Thursday, January 23, 2014

A Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life! : Is Anyone Else Confused On Parenting Labels and St...

A Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life! : Is Anyone Else Confused On Parenting Labels and St...: Okay I know before I start this post.. a lot of parents are going to know a lot about their "parenting styles" but if you are like...

Is Anyone Else Confused On Parenting Labels and Styles?

Okay I know before I start this post.. a lot of parents are going to know a lot about their "parenting styles" but if you are like me I am confused and do not understand the labels. I do understand that as parents we each have are own style but did not realized it gets lumped into these categories of "parenting styles". Now before I go further I am still relatively new to parenting with two little ones a now 5 month old little girl and a very active 2 year-old little boy. So perhaps I will gather better understanding of parenting styles as my children become older. Well anyways I approached this post with a non-bias attitude towards the different styles of parenting.








If you type in your favorite search site "types of parenting" or "parenting style" it is amazing what comes up. Without clicking on any results and just looking at the titles some sites say there are 3 common types of parenting, another says 4, and one even says 12... no wonder why I am confused! So as I continue with this post I will provide links to my findings.










The first type of parenting styles I have come across is text base and psychology based. The direct information can be found herehttp://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/parenting-style.htm










1. Authoritarian Parenting- is a type of parenting where a child is expected to follow strict rules and guidelines set by the parents. The failure to follow the rules set by the parents often results in punishment. The article further explains that this type parenting style the parents tend not to explain the reason behind the rules set in place for their children.








2. Authoritative Parenting- very much like authoritarian parenting the child is expected to follow rules set by the parents but unlike authoritarian parenting this parenting style is more democratic. Parents often in this parenting style are more open to listening to their children and more responsive. When a child fails to meet expectations, the parents are more forgiving then punishing. They want their punishments to be supportive rather punitive.








3. Permissive Parenting- is a type of parenting also sometimes referred to as indulgent parenting and often have very few demands of their children. The parents often do not discipline their children because of the low expectations of "maturity" and "self-control". This type of parenting is more responsive to their children then demanding. Permissive parents often take on the role of a friend to the child that that of a parent.








4. Uninvolved Parenting- is characterized by having few demands, low responsiveness, and little to no communication. The parents in this style often provide for their children with basic needs but in extreme cases may even reject or neglect the needs of their children.










The second article I cam across which can be found here http://www.livestrong.com/article/76463-types-parenting-styles/ talks about the first three parenting styles listed above but talks about how your parenting style may change over time and even day by day. It also talks about how parents fall in general into one of these three groups and often each parent may fall into a different parenting style. That is very common to have different parenting styles in one household.






Then comes the terms of parenting such as "helicopter parent", "crunchy parent", "toxic parenting", "positive parenting", "attachment parenting", "unconditional parenting". I know some of these are funny terms.. well to me to at least. Now some of these terms are the same or similar in nature.




 Now for me the one that stands out the most is "crunchy parenting". By looking it up it encompasses but not limited too eco-friendly concepts, co-sleeping, breast feeding, tv-free, buying local, homeschool, and so on. This parenting style encompasses so much it suggest that all parents may be a little "crunchy". You can find more information at http://www.littlecrunchy.com/2012/08/what-is-crunchy-parenting.html.





Helicopter parent is also known as "overprotective parenting". Now trying to find a non-bias definition or explanation of helicopter parenting was a little difficult. What I can find is largely is that is parents that want to protect their children from harm and are "very" involved with their children's life to the point of extremes. In some extreme cases helicopter parents have called their child's professors about grades to calling their each child morning to wake up. Now this type of parenting style has a lot of articles on why it is not good to be a helicopter parent and when you type it in the search sites that is what you will mostly find in the results. That is your opinion and views on helicopter parenting. I did however find a quiz : Are You a Helicopter Parent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent .




So do you want to know what I learned by writing this post? That my parenting style really cannot be lumped into one group and it encompasses many different styles and approaches. My parenting style also changes sometimes even day to day. Myself as a parent cannot be labeled just under one. So if have to give myself a title it would just have to be MOM!

A Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life! : DIY: Carpet Cleaner Powder

A Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life! : DIY: Carpet Cleaner Powder: So have you guys made your own laundry soap? Well I am a big fan of that but one problem is always have borax left over and when not sealed ...

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

DIY: Carpet Cleaner Powder

So have you guys made your own laundry soap? Well I am a big fan of that but one problem is always have borax left over and when not sealed properly it hardens. So I started researching what can you do with borax besides what else is on the box? Well I found a great recipe for DIY Carpet cleaner powder and I tested it out myself and I am sold! I am horrible about doing before and after pictures. Here is my recipe and it will call for some unlikely items but trust me and keep reading!




DIY CARPET CLEANING POWDER



Borax (I use what is left from making my own laundry soap)
2 Boxes of Baking Soda (standard size)
Cornmeal (optional but strongly suggested)
Cinnamon (optional)
Container with lid large enough for mixture
Scoop/Measuring Cup


Before I begin this recipe as I stated calls for unlikely items but please bare with me and I will explain. This recipe is easy-peasy. All you do is mix your Borax Powder and Baking Soda Powder in the container and make sure the mixture is well mixed. Now you can stop there and use this on your carpets by sprinkling it on there, letting it sit, then vacuum. You should have plenty of mixture for multiple cleanings.






However, the recipe I use calls for cornmeal. Now why cornmeal? I asked the same questions and was very skeptical of its purpose on my carpets. So here is my best way to explain why there is cornmeal used in the DIY Carpet Cleaning Powder. If you put a little bit in your hands you can feel how rough/abrasive it is. Well when it is put in the cleaning powder mixture it requires your vacuum to work at getting up and I guess what you would call fluffing the nap of the carpet. It also causes us to go slower when we are vacuuming and making sure we get all the powder mixture up (which I am guilty of). If you do not believe me try it out yourself in a small area. If you decide to use cornmeal in your recipe the question is often how much do you use? Well that is just really personal taste really. I add just enough to really tell/feel the abrasiveness of the powder.

