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Truthfully - today is a shitty day. Pardon the swearing. I'm so sore. It sucks. Everything hurts. I'm tired. I slept like crap last night. I should have known it was coming. It tends to go like this - a few great days in a row and then slam - a crappy day. I know I'll get through it, but today is one of those days where it just feels that much harder and that much less believable. I guess today I'll just hold tight to the knowledge that there are more good days than bad. And this is just temporary.

My blog is http://coffeeambassador.blogspot.com/. I talk about life as a mom of a little boy with a language disorder and life as a student while being a mom.

CES: 10 Over-Hyped Gadgets SmartMoney.com - Senior consumer reporter and "Deal of Day" columnist Kelli B. Grant traveled booth to booth at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to find the best, the worst, and the most-hyped gadgets and gizmos. Read her dispatches at Pay Dirt. One will weigh your baby and send each reading to a linked smartphone app. Another is supposed to alert dog owners via text message when Spike escapes the yard. And then there's the Solowheel -- which is essentially a battery-powered unicycle that retails for a whopping $1,800. This week, as thousands poured into the Las Vegas Convention Center for the Consumer Electronics Show, Americans got a glimpse of the not-too-distant future. But they also got a peek at a lot of products that critics say may never see the light of day, or have some other quirks. Here are ten that may fit that category. Click here for the photo gallery: http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/technology/ces-10-of-the-most-overhyped-gadgets-1326409783882/?grcc=ec78f5a6319fe2c11f6480f670386217Z3&mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_personalfinance

Looking for some great educational games to do with your kids? Lakeshore Learning is letting me give you one of these. http://www.themommymess.com/2012/04/great-summertime-learning-products-from-lakeshore.html

This made me tear up a little. ---- Couple married 72 years dies holding hands 'Neither one of them would've wanted to be without each other' DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa couple who was married for 72 years died one hour apart last week in the hospital as they held hands. Family said the story of Gordon and Norma Yeager is a real-life love story. On the day she graduated from high school, Norma Stock said yes to Gordon Yeager's marriage proposal. The couple got married on May 26, 1939 in State Center. "They're very old-fashioned. They believed in marriage til death do you part," said son Dennis Yeager. Dennis Yeager was the youngest of four children born to the couple. His sister Donna was first born. "Staying together for 72 years is good, I'd say that's exceptional," said Donna Sheets. The way the kids tell it, dad was the life of the party while mom kept everything together. "Anybody come over -- she was the hostess with the mostess. She just seriously -- the more she did -- the more she smiled," said Dennis Yeager. "Dad would be the center of attention, like, 'Weee look at me,' and mom was like 'get him away from me!' You know we even got a picture like that." Norma didn't really want the distance, and family said she hardly left Gordon's side for 72 years. "They just loved being together. Everybody argues once in awhile, but they still, he said 'I have to stick around. I can't go until she does because I have to stay here for her and she would say the same thing,'" said Dennis Yeager. Dennis Yeager said the couple left home last Wednesday to go into town, but they didn't make it. At the intersection of Highway 30 and Jessup Avenue just west of Marshalltown, state troopers said Gordon pulled in front of an oncoming car. "I rushed from Des Moines where I was working and saw them in the hospital," said Dennis Yeager. In the intensive care unit of Marshalltown's hospital, nurses knew not to separate Gordon and Norma. "They brought them in the same room in intensive care and put them together -- and they were holding hands in ICU. They were not really responsive," said Dennis Yeager. Gordon died at 3:38 p.m. holding hands with his wife as the family they built surrounded them. "It was really strange, they were holding hands, and dad stopped breathing but I couldn't figure out what was going on because the heart monitor was still going," said Dennis Yeager. "But we were like, he isn't breathing. How does he still have a heart beat? The nurse checked and said that's because they were holding hands and it's going through them. Her heart was beating through him and picking it up." "They were still getting her heartbeat through him," said Donna Sheets. At 4:48 p.m., exactly one hour after Gordon died, Norma passed too. "Neither one of them would've wanted to be without each other. I couldn't figure out how it was going to work," said Donna Sheets. "We were very blessed, honestly, that they went this way." "They just loved being together," said Dennis Yeager. At their funeral on Tuesday, Norma and Gordon held hands in their casket. Family said they will be cremated and their ashes mixed together. Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44960859/ns/us_news-life/

