The Mother of Invention

I think I am going to try to be an inventor.  Over the years of parenting there have been a few things I have done that other mothers have praised.  Necessity is the mother of invention and I was just trying to be my practical self.  So here are some of the things:

1) The Holey-Boob shirt.  I had one child born in January.  Nursing said child in public became a cold proposition.  First, because I had to bear my midriff even if it was under a blanket with a baby against it.  And second, my body chemistry changed and I have become a freeze-baby-anything under 65 degrees is cause for wool to be worn.   I was shivering so much my poor son couldn't latch on!  So I tried to solve this problem.  DadOfAllTrades was getting rid of several old white undershirts.  So I grabbed one before it hit the donation bag, put it on, tucked it into the huge pants I was wearing at the time, and grabbed a pair of scissors.  I cut two vertical slits in the shirt by my busom.  Perfect!  I could keep a layer against my skin to retain body heat and could still access the nursing bra clips.  Problem solved.  Later, when a mom I knew had a winter baby, I passed them on. She blessed me up and down.

2) Boys in overalls.  While I did not invent this per sea, I used this trick always.  When my boys were precarious toddlers they wore overalls every single day.  That way they always had a HANDLE.  It came in handy constantly.

3) The bag-in-the-trunk:  I ALWAYS have a bag in the trunk with stuff for the boys.  While to contents have changed over the years, the bag has never left other than to restock.  It hold a change of clothes in the right size including a junky pair of shoes, granola bars, juice boxes, and wet wipes, just to name a few.  When they were littler I had such things as a change of clothes for me (one of my boys was a big spit-up-er and I was frequently doused with smelly stuff.  I have changed in so many public restrooms that I lost count.) and a spare pacifier.  Then it changed to nontoxic crayons and a coloring book and a plastic mat for germy restaurant tables.  Now it is pretty much just clothes, I have boys after all, and a water bottle or two.  But it is still there and will not leave until they leave for college.  DadOfAllTrades does not like this as it takes up precious real estate in the trunk and just gets pushed around out of the way.  But he has not had the occasions of being alone with the boys and needing something essential, like food, when they boys do not have another distraction.  He has seen it in action though, and he agrees that is really does work.

4) My latest: A wrist worn recording device.  It can be programmed with many phrases I find myself repeating every single day.  All I would have to do is quickly type in the number corresponding to the phrase and the machine would say it.  That way I would not have to repeat the same thing over and over...and over...again every day.  here are a few of the phrases I would have already entered into the device:

• Sit down with food in your mouth.  
• Please stop knocking my arms while I am trying to type.  
• Please stop hitting your brother. 
• Are you choosing joy?  
• Please stop antagonizing your brother.  
• Please take your hand out of your pants.  
• Wash your hands before you help in the kitchen.  
• Yes, you need to rewash your hands.  
• Please stop picking your nose and eating the result.  
• Get your shoes on.  
• Stop eating play doh.
• Good choice!
• Are you making the best choice?
• No, I don't know where your lovey is.  
• I can't understand you when you wine.  
• No, I cannot turn on the Waving Santa now.  
• Please sound it out;  do your own best spelling.
• You cannot hit your brother with anything.
• It is time to put away some of these toys before we take something else out.
• Stop jumping off the bed.  I don't care how cool the thud noise is.
• I love you!
• I am so proud!

I am sure I will invent something else as the necessity arises.  Until then, happy day!