the Mom-Stuff Community

Happy Valentine’s Day

the mom-team — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:41:49 +0000

I hope you all are getting back into your normal routine after the holidays. How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? I take a different approach than most people. I like to first look at what I have accomplished in the past year before I move on to this year. This reflection is really powerful for me. I find it makes me feel strong and capable of making new goals for the New Year. If you need some motivation mom-stuff.com still has our favorite articles on Resolutions still up on the main page.

We are all looking forward to Valentine’s Day. Here are our Valentine links. I have been having fun on Pinterest. There are some really fun Valentine ideas there. If you are a member let me know so I can follow your pins. You can find me at http://pinterest.com/diannemomstuff/

Rockin Bobbie Pins
Make your own Rockin Bobbie Pins to match your clothes. All you need are bobbie pins and your imagination. These are so much fun. You can make some for every holiday or even every outfit. . . .

Make Your Own Valentines
Make your own Valentine Animals . . .

Valentine Flower Ball
Valentine Flower Ball, perfect Friend or Teacher gift . . .

Valentine Candy Ball
This Valentine is as pretty as it is sweet. This project is fun for kids but also pretty enough to be for Mother’s Day, a friend’s birthday or Valentine’s Day gift. . . .

Love Bug Sucker
These Valentine Suckers are so pretty they can be used as a Valentine decoration. . . .

Valentine Recipes
Valentine Recipes-Sweets for your sweeties on Valentine’s Day. . . .

Welcome to all of our new members. Come and add your talents, articles and personality to our community. We believe in Moms helping Moms and we are so glad you are a part of our circle. Please send your articles to dianne@mom-stuff.com. I will post them on mom-stuff.com with your links. Besides helping our mom-stuff moms you will get the link back and more traffic to your site. Add your links to our forum and follow other members.

Happy Holidays

the mom-team — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:58:36 +0000

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have been too busy. But busy in a good way. Lots of changes going on with my other business that is taking all of my time. I am sorry to all of my mom-stuff friends for the absence of posts .

It is now time for the Christmas Season. This is my favorite time of the year. I love the music, the lights and the overall feeling of goodwill. I wish it could be Christmas all year.

At www.mom-stuff.com we have lots of great Christmas ideas for you. Here are your links for family fun and easy gifts.

Family Fun

Christmas Recipes
Christmas Recipes . . . keep reading

Christmas Games
Are you having a Christmas Party and need some games to play? We have a few ideas for you. . . . keep reading

My Christmas Tradition
Christmas Traditions . . . keep reading

Simple and Inexpensive Christmas Gift Ideas
Simple and Inexpensive Gift Ideas-These have also been nic named neighbor gifts. . . .keep reading

Christmas Kids Crafts
Snowmen craft, Candy Countdown, Christmas Tree Countdown and Santa’s Beard Countdown are fun crafts for you and your children to enjoy this Christmas. . . . keep reading

Gift Ideas

Christmas FRIEND Gifts #4
Candy Canes, Rudolph’s Nose Repair Kit, Lotion( A Friend) Cookie Cutter and What is Christmas Mug. These are great for teachers, neighbors, co-workers, housekeeper, delivery person or anyone you don’t know what to get and don’t want to spend a lot, but want to show your holiday spirit. . . . keep reading

12 Days of Christmas
The 12 Days of Christmas . . . keep reading

Christmas FRIEND Gifts #3
Large Candy Bar, Grinch Candy Canes, Santa Kisses and Snowman Kisses. These are great for teachers, neighbors, co-workers, housekeeper, delivery person or anyone you don’t know what to get and don’t want to spend a lot, but want to show your holiday spirit. . . . keep reading

Christmas FRIEND Gifts #2
Snowman Poop, Snownman Soup, and Reindeer Droppings. These are great for teachers, neighbors, co-workers, housekeeper, delivery person or anyone you don’t know what to get and don’t want to spend a lot, but want to show your holiday spirit. . . .keep reading

Christmas Friend Gifts #1
Christmas FRIEND Gifts Christmas Dish towels, Help with the Mess, Candy Cane Seeds and I Ran Out of Time. These would be great to give out at work, to neighbors, for people you don’t know what to get and don’t want to spend a lot, but want to show your holiday spirit. . . . keep reading

It is my wish for all of you to have the best Christmas Season ever with family and friends.

