Yesterday, I posted a video clip on “Women and Housework”. In this article, you can pick up some tips that can help you make your mate want to help you more around the house.

When you get into a marriage, you get into a partnership. You and your hubby need to work together to keep your household running sanely smooth. Sometimes, couples run into the problem of figuring out who does what.

Sadly, most times, moms get stuck with the task of taking care of the kids and keeping the house clean while their better half works outside of the home. In today’s difficult times, moms need to get a part-time job to help out with the family finances. Gone are the days when most families can survive with one income. As a working mom, I know how difficult it is to juggle housework, taking care of kids and earning an income. Getting your partner to help with housework can certainly make our life easier and less stressful. Below are some tips you can apply when trying to get your mate to help out around the house:

* Look for things that you can do together or alongside each other. You not only get to spend time together but you get work done. Consider this, the pleasure of your company might make an undesirable chore more likable.

* If you need help with something specific, say so. Most husbands are willing to perform specific tasks when we are busy and they are not. If you can, ask him to do something that he enjoys, or at least doesn’t openly hate to do.

* Talk about how your day went without whining too much. Husbands often don’t see how much their wives do in one day, and this can make them think that we should accomplish more than we do. Letting them know about all of the things we have to contend with could evoke some sympathy, possibly even inspiring them to volunteer their assistance.

* If you prefer a more structured approach, assign specific chores to everyone in the house. You could make a chart that tells which chores everyone is to be in charge of. Brain storming with your husband when doing this is necessary. If he is included in the decision making process, he will be more willing to follow along.

* Praise him a lot when he helps around the house for positive reinforcement. Do not nitpick. Doing so will only make him less willing to help. While it’s acceptable to offer some constructive criticism, it is important to find something positive to say as well.

* Offer to help him out when it comes to his regular chores. If you show him that you are willing to help him clean his car or do the yard work, chances are, he will surely appreciate it. Then he might be more likely to offer to help you out when you are working around the house.

Getting your partner to help with housework could be effortless, or it may need some coaxing. By letting him know how hard you work to try and get everything done and asking him to do specific tasks rather than expecting him to know what to do on his own, you can often get some willing assistance. And the final result will be a neater, cleaner, and happier home.

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You’ve heard the saying “A dog is a man’s best friend” right? Well, I agree. We have 3 fur babies at home - Pepper (dachsund), Cooper (pug) and Big Bertha (rottweiller) - these are my “forever babies”. Why do I say that? Well, because they will always depend on me and my family for love, food, shelter and attention - and I’m ok with that. Dogs are social animals who see the humans around them as their pack and they become strongly attached to those humans.Dogs are a lot of fun and a wonderful addition to most families. However, if you have never had a pet dog before, know that having one can be a lot of work.

If you are ever considering having dogs for pets, here are some things to consider:

Dogs are social and do best when not left alone. If you are not going to keep the dog inside then consider getting two dogs so that they can keep each other company - this is why we have 3 dogs. They enjoy playing with each other and they keep each other occupied. Even if you have more than one dog, plan on spending some time with your pet/s.

Socialization takes at least one half hour every morning and about one hour every evening. Like children, the younger the dog, the more time is needed for you to interact with them.

Dogs love routine and if you start them at an early age - you will both have a heck of a great time. Our dogs go out and play in the backyard at about 7:00am when I we wake up to let them out. They get to spend an hour or two out playing in the backyard and then it’s time to come inside for some downtime. They know not to go potty inside the house and they usually will scratch on the door when they need to go out - kind of their way to let me know that they need a potty break. The dogs know when the kids get home from school it’s time to play - they love that! They only eat once a day at the same time so they will complain if I am running late.

Finally, dogs are a long-term commitment - with many breeds living twenty years or more. Be sure you are ready for such a relationship before you commit to having a dog join your family.

I love my fur babies so much - it’s great that I can whine and vent out to them when I have no one else to talk to. My favorite part is that they give me unconditional love, something that you can not get from all members of your family.

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Easter baskets are sort of a tradition for many families. Sadly, through the years, the cost of buying Easter baskets have gone up tremendously. If you are looking for creative and ingenious ideas on making your own Easter basket this year, here are some tips below:

The traditional Easter basket is made of wicker, filled with fake cellophane grass and Easter treats, wrapped in clear or fancy cellophane and a fun bow. However, You can make a basket out of things in your home. For example, a milk carton can be used. You can wrap it with brightly colored cellophane or tissue paper; attach a strip of thick ribbon for the handle, and Voila! An Easter basket is born.

You can also make an adorable handy basket using a paper plate and ribbon. Using a bright colored ribbon for a handle, punch holes on each side of the paper plate; insert the ribbon through the holes and make a handle for your basket, almost like the ones you would use to carry flowers! With the many designes of plates available in your local supermarket, you can easily dress it up however you desire. Any little girl will surely love this.

