Gender Neutral Nursery

For some parents, part of expecting a baby is being surprised when the big day finally arrives. Some parents simply do not want to know which gender their baby is going to be. Other parents are planning on having more than one baby back to back, so they simply want something that is gender neutral so that it will work for both babies, no matter which gender they are.

Whatever the reason for not knowing your baby’s gender ahead of time, there are plenty of wonderful options in gender neutral nursery décor.

Bedding Options

Upscale baby bedding is the perfect way to make sure that what you buy will last. Parents who are planning multiple children will want something that may cost a little bit more up front but that will take the beatings inflected on it by several children.

The most important thing to think about when it comes to neutral baby bedding is the type of material it is made from. Always look for organic cotton, wool, or silk because it will not only last a long time, but also be safer for your baby’s skin. Synthetic materials are made from harmful chemicals that you really shouldn’t expose your baby to.

Nursery Themes and Colors

Of course planning a nursery theme is always an important part of getting ready for a baby, and the best way to make sure that what you have will work for a baby of either gender is to choose a theme that does not necessarily give away a gender. For example, Winnie the Pooh would work well for either a boy or a girl, but a theme involving the Disney Princesses probably would only work for a girl. Just think about whether you would feel strange if your baby of either gender had a room with that theme, and go from there. When in doubt, choose a pattern with bold colors

When it comes to colors, traditionally the color for a gender-neutral nursery was yellow. However, that has all changed, and now many colors are acceptable for babies of either gender. Pastel green, yellow, and even blue are perfect colors for either boys or girls. Just think in terms of pastel colors, and you simply can’t go wrong on this topic. Some parents are even opting for earth tones, which create a more modern, yet gender neutral décor for the nursery.

Furniture Options

One of the easiest ways to make sure that your nursery is gender neutral is with the type of furniture you use. Right now deep wood colors are definitely in, so opt for any natural wood colors and avoid painted furniture, especially if it is painted a color that is usually reserved for either boys or girls.

Guest article by Robin Thering, who writes about the best baby nurseries and nursery decor at BabyNurseryRooms.com

Gender Neutral Nursery

DIY candy for my husband for Valentine's Day

Guest post written by Donna Crisp

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2011 is to cook more. Well, my husband was really excited about that because he has a huge sweet tooth and part of that resolution is to make more desserts at home too. So I thought that I would make his dessert dreams come true and make him some serious homemade candy and desserts for Valentine's Day this year. We already have a reservation at one of my favorite Italian restaurants for dinner that night and I'm going to make sure that I have my homemade desserts ready for us to eat when I get home from the dinner.

I went looking online to see what I could as far as recipes go for what I could fix for us. When I was online I came across the website get.wildblue.com and after I looked through it a little bit, I decided to change over our home internet service to the provider.

I'm making some DIY Valentine's Day chocolates, including truffles and some bark. I think I may also make some caramel turtles too.

DIY candy for my husband for Valentine's Day

Going Out Sober This New Year's Eve

Written by my friend Marquis Finley

For years on end, my loving sister and I have held on to a New Year's Eve tradition of going out to the bars and clubs. Many a New Year's Eve, we could be found downtown, at all of the most happening night spots, drinking the night away, and singing songs that were barely recognizable as the originals they were meant to represent.

Well, those days are long gone and now we celebrate together with the rest of our family, in a sober environment. Instead of going to night clubs and bars, only to come home super intoxicated, we are opting for the sober route this time, and going to a great movie, eating some dinner at Red Lobster, then going to our buddy Tony's, to watch the ball drop!

Hopefully, going out for New Year's Eve sober, will be a smashing time this year and everything will turn out as planned. Getting ready will be easy too, because we don't need to impress our friends and family. The only thing we need to do, is set our home security alarm (CLICK) before we leave, and we always do!

