<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/atom10full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearch/1.1/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" gd:etag="W/&quot;AkQDRn08fCp7ImA9WhVREkU.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937</id><updated>2012-03-20T17:06:17.374-07:00</updated><category term="Summer" /><category term="Safety" /><category term="Domestic Goddesses" /><category term="Reading" /><category term="Motherhood" /><category term="fundraiser" /><category term="health and wellness" /><category term="babies" /><category term="Depression" /><category term="Relationships" /><category term="organization" /><category 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/><category term="Holiday" /><category term="webinar" /><category term="Domestic Godesses" /><category term="Culture" /><category term="parenting" /><category term="delivery" /><category term="labor" /><category term="Breastfeeding" /><category term="The Mommies Network" /><category term="cultural awareness month" /><category term="fashion" /><category term="life" /><category term="Business" /><category term="Nutrition" /><category term="frugality" /><category term="siblings" /><category term="natural living" /><category term="Cleaning" /><category term="Weigh-In Challenge" /><category term="Children" /><category term="childbirth" /><category term="discipline" /><category term="Savings" /><category term="Santa Letters" /><category term="PPD" /><category term="sleep issues" /><category term="Mommies Talk" /><category term="Recipes" /><category term="Attachment Parenting" /><category term="infants" /><category term="Education" /><category term="pregnancy" /><category term="National Forum" /><title>CentralTexasMommies</title><subtitle type="html" /><link rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/" /><link rel="next" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25&amp;redirect=false&amp;v=2" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><generator version="7.00" uri="http://www.blogger.com">Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>97</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/Centraltexasmommies" /><feedburner:info uri="centraltexasmommies" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><feedburner:emailServiceId>Centraltexasmommies</feedburner:emailServiceId><feedburner:feedburnerHostname>http://feedburner.google.com</feedburner:feedburnerHostname><feedburner:browserFriendly></feedburner:browserFriendly><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DkcERHk4fSp7ImA9WhVTF00.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-3642486656900087393</id><published>2012-03-02T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-03-02T08:00:05.735-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-03-02T08:00:05.735-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="fundraiser" /><title>How Does Your Garden Grow?</title><content type="html">&lt;a href="http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2387/flowerpowersmallgraphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2387/flowerpowersmallgraphic.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.centraltexasmommies.com/"&gt;CentralTexasMommies'&lt;/a&gt; fabulous Flower Power fundraiser is drawing to a close, so if you haven't placed your order yet, now is the time! It's never too early to plan to improve your curb appeal or beautify your backyard. From begonias to tiger lilies and everything in between, Flower Power is the place for quality flower bulbs with a 100 percent money guarantee.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This fundraiser runs until March 20, 2012, and your bulbs will arrive in April and May, just in time for beautiful summer blooms. Time is running out!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Save time, money, and gas by planning your perfect garden from the comfort of your computer. Spring over to &lt;a href="http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240183/F15Zo5TZPpnY"&gt;http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240183/F15Zo5TZPpnY&lt;/a&gt;, and check out the wide array of lovely lilies and pretty peonies, among other bulbs. As a bonus, if you spend $40 or more, Flower Power will send you a free bag of 10 Twilight gladiolus, a $10 value.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So what are you waiting for? Don't delay: Grow with us today!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;Profits made through our fundraising link go toward our chapter's operating expenses.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-3642486656900087393?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/0v_oOHH31Dw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/3642486656900087393/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-does-your-garden-grow.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3642486656900087393?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3642486656900087393?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/0v_oOHH31Dw/how-does-your-garden-grow.html" title="How Does Your Garden Grow?" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-does-your-garden-grow.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;C0EESX05fCp7ImA9WhRaE08.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-1360796328426266697</id><published>2012-02-15T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-02-15T08:00:08.324-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-02-15T08:00:08.324-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="cultural awareness month" /><title>Learn a New Language During Cultural Awareness Month!</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3348/handslogo180.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3348/handslogo180.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;i&gt;Bonjour! Ciao! Hola!&lt;/i&gt; Have you been checking the &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/index.php" target="_blank"&gt;National Chapter&lt;/a&gt; and participating in Cultural Awareness Month? In our &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/viewforum.php?f=45" target="_blank"&gt;Multicultural Mommies forum&lt;/a&gt;, we’re talking about foreign languages and discovering fun facts about different cultures. Join the celebration, and add some new words and phrases to your linguistic repertoire!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Do you have something to add to the conversation? Share your knowledge with other moms who are learning a language with their children. Go global with &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/" target="_blank"&gt;TMN&lt;/a&gt; as we highlight the many languages and cultures that make our world wonderful!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-1360796328426266697?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/qUTnPWNvi3I" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/1360796328426266697/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/02/learn-new-language-during-cultural.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/1360796328426266697?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/1360796328426266697?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/qUTnPWNvi3I/learn-new-language-during-cultural.html" title="Learn a New Language During Cultural Awareness Month!" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/02/learn-new-language-during-cultural.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;A0EEQXg-fyp7ImA9WhRbGEU.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-8585500533487720113</id><published>2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-02-10T08:00:00.657-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-02-10T08:00:00.657-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="events" /><title>This Week With the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-8585500533487720113?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/Xn4HRR5snsA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/8585500533487720113/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-week-with-mommies_10.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/8585500533487720113?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/8585500533487720113?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/Xn4HRR5snsA/this-week-with-mommies_10.html" title="This Week With the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-week-with-mommies_10.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;Dk8FQH07fCp7ImA9WhRbEkU.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-6812163932332233695</id><published>2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-02-03T08:00:11.304-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-02-03T08:00:11.304-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="events" /><title>This Week With the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-6812163932332233695?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/V6xLGeUOylI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/6812163932332233695/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-week-with-mommies.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6812163932332233695?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6812163932332233695?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/V6xLGeUOylI/this-week-with-mommies.html" title="This Week With the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-week-with-mommies.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DkECRXYyfCp7ImA9WhRbEUw.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-2753630687669654071</id><published>2012-02-01T08:44:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2012-02-01T08:44:24.894-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-02-01T08:44:24.894-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="cultural awareness month" /><title>February Is Cultural Awareness Month!</title><content type="html">&lt;a href="http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3348/handslogo180.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3348/handslogo180.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
