I’m very excited to share this week’s activity report with you because I just loved researching my family tree. I started when I was about 13 years old, taking notes and filling in the blanks of my family tree journal that I had gotten for Christmas.

Young children can help create many different family history projects; they don’t have to strictly write in a journal. There are lots of ideas in this report and your kids will have fun while learning about some personal history!

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Surviving the Summer at Home is a series of themed activity reports that you can use to keep your kids busy and unplugged from their video games this summer. I know those awful cries of, “Mom! I’m bored!” so this is just my little way to help ease that stress.

For complete access to the series, simply register your email in the right sidebar. Only available until August 29, 2008.

Subscribers…please let me know what you think! If you leave a comment here, I will definitely read it and respond!

For over two years I had been in the midst of a mini mid-life crisis. As my children grew older and more self-sufficient, I was desparate to find something for ME to do. I was tired of being everybody’s maid and short-order cook but I had no idea where to turn.

One Friday afternoon last May I received an email notice from Nell that Kelly McCausey of www.MomsTalkNetwork.com was looking for a podcasting intern to learn the business and work with her. On a total whim and with only 15 minutes to spare before having to pick up my daughter at preschool, I whipped up a resume and cover letter to apply for this unpaid job. What better way for a stay-at-home mom of 11 years to learn a new skill?

I was running out of time so I took a deep breath and pressed the send button. I had heard in various forums how difficult it was to find work to do from home so I really did not think about it another minute, figuring that a million other people were applying for the internship, too.

You can imagine my surprise when Nell responded to my email and wanted to interview me! Holy cow! I hadn’t interviewed for any job in over 13 years and all I knew about was raising kids. What on earth would I say to win this job?

Well, that interview is a blur as is my subsequent conversation with Kelly! I was stunned when Kelly offered me the position during that first phone conversation. Either I hit a home run or she was desperate! LOL!

Fast forward six months and I could not be happier or more grateful for that chance that Kelly took on me, the inexperienced SAHM who didn’t know the first thing about podcasting. After many silly mistakes and some pretty dumb questions, I feel confident in my new skills, I have pretty steady work every week and I learned to try new things rather than always being afraid of failure. Because of this newfound belief in myself, I am doing some ghostwriting and am loving it!

Hope that wasn’t too sappy, Kelly! No need for tissues, just wanted to pay my respect to an awesome role model!!

My friend Alyssa started posting what she is grateful for on her blog and I wanted to keep in that theme this week. As much as I love to eat, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for all that is good in life and to count our many blessings.

This is a fairly obvious blessing to count first but I am blessed by my family. I have an adoring husband who works hard to support us and two daughters who are the lights of my life (even though they can drive me crazy at times!) They are supportive, loving and patient (well, my husband is patient, not the kids so much!) and I hear the words, “I love you,” everyday.

I also have loving and supportive parents who want to take an active role in my daughters’ lives. They take it upon themselves to visit when they need a granchild “fix”, they take the girls for overnight “vacations” during the summers and they are very generous with their gifts and with their time. They are the ones my girls always want to say hello to when I’m trying to have a phone conversation.

My three brothers and their wives treat my children as their own, for which I am thankful. There is no playing favorites between the two girls; if one is playing, the other is invited to play. My brothers are the cool uncles who love to wrestle and play board games for hours on end while my sisters-in-law are the aunts who give the hugs and who will listen as the girls tell tales about their latest school adventures.

I love the saying that is seen on hats and clothing so much lately, “Life is good.” I couldn’t agree more…

 It’s a fact of life…Kids love to have parties. As parents, we have a tendency to go a little overboard when we throw parties for our kids. Who hasn’t been to a baptism or a First Holy Communion party that resembles a wedding? Who hasn’t read the stories of the big, blow-out bashes some sweet 16’s throw that cost thousands of dollars?  

If you’re a creatively-challenged parent who gets short of breathe at the idea of planning a big party for your kids, come visit the Bashed! event on Sunday, October 28th in New York City. This is a party planning event just for parents, to introduce party vendors for every occasion and to give parents some hand-holding to alleviate all their stress and angst.

Parents can even attend seminars on various topics, from how to have healthy food at a party to how to shop for environmentally-friendly party items. If you have any party planning questions, there will be hundreds of exhibitors at the event to ask and find your answer.

Here are the details:

Sunday October 28, 10AM-6 PM
The Altman Building
135 West 18th Street (bet. 6th + 7th Avenues)
www.altmanbldg.com

Adults: $25/person
Children: 16 & under free
For more information: info@bashednyc.com
Click here for tickets