Archive for May, 2007
When you are planing your family vacation, you need to take everyone’s needs and expectations’s into consideration to make sure that you all have a great time. With some proper planning, you will get the chance to relax and enjoy yourself and your kids will come home with some unforgettable memories. Here are a few tips that will help you with the planning process.
Consider a short vacation. A short vacation has a few advantages over a long one. First, it’s a lot easier to keep your children entertained for a couple of days rather than a couple of weeks. With a short vacation your kids won’t have a chance to complain about being bored and they will have a great time. Secondly, going back to work after an exciting, exhausting long vacation can be very unpleasant; taking a short family vacation will give you a chance to get some rest at home for a few days before you go back to work.
It is very important to include the whole family in the vacation planing process. A family vacation that has been planed by the whole family is always more exciting. This will give you a chance to learn about everyone’s needs and desires, and this will give you a chance to share your own expectations of the upcoming trip with your family. Including your children in the planing process will make them feel like you value their opinion and this will increase the odds of them to enjoying the holiday too. If you have a school-aged child, you might want to let them research some information about the places you’re going to be visiting over the Internet. This will get them excited about the upcoming vacation.
Plan a good trip. Usually the road trip is the most challenging part of a family vacation. Make sure that you keep your expectations realistic: a long car trip might be too much for your small children to handle. To prevent your kids from complaining the whole way, you might want to do the driving when they are a sleeping. bringing along some games for your children to play will keep them entertained during the long car ride.
Think about your own needs too. A family vacation isn’t just for the children, its also for you. Make sure that your needs and expectations are taken into consideration too. If you want some time to relax, don’t plan a road trip to a dozen national monuments. If you are renting a vacation home, make sure you choose one that has all of the necessary facilities.
Planning the perfect family vacation isn’t as complicated as it sounds, as long as you understand your families needs and expectations, it’s actually pretty easy. If your children are old enough, make sure that they understand the rules. During your family vacation, you should be more flexible about things like your children’s bedtime, and pocket money.
About the Author
If you would like to learn about some other family vacation ideas, or you would just like to read some more articles about helpful family vacation tips then you need to visit: ht
May 28th, 2007
This breakfast recipe is gooey but tasty and can be a lot of fun to make. It was always a challenge for mom to keep us from picking, prodding, and poking at this fun breakfast treat while the bread dough was rising. And even more of a challenge to keep us from burning our hands and mouths on it after this sticky, gooey treat came out of the oven. It gets its name from the fact that the pieces you put into it look like bubbles. It is a good recipe to make for brunch since the dough takes some time to rise.
Bubble Loaf
2 loaves partially frozen bread dough
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 package butterscotch pudding
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Mix together the butterscotch pudding and brown sugar and set aside. Cut each loaf into 2 pieces. Cut 2 pieces lengthwise again. Cut each strip into small pieces. Roll each piece into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Pile (toss, throw – this is where it can get fun) all of these pieces into a well-greased bundt or solid tube pan. After all pieces are in the pan, take the butterscotch pudding and brown sugar mixture and sprinkle it over the bread dough pieces. Melt the butter and drizzle over the bread dough, pudding, and sugar mixture. Cover the pan with wax paper and a towel and let rise for 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool for a while, turn over pan, and shake the bread out.
For making this into a quicker breakfast recipe: If you don’t want to have to wait for it to rise, substitute 3 cans of buttermilk biscuits (10 to a can) for the bread dough. You’ll also need to increase the cooking time to 30 to 35 minutes.
Kids can have fun helping with this breakfast recipe. Even really little ones can have fun rolling the pieces in the cinnamon and sugar and tossing them into the pan. Hopefully most of them will hit the pan! You can also make it into a race; who can roll the most pieces. And for little ones learning to count, you can make it a learning experience by counting the number of pieces you put into the pan.
About the Author
On her baking website, http://www.YourBakingStory.com, Jill Seader shares breakfast recipes like this one plus other fun baking creations. She also asks you to share your baking recipes and stories. Happy Baking!
May 20th, 2007
There’s nothing 6 year olds or older kids love more than being in the outdoors. Camping is an outdoor recreational activity involving spending one or more nights in a tent, a primitive structure, a travel trailer or recreational vehicle at a campsite with the purpose of getting away from civilization and enjoying nature. National parks and other publicly owned natural areas are popular venues for camping. Camping is often restricted by law to designated sites in order to prevent campers from damaging the environment.
You can use camping to teach the kids independence and self-sufficiency. Survivalist campers set off with little more than their boots on the roughest of trails–the idea being to really gut it out. However, you might prefer to set up a tent within a few hundred feet of a campsite. This can serve as base camp from where you can set out on nature hikes, which include fishing and swimming.
