Mom Life in the PNW

If you can’t feed yourself, don’t have kids

I posted that the other day on Facebook because it seems like those that I know who are on govt assistance just keep producing and producing without preventing. It makes my blood boil knowing people carelessly bring children into the world who don’t give a damn about their well being or their future. How can you bring kids into the world knowing you can’t afford them? Which then led to a comment from a friend that usually these types of people don’t know that planned parenthood gives free contraception, basically free condoms.

 

So it got me thinking that maybe we need to maybe make it aware that there are preventable options out there. You just have to be willing to use it!

Now I’m not going off on people that have recently come on hard times and have to get public assistance (cash, food stamps) for the time being; I’m referring to the people who’ve been on it forever and have no plans to get off of it.

You may call me judgy, but I think of myself as smart.

I’ve worn condoms for 9 years with my husband because we were not ready to have kids. I don’t like pills, patches or shots because it messes with your womanly parts. I eventually wanted kids and I didn’t want any of those issues preventing me.

Guess what, we had no kids, no issues with condoms for those entire 9 years.

You may be thinking yeah lucky you, my condom broke or fell off and I instantly became pregnant. I don’t buy those stories 100% of the time. For most couples trying to conceive, the odds that a woman will become pregnant in any particular month is about 15% to 25%. So you’re going to tell me the first and only time your condom mishap happened resulted in pregnancy? It took me 5 months to get pregnant without a condom.

I know everyone’s different but I still have a hard time believing those stories, especially when it’s someone you know who used to never prevent.

So the point of this post is to use birth control and don’t act surprised or dumb-founded when you realize you’re knocked up from your recklessness.

Planned Parenthood gives free condoms, go get some.

They’ll also give you other forms which are based on your income.

Be smart.

No child deserves to be brought into the world where their parents can’t afford to take care of them when they can’t even take care of themselves.

Parent-Preferred, More Time with Child

Parent-Preferred, More Time with Child

If you are like many busy families, it may seem as if you hardly see your child. With school and after school activities, there is no time to connect and be close. You don’t know what they do in school, who they’ve met and what they are learning. You may have encountered teachers or administrators that you don’t personally like or hold views about learning and children that repel you.

In this situation, it is important to look at options. Have you considered online homeschooling if you want to spend more time with your children and be more present in their lives?

 

A Look at Homeschooling

 

If public school values do not represent yours, you may want to consider alternative avenues of teaching your children. One great aspect of homeschooling is how close you can become to your child—you will spend most of their waking hours with them and have more say in what values they develop. You may discover things about them that you never knew, and you could discover abilities they possess that you would like to be able to cultivate.

With homeschooling, your children will be treated as the unique people they are. Many times in a public school environment they are just another number. But if you choose to educate them yourself, you could help them see themselves as valuable for who they are.

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Online Homeschooling: Convenience at your Fingertips

 

You could research how to homeschool with online resources. Many families are choosing to educate their children by finding materials online. There are thousands of websites catered to the homeschooling family, and countless exercises, games and other devices that can help your children learn important concepts. Now is a better time than any to homeschool—there have never been so many available options at the tips of your fingers.

For the best services in online education, visit www.FutureSchool.com for more.

Ozeri Baby Bath Floating Turtle Toy and Bath Tub Thermometer

Ozeri Baby Bath Floating Turtle Toy and Bath Tub Thermometer

Moving my daughter to the big tub, I had concerns about getting the water temp correctly, so I opted for a bath thermometer that looked fun but does the job. This turtle bath thermometer definitely does what it says it does.

I put it in the tub after having the water run for a minute and the LED quickly turned blue and the degrees started to rise and stayed that color all the way to 95 degrees. I figured 90’s would be about right, but little did I know, I was making her bath water a little too cold according to the package details. When the LED screen turns green with the degree, then it’s just right and then it will go to red for too hot.

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My daughter loves playing with it too, well more like holding onto it while in the tub and doesn’t let go, not even when we take her out. She loves this thing, may even persuade me to get a real turtle when she’s a little bit older.

So far I haven’t had any battery corroding issues nor LED display issues that some other folks have had, but I shall update if I do!

 

9 Months Old Update

We’ve got a crawler!

She’s been getting around for a while but she just recently (as in a week ago) started crawling forward and FAST, which means I now have to invest in baby gates, outlet plugs and some running shoes!

She’s 9 months now and started to get her 3rd tooth today. She already has 2 on the bottom and now getting 1 on the top. I ended up getting her the banana baby tooth brush so she’ll get used to the idea of brushing.

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She actually liked letting me do it today, probably because it felt good on her tooth that’s popping through. My poor little hunny. BTW, while I’m on the topic of teeth, have you ever seen a child’s skull? It will give you nightmares or persuade you to be celibate. But since I already have a kid, it’s like pshh, that ain’t nothin. Love my little tooth face.

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She’s said mama a couple times now but Dada is still her main words of choice.

She’s shaking her head no. Not sure where she got that from since we don’t do it to her. But hey, at least she does it when she doesn’t want anymore food. And she’ll do it when it’s bed time and she don’t want to fall asleep, so she’ll shake her head to stay awake. Smart creatures I tell you.

We’re still breastfeeding, but now adding in some goats milk since she don’t want any formula anymore since it tastes like crap. I don’t blame her, I’ve tasted it and agree. So she’ll have an additional 4-8oz of goats milk a day. And holy balls is it expensive! Almost $5 for a quart and $7.50 for the higher end brand.

She’s climbing up on her knees in an attempt to stand. She loves standing up since it makes her feel independent, but her coordination still isn’t 100% there yet, but I’m in no rush.

My babies growing and time is flying.

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Love you to pieces Arya Mae.

Ozeri Moderna Artisan Series Double Wall Beverage Glasses Review

Ozeri Moderna Artisan Series Double Wall Beverage Glasses Review

Are you one of those plastic cup collectors because your glasses end up breaking and not lasting more than 6 months? Yeah me too! There’s nothing classy or modern about plastic eatery, so I was looking to upgrade with something a little more stylish and hopefully long lasting. These Ozeri Moderna Artisan Series Double Wall Beverage Glasses on Amazon caught my eye because of their shape and their thick double walls.

Ozeri Moderna Artisan Series Double Wall Beverage Glasses

 

These glasses come in a set of 4 or 8 and in size 8, 12 and 16 oz. I opted for the 8 and 12 because I knew these were probably going to be a little bit thicker than normal glasses with their double walls, AND because I have very little cupboard space and I was right.

I figured these would be perfect for when we upgrade our house (wishful thinking) and have a man cave with a bar or what have you.

In the photo above, I made a coffee beverage and noticed that it kept the glass cool enough for me to grab onto and hold, which was nice — no burning hand!

You may notice that there are dimples in the glass which were hand blown to help with gripping since these are kind of wide like mentioned above.

I’ve used the 12 oz for bedtime ice water and love that there’s no condensation which leave my coaster hanging on for dear life.

I like the fact that these can also be used in the dishwasher and microwave. I’ve tried the dishwasher already and everything has came out fine and sparkly clean.

Love these glasses, they seem to be very well made.