I love tan roses and I think I have them all, pretty much. Here are the favorites. Best tan roses: 1. Spiced Coffee (I got a nice one from Hortico this year, believe it or not. This rose, like most brown roses, does better grafted, not own root) 2. Honey Dijon 3. Stephen Rulo (Wisconsin Roses carries it) 4. Butterscotch (aka Jactan), the climber (available at Burlington Roses) 5. Pam's Choice (Rogue Valley Roses) 6. Irish Creme (Certified Roses - available at big box stores like Lowes, but only during bareroot season). and if you like mini's, then Smoke Signals (also from Burlington Roses) Julia's Rose is okay, but I haven't found a source to obtain it grafted. I think it would be a MUCH more vigorous rose if it was not growing on its own roots. As an own root plant, it is notoriously a weak plant, and my own root specimen bears that out. It's a rose that just wants to fade away, and I'm on my third or fourth plant because of that. Kathy

Fantastic. Hopefully your idea and those like it will catch on with this generation of new moms. It would definitely help with the over plasticized (is that a word?) era we are living in with the kids toys. A totally priceless gift idea. Thanks for sharing.

I don't know of any. This site has some information and a yellow box with a couple good links-- the first two work. http://www.myprimetime.com/misc/press/press_cinenquirer_763000.shtml This one has some factoids and is a more kid-friendly article in terms of reading and the syle of writing. (The first article is a good one, it's just not as breezy.) http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/family/birthorder/article5.html This address is to a book on the subject that might or might not be helpful or worth having. http://www.familyresource.com/parenting/r/19/ Mostly, for support purposes it might be better to find some other 'unifying' factor that affects your family or parenting style, or which refers to your child's strengths. Parents of more than one child are usually concerned about similar parenting issues in general. Side issues can be addressed with or without the issue of parenting an 'only child.' Without siblings, for example parents and children can feel inadvertently pressured to acheive whatever passes for 'perfection.' Children who have lots of siblings can also experience loneliness, or socialization problems (not that this is normal for 'only children' just that it's one of the concerns people will usually mention). Birth order or the number of siblings a person has or doesn't have doesn't automatically control or predict how self-centered they will be as an adult. those articles and the book give a good overview of the positives-- and there are many-- most of which you may already know or have thought about

Thanks for posting! My Dad took me fishing when I was seven, I caught a perch. One of my favorite memories. We also went fresh water clamming with nets, but always threw the clams back.