After the birth of my first child, it broke my heart when I had to go back to work and leave him with a babysitter. After we had our second child, I knew that there was no way that I could leave both of them and I decided that I was going to figure out a way to make an income from home.

I sat and came up with several ideas and weighed the pros and cons of each idea. In the end, I decided that I was going to start my own company that specialized in unique baby gifts. I knew this was something that would interest nearly everyone. We all know people having babies and it is nice not to have to worry about what to get them for gifts.

The company did so well that I decided to expand it so that it would include wedding, shower and graduation gifts. It has far surpassed any expectations that I may have originally had for it and I am home with my babies; right where I want to be.

My young son was just recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. I was very scared about this and I was not sure how I was going to deal with the fact that there was something wrong with my perfect little baby. It felt as though I was in a fog when I went to pick up his sleep apnea machine. It was like it wasn’t real to me.

I felt as though I had so much to learn and so little time to learn it all.  I certainly did not know what a CPAP machine is but I knew that I was going to have to learn and I was going to have to take care of my son to the best of my abilities.

My husband came with me when I went to pick up the CPAP supply but I was so glad to have them with me because he was definitely the sanest of the two of us.  I know we have a long road ahead of us but we are dealing with it and I know in the end everything will be all right.

My daughter just got a dream job — working in a bookstore that sells her favorite music, video games and most of all anime. The last time I visited there, more people with piercings, tattoos, and chains were shopping in that one store than I had ever seen congregated.

One group was clustered around ornately packaged boxes bearing titles like Magick Talismans, Magick Amulets & Charms and Magick Spells & Rituals. From their conversation, they believed them to be truly magical.

My daughter, an extremely open-minded young woman, treated all of them with friendly courtesy. But when she picked up each of their magical purchases to scan them — perhaps it was a mother’s eye — it was as though she were picking up a snake. Later she confessed that as soon as she got paid and used her discount on an anime series, she was finding another store to work in. See. A mother knows. 

I was looking on eBay the other day, trying to find some Jetsons Halloween costumes. They are pretty rare, but it is what my kids wanted to dress up as and I had no idea how to make them. I actually found a couple of auctions and placed my bid.

I sometimes wish that my kids wanted to be normal things for Halloween, like pirates and princesses, but they always choose to be something unique and in the end I am grateful because we always remember what they were the year before and we have more fun creating the perfect look.

Last year they both went as two UFC fighters and the year before they were Mario and Luigi. We have fun making the costumes, but this year I am just going to buy them and they will be unique anyway, as I am sure no one around here will have them.

I found some very cheap event tickets online to a show that is coming to our city this spring. It is a concert that my son really wants to attend and I was thankful to find them, as I certainly could not afford to take him at full price. He is going to be so thrilled when he finds out, as I already told him it couldn’t happen.

He is a really good boy, but I am a single mother and I find it hard to get him the things he wants. Thankfully we have everything that we need, but wants have to be put on hold for now. I figure that there will be time to get him some of the things he wants when I am finished college.

This is one of the reasons I really wanted to get these tickets for him. He does not ask for much, but this is something that he wanted more than almost everything. He deserves to go and I can’t wait to take him. I hope that I will be able to one day fulfill every wish and desire that his little heart has.

When we were pregnant for the first time, we were so excited that we told everyone.  Though this method was effective, it wasn’t very original.  Most people would announce a pregnancy this way, and we felt that it was a bit boring.  We vowed that we would figure out some way to make our second pregnancy announcement (years later) a little more original.

Between the time that we had the birth of our first child, to when we were pregnant with the second, we tossed ideas back and forth.  Most of them were crazy and ridiculous – what we needed was a good, solid and original idea.

What we came up with came to us by chance.  We happened to be at the mall one day, looking for clothes, when we saw a kiosk that allowed you to design your own T shirt.  It was as though lightning struck at that moment, and we finally found our great idea.

Though the kiosk vendor didn’t offer the type of shirt we were looking for, we decided to take our hunt online for the company that would allow us to make custom T shirts at a reasonable price.

We ended up going with a website that would allow you to make your own T shirt and have it shipped to you from their company.  The reason that we went with the company we did in the end, was that we could get a shirt in the size of our son, and they would allow you to order as little as one.

