Retirement

I have made my last post to Life & Times. Here's to positive changes! Join me in a toast, clink your glass to mine, and come see me over at my new blog:

My Two Suns

Blogtour: Guide To A Healthy Home

It's short and sweet, but packed full of a ton of valuable information on how to keep your home cleaner and your family healthier. It's called What To Expect Guide To A Healthy Home, by none other than Heidi Murkoff (Author of What To Expect When You're Expecting). And just like the book she is possibly most well-known for, this guide will become your bible to combating germs and allergens in your everyday surroundings. You can read the entire thing in one sitting, but I guarantee you it will change the way you think about how best to keep your family safe from bacteria and other irritants. In just a few pages, Murkoff talks about how to keep the main rooms in your house safe, as well as proper food handling, avoiding germs in public areas, and even what to look for in a child care center when it comes to their cleanliness practice. Most surprising to me is what she had to say about the germs in your car (yes YOUR CAR, you might be surprised) and the infamous three-second rule (is it really ok to give your child something he just dropped on the floor?). I know you want the answers to these and more, and the best part about it all is that you can get your very own guide for free. Just click here and enjoy a safer, healthier, cleaner lifestyle. And perhaps less runny noses to boot.

Which Symphony Is It?

I had a classical song stuck in my head. No clue which one it was, or if I even had it in my collection. All I knew is that it's fairly well-known, I had heard it multiple times before, and I wanted to hear it again. Now. So the music is running through my head and I tell myself that it sounds like Mozart's style. So I pull out all the Mozart cd's that I own - including the Baby Einstein - and systematically listen to the first refrain of each track, on every cd. Just when I was starting to doubt myself, and wondering if the piece I wanted to hear was in fact by Beethoven or perhaps even some other composer.... I got lucky. The first track of the third Mozart cd I listened to had what I was looking for. To have a song obsessively going through your head one second - and coming out of your stereo speakers the next - is like scratching an itch. It just feels like the ultimate form of fulfillment and contentment.

Bean and I just sat in his room together, completely still, and lost in individual reflection and appreciation for the music. He listened intently to the entire movement and made me very proud that he can love real music and be such a serious student. I saw him listening with his entire body; 100% of his focus on the sounds filling the room. And while I have noticed people doing this many times in my life, I am not sure I have ever seen it from someone so young. I plan to nurture that. Who knows what musical potential he has inside of him.

Oh, and in case you were wondering.... the work that had me completely obsessed today was Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor. I am so glad I found it in my collection, otherwise the tune would have bored a hole in my brain and driven me mad.

Reading Babies

I just wanted to make a follow-up post about the Your Baby Can Read! program I mentioned nearly three months ago. It might be a nice gift idea for those of you shopping for young babies; particularly if you want to avoid the China-made junk some of us have been giving our kids (myself included). What better gift than something educational for your little one? That is my favorite sort of thing to buy. We have not had enough time with the program ourselves for Bean to be reading yet, but I can say for sure that he enjoys the video and it holds his attention. I truly believe it is only a matter of time. Right now you can get free shipping for the holidays, so now is as good a time as any to look into it if you are interested.

Happy Birthday To Me

Every year my birthday feels less and less like a special day... and more and more like just any other day. I remember as a child how important my birthday always was to me. It just felt magical. Lately though, with each passing year, I wonder why anyone over the age of 18 even bothers to celebrate getting another year older. Perhaps this is my cynical outlook on life speaking loudly. It is just funny to me how I can be so excited and gung-ho about my children's birthdays and view my own as a non-event.

An even stranger phenomenon are the people who did remember to say "Happy Birthday" to me versus the people who did not. I guess everyone feels the way that I do about December 13. Just another day.

Book Contest

Anne-Marie over at A Readable Feast has posted a lovely contest wherein you could win an entire basket of children's books just in time for the holidays. There are some very cool books in the gift basket and there are even enough for you to keep a few, donate a few, and still have a few left for gifts. Or, you could just keep them all (which is what I would do). ;-) But we are book hounds over here. My boys play with books just as much as they play with cars and trucks. Every day Bean asks "Read to you?" I love it. So anyway, go check it out for your chance to win. Good luck!

Book Review: Baby Signing 1-2-3

If you read my blog at all, you know that I am huge proponent of Baby Signing. I taught Bean how to sign as an infant, and it was very effective for us. In fact, it amazed me to see his little hands and arms moving, purposefully, to communicate to ME -- well before he was speaking any recognizable words. Therefore, I am also working on signing with Bun, hoping for the same (if not better) results. Since I am an old pro at ASL. Ok, not really, but I wanted to say that anyway.

There is a book out for people who want a little help and guidance when it comes to signing with your baby: Baby Signing 1-2-3 by Nancy Cadjan. Maybe you don't know how to start, what technique to use, or even the signs themselves. This book has it all. In a super-friendly format with lots of illustrations and not too much text. I particularly like how she talks about the fact that babies who know how to sign will continue to do so even after they begin to talk (enter: Bean). Makes me feel real good about the work I have done with him. The book is organized in stages corresponding with your baby's age. And like any good reference book there is an appendix in the back. You can find illustrations of common signs, and developmental stages by age - among other things.

Overall, this is a cute and helpful book. Anyone who wants to sign with their baby might want to check it out.