Having an Only Child

A dear friend of mine and I were talking last week.  She asked if we were going to try to have anymore kids.  I told her I wasn't sure and that maybe God only wants me to have one.  She said, "but you're such a good mom!"  I looked at her and thought about it and replied, "I don't think being a good mom has anything to do with how many children you have." 

I know my friend loves me and cares deeply about me and she was truly only trying to encourage me.  So please know, this is in no way an attack toward her.  I just feel like I need to speak out. 

I'm not here to judge anyone because children are true blessings from God.  However, I have seen a number of people who have more than one child and could honestly careless about any of their children.  Thankfully, I know more people personally who are wonderful parents with one or more children.  My main point is I don't believe good parenting skills equals a bounty of children.  I know my friend meant well and her comment was meant as a compliment, which I appreciate.  I just want to speak out for those of us who would love more children but for one reason or another it may not be possible.

I have been pregnant 5 times.  I have one beautiful and precious son.  The other four babies I miscarried.  God created me in his image and with several health situations I cannot control. I was born with these things and if you follow my blog, you will have read about these.  I'm still waiting on God's timing to post about my last miscarriage in December.

What about adoption or fostering?  My husband and I have talked for years about adopting and/or fostering a child.  Early on in our marriage we had said if we were unable to have any kids then we'd adopt.  I still love the idea of adopting and taking in a child who doesn't have anyone to be my own.  However, adoption in American is incredibly expensive.  We are a one income family.  I love my job, staying home and raising my child.  We are unable to afford to adopt an infant at this time.  Also, recently, I've been praying and reflecting on what a friend cautioned me about a few weeks ago.  What about fostering?  I admire people who foster children and am still considering it.

My question for others, why do so many people see having only one child as a problem?  I have been guilty of this in the past.  So again, no judgements made to anyone else.  Recently, I spoke with some friends who gave birth to one child and adopted two kids.  The wife told me if my main goal of adopting was so that my son would have siblings, don't do it.  Ouch!  What would my main reason for adopting be?  A big part of it would be so that my son would have a sibling.  Why would this not be a good idea?  She said because there is no guarantee that they will bond as siblings.  Her natural born child, for example, never felt like he really had siblings.  It was like raising two families under one roof.  Think about how many step-siblings relate to one another.  They are "siblings" but many lack the sibling connection. Of course I also wonder if the same thing happens among blood-related siblings.  I've seen it happen where siblings don't get along and grow up not talking to each other.

I'll ask again, why do so many feel that having one child is not enough?  There are actually a number of benefits to having only one.  I've only been able to recently be okay with the possibility of having only one child.  Therefore, I've been looking for the positives, which are many.  There are numerous blessings to having more than one as well.  Hopefully this will encourage other parents who have one child by choice or that's all they've been blessed with, appreciate having just one.

- It's easier to do things and go places.  I won't lie, when I need to go somewhere I only have one to get ready and out the door.  Not saying I'm immune to the melt-downs or protests of getting out the door.

- Having one child is less expensive.  I only have to feed one, cloth one, and educate one. 

- There's more one-on-one time.  There are many days when I wished my son had a sibling to play.  Then I remember, life passes quickly and I should treasure these moments.  I can spend more time with my one child than I could if I have to split my time between several.

- Only children are just as outgoing or shy as children with siblings.  Ask any mother of multiples and she's sure to have at least one shy or outgoing child.

- When a virus hits our house, we don't have to worry about other children catching it.

- Only child tend to be ahead academically in school. I think the main reason behind this is because of all the one-on-one adult time only children get.  This is not to say that children with siblings are not as bright as only children, this was just a study I read.

There are many other wonderful benefits of having only one child.  These are just some that really stuck out to me as a mother of one.  If you're a parent of only one child, what are some positives that you see?

Pre-Writing Activities that do not involve Crayons

It's been a while since I've posted some activities I do with my 3-year old.  Blue Rock is not really into coloring with crayons like some kids are.  This wouldn't matter too much except that I like him to practice holding a pencil the correct way and build his fingers for future writing.  Thankfully, there are a number of activities that don't involve crayons to achieve this. Blue Rock already has great hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.  There are several other mediums he enjoys such as painting and drawing with sidewalk chalk which strengthen his hands and fingers. He also has always loved molding things with play-doh which is another great pre-writing skill.

