The History of Thanksgiving

Do you know the history of Thanksgiving? This holiday, celebrated the fourth Thursday in November, is a U.S. holiday that dates back to colonial times. It’s a celebration of gratefulness, a full harvest, and family. Take a look at some of the facts about this food-filled holiday.

The Beginnings

The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621. The Plymouth colony pilgrims celebrated a harvest with the Wampanoag Indians. It had been a long, cold winter the year before and many pilgrims and early settlers had died from starvation and other diseases related to settling a new land. The Wampanoag Indians shared their harvest feast with the settlers, who also shared their goods.

An Official Holiday

For more than 20 years, Thanksgiving was celebrated by individual states and colonies. In the midst of the turmoil of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving be held nationwide every November. Thanksgiving became an official holiday in 1863.

Modern Day Celebrations

Today, Americans gather for Thanksgiving Day with friends and family to celebrate the blessings they have received throughout the year. Turkey is the traditional food of choice, accompanied by potatoes, gravy, fresh rolls, pie, and of course, cupcakes. The feast is often followed by a game of football in many families.

If you are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, be sure to type in your favorite recipe finder cupcake recipes for some delicious treats to enjoy. While you’re at it, search for pumpkin pie too! Start searching through those recipe archives now to plan the perfect feast to celebrate this blessed occasion.

How will you celebrate Thanksgiving Day?

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Ways Moms Can Spend Time With Their Children

Between a career, housework and other life demands, finding time to spend with your children can be difficult. However, before you have time to react, your children will be grown and moving away from home. Here are three ways you can spend more time with your children.

Play Board Games

There’s no better way to connect with your children than by recapturing your youth. Set aside one or two evenings each week to play board games with your kids and reunite as a family. The best board games are those that bring all ages together for an exciting challenge.

Cook Together

Typically, moms take on the household cooking, shooing children away until the meal is complete. If you’re guilty of doing this, change things up by inviting your kids to cook the next meal with you. Many kid-friendly cooking recipes are available to help your children experience the joy of cooking, while also reconnecting with you.

Watch Movies in Bed

If you normally rush through weekend mornings catching up on housework, make next weekend different. Instead, eat breakfast in bed with your children and lounge around all morning watching movies. This can develop into a family tradition, and is a great way to shed the stress of the previous week while enjoying quality time with your youngsters.

Many opportunities exist to spend more time with your children. Whether you reconnect over the dinner table or by playing board games once a week, by reconnecting with your children, you’ll develop into a stronger family.

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Teaching Your Children

Many people like to blame a school for their child’s poor reading skills or inability to memorize colors, but these simple tasks begin in the home. True, schools are meant to teach children how to read and write, but they are more meant to enhance their already obtained knowledge. The students that are great when they enter kindergarten and learn easily throughout elementary school are the ones with parents that have already given them a base for their education. So how can you, as a parent, aid in your child’s education?

 

You can help your child learn by playing games with them. Simple games, especially with colored pieces, will help them learn their colors and numbers. There are plenty of games that will help in your child’s learning of basic ideas.

 

Read to them. You can find many books that explain colors and numbers. These books won’t only help your child learn basic ideas, but will aid in their reading skills and their direct understanding of the alphabet.

 

Let them watch television. There are many children’s shows that are quite entertaining. Even if it isn’t meant to be educational, they will be learning from pretty much any show, but make sure it is appropriate for their age.

 

Talk to your child often. This can be as simple as reading a book or having a conversation with them. Talking to them will help them in their communication and speech skills. It will also teach them how to interact with other people well.

 

Just because your child is attending school does not mean that you are done teaching them. Begin teaching them simple things such as colors and numbers when they are young. When they enter school you can continue helping them by teaching them to add and subtract. The older they get, the more advanced their education at home should get. By the time they’re in mid-elementary school, you can begin teaching them things such as cooking.

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The Importance of Insurance

Everyday it seems we are faced with the uncertainties of life. Whether it is our economic times or we are just wondering where our lives will lead us, we all see those uncertainties and unknowns in life.

