I had a pair of heart sunglasses when I was a kid; one side was pink and the other was blue.  Looking back, I probably looked as much like Elton John wearing them as Seven does:

Get more Wordless Wednesday at WordlessWednesday.com and 5 Minutes 4 Mom.

Life in Alaska is much different than anywhere else (except Antarctica, or course, but no one tries to live a normal life there).  Our poor frozen car (pictured at left) finally started yesterday after we had it plugged in for hours. 

Have you ever wondered what our limited daylight looks like in Alaska?  It’s only light for 4 hours a day right now, and the light looks like the dreary gray ice fog you seen in these pictures.  Not unlike a Tim Burton movie, I must say.  Maybe he should move here – he’d love it! 

Some days blogging is hard.  Some days living is hard.  Some days all you can blog about is what you see around you.  That is the snapshot of our life.

Snapshot of Our Life: January 17, 2012

Where are we?  We’re still in Fairbanks, Alaska.

What is the temperature?   Cold!  It’s 37 below and no warm up predicted in the 3 day forecast.

What did we do today?  Michael and I have been waiting for it to warm up so we could go do some business errands.  Unfortunately, it’s been 2 weeks of this weather and we couldn’t wait anymore. So we bundled up the kids and headed out to do the errands. 

When we got to the bank, it was dark and freezing cold, but we had to haul everybody inside because we both needed to sign for a new account.  The kids were restless, crying, whining, and bored.  Don’t get me wrong – they were really well behaved for their allotted time of behavior.  The woman helping us took so long for everything that we were there for an hour and a half.  There’s no way I expect the kids to stay occupied and quiet for that long! 

Truett crawled under her desk and cracked his head so loudly on the desk that it seemed to echo through the whole bank!  He had a giant lump on the top of his head after that and cried a lot.  Then he stuck his fingers under the cubicle dividers and found a penny.  I’m glad he didn’t get his fingers stuck under there, but he was just glad to be a penny richer!

Seven wouldn’t keep her boots or socks on in the bank.  She’d take them off and throw them over and over again.  It was quite obvious that the employee didn’t have children as she laughed nervously and (I’m sure) wished someone else had gotten our transaction!

When we had to run (as fast as I could sprint pushing 2 babies in a double stroller) all the way from the doors to the car in almost 40 below temperatures, my face was frozen.  The girls’ faces were mottled red and white and they were cold to the bone.  Tears were streaming from Seven’s eyes even though she wasn’t crying – it was just the cold making them water. 

We buckled everyone in as fast as we could and Michael dismantled the double stroller and packed it in to the car while I started the car and wished it would get warm faster.  Seven wouldn’t leave her mittens on and was yelling to me, “Fingers cold! Fingers cold!”

This is our street in the afternoon:

How was I frugal today? We planned a splurge for our outing of McDonald’s since we were out and had coupons to use. Michael went through the drive through to use our meal deal coupon while I went inside to get our free chicken McBites with a coupon that came in the mail. I was surprised when they rang up the freebie that it would have cost $2.40! I’m so frugal that I looked through the recycling bin at the post office and found another set of McDonald’s coupons that someone had thrown away. So you guessed it – we’ve got one more freebie for a rainy (I mean snowy) day.

How am I feeling today?  I feel better knowing that we won’t have to take the kids out for any cold weather errands hopefully until this cold spell breaks.  I’m a little down that I didn’t work out today and ate McDonald’s as a splurge.

What does our living room look like?  It’s clean and neat, as it usually is.  We make the kids put away all the toys before they leave the room to do anything else.  Today I arranged the floor cushions into ’stairs’ so the babies could climb up them.

What is planned for tomorrow?  Tomorrow is the SOPA blackout, so a lot of websites will be shut down for the protest.  We’ll do work for clients, but not much else can be done until Thursday.

Pictured above, left-right: Michael Simmons, Danelle Ice, Barb Chasteen, Jerry Chasteen.

Barb blogs over at The Forever Neighbor and it was actually through our blogs that we met before Barb came to Alaska 2 years ago. 

Now, we can’t imagine life not knowing them.  They’re godparents to our children and our best friends in the whole world!

A few weeks ago, Truett got to play Scrabble Junior with the kids:

And, of course, we got the “goodbye” group photos:

We can’t wait to go visit them during our RV trek across the country!

Some days blogging is hard.  Some days living is hard.  Some days all you can blog about is what you see around you.  That is the snapshot of our life.

Snapshot of Our Life: January 16, 2012

Where are we?  We’re living in Fairbanks, Alaska in the first house we ever bought.  We are moving away and planning to sell the house soon. 

What is the temperature?   The temperature in Fairbanks is 40 below zero today.  It’s been between 35 below and 50 below for weeks straight.  I’m cold and I just want it to warm up.   It’s cold and dark every single day…  Every morning we all guess the temperature before we check it.  Truett sings a song called “40 below, temperature low”.  You guessed it- those are the only words in the song!

I took a picture of the thermometer on our front porch yesterday.  It’s hard to see through the snow and ice fog:

What did I do today?  Today was a holiday (MLK day) so most businesses were closed.  We stayed home and I posted items for sale on Craigslist to get ready for our move.  Grandma Carolyn (Michael’s mom) came over to visit tonight and bring Seven a birthday present.  Here I am with the kids (time for a touch up on the old roots, I know!).  

