Mom Can't Watch Neighbors Kids in MI? Seriously, people.

As a mother finding out that a parent who was helping out some neighbor moms by making sure their children got onto the bus safely was threatened with jail time floored me. They had to be kidding, right? But no, they weren't.

She was doing this as a good parent to ensure that kids were safe. She took no money, but her reward was another neighbor complaining that for less than an hour this woman was watching children without a license. It's insane. What is up with this tattle-telling neighbor and what kind of archaic law do they have on the books.

According to the law:

A home can qualify as a child care operation if one to seven minor children -- all unrelated to the caregivers -- receive care and supervision there for less than 24 hours a day and for more than four weeks in a year.

In my humble opinion, the neighbor complaining must not have kids. It could even be a pedophile wanting to make sure they have easier access to the kids. Regardless, for the state to try and threaten a woman doing an act of kindness is ridiculous.

The law, which is so poorly written and which should have never been allowed on the books to begin with, could prohibit parents from having sleep overs or even having kids playing with each other in private homes. Parents would not be able to have friends watch their children for a night out.

I'm not the only one that found this situation bizarre, MI State Rep. Brian Calley, , said "agency officials, in his view, were interpreting a 36-year-old statute regulating day care centers more broadly than necessary." When trying to help out the parent in question he was told that this was a "legal matter." The state of Michigan has officially decided that the law and the proposed punishment of the mother was over the top. They are planning on working on amending the law.

I say, leave the parents alone here. I would be grateful to have someone that would look out for the safety of my children if I had to work. Them threatening a woman for keeping children safe is ludicrous.

Okay, it's no secret that I love AVON and know about a million ways to save money using the products. I also love ideas for cleaning that are good for the house and not harsh on the skin. Last week I sold bubble bath to one of my customers and she was thinking about some soaking and alone time in the bath. She bought the apple pie scent and it was remarkably nice smelling. I have to say, I love bubble baths but never seem to stop to enjoy them.

Then one of my Facebook friends listed a site that had 25 uses for AVON bubble bath. I was intrigued and started looking around a bit and found I might have been the odd man out here. I haven't been using the product to it's fullest extent. I've broken it down a bit here and combined some. What's great is you aren't using harsh chemicals in your house. Great news for those of us that stay at home and have found out that regular cleaning products make us more likely to have cancer.

Here are some uses that I never thought of:

1. Dish soap. I buy dish soap at the grocery store and it costs me over $2.50 for 16 oz. However, I buy the cheapo stuff. I noticed that it is not so great on the hands. Unlike Marge, soaking my hands in dish soap doesn't do anything for them except dry them out. Maybe it's the dish soap or maybe it's the anti-bacterial stuff they put in it. I dunno. A bottle of AVON bubble bath costs about 2 for $10. That's five bucks each for 8 ounces more than what I've been buying. But the AVON is dermatologist tested and is easy on the hands and smells nice. AVON also cuts grease. I can use it in my bath as well, but using dish soap in the bath isn't such a grand idea. Not good for the womanly parts, you know.

2. Cleaning glass. Now a bottle of Windex about the same size costs about the same. Again, Windex is good for only one thing. I am not about to put some in my bath and it doesn't smell as nice. Plus, you use a lot more of the Windex then you do of the bubble bath that you mix together. So, again, AVON wins in my book. Keep some in a spray bottle from the dollar store and use it for general cleaning. It works!

3. Wood cupboards, no wax floors, venetian blinds, etc. The lists I found went on and on about what a super cleaner this stuff is. I have wood floors and finding a decent wood cleaner is not easy. I can't believe I had the solution in my hands the entire time and overlooked it. Wood cleaners are not cheap, believe me. Plus they don't last long, especially when almost your entire house has wooden floors. Then the cabinets? Wow. I seriously was needing something the cut the grease on the cabinets. Dish soap wasn't good and it wasn't good for the wood. Another problem solved.

4. Jewelry cleaner. This is great for cleaning both expensive and costume jewelry. I have cleaners that I bought in small bottle for over $10 each at a show. The guy was proving to me how great this cleaner was...and it did work. Unfortunately I have now found that a little dash of AVON bubble bath and water works just as well and isn't nearly as costly. What was I thinking?

5. Spot Remover. Seriously? Yep, seriously. Not only will putting it straight on your clothes for tough grease stains like butter but it will clean your upholstery spots too. Just put it on without water. For clothes, wash the clothes and let the bubble bath do the work. For the furniture put it on with a damp cloth (damp is just that, not soaked with water) and then sponge it off (again without water.) Water can stain your furniture but the bubble bath won't. Now how cool is that?

6. Scenting the house. My husband has gotten into putting water on the stove and then warming the water with orange peel in it. It's cool. Sometimes you can even add a bit of cinnamon. It's great when you actually have left over orange peel; however, leaving orange peel sitting around in your kitchen waiting for an opportunity is not so nice. Now I've found I can have different scents that work the same way, and I can even use it with some water in my potpourri burner? Super.

