Lifestyle blogger – cruises, organizing, managing money, and parenting.
Just a quick one today. I don’t know about you, but getting my kids to clean their rooms is one of the most stressful and annoying things I ever have to do as a parent (although teaching my teen to drive is definitely in the top ten!). Sometimes it takes half the day, many times […] Read more…
Our family is into Boy Scouts in a big way. We recently discovered that my father and uncle were both Eagle Scouts, my older son was into Scouting for a while (but got busy with other interests and didn’t continue), while my youngest son Blake is thisclose to becoming an Eagle Scout. My husband and […] Read more…
If there were ever words that could strike fear into the heart of a parent, these are the words “Mom Can I Have a Puppy?” Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE animals of all kinds. We’ve always had anywhere from one to numerous pets during our marriage. In fact, it’s not usually the boys […] Read more…
This is a sensitive subject for every family. I think every family handles money slightly differently with their teens. But on the other hand, I think it is something we all need to get a handle on if you are raising teens. The decisions you make during these critical years are going to have a […] Read more…
One of the toughest parenting tasks is to get your kids to do their chores. Let’s face it; for most kids, chores are just not on their radar. A ten year old just doesn’t see taking out the trash as a priority. And it gets even harder with teenagers. Sometimes trying to teach a teen […] Read more…
When we tend to think about our clutter issues, we mostly think in terms of how it affects us or our spouse. We don’t often think about how it might be affecting our children. However, their home environment clearly has an affect on our children. This can follow them throughout their lives. My Experience […] Read more…
I’m glad that bullying is getting a lot of attention in the news lately. I’m hoping that all this publicity will do some good for once, and maybe it will trigger some useful solutions to the problem. I’ve got a few ideas on the subject. My friend Jyl over at MomItForward started a discussion on […] Read more…
Adult kids don’t always have the best judgement. Plus after a couple of decades of depending on the bank of Mom and Dad, it’s a hard habit to break. But part of good parenting is to gently ease them out of the nest to allow them the responsibility for their financial lives. I have two […] Read more…
I’m watching the Dog Whisperer and I have to say, this show really gives me hope as a parent. Do you know why? At the beginning of the program, they show these dogs with all these issues – barking, biting, misbehavior of all types. These dogs just seem so out of control and completely hopeless, […] Read more…
Raising responsible teens is definitely an on-going process, so I think you need to celebrate every possible bit of progress. I had one particular issue I had been fighting ever since we started in Jr. High – lunch money. Photo credit Neither of us likes making lunches, so we had initially decided to allow him […] Read more…
Do you think your teen is awesome? It may be more important than you think. Think back to when your teenager was a tiny baby and you used to get so excited about the simplest things – their first step, their first word, or how cute they looked sleeping with their little butts in the […] Read more…
As a finance blogger and a Scout leader, I am passionate about teaching young people about money. To me, it isn’t just a one-shot deal. It is a string of opportunities to both teach them and show them some easy ways to manage their money. It’s not just being thrifty, though that’s part of it. […] Read more…
There! I said it – I think college is a huge rip-off. I know it’s supposed to be the American Dream, but I was skeptical of it when I was a kid. If anything, I’ve gotten more skeptical as I’ve gotten older. College tuition has skyrocketed FAR more than it should have. The latest stat […] Read more…
One of the biggest conflicts between parents and children of any age is to keep their room clean. It’s exhausting and demoralizing for all parties involved. So, what if there were a way you could painlessly teach your children to get into good habits at an early age? It’s going to require some big changes, […] Read more…
My Tweeps were having a discussion on Twitter the other day that really got me thinking. They were talking about how their kids fight so much. The discussion was about what is normal sibling rivalry? Is it was normal for siblings to have such a hard time getting along? I don’t think so and I’ll […] Read more…