Thank You Amazon

So, I’m trying to find every way I possibly can to save money right now.  I had noticed of course that Amazon.com has things that aren’t books for sale a long time ago. 

Well, today I was thinking about it decided to check to see what their price for diapers are.  Wal-Mart is the only place around here that sells large packages of them and the biggest they go up to 108.  It always makes sense to buy in the biggest bulk because the more you buy the more you save (usually).

Well, how surprised was I when I was able to sign up to have 174 size 4 Pampers delivered to my house every month.  By signing up for this I’m actually saving money.  I’m going to pay $28 a month for these diapers.  Right now I pay $25 for 108 at Wal-Mart.  I’m not paying for shipping and I can cancel anytime I need to.

How did I not discover this ages ago?  So basically I normally pay $0.23 a diaper and now I’m paying $0.16 a diaper.  That is a huge savings.  I’m going to check what else I can order from amazon and put on this monthly thing.  Right now I would do almost anything to save money!

Go check it out and prepare for the savings!

What is Wrong With You? [Glee Spoilers]

I was watching this week’s Glee episode and was happy to see them addressing an issue instead of just singing.  Don’t get me wrong, I love that show, it’s just not very issue oriented this season.  Well, except gay issues, they hit on those a lot.

So, I was happy to see the kids all talking about, singing about, what they hate or what others hate about them.  Rachel wanted to get her nose done.  She has the standard Jewish girl nose, so I can see where she’s coming from.  Finn can’t dance.  Kurt likes boys.  Tina hates her brown eyes.  Emma has OCD.  Brittany is stupid.

It’s so painful, these labels that society places on us.  I’ve had them too.  Big butt, Big breasts, Curvy Figure, Geek.  Because of these things we think that we’re not good enough.  That there is something wrong with us.   

We see these people up on the movie screen and they are our role models.  Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.  How could we ever live up to that standard?  They look amazing and also have millions of dollars to spend on cosmetics and salons to keep them looking that way.

I like how they all wrote what they felt society hated most about them on white t-shirts in big black lettering.  I almost wish we could get high school teens to do this for real.  I remember high school.  It was a scary time.  I was always so worried about fitting in and wanting to be part of the group.  I held back parts of myself and it wasn’t until I was in my mid 20’s that I found myself.  I wish there was a way to help high school students begin this process so that they don’t spend 10 years figuring it out.

I’d like to salute the kids that I went to high school that decided they didn’t give a crap what others thought and were themselves anyway.  Congrats to you, I bet it was hard but you did the right thing.  I hope that I can raise my daughter and teach her that it’s really okay for her to be herself.  She doesn’t have to be what society wants.  Heck, if she keeps her current looks I already know one of her labels…  Ginger.  And we all know they don’t have souls.

Easter for the Non-Religious Family

It’s not always easy being a non-religious family.  Every religious holiday that comes around we have a decision to make.  I know that Easter isn’t always treated as a Religious holiday, a great deal of the emphasis these days is put on the bunny, the Easter baskets and the egg hunts.  But when I was growing up, my mom made it about the sunrise service and all of the church activities.  The Easter bunny never came into it and I didn’t know who he was until I was older.

So, we find ourselves in a predicament as a family that is trying to raise our child without a focus on religion.  Should we celebrate this holiday?  We could always just focus on the egg hunts and Easter basket.  It feels hypocritical though, to celebrate the holiday without the religious part of it.  Maybe that’s because I was raised by a very religious mother.  I would happily call her a bible thumper. 

I certainly don’t want to start some theological debate or one about holiday’s created by the candy companies.

We took the easy way out this year.  Because we don’t really have money we opted to not buy her anything.  Other people did though.  We were happy to accept those items for her so that she could get a few bunnies and some chocolate she shouldn’t eat.

Problem solved…  Until next year. 

Mompetition

Being a mom can be a really hard job.  Many of us remember back when we had real jobs, you know the kind that brings in an actual paycheck.  For many women gossip and competition is an integral part of the job place.  This doesn’t change just because you’re not in the actual workplace anymore.  In fact I think it only gets worse in some cases.

My son crawled at 6 months.  Yeah?  Well my daughter walked at 7!  I can breast feed both my twins at the same time.  I haven’t slept in 3 weeks.  I haven’t slept in 6 months!  And it goes on and on.

Really, I’m not kidding.  Moms compete about the silliest things.  And other moms are the first people who are going to try to tell you how to raise your children, whether you want the advice or not.

I remember when Kaylee was 7 months old.  She was in the 95^th percentile for her height.  I had met 15 month olds that she was taller than.  So, the problem I ran into is that people would look at her crawling around and would ask me if she was walking yet.  I’d look at them like they’d grown a second head and tell them no.  Oh…  That would be most of their responses.  It wasn’t until a month into this that I finally discovered what was going on.  These people thought something was wrong with me or my daughter because she wasn’t walking yet.

Seriously?  She was only 7 months.  And even if she was over 1 year it’s not a big deal.  All children develop at different rates.  They all do things on their own time.  I let my daughter move at her own pace and I would never push her to do anything that she’s not ready for.

Mompetition is such a big part of the mom community.  The boards, the play dates.  It’s in all of those places.  On one of my mommy boards recently a mom actually posted this thread, “When did your baby…” and proceeded to ask when they walked, talked and crawled.  I hate this kind of thing because all it’s doing is opening the door for mompetition.

