Heidi was slated to serve only as the host of Victoria’s Secret’s Fashion Show in New York City on November 19th, but surprised the audience by leading out the ‘Enchanted Forest’ collection towards the end of the night.  Her outfit was relatively modest for VS.  It was a well-fitted corset dress.  Everyone knows corsets are a girl’s best friend (or at least her waistline’s best friend).  But corset or not, it takes a pretty rocking body to fit into anything that size.

All joking aside, I think that it is awesome that Heidi could pull that off.  You can’t be mad  at the woman for being good at what she does.  I just wish I knew her secret.  I have a 6-week-old baby and, without going into details, I’ll just say I doubt that corset would fit on my thigh.  In all fairness though, I started my pregnancy as a size 6 not a size 0.  You can see Heidi in all of her post-partum glory on Tuesday, December 1.  The Fashion Show will air on CBS at 10:00 pm ET/PT.

A lifebook goes a step beyond scrapbooking.  With a scrapbook you document all of the big occasions–first tooth, first word, first haircut, etc.   A lifebook documents all of the small moments that you don’t really notice at the time.  Essentially a lifebook is a journal about your baby, to your baby.  You can write entries daily, weekly or even monthly about your experiences that you have had during that period.  This can include little tidbits like the song he couldn’t get enough of or how he giggled when you washed his feet at bath time. You can also include photos or even do photo documentation of things you want to jot down during the day.  If you are more inclined to do things in cyberspace, you can use lil grams–a website that helps you create virtual babybooks.

Traditionally, lifebooks were created for adopted and foster children to remind them of where they have been in their lives. But more and more biological parents are adopting this trend for similar reasons. As children get older, often a communication gap develops between them and their parents because they don’t understand each other.  When a teenager reads through their lifebook they can see how their mom(or dad) grew as a parent and perhaps get a better perspective of them. If nothing else, it will remind them how much you love them.  And when they are much older and having children of their own, they can read your baby experiences as they are going through the same thing.

The Wiggles – Getting Strong

Please God, make it stop! My kids love these four Aussies and their dinosaur, but it gets limited play in our house because I simply cannot stand it. The too-short, too-cheerful ditties have no artistry that a grown-up ear can appreciate.

Choo Choo Soul – Choo Choo Soul

Why do kids love trains so much? This CD/DVD combo was an instant hit in our house. The videos of Genevieve, the conductor, and DC, the engineer, singing and dancing with real kids on an animated train are as colorful and fun as you would expect from Disney. The R&B styled songs about ABCs, 123s and zoo animals are as catchy as anything on the radio, and I don’t even mind when I find myself singing them after the kids are in bed.

Raffi – Singable Songs for the Very Young and The Corner Grocery Store

These are absolute favorites from my childhood, and my kids love them too. Raffi, to me, records perfect children’s music – simple and silly, with an emphasis on vocals rather than instrumentation so kids really can sing along. If these were the only kids’ albums we had, I’d be happy, and I think my kids would be too.

Nana Mouskouri – Pour Les Enfants

Another classic from my childhood, and does this woman ever have a beautiful voice! This is a children’s album sung in French. The melodies are beautiful, even haunting, and perfect for relaxing before naptime or bedtime. Your kids may not understand the lyrics but exposure to another language can only be a good thing.

For the Kids – For the Kids and For the Kids Too

This series of compilations features artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Tom Waits and Cake singing kids’ songs that sound more like grown-up music. That’s great, for the grown-ups. Actually, there are some real gems on both of these albums, and the kids do like them even if they can’t sing along. These may be more accurately considered kid-friendly music for parents.

They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science

Welcome to geek central! This is an entire album of songs and videos about photosynthesis, evolution and the scientific method. My kids love it, even if most of the science is going over their heads. And if you’re at all familiar with TMBG, you’ll know it’s maddeningly catchy. Really, I can’t stop singing about computer assisted design, for Pete’s sake. This one’s love/hate for me. It’s great music; I just wish it would leave me alone when we turn it off.

There was recently a poll completed by BabyCenter that asked mothers if they spank their children.  Surprisingly, 69 percent of mothers said they DO spank their children.  Am I surprised that many mothers spank? Absolutely not.  I am surprised that many admitted to it though. Spanking was common years ago, however is currently a sore subject with many.

