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Holiday Activity Calendar for Families Seeking More Christmas Spirit

Written by Marybeth Heckler on December 1, 2019. Posted in Holidays.

Nobody wants to be the Ebenezer Scrooge in their family yelling “Bah Humbug!” at the thought of Christmas. But with all of the stress of the holidays, it’s easy to find yourself falling out of the Christmas spirit.

Whether you have little ones who still believe in Santa, or you’re older and feel too “grown up” for Christmas, here are activities for you and your family that can put a smile on your face and warmth in your heart:

Advent Calendars — Some of us fondly remember the advent calendars of our youth that counted down until Christmas. Each day, you would open a window on the calendar and get a piece of chocolate. (Always a plus!)

As a family, create your own advent calendar. Tape the “presents” to each day on a regular calendar. (This is great because you can choose your own candy.) If you want to excite the older kids (or yourself), advent calendars have moved beyond the norm.

Try one of these variations:

Funko Pops — These collectible vinyl figures are super cool and can make for a great holiday tradition.
Legos — These super-cool calendars feature mini-figures each day in a variety of themes. Just don’t leave them on the floor to step on them.
Wine — This one is definitely for the adults! But check out a sampling of wines each day to make you warm and festive.

Santa — You’re never too old for Santa. This year, take part in some kind of activity that features the jolly fat man. Start by writing a letter to Santa thanking him for last year’s gifts and dreaming of what you really want this year. Then, make a trip to the local mall and have pictures with Santa.

Yes, it’s still perfectly acceptable to do this even without kids! If your pets are like family, take them as well to the local pet store for their own set of pictures. Finally, spend a day or two before Christmas baking special cookies for Santa and then leave them out on Christmas Eve. Just make sure they are your favorite types so you can enjoy them when the kids go to sleep.

Tacky Light Tour — Some families have turned their homes into the Griswold house from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Round up the family in your mini-van, throw in some blankets and hot chocolate, and drive around watching the Christmas lights. Just don’t forget your camera and a sampling of Christmas music for the trip.

Movie Marathon — Christmas is the best holiday when it comes to movies that warm the heart. Introduce your little ones to classic Christmas movies like the original Christmas Carol or Miracle on 34^th Street.

Of course, It’s a Wonderful Life is also a perennial favorite. After the kids go to bed, check out non-traditional Christmas movies with Die Hard or Love Actually.

Make a late resolution this year to do something special for Christmas. It can be anything as long as it brings happiness, joy, and warmth to you and your family.

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Teaching Your Children How to Be Compassionate

Written by Marybeth Heckler on November 24, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

In the past few years, bullying has taken center stage as a major problem among our youth. Be it physical bullying in schools or psychological intimidation on social media, this has caused parents, educators, and policy-makers to stand up and take notice.

All of the “zero tolerance” policies in the world, though, will have no impact on children and their behavior unless we begin to teach our kids how to be more compassionate. We have to be able to see our actions and behaviors through the lens of someone else so that we can see how those actions impact others.

Here, then, are ways you can help your child show more sympathy and empathy towards others:

Lead by Example — The first thing you need to do is to show your child how to be compassionate with your own words and actions. Speak kindly and sympathetically of others and try not to be abrasive or critical of others in conversation (at least not within earshot of the kids). Also, show compassion to others in your everyday actions. This can be just as simple as teaching your child to look others in the eye and say “Hello” as they walk by. This teaches them to see others as people deserving of respect, an important step towards compassion.

Volunteer — Another important step in demonstrating compassion yourself is to volunteer your time helping others. Most people think of this as volunteering at soup kitchens and, while that is a great way to help others, you can also do this in smaller stages such as helping a neighbor with lawn work or tutoring kids after school. Your children should see that you are compassionate towards others so they can then turn this into their own actions. You can also introduce them to charitable organizations that seek to help others who are less fortunate, such as Meals-on-Wheels or those who are sick, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Get a Pet — One of the big reasons many people suggest getting a pet is because they can teach your child lessons that will stay with them for their whole lives. If your child has to clean up after, feed, and walk a pet, they learn to care for something besides themselves, a key component in compassion. If you are worried about making a major commitment with a cat or dog, start with something small like a fish.

If the people of the world could learn to be more compassionate, then a lot of our problems would actually fix themselves. But none of this will become a reality until we take the step to teach this to our children and the younger generations.

