The birth of your baby was one of the most momentous events in your life, and now it’s time to go back to work. You know that choosing the right day care provider is essential to ensuring your child’s well-being, but how do you know what makes a good daycare provider?

The following is a list of 10 things to look for when choosing your daycare provider.

1. Licensing - Choose a provider who is licensed by the state. Every state has set minimum standards for a person or facility to be licensed for childcare. Usually the provider is required to be certified in child CPR and first aid, and will have gone through background checks and facility safety inspections. You want to know your child is safe!
2. Open –door - The provider you choose should have an open-door approach for parents that allows you to come and go and see your child any time you want. While it is understandable that a provider does not want parents visiting during quiet-time, or naptime, be leery of a provider who says you “cannot” visit during some particular time of the day.
3. Adult-child Ratio - Ask what the adult to child ratio is and double check that they are within state guidelines. Usually this depends on the ages of the children in the provider’s care and the amount of space allocated for the children’s use.  You want your child to have ample one-on-one attention and room to grow.
4. Cleanliness - When you visit a daycare, keep an eye out for the cleanliness of the facility. You cannot expect it to be sterile, but you can expect them to have standards for hand washing and toileting/diaper changing.  Ask a home provider if they have pets and how much contact your child will have with them. Don’t be afraid to ask the questions that will help keep your child healthy.
5. Schedule - Ask your prospective daycare provider what a typical day looks like. Do they have a daily schedule that is well rounded? Do they include time for specific lessons and reading? Do the children spend time outside every day, when the weather permits? What kind of exercise do they get if the children cannot go outside? Do they have scheduled quiet time, and yes, even some television time?
6. Toys - While the schedule of activities is important, it is equally important for the daycare to have a wide variety of age-appropriate toys and games, and that they are kept separate.  The infant and toddler area is not the place for preschoolers to play with their Lego’s or Play-dough.
7. Meals and Snacks - Your child will soon be eating table-food, so you want to make sure the daycare provider serves a wide variety of nutritional foods. Kid-friendly foods may be the way to get children to eat, but they may not be the most nutritious. Your provider should have menus available for you to look at. This way you will know that every day there will be something your child likes. Don’t forget to talk to the provider about any food allergies or sensitivities your child may have.
8. Policies - Good daycare providers will have a written policy that covers just about every issue that can come up. From their emergency procedures, and what happens if a child is sick, to their discipline policy and when a parent will be called. You will want to know what will happen in any circumstance as it pertains to your child.
9. Contracts - A contractual agreement for daycare charges is an important component in choosing a provider. With a signed contract, there will be no question as to how much you will pay per hour or per day, what the pay schedule is, or how to handle vacation and sick time.
10. Good Feeling - Finally, after visiting a prospective daycare provider, you should have a general, overall good feeling, about leaving your child in their care. You can reinforce that feeling by talking to references and seeing the other well-cared children.

While no one can take your place in your child’s life, if you follow these suggestions for finding a good daycare provider, you will be sure that your child has the best possible care while you are at work. But start early- good daycare providers fill up fast.

With a concern for personal safety, most people don’t like to answer the door to strangers. It’s also very annoying to get unsolicited sales calls to your home. Many companies have transitioned to different marketing methods, but door-to-door sales haven’t been eliminated completely. Besides sales, there are also a few other companies that will still send someone to ring your doorbell.

1. Vacuum cleaners – There are some high end vacuum cleaners that are still sold door-to-door. Since they are priced much higher than other store models, most people wouldn’t consider buying them, so the company relies on in-home demonstrations of their superior quality to make sales.
2. Cosmetics – Although Avon and other cosmetic companies do use other marketing methods, you may still get a visit from the traditional Avon or Mary Kay lady in your neighborhood.
3. Insurance – Most insurance companies have agents that have an office location to conduct business, but there are still some who rely on the traveling salesperson. Don’t be surprised to find someone at your door selling supplemental health or life insurance.
4. Deliveries – Companies like UPS and Fedex that deliver packages will be ringing your bell. Even your mailperson will come to your door if they have something too big to fit in your mailbox or postal slot.
5. Meter readers – If you have utilities that require a meter reading, it’s likely you’ll have someone show up to check your meter. Even if they have an automated system, they will send someone out periodically to make sure your meter is accurate.
6. Girl Scouts – Someone most people look forward to seeing at their door is Girl Scouts selling cookies. Even if you never buy cookies any other time, who can resist getting at least one box of delicious Girl Scout cookies?
7. Fundraisers – There are several other companies that get students or club members to sell fruit, candy, magazines or other items to their friends and neighbors for fundraisers. It might be the school band trying to raise money for new uniforms or students planning a class trip.
8. Fresh produce – Some areas have local farmers that will deliver fresh produce right to your door. This is great for people who love fresh fruits and vegetables, but can’t raise them themselves.
9. Dry cleaning – For people who have a tough time getting to the dry cleaners, there are companies who will pick up and deliver your cleaning. This is also great for people who need clothes dry cleaned on a regular basis.
10. Diaper service – Disposable diapers are convenient, but they have become a huge environmental issue. This has prompted a revival of the cloth diaper for environmentally conscious parents. A diaper service will pick up the soiled diapers and deliver fresh, clean diapers to your home.

