Welcome to Lil’ Duck Duck & the Carnival of Family Life #49!

Just a quick introduction for first-time visitors - Lil’ Duck Duck is a busy, inquisitive toddler; I am his mama, manager of the ducks. There is one particular stuffed duck that holds the highest place of honor in Lil’ Duck’s life, but he also loves all his other ducks too. When we aren’t writing about his adventures, we are working on our custom design product orders, creating new adventures & otherwise enjoying life!

This week’s carnival is loosely categorized, it would have been much better categorized, had not the entire Duck family come down with a nasty cold/ear infection bug yesterday, rendering us loopy with cold medicine and otherwise unable to categorize properly. Anyway…..

Childhood stories:

Bravery, challenge, drama…you’ll find it all in this account of an afternoon in the life and mind of a 10-year old boy in 1968. Don West presents Tale of a 10-Year Old Sniper posted at Idle Minutes.

Back in the dark ages when Craig was at school, his teachers employed this wacky notion of telling him whether or not the school work was great, good, bad or otherwise. They even gave him grades… Craig Harper presents Grooming Our Kids for Failure. posted at Motivational Speaker.

A touching — albeit fictional — moment between father and son. One of my favorite moments between Patterson and Mitchell - Susan Helene Gottfried presents Fiction Outtake: Dedication (the early days) posted at West of Mars — the Meet and Greet.

LocalGirl presents an Embarrassing Childhood Story posted at An Island Life.

Parenting challenges:

“No” is not a culturally popular word, but the ability to say it makes us human. This is encouragement for every parent who has ever told their child, “Thou shalt not.” Rachel Starr Thomson presents Thou Shalt Not: The Staggering Importance of “No” posted at Inklings.

Robert Lindsey presents Lost Sheep and Answered Prayer posted at Biblical Parenting.

Communication is important for every family. Here are 7 things to avoid & how to communicate you care to those you love. Patricia presents 7 Behaviors That Mess Up Communication: Are You Making A Good Impression? posted at A Better You Blog.

This humorous story reassures parents that dependent little babies and toddlers actually do grow into independent, confident children! Angela White presents Fostering Independence in the Breastfed Child posted at Breastfeeding 1-2-3.

Michelle presents Routines Are Best posted at Tonic Gifts.

Kevin presents Positive Parenting Techniques that Raise Positive Kids posted at More4kids Parenting.

Jenny has learned to accept that she is not going to have a clean house with children home all the time as she presents So apparently I don’t have wings… posted at Life is Not a Cereal.

Tomas presents Daddy Dialectic: peein like a boy, or the follies of fathering posted at Daddy Dialectic.

When Christina was seven months pregnant, her son’s feet were the size of tennis balls. Can you imagine? Christina presents Oh, the agony of the feet… posted at Inside Motherhood.

Manicmama presents Tips when using Band-Aids / Plasters posted at Manicmama.

Renata Vincoletto presents Tracking Your Teen Drivers posted at Falando pelos Cotovelos.

This mom shares how she taught her child about bravery - because she just wanted to pee by herself! OmegaMom presents Brainwashing my child posted at omegamom.com.

Alejandra Peraza de Halvorssen presents The Perfect Play-Day posted at A Guide to Raising Great Kids.

Julee presents Getting Out the Door posted at Homeschool Daze.

Tonya presents Allergy tips for Children posted at Tears-n-Tantrums.

Leisa presents A Dreadful Monday posted at downwiththekids.net.

She finally took her son to work with her on a Sunday, and they both loved the experience. Christina presents Bring your kid to work posted at Solo Mother.

Csara presents Dental Care for Infants and Toddlers posted at Baby Talkers.

Mom & Dad present One Child Left Behind: The Life of a Fourth Child posted at raising4boys.com.

Jennifer is making us thankful that Lil’ Duck never took a pacifier in her article - Pacifier Separation - A Major Trauma of Toddlerhood posted at Parenting Toddlers.

Feeding the masses:

Even the most accomplished and well organized cooks sometimes go to the cupboard and find that whatever they needed desperately and immediately is not there. For those cooks and the rest of us who are just busy parents, here are a few substitutions for common ingredients. GP presents Friday Frenzies can be Fun posted at Fish Creek House - INNside Innkeeping.

Ah, someone else has forgotten their food - I can only hope that Stephanie doesn’t find that meat in her car later, unlike us, in the heat, two weeks later…..Stephanie presents I Lost Dinner posted at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

Erica Douglas presents Activity #9 Easy Easter Cakes posted at Littlemummy.Com.

A natural way to dye eggs using food items such as cabbage, onions, and coffee. A great way to have fun with the kids and maybe do a small science lesson too. Karen Weideman presents A Natural Way to Dye Eggs posted at Thrifty Mommy.

Toys, games & fun:

Looking for a unique party game? Allen Holman presents Rooster Fighting posted at Classic Kid’s Games and Party Games.

Hsien-Hsien Lei presents Toy Talk: Bratz Dolls at So Sioux Me posted at Play Library.

Not only does she have beautiful sterling silver jewelry, but she also has great ideas…. Alli Grosberg presents 5 minute creative ideas for Moms posted at Alli’s Originals Blog.

Lori presents Jungle Gym Kids Paper Craft posted at Fun Play Dates.

If you haven’t yet seen this photo & the resulting caption, definitely take a look, it was the source of great amusement at the Duck house one morning last week! Kelly presents Pass me the torch so I can burn this outfit posted at Pass The Torch.

Lisa presents Neat Shower Idea posted at Let’s Talk Babies.

Furry creatures:

Some tips on how to save money by avoiding the vet - Andrea Dickson presents Pet Peeves Part 3: Vet Visits posted at Wise Bread - Living large on a small budget.

Alisonwonderland presents An Open Letter to My Children posted at “We’re all mad here,” said the Cheshire Cat to Alice.. Ok, not really THAT furry….

Otherwise-categorized articles:

Henry writes about spending time one-on-one with each of his daughters in This Month’s Daddy-Daughter Dates posted at Why Homeschool.

Holly Schwendiman presents a sweet post entitled Dream Big posted at Holly’s Corner Blog.

Christine is feeling reflective in her article: The Sweets of Spring posted at Everyday Disasters.

Laurie Bluedorn has an announcement: He proposes; she accepts posted at Trivium Pursuit.

Jamie reflects on her oldest daughter starting kindergarten as she presents Big Yellow Buses and Waterproof Mascara posted at BlondeMomBlog.

Mike presents Baby update - The kids are excited posted at Be A Good Dad.

Muse presents The Next Generation posted at me-ander.

Mom of 3 presents Stuff posted at Unplug Your Kids.

Karen Lynch presents Time on the Clock posted at Live The Power.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Ode To Unselfishness posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Helene Taylor presents Dreaming of Angels…no, not really posted at The Modern Woman’s Divorce Guide.

Even stay-at-home mom’s have fun sometimes! Jenny presents We’ve got the beat! posted at Absolutely Bananas.

When you suspect someone you love has PPD, discussing it is not easy. Kate Baggott presents Love & the PPD Dilemma posted at Babylune.

Terra Sears presents So Tired, but gotta say something? posted at ~Terra~.

Jenny presents More stuffs from the homefront posted at Pajama Mommy.

Finally, Wixx presents 10 Baby Items You Think You Need, But Really Don’t posted at Personal Finance Advice.

Thanks so much for participating in this week’s carnival!!! Be sure to go to Blog Carnival to submit a family-related post for next week’s carnival, which will be hosted at Everyday Disasters.