You could also buy a plain basket; take some pink or blue ribbon and weave it through the basket. You can go ‘ribbon-crazy” and cover the handle of the basket with ribbon as well. Instead of buying the cellophane grass; line the bottom of the basket with colorful tissue paper cut into strips – make a nest, so to speak. Fill the basket with whatever you choose.

These ideas are just some ideas to spark your own creativity. If you have the chance, you can even do an online search on “creative Easter baskets” and I am pretty sure you will find tons of ideas you can adapt or you can modify. The possibilities are endless in making Easter fun and exciting for your kids to remember.

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The kids are on holiday break from school already and I have been busy looking for activities to keep them busy while they are on break. I found this one fun idea - that I may just have to try - it’s a Candy Wreath.

All you would need are wire, hard candies in various flavors/colors, string and bow - having pliers would be very helpful too. Below is a video tutorial of how the candy wreath is made.

Easy and Fun Christmas Craft - Candy Wreath

I will have to give this a whirl and hope the kids have fun making it.

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People always stress out especially during the holidays. The holiday rush gets everyone frazzled. Perhaps part of this is because people want a “perfect” holiday. Is it possible to have a “perfect” holiday? I do not know about that but what I do know is that there are some things we can all do to make the Thanksgiving celebration less stressful. Below are some tips I would like to share to help you overcome stress during the busy holiday season:

1. Have a plan - Plan your Thanksgiving menu. Make a list of ingredients you need to help you when you go shopping. Plan out how you will prepare the food. It would also help to recruit help. You should not do all the hard work. Recruiting help could be fun for everyone and will certainly make the preparation easier and quicker for everyone.

2. Think potluck - If you are hosting the Thanksgiving dinner at your house, why not plan for a potluck. This would be great because you will not have to slave in the kitchen to prepare all the food for your Thanksgiving feast. Have every family bring a dish but make sure to assign who brings side dishes and desserts and perhaps you can take care of the main dish.

3. Make it easy - Who says Thanksgiving needs to be elaborate? You can still enjoy the Thanksgiving feast with simple foods. Simple foods can taste really good. Remember, what matters most is that you are together as a family. You do not have to have tons and tons of food - make your menu simple - have a main dish and a couple of side dishes and a dessert. Prepare easy to cook dishes. Use disposable plates, cups and utensils. This will make clean up so much easier.

4. Keep your cool - it can get really stressful when trying to plan a successful Thanksgiving dinner party. Sure, you can not please everyone but if you notice the stress level going up, take a step back and take a deep breath. Clearing your head will help you deal with stress so much better. Same goes for family members who can drive each other crazy. If you are in charge of the family Thanksgiving dinner, make sure that family members who do not get along - do not sit next to each other at the dinner table. This will help avoid family confrontations and tensions.

5. Don’t forget to be thankful - Simply remembering the things that we are blessed with and being thankful will help minimize stress. Reflect back and make a list of everything you are thankful for. You could even have a list ready where guests can write down what they are thankful for as they arrive to your party. Just before dinner starts, you can read aloud what is written in the list and perhaps say a “Thank You” prayer. This would be a nice tradition that can be passed down for generations to come.

The holidays do not have to mean “STRESS”. Plan ahead, relax, have fun and enjoy the festivities - it can be a fun Thanksgiving Holiday. All you have to do is apply the tips mentioned here and you can almost guarantee a stress-free Thanksgiving dinner party.

To get more tips on “How to Make the Holiday Season Less Stressful” - come and join us for a FREE Interactive Online Event to help jump start the Holiday Season.
When: Nov. 19-20, 2007 (2 days only)
Where: Online - www.HolidaySeasonKickoff.com

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Tomorrow is Halloween - do you have your movie ready? If you are looking for fun family friendly movies, I have made a list of them … among them are:
- It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
- Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie
- E.T.
- Monsters Inc.
- Casper
- Bednobs & Broomsticks
- Scooby Doo’s Creepiest Capers”
- Wallace & Gromit, The Curse Of The Were Rabbit
- Nightmare Before Christmas

You can see the a review of each of the movies by clicking here!

So what movie are you watching this Halloween?

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Halloween is usually the time when kids get to really enjoy sweets. During the Halloween season, you can see bags of treats and candies sold in almost all the grocery stores. It can get pretty boring to see the same treats and goodies being handed out during the trick or treating. Here are some creative ways to make Halloween treats more exciting.

Bake some fun and Halloween themed cookies. You can use your favorite cookie recipe or even store bought cookie dough and use cookie cutters in fun shapes like ghosts. You can then have the kids decorate the ghost cookies with various colors of icing and sprinkles.

