How Was School Today? How I Got My Kids to Talk to Me.

My son is currently finishing up first grade while my daughter is in the last few days of 3K at the same school.  Each day I picked them up I would ask the same questions:  How was school today?  What did you do?  These questions always resulted in the same answers from both of them:  Fine. I don't know/nothing.

So I decided to change it up a little and ask them to tell me three things about their day.  It always resulted in the same answers, "I got a _____ in conduct," "I ate ____ for lunch,"  and "I worked on _____."  That third one was the only one that was news to me because they always brought home a sheet telling me about their daily conduct, and I packed their lunches.

So this was a good start, but not really the deep, meaningful conversation filled with delight and variety that I was looking for.

Time to change it up again.

So now I ask them each the following question:  Tell me a way today that you 1.) worked, 2.) played, and 3.) helped.

This finally gets me the answers I am looking for!  These are things I want to hear about their day and the answers usually give me enough information that I can delve further in with questions about details.  And if I start getting the same answers day after day, I ask for a different answer ("you've told me that three days in a row now; please give me another example").

It works great with my son and my daughter is picking up on it, although her definition of "helping" is not usually what I'm looking for ("I helped my friends by coming to look at something when they called me.").

What about you?  Do you have this same problem with your kids?  Have you found a solution that works for your family? 

Posted as part of Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.  Check out the other great tips from other great blogs!

Ideas for College Student Care Packages

Photo credit

My oldest niece is starting her first year of college this fall (boy, does that make me feel old!), and she's going to be moving away from home - pretty far away - for the first time. Although I was only 100  miles from home when I attended college, I remember getting a care package a time or two after I moved.  It was the most amazing thing to see that little slip of paper indicating I had something that was too big to fit in my tiny dorm mailbox.  Opening it was like Christmas morning each and every time - even when the things included were not big and luxurious.  It was amazing to know that someone was thinking of me and helped bring a little bit of home to my dorm room in those first uncertain, exciting months away from home.

So I have vowed to myself that at least once a month, I will be sending our niece something just to lift her spirits and (hopefully) make her smile.

Of course you can always do a themed gift box that includes toiletries, first aid stuff, candy, foodstuff, holiday items, or any other "theme" you can think of.  But you can also just throw in a number of things that are in no way related one another, but you just wanted to send.

And being on this website, I cannot go without saying that some of these things you can get for cheap or free because of seasonal purchases, sales, and playing drugstore shopping games. =)  Go with what you can find.  But if you are looking for some ideas, these are perfect.

click here for printable version

Any other good ideas to add to this list? I'll add them to the list! What did you receive at college that was a must have?

How Less Debt Equals Cheaper Insurance

Photo credit: penywise

In the last 2-1/2 years, we've reduced our debt by $21,000. As much as that feels good to say, that fact reaches farther than I knew it could.  Recently we learned that with a better credit score, we could get better insurance rates.  That sounded interesting since we haven't gotten our insurance requoted during that time frame.

So we called our existing  insurance agent and asked if they could run a credit check and see if it would affect our rates. We knew our scores were really good because we had seen them when we refinanced our home a few months ago. We didn't change companies.We didn't change our plan. Just reran the credit score. Honestly, all my husband and I did was sign a form and fax it to them.

We got a letter in the mail.  Our auto insurance rates were reduced by 13.5%!  Now, in dollars that isn't a huge amount because the cars are paid off and as their worth depletes, so does our insurance rate.  However, 13.5% is huge - especially since all we did is sign a piece of paper.

So if you've made some lifestyle changes and recently reduced your debt and have a lower debt to available credit ratio or if you've found another way to recently improve your credit score, contact your insurance agent. It's simplistic and can really save you some money!


Have you ever done this?  What other ways can you save in unexpected places?

Solution to our Overspending?

If you have looked at any of our month to month financial update posts, you know that we have a problem with overspending on eating out. Restaurants, fast food, coffee shops, convenience stores...somewhere or other there is always money spent that we did not budget for.

And as much as I know this, it never seems to change our habits.

So I have a trial of a solution that I am going to give a go.

Photo source

During the month of July, Chip will be on orders, meaning he won't be around to eat at our house. At all. So just me and the kids. This is when I will try my trial. That actually seems funny because I'm more of a problem (usually) with this than he is, but I think I can control myself better than I can make both of us do this. So I'm going to give it a try while he is gone and see if it works. Then we might roll it out for the household.

My solution? 

The money I DON'T spend on eating out AND the money I save below my grocery budget will go to our missions budget at church. Above and beyond our regular giving, I will give that extra amount to the penny. No over-giving allowed - not because I'm trying to be selfish or stingy. But if I allow over-giving, I will just give regardless of what I spend, so that rule is in place to be a checkpoint for me.

That's it.

Doesn't sound really complex, does it?

But honestly, I can't seem to stop myself for reasons of our debt, so I obviously need a more motivational reason. And I think giving to those who don't have food?  That's a pretty good reason. That's a reason that will make me say, "You know...I'm not going to go to lunch with my coworkers today because someone else needs to eat with that money."

