| Welcome
eMommies! |
| Wow, it's been a
while since I've done a newsletter. I have so much
information to share since it's been so long. I'll try
to save some of it for future issues though.
Welcome to those of you who are
new to emommies.net. I'm so glad you're joining
us. This newsletter is packed with information to help
moms be the best moms they can. If you have ideas or
articles you'd like to contribute, please contact
me. So, what's new at
emommies.net? Well, I'm working on switching
servers. It will mean more space which is sorely
needed. Hopefully the transition will be seamless and
those of you with emommies.net e-mail wont notice a
thing. If it's not seamless, then surly it will just
be a small snag...barely noticeable at all. Feel free
to email me if you have problems though. I'll let you
all know when the transition is complete. Hopefully,
this transition will mean that the message boards will
function once again. If so, keep your eye out for a
Community Opportunity for volunteer moderators for the
community forums. This is a perfect opportunity for
those of you who love to talk and think parties are the next
best thing to sliced bread. :) That's
it for now, so in the mean time, sit back, relax and enjoy
this issue. |
| Mommie
Tips for Back to School |
|
These Mommie Tips are actually
from an article by Rachel Webb that she wrote in 2000.
The tips are tried and true so I'm reprinting some of them
here.
Mark the Stuff! Put your child’s name on the back of everything...most of you
probably figured this one out and already mark the backpack,
books & jackets but what about their shoes? Last year my
7 year old daughter wore 4 different pairs of shoes home
that were not hers and couldn’t figure out why they
didn’t fit right! I gave up trying to figure out how
that could possibly happen and just started writing her name
on the bottom of the shoes!
Notes from Home A friend of mine who is an elementary school secretary, spends most of
her morning sorting through a "ga-zillion"
unmarked notes and wads of lunch money. She suggests that
before the school year starts, pre-mark envelopes with your
child’s name and grade on it. You may want to get a rubber stamp made up or order
personalized address labels. You can use them for lunch
money envelopes, identifying books, returning fieldtrip
permission slip’s, etc.
Photocopy Parental Release Forms How
many times are you going to fill out the emergency medical
form, you know, the one required by every school. One for
every child. I have 4 children x 13 years of school = 52
times! What a waste of time! This tip was shared by Anita
from Ohio she
pointed out that It can be very tedious looking up address
and phone number of the doctor, dentist, hospital, family
friend to call in an emergency, etc. Do it once, and file
photocopy’s on hand for the next year.
Pre-Pick Daily Clothes 90% of our school morning battles take place regarding what to wear.
Laying out clothes the night before helps, but if that
hasn’t solved your problem try this idea from Tandy a mom
of four. She bought a 5 compartment sweater hanger for the
closet and helps the child choose the wardrobe for the whole
week. Even socks and underwear get put in each days
"cubby" Sunday Afternoon. Ok Moms, that creates
your deadline for getting the laundry all caught up!
File System for School
Papers In preparing for the
multitude of papers your kids will be bringing home keep a
three tired wire basket by their bedroom door, or your
kitchen counter. Teach your kids basic organizational skills by having them
sort through their own backpacks and put papers that need
"To Be Signed" by mom in the top basket, Another
basket is for "Important Stuff Mom Needs" (PTA
info., fund-raisers, school policies, etc.) and a basket for
"Art & Awards" to be used as scrapbooking
ideas and keepers. One mom has a Rule for the top basket, if
it’s not in the top basket by bedtime, it doesn’t get
signed that night. This eliminates the last minute papers
waving in moms face as you rush out the door and gives you a
chance to actually READ what you are signing! |
| Attention:
Recalls (July
2004) |
Attention
everyone! This is a partial list of recalls and other
press releases provided by the Consumer Product Safety
Commission. Please check out their website for more
recalls. I only included child/family related ones
here. You can find more at http://www.cpsc.gov.
Toys
 CPSC,
Kmart Corporation Announce Recall of Pool Pump Water Guns
CPSC,
Target Announce Recall of Summerville™ Toy Truck Sets
CPSC,
Graco Children’s Products Announce Recall of Travel Lite™
Swings
CPSC,
Playworld Systems Inc. Announce Recall to Repair Swing Sets
CPSC
Announces Recall of Metal Toy Jewelry Sold in Vending
Machines; Firms agree to stop importation until hazard is
eliminated
Infant/Child
Product Recalls ~ No new recalls for this category.
Household
Products
CPSC,
Classic Concepts and Pottery Barn Announce Recall of
Flammable Rugs
Marshall
Field’s Recall of Fire Pit Spark Screen
CPSC,
NETGEAR Inc. Announce Recall of Wall Plug Ethernet Bridges
CPSC,
Dell Inc. Announce Recall of Power Adapters for Notebook
Computers
Clothing
~ No new recalls for this category.