How am I feeling today?  I feel down today.  There are only 4 hours of daylight each day and I’m really feeling the Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) this winter.  I’m tired and not feeling well.  Plus, we called Hannah today and that always makes things a little sadder… lots of crying.  She dumped us.  She dumped our family. 

Poor little Truett talked to her tonight too.  He asked Hannah why she didn’t have a “date” with him.  He used to ask her on a date, which to him meant she would walk down the hallway with him, holding hands, and play a board game together in his room.  The last time he asked her (the week before she left us), she told him no. 

After we got off the phone tonight he cried and cried in his room and asked me why she didn’t want to come back.  He asked me why she didn’t want to be part of our family anymore.   He’s still crying in his bed now, and it’s been 2 hours since we hung up.

What does our living room look like?  The floor cushions get reconfigured every day for loads of fun (today they were just for sitting, but some days they are a train track, some days they’re stacked up into “stairs” for climbing).  The supergate around the perimeter still keeps the babies from messing with the baseboard heaters. 

What did the kids do today?  They visited with Grandma when she came over.  Seven opened her presents (a shirt, glittery skirt, and super fancy dress) and modeled them all for us!  Truett was wearing his Scooby Doo shirt for the second day in a row.  We should have just bought him 7 Scooby shirts and left the wardrobe at that!

Prynne is trying to walk.  She stands up with her toy stroller and pushes it along, walking while holding on across the whole living room.  Prynne also “drives her car”, or walks in her walker in the kitchen.  Unfortunately for our cabinets, she can only drive in reverse!

Seven is daring and practices her balance and somersaults, even on uneven ground.  I love those polka dotted tights!  They’re so cute I wish she could wear them every day!  The windows are also completely iced up, which is why you can see towels in every window sill.  Seven’s talking is better every day.  Her favorite sayings are, “Hep you,  Daddy”, “ope it peese” (open it please),  and “meeeeeee?!?!”

All three of the kids are able to play together now.  It’s fascinating to watch.  Today, all 3 were playing in the toy tent:

What is planned for tomorrow?  I plan to get up early and pray a little harder.  A little hard work and prayer never hurt anyone!

This event wasn’t something I got emotional about for the other kids, but Prynne is bringing up the end of the parade as the last baby in the family.  Therefore, her first haircut is the last first haircut there will be… until grandkids, that is.

Before

Prynne still doesn’t have much hair, since she’s only 11 months old.  However, she had grown hair to a point down the center of her forehead which made her look like Kenickie from the movie Grease!  Clearly, it was time for Prynne’s first haircut.

I took on the huge project of the 1-snip baby bangs trim!  I combed her hair point together:

Next, daddy took pictures while I made the first and last snip of the baby haircut:

After

With her greaser hairstyle gone and baby bangs finally where they belonged, we jazzed up her hairdo with a pretty pink headband!

Ta Da!  Prynne shows off her new bangs for the camera!

Of course, Prynne took the headband off right after we snapped the pictures, but now she has bangs and not mis-matched hair lengths growing at different speeds!  And now that the last first haircut is behind us, we’re dreading the emotions of the last first birthday next month!

Prynne’s First Haircut: The last First is linked to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes 4 Mom, A Renaissance Woman, A Work in Progress, Barefoot Mahala,  Be There 2 Day, Brookie’s Baby Bargains, Busy Working Mama, By Word of Mouth, Carrie with Children, Crazy About My Baybah, Create with Joy,  Frugal Plus, Frugality is Free,  Gaynycdad, In Him We Live,  JaMonkey, Kibitz Spot,  Letters From Momma, Making Mama Happy, Mama to 4 Blessings, Mom Caboodle, Mom’s Own Words, My Thoughts and Ramblings,  NYC Single Mom, One Smiley Monkey, Parenting by Dummies, Princesscj Haven,  Sakura haruka, Saving with SaveOne, Shasher’s Life,  Terri’s Little Haven, Thriving Despite Us, Toronto Teacher Mom, and Tots and Me.

During this process I also stumbled upon matching family outfits, which are great for family portraits.  These aren’t identical so each person looks like a carbon copy, but they are different clothing pieces in matching or coordinated colors or patterns. 

Matching Family Outfits

Wooden Soldier – They have whole family matching outfits that you can mix ad match.

Hartstrings

Love Your Family

Maui Shirts

Myah & Me: These family shirt sets follow a theme.  For example, the bear family set shirts say papa bear, mama bear, baby bear, etc.

Hanna Andersson: It looks like the “family Collections” are only available at holiday time.

Out of Business:  My Little Blessings and Nikki Knits are no longer in business.

Matching Mother and Daughter (and Doll) Outfits

Dolly & Me:  They have mother/daughter (and dolly dresses to fit American Girl dolls) sets for dresses, nightgowns, aprons, and more.  They also have daughter and doll matching sets.

Match Me Apparel (formerly Plowshares): They have mother and child matching sets (plus dolls) as well as matching brother / sister outfits.  They have dressy sets and casual sets.  It’s too bad Dad is missing from the collections!

