Astounding Words

Safety rules must be the biggest concern when acquiring a seat for your baby, but the style variations aren’t purely cosmetic, and it’s important to know just what effects your choice will carry before making it. The standard has been set by respected brands (Cosco, Graco, Disney, et cetera) and consists of an assortment of chairs intended for babies of under twelve months - a maximum capacity of around twenty pounds. As the majority - though far from all - such chairs are rear facing exclusively, it can be crucial to choose which will be best for you and be careful when the time comes to buy that what you choose fits the way you want it to. We should also point out here that many of the best child car seats also work as lightweight baby carriers, eliminating the need to disturb your child when moving him from or to your house. Searching for something your child won’t be too big for so fast? If that’s the case, you need the convertible style. The time your babies will need safety seats is not long, but it’s more than twelve months. Convertible seats cost a little more but can be used for the entire time. As experienced parents will tell you, for the most part these chairs aren’t designed to be carried outside the vehicle. Your first step when you’re looking at convertible car seats is always to examine the reviews available given that no two chairs are identical, different combinations of features are unlikely to be as useful for each individual family. Not only that, but you’ll discover that studying safety seat reviews will give you a dependable independent judgment to ensure you’ll settle on a quality seat.

After passing the twenty pounds mark, your children still need a safety chair until around eighty pounds - which is where the booster seat comes in. It can be the employment of the car’s own safety belt or the five-point harness- the booster seat fastens using one of two methods and either may give your little one greater comfort, so the sensible thing to do is to actually find out how it feels before you buy. Educational toys are often integrated with seats like these, helping to keep your toddler quiet as you get on with driving. Choosing the best infant car seats often takes a long time, with the need to balance the needs of your child against your finances to reach your final decision. As a basic rule, the reviews on offer are the greatest resource you will find.

Big Foot Relay. Get the children fetch two shoeboxes with them. Magnetic Tape the hats onto the corners, then cut a one-inch-wide and four-inch long slit in to each one top. Get the contestants slip their feet into the slits in the boxes and race.

Frisbee Tower. Buy a bunch of mini Frisbees and aim them in a pile in the center of the grounds. Have the guests split the Frisbees among themselves. The first player begins the activity by placing one of his or her Frisbees on the earth. Each of the following players places his or her Frisbee on tip of the first Frisbee, and the action proceeds until someone causes the growing tower to topple.

Cross Step. Draw a ten-by-ten grid on the sidewalk or patio with chalk. Have each player stand on a different square. One at a time, each player must move to a new square after crossing out the square she or he was once standing in. The magic is that players cannot step into a square that is occupied or crossed out. If a player cannot move to a new square, he or she is out. The game extends until one player is left.
Kill the Cockroach. Part the actors into 2 teams. Line them up, one in front of the other and set an odd object in front of the first players in line. They must kick the object crossways the yard and the across the end line to win a point for their team. Kick things like a pillow, empty can, a sock, and so on.

Month 1: Your first month of pregnancy your baby will accomplish many things, first and foremost, conception, fertilization, and implantation. After a woman ovulates, the egg is normally fertilized within 24-48 hours. The single fertilized cell begins to rapidly divide and at this point in time is called a zygote. Many amazing things happen at fertilization. Your baby’s entire physical attributes are determined including gender, hair color, and eye color. Between days 7-10 from fertilization implantation usually occurs. Implantation should occur within the uterus if it does not this is considered an ectopic pregnancy. The amniotic sac, umbilical cord and yolk sac are already beginning to form. By the end of this month your baby is approximately 2mm long and beginning early stages of development.

Month 2: Your baby is now considered a fetus. Her heart, neural tube, arms and legs, liver and other major organs begin to form. By your 6th week, her heart will be beating and visible via ultrasound. The placenta also begins to form as well as the eyes, ears, mouth, and bones. In this month, your baby’s fingers and toes will become present, however, they may still be webbed. Her brain and cranial nerves will also begin to form this month. Baby’s sex organs begin to become visible. Your baby is approximately 1/2 inch - 3/4 inch long and weighs about 1-2 grams by the end of this month.

