Surviving Flying with Your Children over the Holidays

Posted by admin on November 27, 2008  |  No Comments

The old song goes, “Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go.”  These days it’s not a horse and sleigh that gets us there but an airplane.  You have to admit, if you’re flying with your children over the holidays, you’ll be much warmer in the airplane than on a sleigh.  You’ll also get there quicker.

Despite the long waits at the airport to get through luggage checks, Americans choose to fly when they have to travel long distances during the holidays.  This may be partially due to the fact they may not have much time, but often travelers like the convenience of not having to drive to get somewhere.

Flying with your children over the holidays may be a new experience for you.  If it is, be prepared for long lines, unfriendly people, and possible delays.  Here are some ideas that may help make the trip more enjoyable for everyone in the family.

• Make your reservations way ahead of time if you can.  This will help you get the cheaper fares.  Remember to tell them if any of your children are under two and will be in a car seat during the ride.  In most cases they will give you a discounted fare for children under two.  Be sure to pay for the seat for the young child rather than holding them in your lap to get a free ticket for them.  They’ll be much safer strapped into a car seat on the plane than in your lap.

• Pack as light as you can but include some of everyone’s clothes in each suitcase.  This way if one of the bags is lost during your travels, everyone will have some clothes to wear, at least for a few days.

• Take along books or games for your children to enjoy while you’re waiting for the flight and during the flight.  Try to do your best to keep them occupied so they don’t bother other passengers.  You may also want to bring along some sugarless snacks your child can eat if they begin feeling hungry.

• Don’t let what others think keep you from flying with your children over the holidays.  Do your best to keep your children happy and quiet during the trip, but don’t worry too much if they aren’t.  It’s unlikely you’ll ever see the other passengers again, so don’t stress out too much about noise.

• Try to use smaller, regional airports instead of the larger, international airports.  The number of people flying out of the smaller airports is greatly reduced.  Because there are fewer people, the people who work for the airlines will be less stressed and friendlier, as well.  If you choose this route, be prepared to have to drive a little to your final destination.  It’s unlikely you’ll get a direct flight to larger cities from regional airports.

• Book your flight so that it’s a direct flight, if you can.  If you can’t, try to have a minimum of an hour layover between flights.  This will allow you to get something to eat, use the restroom, and get from one gate to the other before your next flight.

Flying with your children over the holidays doesn’t have to be traumatic or stressful, for you or anyone else in your traveling party.   Use these ideas to help make your trip more enjoyable for everyone.

Happy Pumpkin Carving

Posted by admin on October 18, 2008  |  No Comments

Well, it’s that time of year again.  And even though we don’t go “all out” and celebrate Halloween, I do love fall and many of the fall activites.  This year we went to a pumpkin patch, and each got a small pie pumpkin as part of the deal.  Well, my daughter has been on me all week to carve the pumpkins, so I finally gave in.  After carving the usual triangle eyes, triangle nose and toothy grin, I decided that I needed a little help on my son’s pumpkin.  For those of you who want to be the coolest mom on the block, visit JamminPumpkins.  It’s a really cool site with patterns for amazing pumpkin designs.  At only $2 a pattern (and a few available for free), you’ll be glad you did!

Beware of Junk Foods Being Promoted As Health Food – HFCS is Not Healthy

Posted by admin on October 17, 2008  |  No Comments

Beware of Junk Foods Being Promoted As Health Food – HFCS is Not Healthy
By Mike Geary

You may have seen a whole new slew of advertisements online and on television trying to revamp the poor image of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). They are basically trying to promote this junk food additive as “healthy”.

The advertising campaigns don’t come right out and make the claim that high fructose corn syrup is “health food”, but they do try to get clever and fool people into thinking that it’s not bad for your health. In fact, they make these misleading claims:

“It’s all natural”

“It’s no worse for you than table sugar”

“It’s made from corn”

“It has the same calories as table sugar”

As you can see, these ads are trying to deceive us into thinking that HFCS isn’t so bad after all… I mean, they do say that it’s “all natural” and “made from corn”. These ads are pure sleaze!

In my opinion, these ads are highly immoral. For one, as if our nation, and the world for that matter, wasn’t already suffering an obesity epidemic, as well as skyrocketing degenerative diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Now, they’re trying to make matters worse by fooling innocent people into thinking that high fructose corn syrup is somehow healthy. Meanwhile, as society and our kids get fatter and more unhealthy, they’re lining their pockets with massive profits since HFCS is in the majority of processed food.

