Wifestyle Hustle

Today, we talked about how important is to teach your kids gratitude. Whether is it being thankful for the glass of water handed to them or the bigger blessings in life, teaching your kids to look for ways to be thankful is so important. Making a point to lead our kids to be thankful is a big lesson. And one so often over looked.

It is the little things every single day that lead to a grateful heart. It is more than just the pleases and thank yous. Though those first phrases are important. But it is also making the time to help your child see how blessed they are on an age appropriate level.

This can look a like a hundred different things. For a two year old, it might be being thankful for a warm coat when its cold outside. For an older child it is could be being grateful for a sunny day or a helpful friend. It is also showing them you're thankful for what you have. Our kids are always watching us. It is so important for us to make sure we are thankful in front of our kids. Say how thankful you can for the the warm house that keeps you dry. Or that you're thankful for the kind words of a stranger. Make sure to tell your kids how thankful you are to have them.

Have you heard our episode on our crazy lives. It is an insane ride. Listen to that HERE.

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores

Today we discussed how important it is to spend time alone with your kids. There are things you will only hear from your kids if you are alone away from the nosy ears of siblings. It is such a treat, usually, to get the hear these little pearls. It is also great to build individual relationships with your kids.

Our families are a little different in how we manage to find this time. It can look however you want it to. But it is important to try to incorporate it. It can be simple like taking just one kid grocery shopping. Alone time can be on the drive to the store and back. Or it can be more structured than that. A hike or lunch out is a great way to make sure you get that time together. Letting one child a night help with dinner is a great way to get a few quality moments alone.

You won't hear Earth shattering revelations every session you get one on one time. But what you're doing is keeping the lines of communication open so that when something big does come up you're there. And the space to have these conversations is already established.

The teen years are especially important to make time for one on ones. But the habit of doing it should already be established.

Have you heard our episode on First Job For Kids. Listen to that HERE.

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores

There is nothing worse than opening your credit card statement in January when you didn't think about how much to spend on Christmas in November. There's that sinking feeling that you know you won't be able to cover the bill.

Today we discussed strategies to help avoid that awful feeling. It is so important to set a budget for each thing and then stick to it. It is easy with the magic of the season to just blow it knowing you'll have to pay for it later. Avoid all of that by buying or making thoughtful gifts your recipients will love. It doesn't have to cost a fortune.

We gave a few practical tips to help you stay within your budget this year. The key is to start thinking about it now and plan for a Christmas that is fun and warm without breaking the bank.

Have you heard our other budgeting episodes? Listen to those HERE and HERE. We gave a few good tips to save money all year.

We posted about a fun money saving gift idea on Friday over on our social accounts. Check that out HERE

Do you have any holiday budgeting tips? Hop on over to one of our social accounts and let us know. We would love to hear your tips.

Do you have a show idea for us? Maybe something holiday related... Send us an email to [email protected] 

There are so many toys out there and it's hard to figure out which are the best. Today we will share some of our favorites, and tell you why we love them. 

If you've been a listener of our podcast for a while, you already know we are both veterans. Today, in honor of Veteran's Day on Saturday, we dove into our time in the service a little deeper. We joined at different times and for completely different reasons. But, for both of us, our military service was one of the defining times in our lives. The military took us around the world and to places we never would have gotten an opportunity to visit otherwise. It was an exciting and sometimes scary time. For both of us it was a time to grow up out from under the wing of our parents but still be somewhat protected from the outside world. Listen to the episode to understand what we mean by that.

We went into more detail of why we joined, where we went and our over all experience in the service than we have in past episodes. We also talked a little about some of the changes in the military since we left.

I hope you will enjoy listening to our little trip down memory lane.

Have you heard our episode on sustainability. Listen to that HERE

Are you or your adult child thinking about joining the military? Feel free to reach out us on one of our social accounts. We would love to talk to you. You are also welcome to private message us if you'd rather.

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores

As you look across the sea of toys in your house, you know it is about to get a whole lot worse. Grandmas and grandpas, aunt and uncles and friends all love your kids very much and enjoy giving them gifts in the Christmas season. What a blessing these people are. But at the same time you know that January will see even less floor space in your house. Unless...you clear out some toys now. A little preparing now will help make the holidays feel a lot less cluttered and also help with ringing in the year not buried under a mound of toys.

Today, we discussed how we handle the deluge of toys at our houses. We talked about how we handle it through the ages. How you handle it with toddlers is very different than how you do with older kids.

