We have a great time playing with the train in the waiting room of the pediatrician office until someone bigger comes along. I have started bringing a bag of toys and activities with me to the doctor’s office. It gives us something to do when the train is busy or when we are waiting in the examination room. I bring a coloring book, crayons, a ball, a toy car, children’s books, and an I-Spy bag. It has really been a blessing to pull out things to do when we have to wait.

It is also a great way to know JDaniel is playing with germ free toys and books.

You sing this to the tune Row, Row, Row Your Boat:

Wash, wash wash your hands
Wash them everyday
Tops and bottoms and in between
To keep the germs away!

I have a bunch of Mommyhood Tips,but would love to expand my mommyhood knowledge. If you have a great tip I can post on Tuesdays for Mommyhood Tips, please e-mail me or place the tip below. If your tip is selected, I will post your name along with your tip.

This week’s tip is simple please find a friend to remind you to get a mammogram. If have already had yours, that is awesome. I still need to schedule mine. I get them for my birthday in November. Someone once said to schedule them around the same memorable date each year. I haven’t forgotten a birthday yet so, that is my landmark date.

The weather has finally started to turn chilly here in South Carolina. I will need to put away JDaniel’s shorts, t-shirts, and other summer clothes to consign this spring. I am going to follow a system my sisters Michelle and Kate started. The clothes are going to be boxed up and labeled with the size and season of the clothes. It would be so easy to just pack them in a box and sort through them in the winter. This system should save me a lot of time when winter comes.

I was just reading through e-mail and came across this great idea from Amy Loves It. It fits right in with the recycling theme I have been talking about this week.

Here is her tip: If you are not near a recycling center, see if your local animal shelter can use your old newspapers. Even if you have a recycling center near by, you may want to see if shelters can use the newspapers.

I just read this tip in Family Fun Magazine. You need to tape up your child’s spelling list on the outside of glass door of your tub or shower. Then let your child trace the letters in each word this bathtub crayons. I think it is a great way to review your spelling words.

You have heard of burning a candle at both ends. (Many of you probably feel that way at one time or another.)This tip calls for sharpening a crayon at both ends. Young children have enough trouble holding a crayon. If you sharpen both ends of the crayon, there isn’t a wrong end for them to color with.

I found a great article called 10 Parenting Tips To Help Teach Your Child To Share located on the More 4 Kids website. Here are there tips:

•Tell your toddler that not sharing may mean his friends will not want to share with him either.

•If your toddler doesn’t want to share, explain why it’s important to share.

•Take the toys in question away; if your toddler doesn’t want to share – then no one will play with the toys.

•Never yell at the toddler, but be firm in your reprimands. Yelling rarely gets you anywhere and does not set a good example.

•If your toddler screams and carries on; give the toddler a timeout, or what I like to do is a time in and sit down with your child, talk to him or her and make sure there is not really some other issue that is causing the problem.

•Thank your child for sharing his toys with others.

•Teach your toddler to think of others and how happy it makes them when they share their toys.

•If other toddlers are invited over, ask your toddler to pick out some toys to put away. But also remind him the toys left out can be shared with everyone.

•Teach by example; show your child how you are willing to share something you own.

•Finally, start very young. When my youngest was just a few months old and could sit up we would start playing a game. I would give him a toy and whenever he gave it back I would smile profusely, say ‘thank you’ and give it back to him. Now when we are playing together he routinely shares his toys with me and his big brother.

These tips are just guidelines. I found them very helpful read over and think about how I am teaching JDaniel to share.