1. Billy Idol fans
2. Why every tween star on the planet continues to take naked pics of themselves and act surprised when they get leaked
3. Hockey player names (Miroslav Satan, Ollie Jokinen, Zdenek Blatny, Jaroslav Spacek)
4. Creepy strangers who try to friend me on Facebook
5. My daughter telling me she doesn’t care much for clothes shopping
6. The electoral college
7. That people are surprised every time a couple who met on The Bachelor breaks up
8. The eating of tripe, haggis and “Rocky Mountain Oysters”
9. That 3 chapters into “Charlotte’s Web”, Lily doesn’t want to read anymore cause it isn’t a good book
10. That I enjoy showering in a place where I must wear shoes to avoid fungal infection simply because it is an uninterrupted, hot shower

How bout you?

• Another Interpretation of “If You Can’t Say Something Nice…”
• I’m a Little Bit Speechless
• All in all a pretty good read (if you take out that pig bladder part)
• Frugal Friday- Summer Reading Extravaganza!!
• What I Am Reading

So occasionally I will drop her off at school dressed less than to the nines. OK, so sometimes I drop off in my pajamas. Without brushing my teeth. Or my hair. Cause drop off involves driving around a traffic circle, letting out my cute little 5 year old, and going on my merry little way. With no one the wiser that underneath my coat are pajama bottoms and an old ratty t-shirt.

Until Thursday. When after dropping Lily, I heard from the backseat, “Mommy? LaLa’s cackers.” Which translates in Hannah speak to “Mommy, Lily’s Lunchable is sitting on the seat next to me instead of in her backpack.” Good thing I am fluent in Hannah.

So I am faced with the horrible choice of being seen in all my morning glory or causing my first born to starve her way through school. But she still has a snack right? And some classmate will surely take pity on her and throw some food her way. Or at least her teacher. Either way, school is only until 3, and I can swing by Micky Ds on the way home.

Well I am sure you know what I did. I held my head high and marched into the school to give Lily her lunch. Or, more accurately, I ducked my head and hurried down the hallway hoping no one would recognize me. Of course, I passed a few well dressed mommies and her teacher on the way to deliver her lunch. Then again, as any mom who has been through birthing a child will tell you, dignity pretty much goes out the window the moment labor begins. I wonder if it ever comes back?

• I think that might be a B+
• The Times, They Are A Changin’
• Cleary we should just build a bubble
• Works For Me Wednesday- Nightly Routine
• Ode to Hannah

So instead of coming up with a brilliant tip for you, I am just going to let you know about some things you may or may not already know about. Sorry if this yields you no new information, but the hubby traveled this week and my kids gave me a little run for my money tonight. And there is no wine in the house. So I am all tapped out on brilliant ideas. Except sometimes putting the kids down a half hour early is just what needs to happen so you don’t end the night screaming all of your sentences.

• Oprah and Snapfish have some dealio going where you get a free 8×11 photo book. Which is a pretty good dealio. I have officially boycotted Oprah this year cause of the whole weird Eckhart Tolle nonsense, but I figure I can still score a free photo book with a clear conscience. I am bummed I missed the Jennifer Aniston thing too, but staying strong. Here is the link, but you only have until the end of Friday so hurry up.
• Walgreens is putting out another $5 off $20 coupon for Friday and Saturday. Your total has to be $20 after coupons so that stinks a bit, but maybe you can get the 2 free after rebate items if you haven’t already. Some mascara and moisturizer never hurt anybody. The link for the coupon is here.
• Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic is having a friends and family sale with 30% off in their stores and outlet stores. And they will donate 5% of your purchase to Boys and Girls Club of America. I have tried linking to their coupon on the web, but it doesn’t seem to be working. So if you want the coupon, let me know in the comments and I will email you one. It is good through Sunday the 16th. Consider yourself friend or family. You should know my family is a bit crazy, so you might want to lean towards friend.

For more frugal tips, head over to Biblical Womanhood.

• Saving on Dining
• Frugal Fridays- My Favorite Frugal Websites
• Frugal Friday- Free Food
• Frugal Fridays- Homemade Baby Food
• Frugal Fridays- Grocery Tip

So when I was given the chance to review a new product designed to make car seats safer, I jumped on it. We work so hard on getting our car seats installed safely. Seriously, I work up a sweat. Well, not me, the hubby. I don’t even try cause I can’t seem to get anywhere near safe.

So imagine my delight when Lily graduated to a booster seat. No more installing, no more worrying. Lily always hopped right in, got strapped in and was able to pull it snug. Until winter coat season hit. Now we can’t seem to get everything always where is should be. Which is lovely when maneuvering Michigan winter roads. And then I read this:

In fact, car accidents are one of  the leading causes of death and injury for children and the failure of seat belts to properly secure children is a leading contributor.   

Well fabulous. Like I need one more thing to keep me up at night.

