Ideas for Saving Money on Gas

The current economic climate calls for stretching the budget and pinching pennies whenever and wherever possible.  With gasoline prices skyrocketing, it makes sense to put cutting fuel costs high on the priority list.  Here are a few tips to give you a good start in getting the most out of the money you spend on gasoline:

·         Plan errands around other necessary trips like taking the kids to school or going to work.  You will save a bundle if you stop by the grocery store, dry cleaners, bank or drug store on your way to or from other necessary driving trips.

·         Carpool.  Chances are there are people in your circle who live and work in the same area as you. Taking turns driving or sharing fuel costs means savings for everyone involved.

·         Keep your car maintained.  Oil changes, filter changes and other recommended maintenance will make your car run better, last longer and allow for better gas mileage.

·         Use a credit card that offers gas rebates.  Many cards give you as much as 5% back on gas purchases.  While it doesn’t seem like much, it adds up over the course of a year.

·         Keep your tires properly inflated.  Maintaining correct tire pressure will give you better gas mileage, as well as extending the life of your tires.

·         Roll the windows down when you are going slow, but keep them up when you are on the freeway.  Rolled down windows create excessive drag on your vehicle when you are going fast, so only roll your windows down when you are doing start and stop driving in the city.

·         Use low octane fuel.  This alone could potentially save hundreds of dollars every year.  Unless you own a car that specifically calls for higher octane fuel, you are wasting your money by buying it.  Stick with the lesser expensive gasoline and save your money.

·         Keep extra weight out of the trunk.  The heavier your vehicle is, the more fuel it takes to operate.  Store your stuff in your garage, not in your trunk.

·         Utilize your GPS system.  It will keep you from making wrong turns and getting lost.

·         Keep a steady speed.  Braking and accelerating takes more fuel than simple driving at a steady speed. 

Tough times call for creative ways to save money.  By implementing some extra planning and using common sense, you can combat soaring fuel prices.

What Families Can Learn from the Recession

While undoubtedly hard to weather, the current economic climate offers a host of opportunity for parents and kids, alike, to learn valuable lessons.

• Saving.  Nothing teaches about money like not having any and an economic downturn reinforces the fact that things don't always go as planned.  Families that experience economic hardship have the experience to plan for another one should it come.  Saving 10% is a great start to building up some reserve resources.
• Taking care of what you have.  In a comsumerist society, there is not a lot of emphasis placed on preserving possessions.  Why?  Because you just go out and buy another one.  A recession automatically helps people shift their perspective concerning materialism and it helps them learn to value their things more.  Things that are valued are taken cared of, cleaned, repaired, and maintained.
• Delayed Gratification.  Today, people want stuff and they want it now!  Even though we have plenty of drive-thru this or that to get you want on demand, life isn't really like that.  A recession can teach people that they don't have to have the latest and greatest right now and that some things are worth waiting for. 

History indicates that many alive today will go through at least one more major recession in their lifetime.  With this in mind, it pays to capitalize as much as possible on bad circumstances by learning some truly valuable life lessons.

How Childhood Sibling Relationships Can Affect Adult Behavior

How much influence do childhood brother/sister relationships have on our adult life? It seems that much of our adult emotional and social influence can largely be attributed to the quality of our sibling relationships early on. While parents teach us the proper way to perform socially, siblings teach us how to get along with friends and peers. A parent's responsibility consists of teaching children principles and skills relating to manners, respect for authority and acting appropriately in public. A sibling, however, acts more like a mentor in the realm of socialization.

Is Sibling Influence Good or Bad?

Studies show that younger children that have a good relationship with their positively motivated siblings are more apt to experience a productive adulthood. But what about those siblings who smoke, drink and engage in other delinquent behavior? The younger child will likely pick up on that behavior and will be more inclined to...........read more

Zucchini Gruyere Casserole

This fantastic side dish is easy to make, rich and cheesy, and chock full of nutritious zucchini.

