Household items I would rather sell my children for than live without (not really, but maybe somedays)

Since I have been in "list mode" lately, I decided to add just one more (for today...shut it, I like lists).

Here is a list of my favorite gadgets that are not games/phones/etc, or battery operated and no this isn't a post about B.O.B.s!...let's step UP to the gutter folks!

1.  Rice Cooker.  We LOVE rice.  Brown Rice, Basmati Rice, Jasmine Rice, Spanish Rice...they all are in regular rotation in our menus.  In the past, I found making rice on the stove top to be hit or miss.  Sometimes the rice would come out okay, but most of the time it was either too mushy or too dry.  I purchased a Rice Cooker a few years back and now we have PERFECT rice every single time.  You can do other things with the rice cooker, like steam veggies and the like, but I use mine for cooking rice...duh. 

2.  Pressure Cooker.  I grew up with the sound of the pressure cooker hissing in my mom and mamaw's kitchens.  Older versions have this counter-weight you put on the pressure valve, and when the pot reaches pressure the valve swings back and forth making a sound similar to the sound of cicadas in the Summer...anyway, I have a newer version and it saves so much time cooking.  You can cook a pot of green beans in literally 5 minutes!  You can make a whole pot roast in less than 30!  It is a working and/or just busy parent's savior.  One of the added benefits of the pressure cooker is you use very little water when cooking veggies/meats so that means many of the good flavors and vitamins are locked in via the steam pressure.  Roasts come out fork tender...I kid you not!  It does take some getting used to, because I am a pot-peeker.  I like to open the lid, sample, and peek at what is cooking.  You have to learn to TRUST the pressure cooker, there is no peeking or opening the lid to check it out. 

3.  Trampoline.  YES I know how unsafe they are...yadda, yadda, yadda.  I also know that my kids saved up their money for a whole YEAR and paid for 75% of the trampoline.  It is used within sight of an adult and with rules.  We also researched (you are shocked I know) and found the "safest" one we could buy.  It is not the $150 special, trust me.  Anyway, my kids LOVE the trampoline.  They have had it for about a year now and have spent countless HOURS jumping away.  They get lots of good cardio, and mommy gets to drink her wine and watch them...just kidding...sometimes I don't watch them. 

4. DVR.  I adore my DVR.  There are some shows (Have you checked out Duck Dynasty or An Idiot Abroad?...hilarious), that I really enjoy watching.  I am also very busy running mom's taxi service, so I don't really have a lot of time to watch said TV.  So, I rely on my DVR.  It is also awesome for recording kid appropriate shows, although mine is usually so full of episodes of Game of Thrones, True Blood and other things there isn't room for kid shows.  Hottie Husband and I will usually pick a Sunday every few weeks and call Pajama Day.  We all keep our jammies on all day, eat breakfast food and get caught up on our shows.  I call Pajama Day a day in HEAVEN! The bestest feature of all on the DVR is you can fast forward through commercials, so you can watch an hour show in about 42 minutes!

5.  Whirly Pop.   This is a stove top popcorn popper with a paddle in it that you spin to keep the popcorn from burning.  I can't stand microwave popcorn, and this makes the most awesomist popcorn.  This thing should be plated in gold and given an award.  I kid you not!  I got mine from an Amish store many years ago, but I now see they are readily available from Amazon.com and other places.  We have a local popcorn distributor and if we are feeling really gourmet, we will go there and buy different types of popcorn (did you know they have BLUE popcorn, and popcorn with no hulls?). 

6. Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer.  I cook a lot.  I looked through the calendar and in the last 60 days we have gone out or had take out only 3 times.  Cooking is almost like therapy for me.  Unfortunately, with working full time and running Mom's Taxi Service as a second job, I do not have as much time in the kitchen as I'd like.  So, I love my stand mixer because it does a lot of the work for me.  I have the meat grinding, pasta making, and slicing attachments.  I can get an indentured servant (kid) to do the grinding/slicing/kneading while I am doing something else towards the meal preparation.  When we remodeled our Kitchen (see remodel from Hell parts 1, 2, 3), I took the measurements of my mixer with me when working with the designer.  I had to be SURE that my mixer would fit exactly where I wanted it on my counter top.

