A Safe Fun New Year's Eve Celebration!

I got married a few years before any of my siblings did.  So on New Year's Eve I would always worry when they would go out and drink for the night.  They wouldn't have a designated driver, because that wasn't in vogue at the time. 

So one year, I decided to have my brothers and sister come over my house for New Year's Eve.  I had a small two bedroom house at the time, but I knew it would be plenty of room for sleeping bags and family.

We would all chip in for snacks, chinese food, and party favors.  Everyone would bring a game they liked to play and a drink of their choice.  We would start around 6pm and play games, eat snacks, drink and watch the ball drop.  I had two little boys at the time and they would have an awesome time with all the family around.  And they could go to bed whenever they wanted.

One year, I thought we would have to cancel.  I was seven months pregnant and I started to go into labor.  So I called everyone and told them to come to my house and start without us.  We went to the hospital and they gave me some medicine to stop the contractions because it was too early to deliver.  And we went back to the house and celebrated the New Year and the fact that my baby would have more time to grow!

We would always take a picture before we started, all of us with our party hats.  It was fun to watch how everyone changed and how the group would get bigger.  As my brother's and sister got married, they would bring their spouses.  We continued for about 8 years.  My sister had a baby and we did it up until he was about 2 years old.

It was so much fun having family over and waking up in the morning to a house filled with people.  We would all chip in and make breakfast and sit around the table and talk about the New Year!

One time, one of my brothers had to work late.  So we decided to record the ball dropping.  Back then it was on VHS.  After we saw the ball drop for real, we rewinded the tape and waited to see when he pulled in the driveway.  As soon as we saw him, we yelled for him to hurry up so he wouldn't miss the ball dropping.  He was very confused because he thought he had worked till midnight.  We all ran in and blew our horns and said Happy New Year and hugged and kissed everyone.  He was happy he hadn't missed it.  The next day, sitting around the table we told him the truth.  He was happy that we thought enough to do that for him.

Now they're all busy with their children and their lives, but I still reminisce about all the fun we had together.

So remember when you want to celebrate the New Year, you don't have to go to a club and drink till you drop.  You can make it any kind of celebration you like.  You can have a children's party during the day.  A New Year's Day brunch with friends or family.  Or just the two of you and your children and dance and sing the New Year in.

But please be cautious when you're drinking.  If you do go out and drink, take a cab or limousine.  Or get a designated driver to pick you up or come with you.  Or go to one of the many celebrations they have at hotels and rent a room.  Whatever you do, DO NOT Drink & Drive!  It's a horrible way to start the New Year!

I tell my son's, who are between 25-30 that I will still pick them up if they drink too much and need a ride, no questions asked.

So if anyone has a special way to celebrate the New year, I would love to hear about it.  BE SAFE!

Be ProActive With Online Safety!

Has everyone Googled themselves at least once? I try to Google myself a few times a year. It is amazing what kind of stuff you can find out just by knowing someone's name. It seems like anytime you write a review on a product or place it comes up when you Google your name. You can find out people's relatives, addresses and phone numbers. What social networks they belong too and anyone they know that has died.

Is this a good thing? It can be. I have connected with a few friends from when I was growing up and we get to keep in touch. I can also offer my condolences to people at online obituaries. And when I lived far from my family, I had a way of staying in their lives on a daily basis.

But what about when you don't want someone to find you? I think if you have a private FaceBook account it shouldn't come up when people search your name. If it's private, they shouldn't even be able to find out you have one. Is that asking too much?

We tell our children to keep their social networking pages private and only "friend" people they know. Which I would change to, only people your parents have met and agree to having them friend.

Knowing someone nowadays is so vague with social networking. Most children don't even know who most of their friends are online. I've seen pages where children have hundreds of friends. I don't know about you, but even at my age, I haven't had that many friends throughout my lifetime.

I check on my nieces and nephews every once-in-awhile to make sure they're safe online. I did find one posted their cell number and another their address, but that was taken care of in a matter of minutes. Parents need to keep on top of these things. And just because they took things down, does not mean they won't be back on again. Keep checking.

And here we are telling our children how to be safe online and about posting pictures and who friends you. But then we, as adults, go and put all kinds of family pictures and videos online. And lots of us will friend just about anyone that knows someone that knows someone we know. Is that any safer? We should start practicing what we preach. On Facebook, if someone likes something on your page, their friends can usually see it.

So I advise all of you out there to check your children's online profiles today and then go and check your own. Make sure things you wouldn't have your child post are not posted on your site.

And go Google yourself! Have a happy and safe day!

Helping Elderly Parents

Our parents put up with our crazy childhood and teenage years, then we need to put up with their craziness when they're older! Hoarding is one of the things. They feel like they're losing everything so they hold onto the past! We need to gently persuade them that they will feel more free getting rid of things holding them to the past!

I was very proud of my Dad today. He is a hoarder of books and all reading material! He gladly said yes we can give away at least two thirds of his reading stuff!

We need to feel what they are going through and be gentle in getting rid of their things. If we stay connected with them they will need to be less attached to things and more into making new memories with their family!