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Testimonials Needed!

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We’ve got a great page here on the blog where we share some of the awesome stuff that other moms have said about our site, and we’d like to expand it! We’d like to hear what YOU think about our site! Leave your feedback in the comments section of this post, along with your URL and if we use yours we will link back to you for some link love as well!

To check out what types of things we’ve included so far, check out our Testimonials page.

So give it to us - we can’t wait to hear what you have to say:)

Crystal & Tracy

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Concrete Engraving

One of the best things about my job is all the great new decor ideas I learn with each new issue. In the latest issue of Canadian Homestead, I found an ad for Custom Concrete Engraving that peaked my interest, so I visited the site and I LOVE it!

Basically, concrete engraving is done on dry concrete, and can be done on any concrete, any age. It doesn’t refinish the floor, instead they use concrete engraving tools to create grout lines, making the shape and size of tiles or stone you are looking for. Then, they use a stain to stain the floor to match your desired look!

It’s a great option for sprucing up walkways, driveways, concrete garden paths, etc, but it’s also a perfect choice for basement floors where moisture is a concern. For us, moisture is a bit of a concern because it stays so humid and moist downstairs all the time, even with the dehumidifier on. Engraving would be a great way to spruce up the concrete floors, and they would be easy to clean and maintain afterwards as well.

Here are a few samples from Bell’s Custom Concrete Engraving, showing some of the possibilities.

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Dressing On A Dime

Frugal Clothing

When discussing frugal clothing, most people think about how to purchase clothing affordably. Of course, we could talk about shopping at thrift stores, garage sales, or eBay. However, another aspect of frugal clothing is that clothing that is cared for lasts longer. It’s always cheaper to keep something nice and get more use out of it, than to shop for new, right?

How many of us follow the washing instructions on our clothing to the letter? If we did, it could save us money. Clothing lasts longer when it is properly cared for.

To save money, sometimes you have to spend money. Invest in good quality clothing. Items that are well made will cut clothing costs in the long run.

Durable clothes do not have to be purchased from high end stores with large price tags. Consignment shops and thrift stores also sell good quality clothing. You will have to take the time to look for them, but the deals that you find will be well worth it.

Store your clothing properly. Wire hangers are no good for sweaters or fine fabrics. Instead, purchase plastic or satin covered hangers. Wire hangers can rust and leave stains on your clothing that the other hangers will not.

Be careful about storing certain fabrics in cleaning bags. Silk and wool clothing need to breathe. Plastic storage and dry-cleaning bags do not allow for that.

If you need to store your clothing, use garment bags and other storage devices. If your closet is cramped, storage boxes can be used to store sweaters and seasonal clothing when you don’t need them. Shoes can also be stored in shoe boxes or over-the-door shoe hangers to avoid clutter.

If you do get a stain on your clothes, treat it as quickly as you can. This will keep the apparel from being damaged. Wash the items by hand so the stain will not set in and then launder as usual.

Try not to buy too many trendy clothes. They are more expensive, and when the fashion fades, you will be left with items that you won’t want to wear anymore. Purchase outfits that are more practical and not attached to fads.

Frugal shopping can save money on the family clothing bill. The key to making it work is how well you take care of your outfits after you buy them.

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Getting Sticky with Kids Craft Weekly

Kids Craft Weekly has always been one of my favorite sites for craft ideas. I subscribe to Amber’s weekly newsletter, and we use many of the ideas she shares. This week, their newsletter was all about sticking things together. This is right up the alley for both of my girls who love stickers. We will definitely be trying some of these.

Sticky Robot Shapes - Use various colors of contact paper to make a robot. Try several different shapes and then add number or letter stickers as embellishment.

Because I don’t have any contact paper on hand, I will have to wait to do this one, or we can just use scraps of material or paper and mod-podge instead.

The Ultimate Sticky Canvas - Set up an easel and hang a piece of contact paper sticky side out. Pull out the embellishments and let your child go to town creating their own work of art.

