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After shopping with my three little boys yesterday, I have decided to never do it again! What was I thinking? Here is a short video with tips for shopping with your children.

I have referenced The Law Of Attraction several times throughout my time here. A friend introduced me to the concept and I find it very interesting. The reason it interests me is because I can look back on my life and see how my positive thinking has produced the outcomes that I wanted. To me, it is not about "The Secret", it is more about how your positive thoughts will influence events in your life.

I have had some challenging mommy moments lately. My youngest is approaching two and has become a poster child for "the terrible 2's"! Between him and my other two boys, life around my house is often chaotic. I wondered if I could use the law of attraction to help calm my house down a bit. Maybe I have not been doing things right?

I found this article   "Law of Attraction used for Your Parenting Success" - by Kelly Nault M.A. on Rebecca J. Burns' blog.  The author asked some questions that really made me think:

*How am I contributing to my kids behavior? (Gulp!)
*Are my kids responding to my lack of patience and skyrocketing stress?
*Are my children desperately seeking quality time with me because I haven’t been giving them much special time lately?
*Are my kids no fun to be around because frankly, I am not fun to be around?

I admit that my patience has not been very good lately. Working from home and tending to three little boys makes for rather stressful days. It is very likely that my stress level has been attracting more negative behavior from them. I am going to make a great effort to use this parenting strategy described in the above article.

This time of year, the sun is very strong. Although the weather might not be hot, it is time to start applying sunscreen on yourself and your children.

If the sun is out, then you are at risk for a sunburn even if you are out for a short time. Not only should you protect your skin, but you should also protect your eyes with some good sunglasses.

May is national skin cancer awareness month. It is a good time to make an appointment with your doctor to check out any moles on your body for signs and symptoms of melanoma. Also, read up on the 5 best ways to prevent skin cancer. My days of laying out in the sun are long gone. I still enjoy outdoor activities but I play it much smarter these days!

Although April is almost over, I wanted to mention that it is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Childwelfare.gov has a resource packet on preventing child abuse and neglect. The resource packet "Includes information on supporting families, protective factors, public awareness, community activities, positive parenting, prevention programs, and more". (This information is free to use in reference to National Child Abuse Prevention Month or the availability of the packet.) You will find an outline below of the information contained within the packet:

Overview
Understanding child abuse prevention and what to do when children are at risk. Includes frequently asked questions and links to related Federal and national organizations and State contacts that work to prevent child abuse.

Promoting healthy families
Information on how to enhance protective factors in families and ways to support and partner with parents. Includes a calendar of family activities and parenting resources.

Public awareness & creating supportive communities
Tools for sharing a child abuse prevention message with your community and building community support.

Prevention programs
Standards for prevention programs, research on what works, information on the role of related professionals, and resources for specific types of programs.

Developing & sustaining prevention programs
Developing a prevention program, conducting a community needs assessment, finding and sustaining adequate funds, and collaborating with community partners.

Evaluating prevention programs
Evaluating program effectiveness and performing cost analysis. Features the Evaluation Toolkit and Logic Model Builder.

If you find yourself feeling negative, try using affirmations. This can help change your thoughts to a more positive  direction.

Your thoughts are going to dictate the choices you make. If you are stuck in a negative thinking pattern, the choices you make will be based upon that negative thinking. However, it thinking positively, your choices will reflect that positivity and help get you closer to your goals.

Here is a great read for motivation. Personal Development For The Book Smart has a list of 101 Affirmations You Can Start Using Today!.

I absolutely love this song by Trace Adkins called "You're Gonna Miss This". I keep trying to tell my oldest son this same message. To tell you the truth, on difficult mommy days, I have to remind myself of this sometimes. This song really hits home. If you have not heard it, listen to it and see if you don't feel it too.

Do you or your teenager have an account on Facebook? If you do, you might be aware of the tracking and displaying of personal information that occurs with Facebook Beacon.

