Simple family pleasures image: sxc.hu

 Are there activities they can do that don’t cost a great deal of money?

My husband and I grew up in homes where struggling and working together on farms was a normal part of our childhood.  However, many happy memories have resulted.

We went through periods of difficulties when our daughter was growing up, but learned to enjoy many simple pleasures with love and laughter.  Now in our multigenerational household, we find solace in working together.

What can families do?

• Pitch in with chores if both mom and dad must work.
• Take hikes and walks together.
• Have family movie nights at home.
• Play board games.
• Put on family skits.
• Invite friends and neighbors for a potluck and board game night.
• Have a storytelling evening.

What do you do for family fun, work and entertainment that pulls you closer together during tough times?

Post from: Blisstree

Do Families Become Closer in Tough Times?

Image: sxc.hu

Some ideas:

• Make shadowboxes with memorabilia from past and present family members
• Create a CD or slide show of family pictures and documents.  Several family members said they’d like the photos I have in the family history album on a CD.
• Make a quilt hanging using some family photos and scenes.
• Create postcards and notepaper from photos of family homes.
• Make a collage representing the different family lines.
• Start a journal of family stories, with various family members contributing.
• Write biographies of ancestors
• Collect family recipes and food stories for a recipe book

What have you done with family and family reunion art and crafts?

Post from: Blisstree

Creating Family Reunion Crafts

I’ve read about Jon and Kate  Gosselin. Especially about Kate, people really love-to-hate her, which I find oddly fascinating. She’s just a mom, trying to do her best, like any other mom. I don’t get the venom, the hate, the Kate-as-the-devil-ness of it all. People go on about how she speaks to Jon, talking down to him, or whatever, but that’s behavior that I’ve seen in many relationships. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes it’s the way married people relate.

Lately, there have been headlines about Jon’s possible affair (denied) or Kate’s possible affair (denied).  I’m not there with Jon and Kate, I can’t see how they live their lives away from the camera, but I don’t think that these people have had affairs. I can’t imagine anyone with that many kids having the energy to have an affair – I know I’m exhausted daily by my four.

There’s also the issue of no privacy. I can see a flirtation that troubles a marriage springing up – these are regular people with cameras pointed at them all the time, their egos can’t help but be inflated by that attention. Marriage and raising kids – these are challenging endeavors. Even famous people are only human.

Kate has taken to PEOPLE magazine to voice her concerns.

“I don’t know that we’re in the same place anymore, that we want the same thing,” she says quietly. “I’ve been struggling with the question of ‘Who is this person?’ for a while. I remember where I was the first time I heard her name. It’s one of those things where you can try to make it go away, but there’s blaring, red flashing lights.”

The name to which Kate refers belongs to 23-year-old Deanna Hummel, whose brother later claimed she’d been having a months-long affair with Jon.

I’m no marriage counselor, but airing private maritial matters out in such a public arena, how can that help? 

 
Reality TV appears to be hell on marriages – only the Osbourne’s marriage appears to have emerged unscathed. Okay, maybe that’s not the only one, but when I think back to the couples and families I’ve watched – families that a show focused on – they are it. And they’ve made it through addiction and cancer, so I’d say the Osbournes are a forever match. I sure hope that Jon and Kate can figure it out, because otherwise, one of them is going to go broke paying child support.

Image credit: All Posters.com

Post from: Blisstree

Jon and Kate’s Marriage

In light of the problems in our neighborhood, my husband brought up the subject of gun ownership. Guns make me nervous petrified, when I think about them being in our residence. When it comes to owning, operating and storage protocol, I will readily admit that I’m in the dark. I’ve never had to ponder the idea of having a gun in our house. We’ve never felt threatened enough to make it an issue.

 After moving to our current neighborhood, we realized the dangers of buying a brand new home. We had no idea who our neighbors would be. Since we purchased a cheaper home, for the sake of saving money, we have had to deal with a lower class of people. I know that sounds prejudiced, but it is fact. There are few exceptions to this rule, of course, but the majority of residents are from the rough parts of Los Angeles and Rialto, California. These are well known areas of widespread gang activity and drug problems. Had I known that this is what our neighborhood would be composed of, I never would have moved here. But until we can get out of here, gun ownership is going to have to be a topic with which we concern ourselves.

How many families, with children, own a gun?  According to the National Center For Health Statistics, 34% of homes with children, house a gun. Caucasian families represent the highest percentage of firearm ownership, than any other ethnicity. In fact, it is more than double the percentage of any other race. I was shocked to read this. No matter what purpose the firearms serve, the fact is, that they are still present in many homes in the US. The stories of children being injured or perishing because of gun accidents are ever increasing. This is what scares me most. Statistics show that 2.6 million children, who live in a home that contains a firearm, have access to them. Gun control is obviously an issue that needs to be better executed. Furthermore, the AACAP, claims that guns kept in the home are 22 times more likely to kill a family member or friend, than kill someone in self defense. That is a staggering statistic! 

What is your opinion on the subject? Do you think that we are foolishly letting our fear drive our decision regarding purchasing a gun? Would you keep a firearm in your  home? Do you think the possible safety a gun can offer, is worth the risk of hurting/killing a child? Sound off in the comments section.

Post from: Blisstree

Under The Gun

Livid is too mild a word to express my current feelings towards my son’s kindergarten situation. Kindergarten should be a memorably pleasant year. A child’s kindergarten teacher is so vital to their over all impression of school and learning. My son’s teacher was an exemplary kindergarten teacher. There was only one downfall. She was pregnant. I am not one who looks down upon career women having babies, but if it means that their maternity leave wreaks havoc on my child’s kindergarten experience, I am totally against it. My son has had three different teachers this year, two of them substitutes. He has gone from loving school to despising it. He has been crying for a month now and having chronic stomach aches. His desire to academically excel, has shockingly diminished. This is not the first time that this exact situation has happened, either. My older son went through the same thing last year, with his kindergarten experience. It was so bad, that we had to send him to Sylvan Learning to get caught up in his studies.

PBS online contains a median age chartof teachers from the year 1971 to 1998. The median age of teachers has decreased by more than 20 years! It seems that the new generation of teachers has a high percentage of young women who are in the process of starting their families, as well. Today’s teachers are starting very young and trying to balance the “having it all” dream. I am here to say that sometimes, trying to have it all, ends up hurting innocent people. I was reading an old article in The New York Times that spoke of barring teachers who had small babies in the home because of the neglect that their duties suffered. The article was dated November 30, 1911. Despite the old fashioned views about women in the workplace, in general, it proved a good point. Even way back then, they knew that when a woman attempts to balance her role as a new mother and professional life, could likely result in overload and negligence.

Many may disagree with my views on this. That is okay. I cannot possibly expect dissenters to understand my point of view, as you are not here every morning to see my little boy tear up as he exits the car. You do not know the suffering it causes to watch a boy who once adored his class, dread the very thought of being there. I see it daily, just as I did last year. I am the one who paid thousands of dollars to a private tutoring institution, to make up for the lack of consistent teaching my first grader received last year. So if you care to leave dissenting comments, go right ahead. Just know that the suffering of my kindergartner is not just a statistic, it is real and it is very unnecessary.

Post from: Blisstree

Should Teachers Be Banned From Having Babies?