Ingredients:

1 package of crescent rolls

2 or 3 sliced or diced zucchini
1/2 a medium onion, diced
 1/2 pound gruyere or swiss cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon or so minced garlic
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (other types of bread crumbs would work too)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start by sautéing onion and zucchini in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat - about 10 minutes. While veggies are sautéing, open a can of crescent rolls and remove dough. Press into lightly greased casserole dish. Make sure you press out all perforations and spread dough up the sides of the casserole dish. Remove veggies from heat. In a food processor, grate gruyere cheese. You can also do this by hand, but the food processor is much faster. Mix gruyere with beaten egg and add it to slightly cooled zucchini mixture. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Pour over crescent roll dough in casserole dish. Mix panko bread crumbs with a little olive oil and sprinkle top of casserole. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Defining the Strong-Willed Child

All children can display willful and defiant behavior on occasion, but with strong-willed children, challenging authority and exhibiting a propensity for stubbornness and persistent inflexibility is an everyday occurrence. As a parent, becoming aware of your child's strong-willed personality will help you understand that they are not necessarily acting out on purpose. In fact, strong-willed children are predisposed to being more self-determined, independent, and tenacious than other more compliant children.

What does it mean to be strong-willed?

A combination of nature and nurture, the strong-willed child has a set of characteristics that sets them apart from other children. Consider the following traits when determining if your little one is of the strong-willed persuasion:

• Persistence. Strong-willed children are goal-directed and it can be very difficult to give up on a project or get them to try something a different way. They have a tendency to have rigid mindsets. This can be advantageous in some respects, but is also a disadvantage in others.

• Inflexibility. All children perform better and are more stable when they have structure in their lives, but strong-willed children have a particular aversion to upset schedules and seem to be thrown off-course when things change.

• High mental or physical energy. Many strong-willed children exhibit extreme creativity and often their minds are running non-stop. This characteristic can be manifest in physical activities such as sport-related activities, dancing, or acting. Alternatively, many strong-willed children exert their energy in mental activities such as drawing, building, or using their imaginations to the extreme.

• Determination. While most children demonstrate determination at certain times, this defining trait is the hallmark of a strong-willed child. This display of unrelenting resolve is what can make a strong-willed child a world-changer. But it is also part of what makes them so difficult to parent.

Are you pushed to your limit? Do you wonder if other parents have as much trouble with their children? Do you sometimes consider that there may be something amiss with your child? Chances are you are dealing with the wonderful world of the willful child. Although there is not much you can do to change it, there is a lot you can do to channel it. Strong-willed children are the ones who mature into adults who have an extra dose of grit and tenacity to effectively make a positive mark on, not only their immediate surroundings, but the entire world.

Getting Toddlers Ready for Preschool: Bathroom Basics

Topping the list of anxieties that children will experience as they enter preschool or kindergarten are issues surrounding going to the bathroom. Even at age 5, kids don’t have full control of their bladder and may still have daytime accidents from time to time. Additionally, young children may not be completely aware of the early physiological signs that tell them that it’s time to go. Consequently, they may have a very small window between the time they realize their need to use the restroom and the time that they cannot hold it anymore. At this age, children also tend to become fully engrossed in fun activities and find themselves waiting until the last minute.


Problems Getting Clothes Up and Down

Many children will experience anxiety from having to go the restroom away from home. In their own environment, mother or some other trusted caregiver was usually the one helping with buttons, zippers and cleaning. At school, some children will not like having to accept help from teachers and other caregivers with these issues. The best advice for parents is to dress your children in clothes that are easy to get up and down. For instance, a good choice for boys would be to opt for elastic waist pants as opposed to zippers and buttons. They are more comfortable and children can usually pull them up and down fast. For girls, tights could be much more difficult to deal with than leggings. Parents can ease some of the anxiety by preparing to practice buttoning, zipping and snapping at home. The more confident your child is, the easier it will be to adjust to a school environment.

Bowel Movements

There are few children who do not become anxious from time to time when they have to have a bowel movement at school. They may find that, with all the excitement of school, it’s hard to relax and go. They may be afraid that somebody will walk in on them, or they may feel like they are taking too long. Whatever the case may be, parents can ease this sort of anxiety by reminding their child that it is okay to have a bowel movement at school and that the teacher understands when it takes a little longer to go. Teachers can also put children at ease by reiterating to children how to lock the door or how to let others know that they restroom is being occupied.

Even though teachers give ample restroom breaks and go over the rules surrounding proper use of the bathroom, toddlers who are just entering preschool or kindergarten are prone to have bathroom anxiety. Developing confidence in your child is one of the best strategies for relieving them of their anxiety. Make sure they can get dressed and undressed; teach them how to clean themselves; and let them know that they can tell the teacher if they are having any kind of problem. Above all, reassure them that everything will be okay if an accident does happen. 

14 Secrets to Potty Success - Parenting.com

14 Secrets to Potty Success - Parenting.com