I guess I really do need to add some contact paper to my collection. We have been known to do something similar by randomly spreading glue on a piece of paper and embellishing that, but I love the idea of something as large as Amber’s project.

Easy Paper Mache - We’ve all seen the complex paste recipes and elaborate wire frames usually associated with paper mache. Try this simple version with supplies that you probably have around your home.

Paper Mache is not a project we have tried in our house yet. I believe I have everything that I would need to do this project though, so we may just try it later this week.

So, my ever growing list of craft supplies I want now includes contact paper in as many colors and varieties as I can find. Are there any other sticky items that are in your craft collection or on your wishlist?

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S’mores Ice Cream

Make an awesome S’more Sundae at home. This is a great treat to make with the whole family or for a kid’s party since it’s quick and easy to make.

Chill the marble stone slab or stone cutting board overnight in your freezer compartment. That keeps the ice cream and other goodies cold. Use the ice cream paddles or scoops to smoosh the goodies into the ice cream. The anti-freezing solution in the paddles keeps the ice cream from sticking to them. Then stack your creation in a cone or in a dish.

S’mores Ice Cream

Regular or chocolate graham crackers
Milk chocolate candy bars
Marshmallow fluff
Vanilla or chocolate ice cream
Chocolate syrup

Coarsely crush graham crackers. Chop candy bars into small pieces. If you are serving s’mores ice cream for a party, prepare the graham crackers and chocolate candy bars before hand.

Place several scoops of ice cream on frozen stone slab. Add crushed graham crackers, chocolate pieces, and marshmallow fluff to ice cream and smoosh or mix together with paddles.

Serve in bowls and drizzle with chocolate syrup for s’mores sundaes or scoop into waffle cones.

Peanut Butter and Jelly S’mores Ice Cream

Graham Crackers
Strawberry, Grape or your favorite flavor of preserves or jelly
Peanut Butter
Marshmallow Fluff

Coarsely crush graham crackers.

Place several scoops of ice cream on frozen stone slab. Add crushed graham crackers, jelly or preserves, peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff to ice cream and smoosh or mix together with paddles.

Serve in bowls for s’mores sundaes or scoop into waffle cones.

For variation add cookies, candies, syrups, and more to your favorite ice creams just like they do at the ice cream shops.

If you already have a marble stone cutting board, it works fine for smooshing the ice cream and the mix-ins. Just place in freezer for several hours before preparing ice cream.

You can purchase a set that includes the marble stone board and two paddles at Amazon.com
or at Preparedpantry.com

The Contests and Giveaways Blog is giving away free ice cream!
Prizes include:
Third Prize = 4 pints of ice cream. Your choice from their website (value $54.98)
Second Prize = 6 pints of ice cream. Your choice from their website (value $69.98)
First Prize = 8 pints of ice cream. Your choice from their website PLUS an ice cream scoop! (value $106.97)

So, What Do You Have To Do? Well, that’s the fun part! Contest ends July 31st so hurry over and find out how you can win Free Ice Cream!

Eleisia Whitney has a Watkins Home Business. She enjoys cooking and baking with Watkins extracts, spices, herbs, and sauces for healthy meals. Eleisia publishes a Watkins Newsletter called Around the Kitchen Table, that brings you recipes, cooking and health tips, and contests for free Watkins products.
Read the current issue at http://www.everydaynecessities.com/july15-08newsletter.htm
Visit her at http://www.everydaynecessities.com and http://www.WatkinsOnline.com/eleisiawhitney

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Never Too Young For Stress

We often wonder how a child can have stress.  Childhood stress related diseases are not uncommon and many are related to post traumatic events.  They are then categorized as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  These are usually found one month following an injury and sometimes up to 6 months later.

PTSD is not only associated with major trauma.  It is also prevalent among youngsters who experience injuries considered mild or moderate, such as bicycle accidents or falls.

