3 Tips to Becoming a Successful Step Parent

Being a step parent can be more difficult than being a biological parent. When you are a child's biological parent, there is no doubt the level of authority you have over your child. You know it, and your child knows it. But a step parent's role is often more of a gray area. There is a delicate balance between authority and friendship that will ultimately be different in every home, but if you keep these step parenting tips in mind, the road to your new parent-child relationship will be a lot smoother.

1. You are a friend, not a parent. You have heard the saying time and time again from biological parents: "I'm your parent, not your friend." For biological parents, this is fine. However, unless you become a child's stepparent when he/she is very young, this mentality will only be met with hostility and rebellion. This goes double for teenagers. If you try to become the "new dad" or "new mom," a teenager will go out of his/her way to show you how very NOT a real parent you are. Unless you want to enter a power struggle, it's best to start out as friends first.

2. Offer small gifts of friendship. Yes, these should be tangible at first, but do not get carried away; your stepchild will see right through you. This does not mean you must buy your step daughter a pony if she wants one. Think "small but meaningful." Is your stepchild stressed out about an upcoming test? Give him your lucky rabbit's foot from when you were a kid, or take your teenage daughter to Starbucks to celebrate when the test is over.

3. Be available, but not overbearing. This is probably the most important tip, but it can be hard to find the delicate balance between building a relationship with your stepchild and crowding him/her. Ask how her day was, but accept "fine" as a response. Again, this is especially important with teenagers. At this age, kids are much more interested in talking to friends than parents, and you should not take it personally. Show an interest, and then give your stepchild space to open up to you when he/she is ready. Ask your stepchild to tell you about the concert or slumber party last week. Offer to teach your stepchild something: sports, cooking, homework help, etc. If he doesn't accept your help right away, that's ok. Let him know that the offer still stands whenever he changes his mind. He will come around eventually, and he will appreciate that you gave him his space.

Follow these tips in your daily interactions with your stepchildren, and they will likely respect you and begin opening up to you soon. If you force yourself into your stepchild's life and try to take over as the "new dad" or "new mom," you will have the double duty of first repairing the relationship, then building a positive one.

Collecting Antique Dolls - A Beginner's Guide

Antique dolls are officially classed as those that were created before 1930. There are a huge range of vintage dolls available to collectors, created from bisque, china, papier mache, wood and wax. Some collectors prefer to focus on just one type of material whereas others like to collect dolls from a particular period of time or just collect them all!

For collectors just starting out, or on a budget, specimens in poorer condition can be a great way to start your collection and restoring them can be rewarding. Antique dolls that come with their original clothes are rare and can reach high prices. Unclothed dolls will be cheaper and if you're handy with a sewing machine you can easily make new clothes that are sympathetic to the original time period. Restoring vintage dolls is a hobby in itself and replacing body parts or purchasing original clothing can be expensive.

If you're buying dolls as a collectible item for their value, try to find examples in good condition without surface cracks and imperfections and with their original clothes if possible. Less rare dolls can be found in good condition for a reasonable price.

Antique dolls can be bought from specialty doll dealers, auctions and on the internet. eBay is a very common way to buy dolls and antiques of all kinds these days, however be sure to buy from a reputable seller and be aware that imperfections can easily be disguised in photos and are not always described fully by less-reputable sellers.

A great way to display your collection is placed in a doll's pram. Antique prams for dolls are also available for sale and are a great collector's item in their own right.

Your Family Tree - What to Do When You Hit an Ancestor Brick Wall

You will definitely hit one - that brick wall in an ancestor line. We all do, and they are sometimes extremely frustrating. For the beginner in genealogy searches, it can be very disheartening to be stopped at the greatgrandparent level and not be able to get further. Here are several tips to help you have more success and find your way around that brick wall.

Hopefully you have your pedigree chart in front of you - remember this is your guide in your research. Go to the LAST person BEFORE this brick wall ancestor, and taking a piece of paper, start to write out everything you know about this person, all life events, residences, experiences, military, religious affiliation, everything you can possibly find.

