Author: blogger

Blended Family Summer Bonding Activities

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As a blended family, you have likely already identified activities that everyone loves doing. Going to the beach or the pool, outdoor activities like softball or lawn darts, going for drives, to the movies, theme parks, camping, visiting relatives; any or all of these might be something your family is looking forward to doing this summer. Whenever you find something that everyone likes to do together, try to fit it into your schedule.

Family game days
A day at home does not have to be boring or spent in front of the television or the computer! If your blended family ground rules prohibit overuse of electronic equipment, offer alternative activities. You might like to set up a scavenger hunt for the step siblings in your stepfamily.

These hunts might be limited to the house and yard, or you may feel comfortable sending off teams or pairs of step siblings to find and carry home the items on their scavenger lists. Items on the list might include things like a tennis ball, a pink shoe, an empty tin can, a maple leaf, etc., things that can fit into a plastic garbage bag. If you like, make the game more challenging and include things like a seed for an oak tree, or a tube of dentifrice. Appropriate rewards for finding the most items might be presented, such as a pass on nightly chores.

Board game or computer game marathons are always a good way to spend a day or two locked in competitive fun. You may want to check online for ideas of free family computer games that are appropriate for your step family. It really does not matter whether you and your step family enjoy monopoly, checkers or a fast-action computer game together. What matters is that you enjoy doing something together. Having fun together builds bonds and memories.

Share laughter
A movie or television show that makes everyone laugh is a free ticket to blended family fun. Sharing a laugh is among the best bonding activities a blended family can have, so take advantage of every opportunity to share a laugh with your step family members. Building a blended family based on shared laughter and enjoyment of each other makes for bonds that endure.

Step family group projects
Summertime is a great time for a group project within your blended family. Building or erecting a swing set or tree house, taken from planning sessions at the kitchen table to the home building supplies store to the backyard, are the kinds of projects that can keep step parents and their kids involved, communicating, and accomplishing something together.

Choose projects that encourage teaching moments, such as measuring, cutting, hammering, and problem solving needed to construct a swing set. When step kids learn something useful from a step parent, and have fun at the same time, bonds are created while life lessons are learned.

The most important project for step family summers is to enjoy being together. Whatever you do as a blended family, make it satisfying for everyone, make it family-focused, and make it fun. Although step kids may not spend their entire summer vacation with you, make time for a project; something that takes planning, execution, and has a definite accomplishment factor so you can celebrate it together. A blended family that plays together stays together.

Igbozue Connecticut USA Honors Their Wives in a Family Night Event

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On December 13, 2013, Igbozue Connecticut USA held an all night family party. It was an opportunity for the Igbozue men to thank their wives. There were many reasons for these men to do so. It is the women who provided, among other good deeds throughout the unfolding year, hospitable homes when members of the group host monthly meetings.

Igbozue family night is an annual event. This particular event was surprisingly different from earlier ones in three main ways: the event-threatening snow, the big fat cake from ‘IWAC’ and the win or lose anxiety of the raffle.

Igbozue Connecticut USA is a non for profit organization that encourages social interaction among the Igbos- one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria.

The men presented their token gifts and the women received them in full admiration. In an all out display of gratitude, the women danced glowingly in a way that only Igbo men would understand.

IWAC, Igbo Women Association of Connecticut which is the female counterpart of Igbozue Connecticut, had something under wraps for one of their members who had retired and is about to move. They wanted to honor her with a gift. Halfway through the party, it was still a toss-up if the recipient will show up.

Then bingo, she showed up. The dancing crowd went wilder as the Dj played ‘Udor Akpuenyi’ (one cannot pull an elephant on a leash) by Sunny Bobo.

Not familiar with the rhythm of the music, children danced exuberantly in missteps while the oldies danced in measured steps to the beat and lyrics.

The Honoree, Professor Omaa Chukwurah, is a founding member of IWAC. Many misty eyes and cracked voices emerged as peers gave testimonies and recounted their interactions with her. Then it was time to devour the cake.

