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Letters to Santa help Make-A-Wish

Are your kids getting ready to write Santa? Why not combine their holiday gift pleading efforts with a good deed. Check out this neat program from Macy's.

Writing letters to Santa Claus is an age-old Christmas tradition for children all over the world. Macy's is collecting these letters in a special Santa letterbox at all Macy's stores. For each letter received, Macy's will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Believe Meter will measure America's belief, based on our collective spirit - including the amount of letters received and other current events that reflect the season's generosity.

If you've got a Macy's close by, drop your letter off there and help out! See full article.

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What's in your child's Christmas wishlist?

31 days before Christmas and you must be splitting your head off what to give your loved ones. Especially your kid! Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? Well you should before Christmas creeps on you.

It helps too when a young kid has a Christmas wishlist already...at least it helps what to tell Santa, right?

So what's in your child's wishlist? Here's mine. See full article.

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Create a Thanksgiving craft to keep

With Thanksgiving rolling around, you've probably got kids underfoot and hyper. Here is a cute idea - make custom Thanksgiving placemats.

Supplies:
Laminating sheet. (You can get packs of 10 laminating sheets that don't require a machine at any craft or office supply store but we finally bought an inexpensive one for $60)
Ribbon - any kind, any variety but festive holiday stuff around the same width seems to look best.
Markers or crayons
Blank Thanksgiving coloring pages
Double sided tape or glue stick

Instructions:
Let the kids color the coloring pages anyway they want to do it.

Cut the ribbon into strips frame/line the edges of the paper. Tape or lightly glue stick them in place.

Laminate them and lay them flat to set. And voila - you have homemade placemats for the table, ones that will help the kids feel like they contributed to the day and make cleaning up easier.

Some pages you can use:

Thanksgiving placemat coloring page 1

Thanksgiving placemat coloring page 2

Thanksgiving placemat coloring page 3
See full article.

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Cool gift idea: Smencils

I love to put aside some extra gift items I find for various occasions. Whether they become gifts for my daughter's friends at birthday parties, rewards for my daughter's good behavior or even stocking stuffers, storing a few neat gifts can save you time and money. I'll let you in on some of my good finds.

My latest item is smencils - pencils that smell! They come in regular pencil or colored pencil sets. We've got the colored pencil set which has 10 colored pencils each with a different scent (my favorite is cotton candy, my daughter's favorite is root beer). The smell is strong but not overpowering - however, I did tell my daughter not to take them to school unless it was a fun day at school because I don't want them to be distracting in the classroom.

They are environmentally friendly too - they are made from 100% recycled newspapers. The process is fascinating to me. They wrap the newspapers around the core until it is about the size of a pencil, let it harden and then soak it in the smell. Thank goodness each one comes in a plastic tube by itself so the smells don't mingle.

The 10-pack of colored pencils is $12 - perfect for a birthday gift for a child. They do have other smaller packs of regular pencils and even a small Holiday pack for less.

On the fundraising or prize angle, they do sell them at a big discount for boxes of 50 and up as well as custom order ones.

Visit their site for more info or ordering at http://www.smencils.com See full article.

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Meal Deals for kids: Lone Star

© (nutmeg)

Some days there is just nothing better than a break in the daily routine by going out to eat. However when you start to total up the bill for a family to eat, it seems to get pricier every day. However, you can make those dining out experiences a bit cheaper. Ways to save include looking for restaurants that offer to let if accompanied by an adult or signing your children up for birthday or kids clubs at many of the chain restaurants. We hope to highlight some of deals because after all in this economy, anything free is a welcome bonus.

Up this time is Lone Star Steak House, a restaurant chain with about 150 locations nationally. It is your pretty typical sit down chain steak house. We've eaten there many times and always had a good experience.

Their special is that on Tuesdays, kids can eat free from the kid's menu with the purchase of an adult entree. The deal also applies on Saturdays from (11am to 4pm). On both days, the limit is two kids per adult entree.

Lone Star Steak House restaurant

Lone Star's kids menu and kids zone See full article.

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Horsing around

One of the highlights of our vacation was driving up to Corolla on the high end of the North Carolina Outer Banks where we took a jeep ride on the beach and dunes. There you can see the wild horses that roam the dunes.

Long assumed to be the descendants of Spanish mustangs left over from 16th century explorers, the horses are federal protected and truly wild animals. Since the area was fairly inaccessible and isolated for a long time, the breed has lived happily alone, numbering at 101 horses right now.

Some residential development has creeped in but the area still requires four-wheel drive to get there, the houses are spread out and the owners know the horses really run the show even if you own the house. Some animals even do the mowing for the owners.

We were in an open top jeep so we really got into the experience. Our ride was amazing, we headed our on the beach and then into the dunes. Soon after we saw our first wild horse and it was amazing. We saw stallions, mares and young foals. They just roamed around while stopping to eat or drink. They were gorgeous animals. Of course, you can't get close or even touch them. You almost felt like you, the houses and everything else were the invaders into their wonderful world.

