Sunday's In My City

I love stopping by Unknown Mami every Sunday. She hosts a great meme, where everyone shares photos of their city.

I intentionally went for a walk downtown today should I could share some photos of houses around my town. Each house is just so unique and different. Hard to believe they are all within a six block radius.

I did take others, but this is a good sampling of what I see when I walk in the residential areas of my town.

Audrey :)

Sunday's In My City

I've lived in Santa Barbara for 16 years now. I've never been to the Mission. This past weekend, I decided it was time to pay the Mission a visit. They had an amazing museum. It was a great afternoon. Here are a few photos from the Mission

Swimming

My daughter came out of her room today in her bathing suit. Yes, our temps were in the 80's today. Can you believe it? Do your kids know how to swim? At what age did they learn? My oldest daughter took swimming lessons quite young. My younger daughter didn't learn until she was 7 or 8. I took swimming lessons all through my teen years, actually passing the lifeguard courses offered. Today's weather really made me think of summer and swimming pools.

Audrey :)

Back to Writing

http://myparentingideas.blogspot.com/2010/02/very-sad.html This was written February 13th.. I really haven't been around much since then.

I've actually missed blogging and hope I'm now back :) I've also missed reading all of your blogs and keeping up with what's happening in your lives.

So, here's today's question. How do you help your kids cope with stress? We all feel stressed from time to time and show that stress in different ways.

As I mom I have two things I want to do. One is I want to remember my kids are feeling stressed today and back off a bit. Two I'd like to offer them ideas and suggestions to help relieve the stress they're feeling.

What's your strategy when your kids are stressed?

Audrey :)

Ants

Last night I was walking past the living room and saw a long line of black. When I looked closer, the ants had come in out of the rain:

What is your tip for getting rid of ants? We get them often, weather dependent.

Audrey :)

Chicken Pox

Did you have the chicken pox as a child? Have your kids had chicken pox? Have your kids been vaccinated against chicken pox?

I had them as a child. My oldest daughter had them at about age 6. At the time I was pregnant and petrified. I did not know how a fetus exposed to chicken pox would affect the unborn baby. I was at both the obstetrician's office and the pediatrician's office. Everyone reassured me my baby would be fine. I chose not to vaccinate her against the chicken pox. She got them when she was about 5 or 6. We had a party with friends over and the next day she had them. Sure enough the other kids got them a week later.

What's your chicken pox story?

Audrey :)

Kids Working

What do you think about 16 year olds working? Here in California, there are many laws about how many hours a 16 year old can work and how late they can work, but they still can absolutely get a work permit.

Both of my girls worked a few hours per week at age 16. The kids who worked like 20 hours per week, I'm just not sure how they did it. With homework and sports there just isn't a lot of time left.

What do you think about 16 year olds working?

Audrey :)