Joanna Krzysztonek of Poland was pregnant with triplets. One of her babies died in a miscarriage, and the other two were in serious danger. Doctors had an idea about to save them, but it required Krzysztonek to hang upside down for two and a half months. She endured this great discomfort and successfully gave birth to the remaining baby boy and girl:

The head of the Wroclaw obstetrics and neo-natal clinic where Krzysztonek gave birth, Mariusz Zimmer, said doctors managed to ease Krzysztonek's contractions, but considered her to be in labor from the birth of the first child.

"This procedure - I mean giving birth - has a beginning and an ending. If the first baby was born that means the birth had started," Zimmer said.

Both babies, Iga and Ignacy, are doing well and doctors anticipate that they will be able to go home soon.

Link -via Oddity Central | Photo: Se.pl

Jennifer Perkins has a great idea for entertaining young children in the summer heat. Her toddler loves dinosaurs, so Perkins gave her a way to play junior paleontologist. Perkins froze toy dinosaurs in a tub of water, then gave her a spoon, a plastic shovel and a toothbrush to dig them out.

Link -via Craft

Randall and Sharon Porter make furniture that seems to leap out of a Dr. Seuss book. These are real, physical, functional pieces of furniture that are made for kids, including beds, dressers and nightstands. But really, if I had them, I'd put them in my bedroom.

Link -via Nag on the Lake

As a Ferengi dad of two kids, it warms my heart to see a child live out the Ninth Rule of Acquisition, "Opportunity plus instinct equals profit." Willow Tufano of Florida has the instinct to recognize profitable opportunities. She's only fourteen years old, but has already become a cunning and successful business owner. Willow started down the latinum road by offering to clean out foreclosed houses. She sold the furniture on Craigslist and has used the money to buy a house:

One day, Willow's mom, Shannon, saw a two-bedroom, concrete-block home on auction for $12,000 — down from $100,000 at the peak of the bubble. Shannon was telling her husband about the house, when Willow piped up.

"I was like, 'What if I bought a house? That would be crazy,' " Willow says.

Willow wound up splitting the house with her mom. Willow plans to buy her mom out in the next few years, and put her name on the title when she turns 18.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/03/09/148218539/this-14-year-old-girl-just-bought-a-house-in-florida -via Boing Boing| Photo: Chana Joffe-Walt/NPR

Virtue ethics is an approach to moral formulation that derives moral decisions from laudable character traits. When Brandon Watson, a professor of philosophy, teaches his students about virtue ethics, he uses the Care Bears as an analogy. Because each Care Bear reflects a character trait, the Bears tend to make moral decisions based on those traits:

Whenever I teach virtue ethics, I tell my students that one can see the strengths of virtue ethics in the Care Bears -- as well as the things usually criticized. For the Care Bears are virtue ethicists. Each Care Bear, and later each Care Bear cousin, reflects an aspect of the virtuous life, or of institutions or practices that contribute to, or have to be negotiated in, virtuous life. Tenderheart Bear represents sympathy, Friend Bear friendship, Cheer Bear good cheer, Grumpy Bear commiseration, Funshine Bear goodnatured play, Love-A-Lot Bear love, Champ Bear sportsmanship; we get things more indirectly with Bedtime Bear, as Care-A-Lot's night watchbear, makes sure people get a good night's sleep so that they can do good things during the day, Wish Bear helps people work towards making wishes come true, Good Luck Bear helps people take advantage of opportunities, Secret Bear looks after secrets among friends (hence the close link to Friend Bear), etc.

There are, however, limits to the analogy:

I always go on to say in class that the Care Bears, like all good virtue ethicists, are cute, cuddly, and preachy; unlike most virtue ethicists, however, they drive cloud cars and shoot rainbows out of symbols on their tummy. That's a highly classified level of virtue technology even Aristotle never managed to discover.

Deontologists can shoot rainbows out of their tummies, but only in straight lines.

Link -via @JoeCarter | Photo: Flickr user sunnraezplace

Welcome to Texas. We do things differently here. If you're a grown man and try to rob Girl Scouts, you'd better be ready for a fight. While Iravia Cotton and Rachel Johnson were selling cookies in front of a Walmart in Fort Bend County, two men grabbed their money jar:

Johnson reportedly said instead of buying cookies, the man grabbed the group's cash box and ran into the car to drive away. Johnson says she grabbed onto the car and her friend ran to help.

