All About Kimberly

Sailing Along the Life of Single Parenthood

Tag Archives: parenting

A Scary Mommy Moment

So last night as I was soaking in the excitement about BlogHer and realizing that I was really going, Cameron was heading to bed. She went to the kitchen to throw away her water bottle, and all of a sudden she was screaming at the top of her lungs.  I get up and look at her and you can tell by the she’s screaming and hollering that she is in lots of pain, but I can’t figure out what in the world could cause this all of a sudden pain.

That’s when I noticed she was holding her foot up.  Okay….so I at least know where the pain is, but I have no idea what caused it.  I carry her to the couch to look at her foot.  She’s still SCREAMING at the top of her lungs like she’s going to die and I’m VERY scared…did she brake her ankle? Yes. I’m borderline losing it.

When I lay her on the couch, I pull up her foot to look at it and it’s solid black from wearing her new black flip flops that day.  I can’t see anything.  I ask where it hurts.  She screams. I ask again. She screams.  I finally have to yell back, “I can’t help if you don’t calm down and tell me where it hurts.”  Ok…Mommy voice won. She still has tears rolling down her eyes, but no screaming (thank you Lord).  She points to the bottom of her food (good it’s not a broken ankle). Like I said, the bottom of the foot is BLACK so I still can’t help.  I ask her if she can hobble to the bathtub and run some water over it to clean it some and explain that I can’t see anything right now. She thinks she can so she jumps to the bathroom on one leg and I head to the kitchen to try to look for the glass (or whatever has caused her this pain).

I don’t even get all the way to the kitchen when I see it – a wasp on the floor.  Not sure if it was dazed before she stepped on it, but if not she dazed it when she stepped on it. I can tell it’s alive, but it’s not really moving. I walk by it, grab the flyswatter, and bend down to swat it.  It moves it’s antenna (or whatever), but it never moves its feet or flys.  I swat it and pick it up with a paper towel to throw it outside.

By this time Cameron has her foot clean. I tell her what happened. We get the Anti-Sting stuff my grandmother gave us when bees got after Cameron last year at school and doctor it.  Of course we cover it with a Disney Princess bandaid – Disney bandaids cure everything whether they are really needed or not. Did you know that?

We tuck her into bed and all is now well.  She’s still limping. I had to write a note to the coaches explaining why she couldn’t run today,  and she thinks that was the “stupidest wasp ever” since I told her that when she stepped on it she killed it.

And through the entire ordeal, I have to admit. I forgot all about BlogHer.  Dang!  How is that for killing a buzz?  Of course as soon as she was settled in and I was back in the living room, I started researching BlogHer and Chicago some more.  :)

Am I Asking Too Much?

All I wanted was a quick and simple meal in peace with my daughter tonight. I am sick. I am tired. And I need to feed my girls. So I headed to our local Dairy Queen. They are over priced, but we do like them.  I haven’t ate there much in the last few months. We’ve been saving money so avoiding dining out, but I caved in tonight – decided we deserved it.  And then what? We order our food. We go sit down. Cameron is playing her DS, and I’m writing notes for class tomorrow, when these 3 teenage girls come in. They are loud from the moment they come in (which doesn’t make me happy), but I am accustomed in dealing with loud teenagers so I turn on the “block them” sensors and get back to work.  They sit across the restaurant, but we can still hear their entire conversation.  *sigh*

But then it got worse. It seems that one of the girl’s boyfriend was cheating on her with a girl that was prentending to be her friend. (teenagers = drama) So she calls the boyfriend and curses the boyfriend…for a LONG time. While I’m sitting in the restaurant with my EIGHT YEAR OLD!!!  Even after the phone call, she continues to curse him to her friends.  UGH!!!! I JUST WANT TO RELAX AND FEED MY BABY IN PEACE!!!  IS THAT TOO MUCH TO FREAKING ASK?!?!?!?!

And if all of that wasn’t bad enough, oen of the girls has a cell phone that has some pretty explicit songs for routine.  So between the cursing and the ring tones, my daughter hears more language than she normally hears in a month in 30 minutes!

A Mother’s Promise

Did you know that Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among children in the U.S.?  Evenflo is working to change that and they feel that together, we can make a difference.  What are they doing? 

They have created a FaceBook comunity called, “A Mother’s Promise.” They are focusing on bringing moms together in a quest to keep children safe while on the road.  

I personally have never let Cameron ride ANYWHERE without her car seat.  Just last night I heard an advertisement on the radio reminding everyone that 4’9″ is how tall our children should be before we let them get out of a booster seat.  Not only do we still use a booster seat (at age 8), it was just over this past summer (at 7) that I let her get out of a booster that had the back and sides.  And she still whines from time to time and wants it back – the only reason we gave it up was she was embarrased when friend’s rode with us, and she was still in a “car seat.”  She loves those sides though as it makes sleeping in the car so much easier.  We actually kept it for long trips still.

I think it is so great that Evenflo is launching this program to make everyone more aware of automobile safety.   If you have a FaceBook account, I encourage you to head over and post on the Wall, pledging to your children to do everything within your power to protect them.  If you don’t have a FaceBook account and are interested in checking this out, join and create a profile over at FaceBook and then search for “A Mother’s Promise” so you can post your promise. You should also consider spreading the word to other family members, friends, mothers – everyone you know. Together we truly can make that difference that Evenflo is encouraging.

