You probably did know that.

I, however, for some reason, did not realize this until recently.

When I found out that my friend Laura, who blogs at Wife and Mom Under Construction, makes a blog book every year with that year’s posts, I had to find out more. She pointed me to Blog2Print (I think it was that one), but since I blog on WordPress.org rather than WordPress.com, I couldn’t print mine that way.

So, after some digging around, I decided on Lulu for my blog books. So far, I’ve got 2008 and 2009 done and I’m really happy with them. Lulu sends you a $25 off coupon good toward your first printing, so my 2008 book was practically free (I just had to pay a few dollars shipping) and my 2009 book, which was 185 pages, was nearly half price. They’re not cheap, but as family keepsakes, they’re totally worth it.

If you haven’t done this with your blog, you should really check it out. It’s so worth the time and effort to have it in print for posterity. Plus, you get a PDF version for free on Lulu, and probably the other print sites as well.

Not that anyone would want to buy it necessarily, other than maybe family, but on Lulu, you can also sell both print and E-book versions, which is pretty cool.

Here are my PDF versions:

2008

2009

I will be working on 2010 and 2011 this winter.

So, I need advice from the nail biters among you. Cody has been biting his nails since he was a tiny thing. They now look like this:

The nails are just about halfway gone and yet, he continues to bite them! We’ve had discussions about the necessity of him stopping, or he won’t have any nails left, but he still does it. When I see him biting, I remind him to stop, but my guess it that a lot of this goes on, without him even being aware, during school. Short of forcing him to wear gloves all day (I’m sure that wouldn’t create cause for ridicule by his classmates at all) or soaking his fingertips in vinegar (he hates the smell), what can I do? Will he chew away everything that’s left if given enough time?

Any advice, thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated!

You see, this particular holiday season has found me far, far down, where the sun just don’t shine. Normally, I adore Christmas and everything it brings, means and stands for, but this year was terribly difficult for a variety of reasons. I’m coming through the darkness onto the other side, finally; to my usual optimism and innate ability to thoroughly enjoy my morning cup of coffee, a beautiful, sunny day and listening to my kids’ chatter.

I don’t know when or why I stopped writing when I am unwillingly visiting The Dark Side (my term for clinical depression). As a tween and teenager, I filled journals with angsty prose, but as an adult, I’ve tended to avoid writing during these trips. Maybe it’s because I’m afraid of what will come out. After all, like so many other writers, my hand seems to have a stronger connection to my emotions than my brain does. It can be pretty scary to not realize quite how you feel about something until you write about it.

Then too, there’s the guilt over knowing that in the whole scheme of things, whatever I am going through is nothing, NOTHING, compared to what other people in my life are. This knowledge makes me go inside myself even deeper, because I have no room to complain. I just don’t. I have blessings galore, more than I can even name or realize, and I should be deeply grateful for each and every one of them. And under normal circumstances, I usually am.

But that’s what depression does. It lies to you. It thunks you over the head with despair and self-pity, and when you feel ashamed and guilty for being forced to indulge yourself in it, it lays you out flat with more. It’s ruthless, searing, yet at the same time, incredibly dulling. You go through periods of sharp, spiky emotional pain and others of feeling like someone ripped everything that makes you YOU away. There’s no joy, only brief periods of pseudo-happiness that barely touch the surface.

Thankfully, I haven’t taken a journey to The Dark Side for quite a few years and I’m beyond grateful that the trip is at an end. Depression isn’t something I’m proud of, but it’s something I struggle with from time to time, just like other people deal with diabetes or an overactive thyroid. That many people don’t understand it as an illness, even in this age, is sad and terribly uneducated.

Depression doesn’t define me, but it is a part of who I am. I’d like to think that it has made me a more empathetic person, as well as a stronger person. It has certainly forced me, at times, to work harder than most people have to in order to accomplish the bare minimum.

Here’s to a long, long vacation from The Dark Side, and a light-filled, productive and peaceful 2012 for us all.

Do you struggle with depression? How do you deal with it (medication, therapy, exercise, etc.)? How does it affect your family?

No comment on the misspelled last name.(He and I have been over it many times.)

As I began reading the writing journal, which contains tiny gems in both pictures and phonetically-spelled words, I said, “Awwwwwww…” out loud when I got to this one:

My translation: The most important manners is always be kind. Being kind is nice. It is fun too. I like being kind.

What elicited the “Awwwwww…” from me was the picture, in which Logan drew himself opening a door for other people and saying, “Ladies go first.”

