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Featured

Car Vomit Clean Up Bag

February 23, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Why do kids always throw up in the car? Out of all the times that my little one has gotten sick, about 90% of those times have been in the carseat. It makes me that much more thankful that I am not driving a nice, new car. I think I will hang onto my trusty old car until we make it through these young and vomit filled years! After this last incident, I have stocked my car vomit clean up bag with everything needed to get rid of those yucky messes.

We were literally pulling into the school parking lot recently and she tells me her stomach hurts. I did not even have a minute before I heard that dreaded sound. You see it coming but there is no way to stop it. You just have to let it happen. All over the carseat and floor. Even her little stuffed cat was subjected to the horror of car vomiting.

I proceeded to try and clean up the best that I could until we got home. I go to my trunk and discover I have not one baby wipe, towel or napkin in my car (I have a newborn ya’ll! I should have a baby wipe on me at all times). My poor girl had to ride home covered in a horrible mess. I rotated between holding my breath and spraying Lysol in the car (because every respectable mom would have Lysol, just no baby basics like wipes). After the 20 minute ride home in this condition, I vowed a solemn vow to myself to never leave home without a well stocked car vomit clean up kit.

Vomit Car Clean up Kit

So after my disaster of an experience I decided to create a little kit that I could keep in my car all the time to help in a time of tummy crisis. Here is what you need in order to create your own car vomit clean up bag. Trust me, do it before you need it or you will find yourself on your front lawn with a water hose, vomit soaked clothes and a carseat fit for the trash can.

Car Vomit Clean Up Bag Contents:

  1. Vinyl Gloves: These are a must for me. I literally could not even unbuckle my child from her seat without being exposed to bodily fluid. The gloves keep things sanitary and will help prevent the spreading of germs. Heck – put in 2 pair.
  2. Store shopping bags or Garbage bag: You want a bag or two depending on the size to help you in your disposal process to keep things as clean as possible. You may be pulled over on the side of a road and not have access to a trash can. I like to bundle up all the trash into the bag, tied it & throw it in the trunk. You can also use an extra store bag to give to the child until you get to your destination in case they feel sick again.
  3. Roll of Paper Towels: This is for the first round of clean up to get rid of the bulk of the mess.
  4. Clorox Wipes: These are the 2nd round of clean up for me to help with sanitation but just as importantly the smell. You are going to have to do more cleaning at home but this will help you be more comfortable on your drive home.
  5. Lysol Spray: I like to have this on hand too. Helps with germs and smell. Win Win. Remember that this and the wipes should not be sprayed or used on your carseat because it could disturb the integrity of the seat. Refer to your user manual.
  6. Anti-bacterial Soap: My daughter calls this magic soap and I have to agree. It is a little magical to smell the burning smell of alcohol after you get finished cleaning up a mess like this.
  7. Change of Clothes: Depending on the age of your child, you might be able to get away with a change of underwear and a big T-shirt. If you have an older child or live somewhere with extreme temperatures, you may be better off rotating a full set of clothes seasonally. Something inexpensive or even something that was ruined with a little stain or hole are great options to throw in the bag.

Throw all of that into your kit and feel better that you are now prepared to handle most messes that come your way! How do you prepare for childhood messes?

Filed Under: Featured, Plan Tagged With: car, clean up, kids, plan, vomit

Crest Gum Detoxify – Review after week 1

March 12, 2018 by Stacy Craft 1 Comment

Ya’ll I hate going to the dentist. I can’t stand it. The smell, the sounds, the discomfort – all of it makes me cringe. Since I am not so fond of the dentist, my teeth suffer. My teeth are straight (thanks to childhood braces) and are reasonably white. But every time that I do go to the dentist, it seems like I have about a million cavities and plaque/tartar issues. I am always looking for things I can do at home to improve my oral health. I decided to try the new Crest Gum Detoxify Toothpaste set to see if I could see any positive effects from using it.

Crest Gum Detoxify 1 Week Review

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information. 

I have now been using the Crest Gum Detoxify product for about three weeks and overall I am really pleased!

What’s Included:

The product comes with 2 tubes of paste – the gum detoxify paste and a whitening paste. First you brush with the detoxify paste for a minute, you don’t rinse and then you brush with the whitening paste.

The detoxify gel has a pleasant taste similar to most toothpastes although it may be a tiny bit more chalky than others. I feel a slight tingly sensation when brushing but it is not unpleasant. I also use a Sonicare toothbrush to really get between the teeth and gums. After that, you spit that out and start with the whitening paste.