February is Cultural Awareness Month at &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network&lt;/a&gt;, and we're thinking globally! Share a love for foreign language and different cultures with your child in our &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/viewforum.php?f=45" target="_blank"&gt;Multicultural Mommies forum&lt;/a&gt; on our &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/" target="_blank"&gt;National Chapter&lt;/a&gt;. Each week, we'll feature several languages and cultural tidbits. You may also participate and strengthen your language lingo in a special webinar. Additionally, our sponsor will provide information on how you can continue your language-learning experience after the month is over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to Associated Content, brain research shows that children are at an optimal age for language learning. Although language study is effective at any age, some studies suggest that the human brain is more open to learning a foreign ­­­­­language ­­­from birth to preadolescence. Fortunately, researchers have not found an age in which the language window closes completely, especially in the areas of grammar and vocabulary.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Take advantage of this opportunity to think globally, and join us as we learn about foreign languages and different ways of life during Cultural Awareness Month at TMN!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-2753630687669654071?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/7WeBWYfYQdo" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/2753630687669654071/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-is-cultural-awareness-month.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/2753630687669654071?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/2753630687669654071?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/7WeBWYfYQdo/february-is-cultural-awareness-month.html" title="February Is Cultural Awareness Month!" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-is-cultural-awareness-month.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CkcERH08eip7ImA9WhRUFkU.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-3058444663444326046</id><published>2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-27T08:00:05.372-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-27T08:00:05.372-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="events" /><title>This Week With the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-3058444663444326046?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/6h_Il1SxH9I" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/3058444663444326046/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-with-mommies_27.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3058444663444326046?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3058444663444326046?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/6h_Il1SxH9I/this-week-with-mommies_27.html" title="This Week With the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-with-mommies_27.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DUUEQnY6fCp7ImA9WhRUFU0.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-3762242077816911737</id><published>2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-25T08:00:03.814-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-25T08:00:03.814-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Friendship" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="kids" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="life" /><title>Making and Keeping Friends at Different Stages of Life</title><content type="html">Friendships are often one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling parts of our lives. Not only do they provide us with company to engage in enjoyable activities, but they enrich our lives through shared meaning. Support systems have been linked to higher levels of happiness and improved overall health. While some friendships may only last for certain periods of time, others extend over a lifetime, and most of us recognize these relationships as some of the most important we will have. Even for people who generally feel they don't have trouble making friends, there are stages in life when this task may seem more difficult, leaving us feeling lonely or doubting our abilities to connect to others. If this feels like it is true for you, or you've noticed that this might be the case for your child, here are some ideas that might help in this process.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Children&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
With all the exciting activities that occur at this age, children may feel overwhelmed with the task of fitting in with their peers. Although you want their education to come first, making friends is most likely to be at the top of their agenda, and is also important to their development. Here are a few ways you can help your children establish relationships with their peers:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. Teach your child important social skills that are essential to establishing and maintaining friendships such as sharing, listening, following rules, and playing fair. Allow your child to participate in events and activities that enable them to practice and implement these social skills. You can reinforce positive social interactions through verbal praise and, if this is something that is a real challenge for your child, through a structured reward system. &lt;br /&gt;
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2. Provide opportunities for your child to play and socialize with other children their age such as play dates, sleepovers, car pooling, and extra-curricular activities. They should interact with their peers from school and in your neighborhood. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. Read books with your children that teaches them about friendships and social skills. &lt;br /&gt;
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4. It isn't uncommon for children to be timid or anxious about making friends. Be attentive to any red flags that your child may display that could indicate he or she is having trouble such as throwing tantrums, withdrawal from you more than is normal for them, or other changes in behavior or emotions. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Teenagers&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
During the teenage years, your son or daughter will encounter many possibilities to make friends such as participating in athletics, attending school events, and participating in extracurricular school activities. This is also a time when 'fitting in' and feeling connected to peers seems the most important to them, so not feeling part of a group or connected to people can feel especially difficult during these years. Here are some ways to help your teen navigate their social world: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. Let your teen see how you interact with your friends. Because they are entering the young adult phase, it is important for them to see examples of mature, adult interactions. This can also help your teen better understand how positive friendships in adulthood look. If they are willing to go, take your teen to lunch with you and a friend. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Encourage your teen to partake in social activities that would enable him or her to meet other teens. This can include going to the movies, attending a dance, or eating dinner with a group of their peers. You can use your home as a 'safe' location for teens to hang out, yet still have adult supervision, by giving them a private area or room to spend time. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. Talk to your teen about the meaning and importance of friendships. Discuss what makes someone a "good friend" and how to resolve conflicts and/or manage meaningful friendships they may have with others. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4. Monitor how your teen interacts with their friends. If you feel he or she is in an unhealthy relationship with one of their peers, attempt to provide guidance. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Post college-graduates &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The college years provide young adults with numerous opportunities to meet new people as well as gain unique experiences. However, upon graduating, many people find it difficult or overwhelming with having to "start over" and meet new people, especially when relocating to a new town or city. Here are some ways that might help you connect to others after college: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. Get involved in your local community. Join clubs, teams, or other extra-curricular and/or service based groups that allow you to meet and interact with others on a weekly basis. Working with others to reach a common goal is a great way to connect, and takes some of the pressure off this process, as you already share a common interest. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Invite people to engage in some sort of activity such as going to lunch, getting coffee or a drink, or hanging out at your place. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. If you're shy or lacking in confidence, don't be discouraged because these feelings are not uncommon. Talk to someone else who has dealt with this stage of life, too. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Adulthood&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