“What?” said Logan, who was sitting across from me, doing his homework and heard my sigh.

“That’s so gentlemanly of you,” I said, showing him the picture.

“Aw, Mom, you’re making me dashful,” he said.

“Dashful?” I echoed.

“Yeah, you know, when you’re embarrassed? You’re dashful,” he explained.

“Oh, you mean BASHFUL,” I corrected.

“Yeah, DASHFUL,” he nodded.

I gave it a whirl too and here are my thoughts:

PROS:

• The Tag Reader is really quite an intuitive little toy. I don’t know how it does everything it does, but it’s very impressive. I’ve heard many other parents and teachers make this comment as well.
• The Solar System board has plenty of activities, including games, information and answers to common questions, such as, “How do we know if there is life on other planets?”
• One of the games has an option for two players, which is nice for siblings or even for a parent to play with the child.
• Kids can learn many interesting facts about temperature, distance from the sun, how long a year is and various other info about each planet.

CONS:

• I’ve never heard any complaints from Logan, but I found the speaking to be loud and semi-obnoxious, in the same way that Dora or other child-targeted voices are. I think that’s just an adult’s perspective though.
• I don’t know if this is a “con” for sure, but I thought the pronunciation of “Uranus” was interesting. I think most parents have learned it as “Your-anus,” whereas the game (and maybe schools too, for all I know) pronounces it “Urine-us.” Either way has its chuckle-inducing connotations, so I guess it doesn’t matter too much.

OVERALL:

Totally recommend both the Tag Reader, which has been shown to be very successful in Kindergarten classrooms, and the new Solar System Adventure Pack. I learned many new facts about the planets and solar system. LeapFrog always makes learning fun, which is why they are so successful.

And now for the good stuff — the giveaway!

THE PRIZE:

A Tag Reader with Solar System Adventure Pack. This bundle is retail priced at $64!

TO ENTER:

♣  Leave a comment on my blog. Limit one comment per person, per day.

WANT BONUS ENTRIES?

♣ “Like” LeapFrog’s Facebook page. Leave a comment telling me you did it, as well as your Facebook profile name.

♣  Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email, then leave a comment letting me know.

♣  Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with the link. (You can do this daily.) Optional phrasing for your Tweet: I’m entered to win a Tag Reader & Solar System Pack from @MomofTwinsPlus2. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/6m96bhp.

♣  Post on your blog with a link about the giveaway and leave a comment with a link to your post.

♣  Follow my blog on Networked Blogs and leave a comment letting me know.

♣  “Like” my Facebook page, Parenting By Trial and Error, and leave a comment letting me know.

PLEASE READ: Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, Saturday, November 19, 2011. Any comments left after this time will be deleted. Open to residents of the U.S. only. The winner will be chosen by using random.org. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no response, another winner will be chosen.

GOOD LUCK!

Have you entered my LeapPad giveaway? Click here to enter!

REVIEWS:

Pet Pals 2: My boys absolutely love this game (even my 9-year-old) and have squabbled over who gets to play it countless times. Similar to Webkinz in its game play, kids adopt a puppy, feed and water it, play with it and earn Puppy Points, which they can use to buy items for their pets.

Here’s LeapFrog’s description:

Explore emotions and responsibility as you adopt and take care of your very own puppy!
• Cartridge game works with the Leapster Explorer™ and LeapPad™ Explorer systems (sold separately).
• Give your furry friend treats, toys and teach it tricks.
• Use mathematics skills to win the dog show.
• Explore a town full of fun surprises.
• Teaches emotions, responsibility, numbers, counting, addition and subtraction. Appropriate for children ages 4 to 7 years (grades pre-K to 1).

Pixar Pals: This game is completely different from Pet Pals. Kids have to solve puzzles and use logic to move through the levels and earn prizes and badges. Moving around seems to be similar to Mario. Logan really enjoys this one, especially because he loves the characters (Nemo, Dory, Woody, Buzz, Wall-E and Eve). Even though this game is for the same age range as Pet Pals 2, Cody doesn’t like Pixar Pals as well as Pet Pals 2, but he’s technically too old to play either. =)

Here’s LeapFrog’s description:

Complete science and logic challenges, solve puzzles, unlock mini-games and more with WALL-E and EVE, Nemo and Dory or Woody and Buzz!
• Cartridge game works with the Leapster Explorer™ and LeapPad Explorer™ systems (sold separately).
• Sort trash and recycling with WALL-E.
• Use logic skills to help Woody and Buzz.
• Explore Dory’s ocean habitat and help find her friends.
• Appropriate for children ages 4 to 7 years (grades pre-K to 1).