Breastfeeding Sucks I was reading the fabulous Jennifer Brandt's blog Perfectly Disheveled tonight and was reminded of something that I had buried deep within the recesses of my mind...BREAST FEEDING! Oh how it sucked! No pun intended. It was one of the most awful things I have experienced thus far in motherhood. I know its not PC to admit this but hey, that's how I roll. I am honest to a fault. I always thought that breastfeeding would be something beautiful and magical; a sacred bond between mother and baby. And it was...but it was also something else. It was what most Hollywood actresses look like without their hair and makeup done, no stylist standing by, no PR person to spin their words into weaved gold. It was raw, it was painful , it was ugly and , on most days, it hurt me..deeply. Worse than that, it was humbling and , at the get, made me feel like the world's biggest freaking loser Mommy! Amen. I'm divulging the truth that it was for me. I remember coming home on that first day, driving 15 miles an hour with our blinkers on trying our best not to damage or mess up this most perfect being that we had just been given. We cooked this baby good and read all the books but when it came down to it, we couldn't believe these people were going to let us take the baby out of the hospital. After all, what the hell were they thinking? We didn't know what to do. We could barely keep one another alive,plants were dying all over the house, I'd lost a dog but these assholes wanted me to keep an entire human being alive! WHAT?? Panic set in. But there was no turning back. We were going to hold onto this halo/fog of new baby splendor as long as we possibly could. The key was to keep the baby in tact. We get home.Hello baby! This is your new house. The whole world, in its entirety, will be forever changed. You will be the sun and we will rotate around you forevermore. Time for a nap. Gently we place the baby into the bassinet and then its time to turn off the lights, pull the room darkening shades and SLEEP. But wait. That won't work. If the lights are off we can't see if she's breathing. If we can't see that she's breathing..maybe she's not. No! Sorry this plan will not work. Abort mission. Abort mission! Turning off the lights won't do. Instead, we collapsed in exhaustion laying across the bed, with our heads half in the bassinet, with the ceiling fan light turned all the way on! Just about the time my brain and heart gave way and allowed my eyes to close,the baby woke up..starving. To my teet I drew my baby.She suckled. She didn't latch very well. I knew that my milk hadn't come in yet, as the lactation nurse had already informed me of my ineptitude before I had even left the hospital. She, also, had set me up with a medieval contraption known as an SNS . Not familiar with this?Oh, aren't you the lucky girl? SNS stands for Supplemental Nursing System which is basically today's scarlet letter for you are a fucking loser who doesn't have the capability of feeding your own offspring. That's right, there are broads in the world feeding their boobie nectar to chihuahuas and I can't keep my own human alive. Fuck. It was the Chia pet all over again. I was panicked. I was popping Fenugreek like they were the last tic tacs in the world. Anyways, those were my choices...Fenugreek and SNS...until my milk dropped. What does that even mean?It's not like a gallon of formula is going to come spilling out of me. I pumped..barely a taste for my infant.So, I grudgingly hook myself up to the SNS. Picture, if you will, some sort of human type version of what is used on cows. Basically, it was a small container that you filled with formula, that hung around your neck. There was a very small tube attached to that which was then taped to the top of your breast and down at the nipple.For me, that meant atop the nipple shield.It was a pretty hostile site. Poor baby Bella. Why couldn't her Mommy just produce like all the other Mommies? I don't know baby. These fucking D boobs apparently are for fun and not function.ARGH! The humiliation. As I sat there, her looking up at me, questioning what wrong she had done in a previous life to be saddled with such a worthless mom, was enough to break my heart. But I soldiered on because I wasn't stopping until that milk gave in and came in. I was going to feed this baby if it killed me or broke me. Oh, don't you worry...it almost did. I called the nurse and she barked at me to only do the SNS every other feeding and only an ounce so that it forced the baby to suckle harder and force my milk to drop. I listened because, quite frankly,this is her job and I didn't know what the hell I was doing. Then in that first 24 hour period, Bella fed avery 1/2 hour. Do you know what that means? She was literally off my tit for about 5 minutes every hour for 24 hours. She was crying, out of starvation. I was crying out of frustration, humiliation and guilt. I felt like the biggest piece of shit Mother to EVER walk the earth..even lower than those broads who drove their kids off a bridge. By the next morning, constant crying ( on both our parts) and no sleep, I was at my most vulnerable. And the baby was looking pretty much like an Oompa Loompa. I'm not going to lie to you, I lost my ever loving mind when I realized I had broken the baby. The perfect little baby. I called the doctor and he said to bring her to the hospital. I was raw. OMG. I was the most exhausted, vulnerable, crazed lunatic on the maternity ward. Oh yes, they made me return to the scene of the crime.The nursery. Immediately, they took one look at our Willie Wonka cast member and told us that our baby had jaundice...caused by my malfunctioning bossoms! It was if someone kicked me in my hemorrhaging crotch, smacked me in my sore raw nipples, and yanked my heart out through my chest all while laughing at me. I left the room and ugly cried hysterically...uncontrollably. The Big Guy was freaked out, his baby was orange and his wife was out of her mind. The nurses knew it was hormones. They tried to soothe my fears but it was impossible. The moral of the story is even after all this, I continued to nurse for 3 months...with the SNS system because I NEVER produced enough milk to sustain my child.NEVER! But that damn lactation nurse kept telling me to keep taking the Fenugreek, it will come in. Then she told me to withhold formula, then I lost her number. I have never felt like such a failure. To this day, it still makes me hang my head to know that I couldn't just breastfeed. It's like being 30 and still riding a bike with training wheels. But because I would have been ridiculed by everyone I knew and scowled at for not trying my damnest, I did it again with my second child and again we ended up in the hospital with jaundice. Breastfeeding isn't for everybody...no matter what people say. If I could have, I would have done it for longer. I did love the bond we formed during that breastfeeding time but if you pan out in the pictures, you can clearly see that I was strapped to that SNS contraption which was neither sweet or bond conducive. So, I say to you...for me...BREAST FEEDING SUCKED! Did you breastfeed? For how long? Was it easy? Was it hard? Did you use an SNS? Would you? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

