Mommy Needs...

A New Pair of Shoes New Apple Charge Cord


I don't know about other parents out there, but I seem to have the worst luck when it comes to the Apple Lightning charge cords.

This little accessory rules supreme in my house hold. It is needed for our iDevices, like mommy's iPhone or the family iPad. However, the Apple branded cords all seem to have roughly the same short life span, just over 2 months.

Most of them meet the same untimely demise of fraying cord casing and internal wires at points in the cord where they meet up with the connectors.

As you can see in the picture above as soon as this fraying occurs it has to be thrown out as it now poses a fire and health hazard. With official Apple branded cords priced at $20.00 each and only lasting for a few months, I had to find a more affordable and sustainable alternative.

Now I have found two brands of cords that I like as my replacement lightning cords. Kash and Beam Electronics both make functional and affordable replacements.

The Beam Electronics lightning cord is only 1 foot long but is great for charging devices at the desk. The cord covering appears to be a little thicker and a bit more durable than the Apple branded cords. It charged my iDevices in roughly the same amount of time that the original Apple branded cords used to.

For longer lightning cords, I prefer Kash Technologies. They have a four pack of 3 foot long cords that as of October of 2015 were just under $16.00.
They like the Beam Electronics have the thicker cord coating making it more durable than the original Apple branded cords. However the length of the Kash Technologies cords are more suited to charging the iDevices in the car where a little extra reach on the cord can go a long way.

Not all lightning cords at my house get the pleasure of living out their sort lives to the fraying end. Especially when my whirlwind incarnate number 2 gets a hold of it. She is fantastically and almost comically accident prone (think Martin Short in the movie Pure Luck).

Our family had just received our beloved iPad back from the local tech repair team with a brand new screen after a particularly bad week of accidents staring Number 2. She'd had the iPad maybe an hour contentedly watching cartoons on Netflix with it plugged up. She then decided to change location from the couch in the living room to the kitchen. She got up and started walking, forgetting that the iPad was plugged in.

By the time she remembered, it was too late. The damage had already been done. She hung her head and brought to me the pieces of the newly deceased charge cord. Somehow, when she stood up and walked away from her spot on the couch and the outlet next to it, the metal connector of the lightning connector came out of the connector's housing. Thankfully there was enough to grip and we were able to liberate the metal connector from the connector receiver of the iPad.







Disclaimer: Items mentioned in the blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Do You Need a New Bedtime Story?

I understand that repetition is a part of learning and children are the masters of repetition.

(Mommy, Mommy, Are we there yet? Mommy? Are we there yet? Are we there yet, Mommy?)


Here is an excerpt from an article I read earlier this week on www.kindermusik.com

Three interesting facts about repetition and child development:

1. Learning requires electrical energy to create neural pathways. The less “automatic” something is, the more electrical energy is required. Think of something you do automatically – like count by 10′s. It takes very little electrical energy for your brain to travel that “counting 10′s” neural pathway, because you’ve done it a lot.

The more well-traveled a pathway, the less energy is required. That’s why you can do two things at once. Watch TV and knit, for example. When you are first learning to knit, it takes all of your effort. Looking, counting stitches, watching your needles. As it becomes automatic, you use less brain energy, so you can layer another activity on top of that without fear of accidentally turning those mittens into a hat instead.

Neurons Communicating

2. Did you ever wonder why children expect a favorite activity to be repeated again and again and again? Repetition is a necessary building block of development. Children’s brains KNOW that they need repetition. They are pretty smart little creatures! Do you remember the show Blue’s Clues? (Never the same for me after Steve left…). The creators did research while developing the show as to what preschoolers wanted to see in the show, and you can probably guess the answer by now – repetition!

3. So what about the fact that we always have a hello and goodbye ritual, a bounce, a steady beat, rocking time, and story time (in the older classes)? As my friend Heather Wiebe says (she a Kindermusik teacher in Alberta who is fascinated about the way the brain works, just like me) “Patterns make children happy. Knowing what to expect and having things happen in that way not only helps children know what to expect and feel at ease, it’s also how they mark time.” When the environment and routine is predictable, then a child feels safe and learning can naturally happen.