LeapSchool Reading: This game is bordering on being too young for Logan, who is in 2nd grade, but since his reading skills are fairly average for a 2nd grader, he still enjoys it. The spelling part is especially good for him, as he tends to spell his words phonetically rather than the way they are actually spelled.

LeapFrog’s description:

Meet the kids from the coolest school in the world in this fun reading adventure!
• Complete quests and treasure hunts while building reading skills in 26 games.
• Guide characters to the word with the correct spelling.
• Help each of your friends build a yearbook page.
• Teaches early reading skills, spelling and logic skills. Appropriate for children ages 4 to 7 years (grades pre-K to 1).
• Cartridge game works with Leapster Explorer™ and LeapPad Explorer™ (systems sold separately)

My boys, ages 9 and 7, have adored every LeapFrog toy they’ve had, from their sisters’ cast-off original LeapPads (a far different species than this latest creation) to their Leapsters, Leapster 2s, Tag Readers, and Leapster Explorers. We watched a preview of the LeapPad Explorer before it came out. After that, they were so excited to get it, they asked me every day, “Is it here yet????”

As expected, they love it. I’m thrilled that the games and apps work with BOTH the Leapster Explorer and the LeapPad because then we don’t have so many fights over who gets to play the new LeapPad.

I haven’t cracked and bought Nintendo DSs for my boys yet, even though they’ve been wanting them. They have their Leapsters and that has honestly been good enough, even when they’re around other kids who have DSs and my boys have their Leapsters instead. I’m happy because they are actually learning things and they’re happy because they get to play those all-so-important video games.

I decided to give the LeapPad a whirl myself to see what it was like. I’ve mostly relied on my boys’ input when reviewing LeapFrog products in the past, so this time, I decided to not even ask them what they like best and give my own opinion. There is no doubt that they love it.

PROS:

* A magnetic stylus, which is fairly easy to get in and out and less likely to get lost (I hope!). My youngest son cut the stylus off of every single Leapster we had in the past, which has been very frustrating.

* An EXTRA stylus, in case you do lose the original. =) (Fantastic idea, LeapFrog!)

* The Learning Path, which allows parents to keep track of their children’s learning progress online.

* Kid-friendly touch screen with nice, clear resolution.

* The camera and video recorder, which may be my kids’ favorite features. Combine those with the included Art Studio and you’ve got hours of fun for kids that like to play with their pictures. The camera is pretty low-resolution, but it serves its function and my boys don’t know any better yet.

* Art Studio! Lots of fun for kids and it gets their creativity and imagination going.

* The “All About Me” game, which allows kids to make books about themselves and share them via Facebook or email. I started my own book and had a lot of fun being creative with it.

* Ultra e-books, which are so cool! They’re interactive and give kids a new reading experience.

* It allows several player profiles and each profile keeps track of that specific child’s skill level. This is particularly nice because I remember in the small amount of time when my girls were still playing with their Leapsters (the original ones, I’m talking about here), their brothers would get on them and wreck their progress because there was no such thing as a different profile or log-in. I also love that the LeapPad, as well as the Leapster Explorer, does keep track of each kid’s progress.

* You can get new games and apps to continually challenge kids (more than 100 in the LeapFrog library!).

* Much better alternative to an iPad for younger kids. Of course it’s much more limited than an iPad, but it’s also a fraction of the cost.

* It’s educational, which is my very favorite thing about LeapFrog products. They know how to combine learning and fun in such a way that kids don’t even realize they’re actually learning something and not just playing a fun game. You can feel good about your kid using this as part of her allowed screen time because she’s not just playing mind-numbing games, but actually actively participating and stretching her learning skills.

CONS:

* Like most toys of this type, it sucks down batteries like Logan drinking chocolate milk. Thankfully, I usually have rechargeable ones ready to go.

* The apps and games aren’t cheap.

OVERALL:

I highly recommend the LeapPad Explorer. It’s a wonderful educational toy for kids and a great alternative to a DS or similar handheld game component. I want my kids to have fun, and there’s not much better than seeing them have fun AND learn something while they’re doing it.

