Boxer Dog Training

The Boxer is an amazing dog and is extremely playful, energetic and definitely a handful (in a good way of course). This breed of dog is extremely loyal and when a friendship is built it lasts forever. The boxer is unique and not for everyone, if you are a new owner of a boxer you have to be aware that they need a lot of attention and training. They are extremely intelligent dogs, which can work to your advantage when it comes to training, but then again can be very disadvantageous, as they know how to use their intelligence to get what they want.

Boxer dog training consists of training them up to become guard dogs; this is their main profession if you like. People who do not know boxers tend to assume that they are naturally aggressive when they are in fact the opposite and could not be more playful than any other dog! Because of their good stature and aggressive look, people are automatically assuming this dog could do more harm than good. If your boxer is not trained properly then he just might.

Because of their intelligence, Boxers can be very stubborn but when it comes to training a boxer, it can be very helpful. Owners must remember that there will be times when you ask him to do something and he's going to look you in the face and basically tell you where to go, he knows he is supposed to do what you are telling him but he decides he can't be bothered and doesn't. The main thing you have to remember in these circumstances is to be patient. From as early as 6 weeks old you should start your boxer dog training as this will help him when he grows up, socialize him, play with him and teach him, but do it in an exciting way and he is more likely to listen.

The main aspect of training for a boxer is socialization. Boxers can be very friendly dogs but they need to be trained to become one. They need to get accustomed to other dogs and people. The best way to do this is training classes. That way your boxer will be trained alongside other dogs.

When your boxer reaches 13-16 weeks old it's time for some serious boxer dog training, this is the stage where he is going to test for dominance, he will nip and try to show you that he is the more dominant one, mainly by not listening to you. You have to be a strong leader at this time; you must show him that bad behaviors will not be tolerated no matter what!

Boxers are genuinely a lovable family dog and would make a proud pet for anyone, they are dogs that prefer to sit on you lap for a cuddle than anything else. Train your boxer early with some serious boxer dog training and you can be assured you will have a stunning, loyal family friend!

Whether you have a boxer or different breed of dog, everything you need to know to train your dog properly is at Dog Training

All About Spring Valley Nevada

Spring Valley, Nevada is a small city that is south west of Las Vegas. In the year 2000, there were only a little over 117,000 people living there. The city is located in Clark County, Nevada.

Aside from the boring details of the population and actual location, Spring Valley is quite a lovely place to visit or live. It is in the foothills of Vegas, which makes it the prime location for many luxury homes and condos. You can get great views of the mountains, green lands, and even fresh water from Spring Valley. It is a place that brings many golfers to the Las Vegas area each year.

The community of Spring Valley is upper class for the most part. There are many gated communities filled with million dollar homes. The entire 33 square miles of Spring Valley is almost all luxury homes. The homes are expansive as well as their lots. You won?t see homes being built on top of each other in Spring Valley.

The best part is that when you are interested in a little entertainment and fun, you are only moments away from downtown Las Vegas. So you can head to the Strip for your fun on the weekends and come back to calm Spring Valley to rest up for the rest of the week.

So when you are in the Las Vegas area, come take a look at Spring Valley, Nevada. It is simply one of the nicest places to live in the entire state. If you want to live in a community full of luxury and class, Spring Valley is the one for you.

This is a great city, and for those that want to learn about Spring Valley, Nevada Real Estate, see our site.

Water Conservation For the Home

Water Conservation; Are you asking yourself what you can do to help? Today I witnessed a lady purchasing facet for her bathroom, she told the cashier that hers had a leak. She is in a city that has a drought restriction and has even had at least one automotive care business in the city go out of business in the current month due to water restrictions making it difficult to do business. Although the facet itself was a small expenditure, it represented what I believe is America?s greater awareness of the subject of sustainability especially in times of drought and areas of economic and population expansion.

Water is life for the human species and we must understand that when cycles come and go, there will be times when the precious commodity is stretched too thin. Have you asked yourself how you can save water in your life? Recently the City of Denver CO under the leadership of their governor and with help from the media; the city voluntarily saved 10% off their current usage.

Voluntarily people like Mary Ann Colson, the lady discussed above in the Home Depot checkout line is an example of the conscientious foresight we all need to curb the severity of our droughts. She was in a mid sized Idaho town outside Boise, ID the capital which is in a slight drought crisis, not as bad as NM or parts of Nevada or Arizona, but severe enough for people to take notice and to do the right thing. If all of us would follow Mary Ann?s example which even though was ever so slight, we can reduce by 10-20% easily and save the water in the reservoirs for farmers, hospitals, hotels and livestock and maybe even for us to drink. It is this type of small deed and selflessness that will help us all to a brighter and better tomorrow, we must admit there is a problem and band together to be the ones to fix it, all of us are liable for this.