With little kids, it is better to unload stuff when they aren't around. They will fall back in love with that broken, ripped, faded, out grown thing every time if you allow them to see it. For older kids, there are discussions that can be had that will help ease their desire to keep every single toy they've had since birth. Today, we tried to help you help them cope.

Have you heard our episode allowance. Listen to how we handle that HERE

How do you handle the toy clutter at your house? Tell us about it on one of our social account. We love new ideas.

Music

As you look across the sea of toys in your house, you know it is about to get a whole lot worse. Grandmas and grandpas, aunt and uncles and friends all love your kids very much and enjoy giving them gifts in the Christmas season. What a blessing these people are. But at the same time you know that January will see even less floor space in your house. Unless...you clear out some toys now. A little preparing now will help make the holidays feel a lot less cluttered and also help with ringing in the year not buried under a mound of toys.

Today, we discussed how we handle the deluge of toys at our houses. We talked about how we handle it through the ages. How you handle it with toddlers is very different than how you do with older kids.

With little kids, it is better to unload stuff when they aren't around. They will fall back in love with that broken, ripped, faded, out grown thingy mabobit every time if you allow them to see it. For older kids, there are discussions that can be had that will help ease their desire to keep every single toy they've had since birth. Today, we tried to help you help them cope.

Have you heard our episode allowance. Listen to how we handle that HERE

How do you handle the toy clutter at your house? Tell us about it on one of our social account. We love new ideas.

As the saying goes, over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go...

It is almost time for those holiday trips. Are you ready? It is so fun to pack up the car and hit the road with your family. It's such and adventure to travel to new places and see people you don't very often.

Today we discussed the actual travel which was a review of an earlier episode. We also talked about being house guests in someone else's home. It is so tempting for the kids to get up really early. I mean, they're awake, right!? By talking things out ahead of time, a lot of undesirable behavior can be avoided.

We also talked about making sure to have down time even when you're away from home. I should say especially when you're away from home. Little kids really shouldn't get too far off their routines when traveling. For my kids it always led to meltdowns.

Lastly we talked about bringing familiar food to family gatherings. Not every kids is going to like your great aunt Melinda's pear salad. It is so much less stressful for everyone to have food you know your child will eat.

Do you travel for the holidays and have some tips for traveling with kids? Hop on over to our social accounts and tell us about it.

Listen to our first episode on Kids and Travel HERE.

We will be getting into a series of holiday episodes over the next few weeks. Do you have a topic you would like to hear discussed? Send us an email to [email protected]

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores.

Hopefully this episode doesn't make you too hungry. Today we are talking about a way of cooking that will set you up for easier dinner making for the rest of your life. We will also be giving several of our recipes for doubling food for those busy nights. We understand that doubling dinner off the top is a learned occupation. Enjoy!

Do you feel it? It's coming! We are closing in on that time of year when everything is taking up your time and it feels like the walls are closing in. OK, not quite. But close. The holiday season is upon us. As soon as Halloween is over, Christmas is everywhere in the stores. You can feel the busy creeping up on you. In some ways it can steal the joy from the season.

Today, we talked about a few ways to cope with it all. It feels very overwhelming when someone is always requesting a few moments of your time, and you have to clean for your in-law's visit, and you have to buy a costume for your kids' Christmas play, and you have to bake 2 dozen cookies for their class party and and and...First and foremost, take a deep breath. It is going to be OK. All of those things will get done and likely by you. But they can all fit into their spot in line.

We talked about finding time for the important stuff and also being OK with saying no to things. There are 24 hours in the day and if yours are full that is just fine.

Next Monday we will be doing an episode that we think will make your life a little easier in the kitchen this holiday season. Make sure and come back and check it out.

We want to offer you some comic relief. Check out our Things I Was Wrong About: Kitchen Edition HERE to make you feel better about yourself.

Today, we talked about how we went about leaving home. We both joined the military in our late teens. So our leaving was a little abrupt. We left home about 4 years apart and completely different time.

We both lived pretty sheltered lives to that point. It was so good for us both to get out of our home town and experience something different. But it was a culture shock for us both. We, honestly, had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. I think we still would have done it. But it was so good for us to experience it.

The other thing we did today was encourage young people to step out of their comfort zone. Try a new place. It is so much easier to do before you have a family and kids. Try a new place. It is such an adventure to get out and do something new. It is life changing and you never know. Maybe you will love the place you try.

How did you leave home? Did you step out into something completely new? Or do you live in the same town you grew up in? Tell us what you love about it over on one of our social accounts. We would love to hear from you.

Have you listened to our talk about community? Give that a listen HERE. We think it is important.

Do you have a show idea for us? Send us an email to [email protected]