Enter The Seat Snug. The Seat Snug helps fit the seat belt tightly across the child’s hips and prevents any slack from developing. It clips onto the seat belt and works using a patented CG-Lock Technology. And you can put it in the on-off position depending on whether or not your child is in the seat.

Here is the deal. You have to really follow the directions to install. And it ain’t easy to uninstall. Which is good cause you don’t want your kid figuring that out cause they defeats the purpose. And at $35 it is a teensy bit pricey, but not really when you consider safety. We have always spent a bit more than average on our kids car seats cause we value the piece of mind that comes with knowing your kid is safe in the car.

So check out the Seat Snug and check out their website for more information.

I would love to hear what you love. So link on up!! Rules, guidelines, blah, blah, blah…

• Works For Me Wednesday- Keeping The Kiddos Safe
• Things I Love Thursday- Noodleboro Games (And A Giveaway!!)
• A Long overdue Jump onto the soapbox
• Things I Love Thursday- Snuggle (and a bit about SYTYCD)
• Invitation to my Bonfire

• Most abductions happen after school between 2-7 pm. 74% of those abductions are young girls. As a mother of girls, this terrifies me. But what terrifies me more is that studies show only around 50% of families are taking the time to really discuss safety with their children.
• Lose the “Stranger Danger” message. Kids frankly don’t get it. They think of a stranger as some creepy weirdo and a lot of child pretators aren’t strangers, but people your child knows (coaches, teachers, community leaders, etc.). Children can’t be expected to differentiate good guys from bad guys. The message should instead be to let us know if ANYONE makes them feel uncomfortable.
• Pay attention and listen to your children. Give validation to their feelings. Kids need to feel safe telling us anything. If they are uncomfortable in a situation, explore why instead of brushing it off. Kids won’t lie if they feel safe. Our children, above all, need to know that we are their “safety person” and trustworthy to tell anything to.
• The point of teaching safety is not to scare them. Tone should be very reassuring. We want them to know that we love them and want to keep them safe, but that there are people who don’t. Details are not necessary.
• We need to make sure that in our quest to teach them to be polite, we don’t inadvertantly teach them to ignore the voice that tells them when they are uncomfortable. We shouldn’t force them to talk to people they don’t know that we do. Or hug people if it makes them uncomfortable.
• Practice safety when you are out in the community. Teach them to stay put where they get lost.  Teach your child who to tell if they are lost. Look for an info booth, name tag for store employee, police officer or mother of children. Just saying, “Don’t talk to strangers” will cause child not to seek help. Children need to know who “safe strangers” are.
• The internet has not increased the amount of predators, but has provided a new way for them to get to our kids. Make sure you monitor your child’s computer usage and tell them never to start conversations with people they don’t know. There is lots of free software out there to monitor what your kids do, but don’t get lulled into thinking that is enough. You child should understand nothing they post online is private. Other people can and will get a hold of what they do. Post a computer pledge and guidelines next to the computer.

Best of all NCMEC is partnering with Duracell for the third year in a row for the Power of Parents initiative to provide parents even more resources for safety.

If you click on the picture above, you will be taken to the Power of Parents safety handbook with specific tips for various developmental stages from infant through high school. This is a free resource and has been updated to include the latest technology and information. It is a must read for any parent.

• Things I Love Thursday- Seat Snug
• Works for Me Wednesday- Leaving the kiddos behind
• Take Me Out To The Ballgame
• Interview with ME
• A Brief Rant Up On My Soapbox

• You See I Have These “Internet Friends”….
• Now That’s the way to sell on Ebay!
• Do You Twitter?
• Frugal Fridays- Save on Groceries
• The Meetup of The Century!!

The beginning of the weekend was still gorgeous (unlike now in which there is snow blanketing the ground. It ain’t Michigan unless it is going from 70-30 in the course of a few days) so the girls all were playing outside on the swingset and in the sandbox. For whatever reason the two activites kept intertwining leaving sand all over the slide. I had reprimanded them several times from my spot on the couch with my laptop in my lap, but the activity continued.

Finally, I called Lily inside and said, “If you bring sand out of the sandbox one more time, you will have to come inside and spend some time in your room away from your friends.” She paused and looked at me for a moment and asked, “OK, can we have a snack?”

Is it possible I speak in some decibel that is like a dog whistle and my children can’t hear me?

So I said what I say so many times throughout the course of parenting, “Did you hear what I said about the sand?”

“Yes…sorry….can we have a snack?”

“Yes, but no more putting sand on the slide OK?”

Lily goes running outside and we overhear her say, “Guys….I have good news and bad news….”