Dianne

Halloween Photo Contest

the mom-team — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:24:15 +0000

Enter your favorite photos of your kids’ Halloween costumes to show off your spooky cutie, and maybe even win a prize.

The top 10 photos with the most votes will get $100 worth of Mamasource credit.

The earlier you join, the more time you have to get votes. Good luck!

Get all the details at:

http://deals.mamapedia.com/cmp/halloween-photo-contest?fb_login=true

Halloween Ideas from Mom-Stuff

the mom-team — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:02:51 +0000

It is our favorite time of year at www.mom-stuff.com. We love Halloween. Come and visit and get some fun ideas to make this your best Halloween season. We have everything you need:

How tp Plan a Halloween Family Party
Family is were all the fun begins. Every year our family has an annual Halloween party and we wanted to share with all of you our experiences. This will let you take the ideas and make your own family fun. You can use these ideas and make them your own by adding your families personalities to them. If you do not have extended family around you get together with other moms and plan your Halloween Party together. This is a good way for everyone to make more friends. “Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted.” ~Paul Pearshall . . . keep reading

Fun Family Halloween Games
More Fun Family Halloween Games . . . keep reading

Fun Halloween Recipes
How to make fun Halloween treats for big and small. Everyone will enjoy this creepy food for Halloween Night! . . . keep reading

Skeleton Plates,Cups and Punch Bowl
This Halloween Party was all about Skeletons. Make plates, cups, serving bowls, or even a punch bowl to match. We have your instructions and patterns. . . . keep reading

Halloween Games
Fun Halloween games for team and individual contests. . . . keep reading

Halloween Trick or Treat Bag
Re-Purposed T Shirt into a Halloween Trick or Treat Bag for this years Halloween fun. . . . keep reading

Neighbor Halloween Gifts

Neighbor Halloween Gifts . . . keep reading

Treasure Hunt for Your Halloween Party
To plan your Treasure Hunt get a map of your city or a piece of paper to draw a map. You will want make a trip using these locations in your town: . . . keep reading

Halloween Party Skeleton Invitations
Halloween Skeleton Invitations . . . keep reading

Halloween Party Scrapbook Page
For these pages I wanted to use some pictures from our Halloween Party. I choose some tan textured paper that looked like rocks. I love to make tear animals so I tried a cat and a bat. . . . keep reading

Halloween Kids Crafts
Make our Shrinken Heads, Ghost Lanterns, and Smasked Witches, with your kids this Halloween. They are fun to make and will add to the hounting spirt of the season. . . .keep reading

October from Leaves of the Tree of Life

the mom-team — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:17:22 +0000

OCTOBER

People weary with the world will take time off to go to the mountains for a look at the splendor of autumn leaves. In every shade of orange they proclaim their glory.

Each species has its own breathtaking pigment and each tree seems more beautiful than the last. October is for rejoicing in the majesty of tangible beauty. We smell it, we see it, we roll in the leaves and experience it. There is no practical purpose to the color changes; the trees are playing after the hard work of summer. This is the season for hayrides and county fairs and silly costumes and pranks.

Play is difficult for Americans and other highly westernized cultures. We spend huge amounts of money and time working at having fun, but play is a different thing. Play is squirrels chasing each other on the branches even as they gather winter’s store. Play is kids wading through mountains of leaves so they can be gathered again, without thought for getting the pieces out of their hair. Play is ordering ice cream on your pancakes for breakfast. Learning to play brings back the sweetness to life.