My parents died when my children were little. They are now 20 and 15. My daughter plays college soccer and my son is active in activities too. Both of my in-laws travel and are in good health. Together, they BOTH attend their other grandchildrens' activities and sporting events. When I say attend..I mean they make ALL of their events. These children ALL have another set of grandparents and family members who go to their events. My children only have my husband and myself..my husband can't attend many events because of his job, so it leaves me going...which I LOVE to do. I just can't believe my in-laws arre doing this. Two years ago, I confronted them. They could give no explanation. They just got angry and then all of my husband's sisters were hateful to me and we didn't speak for about 9 months. My daughter plays Division I college soccer and you would think that they would want to be involved and would want to experience this with her...instead, she is hurt and devestated by their lack of compassion. Such a sad situation...there is really nothing we can do. My husband said to let it go...which I have, but am stilling dumbfounded by the behavior. Our relationship has changed...forever.

Hey parents, the third kid's a bargain USAToday.com - In a tepid economy, people look to save money however they can. One strategy? Not having kids. After hitting a high of 4.3 million in 2007, U.S. births tumbled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to about 4 million in 2010. It makes sense. Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture produces a study calculating how much it costs to raise a child to age 18. In 2010, the price tag was $226,920 — curiously close to the U.S. median house price ($221,800). Given how vexing housing has been, families are understandably wary of adding similarly-priced babies to the mix. But a closer look at these numbers shows that the real sticker shock happens when you have the first kid — something the vast majority of couples do. After that, the marginal costs decline considerably, to the point where the third kid — the one most families don't have — is downright cheap. That's good news for would-be bigger families because, despite vague talk of overpopulation as this planet crossed 7 billion inhabitants in October, Americans tend to undershoot, not overshoot, their preferred family size. Numbers tell the story To produce that $226,920 number, researchers survey about 12,000 husband-and-wife households each year. They've discovered that families with three kids spend 22% less per child than two-kid families. Single-kid families spend 25% more on their offspring than two-kid families spend on each of theirs. While 22%-25% doesn't sound like a huge difference, this is what it means on the margins: An 11-year-old who's an only child would cost a middle-income family $15,830 per year (a big chunk of that is to house him). According to the USDA tables, though, a family with an 11-year-old and a 16-year-old would spend $26,490 per year. Having a second child added only $10,660 to the tab. After that it gets better. A middle-income family with kids ages 11, 13 and 16 spends $31,070. The third kid costs just $4,580. Continue: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-01-10/family-parents-kids-spending/52484040/1

