Tips for working moms on the go

Summertime is one of the most beautiful times of the year.

Unfortunately, along with warm weather, comes many bugs and pests that like to invade your home.

Here are few of the many types of pests that can infest your home in summertime:

• Ants
• Fleas (many types- sand, cat, dog etc)
  
• Dust Mites
• Drain Flies
• Moths
• Cockroaches
• Rats (considered pests)
  

Here are some of the things that have happened to me over the years, and what I have learned to do to prevent them.

Rats! They will feast on crumbs and food on floor. They will eat through drywall, so make sure to seal all holes especially near doors, fireplaces etc. I got some of those sound radar devices, and that worked the best. Also it helps to have a cat in the house! I sealed off all of the holes, and I make sure to sweep my floors every night. I also put a sound radar detector in the basement and attic. I sealed off holes that I found near my fireplace, and near walls and doorways. Also found holes in top of closet that led to attic. So they come in off the trees and go on the roof, down the chimney, or into the attic. Make sure to also flush your toilets often, otherwise they may creep in through your toilets!

I have found maggots and moths in my cupboards, they love sugar and anything sweet. They also love flour. So make sure you seal all of your dry goods in Tupperware type containers. Don't let your potatoes get old either, because they love the starch in potatoes. They love dark areas too, so that's where they will go.

I have also had sand fleas, from going to the desert and beach areas on vacation. They hitched a ride on our luggage, and sleeping bags from camping.The only way we got rid of them was to flea bomb the house. They went in our beds and everything. Also known as bed bugs. Make sure you vacuum and wash all bedding too!

Drain flies also love sweet stuff, especially beer, pop, and any sweet liquid. Make sure you rinse out the cans or bottles before you recycle them and you will save yourself a lot of heartache. They love dark wet spaces, and will lay eggs in your kitchen sink drains. So make sure to do your dishes often, and keep your garbage clean.

Ants usually follow their own paths, and like drips and drops of food to eat. Crumbs, anything they can get their hands on. So put salt or vinegar down and they won't like it.

Fleas can start out in your yard and hitch a ride on your clothing, and then come inside. They lay eggs in your carpets and furniture, and can live up to 100 days without a host or pet to feast on. I have found that putting table salt on the carpets and waiting at least one day before vacuuming helped get a lot of them. Also daily vacuuming helped, and rosemary tea baths for our cats. We also carpet cleaned to get everything out. Vacuum and wash all bedding too, since pets like to lay on our beds when we are out.

In the fall, you may notice more spiders in your house! These are also easy to prevent, make sure to dust often, and seal any cracks in doors and windows that they may enter in your house from. There are also spider sprays you can get to spray along the cracks so they won't want to come in.

Although you may be a busy person, there are some easy steps to keep up on that will help prevent bugs from coming into your home!

• Keep up with dishes in sinks, and don't leave food out
• Vacuum, mop and sweep at least every other day, if not every day to prevent eggs from hatching
• Dust, and vacuum in floor mouldings by carpet areas
• Don't leave crumbs under your kitchen table, or on the floor. (pick up those Cheerios or Kix from baby that find their way in every part of the house!)
• Seal all holes, cracks and crevices you find. There are some great sealants out there, they are expandable. So you can just spray into the hole, and it will fill up and expand. It dries hard, so it will last for years.
  
• One thing you can do too is if you have a rat problem, they can eat through that foam sealant. So stuff some crumpled up aluminum foil in the hole first, then fill it with foam.

Good luck!

If your kids wear glasses, this is a great place to buy glasses. Not only do they have adorable styles, but they also are affordable. My daughter had these princess glasses from our optometrist, which was so "embarrassing" for an 8 year old to wear, according to her. So she thrashed them, because she didn't like them, and was embarrassed to wear them. Not only that, but they cost well over $100 after insurance, and when the lenses got scratched, they told me it would cost another $100 to get new lenses.

"No thank you." I said after the optometrist quoted me the replacement costs for lenses. They only had three styles of girls glasses to choose from, and all of them were over $100 a pair just for the frames.

I heard about this website called 39DollarGlasses.com and I was amazed at how cute they were. All I had to do were some simple measurements, and type in her prescription, which you get from the optometrist if you ask them for it.