Many experts believe spanking should never be done and there are other ways to discipline your children.  While there are other ways to discipline, are they as effective?  Experts say that instead of spanking, parents should use time out or take away privileges.  Is a swat on the bottom that big of a deal?  Some say it is and causes kids to have self-esteem issues.

Spanking was very common when I was growing up.  It didn’t cause self-esteem pills, it taught you to take responsibility for your actions and not act up.  If you were out of line, be ready for the consequences.  Simple as that.  It was unheard of for a parent to simply put their four-year-old in time out for four minutes because they were screaming and throwing a tantrum.  If your child was acting up, you took care of it right then and it was done.

If 69 percent of mothers are spanking their children, why is it so looked down upon?  If more than half of all mothers are spanking, why is it such a hush hush subject?  I understand that some parents don’t know the difference between a swat on the butt and beating their child bu there is a difference.  Is that why spanking is looked down upon?  Because a few people can’t tell the difference and have gone overboard? Regardless if you spank or not, do what works best for your family.  You will know if spanking works best to discipline your child.

Is there any mom cooler than Gwen Stefani? I mean she’s an awesome rocker chick married to rocker guy Gavin Rossdale, super talented, makes tons of money and just releases hit song after hit song after hit song. There’s NO DOUBT (get it?) Gwen is pretty awesome and these photos of her with sons Kingston James and Zuma Nesta will show that.

The message they left? “Think about the safety in your social media life to the same extent you do in your real life.”

Facebook has thousands of groups, which are different from personal accounts.  Groups are joined by members with like interests; anything from TV shows, careers, school alumni to charitable organizations.  The exact number of groups hacked in unknown, but the total is believed to be in the hundreds.

Facebook users checking their group’s updates were met with this message:

“Hello, we hereby announce that we have officially hijacked your Facebook group. This means we control a certain part of the information about you on Facebook. If we wanted we could make you appear in a bad way which could damage your image severely.

“For example we could rename your group and call it something very inappropriate and nasty, like ‘I support pedophile’s rights.’ But have no fear — we won’t. We just renamed it Control Your Info. Because this is really all we want:

“Think about the safety in your social media life to the same extent you do in your real life.

“Watch the video clip for more information or check out www.controlyour.info for more tips soon!

“We promise to restore your group name and leave the group by the end of next week. Don’t worry — we won’t mess anything up.”

A Facebook representative released a statement saying, “There has been no hacking and there is no confidential information at risk.  We are still investigating this situation, but an extremely small number of groups have been affected.”

I don’t know how taking over the administration of someone’s site isn’t hacking, but it’s true that groups do not hold any personal information- you opt in and you opt out.  All of your personal information is contained in your profile, but if someone can easily take over Facebook groups, it wouldn’t be surprising if some ill intentioned hacker could break into your personal profile.

Control Your Info is right, while their methods may have clouded their message, that your social and online information should be protected just as heavily as your real life information.  You shred your bank statements, junk mail and lock up your documents- what information do you leave saved into your computer and online? Bank passwords? Word docs full of you access codes and usernames for easy reference?

Think twice what you store on your computer or someone else may end up controlling your info.

Daniella Delaney, editor of Practical Parenting and Pregnancy, says that it’s normal to remove blotchy coloration from skin and spittle, but neither confirmed nor denied that fat rolls were removed. ” … we don’t have a hit list of thing[s] we look out for.”

This is an alarming trend that has been in the media for years, but it never once occurred to me that it might be applied to babies. I’d think the reasoning behind retouching adult models is to project an ideal to the reader that they can emulate if they choose to, and the magazine is then filled with advertisements for products that will help them do that. But babies look the way they do naturally, and develop the way they do according to biological imperatives. Why on Earth would you want to slim down your infant, or even pretend that that is a desirable outcome?

This expectation of an arbitrarily-decided perfection is insidious in many respects, not the least of which is the fact that it’s non-functional. If you are a horrible person, your physical appearance will not change that. The beauty industry emphasizes all the wrong aspects of humanity, and it needs to stop. No one can ever look as “good” as they do in a photo, nor should they. Parents, please raise your children to understand that outward appearances are never as important as inner beauty. You will spare us all a lot of grief in the long run.