Here are a few activities we've been doing lately.  The first activity includes a colander and pipe cleaners.  I had him put the pipe cleaners in different holes of the colander.  He did great and sort of liked this activity especially after he decided he could make a hat with it.  We've done this several days this week.  I wish I would have thought of this a year ago because I think very young children would enjoy this as well.

The next activity is beading.  I had him sort the beads by color and place them on the pipe cleaners.  These are just the regular Melissa and Doug beads.I've been very impressed with how well he is able to bead things.  This is something we just started doing and he seemed to naturally know what to do.

I bought this awesome Turtle when he was almost 2 to take with us to church and work on his fine motor skills.  He still likes playing with it from time to time.  He mastered matching the magnetic bead in the correct color slot when he was about 2.5.  Now he will go back and forth between putting them all in the matching slot and trying to get all the beads in one slot.

This last activity he does on his own.  He's taking a part a small flash light.  He loves taking apart things and trying to put them back together.  This is also a fun fine motor, pre-writing activity. 

Why I'm Having Miscarriages

Having a miscarriage is devastating.  It's really frustrating how many doctors want to wait until a woman has 3 miscarriages before they do anything.  My advice is find a doctor who will help you.  While it sadly may be more common than what people realize and there often is no explained reason, there still is a chance that you may have something wrong with you and it's fixable under a doctor's care.  In my opinion, it is better to find out earlier than later.  If you've ever had a miscarriage, you know the sinking feeling you feel after you find out that your baby is not going to make it.  And it's really simple to find out if something is wrong, whether it's a hormone imbalance, thyroid problem, or another disorder.  You simply have blood drawn, it goes to the lab and then you know.  Not very difficult which is why it's aggravating that so many doctors insist that you wait for 3 miscarriages before they do this.  Also, sometimes there really is nothing wrong.  But if there is, it's nice to know so something can be done.  Isn't this what modern medicine is all about?  Thankfully I found out why I'm having miscarriages.

Once I had my second miscarriage, I asked my German doctor to test my levels including my progestrone levels.  A doctor in the States suggested I get those levels checked.  She agreed to check my hormone levels and told me to come in and have blood drawn between day 2-5 of my next period and then 21 days after it started to get the best results.  She said she would check since I had my son with virtually no problems and now have lost two babies.  The nurse took a total of 3 vials of blood.  She also had me see a specialist about a fibroid that has appeared since being pregnant with my son to see if that could be the reason for the miscarriages.

I also called to make an appointment with an American gynecologist.  When I went in to see him, he said typically in the U.S. they wait until miscarriage number 3.  I begged him to run some tests and said someone suggested I get my thyroid levels checked and my hormone levels.  He said he would do it but I needed to fast the night before (no food after midnight) and come in on Day 21 of my last period.  When I went to the lab, they took 10 vials of blood!  

This is what I found out.  The American doctor called Friday and said he discovered why I'm having miscarriages.  He said I have thyroiditis, which means my thyroid levels are very elevated.  I'm also borderline for having cardiolipid which an autoimmune disorder.  He is referring me an internal medicine doctor where I will need to get a little more testing done.  Sadly he cannot help me beyond this but thankfully a specialist can.  

My German doctor gave me good news that my hormone levels are normal.  She has told me before that I am healthy and she didn't see any reason why I could not have more healthy children.  She did NOT check my thyroid levels or for autoimmune disorders.  But she has done ultrasounds and did check my ovaries after both miscarriages.

I want to thank one of my blog readers for her advice to get my thyroid levels checked after having my second miscarriage. She suggested this and after doing some research, it seemed like many doctors don't check this.  If you have had a miscarriage, I am sorry.  But there is hope.  Maybe there is nothing wrong, but then again, there could be.  Ask your doctor to please check your hormone levels and thyroid levels.

Once I see an internal medicine doctor, I will let you know what the next step is.  One thing I have read is that most likely I will need to take a baby aspirin next pregnancy to help my blood from clotting.  Most likely I will also need to take some kind of thyroid medicine.  Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

A 2-year old and a Christmas Tree

I leave the room for two minutes and come back to find this.

