Holiday Deals at Coupon Chief

I have mentioned Coupon Chief before, because who would not want to get coupons for things you are already going to buy online!?

Since Halloween is coming up and every mom wants a cute costume for their children, I have two recommendations... Old Navy and the Children's Place. Both stores have wonderful selections of all children's costumes. Coupon Chief offers Old Navy coupons and Children's Place coupons. These coupons may be reduced shipping or $$$ off your purchase.

And don't forget Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up soon. Why shop at the crazy stores after Thanksgiving when you can get almost everything from the comfort of your home with a discount included! Coupon Chief offers discounts at tons of stores, likeTarget coupons, Home Depot coupon codes, and Pet Smart deals, plus tons of other online stores. You have to check it out!

ABC Meme

Lara tagged me with a challenging one…

A-Z Meme

Rules: List ONE word for each letter of the alphabet that describes you. When you post yours please comment me so I can read them.

A - adventurous

B - blessed

C - courious

D - dynamic

E - entrepreneur

F - faithful

G - gatherer

H - hopeful

I - individual

J - justifying

K - kind

L - lovable

M - Mama

N - noteworthy

O - optimistic

P - personable

Q - quizzical

R - realistic

S - sociable

T - teacher

U - unbelievable

V - voluptuous

W - wonderful wife

X - eXciting (who can really come up with an X one!)

Y - youthful (hahaha)

Z - zany

Most of these are words that I could at least think of with the letter, not necessarily complete descriptions! :)

OK…I am tagging…
Amber's Homeschool Blog
Betsy's Make Money From Home Blog
And on Tuesday, Kim at 4fabmoms

First Born and A Higher IQ

I was reading Parenting magazine yesterday that had a story about higher IQ in the first born. This story was released earlier this summer. I did not pay much attention to the article and research this summer since I do not put much thought into IQ and how I am effecting my children.

First, many people believe your IQ is pretty much set from birth. While things can change and make an influence, your God given gifts are there the day you enter this world. The nature vs. nurture idea does have some clout and environment can definitely have an impact. But I do know do a lot of "extra" activities trying to make my children gifted. I do ask a lot of how and why questions to encourage thinking, which I think is a lot more important than a number from a test.

In the case of this study, there are many ideas that allow for some flawed logic First, the study was done in Norway. Those of us in the US may not have the same genetics or experiences to compare. Second, the study was only done on boys. What does that mean for the girls. Third, they used data from MANY DECADES- not current testing and statistics. The testing procedures and populations have changed over the years. And lastly, a three point difference between the oldest and youngest is not enough to be concerned with. Testing have a range of scores to take into consideration testing environment, learning environment, and cultural and economic difference.

So do not place a lot of weight in your child's birth order. Love your children, provide them with lots of learning activities, but most of all, let them play and discover what they love!

More Hospital Time

My hubby is back in the hospital... again for lung problems. He had trouble breathing and a pain in his chest. So he went in and has had a full cardiac workup. They think it is a lung infection. He was given steroids and antibiotics and is doing better. More hospital time! I am glad one of us is healthy....

Please keep us in your prayers. He will have an out patient biopsy on his lung Wednesday. We are pretty sure it is cancer but they are making sure before the prescribe chemo.

More to come!

Thank You Day

September 24 is Thank You Day. It is another one of the "days" that you wonder who came up the idea. But what a great idea for a day.

I would like to see how many people we can thank on Thank You Day. If you would like to participate in thanking someone in your life, post it on your blog, linking to this Thank You Day post and then leave a comment on this post with the exact url for your post. On Thank You Day, I will list all of the posts on my post for that day.

What a great way to tell someone thanks!

Dave Matthews Band in Concert

Seeing Dave Matthews Band for the fifth time, we again were rained on and were amazed by what we do to see one of our favorite bands. We saw a really great concert, despite the downpour during a drought. (Moms get to have fun too.)

My husband and I are long time fans. It is funny to see the wide variety of people that listen to the music. There were people lots older than us, lots younger, lots drunker (we did not drink a thing!), and lots wetter. In the old days, we got seats on the lawn, through the rain and all. This year, for the second time, we got seat in the covered amphitheater, and still got rained on. The concrete was good, but you have to love Dave Matthews band and their long songs sets to really enjoy the concert. Most 4-5 minute songs on the CD's become 10-15 minute songs in the concert. They have such great musicians that can continue to play together so wonderfully (although sometimes it gets a long...). If we had just bought the rain ponchos when we got there, we would have been a lot drier!

I will have to decide if we do the next tour with an outside concert... I may be getting to old for this!

Working and working and working

Working full time and trying to carry on the other activities I was involved in is difficult. There, of course, is not as much time to blog, time to search on the internet, or time to spend with my friends. Just the other night, my friend Betsy and I finally talked on the phone after over a week! We used to talk daily. There is just not as much time.

