Monthly Archives: December 2008

What do you think? News: Domestic Abuse Against Men — It Happens

I've wondered about this.  I'm sure there are a lot of women out there that have serious self esteem issues or grew up being abuse which could be why some women accept domestic abuse from their husband or boyfriend more than others.  I'm not surprised that men are afraid to report that they are being abused by their wife or girlfriend.  What man wants to call the police saying that his wife beat him with a pot or threw a remote control at him and continued to hit him with it?  The fear of being laughed at, made fun of, not believed by police, or by being taken to jail himself after his wife says she did it out of self defense may be enough for most men to put up with the abuse.. for a little while at least.  I believe that men are more likely to get out of an abusive situation than women though.

Writeback
Do you know a woman or a man that has been or is currently in a domestic abuse situation?
If so, how you have you tried to help him or her out of the situation?
If not, what do you think is a realistic solution for a man or a woman who is abused by a spouse or partner?


Here is the beginning of the original article.
Excerpt from Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Commentary, Dwight Hobbes, Posted: Dec 30, 2008

Domestic abuse against men — yes, it happens. You’re going to have a
hard time finding statistics, because reluctant as many women are to
report abusive husbands or boyfriends to the authorities out of fear of
his retaliation or because they’ve been conditioned to accept the
abuse, men are even less likely to pick up the phone, dial 911 and say
their wife or girlfriend just went upside their head or threw a pot at
them. Read the full article here.

My life this week

FloridasebastiangrandmaWe arrived in Florida from Atlanta Friday and have had such a great time. My
father lives on a lake (it's a small spring fed lake without alligators!) and a huge yard with perfect green grass, we like to stay at the house so we can play outside and enjoy the looking at the lake.

Here are a few reasons I love coming here..

  • Floridamadelyndock
    The kids have a blast playing outside most of their awake time.  It gets cold in Atlanta so the warm weather is great!
  • I can sit on the back porch and watch them play while I look at the lake which is really relaxing for me
  • My sister or Tim usuFloridaonthelake
    ally come with the kids and I and help watch and play with the kids giving me little breaks.
  • I can work at the dining room table which is surrounded by windows about 10 feet wide and 5 feet tall making it possible for me to look outside and watch the kids interact with my Dad, Step-Mom or Sister and I can see the lake.

Store review: The Children’s Place fleece (and other) pajamas

The Children’s Place has been one of my favorite children’s clothing stores since Sebastian was little.  He is 9 years old now.  The Children’s Place is known to provide customers with
a high-quality selection at prices that represent a
substantial value relative to other competitors.
Like
most parents, I enjoy getting discounts and paying low prices for
clothes that I know are of the highest quality and I know that when I
go to The Children’s Place I am going to do just that.  If you haven’t
been yet, you’ve got to find your local store or visit their website and check it out!

I recently found out about The Children’s Place new line of fleece & cotton pajamas and Sebastian got a style that he LOVES!  Sebastian has the guitar rock pj set.
In addition to their fleece pajama collection which is primarly winter
and holiday styles, they have regular cotton pajamas that will fit any
personality including space, cars and planes, robots, flowers, and
princesses
.  Keep even your youngest child warm in The Children’s Place pajamas.  Sizes start at 0 months and go up to XL14.
Sebastian is 9 years old and wears their size 10 pajamas.

PRICE: The Children’s Place pajamas start at $10 for sale items and go up to just $16.50!

GIVEAWAY!
We
have a $30 gift card for The Children’s Place to giveaway to one lucky
reader. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite pajama style and
anything else you want to tell me about The Children’s Place and you
will be entered to win.  Read our official comment contest giveway rules below.

Go to The Children’s Place website to find pajamas for all of your kids and you can even find matching pajamas for the entire family!

When
you enter, your email address will be added to our weekly mailing list
but we do not spam!  Our newsletter features links to our latest
product reviews, coupon codes, and giveaways and occasionaly features a
sponsor ad for a unique store that you will love learning about.

Toy review: Balancing Coral toy from Plan Toys

Plan Toys Balancing Coral gamePlan Toys makes some of the nicest looking and well made wooden toys I've seen.  

Made of earth-friendly and replenishable rubber wood, Balancing Coral, is a game for up to 4 players ages 3 and up. The idea is to take turns putting pieces of coral on the coral base and see who makes the coral topple by not keeping the coral balanced.  Madelyn works very hard at putting a few pieces on but manages to topple the coral within a few tries.  That is to be expected though as she is only 2. 

Balancing Coral is great game for young kids as it will help develop good cognitive and fine motor skills.  I always supervise Madelyn when playing Balancing Coral because the pieces could potentially be a chocking hazard for children 3 and under.  Madelyn stays too busy putting the coral on to try to put the pieces on her mouth.

Plantoys-firestationGIVEAWAY!
We have a Plan City Fire Station
to giveaway to a lucky reader!   Go to Plan Toys website and tell me in the comment box below what you think makes Plan Toys stand out and tell me what other product (1 only) you would love to have of theirs and why.  You just might get it too!

You can buy Balancing Coral at Plan Toys or at Oompa Toys, one of my favorite online toys stores, for about $35.

Check out some of our other givewaways running now (Expire Dec. 31, 2008):  invisibelt giveaway, Little Tikes Rated Green products giveaway, Fisher Price Zen Collection Swing giveaway, Precious Girls Club book and goodie bag giveaway.

Toy review: architecture abc blocks by Parents®

Madelyn loves, loves, loves Parents® abc architecture blocks.   TParents® abc architecture toddler blockshese blocks are colorful, squishy soft and stack easily.  One of my favorite things about the abc architecture blocks is because they are soft, they don't make a loud crashing sound when they are knocked down.

Parents® abc architecture blocks can even go in the bathtub.  They float making them lots of fun.  Just be sure to sqeeze all of the water out when the kids are through playing with them.

There are 9 different shapes including squares, columns, and curvy pieces that can go on top of the column pieces to make a cool tower.  Each block has an animal and/or a letter of the alphabet molded on it. 

Parents® also makes wooden toys including a Doctor's play set that Madelyn is getting for Christmas.  I am so excited.. she'll have so much fun with it.  Something that I really appreciate about Parents® toys is that they are all practical and educational.

Recommended for ages 6+ months.

You will find Parents® ABC architecture toddler blocks at your local Target (check first) or Target.com here for about $19.