Nobody likes a pushy door-to-door salesperson interrupting them at home, but they’re still out there. Some companies continue to find this form of marketing effective. There are also many other companies who will send someone out to ring your doorbell when you least expect it. It’s a good idea to make sure you know who your regular delivery people or meter readers are and when you can expect them to call. Make appointments with salespeople you want to deal with to avoid unsolicited calls and never open the door to any suspicious stranger.

There are so many different churches out there.  So many that everyone should be able to find one that they are completely comfortable in.  Many factors influence whether you are comfortable at a church or not.  How you were raised, what your beliefs are, just to name a couple.  When you join a church you feel like you’ve come home, but then something changes and your initial feeling of comfort has changed.  Check out 10 reasons I would leave one church and find another.

1. Pastor/priest: If you fell in love with a church because you liked the way the minister preached then it stands to reason that if that person left you may feel like you want to move on until you find another church where you feel that comfort again.
2. Politics: I know we are not talking about politics, but nonetheless it exists in every aspect of our lives.  There will always be people that think they know more or should have a bigger say in how things are run in a church.  If you have those people, which I believe every church does, then you may or may not like the direction that they are pushing the church.
3. Relocating: If you are relocating, your church may be too far away from your new home and you may need to find a new church home.  The process is often long and difficult, but it can be done with perseverance.
4. Church splitting: Sometimes churches decide that half the members believe one way and the other half believe something entirely different and no common ground can be attained.  Kind of like a divorce, the church will split and members will go their separate ways.  If you were not in favor of the split you may choose to leave the church entirely and find another one that isn’t in such turmoil.
5. Church building: If your church has been meeting at a location near you for years and now they have bought land to build a new building, but it’s going to be quite a drive to reach the new location you find it necessary to find a new church.
6. Kids: Having your kids grow up in a church that meets their needs is very important to their spiritual growth.  If your kids don’t enjoy the Sunday school or the other kids are mean to them then that might be a cause for you to find a church where your kids are happy.
7. Money: Churches need money to operate their day-to-day business, but sometimes churches want to grow too fast and are constantly asking for money.  If you don’t have a lot of disposable income it gets very awkward to go to church and that may lead you to find a new church that maybe isn’t expanding so fast.
8. Size: Size does matter to most people when it comes to churches.  What did you think I meant?  If a congregation grows too large it may change the dynamics of the church.  If you are more interested in a small intimate church where you know everyone and everyone knows you then you may not like it when the church doubles or triples in size.
9. Change in style: Some churches start out with a traditional service where you sing out of a hymnal and the pastor is a man.  There’s a choir and an organ.  There may also be a piano for the occasional solo.  If the church changes directions and changes to a more contemporary service and hires a praise band this may be a big reason to find a new church that better fits what you are looking for.
10. Death: If there’s a death of your significant other or someone in the church it may become too painful to continue going to the same old church.  Every time you go there you are reminding of that person.  You feel in order to move on with your life you must change churches.

There have been books, movies and TV shows all about people who get stranded on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere and what they do to survive. Besides finding food, one of the first things you need to do is build some sort of shelter. Without it, you’d be at the mercy of the elements and less likely to survive. What you use for materials depends on what’s available. Here are ten options you could consider using if you needed to make a home on a deserted island.

