The Aunt

I am that aunt. You know the one that let's you eat cake at 6am in the morning and lets (or rather helps) you dress the dog, cat or little brother in ridiculous outfits (not to mention ourselves). I usually have a treasure trove of jewelry that you can pile on, will braid hair six ways to Sunday and will help you concoct the most crazy Popsicle on the planet. All of this is a true story that has been done.

Lately however I have been off my game, but I think that has been true of 90% off my life lately. This summer I am back on it though and need to step up my auntie game, as I am going to see each and every one of my siblings offspring in July/August. The problem is that some of them are getting to the age where they are not as mesmerized by crafts and glitter any more. So I need to get really creative. I have searched high and low for some ideas and here are my top 4, taking into account my nephew (the only boy) is borrowing our laptop to edit videos this summer so it's slightly skewed to girls.

Mani-Pedi Salon

image via Pinterest (I can't find the original source)

I love this idea of placing cotton, toe separators, nail file, lotion and packets of nail polish remover in a jar or box for each girl to use and keep. I then will have each girl be able to pick out their favorite color(s) from my large selection of polish and helping each other out with painting the nails. I might even be able to find nail decals. I am on the hunt!

Water Fight

image via Amazon

So that is just going to have to happen. I think I will have a hose too.

Ice Cream Sandwichs

Image via Cuisipro

I actually have one of these, never used, but I think we need to try this out. Nothing is better than cookies and ice cream on a hot summer day. I think we will use this cookie recipe and lots of sprinkles.

But Let's Make the Ice Cream and Sorbet

Image via King Arthur Flour

Why not do our own. That way we can have healthy and yummy flavors. We can make strawberry sorbet (pictured), peanut butter & banana ice cream with chocolate chunks or honey peach frozen yogurt. Best part is none of these require an ice cream machine!

If you want to try some other fun concoctions, try these recipes from Not Without Salt.

Any other good ideas you have out there for kids ranged 8-13??

Somewhere in the Vaseline

This is a particularly funny name for an incredibly useful product (and one of my favorite STP songs). I stumbled on to it's many uses when I discovered that when I work out hard, my feet are sweaty and really don't like to be that way. I tried all sorts of OTC things to combat this, but it wasn't until after a lot of searching on the internet I came across the suggestion that if you apply Vaseline to your feet before bed and cover with socks, by morning you will have soft and happy feet. I tried it and it really works! Like really, really, totally worked. So well in fact that I now do it 2-3 times a week just to keep my feet soft and supple.

After doing this for a few weeks I remembered my grandmother always had a jar of it lying around the house, so I decided to see what other magic things vaseline can do. There are so many uses and tricks you can use this stuff for that this could be a super long post, but to keep it short here are some of my favorites:

Removes watermarks on wood
Someone forgot to use a coaster and now Aunt Margie's table has watermarks! Just apply some vaseline, wait overnight and in the morning gently wipe away. Aunt Margie will never know.

Leather Jacket Care
Leather jackets can loose their luster over time, but by applying just a little vaseline, rubbing it in and removing any excess with a towel you can bring it back to life in no time.

Stop lids from sticking!
I can never reopen my nail polish bottles without almost losing a tooth. If I just apply a little vaseline on the rim of the bottle I can keep my teeth. Yay!

Smell better longer
Keep your favorite perfume going all day or night by dabbing just a little bit of vaseline on your pulse points, followed by your favorite scent. The vaseline helps the scent stay around longer.

Remove a stuck ring
The other day I did a lot of work involving using the tips of my finger to get some lights connected (we had to make 500 of them) and my fingers were so swollen by bedtime I couldn't remove my ring. I applied just a tad of vaseline and it came right off.

Clean looking DIY manicures
So your left hand is looking so good, but then you move to your right hand and all of a sudden your nail polish is all over your cuticles. Or is that just me? Prevent this craziness by placing vaseline along the sides and base of your nails and apply your polish. Once your manicure is dry remove the vaseline and extra polish in one swipe.

Make plucking your eyebrows easier
Just apply a little vaseline to your eyebrows and the skin will soften allowing for easier removal. Also since we are talking about the eye area, I have read that applying a very little bit to your eyelashes it can help get them to grow. Not sure if I believe that one, but it's worth a try.

Stubborn make up remover
Hard to remove make up is no challenge for vaseline. Just apply to the area and wipe clean.

Lastly, there seem to be mixed reviews on using it on your face, but I have tried it and like the results. I don't do it often, but in a pinch or when my skin is beyond dry I reach for it and have much softer skin.

Any great uses for it that you think is worth adding to the list?