This “task” is a great way to get your kids involved in housework, and also shows them light home maintenance at an early age. It’s not only safe, but it’s fun too.

If you have a nail-hole that needs filling, let your kids handle it.

It’s super easy to make your own nail filler, from products you probably already have in your home.

Have your kids mix 3 parts baking soda and one part white glue (like Elmer’s).

You might have to add a little water to get the right consistency, as the mixture tends to shrink up as it sits out.

Because this mixture is relatively safe (I wouldn’t eat it, but I really wasn’t a glue-eater growing up), let your kid “paint the wall” where the hole is.

How often to do let your kiddo paint the walls?

My point exactly.

You’ll be the coolest parent ever- but what they don’t know, is that they are tackling a MAJOR chore- that you now don’t have to do!

Little effort, with big results!

Get your head out of the gutter. I know what you’re thinking!

This “chore” is perfect for the 2 and up crowd. It worked for my 4 year-old really well. Do I feel bad about it?

 Not one bit.

Kids like making sock puppets.

Let your kid make a sock puppet. Then tell your kid that the sock puppet hasn’t eaten in DAYS and is starving.

Really. 

So when your kid runs in the kitchen to get the sock puppet something to eat- scream “STOP!! Sock puppets can’t eat food silly, they eat DUST and drink PLEDGE!”

Then grab your can of pledge and “spray” it into the sock puppet’s mouth, and tell your kid to have at it, on all your hard surfaces. Now, if you have a lot of area to cover, get your kid’s sock puppet a friend for the other hand, and repeat. Double fun= double the work YOU aren’t going to have to do!

Little work on your part, big results!

Do you have a messy baby (or toddler) at feeding time?
Take a cue from a dog trainer. No kidding.
Put your already used (or- if you’re getting back at hubby for not putting the toilet seat down- use his new sports section) newspapers down on the floor first, so when baby is making a mess, it goes on to the paper (which you toss), and not your floor- eliminating the need for mopping!
So don’t waste your time on those expensive floor mats that you either have to wash or toss. Instead, re-use that newspaper for your baby, not the puppy.

Yes, I left the name blank. Why? Because after getting your hands on the Power Shelf, you’ll be filling it in with your own. And you’ll do it with pride.
I first came along the Power Shelf on Twitter, through it’s inventor extraordinaire, Lynn Fetzer-Westmeister. Knowing that my hubby J is a techie, I am always looking for something new to help us organize our electronics, and just looking at their site made me think it could work for us. Problem is, J does NOT get excited over anything. Nor does anything impress him. Ever. After explaining this to Lynn, she said she could change his mind. And she sure did. Lynn kindly sent our family, The Original Power Shelf, to give it a try.
I installed it myself, to surprise J when he got home from work. The installation is super simple. All you need is a screwdriver. It’s literally removing the screw, taking off the original face plate, and putting The Original Power Shelf into place with your existing screw. I decided to put ours next to our coffee maker, so when J makes his coffee in the morning, he can also access his cell phone, already charged. And the best part? Not fighting for counter space, and not having any crazy wires to fight with.
How nice does this look?

I know, I loved it. And when J got home, he loved it too. He wanted one for work, for the bathroom, and basically anything that has an outlet, he wanted one for.

So I got back into contact with my new friend Lynn, and got the Mega Power Shelf for J’s razor set in our bathroom:Yes, that does mean I get the extra counter space!! What woman couldn’t use more counter space in the bathroom?

That’s right. It’s his laptop. And it’s not on the floor, and it’s not taking up space on our coffee table. The power cord is neatly wrapped up, and out of the way. Can you say “sigh of relief”? I can now, that’s for sure!
And see all the red crayon? Yeah, M decided it needed a “mooral around the new Power Shelf thingy”.

• Blog about this post, including the link here, and leave a comment
• Tweet about this post, and include @DomesticDebacle & @Its_Lynn (creator of the Power Shelf)
• Just leave a comment after visiting The Power Shelf site, telling us which Power Shelf you would use the most, and what you would use it for
• For three extra entries, order a Power Shelf from Lynn, and leave your first name, last initial and state in each comment.

Lately M has been sportin‘ some NASTY tantrums. I don’t know whatever happened to the terrible two’s- but let me tell you- it compares NOTHING to three.

The best part? She (mostly) throws them in public. Oh yeah. They make me look like “Mom of the Year” (please note sarcasm).

She chose to throw a big one on Thursday, in our local mall, in front of my visiting in-laws. While daddy was at work. Heh.

Reason?

