Happy Family

Most kids love animals and would like to have a pet.  In fact, kids often beg for pets when they see them ... "Can I have a puppy ... please?"  But parents need to think long and hard before introducing a pet into a household.  And of utmost importance is the type of pet your family will be the happiest with and that the pet will be the happiest with and well-cared for.

While some families can deal with a new puppy, others cannot plus puppies are a lot of work ... sort of like having a new baby.  And that is not a joke.  So, even though Susie is begging for a dog or cat, do a little reasearch first ... maybe a bird or fish will fill the pet need, but even little pets need daily care.

Regardless of what pet your family decides on,  you, as parent, should be making this decision by the way, make sure your child will be involved in the care of the pet if they are the one asking for the pet.  Get some books beforehand rather than rushing out to get some little unsuspecting animal.  Read up, with your child, on how much care will be involved, what type of food the animal eats and any other important information.  There are many book that can be borrowed from the library and this is another fun outing that can be part of the Pet planning process.

Explain to your child that they are expected to help care for the pet and really talk about what exactly they will have to do every day.  Whether it is a cat or a bird, explain that not only does the animal need food and water daily, but they must be given attention.  Obviously, depending on the pet, different pets will require different types of attention.  Cats need petting, dogs need exercising, birds like to be talked to.

Sun.  Sand.  Fun.  All these things came together for an End of Summer weekend at the yearly Neptune Festival held at the Virginia Beach oceanfront.  While we weren't personally able to attend this fun event this year, we did find a local photographer, Karen J. Williams, that did.  We had been hoping to share the most fun event of the weekend ... in our opinion, anyway ... the Sand Sculpture contest.

You might not be aware that sand sculpting contests are held all over the world with people, actually lots of teams, that travel around and create some quite magnificent art sculptures from the sand.  Here we are presenting some of the fun highlight from the 2009 Virginia Beach contest.  It's always held in September, a beautiful time of the year to go to the beach for a long weekend.  Enjoy!

Photos printed with Permission, KJWPhotography

Looking for a great list of Kids Eat Free deals?  Look no further than FrugalLiving.tv We think they have one of the most extensive lists around and you can definitely save a ton of money by consulting this list, and, of course, verifying with the restaurants before heading out with the kids.

A great example of Kids Eat Free is the FireHouse Subs restaurants. On Wednesdays and Sundays, at participating locations, kids 12 and under get to eat free from 4pm to 9pm. One free kids’ meal comes with each adult purchase. The kids’ meal at Firehouse Subs includes a sub or sandwich, beverage, Oreo cookies and free fireman’s hat.  And the kids love the Fireman's hat.  This chain was actually started by a family of firemen so it's pretty authentic.

Be sure to bookmark FrugalLiving.tv

To find a Theatre near you:  

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx

It is always awe-inspiring to me when I see siblings helping each other or cooperating during play.  Sometimes this comes naturally to kids and sometimes it doesn't.  Although their genetic makeup and personality play a part, parental behavior and guidance are big factors in this equation.

As we all know, kids learn from example and if you, as a parent, are teaching, through your own relationships with your partner and your own relatives, values such as kindness, compassion and patience, these things will rub off on your children.  It is not always going to be peace, quiet and happiness with your kids but your example will be helping to build their set of values and character.

Another way you can help your kids to develop their sibling relationships is to take charge of their activities.  I'm not referring to being a dictator here but I do think all parents need to take an active interest in their children's daily activites.  Kids who spend a large majority of their time, unsupervised, watching television or playing games on a computer are not interacting with their siblings.  Some activites along these lines are great but parents need to make sure that there are other activites that require cooperation and participation.  Games, in particular, are good since children have to learn to get along and display a certain amount of patience with each other.  These can be indoor or outdoor games, for example, send them on scavenger hunts as a "team" rather than independently.

