Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home

ACTIVITY: Release ladybugs into your garden.

COST: Less than $10.00 at your local hardware store or visit http://www.organiccontrol.com/

TIME NEEDED: 30 minutes of fly away fun.

BONUS: Ladybugs love to dine on aphids and plant mites so ditch the icky pesticides for this kid-friendly method of pest control.









I am a busy Mom and it seems there is never enough time in my day. When I am not keeping my household running, I am busy owning my own business, heading up PTA functions, training for marathons, keeping up who is winning Project Runway and the list goes on. Sound familiar?

As a modern mom, I find myself short on time and even shorter on patience.

I need to spend more quality time with my kids. Who doesn't? But what I've realized is that my kids don't need or even want my attention 24 hours a day. They just want to know that when I am with them, I am completely with them and can you blame them?

So that's what I've decided to do, give them their time. So here goes...

For 30 minutes each day, I, mother of 2, will try to shut off my"life" during which time, I promise not to tweet, post on Facebook, go near my computer, pick up my Blackberry or answer my phone. I will be present and grateful and believe it or not, fun!

Something Magical is Coming...

To my four year-old son, life is a very magical place. The day isn't quite complete unless he has amazed us all with his slight of hand, his gift for distraction or his ability to pull many a household item from my ear.

It is what thrills him. What puts the twinkle in his eyes as he removes his hat to take a bow. It is what makes us, as his family cheer as if he himself had made the earth move. It is his world, his place and I am happy to play any part in it.

It was with this childhood love in mind that I searched for the perfect magician's cape for him for the holidays and found none. I suppose I found some but none that quite matched the vision in my head. A cheaply made costume-type cape would never do for my master of illusion. His would need to be special and fit for his imagination.

That's when it hit me. Why don't I create the perfect Magician Cape for Beansoup? It would be exquisitely made, have our Beansoup personality and the best and most required part...hidden pockets. So that's what I did. I sat down and made a list of all the things, I would like to see in the perfect magicians cape and I hope you'll agree.

When I brought the first sample home for my son to see, those twinkly eyes lit up and I knew that he wasn't the only one in our household who could create a little bit of Magic.