I can see the strength in this post. So glad you shared.

I so feel your pain. (Except for the part about three kids). My five year old daughter is hell-bent on being difficult at every turn. It started when her brother was born (3 years ago) and it hasn't stopped. We have tried everything! The only thing that works (and is almost impossible to do with a newborn because of hormones and sleep deprivation) is lots and lots of love. If I get the slightest bit bent out of shape or stressed, it shows up in her behaviour. She's like a mirror to my feelings. As long as I'm sunny and helpful and loving and patient, she is my sweet little girl. Now that her brother is three, she reacts nicely to him. They have developed a beautiful sibling relationship. But I still get the brunt of her anger if I don't shower her with love (I tried to avoid showering her with attention though. She's just gonna have to get used to that. You can't always be the center of attention.) Good luck with her daughter. Take care of yourself and you will likely find the strength to give her everything she needs. (I found you through the Ultimate Blog Challenge).

Great post! Lots of good info here. I wish I could have attended the conference. Music has always been huge part of my life and my children's lives. Since before they were born I have sung to them and played music for them. My daughter learned to talk at an early age and I think it was because of the music she was always listening to. The patterns in the music helped with her speech development. The same thing has happened with my son. And he spends so much time intently listening to any new song he hears until he gets the words and can sing it on his own. It's fascinating to watch.

Music is a fantastic tool for helping kids with their development. And not just in the area of speech, but also with math and patterns. My daughter started JK last year and her teacher told me at the first parent-teacher interview that her abilities with the pattern exercises they were doing far surpassed the expectations for a 4 year old. She asked if my daughter had musical training because usually children who are trained in music have a superior grasp of patterns. I was so proud! My choice to make music a regular part of our daily routines was paying off! And music is so much fun so it makes all those routines that you go through with kids (like brushing teeth, washing their faces and hands, getting dressed) so much fun for them!

I follow Jennifer's blog, “M” Is For Marriage and Motherhood. When I started blogging back in November 2011 and was looking for other mom bloggers to connect with, I think Jennifer's blog was the first one I found and followed. Her writing is quite good. I really enjoy it. Until I had been following her for a while, I didn't even notice that English wasn't her first language. She has a way with words that really speaks to the reader. I'm so happy to see her featured on ourkids.net. And I'm happy to have found ourkids.net for myself. This is a great site. Thanks to both ourkids.net and Jennifer Vidal for making this connection for me.

I hope you enjoyed your trip to Toronto! Always nice to see a Canadian connection in the blogging world. Flip flops rule! I found your blog through the Bloggy Moms July Blog Hop.

This is great! I've been looking into Forex for some time now, but wanted to find a good practice tool first. I'll definitely check out eToro! It's good to hear what other people think before trying something new. As always, your site is a wealth of fantastic and useful information.
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Excellent article. I'm going to refer to this a lot in the next few months as I make some tough decisions about where I want my dreams to take me. Thank you.