Robert over at Integral Web Solutions is hosting a blog carnival of “How to” articles.
If you are not familiar with a blog carnival, it’s a post with links to other blogs on a particular theme. This blog carnival “How to” theme is so practical, with over 20 “How to” articles, from 7 Steps to Using [...]
Kids are not the only ones who need to drink milk. You’re probably getting your calcium without knowing it from the lattes you drink each day.
Drinking lattes is a ritual millions of Americans look forward to every morning. But at about $3 dollars for a small cup, it’s a luxury that could cost nearly $1100 [...]
Almost daily I hear of a friend or a friend of a friend losing their jobs.
My husband and I are in real estate, so you know we are as financially stable as the next bank …
I want to share with you a resource I just came across. I have no vested interest in this organization, [...]
Imagine a child living in the toughest neighborhoods of New York City. How can he have a chance to experience the beauty of nature, to go hiking, to get some Fresh Air?
Now he can, with THE FRESH AIR FUND!
The Fresh Air fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 [...]
This is one fantastic speech given by Lia, a 12- year-old seventh grader!
Against the advice of her teacher, Lia chose to take a stand on the topic of abortion in a persuasive speech presented to her school. GOOD JOB, LIA!
It is good to know that we have children coming up in the next generation who [...]
Along the lines of Facebook’s 25 Random Things tag, here are my 25 Random Things about parenting:
1. Hugging your children renews your energy, your perspective, and your joy. And it’s free!
2. If you bake brownies, they will come.
3. Make breakfast for dinner once in a while just to change things up.
4. It’s ok if your [...]
“Would you want to come home to yourself?”
That question changed my life.
Would I want to come home to hear myself nagging at me?
Would I want to come home to be criticized by me?
Would I want to come home to negativity, pestering, and meanness?
If I don’t want to come home to me, why would my children [...]
While we were at the cemetery paying tribute at my mother’s grave site (it’s been 9 years since her passing, I miss her), my 8-year-old nephew started running around with no apparent aim.
His mother and I looked at each other. “Where is he going?”
We nodded with mutual understanding: It doesn’t matter where he’s going. It’s [...]
Are you fighting and arguing with your kids to go to sleep at bedtime?
When we took our puppy to Puppy Obedience School, all us new dog owners had the same questions:
How can I get my puppy to behave? How do I get my puppy not to chew? How can I make him stop digging up [...]
Walk through the front door of my house and you will see that I am obviously not an organized person.
We have stacks of stuff on every horizontal surface, including the floor…
“Mom, where is my report card from last year?”
“Mom, where is my vaccination record?”
“Mom, when was the last time I had an eye exam?
How I [...]
I live about 5 miles from Chino Hills where the earthquake just hit this morning.
I’ve lived in Southern California most of my life, and it’s still rather disconcerting every time we have an earthquake.
And we still don’t have an emergency plan, not smart.
Here is some good advice from Quake Kare:
If you’re inside, stay as safe [...]
To celebrate my new theme, I am doing my first Giveaway. I am so excited!
One of the most important aspect of being a good parent in raising good kids is to keep ourselves in good spirits.
For this contest, AminoGenesis and Frownies are providing products that help us moms rejuvenate our skin. Looking and feeling better [...]
How do you like the new look of this blog?
You might’ve figured that pink is one of my favorite colors.
Thank you David, my designer and good friend, Mike, my better half and tech support, Amy, my daughter for the great logo, and Elliot, my son for believing in me.
I am going to celebrate this new [...]
The beautiful site you see here was designed by my friend David.
And now, he is redesigning it for me! I am so excited!
Be ready to see a new design here shortly.
By the way, did I ever tell you that the logo you see on the banner and on my podcasts was drawn by my daughter? [...]
The spirit of meanness comes out in the best of us when we can be mean while remaining anonymous.
Just look at ourselves when we drive. We feel little hesitancy in cursing other drivers and giving them dirty looks or gestures, while remaining inside the safety and privacy of our cars, Most of us wouldn’t be [...]
