Great information and support resource for prenatal, natal, NICU, premature babies and the like. Site also has a very accurate ovulation calculator and gobs of other resources. Look around. It's a good cause.

http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/1808_1904.asp

Books and novels where your child stars as the hero! The first link is for babies and very young kids, the second has longer books. Great to encourage reading or as birthday or commemorative gifts.

http://www.iseeme.com/

http://www.bookbyyou.com/kids/default.asp

kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
merry merry king of the bush is he
laugh kookaburra, laught kookaburra
gay your life must be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuplYjxXqSg&NR

This site is a fantastic resource for kids parties, activites and crafts. It is affiliated with Disney. (Of course)
Believe it or not, this snail snack is made out of  Mayonnaise or whipped cream cheese, tortilla strip, lettuce or baby spinach, ham or turkey, sliced cheese, little pickle and chives.

http://familyfun.go.com/

This is a conservation effort I have been involved in:

The orangutans (Pongos) and asian elephants at the zoo here have been busy painting pictures for a silent auction and art sale at a local gallery and other venues. The money raised from the sale of the pieces goes to help other orangutans and elephants thousands of miles away at the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project in Malaysia.



The six orangutan and three elephant artists have been painting for years as a means of keeping the animals stimulated. The adult orangutans paint with a long-handled brush onto canvases held by the keepers, Younger animals finger paint and the elephants paint with clumps of bristles in their trunks (they also have a tendancy to "kiss" the canvas with the end of their trunks.) Non-toxic paint is always used in case they decide to give it a taste.

http://www.houstonzoo.org/PongosRSVP/Index.aqf

A little pricey ($15 - $20 US) but really neat. Top has wallet type opening that you slide photos or printouts into and frame is the perfect size for index prints or phone pictures. Other styles available with multiple openings also.

http://www.smoy.net/

Available for all kinds of age levels and subjects including kindergarten and life sciences. Great for supplemental education, getting a head start in school or challenging the overachiever. Get your kids hooked on these early and replace those video games!

http://elementary-educators.schoolspecialtypublishing.com/home.php

8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter

Copyright 1998 W. Bruce Cameron
Please do not remove the copyright from this essay

When I was in high school I used to be terrified of my girlfriend's father, who I believe suspected me of wanting to place my hands on his daughter's chest. He would open the door and immediately affect a good-naturedly murderous expression, holding out a handshake that, when gripped, felt like it could squeeze carbon into diamonds.

Now, years later, it is my turn to be the dad. Remembering how unfairly persecuted I felt when I would pick up my dates, I do my best to make my daughter's suitors feel even worse. My motto: wilt them in the living room and they'll stay wilted all night.

"So," I'll call out jovially. "I see you have your nose pierced. Is that because you're stupid, or did you merely want to APPEAR stupid?"

As a dad, I have some basic rules, which I have carved into two stone tablets that I have on display in my living room.

Rule One: If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure as heck not picking anything up.

Rule Two: You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three: I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, In order to assure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric staple gun and fasten your trousers securely in place around your waist.

Rule Four: I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate: when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I WILL kill you.

Rule Five: In order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule Six: I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make YOU cry.

Rule Seven: As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process which can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight: The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places lacking parents, policemen, or nuns. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka zipped up to her chin. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature chainsaws are okay. Hockey games are okay.

My daughter claims it embarrasses her to come downstairs and find me attempting to get her date to recite these eight simple rules from memory. I'd be embarrassed too--there are only eight of them, for crying out loud! And, for the record, I did NOT suggest to one of these cretins that I'd have these rules tattooed on his arm if he couldn't remember them. (I checked into it and the cost is prohibitive.) I merely told him that I thought writing the rules on his arm with a ball point might be inadequate—ink washes off—and that my wood burning set was probably a better alternative.

One time, when my wife caught me having one of my daughter's would-be suitors practice pulling into the driveway, get out of the car, and go up to knock on the front door (he had violated rule number one, so I figured he needed to run through the drill a few dozen times) she asked me why I was being so hard on the boy. "Don't you remember being that age?" she challenged.

Of course I remember. Why do you think I came up with the eight simple rules?

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. . . baby handprint kits to record handprints each year at ages 1 through 5. Blue and pink!

http://www.babyheirlooms.com/product/patty_cakes.cfm

http://www.childproductsafety.com/toy.htm

nicely categorized into types of toys: stuffed animals, pull toys, etc. There are other sites, but I think this one is pretty easy to navigate.

  
This is a great magazine for, what else?, working mothers. Great tips on child care, office issues, time constraints. The website is a great resource too.

http://www.workingmother.com/

Thanks for the reviews! It really helps to get some input from other people who have had experiences with some of these products, or who have alternates! Also, the global spin is much much appreciated. I try to list stores that are accessible to the largest range of countries, but it's hard to tell which those are sometimes.

Migo is a kid-friendly wireless phone. It has a simplified keypad that allows you to program in 4 numbers, a speakerphone and a dedicated emergency key. And with Chaperonesm, you can use your handset or PC to locate your child's Migo. Available from Verizon Wireless.

There is some debate about which of these diaper disposals are better. What I gather is this: the diaper genie ia a little easier once you get it set up, but the diaper champ can use any bags, not just proprietary ones, so you can recycle if you want, and there are definte cost advantages to this. Both are available from Babies R Us or Amazon. I'm sure they are also available at any local baby or department store.

Plays Brahm's Lullaby for 5 min while projecting little animals onto the wall or ceiling. Lovely! But needs to be relatively close to the wall (a few feet anyway). Requires batteries. Available from the discovery store  or wherever Tomy products are sold.

This kit is just cool. Plant and watch 'em grow! then you can eat them! It doesn't get much more educational than this.

Root-vue farm

A wonderful home reference for all those strange things that pop up. Now you will have a place to go after hearing that statement, "Mom, I have this weird bump on my foot. . . " This kept me going through 2 childhoods, and two puberties and still kicking. Complete with symptom flow charts, photos for rashes and things and basic home techniques that will tide you over until a doctor is necessary. Available through Amazon or many bookstores.

These books by scholastic are fantastic for teaching kids to read. They are perfectly sized for kids' hands and attention spans, and are organized into rewarding little bites. Available through scholastic or amazon.