This past week we let the dog start sleeping in Trent’s bed with him. One night I asked him if he wanted Icesis to sleep in the bed with him and he said yes. I called the dog upstairs and got her tucked in the covers with the boy. He was so happy and excited to have her there. We’ve been letting her sleep in there every night since. All of a sudden he has stopped procrastinating at bed time and gives us no problems when we say its time to sleep. It was cute seeing him so excited and curling up with her that first night. Now Icesis is in his room all the time and thinks that Trent’s bed is hers. I don’t think he minds.

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Today my husband took Trent to the coffee shop around the corner for breakfast. When they got back Trent had a big bouqet of flowers for me. Apparently there is a brand new florist in that little plaza with the coffee place. When they walked by it Trent stopped and looked in the window and said “flowers.” He started walking again then stopped, turned around and pointed at the flowers and said “mommy.” So Garrick asked him if he wanted to get me some flowers and Trent said yes. When they went inside Garrick asked Trent which flowers to get for me, and the little guy kept pointing at a bunch of different flowers. They ended up getting this for me. I was so touched when Trent came in the house with his first bunch of flowers for mommy.

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Trent playing my old Gameboy Advance. We’re raising the next generation of gamers here.

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Last night after the evening family walk my husband and I were unloading the kids from the stroller. It had been raining all day so everything outside was pretty wet and the slugs were out and about. We have these giant slugs in our area that are bigger than my fingers and have these leopard print spots all over. There were a few on the walk leading up to the house and I pointed them out to my two year old. He was fascinated, but didn’t really want to touch them. He would poke one and say “Ew! Yucky!” My husband got the bright idea to put one onto a piece of paper he found and encourage our son to bring the slug into the house to show his auntie. Garrick was just trying to freak out his sister, of course, using the guise and innocence of a two year old. Well, after the antics of showing off the newly named Slug-O, my husband then came up with his second bright idea of the night. Let’s put this thing in a jar! I went and pulled out an old baby food jar, Garrick popped a couple of holes into the lid and we put in a wet paper towel. Presto! Slug cage! Trent ran around with Slug-O all night. We brought Slug-O in the bathroom with us, Trent wouldn’t put Slug-O down to put on his PJ’s, and Slug-O sat on the table next to the bed while I read the bedtime story. When it was time for me to leave, Trent kept crying and saying “Slug-O! Slug-O!” I was trying to tell him that the slug could stay on the table and watch over him all night, but he wouldn’t have it. I finally gave in, figuring that the minute I left Trent would just get up and grab the jar anyway. As I left the room, I turned to say the last good night and watched my son go to bed with a slug in a baby food jar. He held the jar and stared into repeating Slug-O over and over. My son’s first time finding an outdoor animal and keeping it in a cage overnight. The next morning we brought Slug-O back outside, opened his jar, said good-bye and released him back to the wilds of our back yard.

Update Sep. 11, 2009: Trent is still asking for Slug-O the past couple of nights at bedtime. I have to keep reminding him that we let Slug-O back outside.

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A few months ago I was having a very typical day for me. Had breakfast, did an activity with the kids, had lunch, played more with the kids and put them down for a nap. While they were napping I was taking care of some household chores. Just a moment before my husband walked in the door from work, my oldest son woke up from his nap very upset. I don’t know what the problem was, but he was crying so much that he woke the baby. That made him cry as well. So, my husband walks in the door and comes up stairs to two screaming kids. I was struggling to handle the situation and he started helping me, but they were both so worked up that they just kept going. I looked at my husband and said “I gave up working and my career for this. To stay at home and listen to two children screaming…. and I love every minute of it.”

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This article is from Yahoo. I think I would like to live in Virginia Beach, I love being near the ocean.

America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up

By Luke Mullins Luke Mullins Thu Aug 20, 11:33 am ET

If you could create the ideal community to raise a child in, what ingredients would you include? First off, you’d probably want a low crime rate. A strong school system would also be key. From there, you’d need lots of other children, expansive green spaces to play in, and plenty of nearby family events. Toss in an abundance of artistic and recreational activities, and all of a sudden you’ve got one heck of a place to grow up. At U.S. News, we wanted to find out if any communities like that already existed–and if so, where they were located. So we dug into our database of 2,000 different places all across the country and pinpointed the locales that met these criteria. We then examined these communities more closely to determine which places offered the best combination of safe neighborhoods, fun activities, and top-notch educators. Our selections appear below, in our list of America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up:

Virginia Beach, Va.: Junior adventurers will love Virginia Beach, Va. This community of 434,000 residents in the southeastern part of the state has a low crime rate, a solid school system, and 35 miles of majestic beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. “It’s kind of neat to be able to come home from work, make a call to my wife or son, grab a bucket of chicken or some sandwiches, and then go out on the bay and have dinner,” says Greg Ward, who works for a marketing firm that represents the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Children can explore an impressive ecosystem of threatened and endangered species–including bald eagles and loggerhead sea turtles–in the 9,000-acre Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The warm summers and mild winters provide plenty of opportunities to hike, bike, and picnic your way through the 19 miles of scenic trails over at First Landing State Park. And after checking out the sand tiger sharks and the cow-nose rays at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, children can catch an educational picture in its 3-D IMAX theater.

