Out and About - with Kids

Getting where you need to go with your kids can have all kinds of challenges - even just the car seat itself! We let the installation of our car seat go a little too long, and my hubby was faced with getting it properly in the car himself after Daniel was born. With half our extended family some 1,200 miles away we have busied ourselves with long car trips, as well as getting around town to our busy preschooler's many activities.

With the holiday season moving into full swing, families across the country are in the car and on the go. Whether you're driving across the country to visit family or across town to holiday shop, it is important that your child passengers are riding safely and that child safety seats are used correctly.

AAA estimates that 30 million people travelled this Thanksgiving holiday alone, and for many this is just the beginning of the holiday hustle and bustle. Now is the time to utilize the Child Car Safety tools provided by the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council to learn more about proper car seat use and installation. You will find informative resources that include instructional videos.

Have child passenger safety questions that you need answered before you travel over the river and through the woods to Grandma's? NHTSA is always available to answer your questions online through Facebook and Twitter. I wish I had found these resources years ago!

Christmas in, well October?

While I lament every year the earlier and earlier appearance of the Christmas stuff in stores, (There is an aisle of tinsel-bedecked items hanging out already next to the pumpkins and goblins in my local department store.) it does serve the purpose of kick-starting my hunt for holiday deals and goodness. I will go on record as saying that I can't stand the stores the closer we get to Christmas. The crowds and the jostling and the circling for parking just make me twitchy.

I've already written about great websites like Etsy, and hope to support independent artists again this year to find some unique gifts for those on my list. The site 5 Minutes for Mom, which is just chock-full of resources also lists some interesting Mom-owned stores. Isn't this the best pedal car/fire truck? Daniel still has a thing for fire trucks... My grandparents had a pedal car for us kids when we came to visit in Wisconsin. Nothing so fancy (this one actually pumps water?!) - but we spent endless amounts of time cranking that thing up and down the sidewalks in front of their house. I'll have to see if I can find it - there's a great picture of me sitting in the thing in nothing but a diaper with blond curls flying.

As we swing full force into the Holidays, I'll continue to post websites and deals that I think might be interesting. I'm always on the quest for the perfect gift. And I love recommendations too!

Found Money

Even before the baby I would find myself suddenly complaining that the purse I was carrying around (and afterwards the diaper bag) would after awhile come to feel like I had a secret stash of bricks inside. I'd fuss, and fume and harrumph. And when the bag was finally turned upside down about a pound and a half of change would fall out.

I started stashing the stuff. We've managed to keep the coins out of the couch cushions, but they turn up on counters, tables, in the laundry. I even found Daniel stooped over in the parking lot of the library the other day, and when I asked him what he was looking at he nonchalantly replied: Money, while poking in the dirt with his finger. Sure enough it was a penny. When I heft the piggy bank, and it starts to feel a little, um, hefty, I tote the thing to the grocery store with me and plunk the contents in the Coinstar counting machine. Invariably I can get between $10-$20 off our groceries this way.

Awhile back I saw an ad for a credit card that pretty much wanted to do this same thing for you. They said that they would round your purchases up to the nearest dollar and stick the difference into a savings account. I remember scoffing to myself, and thinking: Why do I need you to do that?? I can do that myself. It's found money that would just be junking up my car or weighing down my diaper bag - it's amazing!