We often forget to show recognition to those who deserve it. How many times have you busted your butt off at work, and not even got a thank you. I know I have, I know my husband has, and I know thousands of others out there have as well. Wouldn't it be nice if your boss said thank you every so often, so you knew the work you were doing was being recognized? Sometimes all it takes is a little something to show those working hard that their work is being noticed. One way to show recognition is with pins. Handing out pins for a job well done will put a smile on the ones receiving its face. It will let them know you have noticed, and all their hard work isn't a waste. They have sports pins, awareness pins, school pins, and they also have nursing pins. However, pins are not just for recognizing a job well done, or ones accomplishments, they are also worn to show you support a cause, such as breast cancer, or even autism. Matter of fact, that is a great way to show you do support the … [Read more...]

When laying down a rug to help offset a room, which color to you prefer? I prefer darker colors, with darker colors if the kids spill something on it, it tends to blend in. Take red rugs for example, ketchup from those dropped burgers that tend to stain, will not show as bad. Clean it up, and any of the mess that didn't get cleaned up before it set, will be unnoticeable. Just like kool-aid, I don't know how many times my daughter spilled kool-aid on the floor only for it to leave a huge stain, and everything I tried only lifted the stain a small bit, having a darker color rug helps hide the mess your children make. I have personally learned this the hard way. Before my husband and I had our daughter we had light colored carpet, after she arrived and got older we had to replace the carpet with something that would allow the stains to blend in. I had tried cleaning the carpet as well as stain removers, but the stains were already set and nothing I tried worked. Although I still … [Read more...]

How many of you have plans for tomorrow? My sister and I are going to take the kids around the neighborhood, and freeze out butts off! We took them to a small event last night and it took me about 3 hours to get warmed back up. One thing I miss about Tennessee is the weather. I got spoiled to not very cold temps for long periods of time. Granted it isn't much warmer down there right now, but it is still warmer. Last night the kids got to feed apples to the goats, paint pumpkins, and go from trunk to trunk getting treats. Over all it was pretty fun, I really wish Halloween was like it once was when we were kids. I remember when 6 o' clock came we were out the door going door to door. Now you have to be super careful going door to door, and there is no way I would allow my daughter to go by herself. To many things could happen now days, it seems as the years go by the people in it get worse and worse. Granted there are a lot of good people out there, there are also a lot more bad … [Read more...]

Being a home schooling family, we decide what our child learns and when. Living in the South most my daughter's life a big topic was Black History. I personally feel this is a topic that all should teach their children. It is important for them to know about slavery, the civil rights movement, the African American leaders that made a difference. During the month of February the news stations always brought back a little bit of history, and my daughter always asked questions. A lot of the time I didn't have the answers for her questions, but I did my best to answer them. One reason I think it is important for our children to learn it all, is so they know in today's world we are all equal. Although no two people are a like we should all be treated the same. In the South there is still a lot of hate for the other races, I blame this on poor education. I don't know how many times I would be standing in line at the store, and heard someone make a racial remark. Often my daughter would … [Read more...]

Okay not really, I dislike cleaning. It seems whenever I clean I turn around and it is already messy. Kind of defeats the whole point in cleaning, right? Who here likes to clean... I think the room I dislike cleaning the most is the kitchen. I dislike washing dishes, the stove, the fridge, and mopping the floors. If I could pay someone to do just that room, I would, and I wouldn't mind cleaning the rest of the home. It just seems like the room that we use the least, gets the messiest the fastest. How is that possible... I have learned in all my years of a professional house cleaner. Okay I didn't go to school to learn to clean, but I have been doing it for over 30 years, so let's assume I am a professional house cleaner. Anyways, I have learned, good degreasers are the key to not having to use a lot of arm muscles to get the kitchen cleaned. I take a bucket add a little degreaser and some hot water, then I start to scrub. I do the stove first, then fridge. I even use it on the … [Read more...]

Who all is ready for Halloween? We are, thank goodness. I have my daughters costume, I was lucky enough to get both my nieces their costumes. Now it is all about the waiting. My daughter is counting down the days. We decided to make this a super fun one since it is the first time going with my nieces. Friday we are going to hit up a few places, and have some fun at my sisters. We are thinking about maybe some fun crafts, and Pizza making. Saturday we will hit the Haunted Barn in my area, and the corn maze as well as some more trick or treating. Then finally Halloween night we will go around my sisters neighborhood, the old fashion way. I think I am right a long with my daughter pretty darn excited. How many of you like Halloween, and cannot wait for all the fall festivals to begin? I will be sure to get lots of pictures so I can share on the site. Maybe start a fun things in Michigan section. I know there will be plenty of fun times with my sister and those beautiful babies of … [Read more...]

If you have ever been to a big city, you know getting around can be a pain. I have been to a few big cities, and I will be honest, I am not a fan! When I was younger we went to Chicago, we stayed almost right by the air port, talk about a fun time sleeping. I was young so we had fun watching out the window as the planes landed and took off. As people boarded the shuttles to find their hotel rooms, or to take them off to their meetings. When you are in big cities like that you want to contact a shuttle service to get you around. Trust me let someone that knows their way around do the driving for you! Chicago Airport Shuttle Service has been doing it for over 20 years so your best bet would be to stick with them. If you are new to the area and you drive, be prepared to get lost. When we stayed in Chicago we drove, and if I was to do the trip again, I would shuttle it. Not only does this keep me from losing my mind, it saves me on some gas. If you are in the Chicago area, I suggest … [Read more...]

If you are familiar with the court systems, you know it is always smart to have someone on your end taking notes. Although, it isn't always needed, sometimes having a detailed log of what went on will help you later down the road. Whether you are the lawyer or the Client, hiring a Court Reporting Service would be extremely helpful to your case, and will benefit both Lawyer, and Client. If you are the client you maybe wondering how such service would benefit you. You maybe thinking this will only make your bill go up more. With having someone taking notes, there will be a detailed dialog of what happened. So there will be no "I don't remembers" and if there is, well the logs can be pulled to refresh memories. This will also help your Lawyer recall what was said on the opposite side. I have learned it is always smart to keep notes. Whether it is at a parent teacher conference, or a work meeting. When my daughter went to public schools, I was not a note taker, and the teacher had … [Read more...]

At what age did your daughter start showing interest in purses and bags? My daughter is 10 and has been playing with purses and bags since she was about 3! If she has a bag and her toys fit, in they go. I guess this is her way of getting all her toys at once. Whenever we are in the store if she sees a bag she likes she is wanting me to purchase it. Once we get home she is organizing her things... Which set of toys go in this bag what set go in that one. She currently has a bag for her littlest pets, her squinkies, monster high dolls, her purse contains her "make-up" and money. Now don't get me wrong I have many bags/purses as well, but I am a momma I should have a million and one bags. I need those bags for grocery shopping to cut down on trash, I need them for packing small lunches when we are going to be gone for awhile, when she was younger I needed them for her diapers. Now that I think about it, can one have way to many bags? Purses is a different story, I only have one … [Read more...]