Thursday 14 July 2011

6 Ways To Get The Kids Outdoors This Summer

Summer is time for outdoor fun with your children. However, sometimes the days are long and your ideas are short. Here are some ideas to help you make sure your active ones are busy and getting lots of fresh air this summer.

Flat You
Lay on the sidewalk and take turns outlining each other. Decorate your flat selves by drawing clothing and funny faces. To make this project educational, you can read the book “Flat Stanley” as well.

Garden
Your child will learn science, responsibility and have fun by planting a garden and maintaining it. In fact, if you have the time or inclination, you can make the entire landscape edible. How fun would it be to wander around the yard snacking? Blueberry bushes, strawberries, herbs, and fruit trees are all easy to maintain. Some vegetables, like tomatoes require nothing but a lot of water and sunshine to grow like weeds. Start small and see what happens.

Hoola Hoops
Has your child ever tried to hoola-hoop? Show him how. Then, take hoola hoops and make a pretend circus in the yard or try to get your dog to jump through one. You are only limited by your imagination.

Hopscotch
Teach your kids how to play hopscotch. Let them draw their own hopscotch patterns. If they are like I was as a kid, they’ll make hundreds of squares and hop around all day.

Bubbles
Bubbles are always a favorite. Take turns chasing and popping them. Blow bubbles with various bubble wands to see how their shapes and sizes differ.

Turn on the Sprinklers
There’s no need to buy a pool when the old-fashioned sprinklers are just as much fun. There is definitely something special about running around in the front yard through the sprinklers, especially when the neighbor kids see you having fun and join in.

Be sure to print out this list and keep it handy for the next time your children say “MOMMMMMM — we’re bored!”

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6 Popular Gift Ideas For Father's Day

Father’s Day is a special day for any man who is a dad. Handmade cards by little ones and his favorite home-cooked meal are not all you can do for him, though. There is a wide variety of popular gifts for Father’s Day that you can choose from to surprise him with. Some easy ideas are:

A gift card to Home Depot, Lowe’s, or his favorite hardware store – I have learned from years of experience with my husband that hardware stores truly are a man’s “toy store”. Any man can make twelve trips to a hardware store in one week and never get tired of it. Not only will he appreciate the gift, but you will get something done around the house or yard!

Fun electronic gadgets – Think digital camera, MP3 players, wide-screen TVs, DVD players, laptop computers…anything electronic. Many of these popular gifts for Father’s Day can be pricey, so make sure you save up.

Personalized gifts – Picture frames, plaques and figurines can commemorate a particular Father’s Day. You can also purchase mugs and t-shirts with photos and special messages.

A gift certificate to a hobby or specialty shop – Whether dad likes golfing, photography, woodworking, or wine, there is a specialty shop for that! Get him a gift certificate that he can use however he would like.

A gift certificate to his favorite restaurant – Most restaurants offer gift cards or certificates in many amounts. Choose dad’s favorite restaurant and get him a gift of a meal. To make it extra special, plan the whole night out on Father’s Day and treat him to a meal there instead!

Apparel – Dads can always use work clothes, casual clothes and chore clothes. Find out what area of dad’s wardrobe is lacking the most and fill in the gaps. Trick dad by taking him to the mall and finding out what colors and styles he likes before you buy.

Other popular gifts for Father’s Day are, of course, the crafty items you can make with your children at home. Anything from the heart will be popular with dad!

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5 Tips on How to Survive Back-to-School Shopping

If you are like millions of other time-starved moms, the thought of back-to-school shopping leaves you feeling stressed and wondering how you can possibly get it all done within your budget and in the limited time you have. Take advantage of these mom-tested, time-saving tips this year and get your children ready for back-to-school in record time - without busting your budget:

1. Start with a plan: Create a master back-to-school shopping list and budget for each child. Discuss the list and ask your kids what items or brands they want most. Let them help make the budget trade-offs. For example, if they want an expensive pair of shoes, they need to spend less on the backpack or clothes.

