As I mentioned awhile back, I went “camping” with my husband and two daughters. I say it with the quotes because we didn’t really do any hardcore camping. We really pitched a tent in someone’s yard up north. Also, my youngest, Breanna, and I didn’t even sleep in the tent. I wanted to but she was ready for bed long before we were, and was loudly protesting being awake. Not wanting to leave her alone in a tent that was pretty far away from where the rest of us were, the host offered his spare …read more

Doesn’t packing lunch boxes make you crazy?  Me too and I can’t afford $2.50 lunchables for 4 kids either!  Of course, add to that the fact that my kids will pick out a lunchable and then get it to school and “hate it” and throw it away only to come home starving.  They are so picky…  They take after their mom. (Venti Frap Coffee Light No Whip Double Blended)
Lil Duck has an excellent list of lunchbox recipes and suggestions (and I do mean excellent).  I’m not even going to list one here, though.  I’m whetting your appetite so you’ll have …read more

Are you loving the fact that your child loves stories, but aren’t getting any work done around the house because you are ALWAYS reading books to him/her?  While I don’t suggest you stop reading to your kids, I do occassionally employ audio stories to free up my own time.  Some of my favorites are:
StoryNory Podcast
Boomerang Magazine from Audible
I actually purchased the subscription to Audible a year ago for my own business needs and ended up buying one history book for myself and 11 children’s books for my kids (and 12 months of a subscription to Boomerang).  We bought things like …read more

Still on the topic of travelling with young kids – I’m wondering how many of you have ever sedated your young ‘uns for a flight, and what kind of experience you had. Would you sedate again; why or why not?
Alison is a pretty good traveller, so we haven’t felt the need to whip out the cough syrup. I’ve a friend who sedated her son for his first flight, and he was so grouchy when he woke up that he made everyone else miserable too. She chose not to sedate him on the return flight…and he was fine.
Actually, sedation is …read more

I was fortunate to have a good first experience flying with Alison. It was an 8-hour flight to Melbourne, and she slept for the better part of it in the bassinet. Not all parents are equally lucky, though. I’ve seen some pace the aisles for hours, trying unsuccessfully to lull their squalling kids into some semblance of calm while other passengers give them dirty looks.
The I’m A Good Little Traveler! DVD Toolkit Series: Shae by Air is a handy thing to have if you’re dipping a toe into flying with toddlers aged 2 to 6. They’ll learn how to behave …read more

We’re going on a little road trip tomorrow morning, and as usual I’m the designated packer for the entire family. I thought I’d been doing a pretty good job of it, until we went on a holiday with my stepsister-in-law and her family and I realised from looking at her two girls’ attire from day to day that I could have saved a lot of space if I had done one simple thing – pack dresses instead of separates for my daughter.
A dress is an all-in-one garment, necessitating only a panty for completion. Why did I not think of …read more