Little Girls Love Hats

We have just added this handknit hat and scarf to our websites and will be adding other styles and sizes soon. If you are looking for a baby shower gift or newborn gift this set is a great solution to either of those needs. You may need something to keep your own baby's head and neck safe from cold air so this set will fill the bill nicely.

Visit our websites at http://www.malcolmfortots.com and http://www.malcolmfortots.etsy.com

I Did Not Vote For Meanness, Vulgarity, Stupidity and Trash Talk. Did You?

More and more I am less and less pleased or impressed with the veritable garbage dump that the Internet has spawned in terms of people leaving comments on websites, in forums, and in chat rooms, etc. When did it become okay to spout vulgar insults at strangers? When did it beome okay to pepper every blurb with profanity? When did it become a badge of toughness to see how many times the "F" word can be used in a sentence? Who decided and when that it is unnecessary to respect other peoples' rights to their own opinions regardless of how much they differ from one's own ideas? When did we become a nation of self-appointed experts droning endlessly on and on about topics for which no research or fact-finding has been done? Who decided that it is okay to make pronouncements as if they are indeed the Gospel truth when in fact they are either half-truths or blatant lies? Who ? Who voted to change from professional, polite, intelligent, sophisticated conversation to rudeness, interrupting, talking over other people, never listening or allowing audience members to listen, and that mass stupidity would be on display for the entire world to see? There are millions of children in this world and in our country, and we are raising them in what is looking and sounding more and more like the City Dump. I did NOT vote for these changes, and in truth I don't know anyone who did. SO HOW HAVE WE ALLOWED THIS TO BECOME THE NORM? WHY ARE WE TOLERATING IT? IS THIS HOW WE WANT OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO BEHAVE AS CHILDREN OR AS ADULTS? I for one say, "No, no, a thousand times no!"

Other Blogs To Enjoy

Are you interested in fashion, hair, make-up, interior design, style, or food? Then I encourage you to become a follower of www.brunchatsaks.blogspot.com The young woman who produces this blog writes well, provides great photos, and has amassed quite a following and deservedly so. I find it always adds to my enjoyment of a day when I take a look at her blog and latest topic. My prediction is that she is going to have a stellar career.

Mondays! Are They Beginnings or Endings?

September always feels like the beginning of the new year to me (I guess it relates to the start of many new school years). It is the time when I want to get organized and regain structure and routine to overcome the chaos and messiness that somehow crept into life during the lazy days of summer. I feel the same way about Mondays. I never think that Sunday is the first day of the week, but rather Monday. Mondays are when life gets back to normal, schedules exist, schools are in session, appointments are made and kept, and routine household chores are repeated. There are feelings of stability and security that can accompany structure and routine when so many facets of the world in which we live seem to be spinning out of control. Fresh, blank calendar pages quickly become filled with both the mundane and exciting events of our lives. Work weeks generally begin on Mondays, and most of us look forward to Friday nights to start two-day weekends. If I think of Sundays as the beginnings of each new week, then somehow I feel deprived of weekend time. I also like to have Sunday as the end of my week so I can attend church and make my apologies and attempt to wipe the slate clean of that week's mistakes and misdeeds. Then on Mondays I feel as if I have a new opportunity to try to be a better person, to be more organized, to accomplish more, and then to the reward of another glorious two-day weekend. Am I fooling myself? Perhaps. Does it work? You bet it does!

What's For Dinner? Shrimp & Spinach Casserole, Of Course!

When you have had a busy day, a fussy baby, or a cranky toddler the thought of having to cook dinner can be overwhelming. To ease that pain I am going to share with you a very simple but delicious recipe made with ingredients that you can keep on hand in your refrigerator and freezer. I first enjoyed this Shrimp & Spinach Casserole in l989 at a beach-front home in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. I asked the hostess for her recipe which she generously shared, but I have no idea where it originated. Shrimp & Spinach Casserole:Serves 4 - 6.Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 1/2 pound shrimp, cleaned, deveined and cut into pieces. 1 package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed. 1 cup sharp American Cheese, shredded. 1/2 cup finely cut green onions including green tops. 2 cups milk. 2 eggs slightly beaten. 1/2 teaspoon Thyme. Clean and cut shrimp into bite-size pieces. Combine eggs and milk. Press all the water out of the spinach. Combine spinach with the remaining ingredients. Pour into a shallow baking dish which has been lightly sprayed with PAM and bake 45 minutes or until firm. With some crusty bread and a salad you will serve a great meal. Enjoy!

Other Books Your Children Will Love If You Read To Them

A postscript to yesterday's blog post: I meant to mention that I also read to my children two books by Roald Dahl. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and James and The Giant Peach became two of their favorites. I was surprised at the lengths of their attention spans since the children were 2, 4 and 6 years old. They each had their favorite parts and characters in the books, but they all loved the stories and the time we spent together reading them. (My apologies for all the italics, but for some reason I am unable to change them).

When To Read Books Rather Than Stories To Your Children

Initially, start out reading a short story or just telling a familiar story (like The Three Bears ) to your babies and toddlers. They have short attention spans but will respond to the pictures, the inflections in your voice, and certain words as they ask you to read or tell again and again the same story. Toddlers are very smart so if you try to skip a page or change words in the interest of time (getting them to sleep faster, for example), they will call you on it after they are familiar with the story. They will also know when you have read the words that mean it is time to turn the page. Children are just short people and much smarter than adults sometimes expect them to be at such early ages. When you tire of reading the Little Golden Book variety of stories, then read a book consisting of a number of chapters. When I had 2, 4, and 6 year-old children it was not always easy to find a short story that appealed to all of them. I decided to read Dr. Doolittle to them, and we did it night after night, chapter by chapter. The book is much, much better than any film version They remembered where each chapter stopped, and they would beg for another chapter when the one for the evening had been read. Even the two-year old would sit and listen as raptly as the older children did. When we had completed Dr. Doolittle we went on to The Bobbsey Twins which was a good choice because the key characters are both boys and girls and two different age groups. The author made the stories appealing to little ones as well as children already in elementary school. There is an entire series of Bobbsey Twin books, and we read through all of them. Not only did these reading sessions foster a love of books in my children, but also gave them a nightly ritual which made bedtime pleasant. Require baths taken, teeth brushed, and pajamas on before reading to them. Asking for promises to go right to sleep after the chapter for the night is read makes for peaceful evenings, regular bedtimes, and first understandings of what a promise is. If you start out reading or saying nursery rhymes to a baby (even as young as 4 or 5 months old) he or she will be soothed by the cadence of your voice. If you are reading from a book a baby will actually be attracted by the colors of the pictures. Being read to from early on can help a child learn to talk and sometimes when you least expect it. You may reach a certain page of a familiar story, and a little child will suddenly repeat a word after you which makes for a very special and memorable moment. As children grow up they will remember the books you read together, and if reading is something they enjoy they will be more successful in school since reading is the basis for every subject they will be taught. Time flies and before you know it children are in school, and you will have wonderful memories to last a lifetime if you regularly read to them.