Work parties are a good way to tackle a major household task, with a bunch of friends helping, and get it done in a shorter amount of time than if one did it one’s self. Usually these types of parties are for such tasks as painting, deck building, fencing raising and anything requiring many hands. Food You’ll need lots of food for a deck party as appetites build up. In many cases the host will want to provide lunch and dinner with some snacks in between. Many times the people helping out at the work party will bring food, but as they’re helping the host with his project, it’s not a requirement. Beverages You’ll want to provide plenty of water or a thirst quenching beverage such as Gatorade. It’s not... [Read more]

This month Linette and I have been sharing some of the other Lifestyles Channel blogs with you in our Three Doors Down series. The last blog we’re highlighting is The Food Bowl. The food bowl features pet news, tips and fun stuff – and even some pet food recipes.  Here’s a sampler of what you can expect to find when visiting The Food Bowl: A video on clipping a bird’s wings. A video on caring for a corn snake. A recipe for bunny cookies. Tips for growing catnip. As you can see, Heather covers a wide range of pet tips for everyone. If you’re an animal lover, you’ll want to bookmark this one.   Image: stock.xchnge [Read more]

I just wanted to share a couple of very cool ideas I learned at some kid birthday parties we’ve gone to. I’m talking about kids in the two to five year old range: Little cups for snacks - One mom I know put out a bowl of Goldfish and a bowl of pretzel rings and a bunch of small cups. The cups were so all the kids can take a cup full of the snacks back to the table and eat them rather than have them stand around the bowl noshing. Cups of Popcorn – For a five year old birthday party we went to last year, the mom filled cups with popcorn  and gave them out to the kids for snack. Juice Boxes – Juice boxes are neater and easier than pouring juice and water for everyone. Birthday Cake Alternatives – Most parents... [Read more]

We had a major disappointment over the weekend. My son and I delivered invites for his birthday party last Friday and his best friend’s mom called to tell us he couldn’t make it. Two other kids, one in the same class as my son, are having birthday parties on the same day. What this may mean is that since we were the last ones to send out invitations, the six boys invited to my son’s party may have been invited to one of the other party’s first. If this is the case and we don’t get a good turnout, we’re going to reschedule for July. Though this is a big disappointment for an almost six year old, at least we know we can do it another time. My son is ok at having it in July because the weather is more likely... [Read more]

If there’s one thing I can count on for the long weekend is that there will be plenty of barbecuing going on. My husband, while not someone who is very sociable, loves to grill. Throughout the spring, summer and fall – and even in the winter – he’ll fire up the gas grill and backyard smoker and make ribs, steak, burgers, dogs, chicken wings and all of his “specialties.” Sometimes it’s just the immediately family, but we’ll also invite friends and relatives over to partake in the goodies. We all have our favorites too, my husband loves steak, I’m partial to ribs and our almost six year old son can eat about a dozen barbecued chicken wings in one setting. Yep, we’re grilling fools. Here... [Read more]