Saturday I got my second Chicco jogging stroller in the mail. My dear husband put it together Sunday night, and on Monday morning my son and I went for a run. We started off walking, then when Mommy was ready I started running, it felt so good to finally hit the pavement again, and then I came to a screeching stop. I am so disappointed that I didn't have a lemon, the stroller just doesn't work properly. I am going to return this one and buy a different brand. I am pretty sure I want the Schwinn Free Wheeler but I need to do a little more research before I sign on the dotted line.
I still love my Chicco infant carseat and the regular use stroller, but they definitely missed the ball when it came to making a jogging stroller.
Chicco S3 All Terrain gets a big thumbs down from this Mommy!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Penis and Vagina!
. . . Now that I have your attention lets talk about "bad" words. As a mommy of a little boy who is on the verge of becoming a little talker I am aware that my husband and I are going to have to establish in our family what words are "bad" and which words are appropriate for little mouths. I am firm believer in using the proper words for human anatomy. I see nothing wrong with using the words penis and vagina at an early age because, well that is what they are! Some of the words that many parents don't allow include "butt", "gosh", "sucks", "crap" and "stupid" to name a few. I am inclined to think that there are certain contexts in which the "controversial" words are okay to use, but it is a slippery slope if you allow words to be used sometimes because young children aren't going to understand why it is okay to use the words here but not there. I think the best thing I can do for my family is to decide which words are "bad" and not allow them to be used at all.
I think the hardest part about the "bad word list" is that we as parents need to drop the bad words from our vocabulary. One of the most important thing we do as parents is to lead by example, but man this is going to be hard. Children learn from everything we do and repeat everything they hear and see. I don't know how I am going to keep myself from screaming profanities into the TV next fall during the presidential debates but I am going to have to learn!
The next level of this problem is deciding which phrases are not allowed to be used in your family. This will be hard for my family because I know that if my son is anything like his smart arse father he will be saying "Shut. Up." as two separate sentences to try to get away with that mean phrase.
By the way, it doesn't count if you swear in a different language.
Scheisse
I think the hardest part about the "bad word list" is that we as parents need to drop the bad words from our vocabulary. One of the most important thing we do as parents is to lead by example, but man this is going to be hard. Children learn from everything we do and repeat everything they hear and see. I don't know how I am going to keep myself from screaming profanities into the TV next fall during the presidential debates but I am going to have to learn!
The next level of this problem is deciding which phrases are not allowed to be used in your family. This will be hard for my family because I know that if my son is anything like his smart arse father he will be saying "Shut. Up." as two separate sentences to try to get away with that mean phrase.
By the way, it doesn't count if you swear in a different language.
Scheisse
Monday, April 4, 2011
Couponing -- My first attempt.
Ok. My first trip to the grocery store as a "couponer" was a major success! I saved $98 dollars!!
I found that my savings were higher from the store sales and club card (Safeway) sales, but my coupon clipping did save me almost $30. I am very happy with my first attempt.
The most exciting deal (or steal) I got was a box of Huggies diapers (96 count) after the store sale and coupons was about $15. I got two boxes which should last until another sale comes around. I also got my dear husband two bottles of a "fancy" body wash for the price of one.
I am so excited about my savings, and even more excited that I fit all of my steals in my cupboards!
Stay tuned for more adventures in couponing!
I found that my savings were higher from the store sales and club card (Safeway) sales, but my coupon clipping did save me almost $30. I am very happy with my first attempt.
The most exciting deal (or steal) I got was a box of Huggies diapers (96 count) after the store sale and coupons was about $15. I got two boxes which should last until another sale comes around. I also got my dear husband two bottles of a "fancy" body wash for the price of one.
I am so excited about my savings, and even more excited that I fit all of my steals in my cupboards!
Stay tuned for more adventures in couponing!
Friday, April 1, 2011
My Adventures in Couponing
I may be certifiably insane. As if I don't have enough on my plate with mothering, wife-ing, student-ing, friend-ing etc I am not taking up couponing. I keep hearing from friends in my mom group how they are saving TONS from couponing so I have to try it. I have printed about a hundred coupons off of website like http://thekrazycouponlady.com and http://swagbucks.com and now I am waiting to get a couple Sunday papers before I do a big grocery run.
My friends tell me that it is all about buying things while they are on sale, while using your coupons, and stocking up enough to last you for six weeks (which is the typical sale cycle). I never do things half way, but living in a small condo might force me to only coupon to the extend in which I can store things. I will post after my first attempt this weekend. Wish me luck!
