Welcome to the JustForMom newsletter!

So much has been going on around Just For Mom and the foundation, I can hardly wait to share all of the good news. For new subscribers, welcome to the JustForMom newsletter. JustForMom also operates the Just For Mom Foundation, a 501 ( c) 3 non- profit, which has been set up to impact the lives of moms through quality philanthropic and grant programs. For more information about the foundation, visit www.thejustformomfoundation.com

We have been working on a program called Save the Reading Rainbow. Unfortunately, due to on-going funding reductions, we are all in danger of losing this national treasure. The Just For Mom Foundation, in partnership with Grassroots Enterprises, is taking action to make sure we save the Reading Rainbow, for our children today, tomorrow, and in the future.

We need the support of our friends, partners, and every person who cares about children’s literacy and saving a program that is vital to our children’s education. Our goal is to reach one million people by the end of December to tell them how they can help us to save the Reading Rainbow, and we need your help to achieve that goal. Visit www.SaveReadingRainbow.org to get involved.

The foundation has also completed the second Mom’s Choice Awards™ contest (MomsChoiceAwards.org). We will be making our announcements later this week. For great gift ideas for Christmas, visit the web site for the books our judges gave two thumbs up to!

Lastly, the Just For Mom site has a new section in  Recommended Reading for Book Reviews. If you are interested in having your book reviewed, or if you would like to see a particular book reviewed on the site, please contact our book reviews editor, Alana Morales, at bookreviews@justformom.com.   Check out our first book review on Journal Buddies: A Girl’s Journal for Sharing and Celebrating Magnificence by Jill Schoenberg Girma. We will also soon be adding the Winter 2006 Recipes page in our Home Cooked Recipes section. If you would like to see your own favorite recipes published on the site, send your recipes to recipes@justformom.com before January 9, 2006. Photos of the completed recipes are also welcome as attachments in JPEG format.

Watch for next month’s newsletter as we announce more wonderful and exciting news!!!

Warmly,
Tara Paterson
Founder

To be honest, it takes a while for the reality of being pregnant to sink in. Your pregnancy test shows positive, you are glowing and feeling great about your news and most importantly, you are having a baby! Then the reality hits and we sometimes let the unknown fears about pregnancy outweigh the joys we can experience during this miraculous time.

A little baby is coming into your world and you will be responsible for this little angel who will rely on you to do everything for him/her. You suddenly feel a combination of overwhelming feelings. Then the concerns begin. Will the baby have all 10 fingers and 10 toes? How will this new baby impact my life, my career, my relationship with my partner? Will the baby be healthy? How much weight will I gain and will I ever regain my original shape? Will I get the epidural? Will I store the baby’s cord blood? Will I experience postpartum depression? Where do we begin?

“Will I ever fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes again?” Yvonne Czarniak, mother of two children and owner of Prenatal Comforts (www.prenatalcomforts.com) wondered, “I worried that I would never go back to my old size again after gaining my pregnancy weight. How does the body do that?  I gained 40 pounds during my first pregnancy. I went from 130 to 170 pounds and I just couldn't imagine being 130 again. It took awhile, but yes I did fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes again. The body is amazing and the clothes fit!”

“Pregnant? Not now, not again.” said Tara Paterson earlier in the year, who was an expectant mother with two children and founder of Just For Mom who was surprised by the news of her third pregnancy but now gave birth. After being on an emotional rollercoaster for a little over a month, Tara decided to take a pregnancy test which was negative. She tossed the test into the cupboard and left for a business trip. When Tara returned to throw away the pregnancy test, she saw the faint line in the box that reads you’re pregnant. This called for another test. Sure enough, the result was positive. Tara says, “A rush of emotion came over me as the ‘how will we do this’ questions raced through my mind. We will need to get a bigger car, our two boys will have to share a room, how will we afford another child, what about my work? I walked around in shock, crying at the thought of going through pregnancy again. I wish I could say the news left me feeling blissfully happy, but the truth is I wasn’t. I was very comfortable with my life, my husband, my two beautiful boys and my work. I even went so far as to buy two more tests for that one possible chance one could challenge the verdict. The result, I am still pregnant. I am beginning to settle with the new course my life has taken and I know in time I will be blissfully happy, but for now I need to accept and go with my feelings, let go of the what ifs and let nature take its course. In the end, it really isn’t up to me and what will be, will be!”

Nearly every expectant mom (and dad!) experience a combination of anxiety and anticipation as they prepare to welcome their new baby into their world. Although the mom-to-be has many fears, men are also concerned about their future, the financial aspects of having a baby and the health of his partner, while the woman is more tuned in to the fear of miscarriage and the health of the baby. Here are a few of the common fears that dads-to-be may feel during the build up to fatherhood.

Will my partner gain too much weight during pregnancy and will she lose it after the pregnancy. Will I want to have sex after watching the delivery? Will I faint after the delivery? How will this affect our financial future? Will I be a good dad? Will my partner experience postpartum depression and if so, how do I deal with it?

Click here to read the entire article.

Laurie J. Wing, award-winning author of Butterflies & Hiccups: A Guided Pregnancy Journal for the Mom-to-Be (www.pregnancyjournal.com), is the President/CEO of New Beginnings Production Company and a graduate of Nova Southeastern University. Laurie is a devoted mother of two wonderful children, Jamie and Christopher. Her pregnancy experiences motivated her to develop and create a guided pregnancy journal for other women to enjoy. Laurie resides in the New Jersey area with her family.