Get more sleep!!! I know I need to! _______ 7 Telltale Signs You’re Sleep Deprived By Babble.com People love to joke about sleep deprivation and new parents. Ha ha, it's so funny - you'll never sleep again, they say. Of course no one is kidding. Seriously, it's not a joke. You have a new baby, you don't sleep. And you don't sleep, you're not in the mood to laugh. Or live, really. There are telltale signs that you're a sleep deprived new parent. They're hard to miss. Unless, of course, you're so tired that you miss everything. In that case, here are the top 7 signs you're in need of an Ambien (or 12): 1. You put things where you shouldn't Is that cream I grabbed out of the fridge and put in my coffee? … Or was it breastmilk? On second thought, who cares as long as it's coffee I put in my coffee. 2. You know all the players on C-SPAN I'm not a political junkie, but at 3 a.m. I'm not going to even attempt to fetch the remote when it falls to the ground - because the very fragile baby in my arms just fell asleep. Maybe I can't figure out how to sleep while my baby sleeps, but after 7 straight hours of Key Capitol Hill Hearings on C-SPAN, I've actually figured out how to run the government. So I've got that going for me. 3. You drive like it's your 90th birthday Yep, that's me driving 9 mph in the right lane. You're right, I probably shouldn't be driving on negative sleep. And you're right, the reason I keep drifting into your lane is because I can't remember where I'm going. But that's what the right lane is for (well, that and my grandpa). Get in the left lane, be thankful I didn't have that fifth espresso (because do you really want me driving faster when I'm sleep-deprived and can't remember where I'm going?), and keep moving, buddy. 4. You forget to actually replace the diaper Oh, right. A new diaper. Whoops. When you take off a dirty diaper, you're supposed to replace it with a clean one immediately after. That's something that being well-rested would help me remember to do. Otherwise being peed on helps me remember. Either way. (But preferably the former.) Read more: http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/7-telltale-signs-8217-sleep-deprived-153600388.html

Learning

My note: I struggled where to place this. But I ultimately decided here, because I think Jenny sharing is inspirational to everyone who struggles with depression. The fight goes on. by The Bloggess http://thebloggess.com/2012/01/the-fight-goes-on/ If you follow me on twitter you already know that I’ve been battling off one of the most severe bouts of depression I’ve ever had. Yesterday it started to pass, and for the first time in weeks I cried with relief instead of with hopelessness. Depression can be crippling, and deadly. I’m lucky that it’s a rare thing for me, and that I have a support system to lean on. I’m lucky that I’ve learned that depression lies to you, and that you should never listen to it, in spite of how persuasive it is at the time. When cancer sufferers fight, recover, and go into remission we laud their bravery. We call them survivors. Because they are. When depression sufferers fight, recover and go into remission we seldom even know, simply because so many suffer in the dark…ashamed to admit something they see as a personal weakness…afraid that people will worry, and more afraid that they won’t. We find ourselves unable to do anything but cling to the couch and force ourselves to breathe. Click the link to continue reading

