Ugh...an ink stain!

So the other day I was sitting on my couch (which is only a little over a year old) attempting to hold Adelaide (my 4 month old daughter), my laptop, and a notebook and pen. Well, I got distracted and stood up not paying attention to the pen and paper and when I came back to the couch the pen was sitting there and I had a ink stain about the size of a dime!  I have a book with some household tips in it so I quickly looked up how to get rid of ink stains and I mixed up the "potion" and let it work it's magic....I was pretty skeptical, but it worked!!!

Blot off any wet ink you can, then mix 2T cornstarch and a little whole milk until you have a thick paste. Then cover the stain and wait for 4 hours to wipe it off (you don't know how many times I almost sat down in the milky inky cornstarch!). I then took a wet paper towel and got the paste off and it was as good as new! My couch is chocolate brown so it hides a lot of stains, but this blue ink was right in the middle of a cushion and I was afraid I'd have to look at it for the next 15 years!!!

Do you have any handy household tips?

Pregnancy and Labor Tip...

To anyone who is pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or knows someone who is pregnant (sounds like a pharmaceutical commercial!) I have a tip for labor that worked great for me...

I was planning on having a natural birth (thankfully everything worked out that way!) and I was concerned about my breathing technique and how I could stay relaxed during labor. I was thinking about this while my husband, Jacob, and I were packing our labor bags (his labor bag, by the way, contained his ipod, truck magazines, chewing gum, and Little Debbie's...the "essentials") and as I was getting my chap stick off of my dresser I saw a package of Breathe Rights sitting there (no, I don't snore...I use them when I am really stuffed up or have a cold so I can breathe better while sleeping). So anyway, I thought to myself ( as opposed to thinking to someone else) that they might come in handy while I was breathing during labor....and boy, did they!  When I got settled in the labor room at the hospital I had Jacob get me one and when I put it on I knew it was a great idea...I wouldn't go through labor again without one!!!!

I think that at every baby shower I go to from now on I'll give the mother-to-be a package of Breathe Rights along with the gift (oh ya, and some chocolate...you can never have enough chocolate!)

Pass this tip on to all the expecting mothers in your life!!