Try baking brownies and before they totally cool, cut it into a ghost shape using a paring knife. You can then use some melted white chocolate in a piping bag to outline the ghost shape. Don’t forget to draw the eyes and mouth. You can continue on by decorating the ghost brownie with colored frosting.

What about spooky cup cakes. Bake cup cakes according the the regular directions and cool. You can then frost it with orange colored frosting. Purchase some bat rings - you can find these in your local birthday party store - you can even use skull rings or spider rings and place the ring on tip of the frosted cup cake. This is something easy enough for the little kids to do.

This is one of the kids’ favorite times of the year. With these fun and easy treats - you can actually have kids help out and have fun in the Halloween festivities. Enjoy preparing these sweets with your kids - this might even be a Halloween tradition for your family. And when the kids grow up, they can pass on the tradition to their own kids. Have a great time and enjoy these fun and sweet activites and treats with the kids - they do grow up so quickly.

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It can be nerve wrecking - taking care of a family, the house, and working full time. Believe it or not, this can have a direct effect on how you deal with your children. Often times, parents just need to take a break. Mom and dad need to just spend some alone time. If you ever notice that you are becoming irritable, snapping at the kids, losing some sleep, well - here are some tips on how “mom and dad time” can help your kids:

Everyone works hard to make sure that the family stays happy but in the process it could make us irritated over little things. Kids are notorious for pushing the parent’s hot buttons. If you and your hubby are tired from work and whatever you deal with all day, and you notice that you start to take it out on the kids, it is time to stop … take a deep breath and plan for some “couple time”.

Hey, even batteries need to be recharged ,right? Here’s a thought … call upon a family member to watch the kids on a weekend. if you have no family around, ask a friend or hire a babysitter. Then, you and hubby can go to the park, the beach, the movies or whatever you wish to do. Perhaps you’d like to have dinner at your favorite restaurant? When was the last time you were able to do that in peace with no or little interruption?

Sometimes, just sitting down, hanging out, holding hands or cuddling, catching up and simply enjoying each other’s company is all a couple with children need to do. Spending all day with the kids, you miss out on much needed adult conversation. When hubby comes home, he too may be too tired to talk. Thus, the irritation builds up and you find your kids caught in the middle of your meltdown.

Children are vulnerable to parents’ feelings. If they are unduly chastised for no reason, they blame themselves, which is not conducive to a healthy familial relationship. But, after you and your husband have had some “couple time”, you are more energized, able to better cope with your everyday life, and especially able to take care of your children in a calm, loving, and stress-free manner.

Keep an eye on you and your partner’s behavior, and at the first sign of a problem, fix it before it gets worse. Everyone in the family will greatly benefit from it.

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When was the last time you went out on a date? A week ago, a month ago, a year ago … Oh no!

If you ever notice that you and your partner have settled into a routine where cuddling and sweet conversations are out of the picture, then you need to re-ignite that passion. How? … with a date, of course.

It’s just the simple things that will help you rekindle the romance. Like, reminding each other how you much you enjoy being together, how much fun you have together, and how romantic it is to walk hand in hand.

Below are some steps you can take to start sparking the fire and the passion back into your marriage:

- Secure a baby sitter for a weekend.
- Book your favorite hotel for that weekend.
- Pack a bag for you guys (except the kids) for the weekend.
- Check in your hotel room for that weekend - if you can afford it, booking the honeymoon suite would be a plus.
- Enjoy the romantic weekend with your mate.

This may sound a tad bit corny. But, hey … this is a great time to be reacquainted again with your life partner. There are no distractions, phone calls, kids yelling for your attention, just you and your beloved embarking on a journey of self-renewal. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

You can change the scene just a bit but you get the general idea, right? The effects will still be the same - a romantic weekend to rekindle the love. So often life gets in the way, and there is a disconnect between who you were then and who you are now. Thus, family responsibilities, work, and kids all play a part in putting aside the romance for the sake of the family. Keep your romance alive.

If you can not afford to spend the whole weekend together, plan on spending at least the one night together with no distractions … then perhaps you can start planning regular dates. Remember, it is important to have the time to talk to each other without interruptions. You need time to hold hands and take walks and look back and just enjoy each others company again - this will help you create more wonderful memories together.

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Growing up can be really tough. Kids go through difficult periods and their self esteem really gets challenged. There is so much pressure from cliques, to fashion, to having a certain look. It’s just crazy sometimes.

If you ever notice that your child is showing some signs of low self-esteem, make sure to do something to fix it up real quick. Below are some tips to help you out:

Just doing some or all of these simple things will help your child boost their self esteem.

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