Camping usually is a breeze with kids this age. They can help set up the tent and unload the car and can be trusted to remain nearby without continual supervision. One thing though–every child must have their own flashlight! Everyone loves making cool shadows on the tent walls and all hell breaks loose if sharing is required. Kids enjoy looking at the different kinds of insects that they can find. They might even catch frogs and minnows near the lakes and streams. You could let them examine these creatures and return them unharmed to the wild. Also, carry bug jars, nets, and buckets.
Hiking with six to eight year olds is generally a comedy of errors. Buy some of those disposable cameras or provide your kids with cheap cameras at the start of a hike. The novelty of being able to carry their own cameras will get you through your travels that day. Get the photos developed at a one-hour place if possible while you are still traveling – and then make a huge deal about their incredible pictures. Alternatively, you could provide them with some of the latest digital cameras that give an instant printout–however, you better be a “richdad” if you decide to make this choice. The next time you hike, the kids will be eager as long as you provide them with enough batteries and enough film or digital storage media!
Pick a theme for the trips. It helps you organize activities around a central concept. Much easier! Some favorites are “Western” including a chuck wagon meal, corn bread muffins and tea. You could come up with 20 ways to use a bandana around camp and practice tying knots with one-foot sections of rope. At night, you could have a small campfire with twigs and sing old western cowboy songs, try some cowboy poetry and learn a little about the stars.
The “Survivor” theme is another hit, focusing on back-to-the-basics camping essentials. Children this age can grate cheese, stir a cooking pot, fetch water, hand wash and hang laundry, clean up around camp and even pitch the tents with a little help. They love to hike (1 to 2 miles) with frequent breaks. Be sure to take along a trail mix snack the kids can make themselves. You could even make it a bit of a competition. Kids love competitions.
“Explorer” themes like Lewis and Clark are great for this age group, too. They naturally love to explore. Take along magnifying glasses, containers, nets and plastic cups to catch and examine insects. Set a firm, no touching policy for reptiles, insects and plants until they’ve been identified–this saves a lot of worry. Use handbooks to make identification.
Always involve the kids in the basics of the camp. If the adults do all the preparing, cooking, and cleaning, the kids don’t learn. The look on children’s faces is priceless when they’ve made their first wood campfire or pitched their first tent. The best advices is plan with the kids, but always leave plenty of room for running, swimming, biking or just kicking around a ball. Kids love to comb beaches, draw in the dirt and gather rocks. Always have paper and crayons handy, cards are good, too – but don’t worry about entertaining the kids 24×7. Camping is all about learning to entertain you without TV and games. Throw in a book or favorite magazine for yourself, and use your imagination to fill in the rest.
If the kids behave well, reinforce their behavior with a prize. The prizes can be simple little things usually picked up at the local five and dime store…i.e. bubbles, a comic book, a toy car, a box of crackerjacks…etc. You could also shop for your prizes online. Wrap the prizes to make it even more exciting. Gift wrapping material is available in an assortment of colors. With the short attention spans kids have, the new prize will tide them over ’til the next stop.
Take the illuminated “glow” sticks (the kind in the foil cover that you break and shake) to use at bedtime for night lights. Tie one to the ceiling of the tent when the children retire and untie and lower it when you retire. Bring one for each night of camping. The soft glow becomes softer as the night wears on and is gentle on adult eyes! You may prefer the green ones versus the red one–the red are brighter it seems.
The camp journal. Take plain white paper – about 5 sheets per kid. Get you kids to fold the pile in half and hold it together with a paper clip. Get them to color the front cover and title it My Camp Journal. Kids are very proud of their journal. If there are some kids who can’t read or write yet, tell them to do pictures instead of writing in them. They will have a nice memory of their first trip.
Bring cards. You can play many games with a simple deck of cards. They can even be a deck that is missing cards. Young kids don’t know/care. Go fish, and war, and let the kids explore their wild side under controlled conditions.
Pack lots of socks for each child–at least two pairs or more per day. If there is a drop of water, or mud puddle of any kind to be found, they will find it! Don’t expect the socks to come clean even with the best of detergents.
If you have an FRS (family radio service walkie talkies), one of the neat things you and your kids could do, is a game of high tech hide-and-seek of sorts… they can hide out, and you have to find them (providing they can see you when they hide, for safety’s sake)… and vice versa… lots of fun, and you can use the walkie talkies all the time, in stores when you go shopping and she is with her stepmother, or other times. A walkie talkie is a wonderful little gadget for kids!
