Life and Family
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Why Kids Should be in 4-H
Early this fall, I started a new temporary job. It is with our local Cooperative Extension Service. I am there to learn about computer programs and other office skills, but I have really enjoyed learning about all the things CES offers such as 4-H. I have heard people talk of the Extension office, but never knew what that meant. The Extension Agents provide non-formal education and learning activities to people throughout the country – farmers and other residents of rural communities as well as people living in urban areas. They do this in many ways through programs for both adults and children. One of the programs for kids is 4-H.…
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How to Organize a Laundry Room
I told you in Laundry Done My Way that I would give you a tour of my laundry room. I didn’t mean for it to take this long, but life happens. Anyway, here it is finally. I want to show you how it is organized to make it easy for the laundry to move through our system each week with minimal effort from me. I have a large load capacity washer so that makes it easier for us to get the laundry washed in fewer loads per week. The first part of my system begins with laundry baskets. Sounds simple right? Well it is, but it is important. I have 4…
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Just Toys – Not Girl or Boy Toys
When my oldest was young, a friend had a boy just 2 months younger than him. We spent a lot of time together and the boys were raised more like brothers than friends those first few years. They got into all kinds of trouble, we knew if we couldn’t hear them we better see what they were up to. One thing that always stuck with me was her calling the girl toy section at Walmart, the pink aisle. They always skipped the pink aisle. That was just the beginning of everything being pink, back then the pink aisle was mainly Barbies and baby dolls. Now almost everything has a pink…
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I am Healthier Today than 10 Years Ago
Today is my 50th birthday. I am half a century old. It does not seem possible, yet it most definitely is. I can feel the years when I get out of bed or sit too long, but I don’t really feel this old. I still feel young inside, it is hard to believe that I have been out of high school for 32 years and at the end of this month I will be married for 30 years. I actually feel better most days than I did 10 years ago. I had a bad leg for about 10 years. I am not sure exactly when it started, but I do…
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35 Summer Fun Activities for Kids
We are already 2 weeks into summer here, I know some schools are still going but we are well into our summer plans. Devin spent the first week training for his lifeguard position, then helped with Special Olympics. He stopped at home for one day to wash clothes and work the opening day at the park before leaving for Boys State last week. He is now back home and back to work and football practice which will take up most of his summer. Shaylee and I have spent a lot of time cleaning the house and started getting ready for a yard sale. She had a sleep over with her…
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How to Paint a Mural
When my daughter was ready to move from a toddler bed to a big girl bed we decided to redo her entire room. We bought her a new twin size bed and I found some Tinkerbell border and a mural. We cleaned out her room, put up the border and got ready to put up the mural. I found out when I opened it that it wasn’t a real mural, it was a plastic one that was meant to be hung up temporarily for a party. I didn’t have enough border to finish the entire room and I had purchased it on clearance so I couldn’t go back and buy…
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Laundry Done – My Way
Is laundry hard for you? I know getting laundry done is hard for a lot of people. I have had some trouble here and there, but I usually keep up with mine pretty well. When we were first married, we lived in a studio apartment and didn’t have a washer or dryer. We went together one night a week to do our laundry at a local laundromat. This only lasted about 8 months before we moved into a small house with a laundry room. It was a large laundry room considering the size of the house was only about 900 sq ft total. We hung up a shelf at one…
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Creative Family Vacations
Everyone needs to take some time to relax and spend time with their family. We need to do this everyday, but some of our best memories have been made on family vacations. We have lots of fun when we go on vacations, but we can’t always afford to take the vacations that we would like. Sometimes we have to get creative so we can still enjoy time with our family and make memories that last. We have taken all kinds of vacations over the years, with just our immediate family, extended family, the church, youth group, and friends. Many years ago, we were told by an older couple to make…
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Should Kids Do Chores?
I think that everyone in the house should do chores or help to maintain the household. We have tried all kinds of systems over the last 20+ years. Our oldest is 24 and I am not sure exactly when he started helping out around the house, but do remember that our first formal chore chart with allowance tied to completion and behavior was at 5 years old. We gave him a quarter for each activity he completed up to $5 per week ($1 per year of age), but we also withheld a quarter if he misbehaved. I made a chore chart with simple tasks such as brushing his teeth, helping…
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How to Plan a Tween Birthday Party
My daughter just turned 12 on Saturday. It was hard for her to decide how she wanted to celebrate her birthday this year. She is too old for the traditional kiddie birthday party, but still young enough to want to make it a big deal. She thought about going to the trampoline park or skating rink, but she also wanted all the family to be there. Since she is one of the youngest of her cousins most of them would not participate for jumping or skating. She thought about having a family party at a restaurant, but couldn’t decide on a restaurant and wanted to be able to invite friends…
