A Promise You Can Keep

There is a new community on Facebook that I would like to share with you. It's called "A Mother's Promise". It could easily be called "A Parent's Promise" or "A Promise to Your Child". The name really doesn't matter, the mission, however, does.

This community, supported by Evenflo, is focused on the safety of children while they are in the car. With fewer flights and the high cost of air travel more and more people are making the decision to travel farther distances by car. Let's do all we can to keep our babies (toddlers, elementary age children...) safe.



It only takes a moment to join the Facebook group. What's your promise?

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What Should I Be When I Grow Up?

With the uncertain economy and job market are you considering a career change or advancing your learning?

Do you have a senior who hasn’t narrowed down their college search?

Or are you just curious about what kind of courses you could find online that interest you?

Doug and I often talk about the possibility of me going back to school so I like to poke around and find ideas and tools online. And because of my schedule an online degree is almost a better option than heading off to a campus.

I was playing around on DegreeHound.com today- just to see what schools it would match me to. The first thing that caught my eye as I searched their home page was an article titled “Careers for a Troubled Economy”. It had some really good ideas about how to find out what businesses are growing in your area- like calling the local chamber of commerce. I never would have though of that… An advanced degree can open more opportunities for you and increase your salary. Or it could open a whole new path and help you fulfill a dream.

Anyway, it’s easy to find a school. Just hit the big red arrow on the homepage. The next page asks you questions like what you want to study, if you want online or campus schools, how soon you plan to start, if you have any previous college experience, when you graduated high school and your zip code (if you wanted a campus school). Then you are told how many school matches you have. All you have to do is enter your mailing info and school information will be sent to you.

Now… What exactly would I do? Culinary arts? Journalism? Hmmm… Culinary journalism?

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Leap Pad Plus Writing

Does anyone have this system? Because I bought a NEW book and cartridge today thinking it would work in the Leap system we have and it doesn't.

I did some research and this set sells for some major dough... I got it for $1 at a garage sale.

It's the Reading & Writing book & cartridge for the LeapPa Plus Writing set. If you want it let me know. I don't want to buy a new system (although birthdays are coming up...) and a single book isn't worth listing in eBay...

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Why is the cost of education so high?

Could it be the 1,500 pages of new laws that get passed every year?

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It's Never too Early to Teach Your Kids About Money

With the way Brenna's schedule works out this fall she will be eating lunch at preschool every Friday after she finishes gymnastics and before she goes to class. The preschool calls it "Lunch Bunch" and she'll be in in for an hour. She is very excited; eating lunch without Mommy is a very "big girl" thing to do.

Well, we were in Target the other day and the "Back to School" aisles beckoned me,like they always do. Paper, pencils, organizers, Trapper Keepers... I wish I was going to school...

Anyway, knowing the girls would both need crayons and glue sticks I grabbed some while they were on sale.

And then we passed the lunch totes. Nope, they're not lunch boxes anymore, now they are pretty little coolers with great characters on them. And Brenna instantly saw Tink. And wanted her.

Poor Brenna! Before Dave I probably would have bought it for her without a though. But I am on my budget, you see, and the school supplies budget is only $10 per month (they're in pre-school, they don't need much) and that pretty lunch tote would have eaten up the enitre month's budget.

So Brenna, knowing she had money in the bank from birthdays and change she "collected" from Mommy & Daddy, said she wanted to buy it herself.

To really drive the point home we went in to the bank and withdrew the money for her to spend. Caelan withdrew some money, too, because it wouldn't be fair for Brenna to get something and Caelan not.

Here is our little outing: bank, shopping and paying for our own goodies. Enjoy!

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Be the "Go To" in Your Company

Doug is the “go to” guy at work. Really, wherever he works he ends up being the guy with all the answers. And that makes him indispensable. He stays on contracted assignments long after his contract has ended; long after the other contracted employees have been let go.

How does he do it? Well, first of all he asks a lot of questions. He isn’t content to just do what he is told to do. No, he goes deeper and asks questions about everything “his” project relates to- then he learns those things too. Because of this he can tell you how “his” project relates to practically everything in the company. Often more clearly than the project managers who only speak plain English. Doug is bi-lingual- he speaks English and tech so he can talk to everyone on the project and get them all to the same page.

