Surviving At Home

I thought I was pretty knowledgeable when it comes to parenting issues but I guess I’ve fallen behind because my kids are not in the baby stage anymore. So I was incredibly surprised to hear of this new diaper-free movement.

After reading this article, I’m mixed on the effectiveness of this new movement. Basically these mothers believe that children can be potty trained from birth by following their natural body language.

I can certainly understand wanting to cut back on the number of diapers in the landfills but I’m very confused as to why you’d want to subject yourself, as a new mother, to having to clean up these accidents all over the house rather than use a diaper.

I’m also confused because in the article two mothers were interviewed, one who let their child go to the bathroom behind a tree and the other let her daughter relieve herself in a public sink. Why not hold them over a toilet and get them used to that environment? Won’t you then just have to break them of the habit of relieving themselves in odd places?

I honestly want to keep an open mind and I’ve learned during these last 10 years of being a mom that there are many different parenting opinions but this to me seems like a LOT of extra work. If anybody reading practices this, let me know the benefits by posting a comment.

There’s a new podcast available at Mom’s Radio Network! If you love shopping, they you should tune in to Moms Love Shopping (pretty easy to remember, right?)

This week’s show is about back-to-school shopping. There are some practical tips as well as some funny kid stories.

What a great way to start the weekend! And if shopping isn’t your “thing”, there are lots of other podcasts available at Mom’s Radio Network.

I can’t believe that the summer is over! We’ve had a cold snap the last few days so we can’t even go swimming. When was the last time you heard of a low in the 40s in August? Today it was only 63 and rainy. I’m SO glad we’re not on vacation this week!

I began thinking about this safety topic a few weeks ago when we were at the town pool and noticed the lifeguards talking among themselves, eating lunch, and talking on cell phones while sitting around the pool. There were 3 of them, 2 swim instructors and 1 “on duty”, but frankly, none of them looked “on duty”.

I was concerned when a small boy (who I later overheard was only 5 years old) was swimming in the deep end and seemed to struggle a bit as he was reaching for the side. He was OK but I immediately looked around and not one other adult was watching him. I couldn’t tell who his parent was and for sure the lifeguard didn’t see him…she was talking to a friend and her back was turned away from the deep end.

When we were on vacation I started to further question how carefully the lifeguards actually guard a pool. We stayed at a lovely resort and they had a nice pool but I watched these lifeguards do the same things. When some older brothers were rough-housing, not one word was spoken to them (by the guards or by their parents) even though they were disturbing the other guests in the pool.

I definitely am not trying to bash lifeguards because it’s definitely a job I could not physically do and the lifeguards at the ocean beaches are the picture of professionalism. But certainly these high school and college kids, who have been through first aid training, know that all it takes is one quick second for a tragic accident to happen. What if the talking guards missed a little swimmer go under and not come back up? What if somebody was bumped underwater by mistake when the brothers were wrestling?

All it takes is a second for something tragic to happen. Even though I have a sense of security knowing there are lifeguards on duty, I will continue to keep my eyes on my kids at all times.

But I expect YOU to keep your eyes on your own kids. I’m tired of being the only adult at the pool watching everybody else’s kids.

It’s not very often that I am organized. You don’t want to see my kitchen junk drawer, I usually send out birthday cards the day before the birthday, and I have a small counter right by my phone that gets all the miscellaneous paper thrown onto it. I’d like to say I know exactly where everything is but I’d be lying.

So it’s really amazing that I’m even thinking about the holidays today, in mid-August. I can thank my mother for that, the Queen of Organization and Planning. She got me thinking about Christmas and gift giving already and I started to panic thinking of all the gifts I will need and the amount of money we usually end up spending (it was enough to make my palms sweaty).

You can imagine how thrilled I was to find this new website, CouponChief.com, where you can find online coupons to your favorite stores and start your holiday shopping today! There are bunches of stores, some of which are in my mall, but there are lots that I’ve never heard of. We have a new little niece in our family so I’m excited to check out the BabyCenter deals and I can’t wait to see the Amazon coupons because I always rely on them for the kids’ toys or when I’m stuck for ideas.

I’ve fallen in love with online shopping, especially if I’ve procrastinated and the cold weather has arrived before my first trip to the mall. Heck, if I can avoid the mall parking lot altogether I’m a happy mamma!