Read the full article Here. 

While this does provide an explanation as to why repetition is important it provides little comfort when your little one is asking you to read the Goldilocks and the Three Bears for the gazillionth time or the cute little song they are listening to over and over again is starting to sound a little creepy like the playground screen in The Birds.

If you have read all the books in your house for bedtime stories (when I was taking classes for my undergraduate degree I did read textbooks to my children for bedtime stories: two birds, one stone), it may be time to introduce some fresh characters.

I recently ran across a really cute and endearing series called Terry Treetop.

Pictured is the book Terry Treetop Finds New Friends.

I read this book with my children and it provided a great conversation starter to talk with both my six year old and my nine year old about what makes a good friend and helping people in need.

The book is well written and the meter of the book makes it an easy and enjoyable bedtime read. Tali Carmi uses literary devices such as repetition as well as alliteration making this a great practice primer for the six year old's reading skill.

I look forward to Terry's other adventures and sharing them with my children and reading them a couple hundred times.


Disclaimer:
I may have received any products mentioned in this post for free or at a discount in exchange for an honest and fair review.

The Great Diaper Debate part 2

So to continue on my previous topic on the Great Diaper Debate I found this video that compares the three brands I have used in the past along with the Honest Company's diaper.

I hope this video helps you to make the best decision for covering up your little one's waste elimination end and helps you to avoid the catastrophe that I endured.

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

Meatloaf was right with two out of three ain't bad, except when it comes to sick children.

These past few days has created a complex mixture of emotions within me. My two youngest children have been feeling under the weather with a stomach virus. My morning started out well enough. I had gotten to sleep in because the older two were out of school for Fall break.
I woke up and got Number 3 ready for day care and running errands. My plan was to run errands and then drop him off later. Number 3 was acting a little weird and that should have been my first indication, but I just chalked it up to a restless night for him. Right before we reached out second stop, he started whining in the back seat. I stop the car and look back at him just in time to watch him throw up. Well, not just trow up, but turn into a spewing fountain of curdled milk.

 (You would not believer how many pictures there are of babies projectile vomiting.)

From his car seat he projected the vomit so violently that he almost got it on the back of the seat in front of him. It took about two seconds for the shock of vomiting to register within his toddler brain. When it finally did he freaked out. Never in his 1.5 years of living could he recall his body betraying him in this manner. Then to top it all off, he was now covered in slimy milk curds. His little mind could not wrap around the events and so he sat there, too afraid to move for fear of getting the milk curds anywhere else on him and he cried. Needless to say my errand running for the day was over.

But that was only the beginning.

When I got Number 3 home, safely in the door, I started stripping him down less than two feet inside the house to contain the mess. Number 2 comes up to me before I am done stripping down Number 3 and informs me that her head hurts and that she has already thrown up this morning. Concerned with an emerging pattern I call Number 1 to interrogate him on his well-being. He reported that he felt just fine.

I cleaned up Number 3 and got him and Number 2 some Tylenol as they felt like they were running fevers and then I convinced them both that what they needed more than anything was some rest.

What then followed is what causes me to have my internal conflict. Number 2 and Number 3 slept. The got the rest their little bodies needed. Normally all three of my kids interact with each other antagonizing and fighting creating most of the noise within my whirlwind of a life. However, with Number 2 and Number 3 out of commission my house experienced a quiet peace it had not experienced since before we moved in. I watched Number 2 and Number 3 in their cute and peaceful slumber. I also got to read a book without being interrupted every other line. For the most part my day was perfect with the exception of the occasional instance of vomit in stereo as Number2 and Number 3 coordinated  stomach onslaughts. Part of me feels bad that my children were not feeling well, but the other part recognized that I do not get many breaks and rejoiced at the opportunity for quiet.

The Great Diaper Debate

One of the most important items you will purchase after the birth of a child is diapers. But there are so many different kinds and brands. How will you know which one is right for you?

For the longest time I didn't know. It pretty much took until my third child before I became convinced that I had finally got this whole diaper thing figured out.

For me this was never a question. For my lifestyle and the fact that I was always chomping at the bit to return to work after each new addition to the family it was a no-brainer that I would go with disposable. Yes, I know that decision is the worst for the environment, but I try to make up for it elsewhere. Life is about compromises, you know.

