If you asked me to name the one thing I find most exhausting about being a parent, I would say that no matter what else I am doing I have one eye and at least half my brain on Gigi.

If I’m cooking, I am also listening to make sure I hear normal noises. A silent moment sends me into the next room to see if she is OK. If she is in the tub, I make sure whatever I am doing is either across the hall from the open bathroom door or within good hearing distance. If we are in public, it is even more taxing, as I am always completely aware of where she is and how far from me she is physically.

It’s exhausting, but it is worth it.

Tonight, right here in town, a 14-month-old boy has died after wandering onto the lanai of his home through a sliding glass door that had been left open. He fell into the family pool, which had no barrier or pool alarm.

Inside the home were several member of his family. It is estimated he was in the pool three to five minutes before he was found and pulled out.

Do some dishes or run the vacuum and see how fast three minutes will go. How about while you on the phone with someone or focusing on getting a bill paid? Time flies and all of the sudden something tragic can happen if you have a child in your home.

That is why I go to bed each night fatigued and ready to let my mind have a break from the constant multi-tasking. Keeping an eye on my daughter is something I will never stop doing at the level I do it now – no matter how much it wears me out and divides my focus.

I nursed by daughter for close to three years. I started out with an array of nursing bras, gowns, and tops. Quickly, though, I moved to sports bras and t-shirts. That was mostly because it was so hard to find decent looking nursing clothing. I got so fed up with wearing the same things over and over that I just gave up. I wish someone would have pointed me in the right direction at the time. I was way too tired to shop locally and often did not have time to spend surfing the net to find items.

I’ve since found a lot of great online resources for nursing mothers. One is NursingPJs.com. Their maternity and nursing selections have more variety than I can even describe. I see some of the more classic styles, like I was either given or was able to find in my local stores. On the other hand, there are dresses and tops on this site that I would have given my right arm to have while I was nursing.

The thing is. You cannot get by on just a few items. If you are nursing, you are going to leak – even if you wear nursing pads. Leaking means sour milk, which means frequent laundering. Clothes wear out a lot faster than you like when you are going through a couple of shirts a day. You want to be a fresh, clean mommy don’t you?

I have a friend who is nearing the end of her pregnancy and we’re putting together a little baby shower. It is her second child, so she does not need as much. She does, however, need some attractive nursing clothes, especially nursing pajamas. It can be as simple as having a nice tank top that buttons at the shoulder strap, like the one I pictured in this column. It’s all about access, baby!

Today Gap Inc. is lamenting in the press their shame and disappointment that one of its Indian vendors used an “unauthorized” subcontract who, in turn, used child labor to produce clothing for Gap clothing stores.

They say they have fired the Indian company.

Here’s an idea” make the clothes in the USA instead.

You get what you pay for, folks. If you are going to try and cut costs (and eliminate jobs for American workers) by hiring a cheapie Indian company, then you are going to risk that the work ethics of that country are going to enter into your equation. Is it really any surprise to any of the execs at The Gap that (gasp!) India has sweatshops?

What kind of numbingly brainless people are running Gap Inc.?

“It’s deeply, deeply disturbing to all of us,” Gap President Marka Hansen said.

I’ll bet.

It’s disturbing now that your cost-cutting tactics have come back to bite you in the ass.

Hansen is busing passing the proverbial buck, blaming his vendors and their sub-vendors. I don’t hear him taking any of the blame for making poor business decisions, though. If The Gap would employ American workers in American factories located IN America, the standards American consumers expect could be better regulated.

Keep in mind that The Gap also operates Banana Republic and Old Navy stores when you are out doing your shopping. This is just one more reason to seek out product Made in the USA.

I realized the other day that I do not have a single digital clock in my house, unless you count the fact that my cell phone displays the time. Otherwise, all of my clocks are the classic style with hands. In fact, most of mine are also antiques. My favorite is a mantel clock my great-grandparents owned. It’s still in perfect working condition and sitting out in the living room as I speak.

I think clocks can be art. There is no reason for your timepieces to stand out starkly in your home when they can become a part of your décor. They are also a necessary part of our lives, because while we often like to relax without a thought to the time, tempus fugit and before you know it you need to be out the door and on your way to something important. That Latin phrase, by the way, was one of the few that has stuck in my mind since I took Latin way back in 1984.