Just use your imagination and remember what it was like to be a kid… ideas of things, little things you can do to make anything more fun will fill your mind almost instantly! One last thing, when talking with a kid about anything serious, get down to their level! Squat down or get them up on something high so they can see eye to eye with you and not feel intimidated… hug your kid, and be thankful everyday for the blessing they truly are… they can be a challenge, but they are there for you too… remember that.
For more information about parenting dads, please visit: http://www.greatdad.com
About the Author
Paul B
May 15th, 2007
Every Mom wants to be an inspiration to her child. However, sometimes Moms need a little reminder that one of the greatest ways you can teach your child is leading by example. When you model a life of living fully alive, you will invite your child to live life to its fullest as well.
Do you remember the old saying, “When Momma’s happy, everyone’s happy?” You will provide a way to free your child up to be all of who he or she already is. They will learn their own value and know it’s OK to fully enjoy every area of life.
* How Life Becomes a Sacrifice *
With all the demands on a busy Mom nowadays, it’s easy to see how the joys of life have somehow been demoted. Most Moms feel like they don’t have time to prioritize themselves. By the time supper is made, the kitchen is cleaned, the laundry is going and the kids are in bed, there isn’t much time or energy left over. In fact, it’s safe to say many Moms are pretty much at the bottom of the priority scale.
Does this sound familiar? The life of sacrifice isn’t surprising. As a mother of the child you love, you are willing to give yourself up in order to meet the needs of your baby. The problem is you probably haven’t recognized you are actually sacrificing yourself in the process.
What does it mean to sacrifice? It means something usually ends up dead! What will inspire your child more, the Mom who is living fully alive or the Mom who is walking around barely surviving?
* Living Alive To Bless Your Child *
This concept of living fully alive as a way of blessing your child can seem really foreign. After all, it can be misinterpreted as loving yourself more than your child, but that’s not true. You don’t have to die to yourself so that your child can live! You can be potentially more effective by making sure that you BOTH live fully alive.
Do you remember what it’s like to be in the presence of someone who is sincerely full of joy? They are great to be around and bring out the part of us who knows how to laugh. Have you experienced being around someone who knows how to savor every moment in a way that makes you want to smell the roses too? We leave their company inspired.
What was it like to share with someone who completely accepted you and herself at the same time? Somehow, you were released to experience the freedom of fully being yourself too. Get the picture?
* Giving Yourself Permission *
So, what needs to happen? You need to give yourself permission to live life to its fullest. Yikes! This is a hard pill to swallow, so if it’s easier to convince yourself you are only doing this for your kids, that’s fine. Being happy and doing well is a great fringe benefit of blessing your children.
Living life to its fullest means filling up in all those areas you’ve been lacking in. It all starts with awareness. Take a moment and be quiet. You intuitively know what feeds you. It’s time to listen to your inner voice instead of drowning her out with too much to do.
What has the little voice in your head been saying? Have you been needing rejuvenation time? Are you missing activities that inspire you? When was the last time you got together with friends and just had fun? For that matter, when was the last time you went out on a great date with your partner? That little voice will tell you when you take the time to listen.
* Getting Energized and Excited *
Excitement feeds us. When you are living a life that truly reflects your sense of passion and purpose, you begin to get energized and excited. You will begin to fill up the proverbially empty tank and have more to give. As you take in what you need, you are able to give even more of what your child needs.
What gets you excited? What have you always loved to do? Many Moms think they have to wait until the kids grow up to do the things they enjoy. Have you ever thought about the positive message you are sending to your kids when you model that it’s OK to play at the things you’re really passionate about? They’ll pick up on your enthusiasm and your happiness because your kids want YOU happy too!
* Experiment One Day At A Time *
I invite you to experiment with taking a day to live fully alive. Start with prioritizing one or two things and see what happens. Don’t leave your needs until the end of the day, they’ll simply get ousted. Make the choice to fit other things around what you know will feed you. Remember, you’re doing it for your child even as you do it for you.
* A New Kind of Life *
Many Moms have felt a new lease on life when they’ve recognized they can enjoy their lives and still get things accomplished for those they love. When you discover you can make room in one day, keep adding another day and another day. Soon your life will begin to reflect what you truly desire and you’ll begin to feel more alive.
Say no to guilt… we’re not talking about ignoring your kids; we’re talking about modeling how to live happy and fully alive. After all, isn’t that what you want for your kids?
Copyright 2007 Tami M. Szabo
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About the Author
Tami Szabo specializes in Personal Success Coaching for Women who want their home and work lives to reflect their true passion, potential and purpose. You can learn more and subscribe to Free Success Tips on her website at http://www.destinysdoorcoaching.com or email her at coachtami AT destinysdoorcoaching.com
May 11th, 2007