So if you don't see me blog as frequently, you now know the reason... too much to do and not enough time!

I used to do most of my work in the evenings; now I am in bed at 9:00-10:00 pm.

I used to have the day during my daughters nap to catch up on emails; now she naps at school when I am at work.

The working moms schedule changes! I am changing as part of my new title. Hopefully it will all work out soon!

How Many Are There?

There are 37,845 Rebekah's in the USA. My last name is not registering any others, but my husband has the same last name (I think his grandmother told me in 1996 there were 49 in the US- many more in Germany! About 1 in 10 names are not listed in the database- check yours out!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Are You Ready for Black Friday?

It seems a little early to start making preparations for Black Friday, but it is never too early to start making a plan. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when all of the stores have the greatest deals, before 8:00 am! I live in a rural area, so for the past few years, my mom, my sister, my sister-in-laws and I have pack up Thanksgiving night and drove at least an hour and a half to go to the closest biggest city, spend the night in a hotel (one time the hotel was IN the mall) and then we get up at 4:30 am to be at a super store at 5:00 am when the doors open.

And it is crazy! No carts, people fighting and pushing for the best deals (of which there are usually on one or two per store), and mass chaos for the first hour or two of your day.

Then we go to the mall. More craziness and more deals, but at what price! Not to mention I buy so many things that are not even Christmas presents because I cannot resist the deal!

This year I have a new plan. It is a great website that provides you with all of the black friday ads by email alert before anyone else. You don't have to wait for the Thanksgiving newspaper! You can purchase all of the items online WITHOUT standing in line through direct links from the Black Friday ads.

The store I go to first every year is Target. And Black Friday list Target's after Thanksgiving specials via email right when they get them. Then you can sit at the comfort of your computer and place your order for the same deals that are available in the stores (I am sure there are some limitations to some deals and times to purchase, but it is STILL better than standing in line!).

As the holiday season gets closer, the Black Friday website will be my main source of planning for the great deals! I WILL NOT be in line this year at 5:00 am! I will be in the comfort of my home with my crazy family instead!

I am a Top Momma

I finally made it to Top Momma. Vote for me to see how long I can last. It is the same picture that is on the corner of this blog. Thanks for your help.

Back to School Tips

I am participating in the Smart Moms Back to School Tips contest to win a $25 gift card to my choice of a few different places. Of course, I cannot win, because I am a Smart Mom, but I still want to promote it in case any reader wants to participate!

My back to school tip is to schedule a fun activity one day of the week after school. We have made this day Thursday, because our children's museum is open late on Thursday's. I pick up the kids at 4:00, we go get ice cream at our local ice cream shop, and then go to the museum for an hour or so. It is our special event. Especially when I am convincing the 4 year old to go to school, it is a good motivator! We may add in dinner out (and some restaurants may offer free kids meals on Thursday's) but right now they are a little tired to sustain that long.

Plan a special week night event, especially if you have older kids- my parents used to call it "family night." We were all forced to join in, no exceptions, and now I am thankful to have had that time with my family!

One Word Meme

I was tagged by Make Money From Home and thought it would be fun to do.

One Word Meme: A fun idea. Simply cut and paste these questions onto your blog, answer them and then find other blogs to tag! It's fun and easy and something a little different!You can only answer each question with ONE word.

1. Where is your cell phone? car
2. Relationship? Married
3. Your hair? Blonde
4. Work? teacher, entrepreneur
5. Your sister? four
6. Your favorite thing? my family
7. Your dream last night? too long ago to remember
8. Your favorite drink? COKE
9. Your dream car? BMW
10. The room you’re in? family
11. Your shoes? None
12. Your fears? thunder
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? at home
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Ali & Stephen and Rick
15. What are you not good at? cleaning
16. Muffin? Banana Nut
17. One of your wish list items? financially free
18. Where you grew up? Florida
19. Last thing you did? fix links
20. What are you wearing? shorts and t-shirt
21. What aren’t you wearing? shoes
22. Your pet? dog
23. Your computer? gateway
24. Your life? busy
25. Your mood? frantic
26. Missing? ?
27. What are you thinking about right now? conference
28. Your car? vibe
29. Your kitchen? empty
30. Your summer? Hot
31. Your favorite color? green
32. Last time you laughed? a few minutes ago
33. Last time you cried? days ago
34. School? continuous
35. Love? my family

I am joining the "I Reply Movement"

I am making an effort to reply if you comment on my blog. So check back for the reply later- let's make a blogging community!

A Screaming Toddler

Our toddler girl has been screaming every morning and afternoon for three days. Not screaming over pain, but over frustration and anger. We don't know if she is taking it out on us that she is in preschool now or if she is not sleeping well or if she is just frustrated over her lack of speech!

It is not really a tantrum at first, but can certainly move into one if we make her do what we want her to do... she is a determined child!

