I’ve come down with the flu. And then my daughter came down with the flu. Hopefully no one else will get it in my house or yours. I’m taking off the next week from blogging to get better. See you next Monday!

There are very few days and moments in my life that I remember as clearly as I remember Sept. 11, 2001. It’s easy to transport myself back to that dreadful day eight years ago when our country was attacked. At that time, I had just given birth to my second daughter and had my oldest was almost 15 months old.

As I rocked my little baby girl, who was only weeks old, and watched it all unfold on TV I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I think I sat frozen in my rocking chair for hours with my baby in my arms and my older daughter playing at my feet. I was so grateful my family was safe and that my children weren’t old enough to ask questions because I didn’t have any answers. I didn’t know how to put it into words myself. It was so shocking and awful. There just weren’t words to describe the horror of the things I saw that day.

Question: What were you doing on Sept. 11, 2001 when you heard the news?

Should children be given an allowance? If so, what for?  Doing chores? Meeting their own personal goals? Good grades? Improved behavior? When should kids receive money? How much should they get?

A few weeks ago my children were whining to my husband about doing their weekly chores. Granted, their weekly chores are minimal and if done without complaint would likely take them 20 minutes. As I’m sure the story goes in most homes lots of drama can ensue when parents declare that it’s time to get some housework done. Amidst all of the griping my husband said, “What do we always say? Work … ”

Before he could finish his mini-lecture they both chimed in unison the end of his oft repeated phrase, “We know: Work before play every day.” They groan everytime they hear it. I guess it’s sunk in after years of repetition.

Simultaneously, in another room, I was avoiding my long list of to-dos by watching the end of a TV show. I couldn’t help but think to myself, How often do I dish out advice that I myself don’t take? I began jotting down a few gems over the next day or so and here’s what I came up with.

“Crying doesn’t make it any easier to do what you need to do.” How often do we cry over something that isn’t really that important and we just delay the process of getting it done. My daughter spent weeks and weeks crying about getting dressed. Every day she’d go through this awful routine. (This was during her naked phase when she preferred to run around in the nude.) It would take her three times as long to get dressed because she sobbed through the whole process.

“Stop whining about it and get it done.” Again, similar to crying while doing you hate to do, whining about it is just as bad. All of that negativity just slows you down and really doesn’t make you feel better.

“If you didn’t stay up so late you wouldn’t be so cranky.” I can always tell when kids went to bed too late, but I rarely recognize this same problem in myself. I need my beauty sleep just as much as they do and skipping out on it for too many nights in a row is a recipe for disaster for me as much as it is for them. Was it really worth it to watch that movie or work on that project if it means I’m dysfunctional the next day?

“If you need to pee, then pee.” Embarassing to admit this one, but I think hours will go by and I’ll have been so busy that I will forget I need to pee until I’m about to burst. I find myself constantly chastising my four-year-old for the same bad habit, yet if charges were brought up against me in a court of law I would certainly be found guilty of the very same crime.

Question: What advice do you find yourself dishing out that you’re not taking yourself?

A few weeks ago my friend had a fire in her home that originated from her dryer lint. Luckily, no damage was done to her home, but she did end up replacing her stacked laundry system. Several years ago the same thing happened to another friend of mine. I was again reminded that home maintenance is an important and essential and that I’ve been a slacker in taking care of my own home’s preventative maintenance needs. I thought to myself, When did I clean out our lint catcher and the attached tubing? Have I ever done it? Needless to say, the next morning I went online and found directions for how to clean out your excess lint and keep your laundry room fire proof. Who knew how dirty those things could get?

While on vacation a few years ago our water heater burst and began spraying hot water all over our garage with great force. Lucky for us, an observant neighbor (who knew we were on vacation) called the fire department to have the massive water leak shut off. Unfortunately, we did have quite a few things ruined and mold issues because of the scolding water that enveloped our garage. The nice plumber who installed our new water heater informed me that you are actually supposed to clean out the silt from the water heater every 6 to 12 months. Who knew?

It’s easy to get busy with the day-to-day tasks at hand and forget the things that don’t scream for our attention. It’s easy to replace a lightbulb that goes out but how often do we really drain the silt from our water heater? Or replace the air filters in our HVAC? Or do other important home-maintenance tasks?

Below is a list of some of the items that should be done regularly to prevent larger and more expensive problems. Most of these things don’t take much time or money, but can save you a lot of headaches and expense if they make it on your to-do list. (Check out detailed how-to information on http://realestate.adviceandreviews.com)

Question: What do you do to remember to take care of the inner workings of your home? What would you add to the list?

When owning a home there are several things you need to do to maintain it.   The following are a few items sometimes over looked, but must be considered.