7. Car Wash. Nothing for the car is cheap. I also know that one time when I was little I decided to wash my Daddy's car with Ajax. That is NOT a good idea, and I'm speaking from my personal experience here. It takes the paint right off the car. Daddy was not too happy. But again, this bubble bath will clean the car and make it look spiffy. Cuts the grease that is on the cars too. Awesome, right?

8. Laundry detergent. Now this is just too cool for me. I have a son with eczema and laundry soap is so harsh. I buy Dreft, but that gets to be really expensive. This stuff is good for your delicate clothes, but also for your delicate skin. You don't need nearly as much in your was as you do the regular laundry soap. Oh, and guess what? You won't need fabric softener. Cha ching!

9. Pet Shampoo. It is gentle enough for your pets, plus if you add a bit of Skin So Soft bath oil it will keep flies, mosquitoes, and fleas off your pets. SSS is a great bug guard. You can even mix it in your own bath during the summer before going outside to work in the yard.

10. Plant leaves. As you figured out this stuff is good for all your cleaning needs. It also cleans plant leaves and makes them shine without hurting the plant. Totally awesome.

You want to know something else cool? You soak in it in the tub, relax, soothe your aching muscles from all the hard work you do, and when you're done you won't have a bathtub ring. I'm not sure what my kids do to make the horrid rings they have in the tub, but those days are over, baby.

So, if you want to order AVON bubble bath for yourself just click here. You can also read reviews by other people. Gotta love it.

Strange Creature found in Panama

Pictures of Three-toed sloth, a three-toed sloth hand, and a three-toed sloth skull.
These to compare with the strange body found in Panama by four teenage boys.


Okay. There are a bunch of teenagers hanging around in Panama when some foreign looking beast comes out of a cave and starts ambling toward you. What do you do? Run? Evidently not until you throw rocks and sticks at it to kill it. Sad.


Granted the thing is weird looking, but it has no teeth. I also don't notice any eyes that are open here. The boys were probably pretty safe, considering.





The video, in Spanish, comes from Theobservers.com, and depicts further footage and views of the creature that aren't seen on many other websites. According to their sources they also leave open the possibility that it could be a hoax.

So how would this be a hoax? I'm inclined to believe the boys are telling the truth, but I'm not ruling out that this "creature" is an innocent baby whose parents, for some reason, were forced to live in a new habitat. As humans take over the world animals are going to have to become more resourceful to survive. The claws on this creature immediately reminded me of a three-toed sloth. After looking at it a bit more other aspects of it's body reminded me of a sloth as well.

Yes, I know that sloths have fur. However, if this creature had been living in the darkness of the cave why would it need fur? Or perhaps, being a fetus as scientists have proclaimed, or as one scientist has thought it could possibly be a fetus from some type of sloth. Of course not many agree with him.

So, let me play the Devil's advocate here. At the top of this blog is an image of the three toed sloth, a skull, and his hands. You can see distinct similarities between this and the creature.

IMHO: We should refrain from killing something just on the basis that it looks weird or strange. The creature here obviously wasn't after the boys to eat them, as he has no teeth. If the creature were still alive then perhaps we could have learned more about it's needs and where it came from. Secondly, if it were an alien it is possible that the creature did not die from being stoned but because it wasn't able to exist in our environment. However, this is quite far fetched and I'm not in the least inclined to believe it.

It is my instinct that this is some kind of sloth that emerged from the cave and away from it's mother. It is even possible that the mother died in child birth, which is why the creature was wandering alone. We may never know.

Still, my teenage son says that it was really dumb to kill it. He indicated that the boys could have just run away and brought people back.

Kudos to him. I always knew he was smart.

On a Few News Stories of the Week

There have been some odd things going on this week. Of course I have an opinion. Here is my take on a few things:

Kanye taking the mic from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech: Stupid. He proved that consumption of alcohol kills brain cells. He better quit because I don't believe he can afford to lose many more.

Wilson on calling out Obama during his speech and congress "admonishing" him for his outburst. First off saying someone is lying is not the same thing as calling him a liar. A liar is someone that consistently doesn't tell the truth as opposed to someone that might be mistaken in his assumption. Wilson was rude, bottom line. However, this country is based on freedoms. He should be free to express his ideas and opinions. Personally I think it is refreshing to see someone in congress not asleep and actually paying attention.

On Serena Williams and her outburst. Please, forgive the girl for being upset and human. She was evidently having a bad day. The "outburst" she had was one of the most polite outbursts I've seen. She immediately apologized. Besides, the call on her foot fall was obviously bogus. She had a right to be a bit upset. I'm sure in the future she'll handle it differently.

On everyone that is claiming Wilson's outburst was due to racism. Get over yourself. Seriously, why is it that people bring up racism when a white politician says something against Obama? Did we forget that Obama is half white or that it is America and over half of out country is created of different races, religions, and ideas. The only way to stop racism is to ignore colors of people and just accept people as all being just that - people. We are prolonging our agony.