13-year-old Texas boy wins Nat'l Geographic Bee WASHINGTON – A 13-year-old boy from Texas won the National Geographic Bee on Wednesday by correctly identifying the country that is home to the Tungurahua volcano. Tine Valencic of Colleyville didn't miss a single question during the final round of the bee, defeating nine other boys and taking home a $25,000 scholarship and a trip to the Galapagos Islands. The answer that got him the win: Ecuador. "I'm just taking it all in," he said after winning and being lent tissues to dry his eyes by both the bee moderator, "Jeopardy!' game show host Alex Trebek, and the bee's second-place finisher. To get to the bee in Washington, students had to win their respective state-level competitions. The group of winners, all fourth through eighth graders, competed in a preliminary round Tuesday, narrowing the field to 10. In the final round Wednesday at National Geographic's headquarters, students answered questions ranging from identifying the flags of various countries to what country the "bandura" is the national instrument of: Ukraine. Anthropologist Jane Goodall and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both asked taped video questions. To clinch the victory, Valencic won a best-of-five final round, which included a question asking for the Italian name for sediment deposits that connect a shoreline with an offshore island: tombolo. Valencic and his opponent, 11-year-old Nilai Sarda of Georgia, got that one right. But Sarda stumbled on the question about the Tungurahua volcano, believing incorrectly that it was in Peru. He takes home $15,000 for second place. Third-place finisher Stefan Petrovic of Lawrence, Kan., won $10,000. Aside from the three top-place finishers, the finalists competing Wednesday were: Alex Kimn of South Dakota, Kevin Mi of Indiana, Luke Hellum of Arizona, Tuvya Bergson-Michelson of California, Karthik Karnik of Massachusetts, Anthony Cheng of Utah and Andrew Hull of Alaska. The bee will be broadcast on National Geographic Channel over four nights in June and will also be broadcast on public TV stations. Read the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_geography_bee

It seems everything we need to know in life we learn in preschool. My 4 year old has been repeating, "Mommy, to have a good friend, you've got to be a good friend!" No doubt a piece of sage advice bestowed upon her by her wonderful preschool teacher.Anyways, Bella tends to like to share these words of wisdom with Mommy. Normally, I say ,"Yes, sweetie. That is right!" But, this time I actually took the advice to heart and examined some of my own relationships.I've come to the realization that you get out what you put in and if you don't then cut them lose. So many of us go through life making acquaintances that we let pass for friends, but there is definitely a difference, as one of my closest friends told me, " It's like coming home." It's the feeling of being safe and secure to be yourself and be accepted and loved unconditionally. I don't know about you but that's what I want out of a friend. I'm not one for superficial friendships, I don't have the time or energy to play that game at this point in my life.If I call you my friend, I genuinely think of you as my friend, as family. I know that acquaintances have a place and I do have those relationships but I don't call them my friends. I don't want to spend inordinate amounts of time with them or subject my family to them. I don't call them, text them, email them. I'm a Mommy, my time is precious and few, so I decided that I need to put in what I want to get out and if its not there I gotta cut it lose. It's always disappointing though when you put it all in, only to find out the other person is only half way in. It's actually very sad and you feel let down. I don't want to be responsible for doing that to someone, and I don't want to be that kind of an example for my daughters. I learned a lot of life lessons from my daughter and her wise preschool teacher, and those wonderful women in my life who are my friends. We have just recently moved home from spending time in a delightfully beautiful part of the country called Chesterfield, Virginia. I am convinced that it must be the closest thing to heaven on earth; it is gorgeous and the people there are amazing human beings. I don't know how they go there or why, but it works.Its like a vortex for goodness:) I hope I don't embarrass anyone but this has to be said. I don't want to spend my life wasting time and not telling people how important they are to me. When we first arrived, I was new and knew absolutely no one. The people I met there, were by far the most wonderful and genuine women I have ever met. They invited me into their lives, their hearts, their families.They were supportive and amazing. They made me feel like I was at home, even though I was hundreds of miles from where my "family" lived. I have never experienced anything like this before in my life. Who knew you could form true friendships and bonds with other women in such a short amount of time, especially as an adult. We left Virginia without a job but much richer people. I left with a heavy heart, and will miss these women and their amazing spirits . We may be geographically apart but they will always be in my heart.They took me in , extended friendship and sisterhood, when they didn't even know me. It wasn't for any reason other than to be kind to another human, but they will never know how much that kindness meant to me at that time and will always mean to me. I will miss our talks, long walks, saying hi in the hallways, sharing our childrens firsts in life, our laughter,prayers, the cocktails when we needed to decompress, but most of all I will miss their sisterhood. I don't need to mention names, but you all know who you are and you know how you touched my heart. You have taught me that to have a good friend, I need to be a good friend. I just hope I can live my life living up to the standard that you ladies have set. If all Mommies, women , could have that kind of bond that nurtured and supported one another like you did me...the world would be a better place. Thank you, my friends, all of you. I must be doing something right, to have all of you wonderful women as my friends! Just remember, as my 4 year old once told me, "To have a good friend, you've got to be a good friend!"

