Naturally Frugal

Whew!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:17:00 +0000

About time to update!! SO its been over a year and a lot has happened .. we moved, twice! First to a home in the middle of the wildness with *gasp* no internet (unless you count dial-up, which I do not) .. it was brand new and nice, almost too nice with 3 kids under 6! Now, we're currently closer to town and the hubs' office and have lovely neighbors with kids to play with and Lake Michigan across the street! A smaller house but one that works much nicer for our family!

Other than that, not much is different .. kids are bigger and smarter but we're still homeschooling, still snuggling and still figuring it all out.

One more sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Brylane Home has a great nine basket organizer on sale for $19 shipped.

Original Price is $39.99 and is on sale for $23.98 and apply code BH40OFF to take 40% off and drop the price to $14.38. Shipping brings the total to $19.37

This is a nice unit .. Solid wood and sturdy! I bought one in December for holding baby Molly's clothes inside my closet. I'm thinking a second and maybe third for organizing school stuff or toys .. can you ever have enough organizers?

Old Navy Clearance! Extra 50% off!!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Take an extra 50% off all clearance items at Old Navy ..

I scored a few velour hoodies for my sisters ($2.50) and some cute fleeces ($3) for the baby to wear next winter .. Lots of good deals on jeans too! Shipping is a flat $7 so the more your order the more you save on shipping ..

Car Seat Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:48:00 +0000

I'm about to buy my third car seat in a month, the 4th in 5 months and the 6th seat we've owned. Why so many? The car seat safety maven are now recommending that children stay harnessed until at least 4o lbs or until they start driver's training. And although my sister wonders if the car seat manufators are trying to create a panic to sell seats, I follow the better safe than sorry rule.

Thankfully my dear husband just smiles and nods when I bring up spending $260 on 2 new carseat for Maddy and Mallory. They're both riding in the uber cool Graco Nautilus. Maddy was riding in a TurboBooster High Back Booster and is now so much safer with a harnessed seat and will remain that way until she's 65lbs. The Nautilus then turns into a high back booster to belt positioning booster and holds them until 100lbs .. which if family history is any indication will be about age 22. Mallory was in an UltraCarGo and could have stayed there without problem BUT once she saw Maddy's new seat she wanted the same thing. And thankfully we're able to afford her whim .. honestly though the Nautilus is awesome .. the thing has fricken steel bars for supports, the belt routers have been redesigned and are easier than ever to adjust, the chest clip and buckle are also new and are harder for kids to undo but somehow easier for parents. Daddy saw the first one and automatically voted on one for Mallory too. Thanks to Amazon's Prime shipping, Mallory was set to go 2 days later.

As for the third seat .. I did mention a third new seat didn't I? Miss Molly is soon to be graduating from the SnugRide. By soon I mean in the next few months .. the strap heights are never tall enough for my long torsoed girls .. Molly's on the top strap already! Infant seats are wonderfully handy for the first few months for things like resturants and not disturbing the sleeping baby .. but I've found that we generally don't lug the thing around outside of the car once the girls are old enough to say sit in a high chair for the length of a dinner out. So .. in the hunt for a new convertible car seat I discovered this gem, highly recommended by car seat techs, The First Years True Fit (pictured above). Its a wonderful seat that will last, hopefully, until high school graduation :) What sold me is its a whole shebang of a seat, rear facing, forward facing until 65 lbs and then a high back booster and then a belt positioning booster up to 100 lbs. Plus its pretty!

What caused the new look into carseats? A new car purchase! One of the perks of military pay is that its basically untaxed and only basic pay is considered income so our reported taxable income for the year is about 1/2 of what our actual take home is. So basically we have zero tax liablity to the federal government and fall into a low tax bracket so we get massive returns (to us at least) each year. Combined with a general thriftiness we have a nice budget to get something decent and safer than the Chevy Venture. Stay tuned :)

Naturally Frugal Baby or my current addiction to cloth diapers

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:47:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Rebekah and I'm addicted ... to diapers! Let me explain, I'll start at the beginning:

As our family has grown with the addition of Molly, we've looked to more natural, more frugal ways of taking care of baby. When Maddy was born, almost 5 years ago!, we were, like most parents, completely blindsided by baby! Throw in severe pre eclampsia, that took the better part of 3 months to recover from, and we pretty much did whatever anyone told us .. the hospital said supplement with formula? Okay. Here .. these pretty Pampers have Elmo on them and don't they smell pretty? They sure do, sign me up for 3 years worth. After the fog of blood pressure meds lifted (magically, as soon as I quit taking them I had no BP issues, hmm) I would spend my days trying to figure out what was really in the best interest of our darling girl, we dropped the formula to almost never but the Pampers were still in the picture (and budget).

18 months (and 10 days) later Mallory was born after a very, very surprising and short pregnancy. We didn't realize we were pregnant until 19 weeks, that the mini-pill is a very persnickety pill and when they say take it at the same time every day, you must! .. I like to think that our Mallory just wanted to join us so badly she couldn't be dissuaded by something like birth control... We continued to grow in our desires to live more naturally. Formula was completely out but the Pampers were still in .. I never knew the ease of modern cloth diapers .... I plead ignorant.

Then last winter we discover M#3 is on its way and it only seemed natual to use cloth diapers since we've "converted" so much of the rest of our lives to a less wasteful, more frugal way of living. I spent a good portion of my pregnancy looking into cloth diapers .. even though I remember the origami diaper folds and Gerber plastic pants and the toilet dunking and the stinky yellow pail and the bleach and the ick that my mom, and by default, I used with my sisters. Even though there's only 8 years difference between my youngest sister and my oldest daughter, the leaps and bounds in cloth diapering is astounding!