Out of business: Jane Ellen, Lydia of Purple, Pigtails Dresses, Storybook Heirlooms.

Matching Brother and Sister Outfits

LainaLine: Matching dresses and hats for girls to match the coordinating vest for boys.

CWD Kids (Cute Well-Dressed Kids): They have brother / sister coordinating sets and  sister / sister ( big girl and little girl matching clothes).

Best Dressed Kids: They have mother / daughter dress alikes and brother / sister dress alikes.

Just Multiples:  Outfits for twins, triplets, and other multiples.

Twin Store: More matching family outfits for sister/sister and brother/sister twins and multiples.

Art & Soul by Bercot: This company no longer has matching family clothing.

Out of business: One of a Kind Kid, Sibling Wear

Matching Father and Son Outfits

Beau Ties LTD of Vermont: Matching father and son ties for all occastions.  They have regular ties as well as bow ties.

Matcheez: They have matching hats and matching father/son ties too.

If you know of any other stores which offer matching family outfits or matching sibling clothes, please leave a comment below so we can add it to the list!

There’s No Place Like Home, But…

The saying goes that there’s no place like home, but does it really matter where home is?  I feel that no matter where I am, as long as I’m with my family, that’s home enough for me.  So what if our home has to become the open road?  Let me explain what’s been going on over the last 4 months, and why my mindset has shifted to living more minimally and happily. 

Takedown #1:  Goodbye husband’s income.  In September 2011, my husband and I got the shock of our lives: he was laid off from his job of 11 years with no warning.  After months of working 12-15 hour days, 7 days a week, he was just let go with no reason and, even worse, no severance package.  We were completely unprepared, but figured we could live on my income until he found another job. Not so fast, Ice-Simmons family…

Takedown #2:  Goodbye my income.  After 4 years, my company’s biggest contract (which 90% of our income came from) was cancelled.  This shocking news came just a few weeks after my husband lost his job!  Again, this loss of income was with no advance warning and no reason given.

You can imagine that at this point we started to get worried about how we would make ends meet.  Even though we’d been praying a lot about our financial situation, we started praying even harder!  We had so many questions and sleepless nights.  “How will we pay our house payment?”  “How will we buy groceries?”  “What if someone gets sick now that our health insurance is gone?” 

Above: You can see me getting mobbed by my children as I tried to make a quick run to the grocery store!  It’s nice to be wanted!

Whenever I start to feel like everything is going wrong, my mind always turns to Job’s trials and misfortunes and I think of how much worse things could be.  I also remind myself that the worst has probably not come yet, and that sometimes we have to lose everything we think we need to find what we are really supposed to have.

Takedown #3: Goodbye child.  For the last 7 years, we have split custody of my step-daughter. A few weeks ago we found out that her other custodial parent was going to sue us (for a 3rd time) for full custody, and at 12 years old she can legally choose the other house (where chores, homework, and bedtimes do not exist).  Since the attorney fees would cost so much that we would certainly lose our home to foreclosure, we had no choice but to give up custody.  So she left our house for good a few days before Christmas.

In the end there was nothing we could do but accept the facts: We’ve lost a child and we will lose our house if we can’t sell it at a discount first. 

Turning Over a New Leaf: Mobility

So we’re going from a family of 6 to a family of 5, we have accepted this.  We can definitely get by in a smaller house.  We’ve already gone mostly minimalist and are cutting down even more by extreme decluttering and selling unneeded items on Craigslist.

Our most shocking decision was this: we’re going to sell our house and travel the country in a motorhome for a year!

In our American culture, so much importance is on “putting down roots”, focusing on “security”, and length of time at one address, job, or career field.  Credit applications and employers consider these factors as part of the complete picture of you as a ‘reliable’ person. 

However, the Bible talks about ‘seasons’ in life and I believe our family is entering a new and completely different season of life.  We are going to become totally mobile, toting our little ones with us through all the small towns and over the interstates until we find the perfect place for us.  Maybe it will take longer than a year; I have no way of knowing what this adventure will look like!

Teresa asked me if we’ll be blogging about our trip, and the logical answer was, “Of course”, since my whole life is public through my blogging anyway.  We’ll both be working on the road (my husband with freelance technical writing and me with my work at IS World Media and Home Ever After), and chances are we’ll be coming to a town near you during our Mobile Lifestyle expedition.  My husband even found that there are already families doing what we plan to do, so we’ll have a support group online to help us with our learning along the way!

We’ve turned some major setbacks from the last year into the makings of an exciting new leaf to turn over for the new year.  2012 might just be alright after all!

I’m always sad when a product I use is discontinued, and for some of you that is the case with Primatene Mist asthma inhalers.  If you use it and want to stock up, this is your chance.

Buy Primatene Mist Asthma Inhaler at drugstore.com before it’s gone!

These inhalers are being taken off the market for environmental reasons and the manufacturer has to come up with a friendlier-to-the-environment version of this popular inhaler.  In the meantime, Primatene Mist inhalers will be pulled from shelves and no longer sold on January 1, 2012. 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.

In two words, ‘Good living’ sums up what Home Ever After is all about.  Our mission has always been about helping people live a full and happy life by teaching life skills, providing ways to save money and provide for your family within your means,  and encouragement that helps us be well-rounded individuals who can help others. 