Month 3: If given an ultrasound now, you would be able to see your baby’s arms and legs moving. Baby’s heartbeat can be detected by doppler beginning in your third month. Development of the heart and all major organs is complete by the end of the third month. Baby’s sex organs continue to develop, but it is still too difficult to differentiate gender. Baby’s muscles in trunk, limbs, and head are developing. Baby’s face is well formed and your baby looks like a baby. By the end of your third month, your baby is 3-4 inches long and weighs about 1 ounce.

Month 4: During your fourth month your baby’s hair and teeth begin to form. Your baby will be moving and active now and you may begin to feel baby’s movement this month, however, not feeling movements till next month is perfectly normal as well. Your baby’s digestive system is forming and the intestines are present. Meconium, your baby’s first stool, is present in the intestines as well. By the end of this month it may be possible to determine baby’s gender. Your baby is approximately 5-6 inches long and weigh 5-8 ounces by the end of the month.

Month 5: Your baby is developing a fine hair, called lanugo, which covers the body. Likewise, her eyelashes and eyebrows are developing. Her fingerprints and footprints are now developed. She begins to suck and swallow and may even be found sucking her thumb. Vernix, a white lanolin-like covering, appears on baby to protect her skin. Her ears are developed as well and she may be able to hear you now. Your baby is approximately 7-8 inches long and weighs 3/4-1 pound by the end of this month.

Month 6: Your baby’s immune system is developing and she is beginning to create her own antibodies. She has developed a hand grip reflex and startle reflex. Her lungs are beginning to develop and alveoli are forming. She is growing and filling out. She looks more and more like the person she will be when she is born. By the end of this month, she is approximately 9-10 inches long and weigh in at about 1 1/2-2 1/4 pounds.

Month 7: Your baby’s eyes are open and she is able to cry. She may be very active now and others may be able to see her movements. She may have hiccups which will feel like a jumpy movement. She is increasing in body fat and her bones are fully developed now. By the end of this month, she is approximately 11 inches long and weighs around 3-3 1/2 pounds.

Month 8: At this point of your pregnancy, there is not a whole lot of new development. However, your baby is growing and maturing and preparing for life outside the womb. Your baby sleeps most of the time now and has periods of REM sleep. Baby is becoming increasingly cramped for space, but she is still very active. Your baby is approximately 13 inches long and weighs around 5-6 pounds at the end of this month.

Month 9: In your 9th month, which actually extends a little further than 9 calendar months, your baby is preparing for birth. She will spend a lot of time resting, but she should still have plenty of active periods. She should be facing head down in preparation for birth. Babies weight and length vary considerably at birth, but a typical range would be between 7-8 pounds and 19-21 inches in length.

Teresa Redmond is a wife and mother to 5 children. She is also co-owner of Justmommies.com. She has taken many health related classes including obstetric & gynecological nursing, pharmacology, and medical terminology. She has written numerous parenting and health articles. If you would like to know more about what is happening during pregnancy please see our pregnancy calendar at http://www.justmommies.com/pregnancy_calendar.php

Zeb Washington pranced around the room and went back to his newest telescope. Sure enough! He had his first discovery. It would be in Astronomy Magazine. He called his wife, Latina.

Latina: What?

Zeb: I see something.

Latina: Good, that’s why I bought you that thing for your birthday.

Zeb: Come back! You’ve got to see it too.

Latina: You know I can’t see into that thing. I only see black.

Zeb: Give it a try, Latina. No! The other eye is better. You can’t see through your glass eye.

Latina: Stop joking, Zeb. Oh! I can see something!

Zeb: It’s the Sentillon Quaduthunk.

Latina: The what?

Zeb: Just kidding! The Sentillon Quaduthunk is a machine that vacuums the earth removing all the loose stuff. Taylor Jones, the hack writer, first wrote about it. But this is not the Sentillon Quaduthunk.

Latina: You still read that Taylor Jones, the hack writer, stuff. Why don’t you read contemporary stuff? The Wal-Mart® best seller United States Suffers under Chinese Rule has been out for six months and you haven’t read one page.

Zeb: I hope you don’t have a copy of that in the house. We will be hung and quartered on the Lo Chow Gate.

Latina: You mean quartered and hung. It’s under the mattress.

