As summer looms closer I feel the dread of being stuck in the house with a bunch of kids once again. I feel the need to get away and enjoy adult conversation. Last night for the first time in months I went to knit night at Panera bread. I really enjoyed getting out of the house even if it was only for three hours. It relieved some of my everyday stress. But then today happened. It sucked. I had three boys ages 4 and under and all I heard all day was screaming and crying about every little thing. I’m so over kids right now I’m glad Lil A doesn’t come till 1:30 tomorrow. I really need the quiet time. The big kids will be in school and hopefully munchkin will sleep in so I can go back to bed after the big ones go to school. It’s been trying times with my nephew here all the time and him and A fight so I’m really pulled apart by them. But life will get better just gotta find the solution.
One of the hardest things to do as a parent is teach your kids to be responsible with money. Sure you can teach them how to make sure they get a good deal at the store. You can teach them how to put aside a portion of every week’s allowance (or part of what they make doing chores or helping out in the neighborhood or even—when they’re older—an after school job’s paycheck). You can talk and talk but if you don’t walk the walk, it isn’t going to make a bit of difference for your kids.
Nowhere is this truer than with your credit.
If your kids see you plunking down the credit card every time something looks a little bit expensive, you’ll teach them that they can do the same thing as adults. So what do you do? How do you teach your kids how to be responsible with their credit—especially if your family needs credit cards to survive?
1. Let Them See the Statements
You already know, from your money lessons, that one of the best ways to teach your kids about money is to have them help you balance your checkbook and to show them your monthly bank statements. The same is true with credit. Letting your kids see your statements gives them proof that credit is more complicated than simply “paying for it later.” Showing them the fees and interest rates you get charged drives home the point that it is important to be careful with credit.
2. Practical Application
Why not make the lesson a little bit more home-grown? Buy your kids something and have them pay you back for it from their allowances and paychecks. It doesn’t have to be a super expensive something. Let them pay you back in installments—with interest of course. Charge them fees if they pay you late or skip a payment. Then when they have finished paying off the purchase, show them how much they actually paid (versus how much the item actually cost).
3. Finding a Good Deal
Teaching your kids how to find a great credit card is no different than teaching your kids how to make sure they get the best deal on paper towels. Show them how to find the best low apr credit cards with the best perks. Talk about the value of perks and points versus the value of a lower APR.
4. Swallow Your Pride
If you have bad credit, tell your kids. More importantly, tell your kids how that bad credit affects your life and theirs. Talk about higher interest rates, being denied loans, etc. You want to shield your kids from the bad stuff in the world but the best way to ensure they truly learn what you want to teach is to make it accessible to them. Even very young kids can understand something theoretically but if you want your kids to understand things in a real and present way, be honest. Talk about mistakes you’ve made and how you’re working to correct them.
There are lots of ways that you can teach your kids about credit and its value. What are some of the things that have worked for you and your family?
Staten Island was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. And six months later, long after the story has passed from the media’s attention, they’re still rebuilding. Including their Little League®.
As a sponsor of Little League® for 17 years, Honda contributed $50,000 to help them restore fields and facilities, and return a sense of normalcy to the children of Staten Island affected by this disaster. We also joined them on opening day with fundraising activities designed to raise their spirits and their budgets.
Parents and kids participated in “Car-e-oke” where they sing their worst rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” and “Musical Car Seats,” where the last person standing gets pied in the face. All in good fun for a good cause: raising money to help rebuild Staten Island Little League.
Rebuilding is a huge undertaking and they still need help. Please donate directly to Staten Island Little League at www.rebuildSILL.com
When summer time rolls around once again it is time to get out the sprinklers and water balloons and party! Kids love to be outdoors in the warmth of the summer sun, so here are a few fun activities they can do outdoors:
1. Backyard Water Park – When I was a kid I loved playing in the sprinkler, but parents today take it to a whole new level. With just a few pieces of PVC pipe you can make your own backyard water park complete with drive through car wash and water slides. Keep it basic with a kid friendly sprinkler instead and just watch the kids’ jump, scream and have a blast in the cool water.
2. Water Balloon Catch – A great game for kids to play with water balloons is catch. They back up further and further until they miss or the balloon pops. Whoever gets furthest without getting wet is the winner. Or you can go old school and just have an all-out water balloon war. Here is a hint: the fuller the balloon the easier it is to break and the less it hurts when it hits.
