Monthly Archives: July 2008

Children and Money

Posted on by

I have decided that I want to teach my son about money, and how to save it. To me, the earlier the better, right? Well, at four years old, I figured the best way to do that would be with a toy.

51d39yxdjfl_sl500_aa280_.jpgI found this awesome ATM Bank that will count money that you put into it, keep track of withdraws and deposits, etc.  It comes with an ATM card and PIN so that your children can “secretly” access the money.  Catch is, I’m going to keep the PIN so that my child cannot rob his savings, until I want him to.

I haven’t gotten it yet, but when I do, I’ll come back and let you all know how it goes.  I think it will be a good thing, because it’s piggy bank 2.0.  No more having to bust the bank open, and no more having to count it!  I mean, yeah, we’ll have to count it and roll it to take it to the bank, but we’ll always have a running tab of what’s going into it.

We’re hoping to show Joe how much things cost, and how much work it takes to get the toys he wants.  He’s in that stage where he asks for everything he sees, and the things he is fortunate enough to get, he does not respect and appreciate.  His birthday and Christmas are 3 weeks apart, so he thinks that time of year is gift central, and we want to show him that Mom and Dad have to work for the things we give him.

What we’re doing is giving him a little bit of money for each thing he does around the house, and then saving it to put in this bank toy when I get it.  Then, when it gets here, we’ll put the money in together, and every time after that. When it reaches $100 we’ll let him use the card to withdraw the money, and take him shopping.  But, we’ve got a list of things he “wants” that we are keeping so we can tell him what he’s got money for.  When he goes shopping, we’re not going to add our money so he can get everything he wants… if he doesn’t have enough, oh well.  He’s going to decide between one big toy, and a few small ones himself.

Is this a good plan?  What have you done to teach your children about money?

Picture is courtesy of Amazon.com/Discovery Channel Store and reflects the toy I am talking about.

Cute Kid Video

Posted on by

Because I’m in a hurry today, I thought I would share this cute video with you. If you are anywhere near as stressed as I am, you’ll appreciate this, and the laugh it gives you!

I do not mean to skimp you guys, but I am working on two other blogs, and helping another one along while the blogger is on vacation, too.

Aren’t these kids just adorable?

Today I am Grateful…7/15/08

Posted on by

In continuing with Cin’s idea, and out of a desire to do it myself, here’s my edition of Today I am Grateful.

Today I am grateful for

…the roof over my head.  I say this because, for the first time in a long time, I’m back at home.  The economy and finances have killed me recently, and I’m just very grateful for the fact that my grandparents have this apartment downstairs that my Dad was willing to move out of to let me have, for free.  All I have to do is take care of my food, and pay the difference in the utilities and I have been directed to save, save, save!  Isn’t that a blessing?

…the hugs and kisses my son gives me.  It’s not cool to hug and kiss Mom anymore.  So, when I get them, I am very thankful for them.

…this blog.  Yes, it’s true.  It’s because of this blog that I have met some amazing people, and started to make a name for myself in the blogosphere.  This blog has helped me to continue to build my name in the freelance writing world, too.

…my window air conditioner.  In the recent days, it’s been sweltering hot.  Rain has cooled it down, but it stays very humid here.  Where I just moved from, and upstairs at my grandparents, they have no air conditioning at all.  This house (and the one I just moved out of) are 70+ years old, so central is out of the question without a chunk of cash we don’t have.  So, the one unit in the window does more than I’ve been used to in the last 2 years!

What are you thankful and grateful for today? Please share, and give Cin something good to read when she gets back from her vacation!

Quick and Easy Snacks For Kids

Posted on by

In the interest of time today, I figured I would share some quick, easy, and healthy snacks for your kids. Of course, because Cin is trying the vegetarian thing, I will include snacks for that too!

I found this awesome article at Family Fun Magazine, and I think it’s full of great recipes! Check the article out here. In the mean time, here are some of my favorite recipes from the article, and I really think the kids will think the snacks are a hit, too!

Artic Oranges

Take 4 oranges.  Cut the tops off of them to give them a zig zag look.  Scoop out the seeds, fill with orange juice and a cherry.  Freeze for a few hours.  Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.  Frozen, Healthy fun!

Ants on a Log

You need celery, peanut butter, and raisins for this one.  Wash and dry your celery.  Fill the center with peanut butter, and top with raisins.

Mini Cracker Sandwiches

Take some small sized crackers, some sandwich meat, and cheese.  Make sandwiches out of the crackers, meat, and cheese.  Serve with apple slices,  and cream cheese dip, or carrot slices and ranch dip.