"Me and my friend, Rachel, went after the money and then they tried to hit me with the car. I started hitting the boy that was in the passenger seat, so I think he learned his lesson a little bit," Girl Scout Iravia Cotton said, reports KHOU. "And then they dragged my friend Rachel across the street driving off real fast."

The suspects, who were driving a black Toyota Camry, managed to escape with an estimated $200, KHOU reports. They remain on the loose.

Johnson, who sustained minor bumps and bruises, had a message for the cookie thieves.

"Who steals from a Girl Scout? I mean, seriously, it's like the worst thing ever," she reportedly said. "I hope your face hurts from when Iravia punched you -- jerks!"

Donations have poured in, more than making up for the lost cash.

Link -via The Mary Sue | Image: Girl Scouts of the USA

Aya's first birthday party was the biggest blast a baby could hope for. Her mother, Palwaha, arranged for Sesame Street-themed cupcakes, party favors, decorations and -- my favorite -- food trays that look like Elmo, Oscar, and Cookie Monster.

Link | Photo: Uzbin Photography

Have you ever looked at babies and wondered what they'll do for a living when they grow up? That's the premise behind One Day You Will Be My Child, a series by Paris-based photographer Malo. He shows one baby as a matador, a surfer, a boxer, the Pope and more. If my daughters grew up to be professional wrestlers...well, it would be an adjustment for me.

Link | Photographer's Website

Heather's design is simple and accessible for both kids and non-crafty adults -- like me. You can find her instructions at Dollar Store Crafts, which I think is a great concept for a blog.

Link -via Boing Boing

Sarah, the Thrifty Decor Chick, wanted to find a good use for an empty closet for her house. With some careful planning and carpentry, she turned it into a reading nook for her son. Now the little reader has a special place to go to enjoy his books.

Link -via Erin Adam

Etsy seller Barbara Hanna got this little mermaid dressed for adventures under the sea. She also makes hats, hammocks and sleep sacks for babies.

Link -via Brittany Johnson Cobb

It's common for fathers to take their sons to the range and teach them how to shoot. But firearms instructor Lynne Finch noticed that antiquated, sexist attitudes about guns sometimes inhibit women from participating in the shooting sports. So she and her colleagues formed a non-profit organization to encourage men and women to take their daughters to gun ranges and teach them how to handle and shoot firearms safely and effectively:

And whereas men have typically taken their sons out to hunt or to the range with them, many times daughters (and moms) have been left at home – but not anymore! National Take Your Daughters To The Range Day co-founder and firearms instructor, Lynne Finch, believes it’s time to tear down the stereotypes and get those young ladies out to the range where they belong.

“Boys learn to shoot in Scouts or with their Dads,” Lynne said. “Often, the girls are left behind because shooting isn’t ‘girly.’ Well, we can, and do shoot, and well. Learning to shoot gives young women confidence, helps to build self-esteem, and introduces them to a sport they can participate in their whole lives.” [...]

“I have grown since I started shooting,” she said. “I’m more confident, it helped my sense of self-esteem to learn a new sport, and I know I can defend myself. More than that…it is fun! More women are coming to shooting, [so] wouldn’t it be wonderful to encourage parents to teach their daughters to shoot? A family bonding experience, a great experience for young girls, maybe even introduce someone who is new to the sport to something they can enjoy the rest of their lives.”

June 9th is their target date to introduce thousands of young ladies to the shooting sports.

Link -via Say Uncle

When I participated in the Pinewood Derby as a Cub Scout, the winner was determined (I think) by snapping a string at the end of the track. Now a company called BestTrack has brought the race into the 21st Century. Its track uses an infrared beam to determine the winner. This system is accurate to one half of one hundred thousandth of a second.

Link | Photo: Eldon Asp

Suddenly I feel like a bad father. My daughters don't have cyclops costumes. How have I neglected this essential life experience?

Link -via io9 | Photo: Danny Choo

The best friend of redditor newsblues teaches the second grade. She received this, the greatest handmade child's valentine ever.

Link -via Blame It on the Voices