Have you seen the movie Home Alone? Two burglars looking to break into a house when they find out the family’s going on vacation.ÂÂ

If you’re going on a vacation this summer, the first thing you’ll want to ensure (unlike in Home Alone) is that you’re not leaving anyone behind. Once you know all your little ones are packed and ready to go you’ll want to make sure your house will be safe and burglary free while you’re away.

Here are a few safety tips to follow to ensure your home is safe during your vacation.

Only tell your trusted neighbors and family members that you’re going away. Don’t announce this to too many people as you never know who may overhear or take advantage of the situation. Try to only let a few trusted relatives for friends know. Give them a key (never leave it under the doormat or under a plant pot) to check on your house regularly.

Have them collect mail. A bundle of unopened mail is a sure way to let the world know you’re not home. The person taking care of your home while you’re away should make sure they place the mail inside daily as well as any newspapers, magazines or leaflets.

They should also water the plants and just keep the outside area of the house generally tidy. If you’re going away for a long time have them cut the front lawn if it grows too long.

Another good tip is to have someone move the position of the blinds or curtains every few days. Drawn curtains for several weeks are a sure sign that no one is home. You can also leave the front porch light on. Try to get one that’s either on an automatic timer which goes on in the evenings and turns off in the morning or even better get a motion sensitive light.

Unplug all electrical appliances and turn off computers and the gas supply before leaving. This is an extra added safety measure to help prevent a fire while you’re away.ÂÂ

And lastly, make sure you leave a note in a central area in your house for your relatives and neighbors with all your contact details. So that if there is an emergency they’ll be able to contact you easily. It’s also a good idea to leave your return date and time so that they know when to expect you.

To receive your free family travel tips, sign-up at MomsTravelTips.com

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Every time I go to Goodwill or a garage sale, I see lots of books. I also see cds and even dvds. There are so many people out there that buy these, because it is kind of cheap. It does add up after awhile. It is nice to get new books, movies, and cds every once in awhile to replace the ones that we are tired of playing, watching or have finished reading. Well, I just came across a site called SwitchPlanet.com where you can swap out these with other members! It’s a cool idea. You set up an account for free. You list the items you have to swap (they accept DVDs, CDs, videos games, and books). It doesn’t cost you anything to list these. When you list, you do not ask for money for your item, you ask for the internal currency called switchbucs. When another member wants an item you have listed, they must have enough switchbucs in their account to get your item. If they don’t, they can purchase these from the site. Once they request the item, and have the correct amount of switchbucs, you mail out the item to them. You pay for the shipping costs. That is it. When you request an item, the person you request from pays to ship the item to you. No money is exchanged. The item is now yours to keep! You can switch with any member, it doesn’t have to be with the member that wants your stuff or the member whose stuff you want.ÂÂ

SwitchPlanet.com is not just a swap site, it is a social site. There are member groups with different themes. You can join groups that have members with similar interests to yours. You can start your own group if there isn’t one that appeals to you! Just like other social websites, you can create a profile for others to find out a little bit more about you.

If you are in to giving to charities, or have thought about donating and just never get around to doing it, Switch Planet offers something called Switch Funds. This is where you can donate to some very good causes throught your Switch Planet account. This is a great way to give a little bit back to the planet while you are saving a little money by swapping out stuff you don’t use for free. Neat idea!

You can meet new friends and get new games, movies, and music…nice combo! Try it out today, I did!

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One of the greatest lessons in life is the realization that the limit to your learning is endless. Old, young, wise, not so wise, all people have the opportunity to learn something new every day. You may or may not be aware of it, but over the course of a lifetime you learn more about how life works, how other people work, and even about yourself and how you interact with others. Life is continually calling us into learning, and this is especially applicable when it comes to human relationships.

One of the greatest relationships we are called into over the course of our life is marriage. This does not necessarily mean that it is the most important life relationship, but it is one whose success or failure has the greatest impact on your adult life. And in looking at marriage, there are a number of key skills that are crucial to navigating your way through marriage.

There will always be couples who live in apparent wedded bliss, and those that will tell you that they never fight or disagree. That simply isn’t true. As each of us grow and evolve, we are called to learn different lessons in different ways, and one of the exciting things about marriages is the way we interact and negotiate our way around issues when we look at things from different perspectives. Those who tell you they have never been challenged in this way have never really lived. But what determines whether this challenge is a positive or negative experience for your marriage is how both of you choose to react to your differences and work around them.

When faced with a disagreement there are a range of choices. The first is to back down, allowing the other to make their point and express it. Another is to challenge their point and ascertain whether it is correct. Another choice is to discuss both options and see if there is room for flexibility. Are both of you correct, or is one of you incorrect in your viewpoint? How much is one person’s viewpoint inhibiting the beliefs, values, or morals of the other?

The most important point here however, is introspection. Evaluate your actions and reactions.

* What lesson am I being called to learn in this conflict?
* What can I learn about my partner and myself?
* What can I learn in order to address this issue and move forward?

The key is to understand the issues and to find small ways to move forward. You can call them goals. Make them achievable, and make them measurable. How often are you coming back and seeing if you have reached your goals? Are you making progress or are you at a stalemate?

The important thing to realize is that you are always learning, and finding new ways of understanding and loving each other as well as yourselves. Think of your marriage issues as an opportunity for growth and understanding.

The next step is to identify the lessons that you both must learn. In marriage we are called into a constant evolution, a journey of loving. The challenge to all marriages, good and bad, is to find new ways of loving each other. If you have been married one year, ten years or forty years, the challenge is still the same. Grow in love together.

What can you learn from your partner and your marriage today? What do you know today that you didn’t know yesterday. The secret is to never stop learning. And when you do stop learning, that’s where we can help.

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These baby shoes are almost cute enough for me to want to have another baby!

 Almost!!ÂÂ

Pink and green ~ my 2 favorite colors, and a watermelon slice! These darling little shoes will be the perfect accent for that watermelon sun dress that you just bought for your little sweetie pie.

All of the shoes from CuteBabyShoes.com feature buttery soft leather and are lined with a layer of white cotton fabric to keep all dyes away from baby.

Yes, I really like this style, but you really should take a look at some of their other really original looking styles. The prices at CuteBabyShoes.com are really reasonable for the quality of shoe you are getting! I wish I had found these when my daughters were babies!

Technorati Tags: babyshoes baby shoes watermelon trendy fun funky clothes Del.icio.us Tags: babyshoes baby shoes watermelon trendy fun funky clothes

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