Need (strange) velcro help...

[Aubrey]

1yo LOVES to empty my bookshelves. It drives me crazy. I had this great idea to line the top & bottom w/ velcro & attach canvas, to cover the books & secure the canvas. With me so far?

 

Well, everything was on awesome sale at the fabric store over the weekend. I got TONS of velcro, 50% off for the 4th, w/ an extra 10% off coupon. Very happy Aubrey.

 

I finally found my stash of canvas & just sat down to start my brilliant project. The velcro I bought, however, is HOOK ONLY. Who ever heard of such a thing????

 

I can take it back. I'm pretty sure I have the receipt somewhere, but I won't get the discount on the new stuff. :crying: But if it won't work, it won't work.

 

Otoh...could it work? If I attach my stupid hook-only velcro to the shelves, could I attach some felt or something to my canvas & still have it "hook"? It's more trouble...my real fear, though, is that it won't hook *enough* to deter 1yo. Kwim?

 

Ideas? Sympathy? Ridicule? :001_huh: :D

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Can I just laugh? Between you and me, honey, we should just off somewhere together where there are no others around and lots of chocolate, ice cream, and nothing to get involved in. :grouphug: You totally crack me up! In a good way!

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Oh, and you could always tell how tall our older ds was by the number of empty shelves on the bookcase in our old house. The taller he got, the higher up we had to empty the shelves and put elsewhere!

 

What about putting one of those cinch cords around the whole kit and caboodle so she can't pull them off. Two for each shelf that wrap around the whole unit and strap them in.

[Kathleen in VA]

Aubrey, you are just so darned cute - that is all I can really think to say. You know, I think I'm old enough to be your mother so I'm allowed to say that. :)

[Aubrey]

Can I just laugh? Between you and me, honey, we should just off somewhere together where there are no others around and lots of chocolate, ice cream, and nothing to get involved in. :grouphug: You totally crack me up! In a good way!

 

Ok, but the real QUEstion is--how did I do at titling my thread?

 

And I also have a secret problem w/ my keyboard: it inadvertently types in all caps. I've been spending twice as much time fixing all the accidental caps (I think it's because it's cordless & the battery's dying), but for this post, I thought What the heck? & wouldn't you know, it's coming out fine?

 

It's always on the intense threads. YOU is in all caps when it's not supposed to be, for ex, & when it would *mean* something.

 

So I guess the cure is not tO Care. Ah--there it goes. It can sense that I'm talking about it. :001_huh:

[Kathleen in VA]

Aubrey, you are just so incredibly cute - that is all I can really think to say. You know, I think I'm old enough to be your mother so I'm allowed to say that. :)

[Moxie]

That sounds like a lot of work. I think I'd just grit my teeth and wait for the one year old to move on to some other annoying habit.

[Kathleen in VA]

OK, I didn't really do that. I got a "server is busy" message and then I changed my mind on using the word darned. I hit submit again and there ya' go. Geesh.

[Aubrey]

Oh, and you could always tell how tall our older ds was by the number of empty shelves on the bookcase in our old house. The taller he got, the higher up we had to empty the shelves and put elsewhere!

 

What about putting one of those cinch cords around the whole kit and caboodle so she can't pull them off. Two for each shelf that wrap around the whole unit and strap them in.

 

Well, that wouldn't work because a) we don't HAVE enough shelf space (cAPS the comp's) to just move stuff up, b) cinch cords wouldn't help w/ the books that are sideways because they're too tall or the baskets that (lol) I thought she might not look in, & c) um...I don't know what cinch cords are.

 

I'm a desperate woman. This is on my to-do-before the baby comes list. (So was finishing the quilt that the kids unsewed last yr, but I found a hiding place in the closet for *that.*)

[Aubrey]

That sounds like a lot of work. I think I'd just grit my teeth and wait for the one year old to move on to some other annoying habit.

 

Oh, if I didn't have anOTHEr one COMing up right behind her, if I had enough square footage to just kick stuff out of my way, if she didn't TEAR the books she pulled out, or if my hormones weren't making me crazy anyway, I might wait. I didn't mesS W/ it W? the other 2.

 

But this time? Seriously. IF I have to pick another paperbacK book up off the floor while she's snEAKing oFf to unshelve another one, I'm going to flip. :001_huh:

[Sue G in PA]

Aubrey, you make me laugh...in a good way. You are so industrious and I'm just laughing b/c the word "nesting" is flashing in bright red lights and I'm remembering my last 6 wks of pregnancy. Well, you ALL remember my last 6 weeks of pregnancy! :lol: As to your idea...WOW! I'd never have thought of something so clever. I would have simple kept :banghead: and picking up the books as 1yo pulled them off. I'm thinking felt would work w/ the "hook" velcro (and yes...who would have thought velcro came like that?) but wondering if it would be sturdy enough to deter a determined 1yo. :confused: I'm wondering if your dh could just add doors to your bookshelves w/ some plywood and hinges? :D Hmmm...now I'm wondering if you could just use the velcro to hang the canvas like curtains to cover the shelves? Do you follow? I wonder if "out of sight, out of mind" would work to keep the dear tot out? Be sure to let us know how it all goes! And, big :grouphug: to you b/c I know how you feel.