We saw the stunning sunset and then drove back on the beach under the full moon. It was the experience of a lifetime.

You can see our slideshow for that day onour flickr account.

Our tour was with Bob's Corolla Wild Horse Adventures. I highly recommend them - thanks for the great ride Nick! See full article.

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Pain and oooo my back

I have found a new circle of hell.

It is the circle that involves moving into a rental beach house without your husband, who doesn't come down for a few more days. The journey starts with your drive down, getting you nice and stiff, just enough to ache as you haul things up three stories. Of course this is October - the beach is still mid-high 70s but it is chilly at night and if the winds change, it could be colder. So we've got mostly shorts and tee-shirts but also some jeans and clunky sweatshirts.

Oh plus my camera gear and laptop, books, markers, pens, sheets, blankets, the Wii and games, DVDs and on and on.

I don't even want to discuss our trip to the grocery store that night and dragging bags up to the kitchen on the third floor.

Let's just thank goodness this place has a hot tub.
See full article.

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Vacation day II

We are down on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a relaxing week in a lovely house.

Our first day we slept late and eventually took Hwy 12 down the Outer Banks. By the end of the day, we'd visited three lighthouses (Bodie, Hatteras & Ocracoke) and ridden the ferry.

My daughter, bless her youthful legs, climbed ALL the way up the Cape Hatteras lighthouse - all 270 steps. Interestingly after our studying the moving of the lighthouse, she was fascinated with the old site. On the stories we read and video we watched, they talked about the quality of the granite the movers found and it is that rock that is left.

On the final ferry ride back from Ocracoke, she curled up in blankets and got up on my lap. I held her, we sang songs we made up when she was younger and acted silly. The wind blew, the ferry rocked gently and all was right with my world. See full article.

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Disney now free on your birthday!

Start your birthday off right with the most magical birthday present of all: free admission on your birthday during 2009 to one of the Theme Parks of the Disneyland® Resort*!

To receive free admission to one of the Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme parks on your birthday in 2009, guests must bring valid ID including proof of birth date. Guests who already hold a valid multi-day ticket they will use on their birthday may choose from other birthday treats instead, however, no cash refunds or credits will be given. To register your birthday and find out more details.

Visit this page for the details Free Admission on Your Birthday!
See full article.

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Flying through the air

Today my daughter and I went to lunch with a friend and her son. We took the kids to a park afterwards and it was then my child decided to test the limits of human aviation.

She went as high as she could on these park swings (mind you not backyard high, park high). Then she says this gem as she reaches the back swing arch's highest point:

Look Mommy, NO HANDS.

And then she slid out of the swing and smashed to the ground, landing on her shoulder and hip, with her arm pinned under her.

I ran over to her and she was howling in pain as much as she could because she'd had the wind knocked out of her. I carried her over to the bench, dusted her off and let her cry. I couldn't decide if I needed to go to the ER but she stopped crying, starting drinking my drink leftover from lunch and relaxed some.

Then she went back on the swing while I screamed every minute 'to keep both hands on the swing or so help me God, we'd leave right now' as she'd go one handed or flip her hands around. She finally got mad at me and sulked off to another part of the playground.

Amazingly, she is fine outside of some red patches and bumps - I think she'll ache some in the morning and I did give her a dose of kid's motrin. The advantages of being young and limber!

Of course, I'm nowhere near fine yet! See full article.

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Past hang up and drive

Today we saw a guy driving with two kids in his car while texting with both hands.

The addition of bluetooth and speaker phones on cell phones make driving a car while talking a bit safer. I've done it on occasion too but the reality is you run a risk every time you do something in your car that takes away your full attention from the road. Changing a CD, lighting a cigarette, grabbing something for your child - these all have a chance, even if it is a small one, of leading to a disaster on the road. I'm personally bad about putting on lip gloss driving.

Sometimes the accident isn't even your fault. A small distraction can keep you from seeing another driver weaving, merging or stopping short. No fault accidents happen all the time too - just two people in the wrong spot.

We run that risk with the small chances we take but why would you add more to the risk factor on the road?

When I saw the driver, he wasn't paying attention to the lanes merging so I immediately slowed up to stay away. On the highway, his tires drifted into my lane no less than three times in five minutes. I was happy when I saw him taking an exit but sad for his kids.

I'm not perfect but texting while driving is completely unacceptable. I'm not one for a lot of government oversight of personal behaviors but your personal rights stop when your actions impact on my safety. I too had a child in the car.

Next time I see someone like that I'm tempted to beep but of course, not take my eyes off the road to see! See full article.

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Track out!

As we've mentioned before we are in year round school district so our daughter is out of school at unusual times. We love the year round concept but we understand why it doesn't work for some families. Our daughter's grades are better than ever, she isn't bored over the long summer and we get to vacation at different times.

