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The Leap Year Time Capsule!

February 1st, 2012

S. Moo

As Leap Day approaches, read on for a simple idea to make this Leap Year memorable – and the next one a blast – for kids and adults!

As I’ve blogged about in the past, I met my stepkids after dating their dad for a year and a half…that fateful day was actually in December, 2007 on my 31^st birthday (what a present!) At any rate, we took the path toward getting to know each other one step at a time. For instance, I’d come over for one of the days on their dad’s weekend with them, so I could gradually become a regular part of their lives.

Well, one of the days I wasn’t there was on Friday, February 29, 2008, the last Leap Day – and now I’m pretty excited I wasn’t. Apparently, on that day, the kids and their dad created a “time capsule” to be opened on the next Leap Day, containing all sorts of things, including individual items, “family” items, and a few surprises for yours truly.

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Control the Pressure!

January 25th, 2012

S. Moo

Pressure. Do you feel it? Right now? It’s almost impossible not to…whether you’re thinking about all the things you’ve piled onto your to do list for today, or stressing about the party you volunteered to host this weekend, or worrying about your kids: Will your daughter make the “A” team? Will your son get recommended for honors courses? If you’re an adult living in today’s world, you are FEELING it. I’m writing today to ask you to try to recognize it and control it! Why? Because if you’re feeling it and letting it affect you, it will affect your kids.

From Young Adult Health - http://bit.ly/ynC83s

I had an eye opening experience the other night. I went to “High School 101” to learn about the four great years ahead for my stepdaughter (yay high school!) Now, let me start out by saying the school she is going to attend is phenomenal. This is not a rip on the school at all. But as I listened to the faculty discuss college prep courses vs. career readiness courses and tell me to sit down with my student and think about her plan for the future, I had to look around me. Was I at “College 101”? What in the world?! As the presentation continued, I could actually feel the parental anxiety growing in the room. I was sitting there thinking, these poor kids. What are we doing to them? Why are we pushing them so hard into adulthood? If I haven’t been clear, adulthood inevitably means PRESSURE!

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I Pledge to Get Back to Happy!

January 18th, 2012

S. Moo

I’m making a commitment to get back to happy. At the bottom of this blog, I’ll tell you how (preview: I’ve listed 5 great resources.) But first, I’d like to tell you why (preview: #happyparents = #happykids.)

I haven’t been feeling too well lately. I’ve been putting way too much pressure on myself, always worried that I should be working later, tweeting more, making more connections, doing better. I’ve been a stress ball. Then 2 “ah ha’s” happened:

“Ah ha” #1. When random marks appeared on my face a few weeks back, I went to a physician. Not only did I have stress-induced Shingles, I (like so many these days) have a Vitamin D deficiency. My doc told me, “You need to relax, get a little sun on your skin, get some more fat in your diet, and have some fun.” (Ok, that may have been some of the best doctor’s orders I’ve ever gotten…ha!)

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Make a Family Resolution for 2012

January 10th, 2012

Kelly

Every year many of us get really hard on ourselves around the first of the year and try to think about ways to change. Not that this is bad! Self-reflection is always good, but sometimes we can be focused on what we don’t like about ourselves or negative things that make us feel bad. I decided to switch it up a bit this year. Our family made a resolution together! Making this resolution was all about how we can have more fun together, love each other more, and spend more quality time as a family.

This is a great way to start the New Year together. So, if you haven’t (or even if you have!) made a New Year resolution yet – there is still time to start. Pick a night this week to sit down together and tell your family about your intention to set a family resolution together. Get the ball rolling by putting a few ideas out there and then let everyone in the family put in their ideas. You can choose 1 or even 1 from each person! It’s all up to you and your family.

We put together 5 ideas to get you started thinking about what to resolve to do as a family:

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Wishing You All the Best in 2012

January 4th, 2012

Errin

We can’t believe it’s already a new year! We’ve been so busy over the past year – 2011 was a big year for us. We launched our site, published our Where on Earth Am I? on Kindle, and published our first hard copy book! We have also connected with so many wonderful folks via Facebook and Twitter, and are so grateful for support from so many.

We look forward to this next year and all there is to come. We wish you a happy and healthy 2012 for you and your family. As a token of our gratitude for you and our excitement for this new year, we have another fun background for your computer!

Click on the image for full-size, then right-click on the image, and save to your computer. Then, set as your desktop wallpaper. Enjoy!

