The most horrible thing

Normally, my blogs are pretty cheery. This one is not...but it could save your child's life. My friend Stacy is a nurse at Medical City Dallas. She told me that she can remember the room number and name of every child that has come in there because of a drowning accident, and almost all of the parents divorce afterward. Not surprising given the fact that, after the loss of a child, the divorce rate jumps up to 90%. I'm sure there are many reasons for this...blaming the spouse, blaming themselves, or just not being able to move on past this loss with someone else that is so close to it. She also said that, in almost all the circumstances, the child was being watched. Drowning is the #2 killer for children under 6. This is my WORST FEAR!!!!! I have never been a strong swimmer, so maybe that is why I'm so anal about my kids learning to swim, especially with family that lives directly on a lake. Of course, even kids that know how to swim have freak accidents. She told me about something that can help keep your child safe around water. Thank God someone came up with this invention. www.safetyturtle.com. This is a wrist band that you attach to your child whenever they are around water. It has a base unit that plugs in or runs on batteries. Anytime the wrist band is submerged, an alarm sounds. It will not go off in the rain or sprinklers, only when it is fully submerged. You can have multiple wristbands on one unit to protect all the kids. It runs anywhere between $150 and $200 depending on where you buy it online. Some pool supply places carry it as well. Obviously, this is not a substitute for hawk-like focus on your children when they are around bodies of water, but on the off chance that you got a phone call, or the dog got out and you chase it, or someone left the pool gate open, this is a great way to keep from becoming a very sad statistic. Momma happy.

With a little help from my friends...

Something really cool has happened since I started this blog...my peeps are sending me links to their favorite things as well! In the interest of getting the good word out, this is a list of several things that people have forwarded me, emailed me, or phoned me about that will help make your life a little easier, one way or another.

1.) www.hanes.com - They have some deep discounts on great tees and comfy yoga wear. They even have a version of the skirt/dress/ shirt that I mentioned in a seperate blog for
seventeen-dolla-make-you-holla!! Whoo-hoo! Check out the clearence center for seriously cheep stuff!
2.)www.lululemon.com - I have been told that this is like Lucy(my favorite) only better. The "be still" pants are suppose to be the bomb and very versitile for travel, work, or whatever. There are stores in Dallas if you want to try on before buying.
3.)JCP Daily Deal - For online shoppers, you can get some pretty deap discounts if you check out the "daily deal" at www.jcpenney.com
4.)Baby Bakes - For those of you with babies that don't want to worry about how many spiders are really in your baby food, my friend swears by this. She got it online at Bed Bath and Beyond with the 20% coupon that you get in your mailbox every other day. She says it's a great stress reliever (she has three little ones), which explains the huge stores of baby food in her freezer.
5.)Podee bottle - The day that our babies hold a bottle for themselves is a joyful celebration for most moms. Finally we can feed in the car while we are driving! I had to wait 6 to 8 long months on my kiddos before this milestone, but this bottle changes everything. It has a straw connected to the nipple that allows you to pop it in, prop the bottle and move on out. Brilliant. Check them out at www.podee.com.

Thanks to all of you that have passed along your favorite things. Keep 'em coming! I love the scoop almost as much as I love to pass it on. It feeds my need to gossip in a very healthy way. Momma happy.

Oh, rub her smooth skin....

Sir-Mix-Alot might not be this generation's Byron, but he knew that a soft girl is a sexy girl. Of course, I must be part lizard and therefore find it difficult to get that illusive smooth skin sometimes. To add insult to injury, imagine you are walking along when all of a sudden you catch a whiff of foul stench. You think, "What is that smell....wait, it's me.". You then realize that it's been two days since you showered because you haven't had the time or the energy. Mothers of small children everywhere are nodding their heads. Don't be ashamed if you have opted for a nap during your free time instead of a shower. It happens to the best of us. It's kinda hard to feel like a hot momma when you are a tired, stressed, stinky mommy. I have one thing that is an instant perk up. Origins Ginger Rush Intensely Hydrating Cream. It's my kill-two-birds-with-one-stone solution to dry skin/stinky skin. My sweet mother-in-law was the one that turned me on to this one and I'm so glad she did. Gone are the days of ashy-ness. Gone are the days of smelling like a yeti. This stuff is the best thing that I have ever used for dry skin and smells so awesomely clean, you will walk around smelling the back of your hand for the rest of the day. In a perfect world, you would also get to take a shower without having to peep out every minute or two to make sure that the baby in the exersaucer is still alive and your two year old isn't eating your hair product. I guess that is the price you pay for living the dream, but at least you smell good doing it. Momma happy.

