I was looking through some of my old pictures of Norton for some Daily Cute Fluffy Bum posts on Cloth Diaper Addicts… and I came across this little gem.  It’s not a fluffy bum, but it’s far too cute not to use.

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This post brought to you by Insurance Hunter. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's official.  Spring is completely here, even in the Great White North.  It's been a few weeks since we've had any snow of any kind.  I've already shaken off the last vestiges of winter in my home.  Now it's time for a little vehicle spring cleaning, too!

There are a few things that I like to do for spring cleaning the family van.  The first thing that I do is switch out from snow tires to three season tires.  (It's what we call all season tires up here.)  The next thing I like to do is empty the van of all of the "stuff" that has accumulated in the van over the winter months.  (When it's -40 out, the name of the game is "grab everything that you can carry and run."  I don't want to be outside… or have the kids outside… any longer than necessary.)

Then, of course, I run the vacuum over surfaces to catch the crumbs that the kids have left behind, and I lint brush the seats to get the stubborn border collie fur out of the seats.  The kids' car seats come out and get cleaned out, too.  And, of course, there's cleaning the interiors of the windows with glass cleaner so that there's no puppy nose prints or kid finger prints on the glass.  Once the interior is all cleaned out and the gravel from the side walks is gone, it's off to the gas station so that my husband and I can have a quiet, romantic drive through the automatic car wash.

And, of course, there's the spring ritual of getting our insurance renewed.  For that, we visit Insurance Hunter and get our auto insurance quotes done up from the comfort of home.  We let the website do the hunting so that we can find the best plan that suits our budget and our needs.  And, of course, there's the added bonus that it buys us a little time before we have to reassemble the car seats and get them reinstalled!

Do you do

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Almost everyone knows how to apply casual eye makeup for a day at work or a fun outing with a friend, but most women don’t know how to achieve that sultry evening eye look that the movie stars always have. If you have been dying to know how to make your eyes look more exotic and sultry for an important dinner date or evening party, here are some steps you should follow.

1. Prepare Your Eyes

If you want to increase the life of your eye shadow and keep it from creasing, then you should always prepare your eyes before applying make-up. Gently clean your eyes to remove any oily residues or traces of previous makeup, then pat them dry and apply a gentle moisturizing eye cream. The cream will help to minimize any imperfections in your makeup and will provide a good base for your eye shadow.

2. Apply Eye Shadow Base

If you have never used an eye shadow base before, then it is time for you to give it a try. Choose an eye shadow base that is slightly lighter than your natural skin tone and apply a thin layer across your eyelid and directly beneath your eyes. You will be amazed at how much easier it is to smoothly apply eye shadow when you properly apply an eye shadow base beforehand.

3. Apply First Eye Shadow Shade

Now it is time to apply the first color in your smoky eye shadow palette. You should choose an eye shadow palette that has at least two colors. The first color that you apply will be swept across your entire eyelid and should be a fairly deep color in order to achieve a sultry look. Make sure you sweep the color slightly upward at the outer corners of your eyes and blend it so that it makes your eyes appear wider.

4. Apply Second Eye Shadow Shade

The second shade of eye shadow should be applied to the outer corners of your eyes and should be darker than the first shade that you applied. This will accentuate the outer corners of your eyes and help you to achieve that sultry look. Make sure you blend the two colors so you don’t have a noticeable line where the two colors meet. Gently sweep the darker color out and upwards so that it gets more faint and smoky as it nears your brow.

5.      Highlight The Brow Bone

To complete the eye shadow portion of your smoky eye look, highlight your brow bones with a lighter, slightly shimmery shade. Make sure you blend all three colors well so that your smoky eyes look smooth and sultry rather than rough and splotchy.

6.      Apply Eye Liner

For sultry eyes, it is a good idea to use very dark eyeliner and then gently smooth it out with the buffing end of your eyeliner. Apply the eyeliner to your entire upper eyelids, being careful to keep as close to the eyelash line as possible. Once you are finished with the top, apply a lighter layer of eyeliner to your bottom lids, then gently buff it out until there is a smoky hue instead of a distinct line.

7.      Apply Mascara

To finish off your smoky eye look, apply a very dark shade of mascara, being careful to coat your eyelashes evenly and remove any clumps. Go easy on the lower lashes and only apply a very thin layer of mascara.

Once you have followed the above steps you will have sultry evening eyes that will get you noticed at any dinner date.

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I read a blog post recently from another mom who treats her children equally.  Her five year old earned a toy as a reward… so she bought a new toy, of equal cash value, for her thirteen month old.  To her, it was only fair parenting.  Now, I won’t say that I think that she was wrong to do this.  But I will say that I’m not convinced I’d have done the same thing.

In fact, I’m sure I wouldn’t have.

