March 2013 - The Clear Bag Store

Pharmaceutical Confusion and the His and Hers Cosmetic Bags

Mom and Dad had reached that age where they each had a host of pills to take every day. We joked that it ran in our family, since I’d started taking thyroid meds just a few years ago, so the three of us had our collection of various things to take. We were lucky, though; Mom and Dad were healthy enough, and taking fistfuls of pills every day to keep it that way seemed like a small price in the grand scheme of things. They were determined to not let the pills slow them down, too, and usually devoted some…

Clear Backpacks

Turtling with the Large Backpack

I’m an active guy, and I married an active gal, so when we got pregnant I was determined to stay active and not gain fifteen pounds and look twenty years older like a lot of my fellow new Dads. It’s all about having a plan. If you just react to things as they happen it’s chaos and confusion, but if you sit down and think it out, make a plan and stick to it, you can have some small control over your life. When the kids were small, we loaded them into harnesses and hiked with them hanging on us,…

Uncategorized

My Mother the Dumper

I love my mother. I want to state this up front so that the tone of the following rant doesn’t make you think I am some sort of unfeeling sociopath – I did read recently that some shocking number of people in the world are really sociopaths, which is kind of scary. But I am not one of them, I swear. Mom is lovely. She’s always been a bit dotty, but dotty in a lovable way. She’s the sort of woman who wears two similar but different shoes, one earring, and my windbreaker from high school and thinks nothing of…

Travel Bags

The Crayon Wars – His and Hers TSA Compliant Carry Ons

When we became pregnant, we had no idea what we were in for. When we found out it would be fraternal twins, we had no idea what we were in for. When the twins emerged as adorable, towheaded darlings, we had no idea what we were in for. Perhaps you’re seeing a theme emerging. I don’t know where Tom and Tabitha got it from. Their father and I are easygoing, Beta-type people. We’re not high-powered anything, and we like a quiet, calm life. The twins … are different. Competitive with each other, high-spirited, loud, and creative. The house is a…

Lunch Bags

Clear Bag: Keeping Mr. Paws in Sight

As a parent, you get creative fast. First of all, nothing last long enough – clothes, food, toys, your sanity and patience. You think you have enough of them and then bam! they’re gone or used up or worn out and you need something else. So you have a choice: You can take out a second mortgage on the house and squeeze in a pizza delivery job during those hours you had foolishly scheduled for sleep and just keep buying new, new, new, or you can figure out how to make everything do double or triple duty. Clothes can be…

Clear Laptop Bag

Clear Bags: Winging It

It’s a modern problem, and a first world problem, but it was my problem: The family needed new laptops. I needed one for my work, my wife needed one for the house, and our kids needed them for school. We discussed tablets, but laptops seemed tougher, better able to travel and take abuse. Plus, I thought I was super smart when I found a deal to get four of the same model at a discount – they were just about to discontinue the line, so even though they were brand new, we got them cheap. Husband for the win! The…