So we have the next three weeks off and I'm making my list now:

A week on the NC Outer Banks - yeah it's not summer hot but our daughter had NC history this year and now loves lighthouses. The Outer Banks is full of historical neat stuff - lighthouse, Lost Colony and pirate stuff so we'll do that plus take some ferries to get around. We'll take a jeep ride on the beach with a tour to see the wild ponies that live there too and then a cruise around the area. We got a great house down there for less than a hotel room a night in most cases - and the house has hot tub, four bedrooms and is a just few lots back from the oceanfront.

North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh - She actually ASKED to go! I'm thrilled!

Marbles/IMAX in Raleigh - Raleigh has a great kids interactive museum with an IMAX so we'll take in a cool movie, perhaps the Deep Sea one.

Photos - We have a photographer taking some nice

Riding - Our daughter rides horses and hopes to continue to show them. Track out means she can get in lessons during the day and go twice a week - plus she can hang out at the stable and goof off without us worrying about schedules.

Be Silly - Sleep late, play games, run around and be a kid.
See full article.

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Eat at Chili's Today!

Chili's Grill & Bar® to Donate 100 Percent of All Profits on Monday, Sept. 29 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as Part of Annual Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer Campaign

Memphis, Tenn. - September 24, 2008 - Chili's Grill & Bar announced today it will donate 100 percent of all profits on Monday, Sept. 29 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® as part of its month-long Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer campaign. Chili's seeks to reach the $25 million mark of their 10-year, unprecedented $50 million pledge to St. Jude during the 2008 campaign. Once completed, the donation will be the largest gift from a single partner campaign in St. Jude's history.

"At Chili's, we know that dining out has become a special occasion in this sluggish economy," said Todd Diener, president of Chili's Grill & Bar. "So we hope individuals and families across the country will take the opportunity on September 29 to not only dine out together but also to give back and help us continue supporting the groundbreaking research and life-saving care St. Jude provides."

Held at participating Chili's restaurants nationwide, Create-A-Pepper honors National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and, in five years, has raised $18.7 million for St. Jude. For Chili's, Sept. 29 concludes a month of intense fundraising that actively enlists Chili's employees, restaurant guests and the community at large in addition to St. Jude patients, supporters and staff. Chili's has been inviting the public to contribute in multiple ways:

• Make a donation to St. Jude and receive a Create-A-Pepper pepper coloring sheet designed for display at restaurants during the month.
• Purchase Create-A-Pepper T-shirts that can be customized with permanent marker.
• Buy a customized Create-A-Pepper key that can be cut for use at home.
• Visit www.createapepper.com to make an online donation.

For more information, to purchase Create-A-Pepper T-shirts and keys, to make an online donation to the campaign or to create an e-pepper, visit www.createapepper.com.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.

Chili's Grill & Bar is the flagship brand of Dallas-based Brinker International (NYSE: EAT), a recognized leader in casual dining. Chili's offers a fun, energetic atmosphere and a distinct, fresh mix of grilled American favorites at more than 1,400 locations in 24 countries. Other Brinker brands include Maggiano's Little Italy®, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina®, and Romano's Macaroni Grill®. For more information, please visit www.chilis.com.

See full article.

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Weather

Dear Mother Nature,

I know it's a lot to ask but could you decide if it is summer or fall for sure? My child has clothes from both seasons spread out like a fan. Normally it is just one clothing mess but now it is two.

One day jeans, boots and long sleeve shirt - the next day shorts, tank top and flipflops. I'm baffled, she's baffled and one wrong daily weather guess and she might freeze or combust depending on the day.

I know global warming is a big deal but if you could get on this weather thing, we'd appreciate it! Fashion is a cruel mistress in the fourth grade after all. See full article.

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Grade A

A few years ago, wee made some tough decisions about our daughter's academics and we finally are getting some real confirmation we made the right moves.

In her school, their grading scale is 4 - 1. It's very odd but the grades go 1, 2, 3, 3* or 4. Scores of 1 or 2 indicate performance below grade level. 3 indicates performance at grade level and 3* means performance at grade level with evidence of application and 4 indicates performance above grade level. The 3 means you are right where you are supposed to be and doing fine, 3* means you did really well but 4 means WOW.

For the first time ever on a report card, Hayley got a 4!! Overall she got 4, 3*, 3, 3, and 3. We are SO proud of her. It's been great to see her not just learn but share and get excited over things.

On the conduct/work habits (ie behavior) section - all checks. She's normally got a few missing there, haha. And under 'interventions' which are extra things the school will do/offer to help her, for the first time ever there is nothing listed.

Please don't think I'm being a braggart over this. She's just never done this well and it took a lot of work from all of us to get to this point (mostly her of course!). See full article.

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Back to school?

© Dan4th

Four years ago, I dropped out of graduate school. I was halfway through a program there but other pressing things in life took over - ie being a parent. I just couldn't do both, or at least do them both well.