As we enter adulthood, we often feel settled into patterns of making and maintaining friendships. However, many people feel dissatisfied with their outlets for social connection or the number of people to whom they truly feel close. When we are set in our ways, we can lack imagination regarding ways and places to connect to others. Here are some ideas about how to connect to new friends as adults: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. Attend functions in your community that cater to something you are interested in but may not have tried before. This enables you to interact with people who you will begin to see on a regular basis. This could be joining a local charity with regular volunteer hours, or taking classes at a community center. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Join a group that involves doing something you enjoy yet keeps you active such as a yoga class or a golf club. This allows you to meet people with common interests, providing conversation starters that help take the pressure off the anxiety provoking introduction and connection process. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. Invite family over for dinner. You can consider choosing members you feel most close or comfortable with or those who you want to get to know better, and set a theme for a dinner party. If you are in a relationship, consider having favorite members of both yours and your partner's family over together. This can deepen pre-existing relationships and lead to more regular family events and connections. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you find your child or yourself having a little more difficulty making friends than you would like, speaking with a psychologist may help identify barriers and provide ideas for help moving past them. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Written by: &amp;nbsp;Lepage Associates Solution-Based Psychological and Psychiatric Services, 5842 Fayetteville Road, Suite 106, Durham, NC 27713 &amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.lepageassociates.com/" target="_blank"&gt;www.lepageassociates.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-3762242077816911737?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/820u9d5nP4U" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/3762242077816911737/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/making-and-keeping-friends-at-different.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3762242077816911737?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3762242077816911737?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/820u9d5nP4U/making-and-keeping-friends-at-different.html" title="Making and Keeping Friends at Different Stages of Life" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/making-and-keeping-friends-at-different.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;C0QCQn4zfCp7ImA9WhRUE04.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-639943384337908907</id><published>2012-01-23T07:09:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-23T07:09:23.084-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-23T07:09:23.084-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Recipes" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Menu Monday" /><title>Menu Monday: Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBO6uOKhI/AAAAAAAAIe8/M4WPY3GuOlo/s1600/DSC_7433+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBO6uOKhI/AAAAAAAAIe8/M4WPY3GuOlo/s320/DSC_7433+%28Large%29.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;I made some cheesecake for &lt;a href="http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/2010/05/cherry-cheesecake-bombs.html"&gt;Cherry Cheesecake bombs&lt;/a&gt; and I had some filling leftover.&amp;nbsp; I decided to make this AMAZING ice cream. I decided to use a buttermilk base and it was perfect - the tang from the buttermilk with the cheesecake bites- PERFECT. I'm really enjoying being "back" in the kitchen lately and experimenting and coming up with fun things to try.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1 1/4 cup heavy cream&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1 teaspoon vanilla paste/1vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;7 egg yolks&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;3/4 cup sugar, I used &lt;a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/46502464/vanilla-bean-specialty-sugar"&gt;Vanilla Bean Specialty Sugar&lt;/a&gt; - you can use a cup, I just don't prefer things overly sweet&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;2 cups buttermilk&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Maraschino cherries roughly chopped(with some juice reserved)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Vanilla bean cheesecake chunks&amp;nbsp; (I'll post that recipe soon also)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Graham cracker pieces- I gave the girls the option of graham crackers or &lt;span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: yellow; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%;"&gt;oreos&lt;/span&gt;. They chose graham- I'm glad &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBF95DEXI/AAAAAAAAIeE/SF8uN7yzbQE/s1600/DSC_6906+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBF95DEXI/AAAAAAAAIeE/SF8uN7yzbQE/s200/DSC_6906+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Freeze the cherries and cheesecake in a single layer.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBGVb4cuI/AAAAAAAAIeM/opBr64p_-6Q/s1600/DSC_6922+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBGVb4cuI/AAAAAAAAIeM/opBr64p_-6Q/s200/DSC_6922+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and set aside.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBHxSUhUI/AAAAAAAAIeU/nbjR8ojdCZ8/s1600/DSC_6925+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBHxSUhUI/AAAAAAAAIeU/nbjR8ojdCZ8/s200/DSC_6925+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;In a heavy bottom sauce pan stir the vanilla into the heavy cream. Bring it to a simmer.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBIy7Bs9I/AAAAAAAAIec/1fUhQzXbwgc/s1600/DSC_6935+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBIy7Bs9I/AAAAAAAAIec/1fUhQzXbwgc/s200/DSC_6935+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Temper the cream and yolk mixture. I can't stress this enough. Be patient unless you want scrambled eggs. To temper add a little bit of cream to the yolk mixture and stir it. Add a little more and repeat to bring the yolks up to temperature and then add all the yolk mixture to the cream.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBJmv0ZQI/AAAAAAAAIek/9QyT-xIk-B4/s1600/DSC_6937+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBJmv0ZQI/AAAAAAAAIek/9QyT-xIk-B4/s200/DSC_6937+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;I put some cherry juice into the buttermilk. Stir it up and add it to the cream mixture. Transfer to a container and cool in the refrigerator.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBLAgFZ3I/AAAAAAAAIes/X6fM6fUfWEo/s1600/DSC_6976+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBLAgFZ3I/AAAAAAAAIes/X6fM6fUfWEo/s200/DSC_6976+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Follow the instructions for your ice cream/&lt;span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: yellow; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%;"&gt;gellato&lt;/span&gt; maker. Right before it's done stir in the yummy goodness that's in the freezer along with the graham crackers. Transfer it all to a container and finish freezing it.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBNAZX5YI/AAAAAAAAIe0/oiUxakdaEkw/s1600/DSC_7431+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBNAZX5YI/AAAAAAAAIe0/oiUxakdaEkw/s200/DSC_7431+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Can it get any easier?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Post provided by the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/" style="color: #66bb33; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;Please Give Peas a Chance&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;Blog.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-639943384337908907?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/E8YHM56cNn8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/639943384337908907/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/menu-monday-homemade-cheesecake-ice.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/639943384337908907?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/639943384337908907?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/E8YHM56cNn8/menu-monday-homemade-cheesecake-ice.html" title="Menu Monday: Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_YBO6uOKhI/AAAAAAAAIe8/M4WPY3GuOlo/s72-c/DSC_7433+%28Large%29.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/menu-monday-homemade-cheesecake-ice.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;AkcESX8zeip7ImA9WhRUEkk.