Thankfully Blue Rock was not hurt and this year's Christmas tree is fake.  Otherwise that could really hurt having a Christmas tree fall on you. 

St. Nikolaus Day in Germany

Christmas in Germany is a lot of fun.  There are so many traditions and activities to do during the month of December.  On December 6th, Germans celebrate St. Nikolaus Tag (St. Nicholas Day).  The night before, children leave their boot outside the front door or outside their bedroom door.  While they are asleep, St. Nikolaus comes and leaves goodies in their boot if they were good.  If they have been bad they he leaves sticks.

Blue Rock left his rain boots out.  Thankfully he has been very good so he got a few goodies in each boot.

What's in my boot?

It's Gummy Bears!

Emptying the boot is fun!

Fun bendable track to go with my train set!

Our Town's Christmas Market

You can see the rain falling

This past weekend we got a lot of rain.  Friday evening I volunteered at an event called Holiday Magic, where my MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group sold soup, bread, and gently used children's clothes. Santa Claus comes to this event, children from the schools sing Christmas songs, and different organizations set up booths to raise money.  It was raining and I had Blue Rock with me so I didn't take any pictures at Holiday Magic.

This weekend was also our town's Christmas market.  We went with our next door neighbors last year and we decided to go again with them this year.  We truly are super blessed to have such fantastic neighbors on both sides of us.  I brought my camera with me to this market and took pictures, even though it was still raining.

Our neighbors made pork sandwiches and European beans (kind of like baked beans but not really sweet) for dinner.  Then we walked downtown to the market with them.  Thankfully Saturday night it was just sprinkling.  Sunday, when Santa was suppose to be there, it was pouring rain.  So we didn't even attempt to go back to the market.  One difference between Germany and say Texas is, typically things you do in your town you walk to.  There is limited parking downtown and it's really only about a 5 minute walk.  Even though Santa was going to be inside the concert hall, we decided not to go.  Santa doesn't bring that much to our house but he is coming for St. Nikolaus Tag (St. Nicholas Day) tonight.  We'll put out a boot and see what he brings Blue Rock.  If you want to participate, leave your child's boot outside the door tonight and he will leave a treat, usually something sweet, in the boot if they have been good.  If they have not been good, he will leave twigs.

Here are a few pictures from our town's Christmas market.

Blue Rock enjoying the swing ride

My cute husband standing with our neighbors cheering Blue Rock on as he flies by on the swing

Me and our town's lovely Christmas tree

Jana and I enjoying a hot drink

3-Day Potty Training

Well, we're finally really potty training.  I thought I would write about it since I have not found too many personal stories about how people have potty trained their kids.  Just how to do it, not how it went.  So here it is.  I will give another update later on.

About 3 months ago, Blue Rock was very close to being potty trained.  Then we went to the States.  After we found out why he was throwing-up, along with having to be on iron supplements, we decided to wait until we were back home, he was almost off iron (which causes black sticky poo), and we were not traveling anywhere before we got serious.  He used to wear cloth diapers until he got sick last year and was throwing up almost daily.  It got to be too much laundry so we went back to disposables.  Cloth is great if you have the time and a good washing machine.

We started the 3-day potty training method on Thanksgiving (6 days ago).  We had to make a few errands so we put him in a pull-up on Thursday and Friday.  Friday was the last day he wore a pull-up during the day.  Blue Rock used the potty out in public both days but had one accident in the pull-up.  At home, he has been bare-bottomed and is doing great!  When he's bare-bottomed he has had no accidents and makes it to the potty every time, even poop, which I was surprised and very happy about.  Yesterday we went to the grocery store and I put underwear and pants on him - I was so tempted to put a pull-up on him, but resisted.  He went potty before we left and had no accidents and I took him twice to the toilet at the store but he didn't need to go and told me he didn't need to go but I wanted him to try.  After we loaded the groceries in the car I asked him again if he needed to go.  He said, "no."  So we drove home and when we got home I took him to the bathroom and he went.  Yeah!  A little while later we went to the park.  He played for about 20 minutes and we came home, again no accidents.  I left his pants and underwear on and he didn't make it to the potty in time.  I read that they should be diaper free at home for 3 months.  That seems like a LONG time!  

