Tame the Monster in the Closet

There's a monster that lives in my girls' closet. It hides in there and causes havoc and chaos by tumbling the clothes around and jumbling everything together or tearing everything to the floor. I know it is a monster, because MY beautiful girls would NEVER throw their clothes around in such manner just to make a mess.

The Closet Monster also plays nasty little tricks. He takes the clothes and moves them around so that Kira's clothes get mixed up with Marisa's clothes so that Daddy doesn't know which girl wears what outfit. They frequently end up wearing the wrong shirt (too big or too little) because the shirts are on the wrong side of the closet.

After several attempts and considerable consideration, I have finally found the solution to taming the monster in my girls' closet.

SHOE BOXES

Not just any shoe boxes, though, the clear plastic shoe boxes that can be purchased at the Dollar Tree (my favorite store).

I went to the Dollar Tree two weeks ago and purchased 14 plastic shoe boxes.

I brought them home when Randall was somewhere not here because he likes to tease me about my shoe box obsession. (I use them for organizing just about everything.)

I wrote on each shoe box with a Sharpee Marker --- One day of the week and the name of a child.

          Kira Sunday                       Marisa Sunday
          Kira Monday                      Marisa Monday
          Kira Tuesday                      Marisa Tuesday

You get the idea... Each child gets 7 boxes - one for each day of the week.

Then I gathered up all the wayward clothing that our monster likes to spread all over the closet and anywhere else in the house that he is able to sneak into without being seen (which is pretty much everywhere).

I sat down with my boxes and filled them up with one complete outfit for each day. Yep - each box has socks, panties, and an outfit that will fully dress each child without thought or consideration. Everything is properly coordinated so there is no need to hunt down anything. When it's time to get dressed, all I have to do (or Daddy) is go get the boxes with the proper day written on it.

On Saturday, laundry is done. Now, instead of hanging their clothes and putting them in the closet, I sit down with all the empty boxes and refill them. Marisa's boxes get 2 pairs of panties because she is newly potty trained and might still have accidents. I will be adding an extra box for each girl soon to put all the extra socks and panties in so they can be easily found if needed. There is also a basket for the extra clothes that don't make it into one of the weekly boxes - just in case we need an extra clean outfit for some bizarre reason. 

I can even hand Kira her box and come back later to find her fully dressed. She thoroughly loves having this new found freedom.

Now for a few pictures...

      

Dressing your daughter

On Friday and Saturday night at any mall, you can find hordes of teenage girls dressed, shall we say, provocatively. Super-short skirts, high heels and low-cut tops abound.

Halloween is frequently used by teenage girls as an excuse to dress in as slutty a manner as possible. Skin-tight catsuits, hooker outfits, sexy nurse, and sexy cop costumes are roaming the streets.

I stopped in a convenience store to get a gatorade one day and found myself standing in line behind a young girl who was probably 12 or 13. She was wearing tight cotton booty shorts with the words “USE ME” printed across her butt.

Every day I see teenage and pre-teen girls wearing t-shirts with alcohol, tobacco, drug or sex advertisements emblazoned on the chest.

What is a parent to do?

I have a very few simple rules that were enforced with Angel, and will be enforced with Kira and Marisa:

- Nothing that advertises drugs, alcohol or tobacco
- Skirts cannot be so short that I can see underwear when she bends over or squats down unless she is wearing leggings or shorts underneath.
- She is not wearing anything with writing on the butt, even if it says “virgin for life.”
- No see-through tops
- In general, if the first word that comes to mind when I see an outfit is ‘slut’ or ‘hooker,’ something has got to change.
- No piercing of anything other than ears until age 16. Then we will talk about belly button if she wants to. (I will not approve tongue, nipples or nose, so don’t even ask)
- No tattoos until after age 18 and I no longer have the authority to stop it.

Things I am not worried about:

- Style of underwear, so long as it is not visible when she is dressed.
- Style of swimwear, so long as it fits properly.
- What she wears or does not wear to sleep in.
- Makeup after about age 14 or so.
- Hairstyle or hair color.
- Overall fashion style, so long as that style isn’t ‘slut’ or ‘hooker.’

Halloween (or other) costumes are on a case-by-case basis. For example, I was okay with a fairly sexy belly-dancer costume for Angel when she was 17 (especially since she wore black shorts under the sheer leggings instead of the thong that came with the costume). I would not have been okay with that same costume for a 14-year-old.

