Search Results for: blog time out before two years old

Free Range Parents Cleared of Neglect Charge

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It can be extremely frustrating to have someone criticize your choice of parenting style. Imagine how scary it would be to have the police tell you that your parenting style is considered to be a form of neglect. This situation happened to parents in Maryland – who have since been cleared of child neglect charges. It all started with a trip to the local park in December of 2014. Parents Alexander and Danielle Meitiv allowed their son and daughter to go to the park, and walk home, by themselves. Their son, Rafi, was 10 years old, and their daughter, Dvora, … Continue reading →

How a Transgender Couple Became Parents

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When a couple is ready to become parents, they will do almost anything to make that happen. The desire to produce children who carry the parent’s DNA is strong. The Bowsers are a couple who wanted to have children and were able to produce two healthy sons that are biologically their own. The thing that makes this happy story a little different is that both parents happen to be transgender. Bianca and Nick Bowser were featured on 20/20. Their story is, in many ways, similar to thousands of other couples. They met. They fell in love. They eventually decided that … Continue reading →

Giving Birth After Age 33 Relates to Longevity

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A new study determined that women who give birth after age 33 had twice the odds of having a longer lifespan than women who did not do so. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should consider having a baby (or another baby) after age 33 in an effort to increase your lifespan. The reality is a bit more complex than that. Researchers at Boston University, Boston Medical Center (and elsewhere) conducted a study about aging. They looked at information that was gathered in a previous study that was called the Long Life Family Study. In other words, this study used previously … Continue reading →

Playing the Numbers Game

It’s dinnertime and you’re frantically scrambling to get your three kids under six years old fed before you have to get the oldest to his soccer game and the middle one to the barber.  You swing into McDonald’s, order, squeeze into a booth, divvy up a 20-piece McNuggets amongst your offspring, and then quickly shove the first meal of your day down your gullet. What’s the last thing you’re thinking about during this manic mealtime? Well, other than wondering if Kate Middleton is breastfeeding Prince George. That’s right; calories. Those numbers, which are now posted on many restaurant menus in … Continue reading →

Look Around: How is the Economy Doing?

Sometimes, in order to gauge the state of the economy, you just have to look around. I check the news reports often, and am intrigued by reports about trends that will affect how my family spends and saves. For example, when there were problems with the peanut crop, I made sure to stock up on peanut butter, a staple in my household. I also like to look around at what is happening locally, in my neighborhood and community. Houses seem to be selling better than they have in a long time, and this is good. Fewer abandoned properties and homes … Continue reading →

Most Important Early Pregnancy Advice

Many people might start off their first pregnancy blog with a story: why they decided to have a baby (or not), the story of how they became pregnant, their early thoughts on pregnancy and childbirth.  I might get to all of that, or I might not.  But today I want to share one of the most important things I learned in my first month of pregnancy: do not go off any medication without talking to your doctor first. This might seem silly or obvious, but I cannot stress how important it is.  My whole first trimester might have taken a … Continue reading →

Father’s Day Memory Shirt

Every year, my kids make their Dad a T-shirt. We take a new white T-shirt (although one year the kids insisted on green) and some fabric paint. Each child dips a hand in one color of paint and then “stamps” the hand print on to the shirt. Then, their names are added next to their prints with a fabric marker. Finally, the date is added. We have been making these shirts since my oldest of three was an infant of just a few days old. He was born the day before Father’s Day, so the present was a little late. … Continue reading →

Yoga and My Daughter

A couple of months ago I added yoga to my weekly workout routine in an effort to ease the strain from my typical high intensity cardio workouts and to help my husband strengthen his core since he refused to do anything but yoga.  Aside from the obvious struggles of exercise i.e. motivation, commitment, follow through, balance, endurance etc., there is the added difficulty of exercising with young children who basically demand mommy’s attention twenty four seven.  My three year old son has gotten really good about playing and getting a snack or drink of water for himself while I exercise … Continue reading →

Bird Basics: Finches

If you love birds but don’t have much time for a pet, or prefer to watch birds over handling them, then finches are the perfect bird for you.  They’re not too affectionate and don’t like being handled very much, so they’re the perfect pet for an observer. First a note: as with all birds, it’s best to purchase your bird from a reputable breeder.  Before bringing one home, make sure you’ve located a vet in your area that can treat your bird. It’s important that you get more than one finch, as they are social birds and will need the … Continue reading →

Differing Views on Alternative Treatments

The New York Times Magazine published an article called “The Boy With a Thorn in His Joints”. In it, a mother describes how she went from traditional medicine to alternative medicine to treat her son’s condition. On Slate, there is a response to that article that discusses reasons not to use alternative medicine. Together, the two articles give a wide range of views about choices of treatment. An article called “The Boy With a Thorn in His Joints” was recently posted to the New York Times Magazine. It is six pages long, and was written by Susannah Meadows. It is … Continue reading →