Let's see how it goes, okay?

Would this work for you on any overspending area?  Want to try it with me?  

Will this work for me?  I don't know, but you can check out what does work for everyone else over at We Are THAT Family. 

Summer Boredom Busters

Since I am not personally very creative and am fantastic for taking someone else's creative genius and replicating it, today I share with you some summer boredom busters for your kids - all via Pinterest.

Grow your own rock candy

For too hot or rainy days, create a road for matchbox cars

Create this amazing piece of art with your youngsters

"Paint" bread and then toast and eat.

Melting ice game teaches them too

Host a "drive in" theater for the kids

Spray chalk fun

DIY ecosystem - this amazes me

DIY Sidewalk Paint

Indoor fun - this fizzy fun will amaze even the little ones!

Nature Scavenger Hunt - I wanna' go!

Toddler fun for the younger crowd

Names from Nature - do the whole family!

Do you have any fun things planned for your kids yet?  Let us all know your great ideas too! 

And for even more ideas, join Works for Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family. 

Inexpensive and Practical Gifts for Graduates

Photo Source: hhsara

It's that time of year again. Time for high school seniors to walk to "Pomp and Circumstance," cross a stage and receive that long-awaited diploma.  Some will go on to college and some will go straight into the work force. All will be making major life-changing moves into the "real world" though.

And so the graduation invitations start pouring in. But you're on a budget. What can you do?

Here are a few inexpensive gift ideas that will suit a new graduate perfectly:

Any Graduate:

• A copy of The Tightwad Gazette, The Debt-Free Graduate: How to Survive College Without Going Broke by Murray Baker, or another similar favorite would not necessarily be the sexiest gift they received, but it would keep on giving if they dared to open the cover and learned to live within their means. 
• A mop bucket filled with cleaning supplies that you score from pharmacies for cheap or free.  Include anything from sponges, glass cleaner, a dustpan, cleaning clothes (think bag o' rags), a toilet brush, all purpose cleaner, some Bar Keeper's Friend, some Magic Erasers (make your own), vinegar and baking soda, scrubbing brushes, cleaning wipes, and whatever else you'd like to include. These will all need to be purchased by the grad but aren't a lot of fun for them to spend their own money on, so this will be a huge help. 
• A bin, basket, container (whatever you can find for cheap or free) - something that can be used as a shower caddy/tote - and fill with toiletries - also gotten at pharmacies and the like for cheap or free.  Think shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, disposable razors, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, handheld/makeup mirror, shower poof, lotion, sunscreen, nail clippers/file, tweezers, flip flops (for a community or shared shower) and any other item you might can think of. Again, they will need to buy anyway, so this will help offset their living expenses. 
• First Aid Supplies - whether you buy a prepackaged kit or make it yourself, this is yet another in the category of the last two of things they need anyway.  Include alcohol, peroxide, bandages, gauze, ibuprofen, Tylenol, Pepto, cotton balls, antibacterial cream, sunblock, tweezers, aloe, and anything else that you have in your medicine cabinet. 
• Tool Kit - This one you can opt for an actual tool box as a package or, for a less expensive route, just a bucket or box.  Include hammer, small panel nails, screw drivers (Phillips and flathead), pliers, screws, hangers like Command hooks, batteries, adjustable wrench, tape measure, utility knife, a small level.  These will be invaluable!
• Office Supplies - Always a help to college students, but this gift is still perfect for those who will be setting up their new apartment/home away from the nest. Everyone needs pens, highlighters, tape, paperclips, stapler, staples, staple remover, correction fluid, post it notes, scissors, stamps, envelopes, notebook, day planner, rolodex/address book, and maybe something like a flash drive. 
• Laundry supplies - Grab a laundry basket and fill it with laundry detergent, bleach, fabric softener, a roll of quarters, a mesh laundry bag, AND (most importantly) instruction on how to launder basic items and treat stains.Throw in a word find, Sudoku, or crossword puzzle book too.
• A case of Raman noodles. Trust me on this one. 
• A water pitcher with filter, filter refills, and a few reusable water bottles. Throw is some flavor packets if you so choose. 
• Sewing Kit - this was one of the seemingly most strange gifts I got when I graduated high school and I still use it today, 15 years later.  Get a sewing organizer or just any plastic container with a lid. Include scissors, needles, safety pins, straight pins, a sampler of thread, and anything else you think would be helpful. I love mine still and have fixed so many holes/buttons/seams, etc in a pinch. 
• A recipe book.  It can be How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman or it can be a binder full of the student's favorites (and some new ones to try). We've all got to start somewhere, right?  And there is nothing like home cooking. 
• If it is a family member, like a child or sister, give them a day planer or calendar with birthdays, anniversaries or other important dates filled in. Include surprises like, "Dinner with brother"  or "the day sister comes to do my laundry." 