A mommy friend of mine who also had a child about the same time I had number 3, opted for the cloth reusable diapers. For me she is a trusted source of information. She was a stay-at-home mommy and when all was said and done, she stated that the diapers only added about one additional load of laundry to the pile. She also pointed out that in changing a diaper you are already up to your elbows in baby poo, so just complete the cycle and clean out the cloth nappie. That is a very noble decision on her part, and I give her props for being more of a supermom than I can commit to.

So instead, I opted for disposable diapers for all three of my children out of convenience. With child number 1, my husband insisted that the premium diaper brands (ie: Huggies and Pampers) were priced as more because they obviously were of a better quality, and only the best would do for his baby. I remained skeptical and stubborn and purchased which ever brand of diapers were on sale or whichever ones I happened to have a coupon for. (I mean really, how much do I want to spend on an item that is designed to catch poop and be thrown away?)

I have used three major brands through out the course of my three children: Huggies, Pampers, and Luvs. I mostly used Pampers when the kids were really small. All the hospitals I delivered at used that brand in their nursery and generally we just continued using them after we got home. I have never had any complaints about Pampers. They work wonderfully and very rarely leak, even on a long night after the baby has drained a lot of bottles. I love the Pampers Swaddlers brand, but that line stops right about the time the baby is a year old and begins to walk. At that time, I guess we are supposed to switch over to Pampers Cruisers. My one and only complaint is the price for the larger sized line.

The price for these larger sized diapers are substantially higher than the Swaddlers line and me trying to be frugal would eventually win out over the spouse and begin purchasing Luvs which is much more affordable.

And this is where things start to decline. With my older two children, using Luvs was an occasional inconvenience. Every once in a while they would fully empty more liquid into their diapers than I previously thought to be possibly contained within their pint-sized (appearantly gallon-sized) bodies. Leaks bad enough to have to change out their crib sheets maybe happened once every two months. So even with this little inconveniences, the product was still worth the price.

That was until child number 3.

On this fate-changing morning, I woke the older two and got them ready for school to catch the bus. It was early in the school year and light was streaming in through all the windows, promising "Today is going to be a beautiful day! Nothing can go wrong!".

It lied.

After gathering up the necessary items to wake number 3 and get him ready for daycare, I approached the door to his room. The gentle snoring from within lulled me into a false sense of security, and I cracked the door open quietly. (I love getting in the room before he wake up so I can see him sleeping peacefully.) However, as soon as the door was cracked the air from the room spilled forth and enveloped me within a putrid cloud.

Something was very wrong, if the smell assaulting my nose was to be any indication. I carefully creep over to number 3's crib and peered in. The sight laid out before me was one of parenting horror. Number 3 was still snoozing contentedly on his stomach, knees drawn up under him, BARE bottom up in the air with poop smears on both cheeks like some sort of yoga sun salutation: poopy variation.

Poop was EVERYWHERE!

(This scene has been recreated for dramatic purposes and is not an actual scene from the event)

I picked up Number 3 as gingerly as I could to contain the already catastrophic mess and ran him to the bathroom. Number 3 grumbled at his rude awakening but settled quickly and contentedly into a bubble bath. With the bathroom door open I went across the hall to assess the damage and try to piece together what happened. The only incriminating evidence as to what happened was the sad, scraggly Luvs diaper with a broken strap on the side. In the middle of the night, Number 3 woke briefly and dropped a decent deuce. He then curled up and went back to sleep. Somehow twisting around in his sleep the strap on the Luvs diaper broke spilling the stinky contents within. It took several hours to clean the mess. Since then, as the slogan for Luvs goes, (and almost gets it right) "You live and you learn, and then you DON'T get Luvs!"

The saying goes you get what you pay for and I definitely got what I paid for. 

For more information regarding the Disposable vs. Cloth debate below are some awesome sites that help break down the pros and cons.

www.thebump.com

www.babygearlab.com

Feeding Frenzy

Hello once again.

My youngest is so different from my older two children.

He, for the most part is laid-back and easy going, except when it comes to one thing.

