Or, subscribe via email
Supporting
This past weekend we partook in one of my very favorite activities, we put up our Christmas tree. Since I was a little girl I can remember anxiously awaiting the weekend when my mum would say it was time to put up the tree. I’ve always loved pulling out the ornaments and reminiscing as we placed each one on the tree while Christmas carols played in the background. I have many fond childhood memories about putting up the Christmas tree.
So, this past Saturday I sent Lorne downstairs to our storage unit to hunt down the Christmas tree and the boxes of decorations and up went the tree. Maya‘s eyes glowed from the moment Lorne walked through the door with the tree box and big bin of decorations. She just knew that great fun was in store.
She had fun “helping” Daddy get the tree into the stand and situated just right.
Then it was time to tackle that big green bin of Christmas decorations that she had been eying. She immediately found the garland and thought it made a fantastic boa 
We put on some Christmas carols and got down to the business of trimming the tree. I loved going through the ornaments, old and new, especially the ones with special meaning like our “1st Christmas Together” ornaments and Maya’s “Baby’s 1st Christmas” ornaments. Since I was a very little girl my mum has always bought me an ornament every year for Christmas so I have quite the collection of very sentimental ornaments for my tree. I loved telling Maya little stories about the ornaments as we picked them out and placed them on the tree. One day she’ll share these same traditions with her child.
Our condo looks so festive now with the tree up, the garland/lights up, and all the other little decorations in place. Did I mention I love Christmas. I think our tree turned out well!
And I think the kitties may be the happiest of all to have the tree up. They both immediately curled up in their favorite spots as soon as the tree was up and the tree skirt in place
I wanted to take a quick moment to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are enjoying this day with friends and family, eating lots of turkey, stuffing, cranberries, etc, and remembering to be thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving
As parents I think we all struggle to find the right balance of play and learning for our toddlers. The drive seems to be towards having the best, brightest and most gifted toddler so you can brag to all the other moms at the park. It drives me crazy when parents compare their children, especially when they hype up what their child can do, like saying their child can say the entire alphabet at the age of 18 months when really all their child can do is repeat the letters after them. Parents who don’t see through this think their child is behind and start stressing about it, not a combination for parent or child.
For toddlers the best approach to “teaching” them things is through their play and their interactions with you and others throughout the day. Toddlers learn by watching what others do, hearing what others are saying and repeating those behaviors. The more you talk to your child throughout the day be it by reading books, narrating your day or having a mini conversation with them the more your toddler will learn about language and how to use it.
Here are some great ways to use your every day interactions and playtime with your toddlers into teaching tools:
- As you are out running errands point out things of different colors and have your child tell you what color it is. Like point at a yellow bus and ask your child what color it is. If they don’t get it right tell them the color and keep doing that. Eventually as your child learns their colors more they will be able to identify them better in the real world.
- Another great errand game is asking your child if they see something that you have spotted, say a picture of a dog. Ask your child if they see and dog and to point it out. My daughter loves this game, she will play with me now by saying she sees a bear and then I have to look around to see if I can find it.
- You can practice number recognition as you are putting the dishes away. Ask your child to pass you two (or whatever number) spoons from the dishwasher.
- As you are folding laundry practice colors with your child by seeing if they can find and pass you the red shirt, or the blue socks, etc.
- Shapes are every where and as you are out and about or in the kitchen working on dinner or out in the yard playing point out shapes, as your child begins to recognize certain shapes like squares and circles ask your child to point out certain shapes. For example, ask your child to show you where the square window is, or the circle cup, etc.
- Sing with your child while you are going about your day, songs like the ABCs, twinkle twinkle, and the wheels on the bus at great.
- Just talk to your child and tell them what you are doing as you go about your day, they will learn so many new words just by listening to you.
My daughter is big into identifying shapes, naming colors and pointing out objects as we are walking around a store. She loves to “help” with household chores as well and has learned so many new words just be listening to me tell her what something is. Toddlers are little sponges and love to learn. Their learning doesn’t have to come from structured lessons at this age, they learn so much more just by interacting with you and others and watching what is going on in the world around them.
What games do you play with your children to help them learn new things?
So many women spend a lot of time planning out their lives so that everything happens on a certain schedule, including when they have children. However, more than half of all pregnancies are unplanned, the result of an accident, a result of failed birth control. And we are not just talking about teenagers here, more than 30% of those unplanned pregnancies are among women in their thirties who are married and already have children. I know from the amazing number of comments I get on my Early Signs of Pregnancy and What to Do if You Think You Are Pregnant posts that many women think they are all set as long as they are popping that pill every day or using a condom or getting the shot, but no form of birth control is 100% and many times the birth control is misused resulting in reduced effectiveness. Most unplanned pregnancies are the result of birth control, that used correctly would be 97-99% effective, being used incorrectly.
