Editor’s note: This guest post is contributed by Shannon Wills, she writes on the topic of Physical Therapist Assistant Schools . She welcomes your comments at her email id: shannonwills23@gmail.com.
If I had to sum up my family in one word, I would choose “togetherness”. It’s one thing we always have, no matter how scattered we are and how often we meet. I know and believe firmly that my parents and siblings love me and would support me through thick and thin, simply because of the childhood I had. We were a happy family; we were not very rich, but we had enough to get by. What there was in abundance though was love, and we thrived on it. If you ask me what the secret of our togetherness was, I would say that our parents laid the right foundation for a happy family. In general, the following principles hold good when you want to foster a happy and content family:
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During tough economic times, you’d expect parents to be working longer hours to make ends meet and family time would suffer. A recent poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS News has found quite the opposite: “More Americans are spending more time with family and friends and less time shopping during the recession.”
What exactly are families doing together? According to UPI:
Meanwhile, the poll found that while some Americans are working longer hours, a larger proportion are spending more time than before with family and friends and pursuing such hobbies as gardening, cooking, reading and watching television.
The Times said the poll results mirror a poll performed by the Department of Labor, whose latest time-use surveys indicated that Americans spent less time in 2008 buying goods and services and more time cooking or taking part in “organizational, civic and religious activities” compared with 2005.
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(image via ci.wixom.mi.us)
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Mapping out your errands with your kids can turn into a fun activity to plan and execute. Make a game of running errands by mapping out the shortest route. Grab an old map of your city or use an online map service to draw your own. Involving your children will help deepen their respect for reducing the pollutant they put in the air to run their errands now and as they grow older. You can also point out that since you took the time to bunch all your errands together you have more time to do things you really enjoy.
To live green means to live a sustainable lifestyle that won’t deplete or pollute the earth’s natural resources–and to find ways to replenish or recycle these resources and materials. To be green means to preserve and to protect our environments and our planet. Even small things like mapping out your errands teaches your children this important concept.
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It’s come to my attention of late that many of us focus on the difficulties in parenting. We are quick to gripe about our children’s behavior, habits, friends, language, school, clutter and seldom make mention of their beautiful smiles and outrageous thirst for life.
So, I’ve decided to become grateful. Every day I will find some reason I am grateful… it may be directly related to my children or not. No matter what there will be a connection because I am THEIR MOM, no matter what. That is my first job… my first priority.
Tonight I reflect back on our day. I see the smiles on their faces when they come rushing in the front door at the end of the school day. Normally I would focus on the noise and mayhem that follows suit… today I just see those happy faces, so eager to rush in and tell me all about their days. [read the full article...]
I’m a bad daughter, as I haven’t gotten anything for my mother this year for Mother’s Day. The truth is I hate buying gifts, and I don’t have time to make anything. Of course, I have turned the responsibility over to my children to honor grandmother, but I did send her this video, which of course I had to watch first making myself Mother of the Year (on the same evening my daughter told me I was “extremely mean” for asking her to do her homework).
Mother’s Day originally began as a day of peace; it is not a Hallmark holiday. MomsRising, an organization devoted “working to bring together millions of people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America”, has created personal videos for Mother’s Day. According to MomsRising, Americans will spend $16 billion this year on Mother’s Day celebrations! That’s a lot of money to show Mom we care, and even though I have sent my mom her special video, I will probably still buy her some Dr. Hauschka. [read the full article...]
Oh, the joys and delights of that perfect food… pizza. Just looking at this picture is making me drool, how about you?
Takeout pizza always seems to taste better than homemade, doesn’t it? It’s partly because of their specialty pizza ovens, but it’s mostly the excessive amounts of grease and salt. Frozen pizzas are often full of MSG and artificial flavours. Not to mention the potential risk of PFC’s in the boxes!
For those of us trying to save a little money, and keep our families healthy, here are a few tips on making your homemade pizzas super-yummy.
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by Derek Markham on December 23, 2008 · 8 comments
Food prices are predicted to rise again next year, the economy is tanking, and businesses are looking at layoffs of some employees. With a recession looming, many families are struggling financially, tightening up their budgets and cutting back on unnecessary expenses. That doesn’t have to mean eating low-quality food.
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Families can still eat well and buy organic and natural foods, even in a recession, but it takes some new skills. Some of these skills aren’t so obvious, so I put together my top ten tips to help your budget, with a focus on grocery shopping. Even if you only use some of them, I think you’ll see a significant change in your finances.
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