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You'll notice that I said "My Favorite Ways to Save Money." That's a deliberate phrase as everyone has their own ways they like to pinch a penny, it's not as if there is are some Ten Commandments of Frugal Living out there. Or is there? If there is the blogging world would know it, I'm pretty sure.
Anyway, spending money is kind of a personal thing, everyone has different opinions on the matter and here are just a few of the ways Andrew and I choose to save. That and we skip every fourth meal.
But with the current national situation being what it is (do we really even understand the big picture yet?) most of us are thinking about ways to trim the fat. Here are my picks.
1. Don't get cable television. Every so often Andrew and I consider signing up for cable or getting a satellite dish or some other way to supersize our t.v. consumption but then we check on the prices and that cools us off. For a basic (a BASIC) cable package here plus a DVR service such as tivo it would cost us $80 a month. Ouch. Now I can think of a lot of other ways I'd rather spend those eighty dollars such as at a fine restaurant where someone brings me whatever I want to eat or at Banana Republic or . . . but of course if I spend the money somewhere else it isn't really saved now is it?
Besides I'd be willing to bet money that unless you have NO t.v. you probably have too much--and I include myself in that finger-pointing.
2. Give your own haircuts. Now I have to confess that I'm cheating here. I cut all my kids' hair but I'd never think of cutting my own hair or letting Andrew tackle the job. Actually one time, long ago, at the very beginning of our marriage before I knew my husband much better we were poor college kids living in Washington D.C. and I desperately needed my hair cut.
We went all over the place looking for someone who'd trim me up and they either let me know they "didn't do white hair" (not that my hair was white, I think they meant my skin) or that they really didn't care to glance my direction because they were a fancy salon. So out of desperation I asked Andrew to cut it straight across. I went into a detailed explanation of how to accomplish this (hadn't I seen it done a million times?) and when he was finished I brought the ends on either side of my face around, saying "And now if you've done it right, the ends should be the same . . . " gasp. The side lengths were a good three inches off and I realized I'd been hacked so grostesquely that I ended up trimming it up myself before I felt comfortable showing my face in public.
The girls at work noticed the new haircut (d'uh, just like they'd notice if I came in with a poodle on my head) and said with hesitation "Oh . . . you got your hair cut" and after they heard my tale of woe they were full of sympathy.
But at any rate, cutting your kidss hair can save you tons of money--four heads times once a month is about $600 a year. Then that saves you enough money that you can afford to get YOUR hair done by a pro.
Check this site How to Cut Hair and practice on your kids. What else are kids for?
3. Cut down on insurance. Now I'm not suggesting that you cancel your insurance--every adult should have health insurance and every adult with an income and dependents should have disability and life insurance--but in general I've found people think they need much more insurance than they really do and it ain't cheap. Watch for ways you can cut back on your policies (if it's up to you and not through an employer which unfortunately is often the case) and see how much you can save.
For example, when Andrew and I were thinking about starting a family we had a very basic health coverage plan. The deductible was something like $2500 or $5000, I can't exactly remember, but it only kicked in when something really went wrong and it only paid out past that super high deductible.
Of course because of this our premiums were only $40 a month for the two of us (doesn't it pay to be young and healthy?) When we wanted to have a baby we looked at adding maternity coverage but after pricing it we realized that it would be cheaper to just pay for the delivery ourselves, keep the catastrophic basic coverage should anything happen like an emergency during delivery or a c-section or something like that, and forget trying to get the insurance company to cover it.
This is usually the way things work--insurance companies hire actuaries who know their odds pretty darn well and they bank everything on those odds. Your best bet is to insure against things that would destroy you--like a prolonged illlness--or something that you really can't control. Insure high enough to protect against it destroying you financially but not enough to strap you for cash each month paying the premiums while the odds of it happening are pretty small.
Forget insuring against things that are eventualities: dental work, preventative health care such as yearly check-ups, obstetrical visits, eye glasses. You'll save more by paying for it yourself because the insurance agencies know the odds of you filing a claim and they're going to win in the gambling game, that's how they make their money.
4. Get your DVDs cheap. We check out DVDs from our local library where not only can you get them for free but you can keep them for a full week--up to three if you renew. We reserve them online them pick them up when we get the notice that they've arrived. Of course the cheapest way to see your videos is to watch them on the wall televisions at Blockbuster but that's not nearly so convenient as taking the movie home to the privacy of your own home. Kidding again.
I understand some places offer Red Box where you can get a weekly coupon code for a free video which Momadvice.com publishes but they don't offer that here in Alaska. Pity. I love a good movie and I love a good FREE movie even more.
5. Cut down on eating out. If you or your spouse work at an office you're probably eating out for lunch every day. I'm not sure why this is such a firm tradition in the American workplace but not only is eating out fattening and unhealthy it's terribly expensive. Ditto on the daily espresso. Try packing your lunch and see how much you can save--I figure even if you're only saving $3 a day (and I'm sure that's pretty conservative) that adds up to a bit over the month. If convenience is the issue try buying prepared frozen meals for $2.50 at the grocery store and taking those to work--it's still cheaper than the daily fast food value meal which really isn't much of a value if you think about it. Andrew takes his lunch every day unless he has a business lunch and he actually likes it because that way he can get his daily Oreo fix. He's probably the only attorney I know who packs a bag of Oreos for lunch but that's why I love him.
6. Cut down on extracurricular activities. Not only are children typically over-scheduled these days, with their many lessons and team sports cutting into family time, the costs can be staggering to a family watching their budget. Looking at the costs of hockey alone (a favorite here) besides the equipment costs (and how fast do those kids outgrow it?) and the price of leagues, lessons and games added to the cost of travel for tournaments makes it mind boggling. Multiply that times another child or two and then by the two or three more activities each child is involved in and you've got a house payment calling you "Mom."
Limiting children to one extra curricular activity not only helps them keep their sanity (and yours) but it makes financial sense. If you want your child to take piano lessons look around for a teenager who teaches lessons. That's how I started piano lessons and that's how my kids started and it makes a lot of sense. You don't want to start with a fancy, expensive teacher only to find a year or so into things that Johnny can't stand playing the piano and all of that money you spent is wasted. Of course if a fancy teacher is your style and your child quits you may ultimately save quite a bit of money because suddenly all the cash you'd counted on paying to Julliard's is freed up.
7. Buy generic. Nowadays you can buy pretty much anything in a generic form and it will usually save you tons of money. Don't get sucked in by brand names and learn to tell the difference between when you really are paying for quality and when you're just paying to have a name stamped on the package. Most generic groceries, I've been told, are actually produced by the same companies that make the name brand counterparts they just also own generic lines such as Kroger and sell the same items under the generic label.
Even with medications if you compare the list of active ingredients the generics have always been comparable to the name brands--only for less money. The only time I've ever found a generic product to be far inferior is when it comes to macaroni and cheese. You cannot--I repeat, CANNOT--buy a generic box and have it taste acceptable. Don't know why this is but it is Truth. Must mean there's an art to the way Kraft makes their neon-orange fake powdered cheese. Who knew?
8. Cut back on tech costs. When you add up the costs of land lines, cell lines, Blackberry fees, internet costs, cable costs, texting fees, roaming fees, etc. etc. etc. suddenly you're shelling out big bucks to be on the cutting edge of technology. Decide what you need (and the key word is need) stick with it and ignore the others. There are some creative ways to cut costs too--I use Skype to talk with my parents in India and it's completely free. Gone are the days where you pay $300 for an overseas holiday call to family now you can call anyone anywhere for such nominal rates that it's insane not to take advantage of it.
I know it might cause issues in a family but teen texting costs can be crazy where email and regular cell phone calls get the message through quite well. I don't recall it saying anything in the Parenting Handbook about parents being required to provide texting capabilities to their children--if you're looking to cut costs I'd start with eliminating those dancing thumbs.
9. Pay cash for your cars and buy used. I know this goes against every conventional wisdom in the book but I've always felt strongly about paying cash for cars. Not just because it saves you lots of money but because most things shouldn't be bought on credit. A house is different because it's a secured loan--it's worth something--and a school loan is different because it's an investment though both can be taken to extremes and cause you problems.