So once I passed 22 weeks (I'm oddly superstitious about buying baby stuff too soon) I ordered a case of Seventh Generation disposable diapers from a great deal at Amazon, thinking I'd be off my game for awhile and wouldn't be able to handle cloth right away. I spent $75 on 4 dozen unbleached Indian prefolds and 4 ProRap covers and was ready to try the cloth. Then I started using them and I was hooked! No pins, no crazy folding, no pull on plastic pants? Awesome! And I start reading a million cloth diaper boards and blogs .. I find a deal for $12 BumGenius 2.0s .. I order 4! I remember the first doctor appointment the nurse saw the diaper and was so curious .. the pediatrician, a younger lady, took one look and exclaimed "You have these! They're awesome!" I upgraded to some Thristies covers and then find a deal on Thristies AIOs ($10 per!) Then forgetting the fact that I can't sew a straight line, I order some material and download a pattern online and whip out 16 pocket diapers in a weekend. Stuffed with some cheap microfiber auto wipes we'll be using these until high school or potty training which ever comes first! My latest find was some DryBees ordered from a BabySteals daily deal, 2 for ~$15.. I ordered 4.

What about the washing? Glad you asked! I think everyone has what works for them. We, like many cloth diapering families, use just a covered trash can for a diaper pail and toss the dirty ones in until laundry day. Molly is 5 months old and is still exclusively breastfed, so the poops aren't that icky yet. I'm sure in the future this will have to be rethought and some dumping of the, well, dumps into the toilet will have to be done .. I may get one of the sprayers that hook to the toilet, we'll see how it goes! When I'm having to use prefolds because I'm out of diapers or its been longer than the 4 days that bumgenius are supposed to be dirty, I empty the diaper bin, which has been decorated by the big sisters so they know not to put trash in it, in to the washer and use a hot rinse, hot wash with homemade laundry soap, cold rinse with vinegar. Toss in the dryer and we're ready to go again. We have tried air drying and while the weather was nice this was great .. but inside with the racks and such its a pain especially in the unheated basement with the children doing who knows what upstairs, its not worth it to me. I think the heat of the dryer helps with any lingering germies on the diapers that the sun gets but the dark dank basement does kill. We've had one round of buildup after I stopped using the homemade laundry soap, because Fels Naptha was supposed to cause buildup, and started using a free and clear detergent .. which apparently is worse at causing buildup. I soaked everything in a hot water/vinegar solution with tea tree oil which as far as I can tell has stripped all the yuckiness.

So .. there's my story on cloth diapering .. expect further chapters to come ..

my oh my ..

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:25:00 +0000

Has it really been 8 months? Yikes .. having babies and live seems to get the middle of the bloggy world ..

So a brief, or not so brief update .. We'll see how it goes!

Summer was rather uneventful until August 20th when our 3rd "M" was born .. Molly May, another girl which brings the count to 3! She's a beauty like her older sisters and its been such a wonderful joy to watch her sisters become maternal towards her. I'll be sure to share her birth story soon!

My dear husband is still doing wonderfully in recruiting and finished the year at the top of his team and one of the top in the state .. we're so proud of the young men and women that are choosing to serve their communities, state and country by enlisting. We celebrated, just in time for Christmas, the return of the local unit from a successful deployment and are looking forward to getting to know the unit members and their families better.

Other than the day to day with 3 kids under 5, I've been continuing research on how to best formalize the homeschooling we've been doing. Although, I operate on the premise that we teach our children from birth and I love, love the unschooling philosophies I feel we need a bit more structure. Since Maddy will be 5 in March (7 weeks, just as her!) I'm feeling more and more rushed to "figure" something out, especially as she's blossomed as a reader and has a knowledge of the human body that rivals a pre-med student! I think this will all settle itself out and Molly will be in college before I have it all figured out...

So .. there's the condensed version .. and I promise to post more soon!

REI Nalgene Returns!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:09:00 +0000

Thanks to the Suburban Wife's Daily Dollar Diary I've learned that REI will refund the price of all Nalgene bottles made from BPA purchased at their stores! Click the link to learn how she did it and without the receipts even!

This was great news to me since we got the girls Nalgene Grip 'n Gulp bottles for Christmas from REI .. in addition to the 3 or 4 other Nalgene bottles floating around the kitchen I've been looking at spending between $50 and $75 to replace these. With REI's awesome return policy I should be able to break even on the deal!

Now my question is do I go with the BPA Free Nalgene Grip 'n Gulp or do we make the transition to stainless bottles? My husband and I currently use the Sigg Sport Bottle and really like them, they seem to keep drinks colder longer and the Sigg Kids Bottles are super cute! Perhaps the narrow necks would make cleaning more difficult and having to make especially shape ice cubes may not be a great use of time but these may be more fun for the girls and luckily they're big water fans so these would only be used for that so no making fermented apple juice (hard cider anyone?) in left behind cups. However, the Sigg bottles run about $5 more per bottle than the Nalgene ... Hmm .. I guess we'll be taking a trip to REI next time we're headed to Ann Arbor and we'll let the kids decide!

More on Car Seats ... Part Two!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:08:00 +0000

In my last post I talked about some basics of using car seats as well as the different types of seats available.

SO.... How to you find the right seat for your family? The consensus in the car seat world is the best seat for you is the one that fits .. fits your child, fits your car and fits your budget! So let's start with those 3 ...

First, the best seat fits your child: .. See this post!

Next, the best seat fits your car:

Do some research .. pick up Consumer's Reports, parenting magazines and read lots of reviews by parents and get some ideas about which seats you think you'd like. There's a great carseat to car compatibility database at CarSeatData.Org

Before buying a seat, test it out! Stores like ToysRus will allow you to take a display model out to the parking lot and test fit it before you buy. Check with your local stores first .. some require a deposit or having an employee escort you .. and babysit you while you try it out. I spoke with a manager of our local ToysRus on the phone before I went in and explained the situation and they were so accommodating! I did have to leave my drivers licence before leaving the store with a cart full of seats to test out. An hour later I had a few scrapped up knuckes and a new seat picked out. The manager came out so see how I did and advised me to wait a week for their baby sale to start .. I've bought 3 seats from ToysRus .. isn't customer service an amazing thing! I wouldn't recommend doing this with your kids in tow and I would set aside a couple of hours to play around with seats. Trying different seats in different positions. Our ComfortSport wouldn't fit snugly in the center seat of my car but fit great in one of the outboard positions!

