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Difference Between Houses

Does it feel as if your child reserves his very worst temper tantrums for you, while being a complete angel for your ex? I’ve felt this way on more than one occasion. In fact, I’ve had more than a few break downs about this very thing. I felt like my son must like my ex better because he was always so much better there. I recently read an article that made me feel much better about the difference in attitude between homes. Karen Dudley, a child development specialist at UCLA, says this, “The primary caregiver is generally the person with … Continue reading →

Defining the Word “Housekeeping”

Housekeeping might not be the most interesting topic to people, but it is a necessity. Like it or not, it’s a part of life and a part of the responsibilities that we have. I was thinking this morning about the word itself and decided to look up its meaning. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, there are three definitions to housekeeping. The first is “the management of a house and home affairs.” Doesn’t “management’ make it sound so much more important? Instead of saying, “I am a housekeeper,” I would much rather say, “I am a manager of my home.” The … Continue reading →

Establishing Summer Rules

It was one of those very rare Monday mornings where everyone got out the door on time. Perhaps the motivation lies in just getting this week done and over with, since it is the last week of school for my children. So I took advantage of the leisurely drive to school, before iPods could be stuck in ears, to discuss summer rules. Things got a bit out of hand last summer and I don’t know how it happened. Perhaps it was because I bent on rules to a point where I then lost control. All I know is that for … Continue reading →

My House, My Rules

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Is it just me or did all of your house rules seem to change when you got divorced? First, I have to admit I was never a real stickler about things like bedtime, mostly because my daughter is a night owl and you really cannot force a child to sleep. Once I was divorced I never felt like I had to enforce a bedtime. In many ways my daughter regressed. For the first year after the divorce she slept with me, something her father and I had finally managed to stop just a few months prior to the divorce. I … Continue reading →

Keeping House When Life is Busy

You know you are busy when you forget to eat. I come from a long line of Italians. Eating is ranked just below breathing. Someone is considered too skinny and near death if their pants size falls below two digits. So you can see that things have come to extremes in our household. My husband has a full time job with several important projects. He is also working on finishing our basement work as a freelancer and have taken on many extra hours in the last two month, partially from the needs of my clients and partially from our goal … Continue reading →

Eliminating Household Allergies

If you’ve had a cold that has been lasting for weeks, chances are that it isn’t a cold at all, but indoor allergies that are flaring up. Learn how to eliminate household allergens and breath easier. During the colder months, we tend to button up our houses and stay indoors more. This exposes us to higher concentrations of indoor allergens that can make us and our family members miserable. In addition to this, drier air creates the right breathing ground for bacteria , meaning that a simple allergy can turn into a nasty sinus infection in no time. And for … Continue reading →

Is Your House Killing Your Marriage?

Is where you live making life more difficult for your marriage? That’s something that occurred to me and obviously to others too like architect Michelle McSharry.In the article yesterday about Australian Fathers, Michelle McSharry suggested two factors are making life harder for couples. One is the size of homes and gardens which is contributing to a high housework load. It’s an interesting fact of modern society that houses are getting larger while the size of families in them is shrinking. Most houses no longer include grandparents or extended family as they once did. It is usually only the husband, wife … Continue reading →

Home Blog Month in Review: October

As I sit here looking out my window at the backyard, the birds are hovering in the pine tree against a strong wind and steady rain. The temperature is chilly today, and the calendar reminds me that we have left October behind. October 1st Buy a Home for $1.75 It seems that the housing crisis has made some interesting news lately. Home Month in Review: September 2008 Has the weather turned cooler now that September has passed? Pretty soon, it will be time to get that heat turned back on! Meanwhile, check out all of the articles that were posted … Continue reading →

Establishing a Chain of Information

Communication can be one of the ongoing challenges of the single parent. We have to get information to our children, their schools, family members, and often, we have to share and communicate information with the ex or the other parent. Exactly HOW we share that information can be one of the ways we get some order and structure into our single parent families. An effective and healthy “chain of information” can be beneficial. By this, I mean that we set an expectation and a priority of how we will communicate what and to whom and stick to it. For example, … Continue reading →

Setting Your House in Order

As parents it is our responsibility to set our homes in order. Of course this will mean different things for different people. One of the best ways to do this is to look at the outcomes that you desire. In this case you should consider the type of adults you want your children to grow up to be. Once you have determined that you can begin to order your home to achieve those goals. I want my children to have strong testimonies of the gospel. I want them to be lifelong learners. I also want them to be kind to … Continue reading →