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Hire Yourself! 10 Ways to Make Money Right Now

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Posted on 12th April 2010 by mishakennedy in finance | food | gardening | money | personal finance

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My oldest son, Matthew, called me a loser a few years back. He was 15 then. OK, he didn’t call me a “loser” specifically, but he was talking to a nurse in the emergency room about how he was thinking of going into politics when he gets older. He wants to be the president, he said.

“Hey,” I said to him after the nurse had gone, “I was going to be president when I grew up.”

I really was going to be president. I had every intention of going into politics when I was between the ages of 14 and 18. My intention was to complete college, maybe go to law school and then run for office – with the White House in full-view. To make a long story short, I went to college in DC and in essence found that I enjoyed writing about politics and being an activist more than I wanted to run for an office – and as I pointed out to my son, who was looking at me with much pity – I still have time to run for an office if I so choose. At 34, I am not even yet eligible to run for president…although the clock is ticking louder now than it once did.

“I know, Mom,” he said. “But I’m actually going to do it.” The way he said it, stung a little. He said it with such disdain, as if I had thrown away my dream. Did he just see me as a wife and mother – with no other accomplishments under my belt? Did he think I somehow failed because my dreams at 14 or 15 were not the dreams I achieved?

He did.
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The Family Bed: Sleep with your baby – and sleep better.

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Posted on 14th February 2009 by mishakennedy in attachment parenting

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By Michelle Kennedy Hogan
“If you don’t let that baby sleep somewhere on his own,” the prickly nurse said, “he’ll have attachment issues later on.”

“Really?” I said. “Like he might actually like me in 10 years?” This was after the birth of my fifth baby – so I was a bit more confident in my parenting skills. However, I was not so confident 16 years ago when I had my first, and then quickly after, my second baby. Both of whom slept with me. Often at the same time.

My two oldest children are now 16 and 15 and let me tell you – neither has any desire at all to spend anytime in my room – let alone my bed.

So, we can put this to rest right now. If you let your baby sleep with you he or she will not go to college with a pillow for you. I promise. It will not happen.

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Horse Cruelty – Rethought…

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Posted on 8th August 2008 by mishakennedy in food

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I was surfing around the blogosphere this morning – trying to wake up – and came across this site: HonestMeat.com.

What a great site. And as I read this post about cruelty to horses – I was compelled to share.

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We have a winner!

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Posted on 20th July 2008 by mishakennedy in miscellaneous

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Dear OI Readers:

Thank you so much to all of you who entered the Comment to Win contest this month. I have randomly selected a winner – her name is Christene and she commented on a couple of posts, including a recent post about 10 Uses for Olive Oil.

I have contacted her by email and will be sending her a package which includes the OI Tote Bag, several of my books, and a variety of green cleaning products.

I am considering making the comment contest a monthly thing…so keep a look out!

Thanks to all who entered, I’ve appreciated your comments and good wishes!

Best,

Misha

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Night Nannies? What’s Next?

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Posted on 18th July 2008 by mishakennedy in attachment parenting

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I’m sorry. This will sound very unfeminist of me – but as I get older I realize just how unfeminist I truly am! I just read this article on Night Nannies on The New York TimesĀ and let me say that I am appalled. Now, not only are more and more children being shunted out the door to daycare at a younger and younger age, but now their parents can’t even get up with their baby in the middle of the night.

I’m not going to go into how bad this lack of interest in one’s children is – there are plenty of people who have done that already. Let me just say that I don’t understand why people who don’t want to hang out with their children even bother to have them. I’m sorry that waking up in the middle of the night to nurse or comfort your wee one is too much of a strain for you. I know your life and sleep are so much more important. Wake up people – they are only this tiny once in their life! Enjoy that time to snuggle – and catch up on your David Letterman watching. And if you don’t want to do the job of parenting…don’t become a parent. It’s not difficult. And it’s not a job that needs to be outsourced.

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Precycle – Save Money and The Earth Too!

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Posted on 18th July 2008 by mishakennedy in frugal

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by Melanie Bowden
Everyone’s heard of recycling, but what about precycling?Also known as source reduction, precycling is reducing the amount of trash you generate in the first place.Not only can you lower trash going to your local landfill, but you can save money to boot.
You can save as much as $3,000 a year by being more aware of your shopping habits and always buying the largest size your household can use.According to the Save Money and the Environment Too campaign, buying in large sizes saves a family of four $175 a year on apple juice and $118 a year on cereal, while producing 50 percent less waste.On average, individual oatmeal and cereal packs cost three times as much per serving, and cookie and chip packages twice as much per serving, when compared to the large sizes.
Stay-at-home mom Lisa Horton found the statistics surprising.ā€œI didn’t realize it was that substantial a savings,ā€ she says.ā€œI do buy in bulk and it helps, but I could do more–like use more reusable items.I think making the public aware of little things they can do is really important. (more…)

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Make Your Own Baby Food – Frugal and Green Tip of the Day!