To shorten up that definition, I guess you could say we give people a “glimpse of good living”.

As it turns out, Good Living was God’s idea, not mine!  The Bible tells us why it’s so important to not only live a good life, but share that good living with others so that it is a testimony to God’s goodness:

“Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society.

Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God.

Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns.

You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.”

                  ~ Philippians 2:15, The Message Bible 

Take just one small step today to design your ‘good living’ to honor the Lord and help others see his light!

The Home Ever After Daily Lantern shares passages from the Bible which help to light our path in the darkness of uncertainty, because He’s the only one that knows for sure and can give us sound advice from parent to child.

"Watch, work, and wait on the Lord"

-church sign

We have so many great friends that share our site, and Wendy is one that might go unnoticed sometimes because she’s a little quiet but a big part of the many moms that make the Home Ever After community great!

Yesterday was Olivia’s birthday.  She was a beautiful and strong little girl that left this world too soon.  You can see pictures of the angel Olivia here. Olicia Grace was born 12/9/92 and went to the Lord on 11/18/04.

Please remember to say a prayer for our wonderful friend Wendy today as she celebrates her daughter’s birthday without her.  Please just say a quick prayer – even a few words, before you leave this post and go on with your day, for comfort for her.  Missing your baby is something that no mama should ever have to do, and my heart goes out to Wendy in her sadness that only God can heal.   

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."                                    -Matthew 19:14

Photo credit.

The following is a guest post.  Danae Matthews is lives in San Francisco. She writes for the on-line health resource Women’s Health Base, which strives to provide unique and informative content to women everywhere!

When I was growing up staying healthy wasn’t a huge concern for me or any of my friends. All we wanted to do was run around, get dirty and play until the sun set. Looking back I realize that I was lucky to have not gotten sick more than I did. We shared everything- lip balm, water bottles, food etc. It wasn’t that our parents didn’t tell us not to, I guess it was just that back we didn’t think about it as much.

The funny thing is that those days aren’t that far behind us.

For all the over-protective parents and obsessive worrying, by and large kids are healthy. The CDC reports that 82% of school-aged children are in excellent or very good health. Those who miss 11 or more days of school in a year because of illness? 5%.

The number that is more astounding isn’t the number of sick kids, but the number of overweight ones. A staggering 20% of school-aged children are obese. This is a statistic we may need to be more aware of given the overwhelming access that children have to junk food and the fact that many public schools don’t properly adhere to the healthiest food options.

Although playgrounds and classrooms can be a breeding ground for bacteria, it is important to remember that your child is as clean as you advise and teach them to be. It is important to teach them the fundamentals of cleanliness and nutrition at home so they can be the most prepared as possible while away at school.

A few great tips for a healthy school year:

• Buy your child a pocket hand-sanitizer that he/she can use after recess or before lunch if they don’t have immediate access to the bathroom. These come in all sorts of colors, scents and attached on cool chains. Let your child pick their favorite!

• Try out different healthy snacks with your kid and find a few that they like the best. Instead of just packing them something they don’t like (and will throw away as soon as they get to school) work together to find something delicious. Three square meals is bound to leave a growing child hungry, so snacking is a great way to avoid over-eating during regular meals. Avoid pre-packaged snacks. Think nuts, fruits, vegetables and hummus dip etc.

• Teach simple tricks to make sure that your child understands hygiene. This may seem like a give way, but I think we have all been somewhere and seen a child pick his nose or sneeze/cough into the air right in front of their observing parent. Make sure this is not your child! Send your child to school with a packet of to-go tissues and instruct them to sneeze into them when possible- if not always into the crook of their elbow.

• Now obviously you can’t be a watchdog, but it is vital to stress the importance of personal space and belongings. Your child should avoid sharing anything that has touched someone else’s mouth. Simply put: if it has touched someone else’s lips it’s off limits.

• I don’t advocate forcing your children to join a sport or activity. However, sitting in front of the television all night is an activity you can completely regulate. If they want to do that, then make them earn it by doing some activity. One hour of television for a one hour walk with the family to the park. This way you are not only doing something that bonds your whole family unit, you are also working exercise in to your child’s day and your own.

• Sleep, sleep, sleep! Make sure that your child is getting to sleep on time. Granted now with all the technology out there this may be a bit more difficult. Try to limit the amount of initial access that your child has to distractions. For example: a child in elementary school probably doesn’t need a smart phone, a computer or a TV in their bedroom. This way they can’t stay up past their bedtime watching TV all night long instead of sleeping.

Disclaimer: These health tips are not offered as medical advice and blogger is not a medical professional, she is just offering practical advice from her own experience and knowledge.

The following article is a guest post by writer Esther Anderson.  Esther likes to write about crafts, parties, personal finance & how to improve her credit score (you can visit her site there for more of her tips!).

5 Steps for Making Recycled Candles Before a Power Outage

Fall is a great time to spend some time inside preparing for winter. During the fall, check and make sure that you have enough candles in case the power fails during the cold winter months.

If you do not have enough, then involve the family in making some fun crayon ice candles. By following these four easy steps, you can recycle items that you probably have lying around your house and you can be assured of having enough light when the power fails.

