When your youngest child finally leaves toddlerhood behind and can no longer be considered a baby, it can bring about a range of emotions. The emotions can range from absolute excitement and joy to a very real sense of loss and grief. But whatever side of the spectrum our feelings fall on, the question will always pop up into our mind: should I have another baby?

I am no stranger to this moment in motherhood as my youngest will be in kindergarten by the end of August. But, like many of you out there, circumstances prevent me from realistically entertaining the idea of having another baby at this point. For many women the choice is made for them. Financially, physically, or logistically, they are unable to have another baby.

This post is for them.

Over the weekend I got to spend some time with one cute little baby. A smiley faced happy little guy who made my uterus ache. But we are not having another baby right now. So today I am focusing my attention on all the good things about not having a baby.

1. No Diapers

Diapers are certainly one of the least glamorous aspects of motherhood and I felt liberated when I no longer had to deal with them anymore. No more budgeting money for diapers, no dirty diaper pails, no diaper bags, and no more wipes. How wonderful it is to be diaper free cannot be described to a new mom who thinks that she will be changing diapers for the rest of her life.

2. Sleep

OK, so I’m not going to claim that with a seven and five year old in the house I sleep like I did when I was 20. But I certainly sleep more hours and better than I did when I was breastfeeding my babies. And on a really lazy Sunday morning, if I don’t feel like getting up, I have a seven year old who can throw a couple of waffles in the toaster himself.

3. Sweet Freedom

Most new moms go through moments in the first year or two of their baby’s life feeling like they are chained to their child. But that passes. Now I can relax in the backyard with a book while the kids play. Or decide to go for a walk or a drive. No diaper bags or car seats, just hop in the car and go. Yes, I love having some of my freedom back. It makes me a better mom and a happier person.

4. More Conversation

When kids get to be school age, they become real people. They have views and opinions on everything and are a blast to hang out with. I love chilling out with my kiddos. They keep me grounded, make me laugh, and always keep me thinking. A gurgling baby is cute, but can’t do any of that stuff the same way older kids can.

5. Holidays Rock

As much as we look forward to our child’s first Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and every other cute holiday, the truth is in that first year it’s still about us, not the child. It’s not until our child is old enough to really grasp the magic of the holidays’ that we get to start enjoying the Norman Rockwell-esque Christmases we dreamed about while we were pregnant.

So what do you think is the best part of having your children out of babyhood?

Don’t use disposable shopping bags ever again! Check out the stylish Boards 2 Bags. Each one is one-of-a-kind and adorable!

And for more green reviews, check out Steffany’s website EcoBold.

Facebook launched a brand new Safety Page. The company plans to post content regularly to complement Facebook’s Safety Center introduced back in April, which has also been given a complete redesign.

“We regularly invite authors to blog about safety topics from cyberbullying to the importance of ‘Thinking Before You Post.’ ” said Joe Sullivan, Facebook’s chief security officer in a blog post. “We’ve partnered with organizations like MTV and the BBC to educate users about safe online behavior. We worked hard to make reporting abuse faster and simple.”

Since so many internet safety concerns like cyberbullying and privacy are Facebook-centric, it makes sense to keep up with those issues on Facebook, right? If you Like the page, you’ll get updates about internet safety in your News Feed. And while you’re at it, why don’t you Like Life360 too.

From the Facebook Blog.

Three states — Florida, Mississippi, and Utah — don’t allow gay couples to adopt. But they should! Research has shown that same-sex couples make perfectly good parents, and in some cases, are even better parents than straight couples. (That last bit is controversial, but the research at least concludes that families with same-sex parents are not worse off.) So is it time to end the ban on gay adoptions?

An article from the August issue of Applied Developmental Science argues that there’s no reason policy should prohibit same-sex couples from adopting. There is “no justification for denying lesbian and gay prospective adoptive parents the opportunity to adopt children,” said Charlotte Patterson, the lead researcher.

Currently, 115,772 same-sex American couples have kids. And if the success of The Kids Are Alright says something, then most of the country is ready to embrace gay adoption. So what’s the hold up?