Sports
CPSC,
Rivers Edge/Ardisam, Inc. Announce Recall of Tree Stands
Indoor & Outdoor Appliances & Equipment
CPSC,Shivvers
Manufacturing Announce Recall of Blower Blades for the Jazee
and Jazee One Grass Collection Systems
CPSC,
Simplicity Manufacturing Inc., Announce Recall to Repair
Lawn Tractors and Riding Mowers
CPSC,
BSH Home Appliances Corp. Announce Recall to Repair Range
Hoods
CPSC,
Tristar Products Inc. Announce Recall of Electric Pressure
Washers
CPSC,
Jo-Ann Stores Inc. Announce Recall of Bamboo Torches
CPSC,
Snow Peak USA, Inc., Announce Recall of Gas Camping Stoves
to Replace Pumps
CPSC,
Elkay Manufacturing Co. Announce Recall of Bottled Water
Coolers
CPSC,
Euroflex Americas Inc., and QVC Announce Recall of Steam
Cleaners
|
|
Feature
Article
|
HELP
YOUR CHILD HELP YOUR COMMUNITY
by Rachel Goldstein of
ArtistsHelpingChildren.org
As
a parent, you probably want to guide your child to
become a healthy and ethical adult. How can you lead
your child to a healthy future? What kind of
activities can you do together as a family that will
steer your child towards becoming a compassionate
adult? Community service and Volunteerism are your
answer. Not only will you show your child that it is
“cool” to care for others, but it will also be a
wonderful way to meet new people and possibly land
scholarship money for college.
How
do I get my child involved?
Below are some ways to get your children motivated
to want to help. Avoid bribing and coercion, the
mission is to get your child enthusiastic about
helping others.
1. What
do my parents do? – Children learn by
example. If your child sees you
volunteer, they will be more likely to want to
volunteer as well. It is also a great idea to
involve your child in your own volunteering
experience.
2. Find a meaningful activity
– Each child has interests that can be converted
in a great volunteering experience. If your child is
interested in art, match them up with an art charity
(http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org).
If your child is interested in homelessness, match
your child up with a homeless shelter. Once your
child is matched with the right project, your child
will encounter a rewarding experience that he or she
will always remember.
3. Involve friends and family
– It might be easier to involve your child if a
friend is also involved. Some children might be shy
and will want a peer to help soften the experience.
Also, with a friend, the project becomes more
special and enjoyable.
4. Meaningful conversation first
– It might be a good idea to watch the news
together and see what sparks your child interest.
Sometimes seeing less fortunate people and suffrage
can spark a child into wanting to volunteer. Also,
bring up social issues and discuss them with your
child.
What
are some web sites to find volunteering
opportunities?
Kids
for Community - http://www.kidsforcommunity.org/
Family Volunteering - http://www.1-800-volunteer.org/learn/family.jsp
Volunteer Match – http://www.volunteermatch.org
SERVEnet - http://www.servenet.org/
Service Leader - http://www.serviceleader.org/new/virtual/index.php
Do It - http://www.do-it.org.uk/youthnet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=445
Worldwide Volunteering - http://www.worldwidevolunteering.org.uk/
Online Volunteering - http://www.onlinevolunteering.org/
Can
volunteering really be good for my child?
You
bet it can! It has been proven by researchers that a
child’s self-esteem is boosted when taking on
altruistic responsibilities. When children help
others, they will begin to understand that they have
the strength to make a real difference in their
world…and this is a great feeling. Another
enormous benefit of volunteering is that a child
will gain a deeper understanding of the needs and
wants of others. Researchers have also noticed that
children who volunteer might gain increased academic
skills, including critical thinking and problem
solving skills. Another added benefit is that your
child might realize what he or she wants to pursue
as a career.
Rachel
Goldstein runs
Artists Helping Children – http://www.ArtistsHelpingChildren.org
- A non-profit charity dedicated to bringing
comfort to children in hospitals, clinics, and
shelters by brightening their environment with
murals, artwork, toys, and art supplies. If you are
interested in getting involved and volunteering for
Artists Helping Children, please email them at
allfreelance@comcast.net and let them know how you
would like to help.
|
|
|
Short Story Contest
|
|
It's that time of year
again. Time for our end of the summer Short Story
Contest. So get those
creative juices flowing. I know you can all handle this one.
Jamie Lee Curtis, John Lithgow, Marlee Matlin and Spike Lee
have all written children's stories. I know
you can do it! Think of all the times that
you've spun a tale for your little one? They love
it! You're the best story teller ever in their
eyes. Well, you're pretty awesome in our eyes too, so
get to work and get those short children's stories to
me. Visit our Contest
page for more details. Also, remember the winner of
this Summer's Short Story Contest gets a copy of The Mom
Book!
