Monthly Archives: September 2014

How to Get your In Laws to Move Out of Your House

People agree that there are definite perks in having extra pair of hands around the house. Although your in-laws might move to your place to cope with certain personal issues or for physical rehabilitation, at some point, it soon turns to an over extended vacation. So how do you put it down to them gently?

Their recovery phase might be long passed and your might feel like you are walking around a live minefield. So when you have done your bit, it is time to lay things down and talk to them. Give them options like a vacation or suggest Haywards Heath nursing homes like Ashton House Residential and Nursing Home. They might provide a better care facility and emotional support than you can offer. Make them understand that they are not unwanted, and you will visit often. You might also have additional problems if your spouse is comfortable living with them. You are the only one having issues, so start by approaching your spouse.

How to Sort Things Out Gently

Here are a few things that you can do to help them make the move, without rocking the family boat.

Consider your housing situation: If you are living in a spacious independent house with multiple rooms, space might not be a constraint and you can easily avoid getting in their way. So, in such situation, you do not have to rush them but you can sow the seeds of their departure. If you find yourself giving up your bedroom and sleeping in the living room couch for months now, it is safe to assume that more drastic measures are required.

Consider their reasons: Analyse why they are here. If they have come to help you out with your newborn baby, their intention must be sufficient to give them some time. And asking them to leave might cause you to over work. Even if they have come to your home to combat illness or for rehabilitation, you need to understand that they are family and you will always be there for them. If caretaking is an issue you can always pitch the idea of moving to a nursing home in Crawley West Sussex, where they might get more care.

Create an “out” situation: In order to back up your reason to having your in-laws move out, you first need to create a plan for them, as to where they would move on. If they are stating with you for health reasons to recover from an illness, you can give them the option of moving to a Haywards Heath nursing home, where they might have better care and amenities. If they are searching for a new house, then help them pick one. Whatever the reason, ensure that they a “go to” plan, because after all they are your family.

Meet with your in laws and spouse about a move out timeline. Communicating is important because you might not see their side of the story unless they listen. While suggesting them to move into a Haywards Heath nursing home or a new house, go and see the property with them to make them feel like you care for them in the end of it all.

Single Parents: How To Feel Secure In Your Home

Steve Cadman

Anybody who has ever slept alone in a creaky old house and woke up in the middle of the night only to hear a suspicious noise knows the terror it can cause. If there is another adult in the house, you don’t feel so worried because there is safety in numbers. When I became a single parent with a young child to take care of, I became anxious throughout the night and found it difficult to sleep. I am the only defense if somebody gets into the house. I know the chances are extremely slim that it would happen, but the fear was there nonetheless. I needed to secure the house for my peace of mind. It turns out that it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

I have been there and done that, so I feel able to advise you on ways to keep yourself and your family safe. Here is how a single parent can feel more secure at home.

Windows And Doors

I asked Eyden Locksmiths for advice concerning my windows and doors. It turns out that the Yale lock on my front door isn’t as secure as a mortice deadlock. I had to ask my dad to fit one for me, but it isn’t as difficult as you might think. Armed with a drill, hammer and sharp chisel, it took about an hour to install. The back door now features one too. In addition to the mortice locks, I fitted sturdy bolts to the top and bottom of both doors. The only way through them now is with a battering ram or a grenade.

There was no facility to lock the handles on any of the opening windows in the house. I swapped them for new ones in only two hours. They are fixed to the windows with two screws each, and because they are a standard size, the new fittings used the same fixing holes. I can now secure all of the windows, and nobody can get in without making a racket.

Alarm

I had heard about wireless alarm systems before but didn’t think I would be able to install one myself. How wrong I was. Everything runs on batteries, so there is no cable to install. If you know how to screw things to the wall, you will have no problem fitting a system in your home. I now have a detector in every downstairs room and a panic button by the front door and in my bedroom. It has been in operation for three months so far, and I haven’t had to change a single battery.

Security Lights

I paid an electrician to install a powerful security light that operates from a detector, on the back of the house. The model I chose came with a chime that I can plug into any socket. When the light comes on, the chime sounds and alerts me. As you can imagine, it was waking me up every time a cat walked by, so I have consigned that to the rubbish bin. The light is fantastic, and I can’t see an intruder wanting to hang around when it is on.

I am satisfied that the house is secure, and it helps me to sleep soundly. Nobody could gain access silently. They would then set the alarm off, and my neighbours would be round like a shot. If you are feeling vulnerable, adopt some or all of these measures in your home. You will not regret it.