But a car is just an expensive piece of status that is worth less and less the longer you hold onto it. The minute you drive a new car off the lot it's cost you thousands of dollars because no longer is the car shiny new so learn to make do with used cars. This doesn't mean you have to sacrifice quality, buy a slightly used car that is still under warranty and you can save more than you'd imagine without losing value for your dollar.
Pay cash for your cars and save yourself all that money in interest plus the added benefit of not having to buy collision insurance. If you own your own car you can go with simple liability insurance and saving whopping amounts each month in lower insurance premiums. Of course I'd only recommend that if you're in the habit of not smashing into other people's cars. If your driving skills leave something to be desired then maybe you should stick with the collision option.
You know you're a King of Saving Money when the teen boys you work with at church offer you $1000 for your 1993 Ford Escort wagon. Andrew works with the 14 year old guys and one of them was riding home with him and said (and I paraphrase) "This car is sweet! I'll give you $1000 for it--it doesn't have all that stupid computer stuff that makes it hard to work on. "
So it may be a piece of junk but it's OUR piece of junk darn it! I don't think any bank would actually want it now that I think about it--in fact we should have taken the kid's offer, I don't think we could get $20 for the car on Craig's List.
10. Cut out ineffective warehouse memberships. Notice I said "ineffective." After my post a few weeks back about my rocky relationship with Costco I appreciated all the comments it generated. Seems like the general agreement is: know your membership options, know your local Costco and be aware of where you're spending or saving money. Some warehouses are better deals than others and savvy shoppers can save money only if they're aware of where the money is going. Me? I don't see that our Costco here saves me anything so we're cutting our membership.
So let it be written, so let it be done.
Oh, and by the way, someone suggested in the comments that you could buy prescription medications at Costco without having a membership. I asked our local Costco pharmacy about it last week and it was confirmed--you can buy prescriptions at Costco without a membership. Yes, you can thank me later.
11. Buy clothing and other seasonal goods after the season is over. Here we're lucky to have summer and winter (I'm trying to be positive) so we need the full spectrum of clothing options. I buy my kids next year's winter gear from sales the year before. Right about now Walmart is putting their snow pants on sale for $11 a pair (better than $20 which is normal), boots can be marked down from $30 to $10, just watch out and keep your kids' sizes handy.
I'm a believer in doing this for me too--I watch Anne Taylor and Banana Republic like crazy when the season gets underway to see when things will start to go on sale. Yes it means I'm usually wearing last year's styles but *sniff* somehow I manage.
12. Cut out newspapers and magazines. We stopped taking the Anchorage Daily News about two years ago and I've never missed it once. I figure that not only have I now personally saved a portion of the rain forests equivalent to the size of New Jersey but I have saved hundreds of dollars in the process. All major newspapers can be found online, which is how I read the ADN when I'm not irritated at them (ah, there's a subject for a post!) and to be paying subscription costs for the physical paper seems strange if you're pressed for cash.
If you buy for the coupons, it's still cheaper to buy an individual Sunday paper and get your coupon fix than it is to continue a weekend subscription. If nothing else it's my small little protest for old fashioned newspapers to get with it and join the Technological Age. Who's with me?
13. Don't move. I don't mean don't move--hold still--I mean don't move from house to house. I've heard that the average time a homeowner spends in a home here in Anchorage is five years. Wow! Five years! That means that every five years (unless your business is relocating you and paying for the costs) the average Anchoragite is paying 6% of the sale price of their home to a realtor. The average cost of a home here in 2007 was $333,000 (I'm sure it's up since then) so unless you like to plop down $20,000 every time you go to a new house across town you might want to think about staying put.
Usually people don't think too much of paying these costs because homes appreciate so the realtor's fees come out of the realized gain on the property but think about how much more you'd save if you stayed put altogether? No paying movers to move you, no hook up fees or deposits on utilities, no buying boxes, no buying pizzas to induce your buddies to come over and help you out.
You might try to save money by selling your home yourself but this is such a hassle and being that there's absolutely no incentive to buy a home from someone representing themselves that it seems a bad idea overall. Stay put--fix up what you have or learn to live with how it already is and you'll save a bundle. Or the other alternative is to sell your fancy house, pay those realtor fees then buy a shack on the beach in Hawaii. Right now that doesn't sound too bad to me.
I saw something about credit at this rather hypnotic interactive game from the U.S. Treasury. Although do you see the irony? Here's a video on credit and living within your means from the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Physician heal thyself. Found via Joe and Kristen's Journal.
Sponsored by Tiny Prints--The place for the perfect holiday invitations.
Technorati tags: frugal living, money, budgeting


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All Namaste products are traded fairly
Namaste is still a relatively small business with a strong ethical policy at its core. We are not perfect but we believe our policies are consistent and transparent. We aim to buy from small scale producers who use largely natural materials and traditional techniques to produce beautiful and interesting articles. All Namaste products are fairly traded. We believe that the best way to reduce poverty is through trade.
Namaste seeks to support marginalised small producers and we aim to help workers to move from income insecurity to economic self sufficiency. The manufacture of goods for Namaste generates income for the local community and we hope that these benefits should enrich the quality of life of the local community.
In developing markets, such as Nepal, Indonesia and Thailand, we deal with only primary producers. Many do not have the capital to be able to fulfil the order, so we make an advance payment for materials, workers and whatever else is necessary. In 2002 we provided our Nepalese clothing supplier with a large advance for him to buy land, machinery and the building for a new cotton knitting workshop. These advance payments have enabled him to survive despite bad debt problems with other Western customers.
Namaste also buys from some larger enterprises. From the point of view of the workers there can actually be advantages in working for a larger organisation such as greater job security and extra benefits. These might include free healthcare for the worker and their family and free or subsidised education. Many larger suppliers are also able to support community projects. One of our suppliers in India provides the financial backing for an impressive and well resourced school in Rajasthan. Another in Nepal supports an orphanage providing, amongst other things, a water tank, food and blankets. He also gives his workers grants for festivals, clothes to wear for work, some sick pay and holiday pay. As most of our suppliers are small scale businesses with limited resources, we usually make advance payments for raw materials, workers and whatever else is necessary. We often provide additional funds or make payments earlier when suppliers need money for particular reasons. This has included funding for capital purchases such as land, workshops and machinery.
We invest heavily in travelling to see our suppliers several times a year and speak to them regularly. In addition each supplier is asked to fill out a comprehensive questionnaire which details 38 questions relating to fair trade production standards. We hope that this ensures that all Namaste suppliers meet internationally recognised fair trade standards. We are currently setting up an Indian Office to perform spot checks to back up our own visits and ensure that questionnaires are filled in with integrity and honesty and that fair trade standards are actually upheld. Namaste is a member of BAFTS, the British Association for Fair Trade Shops and Suppliers.
All Namaste suppliers ensure that their workers are paid a fair price per piece, which is at or above the national average or in accordance with national laws, and we strive to make sure that men and women are paid the same rate. Employees should have security of employment and freedom of association. Namaste tries to order regularly from each producer to maintain continuity of demand. We aim to ensure that no children under the age of 16 are involved in factory based production for Namaste. Many Namaste items are produced by home workers which provides useful additional income whilst allowing them to look after their homes and families.
Namaste provides advance payments for orders when they are asked for or when they are necessary. This ensures that producers do not have to take on debts in order to complete our orders.
Namaste seeks to minimise our impact on the environment. Namaste products all use azo-free dyes. These create a safer working environment and are better for the environment in general. Many of our products are made entirely from recycled materials, which are used wherever possible. We also encourage suppliers to source raw materials locally and to use recycled packaging on their products. Many are now using recycled plastic and recycled cardboard and we aim to get them all doing so.
Namaste supports Child Rescue Nepal - formerly the Esther Benjamins Trust - www.childrescuenepal.org.


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Brown reveals Amy-Mandela jail joke
Nelson Mandela had a soft spot for singer Amy Winehouse after a quip she made about his time in prison - former prime minister Gordon Brown has revealed.
The ex-Labour leader said the pair met at former South African president Mr Mandela's 90th birthday party, at which Rehab singer Winehouse made a joke comparing the anti-apartheid campaigner to her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil.
