Ugly Christmas Sweater Bonanza

2nd Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest

Christmas is a time for traditions, food, merriment, family, and...horrific seasonal sweaters. It's the only time of year where you can sport apparel with a Rudolph nose that blinks red lights without being teased (too much).

Enter the 2nd Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest and you could win a $500 Visa Gift Card...just in time for Christmas shopping!

Spread some Christmas cheer! Share your picture to win!

Doctors and schools and test!!

As a mom I always wonder how much doctors know and do not know. The reason for this is because I have taken my daughter to the doctor before she was gone and sometimes when I would tell them her symptoms they did not seem to listen to me. As one doctor told me one time I am just a mom and I am not the doctor and so I should listen to him. Which I did and he proceed to give her some medicine for her ears that I knew would not work and it almost caused her eardrums to burst. So know when ever I take my son to the doctor I spend a lot of time researching them to make sure I can trust them. I do this in a number of ways as I do not want what happened with Suzzane to happen to Charlie. Has anything like this ever happened with the doctors you use?

Sometimes I think parents should be able to take a medical teaching course to be able to better serve there families. Plus I think doctors should spend more than 5 minutes with us. As well as there prices not being so high. I do not have insurance at this time and so how I am supposed to take us to the doctor when we are living on unemployment?

Today when I was on line I found a site that offers consultant interview course  and I am going to be looking into this some more. To see if it might be something that can help us out when we need to see the doctor. I also want to know more about the teach the teacher course to see if this is something that would help me out as a mom.

It also makes me wonder if my doctor is in the medical management course or if he is in another league. If so what is he classified as and why.

What do you do when you have a friend you know who may be dying??

I have a friend Laurie who lives in my apartment complex. She has several health issues including a sleeping disorder. She does not have insurance and can not qualify for medicaid. Which upsets me. The medicines that she has to take are being discounted and we have searched every where for them. The only alternative she has is to take Ritalin and if you have heard of it then you may know about all the side effects that goes with it. If not, there is a lot as my daughter took it for a while and it is horrible. You do not grow and you bruise so easily. I am so afraid that this is going to do so much more harm than good. So we have spent a lot of time looking for the first medicine she was taking and we can not find it anywhere. I am to the point that I just do not know what to do to help her. If she has to go on Ritalin. It is so expensive that I went on line today to look for some pharmacies out of the country like in Canada to see if Canada drugs might be less expensive.Or that they might have some alternatives and I did not find any. So if things do not change by the end of Dec. and we get her the meds she needs her body will start to shut down and she will die. How am I supposed to just stand by and let this happen? What would you do? Tomorrow I am going to contact a pharmacy I saw online which is a Canadian Pharmacy and I sure hope they will be able to help us out. As I saw quite a few things I like on there site including that they have a low price guarantee. So tonight I am going to email my friend the site which is for the Canada Pharmacy and I hope that she finds the meds on there or at least one similar and that she can afford it. Because at this time with my husbands job up in the air I just do not have the funds to help her. If you all would Pray for Laurie and her husband Chris and the meds she needs I would really appreciate it.

“Empty Nest” thoughts from one womanʼs perspective

My hormones raged, my youngest son was 17. I am married to my high school
sweetheart and worked part time at this point in my life...I have 2 children both boys,who seemed to have no time for mom anymore and a husband whom I adored but who
also worked 14+ hour days...and his health was suffering due to the long hours he had to work. My eldest son was in college already. I thought once my younger son was
in college.....what am I going to do??? I was so use to having children depend on me
for most everything.....the thought of being alone...”the Empty Nest”..was terrifying to me. I wanted another child. We took classes in hopes to adopt a child. But for some reason time passed and it never seemed to be the “right” time to adopt.

My husband and I were getting “itchy” feet. We had been in one location raising our
family for 20 years...we felt that when our younger son graduated from high
school....that would be the perfect time to make a change in our lives....NOT adopting a child, but moving! Sound crazy? WEll I thought so. Iʼm a spiritual person so I said to myself.... 1. if our home sells in 6 months and 2. if we
find a place to move that we LOVE and it has a church denomination that I
attend....then it must be a “sign” that we are meant to move.

My husband wanted to move to a SMALL town in Alaska...so that was a challenge in
itself. AND our home was close to 5,000 sq feet with 25 acres, living in the country on a gravel road so this type of home 10+ years ago was not an easy type of property to sell. BUT it did sell and close within the 6 months. And you guessed it we found a fabulous little community of 5,000 people with a church of my denomination...AND it had a job opening for my husband! So we told the kids we were moving.