I confess, I had too much fun in college and eventually when I decided what to do in life and wanted more education my lousy grades came back to bite me on the butt. I was lucky to be working in the field of the program I was applying to and the person who gave me my start in that field had moved on to being the dean of that graduate program. We all knew my initial application would be denied automatically due to not having the gpa but they guided me through the appeal process and I was accepted into the program.

Thank goodness they cared about real life experiences - in terms of achievement, I was more fairly judged at age 33 than at 21! My grades in the program were great and I really liked it. But I needed to pay more attention to my family than school.

The professors tried to tell me not to drop out but I knew I needed to do it. The past few years I've entertained going back but my husband Jeff was back getting a professional certification (his CPA) and that was more important at the time for our family long term.

I'm strongly considering going back but I'm nervous about handling it all. The prices have increased as well - yikes!

Can I juggle everything? Hayley is ten now, Jeff has his CPA license. I work for myself and my clients are long term and stable. Can I still be a good mom? I'm already a slack housekeeper, lol

I'm hoping I can pull this off. See full article.

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Free BK kids meals

Burger King will give you three free kids' meals for each child registered on their Club BK site. Check the mailer you get - you'll see in the fine print you can get three meals, not just one. Plus you'll get a coupon for another free meal on your child's birthday!

With the additional offerings Burger King now has in their kids meals like apples and mac & cheese, Burger King isn't near as unhealthy as it was in the past.

Check it out at Club BK
See full article.

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Forgetfulness

I have a child with a forgetful nature. Coupled with her backpack being a paper graveyard, she often leaves things that school.

She's got an agenda to fill out and go by. I had big flame colored luggage tags made about having everything she needs for school made and put on the zipper to her backpack. I try to go over what she needs that night immediately in the carpool line and at least once a week, she runs back into school to get something.

As a parent how much are we to help when our children forget things?

Personally I find myself helping too much. Looking online for spelling words and sheet music, try to sort out how to get missing stuff. I've got to stop or she isn't going to work harder to remember stuff. But I'm torn then because if she forgets a book to study for a test, her grades will slip and that's not ok in our house.

What do you do to help your children remember to bring home everything from school? Give me some good ideas to make this HER responsibility and not mine! See full article.

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The Carrie Diaries - or I just threw up in my mouth a little bit

I loved Sex And The City television series as much as the next woman but I'm appalled that Candace Bushnell, the woman who penned the original book, is rewinding the clock to write young adult fiction based on lead character Carrie Bradshaw, entitled "The Carrie Diaries".

Sex And The City was a ground-breaking television series, it gave a voice to a part of a generation of women who had different views on sex, life, motherhood and marriage. Aired on HBO for six series, people fell in love with the characters whose lives culminated a movie on the big screen this year.

Call it provocative, sexy, raunchy and cheeky, the series could not have been aired on regular television networks - a premium cable network was the only place it could be launched due to the content. To air it on even a non-premium cable network required serious editing. The movie carried an R rating for strong sexual content, graphic nudity and language.

So can someone tell me why the children's division at HarperCollins is publishing prequels of this series for teens? Slated for release in 2010, the last thing I want my tween/almost teen daughter to be reading is something that dovetails into SATC stuff. Isn't the logical ending of reading those books wanting to know more?

Talk about milking a franchise. I'm pretty grossed out about this.

We are talking about a show that had to be on HBO before it was edited, and even then it was for older teens Is that really what you want to develop a teen novel for?

If Bushnell wants to write a teen novel, then find new characters. I'd have no problem if this was marketed to ADULTS but it isn't going to be done that way.

I'm not a prude. I completely can see how Sex And The City the televisions series could be a way to open a dialogue with daughter leaving her teenage years behind. I'm not denying it could offer some people that entry into a conversation but I don't think it is something I'll do and it certainly isn't something you do with teens.

Like I said, I love the series. I have all the DVDs and twice kept the final two episodes on my DVR for months. But this is wrong. See full article.

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School conference

Last night I had a conference with my daughter's teacher. It was completely unremarkable, quick and basically amounted to being told her marks are at grade level or over and things are fine. The squabbling from the begining of the year has pretty much ended but it wasn't a huge deal before - just a girl thing.

I've never once been in a conference like that. I've always been worried, angling for resources, full of concern and thinking two steps ahead.

She has no IEP, no 504 and she's not getting any tutoring in or out of school, except for my help. She's doing just fine on her own.

It has taken us so long to get to this point. I say us because I feel like our entire family made this journey but really it was our daughter who did most of the work.

There was never any easy answer what to do with her when her grades were failing when she was younger. We finally bit the bullet and had her repeat a year. It was our call - she passed the year but by the skin of her teeth and with huge efforts from us and tutors.

She has some learning gaps (I think most of us do) and some challenges to work with but she's a smart kid with a fine IQ. It took us forever to grasp some of it was maturity, that one more year to grow up more would help her learn more.