In an interview with the Guardian's G2 magazine, Mr Brown said: "The person he (Mr Mandela) most liked was Amy Winehouse.
Amy Winehouse performs during the Hyde Park concert marking Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday
"She said to him: 'You and my husband have a lot in common'. "He said, 'Oh, what is that?' "She said, 'You've both spent a long time in prison'."
Mr Mandela was held in the highest esteem across the world for leading South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s after 27 years in jail. He became the country's first black president and died last year at 95.
Fielder-Civil, a video producer, was 26 when he was sentenced to 27 months in jail back in 2008 after admitting grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice in a £200,000 trial-fixing plot aimed at trying to save him from prison.
He and Winehouse were married in 2007 but divorced two years later after a troubled on-off relationship.
Last year, a second inquest into Winehouse's death confirmed that she died from alcohol poisoning after a drinking binge. The same verdict of misadventure was recorded at a re-hearing of the inquest - after the first was heard by a coroner who did not have the correct qualifications.
The 27-year-old Back To Black star was found dead at her flat in Camden, north London, on July 23, 2011.
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Viglen have beaten a string of overseas suppliers to a prestigious contract worth over £6m, having been selected by the Government Procurement Service to supply a range of computer equipment to the public sector. The awarding of the contract will see Viglen supplying over 50 central and local government customers including a number of NHS and local education authorities with over 17,000 computers and 10,000 screens over the next two years. This follows a tender process which took the form of a reverse online auction. The contract is a 24-month supply agreement with two 12-month extension periods, and has the potential to grow further to include educational establishments, charitable organisations, social enterprises and the voluntary sector.
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Orioles - 000 200 022 - 6 11 0Matusz was dealing (7-2-0-3-8, 111), but the Sox did have a couple of scoring chances early on.
Red Sox - 000 000 001 - 1 3 1
In the second, Bill Hall singled and Daniel Nava got HBP, but Gustavo Molina popped up a bunt to the pitcher, Marco Scutaro took a called third strike, and Darnell McDonald grounded to third. With one out in the fourth, Kevin Youkilis walked and went to third on Adrian Beltre's double. Then J.D. Drew struck out and Hall flied to center. (Yook's rally-killer spoiled the shutout.)
Lackey (7.1-8-4-1-7, 117) was good, except when he wasn't, and then he was as annoying as usual.
Mariano Rivera blew a save, but the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 7-6 in 10. The Rays beat the Twins 7-4. Boston falls to 1.5 GB, while Tampa Bay stays 2 GB.
Also:Scutaro, SS
McDonald, CF
Ortiz, DH
Youkilis, 1B
Beltre, 3B
Drew, RF
Hall, 2B
Nava, LF
Molina, C
Blue Jays/Yankees, 1 PM
Rays/Twins, 2 PM


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Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Just Take a Couple Inches Off the Back
"Seriously, one of you guys gave her a trim. Who's lying to me?" I demanded, getting angrier that not only had someone cut my baby's curls, but that someone was lying to me about it. I stared at Lexi and Clayton, looking for some sign that they were lying to me. Duh! I'll just ask Brooklyn who cut her hair! "Who gave you a haircut, Brooklyn?"
"Claypunk did it."
I gave Clay the evil eye.
"Ok, I cut her hair, but just a little bit."
Ha! A good 5 inches were taken off the back! I'm so sad because her curls are gone and apparently Clay did this yesterday and threw the hair in the garbage which has since been dumped. I can't even put the little curls in an envelope to save so I can look at them one day and say, "Hmmm, here's some hair. I wonder why I saved it. I wonder which kid this was from."
A little later, I took Lexi to get a haircut. She'd decided that she wanted it trimmed and I thought it would be a good idea to take her today. You know, break up the day; get out of the house; distract the kids from fighting with each other for a few minutes. So we walk into the shop and Jackson says he wants a haircut too. Jackson just got a haircut less than a week ago! He insisted that he didn't get enough cut and wanted it shorter. Oh yes, I'd love to pay for another haircut because you can't make up your mind.
So we checked in and sat down to wait our turn. Brooklyn saw a container of suckers on the counter and made a bee line for them.
"I want one!" came her wail as she stood on her tip toes trying to reach the suckers.
"Be a good girl and you can have one after Lexi gets her hair cut," was my calm, matter-of-fact answer. However, all anyone heard was, "Be a good girl..." before my words were cut off by screaming of epic proportions. Brooklyn threw herself down on the floor and continued to cry as if someone was kicking her. Yep, that's a perfectly normal, justified reaction, don't you think?
A couple of young adults looked on in horror. A couple of gentleman looked on in horror. I looked on and wondered if there's a boarding school for temperamental 2 year olds somewhere in the world because I'm willing to sell my house and live in a cardboard box in order to afford such a place for her.
I picked her limp, screaming little body off the floor while trying to pin her arms and legs. I dodged her flailing limbs as I attempted to sit down without being kicked in the face. Meanwhile, Clay is walking around the desk and giving me a challenging look; a look that says he's going to push the envelope until I lose it. I'm thinking - it's no big deal that he's walking around the shop. He's just walking around. He isn't getting in anyone's way. No big deal. Lexi has other ideas though. She takes off after Clay to try to get him to sit down. This makes him squeal and take off in a makeshift game of tag. Ugh.
I catch Clay's arm and pull him over by me. The problem is - I had to let go of Brooklyn in order to get Clay. So, Brooklyn runs back over to the suckers and screams even louder, frustrated that they're just out of her reach. I walk back over to the counter, grab Brooklyn. Again. And try to distract her by saying, "Is that Papa?!" while looking out the window into the parking lot. It worked for 4/10ths of a second at which point she yelled, "That's not my Papa!" and started crying even louder. Now, if my other kids had teased her like that, I would've yelled at them. "Don't tease her! You're just making things worse!" But there I was, telling her that her Papa was outside. I didn't have time to dwell on my inequitable rules as Clay was jumping up and knocking baseball caps off a rack high on the wall. I picked up the hats with one hand, while grabbing Clay's arm with the other.
While all this is going on, I'm aware that people are staring at us. I can only imagine what they're thinking. I deliberately avoid eye contact.
Clay takes off again, shoots me a challenging look, and starts walking around the waiting area. Only this time, he adds the element of kicking his shoe off every few steps. I see his shoe flying through the air out of the corner of my eye as I wrestle Brooklyn into a chair and call to Clay, "That's one. That's two..."
Clay stops and starts to walk toward me, but again Lexi, trying to be helpful, tries to catch him which sends him screaming through the shop.
"THAT'S IT. We're leaving. GO!" I say, indicating the door. "You guys can't behave for 5 minutes and now we're leaving. Go."
The kids all file out without a word. Except for Clay, that is. As he reached the door, he asked, "So, does this mean, we're not getting suckers?"
Austin and Savannah told me that the other waiting patrons laughed at this. All I heard were the sounds of applause as we left the building.
Posted by Dawn at 2:06 PM
70 comments:
- Rachel said...
phew. I felt like I couldnt breathe until the end....
way to go mama.
- August 19, 2008 at 4:34 PM
- mommyofthree said...
That's so sad! My daughter (then four-year-old) cut off ALL of her own hair once(to the scalp!), and then cut off her little sister's cute curls. It was so sad. They both looked like boys for almost a year. It was terrible. Luckily, she was nice enough to save it in a completely full quart-sized zip-loc bag "for my scrapbook", she said. So, I do have the curls in an envelope in her scrapbook. Fun times.
- August 19, 2008 at 5:03 PM
Oh my goodness! That is exactly why I don't take my 4 boys anywhere if I can help it! It's like we lead parallel lives! I must say, though, you handled the whole situation so well, good for you! I would have been freaking out at them the whole way home, but that's just me. Better than storing up all that pent up rage and all that!
- August 19, 2008 at 5:11 PM
- B&K said...
Doesn't it always amaze you how perfectly normal kids can turn into wild monkeys out in public, making other people think that 1) you have no parenting skills, or 2) you have no parenting skills.
Yikes! I think I'm glad I stopped at two; I'm definitely glad my childrearing days are behind me!