7.  Keurig.  OMG, the only thing that keeps me going is coffee.  The Keurig makes the BEST coffee I have ever had.  It even has a timer on it, so the water is ready to brew my first cup of awesomeness as soon as I come down the stairs in the mornings.  I do not even miss what used to be my almost daily trip through the Starbucks or Big B coffee stands anymore.  As a bonus, I have more money to spend on k-cups and get to work 15 minutes earlier every day!

Until next time,
Nic

P.S. Did you know there is a Momginerd FaceBook page?  Also, some of my best sarcasm can be found on my Pinterest!

My Favorite "Time Fillers"

I have the sort of job where it is either running at full tilt in a total panic....or waiting.  I have to say I much prefer the panic days as the work hours go by much more quickly.  Unfortunately, there are periods of waiting for a purchase order or similar that can last a week or longer.  During those periods, I try to do work related research...but, honestly I also spend time on some of my favorite time filler websites and aps.  Since I started using my iPhone, I have found that there are really cool time-fillers in the form of Aps and Games.  I am not putting the ususal suspects like FaceBook or Twitter, but more of the places/Aps I personally like that may be new to you.

Here they are, in no particular order (again, lists rule my life)

1. Angry Birds:  Pretty much any version of this game will suck me in and make me beg one of my children to defeat a level for me.  Lately, I have been on the Angry Birds Space edition.  It is SO awesome because you have to take into consideration the orbit and gravity.   

2.  Sh*t My Kids Have Ruined: This is a website dedicated to users uploading pictures of items in their households their children have either destroyed, ruined, or added some artistic flavor to with their permanent markers.  This website is definitely not to be used as a parenting manual, but it has some truly epic parenting FAILS that will make you laugh till you pee on yourself (okay, maybe not YOU but I have had 3 kids so don't judge).



I am sure the dog didn't mind...NOT



3.  Regretsy:  Oh my Maude, if you can look at some of the craptastic stuff on this site and not go WHUCK? Your brain is made of different stuff than mine.  This site puts up REAL items that are for sale by Etsy or eBay that truly show how some people will call anything Art.  Even what looks to me like a bunch of melted wax vaguely resembling a nose with light bulbs for boogers.  The biggest shocker is this was SOLD to someone.  Who, what, where....I don't even think I want to know the type of person that would put a light bulb booger blowing nose up in their house.  I am sure someone in that house is instructing it to put the lotion on.....

4.  Go Away:  This is a blog by David Thorne.  This blog will make you laugh until you cry.  He basically makes it his mission to use sarcasm and wit to annoy his co-workers.  Please be sure to check out his post called "Missing Missy."  I love that post so much that I actually read it aloud to my department and showed the pictures....Unfortunately, they really didn't understand what I was saying because I was laughing so hard my words were unintelligible!

5.  Pinterest:  They need to call it CRACKerest, because it is that addictive.   I have the mobile ap for my phone, a "Pin it" button on all my browsers, and check in on my pins or pin something almost as much as I check my FB account.  It is an invite only type thing, but they aren't too picky (obviously since I got an account) on who they let in....if you need an invite leave me a comment and I can send one to you.  It really isn't only a waste of time, because I use it almost like a virtual post-it note.  If I am looking for ideas for my garden, I will pin the picture to refer to later....same goes with recipes to try, places I'd like to travel, etc.... If you have never been to this site, please consider this your warning to check out a 12 step program prior to becoming addicted ;-).

