Today, as I collected my mail, I was approached by a young woman who was selling educational materials for kids.

Although she seemed friendly enough and she claimed to be a college student, I politely said I wasn’t interested and moved on.

I have a problem with door to door selling, as do many people that I know.

First off, if I didn’t need the product before the salesperson came to my door, I certainly don’t need it now.

Second, and most important, the salesperson is a stranger in my neighborhood. In this day and age I am weary of unfamiliar faces on my street. It is a shame that we must be so cautious, but it is necessary. In the case of a salesperson, not only does this stranger want to speak with me but they also want to sell me something, which would require some sort of money changing hands.

Not going to happen.

I wonder if companies actually make any sales via door to door selling. In the age of the internet, the door to door salesman has become a dinosaur.

I thought I was done with big plastic toys. But my daughter, who just turned four, had been coveting a Disney Princess Ariel’s Magical Talking Kitchen since Christmas. Every time we went to the toy store she would find that thing and ask, and ask, and ask.

So, even though we had a much older toy kitchen, I decided it was time for a makeover. On her birthday, her eyes wide, she received the thing she wanted most.

To parents, a toy of that nature means only one thing: Assembly. But I figured, after four kids, we were pros. I could do this one more time. Was I ever wrong. I probably should have called in a professional kitchen remodeler to do the job.

This was one of the worst toy designs that I have come across. It took two of us to assemble. Many times we hoplessly told our daughter that we would have to return this magical kitchen because it was impossible to put together. Each time we came close to giving up, the disappointment on her face made us try once more (and the fact that I had already given the old model away).

Finally, we did it. There is one side that just didn’t fit right but it is not too obvious. My daughter is happy and we are now officially done with big plastic toys.

But manufacturers are going to have to do better to make happy, repeat customers. This product should never have been on the market - it is that bad.

As children everywhere prepare for a new school year, a new controversy is brewing. According to USA Today, several states have or are proposing to require that school should start after Labor Day. This is in response to pressure from the Tourism industry and from parents that would like to plan vacations in August.

However, school boards across the nation want the authority to determine the start date on an individual basis. With standardized tests on the horizon, schools need to scramble to make sure that students are prepared. Teachers also want to squeeze in as much learning as possible before the winter holidays.

Today is the first day of school in our school district - the Wednesday before Labor Day. For me this is perfect. It takes children a few days to get settled into their classrooms and their new routines so I look at this 3 day week as an adjustment period. When the children return to school next week (after Labor Day), they will already know what to expect and be ready to learn.

When do/did your kids go back to school? Are you satisfied with the start date?

After agonizing for much of yesterday and today over not being able to import my posts and comments to WordPress I was able to email customer support. Apparently, Google changed something at Blogger and the import function is now not working.

Of course this would happen when I decide to make the move.

A decision that I made after long and careful deliberation.

A decision that I made after reading all the rave reviews of how easy it is to do the import.

I am undecided as to how I will proceed, so you may see some funky things going on here over the next few weeks.

The good thing is that at least I now know that these problems are not due to me doing something wrong. I hope to be on a regular posting schedule by the end of the week.

I just realized that as part of this transition, my comments will all be lost. I would love it anyone that drops by could  me a comment or two!