grannie tips

saturday was such a peaceful day i had nothing to post. the three year old was mia, the 1 year old is just too sweet and the bigger ones watched videos and were happy with their garage sale finds.  they also enjoyed their moment of stardom when they sang you are my sunshine at the fight like a mother art show.  that was nice:  beautiful food, interesting motherly, feministic art and crafty things for sale - each big girl got jewels and a fancy umbrella to keep the sun off their faces, all at prices not much more than the garage sale finds. 46th & grand, minneapolis. a friend over for dinner was great company - adult conversation about shared motherhood experiences, small needs by big women.
the one year old ate his dinner with a fork last night; he was proud as could be sitting on phone books on a chair pushed up to the table and tied on with a dish cloth - you could just see the pride in his eyes as he sat there and speared his potatoes and got them to his mouth
i have been forgetting to write my grannie tips, which was one of the reasons for starting this blog.
so i will try to remember some of them today
grannie tip 1)   wic gives lots of dry cereal; food shelves give lots of canned fruit - pureed fruit mixed into the cereal is loved by the toddlers, no milk added
grannie tip 2) windows opened from the top down saves my window screens from sharp little fingernails and various flying objects
grannie tip 3) dressers turned toward the wall are unmovable by toddlers therefore they are unable to empty them 20 times a day
grannie tip 4) bungie cords will keep just about anything shut and inoperable by those under 7
grannie tip 5) having a basement filled with bugs! is a guarantee that the 3 year old will never open the basement door and consequently put her baby brother in danger
grannie tip 6) fingernails painted bright red make it impossible to see the dirt under the nails of any child; next week we will experiment with the goth look, painting them black