When a  High School Principal sent home a student for crossing dressing there was a big stir up.  One question for you is how far would you let your child go to be an individual?ow what if that look actually distracted the students?  That’s what happened with O’Rhonde Chapman who is a 14 year old male that dresses up like a female, wearing heels and all. However it wasn’t until he wore a wig and really made himself look like one of the other gals that there was a big issue.
Here are some surveys one site did online:
Do you think …read more

It’s been a few weeks since I did a round-up of pet links to other blogs, so there’s a lot to catch up on!

Unfortunately, a few links are for recalls, which we seemed to have gotten a break from for a little while. There is also some cute pet jewelry (for people), recipes, and one idea for preparing for the upcoming holidays:
~ FDA Warns Pet Owners About Pet Carousel Treats at Petsit USA
~ PetSmart Recalls Dentley’s Beef Hooves from UPI.com
~ Puppy Paw Jewelry at Celebrate Your Pet
~ Bulldog Gives Birth to 21 Puppies at Dogster
~ The Importance of a Good …read more

As more and more people (children and adults) use text messaging as a means of communication via their cell phones, will we find that correct spelling becomes obsolete?
Many young people use numbers and letters (4 instead of for, u for you) to speed up the process so they often don’t remember the correct spelling.
Adults also have developed this trend, and I find myself (as a teacher, author and English minor) doing the same.  However, most adults have learned to correctly spell.  Many youngsters have not, so they begin to substitute the text spelling into their work at school.
Do you feel it’s …read more

This category is full of everything from getting kids ready for school to picking out those summer fun activities. So it shouldn’t surprize you that when someone emailed and asked me
My son is 3 years old and refusing use his potty chair. Any recommendations?
My first question would be to ask if something has happened between said child and the toilet? I remember my 3 year old reacting the same way just after she learned to use her new potty, only it tried eating her. That’s what she said when she came running out of the bathroom holding her butt in her …read more

This may become a regular series, the way we’re going! We had our home inspection this morning for the kitten fostering we’ve been looking into, and have been approved!

Within the next few hours we’ll be getting a litter of four kittens who will likely only be with us overnight, as we’ll have to take them into Petco tomorrow for an adoption event, and there’s a very good chance they’ll all find new homes. I’m very excited just the same, and think this is going to be a great experience for all of us.
If you’re interested in cat fostering, get …read more

Think you can’t have a great date near the holidays? Think again! Here are some date ideas to spend with your sweetie on or near Thanksgiving.

Watch the Parade
Make a date to cuddle up on the couch and watch the Thanksgiving day parade. There is lot of nostalgia with this parade which will prompt conversation topics and easy ways to get to know each other. Besides that, watching a couple hours of Broadway tunes, TV stars, and giant cartoon balloons is just too much fun to miss.
Volunteer
While volunteering at a rescue mission or food pantry might seem …read more

I swiped this from my sister’s Facebook page. It’s a great feel-good video aptly named “Anti-Depression Video.” I think any parent would dig this.
For centuries, people have touted the benefits of laughter. Experts say that a good laugh can reduce stress by relaxing tense muscles and energizing you by sending more oxygen into your bloodstream. It has also been shown to lower blood pressure.
Loma Linda University School of Medicine researchers Drs. Lee Berk and Stanley Tan have conducted studies that show laughter lowers serum cortisol levels, increases the amount of activated T lymphocytes, increases the number and activity of natural …read more

According to the Humane Society, 63% of American households have pets, but only 10% of owned dogs and 18% of owned cats are adopted from shelters. So many great companion animals need you. If you’re looking for a new pet, I highly encourage you to visit your local shelter. If you want to research online first, there are plenty of resources.
Where to search online for shelter pets:

Shelter Pet Project, a fun site that asks you questions before revealing your matched pet results.
Petfinder, a valuable resource utilized by many shelters and rescues.

As you may know, I’ve been featuring special needs pets …read more

Do you have “small treasures” made by children and grandchildren that you’ve saved over the years?  Do these take on special significance for you?
 I’ve saved a number of these and find the memories joyful.  ONe is a pincushion my daughter made by herself and gave me as a surprise Christmas gift when she was about eight years old. Even though she’s grown with a daughter in college, I still use this and treasure it.
My daughter has Christmas ornaments her son and daughter made in art class in elementary school.  Each year she puts them out for display.
There are other items …read more

Here is a common pattern that occurs when problems arise in relationships:  get hurt, argue, resolve, apologize, move on.  If you are in a relationship where you seem to argue quite frequently, you are probably more familiar with this pattern than others.  If you are in a serious relationship you don’t want to break up everytime you have an argument, so you just let it all out, apologize, then make-up and move on.  But maybe there is something more that you can be doing to cut down on the frequency of these occurrences in your relationship…maybe an apology is not …read more