Read this too: Emergency Preparedness for the Pantry: Checklists To Get You Ready

1. Gather Supplies First, gather up any broken crayons that your kids will not color with any more, a pillar candle that has seen its better days, chipped ice and a cardboard milk carton from the school lunchroom. Do not use washable crayons. If you do not have enough old crayons, then use a great coupon at your local craft store to purchase additional wax.

2. Prepare the Milk Carton
Secondly, place the tapered candle into the middle of the milk carton. If the candle is taller than the milk carton, cut it off at the same height and make more than one candle. If the candle is shorter than the milk carton, cut off the milk carton at the same height as the top of the candle. If you do not have an old tapered candle, then you can buy wicks at major craft stores.

3. Melt the Crayons

Now, melt the crayons in a double boiler.

(No double boiler?  You can make a “homemade” double boiler to use:  Fill a large pot with water and then put in a coffee tin or other large can. Put the can in the water. Or, use 2 saucepans, 1 a little larger than the other.  Add some water to the bigger pan and then put the smaller pan inside.)

Melt the old crayons over medium high heat. It is imperative that you are extremely careful with the hot wax as it can easily burn you. If you do not have enough old crayons to fill the milk carton when melted, then consider adding more old candles or new wax brought at the store with coupons.

Read this too:  Rethinking Emergency Preparedness for Bombings After Jericho

4. Add the Ice Next, fill the rest of the milk carton with the crushed ice. Make sure that the old tapered candle stays in the middle of the milk carton. Make sure that the ice is crushed fine. If the pieces are too large, then the candle will not hold together.

5. Allow the Candle to Dry Then, allow the finished product to dry. The ice will melt leaving beautiful holes in your candle. It is better to leave these candles in the milk carton mold for at least 24 hours before tearing off the milk carton. The longer you allow the candle to sit, the stronger the finished product will be.

These candles can be fragile. They make great decorations when placed on a table. Make sure not to light them until you have a power outage. They will burn for many hours. They should be placed on top of a saucer so the wax does not drip on the table.

Get the kids involved in making these candles and have a great time preparing for winter!  The kids will then be excited about using their candles when the power does fail.

While we’re on the subject of preparing for winter, go read Winter Checklist – 99 Ways to Get Ready For Winter.

Photo credit: Candle photo by Leland Francisco.  Some rights reserved.

“Oh NO, Dad!  We didn’t get ANY VEGGIES!” 

Truett’s my stickler for balanced food groups. *sigh* My legacy goes on without me! 

But seriously, they have a great time with Dad when I’m working, and since he’s been home since being laid off from his job in September, they’ve gotten so used to him being home that I don’t know what they’d do without him!

Overheard from the dining room is linked to WordlessWednesday.com and 5 Minutes 4 Mom.

It was summertime in the photo, so I was probably around 6 months old in the baby photo.  The picture below is me with my youngest daughter, Prynne Ice-Simmons, when she was 6 months old.  Do you see any resemblance between those babies?  I sure do!

Get more Wordless Wednesday at WordlessWednesday.com and 5 Minutes 4 Mom.

She doesn’t remember that we weren’t allowed to go in to the event, because they hadn’t printed on our invitation that no children were allowed. 

Once inside, they told us we had to leave with her, they offered a “chocolate covered strawberry for the child”, and gave us free passes to come to the museum some other day (which I still have but have never used).

We left the museum and took her outside, where she stood on the sidewalk, overjoyed about her treasure, and ate every bit of chocolate off of that strawberry. 

And so, this chocolate covered strawberry was Hannah’s first rejection notice, but she didn’t even realize it.  And she took it with a smile!

It stars Kirk Cameron in a story about a couple who is ready to get divorced because life has caused them to grow apart.  The movie is broken up into 12 videos, which are all linked to below.

Has Fireproof changed your life?  Leave a comment below.

Fireproof Movie part 1 

Fireproof Movie part 2

Fireproof Movie part 3

Fireproof Movie part 4

Fireproof Movie part 5

Fireproof Movie part 6

Fireproof Movie part 7

Fireproof Movie part 8

Fireproof Movie part 9

Fireproof Movie part 10

Fireproof Movie part 11

Fireproof Movie part 12

Chances are that you are even related to someone who has or has had breast cancer.  (I have a cousin by marriage that has had breast cancer twice.)

Check out the statistics, facts and tidbits in the breast cancer infographic below by obizmedia

If you are a subscriber, you’ll have to click this link to see the Myths and Facts About Breast Cancer infographic.

Since many people say the cost of having a baby is one of the main reasons they choose not to have more children, we figured this infographic was worth a look. 

Here are my methods:

• Disposable and cloth diapers (we use both)
• Store bought and home made baby food (we use both)
• Regular cribs
• Formula and breast milk (we use both)
• 2nd hand baby products (for the items which are safe the second time around)
• Budget crib bedding
• Family daycare (grandma watches the kids once a year so we can go to a movie!)
• Stay at home childcare – my husband and I are both lucky enough to be at home right now. It’s much cheaper than daycare!

Take a gander at the roadmap of baby spending and saving below and let us know in the comments: which way is best for you and why?