Is it always bad to feel bad?
Today’s post is the first in a series about how negative situations can in fact be good for our children.
Whether your kids are in soccer, basketball, football, or any other competitive sport, it’s hard to stand by and watch your children lose, isn’t it?
My cousin’s son plays competitive tennis. [...]
If we were to count up volunteer hours in a community, I bet it would add to to an impressive amount.
Last Friday, I spent almost 4 hours at my daughter’s middle school selling food at their field day activities. There were more than a dozen of us parents helping out, some were there all day.
From [...]
Do you know that parents suffer from an occupational hazard?
It’s called low self esteem.
We beat up on ourselves whenever our children do anything wrong. If they go wild in the store, or do poorly in school, or won’t eat their vegetables, we feel that we’ve somehow failed as a parent. There always seems to be [...]
As a parent, we are concern with who our children’s friends are, aren’t we? We know that their peers have a strong influence on the way our children will turn out.
What is the best way for a parent to see who your children hang out with and what they are like when they are with [...]
“I feel left out when you guys talk. I don’t know what you are talking about.”
As the third and youngest child, my daughter is 6 years behind our second child and 7 1/2 years behind her older brother. At the dinner table, we would be talking about getting ready for college when she is [...]
If you have a 16-year-old, I bet you’ve grown more than a few white hairs worrying about your teenager getting his/her driver’s license. I know I have!
My son was in a car accident recently, thank God everyone was alright. It could’ve been worst. But it’s one of those phone calls you don’t want to [...]
Have you ever squeezed too much toothpaste and tried to get it back in? You can’t do it.
It’s the same with words. Out of frustration, we often say things we don’t mean. But once the words are out, you can’t take them back.
Here is a list of things I’ve actually heard parents say [...]
On Sunday morning we woke up early to make breakfast before church. I was cooking up some turkey sausages, my son was grilling blueberry pancakes next to me, my husband was dicing apples to put into our brown sugar oatmeal, and the girls were setting up the table. We sat down to a leisurely Sunday [...]
If you think about it, it’s not easy to be a kid.
There’s peer pressure of looking good, talking right, and acting cool. There’s pressure at school to take tests, to not get into trouble, and to not look like a fool.
And when your child comes home, what pressure does he face? Parents yelling? Siblings quarreling? [...]
Three days ago, my 18-year-old daughter underwent maxillofacial surgery - more commonly known as jaw surgery. Her under-bite was protruded to such an extent that it affected her eating and speech as well as her facial structure. We’ve been anticipating this surgery for the past 2 years, waiting for her jaw to completely grow [...]
Looking for good reading material?
Vanessa Van Petten has put together a list of 50 Best Mom Blogs based on recommendations from her audience.
I am honored to be listed among the best moms in the blogsphere!
Forget the laundry. Bring your nursing your baby while you read some humorous and definitely helpful writings from moms.
My friend just got a new Honda Odyssey minivan - fully loaded. It includes what they call the “DVD Rear Entertainment System” - a 9″ display and a 115-volt outlet in the third row that lets you plug in your video-game console, laptop or other electronics. “I won’t have to hear anymore fighting in the [...]
“Hey mom, I cut myself an apple and ate the whole thing.”
My son has never been known to eat more than a slice, a thin slice, of an apple when he was at home.
Now that he is living on his own at college, he is cooking for himself, and cutting up apples for himself.
“You like [...]
How does a company motivate its employees to work harder? They usually offer incentives or bonuses.
In the same way, our kids can be motivated by incentives when we want them to achieve a certain behavior.
Some parents do not believe in using rewards. Doesn’t it make your children become dependent on working only when they are [...]
Being at home with little ones can be a lot of fun…and a big drain on you. Nobody can work a 24/7 schedule without a break as a mother does and remain sane.
I’ve been there. Some days, I had to say, “Get me outta here!”
And that’s exactly what you should do. Before you get so [...]