Today I started the morning with just his pajama pants on, wanting him to get used to pants since he's doing so well at going to the potty.  He went to the potty twice but then didn't make it in time.  I tried putting underwear on him and he said, "no underwear.  No, no, no!"  So I decided to let him be bare-bottomed again.  Later this afternoon I put just underwear on him even though he didn't want to wear it.  While he was playing he peed in them.  The rest of the day he was bare-bottom and went every time in the potty.  The only time pee got on the floor was when I tripped over the potty trying to get a Kleenex to catch a drip of pee on his leg as he got off the potty.  I made a huge mess!  Pee went everywhere, including the couch which is such a shame since he's been doing so good, no accidents on the furniture, just from me.  I think we're going to rent a carpet/upholstery cleaner.  Thankfully I have some cleaner that I used and our microfiber couch doesn't seem to smell like pee.  I'm just a germophobe and the thought of pee left somewhere grosses me out. 

I am very proud of Blue Rock. He has done much better than I thought.  Everyday he has only had 1-2 accidents since we started.  My plan is to everyday let him try pants and/or underwear. I'd like him to always wear something on his bottom but he has an embarrassed look on his face when he doesn't make it to the potty wearing undies.  So, for the most part, we'll probably stick to bare-bottoms while home, at least for a little while longer.  He does very well with that has had 100% success rate when being bare-bottomed.  I think he's officially potty training and definitely knows how to use the potty.  We are no longer using day-time diapers, not even when we run errands.  However, we are going to keep using them at night, at least for a while.  For one, he's still in a crib, yes, we have a toddler car bed, very cool, that he slept in for a while, but after a while, he wanted to sleep back in his crib.  He's happy, we're happy, and he sleeps 11.5-13 hours per night.  When we travel he sleeps in a regular bed.  Every morning I ask him where we go poo and pee.  He says, "poopoo and peepee go in the potty."  Then if I have to run downstairs to do laundry or something I ask him again and usually while I'm gone he uses his potty.

Here's our potty training set-up.  We have a tall house, 3 stories (4 if you include the basement) and only 2 bathrooms.  So we have a few portable potties.  I keep one in the living room, which we'll probably move to the bathroom.  And one upstairs on our top floor that has no bathroom.  We also have a little potty in the bathroom on our middle floor and a step-up potty to the toilet.  Blue Rock usually sits to pee but in public he likes to stand.  Sometimes he wants to stand at home but I usually ask him to sit.  I'm no longer asking him if he needs to go unless it's been a while or we're out in public or about to leave the house.  He has gotten very good at just going when he needs to go.  I hope this helps if you're about to start potty training your child.

Our 2 year old is starting to read

Blue Rock loves books.  We have been reading to him since the day we brought him home from the hospital.  A nurse gave me some advice, she said, "when you are feeding him, read to him."  I did this quite a bit, but only during daytime feedings.  Now we typically read to him 30 min. to an hour a day.  

There are a number of books Blue Rock has memorized.  The ones I can think of off the top of my head are: Are You My Mother?; Goodnight Moon; Old Hat New Hat; Goodnight Gorilla; and Bless Me.  He actually "read" Are You My Mother to my step-mother when we were in Texas a few months ago.  She was quite impressed as he was very dramatic as he read.

Blue Rock is starting to sound out words and he knows quite a few.  However, he doesn't usually see a word and tell us what it is unless it's his name, which he knows very well.  Numbers and letters are a different story.  He started pointing out letters when he was 17 months old.  We first noticed this when we went to dinner in Mannheim one evening and he was pointing and saying the letters on random signs.  Last night was different.  While we were eating dinner, Blue Rock read his first word, out of context, that was not his name.  He seems to know a lot of words but usually tells us them when we're reading a book.  Or if he sees his name written somewhere, he is quick to point it out.  Last night was different.  He noticed one of his trucks on the floor near the wall.  He said, "I would like that cat, please."  My husband and I looked at each other then looked to where he was looking to see if his stuffed cat was over there.  There was only one thing, his Caterpillar truck that says, "CAT" on the back, which was facing the table.  It was solely lying on the floor near the wall.  Neither my husband nor I have ever called one of his trucks a cat or caterpillar and he knows what a truck and a cat are.  He also usually calls his trucks, trucks.  We were both amazed.  Reading is such an important part of life and we are glad he loves books and learning.

