Issue 6

May 2001
Welcome to emommieNews

Happy Mother's Day!!!!  emommies.net wants to be the first to wish all emommies the very happiest Mother's Day!  Relax!  Pamper Yourself!  Spend Lots of Money!  Whatever it will take to make this day special is what I want for all of you terrific mommies.  

Ok all you moms out there.  Take a deep breath.  I don't want anyone going into cardiac arrest just because there is finally another issue of emommieNews.  It's been long in coming but I hope worth it.  

There have been tons of changes and there is lots to talk about in this newsletter.  There are also a lot of new emommies out there who never before have had the pleasure of receiving emommieNews hot off the presses.  So, let's hop right in and talk about stuff.  Enjoy.

If you would like more information on how you can contribute to emommieNews, e-mail me at Noelle@emommies.net

 
Feature Article
How to Get the Perfect Mothers Day Gift!
By Walter & Rachel Webb Copyright ©2001
 
Before Sigmund Freud died he wrote, "The great question...which I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is 'what does a woman want?”  Somewhere along the way women have started to believe that if he really loves me, he will figure out what I want.  May I suggest that if you really love him, TELL him what you want!  Simplify your life, strengthen your relationship and take the mystery out of how he can help make you happy.

In the best selling book, "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus" John Gray lists 101 ways to score points with a woman.  Do you envy Johns' wife? Her husband 'gets it'.  He knows how to make her happy.  Want to know how he figured it out - She told him!  Ok so she may not have made the list for him and let him publish it, but when he tried out the 101 ideas she offered appreciation, feedback, thanks and positive support for his behavior.  Non-verbally telling him what she wants by her response.

Ideally, a well thought out gift from your significant other on your Birthday, Mothers day and other important holidays should not be asking too much. But, if you have not spent the entire year letting him know your likes and dislikes don't be surprised if you do not receive a gift that suits your needs, personality, style and taste.  That is, if your needs, personality, style and taste have remained the same long enough for him to start a mental file of your hints. Even the best husband should not be expected to read his wife's mind...lets face it ladies, we change our minds too often! 

I recommend giving the man in your life 3 suggestions on what to give you for holidays.  Three items to choose from shows them that you trust their choice and yet still offers you an element of surprise before you open the present.

Now about that list: unless your husband is extraordinary in the memory and shopping skills department, write out the list by item including the store address, color, size, and price range.  Most men will find a gift list useless and frustrating without the added details but are genuinely anxious to please you if they are only shown how.  In fact, they may become so excited to have successfully found the item you asked for they will pay anything to obtain it...thus the suggested price range!

The fact of the matter is that most men would be grateful if you bought your own gift, wrapped it and put their name on it, however, most women would find this highly objectionable.  By communicating openly about your idea of the perfect gift you create a winning situation for you, your husband and the store employee behind the return counter!

 

Attention: Recalls (February, March, April)
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. 

 

What's New @ emommies.net?

What's new?  Well, nearly the whole site is new if you want to know.  But, seeing as how most of you would like me to be a bit more specific, I'll elaborate briefly.

  • As many of you know, the point system is one of the biggest changes at emommies.net.  The way the point system works, is pretty simple.  For each article, tip, recipe, etc you contribute to emommies.net, you will be awarded points.  Once an emommie has earned enough points, she can redeem those points for cool stuff.  You can find out more about the point system at emommies.net by clicking here.  Please be patient.  I am still working out the bugs but it seems to be working well.  I finally managed to get my dh to show me how to use the database that he lovingly created for me.  It makes things SOOO much simpler.  I'm in the process of transferring all my old info about you emommies into the database now.  I still need a few pointers from my resident computer guru but I should be all systems go pretty soon.  In the mean time, if you notice that I've forgotten to give you credit for something you contributed, let me know and I'll get my ducks in a row.
  • emommieHumor is also had a huge facelift!  Practice those Keigel exercises before entering.  You might just wet yourself!  emommieHumor is also a great place to rack up points.  You can contribute jokes, funny stories, pictures just to name a few.  Check out emommieHumor today!
  • Our Message Boards are new.  We changed message board hosts and now have the coolest message boards.  Check them out!  You can find the link from the emommies.net website or click here.
  • Join the emommies.net webring!  You can earn 50 points as well as increase traffic to both your site and ours.  For more information, visit emommies Webrings.
Our Mission Statement

For those of you who are new and haven't had the chance to read our mission statement yet, here it is. 