4 Fun Recipes to Make With Your Kids

Every mom wants to spend more quality time with her kids, but you feel like there are so many little things to do around the house that you barely have time to spend with your family. You are not alone if you are a mom that struggles with this issue, but there are some great ways for you to solve this problem.

You can turn your productive time around the house into family time as well. Have your kids help with cleaning and home maintenance to keep them active and focused. For fun, you can have your kids help you with the cooking of a few easy and fun meals. This is a great way to teach your kids how to work together, how to cook for themselves, and how to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle. Here are four fun recipes that you can make with your kids today.

Mummy wraps

This is a great Halloween recipe that your kids will love to replicate all year long. It’s the perfect lunch time activity that will satisfy your kids’ hunger and creatively engage them. Simply roll lunch meat into a long cylinder and wrap it with cheese and a tortilla, just like a mummy. You can even make fun faces for your mummy wraps with nuts and seeds to give your kids a fun meal that’s easy and healthy.

Cheese lover’s mac and cheese

This delicious Sargento Cheese Recipes favorite is sure to please every kid you have at your dinner table. Your kids can have fun putting this meal together and watching it bubble in the oven as it bakes. Cook the macaroni and let your kids stack layers of the noodles and the cheese of their choice into a baking dish. Pop it in the oven until everything melts together and enjoy a delicious comfort food with your kids.

French bread pizzas

Pizza is a great way to create a meal that everyone in the family will enjoy, because you can personalize it for everyone’s specific tastes. Cut out the time of making a pizza crust and use French bread slices instead. Let each child make their own, topping with whatever sauce and topping they choose. It is a crowd pleaser that you can make quickly and easily.

Cheesy pull-apart bread

What is better than fresh baked bread? Fresh baked bread stuffed with cheese of course! Your kids will have a blast rolling and kneading the dough and stuffing the cheese inside to create a delectable treat. You can decorate with extra pieces of cheese and dough to make special designs or write initials on top of the bread right before you place it in the oven to make a personal creation for your kids to be proud of. All of these recipes are sure to create laughs and great quality time between you and your kids.

Image: http://www.sargento.com/recipes/1674/four-cheese-mac-cheese/

Sargento covered the costs of the ingredients used in these recipes, but the opinions are my own.

Ideas To Help You Encourage Your Children To Spend More Time Outdoors

Loren Kerns

There is no doubt about it; our kids are spending too much time indoors. They either watch television or play video games for hours on end. Yes, it is easy to cure that problem; unplug the television and throw the games console away. But as the children say; what else is there for them to do? We are an overprotective nation, and we don’t let our little ones out to play anymore. The dangers are no greater now than they ever were, we just hear about them more thanks to the internet. Our children are suffering because of our anxieties, and it is wrong. If something isn’t done about it soon, those who never get to go out unsupervised with their friends will be at a significant disadvantage in life.

I will write more about allowing your children to play away from home without supervision in my next article. It is all about managing the risk. For today, I wish to suggest ways you can encourage them to use your garden more than they do now. It isn’t hard, but you must make an effort to turn the garden into an appealing place for them. Here are a few top tips to help you achieve your goal.

Water Sports

Buy a swimming pool. It is likely to be a massive investment, but it is worth every penny, in my opinion. You can now find fibreglass pool liners online that cut the installation costs and time by half. The filtration equipment and heater comes in kit form too, so they are a DIY job at last.

Alternatively, you could buy a freestanding unit. It will probably not be as big as a sunken pool and will cost about the same. The pool is good for their physical health and gives you a fantastic reason to spend more time together.

Outdoor Entertainment

Your little ones will know the program listings very well, and they will try to go back indoors when a show starts. Why not take the TV outdoors so they can enjoy the fresh it while they watch it. The guys at http://www.thetvshield.com/enclosures say that the products are safe to use and weatherproof. Garden television is the future as far as I am concerned.

Gazebo

Modern gazebos are more like detached conservatories these days. You kids will want to spend time out there because it is such an appealing space. Maybe they could use it as a place to do their homework, or to sit with friends who come round to visit. They will ask you if they can take the video games console out there; the decision is yours.

Apparatus

Swings and slides are as popular today as ever. The best structures also feature a climbing frame and are made from timber that will last for many years. Your kids will have many adventures out there and will come to no harm as long as you have the foresight to put a soft base down in case they fall. I suggest you use a product made from recycled tyres. They are bouncy and durable.

It is much better to tempt kids outside rather than force them. When you install the best features, they will be powerless to resist. Good luck with your mission; perseverance will pay off.

7 Steps To Child Proofing Your Home

There are so many emotions that come when you’re expecting a baby, doesn’t matter if it is your first or your fifth. You worry about the crib and the sheets and you pick out the baby’s first outfit and their first pacifier. However, you should be focused on your baby’s safety at home. About 2.3 million children each year are injured from an accident occurring in the home. All of these accidents could have been avoided if proper childproofing had been done.

