Each Sunday, Riley cries when we drop her off, and instead of playing with the other children, she basically sits in the lap of one the workers for the bulk of the morning. This Sunday was probably the worst drop-off experience yet. Riley started crying when we pulled into church, and she continued fussing as we printed off her name tag and walked toward her room. As I tried to pry her off of me and entice her with toys, I couldn’t help but start tearing up as she sobbed.

After a few minutes, I was finally able to walk out of the room, but I could still hear my precious little girl crying as I walked down the hallway. During the service – which is only about 90 minutes long – my husband went to check on Riley twice. He didn’t return after the second time because he had decided to take my very sad baby from the classroom and sit with her in the “wiggle room.”

My eldest daughter started preschool at a very young age, so she was used to being apart from Mommy. We were able to avoid big, dramatic scenes during drop-off times with her. But I am at a loss with my little one. Do I continue trying to drop her off? Do I try to find more opportunities for her to be apart from me? Or do I wait until she’s ready to spend time away from her Mommy and Daddy?

Do you have a child who struggles during times of separation? How have you handled it?

My 22-month-old, however, has made it clear that she is intent on pushing me to my limit as she tries to explore the world around her. She is constantly on the move, zooming around the house like a tornado, leaving destruction in her path.

If she’s not trying to tug on electrical cords, she is probably making an effort to climb on top of the piano or raid the refrigerator. Just the other night I found a big bottle of mustard under my eldest daughter’s loft bed. When I couldn’t find the brick of cheese I needed, all I had to do was ask Riley. She led me right to where she had so cleverly hidden it – in the small opening between the fridge and the cabinet.

But the tough part about parenting such an...um…curious child isn’t trying to keep her out of trouble. The challenge is trying not to smile when she walks out into the living room with a loaf of bread or chuckle when she climbs into her water table and yells “bath!”

My brown-eyed trouble maker requires a lot of attention, but she brings so much joy to our home. I am just praying that with enough parental guidance she is able to reign in her exploratory side during her teen years!

This was the first year that I wouldn’t be able to get my growing girl a bathing suit from the baby/toddler section, so we headed over to the big girl section to check out the selection. With Daddy and baby sister in tow, Aubrey and I started sifting through the bathing suits. And I have to admit, I was shocked to see our options. Bikinis, triangle tops, and suggestive, low-cut one-piece suits filled the shelves. This seemed to be the theme at almost every store we visited.

After trying on several suits in an effort to find a cute, appropriate suit that we could all agree on, Aubrey fell in love with a peace-sign covered “tankini” paired with the cute little short bottoms. Despite Daddy’s no two-piece rule, he agreed that this was the perfect suit.

Aubrey left the store excited about her new bathing suit, and my husband and I left the store thrilled to have avoided the suits that should come in adult sizes rather than a child’s size 6. Unfortunately, I’m sure the bathing suit struggle will happen next summer, and the summer after that, and the summer after that. After seeing the options available to my kindergartener, I don’t even want to think about the suits we’ll have to sift through when she is in middle school.

Do you have rules when it comes to bathing suit shopping? Do you think there are certain suits that are inappropriate for certain ages?

Then, the threat of abduction, my biggest fear in life, moved a little closer to home. A 6-year-old boy was nearly kidnapped FROM HIS BACKYARD in Northwest Gainesville in early March. Again, the child kicked and “squirmed” free from the man, even though he told the child to stay quiet and threatened the boy’s family. Would my little girl know to scream her little lungs out no matter what a predator said to her?

My husband and I have had the “stranger danger” talk with my daughter several times. We covered the basics: don’t ever talk to someone you don’t know, don’t ever go anywhere with a stranger, etc. But we never really went into the details about what to do in the event of abduction. It’s not something I wanted to talk about, AT ALL, but I knew it was something I needed to talk about with my daughter.

Over lunch just a few days ago, my husband and I casually brought up the story about the child in Walmart. We told our almost 6-year-old that there are some people in this world who simply aren’t nice and who make very bad decisions. We talked to her about kicking, screaming, doing WHATEVER it takes to stay safe, despite what a bad person may say to you.

I am so glad that my husband and I talked with our daughter. I am 100 percent confident that deep down in my compassionate, loving little girl, there is a fighter who will rise up if necessary. While the threat of abduction is real and, unfortunately, will probably never go away, talking to my daughter and making sure she is equipped for such an emergency has somewhat eased my fears.

