The Best Christmas Ever: Remembering Christmas With Emily
August 27, 2008
The Best Christmas Ever: Remembering Christmas With Emily
by: Constance Weygandt
There is nothing to compare to the wonder and magic that a child experiences at Christmas. When my sons were small, there were many such moments. The look of awe on their faces the first time they spied the brightly lit tree surrounded with presents, their first gingerbread house and cookie day, to name a few.
Thankfully, the last several years I have experienced more such moments with my grandchildren. However, this is “the best Christmas ever”, according to my granddaughter, Emily. Emily is four years old. She has a love for all things Christmas.
This year Emily was a big girl and able to help me with Christmas. She helped me to fetch and carry and place our treasures around the house. She was a perfectionist and tireless when it came to the placement of ornaments on the tree. Little did I expect that a, slightly worse for wear, sprig of green taken from the boxes would become a priceless Christmas moment. Our conversation, on discovering it , went something like this:
“What’s that, Gram?”
“Mistletoe.”
“What’s that for?”
A Case for Blotter Art
August 24, 2008
A Case for Blotter Art
by: Mary Desaulniers
There are moments in our past that shape our vision. Going through my childhood photo albums, I catch a glimpse of Anna in the early grades, a quiet girl who, if she were still alive, does not know how even in grade 4, she was pointing the way to freedom of expression. There is a lesson here that comes in handy for parents and grandparents.
I have often wondered if Anna’s life might have taken a different turn had she lived her early grades in the sixties when the ballpoint pen, replacing the fountain pen, dispensed with the use of ink blotters in school. Children of the fifties, we learnt writing the hard way—with steel-nibbed pens which we dipped in ink pots and which invariably turned the writing experience into a mud-bath. It took us months to learn the art of compromise: speed meant accidental globs and splotches; if you really wanted to save time, you would be far wiser to play the tortoise.
Connecting the Past and the Present: Healing Abandonment and Abuse through Awareness
August 23, 2008
Connecting the Past and the Present: Healing Abandonment and Abuse through Awareness
by: Linda Joy Myers
Many people I work with in therapy or in my writing-as-healing classes discover stories that surprise them—stories about the mistakes they felt their parents made, power imbalances in the family, or stories about physical or sexual abuse. The darker stories are often a surprise: when writers sat down to write, those issues were not directly on their minds, but deep, revealing stories erupted from the pen. Though they were unexpected, for some they were a relief. People who have been in therapy have had the same kind of experience—the subject matter in the forefront of the mind is not the material that “accidentally” arises during the session. The therapy session begins with a particular subject in the present—for example dissatisfaction at work or trouble in a relationship, but often travels back in time with associations to parents, school, or past relationships.
It has become a cliché to talk about “dysfunctional” relationships and families, but most people do not have perfect families, and many have had to struggle with a range of problems—alcoholism, abuse—physical, sexual, or emotional, eating disorders, and depression, to name a few. No one likes to be reminded of the past but when it keeps coming up, we are pushed to learn new responses as we search for more peace and positivity in our lives.
Abandoned Again—How We Repeat Our Childhood in the Present
August 21, 2008
Abandoned Again—How We Repeat Our Childhood in the Present
by: Linda Joy Myers
The woman on the couch looks up at me miserably, tears in her eyes, as she tells me about her most recent bad relationship. “I’m sick of choosing guys who aren’t there for me. They seem great, they want me, they tell me how terrific I am, then either they have an affair, or turn on me once we are involved, getting that cold look in their eyes. I can see they don’t care after all. I can’t stand this. Why do I do this over and over?”
In my work as a therapist, I help people discover repeated patterns. Despite our conscious desire and urgent efforts to make our lives better, we end up feeling the same as we did as children, but the feeling of despair and depression can deepen if we see that we are simply repeating our abusive or abandoned childhood.
Child Development And Teaching Autistic Children In The Early Years
August 19, 2008
Child Development And Teaching Autistic Children In The Early Years
by: Paul Mackie
Most parents ask themselves this question, “What can I do to help my child develop, to grow, to be the best that they can be?” “What should I teach?” “Do I have time to teach?” The answer is a simple one: give your child as much play-based quality time as you can spare.
Teaching Autistic children on a daily basis, I have found repetitive stories seem to work very well, Most children prefer Robert Munsch storybooks. I find the reason for this is the reader can change voice tones and repeat several keywords in the story that all children and especially Autistic children seem to like.
In my quest to help child development, I have found that a good way to do this, is to provide storybooks that are both interactive and fun, storybooks that help both parent and child share a “quality time” moment. Not only that, but storybooks that provide the child’s growing brain with sensory input can help create some of the brain’s neural pathways essential to early learning. The storybook should activate both sides of the brain (essential for logical and creative thinking), provide quality parental involvement (a key part to a child’s early learning) and offer a play-based movement activity (to give sensory input for balanced growth).