Photo source: aprilbell

Those Going to College: 

• A basket full of food they can cook in a dorm room.  Think microwave pasta (include a can opener) Mac and Cheese, popcorn, Ramen noodles, PB&J, Nutella, nuts, crackers, oatmeal, soup, pudding, hot chocolate mix, tuna, and the like. Throw in a sponge and dish soap as well as some ziploc bags too. Their choices are limited in what they can cook in their room, but give them a basket of ideas to help!
• Umbrella. Seriously. They'll be walking all around creation in wind, rain or shine. And unfortunately, many people don't think of one until they need it (too late!).
• Some small select dishes like small tupperware, cereal bowls, a handful of utensils, a couple of microwavable plates, and a few cups should do. It's not like they'll have a lot of room to store dishes. 
• Bed raisers (you can find them many places, but I like these adjustable ones) Sounds odd I know, but real estate is at a premium in a dorm room.  These gems will allow you extra storage underneath the bed with little effect on the space available in the room.
• Baked goodies - wait until they arrive and send them cookies or brownies or whatever else they would love. You can do this anyway even if you've already given a gift for graduation.
• Test Survival Kit (credit comments section here) - I had to include this because I thought it was adorable and genius at the same time! " How about a “Test Survival Kit” with all of the things that make for a great cram session. You could include notecards (LOTs of them), highlighters, colored pens, page flags, maybe even a few self-laminating sheets for those formulas or principles you will use over and over again. Also, a cram session would not be complete without some form of caffeine – think Starbucks Via packets or Mountain Dew. AND if you really want to make it great, top it off with a baseball cap and body spray – because they will more than likely roll out of bed with just enough time to make it to class the next day."

So what do you have to add?  Do you give any great, inexpensive gift ideas or any that are particularly practical?  Did you receive anything that really blew your socks off?  Leave us comments so we can all have more ideas!

Wrapping Paper Storage and Organization Solution

I work for a gift wrap manufacturer and therefore probably have more wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, tissue paper, gift tags, gift bags, and whatnot than most sane people.  As an employee I get a lot of free stuff as a perk, and even when my closet of supplies is full, it's hard to say no. My neighbors are fully stocked as well since I bring home more than I can handle.

My previous solution, and I regret that I don't have a photo of this for you, was to use our old vacuum cleaner box to store the rolls of paper and a cardboard box (let's say a 14 x 14 x 10) to store the tissue paper and ribbons and goodies.  The bags were stored in another larger bag. All of these were in the coat closet next to our stairs in the downstairs hallway.

I got tired of the chaos that would ensue each time a birthday party came up and I needed to dig through Christmas paper to find a juvenile boy gift bag. So I decided to organize.

My first attempt was to use some hooks and bungee cord and go vertical up the wall in the closet.  It was a good idea, but the rolls were too heavy and not stable in that set up. I tried to do it spending as little money as possible, but with that failed attempt, I was reminder that it is often cheaper to buy the right tools for the job in the first place! So I bit the bullet and paid just under $35 for this beautiful find at a home improvement store:



What is it? It's an adjustable pantry organizer. It comes with several deep and shallow shelves and some bracing rods (which was key for this project), and it mounts to either a wall or a door. It's over 6 feet tall, 17 inches wide and only 6 inches deep. It was perfect for the small closet and since it was only 6 inches deep, it didn't come out too far into the usable space of the closet.

So I went to work.  With a drill in hand, after about 30 minutes, I had this:

Please ignore the bags behind the organizer. That's my current gift stash and the next area to be organized.

You can see in the pictures that I used the shallow shelves to hold the gift wrap and the bracing rods several inches above to keep them upright. I then used the deeper shelves to store my ribbon, tissue paper, gift tags, and bows.

The "everyday" paper (aka - non Christmas paper) is stored on the bottom and the Christmas paper is up top. This was for two reasons. First of all, I'm more likely to access the everyday stuff most of the year, so it is easier to get to at the lower level. Also, as an industry insider, I know that this paper will always be 24" or 30" tall. The Christmas paper may be 24", 30", or 40". That extra height extends upward into my closet and doesn't affect the shelf height for the ribbon.






The Christmas paper is mounted so that the bottom of it is right eye-level for me. I can pull the rolls out from the bottom and put them back the same way.




So this set up is really working for me.  It keeps everything organized and easily accessible and it takes up vertical space that was not getting used otherwise!  Hooray! Now I have to figure out something similar to do with all of the gift bags!

Go visit We Are THAT Family and see what is working for everyone else too!  You just might get some brilliant ideas!

How To Potty Train a Strong Willed Child

Our older child, Patrick, was so easy to potty train. A few years later our world turned upside down with the birth of our fun-loving feisty little firecracker who we named Abigail. This child has always had her own thoughts and opinions and steel will to go along with her opinions.

We’ve been struggling with her total lack of willingness (not ability) in the potty training arena. To see her whole saga, check out this post.