Zeb: It hurts either way. How did you get a copy of that volume? You know it’s on the Long List of Books We Chinese Don’t Like. Get rid of it.

Latina: My sister-in-law Rosa smuggled it in from Mexico. A writer calling himself Taylor Jones, the hack writer III, wrote it under the pen name Rolando Garcia. He was supposedly assassinated by agents of the Committee of Oriental Assassins last year in Vera Cruz. Every one knows he escaped. The Chinese agents actually killed a pig that Rolando had put under the covers of his bed.

Zeb: One of your fascinating stories, Latina?

Latina: Well, actually nobody knows who Rolando Garcia really is. But the pig part of the story is true. The town folks roasted the pig and Rolando attended the fiesta. He’s written another book. It’s Why the Chinese Don’t Want Mexico.

Zeb: Why?

Latina: Why, what?

Zeb: Never mind. I think I know. The Mexicans refuge to speak any language other than Aztec. Nobody can understand them but the Navajo and they aren’t talking either.

Latina: How did you know that? Maybe we should switch to Pig Laten.

Zeb: Or tht ALK language my grandfather told me about that replaced Pig Latin. Thankalk yalkou falkor yalkour talkime.

Latina: Yalku alkre walkelcalkome. I never heard of that language. How did you know the Navajos could understand Aztec?

Zeb: Research! Okay, I’ve got a fix on this now, Latina. It’s the Fonlikors from G78899445 cut loose by a stupid bet they lost with the Chnileieeniens. They will come in here with their Avglaitors and slice us and our captors like a loaf of bread in a bread slicer.

Latina: The Fonlikors! The ugly killers of the universe. What will we do?

Zeb: They are running late. They won’t be here until 2085. How about some of those delicious quesadillas you whip up?

Zeb hated to lie to Latina. The Fonlikors were right on schedule.

To make quesadillas see http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000226quesadilla.php.

To learn about the Native American languages go to http://columbia.thefreedictionary.com/Native+American+languages.

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine. He is Executive Representative of IWS sellers of Tyler Hicks wealth-success books and kits. He also sells TopFlight flagpoles. He calls himself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer.”

More info: http://www.tjbooks.com

Business web site: http://www.aaaflagpoles.com

Kids are taught about sharing, safety, acceptable behavior, physical health and safety, and good study and work habits but seldom are they taught about money. These will be things that they take with them forever, after they grow up and move out on their own. Money is an important factor in life and it should be addressed in some manor so kids at least know the basics such as budgeting and saving.

Involve your children in family finances. Let them know how much you make or give them a comparison so they can better understand how much it is. Tell them how much each month money is spent on expenses, and what goes to savings, etc. If you are saving a lot your kids may try to as well, while if you are disorganized and spending without knowing how much you have available your kids may follow in that trend as well. How you spend your money will show your kids how much you have or don’t have to spend.

If you use credit cards, as soon as the bill comes in, pay it off and let your children know what you are doing. This way they will understand the use of credit but see that it gets paid off as soon as possible to prevent any financial problems in the future. Teach them the difference between debit and credit cards. Show them your online account with your bank or your bank repository booklet where you keep track of all incoming and outgoing money.

Then let your children manage their own funds. If you give them an allowance, let them do what they want with it. If they come to you asking for more money or something in particular they want, tell them to save their allowance so they can buy it. This will teach them to save and not be expected to get everything in life for free. If they have a part time job, it may be practical to set up a bank account with a savings so they can put this money there and earn interest. Teach them about comparison-shopping. What they may find in one store may be less expensive in another. If they get into a financial dilemma and they need your help, make sure you make them pay you back or else they may take advantage of the situation again.

If your children know the basics of financial management they will have a better grasp on life once they enter the real world on their own. For more information on financial matters please visit http://www.marriedfinances.com/.

Kelly Kennedy is the Communications Specialist for MindComet Corporation, a full service marketing agency for Fortune 500 companies and international conglomerates. Kelly specializes in public relations strategies focused on personal finance. Kelly has been author to hundreds of articles focusing on finance. She also acts as a contributing author for a wide variety of websites and newsletters. Kelly holds a Bachelors degree in Marketing from the University of Central Florida.