Sometimes you baby really is smiling. Sometimes she just has gas. For that,we have Mylicon drops.After using the last of the Mylicon, I realized that the empty bottle would be a great way to store the dropper and keep it clean.If you found this tip helpful, please consider making a donation.

I don’t post every day, but I write almost every day. There are several articles in the works, both here and over at ReneeAndElliott.com, our repository for off-topic articles. There is other non-writing work that goes on behind the scenes. Then I have to go live my life so I can blog about it. So yeah, I’m toast.

Even in this impaired state, I can still offer you one quick cooking tip. It’s an oldie but goodie with a new twist.

We all wish our children would eat more vegetables. Some parents have better luck than I do. A trick favored by many resident chefs is to puree vegetables and add the mix to various sauces.

The other night, I pureed a pound of carrots, added some to the spaghetti sauce. The remaining puree was poured into a couple of freezer bags. Next time I need some vegetable puree, I’ll just break off a piece and add it to the sauce.

For the next round, I’m going to use the ice cube tray to make things a little easier.

It’s so simple, a caveman can do it.

If you saved a bunch of money on your car insurance by switching to Geico, please make a donation.

My wife told me about this great site. I’ve found yet another addiction online.

Parent Hacks a collaborative effort of multiple contributors plus a ton of contributions from readers. There are hacks for infants all the way up to those 20-somethings who still live at home. It’s broken down even further by topics of interest such as potty training, toys, behavior, etc.

Graphic designer is one of the many hats I wear, so I appreciate the effort was taken to really brand their site with something clever like the “Swiss Army Knife.” The tips contained within their expansive archive are equally clever. We recently tried out the homemade baby wipes to great success.

I have my own series on hacks too, but any help is appreciated. In a web2.0 world, it’s all about information and easy access to it.

Go check it out. There’s tons of useful stuff on Parent Hacks.

If you find this information helpful, please help me continue helping others.

Washing pots and pans is a fact of life. Anything to make this chore easier gets my endorsement. A dishwasher helps a lot, but it won’t handle the seriously caked-on food particles. For that, we pre-soak the pan. This does the trick, but you can supercharge the soaking method by putting a used dryer sheet in the pan.

This works great for the most stubborn caked-on, baked-on, crusties on the bottom of your pan, casserole dish, or wok.

If you found this information helpful, please consider helping me, so I can continue helping everyone.

Crapital One: What’s in Your Diaper?

We all want to be the best parents we can be. We’re also human and thus imperfect. Sometimes the dirty diaper is allowed to stay on your baby a little longer than desired. The moisture in the poop gets absorbed by the diaper, leaving a crusty mess. Unfortunately, that crust sticks to your baby’s butt.

That crust is stubborn stuff. You start using as many wipes as you did when you first started changing diapers. You don’t want to rub that delicate skin too vigorously.

Put a little baby oil on the baby wipe. The most stubborn and undesirable crustiness wipes right off!

Remember, that a diaper is designed to wick moisture away. This is especially true for disposable diapers engineered with ultra-absorbent substrate. It can also absorb some moisture from your baby’s skin. It’s important to treat your baby to some lotion or baby oil regularly.