Image credit: sskie

But as of today – we’re 7 days diaper free with only 1 accident. This includes all bodily functions, as well as naptime and nighttime. It also includes trips out into the world while wearing underwear. Okay – so she still wears a diaper at night (because of our fear) but she wakes up dry each morning. But we no longer have to ask her about the potty. She just does it. She tells us when she needs to go, goes to the potty, pulls down her own pants and underwear and just goes. When she’s done, she gets up, dresses herself again, and is done. No, we're not totally there, as we still have to learn to use the big potty and how to use public restrooms (I shutter at the thought of this one), but I feel the biggest hurdles have been crossed.

Some people will tell you that children should lead the way. Maybe they should but we don’t really ascribe to that. Seriously…the diaper thing works for them. They do their business without stopping what they are enjoying and then you, as the parent, scoop them up, clean up their mess, pamper their bottoms with powder, and send them off on their merry way. What have they got to lose in this?

I know you cannot force a child who is not physically ready, but also don’t underestimate their ability to learn new things and mimic what they are shown.

So many people told us to wait until our strong willed child was ready, as in, when she decided to tell us, “I’m going to start using the potty now.” If you have a strong willed child, you know that this won’t happen as long as they feel in control of their current routine. You have to push them along too.

But they are different from more passive children. You have to work around their rebellion to get to the core of things and get them to do what you want (and sometimes NEED) them to do.

So what did we do to potty train our strong willed child?

• DO offer the potty when you think they are ready. Even if they aren’t willing, it will put the idea in their mind. And you never know until you ask.
• DON’T force a child to sit on the potty. This will not make the potty or potty training pleasant for either of you.
• DO offer incentives if needed. Some children like stickers, candy, a special book or toy.
• DON’T give in to the tantrums if they want the special treat without the cooperation. And if you have a strong willed one – there will be tantrums.
• DO keep offering incentives until you find the one that works. And remember – just because it works now doesn’t mean it will work next week.
• DON’T punish a child for an accident. It happens. They are still learning and this is a whole new concept for them. Sometimes they do not realize how quickly it will be happening. Sometimes they get distracted by what they are doing and forget to tell you. And if you take two steps back – think of how hard it will be to get the process going again.
• DO have the child help clean up the accident, put their underwear away in the laundry and put on another pair themselves. Doing it for them does not instill the consequences (not punishment) of the accident.
• DON’T think that there is one method that works. Each child is different. Take all of the advice you can get and find out which of it works for you. If none of it works, it’s okay. Make up your own. There is no single solution.
• DO sing your child’s praises. Tell them how proud you are. Call friends (who understand this truimph) and relatives and let them tell him/her how awesome they are. Let them her you bragging to your friends. And whatever incentive was offered – make sure you follow through. Don’t make yourself into a liar.
• DON’T give up.

I promise, they will get it. The younger they are, they might need incentives. The older they are, you can use logic (to a 4 year old - you can’t go to the pool this summer if you aren’t potty trained so let’s start working now so you can swim this summer). You just have to find out what works for your child.

For us, it was the promise to wear a dress that was already hanging in her closet. Seriously…that’s all it took. It just took us about 8 months to figure that out.

What about you?  Have any tips you can offer those who are struggling?  Do you have a strong willed child? 

WFMW - Limiting Computer Time for EVERYONE

Photo credit: psd

We've gotten into a terrible habit.  We spend far too much time on the computer.  True that some of it is the standard checking email and reading some favorite websites' articles.  But then sometimes we are just sitting there so we find something else to look at.  No real purpose. Just out of pure boredom.

And frankly, I'm tired of it.

I'm tired of not spending more time being intentional about things. Not spending more time together as a family. Not spending time catching up on projects. Not spending time on quality tasks. 

Last night Chip and I were talking and decided that it seems silly that we limit how much time Patrick is allowed to play video games or play on the computer but those rules don't seem to apply to him or me.

So we are making an intentional change. 

Chip has limited himself to "during Abigail's naptime" to do his internet browsing. And I have asked for 15 minutes at the end of the day to check email and catch up (quickly) on Facebook.  I do get a little bit of time that I can hop on at work (like during lunch or breaks) to read up on my favorite websites and blogs and spit out a quick post for this blog, so I don't want as much time at home.

Additionally, we have given ourselves a bedtime of 11:00.  This way there is no going to bed late because we were wrapped up in some mind-numbing form of entertainment and end up feeling lousy the next day.  And we will be spending the rest of the time with our little ones who will be grown up way too fast soon.

We are making a change for ourselves to better our quality of life. We don't want our children's memories of us to be the backs of our heads while we are staring at a computer monitor.

What about you?  What are you changing to make your life better lived?

Our Chore System

Now that our son is six, we've decided to start giving him an allowance. He often wants to buy things and we don't like to buy things "just because" but really do understand that he should have the right to buy something he wants if he has the money and he should learn how spending works.

 Before we get into an argument around here about whether children should be paid for their chores or not, let me give you a few different views on the matter.

1. Yes - Children should be taught to equate work with money and learn that hard work = payday.
2. No - Children should do chores because they are a member of the family and should not get paid for their chores.
3. No - Children should get paid each week to have spending money but not in direct response to the work they have done. However, lack of work or behavior problems can result in lack of payment for the week.

