Penny Stones Blog
Archive for the ‘family’ Category
Sunday, June 20th, 2010
I’ve been keeping a little journal of quotes. Whenever one of our kids (one girl and two boys) gives us their version of the English language, I write it down so we can remember it. Here are some of my favorites:
“No comments from the popcorn gallery, please.” ~ 10-year old daughter
“You wanna piece of me?” ~ five-year old son as he’s playing a video game
“”I was really starving for my blanket last night.” ~ five-year old son
When our five-year old son was complimented for reading a hard word he said “Oh, I just rememberized it.”
“I’m just like a dinosaur oncologist! I have five books on dinosaurs!” ~ six-year old son
“What’s a time frame? I’ve never seen one before.” (thinking it’s like a picture frame…) ~ six-year old son
When asked how God made a woman, our six-year old son said “He pulled a ribbon out of his pocket.”
“I want to play ‘Corn in the Cobs’” (instead of Corn Hole) ~ six-year old son
“I’m full. Can I have some ice cream?” ~ six-year old son
“We only learn stuff so teachers have somethin’ to do.” ~10-year old daughter
Out to lunch with Papa, Mommy asked her sons to share their sundaes. The older brother replied, “You can have one bite of mine, but you can have as many as you want from my brother!”
Tags: communication, conversation, family, kids, parenting
Posted in Uncategorized, children, communication, family, family relationships, favorites, kids, parenting | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
One of my new interests is other mom entrepreneurs. I love how so many moms are solving a problem they have and creating a business in the process. One problem I have is finding time to cook at the “bewitching hour” in our house: that time when the kids need me for homework, I realize I haven’t planned dinner yet, and my husband is on his way home.
Here’s one solution that I love and it was created by moms. Plus you can try it for free - even better! 
Getting dinner on the table every night for our families can be a point of frustration. Not only because everyone is staring at you ravenously hungry, but because it often times makes us feel defeated and overwhelmed. Many moms want to provide healthy home cooked meals every night, but they also want it to demonstrate to their families how much they care about them. It’s so much more then just throwing something together and slapping it on the table. However it’s easier said than done.
A few moms got together and dissected exactly makes it so hard to make dinner every night. The result of this study was the development of Hot by 6.
Hot by 6 is an on line meal planning site that allows you to use dinner planning software you can tailor to your personal style. What can you expect from the website? Hot by 6 focuses more heavily on family dinners, so the majority of the recipes are dinners, however there are plenty of side dishes, desserts, appetizers, and more to choose from too.
The process is simple. First you browse through the step by step recipes and find ones you like. Then you click add to my meal plan. After you have selected all the meals you want your ready to print a categorized grocery list, along with assembly instructions, labels, and your meal plan. This process can be done in the amount of time it takes your kids to get their shoes and coats on in the morning before school. Best of all you don’t have to know a thing about cooking to use this site. Everything is thought out for you and easy to understand.
What makes it different from other meal planning software? Hot by 6 recipes are all freezer friendly, and formatted to be prepared ahead of time and placed in the freezer. However you do not have to utilize that step if you don’t want to. Also most moms enjoy selecting recipes that they feel their family would enjoy and putting some heart into it. So Hot by 6 gives you the freedom to create the meal plans yourself instead of posting a generic one each week. And last but not least the exclusive group feature. There are endless reasons scientific and emotional on why it is important for women to spend time with their girlfriends. So Hot by 6 has a feature that allows you and your friends to create a meal plan that calculates a group shopping list for all the recipes ordered as well as meal plans and labels for each person. It is fun to use with a group of friends, or on your own. Visit www.hotby6.com to try a free one month trial when you enter in the promo code penny.
Tags: entrepreneur
Posted in entrepreneur, family | 3 Comments »
Monday, January 11th, 2010
My family had so much fun last night playing a game around the dinner table. It’s called Goober Goat and it’s out of a box of game cards from the Original Dinner Games box by Family Time Fun. My daughter started the game with a word that has to do with a farm, “farmer”. The next person has to say a word that is related to it “overalls”. You go around five or six times and see if the final word traveled far from the farm.
The funniest connection was “hawk”, ”eagle”, “bald” – to Daddy. There are lots of fun games, this is is our favorite so far.
Tags: children, communication, conversation, family, family relationships, Games, parenting
Posted in Conversations, Games, children, communication, communication skills, conversation starters, family, ice breakers, icebreakers, parenting | 4 Comments »
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Facebook Tip – before posting, assume comments you make on your wall or on a photo will be read by your boss, neighbor and mother.
With the advent of Facebook, we can see and read about friends as well as strangers’ lives. The way it’s currently set up, anyone can see photos and comments in photo albums of anyone they’re connected to and anyone those people are connected to. I’ve clicked on a friend’s photo in an update and ended up clicking through a photo album of a complete stranger.
Here’s an example of some comments I found on a friend’s friend’s photo. Unlike one woman thinks, they do not disappear into the archives.
Mary
thats it, I’m never eating again thx to you skinny bitches!!!
1:10p.m.
Elaine
what are you talking about? I was going to start my diet today and then I remembered you baked me that cake. It was so GOOD
1:11pm
Mary
we may need to start getting photo approval of those in photo before posting, I’d like to request this one be deleted asap
1:56pm
Elaine
they disappear into the archives. How about Bernadette’s profile picture? I look scary in that photo
1:57pm
Mary
tell her, I’m sure she’d understand & post another!
2:03pm
Dan
OMG… Quit your fussing… You are all HOT! This pic was obviously taken early because you’re all sober…
If you want to see more comments that were written to be more private than public, check out Lamebook.
