Tag Archives: kid safety

Marriage Lessons For Children

Posted on by

Sometimes I worry. Ok, most of the time I worry, but this is a specific worry. What am I, a divorced woman, teaching my daughter about marriage. I’ve been divorced since my daughter was ten. My ex husband and I made a point to never argue in front of our daughter, so she never got the chance to see us work things out either. I want my daughter to have a marriage that we all dream about so I trot out all the tired cliches: Marriage is a life long commitment. Anything worth having, including marriage, is worth working for. … Continue reading →

Flood Safety Awareness Week Starts Today

Posted on by

Today, March 14, 2011, is the start of Flood Safety Awareness Week. The purpose of this week is to make people aware of the dangers and hazards that are associated with flooding. It’s not something most people think about, until after a flood has already happened. Do you have the right kind of insurance to cover damages due to flooding? Flood Safety Awareness Week was started by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It seems rather fitting that a group whose acronym is pronounced “Noah” is involved with pointing out potential dangers that could happen due to flooding. When … Continue reading →

Unwanted Advice

Posted on by

As soon as the word gets out that you are expecting a precious little bundle, the torrential downpour of well-meaning, sometimes misplaced or misinformed advice begins hailing down on you and your innocent journey toward motherhood. Lest you suffer needlessly, your friends and family are going to make sure you know every home remedy known to man for morning sickness, back pain, foot swelling, headaches, and hip pain. Like it or not, the crowds will comment every time they see you lift something heavier than a standard sized envelope. Don’t even think about skipping breakfast unless you want three lectures … Continue reading →

Single Parent Travel: Camps Designed for Single Parents

Posted on by

In a previous post, I talked about planning a vacation as a single parent. This post discusses some of the many places that offer vacations that have been designed for single parents and their children. Rocking Horse Ranch Resort Rocking Horse Ranch Resort is located in Highland, New York, about 90 minutes north of New York City. The 2010 weekend-long single parent camp takes place during mid-November, and starts at $615 (the cost of one adult and one child). The cost includes amenities and activities, including horseback riding, swimming, childcare, hayrides, talent shows, line dancing, bonfires, fitness center, and more. … Continue reading →

Keeping Secrets

Often in marriage, we debate whether or not we should keep secrets from our spouses (much advice says yes, sometimes, I say no), but what about keeping the secrets of your marriage from outsiders? Each marriage has its own secrets, as do individuals in that marriage. They can be as simple as the fact that one spouse is embarrassed about singing in the shower or as traumatic as past sexual abuse. It could be the fact that the marriage suffered and recovered from an affair or that the couple became pregnant before marriage. Whatever the issue, a secret is one … Continue reading →

Ignoring the Syllabus – Personal Peril

Remember how important the syllabus is? Remember my frustration as an instructor with students who don’t follow the syllabus? Before you start thinking I’m going to yell at you I’d like to make an admission: I ignore the syllabus too. I don’t mean to, but I do. It happened this week. I showed up to class having read a great deal of material and having a freshly printed response paper to the readings in hand. Then I saw it: other students with other papers. “What’s due today?” I asked. The response stopped my heart. “A two to three page review … Continue reading →

Your Most Critical Relationship

The problem with marriage is that while it is the most critical relationship, the strongest and yet most fragile (because of the devastation it can cause when it ends), it is also the relationship that we tend to give lesser amounts of attention. Part of the joy of marriage is having someone who can love you as you are, to whom you don’t have to prove yourself, to whom you can use as a shelter. To love and be loved has got to be one of the greatest things to aspire to in life. But just think about some of … Continue reading →

Take the Positive Marriage Challenge!

Would you like to improve your marriage and get into the habit of nurturing it? It is pretty easy to do. Why not take the following positive marriage challenge? You can do this alone or with your spouse (even better). Nobody is perfect, and although we may understand how to nurture our marriages, that doesn’t mean that we always do it. This challenge will make you more aware of certain positive things that you can do every day. Here we go! 1. Compliment more than you criticize. It is easy sometimes to let a criticism or complaint slip out. Maybe … Continue reading →

Favorite Parenting Line

Do you ever find yourself saying something that is just too close to what might have come out of your own parent’s mouth? I know, we have all been there, right? For me, it is “Just because I said so!” I find myself uttering this line far too many times lately in response to the whys whenever I ask my children to complete a task or accept something that they deem is unfair. I’ve tried the endless explanations, but they don’t always get me anywhere. Recently, I started applying a different strategy that I learned from my oldest son. Now … Continue reading →

More Clever Household Tips

Do you know the best way to vacuum or how to keep the roll of plastic wrap from falling out of it’s box? Sometimes it is the clever little tricks that make daily keeping of a home so much easier and more effective. Here are plenty of clever home tips that I bet you didn’t know about. On a roll Did you know that from the very beginning, those boxes that hold plastic wrap and aluminum foil were engineered to prevent the rolls from falling out when you are trying to rip off a piece of wrap or foil? It … Continue reading →