2. Closet-cleaning giveaway: Before you start shopping, clean out the closet. Sort through the clothes with each of your children, setting aside items that still fit and giving the rest away to charity.

3. Get the help of a free online personal shopper: Take advantage of PersonalShopper.com, and join over half of the moms in America who plan to do their back-to-school shopping online, according to a national survey by MedeliaMonitor. This free service saves you time and money by sifting through millions of products to find deals and items tailored to your family's needs and interests.

Your children can browse a selection of items from favorite brands, styles and colors and save what they love most to their online wish list. You can then review it together and make your purchases from the comfort of your own home.

4. It's best one-on-one: Schedule a back-to-school shopping date with each child, giving them your undivided attention. They grow up so fast, so invest your time in making lasting memories.

5. Snag sweet deals: Sixty-four percent of moms in the survey said that one of the biggest challenges is keeping themselves and their children within the set budget. Share with each child the amount you can afford to spend. Teach them to value your hard-earned money and how to stretch the budget as far as possible by making smart choices. They will soon learn that they can get far more for their money by searching the sales first.

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5 Tips For Choosing Gifts

We all love to receive gifts, whether it’s at Christmas or birthdays, or even a special anniversary. But in order to keep getting gifts, we have to give them to others too. And happily we like that part of the bargain almost as much as the receiving bit. Here are a few tips that may help you choose the right gift for the right person.

1. To help make up your mind you can easily read reviews of gifts you are considering buying at places like Amazon.com, Buy.com, Epinions.com, BizRate.com, etc. And of course, you can even purchase from there too.

2. Price comparison for gifts is easy if you’re switching between sites like Shopping.com, PriceGrabber.com and Cnet.com. The lowest gift price is out there. All you have to do is find it.

3. One problem with gifts that are wearable is getting the right size. You can overcome this by getting gift accessories, such as scarves, belts, hats, etc.

4. It’s obvious, but keeping an up to date list of the birthday, anniversary, etc, dates of your friends and relatives will mean that you’ll always know when it’s time to buy a gift. That way, you’ll probably receive more gifts too when it’s your turn.

5. Always think about the recipient of the gift. Your maiden aunt is unlikely to appreciate a year’s subscription to a risqué glamour magazine, and your young nephew probably doesn’t really want a pair of socks.

Gifts should not be just for Christmas and birthdays. There’s no reason why you can’t give a special gift to someone special just because you want to at any time of the year. It does wonders for a person’s self esteem, and it does wonders for you too: we all really love to give. I hope you can find the time to give to someone today.

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5 Tips For Balancing Work And Home

Most people understand how difficult it can be to balance their work and home lives once they get married and have children. Somehow it seems that work life or home life is always encroaching on the other and causing problems at work, at home, and many times both. However the following five tips are great options to help with balancing work and home.

Make a Schedule

The best thing to do when trying to balance work and home is to make a schedule. Know how much time you have and schedule your work time and your home time. Then, you will know when you need to schedule work and home events. This will make your life significantly easier and you will know which activities fit into which time frame. Just make sure you stick to your schedule.

Share Responsibilities

Many times work and home responsibilities can become overwhelming because one spouse is handling more of the responsibilities than the other. So, learn to share responsibilities at home and each spouse can be responsible for their work. Also, older children should have some home responsibilities as well to help parents balance work and home.

Leave Work at Work

Balancing home and work can be difficult because it is so easy to take work home. If you really want to balance work and home then you will always leave work at work and keep home a sacred place for family and home activities.

Dedicate Weekends to Home Activities

A great way to keep home and work separate is to always focus on home activities during weekends, or at least on days off from work if you happen to work on weekends. When certain days are home days and other days are work days then it makes balancing work and home considerably easier.

Plan

The best way to balance work and home is to always make a plan. There are tons of tips that will help you, but there is nothing like making a plan and then following the plan to really balance work and home. It might be difficult, but if you have it planned out and follow the plan you will be surprised how easy you can find a balance.