We all use the water and we all need to watch how we use it. The farmers needs it to grow crops to keep prices down to feed the world and stay in business. You need it to drink, wash clothes and dishes and provide your family with a sanitary environment free from disease, mold, bacteria and dust. The businesses need it to, so they can provide jobs, make commerce, feed their families and provide their products and services to the community in which you live and then to the nation and then to the rest of the world in export in that order. We must and we can do it, but only through conscientious effort will it be possible. You see Mary Ann Colson had a plan that day, she wrote down on her lists of things to do, to fix that facet, although she did not call a plumber or understand all the plumbing she knew enough to buy a little tube of silicon clear caulking compound and a five dollar facet, which by the way should save her about $3-5 per month depending on that leak and it spares us all a little more breathing room. You ask yourself what can I do, I do not have any leaking facets? Do you; you don?t how do you know; does you toilet run extra long, can you bend the float in the float tank down to shut off the flush water sooner saving a glass or two per flush? Do you care, well you should and even if you do not care, you can still save a little can?t you? Because you may not care today, but tomorrow when the city water department says you cannot water your grass you will care then, when they say you cannot wash your own car you may care. Of course you can always call the Car Wash Guys, my company to wash your car for you? We use very little water to wash cars. Here are some tips on saving water brought to you by the people who do care and need to help you understand the seriousness of the issue at hand.

http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/

There are easy tips here to help you. The US Geological Society says situations are not getting any easier as areas continually expand and need more water, but they offer many suggestions on ways to help;

http://water.usgs.gov/education.html

American Water offers you 49 easy, I mean really simple things you can do to save water;

http://www.americanwater.com/49ways.htm

At the Cambridge Water Expo they came up with many ways to save water on shrubbery and gardens, take a peak they work;

http://www.cambridge-water.co.uk/savegarden.htm

It is even written in the Bible to save water did you know that;

http://www.lifewater.ca/donate.htm

Whoever gives to one of these little ones a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward (Matt. 10:42). And if fear of God is not enough to convince you and you will not listen to the wisdom of The Car Wash Guys then perhaps you believe in some of what the EPA, NOAA, USDA is saying;

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/monitor/bookmark.htm

http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/gwswp/GWLinks/preliminaryassessments.htm

http://outreach.ecology.uga.edu/watershed/links.html

Remember we have been talking about this drought for awhile. We just have concluded a drought study in 6 parts last month and still no sign of relief to stop the problems. And just in case anyone thinks I am a hypocrite I wish to tell everyone right now I have been living on 6.8 gallons per day total allotment for 2 years while living in the motor home Corporate Command Center traveling the country; 210 gallons per month and after doing that I have no doubt if I had to I could cut it down to under 100 gallons per month very easily. What have you done to conserve water this month, what are you going to do tomorrow, do not complain about the drought or the restrictions that you have in place now or will soon unless you are willing to walk the talk America. Get busy and do something. Think on this.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Tinfoil Barb

The Tinfoil barb has a silvery body with bright and shiny scales and beautiful black and red-orange fins. The Tinfoil barb is sometimes confused with another species in the aquarium trade.

The Tinfoil barb is an active species that will inhabit the lower part of the aquarium, from the bottom and up to mid-level. Most Tinfoil barbs in the aquarium trade are wild caught, since their size makes them difficult to breed in captivity. Sexing the fish is also hard. Tinfoil barbs are egg-scatters and a female Tinfoil barb can produce several thousands of eggs during one spawning.

Tinfoil barbs should only be kept by aquarium keepers with really large aquariums, since it is one of the largest barbs and can reach a length of 36 centimeters (14 inches). It is also a schooling species, so you must have enough space to house a group of Tinfoil barbs. A school of Tinfoil barbs is un aggressive and can be combined with fish from other species as long as those fishes are as large as the barbs or bigger.

The Tinfoil barb feeds chiefly on plant material, but will not turn down occasional treats in the form of worms, insects, crustaceans or small fishes. Keeping your Tinfoil barbs with small fishes is therefore not recommended, since they might be perceived as prey. It is not hard to get your Tinfoil barb to eat in captivity. If you have tender plants in the aquarium, or plants that have not yet rooted themselves in the substrate, your Tinfoil barb might eat them.

The Tinfoil barb will also appreciate filamentous algae. Many aquarium keepers choose artificial plants for their Tinfoil barb aquarium, but you can go for real plants if you choose sturdy plant species that will tolerate nibbling. Ideally begin with really inexpensive plant species to test how your particular Tinfoil barbs will treat the live plants.

The Tinfoil barb originates from tropical waters in Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, and the Malayan peninsula, and the water temperature in the aquarium should therefore be 22-25 ? C (72-77 ? F). Since it inhabits rapidly moving rivers and streams in the wild, the Tinfoil barb will appreciate strong currents in the aquarium. The preferred pH is in the 6.5-7.0 range and the water hardness should not be higher than 10 degrees of general hardness. If you care for your Tinfoil barbs and provide them with a suitable environment and appropriate diet they can live for 8-10 years.

Allen Jesson writes for several sites including two sites that specialize in salt water and fresh water aquariums and the aquarium site and Seapets, a leading source for aquariums and fish tanks.