#1. Get Down And Dirty

In order to see what your toddler or infant can get into, you have to get down to their level. Yes, that’s right. Get on your hands and knees in every room and just spend a few minutes crawling around. You might hit your head on the coffee table or use the oven door to lift your self up; both of these could cause serious injuries for your child.

#2. Protect Your Outlets

This is one of the most common childproofing tips, but it is still just as important. Those old school plug in plastic clips just are not cutting it anymore. Children can easily pop those out and put then in their mouth and then continue to play with the socket. Instead, try replacing the entire socket; they now sell ones with sliding doors on them that cover the entire outlet, worth the extra money.

#3. Keep Your Cleaning Supplies Secure

Almost everyone keeps cleaning supplies underneath their sink, and your toddler will probably find its way into that cabinet as you’re cooking dinner. You have two options, you can find a locking mechanism for those cabinets or you can move them into a higher cabinet or storage facility.

#4. Make Use Of Gates

Many people use childproof gates to protect their children from going up and down the stairs. However, you can use them to sort of corral your children into one room. You can keep one room closed off that you know is baby proof at all times and keep your child there in quick moments.

#5. The Bathroom

This may seem like an unlikely place for children to get hurt, but as you may know anything can happen when it comes to toddlers. Covering the faucet with something soft is always a good idea, to make so your child doesn’t hurt itself in the chance that they fall.

#6. Windows

Window treatments can be very dangerous for a baby. And you may be thinking to yourself, well duh everyone knows that. But there will be a day when you things just aren’t going your way and you are thinking about too many things and you might forget to keep your toddler away from the window. Just to prevent any accidents from happening make sure that any strings or knobs used to open and close blinds are securely stored high and out of reach from your toddler.

#7. Security

You can never be too sure about keeping your entire family safe. Doing some research I found that http://1stchoicehomesecurity.com//adt/pennsylvania/lower-makefield/ now supplies alarm systems that can arm rooms individually, which means you can arm your child’s room when they are napping and not have to worry about their safety while you are in the kitchen our bathroom.

Just following a few quick tips can help you keep your child out of silly risks that can cause big problems.

Image Source: amazonaws.com

8 Ways You Can Spend More Time With Your Kids

We can all be guilty of not spending enough time together as a family. Kids soon grow up, so it’s important that you spend as much quality time as you can with them while they’re young. This helps to shape them as a person and teach them valuable life lessons/skills. Here are 8 ways you can spend more time with your kids:

Work From Home

Working from home is a great way to spend more time with your kids if they aren’t at school yet. If you have a fantastic idea for a business venture or product, then set out making it a reality! Watch Dragon’s Den to get inspired.

Hire a Housekeeper

Cleaning the house can take up a whole lot of time, and it can feel like it’s all you do at times. By hiring a housekeeper, you can spend much more time with your kids. You’ll also feel much less stressed as you don’t have as much to do! You can find housekeepers in London from Supacare.

Say No to Over Scheduling

Kids need their own hobbies, but make sure you say no to over scheduling. Allow them one after school activity per day, so that you still get to spend time with them. This will also teach them some valuable lessons, such as making decisions.

Limit TV Time

The TV can sometimes be a great way to help kids learn and keep them entertained, but it might not be a good idea to have it on all the time. Try limiting TV time to one or two hours a day in the week, and use the weekends to spend real quality time together. You could even ban TV through the week!

Read to Them Before Bed

Reading to kids before bed helps to develop their imagination and get them into books. Books are great for helping kids to learn and get them excited about literature. Stories from the likes of Roald Dahl are perfect. They’ll always remember this special time you spent together!

Set Aside Time for a Friday Fun Night

Friday is a great day to have a family fun night, as it marks the end of the working week. You could all get a takeaway on this day and play some of your favourite games. It’s a great way to bond as a family!

Always Eat Dinner Together

Eating dinner together is a great family experience that is not practiced very often these days, unfortunately. Don’t have the TV on, eat dinner around the table, and ban subjects that could cause arguments. This will become a fantastic time for everybody to bond!

Play Sports Together

If you enjoy keeping fit, there’s no reason your kids can’t join in. Try playing sports and keeping fit together rather than handing them over to a babysitter! You could even just go on long walks. Remember, you must take time for yourself too. Here are 5 fun ways to spend your down time!

Now you and your kids will bond like never before!

