Widget-y Goodness

So I have never mentioned what I do in real life, outside of chasing my many children around, that is. But I do have a job, if you can believe it! I am a child passenger safety technician, which basically means I educate parents on how to use their carseats correctly and transport their kids safely. Believe it or not, 4 out of 5 carseats are misused!

I became a tech about a year and a half ago. Here is a dorky story: Soon after Eli died, I was at loose ends. I had always wanted to become a tech, but never had time to attend the week long intensive training course, or babysitters to watch the kids so I could do it. I really wanted to be able to do something to create a legacy for Eli, and to help other parents avoid going through losing a child like we had.

Well, my birthday was coming up, and John, knowing what a geek I am at heart, got me the best birthday gift ever. He called around to all of our friends and set up babysitting for both kids each day of the week. He adjusted his schedule so that he could drop them off in the morning and pick them up in the evening. He secretly signed me up for the class. He made it possible for me to become a tech, and he made it possible for me to create a legacy for Eli.

So now I am a CPS Tech. I work out of a baby boutique owned by a very good friend, and I get to play with a lot of awesome carseats, strollers, and other baby gear. But most of all, I get to help teach parents how to keep their kids safe. It is the best and the worst job...the days when parents are receptive and leave with their child safer than when they came are awesome. The days when parents ask my professional opinion and then blatantly disregard it pretty much suck. =) But most of all, I know that through Eli's death, I was able to become someone who could help save other baby's lives, and so indirectly, because of Eli, other babies have been saved. I think that is pretty cool.

Another cool effect of working where I work is that I have literally owned and used every single & double stroller in existence. =) Every single item we sell in the store gets tested out, and if we don't like it, we stop carrying it. So this time around, with Seth, I got all kinds of amazing little gadgets (widgets, if you will...) and gear that make life with kids simpler, cuter, or more fun. So I think I will probably start to do a few posts here and there about the things I use with Seth that make my life with a bunch of kids easier.

I think I may call it Widget Wednesday, as one of the definitions is this:

widget
noun
2.
a device or control that is very useful for a particular job

The "particular job" being, of course, baby raising. =) And Wednesday because it also starts with W. So, yeah. I am also reserving the right to forget to do it sometimes...I do have kids to take care of! So stay tuned for that!