Archive for the ‘Home’ Category

Planting Seeds, Preventing Weeds, & Cultivating Character

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

It’s never too early to begin talking with your children about things they’ll need to know as they enter the world of peer pressure. Things like integrity, responsibility, and trustworthiness…drugs, tobacco, and alcohol…and yes, even sex education. (Don’t panic! You can do this.)

While it’s normal to feel uncomfortable talking with your children about tough issues, it’s unwise to put it off. Children are facing peer pressure much earlier than we anticipate, and if you don’t establish yourself as the “go-to” source for information, someone else will.

Talking with your children everyday will strengthen your relationship and increase the level of trust, making it easier for your child to approach you when they’re ready to engage in a touchy subject.

Arm yourself with current facts and suggested talking techniques, then take that first step. The websites listed below provide useful information to help you teach your child about choices that will keep them safe, healthy and happy:

Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco

· Talk With Kids

· Drugs & Youth

· Tobacco & Youth

· “Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Prevention” (after clicking on this link, find report  #FS1461, located second from the bottom of the list)

Values & Virtues

· Values Parenting

· The Virtues Project

Sex Education

· Focus On the Family.com

· Mayo Clinic.com

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Posted in Family, Home |

Great Expectations

Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Getting Dinner on the Table Every Night

(…um, cold cereal doesn’t count.)

For many of us, just as we’re ready to throw in the towel for the day we realize there’s another hurdle to jump: getting dinner on the table. No easy feat when your children are bouncing off the walls, and you’re thinking about joining them.

The cookbook Desperation Dinners! has been a lifesaver for hundreds of families, offering recipes that get dinner done in “20 minutes flat”.  The authors also have a website with fresh menu ideas (including DD recipes), tips on saving time and money, and even entertaining. Check it out here: www.kitchenscoop.com.

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New Resolutions, Now? I Don’t Think So…

Thursday, December 31st, 2009
coun·ter·in·tu·i·tive Pronunciation: \-in-ˈtü-ə-tiv, -ˈtyü-\ : contrary to what one would intuitively expect

Everybody looks to January 1st as the time to initiate change. I disagree. January’s not the time start something new; it’s time to get back to the three Rs of parenting: routines, routines, routines.

Yep, time to focus, once again, on our family routines, our priorities, our agendas; the elements that make our households run smoothly… (more…)

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Posted in Family, Home, Living Simple |

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

check listI used to associate that question with job performance, not marital partnership. During a stressful season in our marriage, however, I discovered that attitude lodged in my heart, provoking an explosion of anger toward my husband.

In my mind I was a wonderful wife; the proverbial woman in the expression behind every great man is a great woman. One of my biggest claims to marital fame was (more…)

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Posted in Anger Management, Family, Home |

Holiday Traditions

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Christmas imageCreate cherished memories and strengthen your family relationships with the help of annual holiday traditions.

Some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around family traditions. I love to reminisce through rich, vivid images that take me back, bring me joy and make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Now, as a parent, I’m committed to filling my children’s lives with precious moments, silly rituals and time-honored traditions, in the hopes that they, too, are blessed by their collection of memories, and the strong family ties that have grown over the years.

While it sounds like a lot of planning and hard work, it doesn’t have to be. Here are suggestions for easy, fun and frugal traditions you can initiate with your little ones right now: (more…)

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Posted in Family, Home |

Sensory Cue

Monday, September 8th, 2008

The other day the smell of freshly cut grass hung in the air. I was immediately taken back to days of my youth. (more…)

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Posted in Family, Home, Living Simple |

Three Little Words on Getting Organized

Monday, September 8th, 2008

As I look around the house, my eyes are conspicuously drawn, not to favorite little trinkets and treasures, but, to molehills and mountains of clutter that manage to accumulate and multiply undetected. While I stare at them in disgust three little words pop into my head.

In the laundry area, aka the disaster zone, three little words subtly bombard my thoughts, like a Nor’easter in full force. And when I see the bookshelf sagging from the weight of library books run amok, there they are, again.

I think you get the point. (more…)

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Posted in Home |

My Favorite Things

Monday, September 8th, 2008

As long as I can remember, I’ve been bucking the system and doing things my way. In my younger formative years, this often went against the grain of my contemporaries, and oftentimes I felt too this or too that, simply never quite fitting in with the crowd.

Well, my taste in decorating is consistent with my personal philosophy…it’s the way it is because I like it. It’s “my style,” which might not be your style, or the next person’s, but it’s mine and …well, I like it that way. (more…)

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Posted in Family, Home |

Ideas for Kid-Friendly Rooms

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Baskets to hold everything. Depending on the age of your children, they may not be able to keep things stacked neatly on shelves. Tossing toys, books, dolls, etc. into baskets will teach them about “picking up” without going beyond their abilities.

Wall decor at eye-level where kids are the primary users. This applies mostly to the children’s bedrooms, bathroom and playroom. Let them enjoy their art without having to strain their neck upwards. (more…)

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Posted in Family, Home |

Home-Making: It’s All About Your Family

Monday, September 8th, 2008

When you think about it, the act of “making your house a home” should be as simple as living and loving within your four walls. But somehow, this unassuming version of home-making gets all convoluted as we strive to surround ourselves with the things we love and the things we think we need to be comfortable.

Surely, what you and I deem comfortable could easily be two very different things. (more…)

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Posted in Family, Home, Living Simple |