Here are some tips from experts on how to handle toddler tantrums and some discipline tips for toddlers that may help me out and anyone else suffering!

I Won The Picture Of the Week

I was on of the selected winners of the picture of the week from Mommy's Coffee Break.

You can join too- just go to the Mommy's Coffee Break to see the rules.

Thanks Lara!

Newberry Award Considerations 2008

After some research this morning on the Newberry Award considerations for this coming year, I was astounded by the amount of wonderful literature there is available from this year. I was disappointed to not find a very good list of the books that are possible considerations.

I have heard about and know something about the Newberry award, but I did not know that there is not a published list of books that are being considered by the committee. It is a big secret. There are books submitted for approval that are read, judge, and finally announced as the winner or as honor winner. The books for consideration must have been published during this calendar year, which is exciting to see all the new children's literature during one year!.

I created an Amazon Newberry Award List from the two sources I found. These books were given as suggestions from qualified individuals (not me!).

There is an online Newberry discussion group and some a Newberry blog to keep up with. I hope you will read some of these books before the announcement of the award winner in January 2008. Maybe you can start your own Newberry group! These books selections would be great to read with your children or have your children read at home.

For past winners, please visit the American Libraries Association for a complete list.

Defywire Mobile Guardian Back to School Safety Checklist

Defywire is dedicated to keeping students and teachers safe with their real-time wireless data to school administrators on Wi-Fi-enabled PDAs. This system gives administrators access to information that was previously only in the front office and could not be accessed at a moments notice. It gives administrators emergency and truancy information, class schedules, grades, and other critical student information wherever and whenever they needed it--in the gym or on the playground.

The have also created this Back to School Safety Checklist that is great information for all parents:

BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY CHECKLIST
1. Designate an out-of-town person for your child to call in the event of a crisis. When emergencies happen, cell sites in the local area get completely overwhelmed, and a call from one local tower to another is unlikely to be completed.

2. Tell your child to use a short text message code with an agreed-upon meaning in an emergency. A pre-set word such as “stars” could quickly and safely convey the message, “I am in danger at school.”

3. Choose a social networking website as a back-up way to communicate when all else fails. When cell phone lines were jammed at Virginia Tech, students reverted to Internet sites such as Facebook to tell loved ones that they were safe and where they were located.

4. Make sure that the school has all of your up-to-date contact information. In today’s world, cell phone numbers and email addresses change frequently, but parents often forget to update this crucial information with school officials.

5. Know the school’s emergency plan and practice it. Go to PTA meetings, open houses and other school events where emergency procedures are likely to be presented as a handout.

These are terrific suggestions you may not have considered as a way to help protect the safety of your child. Make a plan and keep your child safe this school year.

Handmade Hair Clips- Get Them For Free!

Pajama Mama is hosting a contest for these darling toddler girl hair clips by Lil' Sugarplum. All you have to do is visit Lil' Sugarplum and comment on Pajama Mama's site about the two hair clips you like the best. You can also do a blog post, if you have a blog, and promote this contest, like I am doing. Support another work at home mom and a crafty lady!

These are my favorite hair clips. They are $6 or $7 each and are too cute! And the are handmade so no one in your playgroup will have them... until they see yours and go online and buy them! Too Cute!

What to do when your burn your hand!

I have done this before and I have done it again. I use my dutch oven in the oven instead of the stove top- which I do 90% of the time- and I grab the handle when it is on the stove after coming out of the oven. It really hurts and I am typing and putting my hand on the ice pack!

I do not know why I don't remember I just took it out and it is 350 degrees! I know to put something over the handle so you do not forget and I forget to do that too. So now I have a burn... and it hurts.

And I cannot type anymore!

My Best WAHM Networking Tip

I am participating in a Blog Carnival with Suzanne at The Moms In Business Blog. Our topic, The Best Networking Tip.

My best networking tip is to actually get out and network- online and offline! Sounds simple, right? But so many work at home moms don't get out of their house and don't join online groups. They work hard on their sites and blogs, but they are not out there promoting what they have to offer.

First, online solutions are easy for work at home moms with internet access. You meet some great and resourceful people online by joining quality online forums or groups. Some mom forums are not the greatest for networking because they are about being a mom, not a work at home mom. Others are great for both. It is all about what you are looking for.

Two terrific online forums for work at home moms are the Smart Moms forum and Mommy's Helper Forum. Read more about making new online friends at my work at home mom blog.

Second, offline solutions are also easy but sometimes harder to find. Join moms groups or community service organizations. The local Chamber of Commerce is also a great resource to meet other business professionals. I think sometimes work at home moms don't see their business as a business and do not think they are worthy of a business group. This is so incorrect! Find a local group and meet some local contacts. They may not be the main source of revenue, but you never what might result. And they are a great source of ideas and support.

No matter how you network, you must network! Networking is one of the most important parts of your business. Make sure your incorporate networking into your home based business.