The Value of a Gift

Posted by Alenka  in Inspiration, Parenting No Comments »
The Value of a Gift

Do you remember how excited you were when you gave your mother a small gift, made all by yourself? A simple flower? And how your mother was proud of you? It was all about the attention, affection and sharing the love.

I remember when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. It was the last day of school and I didn’t have a present for the teacher. I pannicked but my father cut a big branch full of dark red cherries from the tree behing our house. The kids at school laughed at me, but the teacher loved my gift. I learned at very young age it’s not the price of the gift that matters. In fact this is one of the fondest memories I have about the school.

If I had my Life to Live Over…

If I had my Life to Live Over...

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

It is OK to do Nothing

Posted by Alenka  in Parenting, Positive Thinking No Comments »
It is OK to do Nothing

This year we cancelled our vacations due to my mother’s critical condition. And just because we were bound to stay at home, with no possibility and willingness to go not even on a one-day trip, we decided that we will paint the house.

At first glance it looked like a great idea. We had lots of time, we would save the money by doing it ourselves and we would be distracted and not feeling sorry for not going anywhere.

But… we didn’t realized how much work it is and how really exhausting it could be.

After a week of hard work and juggling between home and hospital, I quit. I wanted some time off. I wanted just a piece of vacations. A glimpse of joy and freedom.
So we spent the last days of holidays doing nothing. We laid by the pool, read books, play games, watched TV…

Make Your Kids Excited about School

Make Your Kids Excited about School

Today is the first day of schol here in Slovenia. Many of you escorted your little ones to school for the first time and many sent off your kids to higher grades, but the first day is still the first day. Following long summer vacations, doing nothing, just enjoying your time with friends and family, it’s still a big day for many.

What were your thoughts about new school year? Were you excited or worried?

How do you think your kids will be and do in school if you are worried? You know that we more often talk about negative experiences (and not only about school):

  • Oh, my boy is always fighting.
  • He can’t sit still and follow the class.
  • She is talking and disturbing the class.
  • She’s just not good at math.
  • He can’t….

And then we might also add some warnings and threats:

  • If you will not do good in school, you will end up on the streets.
  • Now, that the school started, you’ll have to work real hard.

How to Communicate to Your Teen about Finding Real Friends

How to Communicate to Your Teen about Finding Real Friends


Cotton Candy friending is a phenomenon among the Facebook generation where the more friends you have the better and soon you realize that you have 1276 friends on MySpace, but no one to hand out in real life. I find that we are truly hungry for real relationships, because the social network ‘friend’ does not sustain us.

So, how can we get Cotton Candy friends back to being real dessert…or maybe even a meal, something long lasting and nutritious for your soul. Talk to your teens about friendship and that:

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