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-6081496706664754380</id><published>2012-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-22T08:00:08.182-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-22T08:00:08.182-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="fundraiser" /><title>Do You Have Flower Power?</title><content type="html">&lt;a href="http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2387/flowerpowersmallgraphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2387/flowerpowersmallgraphic.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Are you looking for some curb appeal? Do you need to beautify your backyard? Spring planting season may be a few months away, but there's no  better time than now to grow with &lt;a href="http://www.centraltexasmommies.com/"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt;! We've partnered with  Flower Power to bring you a fabulous fundraiser to help you plan the  garden of your dreams.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Flower Power sells quality flower bulbs  with a 100 percent money-back guarantee. Gorgeous geraniums, tantalizing  tiger lilies, and beautiful begonias are just a few of the many bulbs  available and ready to be shipped to your door. This fundraiser runs  Jan. 22–March 20, 2012, and your bulbs will arrive in April and May,  just in time for beautiful summer blooms.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So save some gas and the  trip to your local nursery or big-box store, and plan your perfect  garden from the comfort of your computer. Visit &lt;a href="http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240183/F15Zo5TZPpnY"&gt;http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240183/F15Zo5TZPpnY&lt;/a&gt; to view the  enormous array of flower bulbs, and spring into Flower Power and CentralTexasMommies' fabulous fundraiser!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Special bonus: Spend $40 or more to receive a free bag of 10 Twilight gladiolus, a $10 value.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Grow with us!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;Profits made through our fundraising link go toward our chapter's operating expenses.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-6081496706664754380?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/AbVP5X3yoXY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/6081496706664754380/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/do-you-have-flower-power.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6081496706664754380?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6081496706664754380?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/AbVP5X3yoXY/do-you-have-flower-power.html" title="Do You Have Flower Power?" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/do-you-have-flower-power.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;D0UFQH8_eip7ImA9WhRUEEo.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-2478314347303233663</id><published>2012-01-20T08:00:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-20T08:00:11.142-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-20T08:00:11.142-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="events" /><title>This Week With the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-2478314347303233663?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/pqPqThp62vk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/2478314347303233663/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-with-mommies_20.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/2478314347303233663?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/2478314347303233663?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/pqPqThp62vk/this-week-with-mommies_20.html" title="This Week With the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-with-mommies_20.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CkMEQXwzeCp7ImA9WhRVFEo.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-494192385236766908</id><published>2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-13T08:00:00.280-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-13T08:00:00.280-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="events" /><title>This Week With the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-494192385236766908?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/RTuhMXqWu7g" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/494192385236766908/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-with-mommies_13.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/494192385236766908?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/494192385236766908?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/RTuhMXqWu7g/this-week-with-mommies_13.html" title="This Week With the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-with-mommies_13.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;Dk8ERn05eyp7ImA9WhRVEU8.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-3636210033804712377</id><published>2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-09T08:00:07.323-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-09T08:00:07.323-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Recipes" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Menu Monday" /><title>Menu Monday: Asian Noodle Salad</title><content type="html">&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/Suu8aFda8nI/AAAAAAAAHRs/ATdc-V7Ujhg/s1600-h/DSC_8761+%28Large%29.JPG"&gt;&lt;img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398615734661870194" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/Suu8aFda8nI/AAAAAAAAHRs/ATdc-V7Ujhg/s320/DSC_8761+%28Large%29.JPG" style="display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/Sue9ITLvjsI/AAAAAAAAHQc/FiR3x-N5vP0/s1600-h/DSC_8294+%28Large%29.JPG"&gt;&lt;img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397490628712959682" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/Sue9ITLvjsI/AAAAAAAAHQc/FiR3x-N5vP0/s320/DSC_8294+%28Large%29.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;This cold noodle salad is actually made with linguine, but if you want to use soba noodles they would be wonderful too. There are quite a few recipes online for this dish, one at &lt;a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/03/my_most_favorite_salad_ever_ever_ever_ever/"&gt;Pioneer Woman-&lt;/a&gt; probably most popular and here at &lt;a href="http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/asian-noodle-salad.php"&gt;Savvy Vegetarian&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So, here's how we make it around here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1 pound cooked linguine or soba noodles. Rinsed with cold water&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Vegetables and Herbs&lt;/b&gt;- pick what you like, this is great to clear out your fridge at the end of the week too- use a lot, they are soo good with the dressing. I forgot the spinach for this batch and didn't use broccoli.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Napa cabbage - 1/3 sliced thin&lt;br /&gt;
Purple cabbage- 1/3 sliced thin&lt;br /&gt;
Bell peppers- red, yellow, orange and or green - I use thee colors, slice half from each&lt;br /&gt;
English cucumber- peeled and sliced or regular cucumber peeled, seeded and sliced&lt;br /&gt;
3-4 stalks of tender celery with leaves- the inner stalks the leaves are so flavorful, chopped&lt;br /&gt;
Bean sprouts- a couple of hand fulls&lt;br /&gt;
Thinly sliced carrot- you can use a julienne peeler or buy grated carrots&lt;br /&gt;
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro leaves or Thai basil&lt;br /&gt;
1-2 scallions sliced&lt;br /&gt;
Baby spinach&lt;br /&gt;
Baby broccoli florets&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Protein- Optional&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Tofu- firm tofu, wrapped in a clean kitchen towel and weighted with a plate and canned good to press out the liquid. Cubed then fried in a little oil until crisp.&lt;br /&gt;
Chicken- leftover roasted chicken shredded or grilled&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Dressing-&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
zest from 1/2- 1 lime&lt;br /&gt;
1 1/2 limes- juiced, I usually add 2 limes because I like it tart&lt;br /&gt;
3 tablespoons sesame oil&lt;br /&gt;
8-10 tablespoons olive oil&lt;br /&gt;
6-7 tablespoons soy sauce&lt;br /&gt;
1/3 cup brown sugar- not packed just lightly scooped&lt;br /&gt;
4-5 tablespoons of grated ginger- I use my micro plane (we love ginger)&lt;br /&gt;
3 cloves minced garlic, I grate it also&lt;br /&gt;
2 jalapenos seeded and minced (I use these as a garnish too)&lt;br /&gt;
1/3 cup Cilantro chopped&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Garnish&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Sesame seeds&lt;br /&gt;
Cilantro&lt;br /&gt;
Thai basil&lt;br /&gt;
Lime wedges&lt;br /&gt;
Sliced jalapenos&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whisk the ingredients for the dressing (except the cilantro) until the sugar is mostly dissolved and combined- I've also thrown everything in a blender and it works fine. Stir in cilantro. Toss the dressing on the noodles, protein and vegetables in a large bowl. Serve with garnishes.&lt;br /&gt;
