Good Idea ~ Bad Idea

I am an idea person. I have lots of ideas all the time… trouble is… many of these ideas are NOT good ideas. Here are some examples… (why I’m sharing this? Who knows? What’s wrong with me!?!)


My not so good ideas… there- that’s a nice way of saying BAD IDEA:

The pastel chenille rug in the girls’ bedroom. My hormonal nine month pregnant self thought it was the perfect finishing touch to my ultra-girly nursery. As I awaited Madison’s arrival, I would stand in the doorway of her little room admiring it's pastel overkill... all organized and tidy and matching perfectly. And then… ah, and then. That poor rug has been abused. Between diaper cream that a very naughty Maddie rubbed all over it, to urine accidentally landing there during potty training gone horribly wrong, it is in sad condition. It was bad idea… a good idea would have been a.) No rug at all b.) A plastic rug, if there were such a thing!

Hooded baby towels. They’re cute as can be, be seriously… not practical. When my naked, wet, shivering newborns were coming out of the bath, I didn’t care how cute the towel was or if it matched the washcloth… I just wanted a thick warm towel to wrap them up in. My friend, Terri, faithfully stands by the hooded baby towels… so to each her own!

Changing newborn baby on carpet. You know how it happens… you just want to do a quick change right there in the living room instead of taking the time to put the baby on the changing table, or putting something protective under the baby. After all, this diaper probably isn’t poopy- the last 6 were so surely, she’s done. But alas… that lovely mustard colored goo with magical staining powers is awaiting your discovery, and somehow leaks out and puts a nasty glob on the carpet. I won’t tell you which parent in this house made this crucial mistake but it wasn’t me! ;) Next baby: putting a pastic changing pad under the couch for easy access when the walk to the changing table is just too far.

Warming zone on the electric stove top. Do you know what that is? It's a small fifth burner that doesn't cook... just a place to keep a pot warm. I’m happy to say that it was not a decision maker for us- we just got the cheapest decent one… but at the time we bought our range, that warming zone seemed pretty awesome! How cool, I thought! We’ll use it all the time! Five years later, and that knob hasn’t been turned more than twice.

Giving Maddie that one first drink of my iced coffee from McDonald's. Big mistake! Now that girl loves them! I will give her a drink or two out of mine, all the while feeling the shocked stares of people around me. You poison your child this way? Call the CPS!

Lest you think I’m a dunce… okay maybe I am a little… I do occasionally have a GOOD idea! And here they are:

Removing the fabric pad from my high chair. I know, I’m a mean mom. My sweet little Eden sits on hard plastic. She doesn’t seem to care, and it’s so much easier to clean up. During these winter months, she’s got on enough layers to keep her padded anyway. During the summer, I’d put down a dish towel so her bare skin did not have to rest on plastic. It’s the little things like not having a high chair cushion to scrub every day that make life easier!

Putting a basket by the door for shoes. I wish I had the character to remove the girls’ shoes at the door and immediately put them away in their bedroom, but what usually happened was a messy clump of dirty shoes by the back door. Now, there is a nice little rug with a nice little basket with nice little girl shoes awaiting our next outing. They are still dirty shoes but until I figure out a way to remove all dirt, mud, and leaves from the world, I'll just deal with it.

Welcoming butter back into my life. For several years, I exiled butter in an effort to be thin/healthy but have recently been converted back to land of butter love. And you know what? Butter is good… real good. Thanks for patiently waiting for my return, dear butter. I will never forsake you again.

Starting a blog. Yup. It was a good idea. I have a place to sort out my thoughts, am more consciously aware of the good things in my day and have made a few new friends. Sometimes it feels like this is just a socially acceptable way of talking to myself but hey, I do talk to myself, and did before blogging, so no biggie. If you're reading this, thanks for being a part of one of my GOOD ideas!