We ordered the "Kangaroo Violet, the far right on in the picture shown above. In just a few days she got her glasses in the mail. She was so excited to wear them, and she has received tons of compliments. Not only did she like them, but it makes me realize that it's not about what you do that is expected, (buy from the optometrist) but if you go out of your way to save some money then you will feel good that you chose the right path.

She loved them because they were cute and durable. She wears them a lot. They haven't gotten scratched or broken at all. She's received a lot of compliments on them over the last few months.

Saving $100 here, or $80 there is a nice trip to the grocery store, or a day at the beauty salon. There are so many little ways to save money, and it sure doesn't compare to wasting your money on co-payments, or extra special lenses that you don't really need anyway. From now on, I'm buying my glasses from here. My fancy glasses cost $216, it was ridiculous. I am never going back to that place again. I could have gotten a cute outfit with the money instead of spending on glasses that I only wear in my cubicle.

Anyway, lesson learned! Have fun shopping if you need them. By the way, they have a 15% off sale this weekend. So you can get your glasses for just $33 with coupon code 6NEW10

For more info, visit: Free shipping from 39DollarGlasses.com

There is a great new contest in the Seattle area:

(from Hope and Memory Photography)

So how do you get in on this sweet, sweet contest action?  Well, I’ll tell ya!  It’s pretty simple.  You just need to email me a photo of your sweet and adorable offspring and include their age and name and what city you live in (this won’t be public; it is just because I like to know these things) in order to qualify. 

Read on for the official stuff.

The Rules

only parents or legal guardians may enter their child (aunts, uncles, grandparents, and well-meaning friends, please send the parents a link)one photo per childin order to give everyone an equal opportunity please do not send me any professional pictures (plus, this eliminates the whole needing a release thing) and you absolutely must have the legal right to enter this photo (either you took it or the person that did gave you permission)photo must have been taken in the last 6 months

child must be 17 or younger at the time of entrycontest open to everyone, but if you live outside of a 10 mile radius from Seattle, WA or a 20 mile radius of Lake Jackson, TX you must choose a location within 10 miles of Seattle, WA or 20 miles of Lake Jackson, TX for your prize shoot, or a travel fee will be charged of 85 cents per mile, each direction (please note that if you are in Texas and you win your session availability will be determined by my already scheduled travel times)

entries will be accepted until midnight (Pacific time) on Sunday, 5/23/2010

Judging

all photos emailed to me will be uploaded to a blog post with an attached polleach person may vote exactly once (although family and friends are very much encouraged to come vote!) and if I notice any duplicate votes, those votes will be discounted;

I reserve the right to disqualify the contestant if this seems to be a repeated problem voting will be open from Monday, 5/24 until Monday, 5/31 and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 1, 2010

the photo with the most votes will be the winner

The Loot

the parent or legal guardian of the child in the photo that receives the most votes will win a FREE photo session (for up to 4 people, additional people incur a $25 fe per person) with Hope and Memory Photography, 1 8×10 photo, 1 5×7 photo, 1 set of 8 wallets, and 3 digital images, watermarked and resized for viewing on the internet (facebook, blogs, email, digital frames etc – not to be printed, reproduced, or altered in any way)photo session must be booked within 30 days of winning, and completed before September 30, 2010

prize retail value of $350 – can not be altered or changed in any way, and not redeemable for cash and is nontrasferableadditional prints will be available for purchase at retail pricesno additional promotions on discounts can be applied

How can I get more entries?If you tweet about this contest with a link to this post and include a comment (on the voting post with the contestant number for your favorite child) then that child will have one extra vote added. 

Only one tweet per voter please.

Post this in your Facebook status and follow the same rules as the twitter entry and you will also receive one extra vote.“Like” me on Facebook and receive one extra vote; just come back here and comment when it is time to vote.Blog about this, include a link, etc. (see above) and you will receive three extra votes!

Please post a comment with any questions you may have and I will answer them.  Good luck!  Now show me some awesome kids!

Source

http://hopeandmemoryphotography.com/blog/?p=54

There is a great book that is written by Dr. Karen Monroy, called "Mommy What is Rich?"