Introducing the Fascinating Hobby of Birdwatching!

Birds are the most visible form of wildlife, they are found in every part of the world that is not permanently covered by ice, and you can see them in any weather, any time of day or night, anywhere you go. Whether you live in the country or the city, there are birds nearby, 835 species of birds spend at least part of the year in North America. You can go out looking for birds or attract them to your home. Birding is one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities all around the world. The Verb ?To Bird' would serve as an excellent jumping off point for a feature, which highlights the growing popularity of birding. More than 70 million Americans are feeding and watching backyard birds.

Success in bird watching is, to a large extent, based on location, either by venturing to locations or habitats where birds are plentiful, or by devising ways to attract birds to your own back yard. Birds seen at a distance may be enjoyable to watch, but the true excitement of the hobby is greatly enhanced when you can see the birds up very close. Some of the most useful tools that enhance your bird-watching experience are those that makes birds easier to see in striking detail.

There are numerous ways to participate in the hobby of birding. Aside from simply viewing birds in nature, avid enthusiasts engage in numerous other activities. Some of those may include: feeding birds, providing nesting sites or birdhouses, growing specialized plants and gardens to attract birds, traveling to nature sanctuaries and other bird-watching locales, keeping lists and notes on birds seen in the wild, making diagrams and sketches and spending hours trying to snap the perfect photograph of a favorite bird species. In order to enhance your beautiful experience of bird watching in winter one can learn bird?s song. Birds? strongest senses are sight and hearing, and they have evolved ways to communicate and to recognize their own species by using signals based on those two senses. Because we are also creatures of sight and sound, we can tap right into all the fascinating distinctions of color and shape that birds embody, and just as naturally we can appreciate the sounds that are so important in their lives. As you begin to recognize bird songs, your own backyard will become a much more interesting place.

For me, it was like gaining supernatural vision, being able to see through the leaves and around buildings. I was amazed at how many birds were all around me and how much I had been missing out on. To broaden your bird-watching experience beyond your own backyard, consider incorporating some bird-rich locales into your next vacation. Serious bird enthusiasts actually plan trips around visiting bird sanctuaries, nature parks and other natural locations where they can view birds in large numbers, in diversity of species and in their native habitats. Traveling to a region of the country other than the one in which you live will allow you to see species you may have never seen before.

Try to observe the birds so they don't know you are there. Move slowly, make as little noise as possible, and keep your distance. Going too close to a nest or repeatedly scaring a bird off its nest can cause the parents to abandon their nest leaving the eggs vulnerable to predators. Do not touch the eggs or young birds. Avoid trampling fragile natural areas to get a closer look. Stay on paths and trails. Don't litter. Now once you have started on the bird watching its important to build bird house, start the proper bird-feeding all year around, provide them with water either through bird bath or providing water specially in extreme weathers. In this way the birds would be attracted and would keep coming back to the backyard.

Paul is Head of Training for a major UK Charitable Organisation with a wealth of experience in personal development, management development, e-learning and operational management. In addition he owns PK eBooks (http://www.pk-ebooks.co.uk) and has just published a series of Bird Watching eBooks which can be found at http://www.pk-ebooks.co.uk/birdingforeveryone.htm

Adirondack All Weather Furniture Choosing the Right Wood Type

Few people are aware of the fact that the idea for quality Adirondack all weather furniture began with a quest to find the perfect chair for relaxing on lazy summer evenings. This is why comfort is one of the very first things anyone thinks of when imagining an Adirondack chair or lounger. Aside from comfort, the other feature that most comes to mind when thinking about Adirondack all weather furniture is durability?why else would they call it all-weather!?

Because the original Adirondack chairs were originally designed for outdoor use at some lake cottage or similar retreat?the furniture had to be durable and was thus made from woods such as:

1. Cypress

2. Pine

3. Cedar

The use of cypress for construction purposes dates all the way back to ancient Egypt when the wood was a material for the construction of caskets for the first pharaohs. Today, cypress is a very common wood and used to make outdoor furniture like swings and various deck accessories. Cypress is also commonly used to make doors and windows as well because it has a preservative within the wood grain that helps it naturally repel insects and resist rot and decay which is why it is a popular choice when crafting quality-made Adirondack chairs and patio furniture.

Pine is another common wood used to make quality Adirondack all weather chairs and other seasonal outdoor furniture. Because of its abundance and relatively quick growth cycle, pine tends to be a cheaper wood and is used extensively in the construction of many outdoor furniture pieces, including tables, benches, swings, chairs, and loungers. Pine tends to have a relatively low oil content and tends to thus dry out easily, making it susceptible to cracking. However, when properly maintained, pine can be used to make premium Adirondack all weather furniture.

Cedar is a great wood when thinking about quality Adirondack outdoor furniture. Having a reddish brown color, cedar wood tends to be somewhat knotty and is actually a softwood. Cedar is naturally insect repellant and tends to have a very distinctive aroma which can be managed with a sealer. However, quality Adirondack all weather furniture made from cedar is both beautiful and very durable making it an excellent choice when buying patio or deck chairs, tables, or accessories.