eMommies.net Mission Statement

emommies.net is a community developed by moms, for moms.  We at emommies.net are dedicated to providing ALL types of moms with excellent service and superior resources.  emommies.net recognizes that while every mother is unique in her goals and ideals, we all strive to be the best mommies we are capable of being.  With this in mind, we promise to strive to provide quality information that will aid our emommies in achieving this objective.  It is our goal that emommies.net be a community where emommies can grow as individuals and as mothers, network with other mommies, and most importantly, develop lifelong friendships.
Our Kid's Behavior
Potty Training....Woes to Wows

In our last newsletter, I asked for you emommies to send me your potty training advice.  How to turn woes into wows.  I didn't get tons of responses, but what I did get was awesome.  Thanks ladies!

From Mary ~ I don't know if this will help, but it may put things in perspective.  I have two children-- a boy who is 7 and a girl who is not quite 3.  My son has autism.  He is very high-functioning and quite verbal; however, he had tremendous difficulty learning to use the toilet.  He eventually became toilet trained at age six and a half. 
By contrast, his little sister (who is typically developing) pretty much trained herself when she was two years and 10 minths old.  The lesson I learned from my experience with my son was to just relax.  No child is going to start using the toilet before he or she is ready.  I'm sure you know this already!
Just keep a sense of humor-- as one of my son's teachers said "Very few kids go to high school in diapers."  Good luck.

From Jan ~ My daughter was able to learn to "pee-pee" in the potty rather quickly.  But man, she wouldn't poop to save her life.  Finally, we started doing the "poopie dance".  I got the idea from this website a while ago.  One of the other moms told us about it on the message boards.  IT WORKED!  The "poopie dance" was just a silly little song and dance we did every time she made it in the toilet.  It didn't take long at all.  Maybe a week or two.  Now we are diaper free!!!  Woopie!

 
Working Moms

Many of you may have already noticed that we have added our very own Classified Ad section.  I have had such an overwhelmingly positive response to this feature of emommies.net.  Within the first two days of having the classified section up, I received about 50 e-mails.  Most of those mommies who e-mailed me eagerly joined emommies.net and had their ads posted!  In just a few short days, I went from one very blank classified page to 3 pages!  

If you are an emommie who has a product or service that would be of interest to other moms, let me know and you can add your classified ad for FREE!

For more information and to check out our Classified Ads, visit the emommiesSay section and click on Classifieds.

Letters To The Editor

Dear Editor,
I think you should include tips for single moms in your newsletter also.
Thanks,
Ena

Ena,
First of all let me say Thank You So Much for giving me your input on the emommieNews newsletter.  I know that much of the information we have here is offered to moms in general.  I agree with you though that we could greatly improve our newsletter by addressing more specific areas like single parenting.  

I would love for all single moms out there to help me out with this since I have little experience being a single mom.  The nine and a half weeks I spent last summer (while dh was in Germany) hardly qualify me.  LOL.  So, if you are a single mom, let emommies.net know how we can better serve you!  

What I can do though is add a section to emommiesSay that will address specific needs of single moms.  I'll also add a board to our message boards that will offer a place for single moms to share thoughts and ideas.

I hope this will help to address this need.  Ena, I'd love for you to maybe think about writing a column for the newsletter (or at least an article or two) that will address the needs of our single emommies.  What do you think?

Thanks,
Noelle

Do you have a question or comment for the emommies.net editor?  If so, I'd love to hear from you.  Send your letters to Noelle@emommies.net.

Romance Tip
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but I think it's something we all need reminded of once in a while.  Have you ever noticed how couples who are newly in love will constantly be showing their affection publicly?  I'm not talking about those couples who are practically making out in the lines at the amusement park.  I'm talking about holding hands, knowing glances, brief kisses.  I wonder if the reason that they do these things is because they haven't had kids yet.  

I'm not sure what it is, but when my husband and I started having kids, we stopped holding hands in public as often.  Maybe because we had other hands to hold instead.  I'm not sure, but at any rate, I miss that.  So, I'm making a pledge to show my husband (and those around us) that I love him.  I will hold his hand in public and maybe even steal a kiss when I think no one is looking.  Nothing that would be met with calls to "Get a room!" but simple affectionate measures that help to give us the warm fuzzy feelings of being madly in love.

I encourage all my fellow emommies to do the same.  Who knows, maybe you will be the couple in front of us at the movie, sneaking kisses in the dark.  It could happen.

