eSpecially Ben

In September, a family counselor, after hearing our stories of stress and feelings of being overwhelmed with life, declared that we should cancel hosting Thanksgiving at our home. I looked at her dumbfounded. Un-inviting family members and changing the plan seemed like crazy talk, but it also seemed ingenious. Rather quickly, Ryan and I agreed with her proposal. I called family members and told them the situation. The relief I felt was incredible. The counselor's permission to change the plan and essentially say "No" to hosting Thanksgiving got me thinking about commitments and stress, and it lead me to declaring 2015, The Year of the No . In fact, I have used the last of 2014 to practice. The following issues have helped guide me in making my decision to say yes or no : Making the Choice Please do not read this and think I am suggesting you say no to anything that comes your way. I am saying to think about options before blurting out yes . Ask yourself: Why am I

For two years, we have steered clear of jolly Old St. Nick. After  the incident at the Shriner's Christmas Party  in 2012, we did not want to risk our standing with the big guy at the North Pole. It seems, however, that Santa has let bygones be bygones. We visited Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens and Santa was there visiting. I knew Sean, our six year old would agree to a visit, that Logan would say no, but was completely surprised when Ben went nuts with excitement when he saw Santa. With trepidation, we approached Santa with Ben. Ben savored every moment with this gentle and kind Santa. It was not crowded, and there was no pressure to rush the experience. When we were not sure if Ben was going to cuddle with Santa or pull off his hat, we said our goodbyes. (Well, not until I sat on Santa's lap and took a photo. How many other chances will I have to do that?)

Logan awoke this morning with investing on the brain. He wanted to buy Apple stock, or perhaps Microsoft. He was unsure. This conversation, of course, was at 7:30am, in the midst of getting three kids ready for school. Not wanting to discourage a potential investor, I sent him to research investing for kids on  About.com . Logan looked up investing vocabulary and found this site,  Investopedia . He started a notebook and wrote down important things he learned. He also saw his first "con": a site was asking for personal information and said that everyone was doing it. The counter on the site increased quickly, making Logan think he was missing out on something. A lesson or two later, and he was wiser about how giving information on the wrong sites could be used. Logan's list for Santa this year may include stocks and mutual funds. Not the way I thought Christmas would go this year, but I can roll with whatever the market bears. *If you get the Alex P. Keaton refer