And it did. She's no longer just getting by but really understanding and happy. She joined the scrabble club for goodness sake and she's regularly asking about doing more to get a better grade on projects. She got what was the best grade possible on a project at the end of the year last year (we are in year round so that was the end of June) and she loved the feeling. She's proud of herself and thinks KNOWS she is smart.

I feel like exhaling for a long while and burning about 100 workbooks (just kidding).

We all need to remember chronology is only a loosely helpful way to gauge developmental levels in general. Sometimes we need to toss out the charts and just look at the situation for exactly what it is at the moment and make the decisions based on that.

I'm so proud of my daughter. See full article.

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Up in front

Today we passed some friends on the road and their daughter, who is no more than two months older than ours, was in the front passenger's side seat. Since my daughter is heading towards 11 years old, I've noticed a lot of her friends seem to be riding in the front seat of their parents' cars. Hayley will try to talk me into it but I'm not ready to move her up there yet.

The laws for car seats are more widely known. We see PSAs about them regularly. Like most states, in our state the law for sitting in a car seat was eight years old or eighty pounds. Well even now she's still 20 pounds away from that but around nine we did remove the car booster seat. I figured since she was small, an extra year would be a good thing and she didn't mine because she saw better out the windows. I have a sports-utility vehicle so one more year in booster in car with a larger interior couldn't hurt.

I was curious what the laws were here for moving to the front seat:

* If the child is age 5 or older, OR
* If the child weighs at least 40 pounds, OR
* If the vehicle does not have an active passenger side air bag, OR
* If the vehicle does not have a rear seat where the child restraint can be installed. Note however, that children in rear facing child safety seats should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with an active passenger side air bag. The child will be seriously injured or killed if there is a crash and the air bag deploys.

I don't have side airbags but I'm still not convinced this is a good idea so I read further on their 'recommended':

* All children age 12 and under should ride buckled up in a rear seat.
* Infants in rear facing child safety seats should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with an active passenger side air bag.
* Small children should ride in a rear seat in full harness type child safety seats appropriate for their age and size.
* Larger children should ride in a rear seat in a belt positioning booster until large enough for the lap and shoulder belt to fit correctly.
* If a child over one year old MUST ride in the front seat with a passenger side air bag, put the child in a front facing full harness child restraint, a belt-positioning booster seat, or a correctly fitting lap and shoulder belt - AND move the seat as far back as possible.
* If a child age 12 or younger MUST ride in the front seat with a passenger side air bag, have an air bag on/off switch installed and turn the air bag off when the child in in the front seat.

That all seems logical and I'm content with keeping her back there until she is 12 but I'm wondering why so many other people are already moving their kids up there now.

Besides at least if she is in the back, she can't turn to a different radio stations or change the CD. See full article.

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Free webseminar for parents with school aged kids

I got an interesting looking email today that I thought I'd share in case it interested any of you:

Well it is back to school time again and many of us are wondering how we can become more involved with our child's academic progress. A recent nationwide survey stated that 96% of parents believed parent involvement was a key factor in student achievement and 95% think achievement would improve if there was better communication between school and home. PowerSchool, a student information system that supports more than 10,000 schools and 4.2 million students, is hosting a webinar on parent involvement and the benefits of parent access to real-time information like grades and attendance information. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, September 16th at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET. Parents now have a huge opportunity to get more involved, which can help mitigate problems, encourage better study habits, and improve collaboration between teachers and students - all key factors in student achievement. You can sign up for this free webinar by visiting http://www.poweringperformance08.com/webinar-series-register.html

See full article.

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Free Ice Cream at Cold Stone on Sept. 28th

Cold Stone Creamery® will host the "World's Largest Ice Cream Social," a fundraising event to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America and local chapters across the country.

Cold Stone Creamery will give away a free 3 oz. Make-A-Wish® Ice Cream Creation to each customer from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25.

The Creations were developed using two of Cold Stone Creamery's new ice cream flavors, Nutter Butter® and marshmallow. Wish child Emily developed the Creation made with Nutter Butter ice cream mixed with yellow cake, Kit Kat® candy and white chocolate chips. Wish child Jack combined marshmallow ice cream mixed with OREO® cookies, chocolate chips and fudge to create the treat named for him.

In exchange for Emily or Jack's Creation, Cold Stone Creamery is requesting that a donation be made to the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundations.

For store locations, please visit www.coldstonecreamery.com. See full article.

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My mother

I'm slowly feeling better. Of course I haven't really stopped doing all the things I need to get done but I'm napping a lot between them.

My parents came over to go to school with our daughter this morning for Grandparents/Special Person's breakfast. We had to get ready an hour early and being so tired, I was dragging and really grateful all I had to do was get clothes on the child and basic hygiene handled.

My mother showed up with homemade cinnamon bread with strudel topping. I ate some and went right back to sleep, it was lovely.

Then she emailed me to tell me that Hayley ate well at school, was polite and they had a lovely time. And that even though she knew I was sick, I looked cute.