This is best eaten the day it's prepared unless you leave out the napa cabbage, cilantro and Thai basil and sprinkle them on top when ready to serve. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Post submitted from the &lt;a href="http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Give Peas a Chance&lt;/a&gt; blog.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-3636210033804712377?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/8bePIw657kE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/3636210033804712377/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/menu-monday-asian-noodle-salad.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3636210033804712377?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3636210033804712377?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/8bePIw657kE/menu-monday-asian-noodle-salad.html" title="Menu Monday: Asian Noodle Salad" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/Suu8aFda8nI/AAAAAAAAHRs/ATdc-V7Ujhg/s72-c/DSC_8761+%28Large%29.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/menu-monday-asian-noodle-salad.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;A0UER3wyfyp7ImA9WhRWGEs.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-3933713207304252110</id><published>2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-06T09:00:06.297-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-06T09:00:06.297-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="events" /><title>This Week With the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-3933713207304252110?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/3D1tLaLUnD8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/3933713207304252110/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-with-mommies.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3933713207304252110?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/3933713207304252110?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/3D1tLaLUnD8/this-week-with-mommies.html" title="This Week With the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-week-with-mommies.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DEMEQns6cSp7ImA9WhRWFkQ.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-7955948020955878435</id><published>2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-04T09:00:03.519-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-04T09:00:03.519-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="winter" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="health and wellness" /><title>Staying Healthy This Winter</title><content type="html">&lt;div style="font-family: inherit;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;A runny  nose, coughing, an aching body, and choking phlegm are just a few of the  unattractive and uncomfortable symptoms related to the common cold and  flu.  During the chilly winter months, we find ourselves spending the  majority of our time indoors, making it quite easy to send and receive  those unwanted cold and flu cooties.   Both the common cold and the  flu are extremely contagious.  Many of these germs are spread by  hand-to-hand contact and are also airborne.   It seems as though we are  destined for some sort of sniffle each year.  However, we have control  to a certain extent!   Give it your best shot this winter and beyond to  avoid those pesky cold and flu critter invasions.  Here are the top 10 tips for staying healthy during cold and flu season: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Sleep eight hours a night.   Yes, lack of sleep can affect the immune system.  While we sleep, our  immune system releases proteins called cytokines.  Cytokines are  necessary for fighting infection.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Get stress levels under control.   Stress can decrease immune system function.  Research has found that  cortisol and catecholamines, hormones that are released during times of  stress, can turn down the effects of the immune system.   The following  link provides more info on the effects of stress:  &lt;a href="http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2007/Januar%20...%20res_01.htm" target="_blank"&gt;http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2007/Januar ... res_01.htm&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Yoga,  deep breathing, meditation, exercise, and getting yourself into the present moment are all ways to cope with stress.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Get outdoors every day.   Spending too much time indoors, especially around people, can increase  your chances of contracting those cold and flu cooties!  In addition,  getting sunlight for 15 minutes every day can improve your mood and  Vitamin D levels.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Exercise!   Indoors or outdoors, exercise has repeatedly been shown to strengthen  not only our bodies but also our immune systems.   For detailed  information regarding exercise and immunity, check out this link: &lt;a class="postlink" href="http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/chronic_fatigue_syndrome/hic_diet_exercise_stress_and_the_immune_system.aspx"&gt;http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders ... ystem.aspx&lt;/a&gt;.   &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; To review guidelines on physical activity, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website:  &lt;a class="postlink" href="http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/index.html"&gt;http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/eve ... index.html&lt;/a&gt;.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Wash your hands!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Consume a balanced and nutritionally dense diet.&lt;b&gt;   &lt;/b&gt;Proper nutrition goes a long way!  There is no better way to receive  vitamins and minerals than through fresh fruits and vegetables and whole  grains.  For the dairy lovers and meat eaters out there, choose the  leanest options available.  Vitamins and minerals provide our cells with  the building blocks it needs to fight off disease!  Excess sugar and  fat can create a systemic inflammatory response, making it more difficult  for our bodies to fight off disease and illness.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Hydrate!   Water can flush toxins from the body and carry much-needed nutrients  to our body’s cells and tissues.  The dry winter months can cause  insensible hydration losses that we are typically not aware of.  In  addition, mild dehydration can make you feel drained and more  susceptible to the dreaded "C": constipation.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Rinse the nasal passages!   A practice that many refer to as nasal flushing is a safe and  effective way to clean out the nasal passages.  During cold-weather  months, the respiratory tract creates more mucus in an attempt to warm  and moisten our airways.  When that mucus spends too much time inside  the body, germs can linger and proliferate.  By flushing the mucus from  your nose, you are removing some of those unwanted infestations.  For  more information, check out &lt;a class="postlink" href="http://www.neilmed.com/usa/index.php"&gt;http://www.neilmed.com/usa/index.php&lt;/a&gt;.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Avoid the inevitable.   It may be best to avoid situations where you know you will encounter  individuals with the cold or flu.  In many instances, this is not  possible, or perhaps you are unaware of someone's pending illness.   Nonetheless, take precautions by strengthening your own immune system and  washing your hands postvisit.  Also, remember to avoid putting your  hands near your face until a thorough washing occurs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; Keep your living spaces clean and tidy.   Keyboards, doorknobs, countertops, and fruits and vegetables can  all be hosts and carriers of bacteria and viruses.  Disinfect often!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; For  more tips regarding nutritional supplements and vitamins to complement  the tips mentioned above, consult your health care provider.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
And remember, an apple a day just may keep the doctor away!  Best to you and your family for a safe and healthy holiday!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Post submitted by Marisa from The Mommies Network's Content Team&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-7955948020955878435?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/FLVgxY_PqwY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/7955948020955878435/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/staying-healthy-this-winter.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7955948020955878435?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7955948020955878435?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/FLVgxY_PqwY/staying-healthy-this-winter.html" title="Staying Healthy This Winter" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/staying-healthy-this-winter.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CUEERnozcSp7ImA9WhRWFU8.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-7286708350358258821</id><published>2012-01-02T09:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-02T09:00:07.489-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-02T09:00:07.489-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Recipes" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Menu Monday" /><title>To Die For Blueberry Muffins</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IhrIog0paUw/TmjyLyGXW4I/AAAAAAAACU0/IWgnLvCOJY8/s1600/101_5972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IhrIog0paUw/TmjyLyGXW4I/AAAAAAAACU0/IWgnLvCOJY8/s640/101_5972.JPG" width="640" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I am not a morning person at all. When my daughter screams, "Mommy!" in the morning, all I want to do is hide under the covers for a few more minutes. So usually, I am not in the mood to make a huge breakfast, either. I like something that is good and quick.