Do you have a romantic tip that you would like to share with other emommies?  If so, contact Noelle.  Ask about how submitting a tip will help you to get cool stuff for FREE!
May Contest
Send me your pictures!  This months contest is....
"What I want to be when I grow up"
Check out our contest section for details.  The deadline for pictures to be submitted is May 15th.  So get clicking!  We will post the photos and all will be able to judge.  The judging will take place from May 20th to May 30th.  Winner to be announced May 31st.  Good luck!
 
In This Issue
  • Welcome
  • Feature Article: How to Get the Perfect Mother's Day Gift!
  • Attention: Recalls
  • What's New?
  • Mission Statement
  • Our Kids' Behavior
  • Working Moms
  • Letters To The Editor
  • Romance Tip
  • May Contest
  • Hot Topic
  • Humor
  • Craft Corner
  • Recipe
  • MommiesClub ~ Playgroups
 
Hot Topic
Check out our Hot Topic! 
~The Family Bed~
Share your opinion on having the kids sleep with mom & dad.
Humor
You're going to get big bang for your buck with this months newsletter.  Twice as much humor!  Visit our Humor section for even more side splitting fun.

Toddler Property Laws 

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hands, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a week ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it's mine.
8. If I think it's mine, it's mine.
9. If it it's near me, it's mine.
10.If it's broccoli, it's yours.


Pregnancy Humor

Q: Should I have a baby after 45?
A: No, 45 children is enough.

Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he or she finishes college.

Q: How will I know if my vomiting is morning sickness or the flu?
A: If it's the flu, you'll get better.

Q: What is the most common pregnancy craving?
A: For men to be the ones who get pregnant.

Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: The more pregnant I get, the more often strangers smile at me. Why? 
A: 'Cause you're fatter than they are. 

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's borderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?

Q: What's the difference between a nine-month pregnant woman and a model? 
A: Nothing (if the pregnant woman's husband knows what's good for him). 

Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right? 
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor? 
A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth? 
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Does pregnancy cause hemorrhoids? 
A: Pregnancy causes anything you want to blame it for.

Q: What does it mean when a baby is born with teeth? 
A: It means that the baby's mother may want to rethink her plans to nurse.

Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.

Do you have a bit of humor that you would like to share with other emommies?  If so, visit emommiesSay and click on "Humor" for more information. 
Craft Corner

Bath Crayons

You will need:
1 cup grated Ivory® Soap.
1/4 cup warm water
food coloring
ice cube tray

Mix water, soap and food coloring together in a medium bowl.  Stir the crayon mixture until it begins to get stiff.  Remove the mixture and knead until it has thickened.  Place the crayon mixture into plastic ice cube trays and pop them in the freezer until they are hard (about 30 minutes) then, remove them from the tray and let them dry overnight.

.Do you have a craft idea that you would like to share with other emommies?  If so, contact Noelle. 

Recipe

In honor of Mother's Day, here's a recipe from Natalie.  Thanks Nat!

Mom's Garlic Bubble Bread

1 loaf frozen bread dough
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 egg
2 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt

Grease loaf pan. Thaw bread dough and cut into walnut-sized pieces. Melt margarine; beat in egg, parsley flakes, garlic powder, and salt. Roll bread dough pieces in the liquid mixture. Layer or pile in loaf pan. Let rise. Bake at 325 until golden brown.

Do you have a recipe that you would like to share with other emommies?  If so visit our Recipes section for more details.
Playgroups

emommies.net is proud to offer help to moms who are interested in starting or joining playgroups.  You can find more information about this in our MommiesClub™  section.  Below is a great article on why to start or join a playgroup.  It is written by a woman who has been helping people start playgroups all around the world.

 

Find What You Need In A Playgroup
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a career mom or at-home dad. Both at-home and working parents are discovering that playgroups provide the same crucial support that business associations and professional organizations provide in the workforce. If you want to make new friends, meet more of your neighbors and spend time with your children and their friends, you need to consider joining a playgroup. Playgroups are ideal for families on a one-income budget, and even working parents find the benefits worthwhile.

What kind of support do you need as a parent? Chances are that you will find it in a playgroup. Take a look at some of the advantages to participating in a playgroup for both adults and children.

Free or Low Cost Entertainment
For entertainment on a regular basis, the playgroup is unmatched! Weekly playgroups provide an enjoyable diversion where the children can play with friends while their moms talk or where all the members enjoy a structured mom-child activity.

“We meet three times a week, which is a big help to keep the kids busy during the week and to allow them to make strong friendships,” says Jessica LaLonde, mother of three and founder of Young Moms of Orange County in California.