Leave it to another woman, another mother - my mother, to make me feel better in some many little ways. See full article.

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Looky-loo

Parenting is such a subjective and scary thing. You can feel in your head you are doing the right thing but your heart might be confused - or vice versa. Humorously, some of the best and worst parenting decisions I made have been ones I was the most sure about making.

I think most of us who troll around blogs will admit to read the blogs of other parents and snorting smugly at some of their decisions. I read a small encapsulated snippet of someone's life and think to myself that I'd never let my child do that or that those people must be kidding themselves. Sadly yeah, it makes me feel better at times - playing armchair parenting expert is much easier. But much of the time I'm laughing at the antics of children, the twists of life and just how people adapt to whatever ends up on their plate.

I freely admit that is what I'm doing here. I'm no expert, if you want expert opinions head to any number of baby or peds doc blogs. But I do hope you can laugh, cringe or roll your eyes at me while I muddle along and I try my best not to really mess up with the kid that I have. See full article.

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Parenting while sick

© Aidan Jones

What happens when you catch a virus and get really run down? When you forgot to listen to your body's signs that it is sick and tired?

Well you find yourself at the doctor's office yesterday morning like I did. After breathing tests and chest xrays, your doctor tells you that you have bronchitis and walking pneumonia. They caught the walking pneumonia early thank goodness so I'm on antibiotics and an inhaler with strict instructions to take it very easy and stay hydrated.

I'm trying but motherhood doesn't always let you do that. My daughter alternates between being super sweet and slightly sulky that she isn't getting all the attention. She's a ten year old only child and only grandchild on our sides so she's used to a lot of attention (note - she is adopted and has bio-siblings and cousins, etc but she is the only on here).

I'm trying to use this as a time to help her grow up some too. There are things she can do on her own that she's content to let mom or dad do - well the time is now to get your butt in gear and do them yourself my darling. She can pack her own snack, she can be responsible for remembering more things - and suffer the consequences if she doesn't. She doesn't really need four reminders about getting dressed for horseback riding. She knows the routine and right now I'm too tired to play some game where I have to cajole her into getting ready on time. I've got enough energy to take her to and from so if she wants to play games in the middle, she can just skip the lesson!

Now I'm going back to bed. Someone else can pick up the ten year old's clothes on the floor or I"m sure the dogs will eat them for her. Either way, I'm napping! See full article.

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Dads and daughters

Today my husband and daughter have taken off on their own adventure. They are headed to meet his folks and brother three hours away for a football game. She's excited about having time with just Daddy.

I think it is so important for girls to have time on their own with their fathers. How your father treats you has a huge role in how you expect other men to treat you as you date and marry.

I saw a quote that said Dad's should date their daughters - eww, I don't like that phrasing but their point is well-taken. Fathers set the standard for future men in a girl's life.

A daughter that is loved, valued and treated well by her father will expect young men to do the same. Men that treat their daughters as wonderful creatures, that enjoy their company and give him the gift of time create confident young women who have self-esteem and pride - and are less likely to be victimized or abused.

It isn't the only factor of course or some saving grace but it can go along way to help young women. See full article.

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Meet our music tutor - youtube

I know youtube.com can be a cesspool but I've enjoyed the site a ton. We have some videos there and I love the idea of people being able to self-broadcast their own news and programs.

Normally that's not a site that we show Hayley but I was searching for some sheet music she left at school. Fourth grade in her school is the year they learn to play the recorder. They have to master nine songs and get a 'belt' each time they play it correctly for the music teacher. The belts are colored tassels and a fun way to reward the kids.

They are supposed to practice five to ten minutes a night so we've been adding it to our homework routine. However Hayley forgot the sheet music so I tried to track it down online. I found the sheet music but also some great videos on youtube on how to actually play the song!

One of the people posting them was doing a wonderful job and Hayley went from doing ok with the song to really getting solid with the song. The way he shows how to play is perfect to really help kids get a good handle on what they are doing as well as lay down some basics to help them move forward.

Hayley is a child that learns better hearing and seeing things more than once so being able to basically give her a private lesson as often as she wanted, from any point in the lesson is amazing.

Check out the one for Hot Crossed Buns:



The fellow has a great website too, check it out at makingmusicfun.net.

It is just amazing how people are using technology and all sorts of platforms to share knowledge. My mother once told me she thought the internet would create a situation of have and have-nots but I countered it would be just the opposite - the internet would be a leveling factor, that the power of distributing knowledge would be revolutionary. I see that more and more every day! See full article.

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Wake up parents

I was watching Dr. Phil today and one of the segments was about a ten-year old girl who is online alone frequently and speaking explicitly with some gross older men. Having a ten-year old who technically savvy, I was interested in what was going on.

The parents say she just keeps getting back online and they don't know what to do. They've read the chat logs and they are horrible. They've tried re-directing her to kid friendly sites to no avail. It came to a head when an adult called the house at 2am.

