Tackle-It Tuesday: My Weight

I took this of myself in my swimsuit in July. Since then I put on about another 5 pounds drinking  one huge, luscious coffee chocolate milk every day.

Here's me with clothes on, lettin' it all hang out.

Okay, I understand that I'm not obese. Realistically I'm only about 42 pounds over what I weighed when I got married, what I weighed during most of my 20s.

The Carseat Company Conspiracy (A Pissy Post)

I'm a little pissy about something and so I will share it with you! Lucky!

We had a garage sale last weekend. I decided to part with a carseat that we used for (I think) our last 4 kids. We were never in so much as a teensy fender-bender. Of course nobody at the garage sale bought it, even though it has a base and is in AMAZING shape.

I tried to put it on the porch for the charity to take and THEY LEFT IT!

So I ask you, what can I do with it? Since everyone is so freaked out about used carseats that have possibly been in a wreck and are possibly cracked and could possibly not work when needed in the future, where does that leave all the carseats?

We are so damn concerned with BEING GREEN in this country lately, but I ask you how many carseats are sitting in landfills, to NEVER DECOMPOSE?'

Don't ride me about how we want our babies to be safe and all that. I get it, okay? But there has to be some way to like do a sonogram on a carseat to see if it has a hairline fracture or something, right? And if it passes as NEVER BEEN IN A WRECK, then let's use it again!!!!!

You'll use cloth diapers and feed your kid all organic but you are perpetuating landfill crap, new mommies!

YES, I used a USED carseat back in 2001 when I had my first kid. A friend had used it and a friend before her. This was back in the day before bases and we had to roll up a towel and put it under the back of the carseat to make sure it was tilted correctly. I also did not use special expensive baby detergent (yes, I know some kids really do have sensitive skin). Do these things make me a bad mom? Nah.

I think the carseat companies just want you to believe all this crap and just buy more carseats ... at $100+ a pop. Think about it.

So I'm gonna try to Freecycle the dang thing before I throw it in a Dumpster. I'll let you know how THAT goes.

*UPDATE: Thank God for Facebook or I would know nothing. One person said the local health dept. might take them for the needy. Another person said you can go online to see how to recycle the entire seat! Another said to post it like on Facebook to see if someone wants it and trusts me that it has not been in a wreck! There ya go!

Moon Sand Review

Maybe your kids or grandkids have been asking for Moon Sand for a long time, but you're scared.  "What if it's like that crappy Floam?" you wonder.  "And it's expensive!" you proclaim!

You wanna know what I think about Moon Sand?  I love it! I don't love vacuuming it off the floor, but it's more fun and less mess than Play-do and Floam and other junk that's out there these days. My husband says it's like if you took an eraser and erased for an hour ... the eraser "leavings" are like Moon Sand, only it somehow sticks together like nice, wet beach sand -- only better!

I give it two thumbs up and 5 Dove chocolate hearts! A great gift for a kid at Christmas or for a birthday!

Originally published 4/30/10

Adult Preschool at My House

I picked up a 2007 copy of Parenting Magazine that was being tossed out at my library and came across a great thing on the inside back cover. It's called "Preschool Ideas We'd Love to Steal." Here are my favorites:

Time-outs. YES! I need a time-out sometimes! From my kids, from my husband, from other people in general. Let's take more time-outs!

Free play. YES! I need to stop focusing so much on getting everything done and stop and turn on the music and just dance with the kids.

Snacks every two hours. Well, I kinda have this one covered already. If I don't snack, I turn into a bear.

Super-enthusiastic greeting at the end of the day. Well, I do get that from my husband, which surprises me after 17 years of being together. But I'll take it!

Buddy system. Every now and then I do this ... like when a friend is coming over and offers to bring a nice coffee or when I offer to buy something for a friend who is currently cash-strapped.

MANDATORY NAPTIME. Need I say more? I'm not sure who will be watching my kids while I take my daily mandatory nap, though. The Nap Fairy, perhaps?

Got any to add?

Crockpot Chili (EASY!)

I love this meal to make life easy ... and cheaper because I don't use canned beans! I love this meal for Tuesdays when the kids have religious education class and I work the nursery there. It runs from 4:30-5:45, so it's nice to get home and have dinner READY!

You will need:
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup pinto beans (or just used canned!)
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can diced tomatoes
Chili seasoning to taste
Sour cream, cheese, crackers, onions

Follow instructions on beans for the quick method where you boil them then let them sit for a while in the hot water. Meanwhile, brown ground beef until no longer pink, then drain. Add chili seasoning and some water and mix. Toss it in a slow cooker. Add corn and tomatoes. Drain water from pinto beans and rinse. (a friend told me the more rinsing you do, the less gas you get later!!!!) Add beans to slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours and enjoy!

Grab your can of air freshener for later.