If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

American parents and parents around the world are busy! They spend hours in the car shuttling their kids to school and activities, they serve on the PTA, they participate in sports and other activities, they have demanding careers, and they try to maintain a social life and play dates with other children when possible. With all of these activities, why are our children unhappy?

Parents magazine says, “Playing with a loved adult is the most important way a young child learns new ideas, practices language, and develops social skills.”

Children are happy when we play with them. When things get too busy, children often feel the same stress parents do. How do we find time to play with our children and to teach them stability and love?

Here are 5 ideas that may help you and your children find more joy in your every day life:

1. Spend 20 minutes each day playing with your kids.

Don’t worry about the extravagant places you take them, they just want your time. Try staying home once and a while. You can play fun games, make a snack together, or simply talk. The most memorable times we have with our children is when we take time to be involved in what they are interested in.

2. Take one thing off of your task list each day, and put your child on in its place.
Read the rest of this entry »

Time for a little comic relief.  I love this…

Position:
Mother, Mom, Mama, Mommy

Job Description:
Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an, often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

Responsibilities:
The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

Possibility For Advancement & Promotion:
Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

Previous Experience:
None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

Wages And Compensation:
Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and then wish you could only do more.

Benefits:
While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

Teaching kids to do household chores is an important part of helping them learn to be independent. Kids who are actively involved in helping run a household learn self-confidence and self-respect. Children come to realize that certain jobs depend on them. They gain a sense of responsibility, and the satisfaction of making a significant contribution to the family.

Read on for some key points to keep in mind when dealing with kids and chores:

Age Appropriate Chores for Kids
Set Examples; Build Relationships

Avoid “chore wars” by starting when your children are young – kids as young as 2 can help with household chores. Though starting young is a good idea, you can get started assigning chores for kids at any age. Remember to keep it fun, keep it age appropriate, and set a routine.

Age Appropriate Chores for Kids

Make sure that you assign age appropriate chores. For example, a 6-year-old is too young to wash dishes, but can be a great help in folding laundry. Even toddlers can help with simple chores. Give your toddler a wet rag to help clean the table, and enlist his help in putting his toys in the toy box. Don’t expect a 2 or 3 year old to do these things completely or efficiently – it will take a little more work on your part if you encourage your toddler to ‘help’ you with chores, but remember that you are laying the groundwork for your child to learn to do more complex tasks in the future. Invest the time now in helping your child learn. Don’t expect kids to do chores perfectly, and make sure you acknowledge their efforts.
Read the rest of this entry »

Kids love to have a birthday party with a theme and all the decorations of their chosen character. There are many popular themes and the following list may give you a few ideas for your child’s next party.

Girls Parties

1. Dora the Explorer - This is a very popular theme for little girls. A great theme for a birthday party would be a Spanish birthday party complete with piñata. The children could have fun with a sombrero party which is played similar to musical chairs. Placing the hats on a table in a circle the children go around the table until the music (Spanish) goes off and then grab a hat.

2. Barbie - Every little girl loves Barbie. The theme of this party could be a makeover party. The birthday girl will have loads of fun as will her friends when they get to dress up like Barbie with real make-up too. All the little girls can have makeovers. Provide tiaras for them to wear as well. Of course, there are many Barbie games that can be played such as a treasure hunt for Barbie

3. Hannah Montana - The latest in the craze of girl’s role models is Hannah Montana. This would be an excellent birthday party theme for girls around the age of 8 to 10. A karaoke machine with music from Miley Cyrus is going to be a must. A make-shift stage will make a big hit and you can give prizes to the singers. Complete this with a cake in the shape of a giant CD.

4. Tinkerbelle - When it comes to fantasy, Tinkerbelle is probably number one. When planning this party make sure to purchase wings and wands for the party girls. The birthday girl can come dressed as Tinkerbelle. A tent in the back yard fixed up like a fairy castle would be a great addition to the party. This would also allow the girls room to sprinkle fairy dust as they play. Games adapted to the fairy theme such as tag are very popular for these parties.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you have ever held a child’s birthday party at home, or been to someone who has, you know that it is much easier if you spend a little time planning party ideas ahead of time. A room filled with sugared up kids hyped on cake and excitement need fun activities to keep the party moving.