Today I tweeted a question that I would seriously love an answer to: When did the land of the free and the home of the brave become the field of sheep led by dogs and hunted by wolves?

The Big Brother 11 Downfall

This photo depicts Big Brother 11 characters Natalie, Jesse, and Chima.

I have been a fan of Big Brother from the beginning. It's a CBS reality show that has very little to do with actual reality. No one that is going to be locked in a house together in real life would have prizes raining down on their heads. The only reality there is the conniving and back-stabbing that people do in real life, or perhaps the making of a new friendship or quick hook-up.

Every season has a favorite house mate. Sometimes the favorites are fun and charismatic, and sometimes they are just super hot people that make us tune in because we like looking at them. This season Jeff was our eye candy. He was also the person that mostly kept his word. The only time he went back on it was when he became confused and worried that he was being lied to. Not a good thing to do - seconding guessing oneself. But he was human. His other faux pas was that he smoked. Despite his bad habits of cussing, smoking, and bending he had most of the audience mesmerized with his chivalry toward his beautiful and sweet housemate, Jordan. Now Jeff has been evicted from the house and many loyal viewers have quit watching. Why? I can only answer for myself.

Viewers prayed for a divine intervention for Jeff to stay in the house. Many were hoping that Pandora's Box had hope left for him. It didn't happen. Jeff received the first standing ovation of the audience as he departed, and he departed with a smile that could melt a woman's heart and reminded us why we loved this guy so much.

Well, the honest reason I've quit watching this season is because I became a bit disgusted with the reason Jeff went home. Natalie, a 24 year old young woman, set her sights on the prize and has ridden the coattails of other contestants the entire way through the game. She has no redeeming qualities that I can find. She is not charismatic, she is not cute or pretty, and she is not, by a long shot, concerned with hygiene. The entire game she has depended on other people to pull her through, and they haven't disappointed her. Her claim to fame is that she can lie and she does it with ease and no conscious. "Lie and then never admit to lying," she told one of her house mates. It's all fine in order to get your way.

This season had more people that the audience hated then any other season, all aligned with Natalie. The season's antagonists were Jesse, the egomaniac who even wears shirts with his own image; Chima, the shrew who insisted she have her way and ultimately was asked to leave; Ronnie, the rat, who had no redeeming qualities to anyone except Jesse, Chima, and Natalie. Ronnie was the perfect friend for Natalie because he also had very little use for the truth. Most of the audience cheered and threw parties when he left the house.

I hate to see people that are so despicable prosper. I've seen too many people that have been able to lie and cheat and steal in order to get their way. I always wait for Karma to kick in and take over, but sometimes it just never seems to happen. So, for my part I can't watch this game any longer this season because of it.

I, personally, do not believe that we should promote bad behavior to others and reward people for it. There should be consequences for our actions. It's what I teach my children. It is ultimately the reason I'm done with this season of the show.

I don't expect people to follow my lead, but I do expect people to understand my decision.

Disciplining Your Kids - I'll Do It Myself, Thank You.

I remember shopping one day when my now adult daughter was very little. We were in line and she tried to stand up in the cart. I told her to sit down. The woman behind me proceeded to tell me that I didn't deserve to have children. Children, in her opinion, shouldn't be doing something wrong to start with to need disciplining in public. At that time it stung. I was a young mother and I had problems having children to begin with. I was never certain if I would ever be able to have children. Was I doing something wrong? No. I have wonderful children. My older ones are successful and happy. My younger ones are intelligent and well mannered. What else could a parent want?

Today a man in Georgia was arraigned with felony charges because he believed that he could discipline a two year old more effectively then the mother of the child. The child in question was crying and screaming in Wal-Mart. The man told the mother, "If you don't shut the baby up, I will shut her up for you." The mother went to the next aisle, but the man came and slapped the child across the face four times. At that point he said, "See, I told you I'd shut her up."

One of the other patrons stopped the man and held him while security came and the police were called. At this point the man apologized to the mother for striking her child.

We all have seen the weepy, crying, and fit throwing child at the store. I didn't have problems with my children screaming because they couldn't have something at the store, but I did have times when, as babies, they would cry. Babies cry for various reasons - needing a change, being hungry, being tired, or just being grumpy or feeling poorly. It is something all parents have to deal with at some time. No one is immune to the sound of children crying unless they are deaf.

It would have been best if the man, evidently grumpy himself, had just left the store to contain himself and his anger. Wal-Mart, after all, is a family store. He had no right to strike a child, especially one that had no connection to him.

When we see crying children at the store my boys and I usually try smiling and talking to them. Most of the time the child stops. I've found that most small children do not enjoy the shopping experience for long periods of time. Even if you gave them a credit card they'd more than likely drool over it, gum it, and then throw it down. Shopping for babies is not usually stimulating. But parents have the right to shop, to take their children shopping, and to deal with behavior problems in their own way.

So, to the culprit in question, Mr. Roger Stephens of Georgia, get over your bad self. Take some time in jail and make a few license plates. Maybe when you get out you'll have learned the lesson of tolerance.