Tag Archives: cotton

How Old Should Children Be Before They Watch the News?

The television news can be incredibly scary. With the focus being on bad and tragic news and information, children can get exposed to some rather graphic and unpleasant realities long before they are really developmentally old enough to process them. I remember one of my own children having nightmares for nearly a year when she heard a statement on the news that said something like every person in America would experience a house fire in their lifetime. She was horrified that our house would burn any day. So, how old should children be before they watch the news, and what … Continue reading →

Ask Dr. Universe

Want to know why the sky is blue? Ask Dr. Universe, who has the answers to this and many other questions that come from kids. We have been watching the progress of a frequent visitor in our house, a seven-legged spider that seems to have an affinity for the space between the screen and storm window in our dining room. No matter how many times I free this spider, it comes back, sometimes reappearing in that screen-storm window space in the kitchen window just for variety. We know it is the same spider for the fact that it only has … Continue reading →

Marriage in the News: Class or Fee, which Will it Be?

Did anybody else fall for Heather’s April Fool’s Day joke? I totally did. Then, when I saw the Nebraska story, I wasn’t sure if it was the real deal or not. I couldn’t find anything in my usual online news sources either, but I’m still going to offer my opinion. While I agree that the intentions behind the Nebraska bill sound good, and that couples would do well to examine their relationships more thoroughly before marrying and perhaps receive instruction, I am not one who tends to applaud government control. Heather noted that the bill doesn’t force couples to engage … Continue reading →

Fun with Fonts!

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I can say that I am mildly obsessed with fonts. I own an encyclopedia of fonts and I labor over every stylistic decision I need to make for my online tee shirt and gift shop. Even years ago, I used to spend hours upon hours designing my old record label’s website. To this day, I pay close attention to the layouts and fonts used in magazines, websites and on product boxes – yes, I am a little strange. One evening, while writing an article for Families.com, my girl climbed up on my lap and wanted to see what I was … Continue reading →

Fun with an Abacus

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Our daughter celebrated her third birthday this past weekend, and one of the gifts we bought her was an abacus. We chose a wooden abacus made by Imaginarium, which I think is quite colorful and lovely. It has ten rows of beads, with two rows each of five different colors: red, blue, orange, green and yellow. I’m happy to say that so far, my girl loves it! One day out of the gate and the abacus is the early favorite, along with a beautiful wooden high chair and cradle that Grandmom and Grandpop gave her for Baby Nora. As she … Continue reading →

Frugal Man Leaves $700,000 Estate

Neighbors in one Chicago town were surprised to learn that a retired janitor, who was extremely frugal, left behind a $700,000 estate when he passed away in March of last year. According to the Chicago Tribune, which reported the story yesterday, a friend and neighbor had been appointed to take care of the estate. While cleaning out his small ranch home, she was shocked to find envelopes full of money. “Dozens of them were stashed in dresser drawers, on shelves in a linen closet, in a Fannie May candy box. Every one was stuffed with cash.” The cash in the … Continue reading →

Family Issues: Current Events and News

Do you watch the news on television, listen to it on the radio, check it out online, or read the paper? Do you seek out more than one source for news before forming an opinion? Today, many people get their news and form opinions based on sensational headlines, photo ops, and quickie sound bytes. There is much more going on in the world than what one can glean from these teasers. If you’ve ever watched a “Man on the Street” segment of Fox News’ “Hannity and Colmes” show, you might be surprised by how many people have no clue what’s … Continue reading →

In the News: Jealousy gone Frighteningly Wrong

Sure, people get jealous from time to time. We’re human. Still, what about a guy that gets insanely jealous before the marriage even gets started? What do you say about a man who is so insecure concerning his soon-to-be young wife that he decides to make sure others know she “belongs” to him? A man in his mid-fifties preparing to marry a woman in her early twenties is not unheard of. Feelings of insecurity in such a relationship are not shocking either. What this man did about it, however, is absolutely appalling. Reports indicate that the night before the wedding … Continue reading →

Helping Children Deal With News Trauma

Every time you turn on the news you are confronted with stories of car crashes, murders, bombings, or the latest natural catastrophe. As adults we can distance ourselves from the tragedies playing out on the television screen. But for children the news can be confusing and scary. The kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, from her bedroom, received a lot of news coverage. My 6-year-old cousin saw some of the footage. As a result she was scared to sleep in her own room alone. For months she had to sleep in her older brother’s room, because she felt safer. Her parents did … Continue reading →

The Year In Review: Television

Oh what a year it’s been… in television that is. Some of your favorite shows may still be on (“Desperate Housewives”) while others may have bit the dust (“Will and Grace”), but look back at 2006 and you’ll see definite trends existed in the world of make believe. More Dramas Taking a cue from hits like “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives,” the networks debuted one drama after another – too many, in fact, according to media analysts, for busy viewers to keep up with. The winners: NBC’s “Heroes” and “Medium.” The losers: Fox’s “Vanished” and the CW’s “Runaway.” Nightly News ABC—-Tragedy … Continue reading →