What do you all see as the pros and cons to being a working mom vs. a stay-at-home mom?  Please keep in mind that I don't want anyone to be offended by any of the statements made here, but I do want honest answers... please just give your opinion based off of your own experiences, since I'm sure that everyone's situation is different and only each person can make the decision of whether to work or stay at home for themselves according to what's best for their family.  I'm trying to decide that for myself (I don't have an option right now because I'm in the military, but will be able to choose very soon). 

Are there any dads on these forums?  I'm trying to get my husband more interested in teaching my daughter and doing things with her.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how to motivate him to work on early learning with her?  Thanks!

Hi there Malen!  Welcome to the forums, glad to have you!  You might be a young mom, but not that young compared to many moms I know.  My sister even had a child at 17!     Yeah, that's really early, I know.  She's a great mama though and I bet you are too.  Hope to "see you around" the forums soon. 

Hello emommy!  Welcome!  I can't wait to get to know you more and hear from you again soon on the other forums!   

Hi Autumn Butterfly!  Welcome to the forums!  My husband & I are both in the Air Force as well!  We've only been in for a little over five years.  I'm debating whether or not I will stay in or get out after my current enlistment because I want to stay at home with my daughter, but I also like the military too.  My daughter is about 16 months old and she has been doing baby signs since around your Devin's age, I think.  We only recently started to teach her more than just a few things though... we got lazy for awhile I guess.  That's great that Jaedon (nice name btw!) is reading and loving math!  May I ask when you started working with him on those things?  and how you went about it? 

Again, welcome!  Hope to hear more from you soon!

Hi Lindsay!  I've sort of met you elsewhere on the forums already but thought I'd leave you a nice welcome message here.  I'm glad you could join us!  You seem to have some great information and opinions to contribute. 

Hi Grover and welcome!  I'm pretty new at this too, but I suppose I would suggest getting started by browsing the forums in areas that interest you... they have so much great information and a lot of summaries of different topics that could prove very useful to you.  If you have any specific questions and can't find the answers in the forums already, feel free to ask them because the other members here are chock full of knowledge!   

Once upon a time, Santa Clause wandered into my garden and dropped his cookies on blue carpet that my sacks of beads fell onto. I picked pickled parsnips from Papa's popular place, then danced deliriously for my baby panda and he got slept under the Christmas tree.  Whenever

your child's toys... where do you put them all???

I'm trying to decide on a place to store my daughter's toys in the living room, without using a big, bold, clunky, plastic toy box.  Since we don't have a playroom, all of her things are piled in a pack 'n play right now.  I'd like to get something that looks a bit nicer and goes with the decor of the living room.  Maybe a trunk or storage bench.  What do you guys use for toy storage? 

How about books?  Do you keep them on a standard bookshelf or in another place?


And while we're on the topic of storage, how about the learning materials that you have (flash cards, etc.)... do you use any special organization for them?  Where do you keep it? 

Ooooohh!  Nice!   

I agree that letting them know how much your child enjoys learning and the things you are teaching is the way to go, or simply avoiding the discussion altogether- although I know this isn't always possible.

divaseven, I just wanted to say that the photo album sounds like a great idea.  Doesn't the plastic on the pages tear when they grab at it though?  Maybe I just need a thicker book, !

Chris1, nice suggestion for the Ladybird books.  They do seem as close to the request as possible.  I am going to look into finding some of them. 

There was a man called Fred
'Rise and Shine' said he, and got off the bed.

Fred never complains, he is always happy
He smiled and would make his hands clap, clap, clappy

He lives all alone and yet,
There isn't a person he hasn't met!

Every morning, he goes to town,
Where he performs in the circus as a Dare-Devil clown

He can juggle 25 balls
with only one hand while making phone calls

Fred's best at trapeze, where he flies in the air
As his wife Frieda uses her toes to catch him by his hair

Why Frieda and Fred live apart, no one knows
But the truth is fred’s  wife is the best in the women rows

Fred's favourite pastime is to fish by the lake
He'd hook herrings, halibuts, hoki and hake!

Fred likes eating bun , he enjoys the fun
And when he's done, he'll head into the forest for a run

The only thing he won't tell you, or even ask you to do,
Is to say his ten times table, or if he could count to twenty two.

Alas one fine day, a realization hit him
His moustache had grown so long that he badly needs a trim
and so off to the barber he did go,
to trim the moustache and his right big toe.

Just then his long lost son Freddie turned up
with 2 bags of laundry and a little brown pup
He jumped in the air and shouted with glee

Once upon a time, Santa Clause wandered into my garden and dropped his cookies on blue carpet that my sacks of beads fell onto. I picked pickled parsnips from Papa's popular place, then danced deliriously for my baby panda and he got slept under the

^ I need "alone time" when I'm stressed out.  It always helps to get my mind off of whatever the problem is by watching a really good movie/show or reading an interesting book. 

> I didn't eat breakfast this morning and I probably should have. 

v What is your favorite breakfast food/meal?