1. Furnace filters

2. Water softener

3. Garage door

4. Water filters

5. Light bulbs

6. Microwave carbon filters

7. Sprinkler system

8. Caulking

9. Water heater

10. Smoke alarms

11. Leaky sinks

12. Moisture in bathrooms

13. Dryer lint

Have you heard the latest news about kids’ lunches? Deli meats may now cause cancer. And peanut butter has been banned from many schools because of children having severe nut allergies. So what can you send in your kids’ lunches that they will eat and that will provide them some nourishment?

Here’s an article I found online that I thought had some great alternatives for filling up your child’s lunch box.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=8356168

Question: What do your kids like to eat that is healthy, cheap, and easy to prepare?

I proudly came in way under budget this year in my back-to-school shopping. My best deal of the season was finding two pairs of shoes for my oldest daughter for $13! We hit a Buy One Get One Free deal at Payless Shoe Source, and when we combined it with a clearance sale we saved a whopping $37. Next we hit up Old Navy and stocked up on jeans for $10 a pair and shirts for $5 a piece. We saved another $55.

I’ve developed a system managing our clothing budget that is simplicitic and logical but really saves both time and money. It works well for us because we have three children of the same gender, but it can easily be modified for your family size and situation. I recognize life is different when you hit the teenage years, but for now I’m holding out as long as it works.

1. Hand it on down (if you can). Lucky for me I have three children of the same gender that are nearly all one size apart, so most of our clothes are passed directly on to the next child. However, I still need to purchase items to fill in the gaps for the younger children because some clothes do wear out before they reach the end of the road. I also purchase new items for my oldest daughter. (Gotta love hearing the complaints from the younger two about hand-me-downs. It must be paybacks for all of the complaining I did as a middle child.) If you don’t have another child in the family to pass down to, ask around at school, social groups, or church. We receive lots of great items every year from other families that my children adore. Somehow hand-me-downs are more exciting when they come from kids they look up to and admire as opposed to their blood relatives. Go figure.

2. Hit the stores. I collect clearance items all year in the next size up for my oldest daughter. Not only does she grow like a weed, but I know that if I buy a pair of jeans for her at $10 a pair (regulary $29) it is a tremendous savings because all three of my daughters will wear them. It’s really like buying a pair of $3.33 jeans for each of my daughters. When was the last time you saw that price on a pair of jeans?

3. Invest in your future. At the end of this year’s back-to-school sales, hit the clearance racks, to stock up for next year. T-shirts and even shoes can hit the clearance racks off-season for as little as $2 to $3 for items that normally run $10-15. Reports say that sales are slow this year so anticipate there will be lots of deals. Backpacks are another great item to buy once they’ve been reduced because they’re so expensive at full price. As you browse the back-to-school racks now, you may also want to keep an eye out for summer clearance items including swim suits, shorts, and flip flops for next year. I stockpile all of my deals in plastic bins with lids, which I label, and then stow away in my garage until I see that my daughters who are sprouting up like bean sprouts begin to look as if they’re preparing for a flood. It’s fun to see what items are in the “mystery” boxes when it’s time to go “shopping” in our garage.

4. Have a rummage party. Invite friends who have children your same age and body style over for a clothing swap. Everyone contributes a dozen or so items per child of items they’re willing to part with but are only gently used. At the end of the event everyone will leave with a few items that are new to you. Any extra items still lingering behind can be donated. Everyone wins and no one spends a dime.

Question: What do you do to stock up and save on back-to-school clothing?

After a fun-filled summer I always wonder how my kids will answer the inevitable and predictable question everyone asks: What did you do over summer break?. I’d cringe if their only memory of this summer will be watching “Hannah Montana” and ‘Brady Brunch” re-runs. It seems, however, that kids’ memories are shorter than their attention spans, so I try to end summer on a high note. However, with lots of other preparations taking up lots of precious time it can be hard to squeeze it all in.

First, we start by reviewing our list of things we wanted to do at the beginning of summer and see if we’ve missed something really important. It also gives us a chance to think back to all of the fun that we have had as we cross other things off the list. Next, we brainstorm any other things we’d like to do before the leaves begin changing colors. Finally, we make a plan and set a date to have our last hurrah. (By the way, this is a really great way to get your kids to buy into all of the other not-so-fun mandatory Back to School prep stuff you’ve got to do.)

Here are a few ideas of fun things I’ve heard of others doing or that we’d like to do. Please add to the list by sharing your idea in the comments below.

End summer with a bang by:

· Having a slumber party and inviting friends who were in your class last year or will be in your class this year.

· Invite a group over for a breakfast to get everyone reaquainted with their alarm clocks but then let the guests show up in pajamas if they wish. (It’s like baby-stepping back into the routine.)

· Make one last trip to a favorite summer spot (the beach, pool, a beautiful hike, a friend’s house, a fun outing, etc.)

· Have a big bonfire and make s’mores and reminisce about the fun weeks that preceded.

· Have a game night, movie night or talent show as a family or invite friends to join you.

Question: What do you do to wrap up summer?

I won’t be posting next week because I’m taking the week off to enjoy with my family. Hope you have a great first week of August!