She wanted me to buy her a martini glass from Hallmark. I, for the obvious reasons, said no.

Yep, I dared to tell my 3 year-old princess that she was NOT allowed to take home the martini glass.

That was my first mistake.

When she decided she was going to give herself a five-finger discount, and head for the door with said martini glass in hand, I tackled her. I quickly returned said glass to it’s rightful place (no, not in my hand with booze in it, but on the shelf). I let her know that it was time to leave the store. And that was my second mistake.

Turns out M wasn’t ready to leave yet, so she took off to the back of the store. Oh, no she didn’t!!

I grab her by the arm in true “Mom of the Year” style and drag her outside of the store. I placed her firmly (yet gently) up against the wall and began explaining to her the mistakes she made with her so-called decisions.

And that’s when the screaming began. And the kicking. And the hitting. Did I mention the spitting? Nope, didn’t think so.

So what do I do in this situation? I grab my kid underarm in true Q-B fashion and I run like
H-E-L-L.
This is a big feet considering I’m a whole 5′2 and M is well over 3′. The kid’s tall for her age. As her pediatrician says “real tall for her age”.

May I remind you that my husband’s parents are also with us, and the car is parked on the other end of the mall, on a different floor?

Yeah, it keeps getting better.

I make it through the mall, and an entire flagship store (through the china department) without knocking anything over. I have talent!! We make it to the elevator that would take us to our exit, and M grabs my 69 year-old black pearl necklace and starts to pull.
Death was imminent.

So I drop her. Turns out, she’s part cat, and lands on her feet. Yay far me!

Who knew?

Now, let me take a moment to explain to you my avaunt guard parenting style. I don’t spank or hit of any kind. I do not raise my voice. I stay calm. I merely try to reason with the beast.

She wasn’t in the mood for reasoning. And sensing that her life was very possibly in danger for the whole “necklace grabbing incident” she takes off. I was nearly out of breath at this point, so again, I grab her arm and literally drag her out to the car. My in-laws climb in, and they’ve had it at this point. My ever-so-saintly mother in law yells at my kid. Yeah, the woman who NEVER blows her lid, did, and with my kid. Oh greeeeeat.
I calmly, and politely let my MIL know that I don’t yell at M. I just show her what bad mistakes she makes- and I call her father. Uh-oh. M heard me and FREAKS out.

“Don’t call daddy- mommy- please don’t.”

For some reason, she is terrified of her father. Don’t know why, because we live by the same rules. Maybe it’s because he’s bigger than she is. And we pretty much are the same height.

Darn you genetics.

John lets me know that he’s at lunch and will swing by home to put some pressure on M. So I toss the keys at my father in law, and they let themselves in.

At this point, M is spitting at me.

So what does a Domestic Debacler do in this instance?

I simply open all the windows and the car doors and leave her in her car seat, while I watch from a safe distance in a lawn chair a few feet from the car. She, thinking like the athlete she is, decides that I am the worst “Mother of the Year” and that I must be punished. And THE way to do that is to hurl her shoes at me. Well, one at me, and the other at the windshield of our SUV.

Look out Cincinnati Reds. I have your new lefty pitcher- RIGHT HERE!

I can’t help but to burst into laughter! She was so mad, it was comical, until she started calling me names. She pulled out the “S” word. Oh yeah. I’m sure she’s caught it around here, but I don’t exactly make a habit of cussing. For her to remember this- well- she’s got the mind of an elephant. So as I was being screamed at that “YOU’RE A “S” MOMMY”, I was nearly falling out of my lawn chair!!

Then John pulled in with a co-worker in tow. Oh yeah, it became a show! But suddenly M turns into a blubbering mess when she sees her daddy. How he has this effect on her, I’ll simply never know.

He brings her in the house and she promptly apologizes to my in-laws and myself. What?!?! How?!?! I haven’t the slightest clue. Ugh.

Then she announces that she’s going to take a nap- and does so- for the next 4 hours.

Which leads me to today. This afternoon, she didn’t want to take a nap, even though she got up at 6am. So the tantrum started. I turned back into the Domestic Quarter-back and ran her tooshie upstairs to bed, where she’s calling me “stupid mommy” over and over. So what do I do? I call daddy. At the mere mention of his name, she starts apologizing. And how does she do it? By saying “I’m sorry for calling you stupid mommy, but at least it wasn’t S%^&!”. Again, inappropriate laughter on my part, which my DH hears on the other line. We’re all laughing at this point.

Good times in the Domestic Debacle household.

So how does the Domestic Debacler handle tantrums? By calling daddy, and laughing.

That’s how.