This reader's question came to me from, Carrie, and she writes: “I was talking with a friend, and mother of three, today and she told me that due to budget constraints her children are only allowed to go to 1-2 birthday parties a year. She limits their spending to $10-15 per gift as well. They… Continue reading Kid’s Birthday Party Gifts
Tag: parenting
7 Quick Ways to Get a Teen to Leave the Room
Parenting teenagers is bizarre. One minute they’re smiling, sweet, and pleasant, the next they’re mad and upset. It’s an emotional roller coaster. The only visual I can give you is this: take both of your hands and hold them out straight in front of you. With one hand signal “come closer” and with the other… Continue reading 7 Quick Ways to Get a Teen to Leave the Room
Three Time Tested Family Rules
When you have a job, you get feedback on you’re doing. When you’re a parent, you don’t get any feedback. You’re still performing a job but you don’t get reviewed on how it’s going. You set out to do your best and you hope you are but you don’t really know if you’re doing it… Continue reading Three Time Tested Family Rules
How Jeans Became Capris
Remember how I made my daughter’s jeans smaller by tapering the legs? Well, we had to do some more altering on another pair of jeans. These jeans still fit my daughter but were getting to be too short so I said, “Hey, how about we make these jeans into denim capris?” My daughter was thrilled. … Continue reading How Jeans Became Capris
Meet Internet Girl!
Meet Internet Girl! She’s fun, she likes shiny objects, and she’s easily distracted. She’s supposed to be writing (some may say “blogging”) but sometimes she’s really naughty and she skips around the web to her favorite internet spots like Facebook, Twitter, and her favorite new toy, Pinterest. Oh, but look, it’s so pretty! Yes, friends,… Continue reading Meet Internet Girl!
Social Networking and Parents Behaving Badly
We’ve been talking with our teens about the recent incident that happened when a 15-year-old girl posted a complaint about her parent's on Facebook and her dad’s reaction. Her complaints were standard teen angst – since time immemorial teens have rebelled and complained about chores and how awful life is with their parents. That’s what… Continue reading Social Networking and Parents Behaving Badly
Please Don’t Make Me Text
I hope to never text again. I tried it briefly and it didn’t stick. My fingers are too fat. Genetically, I’m much better with an old-fashioned dial, corded telephone. The free app I downloaded to text with on my iPod touch even dropped me. It told me I didn’t text enough so I could no… Continue reading Please Don’t Make Me Text
Game Night
Frugal families just want to have fun. Honestly, we don’t set out thinking, “How can we do this for little money or no cost?” That requires too much thinking and is just not fun or how we approach life. We do think, “How can we have fun and laugh with the people we love and… Continue reading Game Night
The Biggest Stay The Same
Seated on an airplane next to my daughter several years ago, we found a show on the television to entertain us while in-flight. It was, “The Biggest Loser” TV show. We’re not big TV watchers at our house and my daughter asked me what it was about. Not having actually watched the show before, but… Continue reading The Biggest Stay The Same
Technology Free Sundays
Welcome to my six-month or so review of Technology Free Sundays for 2011. In January, our family made a commitment to not use technology on Sundays for our New Year’s Resolution. Our goal was to eliminate for one day, the devices that take our attention away from being present with one another and to give… Continue reading Technology Free Sundays
Go Gingham 