Is Raising Boys Or Girls Hardest?

Raising children is a chore in itself, but what about raising a daughter? Is is any harder than raising a son? Well, I guess that depends on your point of view. I have 5 children and my oldest is a girl, then I had a boy, a girl, another boy and my last one is a girl. I have had my share of ups and downs with both the girls and the boys but I will say that raising a girl, you have to deal with hormones. Yes, boys have them too, but I think you need to be extra careful with the girls. Do you have a good relationship with your teen? If not, maybe it's good time to try and open the doors of communication. Start by talking about light hearted subjects, showing your interest in what they are actually saying. I will have to admit, some of the things that might come out of their mouths can be quite shocking at times, but try and keep an open mind. Thank goodness my daughter and I are very open and honest in our relationship. I count my blessings every day.

How To Buy Christmas Without Breaking The Bank?

Teens love shopping and my daughter's no different. She had more than a dozen friends on her Christmas list last year and had to have that special something for each and every one of them. Dollar Tree really does offer alot of nice bath soaps, body lotions and things but what about from other places? I have found that Bath and Body Works really can deliver a great gift so close to Christmas.....they have lots of sales, not to mention the coupons that you can print out from your computer for free things. This year, my daughter has decided to hand out flavored candy canes since there's so many friends to give to this year. What ideas do you have for teens at a reasonable cost without breaking the bank? How about homemade fudge or cookies? There's tons of recipes online that your daughter can make and hand out! They can also be put into some really cute cookie bags as well.

Was It Stealing Or Just Borrowing?

I happened to have gone out of town last week but was only gone for one night. I was on my way back and my daughter had someone pick her up so she could go out for the day. No problem, however, this person who picked her up, also happened to pick up MY sunday newspaper, which was in my yard. I came home, looked high and low for it and no paper. Well, when my daughter came back that afternoon, they also brought back my paper and said that they wanted to look at it. Everything was there, except for my beloved coupons, which do save me alot of money. My daughter said that the lady asked her if I used the coupons and she told her YES, but this did not matter to the lady. This lady decided to keep my coupons. Now, I explained to my daughter that it's not about the paper at all. I was upset that someone had taken upon themself to grab my paper and keep my coupons without asking. It's not about the materialist coupons, however, it's about RESPECT!!!! I would never have taken someone else's paper or anything that belonged to them and not ask first. I was blown away by this person's concept of give borrowing. Did it hurt me in any way? Actually no, but I still wonder where the respect was in this situation. I have talked to my daughter about respecting other people's things....and if you want to borrow something, please ask for it first....don't just take it. Don't take what doesn't belong to you !

Christmas Spending

With Thanksgiving now past and Christmas closely upon us, if we haven't started doing our Christmas buying, it's about time to start. The money is tight, the stores all have bargains and we have gifts to buy. I am trying to teach my darling daughter that when choosing a gift for a particular person, don't go out and buy just anything, buy something that they will enjoy, use or otherwise appreciate. Pay attention to what they like and make a list of things that you could consider buying. Secondly, check out the ads in the Sunday paper to see if any of those things are going to be on sale.... and lastly, check online to see if any coupons are going to be offered, because alot of time, people don't realize that let's say for instance that: Bath and Body Works is having a sale on buy 2 and get one free, but if you were to look online, there's a coupon for buy 1 and get one free. What a great deal is that?