Rexanne's Web Review - Issue #23

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Anybody else have a month of nothing but birthdays? We have no less than 7 major birthdays this month ... oh boy. Crunch the budget! We also have birthday madness in October. Just as we're getting healed up from August, October rolls in. Then there's the issue of birthday parties throughout the school year and more presents to buy. I adore shopping for presents, but it is a huge expense. Our solve is to have a birthday budget for school friends. Each month, we add money to the birthday budget jar. When an invitation shows up in the backpack, we shop with money from the birthday jar. A little less painful that way! You might consider having a price limit for school chum birthday gifts. Makes it a little easier to stay within your means while shopping with kids who are eager to please their friends. Also, I let my kids pick the presents. They know better than I what their friends like and covet.

This week's issue of Rexanne's Web Review is all about Back to School. Lots of ideas, articles and tips to get you through the first few weeks at least! :-)

"At age 42 with a grown up daughter of 26 and a son of 23, I have just discovered I am pregnant again! Although it was planned it is still a bit of a shock that it happened. I was warned that I might not be able to conceive so easily because I am older but it seems not. I am so thrilled and exited at the prospect of being a mum again. I will be tuning in to your review with added interest in the next few years so keep writing!"

Whooo Hooo Jan! What happy news! Ya gotta love us older moms, huh? ;-) Tell you what Jan ... you continue to have babies and I'll continue to write. Deal?

"I always looked forward to mail because I had several book series coming in. One I recall was the 'Happy Hollisters' - does anyone else remember that set? And the magazine 'Highlights' with Goofus and Gallant. I think FunMail should be a hit with your readers."

Quote of the Week: Your parents are frightened, your educators are frightened, the governments and religions are afraid of your becoming a total individual, because they all want you to remain safely within the prison of environmental and cultural influences. - Krishnamurti

This Week's Web Review is Sponsored By: Bargainchildrensclothing.com
Offers more than 1500 name brand apparel items for kids from size newborn thru size 18 for both boys and girls priced at 20% - 70% off retail prices. Pants, shirts, tops, bottoms, shorts, dresses, pajamas, outerwear, short sets, pants sets, baby apparel items, preemies, underwear and much more.

It's a mad rush, gathering school supplies, clothes, back packs and just the right lunch box. Older kids and teens have their own set of "must haves" for the first week of school. Oy ... LOL!

Some parents will be thrilled to have the kids back in school. I have yet to understand the glee with which some parents greet the first day back but then, my kids are pretty mellow. :-)

I have been gathering helpful links, tips and ideas for this topic. Relief is here! This first link is for our parents who are sending their babies off to the first day of kindergarten, or wondering if their children are even ready for this great milestone: Ready For Kindergarten?

This next site has information on what your child should be learning in each grade from K through 8: Grade Requirements

I think parents should make an effort to spend time each week getting to know our child's teacher, giving little bits of information about our child as appropriate and generally realizing teachers are human. Yes, super human to deal with a class full of kids, but human all the same. For our kids to receive the best possible attention and care, it helps tremendously if their teacher has a little insight into their lives and character. The following link has information on communicating with your child's new teacher and will give you a good head start: Teachers

Another issue I feel is very important for parents to consider before the time comes is extra curricular activities, or the over abundance of them. Kids DO need some down time, freedom to just hang and relax. Please consider this when you and your child begin planning for the year ahead. Here is a great article about extra curricular activities: Extra Activities

Have an opinion about this topic or a story to share? Please send it: My Opinion

Need a little inspiration when it comes to packing your kid's lunch? Just how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can we send in a week?! This page will give you many alternatives, from creating your own "lunchable" packs to nifty "stick" lunches: School Lunches

Fabulous Foods also has a terrific page with great brown bag ideas, including recipes: Brown Bagging

I make it a point to ask other parents what they pack for their children's lunches. You'd be surprised what other moms and dads come up with to counter the school lunch dilemma!

Subscriber Mike sent me this link to Suesville a few weeks ago. Suesville is linked on my Kid Link's Page but I hadn't visited the site for more than a year. To my delight, Suesville has grown and expanded to include many more terrific themes, titles and fun! There are new games, stories and various fun pages to entertain the kids. Naturally, The Cat in the Hat predominates but you'll also find all the old Suess favorites scattered throughout the pages, like Horton and Sam-I-Am.

Dr. Suess might be sleeping with the angels but his web site lives on to inspire and bring joy to children forever.

~ To remove odors from thermos bottles: leave crushed newspapers in the bottle (or any smelly sealed container) for a couple of days. Or: fill the thermos with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets. Let it soak for an hour, longer if necessary.

~ Add a sprinkling of baking soda to your child's lunch box each day after school. Wipe clean or shake out the baking soda in the morning before packing their lunch. Keeps that box smelling fresh all year!

~ At the beginning of each school year, buy an accordion file folder. Add all the school papers as they come in. You can sort them when you have time.

~ Bring home an unused large (or extra-large) pizza box from your neighborhood pizzeria to store art work and large paper projects that you or your child will want to keep. You can stash the pizza box under a bed for easy storage.

~ Buy a rubber stamp or order self stick labels with your child's name and grade for identifying books, field trip permission slips, lunch money envelopes, etc.

~ If you can persuade your child to wait just two or three weeks for school supplies (back packs, lunch boxes, etc.) these items will be in the clearance section by mid September with huge discounts. The kids can get by with last year's stuff while they wait.

~ Write a love note, silly poem or an inspiring message to your child on their lunch napkin.

Got a tip or trick your fellow readers would enjoy or could use? Please send it here for possible publication in one of the next issues: Tips

Here's a super idea, from the folks at Family Education ... a free, printable certificate to give your child after completing the first day of school. You can print it out, fill in their name and present it to them with a special snack when they come home, tired and weary from the L O N G hours of work and toil! LOL! This helps make a special event for them even more special.

This is a hilarious site, if you know where to look. Yes, there are pictures of more than 100 celebrity driveways, including Cher's, Brad Pitt's and Martha Stewart's but the real classics are found in the Interview section where you can read what the star's contractors, dry cleaners and handymen have to say about the kind of people they work for, how well they tip, etc. I especially loved reading the author's (webmaster's?) Halloween antics at various personality's homes and what they handed out or didn't. Very amusing waste of time, all in all! ;-)

This page utilizes a wonderful Erma Bombeck essay on how much parents love their children ... specifically, when children rant about how we don't love them. They rant, we think of all the ways we prove our love to them that heats their blood to a boil! "Yep, loved you enough to let you trip over that shoe of yours that's been lying in the middle of the living room for a week ..." LOL! This page will brighten your heart and give you a few giggles from having been there, said that.

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The fine print: This newsletter is copyright - 2000 - in its entirety. Please pass it on, but also please leave it intact. :-) You are receiving this email because you sent a specific message asking to be placed on the mailing list for this newsletter. If you wish to be removed from this list, see the unsubscribe notice above. This is NOT SPAM, nor will you ever see a recipe featuring SPAM in this newsletter! ;-)

I have personally checked out the links provided here but they could possibly lead you to any number of bizarre and/or offensive sites. Surf at your own risk. The DIRECT links on this page are all family friendly unless stated otherwise. While this newsletter is family friendly, it is not necessarily intended to be read by children. Parents should always monitor their children while they are on the Internet.

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