The indefatigable DJ, Joe Anyafulu had the music right. He delivered soul and highlife music that made guests dance most of the night.

Attendees said that it was a party to remember. Men bantered and laughed heartily while women held conversation and smiled. What started as a shaky night later became one of the organizations most memorable Christmas events.

The raffle generated lots of excitement. There were five winners. Mrs. Eneh won the first prize of a Godiva gift basket containing gourmet chocolate bar and glass tea cups. Mrs. Lolo Anna Okonkwo won a Christmas wreath. The Oredo family from Stamford won a set of Wild-Eye table knives and spoons and the fourth prize, ‘How Broccoli Head Lost Thirty Pounds’, went to Mrs. Pat Anekwe.

The event took place at the executive-inn and suite in Meriden Connecticut. It began at 8 pm with the breaking of the kola nuts, ended at 12.30 A.M with a toast of Champaign. Members came in from different places within the state of Connecticut. A guest came from as far as Stamford. My spouse and I came from Sandy Hook.

Food and drink were plentiful. On the dinner tables were the usual suspects of goat meat, bitter leaf soup, fried plantain, jollof rice, moi-moi, roasted fish, chicken and rice. There was salad for the health-conscious attendees.

The President of the association, Mr. Polycarp Okeke was thankful to participants and praised them for supporting the group despite the bad weather and he reminded guests to drive home safely.

Bring Your Family Together This Christmas With Personalized Ornaments

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Through ensuring that you have some good craft ideas in mind when the kids are let out of school for the winter, you’ll be able to ensure that your Christmas season is both joyful and fun-filled for the entire family. Making homemade Christmas ornaments will exercise the kids’ creativity and make for superb gifts to give out to loved ones. After they grow older, these kids Christmas ornaments will likely be looked upon fondly and join yesteryear to the present, potentially bringing many generations of your family together. What greater gift could there be?

Personalized Christmas ornaments can take numerous forms, dependant upon what their expected use is. Should you have something fairly complicated planned, think about having your kids Christmas ornaments used as Christmas tree toppers. An original Christmas ornament will almost certainly be prominent, so another suggestion would be to have your kids embellish their own Christmas balls each year. You may use glass ornaments to mark special events, such as a babys very first Christmas, particular anniversaries, or notable achievements.

On the subject of picking which kids Christmas ornaments to make and/or personalize, there are a whole host of available options. Even though an elaborate centerpiece or a homemade Christmas wreath may necessitate a lot of creativity, time, and effort, they will certainly offer a personalized touch that goes beyond the regular Christmas tree ornaments. But when you wish to keep things rather simple, there are lots of Christmas tree ornaments you can acquire that are easy to customize. A few ornament sets are made up of multiple individual pieces, such as Santa in his sleigh, driving a line of reindeer. The sled may have a blank space big enough to add your child’s name and the date.

Other choices for easily individualized Christmas ornaments make use of pictures. These enable you to have a good time and play photographer while you take fun holiday snapshots of your kids and family, and then you can let them determine which pictures they would want to see immortalized on plaques, ball ornaments, or even the inside of a snow globe.

If you are feeling a little more daring and want to create your kids Christmas ornaments from scratch, salt dough is a timeless and creative solution. After picking out the perfect formula and directions from the library, a friend, or an Internet search, you can leave the remainder of the project totally up to the kids. The ornament style, paint, decorative touches, and whatever else . are only limited by the child’s own creativity. Older children might choose to try their hand at ceramics, knitting, or embroidery in an attempt to keep them interested with the crafting project. Should you have a less artistically-inclined child, craft stores and specialty shops typically make available a wide array of ornament kits which are readily personalized and only call for a little bit of assembly.

No matter which craft idea you ultimately choose, these personalized or homemade Christmas ornaments offer an activity that simultaneously occupies your childs mind and fosters holiday memories which will last for many, many Christmas seasons to come.