The other thing Doug does is keep learning. The man is constantly taking classes or updating licenses or reading books with lots of technical words written in computer language that I don’t understand. By doing this he is able to get better gigs, better pay and keep himself in demand even when others in his field are having trouble finding work.

You can get Cisco certification and training in dozens of IT fields- like IP networking, security and data center- any of which will instantly set you apart and above those you work with. And by continuing your training in different fields you can keep ahead of the curve and be the “go to” in your company. Why be average when it's so easy to be the best?

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Last Day

Today was Brenna's last day of school... She has officially advanced... Whatever. But she's happy and proud.

Many thanks to TLC and Miss Sharon and Miss Jo. Brenna has a love of school and learning because of you. She can't wait 'til next year.

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Can we do this too?

Rolling back government in New Zealand.

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Ouch

And so true. Of course, by cut, they probably mean a 6% growth rate rather than the 8% requested. QED a 2% "cut". I mean, isn't that how you work your budget? I know that's how it would be reported here in Iowa.

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Blah. Blah. Blahblahblah...

I cannot believe it is cold and raining AGAIN! And the weather report is calling for snow again on Saturday. What happened to global warming? I want me some warm!!!

ALong with the grey and rain comes... Nothing. No deep thoughts, no inspiration, no funny stories from the girls because the weather is beginning to get to them, too.

We walked to the park yesterday and played for a short time. It was windy and there was a chill in the air but we had to get out before I went crazy.

Which makes me think of summer... So let's just do this:

With the kids out of school do you adjust your schedule? I'm thinking of setting up a bit of "schooling" for the girls here at home this summer. One day with a "field trip", another working with letters (Caelan) and reading small words (Brenna), another with numbers and addition... Just for short periods of time.

What do you do in the summer to keep the kids minds active?

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Not Saving for College

I’m gonna admit something that may get me in trouble. Doug & I are not saving for our daughters’ college education. Not a cent. We are saving for retirement, we are paying off debt. But we are not saving for college.

Both Doug & I found ways to pay for college ourselves. Doug joined the Army and used a GI bill as well as working to pay for additional expenses. My family was dirt poor so I was able to qualify for Pell grants and I worked, too.

There are just so many grants, scholarships, internships and student loans out there that saving for college is probably the last thing we will worry about. Scholarships.com has a free search engine to find the assistance your child could qualify for as well as free access to extensive –and constantly updated- lists of grants and scholarships.

So don't feel guilty if you haven't started saving for college- just learn about all the other ways to help pay for it.

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Geeks Rule

OK ladies, if you’re single and looking for a guy who makes a good wage and will thank God every day that you chose him, look no further than a geek.

Global Knowledge in conjunction with TechRepublic conducted some polls, compiled the data and recently released the “2008 IT Skills and Salary Report”. (You can get the PDF of the IT Salary Survey right here.)

I looked through this report and was happy to notice that Doug is above average (which I knew but don’t let him know often as he’s pretty sure of himself and I don’t want him to get an inflated ego- his employers tell him enough) and that the salaries don’t vary much no matter what part of the country you reside.

A couple of sections that caught my eye- and that I will share with Doug- are “Top 10 Tech Skills You Should Develop” and “10 Tech Certifications that Actually Mean Something”. I know Doug has many of the skills and certifications... But in IT you have to keep learning or you get left behind.

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Educational Resource

I recently read that Tutoring is on the rise across the country. And while I understand it for difficult subjects there are times when I wonder if it’s just because classrooms are so full that children aren’t given the attention they need. Or maybe it’s because the teacher just isn’t very good. Or maybe it’s because the teacher has to concentrate so much on kids who should have been held back and shouldn’t really be in the class. Whatever the reason tutoring services are everywhere.

Club Z has excelled to become the world’s largest one-on-one tutoring program and has helped over 100,000 kids reach their goals and improve their learning skills.

If you can’t count on your child’s teachers it’s a great resource to have.

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College Money... Or Diapers

Looking to for help funding a college education- or maybe a 6 month supply of Pampers is what you need- I just heard about a really easy contest.