[Slide Show: America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up.]

And in early September, the community is launching an online resource–VBparents.com–designed to keep parents plugged in to local health and school news, while ensuring that they are up-to-date on all of the community activities available to their kids. “There are lots of great parenting resources out there. This one is going to be specific to raising your child and your family within the city of Virginia Beach,” says Jenefer Snyder, city of Virginia Beach GrowSmart coordinator. “We are constantly going to be connecting it back to community services, activities, events, programs, and classes.”

Madison, Ala.: Of the roughly 43,000 residents in the friendly, churchgoing town of Madison, Ala., about 12,000 are under 18 years old. And this bedroom community of Huntsville, Ala., offers no shortage of outlets to keep these young folks active. “There is an event almost every weekend–whether it is in Madison, Huntsville, or Madison County–that families can attend,” says Paul Finley, the mayor of Madison. Children can take advantage of the area’s expansive outdoor amenities: watching beavers plunge into Bradford Creek or rabbits dart through the 130-acre Rainbow Mountain Trails park. And if they behave well enough, perhaps some lucky children can even persuade their mom and dad to send them to Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in nearby Huntsville.

San Jose, Calif.: With 9 square miles of green spaces, 300 days of sunshine a year, and four different professional sports franchises to follow, San Jose, Calif., has everything you need for a happy childhood. At just over 1 million residents, San Jose considers itself the capital of Silicon Valley, but it doesn’t take a computer scientist to understand the city’s appeal to kids. San Jose is the country’s safest big city, and although it’s certainly expensive–the median home price is $449,000–the city offers all sorts of great activities for children. Rather than chasing its skateboarders away, San Jose has embraced them by opening six public skateboarding parks, including Lake Cunningham Regional Skate Park, the largest one in the state. And at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, children can experience everything from theater to gardening.

Overland Park, Kan.: Just 12 miles outside of Kansas City, Mo., is the lovely community of Overland Park, Kan. This family-friendly suburb in America’s heartland has a four-season climate and is opening a 12-field, artificially turfed, fully lit soccer complex in the late summer. “Soccer is a big sport in this community,” says Mayor Carl Gerlach. Meanwhile, at the Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead, kids can visit nearly 200 farm animals, toss a bobber into a fishing pond, or take a ride in a horse-drawn wagon. The 17-mile-long Indian Creek Trail makes for a great bike ride. At the same time, sports fans are only a short car ride away from a Kansas City Chiefs football game or a Kansas City Royals baseball game. In addition, “we have three different school districts in Overland Park,” Gerlach says. “All three have been nationally ranked and won awards.”

Boston: With an exciting history and a boatload of activities, Boston is a great option for parents looking to raise children in a big city. Kids will marvel at the African penguins in the New England Aquarium, gawk at the humpback whales on a whale-watching tour, and erupt as the Red Sox take the field at beautiful Fenway Park. At the same time, Boston is one of the safest large cities in the country.

Denver: Whether they prefer snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains, biking through America’s largest city park system, or heading over to Invesco Field at Mile High for a Broncos football game, Denver is a wonderful place to be a kid. Also among the country’s safest big cities, Denver has 300 days of annual sunshine, eight different professional sports franchises, and countless opportunities for fishing, white-water rafting, and horseback riding.

Rochester, Minn.: With about 100,000 residents, the safe, friendly city of Rochester, Minn., has enough activities to tire out even the most energetic youngsters: 85 miles of trails for in-line skating, 3,200 acres of public parks for touch football, and 56 different playgrounds. “It’s a huge sports town,” says Brad Jones, executive director of the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau. Fortunately, the area’s big sport–hockey–is well-suited for Rochester’s chilly winters. “We [also] have two hockey complexes, one with four rinks under one roof and the other with two,” Jones says. “We have the National Volleyball Center located here, and it’s always hopping with volleyball tournaments and trainings.”