It's obvious shortly after they're born ... little girls are wired so much differently than boys.  Not to say that they don't share a lot of the same traits and likes, but I can remember such a difference even from the highchair days.  My sons used to shovel the food into their mouths or squeeze peas until they popped to the tops of their little fists.  So, it was a complete surprise to me when my first daughter, sitting in her highchair,  daintily picked up a pea with her  finger and thumb and slowly put it into her mouth.  It is such a joy to watch the differences as they grow.

Little girls even like to choose their outfits at a very early age and watch out if they don't want to wear a certain color.  A little three year old girl I know received a brightly colored digital camera for Christmas and her sister got a pink one.  Because hers was in primary colors, she was very distraught because she got a "boy" camera and her sister had a "girl" camera. 

Little girls can be delightful ... they whirl, they twirl, they dance into your hearts.  They smile, they laugh, they sing with sweet voices.  They are tiny little females in training it seems, as they quickly develop little patterns of nuturing and likes for all things pretty.  And who knows when the Shoe Fairy comes to visit them but somehow they start collecting shoes at a very early age.

If you have any little boys in your life, likely you know that most boys are attracted to all crawling, hopping and slithering things.  It is not unusual to find a bug clenched in their hands or a frog in their pocket.  This is how boys discover their world and interact with it.  Many of these same little boys will grow up to become adults that work in this world in a more scientific way, but this is how they start their wonderful relationship with nature.

Dirt just seems to attract boys.  My one son was even nicknamed "Dirty Magurdy".  He could go out and play and come home looking like he had taken a mud bath, while his brother, that was only one year older, came home looking like he hadn't even been outside.  And I recall one time when my three sons came home with a little green snake they had found.  I was horrified when they brought it into the kitchen and I quickly jumped onto a chair.  They were made to keep the little snake outside but after two days of seeing how gentle the green snake was, as they wore it on their arms, around their neck and in a pocket,  I soon realized that I felt sorrier for the snake.  The snake was released back to nature along with my fear of green snakes.  Obviously, don't encourage any snake encounters until an adult has verified that it is a harmless snake.

Yes, it is a normal part of boyhood to seek these adventures in nature.  Encourage them and be filled with surprise and amazement when they share this part of their world with you ... even if it is a little dirt-filled and slimy at times.

What kid doesn't like to dig in the dirt?  Well, actually, there are some girly girls who don't ... but most kids do enjoy digging ... in the sand or the dirt.

A great outdoor activity for fun, learning and future enjoyment is planting a garden.  Kids can get a little dirty and learn at the same time.  Try to teach the kids some basics when planning and planting a garden.  You can make your planting activity quite simple and just plant seeds that will start growing inside the house until it is warm enough to plant outside or you can plan a regular little garden for outside.

One of the basic things you will need to find out, for the area you live in, is the correct time to plant outdoors.  Most seeds, seedlings or plants will need to go into the ground after all chance of frost has passed.

Most flowers and vegetables can be planted in the Spring once there is no longer a chance of frost, however, some vegetables lend themselves to Fall or Winter planting.  See the link below.

What to do:

Whether you come from a small family or a large family, there is nothing quite like having Family gatherings.  Even though I had grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that lived far away, some of my fondest memories are of the rare times we were able to get together in the summer.  We would meet at my grandparents and even though it was tight quarters we had a ton of fun.  There were cookouts, toad catching and runs through the backyard sprinkler.

Last summer we managed to rent a house at the beach and all the little cousins were there.  They played in the sand, in the pool and went for beach walks together.  I have no doubt that this will be a long-remembered vacation.

There is nothing better than Family and the more you can plan activities together the closer your family will be.  Yes, it's difficult sometimes.  Everyone is so caught up in the business of their lives, but we all need to stand back once in a while and smell the roses.  We all need to make an effort to reach out to other family members to try and include them in our lives.  Even when there are differences, make the effort.  It is well worth it when you see all the kids together, enjoying the sense of "their Family."