Kelly's Campaign

The different types of child-care providers.

The daycare industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the US today. This has been brought about by the need for parents or single-moms, a place where they can safely leave their kids as they work for a living.

There are many different types of child-care providers that parents can consider for the care of their children. Let us discuss each one of them:

1. Connecticut day care centers. Daycare is the most common type of child-care provider. In this setup, the parents bring their kids to the center which is mostly open from 8 AM to 6 PM. The daycare has competent and well-trained daycare staff which is tasked to take care of a group of kids. They provide not just an environment where kids can play, but can be considered as a CT preschool as some of the staffs are designated as the teachers giving individualized instructions for the kids where they can learn the alphabets, numbers, colors, and more. One advantage of a daycare is it provides a good venue for kids to learn socialization skills as they can interact with many kids of their age in the center as it is required that at least 12 kids are enrolled to be considered as a daycare center.
2. Family Daycare. This is a small scale version of a daycare and in this setup, parents bring their kids to the home of the child care provider instead. A minimum of 8 kids should be enrolled to be considered as a family daycare. An assistant to the primary child care provider is also required to help in taking care of the kids. One advantage of a family day care is that is also provides a good environment where kids can interact with other kids to help them build their social skills. The disadvantage though is that the staff of a family day care might not have a formal training on child care as compared to the training received by staff of a CT daycare.
3. Baby Sitter / Nanny. This is a one-on-one type of child care where the baby sitter or nanny will come to your house and take care of your kid for the time required. This is the most expensive type of child care service as most nannies charge by the hour. The disadvantage of getting a baby sitter, though they can offer more time and attention to your child, is it lacks the socialization that the other type of child-care services offer.

Which type of child-care service is the best? There is really no definite answer as every child and parent has each of their own child-care needs which can be met by any of the child-care providers mentioned above. Each type of child-care services has their own advantages and disadvantages and it is up to the parent to weigh these to help them choose the best setup for their kids.

A friend posted photos of the progress of the house they purchased. I always feel happy for friends who are able to take the plunge and invest for their family.  They are now in the last leg of building the house. They are actually now buying stuff to furnish the house. I love the sofa set they got recently and I love how the lpg heater (picture similar to posted below, which I found in the website of Deals Direct, my friend’s go to place for their home needs) complemented the whole concept of the house.

I know for a fact that the husband shares the same yearning that I have: to have our own home. Our family is getting bigger, with the addition coming in June last year. Just this morning I woke up with him browsing some real estate websites. And for the past few months we have been discussing the pros and cons of finally taking the leap. We have no other option but to take on some bank financing because we do not have that much anyway. I guess we are still too comfortable at the moment that we are too afraid to take on a bigger responsibility.

We are praying about it. I know He will guide us and we will probably turn our dream into a reality in less than five years time.

These days a lot of people, most of them women, are trying to defy age. They also wish to boost self-esteem Gone are the days when women are content with just creams and non-invasive treatments. Surgery is their way to go. That is both risky and expensive. And because the treatments are expensive, others choose the riskier path by going to doctors without checking the background. I remember reading a news item where a cosmetic surgeon is being hunted down for not acquiring the necessary licenses. This happened after a few clients or patients complained about the doctor. If I were going to spend hundreds of dollars on something, surely I would want to be assured that 1) the doctor is qualified to do the procedure and 2) he has the necessary permits to perform it.

One story I heard about botched cosmetic surgery procedure almost led to Total Injury. The lady had her butt and thighs enhanced. She also asked for face lift treatment. Both procedures went all wrong and her face now looks uglier than before. Her butt had infection which needed other series of surgeries to make it right. And then she found out that other patients are going through the same dilemma as she is. The doctor who performed the procedures even had medical malpractice issues.

I am sure if this happens to you too, you will find the best lawyers to fight for your cause. After all, medical malpractice is a serious matter and doctors who are not qualified must be liable for their actions.

I have been driving for ten years now and I have noticed (and felt) how gas prices have increased through all those years. I remember loading p500 (about 12USD) and that would last me the whole week already. Now, you load four times as much and it would still not be enough for seven days. There is really something about the supply and demand that affects these changes. We all know about the wars but the supply is also already starting to dwindle. Some years back, the use of natural gas have been discussed, that it is about time we use our natural resources and not have to depend on inorganic power supplies.

Just last week, we went to a barbeque party at a friend’s house. Both our friend and his wife are geologists and our conversation drifted to this issue (geek alert, LOL) – that we all need to explore alternative gas supplies because we clearly have other options. Apparently in the US, they have what they call marcellus gas. The natural gas is from the Marcellus Shale, which is a unit of sedimentary rock found in the eastern part of North America, around New York, Pennsylvania and extending throughout the major part of the Appalachian Basin. Some geologists consider this shale to possibly supply a large amount of natural gas. The Marcellus Shale is also thought to become the major contributor of natural gas in the whole United States soon. They said this because the shale have an estimated content of more than 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Since the demand and supply is surely increasing for such natural gas, there are websites like the one created by the Unconventional Oil and Gas Center which provide online tools to help other companies tap these natural resources.

Isn’t it nice to know that we have other options?

As you finish High School, you are now face with a new challenge: that is to find the best school where you can acquire new knowledge that will help you prepare for your future.

So how do you choose the best college school for you? Here are a few tips:

1. You must first set your career goals. Are you aiming to get a skilled profession after graduating? If this is your goal, then you should check out community or technical college. However, if your aim is to finish a 4-year course, then you should short list universities that you will check out and visit.

You must also take into consideration other factors such as the living environment, the tuition fee and if scholarships and financial aid is available. You may also check if the university is offering e-learning program and if they uses an effective learning management system like Instructure Canvas to manage the courses and the students. You can check more about Instructure Canvas and Learning Management System by visiting this site: http://www.instructure.com.