I also consider t-shirts with clever/witty/ironic sayings on a case-by-case basis. Some are okay and some are not. I know it when I see it.

I think that if you teach your daughter to have healthy attitudes toward sex and sexuality, and instill in her a large dollop of self-respect, that you will probably not have too many fights over her clothes or style of dress. A young lady who believes in herself and in her own worth does not need to get attention by advertising what she should not be selling.

Everybody is a Winner

Here's the list of those entered into my giveaway.

1) John   (12 posts in the forum)
2) Cornyman   (0 posts in the forum)

3) Petula   (0 posts in the forum)

4) Sandy   (2 posts in the forum)

5) Robin   (4 posts in the forum)

6) Russ   (1 posts in the forum)

7) Zizzy   (9 posts in the forum)


Well - There are 7 prizes and 7 entrants. There were people who commented, but didn't join the forum. There were people who joined the forum, but didn't comment. The people listed above are the ones who qualified. So what we're going to do is this...

1) I'm going to Random Generate the list to see who gets first choice of the prizes.

2) We'll go in order down that list and let the winner choose which prize they want. To do this, leave me a comment to tell me you first three choices --- IN ORDER OF YOUR PREFERENCES. If you are selecting EC credits, be sure to give us a link to your EC profile. If you are selecting something that will need to be mailed - please comment here with your prize choices and then email me at aandsparenting@gmail.com with the appropriate information. Please DO NOT leave your mailing address in the comments section. For advertisements, please email me the 125 card and the link so I can set up your ad. Also tell us which blog you want your ad to be placed on.

The prizes are:

1) 125 X 125 advertising on my sidebar - the ad will be placed directly above the Entrecard Widget.
2) 500 Entrecard Credits
3) 300 Entrecard Credits
4) 100 Entrecard Credits
5) Scrapbook Supplies Goody Bag (my camera is currently without battery power - trust me that the goody bag will be suitably impressive ... I'll try to get a picture this weekend and get it posted)
6) Set of 20 Hand Made Greeting Cards (again - picture to follow...)
7) 125 X 125 advertising at Spicybugz website - placement to be determined later. (I haven't actually asked her about this, so while I can offer the ad - I can't guarantee where she will put it... bwa ha ha...)
8) Sponsored by Eli at Business Sphere: 1,500 EC to ONE lucky winner **Thank you, Eli.**

**I never did manage to get pictures of those cards and scrapbook goodies. I am so sorry. I hope that whomever wins that will trust that their prize package will be well worth winning. **











 
Special Prizes from Sponsors. 




9) Sponsored by Cornyman: 150 EC Credits for EACH participant who a) REGISTERS in the forum, b) COMMENTS below, AND c) is ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING in the forum during the contest time. **Thank you, Cornyman, for such a generous sponsorship.**

10) Sponsored by Spicybugz: 5,000 EC Credits will be given to the person who is most active in the forums as of the end of this contest.

JOHN WINS FOR BEING THE MOST ACTIVE !!!


NOW FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT PART...

My random method of prize determination is as follows: I took out 7 index cards and wrote the numbers 1 through 7 on them (one number per card). I folded these cards into tiny bits and added them to a bowl. I then sat down on the floor with my two adorable daughters and let them pick our winners. (Actually, Dad picked the first winner so that each girl would end up with the exact same amount of cards when we were finished. Yes, it matters... Just ask them. They'll tell you. )

So here are the awaited results.

First prize winner is Number 3. (That would be Petula.)
Second prize winner is Number 2. (Cornyman)
Third prize winner is Number 7. (Zizzy)
Fourth prize winner is Number 5. (Robin)
Fifth prize winner is Number 1. (John)
Sixth prize winner is Number 4. (Sandy)
Seventh prize winner is Number 6. (Russ)

All that's left to do is give me your top 3 preferences for prizes. We'll go in order of the top winner down to the bottom. Petula - you get first choice...

How healthy is that healthy snack...

Does reduced fat mean reduced sugar?

You might wonder why we're stacking up the sugar in reduced fat foods. After all, they're not making any claims about reducing sugar. Just because a cookie is touted as low fat doesn't mean it has less sugar than its regular counterpart and a reduction of fat does not necessarily mean a major reduction in calories.

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The Reduced Fat Oreos won't help you much if you're counting calories - they have almost as many calories as the regular ones and the sugar content is the same. The Snack Cakes do have fewer calories, but a comparable amount of sugar.


