The ABCs of potty training

Most parents eagerly anticipate toilet training as a milestone in their child's development, if for no other reason than that it means an end to changing diapers. But few moms and dads are prepared for how long toilet training can take.
Sure, some children master it within a few days, but others can take several months. In general, the younger your child is when you start to toilet-train, the longer it takes.
You and your child have a better chance of success if you understand the elements of training and approach the process in a clear fashion. Here are the basic steps:

• A. Assess your child's readiness — and your own
• B. Buy the right equipment
• C. Create a routine
• D. Demonstrate for your child
• E. Explain the process
• F. Foster the habit
• G. Grab some training pants
• H. Handle setbacks gracefully
• I. Introduce night training
• J. Jump for joy — you're done!

 

 

 

 

 

Ways To Keep Your Marital Relationship Fresh!

Here goes:

 1) Express Physical Affection This one was an easy one to see as an engaged couple. The longer some people are married, the less they touch. So we decided we wouldn’t do that. We decided we would always love holding hands, sitting arm in arm, and snuggling up to each other. Life has it’s way of getting busy and this one can easily fall by the way-side. We’ve had to remind each other from time to time, but I’m thankful that this hasn’t changed much since the day we were married
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 2) Listen to Each Other This one sort of snuck up on me, and Dana is better at it. I really have to work at this. But when we’re together, there’s usually one of us leading the conversation. Usually Dana has more to say—she’s a woman. (And that’s not an insult, by the way.) But we both have our moments of “needing to be heard.” And I think we both value the sound of the other’s voice. I meet some husbands who get tired of “listening”— don’t do that. Be thankful that YOU are the one she’s chosen to talk to! What a compliment!

Few Daily Habits That Will Make You Happier

Happiness is the only true measure of personal success. Making other people happy is the highest expression of success, but it's almost impossible to make others happy if you're not happy yourself.

With that in mind, here are nine small changes that you can make to your daily routine that, if you're like most people, will immediately increase the amount of happiness in your life:

1. Start each day with expectation.

If there's any big truth about life, it's that it usually lives up to (or down to) your expectations. Therefore, when you rise from bed, make your first thought: "something wonderful is going to happen today." Guess what? You're probably right.

2. Take time to plan and prioritize.

The most common source of stress is the perception that you've got too much work to do.  Rather than obsess about it, pick one thing that, if you get it done today, will move you closer to your highest goal and purpose in life. Then do that first.

3. Give a gift to everyone you meet.

I'm not talking about a formal, wrapped-up present. Your gift can be your smile, a word of thanks or encouragement, a gesture of politeness, even a friendly nod. And never pass beggars without leaving them something. Peace of mind is worth the spare change.

Identical Twins Marry Identical Twins and it Doesn't End There!

You don’t see identical twins everyday. The chances of having identical twins is 3 in 1000 so it’s not something that happens everyday and that makes them something special, in my book. I actually lived in Twinsburg, Ohio for a year, which is where they hold an annual twins convention, which made this story even more interesting to me.

Identical twin brothers, Mark and Craig Sanders were at the annual twins convention in Twinsburg, Ohio in 1998 when Mark met Darlene Nettemeier in the hotel lobby. Darlene and her identical twin sister, Diana, were visiting relatives who lived near the convention and decided to stop by.

Mark experienced love at first sight when he met Darlene and he wanted to introduce his brother, Craig, to Darlene’s identical twin sister, Diane. To make a long story short, two brothers met their identical twin soul mate sisters. After dating for a while, the men proposed to the ladies on the same day, with the exact same engagement ring.

To take the identical twin theme even a bit further, they had a double wedding and the ladies even wore the exact same dress design and their father walked them both down the aisle together in 1999. But, they didn't stop there with twins...

In 2001, Craig and Diane gave birth to identical twin boys, Colby and Brady. What are the odds? Glad you asked. The odds of identical twin brothers, marrying identical twin sisters and then one of the couples giving birth to identical twin sons in one in millions.

Mark and Darlene have 2 little girls and Craig and Diane have the identical twin boys and another son. Due to genetic makeup, all five of the children are technically considered siblings but reason, and the fact that they have different parents, makes them cousins. If your mind is not completely blown away by this family and you are not seeing double yet, the families live next door to one another in Houston. Holy smokes, it must be hard to have an identity of your own in that family. 

Then again, wouldn’t it be awesome to have two of you?

I’m not a twin but I would think that after awhile you would want to stop having who you are permanently tethered to someone else. I think this story is very cool but if I had a sister, who looked just like me, living right next door with her husband that looked just like mine, I’d feel like I was always being compared to her and that would get old really fast. I’d imagine the price of having a built in best friend is losing some of your own independence and identity.

I wonder if the spouses ever mistake the wrong person for their partner? Or what about the children do they call Auntie Darlene Mommy accidentally and vice versa? Either way, I bet life is confusing for their Houston neighbors.
cc:NBC

Buried Baby Dug Out Alive

Buried Baby Dug Out Alive

This baby was dug out this morning somewhere in Lagos and miraculously the baby is alive. Instead of burying the baby alive, why not package him and drop him off in front of someone's house.

20-Month Old Boy Survives On Sucking Cow’s Breast After Parents Left Him!

This is quite weird as a Cambodian man says his young grandson has lived partly on milk he suckles directly from a cow since the boy’s parents left their rural village in search of work. Um Oeung says 20-month-old Tha Sophat started suckling the cow in July after he saw a calf do the same. Um Oeung told The Associated Press he pulled the boy away at first. He relented after his grandson protested loudly and the boy has suckled the cow’s milk once or twice a day since then. Tha Sophat has lived with his grandparents in Siem Reap province in northwest Cambodia since his parents moved to Thailand looking for work. Um Oeung said Friday the cow doesn’t mind the boy suckling but he is worried about his grandson’s health if he continues

Muhammad Ali’s Tearful Advice To His Daughters On Indecent Dressing0 Comments

I came across this timeless piece of information on Facebook, and we think it might interest, inspire, and elicit a change of attitude to at least one person.
An incident transpired when Muhammad Ali’s daughters arrived at his home wearing clothes that were quite revealing.

Here is the story as told by one of his daughters:
“When we finally arrived, the chauffeur escorted my younger sister, Laila, and me up to my father’s suite. As usual, he was hiding behind the door waiting to scare us. We exchanged many hugs and kisses as we could possibly give in one day.

My father took a good look at us. Then he sat me down on his lap and said something that I will never forget. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to.
Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected.
Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell.

Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You’ve got to work hard to get to them.”
He looked at me with serious eyes. “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too