Imagination

"Mom, hey Mom, we're dead grasshoppers!"

It is a strange way to settle a lawsuit!

Subway is giving away $2 gift cards to the first 142,500 valid requests from California households.

I have to give them credit - this is the most creative way of making a settlement into a promotion that I have ever encountered. :)

But if you like eating at Subway, go get your card!

Thanks to Amie for the tip!

In the midst of the Anglican church issues

I'm not going to write about everything that is happening. Our church is in a place that feels very close to the edge of a precipice. I pray we don't fall, or worse yet, push each other over. Writing about it would just be too hard right now. Instead, I'm going to direct you to a simply beautiful description of Christ's transforming and redeeming power, written by a g*ay man.

The good news is, I just don't think it matters. When God called me to faith and repentance, I discovered that our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me from sin and death, not to turn me into a heteros*xual.

. . .

My special burden of the heart is for those who came to Christ but, upon discovering that prayer alone wasn't going to "make the g*ay go away," decided to give up. They either abandon Christianity altogether or respond to the siren song of theological revisionism and persuade themselves that Holy Scripture doesn't really mean what it says, so perhaps they're free to remain s*xually active after all. In both cases, what a tragedy! Satan laughs while poor miserable sinners give in to despair.

In the midst of all the "us and them" politics storming my church, this is the kind of witness that so easily gets lost. Please read it.


(Sorry for the funny spellings - I just don't want to tempt unhelpful google ads.)

I used to be a morning person

And then I had kids.

Part of it is the oh-so-strong temptation to stay up too late. That's the only time I have to myself or with my husband. It is quiet. It is short. And so I stay up longer than I should, and even half an hour makes itself known in the morning.

Most of it is the multiple night wakings. And those are a problem right now! Josiah is waking so frequently that I lose track of what time it is, how long it has been, and sometimes wake to find him in the bed and wonder how he got there (obviously I must have put him there, but I have no memory of it - it is incredibly worrisome). He has decided that the only way to go back to sleep is to nurse: not for food but simply for comfort. Sometimes he'll latch, not suck, and go back to sleep. Oy!

So that has to stop, and as of last night I'm trying to teach him that snuggles are quite enough. But I'm so groggy that sometimes I defeat my own efforts: last night I looked at the clock, took Josiah to bed to nurse, and realized afterward that 11:30pm was NOT 1:30am. That time he got to nurse after one hour instead of three. Aghh!

I used to feel good in the morning. I remember thinking that the mornings were the best time to get things done. But now I just feel this overwhelming torpor. Everything sounds too difficult to even start. Dishes? Blech. I'm tired. Breakfast for the kids? Well, ok, but only to stop them fussing at me. Chores, and a walk, and playtime with the kids? Sigh. I do get myself going, but it takes so much willpower now, and even then I don't feel good until nearly 10am.

I miss my energy.

Rain rain, go away...

This morning it rained hard. Then the sun came out, the wind blew away the clouds, the kids played outside, and I hung laundry on the line.

It is raining again.

Rain, rain, go away. And don't tease me like that.

So proud...

When Jonathan wants something at the grocery store, he now asks "Mommy, is that on sale?"

Today we were all grocery shopping together. Gabe spotted a display of Quaker multi-grain cereal that we like, BOGO free, and asked if it was a good deal. I said "maybe...let me see if I have a coupon..." and while I was rummaging around Gabe pointed out that there were peelie coupons right on some of the boxes, making it a very good deal, indeed! (And one which I would have completely missed had he not pointed it out!)

Don't I have an awesome family? They make me smile.

Diaper rebates

Did you know that you can get rebates on every package of Huggies diapers that you buy? If you are caring for a child ages 5 and under, you can get a 75 cent rebate from the Caregiver's Marketplace on every package you purchase. If you buy the smaller packages on sale, with coupons, and also request this rebate, you can get diapers for as little as $6-$7 per jumbo package, which is a better deal than buying them in huge boxes at Sam's Club!

I surely wish it hadn't taken me almost four years to discover this. :)


(For those wondering: yes, we do still cloth diaper, but I use disposables when we go out or when I'm behind on the laundry.)

Coupons and a healthy diet

A very common misconception (one that I held for quite awhile) is that you can save money with coupons, but only on junk food that you probably shouldn't be eating anyway. I was thinking about this today when I was putting away our weekly groceries. While it is quite true that you will never get a coupon for lettuce or apples, there are plenty of healthy foods that DO offer coupons.



Total pre-sale and pre-coupon value: $152
Coupon savings: $33
Today's total spent: $67

Healthy foods? Well, among other things, this trip included two packages of cheese (non-processed), 12 containers of yogurt, frozen vegetables, brown rice, and multi-grain cereal, all of which were purchased with coupons.

As for the not-so-healthy food you see in the picture, well, I certainly don't want to PAY for brownie mix, now do I? :)

Josiah

Because Sarah says I don't post enough pictures of the little one:

CPSIA - we still need your voice!

A one year reprieve is a good thing. But we still need to get this bill reformed! :)

Senator Jim DeMint has put together a CPSIA reform bill. It is eminently sensible, including six major points:

1. Delays the overreaching regulations six months so that all parties can work together to address the needs of our small businesses and the needs of product safety.