Going Out Sober This New Year's Eve

Christmas gingersnaps for the kids

Guest post written by Erica Rice

I love this time of the year despite all the extra stress that I'm under around the time. Both of my kids are away at college so I get kind of a break when they're away from laundry and as much cooking and stuff like that. Even though I would love for them to be around year-round at home. So before my kids came home for the holidays, I tried to plan out as much stuff as I could.

I was online trying to figure out what kind of Christmas cookies I was going to cook for our upcoming annual Christmas party, when I came across some information about some wireless internet packages. I read it and after I went over it some more, clicked HERE to sign up for one of the packages.

I found a really great recipe for gingersnap cookies that I made to greet my kids when they got home from their college exams for the holidays. They really loved them and I think I might start making them every Christmastime from now on.

Christmas gingersnaps for the kids

Having a Live-in Babysitter

Thanks for the guest post by Eugene Fulton

Today has been a long day and it is not over yet. I have so much to do as far as cleaning the house, getting laundry done, and starting dinner. My husband is at work so I will have to get this done on my own and hope that the kids cooperate with me. Sundays are usually hectic around here, because we are trying to get ready for the next work and school week. My children love to tag team me when my husband is not home, it is like they know they can get away with more when I am by myself. One thing I am thankful for is the Nick Jr. network, it is a kids program on satellite television that I got after seeing this Direct TV Comparison. This program entertains my children as long as I need them to. The station is not only kid-friendly but it is also educational. My children learn a lot from watching this program and it is pretty much the only station that plays in my house all day. I rarely get to watch anything else because the kids love it that much. I do not have to worry about purchasing numerous DVD's because this station has everything that the kids would like to watch. My children are a year old and four years old, so the best thing is that there is enough variety to keep them both entertained.

Having a Live-in Babysitter

DIY jewelry organizer

Guest post written by Heather Kline

Since I started collecting a whole lot of jewelry lately, I've just been keeping most of it in shoeboxes organized by what type of jewelry, like bracelets, necklaces, rings, etc. I do have a jewelry box but it stopped holding my jewelry collection a long time ago. I go through phases of when I'll buy certain things and I guess that right now it's just my jewelry phase. But now that I've spent so much time and money in my collection, I think that I should do something and storing it in a better way.

I went searching online for some kind of jewelry storage solution that I could find and while I was doing that I came across some website www.ClearWirelessInternet4g.com and after reading it, I chose to change over my internet service to it.

Well, I found all kinds of stuff, but I wanted to use the ones that show off my jewelry. So I went with this DIY jewelry organizer that was actually super quick and really easy to make. I think it gets points for the easiest craft with utility that I've ever made.

DIY jewelry organizer

DIY lap desk

Guest post written by Mark Howard

I've been tempted to go out and buy a lap desk for myself for a while that I could use when I'm reading or using my laptop on my couch. But, I just didn't have the heart to dish out the money for something that I didn't think was worth all that money. I even thought about asking for one from my kids for Christmas, but there were a few books that I would rather ask them for instead and I know that would cost less money.

I went online with our CLEARWIRE to try and find a way that I could just make a laptop desk myself. But then I started looking up the stuff and even though I could cut the wood part of it, I was having trouble figuring out how I would make the cushioned part that you actually sit on your lap.

But then I found some instructions for a DIY laptop desk that looked about as simple as I was going to find, so I decided to make that one.

DIY lap desk

My very own gingerbread house

Guest post written by Keshia Burns

I love to do crafts for fun and to pass the time. So when I was off work for a few days and still in a food coma from my mom's huge Thanksgiving lunch, I decided to put together my annual gingerbread house.

I've made several really simple ones before, but I decided to really go all out this year and make my dream house in gingerbread! That required going online and finding some less than basic plans. When I was doing that I came across the website www.getclearwirelessinternet.com and ordered one of the home satellite internet packages from it after reading through all of it.

It took a lot of planning to make my DIY gingerbread house. It even has turrets! So it basically took me the whole Saturday after Thanksgiving to plan and put together, but I had already done all of my online shopping anyway, so I had the time to spend on it. Now IÕm just ready for my friends to come over and visit so that they can see it!

