Thursday, September 23, 2010

Score 1 for the Papaya

My favorite section in the grocery store, is without a doubt the produce section. Thankfully our household is full of avid produce eaters. Occasionally we still have produce turn a little faster than we can eat it.
Like the papaya. I have never aquired a taste for papaya. Every couple years I buy one to make sure I'm still not a fan, and so far my tastes haven't changed.
My husband picked up a papaya at the grocery store on Sunday, and it's been sitting on the counter taunting me. Everytime I walk into the kitchen I'm confronted by the huge oblong shape of a papaya just waiting to meet it's destiny.
Today I finally gathered my moxy, and chopped that tropical fruit into small pieces, I threw half of it into the blender with a couple pears, a banana, a peach and a handful of frozen strawberries. A little fake milk to help it blend and voila! I made a smoothie. A smoothie that I had every intention of feeding to small children so I didn't have to drink it.

Except my conscience started bothering me. Apparently I had to try some to get Jiminy Cricket of my back.

Would you believe it, I really enjoyed the smoothie!
I think I drank half it!

So apparently all I needed was a lot of other flavors to help mask the taste, and I'm good to go.

Who knew?

Friday, September 17, 2010

Household Hint

This is a entry from a old journal of mine dated September 18, 2008.



How to make your kitchen smell unappealing in creative ways.

You will need
-1 gallon size jar of bread and butter pickles
-1 large jar of salsa any brand and heat factor will do. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE hot sauce for salsa
-1 Jar of a delicious marinade
-1 Jar dill pickles any cut

All containers MUST be glass

You can throw each container on your floor and watch as the glass shatters, carefully sidestepping any broken pieces. Or you can take the shortcut [like I did] and simply place these item in the door shelving of your refrigerator. However you MUST have a loose railing.

Be careful as the ocean of pickle juices overtakes the kitchen floor as it will carry small pieces of glass, and if you have a tile kitchen floor it will making walking DANGEROUS!

This is guaranteed to make you kitchen smell funky and leave a sticky gritty feeling on your kitchen floor through at least 3 washes!



**Use at own risk. Author does not assume responsibility for any accidents that may occur. Side effects may include: dizziness, loss of blood, nausea, gagging, physical injury, mental injury and in extremely rare circumstances even death.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Gravid

For the past several weeks all my energy has been devoted to a project that was 2+ years in the making.
I've actually become slightly more obsessed, and find myself doing a lot of planning in my down time. My to-do list has expanded so far beyond what I expected, that I can't even write it all down to visualize the progress I'm making.

Rather than being discouraged, I find myself excited about piling more and more projects on my list. If I'm completely honest, I have to admit that I'm a little saddened that eventually it will be finished.

So, enough of that. Now is time for The Project in Three Photos!




It's been a while since this little piece of equipement was considered a staple. Tehnology has moved forward, but this little guy's track record leaves less room for inaccuracy.



Don't be fooled. These little creations are too cute for words and worth they're weight in gold. If you aren't careful you may need a 12-step program to break the addiction!!

And just in case there was any lingering doubt. This is my current reading list.



For the record. The top book is a GREAT resolurce for all mothers. Regardless of whether or not they have a preemie.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Basic Carseat Info

It's common knowledge is that there are 3 basic types of carseats; infant, forward facing, and booster. Some companies have taken pity on parents and designed convertable carseats that can be used for all 3 basic carseat types. *insert rejoicing here*

Unfortunately there seems to be some confusion over guidelines and regulations for the use of each car seat. Here is a very basic rundown on carseats.



Infant carseats (also known as "Baby buckets") are for rear facing use only. Children need to be kept rear facing for as long as possible. Rear facing is the SAFEST position for a child in the event of a collision. It protects their spinal cords, heads and necks.

"Very young children have immature vertebrae that are still partly made of cartilage. These are soft and will deform and/or separate under tension, leaving just the spinal cord as the last link between the head and the torso. The spinal cord can stretch up to 2 inches, but ruptures when stretched more than 1/4 inch. Real-world experience has shown that a young child's skull can be literally ripped from her spine by the force of a crash."
Paraphrased from carseat.org

The bare minimum for turning a child forward facing is one year AND 20 lbs. However the AAP recommends that you use your carseat rearfacing until your child meets the maximum weight set by the manufacturer.
Read more about the safety and protection extended rear facing offers at cpsafety.com and
car-safety.org

Forward Facing Carseats
Children who have been flipped forward facing in their carseats need to remain in a harness until they are about 4 years old and 40 pounds. If your carseat harnesses up to 65 pounds, go ahead and use it! A forward facing carseat has a harness. A booster seat does not. Look at your child objectively before you put them in a booster seat. Do they stay in their carseats without trying to escape? If you wouldn't put it past them, they're probably not ready for a booster seat.

Remember everytime your child "graduates" to the next carseat, their protection in a crash drops dramatically.

Booster seats
Booster seat come in two packages: Without backs or with backs. Booster seats with backs need to be used if the top of the child ears are higher the the back of the seat top or headrest. Booster seats CANNOT be used with just a lap belt.
Booster seats should not be used unless the child weighs at least 40 lbs and is 4 years old.cpsafety.org


Like food products, carseats have expiration dates. I believe most carseats are good for 6 years, though some of the newer convertible carseats have a life of 8 years. The expiration date should be stamped on the back of the carseat shell. Carseat safety standards are constantly being changed so a carseat that was "safe" when you were a child, probably isn't safe anymore.

All carseats have height limits in addition to the weight limits, a good rule of thumb is that whenever the child's head is 1 inch below the top of the carseat shell, it's time to replace your carseat.
The weight, height and installation requirements should be found either on the side of the carseat or in the user manual. If it doubt, call the company!

Never use a carseat if you don't know it's history. A carseat needs to be replaced if it's been in an accident or has expired.

Saturday September 25 is Nation seat check day. Get a free inspection!!