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lately, Virginia has been on a blueberry kick. She loves her some blueberry waffles. When I was at the grocery store, I grabbed some fresh blueberries for her. Well, don't you know, my silly goose turned up her nose at the blueberries. I don't like to waste food, so I decided to make blueberry muffins. I usually use the store-bought muffin packs, but I ran across this &lt;a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/detail.aspx"&gt;To Die for Blueberry Muffin&lt;/a&gt; recipe on &lt;a href="http://allrecipes.com/"&gt;AllRecipes&lt;/a&gt; and decided to give it a shot.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w0xhM7xmPOA/TmjvZsfAzSI/AAAAAAAACUg/5QZxLRKOYLE/s1600/101_5965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w0xhM7xmPOA/TmjvZsfAzSI/AAAAAAAACUg/5QZxLRKOYLE/s400/101_5965.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups, or line with muffin liners. I always like to put two liners in one muffin spot. Like my mother, I tell my family that the one that gets the double liner is going to have a lucky day.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fstSc7pyr3I/TmjwRY-Y1hI/AAAAAAAACUk/FH1rhxkpLho/s1600/101_5966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fstSc7pyr3I/TmjwRY-Y1hI/AAAAAAAACUk/FH1rhxkpLho/s400/101_5966.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Measure 1 cup of vegetable oil; add egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yg1nt6Ct6Y4/Tmjw8El5IsI/AAAAAAAACUo/JwsmerCSL9U/s1600/101_5967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yg1nt6Ct6Y4/Tmjw8El5IsI/AAAAAAAACUo/JwsmerCSL9U/s400/101_5967.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups to the top, and sprinkle with crumb-topping mixture.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NvlBsU2wANs/TmjxYj0b-_I/AAAAAAAACUs/Y27ONEJRwtI/s1600/101_5968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NvlBsU2wANs/TmjxYj0b-_I/AAAAAAAACUs/Y27ONEJRwtI/s400/101_5968.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;To make crumb topping: Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PRqhYhYNua4/TmjxvGLq2nI/AAAAAAAACUw/4soEQdKVcKs/s1600/101_5970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PRqhYhYNua4/TmjxvGLq2nI/AAAAAAAACUw/4soEQdKVcKs/s400/101_5970.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven or until done.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Post originally submitted by Kathy (absolutelykathy) to the &lt;a href="http://centralpiedmontmommies.blogspot.com/2011/09/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins.html"&gt;CentralPiedmontMommies&lt;/a&gt; blog on Sept. 8, 2011.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-7286708350358258821?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/OiK-gR6yBqE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/7286708350358258821/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7286708350358258821?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7286708350358258821?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/OiK-gR6yBqE/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins.html" title="To Die For Blueberry Muffins" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IhrIog0paUw/TmjyLyGXW4I/AAAAAAAACU0/IWgnLvCOJY8/s72-c/101_5972.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DkMEQ30zeip7ImA9WhRWEks.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-6017245045913278474</id><published>2011-12-30T09:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-30T09:00:02.382-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-30T09:00:02.382-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="events" /><title>This Week With the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-6017245045913278474?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/duIIx3S_Il0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/6017245045913278474/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-week-with-mommies_30.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6017245045913278474?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6017245045913278474?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/duIIx3S_Il0/this-week-with-mommies_30.html" title="This Week With the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-week-with-mommies_30.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;C0EER3kzfyp7ImA9WhRWEEQ.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-6291529570879982419</id><published>2011-12-28T09:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-28T09:00:06.787-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-28T09:00:06.787-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Motherhood" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Momics" /><title>MOMics Comics - Installing a Carseat is Easy!</title><content type="html">&lt;center&gt;&lt;img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5830/sundaymomics3carseat.jpg" width="600" /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;Illustration by Rainey Niklawski from &lt;a href="http://richmondmommies.com/"&gt;RichmondMommies.com&lt;/a&gt;, A3 for The Mommies Network&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;b&gt;If you enjoy drawing or designing mom-centered comics of your own, consider contributing to our weekly "Momics" column! Send us an email at &lt;a href="mailto:blogs@themommiesnetwork.org"&gt;blogs@themommiesnetwork.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-6291529570879982419?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/24_8lJHwsbI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/6291529570879982419/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/momics-comics-installing-carseat-is.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6291529570879982419?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6291529570879982419?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/24_8lJHwsbI/momics-comics-installing-carseat-is.html" title="MOMics Comics - Installing a Carseat is Easy!" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/momics-comics-installing-carseat-is.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;Ak8EQH4yfip7ImA9WhRXGUw.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-7557434003397011157</id><published>2011-12-26T09:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-26T09:00:01.096-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-26T09:00:01.096-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Recipes" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Menu Monday" /><title>Menu Monday: Kiss Me Chocolate Chip Cookies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S6g6YVYBF2I/AAAAAAAAH90/ZCol4s0E3dU/s1600-h/DSC_3665+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S6g6YVYBF2I/AAAAAAAAH90/ZCol4s0E3dU/s320/DSC_3665+%28Large%29.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I am always making CCC a million different ways, just search Chocolate Chip Cookie/s on here and you'll get a few hits. Can't help it. These are chewy soft yummies. And I had a ton of chips I needed to use up. When a few cooled I took them on a plate to Pixie girl- she took one, walked away took a bite and came back towards me, I told DH, "yup she wants one in each hand..." NOPE. She came over, put her arms around me and kissed me... then took the other cookie. I love that little baby.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S6g6T59eowI/AAAAAAAAH9s/mEGqr_W4-O4/s1600-h/DSC_3669+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S6g6T59eowI/AAAAAAAAH9s/mEGqr_W4-O4/s320/DSC_3669+%28Large%29.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S6g6R5pnzJI/AAAAAAAAH9k/QswBufHKCDY/s1600-h/DSC_3685+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S6g6R5pnzJI/AAAAAAAAH9k/QswBufHKCDY/s320/DSC_3685+%28Large%29.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;2 sticks melted butter&lt;/div&gt;1/4 c sugar&lt;br /&gt;
1 1/4 c brown sugar (lightly packed)&lt;br /&gt;
2Tbs milk&lt;br /&gt;
2 tsp vanilla&lt;br /&gt;
2 eggs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;2 Tbs sour cream&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Sift-&lt;/div&gt;2 1/4c bread flour&lt;br /&gt;
1 tsp baking soda&lt;br /&gt;
1 tsp baking powder&lt;br /&gt;
1/2 tsp salt- I used kosher last night&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;1 cup oats&lt;br /&gt;
2 cups chocolate chips&lt;br /&gt;
1 cup nuts (optional)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Cream sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add remaining wet ingredients. Beat well. Mix in flour mixture. Stir in oats, chocolate and nuts.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Chill dough thoroughly. I left this dough overnight in the fridge. I used a small cookie scoop for these cookies. I baked them on stoneware. Which took longer, than my standard parchment lined jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes depending on your oven. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
You can also scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet, flash freeze the dough balls and put them in a Zip top bag and bake a few at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