My very own gingerbread house

Visiting my Best Friend in Japan

Posted by Virgil Burks

It's odd. Before I met Sayoko, I never ever considered the idea of having what one would call, "a best friend." To be frank, my friends were my friends and it seemed ludicrous to scale them on some abstract level.

That all changed in the summer of 2001 when my parents gave me a trip to Japan as a graduation present. Instead of going by myself, I found a trip that was sponsored by a university. I figured it would be more fun this way since there would be students from both the U.S. and Japan to associate with. Anyway, Sayoko turned out to be one of my room's Japanese students and we pretty much hit it off right from the start.

I mean we just clicked. We liked a lot of the same things, our humor was compatible and she was the first person that I have ever been able to just talk to. Usually, I'm a little shy and a little slow on the uptake, but with Sayoko it was different. We just got each other.

I seriously can't believe how lucky we were to find each other. If this had been just 10 or more years prior, the technology of that time wouldn't allow us to communicate the way we are able to nowadays. This year I'm going to be heading back to Japan for 2 weeks so hopefully I remember to set my home security alarm from AllHomeSecurity.com/!

Visiting my Best Friend in Japan

Braveheart Love

The Author of this post is Velma Baird

There are a lot of great action movies that I have enjoyed over the years, but one that has yet to be topped by any other movies will always be Braveheart. It has such wonderful action scenes with them fighting with such a great background. I don't know if its the actual fighting and action that I enjoyed, or the accents and the clothes and the beautiful backdrop their action scenes were always in. It has solidarity between everyone with them fighting for the right to just live free, and the sure fire way they always have to fight through every door just to find a free life. I like the way Mel Gibson really played his part well, and up till his final moment in the movie, he produced non stop action. I was watching this movie last night on Satellite TV specials and noticed how many times that I watch it I always find something new in the movie that makes me fall in love with it all over again. I guess I just can't get enough of Mel Gibson, or the action.

Braveheart Love

Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy's Best Actress

Post contributed by Alfredo Gaines

Sandra Oh is my favorite TV actress. She plays Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy. I watch the show religiously on my ExpertSatellite dish, and I record the episodes so that I can re-watch them whenever I want.

Sandra Oh first caught my eye during season three when her character's fiance left her at the altar. In a touching scene, Chris's friend Meredith cuts a sobbing Cristina out of her wedding dress. That scene moved me. It was like I could feel everything Cristina was feeling.

This season of Grey's is off to a slow start, in my opinion. Though Sandra Oh has been given some interesting storylines, none of them come close to the magic of watching her act opposite of Isaiah Washington in season three. So far, Cristina has http://ptsdcombat.blogspot.com/ PTSD as a result of last season's shooting. She has also married her boyfriend and quit her job. I didn't see either of these plots coming, and I don't particularly care for them either. I think having Chris quit her job was silly and pointless. There is no way it can last. She's not herself. Chris is a character who is married to her job, and she cannot survive without her scalpel.

Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy's Best Actress

I Like The Penguins

Contribution by Jacques Carr

I live in West Virginia, but my favorite hockey team is the Pittsburgh Penguins. We are only about an hour from the new Consol Arena where the games are played, but it sure is tough to get tickets with games always being sold out so quick. We are up here on a mountain ridge and the weather in the winter can really bring some deep snow. It doesn't matter, because we don't miss a game on our satellite TV from http://www.direc4u.com.

I've been a Penguin fan since I was a teenager. I started collecting trading cards at around 12 and have actually made a decent living buying and selling sports memorabilia. I had no idea there was such a market for the stuff until I started seeing trends on the Internet auction sites. As long as there is proof of an article being genuine, then it will go at a good price.

The Penguins stuff probably would sell without a problem. However, I have a hard time parting with it. I've been following the team through their ups and downs over the years. I can remember when Jarmir Jagr couldn't speak English, and no one could pronounce his name right unless they heard it spoken. I even remember when many spelled his first name as “Jamr” instead of “Jaromir” as it is now.

