Welcome to the JustForMom newsletter!

I would first like to thank everyone for their support and signatures for our Save the Reading Rainbow project. Unfortunately, it appears the owners of the PBS station, who own the Reading Rainbow copy rights, have forced us to remove the site from the web. They have declared the Reading Rainbow is NOT in trouble and therefore will not need our support. This comes as a shock to the Reading Rainbow production crew, as many of their team have been let go or are currently not being paid. We will continue to follow the path of one of the icons of children’s television.

I would like to extend a special welcome to all of our new mom columnists. Take a moment and check out the many new articles being added to the site weekly at www.justformom.com/articles.php

Request: Our new winter recipes section will be available shortly (www.justformom.com/recipes/release-recipes.php), but we’ll need fresh, new recipes for our spring recipe section which will come out in April. If you have a recipe you would like us to add to the site, or if you would like to share a web site with easy and delicious recipes, email us at recipes@justformom.com

Lastly, we would like to congratulate our latest Mom’s Choice Awards™ recipients (see full winners list at www.MomsChoiceAwards.com). We had so many wonderful entries; it was a difficult task to choose just one for each category. The next contest will begin March 1^st and our awards’ celebration and 2006 announcements will be made at Book Expo America in late May.

Hope you are all having a great 2006!

Warmly,
Tara Paterson
Founder

“Grammy, when you look back on your life, what makes you proud?"

I must say I was quite taken aback to see such an earnest look on my four year old granddaughter’s face when she asked that question. Her startling blue eyes locked onto mine and her brow was creased much the same way her mommy’s did at that age, opening a window to the past, it’s refreshing breezes wrapping me in the joy of times remembered, energizing me with hope for adventures yet to come.

“A question such as this requires some thought,” I told her. “Let me see…,”  I pondered my own brow creasing as I put my finger to my chin in a most reflective manner.

“Well, what do you say?” Shelly prompted after what seemed like a very long time to her.

“Why of course,” I said, “that’s it.”

“What? What is it?” she demanded, excitement causing her to jump up and down with glee.

“Learning to tie my shoes,” I told her, squaring my shoulders and standing a bit taller at the memory of the day I finally got the hang of twisting and looping my way to forming a straggly looking bow.

“I still remember those red shoes and how I pestered my mother for them once I’d seen them in the window of Peterson’s shoe store.”

“Too expensive,” Mommy told me, shaking her head at the price tag. “Too big for you,” she added in a softer tone.

“I’ll grow into them,” I remember promising her. “You can have the money in my piggy bank. I have 86 cents now and you can have all of it.”

“Of course she bought them for me. When we got home I plopped right down on the kitchen floor and put them on. They were a bit large but I knew a nice thick pair of socks would tighten them up until my toes got longer. I could hardly wait to take them for a walk.”

“Tie my shoes, please,” I remember saying.

“Oh no. I can’t do that,” Mommy answered. “These are big girl shoes, paid for by someone grown up enough to save an entire 86 cents for them. If you are big enough to buy them, if you are big enough to wear them, you must be big enough to tie them.”

“You couldn’t wear your new shoes?” Shelly asked, tears of empathy beginning to dim the light in her eyes. “That’s not fair!” she protested...

Click here to read the entire article.

Bobbi Carducci  All Rights Reserved ©2005

Why do many parents, mothers in particular, feel guilty when they take time for themselves? First let’s examine the feeling of guilt. There is healthy and unhealthy guilt. Healthy guilt has sadness underlying it, a sense of true regret for a chosen behaviour that created harm or some problem, often for others. Unhealthy guilt is a feeling of shame, that we aren’t OK as we are, that we should be different than we are and should make different choices. We have beliefs like "We should put everybody else first." There are some healthy shoulds that are actually values, virtues, and morals in action. We really should look after the earth, avoid racism, and care for our elderly, disabled, and disadvantaged. It is the unhealthy shoulds that create the dis-ease and stress in ourselves and our families.

