Items and Ideas of 2009

Astronaut Giraffes

Don't kids make life entertaining?


Allowance

When Dallin turned five he started getting an allowance. Mark and I never got allowance growing up so the whole idea seemed like it was for kids who were spoiled. But eventually we warmed up to the idea. Done properly, the idea is that our kids will grow up to be even less entitled than if they didn't have an allowance. It's basically budgeting for the little things kids want, but handing the control over to the child. Every parent gives their kids money for things, and giving allowance makes the choice up to the kid what to spend money on instead of leaving it up to the parent to decide, "Do I really want to pay for the ice cream man or that toy or whatever?" Give the kid a fixed amount of money and the responsibility is theirs. Pressure is off the parents. Less arguing and tantrums. We made sure to give Dallin enough allowance that there was enough for him to set aside money for tithing and his savings account and still have a little fun money (what's left is only about a dollar a week). Instead of trying to decide if I want to buy whatever it is that he is interested in I get to tell him, "You can buy that with your own money if you want to." And, that makes him think more too about whether he really wants the item in the first place. Anyway, I know everyone has different opinions about this, but I am really liking this allowance idea now. Who knew?


Arizona Brand Corn Tortillas


We have tried them all, many times and these are the best. We like to fry our own tostada and taco shells or chips and no other brand fries as great as these do.


Curel lotion

We finally found a pump lotion brand that we like. It actually lasts all day and doesn't feel watery.

Ghiradelli brownies

Yay! A brownie mix without any dairy whatsoever. Even the variety with chocolate chips doesn't have dairy. Since Owen still has a slight dairy allergy these are pretty much my saving grace. I have been stocking up and make a bunch and freeze them in smaller portions so I can have one whenever I want. Not eating dairy also takes a lot of fat out of my diet, so these are pretty much a necessity.


Craigslist Free Stuff


Do you want to get rid of something quick? Post it for free on Craigslist. You will have 60 emails before you have time to check it.


Snuggi for DOGS


Look how happy and/or ambarrassed these dogs look in their Snuggie for Dogs! I told Mark to get one of these for Christmas. Then, get me a dog to go with it. If you think these are totally awesome, you will love this video. I really wanted to embed it in my blog post, but alas, it was not to be. The black and white portion of infomercials is my way favorite. And the dog in pink is totally thinking, "I just hope nobody cool sees me wearing this."


And of course the highlight of 2009 was the arrival of this little guy.
Next stop, maybe some more posts to catch up. Maybe later.