Christmas Is Almost Here

Wow .... Where did the time go. I just started thinking of presents I want to give out this year. I as going to Kmart to see what they have for layaway purposes. I think it is the only store left with layaway. 

So what do you get a 17 year old that is pregnant? Do you get something for her, because she is still young, or do you get for the baby? There is so much out there this year for a 2 year old boy.

How Old is Old Enough For A Cellphone

This question baffles me. I honestly can say I don't know. My Jacquie got her first cell phone at the ripe old age of 16. I thought this was an appropriate age. I still think that. My Nichole shared a cell phone with me about the age of 13. See, like I have said before, in my house Jacquie was considered T and E (trial and error) child. I didn't exactly err, but I liked to know that I could get in touch with Nichole and see if she was alright...

How Young is Young Enough for Chores

My own children started doing basic chores around 5 or 6 years of age. I started them out with picking up there own toys, putting their clothes in the hamper, making their beds (which hardly ever got done), and if they could reach the sink, they could do the plastic cups and other stuff that couldn't break.
Now with my grandson (Trystin), he is 2years old and he puts his toys away (with some help from mommy, nona, aunt nini or grandpa). We play a game...

Separation Anxiety

I am sorry I haven't written in a little while. It has been a bit hectic in my house the last 3 weeks. I've told you how my daughter (Jacquie), her boyfriend (Steve) and my grandson (Trystin) had moved in for a while. Well Steve has moved out. They had a big fight and decided to move on. That's all fine and well, but you see, now Trystin stays with Steve on the days Jacquie goes to school and or work. I know that's the right thing to do, but I miss him (Trystin) something awful.

Pregnancy and the Swine Flu

No, no one in my family has the swine flu (let me get that out right from the beginning). But I do have a dillema. As some of you know, my daughter Nichole is pregnant and in highschool. Well they have had like 3 cases of the swine flu in her school alone. The surrounding schools have had cases too. The nurse called my daughter and another girl who is pregnant into her office to ask them how they were feeling, pertaining to the swine flu that is going around. So what do I do? Do I make her stay home? But I really can't do that, you can only have 5 absences before it effects your semester. I wouldn't be able to get her a doctors note for so many days. Should I be worried? Does anyone have any suggestions? How dangerous is it for her and the baby?

How Old Is Old Enough...Dating

Oh we had a lot of discussions on this in my household. See I always refered to my oldest daughter, Jacquie, as the T and E (trial and error) child. So we decided 16 was a good age to start dating. Well Jacquie has never been "boy crazy" so this actually worked out ok. She has had a few boyfriends since then, but only like those week long relationships. Then she met Steve and, as they say, hooked up. It was the first boyfriend with his own apartment and she was 19 (not much I could of said about that). Hence having my first grandson, Trystin.
Then came the discussion about Nichole's dating age.

Storing Summer Clothes

Yes it is about that time to start putting away the summer clothes and bringing out the fall/winter clothing. This is the time when you have to start deciding what you want to do with the kids clothes. Do we put them away because we have same sex younger siblings? Do we put a bag or storage bin together to give away to either someone we know or to the good will? Do we put it in storage bins to save for the yard sale we're going to have in the spring/summer? Well whatever you decide, it is time to do it.

Happy Halloween Party

I know I mentioned having a halloween party in the last post. It made me think about sharing a halloween party that I have been to. It was a friends party that she was having for her children. When you walked into the house, it was filled with the spider web stuff that you pull apart and attach it to things. She had spiders all in it. She had this bowl that had a fake bloody hand in it (that was for the punch). There were streamers (black and orange of course) hanging all over. It definitely was spooky looking. But she didn't over do it. There was spooky music on the stereo. I didn't even know that they sold cd's all complete with halloween music. Then we played a game...everyone had to bring a picture of themselves (not in costume). She put them all on a poster board, then you had to pick out who (in costume) matched which picture. It was fun. The younger kids enjoyed it. The older ones said it was way too easy. Oh yeah, we all had to bring a bag of candy, we counted how many children showed up and divided the candy into large goody bags.
Over 36,000 Low-Priced Party Supplies

Trick or Treat

Well another year has gone by and it is Halloween again. It is so fun for the kids to dress up and go door to door for their treats. But how the world is today with psychos out there, I am so afraid of this holiday.
Kids love parties, why not host a Halloween party this year. Invite some friends over, decorate, and have some food. Even if you only do chips and soda, maybe a couple of pizzas.
Also another idea, I know here in South Carolina, the mall shops give out treats.
But if they are going out trick or treating, make sure they don't go alone. I have always been a firm believer in the buddy system (not just for trick or treating).
I would love for people to respond to this post. And I would also love ideas on homemade costumes. Pictures would also be nice.

