Binkytowne

My Big A-- Bag

Meet my Big Ass...... Bag.

Parent Bloggers Network is working with Ore-Ida to get the word out about their new Steam n’ Mash potatoes.  They are asking for shortcuts that take you where you want to be.

This bag takes all my crap where it needs to be and in the process makes me very happy.

Every day I think life with kids is an endless merry go round of stuff. Stuff coming in, stuff going out. As I tell my three year old almost every day there is only one of me and there are two of you. Yes, of course, there is two times the love but with the addition of an infant my stuff-quota seems to have exploded. Not to mention the groceries, diapers, library books, hats and sunglasses. 

My garage is not attached to my house. Mama doesn't enjoy making multiple trips to and fro- this is where my bag comes in. This baby goes with me everywhere I go. I load it up when I leave the house in the morning with lunchboxes, clothes, bottles, water and all the rest. I use it the same way in reverse. Instead of carrying an infant car seat and six plastic bags trying not to curse in front of the newborn with his delicate ears, I pile everything into my big ass bag.  It's like a wagon - with arm straps.

I'm saving time, energy and countless plastic bags. It's my super shortcut.

What's yours? Write a post on your blog telling us about your shortcuts. Post anytime this weekend - Friday, October 10 to Sunday, October 12 and visit the Parent Bloggers Network for more information. 

My Big A-- Bag

Meet my Big Ass...... Bag.

Parent Bloggers Network is working with Ore-Ida to get the word out about their new Steam n’ Mash potatoes.  They are asking for shortcuts that take you where you want to be.

This bag takes all my crap where it needs to be and in the process makes me very happy.

Every day I think life with kids is an endless merry go round of stuff. Stuff coming in, stuff going out. As I tell my three year old almost every day there is only one of me and there are two of you. Yes, of course, there is two times the love but with the addition of an infant my stuff-quota seems to have exploded. Not to mention the groceries, diapers, library books, hats and sunglasses. 

My garage is not attached to my house. Mama doesn't enjoy making multiple trips to and fro- this is where my bag comes in. This baby goes with me everywhere I go. I load it up when I leave the house in the morning with lunchboxes, clothes, bottles, water and all the rest. I use it the same way in reverse. Instead of carrying an infant car seat and six plastic bags trying not to curse in front of the newborn with his delicate ears, I pile everything into my big ass bag.  It's like a wagon - with arm straps.

I'm saving time, energy and countless plastic bags. It's my super shortcut.

What's yours? Write a post on your blog telling us about your shortcuts. Post anytime this weekend - Friday, October 10 to Sunday, October 12 and visit the Parent Bloggers Network for more information. 

Boy, was I wrong

I thought dressing boys would be easy. What could be difficult about dressing a little boy? Boys shoes are cool, throw on some painter jeans and a hip rock n roll graphic tee and you are set. Easy cheesy- right? Sure, if you have an easy going, "whatever" kind of child, but I most certainly don't.

The hat and sunglasses. We can never leave the house without the hat and the sunglasses. Therefore I have two Milwaukee Brewer baseball caps in my radar at all times so if one gets left at school or in his dad's car we can still function. Same goes with the sunglasses. In the photo above, little man is modeling the oh-so-last-years Thomas the Train model. We have since moved on to hot wheels sunglasses; we have at least six pair.

Then there are the shirts: Only shirts with cars, trucks or select sporting activities are approved and for some reason, the one's he really loves the best are the hand me downs from older cousins which are usually over-worn and don't fit. For the entire duration of my hospital stay this summer he wore this shirt: It was two sizes too big, hung down to almost his knees and was covered with Nascars AND Disney characters. Good God. (You don't see sunglasses in this photo but trust me, they were there).

Forget picture day, special occasions or holidays. I'm entirely at the mercy of this child's whims. I know what you must be thinking, I could surely demand that he wear the adorable Old Navy tees I lovingly chose for him with his super excellent Umi kicks, but I gave up on that a long time ago. We have much bigger battles to fight. Clothing has been officially removed from the negotiating table. If he wants to wear an ill-fitting dingy tee shirt with a monster truck on it, so be it.

When I do see cute little boys dressed all in Gap Kids finest I feel a little envy, but then I remind myself that all that? It's really for the parents. A three year old doesn't know that those brown socks don't match the blue Nascar shirt, but they do know when they feel some sense of pride in choosing what to wear and putting it on all by themselves.

This post is part of the special week-long Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast with Polly Pocket Pop ‘N Swap to encourage girls to express themselves in how they dress and how they play. Even if your little fashionista still insists on some outrageous choices, you can cash in on her creativity at MomLogic. Upload a photo of her wackiest outfit, and you’ll get a Pop ‘n Swap sample just for entering!

For more details about how to participate visit The Parent Bloggers Network here.

The boys and my girls

Lets see, there's the diaper bag, diapers, wipes, butt cream, binkies, infant Tylenol, hand sanitizer, burp clothes, nipple shields, bottles, teats, breast pads, labels, onsies, jammies, the car seats, the baby bjorn, the stroller (and the double stroller) the hat, the socks, pants and shirts, the booger sucker outer thing, blankets, the boppy, the pump, the freezer bags, the crib, the pack n play, the mobile, the sheets, the changing pads, the speed read thermometer, the babysitters, the baby soap and those teeny little nail clippers.

Phew. I need all those things.

But what could I really not live without? My sports bras. Oh yeah.

They breathe, they give me support when no else has bothered, they don't immediately scream I'M LEAKING while I'm paying for my Yoplait in the check out isle, they are flexible and can be easily maneuvered to feed. They are comfortable and doubled as a tank top on really hot days. They completely rock.

I have to go back to work this week and the thought of stuffing these D cup wonders into a bra and wearing it ALL DAY is about to make me keel over. I'll do it, but there is no mistaking how much easier they have made my life with baby number two. I've worn one (sometimes two!) every day and I don't know what I would have done without them. 

Write a post about what you absolutely can't do without for this weekend’s PBN Blog Blast, sponsored by Yoplait Kids.  You could win a $200 VISA gift card!

That's a lot of spandex baby.

The boys and my girls

Lets see, there's the diaper bag, diapers, wipes, butt cream, binkies, infant Tylenol, hand sanitizer, burp clothes, nipple shields, bottles, teats, breast pads, labels, onsies, jammies, the car seats, the baby bjorn, the stroller (and the double stroller) the hat, the socks, pants and shirts, the booger sucker outer thing, blankets, the boppy, the pump, the freezer bags, the crib, the pack n play, the mobile, the sheets, the changing pads, the speed read thermometer, the babysitters, the baby soap and those teeny little nail clippers.

Phew. I need all those things.

But what could I really not live without? My sports bras. Oh yeah.

They breathe, they give me support when no else has bothered, they don't immediately scream I'M LEAKING while I'm paying for my Yoplait in the check out isle, they are flexible and can be easily maneuvered to feed. They are comfortable and doubled as a tank top on really hot days. They completely rock.

I have to go back to work this week and the thought of stuffing these D cup wonders into a bra and wearing it ALL DAY is about to make me keel over. I'll do it, but there is no mistaking how much easier they have made my life with baby number two. I've worn one (sometimes two!) every day and I don't know what I would have done without them. 

Write a post about what you absolutely can't do without for this weekend’s PBN Blog Blast, sponsored by Yoplait Kids.  You could win a $200 VISA gift card!

That's a lot of spandex baby.

Boy, was I wrong

I thought dressing boys would be easy. What could be difficult about dressing a little boy? Boys shoes are cool, throw on some painter jeans and a hip rock n roll graphic tee and you are set. Easy cheesy- right? Sure, if you have an easy going, "whatever" kind of child, but I most certainly don't.

The hat and sunglasses. We can never leave the house without the hat and the sunglasses. Therefore I have two Milwaukee Brewer baseball caps in my radar at all times so if one gets left at school or in his dad's car we can still function. Same goes with the sunglasses. In the photo above, little man is modeling the oh-so-last-years Thomas the Train model. We have since moved on to hot wheels sunglasses; we have at least six pair.

Then there are the shirts: Only shirts with cars, trucks or select sporting activities are approved and for some reason, the one's he really loves the best are the hand me downs from older cousins which are usually over-worn and don't fit. For the entire duration of my hospital stay this summer he wore this shirt: It was two sizes too big, hung down to almost his knees and was covered with Nascars AND Disney characters. Good God. (You don't see sunglasses in this photo but trust me, they were there).

Forget picture day, special occasions or holidays. I'm entirely at the mercy of this child's whims. I know what you must be thinking, I could surely demand that he wear the adorable Old Navy tees I lovingly chose for him with his super excellent Umi kicks, but I gave up on that a long time ago. We have much bigger battles to fight. Clothing has been officially removed from the negotiating table. If he wants to wear an ill-fitting dingy tee shirt with a monster truck on it, so be it.

When I do see cute little boys dressed all in Gap Kids finest I feel a little envy, but then I remind myself that all that? It's really for the parents. A three year old doesn't know that those brown socks don't match the blue Nascar shirt, but they do know when they feel some sense of pride in choosing what to wear and putting it on all by themselves.

This post is part of the special week-long Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast with Polly Pocket Pop ‘N Swap to encourage girls to express themselves in how they dress and how they play. Even if your little fashionista still insists on some outrageous choices, you can cash in on her creativity at MomLogic. Upload a photo of her wackiest outfit, and you’ll get a Pop ‘n Swap sample just for entering!