Reduced Fat Oreos
3 cookies (34g)
Sugars, total: 14g
Calories, total: 150
Calories from sugar: 56

Oreo Snack Cakes
1 package (24g)
Sugars, total: 9g
Calories, total: 100
Calories from sugar: 36

Oreos
3 cookies (34g)
Sugars, total: 14g
Calories, total: 160
Calories from sugar: 56


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The portion size is a little disappointing here. This is a very small handful, but they did manage to pack in the sugar.



Oreo Candy Bites
1 package (22g)
Sugars, total: 12g
Calories, total: 100
Calories from sugar: 48



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All those little cookie wafers will last longer but in the end, they have just as much sugar and about as many calories as two regular (and much better tasting) Chips Ahoy cookies.
 

Chips Ahoy (regular)
2 cookies (20g)
Sugars, total: 7g
Calories, total: 98
Calories from sugar: 28

Chips Ahoy Thin Crisps
1 package (23g)
Sugars, total: 7g
Calories, total: 100
Calories from sugar: 28


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These cute little bite-size cupcakes are about equivalent to a half of a regular cupcake in terms of sugar and calories.



Hostess Cupcake
100 Calorie Pack (37g)
Sugars, total: 10g
Calories, total: 100
Calories from sugar: 40

Hostess Cupcake
1 Regular (49.5g)
Sugars, total: 22g
Calories, total: 175
Calories from sugar: 88


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These Snackwells may seem like a good idea, but that's a pretty average amount of sugar for two cookies, and that's the same amount of calories you'd get in two regular Oreos.


Snackwell Creme Sandwiches
2 cookies (25g)
Sugars, total: 9g
Calories, total: 110
Calories from sugar: 36

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These stats seem less impressive when you realize that this is only one not very substantial cookie. With such a small cookie, how many will you need to eat to feel satisfied?


Snackwell Devil's Food Cookies
1 cookie (16g)
Sugars, total: 7g
Calories, total: 50
Calories from sugar: 28

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When you compare these two puddings, you will find that the difference in sugar is negligible. This is not really a surprise since they didn't make any claims about less sugar. In this case, however, the fat reduction actually did make a significant impact on the calorie count.


Chocolate Pudding
Regular Pudding (99g)
Sugars, total: 16g
Calories, total: 130
Calories from sugar: 64

Low Fat Pudding (99g)
Sugars, total: 15g
Calories, total: 80
Calories from sugar: 60


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Here is another case where the low fat version has almost as many calories as the original, and the same amount of sugar.  You know the low fat is going to be dry and taste weird. Unless you're really concerned about fat, you might as well get the regular ones.


Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
Chocolate Chip (regular) (24g)
Sugars, total: 7g
Calories, total: 100
Calories from sugar: 28

Low Fat Chocolate Chunk (24g)
Sugars, total: 7g
Calories, total: 90
Calories from sugar: 28






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We really need to read the labels and decide what it is that we want to put in our bodies. Food companies spend a lot of time and money to find legal ways to persuade us to purchase their products. It's important to take the time to know what you are buying.

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Contributed by: The Mind of a Mom

Contest News

I'll be setting up for the choosing of winners later this evening.

I'll be announcing winners tomorrow.

Just wanted to let everybody know. 

Lessons Learned

This weekend has been incredibly eventful. I only have a brief moment tonight, but I want to share with you what I have learned over the past couple of days.

1) Home made costumes are far better than store bought costumes. It doesn't matter how uncreative one might be your young child will enjoy that hand made costume so much and won't even notice all the imperfections.

2) Turkey basters make awesome unicorn horns. You just pop the bulb off of the end and add glitter.

3) When using super glue, it is highly advisable to use latex gloves. This is especially true when you are gluing a unicorn horn to a headband that has fake hair attached to it.

4) You will need three times the amount of super glue that you originally anticipated because most of the first two tubes will end up on your hands instead of on the desired articles.

5) If your child is going to be a fairy for Halloween, provide that child with a bucket full of glitter so she can spread fairy dust over all her candy givers. (No, I did not do this. I thought about it after we were finished and thought how wonderfully cute that would have been.)

6) It's easier than you might imagine to ignore the buckets of candy when you're trying to lose weight and know that you shouldn't delve into the chocolate.

Happy Halloween Graphics