SANDWICH GENERATION:

Sound Mind Investing has been one of my favorite financial sites since I discovered their book, Sound Mind Investing Handbook . They have a great article for those of us in the Sandwich Generation to share with our parents and work on together, Parents, Organize Your Financial Life — It’s the Loving Thing To Do

Complementing this article is another excellent one for the Sandwich Generation , Achieving Family Harmony in Estate Planning , Part 1:Leave Yr Estate in the Right Hands , by Free Money Finance.

Encouragement – The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Are you making plans for summer travel? Here’s something interesting to think about. The Statue of Liberty is scheduled to reopen on July 4.

Encouragement – Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.

POSTAGE INCREASE : Stamps go up to 44 cents today , Monday, May 11, 2009. “On May 11 the price for a 1-ounce First-Class Mail stamp will increase from 42¢ to 44¢. Prices for other mailing services — Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services (including Parcel Post), and Extra Services — will also change…prices for most shipping services, including Express Mail and Priority Mail, were adjusted in January and will not change in May.” 

May is a good time to buy appliances as prices are cut for both Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. So if you or your aging parents have worn out any of your appliances, this is the month to watch for sales!

CAREGIVERS:

Caregiving is not just a blessing for the recipient, it is actually very beneficial to us as caregivers as well. Dale Carter found a fascinating article at MomLogic, Caring for Elderly Leads to Longer Life , which describes what researchers at the University of Michigan discovered. Denise Brown conducts an interview with Stephanie Brown, one of the researchers of this study at the University of Michigan. These two resources are interesting, encouraging and eye-opening!

Privacy Concerns for Patients & Their Caregivers: Hackers breach UC Berkeley computer database. Read about medical records that may have been compromised.

Early treatment for stroke is absolutely essential – Stroke & the Golden Hour

100 Million Adults Touched by Alzheimer’s ! per Alzheimer’s Reading Room . Wow!

A useful flu tracker for swine flu . Give it a minute or two to load.

Do you have Lysol in the house ? I do, after reading the article, Lysol Kills Swine Flu Virus .The article also includes links for coupons.

GRANDPARENTS

I had to chuckle at TwinHappyJen’s comment – “ I just still feel like I’m getting hit by a couple of twinadoes every day .” As a grandma of two adorable twins, I know just how she feels and it is so much fun!    Speaking of Twins and TwinHappy, I just wanted to remind you they are sponsoring the TwinHappy carnival . If you scroll down their carnival page, you’ll find a rubber ducky with my name, Kaye, on it linking right back here to last week’s article, Grand Summer Fun for Grandma and Grandkids .

An adorably elfish and fun site for grandparents and grandkids can be found at Aunt Linda’s blog .

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin. That is so true. There are plenty of ways grandparents can invest in their grandkids’ knowledge . Helping with homeschooling resources is one of them. Here are some Homeschool Teacher Helps : Writing Links, Graphic Organizers, Learning Styles, Timelines, and more that you might want to share with your homeschooling kids and grandkids.

Swine Flu Updates for Caregivers:

It’s going to be very important for caregivers to monitor the Swine Flu situation. WHO (World Health Organization) raised the pandemic flu alert level to 4 .

Grandkids and Grandparents:

For all those who are helping with homeschooled grandkids, you’ll find this quite interesting – 10 Homeschooled Celebrities .

Here’s a great list of car contests . Wouldn’t it be fun to enter them together with an older grandkid ? Bet they’d think you were the best grandparent in the world!

If your grandkids are more into dollhouses, there’s a fun project for them as well at Grandma Wren’s .

Eldercare:

Five Tips for Preparing a Traditional Eulogy . Good advice from @cemeteryspot. In addition to his great ideas, I like to share their favorite Bible verses, hymns, etc.

What it means When Someone With Dementia Says “I Want to Go Home ” Thank you to @caring4seniors.

Caregiving.com has several podcasts of interest to caregivers including “Cooking with Mom “–tips on how to make cooking a caregiving activity to enjoy.

Pesticide exposure Found To Increase Risk Of Parkinson’s Disease .

Are you interested in HBO’s, “The Alzheimer’s Project ” but don’t get HBO? Alzheimer’s Reading Room has a great solution for you – a free copy of “The Alzheimer’s Project. ”

Alzheimer’s Disease – This article, with facts and figures about this disease, includes the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease . Thanks to @ alzheimers98 .

Encouragement:

The Lord God is my strength.

General Interest:

How many of you enjoyed the movie, The Sound of Music ? Here’s an interesting interview with one of the real Von Trapp kids, Maria von Trapp, talking about her new book, My Favorite Songs . Thanks to @ ActiveGeezering :

Bible Money Matters has an excellent article on what types of insurance we should have.

If you or an aging parent need help buying a new toilet, Terry Love’s Consumer Toilet Reports is the BEST site I’ve ever seen on that subject. I’ve used his site as a resource several times. He has reviews, recommendations, and a great forum with even more information and help

AARP – As a member of the Sandwich Generation and a Baby Boomer I qualified for AARP a couple of years or so ago. I wasn’t thrilled to know I was old enough for it, until I discovered that my optometrist gives a generous discount for AARP members AND Borders gives a great discount off all books to AARP members. Now I’m thrilled I qualify! 

Finally, as a special gift to all my fellow Sandwich Generation caregivers , I am ending this post with a big smile. Take a look at these photos. They were taken for a special event,  Extreme Grooming of Poodles – The dogs have been groomed into camels, Clydesdales, and more! That’s what you call a different kind of caregiving!