Many parents believe they should make their children happy. They are told "You make your children so happy" or "You broke her heart." The reality is that we have influence on one another, including our children, but we do not have the power to make anyone feel anything. We may trigger a reaction but there it ends. Of course we aim to be sensitive to each other’s tender spots and choose to use respectful language. John Gray in Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus explains that men tend (there are exceptions) to have success feelings when they think they made their wife and children happy. Meanwhile women tend to feel responsible for everyone and all their feelings. Training of the female in my era reinforced this habit. I remember my mother repeatedly giving me the plate of sweets at socials with the instructions to "make sure everyone is happy and has what they want." She trained me to be on the watch for others’ needs, not to consider taking a sweet for myself until others were looked after and not to question that my brothers were off playing and "being boys."

Then there are those voices of people from our past or in our circle with their shoulds....

Click here to read the entire article.

Patricia Morgan is a counselor and speaker who helps parents and others lighten their load and brighten their outlook. She has authored Love Her As She Is: Lessons from a Daughter Stolen by Addictions and She Said: A Tapestry of Women’s Quotes. Reach her at www.lightheartedconcepts.com. 

"Everybody-Loves-Chocolate" Fruit Dip

• 1 small container whipped plain cream cheese (8 oz.)
• 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (or to taste)
• 1/3 cup sugar (or to taste.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Fresh fruit (Strawberries, pineapple, apples, and oranges are good.)

Put all your ingredients, except the fruit, into a mixing bowl.

Whip until the ingredients are blended and fluffy—about two to three minutes.

Wash the fruit and cut it into bite size pieces.

You can substitute unwhipped cream cheese and two cups of whipped topping. (The whipped cream cheese makes for a fluffier end result and the whipping cream has a better flavor.)

Today we are happy to give you access to an exclusive bonus offer from Nancy Tillman,  author of On the Night You Were Born.  This truly special, life-affirming book just won our prestigious Mom's Choice Award^TM, whose judges included the creators of Baby Einstein and The Reading Rainbow!

When you invest in this book on January 18 at Amazon.com, you will receive a treasure chest of terrific bonuses for your family, including one that puts your child in an animated DVD!   To view this incredible  offer and receive these great bonuses, simply go to http://www.darlingpress.com/bonus/.

Belief

"True faith in a power higher than yourself offers a shift from the emptiness of not knowing to the fullness of not needing to know."
~Richard Rohr

Webster's Dictionary definition:
Probable knowledge. Mental conviction; acceptance of something as true or actual.

Our Thought:
I want to believe-

>  Welcome
>  Tying Things Together
>  Pampering Mom
>  This Month’s Recipe
>  Special Book Promotion
>  Word of the Month
>  Moms Corner
>  Featured Story
>  Children’s Corner
>  Contact Us
>  Coming in the Next Issue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If you can dream it, you can do it."
~ Walt Disney

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~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!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seven Fun and Feisty Resolutions You’re Guaranteed To Achieve In The New Year!
by Julie Hunt

Seven New Year Resolutions To Change Your Life… Without Having To Eat Right, Exercise More, Quit Some Stuff, Stick To A Plan, or Figure Out a Better Way To Do Stuff

January 1^st rolls around and there are resolutions up the wazoo – which no one seems to keep.

Society instantly asks you to recognize some glaring personality flaw – on the spot. Without any planning, preparation, or foresight you go for it! You pick something monumental to fix. You never start small or say, "I promise to water and care for the house plants!" Instead you pick something that’s been plaguing you for months or even years. The infamous, "I promise to quit smoking" or "lose twenty-five pounds."

(click here for full story)

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

THE SNOWMAN IN THE MOON

by Stephen Heigh

Everyone in Woodstream County has been wishing for snow for many, many years. So when two children announce they saw a snowman’s face in the moon, no one believes that they will have snow. Will everyone’s secret hopes come true? This is a picture book that celebrates winter wishes...

To read a review of this book, click here!

Graham Cracker Dominos

Talk about playing with your food! This recipe is a fabulous for you and your child to make together!!
For this recipe, Click here!

Coloring Snow - Fun Winter Learning

Who needs a rainy day when you have a snowy day! Create you own winter wonderland with colorful buckets of snow – learn more!

• Children's Corner

• Mom's Choice Award's announcements

• Foundation News
  *Next issue
  February 15th

Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
Click Here!

Questions/Concerns:
email us!