And us?  We're kind of doing a combination of the three above. 

Here is what our plan is.  Patrick already has some chores that he does just because he is a member of the family.  This includes setting the table, cleaning up after himself after dinner, putting away his clean laundry, picking up all toys before bedtime, putting all clothes in the hamper when dirty, and picking out clothes for the next day of school. He will be making his bed as soon as we have him in a full size bed at the beginning of next year (currently he sleeps on a daybed without any covers - by choice). Other things come up, but those are the usual culprits for him.

We've decided that we're going to leave those alone.  General tidiness is something that I expect from all members of our family pertaining to their body and their living space.  I don't think people should get paid for being neat.

We are going to add some tasks though that he CAN get paid for.  What?  Yep - none of his chores will be required work, but will only be done if he wants to earn money.  They will be weekly chores that Chip or I currently do, but our son is capable of doing. Harder chores will be worth more money. If he wants to earn some money for the week, he will do those chores. If he feels he does not want to do those chores, he will not earn any additional money that week and we will do those chores ourselves as we always have.  And - money will be deducted from his weekly total with behavioral problems that come up.

I think this will teach him the following:

• Work = Money
• Hard Work = More Money
• No Money = No Spending
• How to do the tasks in question by practical hands-on learning.
• Stupid choices (behavioral problems) can cost.

Also - it will just help us out because we won't have to do it that week.

To put this into practice though, I am using a system that I saw on Pinterest.  I am modifying it slightly by not specifically using chalkboard paint and weighting each chore the same, but the same concept applies.

One will be a bucket of chores using craft sticks to note the chore and the amount that chore will earn.  The other bucket will be completed chores.  After he finishes a chore, he can move the stick from one bucket to another.  At the end of the week we will tally up the completed, deduct $0.25 for each red stick in the completed bucket (indicating a behavioral problem) and pay him.  From this total we will teach saving and tithing, but that is a post for another day, as this one will be long enough as it is!

Currently, this is the list I have for weekly tasks:

• Bring trash from upstairs bath and his bedroom downstairs to big trashcan - $0.25 (once a week)
• Sweep kitchen - $0.50 (once a week)
• Sweep living room - $0.50 (once a week)
• Feed dog - $0.25 (up to 4 times a week) - she doesn't eat a full bowl a day
• Fold laundry (towels only) - $0.25 (once a week)
• Fold laundry (his and his sister's - all) - $1.00 (once a week) - it's one load for the two of them combined. And he actually folds laundry really well.
• Dust - $0.25 per room, up to 6 rooms

That would total up to $5.00 if he did every task possible.

And I have ideas for specialized tasks that are not every week deals, but will be added to the bucket on an as-needed basis:

• Clean baseboards (all) - $1.00 per level of the house (we have 2 stories)
• Clean windows (all) - $1.00 per level of the house (we don't have that many windows)
• Clean storm doors - $0.25 per door (we have 2)
• Help wash car - $0.50 to $2.00 depending on amount of participation
• Clean doors/doorknobs/scuffs on walls (all) - $1.00 per level of the house; $0.25 for small jobs
• Clean cabinet fronts - $0.25 per bathroom; $0.50 for lower level of cabinets in kitchen
• Water plants - $0.25 (we don't have that many plants - it would increase with more plants)
• Put away groceries - $0.50 - $1.00 depending on level of participation. Not a weekly task because we often grocery shop while he is at school.

For those variable tasks, we can incorporate our other colored craft sticks (that we already own) by color coding the amount.  For instance, move the "Clean baseboards" stick to the completed bucket and two blue "$1.00" sticks if he does all of the baseboards on two levels.

We'll modify it as we go.

But that's the plan.

What do you think?  Do you pay children for their chores?  What type of system do you use?  What other tasks could our 6 year old do?

Are Your Kids Safe?

I shudder to think of the danger that we once put Patrick in. Yes...us. His parents. The people who should be the most protective of him and look out for his well-being more than anyone else on earth.

And the reasons we did it were pretty stupid.

We turned Patrick from a rear facing seat to a forward facing seat just about 1 month after his first birthday. He barely weighed the required "20 pounds" and we would have turned in on his 1st birthday if he had already weighed enough. At least we were listening to that part.

What we did ignore was that he was still tiny and petite. He was still safer facing backwards.

All for the sake of us having an easier time checking on him, looking at him, talking to him. All for the sake of him getting to see the world as we drove down the road rather than the back of the seat and a glimpse of whatever we had passed by already.  Because you know...he needs to see where we are going at 1 year of age.

Although we, like most parents, are more relaxed with our second child than with our first in most ways, this area is an exception. Abigail is currently 2 years and almost 3 months old. And she is still facing rear. She has outgrown her infant seat and is in a convertible seat, but she still stares at the back of the car and anything that we can see after we have driven by it already.