I watched guys like Sidney Crosby grow up in the game. Sid The Kid really was just a kid when he started. Now he is loved by Pittsburgh Penguin fans no matter what state they happen to live in.

I Like The Penguins

Thanksgiving Week Has Arrived!

Guest post written by Hilda McSoren

This week is Thanksgiving week, and I'm starting to do all things I need to do to prepare for family to come over. I have to prepare for my husband Dan and myself, our two daughters, my two sisters' families, and my little nephews and nieces. My family isn't that shy about eating, either. We really have our work cut out for us. Dan has been great about helping me prepare. He has really accepted the responsibility, and he's helped with shopping, decoration, preparing, and a lot of the typical drudgery that comes with setting up for turkey day. The other afternoon right after he took a Miracle Ear Hearing Test, he went out and picked up a few house decorations and got all the ingredients for a few desserts that he is preparing. Dan is really a great partner to have

Despite all the preparation, it's always so nice to have everyone together. Throughout the year, we all have our mundane preoccupations, but Thanksgiving is a day set aside specifically for a special kind of family interaction. I can't wait till everyone gets here.

Thanksgiving Week Has Arrived!

Visiting Family on Thanksgiving

Authored by Graham Sweeney

With each year that passes, visiting my family on Thanksgiving has always been an event that I've come to love. From shopping for fresh food, fine wine and the best deals come Friday, the holiday has become quite the active past-time. While spending time with family remains the focus of the day, the preparation for the big meal followed by the big game is a valuable part of each and every celebration.

While the time spent visiting family during Thanksgiving has changed little over my decades celebrating, the way I shop has evolved each and every year. With the advent of the internet, the most avid coupon users are able to come together and discuss the best deals for most any holiday food. From free turkey on large shopping orders to pumpkin pies at half price, there is always someone searching for the best deal and sharing with the world.

Shopping during the day after Thanksgiving is no different; with most every ad from any store posted well in advance, the best deals for "Black Friday" are no mystery. Combing through newspapers for the best deals during the big game is no longer a past-time of mine, despite how much of a tradition it was in years past.

Above all, for an extended trip away from home, I always make certain to set my home alarm from totalalarmsystems.com/ to protect my home, as well as my belongings.

Visiting Family on Thanksgiving

A Good Conversation

Contribution by Stevie Kirby

My best friend and I met during a trip to a business conference. It was like love at first sight, only it was like a lot instead of love. We were able to have a great conversation and from there, everything took off. We learned that we enjoyed the same subjects in school and that we could have long conversations about those subjects and what they meant to us in our education. In turn, we were able to learn more about the subjects because we each paid attention during certain days of class. Sharing knowledge was what brought us together.

Using knowledge is another thing entirely. We were able to go outdoors and discuss things, have coffee and discuss things, eat dinner and discuss things, and more. While we do things once in awhile that involve activity, we usually enjoy doing those things that allow us to have a conversation while we're doing them. We enjoy getting to discuss things that other people might not enjoy talking about or even enjoy at all. Our common areas of study are what truly make the conversation lovely. A good conversation is worth all the world to me.

Before heading out for an evening of conversation, I set my home security alarm from Allhomesecurity.com to protect my family and possessions. This makes it much easier to have a good conversation.

A Good Conversation

Best Friends Forever

Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

I met my best friend when I was in college. We weren't roommates, just passing acquaintances in a literature class we both enjoyed. Spending hours of time reading poetry together and discussing major works ofliterature, a friendship grew over the years. Because our hometowns were adjacent, even after college we were able to continue our friendship.

We still sometimes read books and articles and enjoy discussing them much like we did when we were much younger, but now we have children and families, and our common interests have expanded to include activities that involve them too. We set our ALL HOME SECURITY systems and talked off to go hiking, bicycling, watch movies together, and vacation on trips. The list of things we enjoy together seems never ending.