Also, check back with us soon for our simple Family Resolutions ideas for 2012 from Crazy Crafty Mom!

The Planet Fassa Team

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Planet Fassa’s Blogs to Get You Through the Holidays

December 17th, 2011

Errin

At Planet Fassa we’ve been coming up with some simple ideas to make the holidays more fun, less expensive, more thankful, and less stressful. Here they are:

Blog 1
Have a laugh with Crazy Crafty Mom as she shows how to inspire good behavior and teamwork in your little ones:

Taking Advantage of the Naughty List, Part 1
Taking Advantage of the Naughty List, Part 2
Taking Advantage of the Naughty List, Part 3
Taking Advantage of the Naughty List, Part 4

Blog 2
Think about what really matters as Davey talks about how to focus on giving back to the community:

3 Ways to Give Well this Holiday Season

Blog 3
Get the creative and thrifty juices flowing with Go-to-Gal’s 5 simple ways to save:

5 Ways to Cut Back this Holiday Season

Fun Alert! Please enjoy this fun holiday background for your computer from Planet Fassa! Your kids (and you!) will enjoy the extra festivity.

Click on the image for full-size, then right-click on the image, and save to your computer. Then, set as your desktop wallpaper. Enjoy!

Our entire team would like to thank all of you for your support throughout this past year, and we wish you happy and healthy holidays!

The Planet Fassa Team

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Taking Advantage of the Naughty List, Part 4

December 17th, 2011

Kelly

I have to admit that I was a little unsure if this Naughty List thing was going to actually work, but it has been brilliant. My kids have been kinder to each other, are using their words to communicate, and are more aware that others don’t have as much as we do.

Yesterday our elves gave us some old stockings they “found” in our home and a ten dollar bill for each of my children. Their task was to take the ten dollars to the dollar store, and purchase a toy and some basic necessities for little boys and girls that don’t have as much as they do.

Geronimo and Alyssa's note! Click to enlarge.

The note finished with,

“I would like you all to go out and fill your stockings with toys and goodies for another little boy or girl. Then have mommy show you a place that you can bring your stocking and give to someone who really needs it. When you do this your hearts will be full of love and the true meaning of Christmas. Have a superb day! – Geronimo & Alyssa”

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Taking Advantage of the Naughty List, Part 3

December 14th, 2011

Kelly

The Kids Making Gingerbread!

Yay! Working the Naughty list has really helped de-stress my household during the holiday season. Every day that my kids get along they get rewards from their elves. The elves always mention they are proud of the kids and why.

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5 Ways to Cut Back this Holiday Season

December 13th, 2011

Errin

As Davey talked about in his recent post, we’ve been thinking about ways to make the holidays more about what is important. To me, this also means cutting back on all the “stuff” and over-spending (I TOTALLY over-spent last year.) So this year, I’ve been especially devoted to cutting back and have been brainstorming all sorts of ways to save. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Trader's Joes' Holiday Tags

1. Reuse brown paper bags for gift tags. I love Trader Joe’s. This year they printed holiday gift tags all over their brown paper bags – so instead of buying gift tags this year, I’m using these. They are super cute and I love how they look on the gifts. If you don’t have Trader Joe’s where you live, or don’t shop there, you can use plain brown paper bags from your grocer and create cute tags by cutting out different shapes. Decorate the tags with markers, puffy paint, glitter, etc.

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3 Ways to Give Well this Holiday Season

December 13th, 2011

Davey

Errin (Go-to-Gal) and I have been working very hard to teach my daughter about the true cost of things, and that material items are not what make us truly happy. This is hard to impress upon a child, especially a preteen. We sat down with her and asked her to look through her stuff for gifts left untouched from last year, or toys, clothes, books, etc. she doesn’t use any longer. Surprisingly, she was happy to do it. We told her that it is important to give to other children and people who are less fortunate than herself. This got me thinking about a couple others ways to “give well” this holiday season:

“For it is in giving that we receive.” - St. Fransis of Assisi

1. With your child, go through their possessions and/or gifts from last year. If they haven’t touched them in the past year (or years), tell them it’s time to pass them along to a child who would love to receive this gift. Whether it’s a donation to a local church or charity, teach your kids about spreading the gifts and the spirit of the season. Talk about the importance of giving back, and praise them for giving back

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