Memorial Day Lessons

A friend was just telling me a story about her son's recent school trip to Washington, DC. While they were visiting the Arlington National Cemetery, they happened to cross paths with a funeral procession for a fallen soldier.

Instead of showing respect and honor for this hero's final journey, many of the children began taking pictures and videos of the horse-drawn casket and the grieving family walking behind. Even some of the adults in the group didn't have enough respect for the soldier's family to stand quietly as the procession passed.

My question to you on this Memorial Day is: what are you teaching your children? No matter what your political stance on the war or your own personal feelings about the manner in which these soldiers died, are you teaching your children to have respect for those who have sacrificed their lives for their country?

Pro or anti-war, soldier or civilian, respect is an important issue that should not be ignored when raising our children. Take a few minutes today to remind your children and yourself just what Memorial Day is all about and why honoring those who have died serving our country is important.

Take a few moments to say a little prayer or send positive thoughts to the families who are trying to heal themselves after the loss of a loved one in battle. As you prepare for your Memorial Day festivities with your family, spend a few minutes remembering that this isn't just a convenient day off to start the summer.

We're Off And Running...Sort of...

My littlest has been working his way up to toddlerhood over the past few weeks. He's been cruising the furniture for awhile now and finally decided it's time to let go. He's still takes the occasional spill, but would rather walk than crawl now!

He seemed to get really brave, very quickly and has even figured out how to climb up onto the smaller pieces of furniture. I'm starting to see the baby slip away and the curious toddler emerging.


He'll be turning one on April 29th...where has the last year gone...

Potty Training Update

A couple weeks back I was asked for an update on the potty training situation.

The truth of the matter is things are not quite going as planned. Stomach bugs and not so nice reactions to apple juice have stalled our progress. However, we keep trying...

We have had one single success in peeing in the potty and well, several messes on the floor to clean up.

It seems he'd rather be naked than wear underwear or even a diaper these days and that leaves mommy with a bit of a dilemma. Do I succumb to the pleas to let him go to the potty (which doesn't actually happen) or do I keep him in diapers awhile longer?

Stay tuned to find out!

Happy Easter

The kids are in bed and the Easter Bunny has made his visit. We have baskets full of small toys and a bit of candy and plastic eggs full of M&Ms hidden throughout the living room.

My work for the week is done and I have all of tomorrow free to spend with the kids. Life is good, sometimes.

I'm keeping things brief tonight, as I would love to see the backside of my eyelids before 3 A.M. for once.

Hope all of you have a very Happy Easter!

It's Potty Time! Part One

We are about to take the plunge, so to speak, and get down to business with potty training our toddler. His 2nd birthday is next Saturday, so I think it is high time the "big boy" gets down to business. We have casually introduced him to the potty, but really haven't worked on it to date. I've been searching around for advice and here are the techniques that I am planning to try:

• Skipping Pull-ups at home - Knowing this child, he might be a lazy potty trainer. I can see him being too engrossed in what he's doing and treating the pull-up as a diaper. I think we'll jump right in with regular underwear. We will use pull-ups or diapers when we go out and at night, in the beginning stages.

• Character Underwear - We're picking him up a few packs of underwear in some of his favorite characters. Thomas the Tank Engine, Diego, and Toy Story, if we can find them. I'm hoping this will get him interested enough to not want to wear diapers anymore.

• Sticker Charts- This kid loves stickers and also loves to show off what he's done. I think he'll love the idea of having a chart to show daddy, when he gets home at night. I even found a potty training chart with his favorite thing: trains!
  

• Sitting First - Even though it isn't what daddy does, we plan on training him to sit on the potty first, before we have to deal with aiming. I have the rest of my life to clean up the off-target sprays from the bathroom floor and wall.

I'm pretty sure he's ready, as he's showing interest, tells me when he needs changing, can take off his clothes, and follows simple instructions. If I'm wrong, no big deal, we can try again in a few months. Wish us luck when we start next week and I'll keep you posted on our progress and any further tips and tricks I come across.

Sick Kids? Alternatives To Cough And Cold Meds

As the mom of 2 children under preschool age, my heart was broken when the FDA announced their new recommendations regarding cough and cold medicines for children under 2. The findings suggested that children under 2 should not take any over the counter cold medicine, as there is a laundry list of serious side effects that could result. Many of these come from giving a child the incorrect dosage, as there is no actual recommended dosage for children of this age range.

First, I was a bit afraid, as the older of the pair of babies is just turning 2 and last year I gave him cough and cold meds on a couple of occasions. Once I read the study and realized that I had obviously done now harm, I began to wonder what I would do for the inevitable next cold. Nothing is more miserable than a coughing, stuffed up baby who can get no relief, so I started hunting for alternatives to medication. Here are a few treatments that I have tried or am going to try.

• Steam treatments - My mother always swore by a humidifier in our room when we were sick as kids. While I haven't made the purchase yet, I figure I can try the approach of turning on a hot shower and steaming up the bathroom to help to relieve the congestion of the next cold.

• Saline and Suction - Saline drops are supposed to loosen the mucus in the nose, and the suction bulb will help remove it. This does work, but boy do my kids scream whenever they see me coming with the bulb!

• Extra Liquids - Replacing fluids is said to keep any mucus from becoming too thick. While my kids aren't big water drinkers, if there is just enough juice added to give it some flavor, they'll take it. Oh, by the way, chicken soup counts, too!

• Vapor Rub - Many do not suggest using rubs on babies' chests, but I've read that you can put a little on their feet and it will give them some relief. There are also infant versions that are a bit less intense.

• Raise The Bed - Putting a rolled up towel or blanket under the head of the mattress might help them sleep a bit better and breathe easier. Just make sure you never put anything in a crib with an infant, under the mattress is much safer. This suggestion wouldn't work with my crew, but might work for someone else. My kids sleep all over the mattress, upside down, sideways...wild little sleepers!

If anyone else has some tried-and-true cold remedies for babies, please share them in the comments. I hope none of us will need them, but they will certainly be welcome if we do!