If you don’t want to gain weight, you shouldn’t hang around Mrs. Field’s cookie shop.
If you don’t want to drink, you shouldn’t go to the bar to watch the football game.
If you don’t want to have a materialistic mindset, you shouldn’t hang around the mall.
I made a mistake today. I took my daughter to the [...]
My daughter moved away to college this fall into the dorms at UCLA. While the school is only 1 hour away by car (without traffic congestion), life without her at home has been an adjustment.
Whether your child is one month old or 17 years old, the day will inevitably come when he will move away [...]
My daughter came home excitedly today.
“I think I did well on my Social Studies test! Several of the questions were exactly what we studied together. I think you really helped me.”
I felt like I scored an “A” as a parent! Those are the kinds of things we parents live to hear.
Last night, my daughter made [...]
In a small city of Walnut where I live with population 30,000, there is not a whole lot to get excited about. So the annual Walnut Family Festival was a great affair for everyone to get involved with the community. It was complete with a 5K and 10K run, pancake breakfast, parade, games, live bands, [...]
“I’m bored!”
“What can we do?”
“Why can’t I watch TV?”
This book has great ideas of what to do when your children need to keep busy:
You can probably come up with more ideas of your own. But for the price of less than 15 cents for each idea, this will save you time and energy, for those [...]
“I didn’t do it!”
“I didn’t steal it, she gave it to me!”
Lying is one offense that I will not put up with. It is not only an affront to the people you are lying to, but it ultimately robs you of your character. Having a good character is the value of being human.
When we hear [...]
Much of real life happens outside the home, isn’t that right?
To help our teenagers in their growth towards adulthood in the real world, we need to help them get a job - a real job, in the real world.
In a previous post, I talked about the benefits of a job. Most likely than not, your [...]
Practically every parent I talk to have a problem with getting their children off the computer.
While the computer can be a great asset for learning and recreation, we can easily think of many ways it can be misused. Too much time on the computer is not only a poor use of time, it also does [...]
Today is the Last Day of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge!
If you have been following this series on 30 Days to Better Parenting, you will notice that much of what we’ve been trying to do is improve relationships within the family, particularly with our children. When the family has a strong foundation of [...]
At 40-something years old this year, I’d say I can count on about 20 more good years ahead of me, 25 if I am lucky. Even if I live beyond 75, I don’t think I can be as productive as I have been my last 20 years. That’s just a fact of life.
What have I [...]
There is no lack of parenting books out there in the bookstores.
There are lots of websites like this one to give you parenting advice.
But there is one source of parenting advice that we rarely tap into.
Today is Day 28 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge. Our task today is to ask the expert [...]
Do you agree that the new media - the computer and all its various usages, as well as the old media - TV and such, have a huge influence on our children?
Are you familiar with the content of what your children are watching on TV, what they are watching on YouTube, and what they are [...]
One of the most important aspects of parenting is creating an environment in the home where your family would want to come home to. We want to have a positive atmosphere of safety, love, and joy. Having fun together at home is a good way to build a happy home.
Today on Day 25 of our [...]
Is your family like mine where everyone is usually off in their own room or their corner doing their own thing?
I am on my computer, my husband is on his laptop, each of my children are doing something by themselves.
This activity brings the family for good clean fun, and is workable in any weather.
On this [...]
Today’s task on Day 23 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge may truly be a challenge for some of us.
If you are like me, my default mode of operation is to gravitate to the familiar. The menu for meals include meatloaf, pot roast, enchiladas, or stir fry. Those are my favorites, and I [...]
“I used to walk 30 miles to school, in the snow, uphill both ways!”
We usually resort to saying things like that when we think that our children do not appreciate the easy life they have. We want to tell them that life is tough for some people, and that they should be thankful they [...]
My daughter and I went to the Los Angeles County Fair yesterday, and we forgot to bring a camera! I wanted to kick myself for not remembering such an important piece of equipment that should be central in our lives!
You’ve got to take your camera with you everywhere.