Branches are the frame work on which the seasons unfold, just as our minds form the basis for performing the duties of our lives. Branches by now have had most of the sap withdrawn from them as the tree prepares to survive the winter. Bare branches reflect the lack of circulation. As we limit the circulation of sweetness in our lives, the result can be “bare branches” too, where we become brittle and rigid in strict, joyless, disciplines. Scrooge wasn’t a bad guy, he was just misguided from years of bitterness and false priorities. The change came as a cheerful countenance and a desire to play. There was no doubt that he would continue to run his counting house, but we also know he enjoyed his abundance from that time forward. The adage that “as a man thinketh, so he shall be” sets the parameters for our play and for the degree to which we really enjoy life. For a variety of reasons, many of us grow up with basic beliefs that finding pleasure is time wasted, that this life is about working and suffering and joy and rewards are for the next, that if you’re not getting ahead you’re getting behind, and life is about getting there first. October reminds us that getting there can be a glorious ride.

With the advent of autumn, the trunk again becomes the storehouse, the primary focus of the living tree. A cavity in trees become home to woodland creatures and man, too, begins to nest. It’s finally fireplace season and time for quilts. We make hot chocolate for chilly evenings, we drink fresh cider, and we tell spooky stories and gather around bonfires. Even schools celebrate Homecoming with games, festivals and crowning of queens. Home is the source of our strength and the crown of our lives. The idea that a

man’s home is his castle rings true for us today; we may have positions of no consequence elsewhere, but we have the right to be kings and queens in our households. There is no more effective place to teach and learn the worth of souls. David O. McKay said “no success can compensate for failure in the home” decades ago, but the message holds true. October is time to come home, to settle from summertime wanderings and last month’s overtime.

The roots of the tree share the sugars with the trunk. Sugar is an analogy for sweetness in life and provides the essential fuel for our sustenance. The use of sugar in our bodies is managed to large extent by the pancreas, which produces insulin. Too many variations in blood sugar levels can have a negative impact on every aspect of body function, just as extremes of giddiness or seriousness will impair our ability to function in the world. We have seen repeatedly in our practices the relationship between the sweetness people find in life and challenges to proper pancreas function. People unhappy with themselves or their lives are more likely to be binge eaters, and are more likely to binge on sugars and simple carbohydrates. Carbohydrate addiction is finally a recognized condition, and relates not only to blood sugar (and energy) levels, but also to feel-good hormone seratonin levels. Many parents dread the time of Halloween with its sugar overload, which many find creates monsters that surpass the roles of morbid costumes. Many communities are beginning to create fall festivals, old style celebrations with apple bobbing and popcorn balls, in lieu of the more traditional “trick-or-treating”. Where “trick-or-treating” does still exist, it can be an expression of neighborhood fun and closeness as parents and children laugh together and give to each other, especially if they avoid the horror-movie lookalikes. This month is for fun and games. Celebrate living.

With the chilly air of winter approaching, leaves on their deathbeds take time to show their true colors. With the green chlorophyll withdrawn, the leaves don’t actually change colors; they simply allow their actual pigment to be seen. Penniless, they are more beautifully robed than any person could hope to be. Money is one of the things we often place in the way of our happiness. We believe that more of it would help us improve the quality of our own and other lives, yet we call it the root of all evil. It defines the value we place on objects, sometimes even ourselves. Wealth doesn’t create or destroy character; beliefs and attitudes about money do. Take away the green, and we all look like who we really are. We have paupers and financial wizards in every range, from the splendid crimson of the maples to the washed-out gray of roadside weeds.

Water in October is largely confined to streams and other bodies of water. The moisture stored in the leaves is gone, which is why they begin to fall. As we age, a similar process takes place, which is why we wrinkle and get creaky in the joints, but the true mark of our age is in our brittleness of spirit. This is the time to be a child, regardless of how many

birthdays you’ve had. Everything in the earth is playing, and to keep pace with the earth is to play along. Making bouquets of dried weeds and stomping in puddles and rolling down hills helps us to keep perspective. There will always be more work and more troubles, but there will never be another of this moment. Streams work over and around everything in their beds this season, but sing along the way. Zinnia flower essence captures the importance of play; there is no perkier blossom in creation. Even the word rolls off the tongue with a lilt.

