Happy Valentine’s Day!!

I thought I would share a couple interesting facts about Valentine’s Day. We have been celebrating the day of “love” for centuries. I wondered why we do, I mean it is a wonderful thing to celebrate, the love you have for someone. But why do we set aside just one day a year to express our love? Why not everyday?

One legend says that during the rule of Emperor Claudius ll, in the third century, Claudius decided that single men made better soldiers than married men. In believing this thought, he outlawed marriage for young men; hoping to create a stronger soldier. What Claudius didn’t anticipate was the determination of a priest known as Valentine. Valentine felt Claudius’ ban on marriage was unfair and secretly married young couples. You could imagine Claudius’ outrage upon hearing that a priest was defying his law. Claudius had Valentine put to death.

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Now that you have established the “family routine” for the new school year; it’s time to help create great study habits for your children. Tests and assignments are part of the school routine and encouraging good work and study habits will help improve your child’s grades and confidence.

The success of a child in school is dependent on their study habits and organizational skills. Establishing a homework routine or habit early will ensure fewer struggles for your child as they continue through school and life.

Tip No. 1: Create a “homework” area, now is the time. It could be the kitchen or dinning room table, the family “den”, even your child’s bedroom. Stock it with paper, pencils, pens, etc, everything that will encourage the successful completion of the assigned homework.

Tip No. 2: Set a time with your child to do their homework. Mark it on the calendar. Hold that time priority, straying from this time discourages good homework habits. Set reasonable consequences for not using this time effectively.

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Finding it hard to stay within your budget for Halloween? Looking for ideas for awesome costumes that won’t break your bank account? Let me know what you think of these ideas.

Why not head to the nearest Value Village or Thrift Shop and look for items to create a Traveling Doctor costume. It’s perfect for little ones and with good picks, the suit could be worn again for Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma’s. Things you could look for:

Black suit (your child’s size)

Hat, Fedora

Doctor’s kit

When I created this costume for my first son, the total cost was $10-$15.

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With all the excitement of the Halloween celebration it is easy to forget about safety. Here are 10 simple tips to ensure a safe and fun Halloween for you, your family and even your family pets.

Safety Tip No.1-Improve your child’s sight range. Use make-up instead of masks. Get creative and use face paint instead. Just remember to put on a little cold cream first, to make clean up easier.

Of course we all know that there are costumes that your child will insist on wearing the matching mask. When the eyeholes are narrow and hard to see through, just make the eyeholes larger with scissors.

Safety Tip No.2-Make your own mask. This is a great opportunity to create something unique with your child. Go to http://hgtv.com, search for Halloween costume patterns.

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With the Canadian Thanksgiving coming this weekend, I thought it would be a great time to share what I am “thankful” for in my life. First, a little history;

An English Explorer, Martin Frobisher, created the Canadian Thanksgiving. He had been looking for a northern passage to the Orient. Even though he did not succeed, he did establish a settlement in Northern America. Which today is called Newfoundland. He then held a formal ceremony in 1578 to give thanks for surviving his long journey. This is considered to be Canada’s first Thanksgiving.

Today, Canadian’s celebrate a successful harvest and for our family, we celebrate all the successes of the past year and what we are thankful for.

I am thankful for my husband. He is super supportive and encourages me everyday to pursue what makes me happy.

I am thankful for my kids and granddaughter. They keep me young and focused on the important things in life, family.

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If you prefer you can listen to this blog post about how to ease your kindergardener into the routine of school by clicking the player below.

For lots of kids, back to school is part of the norm. But for little Johnny, this is his first day at Kindergarten. You have taken him shopping for new cloths, backpack, lunch box and some school supplies. He seems excited to have all the “new cool stuff”, yet he hesitates when you ask him if he is excited about going to school.

What can you do to ease little Johnny’s anxiety?

Here are 10 tips on how you can help Little Johnny;

Tip Number 1: Check your own stress level: this can be an emotional day for many a Mom and Dad. It is very important to ease your own stress; kids will pick up on your anxiety.

Tip Number 2: If at all possible, take the day off from work: kids grow up fast and being part of this milestone is important for you and little Johnny. Johnny will be more comfortable with his new adventure to have you a part of it.

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When school starts back after the summer, the morning routine can be very demanding and stressful for the whole family. Most households are chaotic from the moment they wake the kids to the moment they drop them off at daycare or wave good-bye to them on the bus.

Do you often think, “OMG, get me out of here!”?

If your house is anything like mine used to be, mornings were one of the most stressful times of the day. There was bickering, fighting, and sometimes even crying. Can you relate?

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