See You on December 6!

Looking forward to seeing everyone again on December 6. Kelli Pritchard will be speaking to us about Sibling Affection. If you have a moment, take a peak at Kelli's website , blog, and the book she and her husband wrote called Going Public.

The Jackie Kennedy table is bringing breakfast. Lucille Ball is volunteering in MOPPETS.


See you there!

Julie Metzger speaks on Emotion Coaching

Julie shared with us some of John Gottman's ideas on Emotion Coaching. If you had to miss her talk, you can listen to it on the audio player in the right-hand column.

Here is the quote that Julie shared with the group as one of her favorite quotes about family:

It is not so much that things happen in a family; as it is that the family is the things that happen in it. The family is continually becoming what becomes of it. It is every christening and every commencement, every falling in love, every fight, every departure and return. It is the moment at breakfast when for no apparent reason somebody gets up and leaves the table. It is the sound of the phone ringing in the middle of the night or the lying awake hours waiting for it to ring.  It is the waves pounding the boardwalk to pieces and the undercurrents so deep beneath the surface that you're hardly aware of them. A family is a web so delicately woven that it takes almost nothing to set the whole thing shuddering or event to tear it to pieces. Yet the thread it's woven of is as strong as anything on earth.

Frederick Buechner 

Living Large on Less with Anneke Hagen

Thanks to Anneke for facilitating a great discussion on finance, budgeting, and food planning. Thanks, also, to all of you who provided so many great tips and sites that you use. I took some notes on what people shared--hope that it provides you some new ideas for making the most of your hard-earned money!

Budgeting: 

• iphone app: iXpenseIt -- allows you to track expenses on your iphone
• Suze Orman: The Nine Steps to Financial Freedom  --book on finances and money
• David Ramsey: The Total Money Makeover --  easy to follow steps to get out of debt
• Mint.com -- site that helps you to budget your money online

Affordable Family Fun/Date Nights:

• Twirl Cafe -- "Happy Hour" play for free at their cafe/play area on Queen Anne. Happy Hour times are Th.-Sa. 5-8pm
• Mosaic Cafe -- coffee shop with kids play room in Wallingford. 
• Restaurants.com -- purchase giftcards for restaurants at a discounted price
• Babysitter Swaps -- take turns watching a friend's children, instead of paying for a pricey sitter
• Rainy Day Activities:  create a notebook of easy and inexpensive things to do with the kids when the weather turns bad. Here are a couple of sites with ideas to get you started:
• Indoor Play Areas and Activities
• Rainy Day Destinations in Seattle
• indoor crafts and activities for preschoolers

Christmas Budgeting and Shopping:

• create a clear budget and plan for gift giving
• gift idea -- each family hosts a special dinner for the extended family members at some point in the year. 
• Santa Photos -- nurseries like Molbaks and Swansons have free photos with Santa Claus
• Seattle Community Centers offer special childcare nights for parents to go holiday shopping. Date night anyone?