This post is brought to you by Parent Bloggers and Ore-Ida.  Parent Bloggers is asking folks to share their shortcuts.

I suppose my biggest shortcut is having plenty of snacks around.  I keep my fruit bowl full and I also have a snack box in the pantry.  When I buy snacks, such as pretzels, crackers, or Veggie Booty, I portion them out into snack sized baggies and then throw them in a box in the pantry.  When the kids are hungry they just grab what they want.  And when we’re headed out for any length of time I just grab some baggies and throw them in my bag.  Easy and fast!

Tags: blog blast

No doubt that being a mother is tough, the crying and whining, the tantrums and meltdowns and then there are the kids themselves to deal with!!!  But as tough as it may be to be a parent, I can’t imagine how it was in the days before all our modern conveniences: dishwashers, washers, dryers, Starbucks, etc.  I’ve been trying to think of what modern conveniences that I could not live without and it’s hard.

I’d say the biggest is the washer and dryer, hands down.  But then, there is the oven, the dishwasher, and refrigerator that I’d be hard pressed to manage without!  And what about electricity?  Is that considered a modern convenience?

But as for some of the more recent conveniences, I’d have to say the one I would absolutely miss the most is the computer.  I do everything on the computer: shop, pay bills, keep in touch with family and friends, store pictures, research, look up directions, phone numbers, etc.  I use it for entertainment too, reading news, and even for homeschooling.  Yep, I’d be mighty sad without my trusty laptop.

This post was inspired by Yoplait Kids and Parent Bloggers

Tags: blog blast

I was inspired by a contest at Parent Bloggers Network to write about kids and money.  Sarah is too young for money, Sophie is a little interested in money and Parker, who will be 6 soon, is very interested in money.  I was never taught how to handle money when I was younger and I don’t want to repeat that with my children but where to start?  Do we give an allowance or not, do we tie the allowance to chores or not?  There are many views out there.  I’ve read a lot of opinions about it on one of my yahoo groups.  A big portion of the moms on that group said that they give their children an allowance that is not tied to chores because they feel that chores are a must and if you are part of the family then you must do your chores.

We’ve already seen the downside of tying an allowance with chores.  We implemented a very simple list of things Parker could do to earn money and while he was eager to earn money most of the time there were times where he wouldn’t do his chores and he would say he wasn’t interested in the money.  But the chore still has to be done.  I’m inclined to pay him in other ways for chores, such as if he does x, y, or z he get to play on the computer for so many minutes.  THAT will really motivate him.  But I foresee that setup not working for Sophie, she’s only motivated when she wants to be!

I’ve seen all kinds of cool products out there for kids and chores and kids and money.  One of our favorites is Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace Jr.  Dan and I are currently taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course and it is great – I highly recommend it.

Capital One has this new Moneywi$e eLearning tool, but it looks like it is geared toward teenagers.  It is good that they are doing this but in my opinion money education needs to start much earlier.

Tags: blog blast, chores, Dave Ramsey, money