No, it's not convenient for us to see her. No, it isn't comfortable to not be able to push the front passenger seat back further because of the cumbersome car seat in the back (although the passenger seat is a safe distance from the airbag).

But she's safer. And because she's never faced forwards, she doesn't know the difference.

Our little barely 25 pound two-year old is happy as she is and we are pleased that she is safe.

This week (September 18 - 24) is Child Passenger Safety Week. Although you can still find sources that tell you that turning children forward in their seats is okay at 1 year, the American Academy of Pediatrics changed their recommendation back in April to extend that milestone until the 2-year mark. All agree, even those who think earlier is "okay", that rear facing is safer and therefore should be done as long as possible.

A study by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health asked parents of children 7 to 48 months old about their use of rear-facing car seats. The study found that 73 percent of parents switched their child from a rear-facing car seat to a forward-facing car seat before the age of two. Thirty percent of parents turned their child's seat to face forward before their child reached one year of age. (cited) Now, I can't blame all of the parents who turned them around before 2 because all of the people polled did not have the new guidelines at the time their children were between 1 and 2. However, the 30% that turned them around earlier...that just makes me shudder.

So...now we all know. Leave them backwards until they are at least 2 and longer if you will, as they will be safest this way. It's okay if their legs are longer than their seat...that will not hurt them.

Also - did you know that car seats expire? Yep...the plastic they are made up can start to weaken with age. Some manufacturers put an expiration date on the back of the seat, but if you can't find one, use 5 years from the date of manufacture as a rule. And if you can't find that date on the seat, consider about 4 years from the time you bought it new. I really would not recommend buying one used for this and other reasons (in case they were compromised in an accident at any time).

Another fuzzy area for most parents is booster seats. 47 states (plus DC) require them and all have their own age/weight requirement. In the end, know your older kids are safer until a seat beat fits snugly across their thighs (not stomach) and across their should and chest (not their face or neck). And always, always, always in the back seat. Until they are 13. And after 13, still keep them there until they physically take on the shape and size of an adult.

Did you know that the NHTSA found that 3 out of 4 kids are not as secure in the car as they should be because their car seats are not being used correctly. I know...I thought I was smart too and could figure it out, but all of those darn things are different! Don't guess. Don't hope. Check it out. This Saturday (September 24) is National Seat Check Saturday where a number of local resources in YOUR community will be available to check out your car seat for free. You can use this locator to find nearby car seat inspection stations on National Seat Check Saturday and throughout the year.

And lastly, the Child Passenger Safety Twitter account (@childseatsafety) will be hosting a live Twitter Q&A today, September 21 at 2 p.m. ET. Safety experts from the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will be available to offer essential information on car seats and how to safely travel with children of all ages in cars. Just use the hashtag #CPSweek to follow along and ask your questions.

I'm not trying to preach at you. I'm not perfect, as I plainly admitted to you in the beginning of this post. I don't want you to have to learn the hard way. I don't want you to have any regrets. I don't want you to be ignorant as we were so long ago.

WFMW - Mom...I'm BORED!

Now that summer has arrived, many households that were once full of kids so excited for the end of school will be filled with the sounds of “I’m bored.” There are plenty of toys and activities about that you could use to fill their time that would also empty your pockets, but in keeping with the theme of my blog, I’m going to suggest a few ideas for some money-savings boredom busters!

1. Library – You see it time and time again on frugal blogs – the library. But seriously…you wouldn’t see it if it didn’t work for so many people! Our library provides books, story time, summer activities like camps and story times with dogs, videos, magazines, and even study material. That’s right…at our library you can borrow for up to 3 weeks a package of “science” or “math” or “spelling” (and others) material for a particular age range. It may not sound fun to the kids, but it will keep them on their toes during the summer and they might discover some fun games!
2. Bring out the hose – You might waste some water, so this isn’t the most frugal idea, but a great way to keep cool if you don’t have a pool. Better yet – get the kids to wash your car and pay them for it. They get to earn some summer money, you get a (semi-) clean car, they get to play with the hose, and you get an hour or so without hearing “I’m bored!”
3. Geocaching and Letterboxing – What a great way to spend time together as a family. It only costs you whatever gasoline you need (although most of this will be walking). Most people either have a GPS for their car or on their phones these days, so this would be a great opportunity to explore your local landscape and teach your children about GPS/compass reading. Also you could do the “nature walk” thing while your hunting down your treasures!
4. Volunteering – This will only cost you your time and energy but the rewards will be priceless. Spend time together as a family working with some local organization that needs your help. You and your children will learn more about giving and serving as well as get to help out others in need. Contact your local Habitat for Humanity, shelters, soup kitchens, churches, or animal shelters.
5. Cards/Board Games – One of my all time favorites – we are a board game family! I grew up playing various card games (there are dozens of versions of solitaire and you don’t even need a computer to play them!) as well as board games. I was so “deprived” that I played Sorry, Monopoly, Life, etc by myself. I know…sounds pitiful, but there is a lot to be said for a child learning to entertain themselves rather than depending on someone else to do so!
6. Puzzles – Whether it is the jigsaw variety or the crossword type, puzzles can pass hours, keep your brain working, and sometimes give kids something to do together!
7. Lemonade Stand – This age-old first business is a great way to keep kids occupied while teaching them some business sense. One great twist here in the deep south is sweet tea stands. Children in our neighborhood sell sweet tea right about the time neighbors are arriving home from work. The tea isn’t always very good, but it is a great way to support the kids and it puts a smile on my face when I am getting home in the afternoon.