It was the Christmas of 1984, and I was fifteen years old. As memories of the past fourteen Christmas mornings hung over the room like a thick blanket, we went through the motions of our first Christmas without my mother. Not only was she gone, but with her were the traditions that she had carried on year after year, and that we had come to expect – waking up to the aroma of a turkey that had cooked half the night, opening our gifts on Christmas Eve and waking to Santa’s surprises the next morning, and sitting and listening to stories of my mother’s childhood Christmas memories. Looking back now I realize how hard it must have been for my father to prepare Christmas for my twin sister and me without the help of my mother, but that morning I missed the little things. I longed for the familiar traditions that were more a part of Christmas than all of the gifts under the tree.

Now, married with a precious family of my own, I have watched as the traditions that I grew up with have become a part of my own children’s lives. Some of them conflicted with my husband’s own traditions, and we have found ways to combine them to make new ones. Though every part of me wanted to cling to the things that I grew up doing, I knew that it was important for my husband to also experience traditions from his childhood.

As I cling to my past and weave it into our lives now, I also enjoy making new traditions with my three children. They love them and have come to expect them each year. We love to watch Frosty the Snowman together while snuggled on the couch with a blanket. We even have a special snack that we cook together to eat while it is on. Each Christmas we make a new set of ornaments to hang on our tree and write the children’s names and the year on them. We then wrap one from each child for each set of grandparents as a gift to them. We bake cookies and "reindeer food" and always eat biscuits and white gravy on Christmas morning. The children pick out their favorite wrapping paper for all of their gifts to be wrapped in. When it comes time to open the gifts, it is easy for them to pick out which ones belong to them.

These traditions do not have to be written down for us to remember them. As Christmas approaches, they just happen. They are the things that make Christmas special for us. When my children are grown, they will not differentiate the traditions I brought from my childhood from those that we made. They will all be the same to them and, hopefully, they will make them a part of the lives that they will share with their families.

I have missed my mother every Christmas after that first one without her, but as we continue the traditions that she started, I feel that I have a part of her with us. The many Christmas toys that my children have received throughout the years will one day be put away or gone, but the traditions will always be a part of them. Whether they choose to let them remain happy memories or repeat them each year, these traditions will be a bridge to their childhood, a way that they can always return.

Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

• 7 ounces sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• 1 recipe Homemade Marshmallow batter, recipe follows
• Confectioners' sugar

Sprinkle half the toasted coconut in an 8 by 12-inch non-metal pan. Pour in the marshmallow batter and smooth the top of the mixture with damp hands. Sprinkle on the remaining toasted coconut. Allow to dry uncovered at room temperature overnight.

Remove the marshmallows from the pan and cut into squares. Roll the sides of each piece carefully in confectioners' sugar. Store uncovered at room temperature.

Homemade Marshmallows:

Ingredients:

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Dream

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams."
~Thoreau

Webster's Dictionary definition:
A visionary idea, anticipation, or fancy; also, anything real having a dreamlike quality.

Our Thought:
When I was little I wanted to-

>  Welcome
>  Butterflies & Hiccups
>  For the Soul
>  This Month’s Recipe
>  Moms Corner
>  Featured Story
>  Children’s Corner
>  Contact Us
>  Coming in the Next Issue

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“A woman is like a tea bag: You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

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JFM Enterprises, LLC
"Touching Each Mom’s Life, One Mom at a Time!"

www.justformom.com

35696 Williams Gap
Round Hill, VA 20141

Founder:
Tara Paterson:
tara@justformom.com

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~MOMs~~~
~CORNER~

This is the place where we like to thank the contributors of this newsletter. Without all of the moms out there who work hard to make a difference, we wouldn’t have this opportunity!

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Say "Bah, Humbug!" To Holiday Debt: Avoid the "Holiday Hangover"
by Michael G. Peterson

Ah, the holiday season! Turkey and dressing, pumpkin pie, office parties, jingle bells, and lots and lots of eggnog make the season a delight. But all fun and reindeer games aside, you have to be careful to make sure you don’t wind up as poor as Tiny Tim! Americans can spend as much as $1,000 a year on gifts for family, friends and business associates. That is a big chunk of money that can hit you pretty hard come January if you don’t plan ahead. There are some tips and tricks you can do to keep your holidays bright and debt-free this year.

Before the holidays arrive, do some careful plotting and planning for family and business expenses. A few hours spent in preparation can mean less money spent on gifts. You don’t have to be Scrooge, you just have to be smart.

(click here for full story)

For information about the Mom's Choice Awards™, visit: MomsChoiceAwards.org.

A CHRISTMAS STOCKING STORY

by Hilary Knight

It’s Christmas Eve and the animals wash their stockings to have them ready for Santa to fill. Only their stockings don’t seem to fit, and the gifts aren’t quite what they expected...

To read a review of this book, click here!

Gingerbread Men

For this recipe, Click here!

Christmas Gift Ideas

TONS of holiday ideas for you this year! 10 to choose from - learn more!

• Children's Corner

• Mom's Choice Award's announcements

• Foundation News
  *Next issue
  January 14th

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