If we have families, we want to make sure that they are protected and that their futures hold promise and be as bright as possible. Protecting those futures should involve insurance. We should all be protected for anything that may come our way including health problems, making sure our homes and assets are protected, and making sure our loved ones are taken care of in case of death.

Insurance is a well-documented way of making sure that when those uncertainties arise, we can face them with some assurance that we’ll make it through.   And with the internet, getting online insurance quotes makes obtaining insurance much easier.  Our health insurance can help us maintain our health through regular doctor visits. This insurance can help us through any medical issues that may arise. This may be as simple as a scrape or the flu, but we can also face major medical issues and diseases.

Insurance for our automobiles can help protect what is a rather sizable investment. This insurance can help get us back on the road if we happen to be involved in an accident or our car is stolen or vandalized.

Homeowners insurance can help us through unseen crises such as natural disasters or if our plumbing malfunctions and we need to perform repairs as a result.

Life insurance is important in protecting our family’s futures, as well as helping them maintain their lifestyles. For example, if you currently trade forex online, your insurance will ensure your family is entitled to any profit or income those investments create. Death is already a stressful event and it doesn’t need to be exacerbated by facing the future without financial support.

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Protecting Computers from Intruders

A new computer will often include anti-virus software that has already been installed. These programs are usually offered as a free trial, and will cost money per year to continue the service after the trial has ended. Some computer users may not even be aware that they will need to purchase a subscription to the software in order to continue protecting their files and hardware.

Anti-virus software is a must for every computer. Some programs provide a basic free edition of the software, which can usually be downloaded and stored on the hard drive. It will run frequent scans to check for any malicious files, and can protect against most threats. The programs that cost will typically include additional protection, such as against spyware, adware, and other dangerous files that can be accidentally downloaded while browsing the internet.

Keeping the software up-to-date and current at all times is the only way it can be effective. Most programs will require that updates are downloaded, and this can usually be done while working on other programs. Operating systems are designed to look for threats, so don’t ignore any warnings that the software is not working properly. These can be very useful when trying to make sure that every aspect of the computer is well guarded.

When working on a computer, keeping files and components protected is necessary to avoid crashes and other problems. The alerts are designed to keep users aware of what is needed in order to maintain the highest possible level of security and keep intruders and risky files away.

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How to Help Your Child WIth Separation Anxiety

There are not many children who do not feel some kind of anxiety when they are saying goodbye to their mother or father. It is normal, and usually goes away as they get older. In some cases however, separation anxiety does not diminish as they grow, it sometimes gets worse.

A boy crying because he is sad his hot dog fell

Image by david_shankbone via Flickr

If your child suffers from separation anxiety there are a few things you can do to help them for the times when you are going to have to leave them somewhere and say goodbye. With some practice and patience you can make your goodbyes easier.

Starting a ritual can make the goodbye predictable and can often be comforting for anxious children. If they know what is coming and how it is going to happen they are often able to cope better. A goodbye ritual can be just blowing them a kiss from the doorway as you leave, or a making a silly face as you walk by the window.

If your child is anxious about your leaving, don’t drag it out. Bring them to their caregiver, say goodbye and tell them you love them and then leave the room. If you stick around trying to comfort them it will make the goodbye more difficult. It will also make it more difficult for you to say goodbye as well if you see they are upset.

If your child does well when you leave them, make sure to praise them and let them know they did a good job when you return. Again, don’t dwell on it, but give them some positive reinforcement and then move on to other fun things they did while you were gone.

 

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Save Money with a Car Refinance

Saving money on regular monthly payments is the best way to put money in your pocket. A major milestone in many young adults’ lives is when they decide to stop spending so much and learn to save. Lowering your monthly bills is a smart way to keep more money in your bank account. In addition to paying down high interest loans or credit cards, a car refinance can also save you hundreds of dollars a year.

Refinancing your car loan saves you money when you swap out your old interest rate for a newer, lower rate. Ideally, car refinancing will follow after you’ve improved your credit score. Your loan holder will not be in a hurry to offer you a lower interest rate if your credit score has flat-lined or worsened. Remember that you can’t refinance your loan with your original lender. Instead, shop around at different loan companies and select the company offering you the lowest refinance rate.

