rtra's Profile

While we have no problem saying no to guests staying in our home (our guest bedroom doesn't have a bed in it yet), we find it difficult to say no when invited to stay at family's homes when we visit. With small children, we would prefer to stay in a hotel and get some privacy over camping out on someone's sleeper sofa and sharing a bathroom.

Having been on the receiving end of truly awful and so thoughtless they were insulting gifts from relatives as a child, I do feel bad if a child dislikes a gift I have given them because it means I haven't done a good job as a gift giver. While I don't think a tantrum is appropriate, I understand kids emotions are at the forefront.
I always check with the parents first and try to figure out what they think their child will like. A gift isn't to make the giver happy, it is to make the child happy. It is up to the parents to teach their kids how to receive gifts gracefully.

I think that is kind of creepy, especially at night with those wide, white eyes staring at you.

CHESTERANDTRUDY,
I tried the magic eraser on my pfaltzgraff dishes and it did not work. Not sure about other brands of dishes, but I also have white corning casserole dishes and the magic eraser did not remove those utensil scuffs either.
Hope this helps.

I bought a hoover Elite Rewind a few years back (primarily because of the integrated cord rewind) and have been VERY happy with it. Not only did I pay less than $100 (it was on sale plus a store coupon), but it has withstood quite a bit of abuse from 2 kids and a dog. It is heavy, and cleaning the filter is kind of gross (as with any bagless), but my floors are CLEAN and it is a great vacuum for getting dust and lint out of tight corners and behind appliances. Well worth the money.

I used to live in SW Michigan and all of the gift shops along the lakeshore carry some kind of pickle ornament. I just thought the Christmas pickle tradition was a Michigan/Wisconsin German thing.

I just bought boot mats at Menards (the cheaper $2 ones) and place them under the sink. If they get dirty, I can take them out and wash them off in the tub or outside.

I used a recipe from the New York Times from 2004/2005 (sorry, couldn't find the link again) and it turned out pretty good. One of the best descriptions I read about when to know if you had soaked the peel long enough was that they become crispy like a potato chip when the limoncello is done. When I made mine, that is exactly what happened.
Also, I made mine with everclear (per the NYT recipe), but thought that was WAY too strong. If I ever made it again, I would use vodka.
Hope that helps.

Unless that table is in the shade (and even then), it will probably get really hot in the summer. I would opt for a lighter color for the seats.

I was thinking of glow-in-the-dark items like bouncey balls or the bracelets. Decided to go with candy, but might try something different next year.