All you have to do is watch As The World Turns and Guiding Light February 11th, 13th and 15th and then answer the following question: Which character spoke the opening line of the show that day?

For all the rules check out PGP College Education Sweepstakes.

Good luck!

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Options in Education

I find myself thinking about the girls’ education quite a bit. With the federal government becoming more involved in schooling and the parents and even teachers having less say I worry about what the girls will learn.

And there are things that I don’t want the school teaching my child. Things like “what is homosexuality” and “don’t tell your parents you want to have sex, just go to the nurse’s office for some birth control”. Hello! No aspirin allowed, but birth control?

While the school district we live in is currently one of the best in the state and my future plans do not involve returning to the workforce when the girls begin school (so I can stay very involved in their daily lives), I just have no idea what really lies ahead in public education.

Home schooling is an option Doug & I have discussed quite a few times. There are numerous families in our church who home school, so I know that we would have plenty of support and advice if we chose that option.

I also “know” a lot of bloggers who home school their children. They always stress the number of resources that are available,quite a few with a religious basis, and how important good support is to the homeschooling process. St. Gabriel Catholic Academy is one of those resources. They provide premier curriculum beginning with the core classes (math, English, science, geography) and Catholic studies, as well.

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Pith 'n Vinegar

I had not heard of Gammon's Law before, but have seen it in action. I have noticed that a bureaucrat's main purpose is to maintain their fiefdom, not whatever their original mandate was. Look online at the job description for any major department head for a state funded agency. The number 1 and 2 items never pertain to helping people, but about lobbying for more funds and maintaining or growing the status quo.

Pith 'n Vinegar has a story about a couple of school systems feeling it's affects.

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Never Too Soon to Think About College Funding

Every time Doug & I meet with our investment advisor he asks us when we plan to set up college savings for the girls.

And every time he asks I tell him the same thing: until we are completely debt free and have our retirement funds maxed we aren’t. My logic is that there are plenty of ways to pay for college but only one way to pay for retirement.

That said I do want my girls to go to college (if they wish). They both have savings accounts and lots of bonds. I also plan to have them fill out every scholarship application they can possibly qualify for.

Of course our college days are still quite a ways off, but if they are closing in on your kids you should definitely visit Scholarships.com. They can direct you to the scholarships that your kids may qualify for as well as help with scholarship request letters, college searches and info. Did I mention it's free?

If you have a bit of time before you have to think about college, make sure to bookmark this site. I did.

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Surfin' USA

I’m not really sure how it has happened but my two little ones are water babies. I honestly believe that bath time is their favorite time of the day. They lay on their tummies and “swim”, they roll around like seals, they splash and laugh and would stay in for hours (if the water would stay warm). Brenna has begun asking about the ocean, swimming and surf lessons. I blame the Backyardigans for that… Darn Tiki Beach episode…

Because we live in Iowa- a place not known for beaches or surfing, if the girls still have this affinity for water we may have to look into summer camps on the coast or in the Caribbean.

I found a place that does kids surf camp in North Carolina, teen summer camps in Florida, the Bahamas and Barbados (to name a few) and even overnight camp for family surf lessons in the Caribbean and Hawaii. They even do a women’s only surf camp. Of course I would have to get over my fear of drowning…

WBSurfCamp.com has a great video that will give you an idea of their program. It definitely looks like a summer camp that kids would enjoy going to.

Even if you aren’t a water baby, check out their video. If you’re sitting in below-freezing temperatures, like I am, it may warm you a bit.

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Make Them Last

I'm not a "homeschooling mom" but I do try to teach the girls what I can. Brenna was able to identify all her letters before she started pre-school last year and most of her numbers, as well.

Now she is learning to write. There are so many cute workbooks out there but they can't be reused. Unless you do this:

Take the pages out and place them in the plastic page covers that fit in a 3-ring binder. If you get the binder that has the "slip in" front cover you put the cover of the workbook in there so you know at a glance what you've got.

Voilá! A workbook that you can use again and again with dry erase markers!

I put in two workbooks. One beginning at each end. This way you can open directly to the workbook you want. Both end in the center, upside down from the other. (Upside backwards, according to Brenna)

Let the learning begin!

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