Posted on 26th February 2009 by Mish in large family
duggar family, joshua duggar, large families, large family, the duggar family, the duggars
Get the first two chapters of Michelle’s new book, A Fine Mess: Living Simply With Children, for free! Michelle is the homeschooling mother of (almost ) 7 children and has lots of humor, tips and hints for living with so many for much less. Want to try it out for nothing? Just email Michelle and put “free chapters” in the subject line.
I recently finished a fun book – The Duggars: 20 and Counting. I’ll have to admit, I was a little worried at first. I thought it might just be a rehash of the Duggars’ TV specials and shows. But it was actually a very fun and quick read. 
There are a lot of great stories in the book and in each chapter, they take the time to have one of the children answer some of the questions they get from viewers of their show.
One Q and A I found particularly interesting was this:
Question: “Seeing how you all dress so much alike, I’m wondering how the children in your family are allowed to express their individuality?”
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Technorati Tags: duggar family, joshua duggar, large families, large family, the duggar family, the duggars
Posted on 25th February 2009 by Mish in miscellaneous
bamboo, bed, green, miscellaneous, sex
I realized this morning that I talk a lot about greening up life with baby – but what about before baby arrives? Can sex be GREEN? Without involving lime-flavored Jello? Because that’s just gross…
Here’s what I’ve come up with:
1. Shower together. Save water and your utility bill! But don’t forget to shut the shower off if things get a little too steamy!
2. Candle-light dinners will save your electric bill. And a fire in the fireplace will encourage the use of a renewable heat source (oh yeah, and it’s romantic).
3. Eat fair trade, and very sexy, dark chocolate. Together.
4. Try a natural aphrodesiac – like Horny Goat Weed (yes, it’s real) or Ginseng. For some really slippery fun – eat raw oysters!
5. Be green in bed. Turn down the thermostat and snuggle together on some new bamboo sheets! Bamboo is a wonderfully natural, renewable resource that you can use for anything from floors to sheets to good luck charms!
Technorati Tags: bamboo, bed, green, miscellaneous, sex
Posted on 18th February 2009 by Mish in attachment parenting | large family
attachment parenting, large families, large family, octuplets
I have been reading with much interest the news articles about Nadya Suleman, the woman who recently gave birth to octuplets and has six children at home. What I am most surprised about the articles, blog posts and comments to them that I read is how very venomous they all are to a woman none of us have ever met.
It makes me sad to think that these little children – who already have plenty of challenges ahead of them – will suffer because people don’t want to be associated with this woman. For whatever reason she had the children, (she says they were her last embryos, others say she wanted a TV show) they are here now, she loves them and needs to take care of them – so can’t we help her out a bit? I don’t begrudge her food stamps or medical care. I’m sure she’ll need all the help she can get.
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Technorati Tags: attachment parenting, large families, large family, octuplets
Posted on 14th February 2009 by mishakennedy in attachment parenting
attachment parenting, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, nursing, sleeping baby
By Michelle Kennedy Hogan
“If you don’t let that baby sleep somewhere on his own,” the prickly nurse said, “he’ll have attachment issues later on.”
“Really?” I said. “Like he might actually like me in 10 years?” This was after the birth of my fifth baby – so I was a bit more confident in my parenting skills. However, I was not so confident 16 years ago when I had my first, and then quickly after, my second baby. Both of whom slept with me. Often at the same time.
My two oldest children are now 16 and 15 and let me tell you – neither has any desire at all to spend anytime in my room – let alone my bed.
So, we can put this to rest right now. If you let your baby sleep with you he or she will not go to college with a pillow for you. I promise. It will not happen.
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Technorati Tags: attachment parenting, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, nursing, sleeping baby
Posted on 4th February 2009 by Mish in miscellaneous
miscellaneous, toys
On February 15, the Toy Industry Association will gather to present their TOTY (Toy Of The Year) Awards. But first, in honor of the industry that has led the way in commercializing childhood, CCFC will present its inaugural TOADY (Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children) Award for the worst toy of the year. From thousands of toys that promote violence and/or precocious sexuality to children and push branded entertainment at the expense of children’s play, CCFC has selected five exceptional finalists. Who will win the dreaded TOADY? It’s up to you.
Please read the descriptions on the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood website and vote! Voting is open until February 8 and the winner will be announced on February 12, 2009.
All voters who include their email address will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a copy of Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood – a brand new film from the Media Education Foundation featuring the CCFC staff and Steering Committee.
Technorati Tags: miscellaneous, toys
Posted on 2nd February 2009 by Mish in food | frugal
food, frugal, organic
Buy organic? What are you crazy? I”m trying to save money!
