One of the most common complaints I see on my forum about marriages is that sometimes they just aren’t fun anymore. You and your spouse get into such a routine that you forget to just enjoy being with one another.

It doesn’t have to be that way. With a little effort, you can put the fun right back into your marriage.

One of the first things to do is look at how you used to have fun together and why you stopped. In many cases, it’s simply the strain of raising a family. It takes a lot of work, I know, and my husband and I are just as guilty as any other couple of forgetting to have fun together, just the two of us.

You share a lot of great memories, however, and you can do similar things even when you have children and a really tight budget.

A romantic date doesn’t have to cost a bunch of money. Have a picnic on the beach or at a beautiful park. Go for a walk.

Don’t have the money for a babysitter? Make time for each other after the kids are in bed. Turn off the computer! Rent a romantic movie, have a picnic in the backyard or a candlelit dinner. Trade massages. You don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy one another’s company again.

[tags]marriage, romance, bringing back fun into marriage, romance on a budget[/tags]

I went over the advantages to home schooling in my previous post. Now let’s take a look at the disadvantages.

Perhaps the most obvious one is that it takes more effort to get time for your child to interact with other children. They really need time to play together, and for home schooled children this means a more deliberate effort. When children attend a school, they will have play time with other kids.

Another is that not every parent, no matter how dedicated to their child’s education, is suited to being a home school teacher. You often hear about the home schooled children who are just brilliant. You won’t hear about the ones who don’t do so well. What this means for parents who home school is that you need to know when to bring in extra help.

The social handicap issue is one you will hear a lot about if you choose to home school. That children interact during class as well as on the playground in regular schools is certainly true. In school, a child is likely to encounter a far wider range of beliefs than he or she would when home schooled. This may be better preparation for the real world, jobs and higher education. However, some research indicates this may not be the problem it is assumed to be, and that, in fact, home schooled children may be better socialized. Read the rest of this entry »

One question I often get asked as a stay at home mother is whether or not I plan on home schooling. The answer is always no, as that is really something I’m not interested in, but I am aware that there can be certain benefits for parents who do choose to home school. I don’t think it’s a poor choice, just not for me.

One benefit is, of course, that your children are at home and don’t have to be to school at a particular time. This lets you work on a schedule that is comfortable for all of you. I wouldn’t suggest just letting the kids sleep until whenever they want to get up, but you can decide a healthy schedule on your own. Children do need some sort of a schedule.

Your children will also benefit from having so much attention as they are trying to learn. If your child is of a temperament such that home schooling works better for them, this can be huge. You’ll know when they understand a topic, so you can spend more or less time on it, unlike in public schools where there is little room for such flexibility.

Family trips and activities can be planned to have a decided educational focus. Schooling doesn’t even have to stop for vacation. You can head out to tour historical monuments as a part of learning history. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re getting ready to take our summer vacation soon. It’s in part a celebration of my 5th wedding anniversary, but also because we want to visit family up in Oregon and Washington. It looks to be a great trip, but with money being tight, it’s going to be a bit challenging to not overspend.

We are taking several steps to limit our expenses. Even though gas is expensive, it’s going to be cheaper to drive up than it would be to fly then rent a car. We’ll have some basic snacks and water in the car.

With two small children, there will be a lot of potty breaks. No avoiding that, especially since they’ll also be ways to tire the kids out so they won’t get too cranky in the car.

We are fortunate enough to have relatives live at reasonable stopping points for each leg of the trip. The drive is about 1000 miles, so it would be extremely difficult to do in a single day. However, with relatives in Sacramento, we have a very nice stopping point to get a few hours’ rest out of the car without getting a hotel room.

Visiting family is a great way to make a family vacation inexpensive. With most families it’s lots of fun too. But what if you don’t want to visit family this year? Read the rest of this entry »

When the kids are out of school you need more ideas to keep them busy. On of my daughter’s favorites is crafts.

We don’t always look in Little Kids Crafts for ideas. Some days she just wants to make something out of her own imagination. She’s pretty creative.

However, I must say a good, age appropriate craft book is a big help other times. Little Kid Crafts is great for toddlers. I have to help her sometimes with cutting parts out, but she can handle pretty much everything else on her own. There’s no hot glue or anything like that involved.

It’s easier to find craft books for older kids. Just take a look at the range of them on Amazon. There’s pretty much a craft book for every taste.

We also like to do macaroni necklaces. I color the macaroni by putting them in a bowl, pouring some paint over them, then stirring. I’m sure there’s a better way to do this, as inevitably some of the macaroni will crack due to how the paint dries. However, most of it turns out just fine. I do a few bowls so that I can do different colors. Read the rest of this entry »

Wandering around the internet, I found mention of a secret shopping scam I wasn’t yet familiar with, so I thought I’d post it here.

Yout get a letter in the mail from what appears to be a legitimate secret shopping company. They claim they had spoken with you earlier about the job by phone (which you may not have actually done, although some do remember a call on this job – others do not).

The job involves going to Walmart or other place where you can send money, and sending money to Canada. Enclosed is a check for a few thousand dollars, you get to keep a couple hundred for completing the assignment, which should take two hours, they claim.