Now? My kids just see me as a big, giant checkbook. LOL
- August 19, 2008 at 5:20 PM
- Eric said...
This blogg is the best contraceptive EVER!!!
- August 19, 2008 at 5:36 PM
- Just Batty said...
Oh man! I'm so sorry!
- August 19, 2008 at 5:39 PM
Oh, man, sounds like the time we took Jimmy to a place in the local mall and he was screaming so loud at getting his hair cut, people came over to see what all the noise was, and were surprised that it was a little boy getting his hair cut, not being murdered, as it sounded echoing through the mall.
I want to go to Sonic, but its going to be a zoo. I tried to convince hubby to go because you were. Didn't work, have some tots for me.
- August 19, 2008 at 5:53 PM
- Kathi D said...
Oh gosh, you are such a terrible mother.
Seriously, though. I wish I had been there. I could win a staredown with those other patrons and distract them from the kids!
- August 19, 2008 at 5:57 PM
I'd say you deserve a day off after that. Perhaps you should take the day and get yourself a haircut...you know, in one of those quiet, no kids allowed salons. I'd pay for that kind of quiet!!!
- August 19, 2008 at 6:14 PM
Ahh yes. This is why my kids get do-it-at-home haircuts until they're old enough to be teased for their bad cuts. :)
- August 19, 2008 at 6:15 PM
- KarenKal said...
I feel your pain. The last two days in a row, I have had to pick up my 2 1/2 year old kicking and screaming from a store. Today was from Target, because she wanted something and I said NO! So she screamed over and over again and everyone was looking at us. One older man was looking at us and I said to him, "do you want her"?? And just walked away!
You just have to laugh cause you will cry if you don't!
- August 19, 2008 at 6:19 PM
I am so sorry for your baby's curls, and the terribleness that was your children's behavior. One day you'll look back at this and laugh.... hopefully. Hopefully the mother's curse will take hold, and they will have a kid JUST LIKE THEM. Then YOU will get the last laugh.... BWHAHHAHAHA
- August 19, 2008 at 6:33 PM
I would laugh with a been there done that but I feel too bad for you to laugh. I don't think it's funny when it happens to me. I wouldn't have made it as long as you did. I've missed doctor appointments for pure embarrassment of my kids doing this in a waiting room. I'm sure you weren't laughing then but it's so great how it just turns into a funny story for your blog. I seriously need to consider doing one for therapy alone even if no one reads it.
About the hair cut..at least it was a kid, which is also funny later on. My first baby got his first hair cut from my mother-in-law (butchered I might add) without my permission while my newborn (2nd child) was sick in the hospital. She brings him home and hands me the envelope of his hair. She cut his baby curls off at 17 months old. Yeah, it's been 7 years and I still don't think it's a funny story but its not like it matters anymore.
- August 19, 2008 at 6:52 PM
- Rana said...
You have more guts than I do. I don't even take my 2 kids to get their hair cut at the same time! I, too, leave when the kids are misbehaving and or are too rambunctious!
- August 19, 2008 at 7:02 PM
There wasn't REALLY applause, was there? Gosh, kind of makes you want to take them all grocery shopping, huh? :)
And I love how you call lollipops suckers! The cutest we get around here is lollies.
- August 19, 2008 at 7:18 PM
- Costa Rica Baby! said...
Oh I feel for you! We have been going through the same thing here, except we moved to Costa Rica and live close to my sister-in-law without kids and of course, all the answers to how we "should" be raising our kids. :)
Gotta love it!
- August 19, 2008 at 7:40 PM
Where is the picture of Brooklyn and her new "do"? ? ? ? I had a situation with my 2yo about 4-5 months ago where two of my older children were using a dirt devil broom, removed the canister part to empty it while the other one decided to use the other part as a sword, turned it on and my poor little 2yo got in the cross-fire and her hair got intwined in the motor of the broom and I HAD to cut it off. . . .I was REALLY ticked off at that one!
- August 19, 2008 at 7:49 PM
- RedneckMomma said...
I'm right there with ya, sister. My three are mightmares in public. I have done the exact same thing. Picked up and gone somewhere, only to drive directly back home. Nothing bought, nothing accomplished, nothing but gas wasted and mom's blood pressure dangerously high for the next 3 hours. yep. almost daily.
- August 19, 2008 at 7:50 PM
- Spider Lady said...
Kids are so much fun aren't they? I'm so glad mine are still too young to have to deal with that!
- August 19, 2008 at 8:12 PM
Don't you love when kids get their little grubby paws on the scissors? About a month ago, my 5 year old was watching my 16 year old buzz his own hair. He does this every 2 weeks. Preston decided he wanted his buzzed like his big brothers. Fine. Go ahead and cut it. Have fun getting him to sit still. The little guy sat perfectly still for him! I was shocked and a little mad because when I cut it, he acts like I'm trying to murder him. God only knows what the neighbors think...lol. Well, it didn't end there. Dylan left the clippers out while he fetched the broom......big mistake. Preston decided he needed to play with the clippers and chopped the top....literally chopped it. It was all ragged and uneven. He placed the clippers on his head the moved them to another spot. Well, I couldn't fix it without shaving him bald. My husband finally fixed it today. We had to wait until it was all long enough. I just kept hoping any time were were out in public that people were smart enough to realize that HE did it, not me...lol. School starts next Tuesday, so I'm just happy it grew out before then. Now...if I could only get my oldest son to cut his. ;)
- August 19, 2008 at 8:21 PM
I can SOOO sympathize with you! But, my 2-year-old likes to hit, pinch, bite, etc. Plus, in the car he throws his shoes! Summer was okay with sandals, but we just bought him a new pair of tennis shoes this weekend, one of which hit me in the back of the head earlier today on the way to the grocery store! If you find a place that will take Brooklyn, let me know! Thanks for the laughs!!
- August 19, 2008 at 8:27 PM
- Mum-me said...
Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Dawn!
I am so glad I am not the only one who as children that misbehave like that in public. I can see that scene so clearly in my mind, only with my 6 children instead of yours. (Except my my 2 year old lets the 3 year old handle the tantrums while she does the velcro act - sticks to me like she's afraid I will leave her behind.)
- August 19, 2008 at 9:10 PM
- A Moment in the Life of a Mother said...
You sound like your having the same problems with your two year old that I'm having with my twenty month old. I sometimes wonder what goes through their little minds. Mine's not even two yet. Oh how I dread when that happens. Maybe she will be over the tantrums by then and we will have smooth sailing...NOT!! LOL!! Good luck.
- August 19, 2008 at 9:21 PM
- Amylouwho said...
I had conversation about this type of thing the other day. What does it take to just pick up and leave when stuff like this happens when you know it means you are going to have to come back.
We have the problem at the library. My 2 1/2 year old never wants to leave and likes to shriek this to everyone in a 10 mile radius. I know I should just put down the books and everything and leave, but it just means I'd have to come back .
I was wondering too - does your Wonder Woman cape ever get caught in the doors?
- August 19, 2008 at 10:14 PM
- Kari said...
Oh girl, we've all been there! Hugs to you!
- August 19, 2008 at 10:34 PM
- fawndear said...
You need to make a binder and fill it with the stories of the insane things your kids put you through.
Wait 20 to 30 years until they have kids of their own and are complaining about how horrid their munchkins are acting.
Then give them the book, while laughing in their faces, and tell how awesome payback is.
My two year old discovered scissors today and hacked off one of her shirley temple curls. UGH! I know how you feel.
- August 19, 2008 at 11:38 PM
- Amy said...
My hair stylist told me that my kids are known as the "really good kids" that go into the salon. You really should just say "shoot me now!" when they say something like that. I HAD to take all 3 with me when getting my hair cut. They were loud and running around the salon since my 19 month old wouldn't stay sit and of course the proper thing to do is chase him (at least in the minds of a 5 and 7 year old).
Anyway, I hear you!
On another note - I had to take my 5 year old back into the grocery store today because when Mom says "no gum" that means go ahead and steal a pack. AHHH! Thankfully the lady at customer service didn't say "it's okay" when he started crying. Nothing worse than when a teachable moment goes awry because the lady next to you can't handle kid tears!
Love your blog!