Cedar Rapids, Iowa: It would be tough to find a safer community than Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the crime index is about a fifth of the national average. And with a solid school system, plenty of fun activities, and affordable housing costs, this eastern Iowa city can keep your kids happy without emptying your wallet. Tim Boyle, the executive director of the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, says the city’s manageable size–it has just 123,000 residents–allows its young people to get involved in a variety of different activities. “The thing that I like about Cedar Rapids is you could end up with a junior or senior in high school who is an offensive tackle on the football team and has the lead in the spring musical,” Boyle says. In addition to a strong music program in its public schools, the area has more than 50 public tennis courts, more than 75 parks, 23 sand volleyball courts, and even a BMX dirt track. During the winters, which can get extremely cold, children can remain active on three indoor soccer fields and five ice-skating rinks.

Plano, Texas: With 7,000 faculty and staff members serving 55,000 students in this Texas community, the Plano Independent School District has achieved national recognition for its strength. The Department of Education has handed 24 of its schools National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence awards, and 99 of its seniors were named semifinalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program. “We have a wonderful park system here in our community that has always been very much focused on youth sports, whether it is soccer or baseball or basketball,” says Mayor Phil Dyer. Meanwhile, the community’s less costly lifestyle–median home prices are just $213,900–means there should be enough cash left in the budget for the 50-minute trip to Arlington, Texas, for a Dallas Cowboys game.

Edison, N.J.: Working parents in Edison, N.J., can take advantage of the township’s expansive after-school programs, which expose youngsters to a host of activities, including magic, piano, cooking, and arts and crafts. More than 30 area parks have facilities for tennis, basketball, soccer, and other sports. At the same time, this community of about 100,000 also offers organized youth leagues for everything from softball to lacrosse.

Here’s our list of America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up:

–Virginia Beach, Va.

–Madison, Ala.

–San Jose, Calif.

–Overland Park, Kan.

–Boston

–Denver

–Rochester, Minn.

–Cedar Rapids, Iowa

–Plano, Texas

–Edison, N.J.

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Breastfeeding may boost grades

Published: June 15, 2009 at 1:04 AM

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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I am finally going to try cloth. When I was pregnant with my first son I kept saying I wanted to try it. I didn’t want to deal with pins and rubber pants so I started looking on-line to see if there were alternatives. There were so many different varieties and choices that I just got discouraged and gave up. We’ve been doing disposables since then, I hate to admit.

Well, now that I have time to research, I’ve been looking a little more closely at the options. Yesterday I ordered three of the bumGenius  Organic Cloth diapers, just to try them out. I decided to go with these because not only are they a one size fits all diaper, they are all-in-one. If I really like them I’ll order some more. I will still use disposables at night since my newborn sleeps so well, but I’m really hoping that these work out well. We will end up saving a lot of money doing this. I’ll update once the diapers come in.

Update June 22, 2009:

I got my diapers delivered on June 17th. I then proceeded to wash them eight times! Boy, they take a long time to dry! They seem really well made. I have only had the opportunity to use one of them once, since I have a lot of other things going on right now. I’ll be sure to update more once I start using them consistently and can make a fair assessment of them.

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I just found out, through the mommies group I belong to, that Regal Cinemas has free movies for the kiddies during the Summer months. It’s on a first come first serve basis. I will definitely be taking the boys to see these movies, especially when I make the trip to visit my family. Since they don’t have air conditioning it will be nice to sit in a cool theatre. To find out about days, times, what movies will be showing and participating areas visit Regal Cinemas.

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A lot of women get obsessive about certain items once they have a baby, for example, strollers or diaper bags. For me it is baby carriers! With my first child I had four different baby carriers, an obscure one, the Ultimate Baby Wrap, a Korean-style carrier and a Mei Tai. My second son (who is now 5 weeks old) is very heavy for a baby. When he was born he was almost eleven pounds, and he must be thirteen pounds by now. Because of this I needed to have a more comfortable carrier. So, today I took the boys to Buy Buy Baby and got myself the Ergo Baby Carrier. I have been doing research on this carrier for quite some time and because the baby’s head was bouncing around in the Mei Tai I decided it was time to just go ahead and plop the money down on one, and I must say it was worth it!

Even though the Ergo is so pricey, the fact that it is so comfortable makes it worth it! My first carrier was so uncomfortable I had to replace it. the Ultimate Baby Wrap is very comfy at first, but it takes time to put on and easily bunches making it uncomfortable over time. The Mei Tai just simply does not have enough padding to support a new born baby’s head. The Ergo is super easy to use with its buckles and adjustable straps. The infant insert makes it so that I can do a lot more stuff with the baby on and I do not have to worry about his little head bobbing around too much. This thing is so super comfortable, I highly recommend it! Check out the link to learn all about it! http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/

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