No Average Mom

I am not sure that swim diapers even existed when my oldest was a baby. Maybe we just never went swimming so it didn’t occur to me to check them out. Now I find myself in the fortunate position of having a brother living just a few miles away with a 24 foot pool and an open door policy extended to us. I decided to look into swim diapers today and was astounded by the price! $7.00 or more for 10 diapers. What is the deal are they worth this investment? I recall having a swim diaper thing for my oldest that really was nothing more than glorified rubber pants. I never really used it because there wasn’t a reason and I couldn’t deduce if I had to use it with a diaper. Silly I know. I did pick up a pack of generic swim diapers to try until I pin down the Mommy’s I know about their opinion. Almost a dollar a diaper is CRAZY! I guess if you leave it on all day and only use one occasionally it isn’t so bad.

Always full of questions my oldest son wanted to know today “why we have baby teeth”? He assumes I know everything (which I hope continues for quite a while longer) and was surprised when I didn’t have a great answer. To satisfy his curiosity I decided to investigate the reason behind baby teeth.

Baby or primary teeth:

* Help the child bite and chew food
* Make the child look more attractive
* Help the child speak correctly
* Save space for the child’s permanent teeth
* Guide the permanent teeth into place

That is why it’s vital that you take good care of your child’s baby teeth.

Now we all know and you can be better prepared than I was for when your child asks you this question!

My in-laws keep asking how long my oldest son needs to be in a booster seat. He is fairly tall for his age but doesn’t seem to mind riding in his seat so we haven’t considered changing the situation. I did start to wonder though if for safety he should still be in the booster and found the following test to determine an answer:

The 5-Step Test.

1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, your child needs a booster seat to make both the shoulder belt and the lap belt fit right for the best crash protection. Your child will be more comfortable, too!

The back seat is the safest part of the car for all passengers. Recent research shows that children should ride in the back seat until they reach age 15.

There are of course state laws to be aware of. I have not found anything suggesting the booster poses a risk but be sure to drop a line if you know okay?

A friend and I were discussing gray hair the other day. I proudly remarked how neither of my parents went gray until very late in life. My friend on the other hand detailed how her Mother had become fully gray haired at a very young age. When I found this little story all the answers became clear in my mind So ask yourself just how gray haired is your poor mom and then take a long look in the mirror…

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the
dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother has
several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head.

She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, “Why are some ofyour hairs
white, Mom?”

Her mother replied, “Well, every time that you do something wrong
and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.”

The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then
said, “Momma, how come ALL of grandma’s hairs are white?”

After much fussy and fiddling I am so pleased to present for the very first time the “New” No Average Mom! The banner is once again the tremendous work of Zorn at Don’t Fear The Truth. Be sure to stop by and drop a comment here and at Don’t Fear The Truth to let Zorn know just how impressive his work is! You can see more of Zorn’s work at my husband’s blog The Tech Inspector.

So motivated by my spiffy new banner, I spent two hours last night playing with css code to make some improvements to other areas of this blog. Frequent visitors will immediately notice a color change and the absence of those cute but unknown to me children. I would love to hear what you think of the colors for the body of this blog as I am not completely convinced they are quite where they should be. The girly me is mad about them but the male consensus, based on my DH and my pal Jimi, is “that’s a lot of pink”. Ladies what do you think?

In my circle of family and friends it is typically the man who manages this responsibility. I don’t really think it matters but it often says something to me about different characteristics that make up family dynamics. Between my husband and I over 16 years of marriage it has become clear who is better at what tasks. My mindset is such that I intuitively think in a way that juggles our finances to stretch each dollar to the limit. Whereas my husband is clearly superior about managing household schedules, accomplishing chores, and other responsibilities. Together we have decisions about student loan consolidation, refinancing our mortgage, and tackling debt that have put us on the road to financial freedom. Without being on the same page on these issues we could never make ends meet. We see the big picture and do whatever it takes to get there. Really isn’t that all that matters in the end?

Every parent has been there when your child asks why little Johnny or Suzie gets to have this or that but your family doesn’t. Even as a parent it can sometimes be a tough concept to grasp. What I try to keep in mind that while the Jone’s are out enjoying their Orlando vacation home, new boat, or gym membership they will undoubtedly be the same people complaining in a few month’s about “how tight things are” and they just don’t know how they are going to make ends meet. It literally kills me inside to listen to people go on about the state of their finances when they refuse to see they are their own worst enemy. While it would be nice to have a vacation home I will gladly keep my small house, older cars, and roughing it camping trips if it means not worrying about paying the bills or burdening other’s with my current financial dilemma.