The Family Christmas Photo

Whereas I wouldn’t dare bore family and friends with a lengthy holiday newsletter detailing every milestone my precious offspring has accomplished in the last 365 days, I have no qualms about stuffing a mini photo album’s worth of pictures in our annual Christmas card. Okay, I don’t really cram mountains of photos in a single card (think of the postage), but I am one of those parents that opts for the multi-square photo card, and I sheepishly admit I do sometimes… all right… often… supplement it with my own 8×10-inch photo montage. When it comes to picking the perfect Christmas … Continue reading

Pledging To Live a More Frugal Lifestyle

New Year’s resolutions are being made all over the world tonight, as we vow to make changes in our lives and goals to set for the year. Last year I made a few resolutions or goals and I stuck to them for most of the year. This made a huge difference in my decision to make new ones this year. I pledge to live a more frugal life. I pledge this exact same thing every single year. Most of my friends think it is a strange goal, since I already appear to be living a very frugal lifestyle. I pinch … Continue reading

The Best of the 2007 Baby Blog

It has been an exciting year in the baby blog with a few changes in bloggers, several news stories, a few series started, and of course lots of information and reflection. This is a list of the best of the best. . .the best news, the best advice and the best of my personal favorites. With that I wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to an exciting year in 2008! Ask a Baby Blogger Series–This, in my opinion is one of the best things the baby blog has to offer. Granted, it’s my advice which I … Continue reading

Frugal Living Week in Review for September 3-9, 2007

It was a short week with the Monday holiday, and getting back into the swing of things again on Tuesday threw me off the rest of the week, and I was always a day behind. However, the blogs here at families.com were still filling up with excellent articles on every topic you could want. Let’s see what happened in the frugal living blog this week. More Frugal Decorating With Flea Market Finds Lately I have been obsessed with decorating my home. Partly because we are putting it on the market, and partly because I know we will be getting a … Continue reading

Sometimes Odd But New Uses for Old Stuff

There is a certain addiction in our household. I can almost say it is a competition sometimes. We all enjoy discovering new uses for items that are used for something else entirely. The stranger the use the better, though we all agree it must be practical too. I have written articles about lots of the things we reuse often, however I plan to write some new ones too. In honor of the new articles that are coming, I thought I would recap my favorite reusable items. A Clever and Very Frugal Way to Use Torn Panty Hose I am completely … Continue reading

Holiday Stress & Your Baby

Are you and your family traveling to grandma’s this weekend? Keep in mind that the holidays provide an entirely different kind of stress for your baby whether he or she is an infant or a toddler. Holidays are times when families see each other — sometimes for the first time since the previous holiday. Aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, grandparents and more will be surrounding your little one with a great deal of love and more often than not – a lot of touching. Let’s Not Think About the Colds & Stuff Viruses – though often transmitted during the holiday shuffle … Continue reading

Ten Signs that Your Spouse may be Cheating

So you think your spouse might be cheating on you? The very fact that you are suspicious is a good indication that something sinister may be going on. That’s because we all have intuition. Whether you call it a “sixth sense,” “warning bells,” or “red flags,” trust that inner voice. Unless you are generally a suspicious person and have a history of being overly possessive and accusing, your fears are probably justified. I have personal experience with this, which explains this guest-blog. The multiple infidelities in my first marriage turned me into a housewife-by-day, detective-by-night. I got really good at … Continue reading