What? You've never seen a cat sleeping in your flower pot?

*****

Photo by me. | More Wordless Wednesday.

What do you want on your sale?

I'm deciding on what to put on sale in my shop over Thanksgiving weekend, and I thought I'd see if you had anything to say about that.

Under consideration:

• Dark tees (including mens, womens and kids)
• Ornaments (round and oval)
• Hoodies (hooded sweatshirts, womens raglan hoodies and kids hoodies)
• Journals
• Tote bags
• Large mugs

Let me know what you'd like to see on sale via the poll on the New on the Avenue blog and/or by leaving a comment here on this post. (Yep, the one you're reading.)

Speaking of Bold Avenue, we've been changing some things up there. So if you haven't already subscribed to the Bold Avenue feed, it would be a great time to do that!


****
Designs by me.

Babywearing Week highlights

A few great posts from International Babywearing week (last week):

• Babywearing Ambassador
• Babywearing - it’s not just for fussy babies
• Babywearing Tip: Wearing Baby On Your Back

And a couple of helpful articles I recently discovered on babywearing:

• Glossary of Babywearing Terms
• Pros and Cons of Selected Types of Babycarriers

If I missed your International Babywearing week post, feel free to include a link with your comment.

*****

Photo by squiddles. CCL.

Update: Kids and (not so much) craziness

You know how you're trying to go to sleep and you start to remember all kinds of things you haven't gotten done? Last night I thought "Hmmm...I was all concerned about how Mom's Day Out was gonna go last time I filled in there. Did I ever let everyone know how it went?"


Sure enough, I didn't. I had my new blog to announce, the elections to document, autumn to contemplate and a phone quiz to complete. Since this week was PSBN, Veteran's Day and International Babywearing Week, it's no wonder the update slipped my mind.

So here's the thing: Watching kids on the morning of Halloween was not the nightmare I was anticipating. Apparently, the candy feeding frenzy had not yet begun. I think there was only one costume-wearer and no plastic weapons of any kind. The kids were a bit hyper, but not nearly as much as I expected.



One of the regular MDO workers said that the day after Halloween is much worse - that's when a bunch of little ones who were up past their bedtimes crash from their sugar highs and get reeeally cranky. Glad we missed that this year!

***

Photos by me.

Kids in the white house

With young children about to be in the White House for the first time since the Kennedy administration, you have to ask yourself: What would that be like?

While Sasha and Malia Obama will probably be off-limits to interviewers the next four to eight years, past children of presidents have spoken about their experiences.


The White House Historical Association has this fabulous page about first kids. It asks great questions ("What would your life be like if you lived in the White House? Where would you play with your friends? Could you go anywhere you wanted at any time you wanted? Where would you eat and do your homework?"), gives historical anecdotes and has links to pictures of white house kids and pets. It's listed for grades 4-8, but I was intrigued and read the whole thing. You could also adapt it for younger kids by printing it off and reading them a section at a time, allowing them to think about and answer the questions, etc.

Yahoo also has a Presidential Children slideshow with 101 photos - with captions - of first kids throughout our history.

So interesting stuff to check out! And, in the meantime, you (or the kids) might just accidentally learn something about history or U.S. government!

*****
Daguerrotype of the south front of the White House (public domain)

The deal with babywearing

We're right in the middle of International Babywearing Week! (Which I know, thanks to Megan's post.)

If you're wondering what babywearing is or what the big deal is or why a parent would want to walk around carrying a baby in a sling, this post explains it beautifully. Enjoy!

*********

Photo by Pepper44. CCL.

Thanking day

It's not Thanksgiving, but today is a great day to say thanks. Let a veteran or active member of the military know that you're grateful for their service.


My dad often takes a veteran (sometimes a family member) out to lunch on Veteran's Day. I tried to carry on the tradition and went out to lunch with Grandpa one year. Of course, he didn't let his granddaughter pay, but I still think he felt appreciated.

More ways to say thanks to U.S. military and veterans:

• Send message to our troops
• Kids Thank a Vet - who is a veteran and how can kids say thanks
• Kids Take Action (America Supports You) - project ideas and stories of kids showing support for our troops

******

Photo by Ilya Eric Lee. CCL.