I do like to think that my husband and I engage in fair parenting with our children.  Norton isn’t allowed to snatch Eudora’s toys.  Eudora isn’t allowed to snatch Norton’s toys.  It’s just not okay to be a jerk.

That being said… We don’t treat our children exactly the same.  There’s a reason for that, and it has nothing to do with fair parenting: our children aren’t the same.  Eudora is exploring the world for the first time.  Norton is potty training.  Eudora is happy as a clam to try on new dresses and wear pretty things.  Norton wants to wear shirts with Elmo or Lightening McQueen.  Likewise, my fifteen year old is into computers, BMX stunt biking, and his girlfriend.

If I take Norton to the toy store to get him a reward for potty training excellence (and that’s how he got his Spencer the train… staying dry and using the potty at a friend’s house), wouldn’t it diminish the specialness of buying a toy for Eudora, too, just because Norton earned one?  Okay, so right now, Norton is three.  But if he comes home with a first place trophy for the science fair, is it fair to him to reward Eudora with an equal prize?  Or if Eudora wins the spelling bee when she’s in school and I get her a new game for a prize, is it fair to her to get one for Norton, too?

I’m not convinced that “equal parenting” is exactly fair.  I’m not sure that it’s really fair to reward one for participating the same way we reward one for winning.  Yes, participation and effort are both extremely important, as one cannot overcome difficult obstacles without even trying.  By the same token, I’m not convinced that it’s a good precedent to take them both to the toy store.

It’s not about playing favorites.  It’s about recognizing successes.

Do you think that fair parenting means getting both children an equal reward, even though only one of them made the accomplishment?

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Interesting things show up on my Facebook feed from time to time, often courtesy of Heather over at The Parenting Patch.  She shared an article regarding the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new wording regarding home births.  Really, having a home birth in mind is just part of your birth plan that takes more planning than… say, deciding that you want soft music at the hospital.

Heather loves to cite statistics that back her reasoning for having a home birth with her daughter.  (Okay, Heather loves statistics in general.  But that’s cool; statistics are extremely useful when making a point.)  However, I’ve come to a conclusion regarding the writing of a birth plan.  Statistics to defend or convince others about your birth plan are unimportant.

Does it matter how she got here, as long as it was a positive outcome?

There’s a very simple reason as to why: your birth plan is absolutely none of my business.

It doesn’t matter if you want to have a hospital birth, epidurals, and as drugged up as a birth as hospital policies will allow or if you want to give birth under an oak tree in the woods with a circle of women dancing and chanting around you, then catch the baby yourself and feed the placenta to a passing wolf.  Whatever.  It’s entirely up to you.

It’s your birth plan.  It’s your body.  It’s your baby.

There are times, of course, when I think that someone’s birth plan may be a little outlandish.  That being said, it does not matter.  It falls squarely in the category of things in life that are not my business.  If you ask “what do  you think about my birth plan?” and you’ve decided that you want to… oh, I don’t know, cut the umbillical cord yourself with a sharpened rock in the woods, I will tell you why I don’t think it’s a good idea.  But if you don’t ask about my opinion on any aspect of your birth plan, who am I to tell you that it sucks?

What kind of reactions did you receive on your birth plan?

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Eudora and her “betrothed,” Huan.  Do you think any of these will be cute at their wedding reception?

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At this point, I’m not 100% sure who the massive train track layouts are for.  Sure, Norton enjoys playing with the wooden train layouts, But I know that I really do love building them!

This week’s build spans about eight feet in one direct and about five feet in the other.  I’m not sure how many actual linear feet of wooden train track is being used, but it’s definitely a lot!  For “packs” you’ll see the Chuggington Double Decker Roundhouse (split in two), the Chuggington Figure 8 Clock Tower set, Thomas and Friends Water Tower Figure 8 Set, two expansion packs, Thomas and Friends Echo Tunnel (discontinued), and an unknown no name tunnel and aquaduct bridge.

Have you ever experimented with wooden trains?  What was your favorite element of the build?

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Everyone has their own opinions on gun safety.  Some think that gun safety is only doable by eliminating guns.  Some think that gun safety means shoot the other guy first.  I’m pretty sure the majority of us lean towards “increased background checks” as a reasonable alternative.  But when it comes to child gun safety, there are far fewer grey areas.

By now, everyone in the world has heard about the recent events in Kentucky: a five year old was left unattended with his own gun.  He shot and killed his two year old sister.

Some people (probably the majority?) think that the child had no business even touching a gun.  I’m not so sure about that.  You see, my own father received a .22 rifle when he was around five years old.  His mother taught him how to shoot.  Mind you, this was also in rural Alabama nearly seventy years ago.  Back then, it was also not uncommon for a high school kid to drive his pick up truck to school with a gun rack mounted in the back window.

Child gun safety does not necessarily mean keeping all guns from children.  It doesn’t mean that keeping children from even knowing that guns exist.  But child gun safety does mean being responsible.  Teaching a child to clean a firearm is not irresponsible.  Teaching a child how to shoot a firearm at the gun range is not irresponsible.  Even allowing a child to have his or her own child sized firearm is not irresponsible.

What’s irresponsible?  Keeping guns out.  I don’t care if you have children or you don’t.  Basic safety (child gun safety or adult) means that firearms are kept secured.  Basic child gun safety requires that firearms are only handled in appropriate locations like the gun range.  And common sense means that you don’t walk out of the room even for a split second.  Leaving two children unattended with a gun is irresponsible.  A two year old girl is dead because of that stupidity.

I don’t doubt that the family is suffering.  I fervently hope that five year old will never remember it.  That being said, it is not a “freak incident.”  It’s bad parenting.  Some will say that the family is suffering enough.  Perhaps they are.  However, that doesn’t change that the behavior is criminal and someone should be going to jail.  Sure, she won’t make that same mistake again, but maybe sending someone to jail for neglect (because it’s pretty freaking neglectful to leave two kids alone with an unsecured weapon), or wreckless endangerment of a minor, or failure to secure a firearm or something will serve as a reminder to other parents who get stupid about child gun safety.

What are your thoughts on child gun safety?

*Point of clarification: before someone determines that I must be some sort of “NRA gun nut,” I should point out that I am not a member of the NRA.  I do not own firearms.  I have never fired a weapon and have no intention of doing so any time soon.  My children have also never handled a firearm.  However, my personal distaste for guns does not negate second amendment rights.  Nor should it.

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There are times when my son can surprise me.  I’d always thought that maybe I was doing something wrong since I didn’t understand how to teach child empathy.  On one hand, I recognize that toddler behavior requires a certain amount of being self-absorbed… but on the other hand, I knew that child empathy skills would be invaluable when dealing with peers.  I just didn’t get how to pass this skill set on.

Sometimes, this little face can make the day seem so much brighter.

I started out the day on a rough note: Eudora was screeching into the baby monitor.  It was 6:15 am.  She stopped, but I couldn’t get back to sleep.  Then there were computer issues and a whole host of other things driving me crazy, including kids with runny noses, screaming Eudora, barking dogs, and my phone pinging like crazy.  The final straw was when I couldn’t find my keys.

I sat down in the hallway and buried my face in my hands.  I was just done.  I couldn’t handle anything else.  Too many things were going wrong at once and I had zero help since my husband was off to work.  I just wanted to cry.  Even my sort of break (also known as “preschool”) was going down the tubes.

Norton saw me and wandered down the hall to where I was essentially hiding.  He patted me on the head and said, “What’s wrong, Mommy?  It’ll be okay.”  That little bit of child empathy was what I needed.  When I looked up at him, he gave me a hug and some kisses… then some more cuddles.  Those cuddles were precisely what I needed.  It was just a little bit of calm, quiet affection.

It didn’t resolve everything that had been bothering me.  It didn’t make the morning magically straighten out.  But what that bit of child empathy did do was that, for just a couple of minutes, I felt better.

Has your child ever surprised you with a bit of unexpected empathy?

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Looking after the environment is becoming more and more important to us and celebrities are taking it upon themselves to promote various eco friendly uses as well as adapting many eco friendly practices themselves.  A lot of the big Hollywood stars can be seen out and about in their electric cars including George Clooney and Cameron Diaz.  Leo DiCaprio flies on commercial planes and uses his bicycle and many are using solar panels on their homes in an effort to cut down on electricity usage.  Designer Stella McCartney won a green award for her clothes and shoes range as she refuses to use fur or leather on her products.

A lot of people know the obvious ways to be green but as a pet owner there are more green actions you can take to help the environment whilst looking after your animal.  Every small action will help, for example walk your dog close to home, don’t get in the car to drive somewhere to walk unless you have no option but to do so.  Make sure you pick up your dogs mess and dispose of it responsibly in the allocated bins.   You can buy green products for your cat and dog, dog beds, clothes and accessories made out of recycled material for example.  Look for dog food and cat food that only uses natural products and is made out of recycled packaging or recyclable packaging.  If you want to go the whole hog you can even make your own bedding and toys for your pet out of your old clothes and material.  For example old bedding stacked together will make for a comfortable dog bed, socks tied together make for a great pull toy or bunched together to make a ball to throw and retrieve.  If you are good at sewing you can even fashion together mice or bird toys for cats to enjoy.

A lot of celebrities own pets and whilst some go to extreme lengths to build their dogs unique houses others are environmentally aware and will be taking responsible actions to ensure they are a green pet owner.

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