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How Kindness & Compassion Will Improve Your Life

Written by Marybeth Heckler on November 3, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

Kindness and compassion are two of the defining characteristics that make us a part of humanity as a whole. It’s actually a natural instinct among people, but some repress this feeling or ignore it because they are not mindful of the world around them.

It is the ability to acknowledge those around you, recognize their needs, commiserate with them, and even to show them compassion and sympathy when needed. But compassion can go beyond helping others—it can also benefit you as well.

Kindness can improve your health — Showing kindness and compassion can help improve your physical and mental health by lowering your stress levels, anxiety, and depression. When you perform an act of kindness, it gives you a positive feeling that translates into these healthy benefits. But it goes beyond that. When your stress and anxiety levels decrease, you can actually see a similar decrease in high blood pressure and an overall improvement in your ability to fight off diseases with a boost to your immunities.

Kindness can improve your personal happiness — One of the biggest benefits is that being kind helps you to feel happier in general. When you are focused on nothing but negativity around you, you tend to fall into a cycle of cynicism and depression. By breaking this cycle to show compassion to your fellow human beings, you are giving yourself a boost to your personal well-being.

Kindness allows you to expand your perspective — By showing kindness to others, you are allowing yourself to see the world from that person’s perspective. As Atticus Finch said in To Kill a Mockingbird, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Showing compassion lets you do that in a real world setting so that you can understand what the other person is feeling.

Kindness can improve the world around you — It may seem like a cliché, but kindness is contagious. If you show others an act of kindness or compassion, they and those around you are more likely to “pay it forward” and share that same action with others. When this happens, you actually help make the world a better place. And who doesn’t want to make the world a little bit better?

Kindness and compassion are two very important traits that need to be cultivated as much as possible. It may sound like a naïve proposition, but if everyone could just go out of their way to be a little kinder, the world would be a better place to live in.

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Autumn Activities Bucket List for Families

Written by Marybeth Heckler on September 22, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

Autumn is almost here, and for many of us it’s our favorite time of the year. Maybe it has something to do with the sights, the smells, and the cooler temperatures that require snuggling up under a warm blanket, but there’s definitely something magical about the fall.

If you’re looking for something to do this fall with your family, we’ve got you covered. Take a look at the following bucket list activities for autumn and find one to try this year. Who knows, you may create a lasting family tradition!

• Visit a corn maze — Cornfields and ears of corn have long been a symbol for fall. This fall, visit a local corn maze and have fun getting lost and trying to navigate through the maze. (Just don’t cheat and walk through the maze “walls.”) This trend has really taken off with some corn maze farms getting VERY elaborate with their designs, including some inspired by John Deere tractors and the television show Stranger Things.

• Get in the Halloween spirit — There are actually a few things that you can do this year to make sure your family is ready for Halloween. First, visit your local pumpkin patch and pick out the perfect pumpkins to take home and carve into jack-o-lanterns. There are hundreds of free patterns for pumpkin carving that you can find.

You can make your own costumes together then go trick-or-treating as a family. If you really want to go all out, choose a theme costume for all of you. I’m a huge fan of the Aladdin, Jasmine, and Abu the monkey family costume.

• Get spooky — If you like your Halloween experience to be a little spookier, try having a Halloween horror movie marathon. For the younger kids, pick out cartoons and family-friendly options like Frankenweenie, Hocus Pocus, or Disney’s Halloweentown.

Older kids may love to be introduced to the black and white monster classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy.

If you’re feeling really adventurous, see if any local tour groups are offering ghost or cemetery tours. These can be a great way to find out more about local history and legends while getting a good scare in!

• Autumn treats — Autumn has its own menu of delicious seasonal treats that you should definitely partake in. These include pumpkin lattes (there’s a reason they are so popular), roasted pumpkin seeds, and apple cider. Consider baking a homemade apple or pumpkin pie to celebrate the season and make an extra while you’re at it for your neighbors. Finally, fall wouldn’t be complete without a nice campfire and roasting marshmallows and making smores.

Autumn is a great opportunity to spend time together doing activities as a family. Now that the kids are back in school, take advantage of your evenings and weekends to cross these items off your bucket list.

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Getting the House Back Together After Sending the Kids to School

Written by Marybeth Heckler on August 18, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

If you are a mom of school-age children, then the impending start of the school year is probably feeling like Christmas. You’re so excited to get them back at school so you can get things around the house organized and cleaned instead of having a bunch of little ones camped out all day in front of the TV.

