If you’re from one of the other 49, less sunshiny states, you may be wondering why I’d send him to Tallahassee. That’s our state capitol. That’s where you go if you want to learn about Florida’s government.  If you’re from Florida, you still may wonder why I’d send him to Tallahassee, but for different reasons.

The other question you may be asking is: why would you subject your son to see how our government works.  Two things you do not want to know how they’re made: laws and sausage (Mmmmmm…. sausage).

The program is called TeenPact, and it is all about teaching the next generation of leaders to view public policy from a Biblical world view.  The teen program is a four-day intensive deal in the capitol.  The junior version for 8-12 year olds is just one day.  There’s only so much law making a young mind can stand, I guess.

Kids should know more about their government than I did when I was a lad.  I want my children to be aware and well-rounded.  The more options they are exposed to, the better suited they’ll be to choose the right career when the time comes (and it comes sooner than you think).

So off to Tally we go, to check out a career in public policy.  Love it or hate it, at least he’ll have a story to tell and a new breadth of experience.  That alone is worth the trip.

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1. In a medium-sized bowl, beat 3 eggs and an “eggs-worth” of milk (I use 2%) until the mixture is relatively even and a little bit frothy.
2. Cut up whatever extras you want on the inside of your omelet (I like tomatoes and ham) and allow them to simmer in a smaller frying pan.
3. After adding butter to prevent the omelet from sticking, pour the egg mixture into a frying pan that is large enough to let the mixture create a layer no thicker than a centimeter. Allow it to fry until most of the egg mixture has cooked through, except perhaps a thin layer on top.
4. Flip it over! Wait until there is no longer any uncooked egg mixture left over.
5. Turn off the heat. Now’s the time add the “filling” on top of one side of the omelet, add cheese if you’d like, and fold the uncovered half over this one. Salt and pepper as needed, and enjoy!

I like making omelets, because you can add a variety of “fillings” depending on your taste or what’s available in the house. Of all the meals I cook, I enjoy my omelets the most; they are easy to make and taste great!

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On the plus side, it isn’t all that expensive.  The starter kits clock in at under $20 at my local Wal-Mart.  Checkmark for affordability.  It also got a checkmark for not being a video game or DVD.  Anything that doesn’t involve staring at the TV set gets an automatic bonus point on the pro side.

On the negative side, it looked like it would make a real mess.  I decided to hold my ground against the Aqua Sand, thinking he’d forget it quickly.  Too bad his grandparents didn’t get that memo.  He is now the proud owner of an Aqua Sand set.

The gist of the toy is that you can build underwater sand sculptures.  The commercials promised that the sand would dry instantly upon removal from the water, which I was far too sophisticated a consumer to believe.  Turns out that their claims are 100% true.  I don’t know how it works, but the water beads off the second that you remove the sand.

That doesn’t make the clean-up quick, but it is pretty neat to marvel at.  My son had fun playing with the Aqua Sand for a while, but I think the clean-up took longer than the total play time.  And the clean-up is definitely a job for an adult.  You have to scoop out the sand one little sifter-full at a time and pour it back into the bottles via a tiny funnel.

The set came with a bottle of pink sand and a bottle of purple sand.  That didn’t last long.  Since the sands coalesce in the water and there is no practical way to re-separate them, we’re left with two bottles of pink & purple sand.

Final analysis – not as messy as I thought it would be, not as fun as he thought it would be.

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Now with that newsflash out of the way, let us get to the root.  I always thought that my self-discipline and desire to strive for excellence would be the key to parenthood.  I am a very patient person who will persevere until I get where I want to be.  However, my four-month-old daughter has turned me into her whipping post numerous times.

My wife is a career woman, and we are both sold on the benefits of breastfeeding.  She feeds her when she is home and then pumps when she is not.  We give her that milk in a bottle when she is working.  Therefore, it is important to keep our daughter on a schedule to ensure the pumping and feeding times are very close.  Camryn sometimes disagrees.

Her sleeping habits are hit and miss.  Five days out of the week, she is right on the money and the other two…not so much.  No matter how hard we try to get her to sleep, she will wake up the second her head touches the crib.  Then other days we just lay her down, and she puts herself to sleep.

At first, I was frustrated.  I am not one to give up easily.  Then it dawned on me, she is a person.  I can impose my will and try to force her to succumb to my desires, but she has the last word.  There is no way to force her to sleep or eat.

