Sara, the founder of Baby Place, has started a new site. This one is an unbiased guide to baby strollers: Information, price comparisons, sales and coupons, which online stores give the best service and more.

I must admit that I learned there is a lot more to buying a stroller than just comparing prices. Besides comparing all the different features of each stroller model one has to know which merchants have free shipping, the best return policies, no “restocking fees” and good testimonials (real ones) from past customers. Sara has done the research and listed the best stores and why they are the best.

This is going to be a serious authority site for baby strollers. Regardless, don’t buy a stroller until you have checked out her site first:

Stroller-guide.com

Eveyone has challenges in life. For my daughter it is eating. For me, it is cooking! So here are some tested tips that WORK for both of us!

1) Create a weekly eating menu. Mondays is spaghetti, tuesdays is burgers, and so on and so forth. The plates are made and served at the table. This takes all the thinking and guesswork out of it, and hopefully the frantic ‘help its 5 PM what shall I make for dinner!’  So I will look at her weekly schedule and Tuesday says Burgers and take them out of the freezer or start cooking, without having to wonder.. Naturally I shop accordingly with this menu in mind. I know you agree this helps. Then, hand in hand with this TIP -  if your child isnt interested in your lunch/dinner, there is ONE alternative that they can choose.. Yogurt. Cereal.  The alternative has to be something that does not require preparation.

2) Each night on their plate will be a veggie.. cooked or raw. Like cucumbers, avocado, peppers, lettuce, brocolli, etc.. It is a worthwhile investment even if you think they will NEVER eat them. This creates an expectation for them to include vegetables in their life, that it is part of a complete meal, and one time, when you are not looking, they may try them, and start eating them. My son eats almost all of them now! I know my Mom says that she didnt give them us since we never ate them, and it took me years to start eating these most basic of foods. I am trying to not repeat this problem. It is not easy. Often times I dont have them available in the house and I am too lazy.. but its part of my plan so it’s a start.

3) Mealtime needs to include YOU. Here are some extra fun ways to make mealtimes enjoyable:

a) We buy plates that are shaped like animal faces. We put food in each ear, and the main dish in the middle. Sometimes they fight over the plates, but in the long run, it is worth it.. since they are definitely more interested in eating. 

b) Stick a magnetic whiteboard on your refridgerator and draw a picture of the plates including the food on the plates. Each bite that is eaten allows either you or the child to erase the food on the plate, until the entire contents of the plate are erased. This definitely encourages extra bites.

c) My stick figures leave much to be desired, yet when I offer to draw a picture of practically anything they are so excited! The deal is that for each bite, I will draw a little more.. I try to have the picture ALMOST finished when they hit their usual limit, so just a few extra bites will have the complete illustration!

What works for you?

So…my Husband went out of town.

Dont tell anyone, but I am excited about having the place to myself. I think about just having some ME time. No extra dirty dishes, dirty underwear, and frankly no ‘how are you today’ conversations that sometimes I could do without.

I know many of you are nodding your heads in agreement. If you are one of those women at the park who cant sleep well at night if your husband isnt home, just click off this page right now.

Meanwhile….

I am nursing the baby, get up to get the kids off to school, working/watching baby during the day, taking care of the kids when they come home, policing all day when they fight, do lunch, park, dinner, storytime, 2 kids to bed, then me and the baby hang out with my older son when he comes home, we talk, feed both, bathe baby, have some obligatory phone calls thrown in there, clean up after everyone, do a load of laundry, wonder if my 4 year old who has forgotten he is potty trained, and my daughter who complains of burning urine need doctors, put the baby to sleep, that lasts 20 minutes and he decides he is up to PLAY. It is now 11:30 PM. I am nodding off in front of the computer, before realizing my baby puts everything in sight in his mouth and must be watched. I get up to grab something to eat, since I dont usually fall asleep with food in my mouth, watch/ignore him until he tires out, get him to bed, sit back down to finish up my today HAVE-TO’s, only to nod off again, crawl into bed, and wake up to hear the baby crying and start the day all over again.

Taking care of kids/life from sun up to sundown, there is no time to enjoy his absence. Yet he will get to fly back overseas and ‘rest off’ his jet lag with a delicious afternoon nap, while I continue with the same above mentioned schedule. 

I swear my whole life is jet lag.

They say (”they say” = my mom) that there is no such thing as spoiling a baby. They also say that I was allowed to cry back when I was young since people believed something different. It is convenient for my mother to say this, since as a Grandmother, she does not want my babies crying for one second. 

Ariella is receiving a first hand insight into what it means to spoil a child and is concerned for what happens when you remove all the attention. Has your child then become ‘dependent’ on being entertained and will be unable to play alone from now on?  

From Ariella:

I walk into my parents living room after a nap (a word that does not exist in my vocabulary..I am spoiled too!) and I see Joseph, surrounded by 15 ( literally) adults all applauding and grinning at him in response to something he has just done. He laughs out loud and then knocks down the tower he just built. They all applaud again. He builds the tower. . .  they all applaud again .. . 
 

We have this big fat Joseph party EVERYDAY so far of our trip. Joseph is continually being introduced to new visitors- because we don’t live in the same country as my parents or my in-laws, everyone is super excited to meet him and give him presents and generally spoil him rotten! 

Don’t get me wrong- I love the presents and the attention (and my NAPS!! )

It’s just that I worry.
 

There’s been a few times I have been left alone with my son and guess what? Joseph- who before we got here was SO excellent at playing alone for half an hour or so . . . ( which allowed me time when he was up to return a phone call or read a book or just collapse on the couch) NOW he needs to be constantly entertained and applauded.
 

I love doing that for him but NOT 24/7.
 

So- What happens when we get home? How long to ‘detox’ my son and turn him back into the super independent and easy-going boy I remember?
  

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As promised, Ariella is writing to us from the nest..

We are on the road (and in the air!!!) We travelled overseas to visit both my parents and my-inlaws.  In a little over 3 weeks, we will be staying in my parents house, my in-laws house, my uncles cottage, our friends ’shack on a lake’, a hotel, back to my in-laws, back to my parents, staying with friends in a few different cities and back on a plane AGAIN (!)

This means that Joseph  will have slept in over 7 different beds, ride in 5 different cars and car seats and travel in 4 airplanes, be held by over 30 ’strangers’, meet 3 new pet dogs and 1 cat, and cross four different countries borders.

Upon our return to home sweet home, we MOVE the next day. We are either sadistic, crazy, and without a doubt pushing our luck. Icing on the cake? Joseph is starting a new nursery program the day after that. 

Without being biased, which I am, Joseph has really proven his flexibility this trip and is, as always, growing up daily. On this trip he has learned how to put together lego pieces, drink from a ‘big boy’ cup all by himself, let all his grandparents ( and his GREAT grandparents! ) hold him,  learn a few first words, pet his first dog (s), got his walking skills down!, ’swim’ in a pool and generally laugh and giggle up a storm.
 

In general Joseph is throwing crazy joy all around him- where ever he goes. And he’s only been cranky twice.