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Posted on 15th July 2008 by mishakennedy in food

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happy, healthy, still mostly breastfed babyBut those little jars aren’t that expensive, are they? Oh yes they are and they aren’t very good for our little ones either! Consider that babies should start eating solid food around 6 months of age – give or take. Also consider that most baby food companies make their most nutritious foods for babies under six months.

Only ā€œFirst foodsā€ are true purees. After that, according to Cheating Babies: Nutritional Quality and Cost of Commercial Baby Food by Daryth D. Stallone, Ph.D., M.P.H. and Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., ā€œGerber and Heinz replace real food with water and thickening agents in many of their products for children over six months of age. Such adulterated products are nutritionally inferior to products made with more fruits and vegetables.

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Weeds – Friend or Foe?

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Posted on 8th July 2008 by mishakennedy in gardening

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I won’t lie, my garden is pretty weedy. Really weedy. It always is. I go out there with all intentions of having a pretty little row by row garden and then I end up with the jungle (I’ll go out and take a picture later, it’s too hot right now). I think part of it is because I am nestled into a side hill and there is a lot of wildflower growth right above the garden…the wind comes down through the mountain and plants all the seeds into the garden. Of course, the other problem is that while I always have the ambition to get out and work in the garden for three or four hours a day – it usually ends up being like every other for an hour. Inevitably, while I am out there, there is yelling and screaming and I have to come and see what’s going on; or someone needs to go somewhere and when I get back, it’s time to start dinner – or I get distracted by something else.

So, I was weeding yesterday – quite heartily and recovered both 100 foot rows of beets. However, while I was out there, I noticed that some of the weeds that were intermixed with my broccoli and cauliflower, looked remarkably like the broccoli and cauliflower plants – they didn’t have the same bluish hue, but the structure looked essentially the same. And I got to thinking…since the weeds grow fasterĀ  than the cultivated plants, is there any chance that they could be beneficial, rather than a hindrance?

I did a little research – and while the final verdict is still up in the air – it would appear that although weeds do take a lot from a row of cultivated veggies (sharing water, light, etc.); they also provide food for bugs that might otherwise eat your plants, increase pollination and provide some plants with necessary shade. In addition, some weeds have roots that clear the soil, attract grubs and cutworms and replenish it with nitrogen – acting like a green manure.

I also try to mulch heavily with newspaper, hay, compost and stuff from the barn.

Why not just cave in and use herbicides a friend said to me? Well, if it’s not good for the weeds, I can’t imagine it’s too good for the plants. And I don’t really mind a weedy garden in theory – but my Martha-esque sensibility does feel the same kind frustration in my weedy garden as I do in my cluttered living room. I try and push past that feeling…while giving a satisfying yank to another weed that is past my knees in height.

Will I continue to weed? Yes, I will. But as you will see when I post photos, my huge garden will never be weed-free. I think I will continue to weed the immediate area around my plants and allow other weeds to grow up and act as a barrier. Do I wish I could have one of those pretty little gardens with the plants all perfectly tended in a row and not a weed in sight. Yes. And maybe someday I will get there. But for now, I enjoy just getting out there everyday (or every other day), watching my plants grow healthy, knowing that they will feed my family in a variety of ways.

How does your garden grow?

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Practice Present Parenting…and Smile

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Posted on 1st July 2008 by mishakennedy in miscellaneous

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I had a wonderful time at the beach with my kids last week. I was sad that all of my children weren’t there – my oldest son Matt recently got a new job and had to remain home to work. I was, however, proud of him for taking it well and being so willing to work (and take care of the house and animals while we were gone). (more…)

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Homeschool Planning – Don’t!

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Posted on 18th June 2008 by mishakennedy in frugal

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Once in a while I get the bug to be more organized – particularly in homeschool matters. I start to feel like maybe I’m not doing enough to keep everything together, especially after I read a few homeschool blogs or go to one of any number of sites that have all sorts of organizational pages for me to download.

In my last nine years of homeschooling at least one and sometimes all of my children, I have put together probably 47 homeschool organization binders; filled out 8,000 assignment sheets; and posted all sorts of charts designed to make our home run more efficiently.

Let me first just say Kudos! to those who find these items really worthwhile. I am, however, a miserable failure when it comes to keeping track of these sorts of things. Instead, I have found that a good, old fashioned chalkboard in the dining room (where I put the week’s known events: games, practices, etc.) and a calendar that can be written on for events ahead of time are a great asset. In addition, I have become a huge fan of my Yahoo! calendar. Mostly because I check my email every morning first thing and the calendar lets me know what’s going on – as long as I’ve remembered to tell it what’s going on! Yahoo! also adds info from various homeschool groups I’ve joined so that I know when their activities are happening too.

It seems like everywhere I turn someone is trying to sell me a new system for getting organized. Somehow, getting more stuff is going to make my life simpler. Well, quite frankly, I don’t buy it. If I need a “chart” or an assignment page I make it myself. It’s really not that hard. In addition, using something like a chalkboard (for the household) or my Yahoo! calendar (for just me), is a frugal and green way to keep on task.

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