I smile because when she is older, I will get my revenge.  I already have the spaghetti string tank top and biker short outfit purchased to greet her friends at the door.  Until then, we, as parents, have to take a deep cleansing breath and realize we have very little control.

Some children fall right into a schedule, and others are stronger willed.  Don’t feel as if you are a failure, we can’t win every battle.

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• First of all, course selection does not mean you get to pick fun classes only.  You have to balance classes, as you still have to take classes like English and art.  There is no option of skipping a class or two.  At the same time, you do get some fun classes to select, especially later on (junior and senior years).
• You should start taking care of classes as soon  as possible.  For example, I hate art and music, but I have to finish at least one credit to graduate, so I chose my classes so I will finish one half credit of it this year.  Getting it out of the way gives you more options for your later years.
• If they are at all available, and you are capable, take honors courses.  They may be a bit faster paced and trickier, but they put you on a better track.  One honors class tends to lead to another, provided you pass.  These classes look better to colleges and on resumes, too.
• Don’t pick your your classes too ambitiously, as they can overwhelm you.  For example, I could have chosen Algebra II instead of my study, but I chose to keep my study so I wouldn’t be flooded with homework.  This is very true for freshmen, as we are new to the whole high school thing and are less prepared.  Later on, if you want to, feel free, but at first, I would avoid it.  Also, don’t focus too much on stuff like being valedictorian, as that will overwhelm you also.  Classes shouldn’t be rushed or overdone.

Now that you have my tips, do what you think is best, but keep these in mind…

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Today’s product review is a joint article, crafted by my twelve year old daughter (Sam) and me.

Michele: When my husband and I decided to purchase iPod Nanos as Christmas gifts, I thought our children would like them.  As a fan of music, I thought it would be a great way for them to listen to a wide variety of songs.

Sam: When I got my iPod Nano, I was very excited.  With Nanos coming in such a wide variety of colors, all of the kids in the family were pleased with the colors they got.  (Mine is pink.)  Once I received it, I started planning all of the songs I would buy. . .and anything else.

Michele: As I don’t have any tv shows or movies on my iPod, it didn’t occur to me that the kids would want to add them to theirs.  No, I don’t live in the dark ages, I just tend to think of my iPod as a music delivery system.  So, when I realized that the kids would want video on theirs, I was concerned that they would spend too much time becoming glassy-eyed watching shows.

Sam: I did get tv shows and movies, but I only keep a few on it at a time.  For one, it can hold only so many.  Also, I didn’t want it to be only movies and tv shows.

Michele: Of course, when they first got their iPods, they seemed to want to watch shows and movies more than listen to music, but as the novelty wore off, I realized my concerns were unfounded.  Most of the time the kids prefer to listen to music on their iPods.

Sam: Personally, I believe that Nanos (or any type of iPod besides an iTouch) are good for tweens.  The thing I don’t like about the iTouch is it has Internet access, and when most kids get it, they fill it up with games.  They spend all of their time gaming on it.  However, with other iPods, there is a more limited memory, so kids can’t fill it up and be gaming on it 24/7.

The best thing about the Nano is that on long car rides or the bus ride to school you aren’t completely bored.  You can listen to music or watch a tv show.  On the bus, depending on who’s on your bus, your kids won’t be influenced by bad language because they’re listening to their iPods.

Michele: For our kids, purchasing Nanos was a good choice.  They provide lots of entertainment.  Quite often I will find the kids daydreaming while listening to music on their iPods.  Also, as it can be hard to find just the right gift for tweens, a gift card for iTunes makes a one size fits all gift.

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There are some distinct advantages to the passing of such parties.  I no longer have to spend countless hours creating these crafts and games, shopping for the materials, and finding just the right party favors.  There is a lot less hands-on time required during the parties also.

However, as my now 12 year old daughter and I began planning her birthday party, I realized that a lack of crafts and games equals a lot of free time for this group.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re all good kids, but with them arriving at 4:00 and staying until the next morning at 11:00, having nothing scheduled seemed to be not that great of a plan.   After mulling different options, we decided on bowling and pizza.

