Friday Things
1. Joseph turned 6 months old last Sunday! A whole half year… where did it go?! Wasn’t I just in the hospital?? We are loving life with this little guy – he’s so much fun and does something different every day. His cackling giggle is so contagious and he loves Duke and Einstein. He’s rolling himself all over rooms now, and has rocked on his hands and knees in his crib a couple of times, so it’s only a matter of time before he’s on the move!
2. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve started Joseph on some solid foods, which he LOVES. I call him my little garbage disposal – he has yet to turn down anything I’ve offered him and he seems to especially love sweet potatoes. Up until this week, I’ve just given him things that can be easily mashed, but yesterday roasted and pureed butternut squash. I’m hoping to get my freezer stocked with a variety of foods for him!
3. I FINALLY got my first soft serve ice cream cone of the summer this week! A vanilla/chocolate twist with chocolate sprinkles – my standing order since I was playing tee ball. So good!
4. This crochet cheat sheet is a fabulous reference! Speaking of crochet, I really need to finish the rainbow blanket for Joseph that I started when I got pregnant now that my carpal tunnel is gone!
5. Have you heard about the vinegar + baking soda method for refreshing bath towels? Our towels have gotten a little stale-smelling (not mildew, but just not fresh), so I decided to give the refresher a try yesterday. Supposedly, it strips out all of the build-up the towels have accumulated and restores them to fluffy, super absorbent status. It totally worked! Here’s what you do:
Run one hot cycle with just 1 cup of white vinegar (no detergent!).
Run another hot cycle with just ½ cup of baking soda (no detergent!).
Wash as usual – do not use fabric softener or dry sheets.
I have a front-loading washing machine, so for the first cycle I poured the vinegar into the liquid detergent tray. For the second cycle, place the baking soda wherever your washing machine instructs you to put powdered detergent (my liquid detergent tray is removed for a larger powdered detergent area).
6. I love these decorating measurement tips >> 25 Need to Know Measurements for Decorating
7. Have you gone to any summer carnivals or fairs? I don’t really remember the last time I went to one (other than a beer festival – does that count?), but I’m suddenly craving the smell of funnel cakes and cotton candy (which, ironically, are two things that I actually do not enjoy eating). I’m sure in a few years, we’ll be dragging Joseph to all sorts of things like that!
8. Have you seen the new Honda commercial where the family is singing Weezer’s “Buddy Holly”? I have seen it umpteen times and now the song is stuck in my head. Also, I had that Weezer CD in high school, so I feel old, considering the commercial is targeting the parents (ahem, me) driving the car and not the teenagers singing in the back seat.
9. How has it been 30 years since Back to the Future came out?? Still one of my favorite old movies, and I can’t believe that the second movie was set in 2015. I loved the first two movies, but never, ever liked the third. Am I the only one??
10. TGIF! Hope you enjoy some snuggles this weekend!
I always use white vinegar in my wash, about a cup in a ful load along with my detergent, I never use a fabric softener, I use white vinegar in its place. I haven’t had mustiness in my towels, but if I do now I knw how to combat it…many thanks
I think I made “special” purees for my first child once. Then I decided that there was no reason she couldn’t eat what we were eating. My rationale was that kids around the world eat what their parents are eating. We mashed things with a fork, cut things very fine and mixed them with something mashed. I think we did a version of Baby Led Weaning before there was something called “Baby Led Weaning!” We skipped the purees entirely with the second child.
With your Italian background, you may appreciate this:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/too-good-to-spit-up/article656408/
Most of us would probably avoid at least one or two or their meat choices!
I had some major dental work done earlier this year and made a version of this soup for the first few days afterwards. It reminded me of one of Lidia Bastianich’s soup recipes: Potato and Rice Soup.
Congrats on the 6 month milestone! Has anyone told you about Baby Led Weaning? There’s an easy book about it and if you google it, you can find lots of info. I did it with my daughter and it was amazing. You skip purees all together and go right for solid food. I loved it and my now two year old is still a great eater. One caveat – avoid the fruit right off the bat so they develop a taste for savory first.
It’s a great way to do solid foods because baby is eating what you’re eating! Check it out.
I’ve never heard the “Buddy Holly” song before, but I do love that commercial and the song.
I just have to tell you how much I love your “Friday Things” posts. I look forward to them every week!! You always find the most interesting things! I am not a lover of fairs, but I do love a good funnel cake! YUM!
love reading your blog…but need more joseph…he just makes my day handsome guy and that smile in today’s post brings big smiles and grins. he is loved and he knows it
Ohhh I LOVE fairs! All that sugary and fried food, games, rides… It’s one of the only place I allow myself to get corndogs ;)
I’m intrigued by the towel washing! I may have to check that out….
That boy is so cute!!!!!
I just started washing my towels the same way. I haven’t been washing them normal after the vinegar and baking soda washes and have already noticed a huge difference in them. I do throw one of those Shout color catchers in the wash and it collects all kinds of color, etc. from the towels.
Solution for a stinky front load washer:
Use less detergent, only need about an 1-1 1/2 oz per load, even the really dirty ones. Good test wash the dirtiest thing (lacrosse socks in my house!) and figure out the smallest amount of detergent it takes to get them clean.
Shock the washer:
2 oz (about 1/4 cup) dishwasher powder detergent (that’s right!)
1/4 cup salt
Put these two in the powder detergent dispenser.
Add old towels to the washer (full load) and soak the towels with 1-2 gallons of white vinegar.
Run on the hottest washing setting.
This helps get rid of the scum that you can’t see that is often caused by too much detergent and fabric softener.
May have to run the shock 2-3 times as the smell is often worse after the first run if your washer is really bad. Once the smell is better do this once a month and that mildew smell should be gone.
Also keep that door wide open not just cracked, especially if you live in a humid climate.
I’ve seen that towel refresh online. So you wash them 3 times, but only use soap the third time?
Your little guy is so cute! Enjoy every stage! My first born is turning 10 years old in August. It really doesn’t seem like it’s been that long!
Hi Kirsten, You only need to do the vinegar + baking soda, but going forward everything that I read said you should be sure not to use fabric softener or dryer sheets. And yes – you do not use soap during either the vinegar or baking soda cycles.
Thanks for clarifying! I’ll definitely have to try this. With 6 of us in the house, my towels get used a lot.
Joseph looks so cute! And it’s hard to believe he is 6 months old! I too love that Honda Pilot ad – never thought about the age of the song though….lol…yeah,…I too loved Back to the Future and Back to the Future 2 but was not a fan of the third one. No summer carnivals/fairs for me so far – probably won’t this week either because it’s going to be super hot! Duke and Einstein look like they are loving their mattress….lol
Twist cones with chocolate sprinkles is my fav! I had one the other day and it totally made me happy.
Check out Peasandcrayons.com under tab “Chickpea” for baby recipes and her tips on baby lead weaning. Great info.
Hi Sharon, Thank you for the recommendation, I’ll check it out!
Yes, Buddy Holly in my head all the time now!
What a handsome little guy- simply adorable!!
Joseph is quite the handsome little prince. I’ll have to try that vinegar/ baking soda trick on the towels. Thanks. Happy Friday!!