Beer Me, Sunshine!

Ah, summertime. A couple of nice sunny days and I totally forget about how, in just a few short weeks, I will be living in the inferno known as the Texas summer. Once the thermometer hits 75 and the wind finally dies down I can only think about one thing...patios! For three whole weeks, we have the perfect patio weather!!!! And what goes hand in glove with patios? That's right...a nice cool adult beverage! To be more specific, summer beer. Ah, yes, those of you that have partaken in summer beer can taste it now. If you are a summer beer virgin, get ready to change your drink of choice for summertime. My friend Sam told me about this one a few years ago ( I have many hangovers to thank her for). Those of you from New Orleans probably know all about this concoction. Leave it to the professional drinkers to come up with this tasty little number! Here is the recipe:

Summer Beer

One can of frozen pink lemonade
One can of vodka (use the pink lemonade can)
3 cans of any light beer that you like

I know, I know...it sounds disgusting. It is sooooo not. Trust me. It's the perfect drink for a girl's night, cook out, camping (strongly encouraged after my last camping experience, this would have come in handy) or just hanging out with your honey. It's so good that you will not even realize that you have over served yourself, which leads me to my next point. RESPECT THE SUMMER BEER! It is a fickle mistress that will knock you on your booty before you can say "Can you make another pitcher?". Everyone that I have told about summer beer loves it and I hope that you do too. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to go mix up a pitcher now. Momma happy.

Tightening the Belt

We are all very aware that the economy is not what it use to be. If you are not one of the fortunate employees of AIG that just got a great big bonus, then you are probably looking for ways to save a few bucks. I have a few tricks that I have been using with some success and thought they would be worthwhile to share. Please feel free to comment below and pass along some of your favorite penny pincher's too!
1. www.thegrocerygame.com - Shout out to Shayla for this great website find! You can sign up free for 8 weeks and customize the grocery stores that you want specials from. Every week, you get "the list" of the coming week's specials, it tells you what coupon to use to save even more, and when the price is so low that you need to stock up. You will have to build a coupon base by spending about 10 minutes a week pulling out the coupons from the Sunday paper. Consider this the perfect excuse to get your husband to keep the kids out of your hair, after all, you are saving money and he loves that! I save about 20% a week, but I sort of half ass it. My friend saves about 40% a week on average.
2. Frozen Juice-for those of you with little ones, you probably buy somewhere in the neighborhood of a gazillion juice boxes a year. My trick is to get the concentrated frozen juice, add much more water then it calls for to deplete the sugar, and keep it in a pitcher in the fridge. It is much cheaper than the alternative and makes me feel like I'm not creating a sugar guzzling monster since there is more water than juice.
3. Rotisserie Chicken-Walmart sells these babies in the deli. They make them all day, so you can usually find one that came out in the last hour. They are around $5 or so. This doubles as a time and money saver for me. I get home and pull all the meat off. I put half in one container to freeze for the next time I want to make chicken enchiladas or chicken soup and use half for some sort of pasta. I have two dinners done for $5! What a bargain! Now, occasionally I could find a chicken on special that might be less, but then I have to roast it myself. I'm waiting for the soup lines to start before I go to that extreme.
4. Diapers-Lord help you if you have 2 or more kids in diapers in this economy. With Luke, I just blindly paid $27 a box for the brand names. Now, I know better. Consumer Reports did an issue on diapers last year and compared Pampers, Huggies, White Cloud (Walmart's store brand) and Target's store brand. They found them all to be the same!!!! The only thing that isn't the same is the price...store brands are cheaper by about $13 a box. I love the Target brand. It works great and we have almost no blowouts. When you stop and think about what happens in these things, you realize to pay more for a brand is crazy.
5. End of Season Sales-Clothes are dirt cheap at the end of the season, so it's a good time to score some major deals. Buy only what you think might still look good next time that season rolls around (Put down the bubble dress, sister. It will be a distant memory next year.). For kids, you can really, really rake in some cute clothes on the cheap. I always buy a size or two up at the end of season for the next year. Let's say you get a whole summer wardrobe and junior had a growth spurt and now his new clothes are way small. Leave the tags on!!!!!! Some stores will give you store credit if you return, but you might actually make money by putting them on Craig's list. If the tags are on, people will pay more for them. Scratch off the $1.99 sticker and they feel really good about paying $4 for something that they think you paid $8 for. Online shoppers, don't forget about http://www.retailmenot.com/! You can always find some sort of coupon to save you even more dinero on the sale stuff!
6.Library-Huh? Let me say that again...lib-rar-y. I read everything that I can get my hands on, so this one might be self-indulgent, but if I would have gotten a library card in my twenties, I would be a wealthy women right now. Well, maybe not right now with the way the market is performing, but you get my drift. I have spent thousands of dollars on books in my life. The library has every one of them for free. I love to get the kids books there to, of course. Mix in free dvd and cd rentals and you can cut out some of your entertainment budget. Most libraries let you reserve new releases, which makes it great for movie night.
This is my two cents on how to save two cents. Again, if you have any tips, please add them below in the comment area. It takes a village to save some money. I'm glad my village is filled with smart ladies like you. Momma happy.