- August 19, 2008 at 11:39 PM
- Jennifer Foster said...
I hope you have a good bottle of wine!
- August 19, 2008 at 11:47 PM
- Six-Pack Momma said...
I was feeling bad the other day that we haven't done more this summer. Then I realized why. Hmmmm...let's see....the kids are playing in the backyard- granted they're up to no good, but at least it's my yard....I don't want to torture them or myself by attempting to take them anywhere. As a result, I went grocery shopping on Saturday for the first time in three months.
Oh, and a little trick I discovered....if I count backwards...5...4...3...2..1....it is for some reason more effective on my kids than the traditional 1-2-3. Maybe because there is nothing that comes after 0, and they don't want to find out what will happen when I do.....of course if I had a kid who likes rockets or space stuff, it probably wouldn't work, 'cuz then he'd just take off into some other realm...and I wouldn't want to see that.
- August 19, 2008 at 11:47 PM
- AlisonH said...
Clapping was shorthand for acknowledging that here was a mom who doesn't let her kids act out without facing the consequences for it--go Mom!
- August 19, 2008 at 11:52 PM
- Higgins Family said...
Love it when you make me laugh! And make my life seem a little more sane (a 3 year old and 6 month old twins make me insane most days).
I have an unrelated question. I just started a blog, the intent to keep family and friends up to date on our life these days. I decided to make it a public site to make things easier - no one has to "sign-in". I have all the security settings on the highest except for the fact that it's public. I hesitated slightly at making it public since there are pictures and descriptions of my kids all over it. So I'm wondering, since your blog is very well read, do you ever feel like you're living in a fishbowl hoping no creeps are looking in? Do you do anything extra/special in the name of safety?
- August 19, 2008 at 11:53 PM
What a great story this is, Dawn! I'm sorry for all you had to go through to get the story, but still, it was a great read! I was at a sports themed "salon" yesterday with my 2 kiddos! (I'm assuming from Clay knocking baseball caps off the wall that you were, too.) The way Lexi would run after Clay to try and get him to behave and Clay just squealing and enjoying the chase reminds me SO much of my 7-yr-old daughter and 4-yr-old son!
' I can't even put the little curls in an envelope to save so I can look at them one day and say, "Hmmm, here's some hair. I wonder why I saved it. I wonder which kid this was from." '
- August 19, 2008 at 11:58 PM
Just wondered if Clay had to pay any consequences for the hair cutting? I cut my own hair when I was about 3 to make myself pretty for my oldest sisters wedding. It was not a pretty hair cut. Mama said Jean would cry awhile, then spank me, then cry awhile and then spank me again. Needless to say, I never cut my own hair again. She had to cut it all off about an inch long all over to get it even. Fortunately, I have naturally curly hair and it was just curls all over my head by wedding time. My 3 daughters were never allowed to touch the scissors in our house, except for little plastic ones that would hardly cut hot butter. You must be a glutton for punishment taking all of them anywhere by yourself. I guess taking the offending one to the car for some behavior modification is out of the question in this day and age. It sure worked in my day. I was never traumatized by it and neither were my girls. They all turned out wonderfully. Good luck. I'll be praying for you.
Sudee in Florida
- August 20, 2008 at 12:15 AM
- Jenn loves Derek said...
I have so been there. Infact I feel like I have a passport fully stamped of being there. Tomorrow my kids start school. It will be just me and my four year old boy. Now most people would be excited about this and I am. But a couple of weeks ago I decided to invite other Moms to my house for a potluck brunch, to celebrate! Bad Idea!! Very Bad Idea!! My house looks horrible and it always does by the end of the summer. I am making cinnamon rolls right now and it's Midnight here. I got a headcold last week. You know, the one you had when the kids started puking in your bed. The cold, that just takes you out and the doctor says it's just viral and it will go away in 10 14 days. (yeah, tha's comforting! He has no idea the damage my kids can do in 2 hours let alone 10-14 days!)
So here I sit waiting for those rolls to rise with a bowling ball sitting on my shoulders and I have to get my Jr. High schooler off in the morning, so I am debating if I should even go to bed. Because waking up feels horrible.
Sorry, I meant relate. Not to vent. When do your kids start school?
- August 20, 2008 at 1:06 AM
- calista said...
My oldest did this to me once in Wal-Mart in the check out line. I'm from the South where we call it "pitchin' a Hissy Fit". I mean people were coming out of their respective lines to see what ill had come over that poor child. She was screaming for a candy bar. I was mortified. I politely samiled and said okay darlin' I'll get it for you and handed it to the check out lady, which IMMEDIATELY hushed her up. She was gleaming with pride over that candy bar. I paid for it and proceeded to the car where I Strapped her in her car seat, started down the road, and THREW that candy bar straight out the window and told her throwing a fit like that would get her ZERO, No DICE, NOTHING. You didn't really think I was gonna reward that kinda behavior did you? They don't do this crap at home, so they know what they can get away with. Well from that point on, any time she has started to "pitch" a fit in the store for something, I give an evil smile, and say "do you really think this is going to get you something?" and it works EVERY time.
- August 20, 2008 at 1:17 AM
- Chrissy said...
WOW! My daughters did haircuts today too! Not only did my daughters cut hair today but they didn't even bother to clean up the evidence and left hair EVERYWHERE! I am STILL cleaning up hair! My 3 yr olds beautiful curls got chopped off above the ears. bleh. I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one dealing with this today!
- August 20, 2008 at 2:18 AM
- ms dee said...
Talk about hair drama! I have a daughter with autism who wants to have very short hair "like a boy" but at the same time would like to braid it. She'd grow it then cut it herself when she's frustrated. The result -- a head with bald patches! Fortunately, hair grows back. What if it doesn't? For the past five years she hasn't gone out without wearing a hat/scarf/beanie coz of her bald patches.
- August 20, 2008 at 4:47 AM
- Us3JKJ said...
Oh Dawn, I am so sorry for your baby's curls! I had a similar "hair cutting" incident as well a few months ago with the same lying about it as well. How did you handle that issue? I have a 10-yr-old son and my daughter is 15 months (just turned 1 at the time of the incident). She had JUST started to grow hair when my son decided that it would be an awesome idea to cut a HUGE chunk off the top of her head. It was so obvious that HE did it as the line was straight across, as one would get with a large pair of scissors. He then of course lied and said he did not do it and Jayden must have done it herself. There is no way she could have handled the scissors (much less reach them off of my desk), put them on top of her head, cut a large chunk off, put the scissors up, and then dispose of the hair. When that excuse failed to work he tried to tell me it has "always been like that" - yea as if I never noticed that she was missing a huge chunk of hair on the top of her head before! So we went through pics to SHOW him this is wrong as well. To THIS DAY he STILL denies it when I KNOW it was him... there are only us 3 in the house and I know I did not do it! So, again, how did you deal with the lying?
- August 20, 2008 at 4:53 AM
It drives me crazy that the lollipops are always out in the open...I mean...come on! All 4 of my kids would have whined for them.....
- August 20, 2008 at 6:07 AM
- Kathryn said...
Thank goodness someone else is going through the same stuff I have to endure while out in public with kids...and I "only" have two of them! You're a mama goddess in my humble opinion!
My 3 yr old girl cut off a patch of her own hair about a month ago. She had just gotten to the point where I could pull it back into cute little ponytails and piggy tails...now she has a really short bob which still doesn't really distract from that 1 inch patch of hair sticking out on the right side of her head. Oh vey!
But you know what?? We moved last April and what do we have right next door? Two sisters that cut hair in their home. Heaven!! All I have to do is make an appointment, plop $5 in my kids' hand and send them on over...voila´!
Know what's even better?? I have a cute little wine/cheese/French foo foo shop at the end of my block which is a perfect escape when the kids are in bed and the hubby is at home after a long day of whining and temper tantrums. Wanna visit me? ;O)
- August 20, 2008 at 6:19 AM
- Mabunny said...
Hmm. Does not sound like fun. What did they all do once you got them back in the car??
- August 20, 2008 at 6:54 AM
- 6boyzmom said...
Love your blog. Reading it is my daily treat. I tagged you on my blog.
- August 20, 2008 at 7:07 AM
- WhimsicalThoughts said...