Share your favorite kid snack recipes with all of us below.

Acting like a teenager already? But, he’s only 4!

Posted on by

Hey guys! It’s Cindy, the first Family blogger, back to cover for Cin while she’s on vacation. Did ya miss me?

The last couple of days have prompted me to write this blog, because I just had to see if there are any other Moms out there like me, who are experiencing a strange, very premature teenage behavior stage.

My son, who turned 4 and a half (to be exact) yesterday, has recently turned into a teenager. Talk about add-it-ude! Wow! I know he’s all about seeing how far he can push Mommy before she screams, (and we have a day every few months or so that just drives me nuts) but these were some levels that surprised me to the point of finding a sitter on short notice, for no other reason than to completely escape it for a few hours!

Everything that used to be asked politely, such as, “Can I have some juice please, Mom?” has now turned into an order, delivered in a very aggressive, demeaning tone… with the added insult of expecting instantaneous results!

“Get juice now, Mom.”

“Joe, honey, you need to think about how you just said that to Mommy, and try asking nicely… until then, you can go thirsty.”

“I said.. NOW MOM… NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!”

“Joe, I am NOT your servant. You will get juice when you ask nicely.”

And the fit continues… Dad comes in and mandates that Mom be obeyed, then it turns from demands at Mom to aggressive defiance. Eventually, he winds down, and here’s where the hormonal teenager act comes in.

“Hmph! Fine! I’ll just be thirsty then!” Heavy sigh, followed by heavy stomping to the bedroom, and then a forceful slamming of the door. The more serious the upset, the more door slams we hear.

I understand a bit of it, in terms of being an only child, my being a young parent (and even having been around young children because I am the oldest of four) never seen this before, and outlandish behavior for attention… but, what I do not understand is, why? I mean, yes, times have been stressful around here, more than usual, and for longer…but, I still by no means neglect to give the child lots of positive attention, love, and affection.

Truthfully, I do a great job (in comparison to other parents I know no matter the age of the parent or child) in handling the stresses of life with a minimal affect on my son. I keep the same cheery, let’s have fun playing and learning attitude as best I can. When I know I can’t, I either explain something to him, “Mom’s busy working, and has a lot to do. That’s what’s making her grumpy.” If it’s major, I put him in someone else’s care so as not to affect him.

So, isn’t that what I should be doing? Am I wrong in my theory about the source of the mean, rude, behavior and fits? Help a young Mom out and share your thoughts. Remember though, I’ve had more curve balls thrown at me in the last four months than in the last four years combined… so I am willing to acknowledge that having an impact.

Thanks for your help guys!

Tired and Goofy

Posted on by

It’s 3 am… what am I doing here?                            

I am headed to Orlando in the morning with my Fam.  I’m still packing and buttoning up business.

Everyone went to bed early and excited.  What’s up with that?  Mama coulda used some help!

Anyway, too sleepy to blog and too sleepy to do some advanced writing so I have fresh material to share while I am away.  I didn’t mean to wait so long but I had some deals falling apart at work the last few days and they took all my attention. 

Yawn.

So maybe I can get some guests to post for me while I’m away.

Here’s an idea.  Why don’t YOU guys load me up with fresh content while I’m gone by writing in the Gratitude Journal each day.  I would absolutely love to come back to a whole bunch of happy things to read about!  The journal is in the right margin.  Go ahead.  You know you want to.

Have a happy week!  Eat your veggies while I’m gone!  See you when I get back!

The Triple Threat

Posted on by
I found a great blog written by Amy.  She won me over (and made me hungry) with her talk of hummus and pita bread and when I read about her daughter “the Flip Flopper” telling Mom to blog about her favorite (healthy) dip it reminded me of my Sari.  To read Amy’s educated take on feeding kids healthy (No Mom, I did not say vegetarian!  I just said HEALTHY :-)   )  click here The Triple Threat

Posted using ShareThis

CRAYOLA ROCKS for Back to School Supplies and More!

Posted on by

Have you received your list of BACK TO SCHOOL SUPPLIES from your school yet?  I always wait until the last minute and end up scrounging through leftovers and coming up at least one item shy on my list.  I was looking at my daughter’s list today when genius struck!

I glanced over and saw that fancy new colorful CRAYOLA banner blinking on my blog! (duh!)  So I clicked on it and found I could get just about everything I needed right there!

We already know that Crayola has the biggest and best supply of crayons, pencils, colored pencils, twistables, pens, and erasers, right?

Then there’s the highlighters, chalk, paper products, scissors, paint supplies, furniture, storage, and glue. 

