Diary of a Cat Care B&B: Contagious Cautions

Not all boarding facilities are equipped to handle guests (feline or otherwise) with health issues. Because we’re owned by and attached to a veterinarian’s office, the staff at the cats-only boarding facility is trained to do some unusual things. We administer oral medications (pills and liquids), topical medications (like creams applied to the inside of the ear), injections (like insulin for diabetic kitties), and even subcutaneous fluids (for guests who are dehydrated). But sometimes, we get a guest with a serious health issue that could possibly be contagious to other guests. We work very hard to ensure that the ill … Continue reading

I’m a Baby Person

One thing I’ve realized about myself over the years of being a Mother is that I am a baby person. It’s funny, because before I had kids, I never really thought this about myself. And, even after the birth of my first, I still didn’t quite realize it. I loved her, and goo gooed and gaa gaaed over her like any first time mother would. I was smitten, of course, but didn’t realize that I really loved the baby stage until she got a little older. I read this great blog post the other day about just this topic. It … Continue reading

Insurance Podcast Roundup – Week of February 6, 2012

Ready for more insurance related podcasts? The Insurance Podcast Roundup brings you new episodes of podcasts that go over important and newsworthy insurance related topics. This week, the biggest topic has to do with insurance coverage and women’s health care. NPR has an episode of “Tell Me More” that was released on February 3, 2012. This episode is called “Contraception Provision Sets off Firestorm”. Host Michel Martin speaks with Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times. They discuss the Obama administration’s decision that religious institutions have to have health plans that cover contraception. U.S. Catholic Bishops are intending to fight … Continue reading

Quick Ways to Maximize Your 2011 Tax Return

With only four days left in the year, you may think that there is nothing that you can possibly do short of winning the lottery to put more money in your pocket this year. While this may be true (unless you are expecting a paycheck within the next four days), there are a few quick money – saving moves that you can make now which can bring more money your way soon in the form of a bigger tax return. There is still time to make a tax – deductible charitable donation provided that you charge it to your credit … Continue reading

Baby’s Animal Fur Allergies

Bringing a new baby home to a house with pets can be nerve-wracking. One might be concerned with how the pets will react to the child. Even if a pet doesn’t seem jealous of the baby, will it know to be gentle enough around the infant? Will exposing a newborn to a house with pets, and the many allergens they release, cause the child to grow up with sensitivity to that animal? Earlier this year I covered the former concerns in depth. Today I’m going to look at the latter: are children who grow up in a home with pets … Continue reading

Family Tree Magazine Picks 101 Best Websites of 2010

There are a plethora of genealogy related websites out there, and you cannot possibly test out all of them yourself. Sometimes, it’s nice to get an expert opinion about which sites are good, which are only okay, and which are so bad that they should be avoided completely. Family Tree Magazine came up with a list of their picks for the top 101 genealogy websites. Family Tree Magazine was founded in 1999. It is America’s #1 family history magazine. It covers a variety of topics that would be of interest to genealogists, from tips for genealogy research, to ideas for … Continue reading

Are You a Ride or Die Woman?

Are you a ride or die woman? I watched an infuriating episode of Dr. Phil last week that was on this topic. A ride or die woman is basically one who stays by her man no matter what. While that sounds great and I am definitely all for keeping a marriage together, there are limits. The woman on this show was refusing to leave her husband who had cheated on her numerous times. There was also no indication that he would stop. Yet she wasn’t willing to leave him because she loves him and she didn’t want her son to … Continue reading

Being Frugal Is A Way Of Life – New FL Blogger Intro

Finally, I’m writing my Frugal Living introduction post. Better late than never, I always say. I wanted to say hello to my fellow FL living blogger Mary Ann Romans, and all of Families.com new bloggers. Since starting with this website about a month ago I’ve been having a lot of fun writing in my various topics. Being able to share and learn is a wonderful thing. As the title of my blog today states, being frugal truly is a way of life, not just one area of it. Many times someone may start out counting pennies in the area of … Continue reading

Positive Steps to Confront Stereotypes

In recent blogs I talked about anti-immigrant feeling in America today and whether it will have an unintended impact on our adopted children. I was thinking primarily of our Asian and Latino children, but a third-grader from Ethiopia was recently taunted in my neighborhood and told to go back to her country. In some parts of the U.S. the immigrant African population may be larger than the African-American population, so possibly more and more people will assume that African-heritage children are immigrants as well. And some of them are—Haiti and Liberia have been native countries of significant numbers of adopted … Continue reading

Things Not To Say (Or Do) To Your Single Parent Partner

If you are dating or have ever dated a single parent it can be a little tricky in the area of courtesy and respect. There are, of course, certain things that should remain unsaid even though your brain is thinking it. If you care about this person, zip your lip, lest you lose your Love. There may come a time that you can bring the topic up, but it has to be done ever so gently and ever so carefully, cautiously and whatever else makes us “walk on eggs”. Here are just a few things not to say or do … Continue reading