Every summer the rising heat brings the wave of headlines reading “Another Child Left to Die in Hot Car,” and the masses screaming, “What is wrong with people?! How could they be so careless?” Which leads me to think, everybody gets so distressed about people leaving their babies in hot cars because dozens of children perish every year. It's common sense to NOT DO THAT, right? So why is it that we still practically condone things like unsafe sleep, feeding, and car seat habits when THOUSANDS of children are dying?

As a parent of a five year old, it's become increasingly difficult to find ways to entertain my child in a fun, yet somewhat educational way. After hearing my parents preach this for years, I can't believe I'm actually saying it myself, but kids today spend too much time glued to a screen. Back when I was a kid, all my parents really had to worry about was that "evil" television screen, but now there are iPhones, iPads, I this and I that, and my kid wants to see ALL of them.

The other day I took a leisurely ride through my neighborhood while tending to some errands. I passed by my current job, which is about a mile or so away from my grandparents' home. My grandparents are long gone, but I had to slow down in the vicinity of their home while I soaked up many of the wonderful memories I shared with them, especially with my Grandpa.

Say you get invited to a baby shower. The latest news is that she will be having a girl. You run to the store, go into the newborn section, and pick out a frilly little pink onesie and pink binky for the expected baby. Sounds cute. Easy enough, right?

Ah Thanksgiving, that perfect time of the year when we get to stuff our faces with our families while making meaningful conversation with people that we may not have seen in quite some time. A beautiful holiday it is. In order to ensure Thanksgiving goes as smooth as possible, here are some tips to start conversation at Thanksgiving dinner because with food, football, and festivities what could possibly go wrong?

Call me old, or just call me old-fashioned, but I’ve never been much of a tech guy. It just never was my thing, and I preferred to live life the way my parents lived it. It’s been that way for 45 years, and I never really saw it changing.

I have a nephew who turned 12 recently and when he was diagnosed with autism, I started researching right away. I tried everything I could to understand what’s going on in his head and how to help him. I now have a 3-year-old son who also was diagnosed with autism June 6, 2018. With my previous experience with my nephew, I thought I knew everything I needed to know to work with a child with autism. The only thing having a nephew with autism helped me with was knowing the diagnosis was probable since my son was showing similar signs that my nephew did (I’ve suspected that my son has autism for over a year now but doctors brushed it off until this year when we had a neurologist officially diagnosis him with autism). I have learned so much from my son and I want to share it.

I'll start by saying these are just my opinions, based on my experiences in preparing for the birth of three babies so far. I remember trawling the internet for hours, searching for every little thing to make sure I was prepared. Here is a list I wish I had seen.

Dearest Princess,