A poor man's Central Market

If there is anyone out there that knows me and hasn't heard me rave about Sprouts, then this one is for you. I love going to Central Market. It makes me feel like a grown up to stroll the endless aisles of organic, herb-infused, yumminess. What I don't like is that I can only buy 4 things before my grocery budget is shot. Enter Sprouts. I say it is a poor man's Central Market, but this is not reflective of the quality, just the prices. This store is my new best friend. I LOVE IT!!!!! I can take $40 and buy a week's worth of fresh, locally grown veggies, fruits and meats with enough left over to sneak in some bulk chocolate covered almonds. You think I'm kidding? Go to www.sprouts.com and look at the online circular. Rump roast for $1.99/lb, organic apples $.77/lb, 1 lb. packages of strawberries 2 for $3 (and I thought that this was an off week)! Madness!!! They also process all their meat in store, hand stuff all the brats and sausages, and still have better deals then the regular grocery store. Oh, I hear you naysayers out there..."Good for you, Leah, but I don't live in Dallas. Enjoy your organic feasting Miss Dallas Fancy Grocery Girl." Good news. This company is spreading like a Texas wild fire. They currently have stores in CA, CO, AZ and TX. Look at the website and see how many COMING SOON!'s there are. Tons. Fresh food that doesn't wreck my budget? What's not to love? Momma happy.

BUDGET LIVING: I always go on Wednesdays. This is double ad day where you get the next week's sales and the last week's sales. It's the highlight of my week.

I hate it when that happens...fat baby legs

Does this sound familiar to you moms out there? You are dreaming about Hugh Jackman rubbing sun screen on your back. You look at him, and he smiles and then, for some inexplicable reason, he starts to cry. Not a normal cry, but one that sounds a lot like your 8 month old. Just as you are beginning to think that Hugh is not so sexy with his face all wrinkled up like that, you wake up and realize that it IS your 8 month old. You begrudgingly go in to check on the little darling to make sure that there isn't a fever or a snake or a bigfoot in the room (I just got back from camping, can you tell?) and, once again, little miss fat thighs has gotten herself stuck. Now, maybe I am the only mom in the whole world whose children have fat enough thighs to be stuck in the crib slats, but this a regular occurrence with the Nieman babies as soon as they are old enough for me to take out the bumper. It's like their little legs just can't wait to explore the great world outside of the crib and they wait until the little one falls asleep and try to sneak out on their own. Normally, I just go in, put the leg back in it's place, and try to resume my beach romp, where I am cellulite free, with Hugh. The problem is that after several nights in a row of the rude awakening, I was done. I found a great solution to the fat baby leg dilemma-Breathable Baby crib bumper. http://www.breathablebaby.com/. It's thin enough that the baby that is just learning to pull up can't use it as a step ladder to pitch themselves out of the crib, but the netting prevents any limbs from getting stuck. I would really recommend it to anyone that uses a bumper, as now "they" say that the quilted ones pose a risk of suffocation to an infant. One thing to warn you about, it comes in two pieces. You can either follow the directions on the packaging and have it in two pieces or, you can reverse them and Velcro them together for one seamless piece of sleep security. That's what I did, since our babies legs have a mind of their own and would find the one corner that is open. Now that Kara is 10 months, I am happy to report that we have not had any more stuck legs. My dreams are once again uninterrupted and Hugh has agreed never to make that wrinkled up baby cry face again. Momma happy.