1) “Actions speak louder than words”—The old adage holds true, especially in the realm of parenting. Simply telling a child again and again what they should or should not do teaches them to tune you out. Instead of repeatedly telling your son to put his toys away, tell him that you’ll start giving them to goodwill if he doesn’t. Then, if he continues to leave them out, follow through.

2) Give your children ample opportunity to feel needed, important, and powerful. Even though it may be easier just to do it yourself, letting your children help you will not only teach them important skills, but will also boost their self-esteem by showing them how capable they are.

3) Avoid using consequences and punishments that are arbitrary. They should instead be as logical as possible. For example, if a child breaks something, take the money to replace it out of their allowance so that they’ll learn the value of the object. When possible, use real-life consequences. If your child forgets his lunch, don’t bring it to him—he’ll survive a few hours of being hungry and it’ll teach him not to forget again.

4) When reprimanding your children, always make sure they know that you love them. Separating your intolerance from what they did from your unconditional love for them is crucial to building and maintaining their self-esteem.

5) Always maintain the balance between firmness and tenderness. Too far to one side and your child will have no discipline and will walk all over you. Too far to the other side and your child will be fearful of you and have poor self-esteem. Keep this balance in mind with every action you take.

6) Parent for the long-term. Instead of thinking about the fastest solution to a problem, think about the adult you want your child to grow into.

Posted by LG at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

These days it seems like every baby blanket you see is monogrammed, embroidered, and personalized. Are parents concerned about mix-ups or do they just want their child’s blanket to stand out?

Well, for one thing, a baby blanket that’s personalized with your baby’s name will help ensure that they know it’s just for them. Having their name on it will not only help your child to associate letters with sound of their name, but will also help them to form an intimate bond with this all-important object. After all, some of a baby’s first memories will be associated with their blankeys.

The way I see it, if you’re going to splurge on one item for your baby, it should be their blanket. And if you’re going to go all out to make sure that it’s special and unique, personalized baby blankets are the way to go.

Posted by LG at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We all want our children to have original, interesting names-after all, we live in an extremely individualistic society. When choosing a name, though, it's important to tow the line between originality and conventionality. Nobody wants their child to have a boring name, but you have to be careful not to cross over from creative to weird. Here are some of the newest trends in baby naming-hopefully this will help inspire you to find the perfect name for your young one!

1) A surprising number of the novel new baby names out there are actually culled from times long gone. Names like Elijah, Sebastian, Hannah and Abigail call to mind a frontier, pioneering spirit, while names like Julian and Annabel are reminiscent of 19th Century sophistication.

2) Names from other parts of the world are becoming much more popular nowadays. Irish and Celtic names are particularly popular for both boys and girls, as are French names. More exotic sources of inspiration include Arabic, Greek, and even Swahili.

3) Names formerly though to be exclusively surnames are making a resurgence as first names. For boys, rugged, masculine tradesman names are popular, whereas more and more girls are being given boyish names that shorten to cute girls names, such as Cassidy shortening to Cassie.

4) Finally, plenty of parents decide to circumvent tradition altogether and invent their own names. Surprisingly, there are remarkable similarities between these made-up names, which tend to have bright, cheery intonations, and distinct vowel sounds. Variations in the Kayla-Jayden-Kylie vein are very popular.

In 2007, the most popular girls' names were Sophia, Isabella, Emma, Madison, and Ava, while the most popular for boys were Aiden, Ethan, Jacob, Jayden, and Caden. If you're still having trouble, there are countless websites and books out there to help!

Posted by LG at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We all know how important a blanket is to a baby. Some of their first memories will be of the soft, warm blanky that they fall asleep with at night. Nowadays, though, there are so many options out there that the choice can be a bit daunting.

Here are a few tips I’ve come up with to help you wade through all the baby blanket options out there:

- Pick a material that feels good to you. If it feels good against your face, your baby will love it. Chenille and velvet baby blankets are very popular right now.

- Choose a color that your baby will respond to. Pastels and more muted colors are best for relaxation and sleep.

- These blankets will get a lot of wear! Make sure you pick a material that’s durable and machine washable.

- For a special touch, you can go for a personalized baby blanket that’s monogrammed with their name or initials.

