Her first time "sewing"

Bunkins got a hold of some shoes while she was playing in her room.  She came out with a shoe lace in her hands and a shoe on her foot and was saying "Uh-oh".  I looked down at her lace-less shoe and did what any good parent does and fell off the couch laughing at her.  Once I was over the initial cuteness of her act I helped her re-lace her shoe.

That gave me the idea to have make one of those lace-through cards.  I know that they make them and next time I will make a pretty design but I wanted to get it done right away.

Supplies:

Yarn, tape, cardboard (or card stock), hole punch, scissors

I didn't want to use paper because it would have been too flimsy.  I would have used card stock but I don't think that we have any at this house.  :(  The next best thing was to use cardboard which was just so happened to have.  Granted I took it out of the trash can (we finished it off this morning) but it worked.



I tied a few knots at the end and then covered it with some tape so it wouldn't come out of the hole.

It was a little tricky for her to figure out.

I sort of wish it wasn't a cereal box because as soon as she saw the picture of cereal she insisted that I get her a bowl.

Waiting for her cereal.

She had trouble having it lie flat but still getting the yarn though.

She gave up on playing with it and is consentrating on eating her Special K and watching Ry-Ry (Juno).  She loves those movies.

http://www.junobaby.com/

Questions to Ask a Prospective Babysitter

We are getting ready to interview a few girls from the church to see if they will be Bunkin's babysitter.  I spent a few hours on the internet collecting questions that every parent should ask a potential babysitter.

I plan on having my laptop open when we talk to them and just fill out a new document for each girl with their individual answers.  That way we can compare their answers.  One website said to tell them how much you want to pay them and THEN ask them how much they are looking to make.  That way you can meet in the middle if your numbers don't add up!

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/05/12/questions-parent-ask-babysitter/

I was actually a bit surprised at the rate that was recommended for our area but it is all about location, location, location.

http://www.care.com/babysitter-calculator-p1087-q12296511.html?mkwid=sROsWpeyC&mkw=babysitting%20rates&pcrid=11717164230&pmt=e&gclid=CJus3a3g8a8CFQSynQod9GoyVA&_qs=1

I also found this to be a bit helpful and informative:




http://www.babysitting-rates.com/

The secretary at our church recommended a few girls to talk to so I looked up their facebook pages.  I fell no shame.  haha  I was able to find 2 of the 3 and was very pleased with what I saw.

Questions to Ask a Prospective Babysitter 

1.   Do you have a criminal record?

2.   Have you babysat previously?  If so, please describe your experience.

3.   Do you have younger siblings or your own children?

4.   How many families have you regularly babysat for in the past?

5.   What are the ages of the children you’ve babysat for in the past?

6.   Can you provide me with the names and addresses of three previous employers?

7.   Have you received any specialized training for child care (such as first aid/CPR, attended a babysitter course, or taken related school courses)?  What experience do you have handling emergencies?

8.   Do you have a cell phone?

9.   Under what type of situation would you call me?

10.      What babysitter qualities do you have that should make me want to hire you?

11.      What's the first thing you would do if there were a fire?

12.      What would you do if the electricity went out?

13.      Do you know how to prepare a simple meal?

14.      Do you know how to feed a toddler? Do you know what to do if a child chokes?

15.      Do you regularly work/volunteer with kids? If so, please describe (such as helping out with young dance classes, serving as a sports assistant, etc.).

16.      Are your immunizations current?

17.      Do you have any health restrictions that could affect your ability to babysit?

18.      Do you have a driver’s license?  Do you have a car?  Do you have any tickets?

19.      How will you handle separation anxiety?

20.      Do you have any questions about our family rules?

21.      How will you enforce these rules?  Do you believe in spanking?

22.      How will you respond when my child does follow/won’t follow the rules?

23.      What will you do if my child won’t mind you or exhibits bad behavior such as biting or spitting?

24.      What activities will you plan with my child when I am gone? (Games, crafts or child-friendly)

25.      What age children do you most enjoy? Least enjoy? Why? Which age group are you most comfortable/experienced with?

26.      What is your overall child care philosophy? (Yes, you can and should even ask this of a teenage babysitter.)

27.      Are you comfortable helping my child go to the potty?

28.      Are you comfortable being in my home at night or for an extended period?

29.      What is your hourly rate of pay?  How do you prefer to be paid?

30.      What hours and days of the week are you available to work? (Ask if there are any particular times/dates a potential sitter cannot work.)

                                                   

31.      What can I do as a parent to help make your babysitting experience with my kids a success?

If you can think of any other please feel free to leave a comment for me!

ARK 6-Bring Something (Healthy) for the Doctor’s Office

Today I went to BACH to get an ultrasound to find out what is going on with my body.

I took a bag of No-Bake Energy Bites and gave it to the girls at the front desk.  They seems very happy about it.  The one woman was excited because Dr. Oz was talking about Flax seed last week!  So funny.

Here are a few pictures of this ARK:


It has the date I made it, the same little ARK note as the bread and my name.

 I decided to tape the recipe to the back of the bag so that they would know what was in it in case anyone had allergies.

I am glad that I could spread some cheer to them today.  :)

ARK 5- Donate Blood

Wow.  What a day I had yesterday!  Evelynn has pink eye so we didn't go to church.  :(  I had my appointment to donate scheduled for 11:45 so after a quick snack at home we headed out.  The blood drive was at a church so I did a Google maps which Mister Husband didn't want to take because he said he knew a better way!  I told him the physical address and the name of the church (Hilldale Baptist).  We are driving along and he sees a church named Hilldale but the address isn't right.  He turned in anyway.  We get inside and there is a service going on!  It wasn't Hilldale Baptist it was Hilldale United Methodist Church!  Oopie!  At that point I had 2 minutes to be at my appointment.  We hurried along and found the right Hilldale church.  We were only a few minutes late and had to wait anyway.