We rented a small home in Alaska while we built our home. Both sons lived with us
that summer in Alaska and then our younger son got settled on the east coast for his
college experience and my older son went back to his University.

I was in Alaska with my husband and dogs beginning my life as an official “Empty
Nester”. I spent 1 and 1/2 years relaxing and enjoying the newness of Alaska. I Began quilting, enjoying yoga and making new friends.

My advice to anyone who is approaching an Empty Nest...is to embrace the time and
find yourself again. Take up new hobbies, do yoga, join a spa, make new friends and
connect with old friends! Because, for me, this “Empty Nester” time passed too
quickly.

After a year and a half..my husband decided he wanted to work BOTH in Homer, Alaska
which is our main home and in Anchorage, Alaska! That threw a kinck in my life. I
had no idea how to “live” 2 weeks a month in 2 cities!!

I was just getting to feel part of the community in Homer ... when at the request of my husband, who wanted me to come up with him to Anchorage when he worked...I began what I call my “schizophrenic” lifestyle. If there are others out there who live like this Iʼd sure love to hear from you! How do you not get so stressed?

My life as an “Empty Nester” slowly faded. NOT that anyone moved back into our
home(s) but that things changed!! My oldest son moved to Anchorage, Alaska and
brought his new bride. Grandchildren arrived and now I long for some of that “Empty
Nest” time!!! Oh, did you hear me say that??? Shhhhhhh thatʼs our little secret.

My life now consists of having the adventure of living in 2 cities with my loving husband and being with my son and his family when I am in Anchorage! I have the honor to watch my grandchildren while their parents work when I am in Anchorage. Then I go home to Homer and rest up, to happily do it all over again the next visit to Anchorage in 2 weeks. My life is anything BUT “Empty”.

The term “Empty Nest” should not exist. Although oneʼs home may be absent of
children for a period of time, that does not make oneʼs home “Empty”. I prefer the
work Quiet. Embrace these quiet moments in time to re-connect with your husband or
significant other, to re-discover yourself, to find your inner harmony and peace
because this quiet time does not last long in my experience and you will need all the energy and peace to engage on the other side of the “Quiet Nest”!

Peace & Quiet Times... from Colleen at Colleensbooknook!

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Moving at Christmas!!

My brother and sister in law have just found out that the owner of the home they are renting is wanting there house back. I know this is upsetting them as my sil has Parkinson's and can not pack or even stand up. So this leaves my mil and fil to do all the packing for the. So this year for Christmas I am thinking of looking into moving companies to see what it would cost to hire one for them. I was thinking all of our family could go in and split the cost and give it to them as a Christmas Gift.

So today I went on google and I did a search and I came across one site which offers these moving services  and the nice part is I can type in there address and it will show me the cost of there move. So I will know how much we would need to be able to do this for them.

I know that movers may not be a good gift but what else could I do. As a mom of a little one I would be more in the way trying to keep Charlie out of stuff than help. Plus the others also have small children. So if I could get the men to pack and the movers to come and move it all I think this would be a good help. Then when they get to the new house my mil and step daughter and niece could unpack for them.

So on Monday I will be getting online and asking them for a quote. Please Pray for us that this is something we can afford. Plus Please Pray that the moving company.  I choose is reliable and does a good job. As I had used one one time and a lot of my items where broken when I went to unpack them.

Thanks, Glenda, David and Charlie

thefoundary.com: An Invitation to Join

Please come and check out the newest shopping site with me.

http://www.thefoundary.com/invite/mommiespointofreview

Greetings! Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

to our wonderful readers 

from David, Glenda and Charlie

The Importance of Education - Guest post by Ella Johnson

We as parent know that Education is a fundamental human right. Our children and every child in the world are entitled to it. Education is not only important but critical to our children’s development as individuals. Development leads to a successful future and we must ensure that our children must have a quality education. If the child doesn’t have the basic of comprehension in reading, it can slow down or hinder his or hers’ learning in all subjects. Reading is the fundamental skill of all learning.

It is never too soon to start your child on the path to reading. That is why Memorable Children Books & Gifts is committed to offering basic tools like Giggles Computer Funtime for Babies ages 6 – 36 months. Babies learn about and play with shapes, colors, animals, letters, numbers and more! All in different fun-filled and uniquely baby friendly environments – all they have to do is touch any key on the keyboard! Each title includes 14 unique key-tapping activities and over 50 wonderful songs!

We like to put our children in front of the television to watch their favorite shows like Disney Princess, Cars, Winnie the Pooh, Elmo and Friends, Dora the Explorer and many more. So why not read to them their favorite shows by personalizing a book with their name in it to make reading more fun for the child.

