One of the things that concern parents when they live so far from the big city is whether or not their children can get a good education.  Especially in the areas where so many schools are cutting back on their budgets.  Subjects such as Drama and Music education, along with sports programs often see the big budget cuts in favor of the basic “3 Rs” that are the core curriculum of so many schools.

I think that the children need to have some enrichment added to their lives, some culture, some lessons that go beyond the basics.  So I’m always pleased to learn of other ways that children can learn the things that are so often overlooked, or cut, from the school’s curriculum.  One of the greatest musical performance services that I’ve heard about from my friend Kevin, who is a music teacher in a local high school is the Music Education Resource website that includes services a variety of ways to help the kids to compose music, as well as to play it.

Posted: July 29th, 2009 under Educational, Entertainment/Fun, Internet, Life, Parenting, Technology.
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As a young mother, you can imagine that I don’t always get to watch my favorite television shows when they are airing because my parental duties interfere with leisure time!  That’s why I was glad to find a great website -Spreety TV Online : Watch TV Shows Online Free.  This website lists television shows you can watch online for free – all in one quick easy location!  So I can find my favorite show – Burn Notice – for example without a lot of searching around the web!  I love it!

Posted: July 19th, 2009 under Entertainment/Fun, Family, Internet, Life, Online, Parenting.
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Yesterday was Mother’s Day.  It was such a nice day; my hubby made sure that I didn’t have to lift a finger doing anything other than entertain the baby from time to time.  He even did diaper duty!  I got to putter around in my flower garden (which is something I love to do!) planting the new pansies that he bought me as a Mother’s Day gift.  He also bought me some new Daylilies which are supposed to rebloom, and I got to plant them, too!  He cooked a nice crock-pot chicken for supper, and we had home made bread.  We had his mother join us for dinner, which was very nice too.  Yes, it was a good day.

Posted: May 11th, 2009 under Entertainment/Fun, Family, Home and Garden, Life, Parenting.
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While in the local coffee shop this afternoon I overheard two young ladies at the table next to me discussing their finances. I would have to assume that they were both in college and out on their own for the first time. Their classes will be over in May and they were brainstorming summer job opportunities and whether they could afford to stay in the area or would they have to go back home and live with their parents to save money.

The one closest to me admitted that she had run up her credit card to the maximum and had little spending money to get her through the rest of the school year. I suspect her spending style will put her home with mom and dad for the summer!

I suppose that is one of the good things about the college experience, being out on your own and accountable for your own money. But I would have hoped that more parents would have talked with their kids about managing their finances before shipping them off to school. I know we have tried our best to prepare our sons to be financially responsible. They know how to balance a checkbook and to spend wisely. I hope they paid attention to the struggles of others and the advice we gave them, so that they never have to face bankruptcy or other serious consequences later in life.

If the girls at the coffeeshop need help in the future, I hope they took the little business card I left on the table for them with a note to look up IVA online. It’s never too late to deal with your problems and turn things around if you have a little help.

Posted: April 5th, 2009 under Finances/Money, Life, Parenting.
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Someone recently asked me why I moved to Maine. Maine is not a densely populated state; in fact only has about one million people in the entire state! I think that the answer lies in the fact that I am basically a shy person, I prefer to be with people I know, or even alone. Rarely do I find myself in a large group where I am comfortable. I think it may go back to when I was a child I had a couple of teachers tell me that no one liked me. I was shy to begin with, and very insecure. To have some teachers tell me that no one liked me simply make me even MORE shy and insecure. It seems that other people mistook my shyness for being a snob. So now whenever I am in a crowd, I feel vulnerable. Sometimes I’m afraid that someone is going to grab my purse and run away with it! Sometimes I’m afraid that I’ll say or do something that will cause a huge public humiliation! So I take comfort in the smaller “crowds” and I feel safer here. I also feel that my family is safer here.

Posted: March 23rd, 2009 under Family, Life, Parenting.
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