So none of these are original, but all pass the time, teach kids something, and/or get them out of your hair (at least for a little while!).

What boredom busters do you have?

If you want to see other people’s great ideas, hop over to We Are THAT Family and check out Works for Me Wednesday!

Photo credit: matchstick

WFMW - Photographing Your Kids for Safety

Go ahead and call me a bad mom, but I typically do not have photos of my children on my person. That's right...not even in my purse. In fact, I only have my purse with me approximately 50% of the time. If you were to ask me for a photo of my child, I would probably have to go home, pull the memory card out of our camera, open it on the computer and either email it to you or print it out. I just don't carry them with me.

So when I saw this idea for how to have a photo of your children handy, I thought it was brilliant, so not we do it too.

Whenever you are in a public place and have a fear of losing sight of your children (you know, park on a busy day, festival, fair, theme park, busy street, tourist venue, whatever), use your cell phone to take a photo of your children BEFORE you get to the venue. This way, in the event your child gets lost, you have not only a recent photo of them, but even the exact outfit they were wearing when they disappeared.

Now I know this is not a pleasant thought to consider, but it is reality and as a parent, is something we must think about.

So use this tip to always have a handy current photo of your child on hand in case you ever need it.

And afterwards, you have a cute wallpaper for your phone on a day-to-day basis.

To provide peace of mind, this works for me. Visit We Are THAT Family to see what works for others!

Photo credit: sans5

WFMW - Promoting Your Giveaways and Linkies

Sorry I'm a bit late to the game today. Crazy day, I tell you!

I have a few Go-To locations for linkies and listing to promote my giveaways. I just wanted to take a brief moment to share those with you. Maybe you're new to giveaways and don't know how to promote or maybe you just are looking to expand. OR maybe you have a linky and want more people to list their giveaways in it! Either way...check out these locations to see all of the many, many places around the internet to promote your giveaways!

Savings Lifestyle Linky List (Formerly MommySnacks)

Cuckoo for Coupon Deals Giveaway Linky List

Blog Giveaway Directory Squidoo Post of Giveaway Linkies

My Four Monkeys (underneath each week's Monday linky)

Audrey's Giveaways List

So whether you are trying to advertise your giveaway or looking for somewhere to promote your linky, visit these sites and take full advantage!

Promoting my giveaways through (most of) the linkies list above really works for me! Go visit We Are THAT Family to see what works for everyone else!

Before You Forward That Email....

I know. You think it is worth passing along. It stirred something within you. It featured some political leader, celebrity, moving story about someone I've never heard of, some life altering information, or some prediction about the future of our country.

It is packed with stories that would rouse me--that would make me want to act or share.

I understand. It touched you and it might do the same for me.

But before you forward that email story along though, please verify it on Snopes. I thought everyone knew about Snopes, so this would seem to be an obvious type of post. But based on the number of silly forwards I still receive, people either do not know about it or just simply do not use it enough. Snopes exists to stifle the urban legends that have gone viral thanks to the world getting smaller via technology.

Maybe it was a shockingly unbelievable story. Maybe it is a quote or action by a lawmaker. I don't care what it is. Verify it on Snopes before you pass it along. Not verifying it is the equivalent to gossiping. Stop it.

Everyone in your contact list will thank you for not passing along rubbish. And if you want to take the extra step, reply to all on the email you received and let them all know that it was verified to be untrue via snopes and include the link.

Using Snopes works for me. See what works for others by heading over to We Are THAT Family.

Photo credit: OmirOnia

WFMW - No Diet Sodas When Dieting

This week's What Works for Me theme is What DOESN'T work for me. And since this is the beginning of a new year when many people are making resolutions and at least half of those (yes a statistic I just made up) are weight loss, I thought I would share a weight loss tip.

I will start off immediately by saying this: I need to lose weight. It's no secret. Not to you or to me. However, I have successfully lost a lot of weight in the past. My failure is not in the losing, but in the keeping it off. So I will not try to give you a tip on keeping weight off. You're on your own there. But I can give you a hint on how to lose weight.

Water.

I know--you've heard it all before. And then you downed a diet soda because hey--it has zero calories too and it tastes much better (matter of opinion, I say).

I will tell you though, while I was (successfully) dieting, my weight loss was always slowed by diet sodas. They introduce lots of chemicals into your body and for me...made me retain water, thus preventing (or at least slowing) weight loss.

Water doesn't do this. In fact, it helps immensely to pass right through you and take some of that bad stuff with it. Hooray for a cleaner body!