Posted by LG at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm at home while Cundy and the kids are at her mother's house, so I've actually got a moment to write. It's been too long. Tonight Cundy told me that LC, our 2.5 year old daughter, was being "the instigator" again today. Our 3.5 year old son certainly has his moments, but he generally doesn't look for trouble. LC, on the other hand, got put in time out twice today apparently, both times for seeking out her big brother and destroying his art projects. The thing is, though, it has absolutely no effect on her. She laughs during timeout. She enjoys timeout. Sometimes she even asks for timeout--and not just because she's grumpy and overstimulated. My son, ever the Rules Follower, is devastated when he gets put in timeout. Reading about one pediatrician's views on timeouts tonight I realized something.

Continue reading "Time Out and the Toddler" »

Posted by Scott at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As I've written about here before, our family business is running an ecommerce store called sleepytimestore.com. We started off selling baby blankets, mostly Little Giraffe and Coyuchi organic ones, but then we added a line of blankets called Barefoot Dreams--and that's when the entire trajectory of the business changed.

Continue reading "Barefoot Dreams--a lesson in accidents" »

Posted by Scott at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

We went to Rome for Mother's Day weekend. Stopped off at Berry College on the way there and romped at the old mill. We couldn't get LC and H out of the creek. Had a bit of excitement when Cundy lunged for H, thinking that he was toppling over into the mill pond and accidentally pulled BooBoo into the drink. She sank like a stone, and Cundy struggled frantically to keep the curious 3-year-old out of the water while trying to hoist 40-lb. BooBoo out by her harness. I had quite a chuckle observing the fiasco. No harm done, except that BooBoo smelled like an old mill pond on the ride to Gram's.

Cundy's grandmother is an 83-going-on-16-year-old and we love being in her fine old house. She's a font of stories and local lore, a born raconteur. She's worth a book herself, but I'll leave that for later so I can get to the point here. Gram loves our babies--and us--with the passionate intensity she's famous for. But it's not always easy to love a 3-year-old boy...especially when he spits in your face.

Continue reading "Spitting at Gram on Mother's Day" »

Posted by Scott at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

When my son was born, I decided that I would keep a 'baby book' for him ( for me! ). I did pretty well recording all of his coos, poops, first words and amazing everythings. My daughter was born when he was 15 months old, and my daily/weekly journaling came to a halt. I also felt sad that I couldn't find the time to even buy a book for my daughter, much less write about her.

Continue reading "baby journals" »

Posted by Cundy at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

I read a fascinating article in the Style section of the Atlanta Journal Constitution last Sunday. The article, written by Scott Walton, made the point that parents who've gotten into designer clothes for their children are starting to want the same kinds of clothes for themselves. It's like they're saying, "Hey--I don't want to go out in public with Susie because she looks so much better than I do!"

The article opened like this:

Let the preschool set have all the Barney, Elmo, and Dora the Explorer stickers they want. Style-conscious parents have a reward system all their own.

The fashion industry is working overtime to provide plenty of cheeky-chic clothes and accessories to all those proud papas, foxy mamas, and grandiose grandparents.

Continue reading "Attention Parents: Don't let your hip babies outshine you!" »

Posted by Scott at 8:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Barefoot Dreams

Here's what prompted me to do it. I just came across a great blog. In fact, the blogger is just the sort of person I'd love to have writing for me (see the "calling all mom bloggers" post). Her post is, not surprisingly, about her discovery of the Barefoot Dreams line of clothes, blankets, and other goodies. Check it out here.

In case you're curious, here's what she wrote:

"This blog is for the ladies"

Continue reading "Barefoot Dreams Launch!" »

Posted by Scott at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Blogging Problem

The Blogging Solution

I think he's right.

The Offer

My ideal mom blogger would have young children at home and would, of course, be a pretty good writer. Above all though, she would be someone who loved to write about her children and her life as a mother. You can probably tell from my wife's posts that that's how she is. But hey--you don't have to follow her style. I want you to have your own!

Spread the Word!

Talk to you soon!
Scott

Posted by Scott at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

As I hinted in a previous post about babies and sleeping, Cundy and I started off as attachment parenting purists, and I still think that's a sound approach overall. Where we parted company with the Sears crew though was around sleep. First, sleeping with our babies did not work, especially for Cundy, who's got a hair trigger consciousness: she wakes all the way up whenever either baby coughs three rooms away. We found out pretty quick (duh!) that Sleep Deprived Mommy was not always the Happiest Mommy.