Tomorrow, I will be reviewing several of the new LeapFrog cartridge games for the LeapPad and/or Leapster Explore, and next week, I will be doing a review and giveaway of the LeapFrog Tag Reader with a brand new book. In the meantime, here are the deets for getting in on this giveaway:

THE PRIZE:

A LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet, with ONE cartridge game and ONE App Center Download Card. This bundle is retail priced at $144!

TO ENTER:

♣  Leave a comment on my blog. Limit one comment per person, per day.

WANT BONUS ENTRIES?

♣ “Like” LeapFrog’s Facebook page. Leave a comment telling me you did it, as well as your Facebook profile name.

♣  Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email, then leave a comment letting me know.

♣  Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with the link. (You can do this daily.) Optional phrasing for your Tweet: I’m entered to win a LeapPad Learning Tablet from @MomofTwinsPlus2. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/44jvyw4.

♣  Post on your blog with a link about the giveaway and leave a comment with a link to your post.

♣  Follow my blog on Networked Blogs and leave a comment letting me know.

♣  “Like” my Facebook page, Parenting By Trial and Error, and leave a comment letting me know.

PLEASE READ: Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Any comments left after this time will be deleted. Open to residents of the U.S. only. The winner will be chosen by using random.org. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no response, another winner will be chosen.

GOOD LUCK!
Have you entered my Tag Reader + Solar System Adventure Pack giveaway? Click here to enter!

My ex-sisters-in-law (I prefer to call them my sis-out-laws) and I decided to get together in Minneapolis for the weekend. There are three of them, and the youngest of the bunch is attending school in St. Paul, so we drove the 6 hours or so it takes to visit her.

We had so much fun! We shopped, went on a long walk by a waterfall (in the middle of St. Paul!) and spent some happy moments in a candy store aptly named “Candyland,” where I purchased, among other things, candy Legos that actually fit together.

My favorite part was eating at The Happy Gnome in St. Paul the evening of my birthday. Here’s a picture of us taken by our waitress just after she served our food. (Bet you can’t tell which one is me — ha!)

Amy, me, Kim and Ann

I don’t know why the date on the camera says 2010, but of course I didn’t realize that until after the weekend was over.

This is what I ordered:

It. Was. Amazing.

That’s cheese, Capriole O’Banon, to be exact, wrapped up in leaves, served with fruit preserves, bread, crackers and nuts. It was not a huge serving, by any means, and I even shared it with everyone at the table; however, it was so savory, rich and wonderful, the small amount was plenty (plus I had crab cakes too). That cheese was one of the absolute best things I’ve ever tasted.

Also new to me at The Happy Gnome was pear cider (can’t believe I’ve never had that before!) and a draft called Magic Hat #9, which had a light fruity taste. If all beer tasted like that, I’d drink it a lot more! The whole experience left me wishing I had more opportunity to try food and drinks like this because I enjoy it so very much.

I’ve decided since then that I’m going to incorporate more savory/rich foods into my diet, like flavorful salads topped with apples, feta cheese and dried cranberries. I’m going to splurge for expensive cheese once in awhile and enjoy it with a glass of wine. Most recently, I had some Havarti cheese with my Cabernet Sauvignon — mmmmmmmmm.

Little pleasures like this are what keep us appreciating life. I think we should all make more of an effort to incorporate something(s) we truly enjoy into our lives more often, whether it’s food, drink, taking a little time to watch the stars or dancing in the rain. Whatever it is for you, create those opportunities.

Enjoy.

What do you consider the small pleasures in your life? How could you incorporate more of them into your routine?

All of these factors came crashing together last night when Cody flung the door to my office open, on the verge of tears, clutching the book I had tucked him in with nearly an hour beforehand. The book was this:

Cody has become so fascinated with history, particularly ancient Egypt, I purchased this book for his birthday in August. It’s a really cool book, with tons of fast facts and illustrations about different ancient civilizations, designed for kids ages 8-12, though I spent a happy while flipping through it. (Incidentally, right now, Amazon also has it at a bargain price of $8.)

Back to the story, Cody silently brought the book to my desk, laid it in carefully in front of me, and pointed to the five sentences and the small picture that had given his night such a bad turn.

The section was titled, “Human Sacrifice,” and it described how the Incas sacrificed people to their gods. The picture was of the remains of a sacrificed girl found in 1999.

I scanned the paragraph, not completely realizing how shaken he was. “Yep, that stuff happened,” I confirmed, trying to figure out how old the girl might have been. She seemed young.

I heard a choked sound and looked up to see tears forming in Cody’s eyes. “How could people do that?” he said, and burst into sobs.