So you're in a parking lot with a crazy looking hunk of plastic with a cute cover and your backseat and your rear end sticking out for the world to see .. now what?

The Basics of Installation:

1. Get out the owners manuals for both your vehicle and seat, read throughly and have at the ready when you're installing.

2. If your vehicle was manufactured after 2002 it will have a LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system. Cars made before 2002 may also have this system but its required on cars made after 2002. LATCH is a system of anchoring points that are built into the frame of the car and is used instead of the vehicle's lap/shoulder belt. It should be noted that the LATCH system is easier for installation but know that the lap/shoulder belt can be used as safely. With our van we don't use the LATCH system because it's not as effective as using the seat belt but the LATCH in my husbands car is very effective. I would try the LATCH system first and if you don't have a "good install" try again with with the regular seatbelt.

3. For LATCH installation:

Locate the LATCH belt (looks like a skinny seatbelt with a hook on each end) on your seat with the help of the owner's manual .. make sure it's routed though the seat properly with no twisting, bunching, pulling or snagging.
Next, using your car's manual find the anchor points for the LATCH system (these are just flattened metal rings bolted to the frame of the car). There will be one for each side of the seat and one for the top tether (used for forwarding facing seats).
Position the car seat on the seat of the car! If installing a forward facing seat, attach the top tether strap from the car seat to the tether anchor of the car and tighten.
Next, attach the LATCH clips from the properly routed LATCH belt to the anchor points and tighten. When tightening straps you need to add weight to the bottom of the seat to simulate a child sitting in it .. I find it easiest to place my knee in the crease of the seat and place my weight down while pulling the straps tight. Car seat is now installed.
To check for a good install grasp the sides of the seat directly about where the LATCH belt comes out. Pull it out towards you and shake it from side to side. A well installed seat should slide more than an inch in any direction. If it moves around easily, check your install or try again using a different position in the car or with the lap/shoulder belt. On infant seats, also push down on the top of the seat .. if the bottom (where the car seat meets the back of the seat of the car) changes angles or rises up, the car seat is not safely installed.

4. For installation using the vehicle's seat belt:

First, remove LATCH system belt from the proper belt path. Only the belt that is being used to secure the car seat to the car should be in place.
Next, using your vehicle's manual for reference, place car seat in position.
If you are using a top tether, secure that first (see above) and tighten.
Grasp the car's seatbelt and guide it though the proper routing on the car seat. Refer to the owner's manual for the seat or use the same routing as with the LATCH belt. Make sure there are no twists, snags or pulling on the seatbelt. Secure the latch plate (the metal part at the end of the belt) in the buckle.
Now, while kneeling in the bottom of the seat, grab the lap portion of the seatbelt as it comes out of the buckle and pull it tight.
While still kneeling in the seat, pull out the slack on the shoulder portion on the opposite side of the carseat.
Finally, pull out all of the shoulder strap from the car. Make sure you hear a click and allow the belt to retract back into the car.
Check for fit by grasping the sides of the seat just above the belt path and pull the seat towards you and from side to side. If the seat moves more than an inch in any direction, or just doesn't feel secure ... try again! Try a different position in the car or a different car seat. Some seats just don't fit some cars!
If you're using a lap only belt, follow the same instructions as above. If you are having issues with the lap belt coming loose during use, try turning over the latch plate before buckling the seat belt. This should reset the locking mechanism in the belt.

One more note: Some cars make before 1996 do not have the retractor mechanism on their seatbelts. Refer to your owner's manual. If your seat does not have a retractor you'll need to use the locking clip included on your carseat. This piece of metal hardware is installed about half an inch above the buckle, between the buckle and the carseat and attaches the lap portion of the belt to the shoulder belt. Some cars with the locking seatbelts will still need to use a locking clip .. so if you have an older car and are having problems getting a "good install" try using the clip. Locking clips are worthless on lap only belts, however, and shouldn't be used. If a lap belt is coming loose during use, turn the latch plate over once before inserting in the buckle!

If you're a first timer or anytime you get a new seat or a new car .. I suggest seeking out a Child Passenger Safety Tech (CPST). These lovely folks will not only install your seat correctly for you but will teach you how to do it yourself. Many insurance companies, especially AAA, offer clinics. Also check out resources available through your hospitial, doctor's office, health department, fire station and state police post. Also check out SafeKids.Org, which a great organization dedicated to preventing accidental injury in children world wide. From their site on clinics in your area where CPSTs will inspect your seats and teach you the proper way to install them in your car and install your child in the seat. You can also search for CPSTs in your area and find one that will do the inspections on an appointment basis. We were fortunate that one of the nurses at our peditrican's office was a CPST and we could ask her to inspect our seats for us.

I can't say enough about these wonderful people and can not recommend them enough to others. They know the tricks of the trade in getting seats to fit perfectly in your car, like using a foam pool noodle to get the recline angle just right on a rear facing seat! If you can't get to one of these folks, check with the local fire and police stations, many communities have their firefighters and officers trained on how to install car seat properly. Have both your car's and car seat's owner manuels available when installing any seat .. there are differences between different models as to how and where to install .. for instance, not all center lap/shoulder belts can be used for carseats .. it depends on the car!

More on Car Seats ... Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:32:00 +0000

In this post, I'm refering solely to 5 point harnessed seats .. I don't think others like a 3 point harness, t-shield or tray shields are made anymore and if you own one of these check to see if it's expired before using it. Also .. I'm not an expert by any means .. just a mom that's gone though this whole self education process and hopes to share what I can. I'll include some links to the experts though ;)

A few basics for all seat-riders:

Car seats expire. Just like milk and yogurt. All seats are stamped with a date on the bottom that has the date of manufacture and the date it expires. Most seats have a life of 6 years .. check your seat to be sure. The reason for this is the plastic deteriorates over time and becomes less effective at preventing injury.
Use extreme caution when using a used seat! Things like collisions, dropping the seat on a hard surface, storing in a garage in extreme heat or cold can effect the stability of the plastic and render it unsafe. This damage is often undetectable to the eye. I would never buy or accept a used seat from anyone I didn't know or trust with my child's life. Period.
There must be at least 1 inch of hard plastic "shell" between the top of the child's head and the top of the seat. There are more specifics for different types of seats, boosters for instance, have a different set of guidelines .. but the one inch rule works well!
For Rear Facing kids, the shoulder straps of the harness must positioned at or below the shoulder of the child. Forward Facing riders need the harness to be positioned at or above the shoulder of the child.
Heavy coats and snowsuits should not be worn while buckled up! The bulkiness of the materials cause the harness to not be as tight as possible and in an impact the material will compress and the child could slip out of the harness. In the winter we wear a light fleece jacket or sweater and the kids have car blankets or use their heavy jacket as a blanket.
The chest clip, the little part that clips the shoulder straps of the harness together, should be even with the armpits of the child. Too high and it's way uncomfortable .. too low and the baby could slingshot out the top of the harness in an impact.
Only use the accessories that come with or are produced by the manufacturer for your car seat. Things like neck supports, toys and liners that aren't made for your seat aren't tested with your seat and can impact the overall safety performance. My general rule is not to add anything between the seatbelt and the harness .. except the kid!

SO.... How to you find the right seat for your family? The consensus in the car seat world is the best seat for you is the one that fits .. fits your child, fits your car and fits your budget! So let's start with those 3 ...

First, the best seat fits your child:

Newborns: Newborns can ride in a rear-facing infant seat (generally rated for use up to 20 or 22 lbs) or in a Convertible seat (rated rear-facing for children up to 30-35 lbs and then used forward facing to around 40 lbs.). While a convertible seat may sound ideal, not all models fit small babies well. Look for seats that have a nice range of adjustments for strap height and at least 2 positions for the crotch strap.

Babies: All babies MUST ride rear facing until the age of 1 and 20 lbs. It's preferable that babies ride rear facing as long as possible to protect the fragile neck and spine. Its been proven that riding foward facing, in a frontal collision the ligaments in baby's neck can streach up to 2 inches, however, the spinal cord can rupture with movement of more than a 1/4 of an inch! Around one year of age, the bones start to harden and are less likely to become injured. Our girls were rear facing until the point where we could no longer get them to sit down rear facing. They were both sitting cross-legged and were uncomfortable .. this was around 20 months for both girls. With Maddy she'd grown to need the top strap adjustment in her seat which was meant for only forward facing, so we made the change then. Most car seat experts recommend keeping kids rear facing as long as possible, within the range of the car seat itself, again most are rated to 30-35 lbs before needing to be turn forward. This doesn't always work for everyone .. I would love to still have 2 kids rear facing but it didn't happen for us.

Children over 1 and up to 40lbs: Again most experts agree that kids should stay rear facing as long as possible .. but it doesn't happen for all of us. I felt horrible turning my kids around before they turned 2 until they got into their seats without complaint and car rides had become a whine free time. That said .. options for toddlers include the convertible seat mentioned above, either rear or foward facing .. before turning the seat around haul out the owners manual and check out the directions for installing and using the seat facing forward. There are some slight differences. Another option for toddlers is the combination harness and booster. As a harnessed seat, this is much like the convertible seat .. near identical in fact, except that is this seat is only forward facing. Most seats are rated between 20 and 40 lbs for the harness .. after 40 lbs the harness is removed and the seat is used as a booster.

Children over 40 lbs: At this point kids have out grown most of the harnessed seats on the market (there are a few that have high weight limits) and are ready for a belt-positioning booster or BPB. These are basically a booster seat that helps position the child so a regular lap/shoulder seat belt fits them properly. Lap/shoulder seat belts that you and I use are designed to fit adults 5' to 6' .. most kids aren't that big! Most BPBs are rated for kids up to 100 lbs and will be the end of the car seat line for your child. There are models for younger children as small as 30lbs with back rests (called highback boosters) and look like a giant carseat without the harness. These are more of a routing device for the lap/shoulder seat belt. There are also the backless models for older kids and a combo of the two called a removable back booster. The biggest concern with the transition of children into a BPB, other than size of the child and fit, is making sure the child is mature enough to handle riding in a seat without a harness. They can not play or move the lap shoulder belt while buckled up so while some 3 year olds are big enough for a booster they may not be mature enough to handle it. Most kids will need some sort of a booster until the age of 10 or 12 depending on the size of the child and car in which they are riding. There's a nice simple 5 step test to see if your child is ready to ride without the booster. This test should be done every time the child is riding in a new car! According to these I probably would have need a booster all though high school!

If you can answer yes to ALL of these questions then your child is ready to be booster free!

The 5-Step Test.

1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

Part two to come!

Some helpful links:

SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A - Super reference site for all things related to car seats for kids of all ages. Great resource!
Car Seat Message Board at iVillage - Great message board filled with wonderfully helpful people that know what they're talking about and are willing to help. This board was great when I first started researching car seats.
National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration - Info on lots of government studies and good general guidelines for Child Passenger Safety
CarSeatData.Org - Another good general car seat info site. Great database for specific carseat and specific car compatibility.

Car Seat O Rama

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:10:00 +0000

We know that one of the least frugal things about having babies is the seemly incessant need for baby "stuff" .. The most important purchases you'll ever make for your babies and kids are their car seats. A seat is a vital piece of protection that can literally mean life or death in a collision.

After my last post, I thought I might expound a bit on our current car seats. We currently have all Graco seats. When we looked at new seats we tried out others (yes you can do that!) and didn't really find any that fit our cars or our kids. Graco is affordable (as car seats go), comfortable for the kids with nice features like cupholders and snack trays, and most importantly they are SAFE, with low numbers of recalls (at least from our experience) .. we had one recall with an infant seat and the issue was the base that stays in the car *might* not click into place, the seat was still usable without the base. For us this was a non issue since we are insane about making sure our seats are properly used everytime we put the kids in the car .. and I don't think we were even using the base at the time .. I think the seat was more secure without it in the car we had at the time. Graco did send out new bases however and we had them with in a week of confirming that we did have a recalled seat.