Jennifer Akre, owner of numerous outdoor furniture, patio furniture, and home decor websites, makes it easy to find quality painted Adirondack Chairs and Patio Furniture. Learn how to decorate your outdoor patio and garden in style - Click to satisfy your garden furniture needs: e Adirondack Style.com.

Landscaping LessonsProper Placement Of Trees In Landscape Design

Landscaping and landscape design goes beyond just creating beautiful designs. As a professional designer, it?s not only my job to create designs but also to envision every possibility of the mature landscape in years to come.

And while most elements will remain what they are for years to come, the one thing that most do it yourselfers and some professionals overlook is the space that tiny little sprouts will occupy when they become mature plants and trees.

Trees serve a number of obvious purposes in the landscape. Creating shade, wind blocks, noise reduction, boundaries, and focal points are just a few. Once I have established where I?ll need trees for these purposes in a design, I have several other considerations before I can designate their permanent home.

Planting without considering the space that the mature full grown plants and trees will occupy can become more than just an inconvenience. It can be costly.

Things to consider.

Around Play Areas

A shaded canopy over play areas, sand boxes, etc. may be desired for shade from afternoon sun. However, you need to consider the mess that birds and other critters will drop right into your childs play area if the canopy extends over it.

The solution to this is to place large shade trees a distance from the area in line with the travel of the sun. If you know the trees you plant and how far the mature canopy will extend, you can still plant for shade without exposing your kids to unsanitary conditions.

Around Pools

Keeping a pool clean is hard enough without a mess of leaves and branches. And while most pool areas are sunny locations, it is sometimes desirable to have a space near the pool where one can escape the sun.

Unlike play areas though, you may not want to shade the entire pool landscape from the afternoon sun. Therefore you shouldn?t plant large shade trees in direct line with the travel of the sun. Design as to create a shady area to one side or the other. This is also another spot to eliminate top rooting trees around concrete. Evergreen types are usually your best bet for around pools.

Roots And Concrete Footings And Foundations

While infrequent deep watering as opposed to frequent shallow watering will help deter top rooting trees, some trees are still determined to seek out other sources of water which may be on the surface or moist areas under structures.

The seeking roots of large trees are a powerful force that can break sidewalks, foundations, and even lift walls out of place. This is the biggest and most costly mistake I see. Know your landscaping trees before you plant them next to your home.

Under Power Lines Know what?s overhead.

Property Lines And Easements This one can make enemies out of neighbors.

Underground Utilities, Sewers, And Septic Tanks

Besides the roots being able to break pipes and lines, you don?t want to have to move or destroy a mature tree to fix a leak. Locate lines and plant away from them. Some trees can spread out much further underground than they do up top. Know what?s underground.

Perspective

You need to keep in mind the mature size of trees in proportion to the size of your home and other landscaping elements. Large trees can dwarf a small home and small trees can look like shrubs placed around a very large home. Know the mature size of trees and keep them in perspective.

Hiding or framing a home

Consider the view from the street and other areas and consider the purpose of your trees. If you wish to seclude your home, you don?t need much thought for that. However, if you only wish to frame or accent your home, you?ll again need to consider the mature size and placement of your plantings.

Parking Areas

Here?s another opportunity for birds and critters to make a mess of things. If possible, plant in accordance with the travel of the sun. And once again, know the mature canopy of your trees.

Usefulness And Cost Effectiveness

If you?re going to make an investment in landscaping, look for ways to make it work for you. Placed properly, large trees can shade your home and reduce your cooling costs and vise versa. You can intentionally create shade for your shady garden, screen and divide areas, reduce noise, and a world of other applications if you just give it some thought.

Written by Steve Boulden. Steve is the creator of The Landscape Design Site which offers free professional landscaping advice, tips, plans, and ideas to do it yourselfers and homeowners. For more free information on landscaping and garden plants, visit his site at http://www.the-landscape-design-site.com

Summer Lawn Care Tips

Summer is just around the corner, and your lawn could probably use a little maintenance before the summer season of backyard BBQs and swimming in the pool. So what are you doing now to get your lawn ready? Lawn care is often feared as a difficult and time intensive process, but with a few guidelines and tips, you can easily have a healthy green lawn in time for the first backyard party of the season.

First of all, if you can spare a minute of your time, don?t hire a lawn care ?specialist? or professional landscaper. Buying your own lawn care products is cheap and easy, with hundreds of vendors offering products online and in Do-It-Yourself stores. A wide variety of products such as weed controllers to fertilizers can be found online, and usually can be found at reasonable prices, especially when you do a little online coupon searching.

