I never do this.

Go ahead, look in my archives of the almost 500 posts on this blog and you will see that I have never written a product review or endorsement before.

But I can’t keep this one to myself.

The new O-Cedar ProMist (which is their wallet-friendly and environmentally friendly version of a Swiffer Wet Jet) is AWESOME!

I used to have the Swiffer Wet Jet, and it cleans nicely and the smell of the cleaning solution is rather nice.  But, for me, that didn’t excuse the fact that I had to keep buying rather expensive pads AND cleaning solution.  Nevermind the astronomical waste this thing produced, it was expensive to use!  So when we bought this house, this house that has almost all hardwood or stone floors, I got rid of the Swiffer and bought one of those Libman Wonder Mops and was done with it.

I love that Libman Mop.  I’ve had it for two years and it has been put to hard work and washed many many times.  It is almost time for a replacement mop head, but it has served me well.  The thing is, with two small kids always underfoot, it’s not that easy to whip out a mop and bucket and try to make quick work of floor cleaning.  Because of that, my floors sometimes go a while before they are properly cleaned.  And I HATE that.  I get anxious and stressed when my house isn’t clean.

So, on a whim I bought this O-Cedar ProMist thing at Target and noticed that this thing was cheaper than a Swiffer Wet Jet starter kit.  Yeah.  Also, the cleaning pad is reusable and can be washed about 100 times.  The cleaning solution you take care of yourself.  I like Mr. Clean and when I saw that this little tiny tank only needed 2 teaspoons (TEASPOONS!!!) of the cleaning solution and the rest water, I was very happy.  That one little tank and 2 teaspoons of cleaning solution cleaned my family room, dining room, living room, two sets of stairs, a hallway, a small bathroom, and my bedroom floors.  2 teaspoons of cleaning liquid.

I wasn’t being thrifty with the cleaning liquid either.  I really sprayed the bejeezus out of my floors and it still went THAT far.

I had to share this because I was in total shock over how awesome this thing is.  And my floors are totally clean!  I think I paid $18 for this thing and I have to tell you I am sold on it.

The other great thing?  O-Cedar has no idea who I am.  Neither do the Libman Mop people.  I am doing this endorsement and review of my own volition.  I am not being paid to tell you this is a great product, I am telling you because I honestly believe it to be so.

Give it a try!

Lukas will be turning 4 next week.  FOUR YEARS OLD!  My baby boy is now an annoying question-asking, snarky, whiney, make-my-life-horrible pre-schooler.  And I love him more than ever.

Lately the subject of gender has been extremely interesting to him.  He stands by as I change his little brother’s diapers and exclaims loudly about Ruegen’s winky (as well as to the horrendous nature of the shits that baby has a talent of producing).

“Mommy!  Ruegen has a winky!” He says to me.

“Yes he does.  That is because he is a boy.”  I reply.

“I have a winky too!  I am a boy!” He says proudly.

“Yes.  That is correct, baby.”  I say.

“And Daddy has a winky too!  Daddy’s winky is really big!”  He says.

“Just don’t let Daddy hear you say that or I’ll never hear the end of it.” I reply.

“And Grandpa has a winky because he’s a boy!”

I start to fidget.

“Errr, yes.  That’s right.” I reply.

Then the subject of my beloved androgynous friend comes up.

“And Ashwee has a winky!  Ashwee is a boy!”  He says.

“No, no.  Aschlie is a girl.  She just looks like a boy.”  I say, trying to give a simple answer because he is only almost 4 and I don’t know how to explain it in a way that the subject deserves without making him run away at the length of the explanation.

“…..Ashwee doesn’t have a winky?” He asks.

“No, baby.  Aschlie is a girl.  Girls don’t have winkies.”  I say.

“I know, Mommy!  You don’t have a winky!  You have big boobies!”  He says, pointing and laughing.

Someday I will have to have a discussion with him about gender, gender identities, and sexuality.  In a way, I am thankful for his Aunt Aschlie because she is someone he loves very much and she will be a reason for him not to see androgyny or homosexuality as something weird or odd.  It will just be someone being who they are.