So today's What DOESN'T Work for Me is Diet Sodas when dieting. They just don't do a good job. So suck it up and go with water. I promise you'll be glad you did!

Go visit We Are THAT Family and check out what doesn't work for other people!

WFMW - Cozy Toesies

This is probably nothing new to most of you, but for those of you who haven't done it or are first-time parents who haven't thought of it yet, I'm going to offer you a simple, yet effective hack to keeping tiny people warm on those cold winter nights.

First let me tell you that I am neither an expert on parenting (this 2nd one is nothing like the 1st!) or the cold (I live in Savannah, GA, for crying out loud), but this works for us and it might work for you.

Have you ever noticed that when your feet are warm, the rest of you is? Seriously...my arms can be cold and I can warm them up by putting socks on my feet. Strange, but true.

So to give me peace of mind when our babies were either too young for heavy blankets or slightly older but not able to keep a blanket on them (our children flip and flop all night), I simply put socks on them underneath those fleece zip up footie pjs.

It gives me peace of mind and their little bodies always felt warmer in the morning when it was time to get up.

That is something that works for me. If you want to see what works for everyone else, visit We Are THAT Family.

Photo credit: psansao

WFMW - A Twist on Holiday Giving

I will admit it--I can take no credit for this. I read it in the current issue of Family Fun magazine, but thought it was such a fantastic idea, that I wanted to pass it along to those of you who either haven't gotten your issue yet, haven't gotten a chance to read it, or don't subscribe to it.

Somewhere near the front of the magazine (sorry--don't have my copy with me at the moment), I found this suggestion of how one family makes the holidays about giving:

They have a large family (26 in their extended family) and found it impossible to buy gifts for each member of the family every year. Plus they wanted to make the holidays about giving rather than receiving.

So each family member chooses a charity they would like to see get money. Kids participate too. People can certainly decide to pick the same charity as someone else if they want. They write their charity of choice onto a slip of paper (one preschooler simply wrote "help tigers" one year).

Each family writes a check for the sum of their family's ages (two 40-year old parents, one 8-year old, and one 6-year old equals a $94 check from that family).

Each family member puts their slip of paper in "the hat" when they gather together for their holiday festivities. Grandpa draws a winner at some point in the day. That charity receives all of the money from the checks from each family.

They hand their checks over to the family who had chosen that charity, who then write one big check for the total amount and send it to the charity that won. As a bonus, that family can write the contribution off on their taxes the following new year. That family then sends out the reminder email the following year to tell everyone to start preparing for the event again.

I thought this was a FANTASTIC idea to emphasize giving while making it fun; for teaching children that giving was a blast and more important that getting gifts for themselves. Although we've never tried it ourselves, this is certainly something I think we can incorporate into our festivities in the future.

Go over to We Are THAT Family and see what other holiday and/or gift ideas you can find!

WFMW - Recandying

This is a repost from last year, but I definitely feel it's worth putting out here again for anyone who missed it!


Yes. I just made up a word. Don't look at me like that.

I've made an executive decision about the candy content in our house.

Patrick got LOADS of candy for Halloween this year (although this picture is not one we took). Too much for any one child really. When I took in all of the candy the wheels in my head started turning, and I had a brilliant idea.

Some of that candy will go in his Christmas stocking.

Is that cheating? Maybe, but I will explain the method to my madness.

He got far more candy than we want him to eat. And since we limit his candy intake it will probably take him up until December 24th to finish off his Halloween stash. Then he would more appear? I don't think so.

So I took some of his non-Halloween specific candy out of his trick-or-treating bag and put it in a bag with other items waiting for Christmas. He hasn't missed it a bit (except for one blue pixie stick that he had noticed had disappeared. It surprisingly was found IN THE HALLOWEEN BAG the following day). If your child is more attentive to his/her candy stash, you might want to slowly take a little out over a few days. It would be less obvious that way.

So instead of regifting, we are recandying this year. Cuts down on the amount of candy he gets across all of the holidays and saves me money at Christmas! Win-win I think!

So that is what is going to work for us this holiday season. Make sure you visit What Works for Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family to see what works for everyone else - this week is a fall recipe edition although I didn't offer one.

Photo credit: Amarand Agasi

WFMW - Unusual Place to Put Vicks

As cooler weather approaches, so do the stuffy noses, runny noses (seriously...how can they be stuffy and runny at the same time?!), and the like. With little ones in daycare we exponentially increase our risk each year of getting and keeping colds.

What works for us?

A few years ago when Patrick was little, an experienced mom told us to put Vapor rub on the bottoms of his feet. This would work better than on his chest, she said.

We thought it sounded crazy, but we tried it anyway.

You know what?

It worked! It worked much better than putting it on his chest. And why is that?

I have no idea.

I don't know if it stays on better or if it absorbs through his feet (you know those weird Chinese get-the-toxins-out-via-your-feet pads) or what, but it works.

I can't tell you why, but I can tell you that it works for me.

Go visit We Are THAT Family to see what works for everyone else too!