The Family Dollar Blog

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TheFamilyDollar.com: Your Ultimate Guide to Smart Family Spending for Baby and Child Products Introduction: Welcome to TheFamilyDollar.com, your go-to destination for all things related to wise spending on safe and reliable products for babies and children. In this blog post, we'll explore the benefits of visiting TheFamilyDollar.com and how it can help you make informed choices to stretch your family dollar while ensuring the utmost safety and quality for your little ones. Why TheFamilyDollar.com? 1. Budget-friendly Solutions: At TheFamilyDollar.com, we understand the importance of managing your family's finances. Our website is designed to provide you with an array of cost-effective options, enabling you to make wise decisions while shopping for baby and child products. From diapers and clothing to toys and feeding essentials, we curate a wide range of affordable choices to suit every budget. 2. Safety First: When it comes to products for our little ones, safety is paramount. TheFamilyDollar.com prioritizes the well-being of your children by offering a selection of products that meet rigorous safety standards. Our team carefully researches and selects items from reputable brands, ensuring that you can shop with confidence, knowing that your child is protected. 3. Reliability and Quality: We believe that quality should never be compromised, even when shopping on a budget. TheFamilyDollar.com sources products from trusted manufacturers, focusing on durability and functionality. Our comprehensive reviews and detailed product descriptions empower you to make well-informed choices, so you can enjoy reliable and long-lasting products for your baby or child. 4. Expert Advice and Tips: In addition to our vast product selection, TheFamilyDollar.com offers valuable advice and tips to help you navigate the world of baby and child products. Our blog section covers a wide range of topics, including parenting advice, product reviews, and money-saving strategies. Our team of experts strives to provide you with reliable information and guidance, ensuring that you can make the best decisions for your family. How to Make the Most of TheFamilyDollar.com: 1. Browse the Product Categories: Explore our user-friendly website to discover a wide variety of categories, including diapers, clothing, feeding, bath essentials, toys, and much more. Each category is thoughtfully organized, allowing you to quickly find the products you need. 2. Read Reviews and Descriptions: Make informed decisions by reading our detailed product descriptions and customer reviews. We provide honest and unbiased information to help you understand the features and benefits of each item, allowing you to choose products that align with your family's needs. 3. Subscribe to Our Newsletter: Stay up to date with the latest deals, discounts, and parenting tips by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll receive regular updates, exclusive offers, and helpful content directly in your inbox. 4. Share with Friends and Family: If you find TheFamilyDollar.com helpful, don't forget to share it with your loved ones. Spread the word through social media platforms, parenting forums, and local parenting groups to help other families discover the benefits of smart spending. Conclusion: TheFamilyDollar.com is your one-stop destination for making wise and affordable choices when it comes to baby and child products. With a focus on safety, reliability, and quality, our website offers a wealth of information, ensuring that you can provide the best for your little ones while keeping your family budget in check. Start exploring TheFamilyDollar.com today and empower yourself with the knowledge and options to make informed purchases for your growing family.

10 Things I Learned My 1st Year of Fatherhood

 

I made it! One year with the little guy! On reflection of the past year, I had put down in writing what I had learned from this first year as a father!

Straight to the point, here is my list of things I've learned that may help fathers-to-be. Of course, the journey is different for every parent. The majority of these were told to me at various points and some I figured out on my own, but the collection will mean something to you at some point.

Note: This list does not replace sound advice from parents or leaders you trust, books or best self discovered practices.

1. No one cares about your kid as much as you do! While people are great and surprisingly giving, loving and caring, don't expect others to do what you are expected to do on raising and training your child. This is your chance to put naysayers to rest and do it your way! Never be afraid to ask for advice! My wife and I, have taken snippets of things we like from other parents and have tried to instill that in our own methods of parenthood.

2. Experience every moment. Put down the phone, put away the video games, forget the movie and close the book. Easy to remember, hard to do. While some say that our generation of fathers cares too much, I've never met anyone who complained their father cared too much.

3. Like it or not, your child is forming a personality that you are affirming. The bible gives us direction in this, saying, "train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart". When they throw a fit, it may seem like a cuteness overload, but remember, over time, your showing approval. Just like smiling and clapping encourages, lack of correction does the same.