On another paper, write out the details of any brothers and sisters of this last person as well, with their life events and residences, as well. Siblings have information on their documents about their parents, and one of them may have the detail(s) you need to fill in your brick wall ancestor.

Keep those papers in front of you and start to speculate about your unknown or poorly-detailed brick wall ancestor. You are going to ask yourself as many questions as you possibly can about this person.

Can you see if children were born in different places? Were some in England, others in Upper Canada? When did that possible immigration take place? What's your best guess? If the eldest child seems to have been born in 1849, perhaps they got married from 1845-1849. Can you find any records about that marriage? Did a widowed ancestor live with a married child? When that widowed ancestor died, the adult child likely filled out their death registration, and MAY have heard details of their parents and/or birth place. Check it out. Did your ancestor own land? - can you find the land records? Did they make a will? Were they members of the local church? How can you find out what records that church may have? What information might organizations or societies of the times have about your missing ancestor? Is there a city/town directory?

Women tend to have few documents or records about them as individuals aside from the basics of birth, marriage, death. They may have been baptised - check those records if they are available. Burials, cemetery listings, and obituaries may have further information to check out. But remember, that as wives, they may also be mentioned in church records, histories of early settlements, pension applications, on land records and more. You are looking for any clue that will help you find a more detailed record.

Always remember to check with any first or second cousins and other extended family members. One cousin may have a story about his father's greatgrandfather which will help you. A grand-uncle may have his grandmother's diary and letters to the old country, to a relative. You may find wonderful treasure if you just ask.

Go back to the siblings of the last person before your brick wall ancestor. Now start looking for any life event documents where the name of the common parent may be on it. Marriage and death documents may list parents' names, including maiden names of mothers (a gold mine!), as well as parents' place of birth. The place of birth may only be a country, or may be a specific place or village. By going back down your chart one step to the last person known, then sideways to siblings, then back up through siblings' documents looking for your ancestor, you may finally be able to find the missing names or information. Roll up your sleeves, and start digging for any clues you can find. Remember to take note of names and naming patterns, as that may also help you speculate about your missing ancestor's possible name.

It is very rewarding to finally find the missing information on your ancestor and break through that brick wall! It may take tedious digging as you go through page after page, document after document, but the reward - priceless! Celebrate your wins!

Enjoy your searches for your ancestors, and remember to ask others for help. By joining your local genealogical society, you will find others who will be pleased to point you in another direction, or make suggestions which may help you search more effectively.

5 Tips For Winning at UNO

UNO is a great card game that involves using a specialized deck. There are some great ways to increase your chances of winning at it.

1. Save Your Draw Cards.

A lot of people like to put draw cards down early, and why wouldn't they it makes them appear to be in control, but once they use it, it is over. Now the two reasons I like to save draw 2 cards are.

a. When someone else uses a draw 2 card on you, you can put a draw 2 card on top of that and make the next person draw 4 instead of having to draw 2 cards.

b. When someone has UNO you want to have some draw cards to stop them from winning the game.

2. Save Wild Cards

The same thing goes for wild cards, don't use them unless you actually need to. Remember you can always put down a wild card, but you might not have another chance to put down your blue 4.

3. Make others with UNO draw

Even though it is a really good thing to save your draw cards for later you don't want others to win the game. When someone is about to win stop them by making them draw 2 cards or something.

4. Watch Other Players

If the color is blue and you have 2 blues 2 reds and a wild, but someone else keeps trying to change it to blue it is OK to use your wild and change it to red and play your red cards because that person will probably try to change it back to blue.

5. Be Creative and plan ahead

Be creative when planning. If someone two turns after you is on UNO and you know the person directly after you has a draw 2 try to put down a draw two yourself. That would make the next person put down their draw two and force the person with UNO to draw 4.