E-learning can be a big help to survive college as you may be able to enroll some of your subjects under the e-learning program which will save you time and money and so you will be able to concentrate on other subjects that will require you more time and effort in order to pass.

2. Once you have set your career goals, check out the websites of the different colleges and universities that you are considering to get information if they have programs that matches your career goals. Look for the courses that they are offering, the different activities and events that they have for their students to see if there is anything that interest you and that will help you reach your career goal.

3. Contact the schools to get more information like their placement rate after graduation, if they offer financial aid and try to see if they can send you information brochures and leaflets to help you with your decision.

4. Once you have shortlisted the schools that you are considering, visit each of the schools. This is an important step that you should not skip so you can have a feel of the school before you finally decide which university to choose. Visit the schools and talk to administrators, instructors and students under the program that you are considering. Check out the facilities, the living arrangements and the commute or drive to and from the campus and many more. Ask yourself: Can you picture yourself staying in this school for a couple of years?

Once you have nailed down the university that you think will help you prepare for your future, it is also important to know how you will survive college life. College can both be fun and stressful depending on how well you manage your time. To help you survive your new life as a college student, here are a few tips that can help you:

1. Enroll only in courses that you think you can handle. Do not overload yourself and remember that you will go through this courses for the entire semester so make you sure that you will have enough time for each of the courses.
2. Be Organize. Get all the stuff that you will need before the start of the semester like textbooks, course materials and others. If you are enrolled in an e-learning course, make sure you know how to access the course materials like the site to visit, the username and password for the learning management system and more so you will be ready and equipped even before the semester starts.
3. Be familiar with the surroundings. Familiarize yourself with the campus, the facilities and if you are staying in a dorm, get to know the people around so you will be comfortable as you start your new adventure.

With these tips in mind, you will surely find the best college and have fun in the process. Good Luck and enjoy school hunting.

These are really stinkin’ cute!

Would you agree if I say these crackers will make a perfect gift for the Instagram addict   I found this image online and followed the link. These are homemade goodies created by Bakerella. I am sure you can just use store-bought grahams and then decorate them if you like. She used fondant to create the IG app logo

I saw this USB drive that is shaped and designed like a DSLR camera. This is I think the perfect gift for the camera geek!

This device is 2 inches wide ans 1.23 inches tall. The “lens” detaches from the “body” which makes it unique from all other similar products already available in the market. Grab yours or your gifts from photojojo.com. For $20 + shipping (free shipping for $50+ purchases), enjoy 4GB space of this cute and useful gadget.

Just recently, a local celebrity launched her brand new website. Her old one already had a lot of followers but it being in a limited platform, she wanted more flexibility in design and capacity to entertain advertisers. These days it really has to with branding and search engine optimization. It matters that there are available solutions to website owners to market their content to say that their campaign really works.

This local celebrity, I heard hired a professional to manage her online presence. It could mean tons of dollars on her part, too. However, there are available tools that are cheaper or even free. Have you heard of Zugo? It is an online company created in 2008 to provide solutions for online presence and global reach. Sounds too technical? Well, there is no point dwelling on the technicalities anyway because the tools available can easily be installed and before you know it, these stuff already work for you. Being partners with search engines like Bing, Yahoo and Ask, customized solutions to businesses or even just individuals are easily provided. And if you feel it is not working for you then uninstalling the products is easy too. Best of all, these Zugo tools have no malwares or spywares that are proven to hurt your system.

How would a first-time parent know when her child is ready for schooling? Are there clear cut rules on when to send them out the world? In my case, a lot of people are saying that I am pushing my DD too much when it comes to learning new stuff. We may not have enrolled her this school year but I believe she is ready. See, she is fairly interested in a lot of things. She is just 28 months and yet she points and asks “What’s this?” or “What’s that?” And she easily remembers the things she learn each day. I also admit that I have scouted pre-schools around, even searched the internet for schools like Pre Schools Stepaside.

But then again, the indicators may be different among children. I stumbled upon this list of signs your toddler is ready for school:

• Is your toddler fairly independent? Can she take care of herself when it comes to basic things like washing hands and going to the potty?
• Has she spent considerable time away from you? Separation anxiety is apparent among toddlers, and it is important that she is trained to be away from you for a few hours each day.
• In school, they will be asked to do crafts on their own. Will she be able to handle that?
• There is circle time in school, will she be able to participate in group activities?
• Does she have a routine at home and is she used to following a schedule?
• Does she have the energy to last her the entire school time? Stamina is important.
• The most important of all is, the reason you want him to start with school.

Remember that these are just guidelines. Your toddler may exhibit all, or just few, or none of the indicators. The final decision always rest upon you as the parent.

Is your investment portfolio working for you? This is a question I myself cannot answer at the moment. I have to admit that we have not created the most suitable investment portfolio for us. Believe me when I say that we do plan to start investing in something lucrative but somehow we keep on postponing stuff. Anyway, our friends know of our plans and we are getting the same suggestions 2 out 3 times – that is to invest in gold.

Gold or gold bullion has been the investment of choice for years now. It’s value appreciates through time, especially now that the supply has started to dwindle. In fact because of this dwindling supply, I read somewhere that the price when you buy gold bullion has doubled in the last four years. No wonder a lot of buyers were pretty much attracted to it.

I understand that just like everything else, it takes time to learn the ropes, especially when there is money and future involved. DH and I are conservative like that. And we want to make sure that we are simply not collecting but also getting our money’s worth. And since we are after hard assets, a financial expert firmly suggested that we buy bullion instead of commemorative or collecting coins, the latter being less liquid than bullion.