Getting Rid of Towel Odors (because I'm feeling domestic)

Towel funk.

I know you know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the nasty, wretched smell that towels and wash cloths tend to get in the summertime, when humidity is high and everything likes to grow... the horrible scent that lingers on your skin after you dry off with said towel....the smell that will not go away no matter how many times you wash the towels. There are few things I dislike more than this smell. I finally have found a solution that works for removing the odor cause by mildew on your damp towels.

The Knight In Shining Armor for today is vinegar. Nothing fancy, just cheap white vinegar. I pour a good bit into the wash with hot water, and detergent and softener as usual, and let it run. If I think the towels are looking a bit gross, I put a bit of bleach in as well. Since my towels are white, this is good. Definitely not something I would recommend for everyone, unless you want bleach dyed towels, which could be cool. I guess.

Either way, the towels come out smelling fabulous and fresh. No more stench.

Be sure to always take your towels out of the wash, and get them into the dryer pretty quickly to avoid having the smell return. Moisture breeds mold in small, tight spaces. Additionally, if you can hang your towels to dry after using them, rather than throwing them into a hamper, you can help prevent the smell. 

Why I Suck As a Blogger.

1.   I have a VERY full time job. More like 2. As in I wake up at 6 am, fix myself, fix the girl, drop her off for the day, go to work, rarely take lunch, pick up the girl, go home, feed the girl, put the girl to bed, wash myself, go to bed.
2. My mind is clogged with home healthisms and old people drama. ::me::"Oh, they could die any day now. They're 98 years old." :::enter someone who obsviously has never laid eyes on this patient's chart::::"Do they need physical therapy?"  FYI:  MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SUCK.  They do pay our mortgage however.
3. My kid is obsessed with my computer. Which means I can't blog around her. And I don't like to stay up late.
4. I got trapped reading the 50 Shades trilogy a week or so ago. What does BDSM stand for, anyway? Oh. My. I murmur.
5. EK now thinks it's awesome to stay up until midnight. Joy.

What do you do when you're in a  never ending funk?

Bye Bye Ba-Ba

The bottle is gone! The bottle is gone! Praise be to the Lord, the bottle is gone!

To say that I have an extreme supply of bottles might be an understatement. When we made the decision to quit the torturous, neverending breastfeeding and formula feed EK, I tried every kind under the sun, desperate to find something that might stop her 9pm to 3am colic fits. Somehow, I made it through RN school and year on an OB/PEDS floor without learning that bottle nipples have different flow rates available. That caused a number of late night trips to Wal-Mart for slow flow nipples. Did you know that "Lento" means slow in the Spanish world of bottle nipples?  I didn't either. We finally settled on Playtex VentAire bottles.
  I woke up Saturday morning with a mission for the weekend: no more bottles for EK. She will be 16 months old on the 10th of May, and was still taking a bottle of milk (warmed!) every morning and always before her bedtime routine. It was getting a little out of hand. I mean, she could basically get one out of the fridge, microwave it, and screw the nipple back on independently.  To top it all off, she wouldn't even hold the bottle for herself while she drank it.
   Anyway, she threw a huge temper tantrum when she caught me making a sippy of milk rather than a bottle for the first morning. She laid down on the concrete floor, kicked, screamed, and growled. Yeah- growled, because that's how we do things here at the McCasland household, after all.
   But then, a miracle happened. She kind of forgot about bottles. I left the sippy sitting on the floor, and when she was done with her fit, she picked it up and went on about her day, drinking milk like nobody's business. We haven't looked back! It was way easier than I expected.

What kid experience have you had that went smoother than expected?

Baseball and Bubble Guppies

My TV was recently taken over by kids with mermaid and man tails, and men with bats.  Even worse, the girl has learned to say "Bubble?" on repeat. First thing in the morning, there's no more "Mama". Rather, "Bubble?".
  Of course, when they start saying "Bubble", it's only a matter of time until they can say "behball".  She knows her night is destined for "behball" when she comes home with me in the evening, only to see Josh Hamilton or Mitch Moreland on the screen, instead of Mr. Grouper. She resigns herself to her high chair, and half heartedly eats her chicken soup and Nilla wafers to watch the Rangers. Poor, poor child.
  You see, my TV may be possessed by Bubble Guppies or MLB. There's a big problem here. There leaves little time for my favorite shows to be watched. I'm majorly missing out on GCB, Swamp People, and other shows that I don't care to mention. I've used my free time to ponder the world of MLB and Nick Jr. shows.