4. Don't be in too much of a hurry to let people you know interact with your child. Just because you have the cutest baby that ever graced the earth, like we all do, doesn't mean that it will ever outrank a child that has a poor personality and who is too spoiled to talk to others. It's not only good for your baby to meet people you approve of several times, but some people just need to try to impress a baby and see a smile, it may be the only one they get that day and those people remember that when your kids birthday comes around! Trust me, you want your baby to be the happy baby, your baby being known as the happy baby will help people overcome those days when your baby is having colic problems and teething pains and cries, fuses and yells.

5. Routine, routine and routine. Everything matters! From waking up to falling asleep, let there be consistency! In this, rest assured, you have all power to make this real! You control their world, we won't always, or so I'm challenged to believe. For example, we put our baby to sleep with a bottle, now he thinks he needs one in order to sleep to this day. There are things like this that aren't great habits, but it's because we didn't fully understand that until later. Luckily, we didn't let him sleep with us every night after about 4 months, or else, you've got a bigger problem. Let me just say this, having a baby should not affect mommy and daddy time. Anyways, sleep schedules, eating schedules, bath times, quiet times, etc, it all matters. There were so many things me and my wife tried because we thought it would be great for our son to experience as a tradition. And that leads us to 6.

6. Read, play and pray! Let them hear stories even though they can't understand, my in-laws built a collection of books for him that were great! Don't have a library of Dr. Suess books? Go online, read a bible, they won't fully understand but when they can physically turn a page, even if it's too early, it's a sign of greater things to come. Play with them, it lets them know they can discover. If they fall, let them get up. And finally, pray with them. It shouldn't be complex, save those for later and spare them the boredom. I would say, keep it short to keep them alert. It's not only good for them, it's great for the family!

7. Quiet time. There are times when they should know that they have the power to be still, quiet and observant. It's for their own good! They need to know they have this super hero power because there will be times daddy and mommy need them to exercise that power in the store, church, or the doctors office! Why not let your baby be that good baby! On another point of quiet time, our babies can be alone in their room or crib because of their excessive crying for at least a little while without you feeling like a horrible parent. This is quiet time for mommy and daddy. My wife has been a stay at home mother, and I know how frustrating a crying baby can be by listening to her voice sometimes. My advice to her at those times is what I would recommend to others, give him some medicine or tablets for the pain and put him in his room. Then, get home and take over so mommy can have a break. Based on discussions with new parents, I think most agree on working together more and that this area is a natural flow of working as a team. And don't be afraid to ask someone you trust to watch your child one day a week if you need to. It will give you a break and give someone else a chance to watch a baby they've been wanting to.

8. Speak to them like they were able to understand you. It helps them figure out speech and tone! Which also helps with correction and affirmation, and you'll need that too!

9. Let them discover. This goes back to number 6 but it's really important. It's not enough with the new technology and "ADHD" and all. Keep an empty toy box, let them imagine, this will help you figure out where they're headed and what they like. Let them make a mess, controlled to their room, a little bit. This reinforces their zone. They know it's okay to do this there, this is their area, but also show them how to clean up. I don't have much practice in this, but my son loves to empty his Lego bag, and after I showed him he can also put the blocks back, that intrigued him even more! When I get on the floor to play with him, he will stay by me because he expects me to play with him as well. Yes, my son shares!

10. Keep him in a good environment. This means every element. From location, to music, to friends! This goes with routine as well. This teaches him behavioral norms and keeps certain elements off limits. There will be times when, out of frustration, daddy and/or mommy need to be away from baby to relax or to get away from the colic or teething baby. But don't neglect this rule for a moment of peace. #1 and #10 are more important in that you are fully aware of their environment than that nap, time away shopping or couple's getaway. Environment is key for us because we don't want our boy to say we had him in questionable places or around questionsble people. For instance, as a result our boy knows church very well and has picked up gestures of worship because of it. He is also a Tarheel fan!

There is no manual for parenthood. 

It gets figured out as you go. I heard a comedian say that they were not a fan of "our generation of parents because we care too much. Every child needs 10 bed time stories every night and the stuffed animals need to be in a semi circle of emotional healing, and no more standing up while the car is moving". While there is some truth to overdoing it as a parent, we are all just improving on our own childhood! We all want our little ones to have a great childhood because we want them to be better than us! In any case, I hope this in some way helps! And remember, don't forget to seek advice, we are all on the same team when it comes to parenthood!