Of course, much of that time would be in writing up the service you received. This is mystery shopping after all, scam version!

Here’s where you get in trouble. You cash the check at your bank, then when it comes back fraudulent, you’re the one in trouble… ouch! You end up liable for a few thousand dollars.

If you ever get something like this, just hand it over to the police. You don’t need this kind of trouble in your life. Falling for this scam would be a very expensive and painful lesson.

I found an article on Yahoo News today that few of the workers in the United States who could telecommute actually do so. It makes me wonder how many people who want to work at home aren’t taking full advantage for one reason or another.

I understand the reasons listed in the article; it’s hard to give up that time in the office. It means you’re less visible to the boss, which can make it more challenging to get the raises and promotions you deserve. You don’t get to talk with coworkers either. And so many people assume you’re goofing around at home.

Not that working at home is the piece of cake people assume it is. There are many distractions at home, whether or not children are there.

The study referred to in the article found that one quarter of all workers could do their jobs from home. That’s amazing considering that only 2 percent telecommute full time and 9 percent telecommute part time. That’s why I really wonder how many people wanting to telecommute have actually looked at their own job.

I even have resources for people who want to start telecommuting from their current job. It’s one of those things many people don’t think enough about because they don’t know others in their office who do the same.

Can telecommuting be a sacrifice in terms of your career? Yes, it can be, since as mentioned above it is harder to get your boss to notice what you are doing. You really do need to put in the extra effort to show that you work well and work hard as a telecommuter. It doesn’t HAVE to be a sacrifice if you’re willing to put in the extra effort to prove that you are just as effective, or even more so, from home as you are in the office.

One way to keep your days a little more organized is to keep a written schedule. The exact form this should take depends on what you think will work for you. There’s no point in taking all the time to write up your schedule if you aren’t going to pay any attention to it. A wall calendar, day planner or even a dry erase board can work, depending on how you use it.

Start out by writing in all your current obligations. This includes doctor’s appointments, children’s activities, home business or job obligations and so forth. Write these out for however far out you have them Make sure you include the time for each and how long you expect it to take.

Now take a look at how you would like your day to go. You can make a general schedule for the things you do every day, but make sure you adjust it for the things you only do some days.

When you have kids, make sure you include them in your time scheduling. You need to have time enough that you aren’t rushing them everywhere they need to be. You should also include enough flexibility to be a little spontaneous with your kids. Who wants to say “no” to playing with their kids just because their schedule says it’s time to clean the cat box?

Make your calendar out loosely or strict, depending on your own personal style. Some people like to plan it all out, down to the time they spend on each kind of housework, while others would rather just list the kinds of housework they need to get done each day, and let it take the time it needs.

[tags]time scheduling,organization,calendar,planning[/tags]

I did something a little challenging this weekend, and it will be interesting to see if it bears any fruit.

No, I didn’t buy a fruit tree. Let’s get serious. We’re talking a much different kind of challenge.

There’s a new local news show called 10-4 San Diego, and when they announced casting calls for experts to be on the show, I thought and thought about it. And yes, I did decide to attend.

This kind of thing is greatly out of my comfort zone. I have never been that comfortable talking in front of groups. Of course, trying to get on a news show isn’t quite the same. You can’t see most of the people you’re talking to. I haven’t decided if that’s better or worse yet.

If nothing else, this will have been an interesting experience. I talked about what I do on this site and my experience as a work at home mother. It was about an hour of waiting and maybe a minute of talking to a producer with a camera.

Now, of course, all I can do is wait and see if they ever choose me to do a segment. I think it would be fun, no matter how challenging it is to me on a personal level. Obviously, talking about this site would be great exposure. I’m confident I could do well at it if they do select me.

[tags]comfort zone,television,news[/tags]

Summer is a great time to get outside and enjoy the night. Summer nights are generally warm, and it’s just such a relief after the heat of the day to get outside and do something!

Take a look and see if there are any places in your area that have special summer night activities. For example, here in San Diego the zoo and Wild Animal Park are open after dark, so you get to see many of the animals be more active than they are in the heat of the day. Many cities also have summer outdoor concerts in the evenings.

Camp out in your back yard. Many nights it can be more comfortable to sleep outside in the tent than in the house, which is still retaining heat from the day.

Alternatively, try a one night camping trip at a local campground. Roast marshmallows around the campfire, tell stories, and just relax. Don’t forget to leave a little time for a family hike during the day.

Go stargazing. Whether you look at the stars from your own back yard or drive out to someplace a little darker, children love to look at the stars. Try looking at the moon through binoculars if you don’t have a telescope. Get a chart that identifies the constellations. Watch for shooting stars. You could also check with your local planetarium or amateur astronomers’ club for nights that they do stargazing.

You don’t have to go outside to have fun. Stay indoors, open all the windows to let in the breeze, and start making cookies! You can let each child pick a recipe or so, depending on how many cookies you want to make.

[tags]summer,summer nights,activities,family, children,kids,fun[/tags]