It's beautifully illustrated, and talks about looking inside yourself for qualities that you can't buy. It also emphasizes that people need to appreciate what you cannot buy which is family, friends, friendship, quality time, and love.

The book is full of illustrations and examples that children can relate to. It's great for children from 2 to 8 years old. There are very visual pictures and phrases throughout each page.

Often children don't understand that you can't buy things, or that they don't need those things. My daughter used to always say, "Just use your card, Mama." I had to explain to her that if I did use my card too much then it wouldn't work. I also had to explain to her that everything we use in our house we have to pay for. This is a great book to read to children, especially before you go shopping at the store.

When my daughter was in preschool, I used to let her buy things when we went out shopping. But we used to limit it to "one thing" for the whole day. So it helped her to think about it. Also if there was something that she really wanted, I had her go home and write about it when she got older. So after three days if she still wanted it, then we would budget and plan to buy it, or put it on a holiday or birthday wish list. Usually by the end of three days she didn't remember it again.

It's great to teach children that lots of stuff isn't great because then you have to find places for it and eventually it gets in the way. Especially if they have to clean their own rooms when they are older.

I especially like the phrase in the book, which seems to be the moral of the story:

"Love Life and you are always rich"

It's so true, and children and adults should be reminded of this regularly.

For more information, please visit:

http://karenmonroy.com/book_sample.php

The Venturi Mini is a compact and useful little car kit device for people that are on the go. These days who isn’t? What makes it so amazing is that there is absolutely no installation necessary. So you can just take it with you, no matter which car you are driving today.

No need to bring all of your chargers anymore either. You can just plug and go, it works with any Bluetooth enabled phone or MP3 player.

It’s hard to believe such a little device that is so affordable can do all of this, but it really works. No more waiting for someone to install it professionally. You can do it yourself! Just plug it into your car’s cigarette lighter. Here are some more great features of  the Venturi Mini:

·        Music Streaming.

·        Hands-FreeBluetooth Audio and Phonebook.

·        FM Transmitter with RDS/RBDS.

·        Audio In and Out.

·        Built in Charger.

Unfortunately the only drawback to having such a great device- is there are no more excuses for your phone dying when you’re talking to your mother-in-law. It’s great to keep in touch more anyway, even if they do talk a lot.

Disclaimer: I wasn't paid or given a sample to blog about this, I just think it's so amazing and every mom should get one!

Venturi Mini

http://www.myventuri.com

Well it's Friday, and one thing I have learned from older people is that you shouldn't sweat the small stuff.

On Monday, I had a huge bomb dropped on me at work, for a big project that I had no say or control over. It was pretty upsetting to get dumped on with such a monumental task that was grossly unorganized and is supposed to be accomplished by the end of June.

But after several days of stressing out big time, I realized that this is just work. I can walk away. Who really cares if it goes well or not because it's not my project. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the day-to-day activities and nuances, that I let other people's stress get to me.

I'm sure many working moms out there do too. It can be pretty stressful.

But really is it worth the stress? Probably not.

You have to realize how much your time is actually worth.

If you figure in your benefits and everything, and then make sure that you are living your entire life that way. Don't stretch yourself too thin. You don't have to do the PTA, Karate, Soccer, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and all of those activities or more. Does it really matter if you're president of the PTA, or if your kids' socks match? Does anyone really see all of those details? If they do, why does it matter?

What are we trying to prove, that we're better moms because we can do it all? Then next thing you know you get cancer and then you're really struggling for your life.

I know that the cancer thing is a stretch, and possibly an exaggeration, but once again, I have seen so many women who struggle all their lives and then they just end up suffering with cancer. There seems to be such a strong connection between our health, stress and chronic disease.

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. If you can't do everything on your "to do" list, then it's ok. If other moms judge you because you're not using cloth diapers, and you're feeding your kids mac n' cheese, then they should look in the mirror. Everyone has their limits. Unless you are a stay at home mom then you can judge other stay at home moms. But it's really not fair to compare stay at home moms that do not work at all, to work at home moms, or work out of the home moms. There is just no comparison.

Anyway, there are some great resources out there, and here is a great link to a friend I found on Twitter: @tannac . Here is her solution:

http://completeorganizingsolutions.com/2010/01/diy-blogging-and-day-planner-free-download.html

Happy Valentine's Weekend!