Blue Rock and his CAT

How do you get your kid to eat more vegetables? 10 tips and tricks to eating more vegetables!

Getting your child to eat more vegetables seems to be a common problem among many parents.  That is why Social Moms is teaming up with Sarah Matheny, author of “Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love,” to find out what are some mom's best tips and tricks to getting their kids to eating more vegetables!

My son eats a variety of fruits and vegetables. Here are my top 10 tips and tricks to getting your child to eat more vegetables.

1. Offer a variety of vegetables.  Just because you don't like something doesn't mean your child won't like it.  Don't limit the vegetables to just peas and carrots.  Offer broccoli, peppers, spinach, sweet potatoes, etc.

2. Continue to offer a vegetable even if it's been rejected.  Just because your child rejected a certain vegetable one night doesn't mean they'll reject it another night.  Some books suggest that a child has to try something up to 10 times before they acquire a taste for it.

3. Encourage your child to try at least one bite of everything on their plate.  My mom used this trick on me and my siblings growing up.  After having to eat asparagus a number of times growing up, I now like it.

4. Add sauces and dressings.  I used to not like lettuce until I found a dressing I liked.  At first I would put a lot of dressing on it, now I use very little salad dressing.  Also cheese sauce on vegetables such as broccoli and asparagus can make them more appealing to children and grown-ups.

5. Try everything you put in front of your child.  If you expect your child to eat tomatoes then you should try them too. 

6. Serve small courses.  Bring out small courses of food starting with the food your child is least likely going to like - even if it's just one or two bites.  When they are hungry they are more likely to eat foods they normally would refuse.  End with the foods you know they like.

7. Add vegetables to their favorite foods.  Add pureed pumpkin to the pancake mix.  Saute broccoli and put it in the macaroni and cheese.Add shredded zucchini and carrots to muffins.  There are many ways to add extra vegetables to foods they already like.

8. Give nicknames to their food.  Calling broccoli baby trees and cauliflower baby white trees can make the food seem more enticing.  

9. Puree soups.  If your child refuses certain vegetables, add it to a soup and blend it smooth.  Most kids like pureed soups.

10. Change up the way you prepare the vegetables.  Don't always prepare the vegetables the same way. Some kids like certain vegetables raw, while others like them cooked.  For example, my son doesn't like cooked carrots but he loves them raw.  Your child may prefer tomato sauce over raw tomatoes.  

The most important thing when trying to get your child to eat more vegetables is to not give up.  Take it one day and one meal at a time.  Continue to offer healthy choices and over time your child will eat more vegetables.  I would love to hear from you.  How do you get your child to eat more vegetables?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Peas and Thank You blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Make your own fraction circles

He was super excited about these!

Is two too young to start learning fractions? I personally don't think so. =)  I'm always looking at ways to save on educational games and activities.  I bought some foam sheets for a craft I am planning on doing with the Moppets (preschoolers) in my MOPS (Mother's of Preschool) group.  I am in charge of Moppets this coming year and am planning on doing some cool things with that.  But until then I was thinking, what else could I do with them? Then it hit me, I could make some fractions!  My son loved them! He's only two so he doesn't necessarily get what a fraction is, but they were an instant hit and he loved putting the pieces together.  

Here's how to make fraction circles.  I took 4 colors (green, yellow, blue, and white) of foam sheets and drew a circle on each one.  I left one circle whole, cut one in two, another in three, and the last one in four.  I wrote on the circle pieces what they represent (1/1, 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4).  Then I explained it to my son and let him put the pieces and colors together.  I would say something like, "this is one-half of a circle.  If you have two halves and put them together that makes one circle."  He also counted the different color pieces and enjoyed playing with them.  There are a lot of ways you can use this inexpensive learning tool.  Eventually I'll make more fraction circles but I thought four was plenty to start out with.  If you have an older child they would get even more out of this activity.

How to Create a Sensory Box

Green / Letter Gg Sensory Box

I have been wanting to create a sensory box for a while and finally did. A sensory box is a box or container filled with different objects, colors, scents, and textures. We have been having some crazy weather in Germany these past few weeks and have gotten more rain this summer than the past two. The parks near our house turn into mud pits because of all the sand. It can get easy to run out of things to do with a 2 year old so I decided to make a sensory box. Here is how to create a sensory box using dyed rice.

