Kids Want Your Time Not Your Money

I was reading a Wall Street Journal article this morning that featured white collar workers who were moonlighting to make more money.  The moonlighters needed the extra money because the hours/pay had been cut on their day jobs and they wanted to supplement their income.  One particular person worked tons of extra hours out of his home doing freelance work, sacrificing time with his family. The article stated that he would tell his 8 and 11 year old children to not interrupt him when he was working from home because he was earning money to support their activities (soccer, kayaking, etc.).  I can understand if a person has to take on a second job to feed, clothe or house themselves or their family.  However, if they are merely working to keep up with the lifestyle they had before their pay was cut and are only working for what some people may consider luxuries I think they should probably reconsider their priorities.  I understand that sports and other extracurricular activities are important to kids. But, I think missing out on time with a parent because they are stressed out and constantly working to support those activities is worse than missing out on being on a soccer team or going to summer camp.  The reason why the children are interrupting his work time in the first place is probably because they miss him.  Children should come first. They deserve to have parents that are there for them and spend time with them.  I think if we all slowed down a bit, put material priorities in their place and really put our families first, we'd all be a little happier.

Write Now!

Any aspiring writers out there?  It's easier than ever for novice writers to hone their writing skills online.  I know....it's a little scary to put yourself out there.  My first article was a safe one.  I wrote about the steps involved in starting a scrapbook business.  Very impersonal....nothing risky.  I was so excited to see it published!   I've since submitted poems, a short story, more informational articles, articles about my children, and I've started two blogs.

It's not always easy to find the time to write.  Trying to work it in around children, husband, work, housework, sleeping and eating is hard!  It's well worth it though!  I feel a sense of accomplishment when I complete a piece that I don't get from doing anything else.

If you are interested in writing.......start now!  Check out the sites below and challenge yourself to submit your work to at least one site.  You won't regret it!

Triond


Associated Content


Bukisa


Helium 




Happy writing!!!!

Questions Kids Ask

B.C. (Before Children) I thought I was smart.  I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BBA and was my college's Outstanding General Business Graduate of the Year 1994 for heaven's sake.  I knew about statistics, marketing plans, production operations scheduling....etc.  Then....my children came along....with all of these QUESTIONS.  Questions that have sent me (and still are sending me) scrambling to my computer to ask the sage beings at Google for help!

Now don't get me wrong....some questions have been easy to answer.  For example, I can handle "How many legs does a camel have?".  I can even manage creative answers to questions like "How does the tooth fairy/Santa/Easter Bunny get into our house?" or "Do mermaids talk?".

My children have stumped me, though, with questions about nature.  They ask about things that I never learned in high school or college biology courses (or maybe I learned them and I just don't remember).  One day, at around 3 AM, my youngest daughter Madeleine approached my bed.  I squinted at her, still very much in sleep mode and asked her if she was okay.  She said yes.  She just had a question.  A question I would not have been able to answer even if I was awake..."Do bunnies growl?".  I really had never thought about that.  I didn't know. I promised to do a Google check in the morning.  Well, that morning, I did the search.  Couldn't find even a MENTION of bunnies growling...anywhere.  My husband came home that evening and she posed the question to him.  After an exhaustive search of pretty much the entire internet (we're talking MAJOR dedicated daddy moment) he found a You Tube video of a bunny growling!  Whoda thunk?  Other things I've learned from my girls' nature questions:  why the sky is blue, what thunder really is, why male butterflies are prettier than female butterflies, and the differences between alligators and crocodiles.  Thanks to their wonderful questions, they've helped me discover some really fabulous things about our world that I had neglected to notice before.

The most difficult questions my children have asked are the simple ones that require answers that could fill entire books (and have).  Questions like:  "Who made Us?", "How were we made?", and "Why do people die?".  Questions all humans ponder....we just don't linger too long on them unless we are in church or on our deathbed...or when those little curious faces look up to us for answers to their marvelous questions.

Mad about Mad Men FASHION

Okay, I admit it.  I am a Mad Men-oholic.  Mad Men is, of course, the superb AMC series about the lives of men (and women) who work at an ad agency in the 1960's.  It not only is wonderfully written, the set and costume design are like vintage eye candy! For some fabulous reading on how this stylish show has inspired a retro revolution in fashion, check out these sites........

WSJ Fashion

Mad Men Fashion File (AMC)

Elle's Mad Men Fashion for Women

Marie Claire-Mad Men inspired "Ladylike Look"

Valet-Mad Men Fashion for Men

Esquire Style Blog

Thread New York Blog Mad Men Fashion Gallery

LuLu's Mad Men Fashion

Glamour interview with Mad Men Costume Designer

Mad Men Inspired Home Decor

House Beautiful Mad Men Style

Vintage Shopping:

Etsy Mad Men inspired home decor

Etsy Mad Men inspired fashion

Mod Cloth

C Madeleine's

LAVintage