There are two things that I really dislike; one is winter and the other is laundry. Put the two of them together and you have one grumpy mom.

Winter means more trips up and down the basement stairs. I can’t wash as many items at once because all of the clothes are heavy sweatshirts and jeans. Not to mention that I often have to run down to look for a glove, or a volleyball kneepad, or one half of a basketball uniform that has mysteriously gone missing. I once read a hint from Heloise that said to pin gloves together before you wash them. Yeah, like I have time for that!

But, by far, the thing I dislike the most about the combination of winter and laundry is the static that invades our clothing. Ohio winters are cold and dry and you can’t pull a towel out of the dryer without finding two socks stuck to it. Blankets try to fold themselves, shirts cling to your body like leeches and you can shock yourself when peeling apart two flannel pillowcases.

You know how I mentioned how things mysteriously go missing? Not long ago, I was out running errands when a baseball sock that had been missing for months started sliding out of my pant leg. There I was, in the middle of the store when I looked down to see a bright, yellow sock wrapped around my ankle. I yanked it out and stuffed it into my purse…half embarrassed, half thrilled that the thing had finally turned up.

You need a powerful fabric softener to combat static cling and when you forget to put the liquid in the washing machine or you realize the dryer sheet box is empty, it’s a real crisis. This happens to me a lot. Your only option is to slather yourself, and your children, with lotion as a buffer between your dry skin and the crackling clothes. This is not optimal. Trust me. Getting out of the door in the morning is challenging enough when everyone is wearing flip-flops, let alone socks, tied shoes, coats, hats and gloves.

Needless to say, day to day life is busy. I can’t pin gloves together, I don’t remember to add fabric softener and I can’t moisturize my children every day before they leave for school.

And, that is why I love the Bounce Dryer Bar.

The Bounce Dryer Bar is the only thing for which I have uttered “laundry” and “convenient” in the same sentence. You stick it in your dryer and it lasts for months. No liquid, no sheets, just one stick and you don’t have to think about how much static cling is in your clothing until winter turns into spring! It’s brilliant and it has made laundry days around here quite a bit easier. Clothing smells fresh, and doesn’t cling together, and I don’t have to run up and down the steps as often because I forgot the fabric softener.

Laundry isn’t something that will magically do itself and, while I will never say that I love it, I will say that the Bounce Dryer Bar makes me dislike it a whole lot less. I even liked their Facebook page!

You can win your own Bounce Dryer Bar and a $50 Visa gift card right here. Just leave me a comment or answer this question: What is your least favorite thing about laundry?

Rules: Sweepstakes ends 12/6/11. No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here.
Good Luck Everybody!

For more opportunities to win, visit the Bounce round-up page on BlogHer.com to read other bloggers’ reviews!

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She warms me.

She has been at my feet all day, occasionally lifting her head to look out the window and protect me from the ever present stream of people walking to the park. She lays still until a truck rolls onto our street and she begins to shiver with fear and I feel her trembling against my leg.

She didn’t used to be scared of anything, but age is crippling her body and mind. She shakes when we say her name, “Blue” because it may mean she needs to stand, which she can no longer do without two hands below her belly, pulling her lame back legs out from under her.

Once she stands, there is hesitation when she must move from the rug to the hardwood floor. She freezes at the edge of the carpet, setting one paw down on the solid surface with trepidation, then pulling it back to safety where there is fiber in which to lunge her claws and a soft landing for when she falls. She falls a lot these days.

Maybe if we lived someplace warm, where ice wasn’t looming like a slick, glassy artifice strategically placed between the safety of the front door and the soft snow in which she used to frolic; the simple stoop, a colossal divide. Last night, she had to be carried to the grass; even when the sky was clear and the earth was dry.

She has been here longer than the child who is about to be a teen. She is our constant. Through pain, sickness, death and tragedy she has been here at my feet.

Warming me.

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Although we live in the city, there isn’t a whole lot of diversity in my neighborhood. The Ohio State University isn’t far away and there is an array of color and culture there, but I don’t make a habit of letting my kids walk around Big Ten campuses. Maybe MAC, but not Big Ten.

So yesterday afternoon I carted the kids off to the International Festival. We ate Chinese food (but, only because I didn’t see the Mediterranean booth, no offense to the fried-rice), we watched Irish, Indian, African and Russian dancers and looked at art and crafts from around the world.

Then my daughter and I got henna tattoos.

I have always wanted a little, teeny-tiny tattoo and I’m pretty sure that henna is the gateway drug of body art. I love this design on the inside of my wrist.

Even if it does closely resemble my living room rug.

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My son does everything slowly. Crawling, walking, talking, eating; it doesn’t matter what the milestone is, he hits it late.

He will be ten in May and just started wearing size six clothing and, up until tonight, he hadn’t lost either of his two, front teeth. Ironically, I suffered through watching Tooth Fairy with him just this afternoon. Dwayne “Rock” Johnson in a tutu. I won’t lie, it was painful.

As for my son, he’s pretty excited to know the tooth fairy is coming tonight. Also, shopping won’t be quite as tough this holiday season. I think I know what he wants for Christmas.

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