More than just sharing activities and good times, we both have the same kind of temperament that allows us to overlook each others' shortcomings, a basis for personal communication that is comfort to each of us in times of stress and sorrow. We have sometimes even discussed how lucky we are to have found such a soul mate in each other, and wonder what our lives would have been like without that luck. We both agree that it isn't something we would like to think about for too long as we count our friendship a forever blessing.

Best Friends Forever

Gluten free pumpkin pie

Guest post written by Tara Speaks

My husband and I just got married this summer, so I'm still learning a whole lot about his family and really starting to get to know them. But one of the first things that I learned about my now father in law is that he has a gluten intolerance. I think that he first mentioned it when I met them for the first time and we went out to eat at this really ncie restaurant.

So when I volunteered to host Thanksgiving at our house this year, I had to keep in mind to make everything gluten free. So I went online to find a bunch of recipes to make. When I was doing that I found this site http://www.clearwirelessinternetservice.com and decided to change over our internet service to it because I'd been really annoyed with our old service for a long time.

I'm really interested to see how all of this stuff turns out and to see what gluten free stuff tastes like because I've never tried it anymore. I'm making gluten free pumpkin pie because you jsut can't have a Thanksgiving dinner without pumpkin pie! Plus, I think that my father in law really likes pumpkin pie.

Gluten free pumpkin pie

2010 NBA preseason

Guest post by Gerard Mcdaniel

Preseason NBA action is that wonderful time of year when people get together to debate how their favorite teams will do throughout the year. Families huddle around the TV too see how this or that rookie will fare this year, and to make their couch side pronouncement of the fate that will follow a team. With so many games to watch on directtv the armchair coaches world wide get a chance to get up close and personal with their most beloved, and most hated teams.

Check out the greenest rookies as they get the chance to show the pro world their stuff for the first time, and catch a few glimpses of super stars as they tease their fans into excitement for the new season.

The preseason frenzy is matched only by the first regular season game of the year, where fans will gather to see if their predictions come true. Will it be the Lakers starting strong, or will the Celtics look like the team to beat this year? The preseason gives fans the first solid hints about how their teams looks in a year, and thankfully breaks that seemingly endless span of time where fans sit around craving the best hoops action in the world.

2010 NBA preseason

Holidays in the Big Apple

Guest post written by Dana Englewood

New York can be a harsh place to live sometimes, from the cold weather to the rough city terrainÉbut things have been really nice here lately. The other week we had Halloween, and it was great to see people dressed up in their creative costumes and I actually got to get to know my neighbors a little, which is nearly unheard of here! The little ones were so cute, and it was really nice to see the parents escorting them down the streets of Manhattan. It gave the area a real familial feel, and I very much appreciated that.

Back at the house, we had a bunch of visits from neighbors as they brought their kids to see my husband and me. We met a lot of nice people in our building for the first time and gave out plenty of candy. I was glad I had my new MiracleEar hearing aids in. I really enjoyed my conversations with everyone. It was nice that Halloween brought that familiar feeling into my part of the neighborhood. It really does my heart some good.

Holidays in the Big Apple

A Family Tradition

Guest post written by Jane Charles

Every family has their traditions and activities that they cling on to, and my family has football. The sport was a big deal to my father, and itÕs always been huge with my brothers, my husband, my children, and all the other members of our extended family. It really helps to bring us all together for some reason.

We all live in Dallas and every Thanksgiving we always create a day that is centered on Cowboys football. We have some items that make up the traditional spread, but we incorporate chips, dips, beverages and finger foods into the menu. We focus the day around the big game. Cowboys football is one of the things that we all have in common, and we really cherish that. This year we are already looking forward to our family gathering. After going into town to look at Miracle Ear Pricesfor my husband, I purchased new TV trays, party bowls, and also bought a variety of Cowboys themed items for the kitchen and the house. This is going to be the event that family talks about over the next few times we get together over the year, I just know it.

A Family Tradition