2. Allows small manufacturers to use the testing and certification that their component suppliers have done to certify that the components do not contain an impermissible amount of lead. This will save small manufacturers from having to subject their products -- many of which are made in small runs -- to duplicative and expensive multi-thousand dollar tests.

3. Exempts thrift stores, yard sales, consignments shops and other re-sellers from the prohibitions in the act. Goodwill, the Salvation Army and your local flea market were never the source of the product safety concerns encountered last year, and they won’t be in the future. They are good actors trying to provide Americans of modest means with value oriented products. They shouldn’t be subjected to tens of thousands of dollars in potential liability.

4. Prevents retro-active enforcement of the act. There are millions of dollars of safe products in the warehouses and stores around the country today, which could become un-sellable under CPSIA. This will prevent thousands of products from being destroyed and the livelihood of thousands of businesses from being threatened.

5. Provides a Good-Faith Exemption. The act and its associated regulations are extremely complex. Small manufacturers are having difficulty understanding what the act requires of them. While many small businesses are doing their best to comply with the act it's possible someone could accidentally run afoul of the act. If they can show that their error was made in good-faith, my bill will provide them with a one-time exemption from sanction.

6. Requires the CPSC to provide small businesses with a compliance guide. This is an extremely technical regulation that impacts a number of small businesses who don’t have large compliance departments to decipher the regulations for them. Senator DeMint’s bill would require the CPSC, in consultation with the state and federal small business agencies, to develop a compliance guide that addresses the concerns of the small business community.

You can read the entire press release here.

So again, now is the time to contact your senators! Ask him/her/them to co-sponsor Senator DeMint’s CPSIA Reform Legislation, and tell them if they have questions about the legislation they can contact Tom Jones in Senator DeMint’s DC office at 202-224-6121. Tom’s email address is tom_jonesATcommerceDOTsenateDOTgov. If they don't want to co-sponsor, ask them to at least vote for it. :)

Thank you for standing with small artisans and business owners!

How to lose 4 lbs in 1 day

Get the flu.

I think I prefer running. Takes a lot more time but is MUCH less painful! Probably more permanent, too. :)

I seem to be getting sick a lot recently. Colds abound in our house, and I seem to get the worst ones. I had a nasty bout of mastitis and a second, less awful occurence two weeks later. Now the flu. On top of the frequency, it seems to take an unreasonable amount of time for me to "bounce back" and get back to feeling normal.

Is this just a fact of never enough and interrupted sleep and three small ones? Any ideas for staying healthy?

How coupons work

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about coupon use. One that I've run into frequently is the idea that by using coupons to get free or nearly free items I am "ripping off" the store or the manufacturer or both. Southern Savers has a fantastic post explaining exactly how coupons work and how the stores get reimbursed for them. Anyone who has wondered about the ethics of using coupons, stacking coupons, and/or getting free products should read it.

This is a follow-up post to the great conversation that went on in the comment section of my post on coupon ethics. I loved all the comments - thanks to everyone who offered questions and/or answers!

Gentle grace

Another post that you should read is by my boys' Aunt Jenny. Jenn is a winsome writer who tells truth without hiding from herself or from others. Here she writes about the infinite patience and gentleness of God's grace as he opens our hearts to give in, give up, and do what is right.

A wife of valor

Jenni always has such thoughtful posts on her blog, One Thing. She is a mom of 12, so I am honestly blown away that she makes time not only to READ her Bible but think and consider and then write about it for the rest of us. Oh how glad I am that she does. Today I read her post titled "Courage". It is about being a Proverbs 31 woman (cue sighs, we have all heard that too much, right?) Except that Jenni's thoughts are new (to me) and helpful. And encouraging. And don't we wives and mothers all need that? Go read it. You'll be glad you did.

And the winner is...

Using the trusty Random.org, the entirely random winner is #51! You're the happy new owner of this lovely sling:



Hoping for a Miracle left two comments:

I am a newbie, we are in the process of adopting and I have heard great things about the baby slings and will be trying it, so if I would win I would keep if for myself.

(It was the second comment that won.)

I read your post on the unintended consequences. I was already familiar with this from other friends who will also be affect by it and have I have also signed petitions to our Congressman.

I hope your adoption process finalizes quickly, and that you enjoy wearing your brand new little one! God bless you and your growing family, Hoping for a Miracle!

CPSIA one year stay

I'm not going out of business (yet)! :) The powers that be have granted a one year stay of the CPSIA. Factually, this means that nothing changes for one more year (until Feb. 10th, 2010). We still can't sell products with lead in them, per current laws, but we don't have to prove that there isn't lead in them.

Theoretically, the year could be spent fixing the law. I hope that is what happens.

Big, big, sigh of relief.

And now, since I am STILL IN BUSINESS (!!!) why don't you all toddle over to Lullaby Slings and find a nice gift for someone you know? And remember that I love custom orders. :)



(Thanks to those of you who emailed and commented to tell me about this. I first found out directly from the CPSIA auto-emails last Friday, but didn't get a blog post up about it until now.)

Teething?