FOOD.

He can be the most content baby, but when the air shifts, the tension becomes almost palatable. As the winds rise, he would start to mutate the jolly baby face into one of monstrous wrath. These signs would mean that we were 3.2 seconds away from a temper tantrum and victuals would need to be located for him ASAP.

He eats with gust,o and it is amazing that he is right on target for weight. However, food always has been a constant battle between him and myself. When he was just starting table food, his biggest complaint was that I could not spoon it into his mouth fast enough.

We developed an uneasy rhythm.

Spoon, Gulp, Scream
Spoon, Gulp, Scream

Feeding him an entire jar of baby food (no joke) took maybe five minutes. And heaven forbid, I didn't grab two jars on a day when he was feeling particularly hungry. But screaming, you know, is all a part of this joyous journey of growth call parenthell, I mean parenthood.

The real struggle was not known until he figured out that he could control his hands. At which point he thought he would be more capable than me to shovel food into his mouth.

Now feeding time became a nightly wrestling ritual. Who would maintain control over the spoon? Feeding grew more arduous for both him and myself, as well as becoming much more messy as he tried to show me that he could do it. I became formally introduced and treated nightly to the baby food facial.

Then I found a saving grace. I found these little pouches filled with baby food.

I could just take off the cap and hand it to him. Little mess for me, no fuss from him. Nick loved them. He could now feed himself at his own pace and I could finally breath a sigh of relief.

But as the nights of quiet feeding passed, I began to realize that each individual pouch was expensive, and I still had quite a few jars of traditionally packed baby food.

But I could not go back to the way it was before. I began to look for alternatives and low and behold I found them from a company called Squooshi.

Squooshi makes these little reusable baby food pouches. They remind me of little zip-top bags with a spout.

I was so excited to try these little things out. When they arrived I immediately pulled them out and started trying to fill one up. I looked over the little slip of paper that came with it, and followed the instructions. I opened the zipped end and started spooning the food in.
(Whoops! Forgot to put the cap on the spout and now there is baby food dripping off the counter and onto my shoes.) So I put the cap on and tried again.

It was a huge mess.

The opening is rather small and in the process of spooning the baby food into the pouch about half of it gets on the outside of it and on your hand. Then you have to try to close the zip top which squishes out even more of the baby food. (Maybe that is why they call them the Squooshi)

Even though they were a mess, Nick loved them. Feeding time was no longer a battle of the wills. He developed a sense of pride that you could see beaming from his happy face.

I kept using the Squooshi pouches for that reason alone, and I did eventually devise a system that made filling the pouches faster and mess free. Here is where I will share this secret with you to save you time and a mess: I learned to forget about the ziptop as far as filling goes and just to use them for cleaning. I took a cupcake filling injector, loaded it up with the baby food and then injected the baby food directly through the spout.

TaDa! After mixing up a batch of baby food and loading it in to the cupcake filling injector (the one I have and the one shown are Wilton-branded), I could fill half a dozen of these Squooshi pouches in as little as 5 minutes.



Thank you for staying with me through the entire Feeding Frenzy.

Comments and Suggestions are always welcome!

And So the Winds Rise

Hello Everyone,

This is the first post in what I hope will be many.

I am a mom of three kids (age ranges from 1-9 years old) and I work full time. From my life experiences I want to share with you the things that work for me and what does not in the hopes of saving you time, money, heartache, and maybe even a temper tantrum or two.

Mission Statement:

I want to provide honest feedback of not only items I try in my household, but even the life hacks we all want to try to see if they really work but maybe hesitate on. If ever you see something that you would like for me to try, please leave a comment and a link to it (if you can) and I will see what I can do.

A Little About Me:

I am 29. I have no shame in admitting my age. I have a bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Studies and I am only a few classes away from a Master's degree in Communications with an emphasis in Marketing and New Media.

As I mentioned above, I have three kids. The oldest, Jacob, is nine. My middle child, Bianca, is six. Nick is the baby, born in 2014.

I will be drawing on my personal experiences in day-to-day products and activities and hopefully my humor will shine through.

Life can be hectic, hopefully by showing you the inside of my whirlwind of a life, I can help you through yours.