Shopping With Noah for Outdoor Furniture

Noah and I went shopping today; while we were out we were looking at cheap outdoor furniture for him. It was really cute it was a Noah sized table with two chairs and even an umbrella. I loved it and we found it at the grocery store at all places. He sat in it for about five minutes and then I realized that he doesn’t really have anywhere to sit outside. I mean sure he could sit in a big chair but I think he would like to have something more his size. I have looked at the kids sized items that you can put outside and I think as much as we spend outside that he needs something to call his own. I think that it would be cool to have his little chair next to mine as we watch the cars go by.

When I was little my grandparents and I would sit on their front porch and watch the cars and trucks go by. We would play a game trying to figure out which color car would come by next. We rarely kept score it was just something fun for us to do. I have great memories of watching the cars going by with my grandpa. We loved being outside but sometimes you just want to relax. I wonder if Noah would just like to sit down and feel the wind through his hair and watch the ducks on the pond. We have new baby ducks! We also bought seeds to start a garden. I am not too sure how well it will work out but I am hoping it will. I would love to get some garden furniture like a bench or a swing. I love being able to swing and talk on the phone outside on nice nights.

We had our family over a couple weeks ago, although the weather was too cold and rainy to be outside it would have been really nice to sit on the patio and chat. As I have mentioned before, we have a huge patio. We have a big family so we would have to get some more furniture for the patio to accommodate them all. We had a great time and there were ten of us, which is only a small part of my family. So, to hold a get together with everyone we would definitely have to get some more seats. I remember the family visits at my grandparent’s house, they would have every chair in the house including folding chairs and there still was a few that had to stand. I am the youngest grandchild so I always seemed to have a seat.

It seemed like old times, we talked about all kinds of things. My aunt found records of my Grandpa Jim and his parents from the 20’s or 30’s. My uncle is going to clean them up and make us all copies. I can’t wait to hear them, we no longer have my little toy record player. I really enjoy spending time with all of them. I wish we weren’t all so spread out. I am hoping this summer we can spend more time with them and of course have a lot of time outside playing and relaxing.

What are your favorite things to play outside?

I Do Not Want Your Unwanted Parenting Advice....Sorry

For those of my readers that are parents, I am sure you have encountered this at some point at least once as a parent. People who tell you how to raise your child or give you unsolicited advice, I am sure in most cases it is someone who wants to help, other times they have other motives. I knew this girl who would give me parenting advice, things that worked for her niece and nephew or someone who thinks they know what is best for my child. I am glad that those things would work for them but my child is his own person, things work differently for different children.

I remember when Noah was 6 months old and he would wake up in the middle of the night crying for a little bit. I had mentioned it to his doctor in one of his visits. She told me to wait 5 or 10 minutes before going in there. I mentioned it once and this person started calling me a bad mom, saying I didn’t take care of my son; of course that was not the case. I was following the advice of his doctor who specializes in children. As long as he was fine, it was ok for him to cry a little bit. He wasn’t in danger or being ignored. He was learning to self soothe himself. I would let it go for the exact time limit and then go check, most of the time he was back asleep. I knew that person was trying to upset me and I didn’t let it. I was a mom and I was doing a great job.

It is easy for someone who is not a parent to give advice. It is easy for them to say I would do this, or I wouldn’t do that. It is different when you are a parent and you know your child. I am sure people who want to have children think about what kind of parent they want to be. There are quick judgments about how someone raises their child. I am definitely not saying that there are instances where it is wrong for a parent to do something that is harmful to their child, because I know sadly that’s not the case. It does happen but at the same time there are many false accusations made against parents that are doing nothing wrong. I think that if you suspect something going on that is truly harmful please report them, but it is not a tool to use to get back at or hurt someone with. Think of it this way, Child Protective Services or whatever it is called in your state gets ten calls from people that are just trying to punish an adult that is ten cases that are legitimate are getting pushed to the side. I know that many parents like me love my child so much and he is my world.

