It may be one of those discussions parents have among themselves rather than with their child.
It is the discussion of careers.
We look at the areas of study our two junior high students seem to be the most interested in, get the best grades in and then talk about what career paths the kids may end up taking.
My husband and I are guilty of assuming this.
Shouldn’t we be asking them what they are most interested in? Yes.
It may not have anything to do with what their hobbies are at ages 11 and 13.
Parents tend to look at those areas where it is predicted the most jobs will be in the next decade: Health care, personal finance, environmental scientists, environmental engineers, hydrologists and the support staff that is required for these green jobs, according to Occupational Outlook Quarterly.
However, when we were in college, the number of students training in and graduating with technology degrees outnumbered the job openings.
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I often get emails from PR representatives touting diaper bags for men. I rarely pay attention to these calls for coverage. I think designing a diaper bag for either men or women is silly.
Unisex is the only way to go with it comes to diaper bags. This way, either mom or dad can take the kids out and not feel silly because their bag features a feminine floral pattern or a testosterone-charged NASCAR logo.
The Wife purchased a new diaper bag shortly after our son Peter was born. The gray bag (pictured here) looks more like a backpack. It was given to me as a Christmas present. It is embroidered with our last name and features three separate compartments for diapers, baby wipes, extra clothes and snacks.
I wasn’t thrilled with the Land’s End bag at first. It felt too bulky. However, I quickly learned to like the larger size, filling every compartment with needed supplies. There’s also room for more than a few extras. Things like coupons, pens and gift certificates have found there way into the gray giant
I actually take pride in all the stuff I carry in my diaper bag. My ego gets a nice boost whenever I’m at the park or on a playdate, and I’m able to offer another parent an item from my diaper bag.
“Oh, do you need a Band-Aid? I have one in my diaper bag if you want it.” I’ll mention to the mom tending to her daughter’s skinned knee.
I’ve been toting this big backpack for all this time and never thought to give it a wash - until now. After our family trip to Seattle, I began noticing the bag had a bit of a spilled-milk odor. There were also some stains on the old boy. The inside pockets were lined with crumbs.
It was clearly time to give the diaper bag a cleaning. But I was worried what would happen in the machine. Would the agitate, rinse or spin cycles tear a hole in my precious bag? And would the machine even manage to clean a bag with so many deep pockets?
I decided to give it a shot. I emptied out all of the contents and found a few surprises. (Do I really need to travel with 10 pens?) I also pushed each pocket inside out and brushed away as much debris as possible. Then, I soaked the bag in hot water and Simple Green. After that, it was into the washing machine. The diaper bag emerged clean and unharmed.
I hung it near the furnace to dry and repacked the great, gray bag the next morning. I won’t say the bag looks good as new, but it’s about as close as it is going to get.
The soldier is the uncle the kids never met.
He is the husband of Mom’s best friend.
He is the father of a classmate.
She is the sibling of a dear co-worker.
He is your pastor’s son.
She is the woman in uniform your son quickly remembered to salute when he was 5.
He is a college pal.
She is the friend from high school days.
He is the neighbor you only recently met.
She is the neighbor you never had a chance to meet.
The soldiers, both living and dead need to be honored today.
~ By Danielle, Wayne, Tim and Rochelle Simpson
It is Veterans Day, not just a day off of school.
Happy Veterans Day.
Yes, Dad, that means you, too. Here’s a hug from your grandkids and I from across the miles.
What have you, your kids and your family done for a veteran lately?
I’ll be the first to admit, our family has not done as much as we had hoped to this year.
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I’ve never done well with daylight savings time. Don’t get me wrong, I love the concept of falling back during the colder months and springing ahead as summer approaches. I just struggle with the adjustment.
This entire week, I’ll look at the clock thinking, “Well, the time is (blank) 0′clock, but really it’s more like…”
My kids have trouble adjusting too. They wake up too early and get cranky in the evenings following the time change. To get them in sync with the new schedule, I often make the mistake of keeping them up later. That never helps.
How about instead of falling behind one hour or jumping ahead one hour, we phase in the time change over a month. Keep adding or subtracting 15 minutes each week. Just a thought.
On another topic, did anyone else grossly overestimate the amount of trick-or-treaters this year? I figured there would be hundreds of little ghosts and ghouls roaming the streets. First, Halloween fell on a Saturday. The weather was also descent for this time of year.
To my surprise, the numbers actually seemed down. That just means more leftover candy for me.
By the way, that’s me dressed as Bret Michaels alongside Bubba, dressed as a “meat-eating” dinosaur. Peter is a 3-eyed alien creature, though his costume required a head piece that he pretty much refused to wear.
Finally, we’ve officially made the switch to 2 percent milk. Peter went in for his 2-year check-up last week. He received one vaccination along with a seasonal flu shot. He’s doing well.
As we were leaving, The Wife asked if Peter should still be on whole milk. Our pediatrician said it’s fine to make the switch to 2 percent now.
That’s helpful. I’ve been buying two different types of milk for roughly three years - 2 percent for the adults and whole milk for the boys. Now, we are a one-milk family.
The debate continues in our household as to what kind of milk is best.
Our family has always chosen whole milk fortified with Vitamin D because Vitamin D helps your body absorb and use calcium. And, there is the fact that half the family cannot stand the taste of skim milk and 2 percent milk because they say it “tastes like water.” Meanwhile, they do not have a problem drinking a lot of water. Go figure.
Any of the milk varieties out there, in my opinion, tastes better than the powdered milk that my father and I would argue about when I was a teen.
Along with that debate, there is the struggle that moms of teen girls may have as they try to get their daughters to drink more milk or foods containing calcium.
We parents learned way back in high school health class that a lack of calcium will make girls hunchbacks and make both boys and girls more likely to have to deal with bone injuries.
Nearly nine out of 10 teenage girls don’t meet daily calcium recommendations, according to the USDA.
That raises the debate we have in our home: How much is enough?
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