But that's not all. We also found out that as our babies got older and became more socially aware, they preferred our company to sleeping. No surprise there, I guess, but the end result is a less well-rested child. And of course, Tired Baby=Grumpy Baby=Stressed Out Parents.

So we bit the bullet. We started putting H into his crib and--gulp--letting him cry it out. But guess what? As soon as he figured out the new system, which took a couple of weeks, he stopped crying. I think he just realized that bedtime is bedtime, and he (happily) accepted the inevitable.

The great plus of all plusses in this is that H and LC are so well rested that their personalities tend to be golden. They have their moment, yes, but they show none of that cranky, irritable Tired Baby behavior that we see all around us.

Since Happy Baby=Happy Parents, we win. The only real complaint I would make about his approach is that we're homebound from about 5:30 on (that's when bedtime starts) unless we get a sitter. But that's where I want to be anyway, most nights.

I'll talk about some specifc tricks and tips for good sleep soon.

By the way, due to customer requests, we just added Little Giraffe Throws, aka chenille blankets for grownups who are jealous of their baby's snugglicious nest. This blanket is a true reward for hardworking mommies and daddies.

Posted by Scott at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I sometimes feel my life may summarized by this formula: When they sleep, all is well. When they don't...

C and I started off as koolaid-drinking Sears-ophiles. We believed that Dr. Sears' view of the world was the final answer to all things child-related. When he told us it was better for children to sleep in the bed with their parents (and even lay the baby-alone-in-crib-death fear on us, we obeyed. H slept with us for first three months. Perhaps I should say that H slept while we anxiously held our breath between every one of his. C was breastfeeding, so MAYBE she got some relief by not having to leave the bed to feed him every few hours, but mostly what we remember about that period is shell-shocked, mind-numbed, semi-psychotic sleeplessness.

So one weekend we dragged ourselves out of town and went to Athens, our beloved college town and place where we fell in love, and visited some old friends, Jessica B. among them. Jessica is the opposite of an attachment parent; she's old school. Her children sit up straight, say 'yes ma'am,' and go to bed when she snaps her fingers. (OK-a slight exaggeration...) Anyway, Jessica listened to our new parent blues for awhile and then interjected with a curt command: "Get this sleep book by Dr. Weisbluth. Just get it."

"But Jessica," I whined, "this guy doesn't believe in letting babies cry does he?"

She just laughed. "Do you want to be sane? Just get the book."

Well, we got it. The name of the book is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

Get it. If you do nothing else for yourself this year, get this book. It saved us then, and it saves us still.

Cundy and I now have both of our children in bed asleep by 7:00 most nights. That means that she and I actually have an evening, and that our household has at least slightly better odds of running another day without major catastrophes.

And they're happy. To spend any time at all with my children is to witness beings who are right inside, as good old Dr. Sears says. I put this down mostly to C's exceptional day-in, day-out parenting , but the fact that they sleep 14-16 hours every day is a big piece of their mental and physical wellbeing.

Thank you, Jessica. We owe you.

Posted by Scott at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

My almost three year old son has a favorite suit. It is purple fleece with flowers on it ( a hand-me-down from a friend), and very well worn. We have had it for about 2 months now, and H wants to wear it every night - there are no exceptions. By mid afternoon he wants to know if the Purple Suit has made it into the dryer! He cries if we suggest another alternative to this Suit and will not really settle into his bedtime routine until the Purple Suit is zipped and he is stuffed into it - literally stuffed - which is the point of my story.

H is outgrowing his Purple Suit. Last week we noticed his toes crunched into the little footies. He said, " there is no room!" I would stretch the Suit down a bit from the top, adjusting the footies accordingly as he sighed and cooed contentments. This week, the Suit is growing even shorter, and H's attempts to wriggle around into it are failing him. So he says, " Mama, there is no room!" , and I reply casually, " I know, you are growing so much". Well, this statement did not sit well with him, and tonight, in response he shrieked, " NOOOOO, I don't want to grow anymore, I don't want to grow to be a big boy". He was almost inconsolable. I suggested cutting the footies out and extending our wear for several more weeks. He ignored this idea and wanted to 'have a little talk'.