It seems like everyone has an opinion when it comes to parenting, which is fine. I know that is perfectly ok to have your opinion, but at the same time if someone doesn’t ask for advice, maybe you should just keep it to yourself. Comments that other people make telling you what to do with your child are very annoying. Depending on what the comment is, it could really make them upset. It really could make someone question themselves as parents. They might wonder if they are doing a good job. I am not talking about the parents that don’t really deserve to be a parent, but good loving mothers and fathers.

There are some people I welcome parenting advice from such as my mom, my son’s doctor or any doctor, and if the person was degreed in something child related such as a counselor. I would also welcome parenting advice from my cousins that have children because I know they know what they are doing. I know that they wouldn’t tell me advice unless I asked. I would remember that just because it worked for their child, it may or may not work for mine. I know from talking to friends about our children, some things don’t work for siblings either. Every child is different, just because it works for one it may not work for another.

So, if you are not my mom, or not a doctor or the like or I didn’t ask you what to do, then please don’t tell me how to raise my child. Even then I don’t always follow my mom’s or anyone’s (other than his doctor’s) advice. I just ask their opinion and take it in to consideration. I know that I ask my friends for advice sometimes, as they ask me but it is always solicited. You might think you are helping but wait until someone asks about something before saying something that could upset them.

Have you ever received off the wall parenting advice? Have you ever had someone who had no clue what it is like to be a parent give you advice?

Garage Sale Tracker's Special Features

Its spring, so it is time to kick off one of my favorite things about spring and summer, garage sale time. When I was little, my Grandma Diana would always take my sister and I to garage sales. We were always able to pick out a toy or two from the garage sales that we went to. I loved it, and I think that is when I found my love for garage sales. I think it is so cool to go and look at what people don’t want anymore and sell for really cheap. I have found some great finds at garage sales, but nowhere near as great as things that my dad has found. He found a bunch of baseballs for a dollar each and they ended up being worth a lot more than that. I really enjoy loading Noah up in his wagon and wandering around our neighborhood and looking at what my neighbors are selling.

We normally just stick to our neighborhood because we haven’t really a way to find other garage sales to go to. They used to be listed in the paper and now it seems like they aren’t really in there anymore. When I was pregnant with Noah I used to drive around with a friend looking for garage sales, but with gas being over four dollars a gallon, that just isn’t an option anymore. I found a really cool website called Garage Sale Tracker. It is a free website where you can find garage sales in your area. I am sure there are other websites out there like Garage Sale Tracker, but not with the special features.

I know sometimes you want to go to garage sales when you are visiting family, but really don’t know the area, Garage Sale Tracker has a Trip Planner to help it make it easier. I have lived in the same area for most of my life and honestly, I don’t know the names of all the streets in neighborhoods. I know enough to get around like the main streets, but I remember driving around in circles and wasting a lot of gas not really knowing exactly where I am going. Garage Sale Tracker’s trip planner will help me be able to find all those hidden gem garage sales. I am sure you have used a map website to get directions, but it really is a pain to type in all the addresses on mapping websites and it is so time consuming. I love that you don’t have to type any of the addresses to find where they are. Garage Sale Tracker does all the extra work for you. I like to think of it as my own personal garage sale tour guide or a concierge.

Do you remember those days when we had to actually write things down to know where we are going or to make a list of places we want to go to? Another feature Garage Sale Tracker has is a bookmark list. You can simply click on the bookmark this button and it will save it for you. You don’t have to write anything down, and if you see many garage sales you want to go to, you don’t have to try and remember them all. If you change your mind you can remove the book mark really easily too. After you decide where you want to go, you can use your bookmarks with the Trip planner to plan out your day of garage sales.

I don’t know how many times I have been out and then decide to go to garage sales, maybe it is because I saw one as I am driving by or sometimes just as something to do. I am obviously not going to go home and look for garage sales and I am probably not going to drive around looking for them, Garage Sale Tracker has an iPhone app just for this occasion! So, when the urge hits Garage Sale Tracker is with you and mobile. I know that for some people, garage sales are a serious business. Some people really get in to it and wake up early to be the first to be at a sale, especially if there is something they really want. Like the saying says, The early bird gets the worm or in this case the best items from a garage sale.

Check out Garage Sale Tracker and sign up for a FREE account. The sign up is really easy and this is such a helpful website.

Do you like to go to Garage Sales? What is the best item you found at one?