Clematis are beautiful climbing vines, but if you don't take care of them correctly they can either take over or dwindle into nothing.

Check your plant and see when it blooms. This is very important for care. Start a notebook with a map of your yard and where each plant is to keep it straight.

Right after you plant a new Clematis and for the first year, keep the plant trimmed to no more than 24 inches. This will help develop a great base and excellent framework of branches.

Your Clematis is blooming on last years growth if it blooms before June. These vines need to be trimmed just after they bloom. If you trim in the late summer or fall you will not have as many blooms.

Summer and Fall varieties can be trimmed in the spring. You can be more aggressive with these varieties and prune them down to 10"-12" from the ground.

There is a third kind that blooms with both old and new growth, so these should be trimmed with a light hand.

If you are not sure which kind you have, take a bloom into your local nursery and they can help you with the care.

If you have problems with a smelly trash can, try dropping a section of newspaper in the bottom. The newspaper is great for absorbing odor, and if anything spills the newspaper will soak it up. When the trash can is emptied, make sure all of the paper is discarded and place a new section in the bottom.

I was taking a bath the other day and noticed that once again there was a ring around the tub. When I got out of the tub I went to grab my cleaner and found that I had run out, but knew that I would forget to clean it later if I didn't do it now. I grabbed my cleaning rag and put a small amount of my hair shampoo onto it and started wiping. The ring came right off with no effort and my tub was sparkling clean in no time.

The kids were outside playing in the sandbox, they now want to come in the house but they are sweaty and sandy.

The easiest way to quickly clean them off is to leave a bottle of baby powder by the door that they use most often.

Now when they want to come in the house, sprinkle the baby powder all over their skin.

The talc will dry off any sweat or water and the sand will brush easily off their skin.

Don’t forget to shake of any clothes to remove any stray sand from cuffs and seams.

If you have kids that are picky eaters it is always hard trying to get them to eat new things.

In fact sometimes even old things! Here is a handy little tip that just might help out with this problem.

The next time that you make a meal, try finding some decorative toothpicks or party picks that are shaped like animals, swords, or even just colored toothpicks.

Cut up all of the food on their plate and serve with a variety of picks.

They will have so much fun deciding which pick to use that they will eat their dinner in no time!

If it is a rainy day outside and you are looking for some fun to have with the kids. You have tried all of the games and everyone is bored! What do you do?

Set up a shadow dance.

Turn off all of the lights in a room, except one lamp across the room from a large wall.

Now turn on some music and let the kids dance and watch their shadows on the wall.

They can ever have inspirations by holding up different objects as they dance to watch the shadows on the wall.