1. Trees – Since it’s usually what most people’s homes are made of anyway, my first thought would be to use trees. Most islands would have some kind of trees growing there. It all depends on how you can manage to cut them down and hold them together. Early settlers made log homes, but you have to have the tools and the know-how to do it. Young saplings or branches may be easier to work with than large trees.
2. Fronds – If you don’t have the tools to deal with whole trees, you could build a shelter with palm fronds. These should be in abundance on a tropical island. You just need to figure out how to lash them together.
3. Bamboo – If there’s bamboo growing on your deserted island that may be the ideal material to use for a sturdy hut. It’s light and grows very fast so it would be a renewable resource for home repairs, furnishings and many other uses.
4. Rocks – You might be able to build a more sturdy shelter if you use rocks. By carefully selecting the right sizes and shapes, rocks can be fit together to form durable walls for your home. It may be time consuming, but what else do you have to do? Rocks would be the best material to stand up to the harsh elements.
5. Sod – If your particular island has a layer of heavy topsoil, you could build your home out of sod. Western pioneers lived out on the prairies where trees were in short supply. They cut chunks of sod to build a shelter called a “soddy”.
6. Bricks – You’re not likely to find a bunch of bricks lying around on a deserted island, but you can make them if you have the right materials. Ancient civilizations made bricks from mud and dried them in the sun. Other materials used to make bricks are clay, manure and straw for binder.
7. Mud – If you don’t have a way of making individual bricks, you could try forming your house out of heavy mud or clay. Many indigenous tribes from around the globe have lived in mud huts.
8. Grass – In the story of the 3 little pigs, the first little pig made his house out of straw. Although it would be pretty flimsy, grass may be all you have to work with. I’m sure you’ve heard of people living in grass huts, so it must be possible.
9. Debris – You may want to scavenge the beaches of your deserted island for any debris that has washed up on shore. There may be many items you can use to build a shelter or things you can use as tools.
10. Cave – Another possibility would be to find a cave on the island. This would be the least labor intensive and best protection from the elements. However, you want to make sure the cave isn’t already being inhabited by other creatures first.

It’s most likely that you would use more than one material to make your deserted island home. You could use rocks or logs for the walls and grass or fronds for the roof. You could also use mud to fill in between the cracks in the rocks or logs. The idea is to make the best use of the materials you have on hand. By using your imagination and ingenuity, you should be able to construct some kind of shelter. Hopefully it will last long enough for you to be rescued.

Ah, the good old summer time! We all want to get outdoors to enjoy the warm weather and sunshine as much as we can. The problem is there are all kinds of other critters who like the summer months too and they can make it much less enjoyable for us. Here are 10 annoying pests who are more likely to be a bother in the summertime.

1. Mosquitoes – These annoying insects can really ruin anything from a backyard barbeque to a camping trip. Mosquitoes are usually the worst at night, but can hang around all day long. They hum in your ears, they bite and they can make your outdoor activities miserable. Besides that, they carry diseases like West Nile virus for humans and heartworm for pets.
2. Flies – The common house fly is annoying enough; crawling on your food, buzzing around and just plain being a nuisance, but the ones that bite like deer and horse flies are really the worst. There are also small black ones I call ankle-biters that always hang around your feet. Fly bites really hurt and can cause big, itchy welts.
3. Wood Ticks – Another summer pest is the wood tick. There are several different kinds, but they all like to crawl on you and bite you in embarrassing places. Deer ticks also carry several kinds of diseases that can be transmitted to dogs and humans if they bite you long enough. Just finding one makes you feel creepy-crawly all over.
4. Ants – Nothing ruins a picnic like a bunch of ants. There can be battalions of their armies wrecking havoc in your back yard and getting in your house if they get a chance. They’re not only annoying they are also easily annoyed and like to bite. Fire ants are the worst and they can cause serious injury to people with allergies and small children.
5. Bees – All insect bites are annoying and most can be itchy and painful, but nothing compares to a bee sting. Ouch! That really hurts and can be life threatening to people with allergic reactions. Bees would be unwelcome guests at any summer outing.
6. Snakes – Whether they’re poisonous or not, most people don’t like snakes of any kind and some have crazy irrational fears. Snakes are cold-blooded reptiles that need the summer warmth to survive and can really ruin a pleasant summer hike in a hurry.
7. Seagulls – A trip to the beach can be wrecked in a hurry by an annoying flock of seagulls. If they find food they won’t leave you alone and they aren’t particular where they take a dump. Never feed a seagull because they can’t keep a secret and soon every gull on the beach is after your lunch.
8. Skunks – These stinky critters hibernate in the winter and can be found littering the roadways on the first warm days of the year. They dig holes in your lawn looking for grubs and won’t hesitate to spray you or your pets at the least provocation. They’re also are the most likely critter to be carrying rabies.
9. Raccoons – Another winter hibernator, raccoons can be huge pests in the summer. They will get into your garbage looking for food and make a huge mess. They are also quite clever and if they find a way into your house can be very destructive and vicious.
10. Bears – These huge animals are also scavengers that hibernate in the winter. They roam around all summer ravenously looking for their next meal destroying garbage cans, bird feeders, and anything else they think may contain food. Gravitating to areas where they know they’re protected, they can be a real nuisance and pretty scary too.

With all these annoying creatures lurking around, it’s a wonder we ever survive our summers. I didn’t even mention all the rodents like squirrels, chipmunks and mice that are much more active during the summer months chewing on things and making nests in inconvenient places. I guess we all have learned to deal with these pests so we can enjoy our summer months the best we can. Now where did I put that insect repellant?