Here's a list of the seats we've used or are currently using .. the pictures aren't necessarly the seats we have since the patterns change frequently.

Graco SnugRide: This was the infant seat we used with both of our girls. A top rated seat that is easy to install and easy to use. It's rear-facing only and fits babies up to 20 lbs AND 1 year old. If your baby is over 20 lbs before 1 year, you need to jump up to a Convertible seat or use the Graco SafeSeat system (more to follow) .. all kids must stay rear facing until age 1, before that age babies lack the head and neck control to be facing forward. Prices start around $80

Graco ComfortSport: The ComfortSport is a convertible car seat that can be used (in the from birth to 40 lbs. It's convertible because you use it rear facing up to 30 lbs and then it can be used forward facing up to 40 lbs. I say in theory it can be used to 40 lbs because the shoulder strap placement is relatively low and my 35lb 4 year oldory) is too big for this seat. Currently our 2 year old, 27 lb, 30 in daughter is very comfortable in this seat. Both girls have used this one both rear facing and forward facing. More on rear vs. forward facing to come! Prices start around $80

Graco CarGo: A harnessed booster or convertible booster .. This is a great seat and is rather versatile. For kids over 1 and between 20 and 40 lbs it's a nice forward facing seat with the standard 5 pt. harness. Or for kids 30 to 100 lbs (!) it's a nice belt positioning booster. For the moment, our 4 year old 35 lb, 38 inch daughter is using this as a harnessed seat. However, she is just about too tall to be using it as such and will most likely use it as a booster or move in to her TurboBooster full time! This seat is only to be used forward facing and has a long life to it since it's rated up to 100lbs. Prices start around $80

Graco TurboBooster: A booster is a seat for older kids that in the past wouldn't have been in a seat at all. This seat positions a regular seatbelt so it properly fits a younger child, typically anyone under the age of 12 will need a booster (more to come). There are 2 types of the TurboBooster, a backless model for older kids and a model that has a back for younger kids .. the model with the back converts to a backless one. This is the model we're using with our 4 year old. This is a forward facing only seat for kids age 3 to 10 and 30 to 100 lbs. I wouldn't recommend a booster until they have outgrown a smaller seat though.

Graco also has a line called SafeSeats which makes it easier to determine what seat your child should be in. It's a nice Step One, Step Two, Step Three system that I wish would have been around 5 years ago! The biggest improvement I've seen from the little bit of research I've done on this system is that the infant seat is now rated for kids up to 30 lbs which means that parents can keep their babies rear facing longer and is especially nice for those bigger babies that are 20 before they're 6 months old! The seats are more expensive initally that the regular SnugRide infant seat but I think its worth it for the fact that this does keep babies rear facing longer and 30 lbs is BIG in our house .. my 2 1/2 year old would still be in this seat! The only drawback other than price is I can see parents trying to cart this seat around with a 30 lb baby in it and I imagine alot more backaches for mom and dad!

One more note about Graco seats .. you may notice the prices fluctuate from pattern to pattern with in the same model of seat. This has nothing to do with the safety of the seat .. it's simply a manner of padding and accessories. The "shell" or frame of the seats are all the same. The base model of the SnugRide is $80 but you can pay up to $150 for a Snugride with fancy accessories like a cover or extra padding. We simply bought the lower priced model for all the seats we've had and have had no problems at all with any of them.

I'm planning a more extensive post about the safety issues regarding car seats and some hints and tips about buying and using seats in a future post. Let me know if there's anything you'd like covered!

Car Set Switch-a-Roo

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:21:00 +0000

Saturday was the big test for our four year old Madelynn .. the first ride in her new Graco TurboBooster! We were heading out for the day and I didn't feel like messing with switching the 2 seats from my van to the car .. so we decided to try the TurboBooster I'd bought at Target last fall knowing it would be awhile before we'd be able to use it but the price was right .. $12.48, 75% off! Maddy was excited to use her new seat and after a short discussion about not playing with the seatbelt, how it was like the straps on her old seat that aren't to be touched, it's what keeps her safe in the car, like mommy and daddy's seat belts, ect .. she did great!! It still amazes me how well kids understand and listen if you take the time to explain the reasoning behind the direction.

My plan now is that come August and new baby arrives Maddy will move to the TurboBooster, Mallory will move to Maddy's old Ultra CarGo Harnessed booster and the new baby will be riding in the ComfortSport. However, there's more testing to be done before I can be certain that we won't need to buy an Infant seat .. I need to see how the ComfortSport will fit rear-facing in the van and how Mallory fits in the CarGo. And I need to see when the ComfortSport expires .. I think it should be late in 2010, we bought it in the winter of 2004 when Maddy was a tall, or long rather, 9 month old.

Not only is the idea of spending $80 on new Snugride less than appealing I can't imagine trying to haul it around with a 5 year old and a 3 year old. When Mallory was a baby, the Snugride we had then rarely left the car when we were doing errands, she usually rode in the sling and once she was bigger and too wiggly for the sling to feel safe for her it was the backpack carrier. With Madelynn, the Snugride went everywhere and I developed a mild case of carpel tunnel from lugging her around! Of course, if the seats don't fit correctly, I'd much rather spend the $80 and have a safe baby .. or maybe I'll just have to get a new van ;)

The pics are of the girls in the current car seat configuration .. they're are from my cameraphone so excuse the lack of quality! They're also from last summer and Maddy's grown a foot since then, so I assure you she is tall enough for her new seat!

The obligitory Nascar post ---

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:12:00 +0000

Nothing natural or frugal about it but Nascar is insanely popular as I'm sure everyone knows. I've never been a huge fan .. in fact the only thing I really enjoy about a Nascar race, other than the wreaks, is the nice nap it always provides .. In fact, we refer to the sport as NAPcar! The good news is that Dale Jr. is now the driver of the National Guard #88 car!! Dale Jr. has to be the biggest dreamboat in Nascar and the one most likely to grace the cover of TeenBeat and the one I'd like to hang out with the most! It's been a while since we've had a good driver to root for .. back in the day when Mr. M was the Pepsi guy we half-heartedly cheered Jeff Gordon on, but the times have changed! The sisters-in-law are huge Nascar fans and one is a Jimmy Johnson fan whist the other is a long time Dale Jr. fan .. should make for some interesting family dinners!

So .. there it is, most likely, the only post I'll ever write about Nascar .. unless Mr. M wins some pit passes or something .. damn war and poor defense budgets, recruiters' incentive packs have really dropped off ;)

Cars, Citizen Soldiers, Kids and Babies .. oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:26:00 +0000

Boy, it's been a while (again) .. since I've sat to "blog" and a lot has been going on! The van is fixed for now and hopefully until next spring, Mr. M is happily rid of the Escort and driving a new to us Mercury Sable, which is so wonderfully luxurious in comparison. It was bitter sweet to see the Escort go since it was the first car I bought and paid for myself and then drove it until it was on the brink of falling apart .. literally .. we were worried about it not making it to the dealership in our old town 60 miles away! I know some would call us crazy for buying used cars from a dealership but we've had great experiences and have built up a relationship with our favorite dealer and will continue to buy there in the future. Perhaps a post for another time.

Mr. M is loving the job and is really succeeding beyond what was expected of him. We were nervous moving here because the results from this area have been so dismal and the last few recruiters didn't last very long. Thankfully, things are working out rather well and we're all very proud of what he's been able to provide not just to our family but to kids that really don't have a lot of options available to them here. Community support in this area is phenomenal as well .. instead of sneers when Mr. M is around town in uniform, older women are hugging him and thanking him and people are anonymously paying for lunches .. In our old town, you could feel the disdain others had for the military, and there would be comments about how horrible it was that Mr. M had to "con these poor kids into being sent to war". I don't know if it's because this is a smaller community or the fact that there is a National Guard unit here or its just a less "left-leaning" community, but this area is far more supportive of it's men and women in uniform!

As for the kiddos .. M1 just celebrated her 4th birthday with a record 3 parties (all small!) and enjoyed Barbie Mariposa as her favorite gift .. as a note I have to give credit to my grandparents who called to ask what she'd like, normally not newsworthy, however, it's taken them almost 28 years, 13 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren to CALL AND ASK WHAT THE KID LIKES .. rather than getting an insanely expensive gift not at all fitting a child .. case in point the table set of Royal Daulton BunnyKins that M2 received for her 2nd birthday last fall! It was a great gift for me since I receive a set around the same age and still have it .. wrapped carefully and stored away somewhere for some unknown purpose ..

And the biggest surprise of all .. we found out we'll be adding M3 to the mix in late August! Not a huge shocker but still a surprise after all the baby/little kids stuff went to Children's Orchard last winter ... lets say we're not totally prepared (at least stuff wise) for a new bundle of joy! It's been fun though finding things at resale shops and the girls like to look at baby clothes and toys and the like. At 19 weeks we're debating on if we want to find out the sex of the baby or be surprised. With the first 2 we (meaning me!) didn't know until the delivery room .. I love the idea of not knowing but planning and getting stuff would be so much easier if we knew. With the girls, it didn't really matter one way or the other .. but I can't imagine being able to hit up the resale stores with a 4 year old, a 2 year old and an infant! Plus there's only one good resale store in town, Goodwill, who seems to be a bit overpriced since they've all but cornered the market in the area! Maybe if we end up staying in the area I'll open my own Children's Orchard!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:54:00 +0000

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I've sat down to "blog". Its been a super busy time (as it is for most of us I'm sure)! The girls are loving all the early winter snow and I lucked out at a thrift store and found M2 a new to us LL Bean jacket and snowpants for $4 (the best thing about little kid sizes is that they're hardly used at all)! I really like that we all have at least 2 full sets (jacket, pants, boots) of snow gear .. We're outside pretty much every day (the windy days I can't handle!) and the dryer would have been sure to get a workout .. with more than one set everything is sure to dry out before the next outing!

We also had to get the van into the shop to get the brakes done and a general "checkup" since we hit 150,000. Being in a new area where we didn't know of any reliable mechanics, we were relieved when it was discovered that the father of one of the young men Mr. M works with own a very nice looking repair shop that always busy (my thinking being he must be good to be so busy!) we'd driven by numerous times and we dropped off the van. It turns out that there's a grocery list of issues that need to be addresses .. some minor that we knew about like the front passenger window motor was bad and some major like the lower intake manifold gasket is leaking and need to be fixed before coolant leaks into the engine! I read through the estimate to figure out what we can afford to do next (other than the engine destroying gasket being replaced) and I'm thinking that all of these prices seem insanely high .. not that I'm a mechanic of course but I can change my own oil and spent lots of time in shops helping my dad repair his "classic" cars and I know it shouldn't cost $175 to replace a fuel filter .. Mr. M and I did one last summer on the Escort and the filter was about $10 and took less than an hour .. so $175? I don't think so! And don't get me started on the tires! $400 to install 4 basic all season tires that are less than $50 per tire retail? You can take tires to Walmart and have them mounted and balanced for $7.50 a tire!

Anyway! I started calling around to local mechanics and happened to talk to the service manager at our local Chevy Dealer and was surprised to find that the estimate we have is ridiculously marked up over the price that the dealership is charging! Over 150% on some items and on the "big, must do now or your engine will blow up" we're talking $200 more than the dealership! Amazing what an hour on the internet looking prices of parts and tires and calling a few "second opinions" can save you! So Mr. M is dropping off the van at the dealership on Monday, picking up the courtesy car and a GM certified mechanic is going to keep our grocery getter/kid hauler in fine running condition! I certainly never would have thought that the dealership would be the least expensive for repairs!

Moral of the story? Just like life you can't take anything at face value and must trust your instincts .. if something seems fishy, or over priced, it just might be!

FIRST SNOW!!!! (kinda mixed with rain, but still...)

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:46:00 +0000

Whew .. don't you like it when the bills are LESS than you thought!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:18:00 +0000

Whew .. just got our electric bill for October and it was less than I'd expected! I was concerned having electric heat that our bill would be huge but it was actually about the same as we'd been paying this summer before we moved!

I was also concerned since when we set up the service I looked in to the Budget Plan, where you pay the same amount each month, and since the amount you pay is an average of the usage from the year before and our payment would have been around $200!!! So our bill is $70 and of course we won't be signing up for the budget plan this year!

The interesting thing is when I log on to my account online it tells me the kilowatts we used compared to the usage from the same month last year and we used 51 fewer than the previous owners .. how can that be? What did these people do all day sit in an 85 degree house with every light plugged in?? Perhaps it was colder last October or maybe it's just that we're out of the house more than I realize .. oh well .. now to bring it up to Mr. M and try to explain that just because we can doesn't mean we should set the heat to 75 degrees in every room!

Inexpensive Organics

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:12:00 +0000

I've just discovered Now Foods line of organics .. and I'm not sure why I hadn't seen them before but while at my local organic market I bought a bag of Quinoa, which we like way better than brown rice, and golden flax seed meal which we add to just about everything to get an extra boost of omega 3, protein and fiber .. plus you can sub for oils or eggs in baked goods (with a little extra water) .. Both the quinoa and flax were about $3 for one pound package which in this area where these items are usually available at the supermarkets is a good price! I don't know what the difference is between the Now brand and others but I'd bet its like the store brand at the supermarket .. no advertising or fancy packaging costs to get added into the retail price!

Plus the owner of the market is on a mission to find organic dried whole milk for me .. which I don't even know if it exists, we've been giving the kids NIDO powdered milk mixed with warm water at bedtime (M1 calls it "cozy milk") but I'd like to find an organic powder that doesn't require me to buy 10 lbs of it at a time! I've found some on Amazon but I'd rather buy it at a local shop even if its something that comes on a truck since most likely it would be coming with other items rather than just itself if I were to order it .. save a bit of trucking that way!

I'd like to make this a series .. posting info about different organics that we use on a regular basis .. I know when we started to make the shift to organics and natural foods it was really confusing to find "cheap" organics. I'm hopeful, however, that since people are becoming educated about the benefits of natural foods, the supplies for inexpensive products will become available!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:00:00 +0000

Chef's Catalog has some great deals on kitcheny stuff .. and free shipping on any order through Nov. 5 ..

Christmas Cookie Cutters $1.99

Good for kids sandwiches .. the girls love the Lunchables but I don't like the processed food in them so we make our own .. I think it would be fun to have star shaped cheese and turkey!
They're plastic so it would be safe for them to use when we make cookies too!

Twist and Chop Onion Chopper $2.99

The big bag of organic onions I got from one of the local farms here is full of onions that like to make me cry :( .. I love onions so this might just be worth the $3

Ice Cream Sandwich Maker $2.99

Includes recipes to make heart shaped Ice Cream Sandwiches! .. or frozen yogurt when we make that with our new yogurt maker as soon as it arrives .. we ordered one from amazon
last Friday when it was marked to $10 and I can't wait to try it out!

Here's my order .. with the sale price and the regular price!

Christmas Cookie Cutter - Star $1.99 $10
Christmas Cookie Cutter - Round $1.99 $10
Twist and Chop $2.99 $20
Ice Cream Sandwich Maker $2.99 $20

TOTAL: $9.96 $60

So I saved around $50! .. Not that I would have bought this stuff at regular price but it's stuff that will be used .. the cookie cutters on an almost daily basis for sandwiches and pancakes and the like, the twist and chop just as much if not more, and for $3 the sandwich maker will be fun for special treats!

Discounted Lands End Merchandise

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:34:00 +0000

Just wanted to pass along a link to the "Overstocks" section of the Lands End website. For anyone that isn't familiar with Lands End its an outdoor clothing catalog company similar to LL Bean
(which is another favorite of mine!) Usually there stuff is pretty pricey, alright it's downright expensive compared to finding it in a thrift store or consignment shop! But like so many other things you get what you pay for .. the quality is fantastic and I like the simple timeless designs, especially for the kids clothes!

My two favorite parts of the Overstocks section are "On the Counter" where they list clearance items on Saturday and discount them through the week and "Not Quite Perfect"which would normally turn me off but they tell you exactly why it's not perfect! Like on this toddler dress it tells you in the description that it's off color, no big deal, especially since we have 2 of these dresses and they are fantastic but getting too small for M1, thankfully M2 is starting to want to wear dresses all the time! And while $9 is more than I usually would spend on a dress for the kids (or me!) I know that it'll be worn quite a bit and by both girls, so I think it's worth it!

There's some good discounts on LL Bean's site too, but that'll be a post for another time!

Homeschool???

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:29:00 +0000

So, the few weeks or really the last few months I've been debating on what do with M1 (our oldest she's 3 1/2) in regards to school. Before we moved it was pretty much decided that we'd be sending her to a Montessori charter school in the local public school district. However, since we've moved the ONLY school option is the local public K-12 school. This is the type of school I went to and graduated from and while the class sizes are small and there's a lovely atmosphere to these small schools I remember being horribly bored and not really liking school at all. I really don't want to pass this on to my kids. My ultimate goal is for them to be "lifelong learners" and enjoy discovering new things through their lives. I feel that the public schools in general and although the school district here is small I don't think it would be a good fit for our family. It's literally the only choice though, there are no private schools, no charter schools .. it's either public school or catholic school. We're not catholic or religious at all, so what then, home school? It seems that's the natural choice and I think there has to be some reason I'm so resistant to sending my girls to public school. So, I start to research homeschooling and what's the deal with that (my Seinfeld impression for the day, BTW are the Bee Movie promos driving anyone else crazy?) and it's insane the options that are available out there .. everything to literally have school at home with whole grades of texts and workbooks and teacher's editions to this whole "un-school" school of thought, which while has some good fundamentals it's a little to out there for us! I instantly loved the ideas of montessori when I first learned of the method and in the process of learning more about montessori at home ..

So I'll keep updating on where we're at with this whole home school thing! Half the time I think I'm insane for thinking that I can handle something like this, especially when most parents I talk to here can't wait until their kids are old enough for school .. but I realized just now writing this that it's not so much about the structure and organization and the extra work as its about teaching my kids about the world around us and how to interact with it .. its about snuggling and reading together and learning to read .. and how natural is that?!?

I realize that we're about 2 years away from having to legally have any of this decided, which is probally why Mr. M looks at me like I'm crazy for even thinking of this now .. even though he's the only that's always amazed at what M1's able to do! Any comments or advice from those in the know would be wonderful .. I feel so overwhelmed at the moment!

Homemade, All Natural Laundry Soap

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:16:00 +0000

For about 2 years now I've been making laundry soap. It's cheaper, doesn't irritate our skin, leaves our clothes much fresher longer and doesn't build up inside the washer. This recipe makes a nice powder that dissolves easily and smells nice! It's made with all natural ingredients but I would recommend mixing it in a well ventilated area away from the kids!

1 bar Fels Naptha Soap ($1.25)
1/2 76 oz. box Borax ($1.75)
1 box Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda ($2.25)

Grate the soap using cheese grater .. I have one I picked up a thrift store that's only used for soap! Mix all ingredients in a large container, I got a plastic cookie jar with a screw on top from a dollar store that works well .. I dump everything in and shake .. then wait a bit to let the dust settle.

To use in washer: Add 1/8 cup to washer as it's filling, swish a bit to dissolve, and add laundry. This batch usually lasts us 2-3 months, even with a 3 1/2 year old that loves to play dress up 3-4 times a day!

It works for me!

Cost breakdown for Venison

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:44:00 +0000

Here's a cost breakdown for the deer that my husband "bagged" this weekend:

$15 -- License (he bought a "combo" license for $30 which allows him to get 2 deer, he'll get another so I figure $15)
$3 or so -- The arrow and broadhead used to kill the deer .. both were bought after deer season last year on clearance, he did have the arrow "refletched" at a sportsman shop for $2 .. it was a clean kill so both can be used again
$2 -- Supplies to package the meat for the freezer, bought on sale and with coupons of course!

So figure around $20 .. we, with help from his parents, (you really need help!) processed 15 lbs of ground meat, 7 packs of tenderloin steaks (1 meals worth per pack about a pound) and 13 packs (again 1 use per pack) of steaks, plus the true tenderloins and back strap we had for dinner on Saturday and the pound that was made into jerky. So about 35 lbs of lean, all natural meat for $20 or less than $.60 per pound! The cheapest that Ground Sirloin ever is in our area is $3/pound, natural beef is about $1 more .. so just the savings on the ground meat is over $36 .. and even that comparison isn't entirely fair since ground venison is much leaner than even ground sirloin .. in fact most directions for processing ground venison has you add some sort of fat, usually suet .. we don't however since we don't tend to actually make burgers out of the meat we don't find it necessary.

Whew .. what a busy summer!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:02:00 +0000

After a crazy few months that involved moving, not once but twice (that's the military for you!) we're finally getting settled down and into a normal life instead of one of transition. Our new home is wonderful, set in nature where we don't have to worry about traffic going past our house (3 cars in one day is the record so far!)

One of the main reasons for choosing the home we did is the abundance of nature around us, I like my kids being able to explore different habitats .. a big plus for my husband is the 10 acres that surround us and the fact there are numerous deer that like to drink from our pond every night. Hunting can be a touchy subject for some environmentally respectful people who think its wrong to kill animals for human gain or for sport. Of course there are negatives to hunting, after all another living being is losing a life .. but the benefits are far greater in my opinion. The deer population is closely monitored each year by the Department of Natural Resources and there are only so many licenses that are issued. This protects the deer population from becoming too thin, or more importantly too populous so they starve over the winter or venture more into the "human world" and are killed by cars. It's also a protection for the hunters and their families that consume the animals .. The animals are tested for diseases such as TB and those areas where TB is found in the deer are part of the annual hunt.

We strongly believe that it is wrong to hunt purely for sport .. My husband gets a "combo" license that allows him to take 2 deer each year. He's already shot a small buck with a bow & arrow and we've spent the weekend processing the meat into our freezer (I'll break down the pricing in a bit as this is truly frugal) .. this animal has given it's life to feed our family for the next year, this is something we respect and honor. The next deer he shoots will be processed for his sisters or his parents to give their church's food bank. You can also donate meat through the Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger. You just drop off your deer at a participating processor and it's processed and donated to food banks in Michigan. He gets to hunt (a very primal instinct), get a bit of exercise (tracking and dragging the animal), provide meat for his family and others and help keep the deer population under control (to prevent starvation, ect) .. I know not everyone agrees that hunting is a positive activity but I would rather see an animal lose it's life in a quick manner that provides food for humans than to see it starve or hit by a car .. just my 2 cents!

Update on DNA altering sodas ..

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:01:00 +0000

Dr. Leonid Gavrilov over at Longevity Science has an interesting post debunking the story floating around about sodium benzoate and the links to aging. Apparently, the research quoted in the story is over 8 years old and is somewhat misquoted in the news reports .. surprise, surprise huh!?! My thought is soda is still not a good, beneficial substance to be ingesting but sodium benzoate isn't as harmful as some would like you to believe!

Another reason to pass on the Sodas

noreply@blogger.com (Rebekah) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 19:32:00 +0000

Over at Parent Dish is an interesting post regarding the use of the preservative Sodium Benzoate found in many soft drinks. Apparently it can alter DNA structure and has been linked to degenerate DNA diseases like Parkinson's. Yikes! When combined with the high fructose corn syrup and acids that rot away tooth enamel .. not to mention the complete lack of anything nutritionally sound .. makes you want to spit out every sip ever taken!