Another reason I love my Treo: it enables me to stay connected anytime & anywhere, thereby helping me keep my sanity.

I was visiting my mom this weekend when my son began not feeling well. 4 days later I'm still here. My son has been too sick to travel, requiring round the clock care.

Just when I thought he was OK & I could get a few hours of sleep, at 3am today his fever spiked to 104 and he started to throwup eveywhere. Lovely! It's a good thing I have a stong stomach.

So the exhaustion leaves me unable to think & with a constant headache. Blogging will resume once life gets back to normal.

Posted by: Michele at 07:13 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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After graduating from Kindergarden, my son is eagerly anticipating his next exciting event in his life; that of opening up his own savings account. 2 years ago, I realized that my son didnÂ’t understand the function of an ATM and a bank card. He was starting to believe that if I wanted to buy something all I had to do was go this machine, put a plastic card inside a slot, punch in some buttons and out would come lots of dollar bills.

So at age 3 and a half, I composed a list of what were his responsibilities (like putting toys away, brushing his teeth, putting dirty clothes in the hamper). So that he could remember and get used to things he needed to do to be responsible for himself. Then a few weeks later I introduced the concept of rewards, like ice cream for dessert (we normally didn't have dessert back then) for his extra help around the house like setting the table. After 2 months I introduced the concept of receiving money or an allowance for chores he would agree to do that were outside of his area of personal responsibilities. I also explained and showed him what doing a good job was and how if it was done well he would get a full allowance.

more...

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I have the pleasure of hosting this week's Karnival and IÂ’ll start right off with a wonderful magical story written by airforcewife at her blogspot site - airforcefamily. It truly is a sweet tale of a magical moment between her and her children.

Robert, of New Victorian has a tender post about his baby reminding him to stop thinking about the future, and instead seize and enjoy the moment.

I can relate to Robert's experience, sometimes I've wished for my son to be a little older and other times, I've cried and wished for him to stay a toddler forever. The first time I went to the mall and discovered his clothes were no longer in the toddler section I cried. The same thing happened as I was writing about his graduation ceremony. ItÂ’s hard to let go sometimes.

Sissy, of And What Next, tells us her sister had the opportunity to shine under the bright lights of the tv cameras. At her site youÂ’ll find her first venture into the starlite by doing her first TV promo/news sequence. To watch the clip you must have either Real Player or Windows Media Player installed. If you don't have either, the site will provide you with links to download both.

From my blogsis, Val of One Happy Dog Speaks, we have a submission of Tounge Pictures. That is just too interesting a title to editorialize, so I'll leave at that. I too want to see what kind of hits she'll get from Google.

Our youngest participant, Brenna, seems to have hijacked her mom's site, Iowa Geek, to post her tips and really cool pics, on how she and her friends stay cool in the hot summer months. It's just too cute and funny to pass up - so please go see it!

Susie of Practical Penumbra, shows us a before and after pictures of her mom and brother that I found rather interesting. I especially liked how they have grown to look more alike than before.

My other blogsis, Sally of Whimsy Capricious, writes from across the pond how her precocious Tara is quietly terrifying her with her refrigerator magnets. Personally, I think TaraÂ’s simply exercising her imagination. I would only worry when she starts carrying hacksaws and butcher knives.

Over at FerdinandÂ’s, The Conservative Cat, he shows us his owners doing a bit of late Spring cleaning. For some reason, Ferdinand seems to be amused by their attempts at organizing their library!

In the Common Room, we find the Headmistress waxing poetic about a lovely pair of red boots, much like the kind Christopher Robin wears for his "expotitions".

Prochein Amy, shows us why her daughter giggled after she asked her to do a favor. I was amused by her daugher's clever use of space and sense of humor.

Contagion shares a humorous “Bad Dad” moment with us, with plenty of proof, over at his site, Miasmatic Review. It seems Clone's on his way to becoming a bartender.

Finally, we have a couple of cuties on display at ArmyWifeToddlerMomÂ’s site. ArmyWife shows us Pink Ninja's creativity and the end result of Dash's Perpetual Motion.

Posted by: Michele at 07:02 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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