Kates2Cents.com

Have you guys heard this one?  As of tomorrow, it is illegal to sell used children’s items.  Everything from toys to clothes.  I am all for keeping lead painted toys from kids, but seriously, people.  My kids’ old t-shirts are not laced with chemicals.  Big government rears it’s ugly head again.  They should fix the toy industry that is allowing toys to be made in places with poor standards, and keep their noses out of my yard sale! Thoughts anyone?

I looked at my son, 2 and a half, the other day and realized that he’s not a baby anymore.  He was doing something “big”, but I don’t remember what it was.  I just remember the moment.  I looked at him and said, “Where do my baby go?  You’re so big?”  He just looked at me, confused, and went back to what he was doing.  My heart ached a little, sad that his baby days are coming to an end.  Soon the days of cuddles and nose kisses and reading books on our tummies and silly games will be over too, just a memory.  And, while I look ahead excited at what awaits us, I will always be a little sad the my first baby is no longer.

Today we are going to a church fair. It should be a lot of fun. The kids always love these little fairs. There are a lot of different games and prizes, rides, and a petting zoo. We will be going with my parents so it should be even more fun.

This is how it really was when we made cupcakes.  I let my son frost them, so he was standing on a chair at the kitchen counter with butter knife in hand.  He had had a taste of the frosting so he knew he wanted more.  He frosted the cupcakes (with a little help from mom) and we moved on to sprinkles.  He followed directions perfectly, using his little fingers to pinch the sprinkles and drop them on the cupcakes.  He announced that he was done and I looked over to check his work.  He pointed out the one that he had deemed ‘his’, the one that was piled with sprinkles, while the others sat next to it, sparse.  I laughed.  And I let him eat the cupcake, he was so proud.

My son loves Red Robin restaurant.  He calls it Red Red Robin Hood.  He likes the big Red Robin in the restaurant and the balloons, plus they have a candy crane machine by the door.  We love to go there as a family when we get the chance.  They have a lot of choices on the kids menu like mac and cheese, hamburgers, grilled cheese, hot dogs and more, plus fruit for sides, not just fries.  And the kids menu is prices right, with lots of choices for around $4 complete with side and drink.

I’ve tried a lot of strollers, I’m pretty picky. Here’s my input.

Graco Double: I’ve only tried the standard one, not the new one that is a little smaller. The features are pretty similar.

• price: on the high end, especially the newer model ($200, $250 for new model)
• weight: again, on the high side, but the new model is a little lighter
• has adult cup holders and kid trays for both kids
• steers the best of any double I’ve tried
• cute patterns and designs
• only works with graco car seats

Baby Trend Sit N Stand:  I own this one too

• price: medium, can find one for around $150
• weight: medium
• has adult cup holders and for front kid, but not for back seat
• harder to steer, tends to careen of the sidewalk in driveways, nearly impossible to steer around a curve with one hand
• choice of colors, but not as stylish
• comes with universal carseat adapter bar
• grows with the kids, can convert from double seater to a sit n stand by removing the back seat (I’ve actually been able to fit 3 kids on mine)

Evenflo Take Me Too – I don’t own this one, but all the review I’ve read are bad.  The price is the lowest, but it lacks features and is hard to steer, heavy, and long.

So it all depends on what features are important for you.  Steering, price, longevity of the product, style.  Weigh the options, because being stuck with a stroller that you don’t like isn’t fun.

What is your favorite double stroller?  Leave me comments.

Today we got messy making cupcakes. The kids had a lot of fun but I was a little bit frazzled. I was trying to keep the house clean all week but the cup cakes put a stop to that. We had frosting all over the floor, on the drapes, and on the furniture. I was amazed because I carefully cleaned each child. I found out later that they had gotten hold of a frosting spoon and ran amuck with it.

I am off on Columbus day.  It should be a great day.  We are all planning to go to the zoo.  The weather is beautiful so it should be a lot of fun.  We will be bringing my nephew with us also.  We have yearly passes so we save a lot of money and it is a good deal.

It is time to renew my zoo membership. We had so much fun with it last year that the kids and I can not wait to start going again. The zoo membership is great because you save so much money. They are also making some improvements to the zoo. There is a new kids play area and they are remodeling many of the exhibits.

We had some fun at the park today.  My son always needs some coaxing to play and go down the slides but he always ends up having so much fun.  My daughter just wants to sit in the sand and try to eat it.  Sometimes she will crawl around and pull up on the playground equipment.  It is a lot of fun.