Laura is wise.

Puffs out chest! That means a lot coming from Scrappy the Wise!

Running child! omg. ltc can't possibly be harder to handle than my friend's son was. When he was two/three, he was a Runner. Whenever he was out of the house, the moment his feet touched the ground, he'd run. Like a cheetah. On fire. He wasn't trying to run away, he just had to Be Free, or something. If he was confined to a stroller, he'd scream and struggle until he hurt himself or passed out. They couldn't catch him or hold onto him (and they're both big strong super-healthy Viking folks; the kid was greased lightning), and they were terrified he was going to run into traffic or disappear. So they bought this backpack thing that had a leash inside it, and the kid would let them put the backpack on because he was used to wearing backpacks to daycare anyway, and he never seemed to associate the backpack with suddenly not being able to run very far anymore. They got a lot of dirty looks from nosy strangers for having their kid on a leash, but that's better than having your feral kid run into traffic. He grew out of it, of course, and is now seven and mostly sane and not reckless. Mostly; there was the bicycle incident. So basically, yeah, it doesn't take a disability to not be able to keep up with a speedy little kid.

If the boys had been much worse I would have gone the leash route. Not being able to find the kid is really upsetting. DH got away from his parents when he was a little kid at a festival in Japan. He was terrified when he realized he couldn't see them. An adult saw he was distressed and didn't have any trouble locating his huge frantic American parents in the crowd.

Kids do indeed like to slip away. It is a big fun game with them. They probably get over it quicker when we don't freak out. Not as much fun then.

Exactly, Zen. And I have never faulted a parent for using a leash. I wish more would. Especially those who don't feel the need to keep their children 1) safe from the street and other physical dangers, and 2) out of my path where I could harm them unintentionally. I don't want to hurt your child, but if they run into me full tilt despite any extraordinary measures I may take, do not give me dirty looks or tell me to watch where I am going.

I found toting my kids around in a red wagon with wooden sides worked better than trying to put them in strollers. They thought is was a game rather than that nasty stroller limiting their movements. It was also great at carrying groceries home in at the same time. The things you do when you are a one car family and live two blocks from the grocery store.

In search of gift-giving advice: I have the gifts I'm giving, gift cards to restaurants and Barnes & Noble. I'd like to give them before Christmas itself, because I have no patience when giving presents. Do people resent getting presents early?

I wouldn't think so. They can always wait to open if they choose, though that doesn't help your impatience any.

I like presents at any time!

And they can wait to open them if they want.

What Brenda and Sue said. I'll wait to open early gifts, most of the time.

When we lived in a suburb of Nurnberg, it was village-like, and most things were walkable. We had a pram, a real English-style pram with big wheels that could climb centuries-old granite curbs, sprung on sturdy leather straps. With two under two, when StY was a newborn, we tucked him into the pram and had a jumpseat that fit over the top for his toddler brother. As soon as the younger could sit, they both went into the pram, facing each other, with the blankets tucked over them both--Incredible Two-Headed Baby!

We went everywhere, even after the elder was walking, with that pram. There was a wire basket set across the axels, where string bags of groceries and plastic bags for library books and other bits of shopping could be stowed, and the inevitable shoulder bag containing snacks, diapers, bottles, change of clothes, along with my purse. The weekly-ish snow in winter was cleared promptly enough that we could maneuver. It was fun!