Sunday, October 23, 2011

How to Teach Your Kids About the Middle East Wars When You Have NO Clue

If everything you know about the Middle East is what you have seen on the nightly news, let me be the first to break the news to you...you have no clue what is really going on. You may have children old enough to question you, or older children who really need to know because they are old enough to get it, but if you don't get it yourself, THEY NEVER WILL. Unfortunately, not even teachers really know what's going on, except in rare cases, and then they may not have time to discuss current events, which is sad but very true. But don't worry, because there is a way to get the information you need so that you can bring it down to your kids' level and you can share it with your older child to learn and dissect on his own. All you need is The Thousand Year War in the Mideast: How It Affects You Today (An Uncle Eric Book). This book explains how events on the other side of the world a thousand years ago can affect us more than events in our own hometowns today. The events of the Thousand Year War have been the cause of great shocks to our economy and investment markets, including: the oil embargoes, the Iranian hostage crisis, the Iraq-Kuwait war, and the Caucasus Wars over the Caspian Sea oil basin. This is a great book and can be used for courses in world history, European/Mideast history, international affairs, government, economics, business, finance, and current events. In my opinion, it should be required reading for every student!

Women's Right to Vote

Whether you are teaching your kids at home or not, this is something about which you need to educate your daughters (and sons for that matter). According to this chart, only a little over half of the citizens of voting age in the United States actually votes in presidential elections. Other sites may show statistical differences, but the fact remains that the United States has one of the worst voter turn outs when compared to the rest of the world. This is disgraceful! I admit that it has been difficult for me to vote for the common "lesser of two evils" that we all talk about every four years, but I have voted nonetheless. In 2012, however, I have a reason for really caring about what will happen, because this time we have a real chance at getting a man into office who will not just go along with the status quo. Please visit his site to learn more about him! Your children's future depends on this vote, and he is the real candidate to provide them a future of promise!
If your children aren't aware of the privilege it is to vote in our country, I suggest you share this page with them. This is something kids are not really taught at school unless they have a teacher who sees the need. And I personally don't think we should just hope that they are learning these things...we should make sure of it!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Teaching Monetary Responsibility at Home

Have you heard of FamZoo.com ? It is a great program set up to help kids "earn" money from you, and spend it, save it, or give it. It is an online account that you can set up in a way that meets your family's needs. Each child has his or her own account, sort of like online banking. They can see how much they have, have saved, or jobs they can do to earn more money. I have had this idea in my head for a long time, and even set up an Excel spreadsheet years ago that was such a pain I didn't keep up with it. But this program is awesome. Now that my kids are older, they can log in and keep ME accountable as I teach them about earning, spending, and saving...all in the safety of our home before they venture out into the real world with real money and real debt. If only FamZoo could create a program for the government...
Teach your kids good money habits with FamZoo's Virtual Family Bank.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Amazing Product for Soap Scum


I can't even believe I'm blogging about this at 7:25 am. But I have to. I have three different cleaning products under my bathroom counter for soap and hard water scum and they are all useless. But when shopping for a new product that might actually work without killing me, I found the "Scotch-Brite Easy Eraser." I had used the Magic Eraser before, but had no clue that these could be used for soap scum. Duh.
It's a miracle! My tub was HORRIBLE. We have hard water, and the build up was bad. I'd put off cleaning it for way too long. I would have taken before and after pictures, but I was too embarressed. Nobody should see a tub like that! The scum came off like magic. I barely had to scrub at all. If you haven't tried these products before, they get just about everything off of any surface imaginable. And now you know they work on soap scum, too! Happy cleaning!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Is it Puberty?!

I remember puberty...it came early for me, so I might be a little hyper-vigilant looking for the signs in my kids. I was 8 years old when the changes started, and barely 11 when my first period came. So now that my kids are almost 9 (girl) and 10 (boy), while I'm hoping I've got a year or two, I'm getting suspicious that not only is puberty arriving, it's arriving for both kids at the same time!
I started worrying about my son because he was checking his temperature every night, sometimes during the day, and sure enough, his body temperature was elevated. Normally, his body temperature is around 97 degrees. But his were in the 99's and at first I thought he was sick. Then it just went on and on and I'm going to settle on puberty as the reason, because I'm thinking my only alternative is something serious like cancer! He has also been more tired, having nightmares, and more recently, has not been able to concentrate. He is having trouble focusing on his schoolwork and literally can't bring himself to sit down and get it done. This is very abnormal for him, and for the life of me I can't find a reason for the sudden change.
I can't find much information online about body temperature changing during hormonal activity in puberty, but I've noticed mine change during pregnancy, and now perimenopause. As I type this, it's 70 degrees in my house and I'm sitting here in a short sleeve shirt. Just last year I would be shivering at 70 degrees. I have a hard time doing a lot because I tend to get much hotter than I remember. So I'm thinking, maybe it happens during puberty, as well. I just can't find much documentation on it!
At this point, I'm hoping it's hormones, because that's natural. Illness is not, and if it is an illness I'm hoping it's nothing serious. If you have any experience with this, or if you have noticed the increase in temperature for your child, please comment!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

My, How Time Flies!

I don't know when it happened, but at some point I realized how quickly time was zooming by. It started with realizing how quickly a new month came up and bills were due...AGAIN. Then, it was as if June came the day after New Year's eve...and quickly it was October. Before I know it, it will be 2012 and taxes will be due, and I will find myself trying to remember Christmas. Is this what getting old is like?

As if that isn't bad enough, I only have to look at my children to realize how quickly time is flying. I can't believe they are 10 and 8 (almost 9)! I look at my old posts on here and see how they have changed over the years. I remember all the fun we have had; the good times of laughing and just spending time together doing school or having fun at the park. I remember the camping trips and road trips, and going skating every weekend. I remember getting out the Easter decorations, coloring eggs, and hiding eggs in the yard. Or decorating the Christmas tree, and opening presents Christmas morning.

The more I remember, the more I realize as my children have gotten older, the less I have done with them. I spend a lot of time with them...in the same room...but how much time I actually spend making these wonderful memories has diminished. It isn't that I don't feel it's important as they get older. It's more that time has gotten away from me and I always think we have "later" to take part in activities together. Well, later is now. Before I know it, they will be married and having their own kids. And when they do, I want them to remember all these things, and make memories with their own kids because they have such fond memories of their childhood. Right now they think a minute takes forever, but I'm sure when they have their own kids, they will see how time flies, too!