Click to Enlarge Image
 

When kids share bedrooms, a family can benefit in many ways.  But it’s not as easy as putting them in a room and having everything go perfectly… when your children are sharing bedrooms, you can run into some difficulties as well. 

These mom tips for kids sharing a bedroom will help you to work through some of the possible problems to make the best of the situation!

Kids sharing a bedroom is good in a lot of ways.  It can be a great opportunity for kids to bond with each other, as well as learning to share space and having to work through compromises and conflict resolution. 

Having your kids share bedrooms can also be helpful on your family budget, especially if you have a large family but the budget for a small house.

On the other hand, when kids share a room, it can also lead to constant squabbles and you will need to intervene to give guidance from time to time. Here are some mom tips to help you set up a shared bedroom for the kids.

Mom Tips for Setting Up a Shared Kids’ Bedroom

Since the kids are going to share the room, they should at least be given the opportunity to select the color and décor of their side of the room. This way they feel they have designed their own side and be proud of it, while not interfering with the other’s section of the room.

Have room rules finalized with the kids and put them up somewhere in the room. Some examples of room rules can be:

• Knock before entering the room, but don’t lock the door unless it’s necessary.
• Don’t mess with each other’s things.
• Be tidy and don’t give the other a chance to complain about your messes.
• Ask for permission before using the sibling’s things.
• Always return borrowed things in time and in good shape.
• Ask before bringing friends into the room.

These rules will bring a certain amount of self-discipline to the children, as they’ll be able to police themselves and each other to make sure the rules are followed.

Give each kid a special area or something like a basket for storing their secret treasures. Instead of finding their things all over the place, if you give them a defined location they will make sure that they place important things only here.

Give them each a responsibility regarding the maintaining and cleaning up of the room, such as making the beds, picking up their dirty clothes and putting them in the laundry, etc. Switch the responsibilities from time to time, or make it so they each maintain their own sides.

Intervene when the children have issues, but only to teach them methods to constructively figure out solutions themselves. Explain to them the importance of respecting each other’s likes and dislikes and remind them of the golden rule.

Give each child a desk (if possible) and an area in the room where they can study, read or do other solitary activities they wish. Don’t push them to do all activities together just because they are sharing a room. Let them choose their own schedules (with your approval, of course), but let them have a say too.

If you have your kids share rooms, set up a good environment, and provide necessary guidance every now and then, the kids will learn to enjoy each other’s company and how to work through difficulties.  This can be a valuable experience before having to share a dorm room in college, or even for learning to live with a spouse or roommate as an adult later in life.

We originally published Family Friday: Mom Tips for When Kids Share Rooms on May 28, 2009.  Photo credit: Mads Boedker .

Family Friday: Time to Share!

Now it’s time for you to share your Family Friday post with the rest of us!  If you’re not sure how it works, read the directions and guidelines for Family Friday here.  Feel free to grab the badge at left for you post or sidebar if you want!

Please add your family-related blog post below in the Mr. Linky. Remember, you MUST link your post back to HomeEverAfter.com.

How to Get Back Your Body After Baby

Now that the marathon of pregnancy and birth has come to an end, you are probably ready to start working on getting your pre-pregnancy body back.

The shape of your body after baby is very different from what it was before, and now that your giant belly is out of the way, chances are you are focusing more on the changes that were overshadowed before! A squishy stomach, extra weight, stretch marks, cellulite and sagging skin are the most common complaints by post delivery moms.

You wonder if your body after baby will ever return to the way it was before. The answer is yes…and no. While you will be able to eat healthy and exercise to shed the extra pounds, pregnancy permanently alters the shape of your body. Some things, such as larger feet, less fullness in the breasts and wider hips, are unavoidable. Just view them as the necessary battle wounds of giving birth!

Those that maintained a healthy diet and workout plan during pregnancy will have an easier time getting back their pre-baby figure. If you are in the category of moms who could hardly find the energy to make it to the supermarket, let alone the gym, you may take longer to shed those extra pounds, but it can be done.

Creating a Post-Baby Workout Routine

Don’t expect to lose all of the weight in a month. It took 9 months to gain the weight and will probably take close to that long to lose it. You will want to start out slowly, implementing a workout routine that fits into your schedule and is easy enough for you to stick to. Charging full speed ahead can leave you exhausted and increase the chance of you throwing in the towel on fitness altogether.

Start by incorporating cardio activities into your daily routine at least 3x a week. A brisk walk around the block with baby in tow is a great starting point. Start out with a 30 minute walk at a moderate pace 3x per week. After 2 weeks you can increase time to 45 minutes and aim for 5 days per week by the 8 week mark. If you have the time, some moms prefer to join a gym and utilize the treadmills, exercise bikes and cardio classes.

Getting Back Your Six Pack Abs

New moms are usually most concerned with flattening their bellies. Sit-ups (also called crunches) are great exercises for strengthening the abdominal muscles. Keep in mind that you could do 1000 sit-ups per day and you still will not have a nice flat stomach if you do not do enough cardio exercise. What you will have is rock solid abs that are hidden underneath a layer of jiggly fat. Cardio will melt the top layer of fat, revealing the well defined abdominals below.

