Self Potty Training

I love when Eva takes off her diaper and brings it to me for review, like a cat brings a dead mouse or bunny or bird to its owner.

I’m like, “Just throw it in the trash! I don’t need to check it out first. What, do you want credit for it or something?”

Serotonin Deficiency Linked to SIDS

So the whole Back to Sleep campaign was a bunch of crap it seems. The most recent studies say SIDS is linked to a serotonin deficiency in babies.

Sleeping on the belly got a bad rap, even though 9 out of 10 babies surveyed prefer it. Sleeping on the back only worked a bit better to save a few babies because babies don’t like being on their back and wake up easier because they’re uncomfortable.

The Family Bed also got a bad rap, even though most parents who do it are totally responsible and not drunk or fat and actually wake up if they hear their kid having trouble breathing.

Do should we screen for serotonin deficiency at birth? If a kid is deficient, do we give them a shot of it? Interesting turn of events.

Giveaway: Whole Foods Dark Chocolate Coffee Beans (7 ounce package)

I discovered these little gems when we went on our Whole Foods tour over Spring Break. I’ve always loved chocolate-covered coffee beans (I’ll eat just about ANYTHING if it’s covered in chocolate), so I grabbed a 7-ounce package of Dark Chocolate Coffee Beans at Whole Foods and love ‘em.

The bonus is that the kids don’t like them, so I don’t have to even worry about hiding them. And I only need a few a day to almost replace my coffee habit. Forget Red Bull … these little babies give you a nice buzz! At $4 per package, it’s a steal!

So I’m sharing with 1 lucky bloggie friend! Lots of chances to win; all you have to do is:

1. Leave me a comment … if you have to be Anonymous, leave me your first name and email, please.

2. For a bonus entry, put a link on your blog telling about this giveaway and come back here to let me know you did it.

3. For another entry, sign up for an email subscription to my blog on the right-hand side of the screen.

4. For yet ANOTHER entry, become a Follower of my blog on the right-hand side of the screen.

5. For another shot at winning, follow me on Twitter (it doesn’t count if you already follow me) at mommykerrie.

IMPORTANT: Don’t forget to leave me your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. I’d leave it in this format so you don’t get Spam: mommykerrie at yahoo dot com.

Field Trip: Whole Foods Tour

On the 19th we went on a great field trip to Whole Foods with another family from our homeschool group. I was able to leave my girls home with my mom, so it was nice to be able to just take the boys and do some grocery shopping and then do the tour and THEN some more grocery shopping!

We got some sort of horned fruit (kiwano horned melon???), Shatto chocolate milk, granola for parfaits, a block of the best smoked mozzarella I’ve ever had in my life, some Odwalla bars (easy breakfast for me) and our staple Veggie Straws and dark chocolate discs.

I chalked all these expenses up to “education” and figure a Catholic school education would be more costly than buying a few items at a grocery store. Besides, we usually shop at Aldi, which is super cheap.

At the end of the tour, the kids got to make a healthy granola, blueberry and yogurt parfait. They got a bag of goodies, including a kiwi fruit, a juice box and a sample of organic fruit snacks.

Now I really want to write an article on how to feed your kids organic, healthy foods on the cheap. I wish I could easily contact Kate Gosselin (Jon and Kate Plus Eight) because I saw her shop at a Whole Foods-type place on the cheap for 8 kids … lots of coupons and rain checks helped. Kate, if you Google Alert yourself, CAWL ME … I’d love to interview you.

Ways to Celebrate Lent

Yep, I’m one of those Crazy Roman Catholics (we call ourselves “RCs” in house; my aunt lovingly calls us “fish eaters”). I became Catholic in 1999, AFTER getting married. I went through the conversion process (9 months) and then decided I wasn’t ready; didn’t want to convert JUST because I was marrying a Catholic. I went through the process again and decided I was ready.

I get asked about how we celebrate Lent a lot, so here’s just one example.

I got an e-mail from Scooter’s Coffeehouse (there’s one right up the street where, like at Cheers, everybody knows my name). During March they have an offer where you get a Coffee Passport and sample 7 different coffees within a month from 7 different countries. Then you get a $10 gift card. Basically I’d need to spend about $35 (including tip) to get $10. Normally I’d jump at this, but during Lent I’m rethinking some things.

I decided to instead take that $35 I almost blew and put it into our Rice Bowl (a little cardboard bowl you pick up at church before Lent starts).

From the bottom of the Rice Bowl: “75% of your gifts to Operation Rice Bowl come to Catholic Relief Services to fund development projects overseas and Lenten education efforts in the U.S. 25% remains in dioceses in the U.S. to support local hunger and poverty alleviation.”

Not a major sacrifice, I know, but big for me. In keeping with the idea of helping the hungry, I could also go down to Harvester’s and help pack up food (would they let me in with a nursing sling baby?).

I welcome more ideas of how to help the hungry in more hands-on ways while keeping at least a couple of the kids with me so they can also help and learn. Leave me some info in the Comments section, please!