Thermostly Ready

Well the kids both have a couple weeks of their new classes under their belts.  Julius seems to still be enjoying class and he even made a friend in his class who is also in extended day.  (Fewf.)  We’ve been waiting for him to tell us he made a friend.  Though he told me this morning he was a bit lonely on the bus because no one sat with him.  (Trying not to let this break my heart.)  Julius has also started both gymnastics and cub scouts so we’re hoping he has a lot of fun in both.  So far so good.

Patricia is having a bit of trouble adjusting to the preschool class.  For the entire first week she refused to go into the room and would cling to us when we left.  We’d literally have to push her off us and run out the door to get her to go to preschool.  Talk about heartbreaking.  The teachers don’t seem as helpful as her last class to help distract her or motivate her to play while I’m trying desperately to leave.  To be honest the few times that leaving her in the class went smoothly was when one of her previous teachers, Ms. Jen or Ms. Sara, happened to be walking by and helped her into the classroom.  Patricia, Will and I had a discussion about going into preschool mid last week.  The last couple times she has been very brave going into the classroom and didn’t even cry when we left.  I’m very proud of her.  Now we just have to work on all the accidents she’s been having.

I loved getting new things for back to school.  New pencils and notebooks, etc.  Well kindergarteners and preschoolers don’t need pencils or notebooks… and I really hate buying new things for the sake of buying new things so I decided to revamp all their old stuff.  I resewed some seams on Patricia’s unicorn backpack (which I got from the buy nothing group), then we got an LL Bean backpack (also off the buy nothing group).  It was in perfect condition, so I just embroidered Julius’ initials on it and asked him what he wanted to decorate it with.  I bought a bunch of shark embroidery patches that I hand sewed on it.  He was quite pleased with it.  (Side note – is it so adorable watching him walk with the LL Bean backpack on.  It’s like as big as he is.)

I also repaired Julius’ lunchbox (yes this one) that he’s had forever.  This is the one thing where I asked Julius straight up if he wanted to pick out a new one, and he flat out refused.  He actually broke down crying when I suggested such a thing.  Instead I completely re-stitched all the seams on the lunchbox and once again repaired the velcro.  It is like 1″ smaller than when it started, so it’s starting to become difficult to fit an ice pack inside.  Massachusetts gives free lunches to all schoolkids though, so luckily all his lunchbox needs to hold is snacks!  I also am working on a new lunchbox for him in secret as a present.

The only picture I have of Julius backpack.

The last thing I did was redo their water bottles.  I LOVE the “funtainer” thermos waterbottles.  They are stainless steel, a great size for kids, they have a handle, and the straws are easily replaceable and even sold at Target.  Julius’ water bottle used to have the Paw Patrol pups on it, but they’ve long since scratched off.  Patricia’s had some space unicorns, that somehow had also scratched off, in far less time.  I decided to redo Julius’ with sharks, and Patricia’s with unicorns.  I didn’t have sticker paper and waterproof material so I decided to experiment with sublimation on vinyl.  I’m not yet sure I recommend this method.  I had a horrible headache for the next day afterwards, and I’m not sure if it was because of off-gassing from the vinyl.  So take all this with a grain of salt, and if you do try it, be sure to do so in a well ventilated space, potentially wearing a properly rated respirator (I usually wear one, but for some reason I didn’t this time).  I’ll post about the sticker making next week; for now I’ll show you how to get your water bottle looking as good as new!  I used 4 different methods (including steel wool, dremel polishing, and melamine foam pads)  to get Julius’ water bottle looking good again before finding the right solution.

  Upgrade a Worn Thermos Funtainer

What you’ll need:

• 12 oz Thermos Funtainer
• Waterproof Vinyl Stickers
• 220 grit sandpaper
• Dust mask/ventilator and eye protection

1. Remove the cap and bottom of the funtainer Thermos.  (Yes the bottom is removable, but you have to pull very hard to pop it off the first time.)
   

   Here’s a before image – it’s pretty gross looking.

2. Put on your mask and eye protection and sand the waterbottle, always going in the same direction around the circumference of the bottle.
3. Periodically wipe the dust off the bottle and check to see if any marks remain.  Continue until satisfied.
   

   That look pretty darn good to me!

4. Wash the entire bottle, lid and bottom inside and out with hot soapy water.
5. Dry then reassemble the bottle.
6. Apply stickers as desired.