Archive for the ‘Family Health & Wellness’ Category

You Are More Than A Mom…

redefine who you are or at least put yourself in the direction of change and balance that will make you happy.

I’ve been in this kind of weird place the last few months.  Asking myself questions about who I am, what is my purpose, why am I just not that happy and what do I “need” to turn this around?

So this morning I tried to sneak a few minutes of quiet time into the start of my day by sitting on the porch and reading this month’s issue of O Magazine before the 3 kids woke up.  That’s when I came across an article called “The 10 Step Life Renewal Plan”, written by Dr. Phil.  I swear he was talking right to me.  Generally I’m a picture viewer and caption reader, but his first sentence led me to read on. He starts with “Ask yourself these questions to figure out what’s working, reject what’s not, and move toward your best decade yet.”

I want to share the best points that I think all of us Mom’s can relate to and perhaps it will help you too, get out of any funky place you might be in.  I think being a mom for ten years now leads myself and perhaps you to reflect on your past, when you were your most happiest and the question of “How do I get back to that?’  We give up so much of our own dreams and self to make sure we meet 100% of the needs of our children.  At some point, it seems we have been redefined as just “Mom.”

So how do you reassess who you are? These are are the questions from Dr. Phil’s Insight and how I’m trying to incorporate them into my own life:

1) Does the way you spend your time reflect what’s important to you?

Make a list of your top five priorities – marriage, children, volunteer work, and so on – and track how many hours you devote to each in a week.  If any numbers are too low, recalculate your time so you can live according to who you want to be.

“I did this only to realize that I actually do nothing for myself.  I have let go of all of the things that I like to do like golf, lay out in the sun, play softball and have replaced it with what the kids want to do or what my company needs.  This has a lot to do with being unhappy.”

2) Does your blackberry get more attention than your family and friends?

Resolve to switch off your gadgets during private moments so you can nourish personal connections with complete focus.

“I set a time everyday that I stop working.  That gives me the time to focust 100% on my kids and gives my mind the time it needs to separate so that I can go to bed without the whirlwind of constant thinking.”

3) Are you nursing a grudge or two?
Let bygones be bygones and free yourself from the emotions that weigh you down.

“I really need to take this advice, but wish Dr. Phil would have given some insight into how exactly to free yourself.”

4) Who should be in your life?
Phase out any so-called friends who offer only criticism and negative energy.  Surround yourself with people you admire, who believe in you and want you to succeed.

“I did do this a long time ago. I have an extremely hard time letting go or cutting ties.  When I realized that a few people were truly negative forces in my life, I finally decided to let them go.  I have no room in my world for negative energy.”

5) How you typecast yourself?
You may cherish your responsibilities as a mother, but “Mom” is not the whole of who you are.  Ask yourself if one role is draining all your energy, leaving other expressions of your authentic self unfulfilled.

“Bingo! This, in a nut shell, is me.  My family gets 100% and my company gets the other 100%.  I have no energy or day left to do the things that are just for me. But I have no idea how to change this.”

6)  What are your goals?
Define specific goals with measureable outcomes and assign yourself a timeline. Passion and willpower alone will not cut it – you need a strategy.

“I will definitely be working on this”

7) Who is standing in your way?
The answer may be you. Reject self-loathing and treat yourself with the kindness and respect you would show your best friend.

“If I could only get my significant other to swallow these words and treat me with the kindness and respect that I show him. I think this battle is an entirely new blog post.  How do you get your spouse to fulfill your needs even after you’ve expressed them 900 times? Is it neglect or is he just that self-centered?”

What one thing can you do for yourself everyday?
It could be as simple as finding 20 minutes to take a bath (my wife, Robin, swears by that). Every day is a new opportunity to pay attention to your own needs and make choices you feel good about. This decade, claim the right to minister to yourself.

“I created a room in my basement that would give me a place to go, listen to music and give myself the peace and quiet I crave and deserve. My life is filled with mommy…mommy…mommy and my husband…where’s my keys, my hat, my wallet, the razor, did you pay this or buy that…blah blah blah… I can’t even take a shower without being barged in on, even when I lock the door.  My quiet room quickly became a new play room for the kids, so there went that.  I discovered I need to leave the house. But where to go and why should I have to leave? It would be nice if my husband would respect my needs and give me that peace everyday, only if it’s 20 minutes?”

I hope these help you redefine who you are or at least put you in the direction of the change and balance that will make you happy.

Thanks Dr. Phil for the Insight!

Source: May 2010 O Magazine
Author: Phillip C. McGraw, PhD

Small Businesses & Mom-Preneurs Beware of the “I Want to Buy Your Products” Scam from Australia

Targeting “Small Businesses”

How can someone wanting to buy your products be a scam? That’s what I thought too, but still did not feel right about working with this guy who e-mailed me from Australia…or so he says he’s from Australia. I have been scammed a couple of times from China and am now extremely weary of who I deal with.  I hope this post helps any Mom-Preneur or small business out there.

As a mom-preneur with a small company, there’s all of those amazing firsts that came along. Like your first order, first retail store to sell your products and your first “Huge” retail order.  The want to succeed can sometimes cloud our normal thought process.  But since I have been around for a few years now, I have become overly aware of scams.  I have already lost about $6000 to scams going all the way from my software programming to “never received” usb drives.  This is money that I did not have either!  So now, I choose very carefully.  But I never thought that someone buying my products could scam me.  But they can!

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from a person in Australia looking to purchase my products.  Seems harmless right?  Well there were a few red flags right off the bat in his e-mail.  Here are the red flags:

1. His e-mail address was a g-mail account
2. His website was “under construction”
3. He asked for information about the products I offer and my website address.  He should have known this since he sent me the e-mail saying he wanted to buy my products
4. His e-mail address in the content was not the same as the one in the e-mail address bar
5. His grammar was off… It did not appear that English was his first language

His First E-Mail to Me

Greeting from BJ Enterprises,

I will like to place order on some items in your store. Kindly tell me if you accept VISA & MASTER CARD as a form of payment and i will also like to know if you ship down to Canberra, Australia. Furthermore, I will be glad if you can email back with the current price sheet and the list of items you have available in stock at the moment or a link to your website where i can find prices on each products.

Your total effort on my order to be completed would be dearly appreciated!

I can’t wait to do business with your company.

Best Regards,

Robert Jefferson
CEO.

BJ Enterprises
128 East Row
Canberra 2601, Australia
email: bojefferson948@gmail.com
web: under construction

Feeling not right about this e-mail, I sent him a very generic response saying yes, we accept all major credit cards and that he could find information about our products on our website.  But I did not give him our website address.  Time had passed and I forgot about this person.  Low and behold, I started to receive more e-mails from him this past week.  He wanted to place an order for 24 of our products, so I invoiced him.  The next day he wanted a new invoice and up’d his order to 80 units.  So I sent him a new invoice.  One day later, I get another e-mail with him saying he wanted to use his own “Shipping Agent” and to remove the shipping costs and supply him with my company address where the order could be picked up.  I sent another e-mail stating that we do not arrange for product pick ups and that all orders must be shipped.  The whole time I am thinking how does a start-up company already have shipping agents in the US and England?

This is all seeming very “scammy” to me, so I started to Google a few terms to see what I could come up with.  Finally, I found an article about this on Wikipedia.  Indeed it is a scam and this is how it works:

The U.S. company is contacted by a potential customer stating they would like to place an order with their company. The first initial email represents the “Direct Solicitations” outline. Once the company responds and verifies that the desired product(s) is in stock, the fraudster will then ask to quote shipping to Australia, and that they will be paying via credit card. Once the quote has been sent to the fraudster, the fraudsters will then reply back that they will have their U.S. agent or freight representative come to the location and pick up the merchandise, and then they will ship it to the fraudster. The fraudster then tells the company to simply add an additional charge of $700 – $1500 onto the total cost, which will be their “agents” compensation fee. And that when the person is to arrive to pick up the parts, that the amount charged be paid to their agent. There will also be an additional compensation fee added in too for the company, for the extra trouble of paying their agent the money. The reasons range from the agent or freight company only accepts cash or the company is unable to process credit cards. Once the fraudster is told it will not be done, the communication between them and the company will stop immediately. There are also many grammar and spelling mistakes in the communications. Here are the e-mails that I was sent:

E-mail #2

Hi,
I would like to place order on the item and quantities below:

DTC-PG-GLD – Time Capsule Series ====================== 16pcs
DTC-PG-CRS – My Pregnancy Digi Time Capsule =========== 12pcs

I will like you to get back to me with the total cost and the shipping cost.and here is address for you to the shipping cost via ups or fed ex or any other alternative shipping company.and please kindly get back to me if this items is in stock because i do not want any delay on this.

Shipping Address:
BJ Enterprises.
128 East Row,
Canberra 2601, Australia.
Email: bojefferson948@gmail.com
Tel: (02) 625 723 340

Do this on time so that i can be able to give you my credit card information and complete my order for me.

Thank You,
Bob Jefferson

NOTE: THIS IS A RESALE ORDER.

E-Mail #3

Hello,
I would like to increase my order to the below quantities:

DTC-PG-GLD – Time Capsule Series ====================== 40pcs
DTC-PG-CRS – My Pregnancy Digi Time Capsule =========== 40pcs

I hope to read from you Asap!
Regards,
Bob

E-Mail #4 NOW THE PLOT THICKENS

Hello,
Thank you for the reply again, please i will like you to recalculate of my order alone and get back to me with the total cost of my order and don’t worry about the shipping cost actually i have my personal shipping agent in ENGLAND & USA  that will come for the pick up of the package in your company and i have inform them about this and they told me the best way to come for the pick up in your store is for you to email me with the information needed below,

* Your Company Name and Address ?
* Time the package will be ready for pick up with your convenience time and date?
* Contact Person for the pickup arrangement ?
* Telephone Number ?
* Weight of the package and how many boxes are they ?

So, please kindly get back to me with this details along with the total of my order so that i can give you my card details for the payment now.

Hope to read from you ASAP.
Regards,
Bob

I am continuing conversation with him in hopes to provide you with more details on the way this scam operates.  In the meantime, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is and always go with your gut feeling.  My gut has never been wrong and the times I didn’t listen to it, are the times I fell into a scam.  Never let your judgement be clouded by the inticement of money.  Because in this situation, if I had charged his card, which would have been a stolen card, and delivered the products, the credit card company would have eventually done a charge back.  I would have been out the money and my products!

Be Smart! Always research anything that seems not quite right!

Hugs, Sherri

Layla Grace Children’s Cancer Research Foundation

Donations Needed for Silent Auction

Hi everyone -

A gorgeous little baby girl, Layla Grace, who was fighting Neuroblastoma lost her battle in March.  Her mom, Shanna took her grief and started the “Layla Grace Children’s Cancer Research Foundation”.  Shanna has planned a fundraiser for the foundation in June and needs our help with items for the silent auction.

Here is a blog post by Layla’s mom, one week after her daughter was sent to heaven

It’s been one week since Layla went to heaven. To say I miss her would be an understatement. She consumes my every thought. I think about her every minute of the day. Even when I’m happy, I’m still sad because she’s not there to join in the laughter.

We have 2 other small children, so life still goes on. I can’t lay in bed and cry all day. I have plenty of moments when I cry driving down the road, doing dishes, watching tv or playing with my other girls. There are plenty of times they cry with me. And that’s okay. I’d rather we all cry together instead of me locked in the bedroom and them thinking that there’s something wrong with showing emotion.

I’m still finding her clothes mixed in with the laundry. Her favorite toys scattered around the house. Her car seat sitting in the garage that is a daily reminder that she won’t ever sit in it again. The hardest thing for me has been walking by her room every day. I have to pass her room to get to Jenna and Claire’s. We keep the door shut but occasionally I go in there and sit on the floor and just cry. Evie comes in with me and lays next to her bed. Eventually her room will be made into a “quiet room”. I’ll move all the girls books, puzzles and Layla’s favorite toys in there. I’ll keep the theme and colors the same. It will be a comforting place to go to read, reflect, pray and talk about Layla.

Layla’s Celebration Of Life on Saturday couldn’t have been more perfect. It was a BEAUTIFUL clear day. Breezy and warm, but not hot. The flowers were displayed on the stage to resemble a garden. They were perfect and vibrant – exactly what Layla would have chosen. Pictures and a few of Layla’s favorite things were mixed in with the arrangements. The music was equally as amazing. I hope to have the audio in the next few days and will post it. I could tell you how wonderful it was, but you’d have to hear it to really understand. I will hopefully have some pictures soon as well. At the end of the celebration, we did a balloon release. 1000 pink and purple balloons were sent up to Layla as we listened to Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of“Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. I’m sure she was squealing with excitement 

We had tons of flower arrangements. I took home about 10 and the rest we piled into 4 trucks and took down to Texas Children’s Hospital. We handed them out on the cancer floor and left some for Layla’s nurses in the Cancer Center. It was so surreal driving there, voluntarily, without Layla. I’ll do it again though. I’d like to go with something different each time – art supplies, stuffed animals, books, balloons….anything that will put a smile on the faces of the kids. Even though Layla’s cancer journey is over, there are new children starting this journey everyday.

I’m amazed at the prayers and support that is still being offered to us. I assure you, we are feeling it and are so appreciative.

A foundation in Layla’s name is in the early planning stages. Once we’re up and running, I have some BIG ideas. It’s my responsibility to live out Layla’s legacy. It will be tough because I have big shoes to fill, but I have faith that Neuroblastoma will become as widely known as other childhood cancers. I also have faith that funding for research will follow. If I can prevent even one family from feeling the pain that we’ve felt, then I know I’ve succeeded and Layla would be proud.

And Here is How You Can Help!

“Since her passing, Layla’s mother Shanna has devoted much of her time to establishing the Layla Grace Children’s Cancer Research Foundation.  Shanna’s hope is to continue Layla’s work in spreading the word about childhood cancers and raise money for a cure.

Shanna has asked for our help with the silent auction part of a huge fundraiser she is planning in June.  A Taste of CyFair is the first big fundraiser for the Layla Grace Foundation.  Here is a link to the event site for more information http://atasteofcyfair.com .

If you are interested in donating something for the silent auction, please contact Toni at toni@marketmommies.com.  I will keep track of all the donations and turn all of them over the Shanna at the end of the month.  She does ask that auction items have a value of $25 or more.  If you have items that are of less value, let me know and I will try to put together a basket of smaller items for the auction.

Thanks so much for your time and generosity!
Toni – Market Mommies“

For more information about Layla Grace Marsh and her fight against Neuroblastoma, visit www.laylagrace.org”

You can contact the Layla Grace Fundraiser directly at http://www.artbysofi.com/tastecyfair/contact.html.  Here you will find the e-mail address to contact the fundraiser team members about your donation for their silent auction and raffle.

I hope that you can Help!

Sherri

Recall Alert: 1.2 Million Graco High Chairs Recalled

Thursday, March 18, 2010: Graco and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced a recall of 1.2 million high chairs today, after 464 separate complaints were filed against the Graco Harmony high hair. According to the CPSC, the complaints all concerned screws or plastic brackets on the high chair coming loose and falling out, causing the high chair to tip over. In total, 24 injuries have been reported so far, causing hairline fractures to the arm and bumps and bruises to the head.

Wondering if your high chair is affected? Graco has identified the following models as having the safety problem (these models may begin with the letter A, B, C, or D):

All affected models were manufactured between November 2003 and December 2009 and sold at the following retail stores between December 2003 and March 2010: AAFES, Burlington Coat Factory, Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, Sears, Target, Target.com, Walmart, WalMart.com, Shopko, and USA Baby.

So what can you do now? If you own a Graco Harmony, stop using it immediately and head to Graco now to order a free repair kit.

>Read more of the official statement from the CPSC.

Source: – Laura Schocker “The Bump”

11 Month Old Penny Diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer

A Family’s Plea For Help

While seaching online today looking for something totally unrelated, I came across the beautiful face of a little baby girl.  Her name is Penny and she is 11 months old. But rather than capturing Penny’s first words, smiles and steps, her parents are blogging about her breathing tube being removed, the countdown to outpatient as their little girl fights to live.  She has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer and the prognosis has yet to be decided.  To make it worse off than it already is, Penny’s daddy lost his job and had to acquire a private insurance company.  This family needs our help.

Rhea, a family member, is organizing an online fundraiser to be held on March 19. If you are able to donate items, please contact Rhea. Cash donations are also appreciated.  100% of proceeds go toward Penny’s treatments.

Today, Penny’s family is staging a media blitz!  They want need to get the word out about Penny and her fight to beat cancer.  She has an insurance policy but tt will only cover 60% of her medical treatments.

No parent should have to chose between saving the life of their child or financial ruin.

They need you to tweet (use #pennies4penny), blog, email your friends and update your facebook status all day today with messages about Penny.  They need to get peoples attention!

(They Especially need tweets to our local news stations:   Fox 5, 10News, NBC San Diego)

They need you to spread the word of Penny’s fundraiser auction that will be held next Friday, March 19th beginning at 6am PST.  As importantly as they need you to share the news of the auction, they need you to show up and BID.  They have some really awesome donations gathered with more to come and we just submitted the My Baby Book Digi Time Capsule as an item for the auction.  Other items to bid on:

Auction items:

• Family 4 pack of passes to Legoland CA
• Build a Bear prize pack
• Beautiful pendant from The Pretty Peacock .
• Haircut GC’s to Pigtails & Crewcuts in Chula Vista, CA (courtesy ofwww.sandiegobargainmama.com)
• A $250.00 GC to aden + anais.
• Creative Memories PicFolio Quick Kit (courtesy of www.SuzyQHomemaker.com)
• A Creativity for Kids prize pack
• A croqueted baby blanket made by Becky Kremkau
• A Skitter Toy
• A (not even released to the public yet) TuTu from Three Peas Co.
• Three prize packs from SprigToys.com
• Dinner for 4 at the Mediterranean Room in La Valencia Hotel.
• Coupons for 1.5 hours of bowling, shoe rentals and snacks for six at Kearny Mesa Bowl.

The auction will run through the weekend and close Sunday March 21st at 9pm PST.

Follow Penny on Twitter

Click to Donate to Penny

Super Cute Chinese Birthing Chart!

Who Doesn’t love to try all of the Old Wives Tales when they are pregnant?  By far, the most accurate one is the Chinese Birthing Chart!

I created a super cute version of the Chinese Birthing Chart Below!

It’s very easy to do.  Just find your age at conception and the month you believe you conceived and it will predict what the gender of your baby will be.  It was accurate for me 2 out of my 3 pregnancies! Not too bad!

May Your Gender Wishes Come True

Doing Homework With the Kids Leads Me to Believe I Am Not Smarter Than a 5th Grader!

Now that you are a parent and back to doing homework again, is there anything that you have realized that you still don’t know?  Here’s My List of Things I still don’t know.

Ok, so my boys are now both in grammar school and their homework is also my homework.  I thought I was done with school, but Oh no my friend…I get to relive it all over again with the kids! Like if redoing grammar school isn’t bad enough, I have learned there is a ton of stuff that I don’t know.  Nothing like telling the kids, “hold on, let me Google that!”

So, these are the things that as a 35 year old mom I should know but don’t:

1-  I have no idea what direction I am heading if the sun is not out or I don’t have a compass! Tell Me Left or Right for the love of God!

2-  What the hell is an integer?

3-  No, I cannot look at a blank map of the US and tell you what state goes where… Dah, that’s why I have a GPS!

4-  I never found it important to remember the 15th president of the United States… I do, however, know that he is no longer with us!

5-  Do I know the pre-amble by heart? Seriously? I’m lucky if I can remember where my head is everyday!

6-  How long would it take to travel from the sun past all planets? Assuming you would travel in the fastest spacecraft today. “WHATEVER TEACHER”

7-  Mommy, in what order are the planets closest to the Sun? ” Ummmm…Let’s Google That”

8-  For Science Fair I need to make a toy car run from a Potato… “Yeah, that’s why they invented gas. Tell your teacher to get with today’s technology”

9-  Mommy, who invented the phone?  ”T-Mobile, At&T, Verizon and Sprint! I know this for sure!”

10- Mommy,  I have to explain and site an example of osmosis. “Ok, so every night when daddy goes to bed, I slip a note under his pillow that says ” Always lift the toilet seat up before peeing and put it back down when done so mommy’s butt doesn’t take a 2am swim.”  Eventually the note sinks into daddy’s head, and that is osmosis!”

So, as a parent doing homework with the kids, what have you realized that you just don’t know?  I would love to know!  Mostly so I know that I am not alone!

Stroller Recall: 1.5 Million Graco Strollers Recalled 

Stroller giant Graco announced a recall today on nearly 1.5 million of its strollers, after the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that many styles pose significant risks for fingertip amputations and lacerations. These risks, which mirror those of the Maclaren stroller recall back in November 2009, are caused when the hinges of the stroller canopy are opened and closed. To date, Graco has received seven reports of children injured by the canopy hinge—five fingertip amputations and two lacerations.

Wondering if your stroller style has been recalled? According to the CPSC, the recall involves the Graco Passage, Alano, and Spree strollers, as well as strollers and travel systems with the following model numbers:

 Please note: Graco makes two different kinds of stroller hinges. According to the CPSC, only strollers or travel systems with plastic, jointed hinge mechanisms that have indented canopy positioning notches are included in the recall. Compare the photos below to see whether or not you have an affected hinge.

All recalled stroller styles were sold between October 2004 and December 2009 at nationwide retailers including Walmart, Target, Babies “R” Us, and Sears. If your family currently uses one of these strollers, stop using it immediately, and please spread the word to anyone you know who may be using one.

> For additional info on the stroller recall, you can contact Graco at (800) 345-4109 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, or visit their website at 

 Source:  The Bump – Kristen Stanford

Pregnant Soldiers Can be Court Martial-ed for Getting Pregnant While On Active Duty

Seriously? This totally disgusts me.  Honestly, what other fun can they have out there in the middle of the battlefield?  Maybe you should pack condoms in the MRE’s and this wouldn’t happen.  In a , of battle, stress & death, I think they deserve their 2 minutes of fun once in a while.  If someone should end up pregnant, well send them home, not to jail.

Here’s the Story:

Female American soldiers who become pregnant while on active service in Iraq and Afghanistan could face court martial and go to jail.

The same holds true for soldiers who impregnate their female colleagues. The penalty also applies to married soldiers serving in combat zones at the same time.

The London Daily Mail reports this policy is not in effect for the entire U.S. Army.  Currently, pregnant soldiers are sent home from combat within 14 days.

However, General Anthony Cucolo, the top U.S. commander for northern Iraq, issued the new order after losing too many female GIs with special skills.

“It’s black and white for me,” Gen. Cucolo said. “I’ve got a mission to do. I am given a finite number of soldiers with which to do it and I need every one of them.”

“So I’m going to take every measure I can to keep them all strong, fit and with me for the 12 months that we’re in the combat zone,” he added.

The Pentagon says division commanders have the authority to make rules such rules for the troops under their command.

Source: CBN News