3. Ice Excavation – A great calm outdoor activity for kids of all ages is the ice excavation. Get a plastic tub and fill it with water. Drop in a few plastic toys like dinosaurs and farm animals, even army men, and then freeze. Take the frozen block of ice outside and give the kids some spoons or other kid-friendly tools. They can dig out the dinosaurs and discover new treasures while staying cool.
4. Monster Shootout – For an indoor and outdoor activity try this one. Have the kids design and cut out monster shapes. Use a small triangle of paper taped to the back so the shapes stand up. Then arm the kids with water guns and let them shoot down the monsters! Eventually it will turn into an all-out water war, but at least they will stay cool!
5. Camp Out – Last but not least is the nighttime summer favorite. The backyard campout is great fun for any age child. From a sheet stretched out over a branch or string to a real tent kids can have fun no matter how basic their surroundings are. Eat some baked s’mores, tell some stories, sing songs and rock out in the lantern light for a memory they will treasure.
These are just a few of the fun things your kiddos can get up to this summer break. With lots of heat and lots of time it is a good idea to get them outdoors and active. Remember the sunscreen and have fun!
Author Bio:
Paul and his wife Julie both spend quite a bit of time coming up with ideas, blogging, and researching all things related to childcare. They take care of all the necessary information related to “www.babysittingjobs.com”. He personally thinks his blog will help finding information on all things related to a babysitter.
So today I decided that I was tired of the old design and created a whole new one geared around my attitude and character now. I think for now this one fits me better. I love the sparrow design on the header and I love chevrons of all colors. Hope y’all like the new design. I just wanted something more clean and light for the eyes. It’s truly what I have envisioned.
Wow this is such a hard question to answer. There are so many gift that would be great to get, but I think the best gift would have to have love, consideration, and thought put into it. When Mother’s day rolls around you want to give the very best gift possible without breaking the bank. My Best Mother’s Day gift would have to be something from my kiddos. Maybe a home cooked meal where I don’t have to prepare or clean up, maybe a maid for the day to do anything I need done, or just maybe that hair cut I been needing for a while.
Us mother’s rarely have time to take care of ourselves much less take time out for ourselves. So this Mother’s Day why not treat mom right and get her that much needed time to herself. Send her to a salon, get her nails done, treat her to a home cooked meal she didn’t have to prepare, offer to clean the house for her and do it, or maybe just give her a much needed relaxation day without the worries of the house and kids.
I know that for me Mother’s day wouldn’t be complete without some much needed snuggles from my little ones and maybe a long hot bubble bath full of bubble goodness. So this Mother’s day treat her right since she teats you right all year long.
Thanks to NerdWallet for the idea and contest for Mother’s Day.
Many families around the world find themselves searching for Toyota Highlander deals right now because this is basically the perfect car for any family. The Highland can do everything that you need from a vehicle that will be used by more than one person, and it is the ultimate option on the table when it comes to interior space and utility. There are too many different uses of the space in the back of the Highlander to even count, and the whole family can fit inside the SUV rather comfortably. One of the main things that people like about the Highlander is the powerful engine that is also able to keep the car as a fuel-efficient option. This is the kind of dual threat that is not seen in many SUVs these days, but it is a trend that many people would like to see continue far into the future. The design of the entire interior is rather user-friendly, and most people find that the placement of various switches and features make sense more than anything else. Although there is more space to be found in some of the other SUVs on the market right now, you cannot deny that this SUV gives you everything that your family would need in a vehicle. Space is not everything, and some manufacturers are just trying to give people way more space than they actual need with certain vehicles. If you would like to take home the perfect ride for your family, then look no further than the Toyota Highlander.
One year ago this month my father passed with congestive heart fairlure. It saddens me to think that he will never know his grand kids. But also makes me feel at peace to know that he is not gone from us on his own accord anymore. You see my father left in 1997 for Florida and never came back to us. He visited his sisters and brothers a good bit of times but only told us twice that he was here. So we only saw him twice in 14 years. It’s sad that someone would want to isolate themselves so far from there family like that for so long. I have often wandered where we went wrong? Why he choose to be gone? But as I get older I kinda understand. I myself like to be left alone. Sometimes when I wanna talk to someone besides myself I write on here or walk across the street but I prefer to be by myself. Unfortunately, I don’t always have that luxury. I baby sit, I have kids, and I have a attention seeking hubby. So I’m rarely alone. When I feel like I can’t take the togetherness any longer I lock myself in the bedroom. It helps to get away from it all. Maybe this was his way of locking himself in his bedroom. I don’t know. But I do know that as a parent I hash thwouldready to never want to be so far away from my kids and for so long. WE have heard conflicting stories about why he was gone for so long and I’m not ready to hash those out yet. But one day I will confront the demons that helped him and get my answers. Until then I pray he found God and went to heaven so he can live the life he always dreamed off. Good bye daddy.