All of that aside, I actually need a couple of more clocks in the house. I don’t even have one in the bedroom. I have the ability to get up without an alarm, but it helps if I have a clock I can see from the bed. I’m looking for a classic piece to put in there. In the meantime, I’ve been contemplating buying one of the grandfather clocks I’ve been eyeing lately. I did not grow up with one in the house and come to think of it, most of my relatives did not have them either. I remember being absolutely fascinated with the grandfather clock in my childhood best friend’s house. I would just sit and watch the pendulum sometimes. That particular clock was from Greece and it was just stunning, very ornate and heavy.

I’m interested in a more contemporary style of grandfather clock, myself. I do not mean modern. I still want a classic line, like the Hermle Contemporary grandfather clock I am linking here. I want a lighter feel to the piece and less of the ornate features. I still want the design to feel timeless (heh), though.

Here is a grisly story for you, just in time for Halloween.

All around the Tampa Bay area, one of the more compelling news items this weekend has been the story of Kevin Wade Daley, a 50-year-old Citrus Springs man with something seriously wrong inside his brain.

Daley struck up an internet friendship with a St. Petersburg man and at some point he asked the man to help him kill someone for the express purpose of having sex with the corpse. In fact, Daley had already targeted a young man who did work around his neighborhood. Initially, though, he had mentioned going to St. Petersburg to commit the act.

Thank goodness the St. Petersburg man called the police and reported the impending plans to commit necrophilia. Citrus County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Daley on Friday and charged him with criminal solicitation to commit first-degree murder.

There are people out there in our world who need to be locked up indefinitely for the good of society. Daley is one such person.

Tomorrow my daughter and her class are going to see the play If You Give a Pig a Party, based on the popular children’s book. I am going to be one of the drivers. Once I start working I will not be able to do this kind of thing, so I want to be sure I am as available to her class this school year as possible.

Anyway, as a driver, I have to get a copy of my driver’s license and insurance to the school. Pulling out my insurance papers got me thinking about my current rates, especially after I came across some old papers last night that reminded me how little I was paying for my car insurance before I was married. My rates now are with the company I had while I was married and my ex has a terrible driving record, so I think part of the reason my rates are still so high might be a reflection of our old account with this company.

So, I’m newly invigorated to look for a new policy. Plus, I want to find a good enough price that I will be able to afford to put both of my car on it. Right now, I am not even driving one of my cars, because I don’t have it insured. The easiest way to begin looking for a new policy is to use an insurance comparison site.

Gocompare.com is a new comparison site that acts solely as a comparison engine, not as a broker. If an insurance company does make a sale as a result of you using this site, the insurance company pays a small one-time fee to GoCompare. That means you are not out the fees yourself and you are still working directly with the insurer. And while this particular site is a UK-based product, I’m interested in how it works because of the focus on not only showing you the cheapest price, but the actual policy that would be right for you. Some of the comparison engines only take price into consideration, while GoCompare looks at other features and extra cover as well. Do you need a rental vehicle in case of an accident? How abut what you want to pay as a deductible? All of these things need to be taken into consideration when buying a policy.

I’m glad I found the site, because it made me remember that when I am looking for a new car insurance policy, I need to look past price and look for the actual features I need.

There is something to say about a parent who goes the extra mile to back up their child. You love your kid. You don’t want people to take advantage of them. You back most anything they do. I think this is universal for most parents.

But, it can go too far. Take as an example this Florida story I just read. Joe Salter’s son, Tommy, graduated from Georgia Tech and to celebrate he went to Club 10, a nudie bar in Fort Walton Beach. According to Joe Salter, Tommy told the strip club employees he could only spend $600.

Then, Tommy went on to rack up (heh) a $53,000 bill that that. According to the club’s owner, Tommy purchased at least 19 bottles of champagne that each cost between $150 and $2,000. Sounds like Tommy likes his lap dances.

Daddy, though, is disputing the charges on the American Express card, saying employees at the bar took advantage of his son. Although Tommy signed each bill and even initialed itemized receipts, Daddy says it is not his son’s handwriting.

Of course, he is overlooking the fact that his son was probably tipsy and sexed-up, so his handwriting could certainly have taken a beating that night. Employees at the club maintain Tommy was lucid the entire evening.

And get this: American Express has already decided in Club 10’s favor. I’m sure it’s not the first time they have seen the charges that result when a young boy walks into a strop bar and starts thinking with something besides his brain.

My message to Daddy: wake up and realize that kids do not always walk on water.

My message to Tommy: try celebrating with a nice dinner and friends instead of some coke whore’s boobs next time. It’ll save more than face.