Archive for October, 2009
Oct
26
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
Genevieve Hinson, McClatchy Newspapers
- Babycenter.com: Whether you’re newly pregnant or already parenting a brood, Babycenter.com will send an email customized to your child’s development level. If you’re mama to more than one, you can get a newsletter for each child. Register for an account at Babycenter.com and fill out the appropriate info and check yes to emails. Voila!
- HGTV.com: Addicted to gardening, shopping, design or decorating? This newsletter is fabulous and even pretty to look at. It is packed with info for any home or garden project you’d like to tackle. Often it’s geared towards the season and features a contest.
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Oct
25
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Niesha Lofing, McClatchy Newspapers
Talk about striking a nerve.
Recently, I posted a blog item about the lasting benefits of eating dinner together as a family.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University had released a report that day with stats that should make any parent think twice about skipping a meal with their teenagers.
For instance, if you eat fewer than three meals a week with your teenager, research shows your child will be twice as likely to use tobacco or marijuana than teens who eat five meals or more a week with their family.
Since California first lady Maria Shriver served as the honorary chair of Family Day, I sought her advice.
I didn’t anticipate the vilification that...
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Oct
24
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Julie Landry Laviolette, McClatchy Newspapers
For a parent, it sounds like the best of both worlds: working from home so you can make money AND spend more time with your kids.
The lure of work-at-home companies is especially enticing at a time when many moms can’t afford not to work anymore and some may even need a second source of income.
The so-called opportunities scream out from all over: ads promising you’ll rake in big bucks by stuffing envelopes or being a “mystery shopper,” or by hosting parties to hock cosmetics, cookware, jewelry, even sex toys.
But how do you know what’s legitimate and what’s a scam?
In a National Consumers League study released this year, 31 percent of Americans surveyed said they are more likely to...
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Oct
23
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
“109 Forgotten American Heroes (Plus Nine or So Villains” by Chris Ying and Brian McMullen
c.2009, DK
$19.99 / $21.60 Canada
192 pages
Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez
Boy, was Mom mad.
The other day, you left the house to go to school, and you forgot your lunch.
She probably wouldn’t have been so mad, except you forgot your homework the day before. And you didn’t remember your science project that week, nor your coat or your math book.
It’s easy to forget things; adults do it all the time. Sometimes, it’s just an accident but sometimes, it’s a shame to forget, as you’ll see when you read “109 Forgotten American Heroes (Plus Nine or So Villains)” by Chris Ying and Brian...
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Oct
23
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Merrie Leininger, McClatchy-Tribune
Books are the Halloween treats that won’t give anyone tummy aches or rotten teeth. Some of these books even go above and beyond the tricks and treats and give life lessons and help others.
Half-Minute Horrors
Edited by Susan Rich
Harper Collins ($12.99)
Ages 10 and up
Spooky stories at Halloween are all part of the fun of the holiday, but not everybody has the same access to books.
“Half-Minute Horrors” provides scares from more than 70 authors and illustrators such as Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman, James Patterson and R.L. Stine; but the book has an angelic side, also. The book is published in conjunction with First Book, a nonprofit organization that provides...
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Oct
22
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Carolyn Pravda, NYC Moms Blog
Recently, I bumped into a mommy acquaintance on the street in my NYC neighborhood. I asked how she was doing, and she let loose with a story that brought me up short. Her son recently started school, and she was feeling blue. Beyond blue. She sounded seriously depressed.
I tried to listen as we talked on the busy street corner but finally had to move on with my complaining kids. Through that night and the next day I worried for her and thought a lot about this problem of motherhood that is frequently missed.
A lot of attention gets paid to postpartum depression, but I think a somewhat overlooked problem is the kids-starting-school syndrome. I can only speak as a stay at home mom but I know I put most of who I am into raising...
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Oct
22
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Lisa Stowe, FamilyFun magazine
I love seeing the photos my friends and family post on Facebook, so I was delighted when I stumbled upon HotPrints, a nifty, low-cost application that turns social networking photos into keepsake books.
Making one is easy: choose your favorite pics from online albums (yours or your friends’ or family’s), then select a graphic theme, such as travel or family memories. Each nearly 8- by 10-inch book contains 16 pages, with layout options of one to six photos per page, plus room for titles or captions. The more than 70 cover designs can be created with or without pictures. Less than a week after I hit the “Send” button, my mail carrier delivered my finished creation — a glossy-paged book showcasing my...
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Oct
21
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
nameberry.com
Will giving your daughter a masculine name — as Heidi Klum and Seal did with their newborn daughter Lou — increase her odds for career success?
It might if she goes into the legal profession, according to a new study. Women with masculine names make more money as lawyers than those with feminine names and are more likely to be appointed to judgeships, say researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina.
Not only that, but the more masculine the name, the better. A woman named Kelly has a five percent greater chance of becoming a judge than a Sue, while Cameron’s odds are tripled and a female Bruce’s are quintupled.
The researchers rated each name’s masculinity by comparing the number of females versus males...
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Oct
21
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Niesha Lofing, McClatchy Newspapers
Prepare yourself for lace skirts, off-the-shoulder dolman sleeve tops, leg warmers and, yes, sequined gloves. King of Pop pretenders, Material Girls, “Dynasty” divas and “Flashdance” flashbacks will rule Halloween.
The 1980s are thundering back this year, spurred by the deaths of such major figures of the era as Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Farrah Fawcett and megahit movie director John Hughes.
“For people in their 20s and 30s, the ’80s are nostalgic,” said Deborah Chausse, owner of Evangeline’s Costume Mansion. And Halloween fun particularly appeals to this demographic.
It turns out that Vincent Price was right — no mere mortal can resist the evil of the...
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Oct
21
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Traci Arbios, herdingsquirrels.com
QUESTION: I’m 18 years old and a FUTURE step-mommy. … If anyone has advice for me, or anything to look for, or anything that I need to do NOW, please help. All advice and wisdom is appreciated.
ANSWER: You know what’s awesome? How my gut dropped reading that you were going to step into this role and you’re 18-years-young, AND that you’re asking for advice at all about where you are headed.
Here’s my honest opinion about stepparenting: I think most of us who enter into the deal don’t enter lightly. But at some point, when the reality of the messiness that lies ahead confronts us, we look at our lives and we tell ourselves, “I am an adult. I...
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