I would love to give the SLR sloop camera bag from this Creature Comforts Blog to my dear father who is turning 62 years old on Feb 12, 2010. He was a professional photographer for more than 20 years, but gave it up for more stable income with UPS. He started working at UPS when he was 42 years old, and has put in twenty years over there.

He has been spending all of his spare money (which is hard to come by for him)  to buy digital cameras and equipment so he can semi-retire and do photography, so he doesn't have to wake up at 1:30am anymore to work for UPS.

He's planned it all out to be able to retire from UPS in August 2010 and he is planning to do real estate photography, and various other types of photo shoots. The camera bag would be a great way to help him stay organized and be able to keep all of his stuff together. I just made a website for him at www.jalanmollphotos.webs.com

You can check out the products and enter to win a Fuji Instax Mini Camera or Bag at this link:

http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/home/2010/2/3/giveaway-fuji-instax-mini-camera-or-slr-camera-bag.html?lastPage=true#comment7220414

Holiday Green

Green Toys for Eco-Conscious Families

BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE 

Green is one of the traditional Christmas colors, but“green” in the eco-sense is not something always instantly associated with theholiday. Parents and gift givers who have committed themselves to living greenoften approach the holiday with frustration. From plastic to packaging, theylook at the amount of stuff that comes along with the holidays, and shudder.This is exacerbated by the fact that the toys that are heavily promoted tokids, and that are requested from Santa, are often the ones that appear to bethe most un-green. For infants, parents are still in control of everything thatcomes into the home, but as children get older and begin to request specifictoys, it becomes more of a challenge. For a child who adores Thomas the TankEngine, for example, presenting a non-licensed wooden train may be in line withone’s green values, but it raises other issues. It’s not an easy issue.

Happily, it’s not the quandary many may think. Green, asmost people would acknowledge, isn’t just about what’s in the toy itself butthe manufacturing processes and operations that reduce waste, materials and theresources used in every aspect of toy production.

Still, you share and transmit your values through the toysyou buy, and there are lots of remarkable and creative, green toys out there.Here are some great ones we’ve found from companies that are both eco-friendlyand help reinforce what kids are learning about living green:

Ecosaucer Flying Discs from Green Toys (www.greentoys.com) $10. A classic flyingdisc made completely from recycled milk containers. It’s great to keep kidsactive. Green Toys also makes many other playsets, vehicles and classic toys.

Camera from North Star Toys (www.northstartoys.com)$26. Beautifully designed, this is a great play camera for preschoolers withlots of working features that let little ones feel like real shutterbugs. NorthStar Toys specializes in wooden toys.

Eco Football from Fair Trade Sports (http://fairtradesports.com) $49.99. Anofficial size training football that’s soft and easy to throw. It’s pricey tobe sure, but all company profits go to support Fair Trade efforts and causesaround the world.

Crayon Rocks from Crayon Rocks (www.crayonrocks.net)$6.95. These soy based crayons feel great to draw with and are very satisfyingto use. Each bag includes 16 multi-colored crayon rocks. There are manydifferent sets available.

            Lolathe Flower Kit from Idbids (www.idbids.com)$29.99. Idbids is a whole line of plush toys that are eco friendly,individually made and help children become conscious of living green. Thestarter kit includes the 9-inch stuffed doll (There are several othercharacters too.), a storybook, organic cotton backpack and activities kids cando. Enter a code for each toy at the web site and make a donation to charitiesthat protect animal habitats.

If your kids are asking for toys from major companies, don’tworry. Those companies may be greener than you think. Companies like Mattel,Hasbro and Spin Master have instituted company-wide policies that reduce theircarbon footprints, ensure good labor practices and contribute tosustainability. From using less and recycled material in packaging toresource-saving programs that conserve electricity and much more, these issuesare high on the priority lists of these companies. Mattel even publishes its CorporateResponsibility Report (http://corporate.mattel.com/about-us/2009GCReport.pdf) that covers being green and many other issues.

All of us know that it’s today’s kids who will bear a lot ofthe burden of keeping the planet green. Making it fun is a good way to start.