OR roll the dough into logs and wrap in plastic wrap and slice and bake them also.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Post provided by the &lt;a href="http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/" style="color: #66bb33; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;Please Give Peas a Chance&lt;/a&gt; Blog.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-7557434003397011157?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/zLf_Bsp13E4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/7557434003397011157/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/menu-monday-kiss-me-chocolate-chip.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7557434003397011157?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7557434003397011157?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/zLf_Bsp13E4/menu-monday-kiss-me-chocolate-chip.html" title="Menu Monday: Kiss Me Chocolate Chip Cookies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S6g6YVYBF2I/AAAAAAAAH90/ZCol4s0E3dU/s72-c/DSC_3665+%28Large%29.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/menu-monday-kiss-me-chocolate-chip.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DEcERXk_eip7ImA9WhRXFkg.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-8668344642779902941</id><published>2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-23T08:00:04.742-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-23T08:00:04.742-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="events" /><title>This Week With the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-8668344642779902941?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/EiY1OwUvhZg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/8668344642779902941/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-week-with-mommies_23.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/8668344642779902941?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/8668344642779902941?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/EiY1OwUvhZg/this-week-with-mommies_23.html" title="This Week With the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-week-with-mommies_23.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DkUHQHo5eyp7ImA9WhRXFU0.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-6985707002647834294</id><published>2011-12-21T13:45:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-21T13:50:31.423-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-21T13:50:31.423-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Motherhood" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Momics" /><title>Cloth Diapering Momics</title><content type="html">&lt;center&gt;&lt;img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/2820/sunaymomics4clothdiaper.jpg" width="550" /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;Illustration by Rainey Niklawski from &lt;a href="http://richmondmommies.com/"&gt;RichmondMommies.com&lt;/a&gt;, A3 for The Mommies Network&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;b&gt;If you enjoy drawing or designing mom-centered comics of your own, consider contributing to our weekly "Momics" column! Send us an email at &lt;a href="mailto:blogs@themommiesnetwork.org"&gt;blogs@themommiesnetwork.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-6985707002647834294?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/_res_rYBh54" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/6985707002647834294/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/cloth-diapering-momics.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6985707002647834294?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/6985707002647834294?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/_res_rYBh54/cloth-diapering-momics.html" title="Cloth Diapering Momics" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/cloth-diapering-momics.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CkQHQ3g7fCp7ImA9WhRQF00.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-5792936263095941450</id><published>2011-12-12T06:32:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-12T06:32:12.604-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-12T06:32:12.604-08:00</app:edited><title>Menu Monday - Kettle Corn</title><content type="html">&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_cz8g3TQ7I/AAAAAAAAIhM/Mxib0bq4xN4/s1600/DSC_7542+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_cz8g3TQ7I/AAAAAAAAIhM/Mxib0bq4xN4/s200/DSC_7542+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I was amazed at how easy and fast this was, I was more amazed at how easy the clean up is! I thought for sure with oil and sugar I'd be scrubbing a pot after I was done, but not at all! There was hardly a stuck on mess. This is such an inexpensive snack. Sure it isn't the most healthy but hot kettle corn with that caramelized sugar crunch is SO good fresh.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
1/2 cup popping corn&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;1/4 cup vegetable oil- It seems like a lot but not in the end.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;3 tablespoons sugar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;kosher salt&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;two oven mitts or pot holders&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;a big pot with a lid (I used a 5 qt dutch oven and it was perfect)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_cz9igzRLI/AAAAAAAAIhU/wIWJsYD6rJc/s1600/DSC_7533+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_cz9igzRLI/AAAAAAAAIhU/wIWJsYD6rJc/s200/DSC_7533+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Measure everything out and set it aside. Once you start it's hard to measure things, it moves quickly.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_c0AuIBNPI/AAAAAAAAIhc/wPq3uTHgM0E/s1600/DSC_7539+%28Large%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_c0AuIBNPI/AAAAAAAAIhc/wPq3uTHgM0E/s200/DSC_7539+%28Large%29.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Add oil to the pot and heat it on medium high, make sure the oil get hot but not burning. Add the popcorn. SPRINKLE in the sugar over top (do not dump it in a big pile). Place the lid on top of the pot and start moving the pot around. The oven mitts help with the heat. The corn will start popping, once it slows down you are done. With a big metal serving spoon stir to bring up some of the sugar and coat the rest of the popcorn if needed.&amp;nbsp; *I forgot to tell you to salt the popcorn at this point* SO good served right away. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Post provided by the &lt;a href="http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Please Give Peas a Chance&lt;/a&gt;. Published to &lt;a href="http://themommiesnetwork.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network blog&lt;/a&gt; July 2011.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-5792936263095941450?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/USlMKUabhio" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/5792936263095941450/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/menu-monday-kettle-corn.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/5792936263095941450?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/5792936263095941450?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/USlMKUabhio/menu-monday-kettle-corn.html" title="Menu Monday - Kettle Corn" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h9Jp6ncJVks/S_cz8g3TQ7I/AAAAAAAAIhM/Mxib0bq4xN4/s72-c/DSC_7542+%28Large%29.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/menu-monday-kettle-corn.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DEMEQ3sycCp7ImA9WhRQFEk.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-7405441381699939308</id><published>2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-09T08:00:02.598-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-09T08:00:02.598-08:00</app:edited><title>This Week with the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all of our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-7405441381699939308?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/etubmWGnUPA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/7405441381699939308/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-week-with-mommies_09.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7405441381699939308?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7405441381699939308?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/etubmWGnUPA/this-week-with-mommies_09.html" title="This Week with the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-week-with-mommies_09.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;D0YHRXw5fyp7ImA9WhRQEks.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-1589561113635566077</id><published>2011-12-07T05:38:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-07T05:38:54.227-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-07T05:38:54.227-08:00</app:edited><title>Life as a Homeschooling Mom</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kmv3pZNo2EU/Tt9qpSpVm4I/AAAAAAAAA2A/hrJbXpTZ79Y/s1600/MP900439243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kmv3pZNo2EU/Tt9qpSpVm4I/AAAAAAAAA2A/hrJbXpTZ79Y/s320/MP900439243.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;If I were to meet you on the street today, I would introduce myself as Heather, stay-at-home/homeschooling mom of my daughters who are six and three. You would ask me my thoughts on the public school system and about my choice to keep them home, then about my method of teaching, and the curriculum I use. I would smile and say all the right things. I would tell you just how much I love it, how passionate I am about being their teacher, and how confident I am that this is the right choice for my family.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But that wouldn't really be the truth.