Facebook Beacon creates cookies that collect information and in turn, informs that user's friends about his or her purchases. This is done by tracking information of Facebook Beacon users on third-party partner sites. Shortly after the release of Facebook Beacon, quite an uproar occurred once people realized the serious violations of privacy this system imposes.

For example, you buy a book entitled "How To Save Your Marriage". If that book was purchased through a Facebook Beacon partner site, then all of your Facebook friends will know you purchased that book which could lead to an uncomfortable situation. What if your teenager has a Facebook account? You might purchase acne medicine for your teen and through cookie tracking, the acne purchase could be broadcast to all of your teen's Facebook friends.

Computerworld.com explains it further "New plug-in gives Facebook users another way to dodge Beacon":

"The groundswell of criticism began when a security researcher said that the ad system tracks user activities on third-party partner sites -- including the activities of people who never signed up with Facebook, who deactivated their accounts or who were not signed on to the site."

A new Facebook plug-in has been developed that will allow users to monitor and delete cookies created by the Facebook Beacon advertising system. The toolbar provides an updated list of Beacon retailers which allows you to decide which sites you would like to block. This free plug-in was developed by Flugpo (a social classifieds network) who has always been an advocate on Internet safety and privacy.

The free plug-in can be found at MyDataIsMyData.org along with detailed information.

The tax deadline of April 15th is quickly approaching. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the IRS called you and told you that you overpaid and were entitled to an unexpected refund? That is exactly what many scammers plan to do in order to get a hold of your personal information.

Legal Thriller Author Warns: Once Tax Season is over a Deadly New Tax Scam Awaits You:

"You would be directed to--what appears to be--an official IRS web site. The bogus site contains interactive web pages and forms similar to those actually used by IRS. Only difference: they have been modified to elicit detailed financial and personal information from you. It's an elaborate dance by the con man. By now, if you don't recognize the Arthur Murray footprints on the floor, it's time for your medication."

It never ceases to amaze me how clever these scammers are. They are constantly coming up with new ideas to steal your identity or clean out your bank account. You might want to  read the whole thing in order to familiarize yourself with this potential threat.

E-mail: I think I have a love/hate relationship with it. There is a ridiculous amount of spam and scam emails out there. Then there is the never ending "forwards" that you get from friends and family and inevitably THEIR friends and family!

Jenn over at Of Cabbages And Kings asks "Which E-mail Personality Type are YOU?" She described the most common personalities to a tee! I seem to fit into several categories depending on the mood I am in that particular day. Head on over to Jenn's and figure out which category you (or someone you know) falls in to!

Not only is April Autism awareness month, it is also Stress Awareness Month. Most everybody has some kind of stress in their life. It might stem from work, finances, marriage or just about anything.

Stress can take its toll on your health and your overall well being. It can also effect you in many ways that you might not have suspected. Too much stress can have a physical impact on your body as well as an emotional impact.

About.com has a huge resource of information about the "Physical, Emotional and Lifestyle Effects of Stress". They also have several stress related quizzes that you might find useful to increase your understanding of dealing with stress. The more you know about stress, the better you can deal with it in a healthier way.

My youngest son is very attached to his special little blanket. This is my first child that has formed an attachment to a security object. His reaction to his blanket is quite adorable although it comes with some challenges! 

I have to be sneaky when it is time to wash his little blanket. If Baby D sees me putting his blanket in the washing machine, he gets very upset. I have tried to find the exact same blanket at the store it was purchased from but have been unsuccessful.

Why do some children form attachments to blankets or other soft objects while other children could care less? Does it mean they are insecure or more needy? ToddlersToday.com says it is actually a very healthy attachment:

"Studies have shown that children who are attached to security blankets are securely attached to their mothers and psychologically healthy," says Dr. Julie Lumeng, of the University of Michigan's Center for Human Growth and Development in Ann Arbor, Mich. "The same studies show that when these children are in stressful or new situations – for example a new playgroup, preschool, going to the doctor's office, a babysitter – that if they have a security blanket they are much better able to keep themselves calm than children who do not have such an object. These children are actually better able to socialize, to learn and to regulate their emotions when they have a security blanket."