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Review & Giveaway: CoverPlugs

All of you Mom’s have been there – trying to pull out those plug covers with your fingernails (or lack therof in my case).  They always fit in real tight, but then when I needed to plug something in, it was a pain in the you know what to get that cover out and use the outlet.  However, they actually seemed to get my daughter’s attention more than just the normal plug, and she was much better at getting them out than I was.  But that was before CoverPlugs.  Yes, these are still outlet covers, but they are so much better than those little round things I used when Cameron was a baby.  Check them out.  They cover the entire outlet, and you can even paint them so that they blend in with the wall – no longer will little eyes be interested in the outlets (to be quickly followed by little fingers).

I was really surprised at how easy it was to put the cover over the outlet, and it felt so securely attached than I’m pretty sure a little one would have a hard time removing it.  What I really like though is how attractive it is – really.  Those old, traditional covers are so unattractive, but not anymore.  Not if you are using the newest model of covers – the CoverPlug.

These and the CartStopper reviewed earlier this week or going to be two staples in all baby shower gifts I give from now on.

And continuing with my week of giveaways, the representatives of CoverPlug have graciously agreed to sponsor a CoverPlug giveaway here at All About Kimberly.  So if you’re using those old plug covers and looking to upgrade, or maybe you aren’t using anything right now. Either way, this is your chance to solve that problem.  Enter here for your chance to win this great product.

So how do you win?

  • Stop by CoverPlug site and one other mom reviewer’s site listed on the CoverPlug site before midnight, December 12, 2008.
  • Come back here and mention in comments something on the website that the reviewer mentioned that really appealed to you.  (Tell the URL of the blog post you read and what you liked)
  • A random winner will be selected and notified on December 13, 2008.
  • The winner will then have 4 days to claim their prize.

Want some extra entries? I’d love for you to have them too.  Remember they are EXTRA so you have to complete the first entry before doing any of these. Here’s some ways to earn extra entries. You should leave a comment for each entry.

  • Follow me on twitter. Tell me your Twitter name so I can verify. (1 entry)
  • Subscribe to my feed. (1 entry)
  • Blog about this contest with links to this post and CoverPlug. Be sure to leave the URL of the post. (5 entries)
  • Add my blog to your favorites on Technorati (link at bottom of page). Leave your username in the entry.  (1 entry)
  • Digg this post. Leave your username in the entry.  (1 entry)
  • Stumble this post. Leave your username in the entry.  (1 entry)
Yes. That’s the possibility of TEN extra entries in this contest. This should give you great odds.

Review & Giveaway: CartStopper

Have you ever been shopping and head out to load all of your stuff in the car only to turn your back and find that your buggy has rolled off – with your items, your purse, or worse yet, your child?  It’s simple – us moms just don’t have enough hands for all the tasks we need. So why didn’t one of us come up with this great idea?  I’m not sure, but it truly is one of those ideas that are so simple, I can’t beleiver we’ve gone so long without them – The CartStopper!

What is a CartStopper? CartStopper is a plunger type device that you attach to your buggy and your car while you unload groceries (or whatever you bought) and your little one (and don’t forget your purse). See below:

How does the CartStopper work? Like I mentioned, it’s actually so simple, it’s sad that we’ve gone without it for so many years.  The plunger/suction cup end sticks to your car.  The other end goes through the metal wire of your cart and then turns to lock in place. And VIOLA!  No more runaway carts.  (See it in action below)

Thanks to the generous people at CartStopper I was sent one to try out.  I was a little nervous (I admit). I mean it sounded good in theory, but how would it work? And what was I supposed to do? Carry this around in my purse? I don’t carry a diaper bag now that my youngest is 8.  Boy was I happy when it came in and was really not nearly as large as I feared. It easily rides in the console area of my car between the seats and slides into my purse while I’m in the store shopping.

I decided to give the  a whirl while I was out Black Friday shopping.  After all, this was when my buggy was full, I was keeping up with Cameron in a crowded parking lot full of crazy drivers, and didn’t have time to be messing around chasing a buggy across a parking lot.  And yes, it worked just as described.  No problems whatsoever. In fact Cameron was so fascinated with it that she learned to use it and would attach it to the car and buggy at each store (which kept her close to the car too so Mom was happy).

Are you a mom trying to take care of a million things in the parking lot? Would you like to own your own CartStopper?  Well, not only were the people at CartStopper generous enough to donate one of their items for me to review, but they are also willing to give one away to one lucky All About Kimberly reader.  If you’d like a CartStopper (or maybe it would make a great gift for someone you know), then enter the contest below by following the directions. The directions are simple, but only entries that are complete will be considered.

  • Stop by CartStopper before midnight, December 10, 2008.
  • Come back here and mention in comments something on the website that caught your attention that is NOT MENTIONED IN THIS REVIEW.
  • A random winner will be selected and notified on December 11, 2008.
  • The winner will then have 4 days to claim their prize.

Want some extra entries? I’d love for you to have them too.  Remember they are EXTRA so you have to complete the first entry before doing any of these. Here’s some ways to earn extra entries:

  • Follow me on twitter. Tell me your Twitter name so I can verify. (1 entry)
  • Subscribe to my feed. (1 entry)
  • Blog about this contest with links to this post and CartStopper. (5 entries)
  • Add my blog to your favorites on Technorati (link at bottom of page). Leave your username in the entry.  (1 entry)
  • Digg this post. Leave your username in the entry.  (1 entry)
  • Stumble this post. Leave your username in the entry.  (1 entry)
Yes. That’s the possibility of TEN extra entries in this contest. This should give you great odds.