• Best of Buddies (for 20 minutes anyway)
• Things I Love Thursday- The Caribbean
• The Times, They Are A Changin’
• Start Spreading The News
• Time Marches On

Take a roll of paper towels (I use the good ones-Viva, cause they are super soft) and use a sharp knife to cut it in half. Then mix 1 cup of boiling water, 1 tablespoon of baby oil and 1 tablespoon of baby shampoo. Put the paper towels in an old baby wipe container and pour the mixture over the top. Voila, baby wipes. For a fraction of the cost of store bought wipes even when I used the good paper towels.

They have worked out so well that I might give up the store bought kind. Until I decide to stop being lazy already and potty train my 2 1/2 year old so I can get off the wipes permanently. Or until she hits puberty and the whole peer pressure thing sets in.

For more frugal ideas, head on over to Biblical Womanhood.

• Things I Love Thursday- Adult Wipes
• Frugal Friday- Grow Your Own Veggies…or make a sad attempt at it
• Things I Love Thursday- Aaah Toilet Paper Foam
• Things I Love Thursday- Preserve Toothbrushes
• Works For Me Wednesday- The Valentine’s Day Edition

So when I was contacted to review a product that helps moms “recharge their battery” through a daily power nap, I was all where do I sign up? Sorry honey, I can’t help with the kids. I HAVE to nap. It is for research.

Now I nap a lot of days. Cause Lily is in school and Hannah is napping so I nap. Nap when they nap. Isn’t that the advice all new moms get. Yes, I get that I said, new moms, but why stop just cause the kid hits two (five, twelve). But the problem is sometimes I don’t feel better after the nap. Sometimes, I feel even more foggy and groggy. And sometimes I nap for too long and then I can’t sleep at night. And sometimes I nap for so long that I get major nap hair and raccoon eyes from my mascara. And that I just can’t stand for.

So I love the philosophy of Pzizz. It has a program that creates an audio soundtrack which is combination of music and voice to help you take a 20 minute power nap. Where I used to wake up even sleepier than I started, now I wake up perfectly refreshed and full of energy. I seriously felt like I had napped for hours.

I have friends who have told me they would like to nap, but have trouble clearing their mind and relaxing. I call them crazy people, but Pzizz would be great for them too, cause it helps you clear your mind and let go. And not in a new age-creepy way, but a restful, relaxing way.

There is also a downloadable program that helps you get a good nights sleep. I frankly haven’t tried that cause I usually am so tired at the end of the day that I pass out without anyone’s help. And my husband already tells me I am a crazy deep sleeper. But I am sure if you have problems sleeping at night (cough*Jenny*cough) it would help you too.

There is a whole lotta science behind why this works, but do you really care if the bottom line is you are sleeping, relaxing and feeling energized? I didn’t think so. So check out Pzizz and start to sleep like a baby. Clearly a phrase invented by someone who had never actually spent time with a baby.

Now that I have all this extra energized time, I have more time to hunt down all the things you all love. So hit me with ‘em. First, check out the guidelines. Then link on up!

• Week 16- Try a nooner
• Things I Love Thursday- BBFF (Bloggy Best Friends Forever)
• Things I Love Thursday- Preserve Toothbrushes
• 10 Random Things Learned on Vacation
• Frugal Fridays- For The Love of Coupons

Do you ever buy toys for your kids cause they really are something cool you want to play with? Like an Easy Bake Oven cause you never got one as a child (ahem, MOTHER!!!). So I decided to write about the toys I would buy if I selfishly was only thinking of myself. Which I may or may not do when I actually buy toys for my kids.

• Playdoh Ice Cream Shoppe: I frankly hate it when my kids play with playdoh cause although it keeps them entertained for stretches of time, it makes too big of mess. However, this toy I think I might play with after they go to sleep. If only it came with edible playdoh. Hasbro people, get on that please.
• Fisher Price Smart Cycle: Do you think I could fit on it? Do you think I could get it to work with Grey’s Anatomy? Seriously if they made these for adults and it was the only way to watch reality TV, we would have no obesity problem.
• Wild Planet Animal Scramble: Apparently you hide 4 animals around the room and then the giraffe gives clues to help you find the animals. Forget hiding the animals. I am going to tape them to my keys, remote, Lily’s shoes and my hubby’s wallet. Then maybe it won’t take 45 minutes every morning to find them.
• Fisher Price I Can Play Guitar: I bought a guitar for myself in 1997. It is still in it’s case. Gathering dust and going horribly out of tune. I so long to be a rock star chick. Maybe I should start with something geared at kids. Or maybe I should continue on with air guitar on the tennis racket.
• Dr. Who Dalek Voice Changer Helmet: I don’t know what this is or what it does exactly, but I think I could seriously freak my kids out. And really, that is priceless.

Head over to Rocks In My Dryer to get ideas for unselfish toy ideas for your kids. But how fun is that really?

• Ode to Hannah
• Works For Me Wednesday- Nightly Routine
• Frugal Friday- Grow Your Own Veggies…or make a sad attempt at it
• What I want to be when I grow up
• I thought the point was to get CLEAN…