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You see, more often than not I have no idea what I am doing. I second guess every decision.  Homeschooling was never something I imagined myself doing, so I wonder how I got to this point, and what I was thinking. And some days I allow myself to dream about that big yellow bus pulling up in front of my house and taking my children away for the next six hours.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I love my girls dearly, of course. But the days are long, and the weeks are hectic. And I rarely get a few minutes to think, let alone have a conversation with another adult. We have days that we wake up early, get dressed and into our school room right away. And then we have others where I realize we are still in our pajamas at noon and I haven't even opened a workbook, or answered a single question.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Guilt and fear are par for the course in motherhood, but in my life they are exacerbated by being primarily responsible for my children's education.  I believe that right now they learn so much through play, and have a natural curiosity to explore the world around them. But secretly, I worry that I am not smart enough to teach them all they need to know. I question whether my methods really are the best. And I'm afraid that I am doing them a huge disservice by not exposing them to a more structured learning environment.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As I start asking myself questions, I become riddled with the fear that while homeschooling is what I want for my girls, I might not be cut out for it.&lt;br /&gt;
But then...something miraculous happens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My youngest daughter will count to twenty, correctly read the letters off a sign as we pass by, and ask for her mountain of books at bedtime. My oldest daughter will flawlessly name the planets, sound out letters, and proudly find Italy on the world map. They will ask for more rhyming games, and sight words. They will demand just one more sheet of school work. They will run to their dad when he walks through the door, eager to tell them what they learned about that day. And they will beg to have school on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
And in those moments, I realize that something is working!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So a more accurate representation of the truth is that I am a stay-at-home/homeschooling mom of two. It is harder than I expected it to be. I don't know if I am making the right choices all the time. But my children are learning! And they are loving it!! And that hunger for knowledge is exactly what I wanted to instill in them all along.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;Written by Heather (imarriedrich) from UnionCountyMommies. Originally submitted to &lt;a href="http://themommiesnetwork.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network Blog&lt;/a&gt; on 04/15/2011&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-1589561113635566077?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/2DR1_q5-fU4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/1589561113635566077/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/life-as-homeschooling-mom.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/1589561113635566077?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/1589561113635566077?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/2DR1_q5-fU4/life-as-homeschooling-mom.html" title="Life as a Homeschooling Mom" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kmv3pZNo2EU/Tt9qpSpVm4I/AAAAAAAAA2A/hrJbXpTZ79Y/s72-c/MP900439243.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/life-as-homeschooling-mom.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CEcBQn08eyp7ImA9WhRQEEQ.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-7596822290457468152</id><published>2011-12-05T05:34:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-05T05:34:13.373-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-05T05:34:13.373-08:00</app:edited><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="The Mommies Network" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="sponsors" /><title>Ring in the New Year with TMN!</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s1600/forumad2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s1600/forumad2.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;Ring in the New Year by reaching moms across the nation!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Women make more than 80 percent of all purchasing decisions and control two thirds of the nation’s disposable income. And moms may have the greatest buying power. What mom doesn’t share the latest trends or personal experiences with a business that has provided products or services for her family or herself?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To help you start the New Year with a bang, &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network&lt;/a&gt; is offering the following:&lt;br /&gt;
With all new/renewed sponsorship agreements, your business will receive a complimentary blog feature (advertorial to include logo/product image and 500 words). Prepaid agreements receive a 5 percent discount and a complimentary two months on one sponsorship listing. Sponsors also receive 20 percent off event sponsorships. Offer expires Jan. 31, 2012.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network&lt;/a&gt; can help your business reach moms across the nation or in your community. We are a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide a safe, secure, free place for mothers to find support and encouragement from other mothers and to empower them to be better women, parents, and community leaders. Through our online forums, our chapters connect local mothers, enabling them to ask questions, seek support, offer encouragement, find volunteer opportunities, and grow as leaders as they volunteer their time with our site. Our organization provides a valuable service to a portion of the population that is nearly always overlooked, overworked, and taken for granted: moms!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more details on how your business can ring in the New Year with moms across the nation, please contact Jessica Van Dyke at &lt;a href="mailto:Jessica.VanDyke@TheMommiesNetwork.org"&gt;Jessica.VanDyke@TheMommiesNetwork.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
How are you reaching the greatest buying power in our nation?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-7596822290457468152?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/t5wab0-GHqY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/7596822290457468152/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/ring-in-new-year-with-tmn.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7596822290457468152?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/7596822290457468152?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/t5wab0-GHqY/ring-in-new-year-with-tmn.html" title="Ring in the New Year with TMN!" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s72-c/forumad2.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/ring-in-new-year-with-tmn.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;C0EESX0_fyp7ImA9WhRRGEk.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271046808288608937.post-2496083881682774735</id><published>2011-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-02T08:00:08.347-08:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-02T08:00:08.347-08:00</app:edited><title>This Week with the Mommies</title><content type="html">&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s1600/TWWTM.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We chat online in a private forum — discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between — and meet up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late-night commiseration about a crying baby (there are 4 a.m. posts to prove it) or a Moms' Night Out, &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/" target="_blank"&gt;CentralTexasMommies&lt;/a&gt; provides what our members need, when and how they need it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Click &lt;a href="http://www.CentralTexasMommies.com/forum/calendar.php" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to go directly to our calendar, and stay up-to-date on all of our events scheduled for this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4271046808288608937-2496083881682774735?l=centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~4/NPidq1GKaH0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/feeds/2496083881682774735/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-week-with-mommies.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/2496083881682774735?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4271046808288608937/posts/default/2496083881682774735?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Centraltexasmommies/~3/NPidq1GKaH0/this-week-with-mommies.html" title="This Week with the Mommies" /><author><name>The Mommies Network</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06288205116523041856</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mES7QHjgWOM/SbKyMRZXCOI/AAAAAAAAACk/CO2OrWpO1DE/S220/mama.jpg" /></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV4Mfjt48xk/TrLbn0pp9fI/AAAAAAAAAXM/8SH8kOG5mss/s72-c/TWWTM.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://centraltexasmommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-week-with-mommies.html</feedburner:origLink></entry></feed>