Last Minute Gift Idea - Sleek and Chic and Strangely Functional
August 17, 2008
Last Minute Gift Idea - Sleek and Chic and Strangely Functional
by: Bill Mullens
Usually I’m pretty good at planning presents for the holidays, normally finishing shopping by Thanksgiving. But last year I found myself shopping until a few days before Christmas. Not my favorite thing. I needed one more gift, it was for my brother Dan. Now, not only is he very selective in the things he likes, he also already has two of everything. He’s never been easy, but usually I can come up with something impressive, or at least acceptable.
Alright, so I decided that a commodity item ain’t gonna do it, so I went on line looking for something esoteric. I came across something called the QLink at Q-Energies.com, a kind of high-tech jewelry that was supposed to revitalize you. Sounded like a scam to me, but then I read that there were scientific studies on it by some real reputable scientists and universities. And it turned out that thousands of people have found it useful. Dan’s a bit of a techno-junkie anyway, so I figured it’d be a good fit.
Back-to-School Closeout Shopping on the Web
August 16, 2008
Back-to-School Closeout Shopping on the Web
by: Chris Robertson
What are your kids wearing back to school? How do Fubu, Nike, Reebok and RocaWear sound? Expensive? Not when you know the secret that people all over the country are learning - the secret that unlocks prices like Nike shirts for $8.95 each. Two piece Jimmy boy’s jean sets for $10.50. Girl’s Meow! Tank tops for $5.98.
Put the car keys down. You won’t find these prices in your local stores. All over the country, parents are turning off the ignition and turning on the computer. Following on the heels of the hugely successful Overstock.com, which stocks name brand and surplus merchandise of all sorts, entrepreneurs like Tabatha Tucker have taken the concept of closeout children’s clothing to the web. With the debut of her new web site, Tucker joins a growing trend of entrepreneurs discovering the online market as a place to connect with parents who are both style-savvy and savings smart.
Tucker’s web site, T. Y. Tucker & Associates (www.tytassociates.com), features popular, brand name children’s clothing at rock-bottom prices. Tucker, who markets her products to both consumers and retailers, deals in liquidations and closeouts.
10 Ways To Reuse Christmas Wrapping Paper
August 14, 2008
10 Ways To Reuse Christmas Wrapping Paper
by: Elizabeth Palmer
1. Cut out Christmas or snowflake shapes. Stick the shapes on card. Add a tie and hang it on the Christmas tree.
2. Fold wrapping paper lengthwise. Cut out the shape of a Christmas tree, where the edges are touching the folds. Unfold the paper to reveal a chain of Christmas trees.
3. Give children a piece of paper. Ask them to create a Christmas design using wrapping paper, glue and scissors. Laminate it and use it as a placemat.
4. Cut wrapping paper into strips. Make them into links and create a link chain.
5. Cut small pieces of card. Use wrapping paper to cover the back and create a frame on the front. Write a bible verse inside the frame. Attach a tie and hang it from the tree.
6. Use pieces of wrapping paper to make a nice bookmark. Keep it yourself or give it to someone.
7. Use pieces of wrapping paper to make a nice bow to place on top of a present.
8. Make a party hat for dolls or teddy bears.
7 Things You Should Know Before Adopting A Child
August 12, 2008
7 Things You Should Know Before Adopting A Child
by: S.A. Nickerson
Adoption can be difficult. It can be expensive. It can be emotionally trying and physically draining. But it surely is noble, and well worth the time, money, and effort it takes to succeed at child adoption. To that end, here are the 7 tips that any person thinking of baby adoption should know.
First, know the truth about agency adoptions. These can occur domestically in the United States or your other Western home country, or they can happen in international adoption as well. Agency adoptions occur through a local public agency, or via a licensed private agency.
These agency adoptions differ significantly from independent adoptions, so it’s essential to know these differences. Independent adoptions occur usually without an adoption agency, sometimes when the prospective parents connect with the biological mother and agree to the infant adoption. In many of these cases, attorneys act as the go-between, but in some international adoptions, such as in China and Guatemala, the prospective parents do much of the legwork themselves.
About Furniture Rental
August 11, 2008
About Furniture Rental
by: Kyle Thomas Haley
There are many businesses out there which rent furniture by the month. You need a couch? Rent one for only $40 per month. Need a lamp? You can get one for $12 a month. Now, let’s see, in one year you would have paid $480 to use the couch and you wouldn’t own it. The lamp would have cost you $144 and it’s the same situation ~ at the end of your lease, you still own nothing.
Most of us would think it foolish to rent furniture. But, that isn’t always the case. There are situations where renting may be the best option. Consider these scenarios:
• Your company transfers you to a new location but the rest of your family is staying in your present home until the school year ends and that’s 4 months away. You buy a house and live in it until your family arrives. Do you go out and buy new furniture or do you rent a few necessities in the meantime?