Having hosted this party, I have a few pointers for other parents:

• Plan some event or activity for the party.
• Be a participant, albeit a quiet one.  Hanging out with the girls while they bowled and ate pizza, I was able to learn a lot about them.
• Give them a little space. For example, once they are settled in bed, don’t try to set a “go to sleep” time.
• But give them rules.  As long as the girls were quiet and in their room, they could stay awake as late as they wanted.
• Have set drop-off and pick-up times, so the party doesn’t become a lengthier event than you planned.
• Involve the birthday child in decisions, such as the activity, the menu, the schedule.
• Make the party a lesson in budgeting.  Just because your child gets to help choose the activity doesn’t mean that he/she gets whatever is requested.  Explain how much you are willing to spend, and have him/her work with you to make it happen.

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#1 – Decide how involved you want to be. Most of us have jobs. Many have more than one child to keep track of. You may have commitments at your church or civic organization. There are only a handful of parents who are going to make PTO their main thing. If you’re one of them, go for it. If not, back off and let the diehards run the show.

#2 – Pick your battles. Some things are worth fighting for, some aren’t. If the PTO elite want to do a rainbows and unicorns float in the local parade, remember rule #1. If you aren’t willing or able to step up and be one of the chief architects, then sit back and go with the flow.

#3 – Do your homework before the meeting. The PTO meetings are not meant for discussion. This is where the PTO brain trust lets you in on their plans for the future of the school and offers you a chance to get on board with specific projects. Don’t think that this is the time or place to ask a lot of detailed questions or to try to change the collective mind of the board.

#4 – Remember that this is all about the children. Your preferences don’t matter. Your ego doesn’t matter. You had your chance to have your say back at point #1. It isn’t too late, if you want to go all in and join the board, do so right after the meeting. At any point in time, there is some overcommitted parent who wants nothing more than to give you some of their responsibilities.

So that’s it. The PTO meetings aren’t fun, but they’re only a couple of times a year. You can do it.

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For less than $30, the Prince Lionheart warmer is a high quality addition to any nursery.  Its purpose is self-explanatory.  Why do you want your wipes warmed?  Some books and experts suggest that cold wipes for those midnight diaper changes wake your baby up more.  From personal experience, this is not the case.

The next reason is for comfort and convenience.  A nice warm wipe on the bum would be much more refreshing than a cold one.  So for this reason, I am willing to sign off on the purchase.

One great thing about this warmer is that the heating pad also helps to keep the wipes moist.  The Pampers container allows the wipes to dry out after some time.  The warming pad is soaked before going into the warmer and the moisture transfers to the wipes.

A final bonus is the night-lite feature.  The Lionheart logo gives off a soft blue light to illuminate the nursery.  Diaper changes become much easier when you can see without turning on a light.  No one wants to wake their baby up even more and create a longer process to get the little one back to sleep.  This light is just enough to see and deliver the warm tooshie wipe.

Even though, this warmer is not something that you need and you easily could get by without it, it is a good buy.  Those in the market for a quality warmer will love this particular one.

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My nine year old son has absolutely no reason to own a cellphone.  He doesn’t go anywhere without us.  But he begged and pleaded for six months, and we finally relented and got him a Virefly for his birthday this year.

I have a password for his phone that he does not know, which can be used to program numbers into the phone.  He can dial only those pre-programmed numbers.  The phone has two large buttons on the front, one pre-programmed to call mom and the other to call me.  Then there are a handful of other numbers (my office, grandma and grandpa, etc.) that he can choose from a menu.  Without the passcode he cannot dial any other numbers.

There are a variety of plans to choose from, all of which are relatively inexpensive.  We chose $10 a month for 25 minutes, which should be more than enough.  The service has been reliable and clear everywhere we’ve used the phone.

The phone itself comes in two varieties: glowPhone and flyPhone.  GlowPhone has all the functions that a kid could need (but not all the functions that a kid could want), including customizable ring tones and games.  We went for this low option, on the promise that if he could show us that he could go a year without breaking or losing his phone we could discuss an upgrade.

The flyPhone is a full multi-media phone with a camera and a color screen.  This is a full function phone with enough features to make many adults jealous.  Grown-up features and functionality come with a grown-up price tag, and the flyPhone clocks in at $99.

A Firefly phone is a good tool for kids wanting a taste of adulthood and responsibility before they’re really ready.  One note from personal experience: the Firefly cannot survive a trip through the washer and dryer.

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