Sample abs routine: For sit-ups, do 3 sets of 12-15, 3x per week. For lower abs, try a reverse crunch, in which you start out in the sit-up position but place your feet just near your buttocks, then raise your hips into the air. These should also be done in 3 sets with 12-15 reps per set, 3x per week. After 4 weeks you can increase to 5x per week.

Strengthening and weight bearing exercises will not only help you tone up, but are good for preventing osteoporosis later in life. Pilates is a great way to use the resistance of your own body weight as a means of building muscle. Lunges and squats are excellent for working the glutes and buttocks, and can be done in the convenience of your own home.

Remember to Stretch

Be sure to always stretch after exercising. This will increase the amount of calories you burn and will help prevent soreness and muscle injury. Yoga and deep breathing are great ways to relax and get the deepest stretch possible. In addition to local yoga classes, there are several good DVDs with varying yoga styles. You may also want to pick up an exercise ball which can help maximize your workout.

By exercising and eating healthy, well balanced meals, staying hydrated and eliminating excess sugar from your diet, you will be well on your way to getting back that pre-pregnancy body.

We originally published Moms – Get Your Body Back After Baby! on November 3, 2009.  Read more baby articles here or check out more of the Life with a Newborn column.  This article is linked to Works for Me Wednesday, where you can find more great tips for moms!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Family Insurance. All opinions are 100% mine.

American Family Insurance has created a comedy special to appeal to families who love stand up comedy. The special is called Stand Up For Family and is made up of comedy routines (with no swearing) by popular comedians. The huge plus here is that the stand up comedians don’t use foul language, something that’s very hard to find in normal comedy shows.

The clean comedy videos are short snippets, about 2 minutes each, and are on the American Family Insurance website. It turns out that AmFam is the company that sponsored the comedy special because they wanted to provide stand up that the whole family could enjoy together (which explains the lack of swears in the stage show).

It’s admirable that companies want to get back towards wholesome programming that parents can say yes to. American Family is definitely on the right track with this idea. The comedians in Stand Up For Family include Bill Bellamy, Rodney Perry, Mark Viera, Donnell Rawlings, and Tony Roberts. The comics all talked about their current families and remembering their family interactions as children.

My favorite videos were the ones by Bill Bellamy, who was also the host. He had a funny video about freeze tag in which he reminisced that when he was a child, kids didn’t have cell phones or video games and had to go outside to play all day and actually use their imaginations.

My husband and I are big fans of the low-tech life for our kids, so this video really struck a chord with me. Bill joked that their imaginations were so good in their outdoor play that when they played freeze tag, they actually believed they were frozen and couldn’t move!

He also created a vignette about his mom and grandma being sneaky with their spankings when he had been misbehaving. He said his mom always told him he was going to get a spanking, but she didn’t tell him what time. So he and his brothers and sisters would have a meeting to find out if she told any of them what time their spankings were going to be, because then they would know when to hide! My favorite part of the sketch was when he recounted his grandma having to come through the window of the bathroom to catch him for a spanking while he was in the bath!

Bill also recalls the universal parent talk before going into someone’s house for a visit. He remembered the 5 minute “momma talks” he and his sister would get reminding them not to be wild, climb on the furniture, nag for food, etc.

Rodney Perry was another comedian in Stand Up For Family and he had a really funny video about his teenage son dancing. He said that his son is doing this goofy dance all the time – when he’s eating, when he’s just standing around, even when he’s sleeping. Rodney said he took his son to church and saw him dancing in the corner, then said, “That ain’t the holy ghost – he’s dancin’!”

Of course we all have tons of stories like these when we look back on our childhoods. I remember my little sister was always running around the house in only her underwear, my little brother would hide inside the doors of the coffee table, and my poor mom somehow had to stay sane through it all! We complained about our chores, cheated at monopoly, fell asleep in church, picked at our spare ribs, purposely pronounced words wrong when my mom made us do our bible reading aloud, and each secretly wished the other the other one would get the bay leaf in their bowl of beef stew and accidentally eat it.

At the time it didn’t seem like those things would become fond memories to me as an adult, but guess what? They did! I think it’s important to share these kinds of stories with our children, not only because it helps them remember that we used to be kids too, but that it lets them know that the things they find so hard to deal with now may be treasured memories when they grow up.

If you’re a fan of stand up comedy but like to keep it family-friendly, make sure you check out American Family’s Stand Up For Family videos on their website.

Is it Safe to Go in a Sauna or Hot Tub While You’re Pregnant?

With most normal pregnancies come back aches and sore muscles. While muscle tenderness can normally be alleviated and soothed by using heat, it is advised for pregnant women to avoid saunas and hot tubs. Anything that can raise your body’s core temperature to or above 101 degrees can cause damage to your unborn baby.

The water in most hot tubs is set at 104 degrees by default from the factory.  Hyperthermia, which is another way of saying high body temperature, can occur from hot tubs or saunas in as little as 10 minutes. Hyperthermia has been shown to increase the risk of birth defects, according to the Organization of Teratology Information Services (OTIS). With this in mind, it’s best to avoid both saunas and hot tubs during your pregnancy.