You can never have too many pictures.
Now that [...]
When was the last time you received a personal piece of mail in your mailbox? I mean in your mailbox as in the one out in the front of your house, not your Email Inbox.
It’s a thrill when I get a personally addressed piece of mail. While email is certainly efficient, I miss getting mail [...]
You’ve heard it said that a good defense is a strong offense.
When it comes to dealing with problems between siblings, this principle certainly holds true. When brothers and sisters fight constantly, no amount of screaming, threats, or punishment seem to be able to abate it.
I think the best way to deal with sibling quarrels is [...]
Do you have assigned chores for your children?
How do you decide which chores they are to do? Based on age and the difficulty of the task they can handle? I have another suggestion on how to decide on chores for your children to do.
Assign chores based on unique talents
While there are some jobs that [...]
I am generally not a disciplined type of person. I am what my sister nicely termed “fluid.” I don’t do well with setting goals because I lose track, then feel guilty for not keeping my goals.
For people like me, setting very short term goals is a good way slowly ease our way to a more [...]
I bet that for most of us, if not all, our family is what will mean the most to us at our death bed. We would say, “Oh, I wish I had told them how much they mean to me.”
Have no regrets!
Our task today on Day 16 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge [...]
Are relationships a little strained in your home?
Has everyone been stressed lately, pressured with work, school, and chores?
What you need is to get de-stress with a good laugh.
This will be a fun activity to do with your children today, on this Day 15 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge.
Go to the bookstore or [...]
“Pick up your clothes!”
“Hurry up and finish your homework!”
“Get off the computer NOW!”
Are our children hearing negative commands from you all day?
Today is Day 14 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge. I warn you, the task today will be a real challenge.
Whenever you feel a negative statement coming out of your mouth, STOP! [...]
Is parenting the most rewarding job in the world?
Absolutely!
Is is the easiest job in the world?
I wish it was, and I wish good and effective parenting comes naturally.
But the truth is, being a parent is exhausting. We have to be constantly alert, we have to make quick on-the-spot decisions, and we are called upon [...]
Today’s task for this Day 12 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge will only take a few minutes to complete.
Simply write a short note to each member of the family today. The content doesn’t have to be a long. Just an encouraging word, something funny, a word of acknowledgment is all you need [...]
Wherever there is food, good feelings go along with it.
Mealtimes are usually the best time for families to spend quality time.
To make the most of the time, instead of just eating together, you can also prepare the meal together. Don’t worry, no cooking skills are required for this activity I am suggesting.
The task today on [...]
How often do we remind our children to say “Thank you” when they receive something?
“Say Thank You to Aunt Mary for the nice sweater.”
“Say Thank You to the nice lady for giving you a cookie.”
Here is a searching question for us: How often do we say Thank You to our children when they do something [...]
Wake up, brush your teeth, eat breakfast, go to school, come home from school, do homework, and on and on it goes.
Life gets pretty mundane and downright boring.
Each day goes by, and before you know it, your life has just passed you by….
Stop!
We have to take a hold of life, and get it out of [...]
In our day of audio and video - ipods, mp3s, HD, etc., etc. - reading books still has a place in entertainment.
Nothing trains our imagination better than reading. Building vocabulary and writing skills all come from avid reading.
Many families have a habit of reading together before bed time. That is a great way to [...]
Yesterday, our challenge was to identify one area in our parenting efforts that could use some improvement. We were to find some resources that address that issue.
Today, Day 6 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge - Day 6our task is to put one new idea that you found into practice. Just ONE.
We [...]
It’s been said frequently that children do not come with a user’s manual.
Does that mean parenting is learned on-the-job only? Do we approach parenting in a haphazard manner? Do we just “do the best we can” and just hope for the best?
Fortunately, the answers to those are NO!
There are plenty of resources out there [...]
Photo by blmurch
Pictures are worth a thousand words! When we don’t know how to talk to our children, when words are misunderstood and relationships are frail, or when we just want to express our love that cannot be put into words, looking at old photo albums together speaks volumes.
Day 4 activity for today’s 30 [...]
Good reading skills is needed in just about every subject at school and in every area of life. Your child will be one step ahead if he is a good reader.
When I substitute in an elementary school class, I usually see the good readers placed in the “accelerated” group where they can work on projects [...]
Now more than ever before, it is critical to be a good reader.
It has been said that the world wide web has leveled the playing field. Just about everything and anything you want to know can be accessed on the internet. So if you can read, you can explore your interests and excel in any [...]
The typical symbol of a parent is the mom with the pointing finger with one arm outstretched shouting, “Go clean your room!”
Some people just have a knack for keeping a clean and neat house.
I am not one of those.
I don’t blame my children for not cleaning their rooms because I have the same problem with [...]
“Can I build a tent in the living room?”
Sure!
“Can I paint Pokemons on the walls of my room?
Go for it!
“Can I have peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner?
Why not!
When my children asked me for permission to do things that are not dangerous, unethical, or immoral, I try as much as possible to say [...]
If you have a child who isn’t experiencing success in school, don’t assume it’s exclusively your child’s fault. After all, who decided that the only way to learn was to sit in straight rows, or listen to a teacher lecture, or concentrate quietly for long periods of time?
Isnt’ that comforting to hear those words if [...]
“Stop fidgeting! Sit nicely to do your homework!”
“Don’t stay up so late! Wake up early to finish your work.”
“I’ve told you a thousand times! Why aren’t you listening to me?”
We tend to expect children to all learn in the same way. We expect them to sit quietly while doing their homework. They should rise and [...]
I was cleaning out my dresser and found a box of cards that I saved. Each one is priceless to me, handmade and given by my children for all kinds of occasions. Some were just made out of scratch paper with the words :I luv you, momy!” Each one reflected my children’s personality and stage [...]
Teaching your children to use their money wisely is one of the most important subject that we can teach them. They are not going to learn it at school.
To learn them in making wise decisions about spending, here are 3 questions that you can teach them to ask before making a purchase:
“How often would you [...]
It’s summer! Free to do whatever we want - go to the beach, sleep in late, hang out with friends.
But inevitably at the end of summer, we look back over the last months and say, “Oh, I wanted to __________(fill in the blank) but I didn’t have enough time!”
Not enough time?? You’ve had almost 3 [...]
Want to do a fun and meaningful activity with your children?
Cooking or baking together is a lot of fun. Plus you get to eat your creations afterwards!
You can start cooking with your child when he/she is as young as 3 years old. And working in the kitchen is not for girls only! Boys enjoy it [...]
“You always see what I do wrong and get mad at me. But you never see what I do right!”
My son said that to me when he was in 6th grade. And he was right.
I was very wrong.
Here I was, picking on him about cleaning his room, picking up his clothes, putting his dishes [...]
“Get off the computer!” “Don’t watch so much TV! ” “Stop playing video games!”
Then what are they suppose to do?
You want the children off those electronic devices in order to do what?
We would like our family to spend time together and enjoy each other’s company instead of each member doing their own things and acting [...]
When my children were little, we loved to read together out loud.
We visited the library several times a week to return books and check out a stack of new ones.
When is your favorite time to read together with your children? I read to my children in the middle of the afternoon when it’s downtime, and [...]
“Hey mom, are you still up?”
It was close to midnight. I was just dropping off into dreamland when my 19-year-old son called me on the phone.
“Sure, sure. I’m still up. What’s going on?”
I can miss any amount of sleep to talk to my son.
I can drop anything I am doing if my children need me.
That’s [...]
“Mommy, come swimming with me,” my daughter called.
Well, I don’t want to get my hair wet…I should get dinner started…I hate the smell of sunscreen…my swimsuit is tight…I don’t have the right goggles…chlorine dries out my skin…I have a zillion reasons why I don’t want to go swimming with my daughter.
Then, I stopped myself, changed [...]