Personally, I love having a Linus baby! He is so cute and cuddly with his blankie and it makes him happy.

Allergy season is upon us. Many people suffer horribly from seasonal allergies. Sometimes it can be very difficult to determine if your symptoms are caused by an allergic reaction or from an actual cold.

Most of the symptoms of respiratory allergies and the common cold virus closely resemble each other. In fact, I am trying to determine if my oldest son has a cold or allergies right now. If you can determine which one it is, you can decide on the best treatment options to help alleviate the symptoms.

Dr. Spock.com might be able to help. Read "Allergy or Cold: How to Tell" to help distinguish the difference between allergy or cold.

I need to lose about 8 to 10 pounds. In the past, this would not have been a big deal for me. I would have set my mind to it and the weight would be gone. After 3 kids, 2 c-sections and passing years, I am not finding it as easy as it used to be.

I used to have amazing snack control. Basically, I did not allow myself to snack and it was no big deal. Sad to say, I have turned into a snacker. After being home for so long, the bad habit has taken a hold of me. My rigid self control seems to have vanished. I weigh more now than I did last year and have gained back some of the weight I lost after my last baby. I have finally realized that it is time to get very serious about it before it becomes a constant issue.

I found a cool website called The Daily Plate. You can enter your height and weight and how many pounds you would like to lose. It will tell you how many calories to eat daily to achieve your goal. You can keep a daily journal of what you ate that day and what exercises you performed. They have groups you can join for motivation and low-fat recipes in their forum. This might be what I need to start taking what I eat more seriously.

With Easter approaching, many of us will be dyeing Easter eggs. You can use the basic kits that are bought from the store or you can get a little more creative.

Amazingmoms.com can give you some ideas with "A Dozen ways to decorate your Easter Eggs". Here is one way that sounds creative:

"Rubber Band Designs: Wrap elastic bands around hard cooked eggs, then drop them in food-coloring dye. Remove eggs, pat dry with paper towel and remove rubber bands. The parts of the egg covered with rubber bands will not be colored. Once the rubber bands are removed, you can drop the egg into a different color dye."

They also have ideas for marbling, sponging and waxing your Easter eggs. Read the rest to get more Easter egg decorating ideas. Have fun!

Spring is in the air! At least there have been glimpses of it here and there. I have noticed more birds singing each morning and we are being treated to another warm day here in Maryland.

I have started thinking about shopping for summer clothes and my son is about to start his baseball season. All of the signs are here.... I guess I cannot ignore that it is also the season for spring cleaning!

I must admit that I am more of a sporadic cleaner rather than a methodical cleaner. I get it all done but I am not the person to give tips or advice for such things. Luckily, Kristy from Homemaker's Cottage blog sounds very motivated and can tell us how to "Jump Start Your Spring Cleaning!"

"Once you've set your weekly pace, decide how much time you can afford to spend on your cleaning on a daily basis. For me, an hour or two is a realistic goal, but I don't expect that 60 or 120 minutes to necessarily be a consecutive time frame! With lots of interruptions and even lots more to do, I let myself work on projects in small bites of time. Sometimes I can squeeze an hour of work into my afternoon, but more often I get things done in 15 or 30 minute segments."

I told you she was motivated! Usually I just pick a chore. Then, that chore leads to another one because I notice it needs doing while doing the original one. But then again, my computer is not broken so maybe the cleaning can wait!

When I arrived at my son's preschool the other day to pick him up, he just didn't want to leave. He was busy working on some puzzles and was very absorbed in it. I was kind of surprised at how much concentration he was putting into the project.

I decided to buy him some puzzles for home since he seemed to enjoy them so much at school. I bought him two puzzles that contained 25 pieces and he mastered both of them the first day. He is just three so I was rather impressed! He would put one together, do the next one and start all over again. These puzzles really occupied him for a long time.