The Cinnamon is just simple I just sprinkled it in there for smell. There are all sorts of fragrances you can add to the mixture but once again that is for personal taste.

How long to leave the carpet cleaning powder on? one of the reasons I used this powder was to drastically freshen my home. One of my dogs was sick and had a very much "sick dog smell" . It was horrible and no matter what I did I could still smell it. Well we were going to visit family and I decided to sprinkle this on the carpet and leave it until we got back. So it stayed on my carpet for a week. It really worked and my carpets looked great and my house smelled back to normal. Well I know a week is not an ideal time. So I have tested out a couple of times. If your entire house leaves for the day you can sprinkle the powder on the carpet and then vacuum when you return. I did find it when I was cleaning you can leave it on your carpets for about 30 minutes and get the desired results.

HAPPY CLEANING!

WARNING: I AM ONE PERSON AND HAVE ONLY TESTED THIS OUT ON MY CARPETS. I HAVE GIVEN THIS RECIPE TO OTHERS BUT HAVE EXPLAINED THEY SHOULD TEST THIS RECIPE OUT ON THEIR OWN CARPETS BEFORE USING!




Saturday, September 28, 2013

How To Blog?

I am currently have my blog under construction. I have a couple of entries lined up but I am looking for a new layout as well as couple of other things. I am still really new to the blogger world and it is time for a makeover!- This time not with content but with appearance :-)

Saturday, August 24, 2013

A Bipolar Mom and Daily Life! : DIY TUTU DRAPES and TULLE DRAPES

A Bipolar Mom and Daily Life! : DIY TUTU DRAPES and TULLE DRAPES: Let me first say that I am sorry that I have not been on for a while. The last part of my pregnancy was interesting to say the least. Well t...

DIY TUTU DRAPES and TULLE DRAPES

Let me first say that I am sorry that I have not been on for a while. The last part of my pregnancy was interesting to say the least. Well that part is over and I am now a proud parent of a beautiful little girl! With that being said it leads me into my next post about drapes.

When I was re-doing the nursery from the little boys nursery to a little girls nursery the room took on a princess theme. I re-did an old dresser and night stand of mine in pink as well as change out the bedding. However, because I live in military housing I could not paint the walls. Actually, I take that back I can paint the walls but you have to either paint them back to white or pay a fee when you move out and it just something I am really not into so I wanted to make a small statement with the window treatments. In the nursery there are two very different shaped windows that would make it hard for me at least to decide on what style from a store that I would settle on. So I went to the infamous http://pinterest.com/ website and started looking up possible ideas for the window treatments for the nursery when I came across no-sew tulle drapes! There were a couple of pages that led to me to places where I could pay for custom made tulle drapes but not this MOMMY!!! If there is a will there is way!

The next will be the directions on how I made my no-sew tulle window treatments

Supplies You Will Need
 
Tulle (size, color(s), and amount will determine how long and how thick you want the look. I used both bolts (yardage) and spools)
 
Scissors or Pinking Sheers
 
Helping Hand (Optional- I was very pregnant making these so I had my mom help me)
 
 

This is the first window treatment I did. I bought all tulle at www.fabric.com which for me has a great selection of tulle. This tulle would be considered being bought off the bolt. Meaning if you went into a fabric store or fabric section your would see them on bolts with the other fabrics.  As you can see the colors I selected. I do suggest if you are not familiar with fabric.com or other online fabric stores that you actually go to a fabric store to see the tulle in person because buying online the colors may appear different on screen then what you are actually looking for. For this size window each panel is 4 1/2 yards. When I bought the tulle I bought it in 9 yard sections at (.99 cent a yard) so basically my mother an I cut each piece in half. I then took each panel and tied it directly to the drape rod. I experimented with multiple style knots but I settled on a simple slip knot (here is a link if you are not familiar with the knot http://www.ehow.com/video_4971036_tie-slipknot.html) . I will note on each piece one end is smaller than the other I made sure all my shorter pieces were in the back. I personally like the space between them but you can add more tulle or spread them out more it really is up to you. What I really like about these besides being inexpensive is how easy it will be easy to change them out so as her taste change so can the tulle (if that is what she is wanting).
 


The second window treatment I did I found on pinterest.com it was called a tutu valance and as you can see it looks like one big fluffy tutu. For this instead of buying the tulle on the bolts I bought the tulle on spools. You can find them most anywhere but I also bought mine at fabric.com because they had the exact same colors on the bolt as they did on spools so my colors match on both window treatments.I have included a picture of tulle on a spool for those who may not know what I am talking about. I also suggest that you make sure that you buy enough tulle for each project. This one I bought two spools of each color. They cost about $2.98 for each spool for the type I bought at fabric.com. This one consist of 5 colors so this did make this window treatment more expensive then the other but still more affordable than custom made drapes and much cuter than anything I saw in stores. The first two things you will have to decide on is what pattern of colors you would want and how long you would want each piece. Each piece I cut with the pinking sheers were about 4-5 inches. I then you used a simple slip knot (http://www.ehow.com/video_4971036_tie-slipknot.html) and tied each piece to the drape rod. I cannot tell you how pieces I tied to the rod but I can tell you that I used all my tulle and packed it all together for a really full look. Again play with look and see what you come up with! I had a lot of fun making these drapes. I will be still be adding something to these probably a sheer underneath these.

This is tulle on a spool most often you can find it as 6" x 25 yards