My friends tell me that it is all about buying things while they are on sale, while using your coupons, and stocking up enough to last you for six weeks (which is the typical sale cycle). I never do things half way, but living in a small condo might force me to only coupon to the extend in which I can store things. I will post after my first attempt this weekend. Wish me luck!
Customer Service: A Review
I recently purchased a jogging stroller. The weather here in Maryland is starting to get really nice and I am dying to run again (I have not had a real workout since the 1st trimester). I did a lot of research on jogging strollers, but the choice was obvious to me. The Chicco S3 All Terrain because it fits my infant carseat and I am a big Chicco lover. Their infant seats are the #1 safety rated carseats which was all I needed to know when I was shopping for a carseat before my son was born.
Once the stroller came we had a few nice walks in it, but when it came to really hitting the pavement there was one huge problem: every time I started to run the break would fall down, bringing us to a screeching halt. Danny didn't like this and I certainly did not like it. After my dear husband tried to figure out what the problem was with no luck I decided it was time to contact Chicco. I purchased the stroller on sale for $349.99 which, in my house is a huge price tag so I wanted this thing working perfectly.
The first person I contacted at Chicco was a very nice woman named Ginny. She was very apologetic for the faulty stroller and began the process of return and refund immediately. She said that Chicco wanted to have UPS pick up the stroller and issue me a refund check so I could buy another stroller. In the meantime Ginny said that they did not want me to go without a stroller so they were also sending me a Cortina stroller (the basic stroller that comes with the travel system) for free. This, in my opinion is AMAZING customer service. I got the Cortina stroller within three days of my first phone call with Ginny. A few days later UPS picked up the S3 stroller and I should have a refund check in the mail early next week.
I am still without a jogging stroller and as soon as that check comes in the mail I plan on purchasing another S3 All Terrain stroller. I am taking a risk by giving the Chicco brand another chance, but I really love the design and the quality of the S3 so I hope the original stroller I bought was just a lemon. Of course, as soon as I take the new S3 for a ride I will post all about it.
Once the stroller came we had a few nice walks in it, but when it came to really hitting the pavement there was one huge problem: every time I started to run the break would fall down, bringing us to a screeching halt. Danny didn't like this and I certainly did not like it. After my dear husband tried to figure out what the problem was with no luck I decided it was time to contact Chicco. I purchased the stroller on sale for $349.99 which, in my house is a huge price tag so I wanted this thing working perfectly.
The first person I contacted at Chicco was a very nice woman named Ginny. She was very apologetic for the faulty stroller and began the process of return and refund immediately. She said that Chicco wanted to have UPS pick up the stroller and issue me a refund check so I could buy another stroller. In the meantime Ginny said that they did not want me to go without a stroller so they were also sending me a Cortina stroller (the basic stroller that comes with the travel system) for free. This, in my opinion is AMAZING customer service. I got the Cortina stroller within three days of my first phone call with Ginny. A few days later UPS picked up the S3 stroller and I should have a refund check in the mail early next week.
I am still without a jogging stroller and as soon as that check comes in the mail I plan on purchasing another S3 All Terrain stroller. I am taking a risk by giving the Chicco brand another chance, but I really love the design and the quality of the S3 so I hope the original stroller I bought was just a lemon. Of course, as soon as I take the new S3 for a ride I will post all about it.
Monday, March 28, 2011
It's the little things
Sometimes the little things in life are what get you through.
I have been super stressed out lately because of all the work I have piling up each week in my classes. I never seem to be able to get ahead, and honestly I never seem to care when I am not ahead because I would rather just be a mom and not a student-mom or as I like to think of myself mom-student.
Recently I was running errands with my son and mother in law. We stopped for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (yum!). I'm sure anyone who has children, knows children, or has eaten in a restaurant with a child present knows it is hit or miss. Danny being under the age of one I never know if he is going to sit nicely and eat his food, or if he will be throwing the food on the floor, at my, at the server. This particular day he was being a little sweetheart, not giving me any trouble at all. There was a woman with her pre-teen daughter sitting at the table behind mine. The couple kept smiling at Danny, telling him cute he was, and giving him tons of attention. I find it so be very sweet when people do this because my son is always smiling and laughing at strangers when we're out in public. I love it when he gets some attention back. The mother and daughter duo were on their way out and decided to stop at our table. The mother told me how much she enjoyed watching us with Danny because it reminded her of when she took her "baby" (her 21 year old son) out to eat and how much fun she had. She handed me an envelope and said "I wanted to give this to you for being such a good mom. God bless you and your son". I was felt so shocked by this because you never hear of people doing things like this for strangers. When I opened the envelope there was a $50 gift certificate to CPK. Which paid for our dinner completely. What a kind gesture from a stranger! It really allowed all of my worries and stresses to melt away for just a little while, I felt so happy that someone wanted to do something nice for us "just because".
It really is the little things that count, that can make your day, and take away your worries.
Thank you to the sweet mom and her lovely daughter, you made my day, and you gave me a lovely story to write in my sons baby book.
I have been super stressed out lately because of all the work I have piling up each week in my classes. I never seem to be able to get ahead, and honestly I never seem to care when I am not ahead because I would rather just be a mom and not a student-mom or as I like to think of myself mom-student.
Recently I was running errands with my son and mother in law. We stopped for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (yum!). I'm sure anyone who has children, knows children, or has eaten in a restaurant with a child present knows it is hit or miss. Danny being under the age of one I never know if he is going to sit nicely and eat his food, or if he will be throwing the food on the floor, at my, at the server. This particular day he was being a little sweetheart, not giving me any trouble at all. There was a woman with her pre-teen daughter sitting at the table behind mine. The couple kept smiling at Danny, telling him cute he was, and giving him tons of attention. I find it so be very sweet when people do this because my son is always smiling and laughing at strangers when we're out in public. I love it when he gets some attention back. The mother and daughter duo were on their way out and decided to stop at our table. The mother told me how much she enjoyed watching us with Danny because it reminded her of when she took her "baby" (her 21 year old son) out to eat and how much fun she had. She handed me an envelope and said "I wanted to give this to you for being such a good mom. God bless you and your son". I was felt so shocked by this because you never hear of people doing things like this for strangers. When I opened the envelope there was a $50 gift certificate to CPK. Which paid for our dinner completely. What a kind gesture from a stranger! It really allowed all of my worries and stresses to melt away for just a little while, I felt so happy that someone wanted to do something nice for us "just because".
It really is the little things that count, that can make your day, and take away your worries.
Thank you to the sweet mom and her lovely daughter, you made my day, and you gave me a lovely story to write in my sons baby book.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Rules
Visiting a new baby rules:
1. Don't refer to another womans baby as "my baby" it doesn't matter if you are the grandma, aunt, cousin, best friend. New moms are very sensitive and even more protective of their little ones and don't want to hear anyone calling the little bundle of joy "mine".
2. Call first! Never show up without giving the new mom fair warning. Always ask if you can come over, don't tell them you are coming.
3. Keep the visits short. Most new parents are excited to introduce their baby to friends and family, but visits can be tiresome for mommy, daddy, and baby. Stay just long enough to hear how everything with the delivery went, hold the baby, and congratulate the new parents.
4. If you are there to "help" remember, holding the baby is NOT helping (unless of course the new mom asks you to). Helping is making a meal, tidying up the house, folding laundry, and running errands. New parents will want to bond with their new baby and wont want to pass him or her around all day.
5. Don't overload the new mom and dad with advice. The time will certainly come when mom and dad need help, but they will ask for it. There is nothing more frustrating to new parents then the never ending stream of advice they get from their friends and family.
6. Enjoy the new addition to your family or circle of friends! There is nothing more precious then a child, and this baby is lucky to have you to care so much about him or her!
1. Don't refer to another womans baby as "my baby" it doesn't matter if you are the grandma, aunt, cousin, best friend. New moms are very sensitive and even more protective of their little ones and don't want to hear anyone calling the little bundle of joy "mine".
2. Call first! Never show up without giving the new mom fair warning. Always ask if you can come over, don't tell them you are coming.
3. Keep the visits short. Most new parents are excited to introduce their baby to friends and family, but visits can be tiresome for mommy, daddy, and baby. Stay just long enough to hear how everything with the delivery went, hold the baby, and congratulate the new parents.
4. If you are there to "help" remember, holding the baby is NOT helping (unless of course the new mom asks you to). Helping is making a meal, tidying up the house, folding laundry, and running errands. New parents will want to bond with their new baby and wont want to pass him or her around all day.
5. Don't overload the new mom and dad with advice. The time will certainly come when mom and dad need help, but they will ask for it. There is nothing more frustrating to new parents then the never ending stream of advice they get from their friends and family.
6. Enjoy the new addition to your family or circle of friends! There is nothing more precious then a child, and this baby is lucky to have you to care so much about him or her!
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