Photo by KOMUnews via Flickr Creative Commons. 

 It’s fair to say that my family has faced it’s share of stress lately.  We have a lot going on, and we’re struggling to keep things as normal as possible for the children’s sake.  So, Saturday evening we sat down with our 2 year old while his sister was visiting her grandparents.  He immediately looked to me and told me that he wanted to play with his sister.  “Emma’s at Grammy’s,” I told him, “Would you like Mommy and Daddy to play with you?”  He looked at me with those big puppy dog eyes (which he was already struggling to keep open), and said, “Dat make me so happy!”  Our hearts melted.  Tears filled my husbands eyes, and of course, I cried like a baby.  We dried up our tears, and the three of us read books and pushed trains on the couch.  Within 30 minutes he was sound asleep, dreaming of his awesome night with Mommy and Daddy! 

We as parents often struggle so hard to make our children happy that we forget just how easy it is!  My guess is that at least 95% of us would look back to our childhoods and agree that our memories are not centered around material things, but the time we spent with family and friends.  I’ve been thinking over the last couple of days of ways that I can offer my children more opportunities for these lasting memories.  I’ve come up with a few.

• Visit a park for a walk or a picnic…leave the phones and travel video games at home or in the car!!!
• Family game night…without the tv!  You’ll find you actually have a lot to talk about.
• Host a barbecue or informal dinner with another family or two.  Hang out outside and allow yourself to breathe in the fresh air.  Set up some outdoor games and include the kids.
• Cook a family dinner together.  Again, leave the television off.  However, we have fun dancing to loud music when we cook!

There are many ways to “reconnect” as a family.  Remember what it’s all about.  Life is too short.  Take the time to appreciate the little things!  Start now…not everyone will have a smart two year old to remind them!

My nine-year-old just stepped in to tell me about her dream last night.  “I had TWO THOUSAND AND THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS,” she gleamed.  By the look on her face, you’d have thought she had won the lottery. 

It was at this point that I got that nagging feeling again.  Like most parents, my husband and I are always trying to use any given opportunity to serve as a lesson in “money management”.  However, our daughter has her own ideas about how “her” money should be spent.  One of my first thoughts after hearing her dream was, “Baby, you’ll have it spent in two days!”  So, once again, I am left pondering some of the ideas that have (and have not) worked for others.

1. Allowance - This is the big one.  I have not seen, heard, or read any expert advice telling parents that children should have to earn what they make.  The information I’m finding on giving an allowance states the importance of giving a child an alloted amount of money so that he/she will learn to budget.  My husband and I have struggled with this, as we both believe that it is important that children understand that money is earned. 
2. Spend/Save - Many people, regardless of the allowance rule, have set rules on how money will be allocated once the child receives it.  For instance, some parents have a rule that 50% can be used as the child chooses, and the other 50% will be put into savings of some sort.  Of course, the rules and percentages vary.
3. Behavior counts - Some folks combine the responsibility of smart spending with behavioral expectations.  An example would be…A child receives $10 per week.  But for each unacceptable behavior, a portion of that money is taken away. 
4. When it’s gone…It’s gone - Well, this is self-explanatory.  The child is allowed to spend what he or she wants, but when the money is gone, no exceptions are made. 

Our daughter has just started to really understand the value of the dollar, mostly, I believe from seeing and hearing the ups and downs of our own financial decisions.  I don’t believe there is one way alone to encourage a child to make good financial decisions.  Knowing your child, knowing their habits, and knowing what works for your own family is crucial in deciding which “financial plan” is best for you.

I don’t count Christmas season being over until January 1st, so I’m going to keep writing about it here!  Monosyllabic Pedantry posted this Wal Mart commercial saying it was the best Christmas commercial ever.

It so reminds me of moving from North Dakota to Arkansas.  We moved in October or November and I deeply missed my friends, the cold weather, and snow.  It just didn’t seem like Christmas without snow so I remember looking up into the sky and wishing it could just snow, please?

Christmas morning we woke up with a nice little dusting of snow covering the ground and the snow continued to fall.  It was perhaps one of the nicest Christmas gifts I ever received.  So I like this commercial, too.

In some area, everyone has a level of genius.  I know this to be true.  For example, one of my nephews is autistic and has trouble learning.  But he can absolutely run circles around me with his knowledge of dinosaurs, dragons, and gaming.  He is also a brilliant artist.

Slartibartfast wrote today about finding the genius in everyone thanks to his experiences with his own father,

It wasn’t until later, when struggling with a tricky trigonometry problem for well over an hour - my dad overheard my fretting, and immediately did the problem in his head.  He had, and still has, genius in him, but I had so limited my definition of “smart”, I couldn’t see it.

It was later, upon reflection of all of this, that I decided that my one of my missions in life was to find the genius in every person I met.  Let me tell you, if you get to know a person and cannot find their genius, you haven’t looked hard enough.  I have found it in dishwashers and in prisoners.  I’ve even found it in a couple of lawyers I know.

