Home-Ec Guest Dear Home Ec 101, My two year old has started potty training. She’s very good at taking off her clothes and getting naked, not so good yet at actually making it to the potty on time. So, I was wondering if you had any brilliant tips for cleaning toddler poop out of carpet? I do …
Ivy says: While my one grandma is still going strong at 91 years old, we lost my other grandma very suddenly on August 31, 2007. She was 79 years old. As that grandma was part mom, part grandma, and part friend, it was a very deep loss for me. Now I’ve had over a year …
Ivy says: I’ve been reminded several times over the past weeks that I have an “unusually old” grandmother. She’s 91 which is pretty old, alright. She was born in 1917, which means the changes she has seen in her lifetime are amazing. She was born into a household with no electricity or indoor plumbing. By …
Ivy says: I can’t get off the phone today. Part of it is business related, but part of it is my family trying to work out how the holidays will play out- who holds Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, etc. It seems we might have some people coming into town as well. Don’t worry, I will review …
Ivy says: I come from a long line of people with very short fuses. I also come from a long line of people who are either very heavy drinkers or very anti-drinking. This leads to me not being able to remember more than a handful of family gatherings in my childhood that didn’t break out …
Ivy says: Now is a good time to start planing a Thanksgiving leftover party. When I have one, I plan it for the Saturday after Thanksgiving when everyone’s all shopped out and too tired to cook. The premise is this: everyone brings their leftovers and you eat what’s there. Any leftover leftovers are packaged up …
Ivy says: No, I’m not dead, or even undead! Just getting ready for the scariest Halloween ever in which my in-laws are coming from California to visit. Heather and I are busy taking out our little ghouls and goblins for trick or treating tonight. Tomorrow, look for our fabulous annual Countdown to Turkey Day! Have …
Ivy says: My inability to cook is legendary. Want a cake or a pie? I’m good at that- I can bake. But if you want some fried chicken, I am not your girl. That said, I have three kids and I’m on a budget. I have to cook. And in order to save money and …
Ivy says: Yesterday Mr. Ivy made a divine potato soup for lunch. It was thick and creamy and rich and fabulous. And no, you can’t have the recipe, because he won’t even give the recipe to me. But there was cheese and celery and fabulous and win in there, I can tell you that much. …
Ivy says: My latest in bathroom reading has been a book of household hints from 1970. Some of the hints are useful, some of them are truly amusing in their datedness, some of them are perplexing. Something that really struck me was this quote: “There is no point in embroidering or buying a ‘Welcome’ mat …