According to the U.S Department of Education, “Research shows that children who read well in the early grades are far more successful in later years; and those who fall behind often stay behind when it comes to academic achievement. Reading opens the door to learning about math, history, science, literature, geography and much more. Thus, young, capable readers can succeed in these subjects, take advantage of other opportunities (such as reading for pleasure) and develop confidence in their own abilities. On the other hand, those students who cannot read well are much more likely to drop out of school and be limited to low-paying jobs throughout their lives. Reading is undeniably critical to success in today's society.”

Reading to children is crucial and parents should find time to read with their children instead of leaving it to the kid’s teachers. Don’t forget that reading out loud exposes children to proper grammar and phrasing. It helps to enhance the development of their spoken language skills and their ability to express themselves verbally.

A Moment With Ella Johnson

Q - Can you tell us who Ella Johnson is and why this makes you you?

A - I was born in England, so am British by birth. I moved back to Nigeria with my family in the 70s. I attended College of Education and majored in Fine Arts and Education.  I taught Fine Arts from nursery school to secondary school level before moving back to England. I live with my American husband inFlorida and own my own business.

Q - How long have you been blogging?

A - I started blogging April 2009.

Q - How could other bloggers help you with what you do?

A – Well, they can help my reposting my giveaways on their blogs. This will help more parents take part in the free book giveaways and for a chance to win free books for their children or their classroom library. I used to feature bloggers’ giveaways on my blog and am about to start again under ‘Freebies’.http://mymcbooks.wordpress.com/get-freebies/

Q - Would you like to tell us about your family and how they feel about what you do?

A - My husband is from Cleveland and is very supportive of what I do.  

Q - I see you have a website, a blog and an Amazon store as well can you tell us about each of them and why you have all three and what they are used for.

A - My website is called Memorable Children Books & Gifts (MCBG) www.mcbooksandgifts.com I started MCBG in 2008 and we sell children’s personalized and non personalized books and gifts.

I started my blog Mymcbooks in 2009 to help promote my website. I was new to blogging then and didn’t know what I was doing or how blogging worked, until I met Tina Peterson - The Book Lady of Ubourne Books http://www.myusbornebooks.com/ She helped me a lot. I did use my website to give away free books then I moved the giveaways from my website to my blog.

Mymcbooks Store is something I started at Amazon Associates. It was a lot of work listing every book on my website. So I signed up with Amazon Associates.

Amazon Associates is one of the first online affiliate marketing programs that helps website owners like I make money by advertising millions of new and used products from Amazon.com. The customers just click on the link provided and buy products from Amazon, while we earn referral fees. It’s free to join and easy to use. https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

Q - What is your favorite book and why?

A – I really don’t have a favorite book but I love Ready for Bed, Ready to Play & Ready for the Day by Stacey R Kaye and The Boy Who Wouldn’t Sit Still! by Sharon Lester.

Q - What Author dead or alive would you like to have dinner with and why?

A – I would like to have dinner with Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare because they wrote so many great books.

Q - How did you get started in giving out school supplies and why? How did this turn into books?

A – I already started giveaway free books on my website. I just knew that I wanted to giveaway school supplies but I never knew it will grow this big. The giveaway was for only for 2 winners but the comments where so heart felt that I decided to extend the giveaways from 2 to 20. http://mymcbooks.wordpress.com/photo-gallery/ 

Q - I saw you have a Birthday link on the site can you tell us what this is?

A – When I first started giving away books free by random, the comments left by parents/grandparents wishing to win a book for their children/grandchildren were heart felt. So I created ‘Mymcbooks Birthday Library’ http://www.mcbooksandgifts.com/mymcbookslibrary.html. So that all children listed between the ages of 2 to 5 will have a book once every year on their birthday till they turn 5 years old. I now have over 25 names on my Birthday list and since we started in July we have given 10 books to 10 children for their birthday, a gift from Mymcbooks Birthday Library. I pray more parents sign up to the program.

Q - Where do you get the books and supplies you give out?

School Supplies – I spend my own money and for the last 3 years I have given over 50 bags of school supplies.

Book Giveaways – Authors provide the books I review and then in turn give them away. And I visit Scholastic warehouse twice a year and some of the books are also used for the giveaways.

Mymcbooks Birthday Library – Some authors donated copies of their books for this program.

Q - Are there companies that help you with this?

No.

