The Power of Grandma

Who knew your monster-in-law could actually serve a positive purpose in life aside from birthing your spouse? Ahem… How well do you get along with your mother-in-law? The answer could have a major impact on your children’s lives. According to a new study, married couples, who live with or nearby their mother-in-law, are more likely to have healthier babies than those who don’t. In addition, researchers say children born to said couples are also less likely to die in infancy. Finally, the study also found that when grandma is a driving force in a family, mom and dad tend to … Continue reading

The Big Hat Tree

There are a lot of things that never change. Human relationships are important; we are driven to strive for happiness (but confused by what it is and how to find it); power is corrupting. By their very definition, traditions are supposedly unchangeable. But traditions are one of the things that historically have changed, ever so slowly, over time. Whether through marriage, death, cultural shifts, or other necessities; traditions are generally less stable than we would like to admit. Recently, I had the opportunity to be part of a new Christmas tradition that is trying to take hold. My son recently … Continue reading

Tis the Season of Getting

I am going to just throw this out there;  I don’t see anything wrong with buying your children a lot of gifts.  Christmas may not be about gifts but we all know gifts help make the season bright.  If we didn’t believe that we wouldn’t give to Toys for Tots, Operation Homefront, or go into an insane amount of debt every year.  Like it or not, gifts are here to stay and I do not feel that is negative.  Who doesn’t like to unwrap a gift?  Who doesn’t like to see their children’s eyes light up when they open that … Continue reading

What to Expect on Day One at Story@Home 2013

The Story@Home conference will take place in February of 2013. Genealogists can choose to purchase a ticket that will give them access to both days of the conference. Or, they can buy a ticket for just one day. Which day should you choose? Here is some information about what to expect from Day One of Story@Home 2013. Story@Home is an annual conference that is going to have its second year in 2013. It is a conference that gives genealogists a lot of good information about how to incorporate family history into their genealogy research. It provides a natural way to … Continue reading

A Growing Family

My daughter recently got married, I think I’ve touched on it before. It’s a new world for me, this empty nest thing. Hailey and I have been alone for such a long time, a little family island unto ourselves. Now, I have a son in law and she has a husband. Our family is pretty spread out, we are in Utah and most of our relatives are on the east coast. Holidays are usually spent with friends. Now Hailey’s family has expanded in ways I never even thought about. Today we went to a baby shower for Hailey’s sister in … Continue reading

Not-So Friendly Side of Facebook

By now you know that Facebook is considering allowing kids under 13 onto the site. Sure, there’s talk of mandatory parental supervision and speculation that the under 13 section will be ad free, but let’s get real here; this is Facebook were talking about. The social media phenomenon currently states that users must be 13 years or older; yet a recent Microsoft study published in AdAge estimates that more than 7.5 million underaged kids are already on Facebook, and a huge chunk of them got there with their parents’ help. Parents, who are virtually clueless about the ever-changing privacy setting … Continue reading

Genealogy Podcast Roundup – Week of September 20, 2011

Every week, the Genealogy Podcast Roundup brings you new and interesting episodes of podcasts that focus on different aspects of genealogy. This quick list makes it easy for you to find the newest episode of your favorite genealogy podcast, as well as some new ones that you may want to listen to. Genealogy Gems released episode number 118 on September 17, 2011. The title of this episode is “Grandmas and Grandpas, Free Transcription Software, PERSI, and more”. There is a lot going on in this episode! The hosts want you to call the show, and tell the unusual terms of … Continue reading

Random Photo Tips

My parents recently bought my daughter her first big girl bike. No training wheels, no babyish designs on the handlebars and no little doodads connected to the spokes. Naturally, I had to document her first ride, so we could send grandma and grandpa photo proof that the bike is absolutely perfect. However, in doing so, I encountered a number of issues which I thought would make for a decent blog. For starters, I would never attempt to photograph a child riding her bike in the middle of the afternoon on a bright, sunny summer day. The direct sunlight wrecked havoc … Continue reading

Off-to-College Scrapbook

Tens of thousands of college coeds head back to school this weekend and my neighbor’s granddaughter is one of them. Kara is beginning her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and in addition to hauling bedding, clothing and school supplies, she’ll be taking an extra- special item with her as she begins her foray to higher education. My neighbor just put the finishing touches on an Off-to-College-themed scrapbook filled with photos of Kara’s family members and friends. The memory album’s pages also include unique embellishments and special mementos that complement the photos taken at milestone events. To make the … Continue reading

Inspiring Young Shutterbugs

My 6-year-old has more cameras than I do; real, digital cameras that take superior shots. In addition to the Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera Santa brought her a couple of years ago, grandma and grandpa recently gifted my young shutterbug with a VTech KidiZoom Plus Digital Camera. The latter comes equipped with built-in video games and a plethora of other special effects. Needless to say, my daughter has been putting her photo equipment to good use. She took the VTech camera on our recent trip to Hawaii and captured some incredible images. Seriously, the kid has an amazing eye. Her photo … Continue reading