Clint Eastwood

First of all, Clint Eastwood gets to say whatever he wants; I certainly won’t argue with him. Second of all, that’s an unfair remark to teens, who cannot be so glibly and simply categorized. Third of all, I kind of see his point. It seems like the news has been so full of pettiness, with people taking personal shots at media and political figures, focusing more on appearance than substantive issues. Culturally, we’ve developed a society of entitlement, where our every whim is expected to be satisfied. And it’s true: this sort of behavior is somewhat common in teenagers, but there are ways to manage this.

My son and I have a statement we use when working on projects, or trying new things that may be challenging to him. I say “How do we succeed?” and he says “Hard work!” And that is perhaps the most important thing you can promote in your child. Stay away as much as you can from telling your child she’s so cute, or so smart, or so talented. History is full of failures who leaned too hard on the expectation of their talent to succeed for them. Hard work, on the other hand — which is in a great part what Eastwood references when he mentions the Greatest Generation — will always provide results. Hard work plus intelligence, hard work plus attractiveness, hard work plus talent — these things are what lead to success, and ultimately, a generation of people who do great things for society as a whole, and not just for themselves.

Easton Sports, along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has issued a voluntary recall of all their  bicycles with EA30 Stems.  This stem can crack and cause the rider to lose control, posing a risk of serious injury to anyone riding.  So far there has only been one reported incident of minor injury but Easton Sports is cooperating to make sure no others occur.

The EA30 stems are black with white-and-gray graphics and feature a four-bolt stem face cap. “EA30” is printed on the stem. EA30 stems sold as aftermarket items are included in this recall.  Independent bicycle dealers nationwide from August 2007 through August 2009 for between $500 and $1,200. Aftermarket stems were sold from August 2007 through September 2009 for about $30.

Easton and the CPSC are urging anyone who has purchased a product with these stems immediately cease use and contact any authorized Easton Sports dealer for a free replacement.  You can contact Easton Sports at 866-892-6059 or visit the website EastonBike.com

For more information on other recalls that may affect you, please visit these links:

• Maclaren Stroller Recall
• RECALL – Pacifiers May Come Apart And Be Swallowed
• RECALL – Daiso Issues Two Recalls On More Than 10 Different Children’s Toys
• RECALL – Targets Issues Recall and Pays $600,000 For Knowingly Violating Lead Paint Ban
• RECALL – ‘Wooden Bunk Beds’ Sold At Big Lots Stores May Collapse
• RECALL – O’Neill Hoodies Could Cause Strangulation
• RECALL – MAXI-COSI Child Safety Seats

“This is an infant, and they require 24-hour care,” Hughes said. “It was very, very stressful, just too much for me to deal with.” She runs a daycare center at home, and also takes care of her own mother and sister, who are ill, and another child with special needs. With no further involvement with the father, Hutchinson felt that she had no options in place, so refused to take her deployment flight. She was arrested and remains in Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, awaiting an investigation.

Kevin Larson, spokesman for Hunter Army Airfield, feels that Hutchinson was given misleading information. “If she would have come to the deployment terminal with her child, there’s no question she would not have been deployed,” he states.

This is a sad case of misinformation and fears run amuck. It will no doubt be resolved before too long, but one can imagine the desperation felt by Hutchinson as she faced her first deployment ever, with no one to take care of her only child. Never let it be said that the military is an organization that cares only for the blood and sweat of its troops; clearly, they value the bonds of parenthood as well.

We recently just got a Sonic restaurant in our town, though I’ve heard that these drive-in fast food chains are all the rage in the South.  Their commercials are funny and the gimmick is cute.  But are there healthy choices on their menu or just fried franchise favorites?

Makes Me Sick:  Frito’s Chili Pie

I’m glad that doesn’t even look good, because it packs a nauseating 940 calories and 64 grams of fat.  So not worth it.

Healthy Pick: Grilled Chicken Salad with Fat Free Italian

There really are some healthier choices on Sonic’s menu.  This salad has only 290 calories and 10 grams of fat.  Even Sonic’s Kids’ Meals, while heavy on fried food and light on veggies, clock in at between 200 and 380 calories.  As an added bonus, since you are eating in your car and not in the restaurant, you have less of a chance of contracting the H1N1 virus, which these days may just make up for that Frito’s Pie.

Most mom’s are teachers, lawyers, government workers or supermodels. Well, maybe not the last one. That is, unless, your mom is Heidi Klum. Then not only is your mom arguably the most famous model of the past two decades, but also the host of a hit reality show called “Project Runway.” Oh, and your dad is the singer Seal behind such classic songs as “Kiss From a Rose.”

