Fundamental Lessons

By now you have probably heard the story from Indianapolis of the woman who works for the check cashing business who was held up, but fate stepped in and with a hug and a little prayer turned her nightmare into a blessing.


If you haven't heard or read what happened briefly here is what took place ~
A robbery took an unusual turn after the gunman came around the counter and the clerk began crying and started talking about God. The man said he had a 2-year-old child to support and asked for prayers about overcoming his hardships. The gunman spent nearly 10 minutes on his knees praying with the clerk at the check cashing business before fleeing with her cell phone and $20 from the register. At one point Gregory Smith tried to hand the clerk the gun and when she started to freak-out, he took the bullets out of the gun and handed them to her. He did this as gesture to let her know he really did not mean her any harm. Then when security video from the Advance America branch aired on the local news clearly showing the man's face during the stickup, the 23 year old man's mother convinced him to surrender.

Clearly this young man was desperate to do right by his girlfriend and child, but something in his upbringing and the real fundamentals of his being rose up and overrode the wrong he was doing that day.

Please don't think I'm in favor of Smith robbing people as a means of supporting his family. What I do support is his behavior after this was all done. Any videos you watch of Smith since he turned himself in clearly show he is sorry. Now I'm not talking about ~ I'm going to jail ~ sorry. I'm talking about the type of sorry that you know he learned as a child.

We all know it is important that we teach our children right from wrong. But there is something else we need to remember to teach our children and that is they need to respect themselves and others. I'm not talking about the material things they have. I'm talking about them as being. Sadly this young man has had some failures and this made him think robbery was his only option, but through all this the one who we can clearly see did not fail him was his mother's lessons during his up bringing.

For as tired as we can be some days and for as frustrated as we can get when we are talking to them and just when it seems to be going in one ear and out the other, a young man like Smith comes along. He really does reminds us that it's a hard job raising kids but the lessons we teach and keep reminding them day after day and will always be in them.

These lessons will become them.

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Contributed by: The Mind of A Mom

Balloon Boy: The Falcon that doesn't fly

Seriously, what in the world is WRONG with these people?

Is there anybody who can tell me WHY these 'parents' thought this would be a good idea?

"DENVER – The mother of the 6-year-old boy once feared missing inside a
runaway helium balloon admitted the whole saga was a hoax, according to
court documents released Friday." Full article here.

If we step back for a moment and overlook the outrageous expense of the unnecessary search AND the hassle from shutting down all air traffic in the area AND the countless people who watched with worry and prayers for this poor child that had apparently been whisked away on a life threatening venture... then perhaps we can all try to find a bit of humor in the oversight and be thankful that the child was left unharmed.

Well, that was until...

UNTIL we all learned that the balloon escapade was indeed nothing more than a coached hoax. The world watched as the thread began to unravel before our very eyes. Little Falcon forgot his lines. Little Falcon reminded his father, in front of the news cameras, that he was hiding in the garage because his father told him to hid there.

Oops!

Somebody forgot the nature of children.

Somebody forgot that children are easily confused and rarely perform on command.

Somebody messed up big time - and it wasn't Falcon.

It remains to be seen what consequences the adults in this action will face. There are rumors of CPS involvement and possible jail time when all is said and done.

How does this make you feel, as a parent, to know that these people coached their children to tell outrageous lies to public authority all for the sake of getting on TV?

Do you think that the parents should face the possibility of losing their children? Is this type of behavior something that could be considered abusive and worthy of removing the children from the home for their own well being?

Share your thoughts and opinions with me. I'm seriously baffled at this whole fiasco. I need more insight...

Feeding Toddlers

Be sure to check out my contest to win awesome prizes.
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If you have small children, I'm sure you've noticed the cute little toddler meals that can be purchased for a pretty steep fee. It's a bit of a pricey way to feed a child that may or may not enjoy whatever is being placed in front of them. Personally, I've never purchased any of those expensive little meals. I have a far more economical way to feed little people who like to pick up their food with little fingers and still need that food to be soft enough to avoid any potential for choking hazards.

Hopefully by now you're wondering what special way I have devised to feed little people without breaking the bank and giving into the commercialization that is rampant within our world. It's really quite simple.

SOUP!!!

No, I don't mean to say that you should feed your child a bowl of messy soup that will splatter all over the floor and the child and anything else within easy reach. However, the vegetables and pasta in soup is very soft and easy to chew. The meat that is in soup is also very small and perfect for little fingers and little teeth.

Here's what you do.

Fix the soup of your choice according to the directions on the can.
After the soup is hot, drain all the liquid off.
Serve the veggies, meat, and pasta to your little one. (Make sure it's cool enough to be eaten.)

