This Christmas–Give Your Kids the Gift of Enough

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I’ve noticed on a couple different web sites recently that moms are beginning to fret about Christmas presents for their kids. One worried mom posted, “Any ideas for Christmas presents for my two year old? I’m really struggling.” Really? Two is the age where a child thinks that pooping in the tub, shredding napkins, and read more…

Does Your Teen Want to be Rich? Have them Read This:

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Hi tween or teen! I get it. Chances are you’re reading this, but it’s not something that you really want to do. I’m sure you’d rather be unloading the dishwasher or folding the laundry, but I’m happy that you are at least giving this blog a chance. I wrote it to help kids like you not read more…

How I Turned My Strong-Willed Child Into a Monster (And How You Can Too!)

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How I Turned My Strong-Willed Child Into a Monster (And How You Can Too!) I taught middle school for eight years before I had my own children. I knew there were those kids in class whom I adored; there were those who blended into the crowd; and there were those monster-kids whose parents I pitied read more…

Creating a Financially Healthy Christmas

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With the Christmas shopping season in full swing as of November first, it is now time to take a breath and decide how to effectively navigate through this season with your family’s finances in tact. First and foremost, we must remember that the Christmas season is a time of remembering and celebrating the birth of read more…

I Know You’re the Tooth Fairy

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My youngest son Matthew burst into the house after a long day in first grade and announced, “Hey, I know you’re the Tooth Fairy!” Assuming that “That Kid” had spilled the beans to all the naïve first graders, I asked, “Who told you that?” He proceeded to explain to me that he figured out that read more…

Michael Gets a Hockey Scholarship–Sort of

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I recently heard the story about a family in Chicago whose son wrestled in high school.  He was ranked number one in the state and fifth in the world.  The family was, however, living in an apartment after their house was foreclosed on.  They had used a significant portion of their family’s financial resources to read more…

School Supply Update for Those Concerned

For anyone concerned about my boys’ lack of all the necessary school supplies, I felt the need to update. (Another Option for School Supplies) I did have to go out and buy one or two more things for a few of the kids, but this was low stress errand running. You know like grabbing a read more…

Another Option for School Supplies

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Summer really only lasts until August 1st in Indiana. Then the shift from the pool to school is forced upon us by the rows of school supply bins at Target, the avalanche of notes from the schools, and the “back to school” clothing sales at every corner. Well, this year I made every attempt to read more…