Women wonder about their mom's sexuality By Catherine Price, Oprah.com (OPRAH.com) -- What do you most want to know about your mom but would never ask? When psychoanalyst Joyce McFadden posed this question to hundreds of women in an online survey that began in 2006, she was surprised by their answers: Half of the respondents wanted to know more about their mothers' sexuality. The queries ranged from the seemingly straightforward to the profound: "Did she date other men before my dad?" "Had she had an abortion?" "Why did she have an affair?" In her new book, "Your Daughter's Bedroom," McFadden explores the great value in sharing these kinds of intimate secrets -- even when it's awkward to do so. Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/04/27/talking.about.sex.o/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Pregnancy~The Top Ten Things Not Even Your Mama Tells you There are books a million about what you are supposed to do while pregnant. But there is so much information that is withheld from all of the books.It's like a really cruel game and we all just like to watch the new person learn as they go. But not me,I'll tell you what your mama won't. Pregnant women; your smelling powers will become so heightened that you will be able to smell a cookie baking 30 miles away.Unfortunately, no one ever tell you that you will also be able to smell food burning in a wok in China, body odor from a homeless man laying out in the sun wearing his winter parka on a 100 degree day,your husband's dirty socks downstairs and dog shit from the humane society on the other side of town. Pregnancy~Top ten things not even your mama told you Photo courtesy of Google Mama; your morning sickness will actually be all day sickness; culminating in an all out, earth shattering, mind breaking alternating marathon of explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting brought on by whatever may have happened to blow your direction that day.The White Castle burger that you had to have yesterday can quickly become the catalyst for simultaneous mass exodus of the bodily fluid kind. Thank God nothing like this happens on the birthing table. Mom; your skin will become so dry from hormones that your feet will itch to the point that you will literally rip flesh to quench the itch. That no amount of hydration, moisturizing or wishful thinking and praying will EVER bring your feet back from the grasp of the dry Sahara hell that is the new status quo of your feet. Mommy; The Linea Nigra is actually a landing strip so your husband can find his way back into the pregnant promised land, because, let's face it, there comes time in pregnancy where those "vivid" dreams and our own devices are all we are left with. A little point in the right direction never hurt anybody. Mother; your once beautiful and pert bosoms, will be replaced with over indulged,filled to capacity milk bags with what looks like a road map made of bulging blue veins. And that your sweet little pinky tip, glass cutting nipples will be replaced with flat saucers that look like a bulls-eye..and will NEVER revert back to their previous glory ( without the help of surgery). Mum; your labia will become so engorged with blood, that when you give birth your nether regions will look like Goldie Hawn's over injected collagen fish mouth in the First Wive's Club. Mami; the same outrageous hormonal highs and lows that make you smack a random passer by for looking at your baby bump will be the very same that make you cry when fly lands on your shoulder. Momma; you may have flatulence of the skunk killing kind. So horribly pungent and uncontrollable that you may get yourself barred from any women's functions that you previously belonged to. The Junior League does not appreciate those sorts of donations. Ma; your pregnancy glow is actually increased blood flow causing you to sweat like a fat whore in church. And that the increased hormones that cause the glow also bring with it increased susceptibility to acne (of the face, back & ass variety), increased cervical fluid ( the kind that could cause an unsuspecting pregnant woman to slip right off her stool if she weren't wearing her appropriated parachute pregnancy panties), hair growth in unsuspecting parts ( bearded lady , anyone?), and constipation ( talk about insult to injury) Mumsy; all the meticulous and copious amounts of time that you have spent over the years "landscaping" probably the very source of your pregnancy will become, at 9 months pregnant , non existent. That which once resembled the topiary of the Tuileries will no be more akin to an abandoned outhouse.And we all say that we are going to make our husbands shave us...and none of us actually ever do. There are more, many more, but I feel I have scared the first time mothers sufficiently for now.Happy procreating and remember, there is a 98% chance that you will vomit and or poop on the birthing table.