Yeah, that certainly qualifies them as cool parents. Check out these photos to see what we mean.

My husband and I just recently had our third baby.  Once you have three kids it requires a little more of a lifestyle change.  For instance, to make room for the nursery, we had to give up our guest room.  And since our family could no longer fit comfortably in my cute little SUV we had to upgrade to something bigger.  When we bought my last car we had one child and he was about a year old.  I only had grown-up options on my mind–leather seats, seat warmers, power controls, moon roof.  I didn’t even consider that there might be some models that would make it easier to deal with my kids.  Mostly because it was still pretty easy to handle my single one-year-old.  Well, I learned a lot of lessons in that car.  Like a two-year-old likes to kick car doors open with no regard of how close they are to other cars.  And credit cards and coins slide easily into the CD player slot.  With my new found wisdom I was determined to get a family car that fit not only our family’s new size, but our lifestyle as well.  Here are some options that I found to make our backseat passengers a little more comfortable.

1. DVD player- This is kind of a duh! one.  But for good reason, it works.  You may be against inundating your child with television, but that little screen is still going to come in handy when you are stuck in traffic or taking long road trips.  If you make it a rule from the start that the DVD system is for special trips only, your kids will respect the boundary.
2. Backseat controls- Climate controls allow your kids to set their air at a different temperature than what is in the front;  A useful feature in our car since I am always much colder than everyone else.  Radio controls allow your older kids to plug in their headphones and listen to another station.  A useful feature when you don’t want to hear about how lame your listening choices are.
3. Sliding doors- As much as I hope and pray that they would put these on an SUV, for now they are only available on minivans.  Sliding doors are a lifesaver for anyone with small kids.  Not only do they keep your kids from banging into other cars, but they also give you a little extra space.  And as anyone who has tried to squeeze their baby out of a carseat while parked in an LA parking lot (i.e.: crowded with very small car spaces) can attest every little bit or space counts.  Sliding doors was the only pro on my list for buying a minivan, and we still almost bought one because I wanted this feature so badly.
4. Stowaway storage- When you are dealing with cars that have 7+ seats, there is a constant struggle between seating area and storage space.  The answer to this problem is stowaway storage.  Vehicles equipped with this option have large, covered storage bins underneath the feet of the middle row passengers.  This is a must have for big families who like to take road trips.
5. Leather seats- Most consumers want leather seats for the luxury.  Moms like leather seats for their wipeable surface.  With cloth seats and kids you have two options–wrap all of your seats with a protective cover or invest in a steam cleaner.  Even if you don’t allow food in the car, things happen.
6. Safety issues- Last, but certainly not least is safety features.  Check out crash test ratings.  Feel to see how flimsy the body is when you push on it.  One feature I wanted to be certain to get was OnStar.  In addition to all of its convenience (ie: directions, dinner reservations), OnStar can remotely unlock your car if you lock your keys in and they can call for help if you get in an accident.

I really hope you took my advice and caught the New England Patriots against the Indianapolis Colts football game Sunday night.  It was was a fantastic games by both teams but in the end Peyton Manning lead his Colts from 17 points down to the game-winning touchdown with only seconds left to keep his team undefeated.  Brady and Manning each showed why they are considered the top quarterbacks of the decade but this time Manning was superior.  Easily the best game of the season so far and a real treat to watch.

If you didn’t catch that game then it’s going to be a while before you see any good sports.  This week is pretty slow in the Memorable Games category but you never know what could happen.  Besides the games below (and even those were a struggle to come up with) there is not much worth watching sports-wise this week.  But that could be a good thing for families looking to go out to a game.

Tickets to games that are projected to be bad are usually pretty cheap and abundant.  Take the opportunity to take the family out for a fun night in an arena.  It doesn’t matter who’s playing because most likely your kids will remember the night for something completely unrelated to the actual game.  They’ll remember the funny dressed fan yelling in the stands or what happened during the ‘Kiss Cam’ part of the game.  The bottom line is that they will remember that part and remember that it was you who was there with them.

