Parent's Time Out 
August 31, 2001

This weekly feature of the Online Exchange is committed to helping parents take back quality time and devote it more fully to spending it with their children. Here is where you can start to take a Time Out from the TV, computer, housework, and bills. It only takes a few minutes to do fun and memorable things with your children and we will lend a hand each week to get you started. Tune in here for encouragement, fun and easy things to do, and other tidbits, all geared just for you and your precious ones.

~ Time Out for the Week

Clean up, clean up...

I HAVE to share this with you this week. My husband has a commercial cleaning business. My 5 year old daughter likes to be very helpful. So, we wanted to get her one of those floor sweepers (you know, the kind with no motor) so that she could help keep the floor clean at home. Well, we were in Sears one day and they had this little Bissell Go-vac and she started sweeping with it. It is cordless and has a stand to charge it. We decided that it was perfect, so we got one from Wal-Mart ($10 less). 

The next day she vacuumed all the floors in the house, even started moving things like the dirty clothes hamper, to find more to vacuum! This went on for a few more days. I truly believe that she dreamed about vacuuming, as that was the first thing she would do when she woke up in the morning! 

I had to share this with you for 2 reasons:

1. To express to you that the simplest things can entertain children. 
Buy them a hundred toys and they play with a vacuum!

2. You might want to get one yourself, as our floors have never been so clean.

I hesitated writing this up because the brush underneath does rotate like any other vacuum, and I don't want anyone getting hurt by sticking their fingers in there. But it has been a month now since we got this thing, and there have been no problems. We just make sure that we watch her closely and when she needs the hair cleaned out from around the brush, WE do it. The vacuum activates when the handle is down, so you have to be careful that it remains in the upright position while you are doing this. Also, it most likely wouldn't do very well on shag carpets. You need shorter carpet or bare floors.

Anyway, I hope you get as big of a kick out of this as we did, and perhaps you will "treat" your kids to their very own vacuum. (Really comes in handy for mom and dad, too.) Who would have thought?

~ What's for Dinner?

Haystacks

1 bag corn chips 
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 large can of chili, heated 
4 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups diced tomatoes 
1 2.25 oz can sliced olives (optional)
sour cream

Crush hand full of chips on individual plate. 
Layer chili, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives. Top with sour cream. ENJOY!

Could there be anything simpler?! Not even hamburger to thaw out! And kids LOVE it!
Don't forget to let them build their own haystacks. Much more fun that way. If you want something more with this, I suggest you heat a can of black beans and make a pot of rice. 

~ Just for You

Time

If you are looking for some quite time to yourself but can't seem to find it... Try this simple suggestion-
Get in the habit of waking up a little bit earlier or get the kids to bed at a certain (descent) time every night, and stick to it. Either way you add precious time to your busy schedule. Then, don't forget to ENJOY it!!

Need another way to find time during the day? Shut off that TV! Resist the temptation to click it on for noise, or anything, even for a favorite show.  There are such things as reruns, and who cares if you don't watch it anyway, will it kill you or take away from your life. I don't think so. At first you might find yourself bored with nothing to fill the space. Don't give in. Buy a magazine or get a book. OR spend more time with your children. Even 20 minutes a day of reading to them does them, and you, a world of good, AND you will find that by spending actual time with them, not preoccupied, they will be content to go play and bug you less when you are working. Can't lose there!

~ Recommended Site of the Week

Check out this cool site http://www.webfreebees.net/kidslinks/ with tons of links to free stuff for kids.

Thank you for joining us for this weeks Time Out! Now the rest is up to you. Take the time to do the things suggested, or think of your own ways to spend precious time with your family. But most importantly, HAVE FUN!!  

Be sure to tell your friends about us! Highlight the parts of the page you like the best and print it. Then keep a folder of ideas and recipes.

We would like to hear from you! If you have a favorite family site or craft, send it to us and we might share it with our readers. Or, just let us know what you think about new feature. 
Contact Sara.


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Giving Credit were Credit is Due...
We search all over for great tips, ideas and recipes and don't want to forget to let you know where it all comes from. This week we would like to thank the following:
www.webfreebees.net/kidslinks