Food fails! 8 ways we're making our kids fat By Joy Bauer Bribing kids to eat their broccoli, banning sweets and offering too much 100 percent fruit juice can backfire on even the most well-meaning parents. Here are 8 feeding mistakes parents too-often make: Mistake 1: Telling kids to clean their plate For the most part, healthy young children eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. As a parent, you don’t want to mess around with their internal cues by encouraging or bribing them to “clean their plates” and eat past the point of fullness. Instead, provide small-moderate portions at meals and encourage your kids to eat until they are comfortably full. Teaching your kids to be “in tune” with their own hunger and fullness cues will allow them to have a comfortable relationship with food and avoid overeating as they grow older. Mistake 2: Offering sweet rewards Trying to get children to eat their vegetables can be downright frustrating – and parents often resort to bribery. Does this sound familiar? “Eat your broccoli and you can have ice cream for dessert.” But unfortunately, this technique teaches our kids that broccoli and other vegetables are “less appealing” because their consumption requires a reward. At the same time, this approach positions dessert as the prize, something to be valued over other foods. Plus, multiple studies have shown that, in the long run, preference for foods decreases when kids are given rewards for eating them. Bottom line: Keep dessert a separate entity versus the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Mistake 3: Serving up too many snacks Constant snacking throughout the day translates to calorie overload – plus, can leave kids uninterested in nutritious food (like chicken and vegetables) at mealtime when lunch or dinner rolls around. Try to stick to a consistent meal and snack schedule. Allow at least 2 hours between snacks and meals. No more than 2-3 snacks a day, and limit them to about 150 calories apiece. See the rest: http://moms.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/28/9057922-food-fails-8-ways-were-making-our-kids-fat

We all love to write and read. The two things that bring us here together. In researching and weighing what to do with a manuscript that you worked countless hours, days or years to complete, sometimes when you're at the end of the long journey, you get cold feet. You start to have second thoughts. What if? You just need to remind yourself, "FOLLOW YOUR HEART, and FOLLOW YOUR PASSION". There are different options in publishing a book nowadays. Amazon.com for one, offers CreateSpace. But even with that program, there are so many different packages to choose from. Maybe that's why writers need agents, editors, and publicists. And if finding an agent becomes an unsuccessful and painful process, there's Self-publishing to fall back to. It won't be easy, but nothing of great importance comes easy, right? If you have any thoughts, feel free to share.

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Now and later: How to wear your summer wardrobe into fall By Stacy London Mid-August is that tricky time for shopping when pre-fall clothes are starting to hit stores while the weather outside continues to swelter. The key to buying pieces this late in the summer is finding clothes that can also carry through into cold weather. Not only will buying transitional pieces stretch the life of your wardrobe, it'll stretch your budget as well! I've chosen three trend-savvy but wearable pieces and styled them to work now -- and later. Patterned pants Now: I know these look tricky to pull off, and I wouldn't recommend them for women who carry their weight on their bottom half. BUT, we've created a user friendly and fun summer look that's a great alternative to shorts. When wearing a patterned bottom, keep the top simple and in a color palette that complements the pant. Also, fedora hats are still relevant and can be a fun completer piece to a casual outfit. Later: When transitioning these pants into fall, they may not be appropriate for day but can be a great addition to your evening wardrobe. Here we've added a black tuxedo jacket and simple white blouse for a modern and feminine take on menswear. And because we want this outfit to work for evening, add some killer heels and shine with sparkly jewelry like earrings or a necklace. Read more: http://thelook.today.com/_news/2011/08/12/7332669-now-and-later-how-to-wear-your-summer-wardrobe-into-fall