For more details about how to participate visit The Parent Bloggers Network here.

If I had a dime for everytime....

Can I buy that?

My son asks this question at least ten times a day.

Sometimes it's as simple as a bag of candy that he's asking for, other times it's a NASCAR race car that he wants. When we see that flashy auto fly by on the television I remind him for the 500th time that sure he can buy it, but he will have to save A LOT of money first.

But if it's a Matchbox car that he wants from Target I've usually complied and tossed it in the cart, thinking I'm teaching a lesson on restraint by allowing him to get one instead of five. I'm slowly learning that in fact I'm not going far enough to explain the concept because he thinks if I can buy him a Matchbox car for ninety-nine cents than why can't he have that shiny red car on television?

He's only four, but at the same time I'm realizing that I'm missing an important opportunity to teach him about the value of money. He understands that you need money to buy things but doesn't know what those quarters he tosses carelessly into his bank are worth.

My husband and I do things a little differently and we have separate money. We both work so we keep our own bank accounts. We don't have joint checking, he pays the mortgage and I pay the day care- I pay the electric and he pays the cable. It all works out. All the more reason I want our kids to grow up knowing how to manage their own money. I don't think it's practical or safe to rely on someone else to do it for you.

Only I don't know how to do that. No one ever taught me how to do it and it wasn't easy to figure it out.

This week The Parent Bloggers Networkis working with Capital One to get the word out about managing family finances.  Along with national consumer advocacy group Consumer Action, they've launched a new online interactive Moneywi$e eLearning toolto help families learn about money management skills.

The ELearning tool even includes how-to's for talking to kids about money, which I definately need. If I had a dime for everytime my son asks me if he can buy something I wouldn't need this service, but I do.

This is post is part of the PBN Blog Blast - Friday, September 12 Money Doesn't Grow on Trees. For the details or to play along, go to The Parent Bloggers Network here.

If I had a dime for everytime....

Can I buy that?

My son asks this question at least ten times a day.

Sometimes it's as simple as a bag of candy that he's asking for, other times it's a NASCAR race car that he wants. When we see that flashy auto fly by on the television I remind him for the 500th time that sure he can buy it, but he will have to save A LOT of money first.

But if it's a Matchbox car that he wants from Target I've usually complied and tossed it in the cart, thinking I'm teaching a lesson on restraint by allowing him to get one instead of five. I'm slowly learning that in fact I'm not going far enough to explain the concept because he thinks if I can buy him a Matchbox car for ninety-nine cents than why can't he have that shiny red car on television?

He's only four, but at the same time I'm realizing that I'm missing an important opportunity to teach him about the value of money. He understands that you need money to buy things but doesn't know what those quarters he tosses carelessly into his bank are worth.

My husband and I do things a little differently and we have separate money. We both work so we keep our own bank accounts. We don't have joint checking, he pays the mortgage and I pay the day care- I pay the electric and he pays the cable. It all works out. All the more reason I want our kids to grow up knowing how to manage their own money. I don't think it's practical or safe to rely on someone else to do it for you.

Only I don't know how to do that. No one ever taught me how to do it and it wasn't easy to figure it out.

This week The Parent Bloggers Networkis working with Capital One to get the word out about managing family finances.  Along with national consumer advocacy group Consumer Action, they've launched a new online interactive Moneywi$e eLearning toolto help families learn about money management skills.

The ELearning tool even includes how-to's for talking to kids about money, which I definately need. If I had a dime for everytime my son asks me if he can buy something I wouldn't need this service, but I do.

This is post is part of the PBN Blog Blast - Friday, September 12 Money Doesn't Grow on Trees. For the details or to play along, go to The Parent Bloggers Network here.

For the picture challenged

If you are like me, you probably have more pictures of your kids (at least the first one) than you know what to do with. If you are also like me, you may possibly have 100 photos on your digital camera that you should download-somewhere-but you haven't-and it's not looking like it's going to happen anytime soon.

What you might need is Kinzin, a totally private photo and information sharing website that helps families connect, currently featured by The Parent Bloggers Network. You can privately share photos and updates about the kids with your family, whether they are online or not. For free. Come to The Full Mommy to read more...

For the picture challenged

If you are like me, you probably have more pictures of your kids (at least the first one) than you know what to do with. If you are also like me, you may possibly have 100 photos on your digital camera that you should download-somewhere-but you haven't-and it's not looking like it's going to happen anytime soon.

What you might need is Kinzin, a totally private photo and information sharing website that helps families connect, currently featured by The Parent Bloggers Network. You can privately share photos and updates about the kids with your family, whether they are online or not. For free. Come to The Full Mommy to read more...