[tid-bits]

style
Color by Design
Do you have the kind of husband who thinks purple and red look smashing together? Well I do. I found that if I organized the kids' closet into matching color categories by identifying matching pieces with the same colored hangers hubby did pretty good with out me around.

Personalized Burping Cloths, Ts & Onesies
To personalize the ordinary white cotton burping cloth, trim the edges with your favorite ribbon or trimming, available at your local craft or notion store. You can do the same for plain white Ts and onesies.

Personalized “Mine”
To avoid confusion among playgroup pals, personalize your child’s sippies, bottles, and other essential gear with adhesive backed labels.

food
Expand Your Tot's Palette
Encourage your tot to trial new foods by treating him to a sticker, story time or reserving his favorite toy or game for play in exchange for a small taste of new foods. You might be surprised by his willingness to trade a treat for a bite of new foods.

Google Dinner
Not sure what to have for dinner? Little left in the fridge? Try this trick: pick out the main ingredients that you've got on hand into your search engine with the word "recipe" or type them into a recipe database like Food Networks. You may be surprised at the delicious possibilities that await!

Bite Size Meals
Save your child’s favorite meals in individual kid-sized serving, label & freeze for future meals. For storage you can use small sandwich bags, petite plastic containers. For liquids or foods that can be placed into a mold try ice cube trays and/or muffin tray molds.

Dining Out Kit
Dining out with children doesn’t have to be stressful. Put together a Dinning Out Kit to keep the little ones occupied and you will find the experience of dinning out a bit more enjoyable. Start by packing simple snacks such as cereal, raisins, or diced-bite-sized fruit to tide him over between nibbles from your plate. Bring along a few small toys and pack them separate from the snacks. Keep these in the car or diaper bag so that they are always handy for the next family outing.

nesting
Toddler Bedding
If you’ve ever shopped for bedding for a toddler bed, you know they are costly! However, we found a sensible solution. Throw blankets! They’re just the right size, and the designs are endless. And if you are luck you might even find a matching sham. Complete the look with a color coordinated matching toddler sheet set!

DIY Craft Table for Kids
Having a difficult time finding the perfect craft table big enough to accomodate his pals and masterpiece? Visit your local unfinished wood furniture shop and ask them cut down the legs to size of a coffee table or kitchen table...stain to match the other furnishings in the room. This trick also works great with chairs and stools!

Wall Art
Children's books, wall paper and fabrics make beautiful art work at an affordable price. Framing the pages of a favorite story book can make an impressive display in a child's room or play area.

Peace of Mind
Use fragrant candles at the end of the day, once the little ones are asleep to create a soothing environment. Choose scents that signal relaxation and soothing such as lavender, sandalwood, and green tea.

Cash-In The Attic
Consignment shops are an excellent resource for making money from clothes, furniture, toys and maternity items your family has outgrown and/or no longer uses.

Lead Safety
Stop wondering about the safety of house paints, metal toys and other items in your home. Do-it-yourself home lead test kits are now available at your local hardware store and home improvement centers.

Disappearing Fingerprints
Isopropyl Alcohol is a pro at taking off little fingerprints from stainless steel appliances. Just dab a little on a rag and rub on the surface---viola!

fun
Disney Movies On-line
Disney is now showing full-length movies online at Disney.com, for a limited time, after they air on ABC's Saturday-night staple Wonderful World of Disney.

Recycled Crayons
When crayons break or snap into pieces our first inclination is to throw them out, instead recycle them into crayon wheels. Take the broken pieces of crayons and peel the paper off of them. Line a mini muffin or other molding pan with cupcake wrappers. Place a few pieces of the crayons in the tins and put the pan in the oven on low heat (about 250 degrees). Pull them out once they have melted. Let them cool before peeling the cupcake wrappers off.

Sofa Playroom
Have you noticed little John has an affinity for bouncing on the sofa...if discouraging and time-out is not working, remove all cushions to shorten the fall and place yoga mats around the sofa for a bit more protection.

Crayon Clean-up
Baby-wipes are an excellent safe and quick method to cleaning crayons off walls, furniture and sometimes fabric. Always test small area first.

solutions
Easy Clippings
Coordinating the best time to clip those tiny toe and hand nails isn't easy. The best times are sometimes the unplanned. For easy clippings, keep your baby clippers handy, try attaching them to your keychain and next time your little one falls asleep in the car in the car or stroller, start clipping! No more sneaking into the bedroom after hours to try and snip those tiny nails!

Blonde Swimmers
The chlorinated water in swimming pools can turn golden locks green. To avoid this reaction, before swimming, spray the hair with tap water. The tap water will help by absorbing in the hair before the chlorine. After the pool, wash your child’s hair with a specially formulated shampoo for swimmers, formulated to remove chlorine and reduce green tones in the hair.

Fitting Room Nursing
Next time you are shopping about and baby needs to be fed, rather than seeking out a public restroom with lounge head straight to the dressing room. No one will mind and you'll be more relaxed knowing you are in total privacy. In a pinch, the benches in the fitting room also serve as a great changing table, but beware if you have a squirmy little one you might opt for the traditional bathroom changing tables.

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