This is a time to restart your house now that it’s empty, and you can do a little bit of “spring cleaning” in the fall. Here are some top tips on how to get your house back into shape after a grueling summer with the kids:

Clothes Clean-Up — One of the few things that kids get excited about when it comes to going back to school is shopping for new clothes. But if you’re going to make room for the new, this is the perfect time to clear out the old. Go through the kids’ closets and dressers and pull out all of the clothes that don’t fit anymore or are looking a little worn around the edges. Create a three-pile system—keep, donate, and trash. But don’t just do this for the kids. This is also a great time to get your own closet under control and pick yourself up a new outfit while you are at it.

Summer Gear and Toys — If you have a pool or go to the beach quite a bit, then chances are you have lots of swimming toys lying around, from sand pails and shovels to floats and noodles. Now is the perfect time to put these away. Be sure to deflate the floats completely and fold them up and place everything in a tote (or two) so that you can unpack them when the summer comes around again.

Refrigerator Maintenance — Now that the kids are gone, you should also take the time to get your refrigerator under control. Empty everything out and toss the expired foods. Be sure to clean all the drawers out with Clorox wipes to disinfect them. Also, pull the fridge out and be sure to clean off the coils to get rid of any accumulated dust. Now, you should have your fridge under control and be able to maintain it easier.

Change the Air Filters — This is something that you need to do once every quarter or so. However, it’s really easy to forget to do it and let that time slip. So, take this as a reminder to change out the filters.

School Supply Organization — If you have a home office or a desk that is used by the family for homework and computers, this is what you should use to get your school supplies organized. Extra paper, pens, and notebooks can be placed into bins and stored on or near the desk so that they can be pulled out when needed.

Now that summer is ending and everyone is heading back to school, it’s time to reclaim your home and get it back under control. This way, you can have some peace before the chaos of next summer arrives.

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Throwing the Best Garage Sale

Written by Marybeth Heckler on August 11, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

Even though spring cleaning was a few months ago, summer is still a perfect time of the year to relieve some of the clutter and also make a little extra money at the same time.

A garage sale gives you the opportunity to turn your unwanted “stuff” into cash, while also clearing out the disorder that comes from having things taking up space in your closets, garage, and “junk” room. (You know the one—the room that started as a junk drawer until it migrated and took over.)

If you’ve never had a garage sale, or you’re just interested in picking up tips for your next one, here are what you need to consider:

1. Find the Best Date and Time
One thing you want to do is check in advance (at least a week) to get a general weather forecast. There’s no point in scheduling a sale if your weatherman is predicting a torrential downpour.

Generally, most people schedule their sales for Saturday mornings so that more people can attend as opposed to having it during a workday. If you have a lot of stuff to sell, you may want to have it over two days if you can (meaning a Saturday and Sunday). You also want to get the sale done early so you miss the heat of the day. Ideally, a 6 am to noon sale works best.

2. Advertise
The earlier you can advertise your garage sale, the better. Many people wait until the night before to put out signs. This is fine, but you want to do a little advertising earlier in the form of social media posts.

If you’re a member of an HOA (homeowner’s association) that has a Facebook page, post about your sale. Also, send out tweets and Instagram posts to try to get the word out. (NOTE: Many neighborhoods host “community garage sale” days where everyone in the area is encouraged to hold a sale. This can help bring in traffic, but the downside is that you have more competition.)

3. Declutter
Now you’re going to need stuff to sell. The best thing to do is get a box and go room by room through all of your belongings to find things you don’t want or need anymore. Have your kids do the same thing with their toys. As you put the items into the boxes, you can also keep tape on hand, so you can price them as you go. This way, you won’t have to go back and price everything later on.

4. Stock Up on Change
One of the worst things is to have someone want to buy an item and you not have enough change to cover the sale. Pick up at least $20 in quarters along with a mix of ones, fives, and tens. (If you can get about $100 total in change, you should be set. Remember, you can always re-deposit what you don’t use when you’re done.)

If you’re ready to get your house clutter under control and make some money at the same time, then a garage sale is definitely the way to go. If you’re left with a lot of stuff at the end, I always suggest just taking it out to your vehicles and donating it. If you can’t get the sale, at least someone may be able to use it and you can pick up a tax deduction in the process.