My happy, sweet tempered, nicely sleeping baby has suddenly developed a tendency to screaming and night waking. What do you think - maybe moving teeth?

CVS fun run 1/31

Tonight my husband indulged my hobby, and Josiah and I spent some time running around CVS. I love it. I love the thinking and the quiet and the time away. And getting stuff for free is always good, too. :)

Here is the result of our efforts:


And this is how we did it:

Transaction #1 (first store - this is the one closest to my house with a really nice manager, but they often don't have all the things I'm trying to buy.)

4.99 Head and Shoulders shampoo
1.19 CVS cough drops

-1.19 CVS cough drop coupon
-1.00 H&S MQ
-3.00 ecb

= $1.15 oop
earned $3.00 ecbs

I had wanted to buy one of the new Fusion Gamer razors, but they didn't have them yet. I asked for a rain check, and the nice manager wrote one up and then said "this will just get confusing with the ecbs - I'll just give them to you now." So I got an extra $4 ecbs just because I wanted to buy something they didn't have in stock. Nice.

At the larger 24 hour store they had a lot of things that I wanted, including a January "free after ecb" item that I'd pretty much given up on ever finding!

Transaction #1
$7.99 Gillette Fusion Gamer razor
$4.99 Gillette shampoo

-$4.00 Gillete gamer MQ
-$4.99 buy razor, get shampoo MQ
-$3.99 ecb (adjusted down from $4)

= $0.74 oop
earned $4 and $3 ecbs

Transaction #2
$7.99 Gillette Fusion Gamer razor
$4.99 Gillete body wash
$7.99 NasoGel

-$2.00 NasoGel MQ
-$4.00 Gillete gamer MQ
-$4.99 body wash MQ
-$4.00 ecb
-$3.00 ecb
-$2.98 ecb (adjusted from $3)

= $0.91 oop
earned $4 and $7.99 ecbs

Transaction #3

$4.99 Head and Shoulders shampoo
$7.99 NasoGel
$1.29 Comet cleanser
$0.89 Dove dark chocolate

-$1.00 H&S MQ
-$2.00 NasoGel MQ
-$4.00 ecb
-$7.99 ecb

= $0.36 oop
earned $3 and $7.99 ecbs

Total spent: $3.16 oop and $3.00 original ecbs. Since I have more ecbs than I started with, however, this trip resulted in a net profit of $4.83.

Ring sling GIVEAWAY

I am late, as usual, to the party. But I'm glad you stopped by, because I really do like participating in the quarterly Bloggy Giveaway carnival. Good times. :)

I am giving away a brand new, handmade by me, Lullaby Slings ring sling. You can win it for yourself or for a friend. Isn't it pretty? It is made of a sturdy bottomweight 100% cotton fabric. Absolutely guaranteed not to slip in the rings (and especially good for someone new to babywearing.)



(One small note: there is a tiny little mistake in the decorative heart stitching - I ran out of thread in the middle of a stitch and had to start again. It isn't very noticeable, but I did want to mention it.)

One of the reasons I'm giving this away is because I want to bring some attention to the new CPSIA lead testing law that will make it impossible for me to legally do business after February 10th. Don't worry, there isn't any lead in my slings! :) Unfortunately, the new law requires anyone who makes anything for children under age 12 to test EVERY PRODUCT they make for lead, regardless of what it is made of, and since that costs thousands of dollars it functionally puts me out of business. I wrote a detailed post about it all here.

But I can certainly give my slings away, and that is just what I'm going to do! To win, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me

1) if you're a newbie to babywearing or a seasoned expert, and/or
2) who you plan to give the sling to and why.

AND if you want a couple of extra entries, you can do the following:

1) Read my post about laws with unintended consequences. I do ask that you read the whole thing, because it really is important to understand what is going on.

2) Send emails to your senators and representatives. There are links to easy ways of doing that in the post I mentioned.

If you do want the extra entries, please leave SEPARATE comments telling me of each thing you did. You can have up to three entries (comment, read post, and send emails) but you need to leave three comments telling me about it. Make sense? Ok.

Please be sure to leave a way of contacting you - either through your blog or include an email address in your comment.

Also, please read the guidelines before commenting. I will delete all comments of the "enter me" and "pick me" and "you're cool" variety.

I'll leave the contest open until Saturday (1/31) at midnight. Good luck!

Mexican rice recipe

I always enjoy Mexican rice when I go to a Mexican restaurant, and this weekend I found a recipe that accurately duplicates it! It is really good - even my husband who doesn't particularly enjoy rice said that it was a winner and should go in the "permanent file".

Mexican Rice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add rice. Sprinkle with garlic salt and cumin. Cook, stirring constantly, until just turning golden. (Be CAREFUL here - my first attempt had to be thrown away because it burned - it goes from golden to burned unbelievably quickly.)

Stir in onions, tomato sauce, and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. (I found that I had to add another 1/2 cup or so of water for it to cook the last five minutes. The rice was still crunchy at 20 minutes but the liquid was gone. Adding a bit let it finish cooking without burning.) Fluff rice with a fork and serve!

Original recipe is "Mexican Rice II" found at Allrecipes.