Looking to Summer

Hello everyone!

It has been busy, busy here in our neck of the woods.

We have been getting outside and enjoying the warmer temperatures.

It is also warm enough to start planting. I am not the greatest when it comes to caring for plants so keeping it minimal is great for me.

When I said minimal I wasn't kidding...

this is it...this is all that has been planted so far.

We still have our veggie garden to contend with and most likely that will get started this holiday weekend.

 Along with the warmer and longer days comes summer break and

the school year is drawing to a close. Our 14 year old had an interesting "end of the year" assignment last week in health and wellness class. Each student was assigned an infant to care for over a period of 24 hours.

There was a carrier and a diaper bag with instructions and everything needed to provide proper care.

  I don't know how many of you are familiar with these "babies" but this was my first time experiencing it other than just hearing about them. They are programed to work with a bracelet the student or "parent" wears. The bracelets do not come off so there is no way to have someone else do the assignment. 

It is programed to begin crying at various times of the day and night. When it cries you carefully pick it up making sure to support the head ( it records improper handling) and hold the bracelet up to the back. It will scan and the baby recognizes the "parent" has picked it up. From there you must determine what it needs in order to stop the crying. There is a bottle with a magnetized device in the nipple.

If that is what the baby needs you will hear it making the sounds of drinking and breathing through it's nose with each swallow.

Feeding time takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

 If a diaper change is needed there is a magnetized disc in the rear of the diaper and it will notify the program that she is now clean and dry.

I wanted to help (it looked kinda fun) but the purpose of the assignment was to give teens a glimpse of reality and responsibilities that come with having a baby. There were a few  challenges trying to determine what the cries were for and how to satisfy them. I heard it from across the hall during the night and knew he was being awakened once again by the crying and would have to get out of a nice cozy bed to do a 2 or 4 am feeding.

He told me the next morning he had 2 feedings and 1 diaper change overnight and exclaimed that was just way to much time to be up during the night...LOL!!

Getting ready for school and caring for a demanding little person was also a challenge but he stuck with it and made sure everything was done before he strapped her in to head out for the day.

Overall it seemed to be a good experience and a nice lesson in just a small portion of what is huge responsibility. He made a B on this assignment. Some points were taken off for excessive crying during the night, and the head was not supported well on one occasion. We congratulated him on his effort and the B was a good grade considering he has never babysat alone.

Off to school to give someone else a turn at this thing called "parenting"  :)

Next time I will be sharing some new thrift store finds, some of which will be used in my new bathroom.

KAREN

A Sweet Little Birdhouse

Happy Friday Friends!
I usually highlight just one event or project, but today I have several things to share...starting with a nice surprise for Administrative Professionals Day.
 Last week the "boss" presented myself and other office personnel a gift of succulents, each nestled in different distressed wood planters.
This sweet little birdhouse is the one I received.

Along with the succulents was a yummy chocolate mint cake pop!
They were gone pretty quick.
 Sweets don't last long around here :)

 We have all decided to keep the planters on our desks instead of taking them home right away. It is so nice to be appreciated and they are sweet reminders of Spring.


We will see how long they last though. Leaving them every night is a gamble if they will still be in one piece the next morning....
and all because of this little lady.
Gracie Lou 

 As you can see she loves being right in the middle of everything (she thinks she is helping out) and something else she loves is nibbling on any live plants that are brought in!


The owner of the company rescued her as an abandoned kitten and she has lived exclusively in the office for many years now.
We fill her feeders and scoop her litter box (yuck) and she is a happy kitty...and a great little companion too :)


Speaking of succulents, Dollar Tree has the faux ones, and the last time I was there I grabbed a couple, along with a bag of moss to fill some little galvanized topiaries. They were purchased for 88 cents each at Goodwill. On that same thrift trip I picked up a metal watering can and a few other goodies. You can see those in a post here.

Hmmm...maybe I will take these to work and bring the live ones home :)


I also used some floral from Dollar Tree to fill the metal watering can. For now it's home will be next to my iron rooster.

Mr. Rooster was purchased at a small roadside market in North Georgia about 10 years ago.
He has been used as a doorstop inside and outside on the wrap around porch of one of my former homes. He lived in storage for a while till I planted my roots in Iowa.
He fits in nice everywhere he goes :)

We are ever so close to the end of our bathroom remodel. You can see the beginning and an update of the remodel here and here. 
It has been quite a mess to deal with and slow since it is a 100% DIY project.


I have been spray painting some of the hardware and other fixtures we are planning to keep.


Of course, my favorite spray paint is the oil rubbed bronze, and we have gone through almost 3 cans of this stuff.
The coverage is great and there is very little clogging when spraying :)


When we were removing the old worn out vanity I asked my darling to please save the hardware. He looked at me like I had done lost my marbles! I assured him if my idea bombed we would throw them out and purchase something new.


The design is pretty... but not the finish.

That's nothing that ORB can't fix.


Now that's better :)

My darling likes most of my ideas...but some are more difficult for him to imagine as I am explaining it. He likes this one... now that it is done :)


This window treatment hardware closely resembles the newly painted cabinet pulls. Once I noticed them in the drapery aisle, it did not take me long to bring one home and have my darling install it.

The excitement is building as the end is now in sight with this remodel, then the fun part comes...I get to decorate!!
Thanks so much for taking some time out of your day to stop by and visit.
I hope y'all have a safe and happy weekend :)
Karen

Here