[Tammyla]

I believe, the 1 year old will devote all her time and energy into conquering Velcro if your project is a success.;) That ripping sound would make me crazy.:001_huh:

[Aubrey]

I'm wondering if you could just use the velcro to hang the canvas like curtains to cover the shelves? Do you follow? I wonder if "out of sight, out of mind" would work to keep the dear tot out? Be sure to let us know how it all goes! And, big :grouphug: to you b/c I know how you feel.

 

That's actually what I meant. THe velcro along the bottom would only be if necessary. So far, out of sight out of mind has worked...but she's so curious & SNeaky.

 

I wonder...if the felt DIDN't work, if I could just go buy another pack of "the other side" only?

[Annie N]

I can totally empathize, esp about the hooks-only velcro (honestly, that makes no sense!)

 

But have you thought of teaching your 1yo not to do that? You'd have to reserve some time where that would be all you expected to accomplish, and just pull her away every time she started for the bookcase(s) and tell her no. You can then direct her to something she can play with. I taught my daughter not to touch electrical sockets, and one day I heard her saying to herself as she looked at an electrical socket in a waiting room, No. No. No. And she didn't touch it :)

 

Also, when I was having a problem of no word spaces, I put an apology and explanation in my sig line. I still tried to get as many as I could, but was able to be less obsessive about it!

[Mom2legomaniacs]

My bff lives in NY. She is Italian. She is stubborn and feisty. Her hubby is also stubborn and feisty. Any wonder that her kids are strong-willed in some ways. Her first born is a boy. He liked to empty *her* shelf in her newly redone kitchen. She was determined to keep her cookbooks in nice fashion on those shelves. He was just as determined to keep pulling them off when he was a young tot, around 1-ish. I told her to find another spot for now. Nope, she was going to teach him NO. I advised her to teach him NO with something that she didn't care much about him damaging during the process. Nope. She was going to do it with her beloved cookbooks.

 

Fast forward about a week. I laughed my hiney off. She called to say that she moved her cookbooks to another location. I was cracking up. When she gets a bone, she won't let go. She will call me for help and I'll tell her the truth. She may or may not listen. But she finds out eventually. And then we have a good laugh about it. She knows I love her dearly and vice versa.

 

Your dd with the shelves reminded me of her situation about 4 years ago with her ds. It was highly amusing from this end.

[Aubrey]

But have you thought of teaching your 1yo not to do that? You'd have to reserve some time where that would be all you expected to accomplish, and just pull her away every time she started for the bookcase(s) and tell her no. You can then direct her to something she can play with. I taught my daughter not to touch electrical sockets, and one day I heard her saying to herself as she looked at an electrical socket in a waiting room, No. No. No. And she didn't touch it :)

 

Yes, I'm working on that. That's basically how we handled it w/ the other 2. But w/ #3 & #4 coming so close together, I'm tRYIng to simplify, kwim? Anything I can do to help keEP myself calmer seems like a good idea right now.

 

While there are some things she *has* to learn, this one I expect is a passing phase, whether I teach her not to do it or not. So I'm working on it & also hiding it for the mean time.

[3lilreds in NC]

What I would probably do is go back and see if you can do an even exchange for some velcro that makes sense. That way you don't lose your discount. I know this means taking 3.75 children back to the store, and I'm VERY sorry about that!

 

Barring that, see if you can get some "eye-only" velcro to go with your "hook-only" velcro. I cannot imagine why they sell hook-only but clearly there's a market, yes? If there is hook-only, there must be eye-only, right?

 

This sounds like a typical project at my house! See, we really do need to be neighbors. I wonder if we could start a WTM commune somewhere...

[Aubrey]

What I would probably do is go back and see if you can do an even exchange for some velcro that makes sense. That way you don't lose your discount. I know this means taking 3.75 children back to the store, and I'm VERY sorry about that!

 

Barring that, see if you can get some "eye-only" velcro to go with your "hook-only" velcro. I cannot imagine why they sell hook-only but clearly there's a market, yes? If there is hook-only, there must be eye-only, right?

 

This sounds like a typical project at my house! See, we really do need to be neighbors. I wonder if we could start a WTM commune somewhere...

 

A WTM commune...mmmm....I'm pretty sure if there eVER is one, it will be in your neck of the woods. Which, btw, I'm working on dh about. :D

[Annie N]

Yes, I'm working on that. That's basically how we handled it w/ the other 2. But w/ #3 & #4 coming so close together, I'm tRYIng to simplify, kwim? Anything I can do to help keEP myself calmer seems like a good idea right now.

 

While there are some things she *has* to learn, this one I expect is a passing phase, whether I teach her not to do it or not. So I'm working on it & also hiding it for the mean time.

 

Oh, numbers 3 and 4 are coming at the same time!!! Congratulations!!!!

 

I didn't know that, and I am sorry! I see how that would be difficult at this time.

[Aubrey]

Oh, numbers 3 and 4 are coming at the same time!!! Congratulations!!!!

 

I didn't know that, and I am sorry! I see how that would be difficult at this time.

 

Well, not at the *same* time, lol. A yr apt.

[Annie N]

Yes, I'm working on that. That's basically how we handled it w/ the other 2. But w/ #3 & #4 coming so close together, I'm tRYIng to simplify, kwim? Anything I can do to help keEP myself calmer seems like a good idea right now.

 

While there are some things she *has* to learn, this one I expect is a passing phase, whether I teach her not to do it or not. So I'm working on it & also hiding it for the mean time.

 

Oh, numbers 3 and 4 are coming at the same time!!! Congratulations!!!!

 

I didn't know that, and I am sorry! I see how that would be difficult at this time.