Top 3

1. NASCAR – Nov. 22 – Ford 400 – Homestead-Miami Speedway @ 3:30 pm

For the last few weeks I’ve been talking about how Jimmie Johnson would win and be the first driver to win four consecutive Sprint Cup Titles.  He slipped up a bit with a crash but that was just to keep us watching and wondering.  He pretty much solidified his title and the record with his win at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday.  The Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 win gave Jimmie a 108 point lead going into this last race of the year.  Without a doubt this will be a race for the record books and you can say you watched it and saw greatness.  Jimmie may be the best driver to ever race in NASCAR and watching this race will give you the opportunity to see a winner become a record breaker and go down in history.

2. MLS – Nov. 22 – Real Salt Lake & Los Angeles Galaxy - Qwest Field in Seattle @ TBD

I don’t know the game of soccer and I don’t really follow any of it until the World Cup comes around.  But a championship game in any sport is always worth watching because the intensity and finality of it all make the drama unlike anything else.  “Win or go home” never was more true than in a one game championship.  Real Salt Lake (pronounced ‘Ree-al’) and the Los Angeles Galaxy will meet to fight out who the best team in Major League Soccer is.  The Galaxy have the top two stars in the league with Landon Donovan and David Beckham who earlier this season seemed to be at odds with each other.  Will they be able to show that it meant nothing and that they can come together to be champions?  Or will Real Salt Lake continue being the successful underdog and go all the way?  Even though you may not understand it, watch and perhaps learn a little.  It is after all the most popular sport in the world.

3. NBA – Nov. 20 – Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics @ 8 pm

Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference meet in this playoff rematch.  Kevin Garnett and his Celtics will try and prove their dominance after not being at full strength last year and coming up short in the playoffs to Orlando.  Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic will try and prove  that they still are the best team in the Eastern Conference no matter who is healthy.  Dwight will show that Superman truly can beat a full dose of Celtic green.  These two powerhouse teams will battle it out from beginning to end and if you’re watching you will see what intensity means as Garnett shows his trademark passion on his sleeve and lets you know he is there to play for keeps.  Both teams will play physical basketball so look for a hard hitting game.

Quick Picks

• A good place to find cheap tickets to any sporting event is StubHub.com
• Chris Paul and his New Orleans Hornets have undergone some coaching changes recently.  See if the change help with the Hornets travel to Miami to take on Dwayne Wade and his Heat.  These gold medal winners are two of the most entertaining players in the NBA and they will put on a great show.

I know, I know, we are on “Fantastic Mr. Fox” overkill this weekend. We posted a review, a feature story featuring interviews and a behind the scenes video. But this movie – great for both kids and adults – is that good and as it opens in theaters (New York and LA today, in your city in the coming week) you need to see it out.

So, in that theme, we present the following video thanks to HitFix. Here you’ll see the director and co-director Wes Anderson act out scenes from the film. Wait, what? Let us explain.

1. Anderson wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach.
2. Actors recorded their parts on a real farm in New England.
3. Storyboards were drawn and put together detailing every single shot of the movie.
4. Anderson acted out many of these story boards as a reference for animators who were about to start the stop motion animation process
5. Stop motion animation

This video gives us a hint at step 4. The people who animated the character each subtle movement at a time watched these videos and it gave them an idea of how the director wanted each one to move.

If you kids are fans of this movie, they will be blown away by this video as it gives a unique an cool glimpse at the filmmaking process.

Enjoy!

Regardless of its actual origin, people continue to dread this day, going so far as to have developed a phobia known as triskaidekaphobia, or fear of the number 13. But it’s important to keep anxiety over this date in check, as once a groundless fear takes hold of one’s psyche, it’s very difficult to root out.

So if your child has developed some nervousness about Friday the 13th, spend some time with her going over what her expectations are, and why she thinks something bad might happen. A little gentle reassurance and sober reflection will help her understand that not only is this day just like every other, but that she has more power over her destiny than she might think. So many of life’s challenges are surmountable by the power of positive thought, but so many of us are predisposed to negativity, reinforced by the sensationalist media. We see and hear of so many tragedies that we expect bad things to happen to us, and it’s that very expectation that actually seems to draw bad things.

Help your child free herself from the expectation of disaster, and you will help create a force for good for society. We’re all connected in subtle and powerful ways, and its time we take back Friday the 13th and remove its fangs!

If only the father was Chandler Bing. Alas, Courtney Cox’s child, Coco Riley, has another famous father instead, David Arquette, and with parents like that, where can you go wrong?. First of all, those “Friends” royalty checks keep coming in. Second, when your mom is still considered a Cougar (see Courtney’s new show, “Cougar Town”) Coco has every reason to be proud. And dad MIGHT be returning to the “Scream” franchise, where he met mommy in the first place.