Starting off on the right foot is important to reviving your lawn after winter. Fertilizer is the key to ensuring strong healthy growth of the grass in your yard. Fertilizing the grass does more than just make it green. Of course it will make it grow too, but lot's of things happen when you fertilize. Fertilizer makes the seed germinate faster, and get started out of the ground. After the grass has a good start fertilizer will make the grass get thicker and send off beneficial chemicals like Rhizomes, Stolons, and Tillers all making the grass thicker and healthier.

What most people want to know about fertilizing is - how much and when? Typically, you want to fertilize 4 times each season, spread 60 days apart. Start in early spring approximately 30 days before the growing season begins in your area, continuing through the growing season until fall. Spring fertilizing gets the grass off to a fast start giving you that rich green color everyone wants. A word of warning though, don't use too much fertilizer, follow the listed guidelines on the bag.

Mowing is the most misunderstood part of lawn care, and the most often incorrectly performed part of lawn care. Far too many people will set their mowers too low or scalp the lawn. How many times have you spent time mowing your grass in hopes of a beautiful result only to end up with brown spots? Cutting too much off the top leads to thinned out grass, and shallow root systems.

Now once you have achieved the perfect lawn, you must do regular maintenance to prevent it from going back to being a pasture. Spend a little time and money and keep it watered and you will keep the lush grass you spent your hard earned money and time on. The ideal way to water your lawn is with an Automatic Underground Sprinkler System. This way the watering is done every day that it needs it, you don't have to drag hoses, you don't waste water from over watering, and you get all of the lawn watered, not just where you happen to set the sprinkler. If you implement this type of sprinkler system, make sure to water shrubbery and annuals separate from the lawn. If you applied the same amount of water on your landscape as gets put on the lawn you would surely kill some plants from over watering.

Now that you?re ready to care for your lawn, you?ll need to get your supplies. Lawn care products can be found at many local gardening centers, or through many online merchants. Buying gardening supplies online is growing in popularity, and made even more economical by online coupons and discounts. For coupons on everything from fertilizers to lawn tools and equipment, check out www.CouponChief.com and easily save yourself some big bucks. Spend the extra cash on your first big BBQ of the summer and invite all your neighbors over to drool over your well manicured, lush green lawn.

Josh Gray, President of UC San Diego?s Gardens Club, is a consultant to CouponChief.com. This online coupon website provides free coupons and discount codes to many favorite gardening websites on their home and garden coupons page.

Understanding The Development Process Of A Stepfamily

Part of The Stepfamily Coach approach is having families see themselves as a team. To aid this I?ve developed The Stepfamily Development Model. The model breaks down into four parts: getting going, growing, flowing and glowing.

Understanding each of these areas alone will really help blend a family, ease the stress and find greater happiness within the family.

Let?s explore each of these areas.

Getting Going. This is the stage that two people fall in love. They want to spend as much time as possible together. They only see the good things about each other. The fact that children are involved hardly matters at this point as love conquers all! And this is a second chance and it?s going to be wonderful - a lovely partner and one big happy family.

In the background of this Getting Going stage the practicality is that the children will need a lot of guidance and direction from their parent. They will also need reassurance too so as to avoid feeling shut out. The new partner will also need lots of support and guidance on how to interact with the young people of the house.

This whole stage is littered with dreams and uncertainty with hardly anyone knowing what to do or how to act.

At this stage it?s ideal to plan, look ahead, discuss the future and all the what if?s and buts. Think about the reality of living together. Who will discipline who, what are acceptable standards amongst the children, etc.

At the Getting Going stage parents and their the new partner must be prepared to answer lots of questions: about relationships with the new people, about the other parent and how things are going to be now at home. You?ll need to answer questions around what they should call the new adult in the house. The children may well test the tolerance of the new adult and any new processes/systems may well be ignored.

Every adult I speak too in a stepfamily who is having difficulties tells me they wished they?d come to me sooner when they were planning blending families. They realise that discussing key things early would make life a lot easier later. As the old saying goes, failing to plan is just planning to fail.

Growing. The realities are beginning to really hit home. You?ve moved in together and are realising that you don?t agree with the way your partner disciplines their own children and even worse the way they discipline yours. You don?t see your children as much because your ex is resentful or your new partner is not getting along with them. There are arguments amongst the children and you and your partner are feeling the tension in your own relationship and in the relationship with the children.

Decisions can be hard to make within the family, as there are so many different needs to take into account. Each member of the family will attempt to establish themselves in relation to other new family members. At this stage the adults are likely to receive challenges from the children. There are still plenty of uncertainties but family members are becoming clearer and more confident.

This confidence can bring headaches. You may well find that siblings ?gang? up and cliques and divisions form. From older children there may be power struggles. The adults in the family need to really keep in mind what they want to achieve and avoid becoming caught up in/distracted by emotional issues. A good approach for adults here is to ask lots of questions to understand how people are thinking and feeling.

It?s during this stage that many families get stuck. There is lots of learning, lots of realization coming all at the same time and adults can, understandably, get overwhelmed with what to do with all this information. The thing is if something isn?t done with the information then rifts, arguments, irritations and conflict grow. This is where stepfamily life can be at it?s most stressful; leaving you feeling drained and very unhappy, at worse families break up ? again.