10 Ironies of Motherhood

Just wanted to share an article I found in Parenting Magazine. These are 10 heehee's for motherhood:

1. That you could miss your little one so much all day at work but be unbelievably relieved when he falls asleep an hour after you get home.
2. You ask your child to share toys and she won't, but if Dora the Explorer asked her to remove someone's pancreas, she'd grab a scalpel.
3. How your son is his basketball team's MVP--but heaven forbid he could get a pair of socks in the hamper.
4. It was inconceivable that you'd pay for sex. Now you shell out $15 an hour for a sitter so you can go to a motel with your husband.
5. That you looked forward to girls' night out for weeks--then spent it debating if Hannah Montana is a good role model.

5 Learning Sites on the Internet

I have been looking for some sites to teach my 2 year old grandson some basic things like shapes, numbers and the alphabet. Here are a few sites that I have found:

1.  http://www.starfall.com/
2.  http://www.billibear.com/
3.  http://www.fisher-price.com/us/default.aspx
4. http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tplearning/topics/0,,4rvm,00.html
5.  http://fun.familyeducation.com/educational-issues/extracurricular-activities/33379.html

They Survived the First Day

Well both my children survived the first day of school. Jacquie didn't get up on time for her first college class, but made it there in time to keep the class. I think she was told she can only do 2 classes this semester (Math and Spanish) she is not happy, she wanted to take 4 classes. But (form what I understand) when you have financial aid, if you mess up your classes you get penalized for the next semester. That is what happened to her, she ended up dropping a class last semester and she appealed it, but didn't win the appeal.
Nichole was very happy to get back to school. She saw a lot of her old friends and everyone was happy to see everyone.

Starting the School Year Off Right

First make sure your child has all the school supplies he/she needs for the first day of school. What I found out when my children started school, was that you really don't know exactly what they need until they get to school. The teacher usually tells them the first day of school. Some schools have a list at local stores so you can get the basics, but not all the time are they accurate. My suggestion is to let them get a few essentials, but wait for the majority of supplies when the teacher tells them the first day of school. But then of course there is a mad dash to the store to probably find everything is not there. But your going to find that anyway you do it.

First Day Of School and Pregnant

Yes my 17 year old daughter is starting her junior year of high school and she is 4 months pregnant. She ended her sophomore year finding out she was pregnant, so most of her friends already knows she is pregnant. Which is better (I think) for her, so she doesn't have to explain herself right off the bat why her stomach is a little bit bigger. Yes this has been a trying time for us in our household this summer. But we survived it. Nichole was first with her news of being pregnant and then our 22 year old (with boyfriend and baby) moved in with us to get back on their feet. Which we were fine with. It is slightly crowded, but we are all dealing with it. Truthfully I like having my grandson here everyday. I am not looking forward to them finding a place. I do know they have to for their own sanity. It does get a little hectic, but (in my opinion) all worth it.
So the next phase of our live is having a new grandchild in January 2010. At first (I have to be honest) I was not happy. To say the least, but it has since grown on me. I feel no one should go through a pregnancy depressed, so I had to get with the program ( and I did). On Thursday of this week we are going to find out the sex. We are all pretty excited about that. Nichole and I think it is totally a girl, but a lot of others feel it is a boy.

School Days Fast Breakfast

It was always hectic in the mornings in my house when my kids were in grade school. I usually just "made" them a bowl of cereal or toast or a pop tart. That was before the days of the computer, where you can find all kinds of recipes for all sorts of things. I read and use recipes a whole lot. I am definitely a recipe user. Our family just had this conversation the other day about recipe users and nonrecipe users. I can not just throw a meal together and use all kind of spices and just come up with something.
But I can definitely follow a recipe. You know not all people can follow a recipe and the dish come out edible...lol.
So I went looking around for sites for children friendly recipes. I found this one for breakfast in the morning that didn't seem hard or took a long time to make. I found this recipe at (CDKitchen).

Strawberry Breakfast Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

1 package (10-count size) refrigerated biscuits
1 Orange
1 package (8 ounce size) light cream cheese, softened
5 teaspoons Honey, divided
1/2 liter Basket fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Stack 2 biscuits; roll out to a 6-inch circle, 1/8-inch thick. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Prick all over with fork. Repeat with remaining biscuits to make 5 circles in all. Bake until golden, 6 to 8 minutes; loosen and cool slightly.

Finely grate peel from orange. In bowl beat cheese, peel and 3 teaspoons of the honey to blend; set aside.

Juice orange into large bowl. Add strawberries and the remaining honey; toss.

