Recycling unwanted clothing reduces the amount of waste in landfills and the amount of waste produced by the manufacturing process. Used clothing can be donated, sold or disassembled for the fabric. Shopping thrifty can be fun and exciting. Consider these 23 Must Know Tips for Thrift Store Shopping before you visit your local thrift shop.

Junkyard Extravaganza! Commemorate the opening of The Junkyard on Saturday, February 18 with music, dancing, face painting, and special activities. Join us from 10am – 4pm for fun-filled performances by family rock favorite, EGG, and a live DJ all day. Free to members and with general admission.

The Junkyard. Cars are the one of most recycled materials in the nation, and many artists have found creative ways to repurpose auto parts. In that tradition, the outdoor Art Studio has been transformed into a junkyard filled with discarded tires, parts, and even a worn out car — ready for you to paint. Grab a brush or roller and help us add some color!

Make your mark on this one-of-a-kind canvas! Enter to win at the Welcome Desk. The winner will receive a special painting jumpsuit and be featured on our website!

Live sustainable and have fun doing it! There are so many crafty ways you can repurpose used plastic bottles. Share your ideas with us.

Every once in awhile I look at my husband and think about how we live in the same house, sleep in the same bed, sit beside each other to watch “West Wing” and marvel at the distance between us.

That’s a scary moment in a marriage. Realizing that days have passed where we are together but not really “with” each other.

That was 2003. Randy and I had been married 22 years.

I know why it happens. Jobs, caring for a home, groceries, yard work, pets. And for us, kids. I have friends, with and without kids, who complain of the same lack of couple time. And we all can recite the experts’ advice: Carve out that time to be together. Your relationship depends on it.

“The process begins when you have a couple spending time with one another,” Solana Beach marriage and family therapist Steven Meineke told me back in 1999.

“Maybe they spend some time, too, on their own individual interests. Then a child comes along and they cut back on their individual activities, and couple time becomes family time. One person cares for the baby while the other does errands or plays golf or goes shopping with friends. Then they trade off.

“And then the second child comes along and the trade-off stuff doesn’t work,” Meineke said. “Everything gets collapsed into family and the couple stuff doesn’t exist.

“Of all the couples I see for marriage therapy, what would describe the largest group of people who come to me is the couple who have a 3- or 4-year-old and a baby. That’s the stage when couples feel more stress in their relationship than at any other time.”

I can’t remember, in those early years of raising four children, how often we did “date night.” But in 2003, Randy took me away on Valentine’s weekend. We didn’t go far. We stayed in a local hotel, had a quiet dinner, went to Mass and brunch and a movie the next day and spent 90 glorious minutes in a bookstore. It was 31 hours and felt like a week.

“Why don’t we do this more often?” I asked him sometime on Sunday.

He just looked at me, a wordless reminder of all the times he’s suggested we do this more often.

It was worse when the kids were little, finding a baby sitter, pushing down the guilt of leaving the kids in the first place, justifying spending the money. Yet, when we finally drove or flew away, alone, it felt right.

It’s so hard, sometimes, to remember that we were a couple before we were parents. But if we are to remain a couple after the last kid is grown and gone, we have to get back in touch with those two people who fell in love all those years ago.

Drifting apart after the birth of children is natural, Meineke says. But you can do something about it.

“The main antidote,” Meineke told me all those years ago, “is intentional time spent as a couple. Even if it’s only 10 minutes talking about how you’re doing as a couple.”

Read the whole story here and chime in on the subject here.

Here are tips on how to build a better relationship with the person your child spends the better part of the day. Hint: these are things the teacher may be too nice to tell you. Read the full article.

Ruth Peters was a clinical psychologist, parenting expert, author and frequent contributor to the TODAY Show. She passed away, at 60, in August 2010 of ovarian cancer but she will live on in the reams of sound advice she provided for raising children. Her husband, R. Timothy Peters, graciously gave his permission for us to use some of that advice from the archives of her website.

Here are her thoughts on children’s first loves and how to handle them:

Early Grade School Crushes

• May take parents by surprise, but are actually quite normal.
• Generally, at this age, involves a peer rather than a celebrity figure.
• Little girls may be more verbal and expressive (Valentines, “love notes,” phone calls and other verbal communications).
• Boys may show their intentions via actions (running by and tickling, teasing, or playing together on the playground).
• Early socialization promotes crushes: media hype, Disney movies (who gets to have the Prince?)
• Not true or erotic love — but another type of playing “grown up” similar to pretending to be a teacher, coach or actor.
• In the older grade school years, may be an attention-getter or used to fit in with the crowd.

How Should Parents Handle the Crush?