If in this position, parents and/or partners can really reap rewards form seeking support and guidance through this difficult time. One way to is to get yourself a good Coach. Flexible and empowering, impartial and non-judgmental, having your own personal family coach is a really valuable way to get help.

Flowing. You?ve learnt how to communicate effectively. You appreciate that everyone is different and although you might not agree you can accept. You are in a settled routine and understand everyone?s needs and how to fulfil them.

This is the phase where family members begin to be able to make agreements and cooperate. Adults now find it easier work with the children. Everyone is now clear on their place in the family and feel accepted within that. Now adults move much more into consulting the whole family when making family decisions with an aim to gain everyone?s agreement. There is now a strong sense of being part of a family unit and everyone feels commitment to that group. As a family you talk issues over and hold in mind what would work better for everyone. There is general respect for adults and children alike and older children might share some of the leadership.

Glowing. You celebrate your differences. The children are well balanced and effectively balance their two homes. Everyone respects and appreciates each other.

The family members now have a clear vision and everyone knows clearly why they are doing what they are doing. The family has a shared vision and everyone interacts with little intervention from the adults. There is a real feel for working together and doing the best for the family and everyone makes most of their decisions based on their family values.

Sure, disagreements occur but now they are resolved positively and the family makes necessary changes. The family is able to work together, and individuals can sort out issues and challenges with relative ease. Family members look after each other. The family needs little direction from the adults and needs little instruction on how to behave and interact with each other. Family members might ask for help from the adults with personal and interpersonal development.

One strong, happy family!

It is natural for families to continue to cycle back to growing through the process to glowing regularly as the children grow and life evolves. The difference is next time the growing stage is a lot easier because you already have strong relationships, a deeper understanding and respect for each other and new tools and techniques to deal with what comes your way.

What stage of the cycle is your family?

Are you in the growing stage and fed up of it? Do you want to move more into the flow of stepfamily?

Or

Are you planning to move in together and blend your families? Do you want to make the transition as smooth and stress free as possible?

The Stepfamily Coach helps you build strong relationships and a happy home. Wishing you a very happy month with your family.

Jo
www.TheStepfamilyCoach.com
? Jo Ball 2006

The Stepfamily Coach offers support and guidance to divorced and separated parents who are blending their family to a new family. Grab your free report 7 Secrets For Blending A Family Without The Stress And Strain from http://www.TheStepfamilyCoach.com

Choosing The Best Baby Gift

Buying a baby gift can be a complex situation. There are many factors to figure in when purchasing a gift. Factors like nursery pattern, boy or girl, like and dislike of mom and dad, and many more. Baby gift selection is difficult because the child hasn?t developed a strong like or dislike toward one area. It can be confusing but can also be very fun.

While gifts are important during occasions such as baby showers, baptisms or birth days, gifts are more special when least expected. Gifts are no longer limited either. In the past, a baby shower gift was diapers, bottles, clothing or toys. But with many brands specializing in one area the selection of gifts to choose from is endless. For baby showers, a gift which includes all of the requisite shower gifts like diapers, bottles, formula and towels can be found in all in one gift. For baptisms, infant layette sets come in all sorts of assortments and in all sorts of distinct and unique designs. Readymade gift baskets come in different themes and with different items to keep it interesting and exciting for the parents.

Even the common gifts such as diapers, towels, and bottles retain their popularity because of the endless selections of shapes, colors and patterns. Blankets, curios and other knick knacks remain popular for the same reason. Technology has brought common baby gifts into the 21st century. Parents are now receiving digital picture frames and breast pumps which can be plugged into cigarette lighters in the car.

One of the most common gifts is the gift certificate. Certificates allow the parent to choose an item to match the theme of the nursery. It gives the parent the freedom to choose an item which is truly needed and appreciated. Personalized baby gifts are as popular as ever. Personalized bags, spoons or charms make the gift unique and unforgettable.

Gift selection is important, but just showing thought is what is truly important. Finding the perfect gift will make for a special moment for all involved.

About the Author

LynnMarie is On-Line Editor for Babyage.com which is one of the top online retailers of Baby Gifts including a great selection of Personalized Gifts for you to create!

Turn a Pumpkin into a JackoLantern as a Halloween Party Activity

The pumpkin is the most visible and popular symbol of the fall season and Halloween. Everywhere you look pumpkins are popping up in grocery stores, at pumpkin festivals, and decorating porches and doorsteps. They come in many sizes, shapes and varieties. Turn the popular pumpkin into a Jack-o-lantern as a child?s Halloween party activity.

You may want to share with the kids the story of how the Jack-o-lantern came to be. It is an Irish folktale from the mid-nineteenth century about a man named Jack who was constantly playing games with the devil and outwitting him. When Jack died, Heaven wouldn?t take him because he?d spent so much time with the Devil. The Devil wouldn?t take him either because he was fed up with Jack. So Jack was forced to wander the earth for eternity as a spirit, lighting the way with an ever-burning coal he?d stolen from the Devil and stuck inside a carved turnip.