Have you talked to your child about what to do in the event of abduction?

During the past two weeks, we have visited and re-visited the store about four times.  My husband and I wanted to make sure we tried every option, found our perfect “sleep number,” and purchased the bed that would provide us with the utmost comfort for the next several years.

During our most recent visit, we finally came to a decision on the perfect bed, only to find out that it was just a bit out of our price range when we sat down to crunch the numbers. My husband and I were torn. Should we purchase a less expensive bed that we weren’t quite as happy with? Should we suffer through a few more weeks on our current “mattress” and wait for a better sale that could potentially save us a few extra hundred dollars?

My husband and I chatted back and forth, weighing our options, while our girls built block towers in the middle of the store. Unbeknownst to us, our 5-year-old was actually listening to our conversation and made her way over to my husband and I as we sat at the counter mulling over the paperwork.

“You can have all the money out of my piggy bank,” she said with a smile. Do I even have to tell you that my heart melted?

“Oh honey. Thank you so much. But that’s OK. We want you to keep your money,” I told her as I gave her a big hug.

“No I’m serious,” she told us. “I’ve been meaning to clear out some room in my piggy bank. I have too much change in there!”

“That’s a good problem to have,” I told her. “You keep your money.”

That 60-second conversation with my daughter was one of those moments that I will always cherish. It was one of those moments that everything going on around us – the noise, the pressure to make a decision, the disappointment – disappeared, and all I could think about was how much I loved and adored that beautiful little blue-eyed girl sitting in front of me.

My husband and I left the store shortly after our daughter’s touching offer and decided to wait until the end of February to make our purchase. In just a couple weeks, my husband and I will get our new bed (barring no more issues). But the comfort of that bed will be no match for how proud I feel to be the mom of two amazing little girls.

Riley starts fussing the minute her bottom touches the car seat.  She begs to get “out, out, out” of the shopping cart or stroller. She will look at a book or toy for about two seconds and then toss it on the ground. (She actually finds this tossing game to be quite funny, but it makes shopping rather difficult.) She’ll begrudgingly munch on a snack or two, but then she quickly decides she really wants (fill in the blank), the only snack I didn’t bring in my bag. So then she’s right back to demanding that I get her “out, out, out.”

If I would let Riley race around the store like a tornado, pulling things of the shelves and grabbing whatever she found interesting, she would be a pretty big fan of trips to the store. Shopping with her in tow, however, would become that much more impossible.

Of course Riley loves trips to the park and the play area at the mall, but there are times when I have to go to Target for paper towels or to Publix for milk. Do I really have to resort to starting all my shopping when the sun goes down?

I am crossing my fingers in hopes that Riley’s disgust toward running errands will eventually come to an end when she gets a little older. Do you have a child who isn’t fond of going to the store? Do you have any tricks to keep little ones occupied? My best bribery thus far is a can of play-dough, but even that only works for so long.

Hotel: My husband and I both hate to waste money on an expensive hotel that we never end up spending much time in. We usually spend no more than $40 a night tops on a reputable, clean hotel by taking advantage of online discount sites. This past weekend, however, we “splurged” and stayed at Disney’s All-Star Movie Resort. For about $70 a night (prices vary depending on dates), we were able to enjoy the amazing amenities at the hotel: two beautiful pools, huge statues of famous Disney characters like Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story and Pongo from 101 Dalmations, a poolside movie under the stars and ongoing children’s activities like a scavenger hunt.

Food: We always make sure to bring a cooler and pack enough food for breakfast and lunch. The girls loved eating donuts down by the pool, and we didn’t have to waste money eating a $5 hot dog in a theme park. By packing food and snacks, we were able to splurge on one dinner at the T-Rex Café at Downtown Disney. And because the servings were actually pretty big, splitting a meal was definitely an option.

Theme Parks: Right now there are a ton of great deals being offered on tickets for the Orlando Theme Parks. Children 5 and under can visit Sea World (and Busch Gardens) for free all year with a PreSchool Pass. Teachers can also get a free pass into Sea World for the year! That left us just having to buy a ticket for me, for which there were two options. An adult Fun Pass, good until the end of the year, costs $81.99. Instead, we purchased the annual pass for $119.99, which includes parking. (The cost to park is $14 per car per day!) Monthly payment options are available, too!