Crest Gum Detoxify Toothpaste Set

After only using the kit for about 2-3 days I felt a difference in the way that my teeth felt. My mouth and teeth felt much cleaner than when compared to using just a normal toothpaste. I could tell a decrease in noticeable tartar that I see appear in between brushing as well.

I haven’t really seen a noticeable whitening effect from using the product. I’m ok with that because I was more interested in gum health vs. cosmetic changes when I purchased this product.

Overall, I would recommend this new product by Crest. Here’s to hoping my next dental bill is a little lower! What products do you use to keep your teeth in tip top shape?

Filed Under: Buy Smart, Featured

No Cook 5 Minute Homemade Baby Food – Avocado Banana

March 29, 2018 by Stacy Craft 2 Comments

I have been making homemade baby food since my first daughter was an infant. There are so many fruits and veggies that are hard to find in premade baby food and I found that limiting. Like Avocado – I haven’t found avocado in a baby food but it is such a great, healthy fat item for your little one. Mix that avocado with a little banana and you have a yummy combo.

5 Min No Cook Avocado & Banana

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information. 

Homemade Baby Food – That sounds complicated

It’s not! Homemade baby food is so simple with just a couple of tools (and you don’t need the fancy baby food maker that you will see). Many of the “recipes” that I make don’t even require measuring or cooking! Here is what I use:

  • NutriBullet – I love this because it blends great & when you are out of the baby food stage, it makes great Green Smoothies for you!
  • 4 oz Storage Containers with Lids
  • Fruits & Veggies

Seriously, that’s it. I will show you multiple ways to make food that is quick and cost effective!

PYP Baby Eating Green Baby Food

Is it Really Cheaper to Make my Own?

It really is. My 5 month old currently eats at least 4 pouches of baby food per day (sometimes big boy eats 5 but we are going conservative for the analysis). The cheapest pouches that I can find are at Aldi or the Walmart brand and they are around .78 or .79 a pouch. So I’m looking at $3.16 a day in baby food or $22.12 a week.

If I make my own, I use different fruits and veggies so the cost may vary some but for simplicity we will look at the breakdown of the Avocado Banana mix and extend it across a week for comparison to pre-made pouches.

Bananas – $0.43 a lb or $0.16 per banana

Avocado – $0.78 each

Total Cost for this Batch -$1.33  (1 Banana – 0.16 / 1.5 Avocados – $1.17)

Total per 4 oz – Equivalent to one pouch – $0.3325

Total Savings

So if I fed him my homemade baby food vs. pouches for one week, I would save $12.81 that week! Ya’ll that is more money for formula or diapers! It is so simple to make your own. Here’s how!

5 Minute Avocado Banana Baby Puree

This is so simple and quick. You will have this whipped up in 5 minutes or less!

1. Prep your Fruit

Did you know Avocado was a fruit? I always think of it as a vegetable but either way it is a super healthy food! Simply peel your banana. Cut and remove the pit of your avocado.

Avocado Banana Baby food ingredients

2. Load your blender with the fruit.

3. Add a Liquid.

For this I just added water, but you can add breast milk or formula if preferred. I added 3/4 a cup of water in this recipe and it was still a pretty thick mixture but it is ok with my baby. If you want a thinner consistency, just add more liquid. I would add a little at a time so that you don’t end up with complete soup though!

4. Blend!

Avocado Banana Baby Food in Blender

5. Divide out into your 4 Oz cups.

Depending on your consistency, you may get more or less. I got 4 from this recipe with a consistency of guacamole. If I had made it a little thinner, I probably could have gotten 5 (making it even more economical) and easier on babies that may have trouble with thicker purees.

Pureed Avocado Banana Baby Food

6. Store

The purees will keep for a few days in the fridge but I usually put mine immediately in the freezer.  Every night, I just pull out the number of purees that I need for the next day and put them in the fridge to thaw. I had wondered how the avocado would hold up & if it would brown. It is perfectly creamy after being frozen and there was a very light browning on the top. I just mixed it up when opening the container and it blends right up to a nice avo green color. (The pouches brown a little too on the first bite if you look closely).

Avocado Banana Baby food in 4 Oz portion

I hope you will try homemade baby food for your little one! What are your favorite baby food combos to feed your little one?

 

 

 

Filed Under: Buy Smart, Featured Tagged With: 5 minute, avocado, Baby, baby food, banana, Cheap, frugal, homemade, no cook, puree

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Hey - I'm Stacy! Join me on a journey to buy smart, plan and save so that you can also PLAY!

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