You can put anything you want as the base of a sensory box. I bought 10 lbs of rice and dyed 9 cups green - so between 4-5 lbs. You can also use pasta and dye it, water, or anything else that would be fun to play with. A few weeks ago we started doing the Hooked on Phonics for Preschoolers, which gives a good review of the alphabet and the phonic sounds.  My son has been obsessed with letters since around 17 or 18 months when he started noticing letters on signs when we went out. He still loves our letter games but I wanted to do something more with him. I did some research and decided to buy the Hooked on Phonics for Preschoolers. Although it's pretty basic, at least it has him attempting to write the letters (fine motor skills) and reinforces of the phonic sounds (which will help him learn to read). Since we were on the letter "G," I decided to dye the rice green the day before.  I filled the box with objects that started with "g" or were green.  My son had a blast digging through the rice and looking at all the objects.  One of his favorite books lately has been Goodnight Gorilla so I brought that out as well. 

The only downside of this activity is that rice will get everywhere, unless your child is older and/or understands better than mine.  I had to remind him several times to keep the rice in the container and on the blanket.  He wanted to put it rice everywhere!  Thankfully he did pretty well except when I left to get my camera upstairs, he put a few handfuls on our couch.  Besides having to stay near him while he played, this was a great activity for him. 

How To dye rice: Put dry rice in a large bowl, add about a teaspoon at a time of rubbing alcohol, and a few drops of food coloring, mix and adjust coloring as needed. Dry on wax paper for at least an hour before storing. I got this idea from Totally Tots. 

I had to make two batches for 9 cups

Your child will fall asleep on their own

Almost every parent at some point will ask themselves, "when will my child fall asleep on their own?"  It's been a little over a year since I wrote about Our No Cry Sleep Solution.  Every parent has the right to choose what works best for them when they are raising their children.  When it came to getting our child to sleep it seemed like most people tried to convince us to let our child cry himself to sleep.  We can see why some would choose this method, however, my husband and I never felt comfortable doing this.  It was frustrating trying to find personal experiences of people not letting their child cry it out.  Being more of an attached parent and not letting your child cry it out can be stressful and tiring at times.  However, your child will eventually learn to put him or herself to sleep.  Having your spouse or a close friend who can help you makes things a lot easier.  Thankfully, my husband and I worked as a team and when one of us was too tired to sit in the room with my son, the other one would step in.  I know of several single parents who ended up co-sleeping until their child was ready to sleep on their own.  I also have a few married friends who did the same.  You have to do what works for you.  After almost two years of  helping my son fall asleep (first nursing him to sleep, to rocking him to sleep, to putting him in his crib and staying in his room until he fell asleep), I am pleased to say that my son now goes to sleep on his own.  

About a month ago (right before he turned two), we were able to put him in his crib and leave the room.  Since I breastfed him his first year of life he typically fell asleep during the last feeding.  Who was I to wake him up?!  I went against the advice of others and gently laid him in his bed once he fell asleep trying NOT to wake him because if I did he would be up for another hour or two. Also if he woke up at night (which didn't and still doesn't happen that often), we will change his diaper and usually bring him to our room.  Sometimes my husband will take him back to his bed once he's asleep, other times he stays with us until the morning.  If I tried taking him back to his bed, he'd wake up.  And no, he never developed a habit of waking up in the middle of the night or demanding to sleep with us.

Once I started weaning my son, my husband stepped in to help put him bed.  At first my husband would read to him and then rock him to sleep.  The first few nights he'd cry some for me but my husband stuck with it and gently reassured him that he was fine.  After several months we would take turns putting him sleep because we needed to make sure he'd go to sleep for both of us.  Then we transitioned to after story time my husband would put him in his bed and sit in his room until my son (and sometimes my husband) fell asleep.  Once he seemed comfortable with that, we started putting him in his bed and saying something such as "goodnight, love you.  I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes, please lay down and go to sleep."  And half the time he would say, "Mommy will be right back?" or "Daddy will be right back?"  We would say yes and would come back into his room to check on him after a few minutes.  By this time he understood the concept of us returning so he didn't cry for us.  If he was standing or sitting up in his bed, we'd gently ask him to lay down and tell him "goodnight" again.  During this time we also added a nightlight which seemed to help him.  This phase didn't take very long because he ended up falling asleep before he came back to check on him.  Now we are able to put him to bed and say goodnight and leave. 