LOL, my daughter (7 at the time) who has curly hair decided she needed bangs, she CHOPPED the top of her hair off, so for a while she was know as "Stefani the Chia pet"! of course she did this the day before school pictures.
- August 20, 2008 at 7:55 AM
- Ren said...
I feel so bad for laughing, but I just can't help it. *hug*
- August 20, 2008 at 8:17 AM
- Amanda said...
I only have 2 kids but that could have been us waiting to get haircuts, complete with 2yo tantrums. Those trips usually end in us not only leaving with no haircuts, but also everyone gets mandatory naptime when we get home or face Mommy's wrath.
- August 20, 2008 at 8:28 AM
- Brenda said...
My kids are all in school. It is such a treata to buy groceries ALONE! It is like a day at the spa. I assume anyway. Of course, it would be a little difficult to get their haircut if you didn't take them along. Drat. Hole in my plan.
- August 20, 2008 at 8:46 AM
Thank you for your story! I'm like the other poster who was holding her breath until the end! I have three kids (6, 4, 2) and although this particular type of episode hasn't happened to me, the kids have had meltdowns at stores where I've just left. I'm proud of you for doing the right thing. Way to go Mom!
- August 20, 2008 at 9:17 AM
- Jill said...
Whenever my kids act like that in public, I turn to the people who are staring at us and say:
"They take after their father's side of the family!"
They usually laugh and stop staring. It works every time;0)
- August 20, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Dawn, if you do find that Tempermental 2 Year Old Boarding School, please let me know. Our daughters can be roommates.
- August 20, 2008 at 10:31 AM
- TheHMC said...
Ahhhhh I SO feel your pain!
Seriously. I went to Wal Mart this past friday with all 5 of mine, the two youngest in the stroller. I was very, very afraid. They're usually behaved in public, but everyone has their moments and I was sure that, on this happy Friday, that I was playing with fire.
Would you belive that not only were they all well behaved, but my oldest two were more helpful than I could've asked, begged and pleaded for.
So I bought them soda AND candy in the check out line to show them that Yes, mom really does appreciate it and you can have the candy you were promised for good behavior.
(I paid for the sugar fest the rest of the day. But did I mention that we were there looking for the last of the school supplies that we needed? Along with everyone else that lives around me? The sugar fest was worth it.)
- August 20, 2008 at 10:47 AM
It's nice not being the only one in the world having a day like that! At my boys' open house last night at school, my girls (2 & 4) were fighting, biting, screaming, crying, falling backwards out of their chairs, losing crocs, tripping over their feet, falling all over the floor, getting into all the classroom's toys, getting into the teacher's dry-erase markers and coloring on her board, erasing her stuff, running out the door, and running around the classroom. It was like they were raised by wolves and this was their first time being introduced to civilization. On the way home they were asking if we could go to Aldi and buy snacks. Uh no thanks, I've had enough humiliation for one day. :)
- August 20, 2008 at 10:50 AM
- Keren said...
Yikes! This reminded me of when my (then) babysitter decided that my (then 1.5 yr. old) daughter's bangs were too long. Without asking, she cut the bangs about an inch from her scalp! It looked terrible! Whenever I look back at those pictures I cringe. (At least Brooklyn's cut was in the back, right?) And this was a grown woman who should have known better!
- August 20, 2008 at 11:15 AM
- Erin said...
Thank you. That sounds like my shopping trip to Target today, which I'm off to post on my blog. I can't complain, earlier in the day my youngest started preschool and my older two were near angels while I did some work at the church.
- August 20, 2008 at 1:24 PM
I'm praying for a peaceful afternoon for you right now!! I hope things got better at home.
- August 20, 2008 at 1:53 PM
Okay, Kathryn, I have to ask. Your husband was home from a long day of whining and tantrums...that's a job??? people get PAID to do that??? Wow!!! sign me UP! (sorry, I just couldn't resist --- I know it was the kids having the performance issues...unless it was you after listening to and dealing with them for hours on end! Meta
- August 20, 2008 at 2:11 PM
- Jenni Litton said...
Gosh, I wrote a month or so back saying it was good to know that I wasn't the only one with a 2 year old throwing tantrums..your answer to me asking for help was "duct tape over his mouth" love it!
I have two boys 15 months apart..this happens EVERYTIME we go somewhere...I just cringe when my two year old starts fit throwing. I just want to tell everyone in the area, " WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT, HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A CRAZED MOTHER TRY TO DISCIPLINE A SCREAMING TWO YEAR OLD IN PUBLIC?!"
Then, I would leave feeling much better. You....rock!
- August 20, 2008 at 3:27 PM
- Jenni Litton said...
It's me...I forgot to say something. Getting my 2 1/2 yr olds haircut never goes without a "sucker incident." I find myself giving him 3 or 4 suckers JUST to get through the trip with SOME sanity left. I just give in. It's easier then giving the "evil eye", it makes my eye twitch, and my whole body. I need some wine.
- August 20, 2008 at 3:34 PM
- Janet said...
There are only two things you need after a day like that - a hug and a drink, a very, very big drink. I hope you got both.
- August 20, 2008 at 4:20 PM
- Momma03 said...
Some how I feel like I have been there done that...and I *only* have 3 kids...mind you instead of applause I usually catch a comment something to the effect of "why doesn't she give them what they want"!!! PULEEASE people...do they really think that is all it would take?? Once again...glad I'm not alone in this experience!
- August 20, 2008 at 4:55 PM
- geelizzie said...
What no sucker? would make a great t-shirt slogan.
- August 20, 2008 at 7:11 PM
- mommeeof9 said...
In the last 2 yrs, my youngest daughter, now 3 1/2, has had her hair cut by 2 brothers (2 different times) and she cut it herself recently. She had beautiful shoulder length curls until her brother cut it last fall.
- August 20, 2008 at 8:21 PM
- Michelle said...
Dawn, I hate to admit it (especially after reading the next post about the comments you got on this one), but I laughed at this one. You poor dear!
Honestly, I have SO much more sympathy for moms in public now than I did six months ago, a year ago, before I had kids.... And yep, we've walked out of places before -- Steak and Shake most recently, I believe.
Good luck with the next shot at a haircut! And wish us luck -- we're going for our school starts really soon haircuts next week. I'm hoping there are suckers in our future.
- August 21, 2008 at 12:23 AM
When my kids act up..and they always do..and people stare i tell them to go collect money from the folks that are staring before we go any futher into the "show" if we are putting on a show by golly we should get paid...
- August 21, 2008 at 9:01 AM
- Emily and Tom said...
LOL your posts always make me feel better...like I'm not the only mom that has things like this happen to me. In fact, it happened this morning in Home Depot as I was desperately trying to grab a billion paint samples and my six, four, and one year olds were all screaming and running around. Thanks for making me feel a little more normal.
- August 21, 2008 at 12:31 PM
My kids are grown now, and - you'll never believe this - I laugh when I remember those public humiliations! Why, oh why do they always have to have an audience??? Just delete the comments the bad people make and don't give it a second thought. Life is too short to worry about the negative people! They obviously have NO kids, or very sad kids because ALL kids throw a tantrum or two. I look forward to your blog everyday - it brings back the memories of when my kids were small.
- August 21, 2008 at 2:37 PM
My oldest son (now 15) decided to give his sister a haircut when he was 4 and she was 2. I discovered it when I went to change her diaper and found a fistful of hair stuffed in there. My son thought it was hilarious (still does, for that matter) - me, not so much. I thought both kids had learned their lesson about cutting hair, but no. Two years later, my daughter decided that she wanted to "look like Katie Couric" and cut her off about 4 inches of her own hair on one side. I had to take her to my hairdresser and get all of it cut really short to try to even it out. Luckily, my youngest has never felt the need to try out his hair cutting skills on anyone...
- August 21, 2008 at 5:58 PM
- 5tatertots said...