At preschool, they have been talking about the solar system and now my son knows all of the names of the planets. He likes to talk about them and name them for us. On my search for even more puzzles, I found this wonderful solar system floor puzzle by Melissa and Doug. It contains 48 pieces and once again, my son mastered it the first day!

Working on puzzles help children practice many skills that will help them in school. Kidsource.com talks about how: "Puzzles in Early Childhood Education: Putting the Pieces Together":

"When children work on puzzles, they are actually "putting the pieces together" in more ways than one. Puzzles help children build the skills they need to read, write, solve problems, and coordinate their thoughts and actions—all of which they will use in school and beyond. Find a puzzle with a picture that has particular interest for your child, and you may help her begin to recognize colors and letters, and come to realize that the sum of parts make up a whole—a concept that will help her with math later on. By inserting pieces into the puzzle, children also develop the muscle group used for writing, or the "pincer" grasp."

Further into the article, they list how many pieces are appropriate for each age. Boy, was I impressed when it said that "Five-year-olds can handle large or small piece 18 to 35 pieces puzzles" and here my three year old is handling a 48 piece puzzle in one day. I actually think their age range guide seems a little low, but it made me feel good!

It is hard to believe that I have already been married for almost 11 years. I started dating my husband when I was in high school so we have been together for a total of 18 years! We have been through so many different stages of life together.

We both love each other very much. That does not change the fact that we go through good and bad times in our marriage. Raising children and the every day pressures of work, money and child rearing can easily affect how we get along.

Telling It Like It Is has a great post on "Keeping the Fire Alive in Your Marriage".

"Relationship experts agree that couples who understand the importance of maintaining and nourishing a healthy friendship with each other have the most satisfying, long-lasting marriages. It is not the responsibility of your spouse to read your mind and make you happy, but it is a relationship trap many people fall into because they are not communicating their needs and feelings properly."

I have found that the rougher times in my marriage have come when we both get too caught up in the daily routine. Every day life has a way of making you forget to put in the proper time and effort towards your spouse. When we both get back to the fact that we are a couple and not just parents, we always get back on the right track. Check out the link above to read the whole blog post, it has some good ideas for sparking your marriage!

My son is just getting over the flu. I was talking about it with my dad on the phone yesterday. He asked me if I knew what factor lowered the body's immunity the most. To my surprise, he told me it was sugar intake.

Of course, I know that sugar is bad for you. I really did not realize how much it weakened your immune system. I decided to research it a little and discovered that my dad was right. (Dad, I never doubted you for a second, you are always right, lol.)

Geocities.com explains it very well in "TO Arms With Your Immune System:

"Refined sugar is nothing but pure carbohydrate stripped of any nutritional value. It is what we call empty calories. Like a recreational drug or alcohol, sugar affects the brain first, is addictive, and causes your energy to bottom out. Sugar depresses the immune response and is toxic to immune cells. Sugar lowers our resistance. Think of sugar as lowering the walls of our fortress, letting the invading army march over the top. One teaspoon of sugar can inhibit natural killer (NK)cells and macrophages for up to six hours. "Sugar clogs the system. It hinders the working of the living machine."

Hopefully you have most of your Christmas shopping all done. Some very ambitious people might have all of their gift wrapping completed as well. Personally, I still have to wrap all of my Christmas gifts. Here is a handy video for anyone that might need some tips for wrapping presents.

This is a topic that has been on my mind a lot lately. Thanks to my three boys, it has become a very stressful part of my life.

My older sons are five years apart. I had such high hopes that they would get along due to the age difference. I worked at a law firm when I was pregnant with my second son . One attorney there had two sons with a five year age difference. He told me several times how well they got along because there was no competition due to the age spacing. His sons were best buddies and he just knew I would be as lucky. Unfortunately, that imagined scenario went to heck in a hand basket!