• Don’t try to dissuade your child or to talk her out of her feelings, as long as the “crush” is moderate.  Caring for a peer is nice — this encourages kind and thoughtful feelings and actions.
• Show reasonable interest—“Why do you like Jason so much? Is he nice to you?”
• Allow sensible responses and activities such as the giving of a Valentine or appropriate birthday gift.  Discourage love notes, phone calls or too many play dates to the exclusion of other friends.
• If the crush seems to be getting too intense (your child not playing with other children, obsessing on the friend, or getting feelings hurt when the crush is not reciprocated) have a frank talk.  Focus on how it’s nice to care for another person, but that a sure-fire way to lose a friend is to overwhelm or to smother them.  Also, discuss how it’s rude to overlook the other kids in class or to exclude previous relationships—feelings are hurt and prior friends may not be there when your child is ready to spend more time with them again.

TWEEN CRUSHES

Celebrity Infatuation

• Generally begin about age eleven. What distinguishes a celebrity crush from a true romance is that the relationship is distant and one-sided.
• Both genders are equally infatuated, but girls tend to be more verbal about their “love” interests and to carry these into conversations with family and friends.
• Sexual feelings may or may not be involved.  Many kids choose “unattainable” people to have a crush on (celebrity crushes)—this is safe and socially acceptable. Sex doesn’t even enter the picture when the object of the feelings lives in Hollywood and no longer is even in school!
• Celebrity crushes are a great way of fitting in with peers.  It’s cool to display posters of Billy Gilman or the N’Sync guys, and is a relatively harmless preoccupation.
• Celebrity crushes are a great ice-breaker when meeting new kids—it’s safe and easy to discuss the latest hit song, athletic endeavor, or Britney Spears’ most recent CD cover.
• Movie stars and band members are the most frequent recipients of crushes—just check out their web sites!
• Helps a child to establish own identity—enables tweens to clarify what qualities they like in themselves and others (cute, personable, outgoing, etc.).

Real-Life Crushes

• Not as safe as an “unattainable crush”—a good way to get the first heartbreak!
• Some tweens really do fall head over heels in love, and can continue a relationship throughout middle school and even into the high school years.
• Generally, this type of relationship narrows the child’s interests and involvement with others (sports, clubs and even academics).  Hours spent on the telephone or IM’ing on the Internet with the boy or girlfriend can be better spent with a more balanced approach to “dating”.
• Discuss balance in relationships if your child is getting too involved or obsessed with the crush or infatuation.  You may have to set some limits on telephone or Internet time, or insist that activities and time are spent with a variety of friends.
• Caution your child to not spend too much money on gifts for the other person—it’s expensive, and may not be received well.
• Rule of thumb for tweens and first crushes: Shy away from buying gifts that are to be worn on the body (jewelry, clothing)—it’s very personal and may be viewed by the recipient (or their folks!) as too intimate.  Safer choices are CD’s, books or cool Valentine cards or candy. Feelings are easily hurt if the gift is not received well or even reciprocated.  Guys should keep it simple—a card, flower or small box of candy is usually a safe bet. Girls—too sentimental may come across as smothering—keep the gift simple, cute or perhaps even humorous.

How Should Parents Handle the Tween Crush?

• Don’t ridicule your kid—no matter how unrealistic the crush (whether celebrity or peer). Your child’s feelings are real and should be respected.
• Communication is key. If you make fun of the feelings, your kid may become secretive about this and other relationships.
• Let the child lead the way. Unless the crush becomes obsessive or interferes with other life activities, just enjoy your kid’s involvement and new interest.
• Use the “relationship” as a jumping off spot for communication.  Get to know your child’s interests, friends and how he or she wishes to be perceived by others via the object of the crush. Kids love to talk about their infatuations—have fun with it and respect your child’s feelings.  Remember what your first crush was like and enjoy it the second time around.

OK, kids, we know the rules: No talking back. But we’d like to encourage you to do just that on our site. We don’t mean be rude, but we do want to hear from you, what you’re thinking.

Do you plan to give out Valentine’s Day cards in class? Do you have to be sure and have one for everyone? Would you rather not celebrate the holiday at school? Let us know. This is your forum (if you don’t know what that word means, that’s a good opportunity to go to the dictionary).

Parents, this is where we hope to hear from you. Think of it as a virtual kitchen table and pull up a chair and join the conversation. It’s not easy to find time to “date” your partner. If you do, share how you make it happen.

In the hospital, parents should be encouraged to stay with their child, sit in on physician “rounds,” and accompany the youngster during medical procedures, the statement says. Pediatricians should also offer parents support, respect their preferences about care and communicate openly with children and teenagers about their condition. Read the whole HealthDay story here.