Marriage & Family

For some, better a trailer home than no home

By Brad Talbutt • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/12/2009

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - It wasn't supposed to work out this way for Dave MacNeill. Three years ago, he was pulling down six figures as a magazine editor in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif. Today he's not even scraping by in Boise. MacNeill and his family will lose their rental home at the ...

Mandolin proves to be more than just a family heirloom

By Bill Graham • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/12/2009

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - For years, an old mandolin that was passed down as a family heirloom held a secret from two sisters. Jody Kennedy had used the aged, wooden instrument as a sentimental fireplace decoration in her Olathe, Kan., home until sister Phyllis Shanline of Manhattan, Kan., ...

They'll have their hearts in it

By Rebecca Young • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/11/2009

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - While Valentine's Day causes angst for many grown-ups, it makes the top-five holiday list for most kids. There's a lot of fun to be had: decorating a mailbox for school, delivering Valentines to classmates, checking out the cards and treats in your own mailbox. Plus, ...

Before saying �I do,' make couples counseling a to-do

By Louis R. Carlozo • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/11/2009

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - It's almost wedding time, and you've attacked that list of to-dos with true go-getter gumption. Centerpieces? Check. Photographer? Check. Caterer? Check. But one more matter calls for serious consideration: premarital counseling. Premarital huh? "People take up to 12 ...

Don't worry, kids, Stanford will teach Mom, Dad about Facebook

By Lisa M. Krieger • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/11/2009

San Jose Mercury News (MCT) - Status Update: Mom and Dad want to join Facebook. And, like much else about Silicon Valley parenting, they're enlisting experts to learn how. A new "Facebook for Parents" course, taught at Stanford University, starts this month and is already full. The four-part ...

A gift to the living: An advance directive ensures final wishes are carried out

By Robyn Shelton • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/6/2009

The Orlando Sentinel (MCT) - You would have liked my Uncle Eddie. After he died last month, I heard it over and over again: Eddie didn't have an enemy in the world. He was loving, fun and utterly devoted to his family. My heart was aching as I stood by his hospital bed in early January. Uncle ...

More find second jobs, start offbeat businesses to pay the bills

By Diana Lambert • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/6/2009

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Linda Callaway is a part-time pet detective. Lisa Roby offers Teddy bear stuffing parties to children. Michelle Angell sells used household items on eBay. And Shaun Leeper commutes 70 miles three days a week to a second part-time job. They are among a growing number of ...

Modern board games emphasize cooperation over crushing opponents

By Tim Blangger • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/6/2009

The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) (MCT) - Quietly, stealthily, board games have undergone subtle and significant changes. The games many baby boomers grew up on, the megalomaniac bankruptcy of Monopoly and the world domination of Risk, are still around _ popular as ever with new generations. But a ...

Moms on board: A growing throng of women are riding the slopes with their kids

By Jeff Seidel • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/5/2009

Detroit Free Press (MCT) - Jessica Belbot sat in the lounge at Mount Holly Ski Resort, trying to get warm by a fire. She sent a text message to her sons, who were out snowboarding: Where are you? No reply. Typical teens. "Do you want to go back out?" Belbot, 35, of Fenton, Mich., asked her ...

Layoffs mean more than lost wages for visa holders

By Pete Carey • McClatchy Newspapers • 2/3/2009

SAN JOSE, Calif. (MCT) - For the two out-of-work engineers, it's a race against time. They've lost their Silicon Valley jobs and need to quickly find others at a time when companies everywhere are tightening their belts. Both are Indians whose advanced degrees were earned at American universities. ...