This is a time to play. Follow a child around a playground for an hour, doing everything that they do. There is no more thorough exercise program! Roll down hills, skip around a fitness course, do your jogging backwards in a bright orange hat.

For all of the glory in the branches, the earth has finished her work of production. We celebrate now with what we already possess; we make cider from the apples we’ve picked and store the squash for the winter. We have such security in our substance that we will play with our food, carving faces where candles can glow in a pumpkin that will never be eaten. In consumer psychology, the orange colors of October inspire ideas of warmth and richness, a concept seized upon by advertisers of brandy and other upscale foods. They also physically stimulates the pancreas, which produces digestive enzymes for digestion of starches, sugars and fats in addition to insulin. Fast-food marketers have capitalized on that bit of information, which explains the remarkably homogenous decorating schemes of the major chains. From candle-glow to decorative orange leaf bags, everything proclaims glory in October.

Mom-Stuff Updates

the mom-team — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:11:00 +0000

Your Own Style Yoga Shirt
Add Your Own Style to Your Yoga Shirt Fold your shirt in half . . . keep reading

Hair Streaks
All you need to add a streak of color to any hair style is a Bobbie Pin and some embroidery floss. . . . keep reading

Tips for Back-to-School Shopping
Tips for Back-to-School Shopping The frenzied back-to-school shopping season is upon us, and more than ever, it’s evident that parents want a new and thrif . . . keep reading

What Can One Person Do?
a donation of $2,000 worth of pet food, and I’ve helped to forge new friends from other countries who all care about the same things I care about. And it all started with a simple posting on Facebook because I wanted to help a local animal shelter. It’s been magical.” . . . keep reading

Mom-Stuff Up Dates for Fall

the mom-team — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:56:27 +0000

Mom-stuff Updates

Make a Spunky Headband
For back to school project. Make a spunky headband they are warm and stylish. . . .keep reading

To Sick for School?
Parents can use the following symptom-based guidelines to help them decide whether to keep their child home or not: . . . keep reading

Canning Recipes
This time of year has always been my favorite time of the year. I love the turning of the leaves, the preserving of the harvest, and the cooling weather. . . . keep reading

Why Shouldn’t I Spank My Child?

the mom-team — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:53:53 +0000

Abuse Survivor Offers Tips For Alternative Punishments

By Ginny Grimsley

Esther Joseph doesn’t need to read studies or statistics to understand the problems of child abuse. She survived it.

Joseph, an advocate against corporal punishment in the home, spent her childhood alternately suffering physical abuse from her mother and emotional abuse from her father. But she doesn’t consider herself a victim.

“I’m a survivor of child abuse,” said Joseph, author of Memories of Hell, Visions of Heaven—A Story of Survival Transformation and Hope (www.unityinherited.com). “In overcoming the damage of an upbringing riddled with violence, I was adamant that I would not grow up to be an abuser, as well. I know the dangers of striking a child to discipline them and then explaining that you’re doing it for their own good and because you love them. All that does is teach the child that violence is an acceptable part of love, and as they grow up, they accept violence in their adult relationships because they’ve been taught that it’s completely normal.”

Joseph believes that discipline is important, but that it can be delivered without making violence an acceptable part of life.

“No matter how out of control a child may be considered, a beating is never an effective way to get their attention, obedience or respect,” she added. “Parents must understand that there are other disciplinary measures, less violent and degrading methods that will garner the results they seek, while raising children to become emotional health and fulfilled adults.”

Joseph offered a few simple tips for alternative means of helping children behave. They include:

Be a Good Example – Parents must live by example, allowing their actions and not just their words to exemplify the kind of person they would like their child to become.

Be One Step Ahead – Don’t wait until your child has done something “wrong” to have a talk with them. Parents can circumvent many foreseeable challenges by addressing them before they become an issue.

Be Creative – One type of punishment does not work for every child. Parents must figure out and utilize a form of reprimand that would work best for their child’s particular temperament.