So spring has finally sprung around here and as usual the Georgia and Alabama residents are all flocking to Florida for the beaches, and we are too. This time next week ill be packing for my trip to PCB. I’m so excited to get out of town and have a bit of an adventure. We have picked out a beautiful place to stay and it has enough amenities to go around. Not only will we be down there enjoying the sand and weather but we may even have friends going as well. I just can’t wait it’s going to be a blast we will get one full day at the beach and a half day to do other stuff. You know the first thing I checked on was yarn shops and strangely enough there are none other than Joann’s, hobby lobby, and maybe a Michael’s. That sucks but I’m sure ill have a blast without one there. What are your plans for this glorious spring weather?
So progress for school has been great. I’m passing all my classes and looking forward to getting my degree. I’m hoping that I don’t have to much further to go to gain my degree. I should be half way there but there is no telling how many credits they are keeping from Walden U. But with three classes at a time it should be easy to finish up fast.
Today we went fishing again. It’s becoming a Sunday ritual. I really enjoy spending time with friends and family and especially enjoy spending time doing something we all enjoy. Today the hubby caught two fish. Check them out.
I was so proud of him. He was so excited. It’s amazing how no matter how many times you go fishing and catch fish you still get excited when you catch another one. On the way home the kids told us they had a blast and for that I’m thankful.
So I took munchkin to the dentist and at first he was all chipper. Until they brought out the drill. First they numbed his gums which he hated and decided to turn his head back and forth. Then they finally talk him into doing the rubbing numb stuff. Then they pull out the needle, poor baby didn’t know what to think. After he was completely scared off by the needle they go to suction his mouth and he starts pulling up out of the chair. All while I’m a nervous wreck for him. She finally gets him to open up and shows his the drill without the bit in and he’s like that’s ok, yeah f@&$ right. She puts that bit on and hides it from him then he’s all like this is ok and she puts the drill to his tooth and he goes ape shit. Screaming and writhing and trying to come out of the chair. They have me restrain his arms but he’s too strong so I can’t get a good grip. It’s pure torture. Well once that is done they proceed to do yet another one and I’m like this isn’t working he’s scared out his mind had to pee and don’t want them to touch him. I’m crying, he’s crying and because he won’t sit still they have to restrain him on this bored thing with straps that lock him in like a burrito. By now my anxiety is through the roof and I’m trying all my will power not to attack like a momma bear. It had to be done, they can’t get worse for him. He’s my baby and they tortured him. Still now a day later I’m crying for him as I write this. It broke my heart and I broke his heart by not protecting him. Such a sad time in our life.
So I don’t know if you follow me on facebook but if you do you might have heard about my car troubles going on right now. Lets just say we were going to the hubbies brothers birthday party and my car gear shift got stuck in reverse, never has it done this before. So hubby gets out and figures out that the cable that connects the fear shifter to the transmission had popped off so he puts it back on we that’s all great now right? No. It does it again at the gas station when we go to get gas. Then again at the river. Well the kids were out Monday from school for something called furlow day so I didn’t go anywhere, but Tuesday I took munchkin to school and it does it there. When I’m all by myself with no one who knows the problem and how to fix it. So I call the hubby and ask him to come fix it. So he leaves work and comes to fix it. Well since this has happened a lot I park the car and get my sister to take me around to do errands. Hubby sends me to buy the part at the dealership it’s 79.80 wow took a huge chunk of my spending money. Not happy about it but its gotta get fixed. He gets off work yesterday and goes to fix it and gets annoyed so he puts it off till today. This sucks having no car to use. He has to fix it today since I have appts the rest of this week.
So today we woke up and went fishing on the river. We live in ga so the Chatahoochie is right down the street. We left the house around 12:30 meet up with B and his family, A and her family and went to the river walk to fish then after fishing we went to dinner. It was an awesome day and munchkin told me he had the best day ever. I really live that boy he had a blast. Frog and chunky had an awesome day too. I’m so glad we can do these inexpensive things with our kids and them enjoy every minute of it. It makes you appreciate life a little bit more. The funniest part about the whole day was that none of the adults could catch a fish but the 3 yr old with us caught 3. Lol!
Here’s a little picture of our day.