My eight year old and three year old fight all of the time! There is a shriek from one of them at least every other minute. I can hardly complete a task without having to stop ten times to referee. I can only imagine what it is going to be like when my youngest boy gets in the action too.

iVillage's Parenting Secrets with Dr. Michele Borba has an article "Sibling Rivalry: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?". Here is one tip from her article:

"Don’t be too involved in those squabbles. The less involved you are in those sib tiffs the better. Your kids won’t use you as negotiator, rivalry will decrease (since they won’t accuse you of “taking sides”) and your kids will learn to rely on themselves to solve their own squabbles. While it’s absolutely fine to step in when you hear a blood-curdling cry (take it from a mom of three boys -- it cuts down dramatically on emergency room visits so please do) research also shows that kids see our involvement as “showing favoritism.” So step back."

That sounds like some excellent advice but it can be really hard not to interfere. The yelling will continue if I don't step in. Do you have any tips to share that have worked for you???

I went outside to the mailbox this morning and was very sad by the letter that I received. An old neighbor of mine was asking for a donation for a foundation that she founded in honor of her 17 year old son. He was diagnosed with a very rare brain tumor that will eventually take his life.

Lately, I have known so many people diagnosed with cancer. In fact it seems that more young people are diagnosed all of the time. This just breaks my heart.

Slash Your Child's Cancer Risk written at DrGreene.com gives some recommendations to follow in hopes of cutting your child's risk from developing cancer.....

"Choices we make with our children can strongly influence their odds of getting cancer for the rest of their lives. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, released in November 2007, is comprehensive analysis of over 7000 different scientific studies. Based on these, the expert panel makes 8 core recommendations (and two special recommendations) for cancer prevention. Among other things, this is the first major report to recommend breastfeeding for preventing cancer in both mothers and their babies. The potential benefit from following all of these recommendations is huge (preventing as many as 1/3 of all cancers), but for many families they may feel overwhelming. Knowing the targets, though, may help to make some steps in the right direction. The report includes recommendations for all of us, but I will focus here on how their recommendations apply to children"

Make sure that you read all of the recommendations listed at DrGreene.com.  He talks about fruits and vegetables being so important. I do believe that fast food is so unhealthy, but I also know how easy it is to hit the drive thru when you are on the run. We are a family on the run so I do it all of the time.

I am ready to do whatever it takes to help protect my children from this awful disease. If it means better planning on my part, I will just add it to my list of things to do.

My prayers go out to any parent dealing with a child that has cancer!

Create You Squidoo Lens On A Shak Subject And You Could Be Featured On Shakadoo! Once you have built your lens, submit it to the group HERE.

Great books for babies by sonia_simone

Encourage your baby to be a lifelong reader (0-12 months)

If you've recently had a baby—or maybe you're a new aunt or uncle—one of your goals might be to encourage a lifelong love of reading in this gorgeous brand-new person. 

This lens will give you some resources and encouragement, including a few gentle pieces of advice, to set you on that course. 

To learn everything you ever wanted to know about great books for babies (including great book recommendations), visit the entire lens by clicking: Great books for babies

Time seems to be going by especially fast lately. Each year gets faster and faster. Now it seems as if each week comes and goes quicker too.

My youngest son is wearing some of his older brother's hand me downs. I love seeing some of my old favorites on him yet it makes me kind of sad. I long to hold the older boy as a baby again, but know that chance will never be given.

My point today is to try and slow down and appreciate every moment. Our children grow up so fast. Today I would like to share a song with you. It is "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney. I am sure most of you have heard it. If you are not a country music fan, then you might not have. It is a great song with a poignant message that anyone can appreciate. Here it is and I hope you enjoy. Also, try to take the message to heart. I was not able to embed the YouTube video because this song apparently does not allow that. Just click on the link to listen!

"Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney

Yesterday, I wrote about the philosophies of one famous dad, Dr. Phil.  He always has sound advice and a great tough love approach. Today I would like to present to you another dad worth listening to.

Scott Hammond has unveiled his new blog Fatherspeak.com. His blog has information on family, parenting, relationships, goals and more all from the perspective of a father of nine. 

From the relationship development section of his blog, Scott talks about <