#1- Why watch the whole game when you can watch Baseball Tonight on ESPN?  You see all the good stuff, minus the fluff and commercials. You still get plentyyyy of Josh Hamilton time.

#2- Speaking of Josh Hamilton, is it just me, or does he look creepily similar to Bobby Flay? He's definitely a lot hotter, but skinny him down, laser off a few tats, and throw on some gay looking clothes, and you've got yourself a real Bobby Flay.

See what I mean?

#3- Are the Bubble Guppies orphans? They never talk about parents. Mr. Grouper acts like their teacher, but he takes them to get pets. I'd be pissed if EK's teacher let her bring home a dog with a fish tail or open a pizza restaurant independently.

#4- Deema is my least favorite Guppy. Or Bubble. She reminds of someone I once knew. Bossy and has to be the center of attention. 

#5- I've lost my mind. My DVR has 19 episodes of Bubble Guppies. It's sending other shows to the place where baby TV has-beens fester. 

#6- If anyone asks what time it is- I automatically reply "It's time for lunch!"

#7- The "milk the cow" dance is disturbing. 

#8- Do the Bubble Guppies eat fish?

#9- What do Bubble Guppies and baseball have in common?

They keep my husband occupied and my baby quiet. And for that, I appreciate them both.

My $100 Day.

I had a quick shopping trip yesterday evening while waiting on prescriptions to be filled for my "from Hell" sinus infection. I got home and started looking at everything, and I was just a tad bit proud of myself. I got $280 worth of items for $112, which is right at 60% off.

Dillards is having a great sale where anything that is already marked down is another 30% off. I got an awesome, big Fossil canvas bag and a matching zipped wallet. The bag ended up being only $45 (originally $128), and the wallet $15.75 (originally $45).  Isn't it the cutest thing?

One of my favorite stores ever is TJMAXX. I racked up with several great finds, including a 3 piece Carter's PJ set for miss EK, a nice pair of yoga pants from The Girls, 2 new bras, and an awesome fitted white T-shirt, all for only $46. My favorite thing here is the PJ set, which can run over $20 at other stores. I got the set for $10. The bras are SO comfortable, and others that I have bought in the past have far outlasted my Victoria's Secret comparables.

I am all for stretching my money as far as it will go, and I am marking this as a success. Where have you had shopping luck lately?

We Bought a Beach...

.... and it was delivered to our front yard via dumptrucks.

We've never planned to live in our current house forever, so I haven't really cared to landscape.I'll save that energy for when our "forever home" is built in a few years. Lately, the yard has turned into a lake. There are holes and low spots everywhere, and the grade between our pad and the ground is steep. So, since Ryan has bush hogged  every square inch of our 28 acres, he decided he needed to buy 8 trucks' worth of dirt to play with, all in the name of home improvement. He's become quite handy here lately. I hope this works out..... and that grass grows. Fast.

It's OK.

.......that I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks. I do have a life.
.... that I did not hand cook a finger food for the annual egg hunt this weekend. Despite the ah-mazing things I have collected on Pinterest... the freezer aisle... it's OK.
.....that I only ironed the collar of EK's Easter dress... the rest would only get wrinkled in her car seat anyway.
...... that I took her pictures in the middle of the road. Beauty calls.
.....to play in a rainstorm.
......that we don't have a bed time routine... or a bed time. It will happen eventually.
........that I want a boob job; and no, I don't want to hear you talk about how badly you hate your naturally big ones. The grass is greener on the other side, but my left pasture is a bit smaller than the right.
........to take a day off from work. Even when you're the boss. So, WHY is it OK for everyone to call me from work every day that I am off?
......that I occasionally forget to have the munch brush her teeth. She sucks on a wash rag every night in her bath... surely that does something.
.......to not be a shallow asshole.
. ...to want to change your hair every other week.
... to buy things for myself. A cute kid looks less cute next to a frump of a mother.
.... to not give a flying flip about the Hunger Games.
...to laugh when my kid sneaks a piece of dog food. She will not die, but she sure does think she's hot stuff.
.... to tell every nice patient that they are my favorite.
... to blare Ragweed 's "Anywhere But Here" in my office. The truth will set you free.. wishful thinking :)


Linked up for "It's OK Thursdays"!