I tried to end this with a super cute picture of Lukas and Aschlie together, but I only have two pictures of them together and they are facing away from me looking out of a door.  This needs to be fixed!

In my foray as an internet sailor, I have met some really cool and awesome people.  I’ve met people who were good enough to help me open my mind and to make sure that a stick is not always so far lodged up my ass.  These people have blessed me with perspective and understanding.  They have shown me how acceptance and the ability to mind my own goddamned business can make me a better and happier person.  I love those people and I hope that they know who they are.

On the other hand, there are the people who spend a lot of their time writing things that make me slam my face into my desk.  People who are snarky and judgmental towards other people.  People who are deceitful about their lives and their children so that they can come off as looking better than everyone else.  These people make me crazy.

Here’s the thing: we live in an age of information available to the masses.  There are many good things to come from this.  But, there are a lot of bad things that can come from this as well.  Misunderstanding, hysteria, denial, vindication for the wrong reasons…just to name a few.  But this information is also used by some as a way to be judgmental towards other people.

The thing that has my hackles up right now is this study which states that the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants is bad for 4-year olds.  I’d like to start by saying, “DUH!”  How many times in our lives have studies like this come out that in 10 years mean nothing?  I’ve got to say, I simply rolled my eyes at this and moved on.  What started getting on my nerves were all the parents posting things on social networks saying things like “THIS is why I don’t let my kids watch Spongebob!” or “To all my friends who let their kids watch Spongebob, READ THIS!”

OH MY GOD PEOPLE, REALLY???

CALM THE HELL DOWN.

FOR FUCK’S SAKE, IT’S A STUPID CARTOON!

This article pretty much sums up my perspective.  I’m pro-Spongebob, and I can’t believe I have to take a stance at all.  Here’s the thing: my son watches tv.  OMG!  He loves Spongebob.  OMG!  He also loves to play restaurant and play Fancy Waiter and serve me fancy food along with the occasional Krabby Patty.  He loves to play with cars and balloons and balls and play-doh and noisy annoying toys…..just like any other kid his age.  He’s not a zombie in front of the TV.

Also, I’m stunned that someone saw fit to do a study on Spongebob.  I know it’s annoying and I would love to be free of it, but REALLY?  Can you researchers think of nothing better to study?

(Add-on: While discussing the hilarity that anyone even had the thought to do a Spongebob study, my darling friend had this little rant for me.  This is copy/paste from her direct rant on Google+:  “I heard that story last week and just about fell off my chair laughing. I’m totally w you about WHO does these researches? Do they sit around one night, hitting a bong, flipping through TV channels, come to Nickelodeon, and think, “Damn that SpongeBob! He has to be bad for 4 year olds!”
My thought-what about fucking Wonder Pets w speech impediments? I like Wonder Pets, but that seems more harmful to me! And the missing parents on the rabbit show-wth? I need to smoke up and just start writing down frivolous garbage and call it research, lol.“  She’s awesome.)

But here’s the real thing, it’s a TV show.  That’s all.  It’s not a reason for you to feel that you can stand over other people simply because you don’t allow your children to watch it.  I applaud the foresight of banning it because once it’s in it never gets out, but SHUT UP.  Please.

I could give you explanations as to why I let my son watch Spongebob, or even TV at all.  But I’m not going to.  Know why?  Because I don’t owe ANYBODY an explanation.  He’s MY son and as his mother I know best.  I am the first and last stop in the authority on how to raise that little boy and it’s nobody’s business how I choose to do that as long as he is healthy and happy, which he is.  It should be that way for everybody.  You don’t owe the world an explanation about your parenting decisions as long as those little ones are smiling and thriving.  End of story.

Every parenting situation is different and as long as you are doing your best by those kids and you love them and they are fine, you are a good parent.  That is all there is to it.  Even those of you who feel the need to judge.  Calm down and enjoy your kids and stop worrying about what other people do.  Please.  Before I finally break my head open on this hard desk.  Thanks.

(NOTE: This “judgmental” thing I keep referring to doesn’t pertain to judging people for horrendous things towards their children.  Although I don’t care for busy-bodies in general, you have the Merry Wife of Canon’s blessing if you choose to judge people who harm or are mean to children.)