I want to encourage you that if you decide to not let your child cry it out that they will naturally learn how to self-soothe and go to sleep on their own when they are ready.  Don't give up.  It took us almost two years to get where we are.  It may take you less or maybe more.  And, it's okay to bring them to your room on nights you are too tired to stay with him until they fall asleep, if you choose to do so.  While you should be consistent for the most part, it's okay to vary your routine some if you need to.  They are adaptable and will eventually not need your help to fall asleep.  It was worth the sacrifice to us and our son has adjusted very well.  He even falls asleep in hotel beds with no fuss - I think that is partly because we waited until he was ready to fall asleep on his own.

I'm curious, if you did not let your child cry it out, how long did it take your child to naturally be able to fall asleep on their own?

10 Money-Saving Travel Tips

Pisa, Italy - April 2011

My family loves to travel.  We take a vacation almost every month.  My son just turned 2 and has already been to 17 countries.  Obviously in order to travel as much as we do we have to be wise in how we spend our travel budget.  Here are ways we save money while traveling so we can take more vacations.
 

1. Look for free things to do.  Websites such as Free-Attractions.com make finding free things to do in every state easy.  You can easily find free museums, zoos, parks, concerts, and more.  If you live in Europe or are planning a trip here, check out http://www.freetodo-europe.net/.

2. Take a cruise.  Believe it or not cruising is one of the more economical ways to travel.  If your plans are flexible, book a last minute cruise to save even more.  My travel cruise agent has always helped me save money on cruises.

3. Go camping.  Camping is a cheap way to travel.  Most campsites cost less than $20 a night.  See my camping article for lots of tips.

4. Share a hotel room.  If you have two or three kids you can generally share a hotel room.  Get one room with double beds and add a roll-away bed if you need to.  Or if you are really adventurous you could try something like CouchSurfing, where you stay on someones couch for free.  Couch surfing probably works out better if you are not traveling with children.

5. Consider flying.  If you have to spend more than one night in a hotel to reach your destination it may be worth it to fly, especially if you only have one kid.  Remember, if you spend two nights in a hotel on the way there, you’ll have to spend two nights in a hotel on the way home.

6. Join Priority Hotel Clubs.  Most hotel chains have a hotel priority club.  Members get points for every night they stay that go toward free nights and upgrades.  Also don’t be afraid to call a hotel directly and ask if you can get a discount if you stay more than one or two nights.  A cheaper hotel chain in the Europe is Ibis.  We have stayed at Ibis Hotels in Germany, London, and France.

7. Look for a package deal.  Package deals can save you money, especially if you are traveling last minute.  Book a hotel, flight, and rental car together and save.

8. Travel during the off-season.  Spring, fall, and winter are generally cheaper times of year to travel than summer.  Traveling during the off-season can save you a lot of money.

9. Stay at a bed and breakfast.  Many bed and breakfasts are cheaper than hotels.  Plus they usually include a nice breakfast.  We spent a week in Ireland and only booked our first and last night.  You can read about our Ireland vacation here.  You can find many bed and breakfasts here.

10. Rent an apartment or condo.  If you are going to stay somewhere for a week or longer sometimes it’s less expensive to rent an apartment or condo.  Not only will you save money sleeping but you can cook some of your own meals and save money by not eating out every meal.  Homeaway.com has a great list of apartments and condos for rent.  We rented an apartment in Cinque Terre, Italy, and in Florence, Italy.

How does your family save money when traveling?

Don't Eat Poop!

We bought my almost 2 year old son a few potty books.  One is Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi.  Toward the end of the book it talks about everyone eats so everyone poops.  Well, last night at dinner he looked at the beans on his plate and said, "don't eat poop!"  My husband and I looked at eat other and said, "that's right, we don't eat poop!"  He may have thought the beans looked like poop because he wouldn't touch them and he usually likes beans. 

