Next week, June 14-19, is Baby Week at Discovery Health, home to nightly stories of remarkable births.  Shows such as Twins By Surprise, Little Parents Big Pregnancy, Births Beyond Belief, and Obese and Pregnant will air nightly at 8 pm Eastern/Pacific.

Finding reliable babysitters has always been a tricky issue for parents, especially during tough economic times, when budgets are tight.  I've been a stay-at-home or work-at-home mom the whole time I've been a parent, so I've never had to look for regular, daily childcare.  But for finding occasional, hourly childcare help, I've had to get creative.

I have four children, which has been a lot of birthday parties to throw (and attend) over the last several years.  In the interest of keeping a reasonable budget, not to mention my sanity, I've had to come up with my own set of time-and-money-saving tips over the years.

This week Parenting Magazine offered up these photos of a "paci tree" in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Fifteen years ago, in my pre-baby days, I probably would've scoffed at those pictures--"Look at those overly indulgent and sentimental parents," Pre-Baby Me would've said.  It's amazing how much I knew about parenting before I had children.

Somewhere, at this very moment, my dad is laughing hysterically that I have been given an assignment to write about room cleaning.  Cosmic irony, and all that.