Never Trust a Two Year Old to be Discreet

I suppose anybody reading the title would think that not trusting a two-year old to be discreet should be common knowledge, especially to somebody who raised four children and now has ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren. But sadly, that is not the case.

One day last week, late at night, my daughter asked me if I would mind watching my grandson for a while so she could put on a load of laundry. She placed my grandson on the couch next to me along with a pillow and blanket. Exhausted, he placed his head on the pillow and drank milk from a sippy cup while I turned on the TV to play a Dora Christmas program I had taped and gently rubbed his back.

And then I felt a rumbling in my tummy and knew that some trapped gas was just scrambling to get out. I couldn't jump up fast enough to run into the bathroom though, and within seconds my grandson asked, "What's that smell?" which actually sounded more like, "Wat dat fmao?"

So I whispered in his hear that I had just passed a little gas. And I followed with, "Shhhh…".

I don't know what it is about boys and their fascination with bodily functions, but this little two-year old, who was just getting ready to fall asleep, upon hearing those words, jumped up and shouted from the bottom of his lungs, "GRANDMA FARTED! GRANDMA FARTED!" very clearly. He can't pronounce the word smell, but he can clearly scream my name loud enough for neighbors ten blocks away to hear it.

So – words of caution – never be tempted to whisper a secret in a two-year old's ears if you truly want the secret to remain a secret.

14 Top Coupon Sites to Help With Shopping

When my kids were little, I often clipped coupons from the newspaper, especially after I discovered that I was saving more by purchasing the paper and using the coupons than I was by not purchasing the newspaper. Week after week coupons for items I actually purchased appeared in that paper and saved me quite a bit of money each week, especially when I went to a store that offered double coupon bonuses.

These days, many online communities post coupons on their sites. They are easy to use. Just click and print. Sometimes you have to join a community to partake of their offerings, but not all of them expect you to join. Of the 14,500,000 coupon sites listed on Google, the ones listed below appear at the top of the list, and most of them don't require you to "join" them.

Especially now at Christmas, and even all year round, we can all use as much help as possible when it comes to making purchases.

Here is a list of 14 top coupon sites:

www.retailmenot.com gives discount-coded coupons that fall sometimes into the 25%-30% range

coupons.smartsource.com I probably shouldn't post this one, because though it offers a variety of grocery products it won't let you leave the page if you want to backtrack to another page you were on before that one. It may have been a glitch, but keep that in mind if you look through their coupons.

solutions.coupons.com tells you how many coupons it offers each day.

www.hotcouponworld.com boasts that it is the Internet's largest grocery community offering forums, blogs, and even chat rooms. You'll have to click the Online Coupons button to get to the coupons.

www.couponcabin.com offers online and print coupons for a variety of stores. According to CouponCabin, the average shopper saves $19 per order.

www.couponmom.com Also offers forums and blogs along with grocery and restaurant coupons. Also has a section for free samples.

www.couponmountain.com lists coupons by stores and also offers savings on laptops and a variety of name-brand stores.

www.coolsavings.com lists coupons by category Top grocery coupons are listed on the right hand side.

valpak You might still get these coupons in the mail, but now you can get them online for restaurants, groceries, auto care, and more.

mycoupons.com – lots of name-brand stores here. Popular categories are listed on the left hand side. Popular stores are listed at the top. Coupons are listed below the popular stores in your area. You can also browse by stores or categories.

slickdeals.net Deals on everything from name-brand stores to great deals on magazine subscriptions.

thecouponclippers.com Says you can "easily save 20-30% of your grocery bill each week." Also that they are "the nation's largest online Grocery Coupon clipping service."

ultimatecoupons.com offers Featured Coupons from the start and lists coupons by category along the left hand side.

www.coupons.com asks you to enter your zip code to get coupons for stores nearest you.

And now for my politically incorrect sign-off – Merry Christmas! Happy Shopping!

Does Your Teenager Work for a Pedophile?

With so much focus placed on preventing young children from becoming victims of sexual assault, we sometimes forget that older children and teenagers are at risk for becoming involved with pedophiles as well.

Pedophilia in the Workplace – Does Your Teenager Work for a Pedophile? discusses ways pedophiles entice teenagers to engage in activities they otherwise would never consider. It tells parents what types of behavior changes they should look for in their sons and daughters, and it offers resources to help parents and teenagers if children become victims of sexual misconduct at work or elsewhere.

Pedophilia in the Workplace also offers resources to help parents prevent the abuse from happening in the first place or to report the abuse if it's too late. And if the abuse has already occurred, it discusses ways parents can relate to their children once they discover that their teenagers have become victims of a pedophile.

For any parent interested in protecting their children and teenagers – whether now or in the future – from becoming involved with sexual predators, Pedophilia in the Workplace is a must read.

Resources listed at the end of the article offer help for children of any age who have been victims of sexual predators.