As for their claim that HFCS is “no worse for you than sugar”… I’m not even going to discusss any of the science about how HFCS affects the leptin and insulin process in your body, your blood sugar process, appetite levels, etc. Instead, I want to make a more important point:

Who cares if HFCS is “no worse for you than sugar”… because sugar is one of the worst things you can ingest in your body anyway, so it is not even a valid argument!

The point you need to understand is that if you want to be lean and healthy for life, you should be minimizing, or even eliminating all sugar and high fructose corn syrup. In fact, most processed food should be eliminated altogether if you want to be serious about getting lean.

As for their claim that HFCS is “all-natural”… don’t even get me started! It’s just a ridiculous statement to begin with. I don’t care if you call it “natural” or artificial, the bottom line is that it’s a highly processed, refined substance that makes you fat!

So the next time you’re thinking about drinking that can of soda, or eating that candy bar or cupcakes, just think about how that is only going directly against your efforts to lose body fat and can even lead to other health problems in excess.

If you want to lose your stubborn belly fat, check out these strategic workouts and diet tips at Ab Exercise Workouts

Also, learn some of the best tricks to live healthy and enjoy life while also losing body fat at Healthy Fat Loss Tips

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Geary
http://EzineArticles.com/?Beware-of-Junk-Foods-Being-Promoted-As-Health-Food—HFCS-is-Not-Healthy&id=1496917

A New Twist on Family Movie Night

Posted by admin on October 6, 2008  |  No Comments

Family Movie Night

When I was growing up, every Friday was Family Night. We would make pizza, go rent a movie, and hang out and eat pizza, popcorn and soda all night (or at least until about 10 o’clock which seemed like all night to a 3rd grader!)

So of course, I started Family Night with my own kids. However, I quickly realized that by the time I got all three kids bundled up, in the car, and drove to the video store, battled them over what to pick, hoped they weren’t watching the previews of shows I would rather them not know about, and convince them that we really don’t need to spend $5 on a giant gummy snake, that I was pretty much too exhausted to enjoy family night!

Then, high tech came to the rescue! Enter “download a movie” websites! Woo Hoo! Now I can order pizza, sit at the computer, select some appropriate “choices” for my kids, and order the movie – to be downloaded to my PC all without the fights, distractions, r-rated trailers, or excessive candy temptations! And best of all – it doesn’t matter if the weather is cold, rainy, or whatever!

So, why not start a family night at your house, and try out one of these “download a movie” services! Order a pizza, sit back, and relax!

Get Net Movies

The Movie Downloads

I Think The Spirit Is Calling Me

Posted by admin on September 21, 2008  |  1 Comment

I’ve been wanting to blog a bit about my spiritual journey, after all, that’s a big component of why I felt compelled to start this site.  But for one reason or another, I always chose to write on other topics.  However, I recently started a Beth Moore study on the Fruit of the Spirit, and I absolutely love it!  But, still I struggle a bit, as i never really grew up in a “Holy Spirit” family.  We were believers, but more of a Sunday-only type of family, and of course we’d say grace before meals, but that was about it.

Well, life has been happening, and it hasn’t been pretty, and I almost missed a week of the study, which was all about the Holy Spirit.  I knew that what I heard that evening was what I wanted in my life.  Then, just today, our new Sunday School teacher started his lesson on the Fruit of the Spirit and was talking about what is NOT the fruit of the Spirit, and it hit me square in the face.  I was definately not living in the Spirit these last two weeks.

So I apologized to my kids for yelling at them (not for correcting or disciplining them, but for raising my voice so much when I was doing it) and resolved to try more deliberately to live in the Spirit.

The next few weeks I will comment on some of the tough lessons that I learn during my double whammy instruction on the Fruit of the Spirit.   In the meantime, you may want to pick up a copy of Beth Moore’s book “Living Beyond Yourself” or any other book on the Fruit of the Spirit and see what we can learn together for the Glory of God!  Amen!

Deuteronomy 30:11

Posted by admin on September 15, 2008  |  No Comments

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”   Deut 30:11

I just love it when God speaks to me clearly!  I’ve been attending a Beth Moore Bible study at church, and when Beth mentioned this verse, I just had to write it down!  Oh, how I needed to hear those words!  So often it feels like what I am expected to do is way beyond me. And then, out of the blue, I get a word from the Lord such as this one.  He just can’t be more clear than that, can he?

But beyond the obvious, it’s not too difficult for me thing, the other thing that I like, is that if God felt that it was important to mention that it’s not too difficult, apparently, way back thousands of years ago, there were people like me who were having the same thoughts and feelings about living a life that is pleasing before God!  So even though I may feel like I’m the only one “not getting it”, apparently there are plenty more of our brothers and sisters in Christ, who also aren’t “getting it” or think that it is beyond them!