After a long conversation with H about the Purple Suit, I realized that there was something else going on with his little mind and his big heart. He told me that he wanted to stay 'plain old H' and that he liked 'everything the way it is.'
I saw how genuinely happy he is to be who he is, where he is. His needs are simple and direct - a Purple Suit to sleep in, a bedtime talk in the bathroom, songs in the rocking chair, his hair stroked. I tucked him into his bed (Purple Suit secured) and stepped into the hallway, my perspective changed, my mind a little bigger, my heart much more open. I see that I can be happy with plain old me. This sounds a little cliche' as I am writing, but it feels like a revelation for me tonight. I'll figure the Purple Suit thing out tomorrow - a little scissor treatment maybe, or not - maybe everything is just fine the way it is.

Posted by Cundy at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Every day now H gets more independent. He wants to take his own shirt off, have "privacy" (his word) when he uses (his own) potty, likes to climb in his blanket fort and tell everyone that it's "his area," likes to build and destroy his own block towers, likes to get comfy in my chair and flip the pages of a favorite book while subvocalizing his own version of the plot...

He's not a baby anymore.

What strikes me the most about all this is the way that his imagination is becoming more real to him. Tonight before dinner we played the shark pool game where the rug in the living room was the pool full of sharks and he runs squealing from sofa to chair and back, hurling himself into them before the shark (guess who?) gets him. The only props I used to get him in the spirit of the game were my vocal rendition of the Jaws theme (dum dum, dum dum...) and my hand as a shark fin coming toward him. But to him, there were sharks in that pool, and his life depended on his scrambling up into that chair fast enough.

Another imaginary scene he lives in involves the elephants at the zoo somehow squirting him. He absolutely will not abide elephants; he has fullblown elephant paranoia. Now, where he picked up this one, I don't know. The thing is that in his mind, elephants are just out to get him.

And like all children, he loves stories. I'm in charge of the final leg of our bedtime relay, and mostly what I do is read and tell him stories. We're on an Uncle Wiggly jag lately, and I usually read him a real one from the book and then make one up. Because I'm half-delerious sometimes when I'm creating these stories, I'll slip into some sort of stream of consciousness narrative that has Uncle Wiggly going to the bank to make a deposit or calling the plumber or whatvere else is on my semi-conscious mind.

Well, the very second I deviate from the Uncle Wiggly Universe as H knows it, he calls me out: "No, daddy, that's not the story!" It doesn't matter if it's a new story to him. What he means is that this can happen in that world, but not that. He really gets the logic of the story-world, and senses when I put something in that world that doesn't belong.

All of this verifies for me two truths about human experience: we make sense of the world through stories, and we don't trust stories that create confusion in our minds. Uncle Wiggly simply does not go to Starbucks.

So, as I tuck the little guy into his favorite Little Giraffe blanket and sing him my entire repertoire of three night-night songs, I vow yet again to do whatever I can to impart a "story" of the world and his place in it that makes sense to him and lets him feel at home here.

Posted by Scott at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I am a woman whose husband travels. If I were without children, then I might welcome the alone time. But, I have two babies - not one, but two - not twins, but close enough. S is in San Francisco on business. I am at home, alone, on business. The week before his trip, I was extremely anxious. I was filled with dread, imagining domestic tragedies - so much dread that I lost sleep over it. I pre-planned every meal. I did an excess of laundry. I stocked up on diapers, healthy snacks, milk, dog food.

Now that I am two days into my week alone, I am finding that I am more capable than I thought. I am truly good at what I do. I do know how to manage my household and I can function without help. As I write this, I realize that I am too tired to stand, and I have not eaten in 8 hours! But, my children are asleep and have been since 6:30 pm. They had a great day with playmates and my undivided attention. I felt strong all day, on top of my game. My 18 month old wanted to give me lip kisses all day long - what more could I ask for?