Taking children out in public is always scary. My son, who is 8, has autism, and I can't take him amywhere! We went to Wal-Mart the other day, and as we were walking into the store, a child was throwing a temper tantrum in the parking lot. Dalton stops, stares, then yells "BABY STOP THAT YELLING!! YOUR A BIG BOY NOW, NOT A BABY!!" My face turned 3 shades of red, I, too, avoided any eye contact with the parents. So a total of 3 anda half minutes later, we are in fabrics, and can hear a baby crying in shoes. I guess you can imagion what Dalton had to say "BABY", he yelled across the store, and this time it was worse, "SHUT UP YOU BABY!!" I told Dalton that he was not being very nice, and that poor baby could have been hurt. Then I notice an elderly woman giving me a very disaproving look. I simply said "he is autistic, we think it, he says it." If he sees a person with some sort of disability, he is quick (and loud) to point it out. I usually put him in shirts that give some type of warning that he is autistic, and speaks his mind. Dalton was completely non-verbal until he was over 4 years old. I remember praying for years to hear his voice. "I don't care what he says, I just want to hear his voice", I would pray. Now my prayers are more like this "Dear God, could you please put your hand over Daltons mouth today in Wal-Mart, and I have to go to the bank also, it would be nice there too. Amen"
- August 24, 2008 at 8:56 PM
- Erin said...
I've been reading your blog since the Pokemon incident but have never left a comment. Now I've been without a laptop (thank you 1.5 yr old monkey who threw it off the couch) for a week and am catching up and just had to post to this one. Actually, I should have posted one more up in response to "anonymous", but I digress. We were at an amusement park this summer when my daughter decided she needed to throw a fit. We sat down on a bench and I let her scream her little eyes out and bang her little fists. I can't even remember what started it. But what I do remember, is the lady who was sitting next to me with her 4ish yr old daughter who was just staring at my Lilly screaming. The mom told her daughter "She's ok, she's just mad and she's too young to express that in words yet. Some mommies know that it's ok to be angry sometimes and they let their kids express their anger however they know how. It's ok to be angry." My daughter stopped throwing her fit a few minutes later and started playing with the other little girl. I was just so impressed with her explanation to her daughter and that she wasn't the typical onlooker thinking I was raising a future felon. In reality, I was just too tired to scoop her up and walk away. But after hearing what that lady said it gave me a whole new perspective on parenting! It IS ok to be mad sometimes. And we can't expect toddlers who don't yet understand emotion to be able to properly deal with their feelings all the time. Tantrums will happen. I will continue to try to teach my daughter about emotions and words like "I'm mad", but I don't worry about the occasional temper tantrum anymore. So, if the Silver Dollar City lady is reading, Thank You!
- August 24, 2008 at 10:12 PM
My daughter is just an year old and watching her tantrums (and reading your blog), I dread visits to the malls a year hence.
And it really pains to read people judging others with limited information and then passing on 'suggestions'. Don't let these drag your down. You rock and everyone (well most of the readers anyway) know it.
- August 25, 2008 at 1:58 AM
- Kelly said...
Oh man!!! Dontcha just love em to death when they do that to you?? "to Death" being hte operative word at times LOL
I'm also looking for boarding schools / military schools for 7 year old boys. International is fine by me - in fact that could work quite well.... let me know if you come across any :)
Thanks for sharing as always Dawn - you are an inspiration.
- August 27, 2008 at 2:44 AM


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A brand new business centre near the centre of Peterborough supporting businesses making a positive impact on people, planet or place. It offers 24/7 access, high quality office and workshop units, easy in-out terms, super fast fibre broadband and Wi-Fi, free on-site parking, meeting and conference rooms, co-working space, business support, virtual offices and full reception services.
This business centre is in a central location with free on site parking available. This space has it's own private access and 24 hour access. Office furniture is available.
This newly built, modern centre offers a light and airy serviced office space to work within. Each office is flooded with natural light. The whole centre offers full disability access. The centre has solar panels installed on the roof.
This business park is a unique development which successfully combines rural tranquillity and surroundings with excellent travel, communications and amenities. The offices are both open plan and enclosed offices and they are decorated with modern fittings. The offices are accessed via telecom operated by main reception. They also contain a large, bright meeting/ conference room and kitchen. There are shared wash room and hygiene facilities. This is a modern air-conditioned business centre adjacent to the main North South A1 route. Benefiting from double glazing throughout and individual A/C control in each suite. Communal kitchen and break out area for any informal meeting requirements. Full disabled facilities, CCTV security and entrance barriers. Meeting facilities, manned reception and administration support available. Virtual office options are also available. Should you have a larger requirement there is 5000sq ft of modern office accommodation (completed to high standard) which can be configured to your own design and requirement.
This eye-catching business centre boasts impressive views over the surrounding area, stylish and cutting edge facilities, ample, free on site car parking and has a large amount of serviced office space available to let. Office accommodation within the business centre ranges in size from 358 sq. ft. to 1120 sq. ft. and is all air conditioned and equipped with broadband access. There are meeting / conference rooms on site for your convenience and a professionally staffed reception area. Virtual offices are available at this centre.
This is a modern business centre providing a range of furnished offices, workshops and studios that are available on flexible terms. The centre is fully telecoms & IT enabled and provides free car parking and CCTV security. The 14 offices range in size from 400 to 1,000 ft2 (37 to 93 m2) and each has its own services with lighting, heating and carpets. The 11 workshops range from 1,000 to 2,000 ft2 (93 to 185 m2) and benefit from powered roller shutter doors, 3-phase electricity, lighting and WC facilities. Self-storage units are also available.
Below you can see the nearest areas to Morton where you can find serviced offices:
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Continuous delivery Platform as a Service (PaaS) company CloudBees has released Jenkins Operations Center to (attempt to) provide an answer to "Jenkins sprawl" in development and operations teams. The product also aims to provide visibility into Jenkins configurations.
What Is Jenkins Sprawl?
If you're not familiar with the term Jenkins sprawl, CloudBees would define this as the predicament arising as development teams add more instances of Jenkins and end up creating siloed Jenkins configurations that proliferate.
As a popular open source continuous integration (CI) tool, avoiding Jenkins sprawl (with this tool) means IT operations and development teams could be able to manage all Jenkins resources, allowing them to reduce additional hardware purchases and assert more control over the development environment.
"As groups adopt Jenkins, each group maintains its own resources. If a group needs more resources, they have to buy more build node machines, even if there is excess capacity elsewhere in the organization. With Jenkins Operations Center, groups can share build nodes between multiple masters, optimizing existing resources," said Kohsuke Kawaguchi, founder of Jenkins and architect at CloudBees. "Jenkins Operations Center has the same extensibility DNA as Jenkins, allowing users to build additional plugins on their own to handle specific needs."
Today, administrators have to remember specific URL/password combinations to access individual masters. Jenkins Operation Center by CloudBees supports Single Sign-On (SSO) to access any master.
The firm says that Jenkins admins currently spend a lot of time maintaining individual masters — but with its Jenkins Operations Center management is centralized. Security configurations can be pushed to individual masters by a central admin. Update centers can also be attached to downstream masters, ensuring plugin compliance and version consistency.


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I am sick. Bleh. The BF is always hot and I am always cold, so he wants the fan full blast AND the windows open, while I want a thick blanket with the windows closed. So I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and my sinuses and eyes were so dry, and last night I couldn't sleep because I was coughing every 10 minutes. But now I am just sucking on Ginger Ale flavored cough drops by Halls, yummy!
So last night the BF and I went to the Lakers vs. Grizzlies game at the Staples Center, my boss got us boxed seats up in the stadium with an open bar and food, we had a lot of fun just hanging out with everyone. It was actually my first time at a basketball game EVER.
Here is my FOTD using Laker colors, and two purple and yellow heart stickers (I love stickers!)
What I used:
- Monistat Chafing Gel as primer
- MAC StudioFinish Concealer NC30
- Meow Cosmetics Priming Powder
- Silk Naturals Mineral Foundation
- MAC Fafi Blush in ""Fashion Frenzy"
- Milani Blush in "Luminous" on apples
- MAC PP in "Soft Ochre" all over lids
- Pure Luxe Mineral e/s in "Sunny Day" (applied wet using a sponge tip applicator on inner part of the lid)
- MAC "Golden Lemon" Pigment over "Sunny Day"
- Pure Luxe Minerals e/s in "Grape" applied wet first, then dry OVER it, on the outer-V and contour.
