We all have so many passwords these days, and more are needed every day. Years ago I heard a tip (I no longer remember the source) to make your password something positive. For example:

lose10lbs
getanewjob
writetoday
meetsome1new (meet someone new)

I’ve used this system in the past and am amazed at how it works. Every time you have to log in to your email, to your bank, to your computer at work … every time you log in, you will be reminded of the one thing you want to do most. Try it.

My husband and I love to go out to Japanese restaurants and we usually bring our toddler. Typically there aren’t kids’ menus at these restaurants, which also equates to no cups with lids, no bendy straws and no small spoons. We’ve adapted and bring supplemental food and his own sippy cup and silverware.

A couple of months ago Little Mister was sick and we ordered take out from a Chinese/Japanese restaurant and decided to get him a broth-like soup — Miso did the trick. He gobbled it up. I’d forgotten that he liked it so much — until last night when we decided to give it a try again at our favorite sushi restaurant. The soup came to the table, but was a bit hot. Little Mister didn’t want to wait for it to cool down and our waitress noticed. She suggested we add sushi rice to the soup. She said kids normally like it and it tends to cool the soup down. Well, he loved it. Every bit of it. We’ll definitely try this trick again.

(Photo courtesy and copyright Setsuko Yoshizuka, About.com Guide to Japanese Cuisine)

Today my little guy graduated from Safe Start, the infant/child safety “swim” program. I put swim in quotes because this course focuses on safety, not swimming. Children learn to float and to “swim” to the wall. They still need formal swimming lessons when they are older.

I am amazed how much he learned in 6 short weeks. We went to our local YMCA every Monday-Friday where he spent 10 minutes in the pool. It’s a huge commitment, but one I wouldn’t change now that I’ve seen what he can do. What it won’t change is our vigilance around pools and open water. But now I feel that he has another layer of protection. And, it gives us more to do in the water. We don’t have to hold him constantly, instead, we can practice his swimming from one adult to another, or to the wall.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a policy statement on swimming programs for infants and toddlers. My take on their statement is that these safety courses do not replace adult supervision and its main concern is that parents will let their guard down thinking their child is safe. They are probably right, so parents must remember to be as vigilant as if their child never took a lesson. Read their full statement here.

From the Safe Start Web site:

“Beginning at the age of 6 months, children are taught to turn from face down in the water to face up and into a comfortable back float position; at 12 months old, children learn how to swim, rotate onto the back and float, and then turn back over and continue swimming to safety. Children are taught in a one-to-one setting, where the instructor is focused solely on one child. Parents, who must be present during the lessons, are educated about all aspects of aquatic safety through interviews, observations, and the Safe Start Parent Resource Book.”

Find a location near you.

I was watching Good Morning America (GMA) today and they had a segment about working from home. Diane Sawyer said they started their series, Take Control of Your Life, one year ago and have heard of 5,000 people who started working from home. And there are still more work from home jobs available, they say. Read the full story here.

You can also ask GMA’s workplace contributor, Tory Johnson, a question about working from home and it may get on the air. From ABC’s Web site:

“Having trouble balancing your career and home life? Do you want more information on how YOU can work from home? Or do you have other career questions? Ask “Good Morning America” workplace contributor Tory Johnson and she may offer you on-air solutions on ABC News Now.”

Get information here.

Today is my birthday. I had my morning all planned out, but got to school to drop Little Mister off and realized I forgot to give him his medicine. How can a mother forget such a thing? I think I was caught up in dressing him in his summer clothes for his swimming test that I forgot to give it to him. That, or the fact that I got sidetracked when he picked up the package of decorated cupcakes that I left sitting in plain view on the kitchen counter. He’s tall enough now that he can get things from practically everywhere; I’m just not used to this new trick. “No cupcakes for breakfast,” I said, and out of the house we ran — without his dose of medicine.

Now that I’ve had my Starbucks grande, percent, vanilla latte and have gotten home, I can turn around and take him his dose of meds for the day. Then, off to my day I will go — hopefully without forgetting anything else.