I will reveal one creative tactic I employed early this morning. I do not recommend this, but it saved me in pinch, when I needed it most. ( I knew that early mornings would be the most difficult time for us with S being gone). This occured pre-coffee, which for me, is a particularly vulnerable time - a time when I am not at my best. I needed to put my 18 month old down for her morning nap. My two and a half year old was wreaking havoc in every room. I suggested (strongly) a bath. He refused ( of course) and continued ripping pictures off walls and books off bookshelves. I suggested ( stupidly) a cup of blueberries to eat while he was in the bathtub.

He loved the idea and helped himself to bath and blueberries! I was delighted and got LC snuggled into her bed with her (mostly) white chenille Little Giraffe blanket. I heard screams of joy and something akin to pain coming from the bathroom as I headed down the hallway. H was smearing blueberries all over the bathroom and putting them into his nose. I will spare the reader the gorey details. No emergency room visits, thank goodness! The bathroom has returned (almost) to its natural, chaotic state.

As I mentioned before, I do not recommend this - even it you are home alone and are in a pinch. I am always up against my learning curve here. There are no maps for this territory which I call at times wilderness. Being the only adult in the house is a little scary, but it is also empowering, enlightening. I can't wait until S comes home on Friday to join me on this crazy path of parenting little ones, of making on the spot decisons, of holding them in the night.

Posted by Cundy at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Today was cold and rainy - the kind of day that can be a true test for the most patient, creative mommies I know. I am a mother of two small children, babies really. My son, H is two and a half. My daughter LC is seventeen months. They are fifteen months apart, "Irish Twins" someone recently said. A typical day in my life consists of eating, napping, diaper changing, playing, eating, napping, an outing thrown into the mix if we are brave enough to leave the house. My leaving our house usually takes approximately forty five minutes,- gathering snacks, sippy cups (the orange one, not the purple!), shoes, coats, pacifiers, diapers and wipes, cell phone, and H never fails to have a BIG diaper just as I am trying to put him into his car seat. There are days when I feel that it is easier to stay at home.

My taking care of H and LC is the most important, satisfying, difficult, sweet, bitter, juicy, hilarious, crazy making, tender, undertaking of my life. There are many days when I feel I am living in an underground world. I have very few adult conversations, and my tasks are repetitive. What goes on under my roof is a little life, lead by three people, all interacting, loving, bathing, eating, sleeping., reading, crying, .... I am finding that it is necessary to come up for air. It is good to open the front door and look at the winter sky. It is reassuring to see other people, other mothers pushing double strollers, juggling lattes and crumbling muffins, laughing and crying at the same time. I often wonder if other mothers get the subterranean blues.

Anyway, we ventured out into the January rain, fully snacked, freshly diapered, hydrated, pacified. I promised H that we would go to the Fernbank Natural History Museum today, not realizing that it was 4:40 pm and the museum closes at 5pm. We arrived in a excited rush, sippy cups flying and LC squealing. I was tired and very much aware of my mole hole appearance. H had fig newtons smeared on his face and jacket. But we were out!!! We were free!!! We were in a public place where people walked and breathed and said 'hello'! We had twenty minutes to explore. And it was pure gold. We tromped with the dinosaurs, fed the paper mache birds with sock worms, we rode the elevator to the top floor and kissed each other on the lips on the balcony. Driving home, H noticed the dark bark of the winter trees and asked if we "still had winter". He then said that he liked winter and liked getting cozy. L read her book upside down and screamed "rain rain rain" all the way home.

Posted by Cundy at 7:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

We live in a small house: two bedrooms, one bath, four people, one dog.

C. and I bought the house before we had children, and the main appeal at the time was that it was in the neighborood we wanted and right next door to my sister. I don't think we thought past the first child, if we even thought that far. It's a great little house, and was still just fine after H. was born. Plus T. and I built a cathedral of a screened porch on the back so it felt more spacious.

But when LC entered the picture, things got tight--fast. She slept in our bedroom for the first three months or so, but once we moved her out we began a juggling process that continues to this day. On a typical night now, we put LC to bed around 5:30 back in our bedroom, then we put H. in his room by 7:00. We are now locked out of our room until we move LC to a co-sleeper in the study around 10:00, at which time we lose access to the front of the house because the living room, dining room, kitchen and study are all connected.

Now, C. goes to bed around 10:00, but I usually stay up working until 11:00 or 12:00, so guess where I am relegated? That's right--the only place left in the house where I can work and not disturb someone is--the bathroom. (Thank goodness for wireless internet.) To give you a proper picture, you should know that this isn't a large bathroom. The sink is right beside the toilet and my knees almost bump the tub as sit down and work on my laptop.

