Teach Your Kids to Be Happy by Being Happy

Now if your like most people you understand that when you have children your life changes and it becomes about them instead of about you. What happens though when you become so negative or so miserable that you can't stop thinking about yourself and what you want or need? For many kids their reality is living with one or more parents that think only about themselves and the misery they think their life is.

Here's the thing, you can't change someone else, you can only change you and your attitude. That's the part that sucks because now you are faced with difficult choices, change yourself and your outlook or continue down a path of negativity.

No one can make this choice for you. What you need to do though is think about your kids and the lessons you are teaching them. Do you want your children to grow up to be miserable? Do you want them to grown up negative about the world around them, worrying about every little thing? If the answer is yes, then continue on the path you are on. If your answer is no then you have to change or find help to change.

Parents need to be healthy, emotionally, mentally, and physically in order to raise healthy children. If you are broken, your children will have a greater chance at being broken. After all, we are all the product of our upbringing, the good news is that as adults we can make a conscious decision to change our outlook.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life What you think has a profound effect on what you do and how you do it. You can only achieve it when you believe it! If you don’t think you can do it, you never will. Your life experiences determine the way you think. But your thoughts aren’t set in stone. Just like you can learn to ride a bike or play chess, you can also learn to control your thinking and control your life. This book shows you how to change the way you think, and open new doors to unlimited possibilities.

Birthday Season Approaches - Birthday Parties and Gifts add Up

Christmas isn't the most expensive time of the year for our family. In our family the most expensive time of the year is April, or better known as Birthday Season.

My kids were born 8 days apart in the first week of April, add in Easter and I need to get a loan to fund the whole affair. I try not to do a big blow out, I burned myself out on those after the 1st year I had 2 parties to plan instead of one.

Even the smallest birthday parties can cost a fortune and where I live everyone continually tries to out do the other person with a bigger and better party. I played the game when I had one child, but with two parties within a week of each other I just can't compete anymore.

So why don't I just have one big blow out you ask? My brother and I are 6 days apart and my mom would have only one big blow out and I always remember feeling cheated because I had to share my birthday! Yes I was a selfish little brat and this may have been the start of the huge wedge that is between my brother and I. That and our competitive natures.

So here are my past expensive ideas that I probably won't do again:

1. A birthday cake for $45.00 plus tax for a 4 year old
2. Renting adventure zone for two full parties for over $100.00 a pop.
3. Having 16 kids to one birthday party

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list when I have more time to think about it. These are the top three that stick out.

The year I bought the $45.00 cake for my son was the same year my daughter turned 1 eight days earlier. I also bought a cake for a party at Grandma's house, a cake for his actual birthday with family, a cake for my daughters actual birthday and the $45.00 cake for his kids birthday party. I know I spend well over $100.00 on cake alone that year.

Jello Birthday Cake

Since this is going to be the start of birthday season I will be writing more on birthday party planning and ideas. Hopefully I can find some cost saving ideas for everyone.

Cake is made out of Finger Jello - Use Knox Gelatin to increase the Gelatin and the stability. Make layers to increase interest. Use a casserole dish and soak in hot water for a few minutes once its set. Decorate with icing and decorative gel. Add candles and start to sing.

In the past I used to throw out most of the cake after the kids had eaten the icing, now I make a jello cake and buy an icecream cake and have very little to throw out because the kids eat it all!

I'll take a Canadian Election over an American One Any Day

I googled democratic primary to find out what happened yesterday and I'm more confused as ever. Does it ever end? By the time they get to the polls to decide on the president of the United States the voters will be shell shocked and suffering from electoral hang over.

Give me a good old fashion Canadian election, one month and done! OK so the parties have their conventions too, but still it lasts a very short time. One day of voting. Alberta called an election and elected a new priemer in a month.

No wonder an election costs so much, they never stop campaigning. It gets so confusing - one minute one is in lead and then the next another one is in lead. I took US politics in University, I should have taken US electoral process - it would take a University degree in US electoral process to understand the US Political news.