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Host a School Supply Drive for Needy Families in Denver

Written by Marybeth Heckler on August 4, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

Anyone who is part of the educational process—be it teachers, parents, or students—knows that school can be an expensive proposition.

Unfortunately, education budgets have been hit across the country and many school systems have had to cut back on supplies that they provide to the classrooms. This means that students are expected to bring more and more of the supplies they (and their classmates) will need from home.

When you couple this with economic issues such as unemployment and even homelessness, you can imagine that many parents are finding it hard to provide their children with basic supplies like paper and notebooks.

If you wish to help needy families in your area, here’s how you can host a school supply drive:

Don’t do it alone — A supply drive can be a huge undertaking, especially if you want it to be a success. As such, you need to enlist the help of friends or neighbors who can organize this with you and staff the drop-off locations.
Get advice from the experts — If you’re wondering just what type of supplies are needed, talk to the experts. Contact teachers and principals to see exactly what items they’ll be needing when the kids come back at the end of summer. Most school websites post a list of needed school supplies for each teacher (or grade level). Use these as a starting point for your own drive.
Find a drop-off location — Generally speaking, you’re going to want a place that’s open to the public, large enough to house the supplies you hope to bring in, and centrally located. Speak with local church groups, community centers, or even the local library to see if they can let you use their facilities for this project. If all else fails, contact the schools themselves to see if you can host your drive there.
Promote the drive on social media — This is an absolute must. You want to make sure everyone knows about this event to ensure donations. You should definitely use “traditional” advertising venues such as the local newspaper, but a really great way to promote your event is on social media such as Facebook or Instagram. This way, you can create digital “flyers” of the needed supplies and let your friends, family, and followers know exactly what needs to be purchased.
Timing is everything — Many major retailers host back-to-school sales. In some locations, the entire state may have a Tax-Free weekend with no sales tax on school-related purchases. Hold your drive during or immediately after these events so that people can stock up on items to donate to your cause.

A school supply drive is a great way to help out underpaid teachers who often spend thousands of dollars to help buy materials for their students who can’t afford them. By doing this, you provide for those who are needy while showing support and love to your teachers who greatly need it.

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Weekend Getaways for Families Before School Starts

Written by Marybeth Heckler on July 28, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

Summer is well underway and many people are trying to get in as many family vacations as they can before the school bell rings this fall.

If you’ve already enjoyed your major vacation for the year, or you’re just looking for a cheap weekend rest from the weekly grind, there are always quick vacations you can take for just a couple of days.

Here are some of the best weekend vacation spots in Colorado that you can check out this summer before the little ones head back to school:

1. Beaver Creek
If you’re looking for someplace small and off the beaten path, try this location just a few miles outside of Vail. During the summer, the area is perfect for families that like to spend time outdoors. The area is perfect for hiking, biking, fishing, and other activities including mini-golf that can keep the family entertained.

2. Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park
Are you looking for something “outdoorsy” that can get your kids active and into the fresh air while also handling the complaint that this nature stuff is “boring?” Well, try the Glenwood Caverns park. This location has two things going for it. First, you can spend time exploring the beautiful caverns in the area learning about the natural phenomena that went into making them. You can also enjoy thrill rides including a zip line, roller coaster, and giant swing.

3. The Stanley Hotel
Located in Estes Park, this is a beautiful natural area that lends itself perfectly to hiking and exploring. But the real draw for many people is the Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel in The Shining. To keep with this supernatural theme, the hotel also runs ghost tours, which can be a lot of fun for those who don’t scare too easily.

4. Breckenridge
Another small town with lots of charm, Breckenridge is an authentic “western” town that has many quaint and interesting shops and restaurants. It’s a great spot to head out for whitewater rafting and horseback riding in a beautiful location under the amazing Colorado sky.

5. Colorado Gators Reptile Park
You don’t have to head to Florida to check out a really cool reptile park that gets you up close to some amazing animals. This park features alligators, lizards, snakes, and even has a reptile handling class. You can even check out a Hollywood legend in the form of Morris, the alligator from Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore.

There are a lot of different options for those who are looking to explore Colorado off the beaten path. Before school starts again this fall, take a weekend and travel with your family for rest and relaxation.

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Training Your Kids to Be More Independent

Written by Marybeth Heckler on July 21, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

If you’re a parent, you probably read stories online about adult children still living in their parents’ basement and think, “That will never be my kids.” But the fact is, their parents probably thought the same thing at one point.