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5 Steps to a Balanced Monday Morning

It’s Monday morning (again). You glance at the kitchen clock and gulp down a cup of coffee while attempting to put on your clothes at the same time and realize that you only have 5 minutes to get your 5 year old dressed and ready for school, not to mention you still need to pack her lunch. Not soon enough do you remember that you were warned the previous Thursday by your easy-going boss (not!) for being late the third day in a row.

Sound all-too familiar? Hey, no one said being a working mom would be easy, but here are 5 steps to help you achieve that delicate Monday morning balance:

- - First and foremost, be prepared. If need be, pack your child’s lunch the night before. Give your child a bath the night before as well. Do your washing and ironing on the weekend so that all clothes are hung and ready to go; prepare at least 5 outfits for each member of the family over the weekend and have your husband and children assist you in the process.

- - Set your alarm clock 10-15 minutes earlier to allow yourself more time in the morning. If need be, go to bed 10-15 minutes earlier to make up for the time difference. Wake up before your kids to shower and dress.

-- Keep breakfast simple and healthy. If you feel that you just don’t have the time for breakfast, try keeping bananas (and other easy to eat fruit) and vitamin fortified cereal bars handy and ready to grab and go.

- - Set a routine for you and your family and stick with it. Our bodies crave routine and that’s a fact. Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. Sticking with a schedule will make it easier to effectively manage that Monday morning balancing act.

- - Divide your morning into phases. For example, phase 1: Eat Breakfast, phase 2: Get Dressed, etc. Set the phases in 15-30 minute time increments (phasing increments can vary, depending on the overall time you give yourself). Attempting to accomplish everything at once will only lead to chaos and confusion. Help your family stay within the proper phase and ask them to also pitch in and help. Encourage your family to stick to the morning phases to keep things running smoothly.

The key to achieving any balance, especially that Monday morning balance, is being prepared. Try a more organized approach to your Monday mornings and you will find that they turn out to be a lot smoother and less stressful for everyone.

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5 Simple Ways Connect With Your Husband

Have you ever rolled over in the morning and not known the man lying next to you? I’m not referring to that time back in college - I’m talking about the present. After years of marriage, you may start to feel like your husband is a stranger. Or is it that you feel he’s getting stranger? Either way, here are 5 simple ways to stay connected to your husband.

1. Cook a meal together.
Whether it’s breakfast or dinner it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re spending time together. How about getting up early Sunday morning and making a big old-fashioned Sunday breakfast for you and the kids? Or sending the kids to a sitter and preparing a nice romantic dinner together?

You’ll save money fixing the meal at home rather than dining out. Plus, you won’t have to get “all dolled up” (unless you want to). Most importantly, you’ll be using teamwork, which is the number one priority for any marriage.

2. Take on a project and get dirty!
Tackle a big and messy job on your list - cleaning out the garage, pulling up shrubs in the yard, organizing the attic. Make an afternoon of it and do it together! You’ll both feel a great sense of accomplishment that the job is finally done and it’ll feel great to know that you got it done by operating as a unit.

Now that you’ve worked up a sweat, why not draw a bath for two?

3. Spend a lazy afternoon going through old photos and reminiscing.
Talk about the activities you used to do when you first started dating and make a plan to start doing them again. You might not be able to do them all, but make the effort to do as many of them as you can, whether it is taking long walks, going to concerts, or making out at the movies.

4. Play hooky!
Plan a day where you can each stay home from work and spend the whole day home - alone - together - doing absolutely nothing! Lay in bed all day, cuddle, and watch movies. Make sure to turn the ringer off on the phone.

5. Make an effort on a daily basis to stay connected to your husband.
Listen, ask questions - be his partner in all aspects of your life. Something as simple as making it a point to say, “How was your day, Honey?” every day when he gets home and listening to his response can make all the difference.

The most important thing to remember is that you are not in your marriage by yourself. Share your concerns with your husband if you’re not feeling quite as close as you once did. Let him know how you feel, how it makes you feel and that you want to work on it.

Chances are your husband will be clueless, but once he realizes you’re genuinely concerned, he’ll jump right in and make more of an effort. Good luck!

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5 Simple Tips on Preparing your Family Pets for a Disaster

Disasters can happen anywhere at any time. The public doesn’t usually get a lot of notice before a disaster strikes, so you must be prepared in advance and know what to do quickly if there is an emergency.

Here are 5 simple steps that you can take to prepare your pets and reduce the level of stress and worry for your entire family to a minimum.

Tip #1. Get a Pet Emergency Supplies Kit.
Have it readily accessible and make sure it consists of at least the following items:

  • Pet first aid kit that will cover your pets’ emergency medical needs. If your pets take any medications, add some extra supplies.
  • Food (in water proof container) and water, 3-day ration.
  • Collars with ID tags - make sure the information is current and updated. You might consider microchipping as permanent identification as collars get lost.
  • Safety harness and leash.
  • Sanitation Items.
  • Rescue Pet Decals – to alert rescue teams to save your pets inside the house.
  • Comfort toys and blankets to take with your pets if you have to evacuate.
Tip #2. Pack a picture of your pets in case you get separated.
It will help rescue workers to identify and reunite you with your pets faster.

Tip #3. Get your pets familiar with their carriers or crates.
Usually, pets associate them with visits to the vet and become stressed at the first site of them. Let your pets play in the carrier or get them some treats to make the transition easier when the time comes.

Tip #4. Know your pets hiding places in and out of the house.
At the first warning of a disaster, you might consider putting them in one room in case you have to leave in a hurry.

Tip #5. Have a Family Emergency Plan Ready:
  • Map out a get-away plan: how you pack your pets, where you go.
  • Check with the nearby shelters, veterinary hospitals, and hotels to see if they would take your pets in an emergency.
  • Develop a pet care buddy system – arrange for friends or extended family to take your pets in if you must evacuate in a shelter that doesn’t allow pets for health issues. Instruct your caretakers on the location of the emergency supplies kit and anything else you might find useful.
  • Learn about various disasters that could strike your particular area. You might have to wait home longer before getting an order to evacuate, so get some extra supplies of food and water.
  • If you have to evacuate, take your pets with you if possible.

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Wednesday 13 July 2011

5 Movies From Your Childhood To Share With Your Kids

Brand new movies are great! It’s so much fun standing in line at the theater, breathing in the buttery popcorn smell, giddy with anticipation when a new movie is released.

My children love watching the latest and greatest movies, but I just grin when I hear my children singing the songs I used to sing as a kid – “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” or “Tomorrow”. Hearing their little off-key renditions is the best music to my ears.

Have you introduced your children to the movies you enjoyed when you were younger?

Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
The Robinson family gets shipwrecked near an island. With hard work and togetherness, they build a majestic tree house. They are faced with many trials - wild animals, weather, and pirates, but their ingenuity carries them through. Great family values!

The Parent Trap (1961)
Twin daughters are raised not knowing about each other, each living with one parent. They unexpectedly bump into each other at summer camp, put two and two together, and work out a scheme to get their parents back together again. This movie is just plain good fun.

Mary Poppins (1964)
Mr. and Mrs. Banks are both so preoccupied with their own interests that their children, Jane and Michael are unhappy. When the magical nanny, Mary Poppins enters their lives, she brings the family closer. Between the penguin scene, the chimney sweep dance, and the magic, your children will be entranced.

The Sound of Music (1965)
The hills are alive with the sound of music. Your home will be alive with the sound of music once your kids watch this one.

Annie (1982)
Oh, how we love Annie! The music, the dancing, the wealthy Mr. Warbucks, and a happy ending. It doesn’t get much better than that!

These five movies are a must in every family library. Share the memories, and sing the tunes. It’s ok if you’re a little off-key. I won’t tell.

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5 Cheap Nights Out With The Family

Taking the entire family out for an evening of fun can be exciting and something all parents want to do on a regular basis. However, going out costs money and frequently it can cost more than the average family can afford. So, if you want to enjoy an evening with your family consider these 5 cheap nights out where you can really enjoy some family bonding while saving money at the same time.

Cheap Family Night #1 The Movies

I know you are thinking the movies are really expensive and there is no way you can afford to go. However, frequently during the week movie theatres offer specials, even 2 for 1 deals, to get more people in to see movies during the middle of the week. As a result, by taking your family to the movies on a Tuesday or Wednesday as opposed to Friday or Saturday you can save a lot of money. Also, consider popping popcorn at home and carrying it with you in a purse. That way you can enjoy popcorn without spending $5 for a small bag.

Cheap Family Night #2 Bowling

Bowling is a great family activity and like the movies many bowling alleys offer specials during the week, especially for kids. So, have a great dinner at home and head to the bowling alley. Of course, call ahead and find out when your local bowling alley offers specials for families and children.

Cheap Family Night #3 The Park and Ice Cream

All kids love to go to the park and since the park is free it is perhaps one of the best places to go! Your kids will love playing on the monkey bars and merry go rounds and you as parents will enjoy some family time and fresh air. Then, head to your local ice cream parlor and have a cone of your favorite flavor or buy a gallon of ice cream to enjoy at home.

Cheap Family Night #4 Local Sports Game

Many kids really love sports so consider a family night out to a local sports game, even a high school game. Entrance is inexpensive and it can be a lot of fun to watch local people playing a sport. Also, if you head to a high school game you can frequently pay entrance and see girls and boys play. A great family night out!

Cheap Family Night #5 Pizza and Arcade

Another great night out with the family can be enjoying a family size pizza and then playing games in an arcade. Not only will you have a great meal that is inexpensive, but the arcade games are generally inexpensive as well. You can give each child $2-3 in quarters and let them play until they are gone.

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3rd Anniversary Gift - Boy, I'm in Trouble Now

Your third anniversary is coming up and your mind is racing as you browse countless gift ideas, a new pair of shoes, a tie L, flowers, jewelry? Then just like last year and the year before your brain goes into full overload, shuts down and triggers “gift shopping procrastination” till the last minute when in desperation you grab a cheesy scarf or tie depending on the sex of the recipient.

Keeping a marriage for three years can be a tough job. Surpassing every challenge and overcoming obstacles of married life can be quite difficult. Anyone who can reach this milestone should be able to get through finding a thoughtful gift.

What gift are you going to choose for your loved one? In your mind, you probably think it must be expensive, or it must be unique. Well a gift need not always be expensive to be appreciated. Remember the old saying “It is the thought that counts“, While this is very true, we need to clear up one important point, the keyword in that saying is “thought“. This does NOT mean that you “thought” enough to get a gift, but instead refers to the thoughtfulness that went into the choosing of a gift whether it be homemade or outrageously expensive.

Leather is the traditional 3rd year wedding anniversary. Leathers are known to be strong, warm, flexible and durable as well. it has strong qualities like that of the married couple who has stayed together three years. So with that in mind, lets look at some leather gift ideas.

Leather clothing – you should check your spouses’ closet before buying leather clothes. Leather jackets can be appealing to almost everyone.

Leather shoes & bags / handbags – check your spouses’ shoe size before buying new leather shoes, be extra careful in choosing handbags, because wives are choosy when it comes to their accessories. You might want to enlist the help of one of her friends in choosing a gift like this.

Leather wallets – be careful with choosing the wallet for your hubby. Like wives, they can also be meticulous about it.

Leather roses - yes you read that right, and yes they are available, just search leather roses on any search engine.

Leather belts – this is a practical gift. Check out the size of your spouse before buying one.

Leather gloves – there are many type of gloves that you can choose. This is great for areas with cold temperature.

Leather desk accessories – check your spouses’ deck, is it organized? Give him/her a leather desk set to organize his/her desk.

