Happy 5th Birthday, Callie!!!

Happy 5th Birthday to my firstborn daughter, Callie! We had some rough times with tantrums, but lately she is becoming more happy and cooperative and says she enjoys helping cook, pick up, etc. She loves writing her name and coloring and watching movies. She loves helping me stir cake batter. She's helpful with Baby Sam. I like spending time with her and listening to her little girl dreams. I like listening to her sing and love watching her dance. I can't wait to see what she will become and am savoring my time with her while she is so young and innocent.

I love you, Callie!

Debate: Rich or Famous?

Would you rather be rich or famous, like if someone told you you HAD to be one or the other?

I'm thinking rich. They'd both stink in some respects, but famous brings on stalkers and other weirdos and lots of scrutiny. Rich could lead to doing lots of good things for the world, if you were so inclined

Hyland's Products: Bedwetting Tablets

I don't know if you can call this a product review since I haven't actually used these yet, but I'm gonna try them and let you know. You don't just give them before bed; you give them at meals, etc. They are tiny, homeopathic tablets that taste like nothing. I'm hoping my almost-5-year-old will stop peeing in her size 6 diaper every night. I hear lots of females have problems with bedwetting ... I've known many.

I've heard that making them pee before bed, making sure they stop drinking after 7 p.m. and trying out a bedwetting alarm don't necessarily work.

What's your experience with kids wetting the bed when they are potty-trained perfectly during the day?

Hyland's Products: Teething Tablets

I don't know how these work, but they somehow do. Sure, sometimes it takes half the bottle to get your kid to stop hurting, but they are awesome. It's like an attitude adjustment in a bottle for your teething toddler.

As of December 2009 I'm supposed to let you know if I'm getting paid or being given free products to endorse when I write about them. I have NOT gotten a thing from Hyland's. I just love this crap, that's all.

Dairy Products and Mucus: Chocolate Silk from Whole Foods

You hear all the time about the correlation between dairy products and being all snotty. Not snotty in attitude, but in mucus. Since Sam has been congested since birth and is almost 4 months old now, and since I seem to have all kinds of drainage going on (sorry to gross you out), I have been cutting down on dairy, and it seems to be helping. Maybe it's wishful thinking. Maybe it's true.

Either way, I tried out Chocolate Silk (soy milk) and we all loved it. I just wish I could afford the 3 bucks a half gallon 10 times a week, because we would all just suck this drink down. Do you ever picture tiny soybeans with boobs being milked? And how about little grains of rice being milked for Rice Milk? No? Must just be me. Huh.

Did you know you can do a tour at Whole Foods grocery stores? You get to try out stuff to see if you like it before you commit to buying a full-size version of it. I'm gonna set up that field trip for my homeschool group (most of whom probably already shop there cuz a bunch of them are crunchy). I may have to take up stripping to pay for more healthy food for my family, but we all have trade-offs, right?

Just kidding, Dad.