Absolutely do not delay in refinancing your loan. The lifespan of most car loans is in the neighborhood of five years. Each month you delay on your refinance results in you spending money you don’t need to spend. On top of that, with most loans, you are paying off the interest before you pay off the loan. This means a delay could mean you won’t save anything if you’ve already paid off the interest.

The number you want to pay attention to when shopping for a new interest rate is the Annual Percentage Rate, or APR. Meet with individual lenders, discuss your car situation and shop for the best APR in order to save some money.

 

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Healthy Habits for Rebellious Teenagers

Two adolescent couples at the 2009 Western Ida...

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Whether your teen is beginning to act out or you want to prevent this, it is important to set healthy habits for your child. This can be a dangerous time for their development. Here are some tips to help you deal with these stressful factors.

An important beginning is realizing the effect of environments. Communication with your child is essential, as a meaningful relationship will be needed for either side to be trusted. Establishing this trust will hopefully enable you, as well as your teen, to feel comfortable with the responsibilities that come with greater age in these years.

Encourage your child to participate in healthy activities. Perhaps there are sports or clubs at your child’s high school that he or she will enjoy. These can be great opportunities to meet friends and have a healthy outlook on all things school-related.

Also, look for ways teens to stay active in their free time. If your son enjoys playing poker with his friends, think about getting a couple of professional poker tables for the basement, as this could be a safe and fun place for them to hang out. Work on building healthy habits such as this, especially in relationship to activities, to protect your child without being overprotective.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of ways to curb rebellious tendencies from your teen. It is certainly a process that needs to be met with sincerity. Work on your relationship with your teen foremost, and spend some time evaluating how other factors play a role in your teen’s development

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Cute Baby Clothes

One of the most fun things as a mother is to dress up your little darling in the cutest baby clothes. Once your kid hits the toddler years, he or she will have an opinion on the clothes worn, so take the chance while you still have a baby and find some cute clothes.

Where to Find Cute Clothes

We’d all love to go to children boutiques when looking for clothes for our dear darling, but for most of us, that’s not in the budget. So where can you look for cute clothes at the right price? The answer is stores like Ross, TJ Max, and Burlington Coat Factory. These stores have the most popular brands including Carter’s, but the prices are deeply discounted. What would cost $25 at Babies R Us is only $10 at Ross, for example. When you’re ready to pay, just pull out your Reach Prepaid Visa Card to pay, so you don’t have to worry about carrying cash.

Buy at the End of a Season

Another great way to save is to buy clothes near the end of the season. In order for this to work, you’ll need to start while you’re pregnant. For example, at the end of winter, buy coats, gloves, and snow suits for the next winter. The store will discount the clothes to get rid of their stock and make room for the next season so you’re sure to get a great deal if you think ahead.

Even if you don’t have a lot to spend, with a little planning, you’ll be able to find the cutest baby clothes for a great price.

 

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What to get Your Child for their 5th Birthday

Candles spell out the traditional English birt... 

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Your child’s fifth birthday is one of the great milestones of her life. This may be the first birthday she actually remembers, so you need to make it extra special.

First, get her opinions and find out what kind of party your child wants, and when you can, do what she asks. It’s her special day, and she deserves special treatment. So, when she asks for something, if you can, let her have it. It’s okay to splurge a little. If she wants a particular type of decor, by all means let her pick it out. Creativity is something every child should develop, and letting her have a measure of creative control will teach her how her actions can change the world. This is true even if those changes are only tiny ones that don’t last very long. The party itself can let her develop self-confidence.

When it comes to birthday gifts, maybe your child wants American Girl doll clothes. Maybe she wants an outfit or two for herself. Listen carefully as your child describes what gifts top her list for this birthday. This is about more than just showing off the kinds of gifts you can afford to give. These gifts can provide an inspiration to your child and plant the seeds for future development. As a child grows older, the clothes she wore, even at a young age, or the outfits she put on her doll will help her develop and cultivate her own style. It’s clear that a fifth birthday is a celebration that requires thought and planning from both the child and parents.

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