His words made me feel I was actually in the machine shop where his dad worked.

That’s my husband up in the picture holding our firstborn.

Natalie just got out of the hospital… bless her heart.

I am so glad she’s home and okay, Papa Les!!

We didn’t have much money when I was little, but didn’t really need a lot to have a great time.  My best memories are of riding my bike everywhere and playing on the back of my Dad’s pickup truck.  The truck bed was our pirate ship, our raft that was adrift in the vast ocean, our treehouse, our fort.  The bed was anything we could imagine it to be, but we all thought the raft was the best because when one person was in it the other would try to sneak up and pretend to be a shark.  And when all of us played (there were six of us kids), the sharks would circle.

It’s the simple things that make the best memories.  That’s why I was delighted when I saw my brother post a photo of his own daughter playing in her house - a box.

His photos from New Hampshire sure make me want to live there - or at least go for a nice, long visit.

Have you ever heard about the mother crow cawing because her baby is the blackest?  I've been accused a time or two of doing just that, but dang it… sometimes things are just absolutely worth cawing over.

There was a voicemail message on my machine when I came home from taking 13-yr old Erin to the doctor (poor baby officially has the flu).  It was from the Honors College at the University 18-yr old Annie wants to attend.  The Dean was calling to congratulate her because she was selected as one of 20 incoming freshmen to be awarded the school's prestigious fellowship program.  They have about 7,000 incoming freshmen and approximately 400 apply.

I was mighty proud.  Then I checked the mail and there were TWO letters from the University.  Not only did she get the fellowship, but she was also awarded the President's scholarship. 

As I watched her college savings account plunge these last six months, I am elated to know that Annie has a full ride to her university of choice!

A word of caution, however. Never brag about one child to the other who's sick.  I told fever-ridden Erin about it and added that we would now be able to roll Annie's money into *her* college savings account.  She was completely insulted, "What?  You don't think *I* can get it?!?!"

Hoo boy.

"Of course you can!  And when you do, I'm taking the whole family to Disney World!"

I think I just killed Dad's dream of getting a motorcycle in five years.

"A good dad is…….", that is the question posed to you by Become A Better Father. Do you think you can answer that question?

Enter the 1st Annual Father’s Day Writing Contest and you could win "A free one-hour consultation with Scott Hammond, a $25 Starbucks gift
card, a full-featured blog post on Become A Better Father, and much, much more!" 

Father’s day is June 15 and Shakadoo has a great gift idea for that special man in our lives!

Back away from the ugly ties and golf shirts ladies! This year, give your Father or your children’s Father something that he will absolutely love! Love Shak Baby and Wholesalekeychain.com is excited to announce our latest giveaway! 

Shak and wholesalekeychain.com are offering our readers the chance to win three Digital Photo Keychains! This contest will run from today, May 31st until June 11th.

From now until midnight CDT June 11th, here’s what you need to do in order to be entered to win:

* Go over to the Wholesalekeychain website and take a look around.

* Take a look at their huge assortment of automotive, sports and digital  keychains.

* Leave a comment on this post telling us which ones you like and your thoughts on how these products could be used as great promotional items.

* Make sure you leave us a valid email address so we can contact you when you win!

* Tell everyone you know! Help us spread
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Three winners will be randomly selecting to each win 1 Digital Photo Keychain. All three winners will be

announced on June 12th! This giveaway is open to US residents only.

The Digital Photo Keychain features a 1.5 inch screen and holds up to 70 pictures! But what sets this company apart is they offer custom engraved messages to your loved ones on the back.

Don’t want to wait for the end of the contest for your Digital Photo Keychain? Need one in time for Fathers Day?  -You’re in luck! Wholesalekeychain.com is offering free shipping for any keychains purchased by Shakadoo readers. Just enter the coupon code "Shakadoo" when
you check out  and your shipping will be free. Prices start at only $19.99, but hurry- this discount is only
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(This is a "sticky" post and will remain at the top of the page for
the duration of Just In Time For Father’s Day Giveaway but new posts will be written
daily and published underneath this post.)

It seems as if Ivy and I were both sick at the same time. I wish I had read her post If She’s Upright, She’s Fine a little sooner because that might have helped! Unfortunately, it would not have mattered too much in the end.

This all started with my son who got the flu which progressed to pneumonia. I got sick next with the flu and bronchitis. My oldest son was the next victim and had a sick birthday weekend. Then it claimed the the worst person possible….. my husband!

My husband is the biggest baby when he is sick. He holes himself away in the bedroom and cannot be disturbed. He is grumpy and acts like the only person that has ever been sick. Yes, I am still annoyed by it and cannot hide that fact. If I got more help when I was sick then it would not bother me so much.

How is your husband when he is sick? I would love to hear that my DH is not the only big baby around.