6. Damn you auto correct:  I have to put a disclaimer that this is not an at work time filler.  Big Brother blocks it, and it is a good thing, because most of these contain strong adult language.  However, it is SO funny.  I don't even care if they are all fake, I enjoy them just for the laughs.  Anyone who has ever had a smartphone and likes to text has been the victim of autocorrect.  Personally, my autocorrect kept turning the my Hottie Husband's name into the word Tuna, so now his poor kids are known as the Tunas in our house (not to their faces, but as in "what time are you picking up the tunas?").

7.  Words With Friends:  LOVE this ap on my iPhone which is also linked to my FaceBook account.  It is scrabble that you can play with your friends (duh!).  I usually have 6 - 8 games going simultaneously and have learned so many new words that I just thought I made up, but were actually REAL words!  Did you know that "Metope" is a REAL word, and not just a cool way to use the letter P (turns out it is an architectual term for the distance between 2 tryglyphs...now I want to use tryglyphs in Words With Friends!)?

What are some of your favorite time fillers?  Not that I need another addiction, but I am always on the look out for a great laugh!

Until next time....you can follow me on Pinterest, Twitter and check out my Momginerd FaceBook page!
Nic

P.S. If you like this blog, can you do me a favor and hit the "like" button over on the left and share it with your friends?

Gadgets and Aps that Make My Life Easier

Being a self-proclaimed Mom-Engineer-Nerd (momginerd), I am often asked for advice on technological items that I would recommend.  Although I am not really an expert on gadgets and tech, I LOVE them.  So, I thought I'd share some of the items/aps that make my life easier or more enjoyable and hope that you will add a comment at the end of the Blog on some of the things you like too!

These will be in no particular order, but I like lists ;)

1.  iPhone

 I used to be a die-hard BlackBerry Girl.  I would look down my nose at iPhone or Droid users and think that those are TOYS whereas I have a real workhorse in my crackberry.  I liked the blackberry because I could get my work email and calendar delivered directly to the phone.  This was HUGE as a working mom with 3 kids, as it gave me the ability to stay in touch with work, while still taking the kids to the doctor, going on field trips, etc.  When my company announced they were going to start supporting iPhones with Good to do the same thing and simultaneously my Bold started acting up (for the 3rd time in a year), I took the plunge and ordered my iPhone.  And let me tell you, it has been a double edged sword.  Whereas before my phone was used as, well a phone, for email and calendar and texting, that was about it.  Now, my iPhone is like an umbilical cord attached to all aspects of my life. Without it I wouldn't remember to take my meds, read the news, or check FaceBook.  Because of this flexibility I also have become entrenched in the Curse phenomena known as Words With Friends.  I also check FaceBook a lot more since I can now do it on my phone more easily. 

2.  Evernote

This is an Ap that is available for all smartphones, PC's, and Tablets.  It is basically a "get yo' shit organized" Ap that is FREE!  In order for me to maintain any semblance or sanity and not lose my schmidt on a daily basis I do a lot of list making, note taking, calendar planning.  Evernote works in that I can do this and COMMUNICATE the lists I have made to Hottie Husband seamlessly.  For example,  HH was grocery shopping (yes, he does this, NO you can't have him), and I remembered I forgot to add kale to the shopping list.  I simply went to the Evernote Ap and added it to the list.  Meanwhile HH was shopping from his Evernote Ap and didn't even know that I had added this item.  This also works for adding things I want but am too guilty to buy (Ice Cream).  *Ahem*

3.  Say Mmmm

This is a website that allows you to plan menus, store recipes and create and organize grocery lists.  It has made menu planning SO much easier for me.  I religiously plan the weekly menus every Sunday.  the BEST part about Say Mmmm is that it LINKS TO EVERNOTE!!!!!  So I can create my menu, look up recipes and then send the weekly menu, recipes and grocery list all to Evernote.  I also send it to my kids Evernote accounts and I no longer hear 100 times per day, "what's for dinner." Bonus, bonus, bonus!