I found this all hysterical and sad. How passive some parents are - simply nip this in the bud. Why are people placating children and living with risks they can't control?

Let's look at the issues they posed:

• The young lady started getting online with the playstation. Solution -> turn off that option.
• She abused instant messenger talking to these adults. Solution -> why does a ten-year old have her own AOL account? Uninstalled all chat options.
• She would get up late at night to chat when her parents when to bed. Solution -> the computers can only be accessed by a password that only the adults know.
• Or hey - just turn off the internet in any machine you can't control. Heck if my child was talking to predators, I'd remove the internet all together! This is her life, this child is being abused.

In our house, we have four PCs. Hayley has her own computer in the playroom and it is not online. My husband and I both have laptops. If Hayley wants to use one, she has to use it in the living room with one of us there. I check it regularly to see what she is doing, often I'm actually sitting there with her.

Also we've gone over more than once the risks of predators online. I've been very clear about what can happen and what come people want. Sad we have to do that but the facts can't be denied.

Protect your children, preserve their childhood. See full article.

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Crafty parents and photos

I'm a Flickr fan in terms of where I post my online photos for friends and family but I started out at shutterfly years ago.

I have to give Shutterfly credit for their new feature products especially their collage photos. They have collage backdrops all set up for you just to pop in your photos and have a great finished product. Think of all those times you paid for overpriced sports team photo packages. Now just take a photo of your kid and the team, upload them to Shutterfly and put them in the design you pick. You can do them up to poster size!

The one up top is the first one I did a few weeks ago. Hayley's swimming had an amazing season so we decided to go bigger with a 16 x 20 backdrop and then added in photos of her, the team and special moments. It took me 10 minutes and was $20, shipping included. It looks amazing and other team parents who see it keep asking how to do it for their child.

Another cool find, check out shabbyprincess.typepad.com for their monthly free background for your computer. You download the zip file, open in your graphics editor, add in your photos and voila, you have an amazing background. See full article.

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Freecycle

Welcome! The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,583 groups with 5,698,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free.

We always find ourselves drowning in junk at our house. Kids accumulate toys, clothes and other stuff at an astounding rate. Even when I get super motivated to de-clutter, sadly I'm often tossing out stuff that isn't completely broken or unusable. I just want it gone and my house clean!

I'm trying something different this round of cleaning - freecycle. Before I toss the items, I'm just tossing them in a box or bag and making a post on my local freecycle list about them. Since you aren't selling them, you don't need to do all the things to make the item look better online. Just post a few lines about the item, condition and where you are. If someone drops you an email saying they want it, you just set up a time or place to get it. I'm not fond of people in my house that I don't know so we just leave stuff on our porch.

So far we've given away Hayley's old duck bathroom items, some old games of hers, an old rug and tomorrow our sectional from the living room. Some of these things we were going to pay to have someone haul away! We saved money and gave someone else something with some use left plus we are keeping things out of landfills. Everyone wins!

While most of what I'm doing is moving junk from our house, I've posted my first note today about something Hayley asked for to play with - some bongos. Who knows if she'll really ever use them but I'm fine with getting her them if I'm getting it for free.

Of course, charity and goodwill are great options as well but freecycle gives you another option for used things, one with some reciprocal benefits! See full article.

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Sing and spell, fourth grade edition

My daughter got 10 of 20 words right on her last spelling test. Of course, that's also 10 of 20 words wrong. Either way we had to do something to help her absorb the words quicker. The regular methods just don't work for her in the time frame of getting the words on Monday and passing a test on them Friday.

All kids learn differently so I'm shaking things up. My newest idea is we are writing a song for each week to help her absorb them in a different way as well as pick up the word as a vocabulary word, which the school seems to stress far less (don't let me get started on that!

This week is homophones:

S O L E is the bottom of my foot
S O U L is my eternal soul

P A W S is what my puppies have
P A U S E is what the DVR can do for me

S E N T is what I did with the mail
S C E N T is smelly to me
C E N T is one simple penny

B E A R lives out in the woods
B A R E means naked I will be!

C H O R D is musical to me
C O R D plugs into my TV

S E R I A L means part of a series
C E R E A L for breakfast it will be

D Y E D is what we did to our shirts
D I E D means you have bit the dirt

R E I G N is how long the King rules
R A I N gets me soaking wet

M I S T feels great on a hot day
M I S S E D means you didn't hit the ball
See full article.

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Soccer stupor

We've switched to a different soccer team this year. When we signed up, it did say that they get a white jersey this year but no ball like they did when she was little and playing in this league. Fine, I didn't think anything of it and we certainly have about five balls here.

It turns out that the kids who played last year got red jerseys though, meaning they have white and red jerseys. The first three games of this season guess what color our kids wear - RED. How can you assign children to wear a jersey you didn't give them? How can you justify it by saying they were given last year when we weren't in this league last year.