Homemade Coasters For Your Family

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You can make everyday items personally in the comfort of your own home. From natural home cleaners to cookie cutters to even glass coasters, all of these items can now be made using ordinary materials. Glass coasters are functional and stylish items that you can make at home using old materials. The materials can be found readily at your home as well and making them requires only a few minutes. You can use these homemade coasters as gifts or you can use them as spare coasters if you get tired of the usual coasters you find at the local home store.

Whats best is you can show your creativity and make these as a creative expression that the whole family can enjoy. When you have guests, unique homemade coasters can be great conversational items as well. Homemade coasters can either be frame coasters, floppy disk coasters, tin can coasters, wooden coasters, or vinyl. Here are some tips, suggestions, and ideas for making your own homemade coasters.

-Frame coasters are cute and classy coasters that are actually small picture frames. Because of the size, they can easily fit into the dining table and their glass material makes for a complimenting piece. Use frames (whether new ones or old ones) that have a thin frame border so the glass can easily fit in the center. You can also have photos or any images laminated and make these as coasters.

-The inside of a floppy can make as great alternative to the classic coasters. Because of their round shape, the insides of an old floppy disc can be laminated and made into a classic black coaster. Discard the square outer shell as their size will not be appropriate for average table sizes.

-If you have discarded or placed your floppy discs in the attic, use old CDs instead. You can put cloth borders on the CDs or place carton material on the bottom so the CD coasters will not slip on the table.

-Tin can covers make for great coasters as well. Cut out the cover into a round shape and put cloth or cork material on the edges or border as the sharpness of the tin can easily cut through someones skin.

-Get a plain board of cork and cut them into round shapes for another classic coaster. You can be creative with its border and other details or design that you want with it as the material is already flexible.

-A spare vinyl item can be cut into coasters and they can be durable and non-slip as well.

You can also experiment with other materials but just make sure to use material that is waterproof in case of accidental spills. Also use material that is not too slippery when placed on the top of your table. Remember that no matter how beautiful or unique your coaster is, safety should still be the top most consideration. With a the right materials, a little creativity, and some patience, you can make almost any item at home. Using old or recycled materials, your creativity can truly shine with different arts and crafts.

The Family at Large

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The world seems smaller because we can get to parts of it much more easily. Even compared to our grandparents, our ability to move to another country is a lot less complicated than it used to be. Globalization means that people can and do move away from the hometowns. This has widened our reach and allowed us to meet cultures and have experiences that were unthinkable two generations ago.

This has come at a cost. We may have gotten wings to span the world but at the cost of our roots. We are becoming disconnected with our family. Worse, we have started to undervalue the importance of family. Family is the best support structure we can have. The family is comprise of individuals who are predisposed to love you and encourage you and help you. What people have forgotten is that these relationships are not automatic. Like everything else, these relationships must be worked on and maintained.

Fifty years ago, if a young man and his wife left, say, Albany in New York and moved to Sydney, he was in effect, starting over. He will acknowledge that he has relatives back in the US but the chances of them meeting will be slim unless he can afford traveling the distance. At any rate, it will be visits that will happen rarely.

In our world now that is not quite the case. The cost of traveling has not necessarily become more affordable but the means of staying in touch has. News that could have taken a week or more would be received in a matter of seconds. Birthdays, anniversaries and other familial milestones can be acknowledged and celebrated much more easily. This does not replace actually sharing these milestones in person, but it does not diminish it either.

The easiest way to do this is to make a website devoted to the family. A free website where news can be exchanged and photographs and videos can be shared. This creates a touchstone where family members can stay in touch and maintain their relationships despite their distance from each other. Because news is received almost immediately, people don’t seem as remote.

It doesn’t even have to be a complicated affair, either. A free website builder can be downloaded and different family members can maintain the site so the responsibility and effort can be shared.

It’s important to tend to one’s roots. The family does not have to be left behind while we’re zooming across the world. We have the tools to keep up.