I comforted him the best I could, hugging him tightly and assuring him that he was safe. It wasn’t fear that gripped him though; it was anguish over the capability of human beings to engage in such a horrific act.

“How can I forget about this?” he pleaded with me. “How will I be able to not be creeped out by it ever again?”

I knew just what he meant.

As I held him close, I remembered the moment I really understood what people could do to each other. It was probably quite a bit less dramatic, but equally powerful and disturbing. It was the very late 70s or very early 80s (yes, I’m dating myself) and I was fairly young. My mom was watching something on TV and I happened to come in the room just as on the screen a jilted wife walked into the room where her husband and his lover were in bed and shot them both point blank.

It haunted me for days. I think it was mostly the fact that it was a woman that fired the gun that really got to me. I found the scene horrifying and reprehensible, maybe because at that young age I perceived all women as nurturing and caring. It was shocking and horrible to me that anyone, much less a woman, could shoot someone else in cold blood like that.

I remember the feeling of losing my blind faith in humanity well. It was like tiny pinpricks all over my skin, yet complete and utter silence and stillness inside, allowing for only a very slow thump of my heart, making my breath catch and hold every time I thought of the scene I had witnessed. The scene that represented the loss of my innocence.

How can I unlearn this? I remember feeling, and that’s just what Cody was asking me. How do I cope with this knowledge that humans can be so evil?

I sighed. “You can’t forget,” I told him. “But it’ll get better. It will fade in time and it’ll become less and less upsetting.”

I comforted him a while longer, until his tears had subsided and he had a different, much more upbeat, book in hand.

“I just never knew people could do that,” he said, his voice full of sorrow and resignation.

“I know,” I said softly. ”I’m sorry.” I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry you found out. I’m sorry I don’t have anything more comforting to say. I’m so sorry for your loss.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Is there a particular event in your and/or your child’s life that marks the time when you (or your child) understood what people could be capable of?

I remember interviewing my grandparents about Pearl Harbor when I was in high school. It was one of those days that, if you were alive, you don’t forget. You know where you were and exactly what you were doing when you heard the news. I didn’t understand how that could be until 9/11 happened. Shocking, life-shattering, events have a way of searing themselves into a person’s brain.

Like everyone else who was alive and over the age of, say, 6, when 9/11 happened, I remember the day very vividly. I remember being at work and seeing news coverage of the first plane hitting the first tower. To believe that someone could purposefully steer their plane into the World Trade Center seemed incomprehensible to me as I repeated, “It’s got to be an accident,” again and again.

“I don’t think so,” some of my co-workers said.

Sure enough, they were right, as we watched a second plane hit the other tower, live, on TV. Some people started crying. I was shocked to my core. What was going on? What was next? Who would attack us in such a way? Had the world gone mad? I was ceased with a desperate urge to grab my then-3-year-old girls at daycare and hide. But who knew where was safe? Our borders had been crossed, our existence challenged.

The rest of the day was spent with everyone on edge as we continued to monitor the TV. We heard about the Pentagon. We heard about the plane that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. And we wondered if the world as we knew it was suddenly and devastatingly over.

Turns out, in certain ways, it was.

The “safe” world we knew before we had to worry much about terrorists ceased to exist on 9/11.

Before 9/11, terrorism was a very vague concept to me. Terrorists, in my mind, were people like the Una-Bomber and Saddam Hussein and other crazies. They, it, certainly had nothing to do with our great country.

The one good outcome of 9/11 was this: It bound us together as a nation. Similar to the way the entire world bonded as it prepared for annihilation in the movie “Armageddon,” forgetting its petty differences, the attacks on our own soil inspired a patriotism that I imagine hadn’t been seen in this country since WWII. It became “cool” again to be American.

I don’t want to say that we, as Americans, were complacent and spoiled, but we kind of were. So many other countries in the world deal with hardships and tragedy on a daily basis, and we were so used to peace and prosperity (however you, personally, define prosperity, if you judge us by much of the worlds’ standards, we are extremely prosperous), that 9/11 shook our confidence in ourselves, in our might as a nation, in our assumption that we were safe.

Here’s to all the people who died at the hands of evil and cowardly terrorists ten years ago today in New York City, and particularly to the brave rescuers who risked their lives, many losing the gamble. We remember you with sadness, but also with a pride that there is still good in the world, which you so clearly demonstrated that fateful day in our nation’s history.

And here’s a reminder that the world does, indeed, contain a lot of hope, drawn for me just today by my 7-year-old, Logan: