Back to School Shopping: First test for the economy?

It's time to shop for school clothes. Like a lot of people, back to school shopping this school year will be on a tighter budget than usual. I am really glad my pre-teen hasn't gotten into the "I can only wear it if it comes from a mall" mindset yet. I can still find her budget-minded clothes and she'll be happy with them. This will probably be the last year I can do that though.

I was looking for cute clothes for my younger two girls and found these girls dresses that would be cute alone when it is still a bit warmer and then with a pair of capris or stretch pants under them for the winter months. They are affordable and adorable.

I think the back to school shopping this year will show if the economy is rebounding or if we are still on a downward slide. I've seen bits of news from President Obama who says his stimulus package is doing what it is supposed to. I think the first test of that will be in the sales for back to school shopping. We shall see.

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American Academy of Pediatrics Vaccination Schedule

I was looking up the 2009 vaccination schedule that the American Academy of Pediatrics has online, and I noticed that they show the vaccination for Gardasil as being called HPV. I guess since HPV is what it is for, it makes sense but it threw me a bit. I hope parents realize that the HPV vaccination will most likely mean Gardasil and that there have been a lot of problems seen in girls who get this vaccine up to and including death.

We need to be knowledgeable patients when it comes to our health. Just because people wear lab coats and have degrees on their walls, it doesn't necessarily mean that everything they say would be best for us. Be informed! Be mindful. It's your health. I think medical care is a must but I think we have to play a part in our own care as well.

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Search Engine Optimization

I have been working on learning what search engine optimization is all about. I want my blogs to get a good amount of traffic. This one gets good traffic and my stepfamily blog gets a great amount of traffic. However, I need to work on getting traffic to some of my newer blogs still. I want to drive them up in the search engines when somebody searches for a particular word or topic so I am learning about seo services. I just want to keep my blogs interesting and useful.

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President Obama's Health Care Plan

Does anybody understand exactly what it entails? What it will cost us? What it includes? Who it excludes? I don't. I have not heard anything good about it so far.

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What about Bob?

My mother-in-law used to say my son, as an infant, looked like that baby (Bob) in all the commercials (What about Bob?). That baby was everywhere! There's even a stroller with his name called the Bob stroller though I seriously doubt it was named after that baby. I'm just being goofy. This stroller is for outdoor terrain - you can take it practically anywhere! That's a lot better than our stroller that barely managed the neighborhood sidewalks!

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Is Imaginative Play Extinct in our Children?

According to an article on Primary School Suite 101, children who use their imagination benefit greatly in these ways:

• Learning cooperation;
• Being successful in school (helps children solve problems by thinking things through);
• Practice real life skills (playing teacher, playing grocery store, assigning roles, puppets, etc.);
• Encourages a richer vocabulary; and
• Helps children grow into creative thinkers.

I have to agree that children should use their imagination more. I also think that children today are over-scheduled (and we struggle with this ourselves). It was always an issue with my stepkids because practically every day of the week was scheduled for them and they really didn't know how to entertain themselves...just to be able to play. To sit still was foreign. They were used to running from one place to the next with their mom so when they came to our house, we made sure they had ample down time.

Our kids would sign up for everything they could too if they could but we have to have a limit, there has to be boundaries as we, as parents, set those boundaries. My kids certainly don't get to.

I enjoy seeing my kids find fun in make believe, in using their toys to create imaginative worlds. You can find nice toys, like at Mighty World Toys, that children can just sit and play. They can create their own fun that doesn't involve electronics (like video games) or being over-scheduled in every single extra-curricular activity under the sun.

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Midget Racing

We just finished up with the pee wee cheerleading practice. The girls are 2nd and 3rd graders and really cute. They'll cheer for pee wee football.

While we were at practice (which is held in the park), I could hear the midget racing on the track in the park. It's actually called Quarter Midget racing and it's a huge deal in this area and for those who travel here to race. I've never seen it up close, only heard the whine of the engines as they raced around the track. I wouldn't want to race around a track but I'd love an all-terrain vehicle like the Yamaha Rhino 660 to take off road. That's my idea of fun!

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Walter Cronkite Dies

Dead at 92, newsman Walter Cronkite has passed away.

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Renew Marriage Vows

Our fifteen year anniversary is only a little over a year away and I want to get my husband a new wedding band. So, I am going to start looking at mens rings.

A couple years ago, he bought me a new band that had celtic design work on it for when we renew our vows. When we married, we married in front of a judge. We were in the middle of a court battle with his ex so we didn't have the money or the time to plan anything else. For our renewal, we want to do a type of handfasting renewal ceremony. I would love to do it in the woods of the Smoky Mountains but that might be out of reach for us. For now, I have to find him the perfect ring.

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Something to Out-Smell Diapers!

I see the reed diffusers in stores whenever I shop but I always pass them by because I see spills happening between four kids and three dogs. Our puppy would run away with the reeds! I found one without reeds! They're called WoodWick Spill-Proof Reed Diffusers and they work like the others but there are no reeds and they are spill-proof. The bottle it comes in is nice enough to display in your home too. Now you can use fragrance in your house (to help rid the home of the dog and diaper smell) and it will not be obvious!

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Second Baby Shower Etiquette

One of my sisters is having a baby shower in a few weeks for her second child. I was surprised to hear this since it is her second child, though there is a gap between the first child and the new baby. I was also surprised to be asked to contribute a certain amount towards a new crib that costs A LOT of money (she still has her first crib from the first shower that we all bought for her). I have to say that I was irritated by the request and told the sister making the request I wouldn't be contributing towards another crib.

One sister (who is unemployed, in nursing school, and is a single mother) was asked to help pay a third of the hall costs! What gall! I'm going to buy this sister a t-shirt that says "doormat" on it (and yes, I told her I was going to do that).

I really don't agree with this second shower to begin with. I feel that because my pregnant sister and her husband both work, they shouldn't be expecting others to pay for a second shower. I feel that if they want a second shower, then they should pay for it themselves in this economy (especially asking unemployed others to foot some of the bill).

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Computer Shopping

After a lot of complaining when my laptop would overheat and shutdown several times a day, and my threats to throw it out the window, I bought a Gateway desktop. I needed a computer for work that would work consistently, not when it felt like it (huh, sounds like some people I know). I like the convenience of a laptop but you get more for the money with a desktop so I've chained myself to my desk.

Now my system is under warranty so I can get the support I need if it does act up. Hopefully, it won't but you never know. Having good support is a necessity when you're working on computers. They seem a bit finicky.

There are different ways to get computer support. One way is through orange county computer support. If you don't know your way well enough around computers (and most of us don't), find somebody who does.

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My Blog Rating

I was pointed to a site from a post on a fellow stepmom's blog and wanted to try it out. It rates your blog. Here's my rating for this blog:

This Page is Rated

G

www.lifeofsyn.com

Lets101 Quizzes - Fun quizzes for blog & myspace

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Boot Girl

I am a boot girl. I LOVE boots! I was looking for Dansko shoes and came across these boots. They come in black too. With school clothes starting to hit the stores already, it has me looking at Fall clothes for myself as well. The heel is high enough to look nice but low enough to wear everywhere.

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Going to Visit Family After 4 Years

My family lives in another state so I don't see them very often. We're making our first trip back soon. It's been about four years!

One sister is due at about that time to have her baby. I'm hoping she'll give birth by then so there will be a little one to cuddle while there. I've definitely been missing the babies since mine are now beyond that stage. What I like now is that I am able to give them back after I get the cuddles out of the way.

I've been looking for a gift to get for the newest addition and came across this baby blanket. I was aiming more towards personalized baby gifts and this is perfect. If she will be anything like one of her brothers, she'll be attached to a blankie as well.

Last I heard, they were still undecided on the spelling of the name though. With all the baby names available, who can blame them. It's a big decision.

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Bing Creeping up on Google?

The new search engine, Bing, is doing better for traffic than even Digg or Twitter according to mashable. Since I'd not heard of it until reading it there, I thought maybe there are others who hadn't heard of this new web toy.

It is Microsoft's search engine so except for those who stay away from everything Microsoft (and I know you're out there), you might be interested in checking out this new search engine.

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Robots in Hospitals

Panasonic has developed a robot that dispenses medications. They're set to go to work in hospitals in Japan in March, 2010 (and will follow in the United States and Europe later). All the electronics always hit Japan first.

If you're imagining this robot that looks somewhat human, think again. It looks more like a cabinet with drawers.

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Sperm Cells From Stem Cells

I don't usually blog about stuff like this here but I find it rather amazing. Scientists have figured out how to get sperm cells from stem cells! They were looking for proof that stem cells can generate any cell in the body and they got this during their experiments.

They can't be transplanted into the human body but their hoping it'll give them something to work with for male infertility. In fact, they're also trying to create sperm cells from the skin cells of infertile men.

Who would have thunk it? Not me.

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Looking for Diet Products

I am looking for diet products that don't involve taking medications. So you're probably wondering what else is left? I'm thinking all-natural, cleanses that don't make me feel sick, give me headaches, or are gross (and you know what I mean). Does anybody know of anything?

I took a picture with one of my girls the other day and it made me cringe looking at the neck area. I know I have nodules on my thyroid and my thyroid is enlarged with a goiter, but the added weight certainly doesn't help.

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Netbooks

We were looking at computers the other day and my four-year-old saw those small computers that look like mini laptops. They're called netbooks. She decided because it was little (like her), that it was her computer and she expected us to buy it for her right then.

It is amazing how little minds work. It was small like her so it should be hers. She had no concept of anything else. I think we've spoiled her too much (but, no, she didn't get the netbook).

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Mud and Dog Poop Part III

The good news is that we received good news on the rabies test on the bat that was sent to the health department. The test was negative.

The bad news is that they had to do TWO tests - the bat had a baby bat under its wing. It was a mommy. That's why she was keeping her wings curled up around herself. She was trying to protect her baby. That made me cry.

That made five animals that the dog had killed in the past few weeks, four of them new babies.

The dogs got out of our home-induced quarantine.

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Glass Floor 103 Stories Up at Sears Tower

This is a view from the Sears Tower. Yes, that is glass and yes, you are suspended more than 1,300 feet up in the air (from the 103rd story) when you step out onto it.

There is no way I'd walk out on that glass platform of three layers of 1/2-inch thick glass. There is also no way I'd let my kids do it either. You can call me "chicken" all you want but it's not happening! My thoughts of human error and smacking the pavement 1,300 feet below would prevent me. Would you do it?

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Everybody Should Have A Husband Who Spoils You

I am a tad bit spoiled (ok, maybe more than a "tad"). My husband has bought me several digital cameras over the years for my obsessive-compulsive need to take a ton of pictures of our children! For my birthday last October, he bought me a DSLR camera!

While I love the camera, I didn't have the computer programs to really take advantage of all the fun stuff that people can do with photos. He just bought me Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. I'm so geeked! It was on special with Adobe Premiere Elements 7 too (for videos) so now I can jazz up all the videos I take of my kids too.

Nope, I'm not spoiled!

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