Should we allow same-sex couples to adopt?

From Motherlode.

Well, sort of. The account @angelinajolie is locked and not accepting followers. But we can still speculate what Jolie would tweet, can’t we?

Someone asked if @bradpitt and me were really like Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Yes, only we have more money.

Just adopted another Asian baby. #gottacatchemall

Tried to convince @bradpitt to be a SAHD. Then he reminded me how much better Benjamin Button was than Salt. LOL good point!

@billybobthornton I’m sorry, have we met?

Or maybe not. Do you follow any celebrity parents on Twitter? Are you following @life360?

The first two years of my son’s life, I was a working mom with a son in daycare. Then, after my daughter was born, I decided I wanted to stay home with my kids. But financially, giving up a second income all together was not an option, so we decided to open a small family daycare out of the home.

I retired from daycare almost a year ago and think about those years often when I meet new moms who are putting their child in daycare for the first time. I always like to offer advice from the perspective of the daycare provider and share things with them that I wish had been shared with my parents when they first started in my daycare.

So here is a list of the things your daycare provider wishes they could tell you.

1. She Is Not Rich

Most daycare providers are struggling just like everyone else. The money spent on toys, food, cleaning supplies, laundry, daycare insurance, licensing, an assistant, and taxes cost more than you think. When you don’t pay your daycare provider, they sometimes can’t do their grocery shopping — shopping that includes the food for meals they’re going to prepare for your child the following week. What would you tell your boss if he/she told you he/she would have to pay you sometime next week instead of payday?

2. Your Daycare Provider Has a Life

If daycare hours are 7a.m. to 6p.m. that does not mean 6:40a.m. to 6:30p.m. If you think it does, that mean your daycare provider may miss back-to-school nights or dinners with friends while waiting for you to show up.

3. She Is Not a Business, She Is An Individual

When write your daycare provider a bad check, it does not get returned to the accounting department. There is no staff to send you the check back with a form letter to ask for payment. When you bounce a check, her checks bounce.

4. “Cash Only” Means Cash Only.

Cash only is for your protection as much as your daycare provider’s.

5. If Your Child is Sick, Keep Him/Her at Home

Read your daycare provider’s sick policy and follow it. Think about how you would feel if it were someone else’s child who was sick and infecting yours.

6. If You’re Home Sick, Consider Keeping Your Child Home

Chances are your child will be exposing everyone else to what you already have, especially if you have something highly contagious like the stomach flu. Otherwise you just might be staying home again if your daycare provider catches it a few days later.

7. Your Daycare Doesn’t have Sick Leave

Try to help daycare providers out, by avoiding getting them sick when you can.

8. Don’t Lie About Potty-training

Don’t send your child in underwear saying that they’re “potty-trained” when they are clearly not. Seems obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many parents don’t get this.

9. Bring Diapers for your Child

When your daycare provider need diapers for your child, please bring them. When you run out, she then has to take from someone else’s supply. That’s money out of someone else’s pocket, and is unfair.

10. Be Accessible

Your daycare provider needs to know where you are. If you are taking the day off for any reason, tell him/her how to reach you. In an emergency or if your child is ill, she needs to know. And please don’t turn off your cell phone.

11. Announce Absences

If you know you’re not coming on a certain day, don’t wait until 11a.m. that day to call and tell her. You never know when one absence will make a difference in not needing an assistant, or preparing a smaller meal or activities for that day.

12. No Junk Food in the Morning

Do not send your child to your daycare provider’s house in the morning with a snack that consists of sugar and chocolate. Even if there was enough for everyone, chances are the other kids probably aren’t allowed to have chocolate cookies in the morning…

Continuing our tradition of trying to give you as many creative summer activity ideas as possible (y’know, so your kids don’t get bored or drive you crazy), Love and Be Loved’s has a list of 101 things to do this summer. Here are the first ten:

1. Picnic under the shade of a tree
2. Star gaze
3. Fly a kite
4. Set up your own lemonade stand
5. Throw and outdoor party
6. Play in the rain
7. Go to the zoo
8. Surprise someone you love with a special gift
9. Make homemade ice cream
10. Plant a flower, watch it grow

This is seriously a gorgeous post with even more gorgeous photos. Check out the 91 other ideas at Love and Be Loved.