Increase oven temperature to 425F. Spread biscuits with cheese to within 1/2 inch of edges. Bake until cheese edges brown lightly. Top with drained strawberries. Serve warm.

This recipe from CDKitchen for Strawberry Breakfast Pizza serves/makes 5

There is an alien in my house

I know some of you know exactly what I mean. I have a 17 year old daughter, Nichole, and she has changed so much in the past year and a half. She has went from being a mama's girl to a daddy's everything mode. I can do no right where she is concerned. She is huffing and a puffing with every remark she has to say to "me". Not her father. Oh no. He basically does no wrong. I don't know exactly when or why this happened. But I am so losing my patience with it.

She is also having my second grandchild in January. And yes granted it, it is a little worrisome with all that is happening. It actually came from left field. No one really expected it. But things do happen. This family deals with or troubles the best way we can. We do try to pull it together. But I must say it hasn't been easy with other family members. To be honest it wasn't easy for me, and still isn't "easy", to except. But it is my grandchild and I will love he or she just as much as Trystin, our first grandchild. Its just going to be alot of work on everybodys part. That is why it is so hard to deal with all this bad behavior from Nichole. Excpecially for me and my other daughter, Jacquie. Because we will probably being the ones taking up alot of the slack. We still want Nichole to finish her highschool and work part time. So alot of the babysitting is going to fall on me. But with her attitude, its hard to want to. I really hope her attitude changes, for the better, soon. Or she is pushing us away. We love her so much.

So that is a little what is going on in my life. I really wish I had some readers already on this blog, so I can get some feedback. It would be nice to hear someone elses views on issues. Well i am sure it will happen soon.

That First Day Of School

I now only have a teenager starting school. She (Nichole) had moved to a different school midyear last year. That was the turning point for her. I know not everyone that has a problem with school can just change schools. But my Nichole was having behavioral problems and I felt the teachers tagged her as a problem child. So we looked into The Academy for Arts and Science and found it to be our solution for Nichole. She went from making D's and F's to (no bull) making A's and 1 B. So needless to say, she is actually looking forward to going back to school.

My Toddler Won't Eat

I remember when my children (Jacquie and Nichole) were little ones and they wouldn't eat. It made me worry. I thought they wouldn't get enough nutrition. And I remember the doctor telling me that they would eat when they were hungry. I eventually saw that he was right.

Well now my daughter (Jaquie) is going through the same thing with my 23month old grandson (Trystin). He can go days on just breakfast. Breakfast is the one meal we really don't have trouble with. But lunches and dinner, they are the worst. But when i am babysitting and he won't eat, i will wait awhile and give him something nutrious for a snack. Like i will feed him fruit or yogurt or something else that is nutrious. My daughter (Jacquie) and son-in-law (Steve) don't really always agree with this, because Trystin might just not eat what is for dinner and wait for the snack. Well I am grandma after all not mommy and daddy. That is just what i do, because i think something nutrious is better than nothing at all.

HELP--The baby has colic

It is not uncommon for newborn babies to go through periods when they appear abnormally irritable or seemingly cry for no reason. However, if you suspect your baby is suffering from colic, you may look for the following symptoms:


--symptoms occur around the same time each day or night, often after meal times, and usually ending as abruptly as they be
--shows signs of gas discomfort and abdominal bloating
has a hard, distended stomach, with knees pulled to the chest, clenched fists, flailing arms and legs, and an arched back
--experiences frequent sleeplessness, irritability and fussiness
cries vigorously for long periods, despite efforts to console

In most cases, colic is the worst pain a baby has thus experienced. It is usually manifested as an acute abdominal pain with intense spasmodic cramping, but since colicky babies cannot describe exactly what distresses them, it is hard for parents to know the precise cause of their distress. Infantile colic is most common in the first few weeks to four months of an infant's life; rarely does it endure past six months of age.

Pediatricians often use the "Rule of Three" to diagnose colic: "A baby that cries for three or more hours per day, at least three times per week, within a three month period". Wess, et al., "Paroxysmas fussing in infancy." Pediatrics 1984:74:998. About 25 percent of babies worldwide meet the official "Rule of Threes" criteria for medical diagnosis of colic.

What this blog is all about

I myself (which you can also find in the about me heading) have two daughters and one grandson who is 23 months old and a grandchild on the way.
So I caught myself saying to my daughter (Jacquie) the other day, saying they don't come with manuals. Hence the name of this blog "That Children's Manual." I would really like this blog to be fun and informative. I know everyone can definitely benefit from a forum like this. (I know I can). We would love all the feedback you can give. This blog is for all of us who have a child in our lives in some way.