“Every spanking, no matter how mild, has an impact,” Joseph said. “Parents should be aware that a spanked child becomes a emotionally crippled adult who goes out into the world and plays this handicap onto others, perpetuating the idea that abusive relationships are just a normal part of life. Now, I understand that people justify it by thinking, ‘I was spanked as a child and I turned out okay,’ but that equation doesn’t work for everyone. When we begin to justify violence as a part of our children’s lives, it becomes a slippery slope when we try to determine how much is too much? A spanking every once in a while? Using a belt or a hairbrush instead of a hand if a child is really misbehaving? At what point do you say it’s too much? The bottom line is that once is too much, because it makes a second, third and 20^th time that much easier to rationalize. But for those who have been abused, no matter their pasts, it does not define them nor does it determine their future. Everyone can break the bonds of their past experiences and find their way to the life and future they crave.”

About Esther Joseph

Esther Joseph was born and raised on the tiny Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. She moved to the U.S. at the age of 16 with her mother and two older bothers. She holds a Master’s Degree in international affairs from New York University. Her goal is to help others still in the grips of abuse and violence to break the cycle and find a way to a place of healing.

For more information contact:

Ginny Grimsley
National Print Campaign Manager
News and Experts
1127 Grove Street · Clearwater, Florida 33755
Phone: 727-443-7115 EXT 207
www.newsandexperts.com

It’s Time to Get the Kids Ready for Back to School

the mom-team — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:27:41 +0000

Mom-stuff Updates

It’s time to get those kids ready for school.

Time for Back to School Shopping
Here is your mission if you choose to accept it. GET THE MOST FROM YOUR SCHOOL CLOTHES BUDGET. . . . keep reading

8 Great Tips To Organize Kids’ Rooms
It’s the battle cry of millions of parents: “Clean your room!” As you get ready for back to school it is a great opportunity to organize your child’s bedroom. Seasonal events like birthdays, the holidays or a new school year bring fresh impetus to the drive to get kids organized–and nowhere is the battleground more intense than in the children’s bedrooms. . . . keep reading

Back to School Artwork Books
Our Back to School idea this month is focused on saving all of our kid’s artwork that comes home from school. When my daughter started in an early education program, every week the school would send home her artwork from her lessons. She was so proud of her work that she wanted to keep it. . . . keep reading

Make Your Own Hair Bows
Make Hair bows to match your kids back to school clothes. . . . keep reading

Check out Chock a Baby

the mom-team — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:37:56 +0000

Today I want to share a new web site with you. Check out Carrie’s site and tell me what you think.

Chockababy: a community of gushing parents and grandparents, friends, neighbors, and families. Here is your family’s new online home. I received this email this morning.

Hi Dianne!

Thanks for your contributions to moms and our need for support from each other! I am emailing you today to see if you would want to share a new website with your readers. My name is Carrie. My sister, Nicky, and I started an online, sharable baby book called chockababy.com We are two sisters who are moms (mine are 4 and 1, Nicky has 2 year old twin boys). We didn’t love the options we had for tracking our babies’ milestones and sharing updates with our families. So in the midst of motherhood and part-time jobs, we have started Chockababy (pronounced Cha-kuh-baby). We think your readers would appreciate the features of this site and the user-friendliness for super-busy moms.

Here are a few highlights:

1. Tracks your child’s growth from pregnancy through preschool age.

2. Record your child’s milestones.

3. Share your child’s updates with close friends and family.

4. Enjoy a really cool ticker on every kid’s page.

Nicky and I are especially proud of Chockababy’s commitment to privacy – users can know that only those they invite through email will have access to their Chockababy book! The social networking aspects of Chockababy are focused on only those who you really want to see updates on your family – instead of everyone you’ve ever met since elementary school

I could talk about it this forever but I think I’d rather have you check it out - chockababy.com! Set up an account if you want – and if you like it – please spread the word to your readers. We are proud of this site!

You can find lots more about us and the site at chockababy.com.

Thanks for the great service you offer moms!

Best,

Carrie