"If I Could Do It All Again"

We all get caught up in the busy-ness of life, and sometimes the most important things are the very things we neglect.

Fortunately, we can change that habit any time we choose! Don't wait until your kids are grown to think about what you'd like to do differently - do it differently now!

If I had my child to raise all over again...

I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less and know to care more.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I'd ignore the stares and stare at more stars.

I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

I'd see the oak in the acorn more often.

I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.

I'd abandon my love of power, for the power of love.

Be the extraordinary parent you always wanted to be... today!

Books We LOVED!

For this Halloween and Harvest Season, the kids really enjoyed our different selection of books from the Hercules Library. Each day during circle time, I would pick a name from our name box, and that child got to choose a book for story time! Everyone gets a turn! Here are some of the books that we loved this month:





Find these books and more at the Hercules Library and enjoy reading them with your children. Want to know which book was the absolute favorite and top pick among the kids? Mouse's First Halloween! Have fun in your literary adventures!

Parents Night Out!

Wellness Wednesday!

Warning! Watch Out for Baby Carrots!

What you may not know and should know is the following:

Once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine in order to preserve them (this is the same chlorine used in your pool).

Since they do not have their skin or natural protective covering, they give them a higher dose of chlorine.

You will notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots. This is the chlorine which resurfaces. At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables?

Chlorine is a very well-known carcinogen, which causes Cancer. I thought this was worth passing on. Pass it on to as many people as possible in hopes of informing them where these carrots come from and how they are processed.

Confirmed by Snopes:

1. snopes.com: Baby Carrots ••••
Are baby carrots made from deformed full-sized carrots that have been soaked in chlorine?
...Carrot and Shtick Claim: Baby carrots are made from deformed full-sized carrots that have been permeated with chlorine. Example: [Collected via....
...carrots that you buy in grocery stores come from deformed crooked big carrots. They are put through a machine to become small cocktail carrots. This part...
....I think after reading this we will all start making our own carrot sticks out of fresh carrots and keep them in the fridge (a few at a time), right?...
Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:42:31 GMT http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/carrots.asp

Scroll down and check it out!

We added a quick view and link to our flickr account, and a new fun poll.
Check it out, and have fun!

National TV Turn-off Week

National TV Turn-off Week…

…is September 19 – 25, 2010.

· Screen time cuts into family time and is a leading cause of obesity in both adults and children.

· National TV-Turnoff Week is the first nationwide effort which targets the medium of television and asks that people reassess the role TV plays in their daily lives as entertainer, pacifier, babysitter, time filler and background noise.

· The average number of minutes per week that parents spend having meaningful time and conversation with their children is 38.5, while the average number of minutes per week that a child spends watching TV is 1.680.

· National TV-Turnoff Week is about having more fun and turning "on" your life. It's an opportunity to rediscover the wide range of activities that exist when one unplugs from the sedentary, image-based, simplistic and commercial world of television

Thorough Thursday!

Waiting Activities...for kids!

We all have no choice but to take our kids around with us when we run errands so, to keep them occupied while we shop, you can:

• Pick up an age appropriate Brain Quest. These are fun flip cards of fun questions and activities for children age 2 up.
• Take a dry-erase marker and a small rag with you while you shop for clothes. Your child can draw on the mirror while you try things on. Clean it off with the rag.
• Take a mini Etch-A-Sketches with you too.
• Keep a small bag of crayons, colored pencils, drawing paper and a coloring book in your shopping bag.
• Take a magnifying glass. Everything is interesting close up.
• Take a small piece of card board, smaller bits of paper and string and a glue stick - make mini collages.

“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.” ~ John Bowring