Journals
One thing that has worked well for me to keep communication lines open with my younger kids is give them all a journal for them to keep by their beds. Through this approach, they can write about the things that they are having a hard time saying. Sometimes when they are angry that is a good place for them to blow off steam before we chat about it. Hypothetically speaking, a child might draw a picture of me with a beard or write about how I sent the wrong kid to time out because it was...
Read MoreRecipe: Penne Vodka
Ingredients: 2 cans Tuttorosso plum, peeled tomatoes (blended), 1 whole bulb of garlic (minced), 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more or less per taste), 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 quart heavy cream, 3/4 cup vodka, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 3 boxes penne. Directions: saute garlic in EVOO for one minute or so, add tomato puree, salt, black and red pepper and vodka. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add heavy cream and cheese. Remove from heat...
Read MoreHoliday Fun
Easter: 1. Lenten calendars are not as popular as Nativity calendars, so I made mine. Using clay, we formed 40 little bowls (you may want to make a few extra). I glued cloth to a pizza box and cut out a spiral to put the bowls on. You will need a stone or marble for each bowl. I also purchased a purple candle to symbolize Christ’s royalty. Each day, you light the candle, read a verse and put the stone in. You can look online for Easter verses. 2. In our house “The Easter Bunny” hides the kid’s...
Read MoreLiving on a Budget
Living on a Budget: My sister asked me to write this, and though we do live on a budget I feel inadequate to explain how we do it. First let me say that we have grown into this way of living. We graduated college with debt and both went to grad school (more debt). While we were both working, we did pay off all of our college loans, but we didn’t have a lot of money saved before we started having kids. So now we were living on one salary and really wanted to buy a house, which requires a nice...
Read MoreWhen Your Child is Sick
Natural Medicine at Home: For coughs: I have serious anxiety when my children start coughing, I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s true. My neurosis is partially due to my third child who would go from a cough to not breathing in less than an hour, due to his asthma, but I do still recognize that I have a problem. However, because of this anxiety I have loads of suggestions on how to naturally stop a cough or at least subdue it. Here they are: Have a vaporizer in your their room. Best money...
Read MoreTrying To Be Healthy Without Being Obsessed
I was raised on ice cream and soda so healthy natural eating is not exactly my expertise. However, I have picked up a few great tips along the way that have helped me provide healthy food options for my family. A few years back a friend of mine made me aware of trans-fats (Hydrogenated oils). Trans fatty foods tantalize your taste buds, then travel through your digestive system to your arteries, where they turn to sludge. Most trans fats come from processing liquid vegetable oil to...
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