Eden Fantasys review

OK I know we all have Fantasys about the things we will and will not do and once we beome a parent certain things are pushed to the back of the burner. One of those things that I push to the backburner is buying things for myself. For my husband he seems to think it is s e x. Yes, I know most of us do not like to talk about those things but I found a site that I actually do not feel uncomfortable going to and shopping on. It is classy and yes it is that type of sight. I am careful though and I only look when I am by myself but I think as a gag gift I might actually look and see if I can find a toy for my husband as he likes gag gifts and I know it is not something we would use but it would make him see I am thinking about the things he is concerend about. Plus I think he would be able to share it with his men friends as all guys like to brag and this would give him something to show and brag about. So Santa when you visit my house this year Please excuse the s e x toy you will find under the tree as normally they would not be there. If this is something you would think about looking for as well Please visit eden fantasys and let me know which s e x toys you found that you like. But please do not make it to explicit as this is still a family friendly blog.

Glenda and David

I just want to share this video to all! Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Santa may I have a maid for Christmas???

We are getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and I would like to say once it is all over that I would like to have a maid to come in and clean up for us.  As everyone in my apartment complex is getting together to make a Thanksgiving Dinner that we all will not forget. So as a gift to them as they are elderly I would like to have a house cleaning service to come in like they have in Austin from http://www.thestreamteam.com

Then once the apartment is clean I would like to have a carpet cleaning service come in and clean all the rugs in our apartments as most of us have pets. So I would like for them to come in and use there pet removal services http://www.www.thesteamteam.com

as they  use  all natural biodegradable cleaners as I would not like my animals to get hurt and with those types of products then they would not get hurt.

So today I was on the Internet and I found a site called http://www/thesteamteam.com and they do all I would like for Santa to bring to use. The only downside is they are in a different state and so now I need to research and see if I can find one here who does all I need them to do.

Thanksgiving Day is here tomorrow Yippie!!

I am so excited as it is almost her. I am even more excited as we are going to be sharing it with all of our neighbors. The most fun part is that we are going to be able to have everyone bring a dish and we will get to try new and different foods which should also be fun as well.

The one thing I am concerned about is we are in Texas and the weather her can be tricky and so I am afraid it might rain and I am also wondering if it will be cold and so I am going to buy me a tarp to cover the tables as well. I was online and saw some that there are some clear tarps and I also think I will invest in a drop cloth as it will make the cleanup easier. As there is a lot of children eating and it would be easier than trying to sweep the sidewalk and I think these will look really good on the table to keep the food fresh and clean in case there are ants. and the dropcloth will look nice under the table.

So next time we plan on doing a big meal I am going to ask the apartment manager if he will invest in some of these for us and also another picnic table as only one will not be enough.

Glenda, Charlie and David

As a mom I have figured out it is time to buy for me.

With Christmas right around the corner and my Birthday just passed I have decided that I am going to make sure and buy some things for myself. As when it turned cold here I noticed I did not have any warm clothes to wear and I also do not have nice clothes for when I work in my sons school. So I am going to take myself shopping after Christmas and I am buying everything from the inside out.

The first thing I am going to buy is a new bra as I have never ever had one that actually fits and is not uncomfortable to wear. So this time I am going to either go get fitted or I am going to shop online on a site I found called Unbelievable Bras as they show us how to measure ourselves. Plus they claim they stop the Muffin top which I seem to get a lot with the bras I wear.

Another things I like is they offer the best  body shaper and Lordy Lordy I must tell you I could use one of them.  One item I have never had is a camisole and I think I may even go ahead and purchase one of them as I know a lot of women wear them and they look so comfortable.

So Ladies I am out to pamper myself. How would you like to go shopping with me?

Glenda and Merry Christmas to all of the Ladies out there lets Pamper ourselves for a change.

Football and Turkey go hand and hand in my house!!

As a mom of a toddler I have to cover his ears during the football game as the men in the house sometimes forget to watch what they say and with a little one they can sometimes pick up things you would rather them not say. So tomorrow I think I will get some socks to stuff in the mens mouth when they forget he is around and ear plus for my son.

Another thing I am not to keen on is betting and I know my husband does this as well. But what can I say as he brings home the money and he works hard for it so I try my best not to say anything. This time though I am going to surprise him as I am going to research sports betting and I may even place a bet or two to show him I am

interested in what he does.

I know there are online sports betting  sites where we can gamble and my husband loves visiting the casinos when we go to visit my mom so I am thinking of buying him some time on one of them to put into his stocking so he can play and relax. The only thing is we only have one computer and I am not very good as sharing and so Santa if you are listening would you bring my son and husband there own desktop so I do not have to share mine.

Glenda, David and Charlie