The legend inspired the Irish to carve scary faces in turnips at Halloween time, and place a lit candle inside to ward off the evil spirits. In honor of Jack, they named the turnip creation, Jack-o-lantern. When the Irish came to America, they found the pumpkin made an even better Jack-o-lantern than the turnip!

After sharing this folktale with the kids, have them carve their own Jack-o-lanterns. Select a variety of pumpkins in different shapes and sizes. It?s a good idea to have plain paper and pencils available to the kids can practice drawing what type of scary face they want to make. To ensure the child?s safety when carving, use special pumpkin carving tools now available at most Halloween supply stores.

Once the child copies the face onto their pumpkin, cut the top (or bottom) open so you can remove the seeds. Save the seeds to roast as a party snack. Scoop out the fibers with a large metal spoon or scoop. Now they can work on carving their pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns. Have some votive candles or mini-flashlights available to they can light their Jack-o-lanterns.

For a variation of the traditional carved Jack-o-lantern, try painting on scary or funny faces with craft paint or cut facial features out of craft foam and glue onto the pumpkin. Another idea is to sculpt a face using other vegetables such as radishes, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc. Secure the vegetables in place by using toothpicks or bamboo skewers.

As a mother, grandmother, and child development professional, Nancy Johnson, shares over 20 years experience working with children and planning activities on her website, Creative-Child-Activity-Notebook.com. Check it out for more school age child activity ideas including party, fall, learning, nature, and child holiday activity ideas.

How To Preserve And Store Your Paper Collectibles

Posters collecting today is for both fun and profiit. Yet, the poster you thought was going to increase in value year after yearhas suddenly turned yellow after only three months and is now worthleess. What happened? What could have been done to prevent the yellowing? This article will discuss how paper is made. What materialls are best suited for long term storage and the guidelines for proper preservation.

How Paper is Made

Paper generally has plant fibers that have been reduced to a pulp, suspended in water and then matted into sheets. The fibers in turn consist largely of cellulose, a strong, lightweighht and somewhat durable material; cotton is an example of almost pure cellulose fiber. Although cotton and other kinds of fiber have been used in paper making over the years, most paper products today are made from wood pulp.

Wood pulps come in two basic varietiess: groundwood and chemical wood. In the first process, whole logs are shredded and mechanically beaten. In the second, the fibers are prepared by digesting wood chips in chemical cookers. Because groundwood is the cheaper of the two, it is the primary component in such inexpensive papers as newsprint, which is used in many newspapers, comic boooks and paper backs. Chemiically purified pulps are used in more expensive applications, such as stationery and some magazines and hardcover books.

Since groundwood pulp is made from whole wood fiber, the resulting paper does not consist of pure cellulose. As much as one-third of its content may consist of non-cellulosic materials such as lignin, a complex woody acid. In chemical pulps, however, the lignin and other impurities are removed during the cooking process.

Deterioration of paper

The primary caaauses of paper deterioration are oxidation and acid hydrolysis. Oxidation attacks cellulose molecules with oxygen from the air, causing darkening and increased acidity. In addition, the lignin in groundwood paper breaks down quickly under the influence of ooxygen and ultraviolet light. Lighht-innduced ooxidation of lignnnin is what turns newspapers yellow after a few days' exposure to sunlight. (Light can also cause some printing inks to fade.)

In acid hydrolysis, the cellulose fibers are cut by a reaction involving heat and acids, resulting in paper that turns brown and brittle. The sources of acidity include lignin itself, air pollution, and reaction byy-products from the oxidation of paper. Anoter major source is alum, which is often used with rosin to prepare the paper surface for accepting printing inks. Alulm eventually releases sulfuuriic acid in paper.

Acidity and alkalinity are measured in units of pH, with 0 the most acidic and 14 the most alkaline. (Neutral pH is 7..00) Because the scale is based on powers of 10, a pH of 4.5 is actually 200 times more acidic than a pH of 6.5. Fresh newsprint typically carriies a pH of 4.5 or less, while older more deteriorated paper on the verge of crumbling, may run as low as pH 3.0. Although some modern papers are made acid free, most paper collectibles are aciddic and need special treatment to lenngthen their lives.

Other factors which contribute to the destruction of paper include extremes of temperature and humidity, insects, rodents, mold and improper handling and storage.

Guidelines for Preservation

First and foremost, keep your paper collectibles cool, dark and dry. Store books and other items in an unheated room, if possible, and regularly monitor the humidity. Excess heat and humidity should be controlled with an air conditioner and a dehumidifier. Storage materials such as envelopes, sleeves and boxes, should be of archival quality only to prevent contamination of their contents.

