via GregEnslen.com | Greg’s Ramblings: Life Hacks and a Katie Update: In which I share a few of my favorite “life hacks” and pass along a quick update on my daughter Katie, who was injured three weeks ago on Easter Sunday…
Watch out for Katie’s Helmet
My 3-year-old daughter Katie had a nasty run-in with a swing set on Easter, falling backwards out of one of those two-person gliders. The injuries came from the glider swinging back and running into her face — she had serious facial lacerations and her nose was broken in three places.
She’s recovering nicely, running around in a doctor-required pink football helmet to prevent further injuries. Her broken nose is healing quickly, but the doctor insisted she wear the helmet at least a few weeks to let the break set. I enjoyed watching her learn how to eat through her helmet! But she’s run through her course of antibiotics, had her stitches removed, and has moved on to just vitamins, rest, and exercise.
Last week, she got to stop by and visit with her classmates and teachers at Main Street Preschool (she’s been out of school for two weeks, recovering). Everyone was excited to see hers, although there were a few helmet-related injuries. That is, her helmet injured the other kids! They’ll have to learn to hug more gently — sorry Natalie, that pink helmet is very hard!
Kudos for Children’s Hospital
I’ve heard from several people about their positive experiences with Dayton Children’s Hospital — it sounds like I’m not the only one who greatly appreciates having a first-class facility within driving distance of Tipp City.
One reader I heard from, Tami, shared some of the experiences her kids have had at Dayton Children’s Hospital: eye surgery for her son at 14 months, a broken arm for her daughter when she was 12, and a few stitches for another daughter’s eyebrow area when she was 2. In each case, everything went swimmingly. Thanks for writing in, Tami!
Life Hacks
I run across a lot of fun “hacks” to make life a little easier — or a little more fun. I think I’ll start collecting those and passing them along. I find many of these on Lifehacker and Buzzfeed, two excellent sources for these types of helpful hints. Here are a few I’ve tried that really work:
– Cutting Cherry Tomatoes — I used to get out the cutting board and cut cherry tomatoes one at a time. After reading about a different solution, I blew my kids’ minds (and my wife’s) by taking a plastic lid (like from a Tupperware container), putting it on the counter, filling it with a layer of tomatoes, and then putting another flat lid on top. I then used a bread knife and cut between the lids, slicing something like twenty tomatoes at once! My daughter Anna looked at me like I’d pulled a rabbit out of … a cherry tomato!
– Cupcake Sandwich — Eating cupcakes can get messy, especially if they’re PILED high with icing (I’m looking at you, Kristi from “Sweet by Kristi”!) Try this – undo the wrapper and twist the cupcake in half. Take the bottom half and put it on top, mashing down the icing. Now it’s an easy-to-eat sandwich.
– Peel a Banana – I tried this and it really works: open the banana from the other end. Pinch the bottom end and it will split open easily, then peel it. It looks like you’ve got it backwards, but it’s MUCH easier to open — and tastes the same!
– And for the parents: Put the iPad in “Kid Mode” — okay, it’s not really “Kid Mode,” but it does work. Just Google “Guided Access” setup on your iPad. Sorry, it won’t fix the smeared yogurt on your fancy tablet, but at least your other apps won’t keep disappearing.
Next Time
Feel free to drop me an email at ramblings@gregenslen.com or use the “Contact Me” page on my website if you’d like to let me know about what you think about Children’s Hospital or share your lifehacks with me. And hopefully I’ll talk to you soon!
via GregEnslen.com | Greg’s Ramblings: Life Hacks and a Katie Update.