Possibly the greatest attribute you can give your children is the ability to be independent. But this isn’t something that you start trying to develop in their late teenage years and it’s not a trait that they are going to just pick up on their own.

With that in mind, here are some tips on how to help train your kids from early on to be more independent:

Do some soul-searching—First off, you need to determine if you are the biggest hindrance to your child’s independence. Ask yourself, honestly, if you find yourself doing tasks for your child just because it’s easier to do it yourself. If that’s the case, then you will need to change some things in your own life to make sure that you can help them become independent.
Chores are a good thing—The next thing you need to do is determine what chores your child can conceivably do at their age. Even smaller children can still be expected to do things like picking up their toys and putting them away. As they get older, tasks such as making the bed, dressing, and brushing their teeth on their own can be added. As they develop more and more responsibility, you can “take the training wheels off” and expect them to do these tasks without being reminded. This establishes early on that you expect them to do things by themselves and that these will eventually have to be done without you having to hound them about it.
So is failure—Another thing that parents have to get over is the idea that their children should never fail at something. This is totally unrealistic. We all fail sometimes, and the truly mature adult is the one who can learn from his or her failures and ensure that they don’t follow this same path again. If you are a helicopter parent who swoops in to rescue your child every time it looks like they are going to mess up or fail, then you will probably spend the rest of your life doing just this. Failure isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Independence is something that every parent wants for their children. But in order to make your child responsible, it’s necessary for you to loosen the reins and let them get out there themselves and fail if possible. If you have teenagers and you insist on doing everything for them and protect them from every potential negative consequence, then you may want to go ahead and clean a space out for them in the basement because it might be a while before they get out on their own.

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Financial Independence Strategies for Moms

Written by Marybeth Heckler on June 30, 2019. Posted in Motherhood.

Let’s face it: trying to raise a kid (or kids!) can be a terrifying proposition in this day and age. One of the main reasons why it gets so scary is the cost that is involved. Kids aren’t cheap.

According to one study, the cost of raising a child for 17 years will run you almost $250,000. All of this can put a strain on your finances, particularly if you are a single mom trying to handle it alone.

If you are in this situation, it’s probably time to sit down and do an examination of your finances so that you can declare your own financial independence.

Assess where you stand—The first thing you need to do is to learn how to do a budget. First, look at your past three months (or even the past year’s) spending and sort things into three levels. The first should be for absolute essential purchases and bills, such as mortgage/rent, utilities, car payment, and the like. The second should be for things that are essential (or pretty close) but that you may have some “wiggle room” with, such as phone bill and groceries. The third should be your absolute nonessential bills. This would include that daily Frappuccino from Starbucks, your shoe and purse collection, and your subscriptions to things like Netflix and Spotify.
Say goodbye to the last section—That third pile of nonessential bills are going to have to go bye-bye (at least until you get more stability in your finances). Sure, these are items that you are going to miss, but they are not something that will destroy your life if you get rid of them. If you are spending $5 a day every workday at Starbucks, then cutting that out will save you over $1250 a year. Just cutting out these types of expenses for a couple of years may hurt at first, but it will allow you to pay off your debts and be more stable with your finances.
Adjust the middle section—Start looking carefully at those bills that you can adjust each month. When it comes to groceries, remember that there is nothing wrong with being a coupon and sales shopper. Also, consider getting a membership to a wholesale club like Costco and buy everything in bulk so you can save money in the long-run. Also, look at things like your Internet and phone bills and see if you can cut those back to the absolute minimum. Remember, every penny counts.
Pick up a second job—This may sound hard to do if you have children, especially ones who need constant care or those who have to be shuttled around by mom’s taxi service. But there are several jobs that you can do from home, including everything from medical coding to blogging. Now’s the time to explore some of these part-time options that can give you a secondary income that will help you get out of debt faster. Once you can get rid of those pesky credit card bills, you can cut back and still maintain your independence.

Financial independence isn’t something that is going to happen overnight. But with some time and careful planning (and a good bit of sacrifice), you can get things on track so that you can stop living paycheck-to-paycheck.

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Tag: parenting

Whether you have little ones who still believe in Santa, or you’re older and feel too “grown up” for Christmas, here are activities for you and your family that can put a smile on your face and warmth in your heart:

Here, then, are ways you can help your child show more sympathy and empathy towards others:

If you wish to help needy families in your area, here’s how you can host a school supply drive: