JohnstonMommies

We're soaring high with your help!

noreply@blogger.com (Tanecia) — Thu, 24 May 2012 06:00:00 +0000

We're soaring high with your help!
The Mommies Network is in the running for a fundraising marketing package that will increase our development efforts. A free ONCORE package from Eleventy Group's 4Good contest will benefit all our members by raising funds with less effort. More money means a better network for mommies across the nation.

Join our facebook event to vote and share. A minute of your time is all it takes.

With gratitude,
The Mommies Network

JohnstonMommies.com's First Group Wide Yard Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Tanecia) — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:37:00 +0000

Love deals? Don't miss JohnstonMommies Multi-Family Yard Sale!

Saturday, June 2 from 7 a.m. to noon, members of the JohnstonMommies community will be at 52 Balmoral St in Clayton for a huge yard sale! There will be clothing, kid items, ice cold drinks and more. Please no early birds.

Find a great deal and help support the moms in your community.

The Mommies Network needs your help!

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:40:00 +0000

The Mommies Network is a finalist non-profit in Eleventy Group's 4Good contest With a simple click to vote and another to share, you can help boost TMN's fundraising power. Better fundraising means technology upgrades, an expanding network, and more time for our volunteers to focus on what they do best: make mom-to-mom connections everyday.

Join our facebook event to spread the word that will help us spread our wings. Voting costs nothing but a minute of your time.

From everyone at The Mommies Network, thanks for your support.

How college prepares you for parenthood.

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:00:00 +0000

When someone calls and says they'll be over in 15 minutes, you run around the house collecting empty bottles.

It's not unusual to wake up with someone new in your bed and no recollection of how they got there.

All-nighters.

Cold pizza is a fine breakfast.

If you want to eat ice cream without sharing, you have to wait to till everyone else is asleep.

The only reason you bought a dog is so you wouldn't have to mop.

A little pee on the couch never fazed anyone.

You're the designated driver every single day, but your passengers can't even buckle themselves in.

The 'Freshman 15' (or 35).

Elizabeth Hopkins, Mother and Events Manager
www.johnstonmommies.com

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:00:00 +0000

One of the worst feelings, I think, we have as parents is helplessness. The degree to which we feel this emotion changes through the years. From the first days when you couldn’t seem to figure out why the baby is crying, to watching her fall as she learns to walk, this helpless emotion goes on and on through the scraped knees from learning to skate, or tears when they fight with a friend. The older the child gets, the worse that helpless feeling of ours becomes! We stand by while she suffers her first broken heart all the way through to the mistakes they will make as they choose their direction in life.
We can guide our children to make sound decisions; we can relay our own bad decisions, and hope they learn from our mistakes. But in the end, you can't make their life choices. You are helpless to do anything more than guide them as they make their way in life.

In a world of instant gratification like ours, it is difficult to teach them that there are things worth the wait. How does one teach a child that, in life, waiting can double the joy. That going slow and steady in fact does win the race.

Young love seems to have an extra strong hold when they are at the edge of adulthood. Any attempt to temper the raging hormones is met with suspicion and disdain. You, the parent, of course, are trying to ruin their lives and don't understand the depth of their feelings because you were never a teen in love. Their love story will be the exception, and you're just trying to ruin their lives.

It seems an impossible task to make your child see that all you wish is to save them heartache, pain and regret. That you want their lives to be better and richer than your own. A parent’s dream is to see their child happy and to reach, every goal they set for themselves.

As parents, we all do what we think is best for our kids. We listen, guide and love. We can and will raise productive children who have lives better than we could dream for them, if we just keep working at it.

Heather Garcia, Promotions Manager
www.johnstonmommies.com
miio.com @H

How Does Your Garden Grow?

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

JohnstonMommies' 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.

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!

Save time, money, and gas by planning your perfect garden from the comfort of your computer. Spring over to http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240208/POTYYo4de7O6, 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.

So what are you waiting for? Don't delay: Grow with us today!

Profits made through our fundraising link go toward our chapter's operating expenses.

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:04:00 +0000

Photo By: Michelle Faircloth

Free Premium Membership Access for a Limited Time

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Ever wonder what's so special about Premium Access to the National Forum? For a limited time The Mommies Network is offering FREE access to premium content like Debate This and Buy/Sell/Swap to all members.
See what you've been missing by logging on to http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/index.php and get started today.

Free Premium Access is available to all current and new members of The Mommies Network National Forum. It is available NOW through April 30th.

Why I Care and You Should Too

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

As moms we get busy. We have kids, a husband and work. We homeschool or run a business. We get very wrapped up in our own lives. We don't pay much attention to the news or politics. We may have a cause but really we just want to go about our way and live our lives with as little drama as we can.

Now I know this is not true for everyone but for a long time it was me. I woke up the day I started reading the book “Atlas Shrugged.” No longer can I stick my head in the sand and pretend that this is not happening. I can't put off the problems for my children to deal with. I know things have to be done.

What can one woman do? This is a question I ask myself often. It does not matter what side of the political spectrum you are on, you can be informed, you can write a letter, or you can make a call. We all fill our days with things to help our kids; for example, we might add to their college fund or teach them to be self sufficient, but we don't think any farther than this week or next. What will happen when our debt, as a nation, comes due? What happens when the protesters succeed and bring down our government? Will our children see the zombie apocalypse?

All of this sounds scary and it is a bit of a wake up call. This isnot my usual daily parenting dilemma that I blog about, but the future of our country scares me, and the more I look around, the more I have to wonder, are we ready? What are we doing daily to make things easier for our kids and our country?

So far all I seem to have is a lot of questions and very few answers. It's a lot like the Matrix, once your eyes are open you can't close them again.

Heather Garcia, Promotions Manager

www.johnstonmommies.com

miio.com @H

Sharing the good news!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

This was it. Today was the day. For some reason, I had this weird mommy intuition that I needed to check it again. So I did. I peed in a cup. I was nervous and excited as I waited 3 minutes for the line to appear. It did, much to my amazement and surprise. The morning
was December 23rd, and we were hours away from loading up the car and driving through the afternoon and night to visit my parents for Christmas. I calmly walked into the living room, sat down by my husband, whispered 'Merry Christmas' and showed him the test. 'What
is it?' 'It's a pregnancy test.' 'I don't know what that means.' He meant the lines in the indicator window. 'Well, let's just say I wouldn't be showing you a negative test.' We whispered in hushed tones because his mother had spent the night and we didn't want
anyone knowing yet. I was just a few weeks along, and we wanted to
keep this secret between us.
So now came the waiting game. I ticked off the weeks as the blob of cells became a larger blob of cells. I fiddled around with due dates calendars, trying to see if this baby could be born right between his birthday and mine. At 8 weeks, I called my OB/GYN to set up an
appointment. I would be 10 weeks along when I went in for my first check up. We had told just a few people. A friend, a boss, a few people who needed to know; even our 3-year oldhad managed to keep it under wraps. I returned home with a video of the midwife finding the heartbeat with her doppler. I sent it immediately to my husband. On our way home, I asked my 3-year old if she wanted to tell Memaw about the baby. Though she seemed eager to, she entered the house yelling 'Memaw, I'm not going to tell you about the baby!' After I explained, my mother-in-law was as proud as a grandmother can be. With all my
family living 10 hours away, I knew I wouldn't be able to tell them in person so I wanted a fun way to let them know. I decided to send the heartbeat video to my mom first.

I typed up a short 'Congratulations, Grandma!' message and attached the video. Hours later, I got a response; 'I can't open the video.' What a let-down! I asked her to get Dad to get it when he got home. The next morning, I sent a quick text; 'Did Dad get the video open? No, he hadn't felt well when he got home. They'd get around to it later today. Anothersigh on my end. What could I do? I didn't want to badger mom about the video or she'd start wondering why it was so important to me. So I uploaded the video directly to the internet
and sent her a link. Can't go wrong, could it? Apparently it could, and did.

My link was sent to her spam box. Hours later I was left wondering why she hadn't watched the video yet. So I sent her another link, directly from my email to hers. Along with a text message to her phone to check her email. All my bases were covered.
It worked; an hour later I got the phone call that I'd be anticipating for over 24 hours. My sister had been visiting when they watched the video, so I got to talk to my sister, dad, and mom all in one phone call and got our congratulations from them all. I asked mom to spread around the news to cousins and aunts that I don't talk to often. I know how proud a grandmother she is and how eager everyone is to share good news of a baby. I called my grandparents directly. Even though they are great-grandparents many times over, their excitement bubbled over as I told Grandma that the baby was due just days from her own
birthday.
Today I'm 12 weeks along. I still tear up when I watch the video of the heartbeat. I still smile till my cheeks hurt when I think about how much I'm going to love this baby. And I still laugh just a little bit when I think about how hard it was just to tell my mom some good
news!

Elizabeth Hopkins, Mother and Events Manager
www.johnstonmommies.com

Wordless Wednesday Caption This

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:06:00 +0000

Photo by Elizabeth Hopkins

When did success become evil

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I am not sure when it became bad to do well. I have watched the down hill slide of our country into mediocrity. The truly successful in our country have become something to look down upon. It has become the in thing to be a have not. This country was founded on the principals of hard work and personal responsibility, yet it seems that now they are considered the principals of a terrorist. I fear for the future of our children.

We have Soccer games with no scores so no one has to be the loser, and classrooms that are more interested in teaching tolerance than math and science. Our schools have put more importance on a simple nose piercing than a child's education. In our publicly funded schools our children are being taught not to question authority, taught to not stand out or be exceptional. We are teaching the individuality right out of our children, yet we all just put up with the horrible schools and make excuses for the broken system. Our teachers are being forced to teach under ridiculous rules and regulations to the point of taking the lessons down to the lowest common denominator.

In a country where one in five people are dependent on government assistance (not including government workers)¹, it seems an entitlement culture is being created and charged to our kids. With the national debt over 15 trillion dollars² and climbing, it seems that all our leaders want to do is enact more laws and programs costing us more money we have to borrow. The current government plan to pay off this debt is to take more from the top one percent of producers. This seems to me to be a punishment for doing well.

The smart kids are made fun of and bullied. If you do well at your job, people assume you are kissing up, or sleeping your way to the top, or even that you stepped on people on your way up the ladder. It can't be that your better at your job, or that you work harder; any success has to be luck or manipulation.

We used to put people who succeeded on a pedestal; we used to want to learn from them. It was an honor to work at a successful company, because you were going to learn from the best. Government jobs were for the mediocre, to be the best was to be hired by a private company/firm.

The American dream seems to be changing and not for the better. Our children are being brought up to believe that the “state” will take care of them. They are taught that being exceptional is cause for ridicule, that we have to toe the line and not upset the apple cart. The bright future that we wish for our children is being ripped from them and no one seems to notice.

1.http://www.myheritage.org/news/heritage-chart-shows-how-americans-dependency-on-government-continues-to-climb/

2.http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Heather Garcia, Promotions manager
www.johnstonmommies.com

When a day just get's worse

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I started the day out of spoons. The day before was hard on me and I was very tried. I kissed my mom and my son goodbye and sent them on their way. Of course this is not before I helped her with a piece of furniture that did not want to fit in her car. In the end I had to take it apart.

After she left I wanted to go to sleep. That was not going to happen I had to take a shower. I needed to do some laundry and iron my husbands clothes for work. There were dishes to be done. Now I am in debt to tomorrows spoons and I have not even gotten near my ten-thousand steps for the day.

Of course my day could not have stopped there. It just would not be me unless more drama happened. My teenager called and she wants me to talk to a teacher she is having issues with. Of course this can't wait until tomorrow. Then she needed to get her car jumped and as tired as I was I was looking forward to a nice quiet afternoon.

I had asked my daughter to run to the store to get me some eggs so that I could make some banana bread, as baking seems to calm me. However when she got home she had to help the friend who jumped her car, change his tire. This of course meant extra teenagers in my house and me out in the rain trying to help them.

So it did not get better as I made dinner and melted the funnel with hot oil, I am lucky I did not burn myself. I ended the day by heading to bed only to realize that I had to go back downstairs to start the dishwasher so I could empty it in the morning.

As I sit hear listening to the not so quiet hum of the dishwasher I had to finish this blog and give a silent shout out to the universe hoping that tomorrow will be a better day.

Heather Garcia, Promotions Manager
www.johnstonmommies.com
miio.com @H

Learn a New Language During Cultural Awareness Month!

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:25:00 +0000

Bonjour! Ciao! Hola! Have you been checking the National Chapter and participating in Cultural Awareness Month? In our Multicultural Mommies forum, 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!

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 TMN as we highlight the many languages and cultures that make our world wonderful!

More than one day of “I love you”

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

As yet another Valentines Day is upon us, I see the rush to find that perfect gift that says “I love you.” Every year this leaves me wondering: what about the other 364 days? For a long time I used to get caught up in the commercialism that is Valentines Day; I would rush out and get cards and candy. I would get upset if I did not get a little surprise.

Now that I am older, and perhaps a bit wiser, I have learned that I don't need a box of candy or a bouquet of flowers to know my husband loves me. In fact a houseplant would be a better show of his love. Heck, doing the dishes or a load of laundry would be better than a box of candy. Taking a walk with me at sunset around the lake would do more to win adoration.

Flowers wither and die, candy is gone and forgotten, but making sure our son gets to bed on time when I am not feeling well is just down right sexy. Letting me sleep in while he gets up and deals with the cats and kids: that is romance.

My husband and I have a date night just about every week. Sometimes it's a fancy dinner out, but more often than not it's a late night dinner at home with candles and music. It's time for us to just be a couple. This is not something we do once a year, it is a commitment we made to each other to spend time as a couple.

So go ahead and spend the money and get a card; the thought is nice and who does not like to be told they are loved. But take a moment and make sure that this is not the ONLY day you add a little extra romance in your life.

Heather Garcia, Promotions Manager

www.johnstonmomies.com

Teach Them to Fly

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:10:00 +0000

I have noticed recently that people tend to be quick to offer an unsolicited critique of other people’s parenting. It is with more than a bit of shame I have to count myself among the numbers. I do try to keep my opinions to myself in most cases unless it directly effects me or my family. As a mother of three I have been given any amount of “helpful” advice. The best advice I have ever been given I read.

A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher

That one line has done more to shape how I parent than every parenting book I have ever read. I guess it also has a lot to do with how I was brought up. My mom was a strong supporter of self sufficiency and I can remember on my 16th birthday she told me:

“I have taught you right from wrong, now it is up to you.”

That one lesson stuck with me all these years.

I have endured all kinds of criticism about making my kids do chores without an allowance. Chores, to me, are what a family does to keep a house going. It is not a job you are paid for. Now, if you are asked to do something above and beyond then you might get offered payment but, no, I do not pay the kids for contributing to the running of our home. My children have been taught that money is earned-not given; they have had to learn to find ways to earn money for things they want.

Also, it is my firmly held belief that I should not bribe my children to like me. I am not here to be their friend. I am a parent who loves them enough to know when to dish out a little discipline now to save them a lot of heartache later.

Of course, it shouldn’t go without saying that I have made my share of mistakes as a parent. Contrary to what I tell my kids, they did not come with a how-to manual. I make an attempt to own up to my mistakes and to set them right. Being human, I do fall short of the perfection I strive to obtain.

In the end, each family has to do what is best for their children. I believe what is best for mine is to be taught how to be on their own so when they get out in the world they are as ready as I can make them. It is my hope that I will have given my children the skills and knowledge to make sound moral and financial choices, as well as knowing how to take care of themselves. We are not that different from birds in that we all need to teach our children to fly on their own.

Heather Garcia, Promotions Manager

www.johnstonmommies.com

miio.com @H

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:21:00 +0000

Photo By: Michelle Faircloth

Off Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

“OH NO!” As I open my eyes and glance at the clock I see that I have overslept by an hour and a half. Now I am off schedule. One would think that for a stay at home mom who homeschools being off schedule would not be that big a deal, but in my world it can be devastating.

I have a routine that I hate to see disturbed. I get up, wake up my son and come downstairs to pack my husband’s lunch. I take my morning medication and make sure the previously mentioned son is eating breakfast. At this point I make my husband’s breakfast and make sure all of his belongings are ready to go.

Usually there are dishes to be put away or a dishwasher to start. Now, it's time to see my husband off to work and get started with the school work. I can make my breakfast while my son does his math. All of this happens in that hour and a half I happened to oversleep today. How do you catch up?

Lucky for me, my husband is self sufficient and is able to get himself up and running; also, my son can get up and make his own breakfast, if it is a bit late. We are at the end of a school year so we can afford to work a little less today.

When I am not feeling well and I sleep in, it seems the whole world is a bit off kilter: lessons run late, dinners are simple and easy, and the cleaning and laundry run behind. I feel guilty for being sick and worse for letting my house be a mess and letting my family suffer the effects of my lack of energy.

In the end I work hard to get back on track. Don’t get me wrong, I know I sometimes I fail. Its the knowledge that I am still learning the lesson “that this is not the end of the world” and I give myself a break.

Drawing the line

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

We teach our kids to be polite: “Yes, sir”, “Please” and “Thank you”. We teach our kids to wash their hands and to pick up their dirty socks. These things are expected of parents. However, how do you teach your child not to say everything that pops into his/her head?

There are things that you can teach and some you can teach by example but I am unaware of how to teach my child to engage the filter between his mouth and head. The folks in our neighborhood are sweet and my friends are very tolerant but some days I feel like the parent that has not done her job.

My son is 10. A wonderful age for learning to go out and play without supervision. However, as I have learned, as soon as my son leaves the house he would rather converse with adults than play with his peers. I have scolded, given punishment and even pleaded with him not to share his life story with every adult in the neighborhood, to no avail. I have explained that not all adults are good and I have talked to him about being polite and letting other people talk. Still, this has no effect.

It seems that he has so much in his head it just spills out of his mouth in a gush of information. He has no idea that sharing all of this information is not a great idea, no matter how many times I tell him. It seems that he is unable to stop talking. He talks to himself, to his computer and to people. We call it his “running commentary on life”, but it is not always cute or endearing. Some days it's just frustrating and upsetting. It's not like he does not get attention. He gets lots of social interaction and parent attention, but this seems to be something we have to deal with.

I am not opposed to any ideas, suggestions or advice that you might have. It seems to be a never ending battle. One I might have to choose not to fight.

Heather Garcia, Promotions Manager

www.johnstonmommies.com

miio.com @H

February is Cultural Awareness Month!

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:25:00 +0000

February is Cultural Awareness Month at The Mommies Network, and we're thinking globally! Share a love for foreign language and different cultures with your child in our Multicultural Mommies forum on our National Chapter. 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.

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.

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!

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Photo By: Michelle Faircloth

Upcoming in hospitality

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

It's hard to believe we have almost finished a whole month of the New Year! As always, with a new year comes new ideas, plans, and goals. Your Johnston Mommies Hospitality Committee is no different! We have some exciting ideas floating around and hope you will enjoy them on the boards and in person. Be on the lookout for a Meet and Greet and Mommy's Night Out each month. We also have some fun forum ideas in the works. How would you like to win a Mommy Award? Or play some fun hide and seek games? Stay tuned to the forums to find out what these are all about! As always, I encourage you to be active on the boards and attend events if at all possible. We would love to hear from you and see you! Feel free to PM me if you have any fun ideas or suggestions. Happy New Year from your Hospitality Committee!

Lori, Hospitality Committee

www.johnstonmommies.com

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Picky Eaters

I have a huge number of friends with picky eaters. This is a situation that I did not have to deal with much in my own home. I got lucky and have kids who will eat just about anything I put on the table. In doing my research for this blog I found that some of the stuff I had done was the recommended strategy for feeding picky eaters. One of the things that helped is that my oldest could not have sugar so we never kept sweets in the house. I have been fighting with my weight for years, as a result I make healthy meal and snack choices for me and my kids.

I see the frustration and anxiety on the faces of my friends, when we talk about meal times. They express to me the battle over foods and the seemingly never ending struggle to get their child to eat a healthy meal. On such conversation put me on the path to see if I could offer any worthwhile advice. Here are some tips I found to help the parents of picky eaters.

Clear out the junk food – offering healthy choices for snacks and treats will build a lifetime of healthy eating
Water vs Juice – offer water not juice or milk off meal times. Juice and milk can decrease appetite and make your child less hungry at meal times.
Focus on the meal – Turn off the TV and sit at the table. Not only will you start good eating habits bur getting rid of distractions and commercials that often encourage the eating of sugary foods.
Dip it cover it – Use favorite sauces and dips to help introduce new foods.
Be a good example – if you are eating candy bars and fill up on mashed potatoes that is the example your setting for your child. If they see you choosing lots of vegetables and lean protein, you will be setting a much better example.
One meal – Don’t be a short order cook. You make a healthy meal, that is what is for dinner if your child refuses to eat it then they can choose to go to bed hungry. No snacks, no treats. If you’re worried about how much your child is eating keep a food log.
Small children have small tummies - a child’s stomach is about the size of his fist, giving out small portions and letting them ask for more may be a key to meal time success.
Routine – Keeping meal and snack times consistent can help your child’s system adjust to being ready to eat when you’re serving meals.

Don’t forget to make it fun. Letting your children help make meals and pick out foods at the store will get them involved. Making funny faces out of veggies or using cookie cutters to make meals entertaining can be a great way to introduce new and healthy foods to your child.

I hope the above tips help meal time become less stressful at your house. To often I think we forget that the world will not end if they refuse to eat and go to bed hungry. That just means they will eat a bigger breakfast the next morning.

For more information on this topic check out the following sites:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/childrens-health/HQ01107

http://terrificparenting.com/picky-eaters

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-infants-toddlers/feeding-picky-eater-17-tips

Wordless Wednesday!!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Photo by Corrie Iavarone

You are not invincible: A note to teenagers

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

As I read yet another story about a teen who drove drunk, distracted or just too fast, it breaks my heart and strikes a fear into me that goes deeper than you can imagine. As I prepare to go with my daughter to get her drivers license, I fight with wanting to keep her safe and knowing she has to have some independence. I hope that I have instilled a healthy respect for the privilege of driving. I have reminded her not to fiddle with the radio or respond to a text. Repeatedly I have admonished her to watch her speed, to be careful at night, and to make sure she slows down in the rain. When it comes time for her to get that little paper that makes her a driver, I hope that I have given her the tools to be safe.

I am careful who I let her drive with; I make sure I know the teenager. Most of her friends are good kids, but a mom can never be too careful. I am starting to sound as overprotective as she thinks I am. This I justify as my job. As they grow up this job gets harder. You can only do so much to get them ready for the time when you give them more independence.

Now she is a senior in high school. With each passing month I need to let go a little more, and it breaks my heart that one day soon she will think she does not need me anymore.

Until that time, I show her the newspaper articles about the kids who drove too fast or had a few drinks and thought they were ok. She has been touched by this twice just this year and we are only half way done. All I can hope is that all of this has the effect of allowing her to know that she is not invincible and that there are people who love her and want to see her live a long happy life.

Heather Garcia, Promotions Manager

JohnstonMommies

We're soaring high with your help!

JohnstonMommies.com's First Group Wide Yard Sale

The Mommies Network needs your help!

How college prepares you for parenthood.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Wordless Wednesday

Free Premium Membership Access for a Limited Time

Why I Care and You Should Too

Sharing the good news!

Wordless Wednesday **Caption This**

When did success become evil

When a day just get's worse

Learn a New Language During Cultural Awareness Month!

More than one day of “I love you”

Teach Them to Fly

Wordless Wednesday

Off Schedule

Drawing the line

February is Cultural Awareness Month!

Wordless Wednesday

Upcoming in hospitality

Wordless Wednesday!!

You are not invincible: A note to teenagers

Wordless Wednesday Caption This