I’ve decided to type up these words and place them by my bedside so that when I get up, I realize that whatever God asks of me that day, it won’t be too difficult or beyond my reach.  As a matter of fact, I’d better keep a copy in my purse, because I know I’m going to need it!

What does this verse mean to you?

Tips for Teaching Kids to Cook

Posted by admin on September 9, 2008  |  No Comments

What woman wouldn’t love having a sous chef to help her in the kitchen?  Well, if you have children, you may have a sous chef in the making.  These tips for teaching kids to cook may help you to help yourself by allowing them to take over some of the kitchen duties.

• Before teaching your children anything about working in a kitchen, teach them about cleanliness above all else.  Basic safety rules like washing your hands before you begin, not licking your fingers while preparing food, and keeping raw and cooked foods separate will go a long way toward keeping family members healthy.  Teaching them to cook foods to the proper temperature is also important.

• Read the entire recipe before you start so you’ll be sure that you understand the directions and know which utensils and ingredients you’ll need.  Gather everything together.  If you can, measure out the ingredients ahead of time.  This will make the actual preparation go smoother.  Follow the directions exactly to get the best results from your efforts.

• Explain to them what each appliance is, how it works, and what it’s used for.  If you have hand appliances, explain those as well.  You don’t have to give them the theories behind electricity, but you do want them to know how to handle each appliance in a safe manner.

• Always use hot pads to remove items from the stove, microwave, or oven.  Don’t lick hot spoons or handle food while it is still hot.  Doing so could result in a serious burn.  Teach your child the proper way to remove hot items, what to do if they do burn themselves, and where the first aid is kept in the kitchen.

• Sharp knives work better than dull ones, so keep your kitchen knives sharp.  Teach your child the proper way to hold a knife, how to slice food without cutting themselves, and how to care for and store knives.  Never put knives into soapy water; that way no one gets cut.

• Don’t throw water onto a kitchen fire.  It could make matters worse.  Teach your child to call an adult immediately to see if they can extinguish the fire.  If it gets out of control, make sure everyone leaves the house, go to your nearest neighbors, and call 911.

• As much as you’re tempted, don’t taste food that hasn’t been cooked.  While your parents may have been able to eat raw cookie dough, it isn’t recommended today.  If you must taste food that is cooking, use a clean spoon and allow it to cool first. Refrain from using the same spoon to taste and cook; by doing so you’ll be less likely to contaminate the food.

• Instead of leaving dishes until you’re finished, clean while you cook.  Put ingredients away when you’re done with them.  Run a sink of hot, soapy water and place dishes and utensils (except sharp knives) in the sink until you can get to them to wash them.  Wipe up any spills you may have made.  Turn off and unplug any hand appliances.

Allow your children to watch you cook from an early age, and then begin allowing them to help.  When you feel confident that they understand the rules for your kitchen and can handle things on their own, let them do just that.  You may be surprised to find that you have a little chef in the making.

Core Rhythms Dance DVD – Product Review

Posted by admin on September 8, 2008  |  No Comments

Core Rhythms Dance DVD

Well, I finally tried the Core Rhythms Dance DVD!  Now I don’t want to make my little blog r-rated, but I have to say, the last time my hips moved that much, I ended up pregnant!

The starter set comes with 3 DVD’s, and really no explanation as to which one goes first.  So I tried the Intro to Latin Dance one, but actually what that DVD does is put together the exercise moves into a dance sequence.  So then I popped in the Full Workout DVD, and it starts right off with the warm-up.  No explanation of steps or anything.  There is a help button you can push, so if you’re not a fast learner, keep your remote control handy.

The ladies have a very new (to me) idea of what running in place is, as well as the most hip action in a walk in place that I’ve ever seen.  But to be honest, I loved it.  The music was fun, and swinging my hips all over the place was pretty fun too.  I felt muscles I forgot about right away, and have seen an improvement in my posture after just one time.

I’d recommend getting this DVD, it’s fun, effective, and actually quite motivating. To order your copy, use the following link!

The Starting Point!

Posted by admin on August 15, 2008  |  No Comments

Well, today is the first day on my journey to be a better mom! Well, actually, every day is the first day on my journey, because it seems like no matter how much I think I know about being a good mom, I learn something new everyday!

Join me on this blog and together we will:

• Be better organized in our homes
• Get healthier (for me that means lose weight, exercise more, and drink more water!)
• Spend more quality time with our families
• Spend more quality time with ourselves
• Make the world a better place
• And more!