Kid-Friendly Kitchen Tip
How do you get your kids to eat? You can start by getting them
to cook! Getting your kids into the kitchen helps them learn to make good food
choices, builds their confidence, and well, it’s downright fun, too. I am a
single mom to a beautiful 6 year old daughter named Maddie, and she loves to
help me cook. Her specialty dishes are oven roasted asparagus (called Maddie’s
World Famous Asparagus in our house) and Buffalo Chicken Fingers. If you provide
adult assistance for tasks like cutting and sautéing, you can find some simple
recipes and get your kids into the kitchen – you may be surprised at how much
they can do, even if they’re little.
And believe it or not, the kids are more likely to eat something
they helped prepare. How do you think asparagus became my daughter’s favorite
vegetable?
Kimberly Kee, Party Stylings - 303-814-3159
kimberly@partystylings.com
- www.partystylings.com
Mother Earth
In honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to take a moment to
remember, and to thank the women who raised us. Let us think about what it was
like when "we" were children... Remember when there was only one T.V.,
one phone (on a cord!), and one car -for the whole family?... And you were lucky
to have them!
We used to hang our clothes out to dry on the clothes line. I
can still smell the crisp fresh air… We washed the windows with vinegar and
newspaper, and took brown bag lunches to school. And when we got to school we
did our work in real books! Not on dozens of (one sided) copies of paper. We
even went to the library when we wanted a "new" book to read instead
of buying one. We returned our bottles and cans for the nickel refunds, and we
brought our shoes to the "shoemaker" to repair them long before we
bought new ones. We blew our noses in hankies, and wiped up our messes with
cloth towels.
And to think, Mom didn’t even KNOW she was being
environmentally friendly! Go Mom! It all just seemed like common sense to her.
She taught us how to take care of the things we had- with gratitude, and to not
be wasteful. So as we sit here and learn all the "new" ways to
"go green" let’s remember our moms and add some "old" ways
to our "going green" endeavors! Thanks Mom, and Happy Mother’s Day!
To all of our mothers, including Mother Earth.
By Christine Losciale-Thoemmes
GoingGreenWithMissChristine@comcast.net
My Money
Every issue look for the "My Money" articles where we
will be accepting emails about the most relevant financial topics from our
readers. So please email us your questions and be sure to check the next issue
of Castle Rock Magazine to see if yours was selected to be printed and answered.
Question:
I have 3 children under the age of 10, each with their own 529
plan. Is it wise to continue investing in a 529 or would it be more prudent to
put the money in some sort of savings account until the economy improves?
Thanks, Belynda
Answer:
Thank you for your email question. There seems to be a lot of
opinions around 529 plans and how to fund them. In my opinion, based upon your
question, I would recommend asking the company/broker if there is a safer option
inside the 529. For example, you are more than likely invested in mutual funds
that have decreased fairly rapidly over the last year. So ask if you can move
from the volatile position into a safer position, but do it within the 529, if
possible.
My personal belief is the market will continue to decline for the remainder
of 2009. There will be spurts of artificial rebounds, but nothing substantial.
In this case, I would try to find out if there is a safer option within the 529.
Do everything in your power to invest inside the 529 as long as it stays within
your risk comfort zone.