Needless to say, the shirt my son wore to the family Christmas party was a big hit – and ended up being the perfect pregnancy announcement.

We own a small baby clothing and accessories store.  We have operated it for many years and have seen many products come and go.  But this year, we received some products that look like they will stay because of their health benefits.

Just a few years ago we had our first organic baby food hit our shelves and we have never looked back.  Parents bought the food because it was a healthier choice for their children, free from harmful pesticides and chemicals.

We now have a couple of new organic offerings for our clients - organic baby clothing and organic baby bedding.  These products are free from dyes and chemicals that are commonly found in store bought products and that could be harmful for your baby.

We have found that in the few short weeks we have had organic baby clothes that they have been flying off of the shelves.  It looks like organic products are going to stay.

Today I had the opportunity of attending a seminar on parenting.  It was not very long, but it focused on some key things that parents can do to ensure that their children have success in their lives.  According to them the key to success was parent involvement at all stages of their kids’ lives.

The first step to follow is parent involvement in education.  Now, this does not just mean scholastic education - it can include all facets of learning: from teaching your child their first words to showing them how to drive.  They continuously emphasized that parents needed to be committed to helping their child learn: whether it be reading them a book, letting them help you cook, or helping them with their homework.  By taking the time to let you child know that education is important, parents help instill a love of learning in their child.

Another key area that we covered is the lack of parent involvement in schools.  Part of the problem is the busy nature of most of our lives - which reduces the amount of time we have.  But, even something simple as volunteering for a field trip helps not only your child, but the other children in their class.  This can increase the one-on-one time between the students and adults, helping the kids get the answers they need.

Helping out in schools does not end after elementary school as many parents believe.  Instead it can continue into high school (think band trip chaperone) and even into college.  Think of it this way: if there is an activity going on, chances are they need someone to help out.

The presenters closed the seminar with a simple challenge to parents - get involved in your children’s lives.  With all the above compelling evidence, I do not see how you cannot.

For most of you, when you look for a doctor, I am sure you usually ask a friend or look in the yellow pages.  I know that is the way that I have found doctors in the past.  It wasn’t until recently that I had the opportunity to try something different - the Internet.

Now, for some of you, it maybe out of your comfort zone to find a doctor online.  The neat thing about looking for a doctor, is that it is not a faceless transaction - you get to go to the doctor and meet them in person as they have not perfected diagnosing illnesses over the internet - at least not yet

For me, I was actually looking for a pediatrician for my child.  The reason that we were looking for a pediatrician as opposed to a regular doctor is because my daughter has had a irregular heart beat for awhile.  Also, when we have taken her to the emergency room at our local hospital, she has been admitted to pediatrics - and I have been very satisfied with the service we have received each time we were there.

I found that using a search engine and visiting these pediatrician’s websites, I could get most of my initial questions answered by the literature on their sites, and I could get a feel for what their company was like.  I later made a list of the ones that passed my initial review and called to make appointments to meet these prospective doctors in person.

I am happy to say that I did find one that I am happy with that is near our home.  So, don’t be afraid if you need to find a doctor to take your search online - use it as a tool to speed up your selection process.

Rainy days can sour the best of moods.  Especiallly when it has been raining for a week.  With young children, "I’m bored" gets pretty tiring after the first day, never mind the next six.  So, I have compiled a great list of rainy day activities for young children.

1. Board games - most kids will sit through two of these before becoming restless.
2. Tenting in the living room - setup a tent and pretend you are camping.  Don’t forget the marshmallows.
3. Classic children’s movies - although we don’t want them to become couch potatoes, the odd rainy day movie marathon is fun.
4. Puppet shows - give them socks, buttons and scaps of fabric and let them create stories and characters.
5. Baking - there is never a better time to fill the pantry with goodies than cruel drizzly day.
6. Surf the web - (adult supervised of course). Thedollpalace.com lets your child make cartoon dolls, pay dress up games, and fill in coloring pages online.  Such fun.
7. Story telling - kids love to hear what they were like as babies, as well as the memories you have of when you were their age.

If you do a little of these everyday, your rainy week will be over before you know it.