Michelle Obama’s campaign against America’s obesity problem is starting with school lunches, but perhaps there’s an aspect of the obesity problem that no one’s focusing on: the socioeconomic element.

In a seminar covered by Lylah Alphonse at the Children’s Museum in Boston, two researchers — Dr. Elizabeth Goodman and Dr. Beth DeFrino — explained how social and biological factors affect the health of children, of which there are many. Mrs. Obama might be on the right track by improving school lunches, but it might be more difficult than it sounds. How is an already budget-crunched school system supposed to improve its cafeteria meals?

“With cash-strapped schools cutting recess and sports programs in order to make ends meet, children are spending more sedentary time at their desks and less time being physically active — if they’re at school at all,” Lylah writes.

She also cites a few startling statistics. Overweight/obese children are 59% more likely to miss more than two weeks of school, and since schools with low test scores due to No Child Left Behind, they are at even higher risk of obesity.

“Having to work to put food on the table trumps the hallowed family dinner hour, and if the only stores you have access to don’t carry fresh produce — or if it’s prohibitively expensive — you can’t tout ‘eat leafy greens’ as the solution.”

From In The Parenthood.

I’ve always believed the saying “kids don’t understand the value of a dollar,” but turns out they think it’s worth way more than it is. And just FYI, LeBron James’s new contract with the Miami Heat was for $110 million.

And most important lesson: you can embarrass each other, but don't embarrass me.

The new best parenting book always seems to hit on a chronic area of concern or current dilemma. Discipline? Bullying? I always find the subject I need is covered. What perfect timing! It must be fate.

I become convinced that by simply finishing the book I will be a better parent for it. Of course I usually need to renew the book as I can hardly ever finish it by the due date. Then I decide to buy it because I just know that by owning it, I will be guaranteed to be that parent I so want to be. I am overcome with confidence.

What I realize is that it’s not the actual information that makes me feel better but the belief that I will succeed. As a placebo begins working immediately I am instantly flooded with relief. I can do it!

I am not a terrible parent. I am a tired parent. I am tired of all of my ineffective parenting methods and I am tired of my children.

But with each new problem leading to yet one more parenting book, I am encouraged not to give up. I can’t exactly give up my job as a mom. I checked. There is no severance.

So with each new book, I recommit to trying this parenting thing with a little more effort.

The problem is not just that I can never stay with any method long enough to see actual success, but that my kids (and their issues) are constantly changing. By the time I get the hang of what the book is saying, it no longer applies.

Some things are obvious. Safety, manners, and previewing expected behavior are all ingrained in our family. It may be boring for me to hear my voice repeatedly going over what “good behavior” means depending on where we are, but my kids get it in one sentence now. As opposed to five years ago when we needed to go over and over every possibility before getting out of the car. “Seriously, no throwing anything in the library, still.”

But I realize that I have been short sighted. It’s not just about having good kids. It’s about raising good people. I feel pressure to make sure my boys don’t push other kids down for a ridiculous reason such as “He was annoying me!” But I also want to raise the kind of person who would check on a kid who falls down rather than yelling, “I didn’t do anything! It’s not my fault!” when he sees it.

Parenting books are great, but there are things I need to teach my kids by example. These are the most important lessons I have tried to impart that I did not learn from parenting books:

• A good attitude and a smile will go a long way.
• If you can’t laugh at yourself everybody else will do it for you.
• It is okay to be different as long as you are doing what you want and not hurting anybody.
• You do not have to go along with the crowd if it doesn’t sound like a good idea to you.
• If you can’t be kind, be quiet.

And most important:

• If you think I would get mad at you for doing something then don’t do it.

Maybe I should write my own parenting book.

Read more from Kindergarten Chronicles.