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Love Makes a Family

Logan got a little spoiled with books this Christmas, thanks to Mommy’s thrift shop rummaging. I was tempted to be an indian giver when I fell in love with one of them, but luckily he is a good sharer. As we read the book I felt as if it was written just for us, so much so that it brought me to tears. It is about a single mother who is raising a little girl on her own. One day the little girl comes home from school and decides she wants a “real family,” and storms off next door. They … Continue reading →

A Very Frugal Christmas Part III

As a way of being more frugal this Christmas, I set out to make as many gifts as I could starting with my immediate family.  First I knitted gloves for my husband, a glove ornament for my son, and a garter knit hat for my daughter.  After folding over one hundred paper airplanes using holiday themed catalogs (we get so many in the mail),  I turned my attention to making edible gifts not only for my family but for our extended family members as well. One of the things that my husband absolutely loves are homemade honey roasted peanuts.  I … Continue reading →

Making Christmas More Joyful for Kids With Special Needs

Many of us look forward to Christmas. Kids that have certain types of special needs might feel left out, or overwhelmed, by the ways that their family celebrates this holiday. Here are some quick tips to help make Christmas more joyful for kids who have special needs. It is a tradition that children write a letter to Santa. Sometimes, Santa answers that letter. When he does, it a note that is written on paper, (and possibly signed by Santa himself). This makes many children happy. However, it leaves out the kids who are blind or who have a vision impairment. … Continue reading →

Time to Start Thinking About Christmas!

I know Halloween was only yesterday, and that we still have another holiday in between now and Christmas, but if you are like most single moms you don’t have a bundle of cash sitting around come December when it’s time to start Christmas shopping. If you start now, it helps keep the holidays a little less stressful, plus now all the Halloween candy is on clearance. That means you can get a ton of candy to fill those stockings for dirt cheap! Candy can get expensive around Christmas time because it is in such high demand. This way you don’t … Continue reading →

Insurance Blog Week in Review – Week of February 5-11, 2012

The Insurance Blog Week in Review gives you an easy way to “ketchup” on all the blogs that were posted this week. In a given week, there can be anywhere from twelve to fourteen different articles that appear on the Insurance Blog. Lately, news about insurance is intertwined with politics. This definitely makes things interesting! The Insurance Podcast Roundup for the week went up on February 6, 2012. Federal Government Says No to California’s Medi-Cal Co-Pays Governor Jerry Brown made a plan that required the low-income people who use Medi-Cal to pay a co-pay before they could be seen by … Continue reading →

Making Money From Old Christmas Cards

Many scrapbookers know that repurposing holiday cards is a real money saver, but did you know you can earn cash by recycling your old Christmas greetings? Actually, you can help those less fortunate when you donate your seasonal salutations to certain charitable groups. For example, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children is synonymous for its work collecting used Christmas cards and transforming them into works of art which are then sold to generate money for the group. The non-profit accepts used Christmas cards until the end of February, then it hands them over to its benefactors–children who come from abusive homes—-and … Continue reading →

Ready for the After Christmas Sales?

It was Christmas evening. The kids were nestled all snug in there beds after a busy and fun filled day of opening presents, going to church and celebrating Christmas day with family and friends. The house was half picked up–at least the new toys and gifts were neatly stacked in a corner near the Christmas tree, if not exactly put away. The gift wrapped had all been recycled, and the dished loaded. My husband and I had settled down to relax and watch about 30 minutes of television and reflect on the day. But what to our wondering eyes should … Continue reading →

Disney as Christmas Americana

What is it about Disney and Christmas? The two just seem to go together. I was at the post office last week, and while waiting in line I noticed that I could purchase two holiday-designed wrapping paper sets. One of them featured Disney characters. I can’t think of any other brand for which it wouldn’t seem weird to see its characters plastered all over Christmas-themed items. Yet the more I think about it, the more instances I recall of Disney and Christmas intersecting. For years we had Disney ornaments on our tree; some of them were actually thematically-appropriate, with Goofy … Continue reading →

My Christmas List

Dear Santa, It’s me, I’ve been very good this year and know just what I want for Christmas. I know it won’t be easy but I have faith that you can do it. The list is a little long so if you can’t get everything I will understand and wait patiently for next year. *The first thing I would like are floors that resist clothing being dropped on them, as soon as clothing hits the floor it would bounce immediately into the laundry basket. * Next I would like magic water, just a short rinse under this magic water would … Continue reading →

Our First Christmas

When I think back to this week I always refer back to the joy and happiness of my first Christmas as a Mom. I remember Steve who was 3 lying under the tree looking up at the lights. There was many nights that we would get up to check on the kids and the Christmas tree would be on and Steve was just curled up under it like our cat does. I know that he had a very hard young life and so we wanted this to be an absolutely amazing Christmas for him. I will admit we did go … Continue reading →