Mompetition…   Funny word.  I love it!  A friend of mine found this site http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7148143/why-i-cant-make-mom-friends.  I feel like I am the mother who writes these.  It’s exactly how I feel most of the time that I am interacting with other moms.

A friend of mine recently had her first baby and I am so proud of her.  Her little girl is so beautiful and amazing.  I just wish to give her and any other new moms out there some advice.  Watch out for mompetition.  It’s a crazy mom world out there and someone will always be trying to make you feel like you are doing an inadequate job as a mommy.  It’s so hard being a mommy for the first time, you have so many doubts and are constantly worrying that every decision you make may be wrong.  The last thing you need is other women, the people who should be supporting you, making those doubts worse or scaring you.

So, just think over the advice and things people tell you.  There is no wrong way to parent and unless your doctor is concerned about your child’s progress, you shouldn’t be either.

The Vanishing Print

A few years ago I confessed my dream to my brother.  I want to open a used book store that is also available online.  I’ve wanted this for longer than I can remember.  I even came close to writing a business proposal once with a friend of mine.

“That’s a waste of money,” he informed me.  “Print books are going out of style, everything is going to eBooks and PDF.”

Yeah right!  I love the feeling of a book in my hand, the smell of a library, seeing my collection on a gleaming bookshelf.  Books will never go away!  Far too many people are frightened by technology and love actual books.  How can I read an eBook in a bubble bath?  What if someone steals my purse, I just lost my whole collection!

Here I am years later, selling most of my collections.  Hundreds of books are up for sale and my heart does break a little with each that I say goodbye to.  Many of them are like old friends; they hold my love and sometimes my tears.  I’m not selling them all, I’m keeping the ones that I feel are dear to my heart, that I have special memories with or that may never be available in eBook form due to age.

Why, you may ask, is someone who was once so dedicated to paperbacks selling her books?  I started collecting them in eBook format and find it easier to read that way.  Granted, I haven’t purchased my first eReader yet, but I plan to with the money I make from selling my books.  I find reading them on my smart phone easier than pulling a book out.  My home is small, I have a toddler who is taking over inch by inch, so we need all the space we can get.  By selling my books I’m making a ton of room. 

I am a little sad to say goodbye to my dream of having a real library some day in my own home.  I dreamed of stacks built into the walls and one of those moving stepladders that circles around the room so you can reach the higher shelves.  My dream of owning a used book store should probably also be put away. 

I’m not saying paperback books are going away completely, I don’t think they ever will.  There are far too many books in print to ever eBook them all, well maybe someday, but not today.  Plus, there is still some debate over which eReader to buy and the prices are prohibitive to some families. 

Who do you think bought me my first eBook?  My brother.

Cooking with Toddlers

Don't worry, I'm not threatening to put my 17 month old in the soup pot, although sometimes I may feel like doing just that!  No, I'm talking about making a dinner with a little one under foot and no one, except maybe the TV, to run interference.

If you're not a parent, or not a parent who really cooks, then this may be hard for you to understand. 

So, there I am doing my very best to prepare dinner for our family.  My husband gets out of the shower at a certain time and only has an hour to eat, digest and get out the door.  So, I'm on a clock, it feels a lot like being on a cooking show, the only difference being that I can start anytime I like.  This particular night I'm making one of my husbands favorites, Chicken Parmesan.  Easy?  Think again.  I make it from scratch.

I get my toddler in front of the TV (I know, how dare I?) to watch some Moose A Moose and start my mise en place.  I get my sauce started and water boiling, here comes the chicken.  Everything is going well so far.  I set my bowls up to bread my chicken, cut open the packaging and...  Up Up Up!  I look down, my hands covered in chicken goo to see my little brown eyed girl staring at me from between myself and the cabinets.  She lifts her hands again and commands "Up".  I first look at the goo on my hands (Yay for salmonella) and the clock to see where my time is.  I regretfully inform those cute brown eyes that mommy can't pick her up right now, I'm covered in grossness.  Usually she pouts or cries a little at this point.

I work hard and fast to get my chicken breaded, there is a toddler between my legs.  Literally.  She thinks my legs are a fun bridge that she can climb through over and over again.  As I put the chicken on the stove and get my pasta in the water she decides to start head butting my private area.  Are you trying to crawl back up in?  Trust me, you're far too big.

As I finish the meal up I notice everything is too quiet.  This is never a good thing in my house.  I start looking around for the little runt, I mean love of my life, and find her standing on the ottoman in the living room dancing to Yo Gabba Gabba. 

Of course this is when my husband chooses to enter the room and my little darling is so excited she falls right off of her perch.  My husband shoots me a look and scolds our precious for being where she shouldn't.  My scolding was given via eye contact, ouch.

Dinner is saved.  Well, I burned the chicken a little because of the falling toddler and my noodles got a little over soft.  But it's still good.  I hope.

I'm not giving up

So, Tom and I have hit a huge bump in our finances and now need to make some changes in our grocery bill.  So, basically this means I'm off my diet, because it's expensive to eat healthy :-(  Basically we'll be eating a lot of cheap stuff, and that usually amounts to fatty.

But I'm not giving up, I'm just having to take a break!  I'll be back on the diet wagon as soon as things improve around here.