4. Kindle

This is version of Kindle I currently own.  It is my second Kindle. I read voraciously, probably 3 - 4 books per month.  I also like to read 2 - 3 books simultaneously.  An eReader is a great invention for me, because I don't have to carry around multiple books, just the light and compact reader!  Of course now I am drooling over the newest version the Kindle Fire.  AND here is the thing, I will still be keeping my old one for reading during lunch breaks, taking to kids sporting practices etc.  I just need want the Fire for the backlit screen, ability to watch movies, play games, and for magazines.  Why not an iPad, I have been asked.  And for me, it is mostly a matter of cost.  Why spend $500 for an iPad when I can spend less than half that on a Fire and have all the things an iPad does?  I already have an iPhone, so I just am (for right now) not interested in investing more money into an iPad which is an overgrown iPhone, without the phone.  We are already avid supporters of Amazon.com, so streaming movies from their Prime site is very appealing.  That is, of course, not to say I would not accept an iPad if it were offered, feel free to let me know if you'd like to donate one to me ;).

5. Waze

This is a navigation application for SmartPhones.  It is a unique approach to navigation because it crosses navigation with social media.  As you are driving, if you see an accident, traffic jam, etc you simply push a simple icon on the screen and it sends your report to all other drivers near you.  Every time you stop, it will flash the local traffic  issues on your screen.  When you use the navigation portion of the application, it will look at your route and suggest alternative routes to save time if there are reported traffic issues.  I commute 40 miles each way to work on the busiest roads.  This application has saved me countless lost minutes and episodes of road rage already.  Waze is a must, in my opinion for commuters!  I also found this neat dash pad mat for my iPhone that allows it to stick to the dashboard without doing any permanent damage.  I have been using it for 2 months and it has never allowed My Precious (iPhone's nickname) to fall! 


What are some of your favorite Aps and Gadgets?  Any I need to add to my (ever growing) list?

Nic

Tragedy.......

My community has experienced a tradgedy.  One of our own has taken his own life.  He left behind a wonderful family including a lovely wife and 5 children.  This has affected me in many ways, and forced me to take a good long look in the mirror.  Why?, you may be asking.  My answer is because it is very easy to be irate and sad.  Instead, I am forcing myself to try and look to the positive.  I know this sounds so very contradictory, but if I allow myself to wallow in the negative feelings, it is easy to ascertain that I too will become depressed and in a negative mind frame....Oh, don't get me wrong.  I was there.  I was SO very angry for survivors of this tragedy.  But, I decided that my anger is misguided.  I need to do something to help, because my anger is not going to make this family's struggles any easier.  This family is going to have a very difficult struggle not just emotionally, but financially as well. 

I went to the memorial service, and I believe this is where my focus began to change from anger to empathy and compassion.  There were SO many people there all there to support the family.  There were children, parents, family, friends, clergy, teachers, principals, acquaintances and even strangers.  All there to let this family know that WE will not desert them.  There were donation cards for a trust set up for the children's education, and when I went through the line, almost all of the envelopes were gone!  I am part of a group that are gathering our collective financial and experintial resources to assist the family in getting their home in order.  They were in the middle of a major remodel that the husband was doing himself.  The remaining family does not have the skills nor resources to complete the job, and I would guess they will not be able to afford to pay a contractor.  So, we are gathering money, construction materials and people with experience to go and get the house at least livable.  It is a small thing in the grand scheme, but to me, as a mom, having a HOME to live in that is safe and welcoming is an important part of helping this family to heal. 

I am proud of my community.  Let's face it, I live in a major metropolitan area, and many of us do not even know the names of the people who live in our neighborhood.  Yet, in the face of a tragedy we all came together and took joy in the fact that the family seems to be doing okay, given the circumstances.  Also, when a tragedy like th is happens, it has an effect on everyone. 