Image Author: Flickr

5 Fun Ways to Spend your Mommy Down-Time

Being a mom is wonderful, but sometimes, we just need some time away from the screaming, crying and fighting of the little ones. Luckily, my children are great nappers so every day in the afternoon, I have two quiet hours to myself which I can spend however I want. While sometimes I’ll take advantage of the time to get things done or to rest, there are times when I want to have some fun and enjoy my afternoon!

With that in mind, here are a few fun ways to spend that wonderful mummy down-time:

1. Crafting
I love to craft for the holidays and I find it a lot of fun to either create something completely new and unique, or follow instructions from a craft I found online. It can be such a joy to create a beautiful craft that will adorn the home, and the process itself can be a great way to blow some steam and get the creative juices flowing. Plus, once the kids wake up, they often like to help me out, so I give them small tasks they can handle. It’s a good educational tool and keeps them busy.

2. Watch a movie or TV show
The one thing about parenting that no one tells you is that you can forget about having a favorite TV show or watching the latest movies. You will soon discover that you will either (a) not have the time (b) be too exhausted to watch anything or (c) your movies and TV shows will now be cartoons and children’s shows. So sometimes, I take those two daily hours to sit in front of the television and watch whatever I want! Whether it’s sitcoms, drama, a superhero movie that is not meant for little kids, or even a talk show, it’s enjoyable to watch the screen and let go of responsibilities for a short while.

3. Online games
I love the challenge and adrenaline rush of playing online games, especially casino games, which have been a long time favorite of mine. I used to player card games with my friends long before we all had little ones tugging at our skirts, so now we either play with each other online or I go into casino sites and amp up the excitement by gambling a little. Finding the best online casinos to join is not difficult because there are plenty of reviews and lists online. For more details see wwwOnlineCasino.ca where you can find an easy-to-read list of the best casino sites.

4. Call your friends
As busy moms, we tend to forget about our friends, especially those that are not yet moms. For the sake of our sanity, our social life has to reach out beyond play dates with other parents. I like to spend my down-time to catch up with my friends by phone, hear what they are going through, the latest gossip, their relationship issues, and so on. There used to be a time when speaking on the phone with them was a regular occurrence so although we can no longer have that, I still enjoy our sporadic conversations and catch-ups!

5. Zumba
This may sound strange, but I’ve noticed that the best time to exercise at home is during the kids’ naps! I found some amazing Youtube Zumba instructors whose choreography I can follow easily. I watch the videos on full screen, put some sound on, and enjoy about an hour or so of fun Zumba dancing. Not only do I have a fun time with the choreography, it’s also a great work out that keeps me healthy, fit and looking great for my husband and most importantly, for myself!

So there you have it! This is how I spend my mommy down-time when I want to have fun.

A Handy Cheatsheet for Keeping the Kids Entertained on a Long Journey

If you’ve ever had to undertake a long journey with young children in tow then you’re probably already all-too-familiar with how challenging this can be. If you’re traveling by car, this can be difficult enough. But if you’re using public transport, the experience can prove to be even more of a challenge. People aren’t always quite as patient with children as perhaps they should be. So, if yours are crying because they’re bored or tired, you may end up being faced with a barrage of filthy looks and unsympathetic faces.

So, to help ensure that your next trip with the children doesn’t end up being the journey from hell, we strongly advise that you take a few minutes to read this post.

Have Plenty to Keep them Entertained

Thanks to the amazing advancements in modern technology, keeping the kids entertained on a long journey isn’t half as hard as it used to be. In the not-so-distant past, parents were forced to lug coloring books, crayons, jigsaws and Lego onto planes, trains and automobiles. Nowadays, moms and dads can thankfully travel a little lighter. Cell phones and tablets have all manner of games and applications to keep the little ones occupied.

Just make sure you set some parental locks on the device beforehand to prevent spending a fortune on accidental in-app purchases. Just as important is to make sure that your phone or tablet has got plenty of battery life. The last thing you want is to run out of juice, and then have to deal with a bored and restless child for the remainder of the journey. For this reason, it’s also always best to have a back-up plan in place. So, chuck a couple of activity books and Zebra pen refills into a bag to give you that extra peace of mind.

Have a Good Old Fashioned Sing-Song

This is one probably best kept for family-only road trips, where you’re traveling by car. Kids love anything interactive, and there are countless traditional car songs that require you to interact as a family, as well as sing. ‘Wheels on the bus’ is a rather obvious choice, but the song endures for a reason – both kids and adults love it! For older kids, singing a favorite family pop song works just as well.

Car Games

Traditional car games such as the ‘license plate game’ are another great way of stopping boredom from setting in when you’re traveling for long periods at a time. You can also use it as an opportunity to test your kid’s geography skills. Even if your child is yet to go to school, there’s nothing wrong with starting them young! Ask them questions about the environment around them. Also, make sure they at least have a vague understanding of where it is they’re going. Encouraging them to be interested in, and ask questions about, the world around them will place them in good stead for their future education.