Christopher Byrne is content director for TimetoPlayMag.com. He lives in New York, and is proud of his relatively small carbon footprint.

For further information, contact:

Marni Bahniuk

Litzky Public Relations

201.222.9118 ext 14

mbahniuk@litzkypr.com

This year with the economy on the mend and everyone becoming environmentally conscious, make a resolution not to buy anyone anything this year for the holidays.

Yes, you can make gifts for all of your friends, family and co-workers. Tell them that you are going green! Here are some great tips for green gift giving:

Make something

Are you able to sew? Do you have some material you don’t know what to do with?

Here are some ideas:

Old long sleeve t-shirts

Make arm warmers with thumb holes (see picture)

Sew on one end, fill with fresh cat litter and make a door draft stopper

Stiff cotton material

Make reusable lunch wrappers

Make a cloth to wrap up electronic chargers to carry in your bag

Make placemats or coasters

Got Yarn? Make a cute scarf! There are some great tools these days where you can make your own scarves without previous knitting experience. Check www.michaels.com or go to your local Michaels store, there are Seattle area locations in Tacoma, Kirkland, Bellevue (Overlake), Lynnwood, Federal Way and others.

Like to bake?

Make your friends and family cookies, banana bread or some sweet treat. Even better make it healthy by tossing in some milled flax seed, soy flour or something healthy that you don’t normally find in store bought cookies.

Are you good with computers?

Make a wordle. What’s that? Check out www.wordle.net and you can make your own word cloud. Play around with sets of words to make a beautiful work of art. Then you can print it on recycled paper and frame it in an extra frame you have in your closet. Don’t want to do that? Make a customized T-shirt out of it.

There are many crafty things you can do too. Do you have lots of dried flowers? Grab some glue and a shadow box frame and make a work of art. Let your creativity go wild. Start early (now) so you don’t get stressed out. Not only will you save money, you will help save the environment from the excess waste from the holidays and have a customized one-of-a-kind present for that special someone in your life!

For more information: Visit www.marthastewart.com

Taraneh Guidry is a Seattle area mom of two. She is planning to make something for her friends and family, but it’s a surprise! Please contact her at seattlemommy@verizon.net and follow her on Twitter @seattlemommy.

Many people start decorating for the holidays the day after Thanksgiving. Make a difference this year by switching out your old school holiday lights to some energy efficient LED(light emitting diode) holiday lights. Many stores will even accept trade ins for a discount on a new set. You can often get a set of these lights for less than $5.

Why switch? According to Consumer Reports, LEDs “used 1 to 3 kilowatt hours of energy, compared with 12 to 105 kWh for the incandescents, saving $1 to $11. Sparkling strands of decorative lights are a highlight of the holiday season.

LED technology offers substantial energy savings potential. While some other LED lighting fixtures remain on the costly side, holiday lights are competitively priced with conventional light strings. LEDs also last at least 10 times longer than conventional bulbs and are more durable, with no filaments or glass bulbs to break.

This year, choose ENERGY STAR qualified decorative light strings, which consume up to 95% less energy and last up to 10 times longer than traditional incandescent strands. They can be used for up to 100,000 hours when used indoors. And you don’t have to sacrifice variety—ENERGY STAR holiday lights are available in a variety of colors, shapes and lengths. Give yourself (and the environment) the gift of energy efficiency with ENERGY STAR.

If all decorative light strings sold in America this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save over 2 billion kWh per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those produced by nearly 300,000 cars!

A typical 50-bulb incandescent strand of lights uses 250 watts and an equivalent 70-bulb LED strand uses only three watts. For a house that operates holiday lights for six hours a day through the month of December, with an energy price of 8.27 cents per kilowatt hour, six strands of incandescent holiday lights would cost over $23 to power versus a mere 28 cents for LEDs. By replacing the incandescent strands with LEDs, it would save you $22.79 in energy costs for the month.

For more information: Visit www.earth911.com or buy some lights from most local retailers such as Fred Meyer, Target, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and others.

Taraneh Guidry is a Seattle area mom of two. She enjoys decorating for the holidays and is making the switch this year to LED lights. Please write to her with your comments and green living ideas to seattlemommy@verizon.net or DM on Twitter @seattlemommy.