Check out these photos of Courtney Cox: one cool mom.

Witness the unbridled excitement as the pups race around, unable to contain their own energy, leaping and frolicking, throwing up clumsy paws to embrace men some of them haven’t seen in months. These are animals who have loved and been loved in return. Their emotions are palpable, and no less strong for being non-human. And if that weren’t enough, there’s a final clip at the end that will have you weeping openly.

What is it that makes a family? Is it mere biology? Is a family nothing more than people who are directly related to each other? Absolutely not. A family is made up of the people who have taught each other, stuck with each other, helped each other, and in the end, chosen to give their love to each other, regardless of age, race, and in this case, even species. Distance cannot break these ties, nor can time. If you have a loved one committing service for our country, keep the home fires burning for them. If you are a soldier doing your duty, remember those waiting at home for you. It’s family that makes this country strong.

Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World

The mother shark, who was also holding four other babies, was treated and stitched, and is under observation. The baby sharks were immediately removed from the tank to prevent further harm from occurring to them, and all are doing well.

This event underscores the tough and resilient aspect of nature. This is akin in some ways to reports of women giving birth in freezing atmospheres, during fierce storms, while having sustained terrible wounds themselves, etc. Human beings are similarly adaptable, and much stronger than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. This is something we can absolutely transmit to our children — the idea that we are tougher than we think. Take your kids on a long hike, then push it a little farther next time. They may complain that they can’t do it, but later reflection will prove to them otherwise. It’s all a matter of the proper mental attitude — if a shark can survive having a hole bitten into its side, surely we can do better!

When you are a stay-at-home mom your days can get a little…well, boring.  There is little adventure aside from finding the occasional action figure in the toilet or latest artwork on the wall.  When I find myself getting excited to see the mail truck drive by, I know it is time to get out of the house.  One of my favorite websites for finding fun things to do with the kids is www.gocitykids.com

Now part of Nickolodeon’s Parents Connect Web site, GoCityKids gives you a calendar of events for any major city you choose.  You can search a day on the calendar and it will show you virtually every kid-related event going on in your neighborhood.  You can also search by category.  For instance, I just finished doing a search for holiday events in the month of December.  Other categories include concerts, museum exhibits, storytimes, workshops, farmer’s markets and much more.

It is one of my favorite tools for planning our family vacations because not only can I find fun events, but I can also find things like kid-friendly hotels and restaurants and even certified child care if we want a night alone.  Complete with website links and parents’ reviews GoCityKids will help you find the perfect activity for your next family outing.

“Crystal’s Soapbox,” published each Thursday, is a column by conservative Texas mom Crystal Arcand who loves to rant about issues that relate to her kids….and yours.

As I’ve mentioned in my Twitter stream since the beginning of the school year, I hate school buses. The bus drivers in our school district drive like they own the road and everyone should get out of their way before they get run over. Seeing the news, apparently this attitude is common to quite a portion of bus drivers, whether it’s a school bus or public transit. I fail to understand why being a bus driver means you have free rein to be a jerk.

I have seen grown men and women in very large, very heavy vehicles full of children cut people off, lay on their horns, run stop signs, and block traffic arbitrarily. Most recently, I watched as the driver of a bus full of children pushed through school traffic, forcing cars that were in line to pick up their kids to scramble to the curb to keep from being hit. These aren’t kids learning how to drive. These aren’t centenarians who should have stopped driving a couple of decades ago. These are adults who have plenty of driving practice and must be trained and licensed to drive large vehicles. Why? Because those suckers are dangerous and can cause a lot of damage! There are no seat belts for the passengers, not to mention the people around the bus – dozens of people could be hurt or even killed by one act of driving arrogance, like cutting people off or texting snide comments about passengers to Facebook.

Besides the obvious danger (and most likely illegality) of these behaviors, do these people not realize that children are watching them and learning from them? The youngest are learning to be thoughtless and inconsiderate of others, while the older students are learning how to be the worst of drivers. What I find even more disturbing is that when these issues are mentioned, other parents just sigh and say, “What are you going to do? They’re bigger than you.”

Hello??? Can we say bullying?

Parents – stand up to bullies – whether they are in the school or in the school bus driver’s seat! And if you know of a great bus driver, please tell us about it and restore some of our faith in those that care for our children!