Plus, whether meeting in each other’s homes or at a central location like a park, spending time with friends in a playgroup doesn’t have to cost a cent! Most neighborhood playgroups do not charge membership dues at all. Although local chapters of national organizations often charge fees, they are nominal and they cover a variety of services and benefits, including playgroups.

Time Out and Support
All moms need a break now and then, but many don't have the extra money to spend on a Moms Day Out program or on going out. Playgroups offer an opportunity for parents to get that weekly break from home, and yet spend time with their children at the same time.

“There isn’t any ‘off time’ as a parent, ”says Danielle Lee of Mission Viejo, California, who founded the Working Moms Community Organization. “Having a support system like a playgroup is somewhat therapeutic.”

Playgroups offer parents a chance to seek parenting advice and share experiences from peers who are facing the same struggles. In today’s society many new mothers not only have postponed having children, but also have moved great distances from their families and friends. They no longer have that built-in support system that all new moms need. Playgroups and parents’ groups fill that gap.

However, playgroups are not just for new mothers. Playgroups for working parents and at-home dads are increasing, according to OnlinePlaygroup.com, an Internet resource for finding, starting and managing a playgroup. They too are finding the support they need as parents.

Practical Support System
Playgroups offer a practical support system through the extra services that they may provide to their members. Some playgroups institute an “In a Pinch” service with a list of moms who can babysit at the last minute. Others set up a babysitting co-op of families who decide to share babysitting among themselves without the exchange of money. In both cases, not only is it convenient for parents to have someone they can call at the last minute to babysit, but it is also comforting to have someone whom they know and trust to watch their child. In addition, through playgroup, their children know and feel comfortable with that other adult as well.

Besides bartering babysitting, many playgroups offer other barter systems, where members exchange goods and/or services with other members. These can include coupons, maternity and children’s clothes, and other baby items as well as services such as mowing the lawn, painting a room, or sewing clothes.

Also, many playgroups go outside to the community and find local businesses that offer discounts for non-profit groups. That can be a real cost-saving benefit for families on a budget.

Activities and Socialization
Many parents’ groups and playgroups schedule field trips and other special events. The field trips can be “behind the scenes” tours of such places as fire stations, police stations, and other no-cost locations. Members get a chance to see the local sites and learn more about the area in which they live. Some groups even become involved in the community through various service projects.

However, even if a playgroup does not schedule special activities like field trips, playdates provide a chance for socialization. During play, the children learn valuable skills, such as how to share, take turns and role-play. They can also engage in crafts or other structured activities. For families who don’t want to consider preschool or a Moms Day Out program, a playgroup is a viable solution.

Unlike a Moms Day Out program or babysitting service, playgroups keep parents and their children together. That means no worries with separation anxiety! The children can play and have fun without having to worry about mom leaving. It’s a very reassuring and confidence-building way to introduce children to socialization and to give them a little bit of independence at the same time. Not to mention, if the playgroup offers structured activities, it’s 100 percent quality time with your child!

Friendship
Friendship may be the most important reason for joining a playgroup. Playgroups provide children with the opportunity to make new friends and to play with others besides their own siblings. In addition, many of the children in playgroup will likely be in their classes when school starts, especially if the group is composed of neighborhood residents. Children can make lifelong friends in playgroup!

Playgroups are not just for children, however. After having a child, new moms almost instantaneously experience a lifestyle change with which their current set of friends cannot identify. Playgroups give moms a chance to make new friends. Many adults, too, find lifelong friends in their playgroups!

As a parent, you owe it to yourself and your child to consider joining your local playgroup. So go out and find a playgroup! Your new friends are waiting for you!


About the Author:
Carren W. Joye is the author of A Stay-at-Home Mom's Complete Guide to Playgroups (iUniverse.com, ISBN 0-595-14684-8). A homeschooling mom of four children, she has founded five successful playgroups and helped start countless other playgroups around the world via the Internet at OnlinePlaygroup.com (http://www.OnlinePlaygroup.com).
 

Deadline for June Newsletter is May 15, 2001.
E-mail submissions to Noelle@emommies.net.

emommieNews is the official Newsletter of emommies.net.  The opinions expressed in the above articles are not necessarily the opinions of the founders.

This newsletter is published for the members of emommieNews.  If you are not a member, and received this publication in error, contact Noelle@emommies.net.  If you would like to be a member of emommies.net and receive this newsletter regularly, visit http://www.emommies.net/emommieNews_Archive.htm for more information on how to join.