If I Were The Devil

Read this in our church bulletin Sunday. It is from Paul Harvey:

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's
effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of
the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to
leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent
machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that life of animals are
valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was
grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I
would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the
minds of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack then family, the backbone of any nation. I would make
divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so
does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and
movies screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their
lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who
call themselves authorities and refer to their agendas as politically
correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, the
Bible is for the naive:

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is
not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I GUESS I WOULD LEAVE THINGS PRETTY MUCH THE WAY THEY ARE!

Rejected Pick-Up Lines

I once taught a Sunday School lesson to the youth in which I gave them rejection lines for pick up lines they may receive.

Here are some of them:

Man: I would go to the end of the world for you.
Woman: But would you stay there?

Man: Where have you been all my life?
Woman: Hiding from you.

Man: Haven't I seen you someplace before?
Woman: Yes, that's why I don't go there anymore.

Man: Is this seat empty?
Woman: Yes, and this one will be too if you sit down.

Man: I want to give myself to you.

Woman: Sorry, I don’t accept cheap gifts.

There are also designated phone numbers you could give to people that you don’t like that may request your phone number called Rejection Hotlines. The other person doesn’t know it’s a rejection number until they dial it. Here is one of them >212-660-2245, try it!

The purpose of the lesson was to discuss dealing with rejection. Rejection doesn’t come primarily from dealing with the opposite sex, but can also come from employment rejection, rejection from leaders (teachers, parents, etc) and rejection from peers.

John 1 tells us that Jesus went to his own people and his own people rejected him. He was the stone that the builders rejected and became the cornerstone itself!

But my favorite is this, Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? “

While we will never be away from rejection, we can learn to not let it define who we are!

Awkward Moments

I read a story about a man named John Paul Jones. He was captain of the USS Ranger that had been given the first official salute from a foreign (French) ship in recognition of America’s independence and its newly adopted “Stars and Stripes” flag.

The story was about an altercation that was between Captain Jones and a larger British ship. Knowing that his ship was smaller and had fewer guns aboard, he made every effort to get side by side with his and the British ship.

An awkward moment came as the men were waiting for the ships to angle themselves properly. There were no guns shooting and no men shouting when the British captain taunts Captain Jones by telling him to surrender.

Captain Jones replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!”

It reminded me of the story of Mordecai. He offended a high ranking political advisor by not bowing to him. The advisor later asked the king to kill Mordecai and all his people. But Mordecai was a cousin of the queen and the queen spoke of how Mordecai saved the king. The king then asked his advisor how he should honor a man who pleased the king.

Thinking the king was talking about himself, the advisor shared that he should put a royal robe on him and mount him upon a royal horse escorting him through the city proclaiming how the king approved of him. The king then ordered him to carry it out for Mordecai. The man he hated.

These are two awkward stories that can really make us think. But there is one awkward scenario that wouldn’t be good for us to go through. That scenario is standing at judgment while the book of life is opened and our name is being searched for.

Do everything you can to prevent that awkward moment!

The Church Of Exiles

In school we learned that the Statue of Liberty was given to us from France as a result of a friendship formed from the Revolutionary War.

She stands at the door of our country welcoming strangers to the land of the free.

She holds a torch that represents “world-wide welcome”. The torch signals a beacon light for all to come.

She also holds a tablet. Inscribed on the tablet is the cry from her silent lips:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"



Thank You http://www.nps.gov/



I can only imagine what the sight of the statue seemed like to those immigrants coming by ship to America.

Yet, the church is mandated with the same purpose.

The Statue of Liberty is fittingly named, the Mother of Exiles. The exiled are the undesired, lost, turned away and forsaken.

We are called to welcome these. Let’s be changed, and let us help change these!

The Banana Massacre

I had done some research on labor strikes several years ago. There were several that stood out. Two strikes were 3 years apart in Columbia and Honduras by the same company, United Fruits Company (today, its known as Chiquita). This specific company has been known to have strikes arranged by their banana laborers to this day.

The revolt in Columbia led to the military getting involved and the strike in Honduras led to Martial Law.

Wild right? Banana workers causing havoc?

The Columbian rebellion resulted in what is known as the Banana Massacre. Machine guns placed on corners of rooftops were fired into a crowd of men, women and children.

Genesis 1:2 has this to say, the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Another translation says, the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

To think that through the darkness and voids God was still there is a peace beyond understanding. Through chaos, turmoil and rebellion, God is still hovering.  I challenge you to recognize His presence in your life while you experience its mayhem.