For many families that unplanned pregnancy may be a surprise at first but ends up being a blessing, but not always. Using your birth control correctly, being on the right type of birth control for you are keys to making sure your life plays out more like the plan you have set for yourself versus a big book of surprises. Talk to your doctor about your birth control needs and find a plan that works best for you and that you feel comfortable you will be able to use correctly and consistently.
Here is a quick breakdown of the various types of birth control, their effectiveness (if used correctly) and the common misuses of them. Use this list when talking to your doctor about your options.
Birth Control Pill: the pill contains two hormones, estrogen and progestin, that keep you from ovulating and help keep sperm out.
- 99.7% effective if used correctly (however in the real world it fails up to 15% of the time because of incorrect or inconsistent use)
- The biggest mistake most women make with this form of birth control is missing a pill and not using a second form of birth control to prevent pregnancy.
IUD (intrauterine device): an iud is a small T-shaped device that is placed into the uterus and acts as a barrier to keep the sperm from reaching the egg and also thins the uterine lining.
- Up to 99.8% effective (fails about 1% of the time in the real world because of incorrect or inconsistent use)
- Even though an IUD is a very effective form of birth control with little room for user error the most common mistake women make that leads to an unplanned pregnancy is forgetting to check for the IUD’s string every month to make sure it is still properly in place.
Vaginal Ring (NuvaRing): a vaginal ring inserted into your vagina that releases estrogen and progestin to prevent pregnancy.
- 99.7% effective if used correctly (fails about 8% of the time in the real world due to incorrect or inconsistent use)
- The most common misuse of the vaginal ring involved a woman forgetting to put a new ring in exactly one week after taking the last one out even if you are still menstruating.
Contraceptive Patch: the patch is another hormone based contraceptive that releases estrogen and progestin to prevent pregnancy.
- 99.7% effective if used correctly (fails about 8% of the time due to incorrect or inconsistent use)
- The most common cause of reduced effectiveness with the contraceptive patch is forgetting to put a new patch on exactly one week after taking the previous one off.
Depo-Provera Injection: hormone injection of progestin that you get every 3 months to prevent ovulation.
- 99.7% effective if used correctly (fails about 3% due to incorrect or inconsistent use)
- The most common mistake with the depo-provera injection is missing an injection entirely or having it late.
Condom: creates a barrier around the penis to prevent sperm from entering the vagina.
- About 95% effective if used correctly (in reality only about 85% effective due to incorrect use)
- The most common mistakes with condoms include putting it on too late, not putting it on correctly, tearing the condom while opening the wrapper and not noticing and using an expired condom.
As you can see, most forms of birth control are very effective if used correctly and consistently, however, due to user error their real world effectiveness can at times be greatly reduced. The key to successful birth control is using a form a birth control you know you can keep up with, meets your needs and fits into your life. Remember to talk with your doctor about which form of birth control is right for you.
(Sources: WebMD, Babycenter.com )
It has taken me a couple of days to write this because I wasn’t quite sure what to say. On Tuesday one of the most fantastic members of our amazing blogging community, Anissa Mayhew, suffered a massive stroke and is currently in the ICU fighting for her life. When I logged on to Twitter that evening and saw the news my heart dropped and my eyes welled up with tears, and all I could think was “not Anissa”.
I don’t know Anissa very well, certainly not as well as so many others know her. I’ve been reading her blog and following her on twitter for a few months now. But what I do know just from that short time is that she is truly an amazing mom and an amazing friend. She can make you laugh like nobody’s business at the drop of a hat. She is steadfast in her support of her friends. She is a hilarious and amazing writer. I got to “know” Anissa through a few other blogging friends and just loved reading her stuff and seeing what she would come up with next on twitter. I’m lost without her presence in our blogging community.
My heart and thoughts and prayers are with Anissa’s husband and three children as they struggle to deal with this crazy, scary, terrible situation. My heart and prayers are also with Anissa as she fights the big fight to recover from this stroke. She has to recover, the internet is not the same without her and we all need her.
You can learn more about Anissa by visiting the following sites. AimingLow.com, FreeAnissa.com and Hope4Peyton.org (a website that was originally set up during the time her daughter was battling cancer but is now where her husband will be posting updates on her status).
We’re praying for you Anissa.