Make your short
story interactive with Site
Gadget's Fun Lib feature. Here's a
quick (and lame) example. Fill In Our FunLib!
|
|
Coming
Soon
|
Mother Daughter Book Club Blog
This summer I joined a
Mother Daughter Book Club with my oldest daughter (8).
We loved it! We read some fantastic books and had a
great time. Keep your eye out for the online version
of the Mother Daughter Book Club. We'll either use a
chat feature or a blog. I like the blog idea because
we don't all have to coordinate our busy schedules and we
can blog whenever we have some time. If you have any
ideas, let me know.
|
| emommieHumor |
|
by Sandra Lamb
|
|
| In
This Issue |
- Welcome to
emommieNews
- Mommie Tips
- Attention:
Recalls
- Feature Article
- Short Story Contest
- Coming Soon
- emommieHumor
- The Purse that
Works
- Fun With Kids
- emommieRomance
- emommieAwards
- Business Solutions
- Community
Opportunities
- Vote for
emommies.net
- Guestbook Grand
Re-Opening
|
| Not
Just A Purse... A Solution! |
|
The
Purse That Works!
Check
out Pic-A-Purse!
You can stop
looking for the perfect purse. You just found
it! This is the perfect solution for any woman who
desires an end to the "black hole" dilemma of her current purse or tote. You will love
PicAPurse!
A classy
professional system to establish a "place for
everything in your purse" or a stylish diaper bag
system that allows for organization of necessities for both
mommie and baby.
Check out our great styles today!
|
| Fun
With Kids |
Personalized
Backpacks
If your kids are like mine, they are eagerly anticipating
the return of school. Here's one way to have fun with
your kids and satisfy their impatience (temporarily at least).
What you'll need:
- plain
canvas backpack in color of choice
- patches
- fabric
paints
- buttons
and other notions
- charms
& rings
To make your
personalized backpack, lay the backpack flat and arrange the
patches and other items as desired. Sew or iron on once
you have the look you want. Fill in the remaining space
with fabric paint as desired. Use the rings and charms
to add zip to the zipper pulls.
Be creative and
have fun. Send pictures of your finished product to Noelle@emommies.net. |
| emommieRomance |
|
Here
are some tips for keeping the romance...and more importantly,
the relationship alive, when kids, jobs and time all seem to
be working against you.
-
This
may seem obvious, but get a sitter. Don't feel
guilty...you're kids will benefit from the interaction
with other positive role models. If money is an
issue, parent swap with a neighbor or good friend.
-
It's
ok to plant your older kids in front of the TV once in a
while to watch a movie for an hour or two in order to
spend some time with your partner.
-
If
you have babies or toddlers, reserve nap times for romance
not cleaning. The house will wait, even great
relationships need constant attention.
-
Put
the kids to bed at a regular bedtime that is a couple
hours before yours. This will give you quality,
uninterrupted time to spend with your husband
-
If
putting the kids to bed at 8:30 every night is not
possible, then think about sending them up early to read
in bed once or twice a week.
-
Take
advantage of fleeting moments. Hug and kiss when you
get home from work, or when your husband is fixing
dinner. Your kids will benefit from healthy displays
of love and affection between their parents.
-
Don't
just rely on physical displays of romance. Take time
to write, email or text message your partner a short note. "I Love You!", "Been
thinking about you all day!", or "Can't
wait until tonight ;)"
When
you have kids running around, it's true that free time is
scarce, so make sure to take advantage of every available
minute to let your partner know how much you love, desire and
appreciate them.
|
| emommieAward |
|
This
month's emommieAward winner is...
See the article to the left and visit their
web site. They are making a difference!
|
| Business
Solutions
|
| Attention
Moms who own small businesses. If you are in need of
assistance with creating your web presence, contact Noelle
for information on affordable solutions to your small business
web needs, or visit our Business
Solutions area for details. |
| Community
Opportunity |
|
Want to help build
the emommies.net community? Here's where to look...
Looking for
volunteer help with the emommies.net Kitchen -
If you are interested, contact
me and we can brainstorm some ideas. This area has
been updated a bit, but is running offline until the server
change. I'd like it to go fully functional after the
server change, but I'll need some help.
|
| Vote |
| Don't
forget to take a few minutes to vote for emommies.net in the
following top site list competitions.
|
| Guestbook
Grand Re-Opening
|
| The
emommies.net guestbooks have been down now for quite some
time. They used to go down from time to time, but
they'd be back up after a week or so. Apparently, our
guestbook server was prone to hackers. We can't have
that, so I have started a new guestbook. Our Grand
Re-Opening will be during the month of August. Keep an
eye out for our Grand Re-Opening Party Invitation. Come by for a
visit, say "hi" and help fill us up again.
Nothing is worse than an empty guestbook. Ok, there are some things that are worse,
plenty actually, but figuratively speaking, a quiet
guestbook is a sad guestbook.
|
|