When she was younger, they got the white or red jersey but also the other color in a t-shirt. You only got the new items if you were new to the team, that's logical and it wouldn't be cost effective to issue real jersey stuff each season. But you do have to give child the items you expect them to wear in a game to represent your team. And then I realized they didn't give her shorts either - which they all got last year.

Are you telling me it is really fair to make my child wear just a red shirt we find lying around? She won't match her teammates and we don't even have red shirts (our favorite collegiate team has a rival that wears red, so we have almost no red in this house). These kids moved up an age level and moved from 6v6 to 8v8 - there are new kids on every team in the league!

I emailed the league and their entire response was that we could come to their offices - about 20 minutes away - and BUY a red jersey for $18. WHAT? I've asked a friend with a bigger growing daughter to see if she has an old red jersey we can borrow.

At this point, there is a decent chance on Saturday that most of my daughter's teammates will be all dressed to match in their red jersey and league shorts but a few of the kids will look like random semi-matching stragglers in red tshirts and plain black shorts. See full article.

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Bedding too

JCPenney's Pepper Pink Twin Quilt

I just got my daughter new quilts for her bunkbeds as a surprise. I was looking at the girl ones and I realized she's not a young girl anymore. The girlie stuff was cute but seemed like it didn't have enough flair for her.

She's a tweener now so I went up to the teen section - AHHHH, that's so scary!!! I found something I loved that still had pink in it and definitely had a younger look but has some funky style. But it has black in it, which she's going to love but reminds me she is getting older. So I sucked it up and bought her two of them for the bunk beds, the pillow shams and those neckrolls with the black fringe. I hope she likes them!

And for my husband who reads this - they were on sale and I had a 20% overall coupon! See full article.

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Supervising The Pre-schooler With Homework

This school year is my son's last year in preschool. I am hoping he can be accepted to first grade next school year. Though I am nervous that he doesn't take reading very seriously. He can write but reading aloud what he wrote, he doesn't do too much.

There are times I even doubt if he knows really what he is writing. Or maybe he is one of those kids who gets more confident in writing stuff than verbally speak out loud.

Homeworks are another thing. I think it is best to be able to stick to a schedule. Like homework should be done before dinner. Then later he can watch a bit of cartoons on tv. Not later than 9 pm is my ideal bed time on school nights.

Still, I feel am not doing enough supervision. Well I am really trying my best to put more attention to the study habits, and establishing a routine. These days there are just too much distraction - tv is number one think.

We'll see. Hopefully, he can get the hang of it this early. But sometimes it isn't easy falling into a strict study hours at home. See full article.

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Family Again, if Only for a Week

This is one of those stories that will tug at your heartstrings. It is a great reminder that there are wonderful people out there trying to do amazing things for children who have already been through too much.

Read A Family Again, if Only for a Week, a story about a camp that brings together siblings separated by foster, adoption or home placements. See full article.

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Good read: The high price of raising an Olympian

Taking another look at children and the Olympics, MSNBC has an interesting article entitled The high price of raising an Olympian. The article discusses the financial commitment involved with raising an Olympic athlete.

Training costs are pricey alone but when you factor in the rest of the expenses, it can be staggering.

"We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Heather," Jan Peck [mother of soccer player heather mitts] recalls. "Tournaments, hotel accommodations, private lessons, food, travel, sitters for siblings or pets - all those things cost money."

And what if you don't have all of that cash on hand?

Gymnast Shawn Johnson's parents, for example, took out a line of credit on their home and have used that money over the years to cover travel expenses. The debt has made a dent in the family finances, but that's a price parents seem willing to pay.

I don't even want to think about the families with more than one child competing at that level. See full article.

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The death of a sectional; Birth of a living room

After years of the grubby fingers of children and their markers, food and mess coupled with three scratching and dirty dogs, our living room furniture finally gave up the fight and died. It had been on a downward spiral and even expert help couldn't save it. We decided to put it down before it (we) had to suffer anymore.

Hopefully soon it will be in a better place - like a frat house.

It is survived by a wooden stool and some corduroy cubes. Donations may be sent to the family at Bank of America.

The proud owners, Jeff & Michelle along with their daughter Hayley, are pleased to announce the partial arrival of a new living room. Most arrives today and bookcase on the 18th and 26th.

Please pray for the health and stability of the new furniture as we have no idea of its lifespan. See full article.

Related Entries:

Living Room - 30 四月 2006

Pub Or Living Room? - 29 June 2006

Epilepsy Drug Valproate, Associated with Higher Risk for Fetal Death and Birth Defects - 18 August 2006

Pre - Birth I - the baby room - 07 October 2007

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How old for the big stage?

Chinese national team gymnasts in 2007

With the Olympics in full swing now, the topic of sports and children comes to my mind.

Athletes seem to be getting younger and younger in international competition. The youth movement was so pronounced in gymnastics that their governing body had to create a rule mandating athletes be sixteen to compete in Olympic gymnastics. Even now questions abound if some nations have faked birth certificates to enter younger gymnasts. One of the Chinese girls looks al