When making your game plans, make sure that you stick to your party’s theme. There is always the traditional “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”, but if you have another theme party, incorporate that. Play “Pin the License Plate on the Car” for Vehicle Themed parties, “Butterfly on the Flower” for Garden Themed parties, “Heart on the Tin Man” for The Wizard of Oz… you catch the drift. Blindfolded child, spun in circles - heading towards a target. No birthday party is complete without some variation of this game.

How low can YOU go? That’s the Limbo question. Take a limbo stick (or a broom handle at my party), play some limbo music, and have the kids go in a circle. To jazz up the game, add some unexpected elements. I had the kids have to keep up with a moving limbo stick as it changed sides of the couch, and it would be raising and lowering. This was more fun than taking time out, and the kids were laughing and gasping for breath when we finished.

Musical chairs is always a winner, since it uses music and action. Line up chairs one short of the number of players. You know the rest, right? Play the music, when it stops the one standing is out. Keep it going until only one person is standing. Make sure to throw the kids off balance by making each one a winner when they get “out” with a small prize.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Saturday afternoon. Your children are home from school, and thankfully, there’s no work to distract you and your partner from your weekend fun. You’re getting ready for a fun day full of outdoor excitement when, upon opening your house door, you see nothing but rain.

It looks as though your afternoon plans have to be cancelled. What now?

When you’ve got a handful of children who are itching to get out of the house - even if you only have one child! - you know how tortuous a rainy day can be. Even an hour stuck inside can feel like a day when your children are practically bouncing off of the walls! So what can you do in order to keep your children entertained during a rainy day - and keep your house from being torn down by bored children? Easy: just use a few of these activities to keep your children entertained, and the rainy day will pass by before you even know it!

1. Turn your living room into a creative den. Lay out newspaper to spare your carpets from your child’s creative streak, and pull out coloring books, construction paper and paint. Ask your child to draw or paint you a picture, and praise his or her efforts. Who knows - you may have a little Picasso on your hands!

2. Transform your kitchen into a bakery! Take the opportunity to teach your son or daughter about a favorite recipe that was passed down to you, or bake a cake for dinner that evening. Your child will enjoy the constructive activity - and you’ll both enjoy how tasty your efforts turned out to be!

3. If you don’t mind the noise - or have a great pair of earplugs - pull out all of the pots and pans in your kitchen and “make a band”. Encourage your child to come up with a beat, and make up funny lyrics to a song. Just be sure you have a bottle of aspirin nearby if your child turns out to be a keen drummer!
Read the rest of this entry »

This could possibly be the most widely known of all tips ‘n tricks in motherhood. If you’re already “in-the-know”, consider yourself fortunate. If you’re totally clueless and find yourself at a loss, googling and scouraging the net for ways to remove gum from kids clothing - pull up a seat and make yourself comfy. This is one for the rule books!

Veteran moms will tell you - gum (and other gooey substances), happen! Gum is one of childhood’s greatest mysteries. Idle fingers will find more uses for the stuff than you could ever imagine. From fingers to clothes, then toys to the tip of their nose - there are endless opportunities for a sticky disaster.

Alas! There is a cure the gum malady!

Drum roll please…

ICE! A tried and true method by our moms and guaranteed to work by following a few simple steps.

* Ice down the gum or gooey mess until the offensive blotch hardens. (This could take awhile and you may need a few cubes - hope your remembered to refill them!)

* With the tip of your finger nail or butter knife, scrape the hardened goop from just about any fabric or surface.

* Once you’ve removed the bulk of the mess, it’s a good idea to run the garment through the washing machine (for items that don’t fit in the washing machine, you can spot wash with a lint-free cloth, warm water and laundry soap). It’s important to use warm water here because it will soften the bits that are left over and the soap will act as a coating so the filmy goo can be rinsed away.

Does your little one have a favorite outfit marred by an old gooey imperfection? The beauty of this tip ‘n trick is that there is virtually no time limit on the cure (as long as the item hasn’t been dried on high heat yet!!). So now that you’re armed with the knowledge to remove gum and other goo - go ahead and raid the kids closet. That’s right - it’s time for those old clothes to see the light of day again!

And, if you’re looking to give your kids a new gum and goo palette to play on, visit us at http://www.definemeclothing.com for a brand new personalized tee or one-piece!