I was happy to see my old favorite COLOR WONDER for sale there.  My Daughter fell in love with these when she was 4 and spent just about every play minute she had using them.  We included a COLOR WONDER product with every gift giving occasion that came up for her and her friends and cousins.  If you haven’t tried them, they are super and priced so great that you can constantly replenish and refill your collection.

I found a few new things to be excited about too!  I like dry erase boards and there is this cool looking new kit that has a dry erase board and changeable templates for a variety of activities from practicing lettering to creating chore lists.  It comes with pens too!

And speaking of pens there is this thing called magnetic eraser that holds dry erase pens, erases dry erase boards and attaches to the dry erase board so everything has a home.  Losing our pens and eraser is the biggest dry erase challenge at our house!

I hadn’t planned on this being an actual post but since I found so many goodies I figured, “why not?”  So take a minute and check it out if you like. If you have never been to their website or shopped the CRAYOLA section in the stores you will be pleasantly suprised by all the wonderful school and craft products there are available from our favorite crayon makers!

OH!  And not to leave out crayons, I will let you know that you can custom order your own box of crayons with your favorite colors from the CRAYOLA palette!  How cool is that?!

What are your favorite CRAYOLA products?

4th of July Weekend Woes

Posted on by

There really aren’t any WOES but it flowed in the title better than “bumps, bruises, aches, pains, missed deadlines, and cramps.”
:-)

We had a super time in Northern Michigan visiting my Parents.   

We gathered.

As we “kids” get older and our families grow, we don’t get to spend much time together.  Scheduling, location, and holiday obligations with other sides of the family make it difficult for us all to be in one place for quality time together.  We all made it to the cabin for a couple days and nights of family fun and drama.

We bonded

The last of my three brothers to get married has finally popped the question.  Previously I have not had much time to get to know my future sister in law.  After being subjected to supersized doses of her future sisters in law, “active” nieces & nephews, the future mother & father in law, and being whipped off the tube at high speeds and choppy waters by her future brothers in law…. we hope she comes back because we think she’s pretty special.

We cheated

And by “we” I mean “I”.  When we get together we eat and snack and rub our bellies.  It’s tradition.  My dear Family was very concerned and not at all snarky about being able to accommodate my new eating habits.  Although I brought hummus and veggies, it was the taco salad and deluxe pizza that satisfied me this weekend! I didn’t “slip” or succumb to a craving.  I simply decided to eat meat because it was easier and I am not quite confident with my vegetarian expertise in keeping hydrated and fueled up for days of nonstop action in the sun and on the water.  (also, Sissy in Law’s taco salad is AMAZING!)

We learned

  • Being thrown off the tube hurts more than it used to.  It leaves bruises and aches and pain all over. The morning after feels like a hangover.
  • The “little girls” that live next door to the cabin are getting older just like us.  Except as we’re getting stiffer and “rounder” and grouchier, they are getting firmer and cuter and sweeter.  My stomach hurts from sucking my tummy in when standing next to them.
  • My Parents are nuts.  We ate all their food, stole their gas, ran over their mailbox, dripped water through the house, got sick, fought with eachother, slept in their bed, and poked fun with them all weekend, yet they never really want us to leave. 

Maybe the title should have been 4th of July WONDERS!  Wonderful is what my family is to me!

Hopefully you all had a similar weekend of fun and food in the sun with your wonderful families.  Did you do any special bonding?  Suffer any tubing injuries? :-)

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium— DVD Review

Posted on by

If you’re looking for a good rental for the family this weekend I strongly recommend Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.  It stars Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman in a spectacular story about believing in yourself. It is positively appropriate for all ages and everyone will enjoy it.

At first the story has a strong resemblance to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but Mr. Margorium is so much warmer and endearing the comparison quickly fades. 

Natalie Portman plays a young woman who thrived as a child because she believed all the good things people said about her.  Somewhere along the lines she became a grown up and stopped believing in herself and on the verge of giving up her dreams.  Her boss and friend, Mr. Magorium has other plans in store for her, though.

The characters are all lovely, the toy store is amazing, and the messages are bold but not preachy.  Dustin Hoffman’s Mr. Magorium character is full of wisdom and thoughtful lines. 

We love movies around our house.  We watch them and we discuss them.  When the movie was over I asked the kids, “Now what did we learn from Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium?” and they both yelled, “Never stop believing in yourself!”  It was the most enthusiastic answer they have ever given to that question I often ask.  I hope as they grow up they hold that movie close to them and never forget what they learned. 

Have you seen it yet?