Voila! Little Toddler Meals without the expense.

Now, if sodium is something you are concerned about, you can get soups with low sodium content. Soups are also very versatile. There are so many different flavors that you can serve soup to your toddler every single day of the week and not duplicate even once. Add some crackers or toast and the meal is complete.

One can of soup will feed your toddler and you or your older children. Any soup that isn't eaten can be refrigerated and saved for another meal or added to casseroles or soups of the "grown up" variety.

Today is a Good Day

I've been without Internet for days and days. My connection at home wasn't working until just a few minutes ago. (Thank you to the Comcast guy who came early this morning to fix my system.)

Now... I have to get caught up with all the emails and all the other things that have fallen behind.

SIGH!!!

There's a New Kid In Town

If you are a user of Entrecard, you may know by now that the new owner has decided to shut down our forum. His reasons are rather unimportant since it is his website and his choice to make. Indeed, there is nothing that any Entrecard user can do to remedy the situation. The new owner will do as he pleases...

Well, in response to the abrupt closure of our beloved forum, Spicybugz - with a little bit of help from Yours Truly - has opened a brand new forum where users will be free to discuss whatever they wish with very few rules in place. Complain about Entrecard? Sure thing. Share ideas? Definitely. Make new friends? Hopefully.

Now, you may be wondering why in the world I'm telling you about this brand new forum over at the Spicybugz World site when I'm supposed to be telling you about this grand new contest with awesome free stuff being given away. After all, what you really want to know is what I might be offering to give out and what you have to do to win said offering.

See - I know my readers so well, don't I.

Let's talk about the important details first.

The End: Entries for this contest will be accepted until October 31st, 2009 - 11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

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Oh wait - that isn't what you wanted to know, is it? (hehe)

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The Rules: To enter this contest, you must register as a user at the new forum. After you register, you must leave a comment here with your User Name for the forum. When leaving your comment, be sure to give me contact information and your prize preferences in order of what you would like to win most.

This is absolutely THE ONLY way to enter my give away. I know many blogs offer extra entries for following or subscribing or blogging about the contest. While I would thoroughly love for you to follow me on Twitter, or subscribe to my RSS Feed, or even tell the world about my contest here... I think these are things that should be done because you really want to follow me or talk about me - not because you want to increase your chances to win a prize.

So, there is only one entry per person and the only way to enter is to sign up for our new forum.

The contest is open to all readers. You are not required to have a blog, be in the USA or have anything at all to do with Entrecard.

Go HERE to register.

The winners will be chosen via a random selection process. Only one prize will be awarded per winner.

Winners will be notified via email and posted here on November 2nd, 2009.

If any winner does not respond within 7 days to claim his prize, a new winner will be chosen for that prize.

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That isn't what you want, either, is it?

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What you REALLY want to know is what I'm giving away, right?

RIGHT?

Well - here it is....

The Prizes:

1) 125 X 125 advertising on my sidebar - the ad will be placed directly above the Entrecard Widget.

2) 500 Entrecard Credits

3) 300 Entrecard Credits

4) 100 Entrecard Credits

5) Scrapbook Supplies Goody Bag (my camera is currently without battery power - trust me that the goody bag will be suitably impressive ... I'll try to get a picture this weekend and get it posted)

6) Set of 20 Hand Made Greeting Cards (again - picture to follow...)

7) 125 X 125 advertising at Spicybugz website - placement to be determined later. (I haven't actually asked her about this, so while I can offer the ad - I can't guarantee where she will put it... bwa ha ha...)

8) Sponsored by Cornyman: 150 EC Credits for EACH participant who a) REGISTERS in the forum, b) COMMENTS below, AND c) is ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING in the forum during the contest time. **Thank you, Cornyman, for such a generous sponsorship.**

9) Sponsored by Eli at Business Sphere: 1,500 EC to ONE lucky winner **Thank you, Eli.**

10) Sponsored by Spicybugz: 5,000 EC Credits will be given to the person who is most active in the forums as of the end of this contest.

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This contest will be open for some time. If anybody wishes to sponsor prizes in exchange for having your website linked - please contact me at aandsparenting@gmail.com.

It's Coming...

I have to take pictures before I can post my give away contest.

My camera batteries are currently kaput.

I'll have it all together by this evening.

Tic Toc Tic Toc

Risa - 2008

Time is ticking away.

The counter has begun.

The contest will begin shortly.

Do you want to win free stuff?

Are you ready?

Well, well, well - do I have the spot for you.

Come back and visit on Friday evening. I will be posting details regarding my next give away contest right here.

**If you want to be a sponsor, just send me an email at aandsparenting@gmail.com or leave me a comment below.**