Free Mommy Contact Cards

It seems like every time I am out somewhere with my kids we run into friends of theirs from school and the same thing always happens. The kids get to talking and want to plan to get together. The moms and I try to exchange information. “Do you have an email account?” “Do you text?” “Are you on Twitter?” There are so many ways to get in touch with each other and most of them are more efficient than the phone numbers listed in the student directories.

Because of this, I am loving the new Mommy Contact Cards from Kodak. You can include whatever information you most want friends to use to contact you. I would include my email, my cell phone, my Twitter, my Facebook, and maybe even my blog site. It’s like a business card only more personal. And you can get 50 free Mommy Contact Cards right now (although you do need to pay shipping and handling). Get them in a variety of colors and add your kids’ pictures to them so the parents will be able to put a name with a face.

No coupon code is necessary, but this special will surely end soon. Click here to visit Kodak and get more information.

Life with a Chronically Ill Child (Guest Post)

Children don’t always come into the world perfect. My youngest of four children certainly didn’t. Nick was born with a horribly malformed heart. After a heart surgery at five days old, another at three months, another at one year old, he received a heart transplant just before turning two. Today, he is twenty one and attending college. Living with Nick’s chronic illness hasn’t always been easy. Though the years I’ve learned ways of cope during tough times.

Make the most of every day

Worry doesn’t add a minute to life. In fact, it takes minutes away that could be used to make precious memories. Don’t miss out on those memories by being stymied by worry. Live for today, not for what might happen down the road. Vacations are an excellent way to build shared memories.

Be united as a family

First and foremost be a family. Parents need to support each other, especially in front of the children. They feed off their parent’s actions and attitudes. Make sure each child knows they are important to making the family complete. Siblings should be shown they are just as important as the sick child. Share meals together as much as possible. That time builds family bonds.

Life shouldn’t revolve around the ill child

An ill child should be taught to mind, have chores, and be a functioning member of the family as much as they can be. It is important that siblings don’t become resentful. Standards of behavior should be the same for everyone. The whole family should support a child when they are participating in a sporting event, a program, band concert, etc. Attend the event in force whenever possible.

Understand that everyone handles stress differently

Recognize that not everyone in the family will react to a negative situation the same way. I talk a lot and fast when I’m scared. My husband paces and goes into his own world when he is worried. We have to respect each other’s method of coping.

Look for ways to have control

Volunteer, have a hobby, exercise. Do something positive for yourself every day. It takes a good sound body and mind to deal with an ill child. It is important for the caregiver to take care of his or her self.

A chronically ill child in the family adds special challenges to life, but they also add love and laugher. Nick has certainly brought that to our family.

By Susan May

Nick’s New Heart

www.susanCmay.com

The Treasures of Reading With Your Kids (Guest Post)

With four kids I do a lot of reading.  I’ve taught each one of them to read with phonics my way.  However, as they outgrew the phonics program we started to read together each night.  I realized that reading together can do more than just benefit your kids – it benefits me as a parent.

READING TO TEACH

When my kids were toddlers until second grade I would read a book with them each night.  I did it to teach them to read.  It was the icing on the cake of our lessons.  I realized that my younger children learned to read and memorize words even earlier than my older children.  It was an enlightening benefit to reading with them so early.  Also, they used that for their cuddle time with mommy or daddy.  Both my husband and I would take turns reading to them.  Before we knew it, they wanted to read to us.

READING FOR BONDING

Even though reading offered a learning opportunity, it also offered a time to bond with our kids.  During the reading of stories we would ask questions.  Then as the kids got older (I have a 6, 9, 13, and 15yr old) we would act out stories that we repeated.  The kids loved, loved, loved this.  Even the older kids would play with us, just to get a kick out of scaring the little ones.  It was a way to move our reading to a family bonding experience that pulled the older kids into playing with our younger ones.  Not to mention it is just darn fun.

READING FOR EVOLVING

As an avid reader all of my life, my husband and kids encouraged me to write stories for them.  It was an inspiration for writing my books Explorer X-Alpha and The Pack.  My kids became my beta readers and active in story development.  Our reading together turned into us writing together.   All of my kids come up with story ideas, and my older two have even started writing.  My oldest son has entered a contest or two, and my oldest daughter beta reads for other authors also.  My youngest two kids, love to give me story ideas and even came up with the idea for the world I built for THE PACK and BANDITS by throwing suggestions at me.

THE OVERALL BENEFITS

Reading with your kids has given me so many gifts.  It’s been a teaching tool, a bonding tool, a safe platform for conversation, and the beginning of my career as a writer.   Try it for at least a year and you will be surprised how much reading just ten minutes a day can benefit you and your family.

By LM Preston, author of Explorer X-Alpha and THE PACK, http://lmpreston.blogspot.com/

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Shirts

One of the hottest book series for pre-teens and teens this year is Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Not only is the book series on fire, but a Percy Jackson and the Olympians movie is set to be released soon. The series is a mixture of fantasy and adventure, based on Greek Mythology. Some of my adult friends are reading the series and loving it as well. If you haven’t added it to your family book list yet, you should definitely check it out.

If you already have Percy Jackson and the Olympian fans in your house, you might want to consider these Percy shirts now available at Hot Topic:

Percy Jackson And The Olympians The Lightning Thief Poster T-Shirt

Percy Jackson And The Olympians The Lightning Thief Hero T-Shirt

Click here to find more Percy Jackson and the Olympians merchandise.

Toy Story Mania for Wii

Last spring my husband and I just happened to be at Disneyland for a day when they were testing the new Toy Story Mania ride. We absolutely loved it!! (even after standing in line for almost two hours) Unfortunately, we haven’t had a chance to take the kids to Disney Studios in WDW yet to try it out.

The good news is that Toy Story Mania for the Wii will be released on September 15. It features games modeled after the Toy Story movies as well as the Toy Story Mania ride. If you haven’t been on the ride yet, it’s kind of like a carnival game where you pull a string to shoot objects like balls and pies at targets.

According to Amazon, the game is for all player levels and will even have some 3D bonus features. You can play together or against each other. My kids both love the Carnival Games for the Wii, so I know that this will be a big hit.

You can pre-order Toy Story Mania for Wii from Amazon right now and save $5 plus get free shipping. We’ll get up a review as soon as we get the game in hand and try it out.

Added! You can also pre-order Toy Story Mania from Buy.com and not only save $5 but also get free shipping and two pair of 3D glasses!

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