An increase exposure to violent entertainment has also created a generation of stress-out children.  As an adult, we know that if someone dies on a  television show, the actor isn’t really dead.  Experience tells us that, but children do not have that experience.  Children have a difficult time separating fact from fiction.    For example, why can you read the same book over and over again to your little ones?  Because they have not developed the cognitive skills to understand that, no matter how many times you read the same story, the ending will be the same.

What is PTSD?

According to the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Alliance, PTSD is a complex health condition that can develop in response to a traumatic experience.  The trauma can be life threatening or an extremely distressing situation that causes the person to feel intense fear.  The younger the child, the more likely he or she is to develop PTSD.  This is mainly due to cognitive growth.  The world of a child is very small.  Everything must be processed through a filter of learned experiences.  If those experiences are limited because of age, children have less to work with.

Symptoms of PTSD include reliving the event or events, restlessness, rage and always being ‘on guard’.

There are not only emotional ramifications but physical ones as well.  These symptoms include neck pain, headaches, muscle soreness, and fatigue.  Some more serious symptoms to be aware of are the following and may require attention from a mental-health practitioner:

• teeth grinding
• frequent nightmares
• difficulty sleeping
• eating disorders
• fear of dark, familiar places or being left alone
• inability to concentrate
• altered moods: quiet child becomes aggressive, or aggressive child withdrawing
• regressive behavior such as thumb sucking or bed wetting

There ways we can help children with these problems.  Children thrive on routine.  When that routine is shaken or altered, so are they.  Following a trauma, it is important to be more affectionate, discuss the feelings of the event, watch a silly movie together, watch less television and engage in board games or family game night, be patient, let them know that it is common to feel afraid sometimes and stick to a routine.

Children are not as strong as us and we need to be there to comfort and guide them to a healthy adult lifestyle.  This can be done with love, patience and kindness.

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Bloggy Giveaways Carnival

The Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Giveaway Carnival is finally here!

Bloggy Giveaways is hosting its quarterly giveaway from August 28 - August 1. Visit all the of the other participants, see what they are giving away, and join in the fun!

Add your blog and giveaway to the list. Guidelines here.

I’m giving away a $25 Watkins Gift Certificate.

Use it to order gourmet ingredients for your special recipes. Or you might like to order some of our all-natural bath and body products or our all-natural environmentally safe cleaning products.

Please leave a comment below to be entered in my giveaway. This contest is open to bloggers and non-bloggers alike, residents of the US and Canada only.

You’ll find the list of giveaways here.

Visit my Watkins store for gourmet ingredients, natural bath and body, home remedies, and home care.
http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney/

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Real Moms Talk About: ListPlanIt.com

A Review By Real Moms Review Panel Member:  Jacquie Engbrecht

When I got the opportunity to review ListPlanIt.com, I was really excited! Who doesn’t love lists?!?! Well…my husband hates lists, but I adore them and for anyone else like me, you’ll love this resource site!

Now there’s more than just lists at ListPlanIt.com – you’ll definitely find many ready made checklists that you can download, like all the items in your home that you can spruce up when spring cleaning time comes around or what to pack when you go traveling, but you’ll also find tons of PDF forms that you can type in or print off and write in to create your own lists, like contacts, blogging topics, goals, etc. and other planning sheets with charts for chores, menus, recipes and the “list” goes on (pun fully intended)! J

I really loved the fact that many of the PDF forms can be saved so that you can easily make changes and updates in the future. Also, the ability to download them to your computer for future use is a great feature. With over 300 lists and planning sheets to peruse, you may not want to download each one separately – so for a very reasonable price, you can also purchase the ePlanners, which have all the lists for a particular category in one file.

But ongoing membership definitely has its benefits, as the creator and founder, Jennifer Tankersley, is continuously adding new lists to her growing stock. To become a member, the cost is very affordable at only $9.95 for 3 months or $29.95 for a full year!

As for me, I already downloaded a few dozen forms and typed in & printed off several which I was then able to put in a small binder as a great resource for all my home planning and organizing. There were so many different types of lists and forms that I never would have thought of, but realized would be so helpful to me and even necessary, like creating a home inventory or having a plan in case of an emergency evacuation.

