As our children grow older I find myself looking for tips about how to keep them calm on long car rides. While we don't fly very much we occasionally make the 4 1/2 hour trip to the beach which can be stressful. I found the following article on Kiplinger.Com which contains many hints for parents with small children who'll find themselves traveling this holiday season.

Life can be stressful at times and though we think that we have a handle on it we can never truly return to the carefree days of our youth. That is except when a little one asks us, with great innocence and expectation in their eyes, to "roll down the hill with me daddy." It's not about the dirty clothes or the silliness of it all, it's about having fun. It's all that matters on a cool autumn day.

I've come to the realization that I no longer have time for a lot of things that I used to find time for. For example I recently shut down my racing game because it was getting old and I have no time to administrate it, much less improve it.

Sad but true the demands of being a parent tend to sap not only time but other vital resources as well. Don't get me wrong it's well worth the sacrifice but it can be more than a minor adjustment at times.

I honestly think it becomes harder after the first child, as I've noted anecdotally based on folks I know. In a lot of ways the stress is two fold. I can't imagine how folks with 3+ make it through the day much less have any sanity left at then end of it.

As many of you already know, Saturday my wife gave birth to our second child. Everyone is at home and doing fine. Our oldest has happily accepted the new baby and announces that he's "her baby" to everyone. Then she promptly tries to smother him with hugs and drag him outside to play. Obviously she doesn't grasp the delicate nature of babies but it's still nice to see that she knows she has a new playmate.