I know, it does seem like buying organic costs twice as much as buying “regular” food, but it doesn”t. Not if you know how to shop. I avoided my local co-op for years because I was terrified that my already high food bill would skyrocket if I dared buy the organic versions. But I was wrong.
It took a little radical change on my part, but I knew my family had to eat better and so I took what I call the “three-month” challenge. I vowed to find a way to incorporate organic and locally-grown foods into at least 90 percent of our diet within that time frame.
It wasn”t nearly as hard as I thought it would be.
First, I had to dispel yourself of the notion that eating healthy food was more expensive or required a lot of cooking. And second, I had to stop letting the children dictate what goes in the pantry. Yes, my children would think I was a goddess if I let them have gummy, sugary, cartoon-character “fruit snacks,” but I don”t care. They alternately think I”m goddess and hate me on any given day anyway, so I”ve decided that I”m in charge of what goes into their bodies and they”ll just have to live with it. And you know what? They do. They might roll their eyes (my 13-year-old daughter is especially good at this) that there are no pre-fab “granola” bars in the pantry, but she gives me just as big a hug when I put mangoes in the fruit basket. Relying on the approval of children is a silly way to shop.
Children will never, ever choose an apple or a yogurt after school if there are chocolate chip cookies or Ring Dings or “Easy Mac” in the house. But they will choose an apple, orange or organic granola bar if that”s all there is.
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Technorati Tags: food, frugal, organic
Posted on 2nd February 2009 by Mish in autism | food
autism, food, high fructose corn syrup, mercury
You know those commercials that are now on TV saying “what’s the big deal about high fructose corn syrup?” Well, here’s your answer. While I can’t say that my family is HFCS-free (we do indulge in sodas when we eat out and I bought some chocolate syrup last night for my ice cream), we do our best. I read the labels of sandwich bread, yogurts, you name it. I won’t buy it if it has HFCS at least 90 percent of the time.
What’s sad about the list of brands posted in this very comprehensive report by the Health Observatory, is that I confidently fed my family many of these products through the years. Indeed, my husband is still an avid Coca-Cola Classic fan and I don’t know how I’m going to get him to quit smoking and quit drinking Coke too!
Here’s the list of brands:
7-Up Beverage
A & W Root Beer Beverage
Aunt Jemima Original Syrup Syrup
Campbell’s Tomato Soup Soup
Coca-Cola Classic Beverage
Dr. Pepper Beverage
Fanta Orange Beverage
Hawaiian Punch Fruit Juicy Red Beverage
Heinz Hotdog Relish Condiment
Heinz Tomato Ketchup Condiment
Hershey’s Caramel Syrup Syrup
Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup Syrup
Hershey’s Strawberry Syrup Syrup
Hi-C Wild Cherry Beverage
Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup Condiment
Hy-Top Syrup Syrup
Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce (Heinz) Condiment
Jell-O Strawberry Snack
Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Milk Dairy
Kool-Aid Bursts Tropical Punch Beverage
Kool-Aid Cherry Jammers Beverage
Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce Condiment
Land O’ Lakes Chocolate Milk Dairy
Lipton Green Tea Beverage
Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe Entrée
Market Pantry Applesauce Snack
Market Pantry Cranberry Sauce Condiment
Market Pantry Grape Jelly Jelly
Market Pantry Ice Pops Dessert
Market Pantry Thousand Island Dressing Dressing
Market Pantry Tomato Soup Soup
Minute Maid Berry Punch Beverage
Mott’s Applesauce Snack
Mrs. Butterworth Original Syrup Syrup
Nesquik Chocolate Milk Dairy
Nesquik Strawberry Milk Dairy
NOS High Performance Energy Drink Beverage
Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars Snack
Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce Condiment
Pepsi Beverage
Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry Snack
Powerade Orange Beverage
Quaker Oatmeal to Go Snack
Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly Jelly
Smucker’s Strawberry Syrup Syrup
Snapple Peach Iced Tea Beverage
Sunny-D Beverage
Tropicana Twister Cherry Berry Blast Beverage
Welch’s Grape Jelly Jelly
Wish-Bone Thousand Island Dressing Dressing
Wish-Bone Western Sweet & Smooth Dressing Dressing
Wyler’s Italian Ices Dessert
Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink Beverage
Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt Dairy
Zoo Juice Orange
I recommend we start writing to our favorite manufacturers and threaten to not buy their products anymore. If we won’t let our kids play with toys made with lead – how can we reconcile mercury in their food?
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Technorati Tags: autism, food, high fructose corn syrup, mercury
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