Alternatives for Sore Muscles During Pregnancy

Try other alternatives to soothe your muscle aches during pregnancy, such as:

1. Soak in a warm or hot bath at home. Since your whole body doesn’t usually stay submerged in a bathtub and the water temperature is not as hot, it’s harder to reach the temperature danger zone when you’re pregnant.

2. Use a heating pad, with approval from your doctor. This spot heating can be a good way to soothe muscle stress in certain areas. Always consult your OB / GYN doctor to make sure a heating pad is safe for you to use during your pregnancy.

3. Wrap up in an electric blanket, with approval from your doctor. The all-over warmth can be relaxing, and blanket temperatures aren’t usually high enough to cause concern. However, since each pregnancy is different, you’ll want to confirm with your physician before using an electric blanket.

4. Fill a sock or pillowcase with rice, and heat up in the microwave until warm. Use as a hot wrap on the sore areas; the rice makes this pack very easy to mold to contoured areas, like your neck.

Photo Credit: Photo by Jyn Meyer.

If your little potty trainer loves Thomas Train the Tank Engine or just trains in general, then he’ll certainly love the printable train potty sticker chart. The site has other free potty charts as well with other designs that are good for use with girl toddlers or boy toddlers.

Whichever one you choose, if you’ve potty trained a tot before, you know how much easier it is with a sticker chart as your secret weapon incentive!  Plus, they love to keep the filled-up sticker charts as a prize when you switch to a new one.

Click here to print your free train potty training sticker chart.

The iGo potty app has free potty reminders, a progress tracker, rewards and more. You can get the free iGo Potty App by Pull Ups here:

• Download for iPhone, iPad and iPod
• Download for android

Answer:  The answer to when a pregnant woman will start showing is as varied as each woman’s unique pregnancy. 

For many women, they’ll start to notice an expansion in their abdominal region in about the 20th week of pregnancy.  Many pregnant moms describe feeling their stomach muscles “stretching,” “tugging,” “pulling,” or “expanding”. This normal feeling may result in some sore muscles and itchy or tingling skin, but is a completely normal way of your body making extra room for your baby to grow.

If this is not your first child, you may start showing sooner than 20 weeks.  Depending on your weight, height, body type, build, and growth rate of your baby, you may start to show later in your pregnancy than you expect.  Pregnancies of multiples will invariable show sooner and cause you to put on weight more rapidly.  If you normally carry extra weight around your midsection when you’re not pregnant, it may be a while before people start noticing your pregnancy.

While it’s normal to want to look pregnant once you find out you’re expecting, be patient!  You feel pregnant, and not reflecting on the outside what you feel on the inside can add to the rapidly changing emotions you’re having right now.  Give your body time to change and grow at its own pace, and try to keep yourself from comparing to friends’ or family members’ pregnancies, or even to your own previous pregnancies.  Every pregnancy is different.

Maternity Clothes

Many women don’t have to switch to maternity clothes until they reach 3-4 months along.  Some moms can get away with buying non-maternity clothes that are one to two sizes larges than their pre-pregnancy size, even into the second trimester. 

However, if you’re showing early and finding your regular clothes are uncomfortable, don’t be afraid to switch to your maternity wardrobe early.  Having stretchy, non-binding clothes to wear will do wonders for keeping you as comfortable as possible while your body changes to accommodate your little one!

Photo credits: Photo of pregnant women by magnusfranklin.

Today, we’re learning how to make a master workbook for homeschool.  The workbook used as an example in the video below is an inexpensive one from a craft store.  However, many of the workbooks we buy as parts of more expensive curriculums are the important ones to make into masters.  Keep in mind that you are only making copies for your own child to use, so that they can repeat worksheets as necessary for extra practice and to make it easy for you to make their seatwork packs.  You can also “re-issue” the same worksheet as part of a chapter review or unit test.

The video below shows how to make a master workbook for homeschool.  In the video I 3-hole punch the actual worksheets.  Sometimes I don’t punch the pages but instead slip them into sheet protectors in the binder.  (Subscribers can click here to watch the video.)

How do you save money on homeschooling?  Let us know what works for you in the comments below!  Frugal Homeschool: How to Make a Master Workbook is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

From Preschool Prep, he learned all the colors and shapes, numbers 0-10, the alphabet (uppercase and lowercase), and all of the sight words.  Of course, quite a bit of time has passed since this video was shot, and Truett has now completed Pre-K 1 and Pre-K 2 and is ready to start kindergarten – at 3 years old!  Did I mention he also knows how to read now?  I attribute this success to starting early with Preschool Prep.

If you haven’t read about how we got our 3 year old son ready for kindergarten in 1  1/2 months, you can read the posts now:

Learning Experiment: Preschool Prep Series DVDs

Preschool Prep DVDs Experiment – Week 1

Preschool Prep DVDs Experiment Results

This video from last winter is Truett showing off his skills with flash cards, demonstrating just 16 of the sight words he knows, plus counting.  (Subscribers will need to click through to this article to watch the video.)

We got a late start with Truett and this system, as the DVDs recommend starting from 9 months old to 15 months old.  Our 1 1/2 year old daughter, Seven, is already starting on the system too and she loves it!  How We Got Our Kids Ready For Kindergarten in 1 Month is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.