We wait for a while and Bunkins doesn't really like to wait so she is being a fussy butt.  One of the workers said that she could have something from the snack table so we got her a bag of animal crackers and an Orange Juice.  She was pretty happy about that.  She also took my sticker when they gave me a new one.  I started out with a red sticker with my name on it but when they found out it was my first time they switched it out for a green one with my name on it.  She also got one with her own name on it because a worker thought she was cute and wanted to make her happy.


Here she is with her crackers and juice.

Mister Husband playing on his phone

The two of us being in love

I got called back to fill out some questions and get the finger prick (loads of fun!) and somehow grabbed E's sippy cup.  The woman asking me questions said that she would bring it to her so that E wouldn't get upset over seeing me and then having me disappear again.  She said that when she handed E the cup that E told her "Thank you."  I am so glad she is finally getting manners down in front of other people.  She will say please and thank you at home but if there are others around she is a mute.

I passed all the questions and tests so they got me set up in an awesome table cot thing that tilts and what not-it didn't have cup holders though!

As the nurse is getting my arm all set up the guy on the cot in front of my faints!!  The dumby didn't eat before he donated!  Hello?  That's like the most important thing to do when you donate blood!  She told me not to let that scare me that it isn't something that happen often.

Here I am with my beautiful purple blood

My awesome green sticker, O.J., and a bag of pretzels

Once the bag was filled I asked her if it would be weird if I took a picture of my bag of blood.  I got my phone ready and when I looked over I saw the .16 gauge needle sticking out of my arm!  The room went black.  The next thing I remember was hearing the song "What a Savior" by Laura Story which was playing on the radio when we were driving over, and lots of people saying my name.  There was lots of cold water on me!  Good times.  There was a large group of people circled around me to make sure that I was okay.

After a little bit-I don't know how long-they let me stand up and walk over to the snack table.  I sat and ate some cookies, drank more juice (3 cans and a water bottle-my tummy hurt!) and just relaxed.  I ate too much or something because all of a sudden I was telling Dan that I didn't feel well.  The nice worker woman brought me a bag to puke in but that wasn't the type of tummy pain I had because once again I was out.  The next thing I remember I was lying on the floor with my feet up on a chair.

A few minutes later they moved a table-cot over to the snack area and set me up right there.  I waited there for quite a bit.  They checked my vitals a lot.  We ended up staying there for about 2.5 hours for a 15 minute procedure.  Good times.

They finally said that I could go and Mister Husband brought the car around and turned the air on so I wouldn't be uncomfortable.  We stop at the store so he can get some Biscoff spread.  He has been searching for it since we got to Tennessee!  He got a jar and me a bag of mini peanut butter cup!  As we were driving home we were talking about how my body probably doesn't produce a lot of blood-just enough to keep me alive not enough to give away.  The blood talk got me woozy so I cranked the air down and put my seat back.  I feel bad because when I did that I smushed Bunkin's legs.  Mister Husband told me and I quickly bumped my chair up a bit.  I went black-again.  Only this time we were driving and I threw up.  I don't know if we pulled over or if his medic skills took over but he got me back.  I was covered in vomit.  Fun.

Thankfully I had just done a load of towels that morning and they were still in the dryer.  Mister Husband got the seat belt cleaned so the mess wouldn't spread.  I got up and stripped in the basement.  Thankfully the car blocked the garage so I was hidden from view.

I got upstairs, and into the bathtub.  Medic husband told me to take a cool bath to get cleaned up.  He then told me that I should only put on a sports bra and underwear because I needed to keep cool.  I was freezing!  He put some blankets on the floor with a barf bucket.  He called his boss and let him know what was going on in case things got worse and he wouldn't be able to go to work in the morning.  He also called his dad, an EMT, to see if he had any advice.

***EDIT***  His dad is a paramedic not an EMT.

I was told that if I fainted one more time I would be going to the hospital, no questions asked.

I rested for the rest of the day and was able to nap for a bit.  Mister Husband told me later that Bunkins poop painted her crib for me.  Poor guy.  He did a lot for us yesterday.

I am now at home with a whiny two year old with orders to check in every hour or Mister Husband will leave work to drive home to check on me.  He has also told me that I am not going to donate blood again.

The nurse did tell me that I could help up to 3 people though so I call that a win!

ARK 4-Return a Shopping Cart to the Cart Corral

Today after Mister Husband got home from work we went to get some things from the Dollar Tree (love that place!)  When we got all our stuff in the trunk we put the cart back where it goes, instead of leaving it sit in the parking lot waiting to ding someones car door!

ARK 3-Send/Bring Flowers to Someone

I decided to check another one off of my list.  I took one of the flowers from the bouquet that Mister Husband got me for my birthday and wrapped it in a wet paper towel.  Bunkins and I took it next door to our lovely neighbor.  Her father is in the hospital so I thought she could use some cheering up!

Here we are leaving the house flower in hand:

Ignore the spots, my camera is acting up!

It is a very pretty flower.

If everyone is feeling well we may go out bowling on Friday!

ARK 2-Bring up neighbor’s trash bin

Today I completed a second ARK.  It wasn't officially on my list so I had to boot one off!  : P

When Evelynn and I went outside we walked next door and took our neighbor's trash can up to their house.  It isn't a huge deal but sometimes it is truly the small things that brings a smile to your face.

Here are a pictures of the sexy trash bins!


Bunkins insisted on wearing her hood up even though it was a bit warm out!

They have pretty flowers on the side of their house!

I think that if we go out for dinner we will be able to knock a few more of these off of my list!