Tags: communication, facebook, friendship, relationships, social media, tips
Posted in Texting, communication, family, friends, social media | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Thanksgiving Tree on November 30, 2009
Here’s our Thanksgiving Tree, in all of it’s glory. We had much to be thankful for this year! See this link to the previous post about our Thanksgiving Tree.
Tags: children, conversation, family, family relationships, parenting, Thanksgiving craft
Posted in Photos, children, communication, family, family relationships, parenting | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships lately. It may just be that time of year, but, for whatever reason, I’ve been thinking about the difference between how I communicate in this stage of my life versus when I was younger. Today, as a wife and mom, I seem to talk more about the goings-on of everyday life – schedules, meals, appointments, and all that. It’s more on the surface and the goal is to maintain the relationship and the activities we share. When I was in high school and college, I/we talked more about values, opinions, preferences and the future. Conversations were longer and were building, not just maintaining, relationships.
I remember calling a few of our new neighbors after we had moved into our home in Ohio in 1998. Each time, I expected to talk to the ladies like I did with my friends in California. But each time, after a few minutes, I got the impression that if I wasn’t calling for a specific reason, the conversation was ending quickly. They were busy and didn’t have time to chat on the phone. So I adjusted my expectations and my phone calls.
While maintaining a relationship is good and coordinating schedules is necessary, I think it misses out on “the good stuff”. Until recently, I wasn’t aware that I’d become like my neighbor ladies. Upon reflection, I’m afraid I’ve slipped into the mom mode of talking about surface stuff.
I want to really know what my kids are thinking and how my husband is feeling. I like to share stories and dreams. I want to hear about wishes and fears. But those things take time to share. There has to be a level of trust and time to let the conversation flow.
From now on, I’m going to be more intentional with the conversations I have with my loved ones. I’m going build, not just maintain, my relationships.
Tags: children, communication, communication skills, conversation, family, family relationships, friendship, interpersonal skills, moms, parenting, relationships
Posted in Conversations, children, communication, communication skills, family, family relationships, friends, friendship, interpersonal skills, parenting, relationships | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Sometimes I think I really blow it as a mom. And today was one of those days. I had to go into Cleveland and pick up 150 Penny Stones. My kids came home from school as I was packing them to be shipped to customers. I had promised them that I would be done with Penny Stones when they got off the bus but I’ve been working more days than not recently.
My daughter asked me if we could get our gear ready for our Girl Scout camp out this weekend. I said “Of course! As soon as I finish this I can work with you on that.” So she patiently waited as I stuffed and taped and labeled.
Because my son’s basketball practice time was changed, we had to leave earlier than planned. And I couldn’t help my daughter. The look in her eyes let me know I REALLY disappointed her. How is it that I can renig on promises I’ve made to my kids, something I would not do to a friend?
I love my kids more than anything but I don’t think my actions have spoken those words to them today. Tomorrow I’m going to be at the bus stop and the computer will be off.
I’m thankful tomorrow’s always a new day.
Tags: children, family, family relationships, interpersonal skills, parenting, relationships
Posted in children, entrepreneur, family, parenting, relationships | 5 Comments »
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
Thanksgiving Tree on November 12, 2009
To help us remember what we’re thankful for, my husband and I started making a Thanksgiving tree on our refrigerator when we were newlyweds. It’s become a wonderful tradition over the years. I always enjoy seeing what friends and family are thankful for during the month of November.
To make the Thanksgiving Tree, we cut the tree trunk and limbs out of paper grocery bags and cut the leaves out of construction paper. We keep the leaves and markers in a basket on the counter. We each try to write at least one a day. And we invite any visitors to write one too.
On Veterans Day, my father and and old friend came to visit and they added to the tree. Then it was my turn to watch the other leaders’ children during the Girls Scout meeting. Each of the siblings made three or four leaves. So in less than a week it’s already looking pretty full! I’ll post a picture from Thanksgiving to show the tree in all its Thanksgiving glory.
Tags: children, family, family relationships, friendship, parenting, relationships, Thanksgiving craft
Posted in children, family, family relationships, parenting, relationships | 1 Comment »
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
These tips for talking to teens are from come from The Partnership, http://www.timetotalk.org/
Start Early
“If you’re thoughtful and open and expressive, and you’ve developed good communication with your kids all along, it’s going to be an easier ride.”
— Neil I. Bernstein, Ph.D., adolescent psychologist and author
Talk Daily
Make time to talk with your teen every day, so it becomes routine. That way when you have an important topic to discuss, it will be more comfortable and flow more naturally. Chat it up regularly — about celebrities, classmates, the news or anything to help maintain open lines of communication.
Become Digitally Savvy
Bone up on the latest technology online social networks like Facebook and MySpace and status update services like Twitter and you’ll gain a better understanding of your teen’s world. Texting your teen is a great non-confrontational way to check in, show your support and stay connected.
Tags: children, communication, communication skills, conversation, family, family relationships, good listener, interpersonal skills, parenting, relationships, talk, teens, tips
Posted in Conversations, Uncategorized, children, communication skills, conversation starters, family, family relationships, interpersonal skills, parenting, relationships | Comments Off
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
One of the best traditions families can establish is to sit down and eat dinner together. Families, especially kids, benefit enormously from frequent positive family meals:
- Improves family communication
- Improves nutrition and eating habits
- Improves literacy development among preschoolers
- Develops a protective factor for adolescents against tobacco, alcohol, drugs and low grade point averages
Tags: children, communication, communication skills, conversation, family, family relationships, good listener, interpersonal skills, parenting, relationships
Posted in Conversations, Uncategorized, children, communication skills, conversation starters, family, family relationships, ice breakers, icebreakers, interpersonal skills, parenting, relationships | No Comments »