It’s been almost six months since President Obama called on American dads to “step up” in his Father’s Day speech. Back in June, there was a lot of excitement about this new emphasis on fatherhood…. But how are we doing now?

Volumes of studies show that having an involved father leads kids to healthier relationships, better grades, and lower delinquency. You don’t have to be perfect to be a great father … you just have to try. Here are three easy things anyone can do today:

1. Ask your kids questions. Start a conversation and then listen to their answers! Ask how their day went, what TV shows they like, what’s new with their friends. Keep it casual and short, and don’t grill them like a police investigator. Even if they act like you’re a weirdo (especially teenagers), just knowing their dad is interested in their life can make a kid feel secure and confident. Most importantly, if they know they can talk to you about little things, they’ll be more likely to come to you later with the big questions. Small conversations every day will pay HUGE dividends over the years.
2. Let your kids get to know YOU. Kids can forget that parents are humans, especially if every family conversation revolves around the kids. So remind them that you’re an interesting person by talking about what you like, what you don’t like, and how you felt about your day. It’s especially powerful if you talk about your feelings or admit a mistake, because they’ll see that their feelings and struggles are normal. Your kids will love the sense of equality this gives them, and it may help them better understand and respect your point of view.
3. Pay real compliments. All kids are dying for their parents’ approval, and dads are usually stingier with praise than moms. Say something nice to your child today….. but make it real, because even little kids can see straight through a phony compliment. An exaggerated compliment like, “You’re the best kid in the world!” means a lot less to a child than something concrete like, “This is a nice improvement on your math test! All that studying paid off!”

I got up to the counter, plopped down my loot, and started to punch in my savings number.  The girl ringing me up, who looked about 16 years old and could not be more unhappy to be there, grumpily asked for my ID.  I obliged without really thinking about it, handed her my expired ID with a hole punched in it and the temporary paper copy the DMV gave me until my new hard copy comes in the mail.

“I can’t take this.  It’s expired.”

“I know, that’s why I’m giving you my paper one- they are valid together.”

“Really?”

“Really.  Why are you carding me anyway?”

“The Theraflu.  It’s ‘day-time.’  Kids use it to get high.  Well, you can get high off the night-time, too, but it’s a different kind of high.”

Damn, I felt old.  I just turned 23 and already I’m not down with the current household methods of getting wasted.

“I did not know that.”

She perked up immediately, seemingly excited to talk about something she probably knew all too much about, as she continued to check me out.

“Oh, yeah! Just like cough syrup.  We totally have to card for duct tape, too, cause you can scrape off the silver coating and snort it to get high- or smoke it.  Same with cinnamon.  And then of course, spray paint, nail polish remover, paint thinner- that kind of stuff- cause you can huff it.”

Cinnamon? You learn something new everyday.

So, apparently, if you have these things on your grocery list, the checkers at the grocery store think you are a broke drug addict, or buying it for some kid in the alley out back.

Gone are the days of worrying about your child smoking a little pot, or stealing some of your prescription meds out of the bathroom cupboard to get high.  We now have to lock the kitchen and the garage up tight, to keep our kids from ingesting anything they can get their hands on in search of a buzz.

But, boy, was she right- I drank the Theraflu and felt like I could fly.  As I laid there on my living room floor, spinning, I thought of what adventurous hoodlum was the first one to say to his friends, “Hey, lets scrape and smoke this duct tape, just to see what happens!”

Never fear, I’ve got a solution for bored kids and abundant candy:  Candy Mosaics!

Materials:

• Heavy white paper or poster board
• Glue
• Candy (anything but Reese’s, which you’ve already eaten anyway)

Separate the candy into piles or small bowls by color.  Help your child think of an idea of what to create.  For younger children, assist them by making small dots of glue in the shape of a design on their page.  Then, allow them to place the candy on the paper.

Remind your kids that it’s okay to eat a few pieces of candy with your permission BEFORE they have glued them to the paper, but afterwards, they are inedible.

Jude Law is one of those guys that girls want to be with and guys want to be around. And he’s with a lot of girls, apparently, as he now has four children including a new one with actress Samantha Burke. He’s currently on Broadway as “Hamlet” and will soon be starring in a mega budget version of “Sherlock Holmes.”

Yeah, Jude Law is pretty cool. And he’s a good dad. Check out these photos.