I'm not an American and I'm sick of the whole Obama / Clinton thing. Get on with it, take one day everyone vote and pick a candidate already.

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Surveillance video cameras in Public Areas for Crime Prevention or Conviction

Calgary is considering installing surveillance video cameras in certain public places to help convict criminals. The concern other cities like Kelowna and Vancouver have had are privacy issues. Really if you are in a public place, how much privacy can you expect to have? If you are concerned with your privacy in a public place, exactly what are you doing in that public place that would cause you embarrassment?

Think about it, if you have hours apon hours of surveillance video to go through the only things that are going to attract any attention are those things that are out of the ordinary. If you are doing something you shouldn't be doing in a public place someone saw you, probably got it on their camera phone and uploaded it to the internet. Surveillance video is more secure then that.

I'd rather know that there was surveillance video so that if something did happen to me there was video evidence of it to convict the criminal. Everyone complains that crime is too high, but heaven forbid we infringe on their right to privacy in a public place. After all it is their right to commit a violent crime against someone and not have it recorded on video.

For those who complain that video surveillance cameras in a public place infringe their right to privacy, I ask this.... exactly what are you doing in a public place that you wouldn't want law enforcement seeing on video?

Making Fun Snacks for Kids - Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

I am making snacks for the kids, and me, since we mainly snack all day and have small meals. Having the same thing all the time gets to be a bit boring and trying to provide something healthy they'll eat is a challenge.

I don't like to give the kids suger cereal like Froot Loops or Corn Pops for breakfast, but as a snack during the day makes for a treat with some nutrition. At least better than candy! I will admit these cereals don't have a lot of nutrition packed into them, but some is better than none. I will empty a box into small snack sized ziplock bags and put them into the pantry for a quick snack.

My kids have a choice when it comes to beverages in our house - water or milk. I know a little boring but growing kids can never get too much water or milk.

We love Jello, making Jello healthy is easy and the kids love to eat it. I make a bunch of different options and fill small round glad containers to keep in the fridge. I use Juice and add fruit so I can sleep better knowing at least there is some nutrition and not just sugar and flavoring. My kids love finger Jello, I make this by adding knox gelatin to the Jello, 2 packets for a large Jello box. We use cookie cutters to make fun shapes, I've even made a huge spider and a Jack O Lantern for Halloween.

Ever since I was pregnant with my son in 1999 I've been an omega 3 nut but I don't like fish...... I add flax seed flour (flax seeds milled in a coffee grinder) to all my baking.

Cereal bars are an easy snack to make and an easy snack to pack in lunches. By adding peanut butter, raisons and chocolate chips, different cereals it becomes different every time.

Share your fast, easy and healthy snacks for kids.

Time Apart is Important to Build Close Sibling Relationships

I feel bad for my little girl and wish there were more girls around her age. She feels left out a lot because her brother has lots of kids knocking on the door wanting to play with him, but rarely does she have someone asking her to play. I don't want to make her brother take her all the time, but sometimes I do by asking him questions trying to get him into her shoes. He will usually take her along when I ask.

What I find harder to do though, is to get him to stick up for her when the neighbour boys are being mean to her. There have been times when I've told the neighbour boys if they want to play with him they have to play with her too or he has to come home. The neighbours are brothers and they love to play with my son, the problem is they want nothing to do with my daughter and she ends up crying because they are mean to her.

I then try to get my son into her shoes by asking him how he would feel and if he were her what he'd want to see happen. For the most part it is working and he will take her with him if I ask but he still has a problem sticking up for her when his friends are mean.

Being a big brother is a huge responsiblity because you have this little girl looking up at her knight in shining armour. When he refuses to act the little princesses heart is broken.

It seems any time there is conflict between them it happens as a result of other kids being in the picture. I want them to stand together as a united front against the onslaught of the world, but that is a lot to ask.

They need their own friends, their own space their own alone time to really apprecitate the time they have together. They are individuals that need to find their own strength on their own. I know this, but it is hard when my daughter comes in with tears running down her face because the kids are being mean and her big brother isn't standing up for her.