With categories for your business, club, family, finances, home management, meal planning, memories, personal interests, time management, students, travel and more, you’re bound to find many lists and planning sheets that would be relevant and helpful for you, so go check it out at ListPlanIt.com! As an added bonus, you might also enjoy Jennifer’s blog List Mama Blog with even more “lists of lists for list-lovin’ mamas”.

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Vote: Power Publicity & Promotions Giveaway!

Crissy Herron Gipson from IndieBizChicks.com has written a 48-page ebook called Power Publicity & Promotions that will help you effectively promote your business - even if you have a small budget and

We’re giving a copy away!

Four of our entrants gave all of the information we asked for in their comments.

The finalists are (in no particular order):

http://www.freebirthdaytreats.com/ - Julie N
This is exactly the kind of help I desperately need to grow my online business! ! I truly believe this ebook would not only boost my confidence, but help get my website/blog in front of millions!

http://audreysspot.blogspot.com/ - Audrey
I have never had a mentor for press releases and I know I’m missing out on a valuable marketing tool. I believe learning how to write and submit press releases will help my business grow in a new direction.

http://robinlemon.com/ - Robin Lemon
Since I am going full speed ahead with Pillows of Lavender and launching an affiliate program during the grand opening in September, I have to make my advertising and promotion $$ work for me. I am working hard to ensure I have all the bases covered in time. I would love the opportunity to win Power , Publicity and Promotions and learn some of Crissy’s tips , it would be perfect timing for me.

AND

http://www.cutiecovers.blogspot.com/ - Trishia Parker
Oh, this would be perfect for me! I have started selling nursing covers and baby legging, and currently I just do it from craigslist, and another local free classifieds. I’m just a stay-at-home mom trying to make a little extra money. I would love to learn how to get to more people!

Please help us choose a winner!

What To Do:

Read the reasons each person wants to win and visit their sites.  Then, come back here and leave us a comment with who you think deserves to win a copy of Power Publicity & Promotion.

Voting ends on 8/1/08.  The person with the most positive comments will win.

Thanks & Happy Voting!

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Inexpensive Entertaining

Frugal Entertaining

Do you love to have company in your home, but hate to spend big money to do so? Even weekend visitors can put a crimp in your family budget. Learn ways to entertain family and friends anytime without having to take out a loan.

The worst part of entertaining is the preparation. Every host or hostess wants their presentation to be perfect, but there aren’t enough hours in the day, especially if guests show up unannounced.

The instinct is to order food from a local restaurant, by delivery, or order a pizza. Both are highly expensive.

An option is to run out and purchase prepackaged foods. Food warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club sell prepared food trays. Tray sizes vary so it is easy to choose the one that fits the number of guests you are serving. Create a buffet with cheese, meat, deli, fruit, chicken, and cracker trays.

Offering a variety of sodas can be messy – and expensive. Instead, fix a citrus punch bowl.

You will need: two or three 2-liter bottles of lemon-lime soda, two cans of pineapple juice, a bag of ice cubes, and a tub of lime sherbet.

The taste is light enough for everyone. If you don’t want to use regular ice cubes, fill your ice trays with some of the punch. As the punch warms up, add punch-flavored ice cubes to cool it down without watering it down.

A wise hostess will keep on hand a list of things to do around town that are free or cost very little. Guests with kids may like zoos or museums. A picnic or cookout in the park gives everyone a chance to eat, socialize, and take advantage of park activities all in one venue. Other options are State Parks, local public attractions, and nature reserves. All are very affordable, and guests love to visit the local attractions.

If guests are spending the night, make it as convenient as possible for them and you. Purchase trial size bottles of deodorant, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and travel toothbrushes from the dollar store. Guests may bring these items, but, having a basket of these miniatures in their room will help them if they forgot anything.

Entertaining can be painless and fun even for those who don’t particularly like to play host or hostess. Even on short notice, you can whip up a meal, draw up an event calendar, and prepare a room for those unexpected friends and family.

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