- MAC "Your Ladyship" Pigment as highlight
- Nixie Liquid Eyeliner
- Ardell False Eyelashes in "Babies"
- Ardell Magic Lash Mascara
- MAC l/s in "Scanty"
- NYX Lipgloss in "Beige"
Of course the LAKER GIRLS!
They had guards guarding the court to prevent anyone from just walking on it...
What's a game WITHOUT FOOD!??? I had some cotton candy, nachos, and a caramel apple!
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Saturday, March 29, 2008
FOTD: Laker Colors!
I am sick. Bleh. The BF is always hot and I am always cold, so he wants the fan full blast AND the windows open, while I want a thick blanket with the windows closed. So I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and my sinuses and eyes were so dry, and last night I couldn't sleep because I was coughing every 10 minutes. But now I am just sucking on Ginger Ale flavored cough drops by Halls, yummy!
34 comments
- missjaclynrose said...
wow! lucky! mr. man is a big time lakers fan and we have yet to still go to a lakers game. cuz you know we've been to about a billion clippers games at the staples center.
did you have fun? those vip suite boxes are really nice. just do me a favor, don't be a lakers fan. LOL! j/k.
Clippers fan for life over here =)
and I love how you did your eyes. but what else is new? you are always so good at your eye makeup.
- March 29, 2008 at 1:49 PM
- Christiana Divine @ Memoirs of A Shopping Addict said...
this is hot and i love the little heart stickers you added in the corners. :) i did a look semi-similar to this using piggies from the she space. :) yours is nicer though because it's more intricate than mine, mine was just a simple gradient. LOL. :)
- March 29, 2008 at 2:13 PM
- Anonymous said...
Wow! Most girls can't pull the purple and yellow look because they use the wrong shade or it doesn't look right. But yours looks really nice and not muddy at all. And YUMMMM the food looks wonderful. Sound fun.
- March 29, 2008 at 2:17 PM
- slvrlips said...
Gorgeous look! Very hot and festive. Hope you feel better soon
- March 29, 2008 at 2:21 PM
- christy. said...
Omg looking at that food makes me hungry haha. Your look is so cute! :) Looks like you had a blast~
- March 29, 2008 at 4:59 PM
- soFresh & soPink said...
omg, i'm totally lovin' the eyeshadow! you did an amazing job, and I'm sure the lakers would be proud =).
BTW, did they win?
- March 29, 2008 at 6:00 PM
- Liz said...
Wow, I never thought yellow would go so well with purple (and still, looking at the Lakers uniform, I'm still skeptical)... but the combo looks so good on your lids!
- March 29, 2008 at 6:18 PM
- Fei said...
The Ardell Babies are one of my fav "natural" looking lashes. You and Jon are like Vernon and me. I'm cold, he's hot... He complains about my stuffy room and heater all the time!
- March 29, 2008 at 6:35 PM
- Tina [BCM] said...
I love purple & yellow together. :D
- March 29, 2008 at 7:24 PM
- ilurvemakeup said...
I LOVE!!! I am sooo going to try this!!! Thank you :)
Yummy caramel apple *drools*
- March 29, 2008 at 7:35 PM
- Ethereal Prey said...
*drools* hmmm carmel apple....green apples are always the best...*drools*
- March 29, 2008 at 8:35 PM
- Linda said...
hahaha how ironic!! that's exactly how me and my bf are. same exact thing happens every time! he has the fan on with windows open while i have a thick thick blanket over me.
anywho, your makeup looks perfect! love the stickers too. i love how we can use makeup to express ourselves during any occasion.
- March 29, 2008 at 8:43 PM
- Anonymous said...
did you seriously use Monistat's Chafing Gel as a primer?
- March 29, 2008 at 10:26 PM
- Distinque said...
wow what a great color combination! Love the cute little hearts at the corner. First time I've seen caramel apple cut up like that:) that makes it easier to eat huh? lol
- March 29, 2008 at 11:00 PM
- alien man?! said...
LOVE LOVE LOVE the Lakers eyes!!!
OMG I have that SAME EXACT body temperature problem w/my boyfriend, too! He gets hot and sweaty during the same time I am cold and shivering under the blanket. DRIVES ME CRAZY sometimes @_@ For a while, I even contemplated getting another bed for my studio and sleeping alone on "incompatible" nights.
- March 29, 2008 at 11:18 PM
- Chiara said...
Aww what a cute look! I bet you got lots of compliments that night xD
- March 30, 2008 at 12:10 AM
- Emilee @ GMM said...
Gorgeous look as always. :)
- March 30, 2008 at 3:33 AM
- Mrs. Lynne, MakeupFix.net said...
Gorgeous as always sis! Love the yellow peeping out.
- March 30, 2008 at 3:34 AM
- Nic Nic said...
ww the look is so cute! i like the stickers hehe. I love the combo of colors too! you make yellow look so wearable. The food making me hungry haha.
Hope you get better soon!
- March 30, 2008 at 7:07 AM
- Bliss said...
Gorgeous FOTD :), the combo is awesome, especially with the cute sticker heheh. Your food looks yummy, now im craving for cheesy nachos.
- March 30, 2008 at 7:16 AM
- c00ki312 said...
looks like a fun night out. in the UK we dont have things like that, sure we have football games but nothing like eating nachos, hotdogs and stuff :(
- March 30, 2008 at 7:32 AM
- brittni said...
I was so excited when I heard you were doing a FOTD with these colors and of course you didn't let me down - gorgeous! I just wish you had an open-eyed picture of how it looked but thanks for great inspiration as always :)
- March 30, 2008 at 4:02 PM
- Jamie said...
Hey I remember e-mailing you a looooooong time ago about the monistat chafing gel and your just NOW trying it!? >:0 haha, I'm glad it's working for someone :)
- March 30, 2008 at 4:03 PM
- MakeupByRenRen said...
ohhh pretty! the blending is gorgeous....i wish i had a basketball team that was good to match my eyemakeup to!
- March 30, 2008 at 5:37 PM
- Sheila Ferrari said...
the heart stickers complete the look. fabyooluss!!!
- March 30, 2008 at 9:08 PM
- ladystarr said...
I love going to sports events! You're so lucky =) You did a wonderful job with the yellow/gold/purple!! I was thinking of doing a purple/yellow look but I don't think it will come out right! HAH! well thanks for the inspiration...I may have to try my own rendition of it!
- March 30, 2008 at 10:42 PM
- Tracy said...
i was never really fond of the laker colors, but they look so pretty on your eyes. haha.
that caramel apple looks so yummy. that was the very first thing i ate when i got my braces off. :D i'm trying to watch what i eat now, though. =/
- March 30, 2008 at 11:33 PM
- suzie wuzie said...
i love the little stickers!
- March 31, 2008 at 4:38 AM
- Anonymous said...
uber cute makeup!!! i wish i can pull off stickers like you can. ;) ganda ganda!!! ;D
- March 31, 2008 at 6:13 AM
- nilla cookie said...
Ahh, I haven't seen a basketball game in ages! I'm more of a football fan - can't beat hot men in tight pants tackling each other, right???
Love the purple and gold!
- March 31, 2008 at 10:09 AM
- Her.Peachieness said...
OMG! I <3 the Laker's!!! GO Laker Chicks! I'm from the Bay Area but I've been a Laker's fan since I've met my bf (4 years now, hehehe). I'm so in love with this look, gotta try it someday. ^_^ I'm gonna run now, Warrior fans are gonna come beat my butt. =P
- March 31, 2008 at 3:38 PM
- the Muse said...
im so impatient for your 80's look!
*wink wink* *nudge nudge*
Loving the purple and gold ;)
- March 31, 2008 at 7:08 PM
- Joey said...
Soo gorg.
David Beckham was at the game that night.. I wonder if you got a peek at him! teehee.
I love your posts, as always! And I totally love your baby/little Vanessa picture.. Too cute (:
That's me at like 3. I've still got the chubby cheeks too (:
- April 1, 2008 at 12:44 AM
- ladyjane said...
Your eye makeup is always so vibrant! Great Lakers colors :)
- April 1, 2008 at 11:22 PM


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