Is this romantic or what? I sometimes think of what a great story it'll make one day: the driven entrepreneur slaving away, banging out sales letters and blogging past midnight while he sits on the toilet seat and his bottom slowly goes numb.

Um, no, it's not romantic. It's painful.

While I'm listing my troubles, I would need to add general sleep deprivation, the constant companion of new parents. Mine is mostly self imposed because I choose to work during the uninterrupted time after everyone is asleep. I read about a fascinating experiment with polyphasic sleep that Steve Pavlina is conducting. He's adopted a freakish way of sleeping only during four or five 20-30 minute naps every day. So basically he gets less than four hours of sleep a day. He's on his 90th or so day of doing this. And it's working.

My hat's off to you, Steve. What entrepreneur doesn't lick his lips at the thought of being able to work 20 hours a day? One interesting thing he writes about is that whatever kind of person you are, in terms of mental and emotional patterns, gets exaggerated with plyphasic sleep. For better and worse. If you are naturally organized, you may become compulsive. If you're disorganized, you'll soon be utterly buried under mounds of unsorted debris.

Hmm--this tile sure could use a good scrubbing...

Posted by Scott at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It all started after dinner last Wednesday. C. and I were talking about her grandmother when she said, "Honey, I'd like to go see Gram this weekend. I want to leave Saturday morning and come back on Sunday."

A simple request, seemingly. My wife wants to go see her dear 84-year-old grandmother who lives an hour and a half away. But the slightly nervous tone in her voice was unmistakable. You see, she's only left our children overnight twice in their lives (they're one and two-and-a-half years old, 15 months apart). I was in charge before, but quite honestly, I fled with them both times to her mother's house for help.

So what she was asking was, "Can you handle it by yourself"?

Quick disclaimer because I fear I've painted myself as one of those hapless fathers who can't tell a diaper from a dishrag: I'm a good dad--capable in all the daily tasks. And I love being a dad; nothing gives me greater joy. I love my weekends with them, and I try to make it home from work in time to help out with bedtime.

But--C. is definately the resident expert, and I usually defer to her when it comes to taking care of our babies. Thus the nervousness on her part about leaving them in my care. She trusts me I know, but she also knows that I've never really been tested, so who knows what could happen?

(Sidebar about C.: I'm going to Dublin in late March for business and I asked her to come with me. We met in Europe almost 20 years ago, and we've never been back together, so I thought this would be great, and mostly paid-for, reunion. But she turned me down flat. "I just can't leave H. and LC for that long," she told me. "And I'd be too far away. I couldn't relax." Despite all my attempts at persuasion, she stood her ground. Babies come first for her. Always.)

I don't know what was going through her mind as she asked me if she could go away for the weekend, but I think we both knew it was a test. For me, the question was whether I could put all the many pieces together on my own. For her, it was a whether she could let go.

I've got to say that she only left me a few pieces of advice before she left, nothing at all like the tome she wrote for her mother who came to take care of H. when she went into the hospital to have LC. (I still wish I had saved that priceless testament to her new mommy fanaticism, as my buddy Jim suggested at the time.) In fact her leavetaking was pretty anticlimactic. I moved the two car seats into my Volvo, we said goodbye, and off she went.

The verdict? She and her grandmother had a wonderful time, and she got to do the things she loves to do there that she never has time for when we go with the children (read her grandfather's letters, meditate in the greenhouse, go to the bookstore for Gram, who is a voracious and discerning reader who trusts only C. and a few others for book recommendation, drink coffee slowly at the breakfast table...)

And I did great. H, LC, and I had a ball together, we ate well, they got to sleep on time, and the house was in order when C returned on Sunday.

It was a rite of passage for us both.

Posted by Scott at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Today--January 12th, 2006--a new baby is born. A blog baby that is. My aspiration is that this blog will become a place to talk about our babies and our lives with them, a place to share stories, wisdom, and humor, a place where we turn to connect with the miracle of Creation. So, with a playful pop on the "hiney" as my 2 year old says, let its voice be heard!

Click here for eBay!

Posted by Scott at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)