Now you’re armed with plenty of ideas and inspiration. So, just follow our advice and you’ll never have to contend with bored children on a long journey again!

Image Source: Flickr

4 Ways to Earn Money Working Online You May Not Have Considered

Whether you are a stay at home parent or work in a low paid job, you may be looking for ways to earn extra money to supplement your current income. Nowadays, there are plenty of money making opportunities online via an internet connection and a personal computer. Besides the usual things such as selling things through eBay or Amazon and writing blogs, there are still other options out there that you may not have even considered.

Sell Your Own Music

Many years ago you may recall Radiohead making headlines by self-promoting and selling one of their albums ahead of the physical release by offering it through a “name your price” format. Although your music might not have the same commercial pull as Radiohead, selling your music online can be a great way to build a following and a name for yourself. By cutting out all the middlemen involved in traditional recording and promotional contracts, the small number of sales you might make might be more than what you would earn doing it the other way.

Work as a Freelance Designer

There are a number of options open to you if you are a particularly creative person and have qualifications and experience working as a designer. You could either create your own website that showcases your portfolio or work through various existing freelance sites such as oDesk and Freelancer. Although it may take a bit of time to really get the income flowing by working this way, it is much easier than other options out there and means you can do it all from the comfort of your own home.

Sell Stock Photos

If you have an interest in photography, you may be able to turn your hobby into a money making enterprise. Millions of people use search engines every day to find stock photos. Although you will obviously have to get out and about to take the snaps, it is hardly the most taxing or boring type of work you could be doing. It should be noted that while you will not earn very much per image and sale, the more images you upload and put up for sale, the more money you will earn on a monthly basis. One of the best things is that once you have uploaded the photos you don’t really have to do anything else.

Sell Articles or Essays

Writing is one of the best and easiest ways to earn money online, well if you enjoy writing that is. If you have a real skill for writing, you can use that skill to earn money either by writing articles for internet marketers or by working through an essay writing service such as essaybro.com. Millions of people out there are looking for content either for their websites or as part of their coursework for University and are willing to pay good prices for you to do all the hard work.

There are many other ways to earn money online, but we highlighted the ones above as they are particularly interesting methods that you may not have considered before.

Planning Your Wedding With the Kids in Tow

Planning your big day with your beloved is a special time in any relationship. When you have children together, this can heighten the sense of togetherness. For many couples, they have made the decision to have children first, and conclude with the formalities later. Of course, planning your wedding day when you have children in tow can make the affair a little more stressful. No one said that planning a wedding would be a stress-free endeavour.

With thanks to Ali Nishan for the image

But, there are some utterly perfect ways that you can plan your big day after you have had children. Let’s take a look at how this can be done:

Include Your Children in More Ways Than One

Of course, you will want your children to be flower girls, page boys and important parts of your day. This goes without saying. But, you can include them in the planning stages of your special day. For many couples, getting a child’s perspective on proceedings can add to the romanticism of their big day. Take them to your preferred venues and get their opinions on things. Kids are known to be brutally honest. Getting their opinion is important. It can add a lot more to the affair.

Request that your kids help you with the smaller details too. Wedding card designs, dresses and flowers are all important parts of the day. See how the children feel about these things and use their ideas. Utilising your kids’ ideas will make your wedding day even more special. Completing these tasks as a family will heighten your feelings of togetherness.

Ask your children to do a reading or say a few words in front of your guests. Ask them to write a poem about their mummy and daddy. Poems are the perfect way to include your children in the main event. It’s fair to say; you won’t have a dry eye in the house.

Planning is Everything

Factoring in your kids needs on your big day is important. While you may feel that your big day is about you, you need to consider how they are going to feel during the main event. They may feel tired and irritable. What’s more, they will want to snack throughout the day, not wait for a big meal. You need to incorporate their schedule into your wedding day plans and timetable. This will make for a more enjoyable experience for all. The extra planning may seem like a burden, but it will help your day go more smoothly.

Budgeting and Money Matters

When you have children, your priorities change. You may have dreamt of the big white wedding. But, if you cannot afford this with the kids in tow, it may be time to be more realistic about your plans. You can still have a lavish big day, but you may need to invite fewer people. Keep your guest list small and intimate. Stick to close friends and family. What is more, if your kids know the guests at your wedding, they will feel more comfortable. A room full of strangers can be intimidating. Plus, you will have a lot of extra hands to help with babysitting duties.

Revolution Mother