Leather briefcase – this is the right gift for people on the go or for executives and lawyers.

Leather sporting goods - Is your spouse a sports fanatic? Footballs, baseball gloves and a lot of other sports equipment is made from leather.

Leather luggage – plan to have a romantic out of the country trip? Surprise him / her with a new luggage bag.

Next week we’ll cover the fourth wedding anniversary.

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2nd Anniversary Gifts - Cotton Anniversary Gift Ideas

Almost two years have passed since you both said “I do” and now your 2nd wedding anniversary is coming up, and as so many times before on occasions that etiquette requires the exchanging of gifts, you get stuck in a gift tunnel vision. An example is the spouse who buys flowers for every birthday, anniversary or holiday. Now don’t get me wrong, flowers are great, and so is filet mignon but I don’t want it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Get the point? Mix it up, put a little thought into it. It’s not as hard as you might think and you might even have fun, your spouse will appreciate a gift that shows you put some thought and consideration into its purchase.

Traditionally, cotton is the symbol for the 2nd year wedding anniversary. Cotton symbolizes the sweet and smooth flowing of the couples’ relationship. When the couple celebrates their 2nd year of being together, they are closer to one another. They are sweeter than the last year. Time may change them for the better. It is right to make the cotton the right gift idea suggestion for this wedding anniversary.

Cotton is a durable, versatile and highly flexible material. These are the qualities of the couple in a successful marriage. Moreover, cotton symbolizes great prosperity.

O.K. now we know that we need to put some thought into this gift and it should probably be made of cotton, I can hear you saying “How am I going to find a thoughtful gift made out of cotton?” Well don’t freak out just yet. Through the miracle of internet shopping and speedy home delivery gone are the days of having to settle for what the local stores had to offer, now the world is at your finger tips, literally.

Here’s a few tips to get you started

Personalized cotton wedding throw.

Personalized cotton towels.

Personalized cotton briefs and underwear.

Cotton Roses

Cotton hammock big enough for two.

Embroidered Quilts

Embroidered cotton t-shirts or jackets

Personalized Photo Pillows

Personalized Photo t-shirts

My favorite would have to be the Cotton Roses, why? Simple, the roses say “I love you” and the cotton says you loved your spouse enough to find roses made of cotton. Just do a search for any of the items above on your favorite search engine and you’ll have your perfect gift before you know it.

Next week we’ll tackle the third year wedding anniversary.

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'Flushing Season' Brings Rust and Iron Stains

It may not be a season that's celebrated, but it still comes around every spring and fall.

It's flushing season: The time of year when cities and towns flush out the water mains to help remove sediment that has settled in pipes. You know flushing season is here when you see city crews opening fire hydrants around town.

The problem with flushing season is that some of the minerals and sediment being flushed get into your home water system. While not dangerous, this can lead to some ugly, rusty stains in sinks and toilet bowls and especially on your laundry.

So the problem then becomes finding a cleaner that will safely get rid of the stains. After all, flushing season will be back again next year.

Ordinary household cleaners are not very effective against rust and iron stains in sinks, basins and toilet bowls. The popular oxy-based laundry additives are not good at getting the orange-colored spots and stains out of clothes, and bleach tends to lighten the stain but set what is not removed.

The most effective products are made specifically for rust and mineral stains using reducing agents, not bleaches or acids. One product in particular is a specially formulated reducing agent called Super Iron Out. You can find it at most mass merchandisers, grocery stores and home improvement stores.

Reducing agents work by actually changing the chemistry of iron and rust, breaking it down into a clear solution that can simply be rinsed away. They are safe and can be used on everything from toilet bowls to the kitchen sink. You can also safely add them to water softeners, dishwashers and washing machines. They will fight the rust and help prevent further stains.

Super Iron Out is equally as effective at combating iron and rust stains on laundry. Used as an additive along with laundry detergent, it safely eliminates rusty stains on all washable fabrics.

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