Polyethylene and Polypropylene

For years, collectors have stored their comic books, postcards and other collectibles in polyethylene bags, PVC sheets and plastic wraps. Although such products may be useful in keeping away dirt, grease and vermin, many plastic sleeves contain plasticizers and other additives which can migrate into paper and cause premmature aging. Booth polyethyllene and polyproppylene contain solvents and additives in their manufacture to assure clarity and increase the flexibility in the plastic. Polyethylene when uncoated without any solvents s a good moisture barrier but has a high gas transmission rate, and eventually shrinks and loses its shape under warmer conditions.

In recent years polypropylene bags have been sold under the guise of being archivally sound. This is far from the truth. Only uncoated and untreated material is suitable for archival protection. Currently, the only way to seal pollypprropppylene is to add a substance called PVDC (Polyvinyl Dichlooride which is a relative of PVC) tooo allow the material to be heat sealed. Therefore, once you add the harddmful additive, the sleeve now becomes non-archival and should not be used for long term storage.

Mylar

According to the US Library of Congress, the preferred material for preserving valuable documents is uncoated archival quality polyester film, such as Mylar type D by DuPont Co. or equivalent material Melinex 516 by ICI Corp. Mylar is an exceptionally strong transparent film that resists moisture, pollutants, oils and acids. With a life expectancy of hundreds of years, Mylar will outlast most other plastics. In addition, the brilliance and clarity of Mylar enhances the appearance of any paper collectible.

Acid Free Boards and Boxes

Because ordinary cardboard is itself acidic, storage in cardboard boxes may be hazardous to your collection, and is a leading cause of premature deterioration of paper collectibles. For proper storage, only acid free boards that meet the US Government's MINIMUM requirements are acceptable. These requirements have been defined as boards having a 3% calcium carbonate buffer throughout and a minimum pH of 8.5. Anything less will hasten your collection's destruction. While many advertisers claim that their boards are acid-free at time of manufacture, they are in reality only spray coated with an alkaline substance making them acid free for only a very short time. Boards termed acid-free at time of manufacture do not offer sufficient protection or storage for anything other than short term. True acid-free boards have been impregnanted with a calcium buffer resulting in an acid-free, alkaline pH content of 8.5 throughout.

Another way to extend the longevity of your collectibles is to deciidify them before storage. Deacidifying sprays and sollutions are now available for home use. By impregnating the paper with an alkaline reserve, you can neutralize existing acids and inhibit oxidation,acidity and staining due to certain fungi. However, it is best left to the professionals to deacidify your paper collectibles. Deacidification with proper storage conditions will add centuries to the lifetime of paper.

Posters

http://www.posters123.com

Love Your Teenager Assessment Test

If you truly love your teenager please hand him or her this assessment test every year. This will greatly help you both to experience the real peace, love and happiness you both deserve.

Simple Instructions: Hand your teen this sheet, along with a stack of paper, and ask him or her to write the numbers along with his or her answers on the blank sheets of paper.

1. If there is anything I do or say to you that upsets you, please write it down here.

2. Is there something that another member of our household does or says to you that upsets you? Please write down what it is so it can be cleared up.

3. Are you treated in a negative manner behind my back by anyone in our household?

4. What is that person doing or saying to you that has caused you upset? Please write it down so it can get cleared up.

5. Is there anything I complain about to you that you would like me to stop?

6. Is there a better way I can treat you that I have not been aware of? Please write down what it is.

7. Is there something that I have not been accepting about towards you? Please list it all, and let me know what you would like me to accept about you.

8. What actions have I done that caused you to feel unwanted, uncared for, unloved, unappreciated, and unaccepted? Please write it all down so it can all be cleared up.

9. If I could be the perfect parent, what would that look and feel like to you with respect to my words, actions, verbal and non-verbal communication?

10. Do you see a role model in another parent who treats his or her teen exactly the way you wish I would treat you? What does that parent do or say that I am not? Please write it down so I can learn.

? Copyright 2006 Barbara Rose, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved. Please pass this on to any parent you know. The parent has to be willing and open to positive growth and transformation. It shows how much our children are our teachers. This gives teens the opportunity to express themselves openly and honestly, while being appreciated for it, which will help them to learn that what they say and how they feel matters. Greater self esteem, confidence, and trust in their own truth will enhance their ability to trust themselves, which is the hallmark of a life lived with real, unconditional self love and inner peace.

Barbara Rose, Ph.D. is the best selling author of nine books including If God Hears Me, I Want an Answer!, Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE, and Know Yourself. She is an internationally recognized expert in personal transformation, relationships, consciousness and spiritual awakening, and a pioneering force in incorporating Higher Self Communication, the nondenominational study and integration of humanity's God Nature into modern personal growth and spiritual evolution. Dr. Rose is known for providing life changing answers, quick practical coaching and deep spiritual wisdom to people worldwide as the Founder and Director of IHSC, Institute of Higher Self Communication. Her highly acclaimed books, public speaking events, spiritual intensives, teleseminars, webcasts, and internationally published articles have transformed the lives of thousands across the globe. Dr. Rose works in cooperation with some of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time, to uplift the spiritual consciousness of humanity.