Amusement Park in Germany

Last weekend my family finally visited our first amusement park in Germany.  We went to Holiday Park.  We had a great time.  There were several rides that my almost 2 year old could ride and plenty of rides for older children and grown-ups.  It was like a mini Disney World for Germany.  They had German cartoon characters dressed up to meet the children and get pictures with them.  They had a log ride and a few bigger roller coasters for children 8 and up.  There was an indoor playroom with a slide and soft mats for younger kids to play if the weather was good.  It was for kids 0-5.  There were also some playgrounds within the park.  

We ate lunch at one of the restaurants and the food was pretty good.  Thankfully you can bring your own food in so we brought some snacks and water bottles with us.  There are a lot of amusement parks and theme parks in Germany and we hope to try another one soon.  

The only thing I did not like about Holiday Park was one ride which I thought was going to be a boat ride.  My husband and I were thinking of the ride at Disney World in Orlando where they play "It's a Small World."  Well, this was not a boat ride but a haunted seat ride.  It went through the dungeons of castles, providing us a visual history of various ways of torturing and killing people, think of a "live" torture museum.  There were also robotic people dressed up as prostitutes, drunks, etc.  We had no idea that it would be like this.  It was truly a very different cultural experience.  It was quite scary and I kept trying to cover my young son's eyes because the ride and sites were quite scary and even freaked me out.  Needless to say, we will not be going in the dungeon again if we go back.  My husband and I both felt horrible for taking our son on that ride.  Thankfully, he made it out and didn't seem to be too scared. If you visit a theme park in another country be aware that not every ride will be what you expect.  

Other than that it was a nice park to spend the day.  Very stroller friendly and plenty of families and young people were there enjoying the rides.

Cinque Terre with a Toddler

My husband and I have wanted to visit Cinque Terre for several years.  It is a beautiful rugged portion of coast along the Italian Riviera.  There are "Five Lands" which make up five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.  We stayed in an apartment in Riomaggiore, which ended up being my favorite village.

Traveling with a toddler, too much luggage, and a stroller is tiring, especially when arriving and departing.  We took the train from Pisa, which was super easy.  After making several trips up and down the stairs to get to our apartment we were set to enjoy the beauty.  Most of the towns were stroller friendly after you walk up and down the steps to get to them.  We took our full size German stroller rather than our travel umbrella stroller.  One day we did not use it, we just let our son walk and we carried him.  The next day it was worth bringing it.

Our favorite villages were Riomaggiore, Vernazza, and Manarola.  Although visiting all five is worth doing if you ever go.  There are a few parks in various villages.  We saw one in Vernazza and one in Monterosso.  Needless to say, that was our son's favorite part of Cinque Terre besides hanging out with us.

Hiking is popular in Cinque Terre as is relaxing.  There are few things to see besides the beautiful coast and villages such as a black and white church in Monterosso and a church in Vernazza.  Other than that, enjoy the food, rest, and bring a book.

Here are a few pictures from our time in Cinque Terre.  We walked from Riomaggiore to Vernazza along the "Via dell'Amore" - or Lover's Lane, a track winding along the cliff-tops, high above the sea.  Our apartment overlooked the coast and was in a great location.  We found an apartment recommended by Rick Steve's through a company called Edi.  The location was great.  We had a nice sea view and it was close to everything.  The only downside was all the stairs.

Why are there letters on doors?

Last night we have a few visitors stop by our house.  If you live in Germany or travel through Germany during the first part of January, you will sometimes see letters on the top of people's doors. Germans call the holiday, Dreikönigstag (Three Kings' Day). Typically in Germany, on January 6th, children in groups of three (symbolising the three kings) proceed in costume from house to house while singing songs.  In our town 4 kids and one adult stopped by our house.  They were dressed up, sang a few songs to us, and collected money for a local charity.  After their songs they wrote a blessing on our door.  One of the children wrote 20 * C + M + B + 11.  My friend told me the letters have two meanings. They are the initials of the customary names of the Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. They also abbreviate the Latin words “Christus Mansionem Benedicat”, “May Christ bless the house”. The year is divided before and after the these letters. The crosses (+) represent the protection of the Christ."  She said that this is not just a Catholic blessing but is used by many faith traditions.  

This was the first time the kids visited our house and this is our third year in Germany.  When I mentioned this to one of my neighbors he said they come every year.  Not sure why we had not seen them until this year. Here are a few pictures from the group.

Our visitors

Blessing on our door