 This family is admired by all who have ever had the good fortune to meet any of them. The children are all gifted in thier own ways, but mostly in their ready smiles, politeness, and uniqueness that has inspired others.  Their mother is a saint, I mean, would't you have to be to have 5 well adjusted, well mannered, educationally successful kids?  But, if nothing else I have learned that how people appear to casual acquaintences, and maybe even to close friends, is not how people really are behind the closed doors of their homes.  All I know is that he was not in his right mind.  I knew him as a very loving father, dedicated worker and compassionate partner to his wife...not the type of person who would take his own life.  It is so very sad that it took a tragedy to bond us together.   We all need to realize that the phrase "one never knows" is so very true.  You may THINK you know, but at the end of the day, we are all cluelessly going on with our lives and hoping we are doing more good than harm.



Stages of Grief



This tragedy has opened my eyes to look at people differently, and I think it has had a similar effect on many other people as well.  All of us who knew this family are greiving in our own way, but none more than the family.  As much as we all want to help, sometimes our ideas of helping are not that helpful.  I ran into the mother at the grocery store and she commented to me that everyone is trying to be so helpful, but she needed to go to the grocery on her own because it was "something normal."  And I felt guilty, because I was immediately angry for her that she had to go to the store!  Talk about opening my eyes, and I am ashamed it took the person most connected to the tragedy to point out to me that for her doing something "normal" is how she is coping.  Everyone experiences grief and healing differently, and it is not for us to judge.  We need to accept and support, but never ever judge, because at the end of the day, you really do not know HOW you would react to an event of this magnitude unless you have lived the person's life. 

So, I am going to focus on being empathetic and not being angry.  If I happen upon any of the family, I will greet them in the same manner I always have, and IF any of them want to talk, hug, joke around, whatever, I will gladly join in without judgement for how they are grieving.  Grief is personal, pain is subjective, and healing is individualized.

Until next time,
Nic

Food Allergies, they are real and not just something to inconvenience you

As you may, or may not, know Bubbie had SEVERE food allergies for a long time.  Thankfully, he has out grown most of his so we have a mostly "normal" life, now.  But before, my life was consumed with worry and guilt.  Yes, I was THAT mom who caused all the other parents to have to limit what their kids could have for snacks and treats in the classroom.  Of the 8 main food allergens, Bubbie was allergic to six.  At one time he could have no wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts, or tree nuts.  He also had oral-allergy syndrome, which is when seasonal allergies mimic food allergies (and if you think this sounds easy, take a look in your cabinet at the ingredients in some of the foods you use daily).  During Spring and Summer, he also could have no melon, avocado, banana, apple or pear.  

We found out about his allergies when he was only about 2 months old.  I was still breastfeeding and he was not gaining any weight and started having severe gastrointestinal issues.  Just imagine you go to change your baby's diaper and it is filled with bright red blood.  Bubbie was living in constant pain from the damage what I was eating was passing into his food.  He had serious reflux, and no lie, would spit up so violently that it would hit the wall 3 feet away if he was on my shoulder.  I kept taking him to the doctor, and they were stumped as well.  Finally, they did a scratch test, and found out he was allergic to pretty much everything I was eating "to keep my milk supply up."  Talk about mommy guilt.  You think you are doing the absolute best thing for your child, only to find out that what you are doing has been slowly killing him.  And here's the thing, Bubbie was the happiest baby in the world! Oh, and because he was allergic to dairy and soy, there were no formulas available, so I had to limit my diet of all 6 of his allergens as well.   

When he finally was getting relief from his allergies, he would hit himself.  I asked the doctor why, and she said it was because he had never lived without pain, and to him being in pain was NORMAL.  Sick, no?  I learned more about alternative food sources, reading labels, creative cooking, and recognizing allergic reactions to foods than I ever wanted to.  But it was worth it, because this is what Bubbie looked like 6 months after we figured out a good diet that worked. 

I can't eat many things, but I do eat a lot!



