I'm going to shamelessly paste someone else's thoughts here. Not that I'm taking credit. This comes from my MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) e-newsletter. This week was excellent, excellent stuff.

HALT
Kathy Dye, Area Coordinator

A whiny day. You know the kind. When everything is met with a whine. "Why do I have to eat my carrots?" "When can we go to town?" "How come I have to pick up my toys?" "I don't wanna!" "I don't need a nap!" "It's miiiiiiiiiine!" I think I am going to lose my mind!

I just want to shout out, "What's the matter with you? Why are you so whiny?"

Then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, "why" this and "how come" that? What's the matter with ME? Oh no, now I'm whining!!

I read once that you should meet "whiners" head-on with the acronym HALT. H-A-L-T standing for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.

Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired? Four conditions that can lead to the whines. Four conditions that can hit the very young, the very old and the in-between. Four conditions that are often relatively easy to fix.

So the next time you come nose to nose (or knees to nose) with a whiner, think HALT and see if you can put a halt to the whining. My personal favorite for a cure? A nap, of course. If not for the whiner, then for me!

The central Florida population grew by three this week, at least, three that I  know of. Three of my friends delivered precious little ones over the past 7 days and I'm so excited! There's nothing like new life to remind us how good our God is! And even though babies are great, I think new mommies are the most beautiful women around....

 

Congratulations ladies!

 

"There are many kinds of success in life worth having. It is exceedingly interesting and attractive to be a successful business man, or railroad man, or farmer, or a successful lawyer, or doctor, or a writer, or a president, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment, or to kill grizzly bears and lions. But for unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison. It may be true that he travels farthest who travels alone; but the goal thus reached is not worth reaching." - Teddy Roosevelt

 

Happy Fathers Day, Joel! I love you!

On May 23, Mayor Dyer joined IKEA for the retailer’s announcement of plans to build a store in Orlando. IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, plans to start construction later this summer, with an anticipated opening in Fall 2007.

The 310,000 square-foot IKEA Orlando will be built on 22 acres off Eastgate Drive, south of Conroy Road, at the eastern end of The Mall of Millenia