Posted by Alyson
All of a sudden, the wee one has his own opinions. Very strong opinions. With very loud noises to accompany those opinions. He hasn’t put down his electric toothbrush in days, is sleeping with his plastic spoon and as soon as he gets up, signs for “more”. More what you ask? Not something that I need to ask, as he is ALWAYS hungry and ALWAYS wants more.
(Though I will tell you (puffing up my chest) that he also verbally said “Thank you” when I gave him his eighth cracker with cream cheese over the weekend. Yup, he’s got manners. Love it!) Continue reading
Posted by Alyson
We are heading to the fabulous Wyndham Rio Mar Spa and Beach Resort this week and I simply cannot wait! As I have previously mentioned, Rio Mar was featured in Parents Magazine as a top 10 family beach destination, which prompted our long-weekend family get-away.
As you moms know, packing for the family typically falls to us. So, although we have a million other things going on with the holiday weekend, I have to add packing for myself and my son to the list of things to do. Now, typically I’ll start a packing list two or three times because I always seem to misplace the last one and let’s face it, it’s easier to start over than to search through the piles of “important papers” on my counter or the mess in my purse (I currently have this mysterious powder of what I can only assume is Gerber Puffs that have escaped from a long ago discarded baggie lining the bottom of my bag… Yup! Staying out of there if at all possible.). Well, let me tell you something, ladies. I recently got an email from MomAgenda (of which I am obsessed) and they have just launched new free lists to download for those of us who need a little help in staying organized (yes, that includes me). Check out the travel checklist as well as the packing list… love them! Continue reading
Posted by Alyson
I recently had a very interesting conversation with a man who has lived all around the globe, currently residing in New Jersey. He told me that he feels passionately about travel because he thinks that it changes who you are and how you see the world every time that you experience a new place and the people that live there.
I love that in working for a travel company, I may be playing a small part in bringing people together and teaching them something new about the world. How awesome is that?!
Many parents are now using travel to teach their children about history, geography, art and environmental issues. Recently, the Taylor family was in the news for renting an RV and touring the United States for the year in an effort to teach their two homeschooled boys about American history. What an amazing opportunity! A learning experience, family time and lots of things to talk about when writing September’s “What I did over my summer vacation” essay. Continue reading
Posted by Alyson
I love the summer. The weather, sitting on the back porch at dusk, hearing the crickets at night, playing outside and the look of sun-kissed skin. Now before you freak out and start sending me irate emails, hear me out.
I’ve always been a sun worshiper and so it’s been a big adjustment for me to go from pouring on the baby oil at the beach and pool to thinking about sun damage, sunscreen and skin cancer. But, I have. I want to take care of myself and certainly, my family. I’ve found a lot of great products that work for me but I’m still searching for that great SPF product that works on my kid. So far we’ve nixed one lotion that always seems to find it’s way into my son’s eyes, a thick cream that tends to ball up into little bits of sunscreen that rub off of his skin, and one that seemed to work well but the next day the wee one’s back had a pinkish-hue to it. None of the above is acceptable to me. Continue reading
Posted by Alyson
Did you know that over the past 40 years, fathers have tripled the amount of time that they spend with their kids. Almost all of the parenting magazines that I read have columns written by dads, for dads (I, of course, tear these nibbles of great parenting info out to leave on my hubby’s pillow); and on this month’s cover of “The Best Life” Magazine, there were FOUR different headlines that spoke specifically to raising a family, spending more time with your kids and being a good dad and husband? Continue reading
