day early, so Tim and I are enjoying some quiet time around the house for once. I thought I should take the time to post something, even if it's not anything particularly inspiring. I'm actually having a difficult time typing after mutilating my finger on the mandolin last night while I was attempting to slice potatoes for supper. Looks like I probably won't be taking any transcription work this weekend.
I know a lot of the other bloggers that I keep up with will often do a Menu Plan type post, so I'm thinking I might start doing that too. I've found that dinner time is a whole lot easier if I have all of our meals planned out ahead of time. It also makes groceries a lot simpler, too. I usually plan for two weeks at a time, based around the timing of our budget and when pay cheques are deposited. I think I'll only post a week at a time though. So here's my menu plan for Feb 2 through Feb 8.
Wednesday - Shepherd's pie
Thursday - Hamburger Helper
Friday - chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, and peas (I haven't decided how I'm going to cook the chicken yet.)
Saturday - Lasagna
Sunday - Chili
Monday - Sidekicks & homemade chicken fingers
Tuesday - Boerenkool
Thursdays have to be fairly easy meals as we're trying to get Tim out the door, so we're squeezing the meal in while making his lunches for on the road and packing his bag before dropping him off. That leaves meals for just me and the kids over the weekend, and an easy meal again on Monday in case we have to go pick Tim up before or after dinner. Then Tuesdays and Wednesdays are meals with Tim home, and hopefully something that will give us leftovers for him to take on the road with him.
There's a method to all this madness. I do find it challenging to come up with meals for just me and the kids because I want them to be easier meals, but still tasty and nutritious, yet not feeling like I'm going to be making all kinds of food that no one is going to eat because the kids don't have huge appetites yet. Dinner is often the meal they eat the least of in the day.
So that's that. I think from now on I will try to make Wednesday's my Menu Plan post days. If you ever want to come join us for a meal you particularly like, let me know, and I'll make sure we have enough for you. :)
I know a lot of the other bloggers that I keep up with will often do a Menu Plan type post, so I'm thinking I might start doing that too. I've found that dinner time is a whole lot easier if I have all of our meals planned out ahead of time. It also makes groceries a lot simpler, too. I usually plan for two weeks at a time, based around the timing of our budget and when pay cheques are deposited. I think I'll only post a week at a time though. So here's my menu plan for Feb 2 through Feb 8.
Wednesday - Shepherd's pie
Thursday - Hamburger Helper
Friday - chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, and peas (I haven't decided how I'm going to cook the chicken yet.)
Saturday - Lasagna
Sunday - Chili
Monday - Sidekicks & homemade chicken fingers
Tuesday - Boerenkool
Thursdays have to be fairly easy meals as we're trying to get Tim out the door, so we're squeezing the meal in while making his lunches for on the road and packing his bag before dropping him off. That leaves meals for just me and the kids over the weekend, and an easy meal again on Monday in case we have to go pick Tim up before or after dinner. Then Tuesdays and Wednesdays are meals with Tim home, and hopefully something that will give us leftovers for him to take on the road with him.
There's a method to all this madness. I do find it challenging to come up with meals for just me and the kids because I want them to be easier meals, but still tasty and nutritious, yet not feeling like I'm going to be making all kinds of food that no one is going to eat because the kids don't have huge appetites yet. Dinner is often the meal they eat the least of in the day.
So that's that. I think from now on I will try to make Wednesday's my Menu Plan post days. If you ever want to come join us for a meal you particularly like, let me know, and I'll make sure we have enough for you. :)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Some things I've been working on...
Well, the kids are napping, and I'm heading up for a quick snooze shortly, but I thought I'd get a quick post in while I've got a minute. There's so many things that I keep thinking to write about lately that I'm having a hard time sorting out what to say. One of these days I should probably just sit down and make a list of future posts.
In a continuation of my new goals for improving my homemaking skills, I thought I'd talk about some of the things I'm trying to work on. Two tips that I read from the blogs on my list include sweeping the floor every night after supper and making the beds every morning before going downstairs. So far, I've done pretty good at remembering to make the beds, although Reuben's bed always gets messed up from him playing on it and napping in the afternoon. I'm not doing as good at sweeping the kitchen floor, but the ants are doing a great job of making me motivated to keep the floor crumb free. If I leave anything tasty down there overnight, they've found it by morning, and I end up sweeping ants along with the dirt. Ick.
My next project is to attempt to start making homemade bread instead of buying it. Since I don't have a breadmaker, this might be a little work-intensive. Stay tuned...
In a continuation of my new goals for improving my homemaking skills, I thought I'd talk about some of the things I'm trying to work on. Two tips that I read from the blogs on my list include sweeping the floor every night after supper and making the beds every morning before going downstairs. So far, I've done pretty good at remembering to make the beds, although Reuben's bed always gets messed up from him playing on it and napping in the afternoon. I'm not doing as good at sweeping the kitchen floor, but the ants are doing a great job of making me motivated to keep the floor crumb free. If I leave anything tasty down there overnight, they've found it by morning, and I end up sweeping ants along with the dirt. Ick.
My next project is to attempt to start making homemade bread instead of buying it. Since I don't have a breadmaker, this might be a little work-intensive. Stay tuned...
Friday, August 27, 2010
About Homemaking...
Some of you may have wondered about a few of the blogs I've got posted on my blogroll and how so many of them are starting to be about homemaking. Well, it's been on the back of my mind for a while, and starting to be more at the front of my mind lately, that I want to get better at this whole being a housewife thing. I remember as a kid all I wanted was to get married and have kids. But now that it's happened, I've come to realize that I actually had no idea what all of that entailed. Life at home all day with the kids is not what I expected -- except that I don't really know what I was expecting.
Anyway, the point is that recently I've decided that I want to get better at being a good wife and mother; I want to be a better homemaker. This is my job, my mission that God has given me, and frankly, up till now, I've been doing a piss poor job of it. Sure, there's the standard excuse, "I've got two kids to take care of. I can't expect my house to be perfectly clean." And I don't. But there's not really any good reason to have my kitchen floor covered with crumbs for weeks at a time. Is it such a big deal to sweep up every night after supper? No, it's not.
So I've been reading blogs from other women who have made homemaking their career, and I've started to realize that it is a great source of encouragement to read about other women in the same situation as me, who have the same struggles as me, and I've found that some of them have some spectacular advice and tips on doing what it takes to keep the house running smoothly.
So that's why there's these homemaking blogs on my blogroll. Who knows? Maybe if I get better at posting stuff here on my blog, I'll go public again, and they might start reading here, too. We'll see...
Anyway, the point is that recently I've decided that I want to get better at being a good wife and mother; I want to be a better homemaker. This is my job, my mission that God has given me, and frankly, up till now, I've been doing a piss poor job of it. Sure, there's the standard excuse, "I've got two kids to take care of. I can't expect my house to be perfectly clean." And I don't. But there's not really any good reason to have my kitchen floor covered with crumbs for weeks at a time. Is it such a big deal to sweep up every night after supper? No, it's not.
So I've been reading blogs from other women who have made homemaking their career, and I've started to realize that it is a great source of encouragement to read about other women in the same situation as me, who have the same struggles as me, and I've found that some of them have some spectacular advice and tips on doing what it takes to keep the house running smoothly.
So that's why there's these homemaking blogs on my blogroll. Who knows? Maybe if I get better at posting stuff here on my blog, I'll go public again, and they might start reading here, too. We'll see...
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