Disney is also offering a great deal on tickets! Florida residents can enjoy three days at the Disney parks for only $99. A fourth day can be added for $30 more.

Goodies: It’s almost impossible to take kids to Orlando without buying a few goodies here and there. Luckily, we didn’t have to spend any cash on ice cream treats and souvenirs. Instead, we used Disney reward dollars that we earned from our Disney credit card. We use the card pretty frequently, pay off the balance right away, and earn 1 percent back in rewards to spend at any Disney location, restaurant or store.

Do you have any tips for enjoying Orlando on a dime? How do you save money?

As I sat in the middle of my 5-year-old’s floor, looking at all the toys that I somehow had to fit in her closet, under her bed or on her toy shelf, I knew something had to give. So I called in my save-everything daughter, who can’t even bear the thought of parting with just about anything (hence her “special ribbon collection”), and sat her down for a heart-to-heart talk.

I told her to look around her room. I explained to her that there was simply no way for me to unpack all of her wonderful new toys unless she could make some room by showing me which toys she felt she was ready to either get rid of or put in storage for her little sister.

And then, a miracle happened. It was almost like a little light bulb turned on over my daughter’s head. Aubrey started getting rid of TONS! She said she no longer played with her vanity. She was too big for her kitchen. She tossed out stuffed animals, sorted through her puzzles and picked through her toys.

Once I was able to pick my jaw up off the floor, I told Aubrey we should make donate, sell and save piles. Again, she went through all her things like a champ.

I don’t know if it was the overwhelming amount of gifts she got for Christmas, or if she finally realized that her room was bursting at the seams, but together, Aubrey and I were able to neatly organize her room and make her toys even more accessible then they had been pre-Christmas.

Did you help your child downsize his or her toy collection to prepare for the holidays? Do you ever feel like you simply can’t fit one more toy in your house? How do you help your child to part with toys?

After much thought, we decided to give Aubrey a sibling. And I can say with confidence that it was the best decision we, as parents, have ever made.

When I watch the way Aubrey plays peek-a-boo with Riley or runs to her rescue when her sippy cup hits the deck, I know we made the right decision. When I see the way Riley’s face lights up with excitement and hear her yell “Aubey! Aubey! Aubey!”  when Aubrey enters the room, I know we made the right decision. When I sit back and watch the girls play side-by-side in the sandbox or sing and dance together to Ring Around the Rosie, I know we made the right decision.

Aubrey and Riley were meant to be sisters. Nothing makes me any happier than to see the immeasurable bond my two precious little girls share. But don’t let this story of sisterly love fool you. Aubrey certainly gets annoyed when Riley fusses during car rides, colors on her picture or messes with whatever project she is working on at the time. And Riley definitely gets frustrated when Aubrey won’t share her Leapster, give up a bite of her snack or let her into her room.

Aubrey and Riley are still figuring each other out, still learning what does and doesn’t push each other’s buttons, and how they can get away with certain things. Nonetheless, I know my two girls will forever share a bond that can only be shared by siblings. I’m just crossing my fingers that the day doesn’t come when the two team up and use their bond against their parents!

Do your children share a special bond with each other?

When I began showing my 5-year-old how to crawl on the floor, test the doorknob and get outside to the neighbor’s mailbox, her eyes swelled with tears. She kept trying to cover her ears and repeatedly asked me to “please stop talking about it.” Regardless of how lighthearted I tried to keep the conversation, she simply did not want to continue talking about fire safety.

Luckily, I was able to squeeze in the most important bits of information during our little lesson, and I am confident that while Aubrey doesn’t want to talk about fire safety, she has listened to what I’ve said and knows how to keep herself as safe as possible. And every once in a while, out of the blue, I sneak in a quiz question or two to refresh her memory.

Me: “Aubrey, where do we meet in case of a fire?”

Aubrey: “At the plastic mailbox across the street. Now can we please stop talking about it?”

Me: “Aubrey, should you walk or crawl out of the house?”

Aubrey: “I don’t want to talk about this!” Then she pauses and very begrudgingly says, “Crawl.”

I think the thought of a fire happening in your home, where you normally feel the utmost level of safety and security, is scary for everyone. And while Aubrey, Adam nor I wanted to talk about safety, I am so glad we did.

Have you talked to your children about fire safety? Does your family have a plan? How do your children handle talking about fires?