I thought that my coming up with menus and foods that would satisfy and nourish him would be the hardest part of dealing with food allergies.  But it wasn't.  The hardest part was all the other people in the world and their opinion that I was making it all up or overreacting.  Restaurants would not allow me to bring in foods or drinks for Bubbie, so we quit eating out.  Daycare providers would give him things to eat they KNEW he couldn't have because he begged.  But they weren't the ones up all night with a poor child screaming in pain and banging his head on the ground because IT HURT SO BAD.  When Manudo had a birthday party at a very popular kid's venue named after a mouse, they refused me permission bring in a cupcake for Bubbie so he could take part in the celebration too (I did sneak that damn cupcake in anyway). 

Friends and family could be a challenge too.  Bubbie was not anaphylactic in his allergies.  He would suffer mostly through gastrointestinal distress and/or skin rashes.  Many times friends and family would make comments asking if a little bite of cookie/cake/pastry/pasta/etc would really hurt that much...the thing about food allergies is they are not like environmental ones.  You never ever know when your reaction will change in severity or manifestation.  I have a friend who had what he thought was food intolerance to almonds.  He would eat them, and have stomach issues, but nothing really severe.  One day he ate an almond and went into anaphylactic shock and almost died.  Think of food allergies as cumulative and not episodic.  Every time you ingest something you are allergic to your body registers it and adds it to the amount.  Each individual "bite" is not just a bite, it is a bite added to all the other bites you have ever had and you have no idea where your breaking point for severe -v- mild reaction is located.  So yes, just one bite could have hurt him, a lot. 

At the back to school orientations every year, many of the other parents would roll their eyes and complain that they couldn't send peanut butter sandwiches for snacks to school, or cupcakes and cakes for their precious off-springs birthday party in class.  I never spoke out, but inside I was screaming "Is your child's peanuts and sweets more important than my child's LIFE?!?"  Is it really that big of a deal to read a freakin' label and/or be empathetic or even GRATEFUL that you don't have to feed that kid daily?  And, what the Hell is up with birthday parties in school?  We never had them when I was growing up, is it part of societies worship of children and everything they do that we must now celebrate their birthdays 3 times (school, friends party, family party)?



Your kids peanuts are not more important than THIS kid's life!



Anywho, as Bubbie grew older, it seemed like every year he had fewer and fewer food allergens.  Just imagine the look on his face when he got to have his very first piece of cake that was made from real ingredients!  And here is the kicker, he suffered so much pain as a young child that he was AFRAID to try many of the foods that were deemed okay.  We had to go through food challenges where a very tiny bit of the food/allergen was introduced for a week.  The next week you added a bit more, the next week a bit more, etc. until you reach the equivalent of a serving.  Some of the foods still bothered him, even though he wasn't technically allergic.  Those were the days that were tough, here I am telling him "It's okay, the doctor said you can have it," meanwhile an hour later he was curled in the fetal position looking at me with his huge blue eyes like I disappointed or lied to him.  *sniff*

He is now almost 9, and still has oral allergy syndrome and an allergy to tree nuts, but he no longer has to sit at the allergy free table, carry an epi-pen, answer 10000 questions about his medical alert bracelet, or be known as THAT kid.  However, in my mind, I still have intense fear for him and watch out for any type of response he may have to what he is eating.  I know how lucky he is to have outgrown his allergies, as well as to not have the anaphylactic reactions to his allergies that many children and adults suffer. But he could, and the doctors do say that just because he outgrew them for now, doesn't mean he will be allergy free forever.  He could develop them again, or develop allergies to different things.  It is like living with a Jack-in-the-box waiting for the new issue to pop up sometimes.   

I will NEVER stop being an advocate for other parents who are going thorough what I did, and I ask, no BEG, you to please think of your own children/grand-children/nieces/nephews and how you would react if a request was made to help them fit in and/or save their lives.  At the end of the day, we all love our children, but maybe if we loved other people's children a little more life would be easier for ALL children.

I could be your child, wouldn't you
love me enough to protect me?

Until next time,

Nic

p.s. I would love to hear your thoughts/comments/etc regarding this, or any post I write.  Leave a comment!