Peep, Peep!

It's that time of year again. Yes it is Easter Time! the aisle at the my grocery store have all those cute little Marshmallow Peeps. And now not are they only in the shape of a chick but bunnies and flowers and they come in pink, blue, green and more.

So I decided to find out what these thing were really made of. Corn syrup and sugar! Yup, thats it! Just another thing to make you go Hmmmm! And did you know that they have been around since 1953? I had no idea about that. I thought they were only about 20 years old. Anyway, I also found out they use to be made by hand and hand packed. Think about this. It takes them about 5 minutes or so to put out 1 packages of peeps. It use to take them over 25 hours. And today they sell over a Billion Peeps a year. But I never did find out how much they use to cost verses today. Does anyone know?

Just thought you might want to know!

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

Just a few minutes ago I was on my review teams blog and I read about this new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This act was signed into law in August but will not take effect until Feb. 10th, 2009.


What this law basically says is that items that come in contact with a child who is 12 years old or younger, has to be tested at a government approved testing facility and have a certification placed on it.

Clothing, handmade toys (like those cute bibs people sell made out of towels), blankets, even books and DVDs will fall under this law. So a crib could run into the $1000's just to be tested. If someone wants to get a book tested it could cost them $500.00. It's not written very well and it was written in regards to the imports from China however, you know how these types of laws go, it applies to the USA or anywhere the item was made.

This would include those of us who make gift items for baby's or children, the grandma who sells her cute little knitted sweaters for a few bucks, Amazon.com, used merchandise like Salvation Army or Goodwill, who I have heard has decided to no longer sell children's stuff in their stores, even Amazon.com will not sell any books, used or new, that was made prior to 2009. And you know all those reviews you have been reading? A lot of them are Ma and Pa type businesses. Come on they can not spend $500.00 on 1 book to have it tested, so most likely they will end up closing their doors or have their product tested and we will have to absorb the cost. And all the curriculum that we do not use...we can not re-sell it!

I got some links of interest off of Learning at his Feet, Shanna's blog. She is on the review team with me. So thank you Shanna for doing this research.

**A pdf file of the actual act. Very loooooooooooong.
**Here is a link to another article interesting article which provides you with the address for the
Consumer Product Safety Commission.
**Here is a link to an article interviewing a homeschool mom of 13 who will have to close her
home-based used book business.
**Here is a link that has lots of information about how this will effect the "Homemade" industry
as well as a button that you can put on your blog.
**Here is a Face-group site working to fight against it.
**A Petition to sign if you do not like this new law.
**Here is what the LA Times had to say.
**Here is a link to the list of The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer
Protection.
If any one of these Representatives are YOUR representative, PLEASE call & email
them to voice your concerns about the provisions in the law as they affect you and the
children's products industry in general:**Please read this article by Heather Idioni from the Homeschool Newsletter for parents titled, "The Sale of Children's Books to be Banned"

PLEASE write your congress person here... and your Senator . Also contact the CPSC about the CPSIA.


Here is a very simple letter that Shanna put together for her representatives......

To (name of Representative)I have recently read about the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and I am deeply concerned. I am a mother of six young children and know what it is like to worry about the safety of the products and toys that they are being exposed to. That being said, I am also a consumer of many small businesses that would be put out of business due to this law being passed. I could not count the number of books, toys, curriculum, and other products that we currently use and love that would literally disappear as a result of this law...products from small businesses that have been used in our home and others for many years without any safety issues. I have come to trust these companies to provide safe and quality products for our family.I am writing to tell you that I am opposed to the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act as it is currently written and urge you to change it before it goes into effect! I have no interest in seeing the American home-based businesses that I know and love and the children's consignment shops, not to mention America's entrepreneurial spirit, vanish from this great nation.Sincerely,Shanna (last name)Address**UPDATE: As of today...there may be relief for resellers of used items:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.htmlStill nothing for home-based businesses marketing new products.**

While I appreciate the government looking out for the welfare of our children, and love the idea that of having some more stringent laws on imports, all to often, these types of things end up being more about the profit an individual or company makes at the expense of good hard working people like you and me.

And like all new laws, please make sure you do your research. Never take what some else has written as whole truth until you have looked at all the side of it yourself!

Again I want to thank Shanna for all the time she put in researching all those links. You can visit her blog and see what her thoughts are on this matter.

Family Video

This is how a homeschooler spends all that extra time they have when they take time off from school for the holidays. They plan a school project in the form of a video. Well, at least it is fun learning. Here is the link just in case the video does not work. I was having a bit of a problem uploading it to my blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1d1dv6CLpA

New Year Resolutions?

I have never been one for trying to make a huge list of New Year Resolutions. However, I do have lots of things I would like to accomplish during 2009 (most in regards to homeschooling and the Children’s Choir I teach at church) but I am not sure if those are really considered New Years Resolutions or not. See I would like to get back into exercise again. I always, around November, loose track of my exercising until after the holidays. Of course I have a long laundry list of school things I would like to complete by the end of summer 2009, choosing new music for the choir, etc. But these are all just normal everyday things I think of all year long. However, there are two things that I really want to start doing starting on January first?

The first one is to finally love my body! I have been skinny in my elementary years, fat most of my teenage/early 20's, skinny once again in late 20's and most of my 30's and then back to fat currently after I had my little girl. I have felt the feelings of bliss fitting into a size 10 and walking down the street getting whistles and the feeling of agony fitting into a size 20 and the looks of horror on people faces as they see me walking towards them. But now I am in my 40's and I finally just realized that I need to be happy with my body no matter what size it is. Now that does NOT mean I will stop exercising and eating right. It just means that I will not beat myself up everyday when I look in the mirror for not being what everyone else in this world wants me to be. So my resolution is to be content with my body. I did that once before and when I became that content I lost 120 pounds. Maybe that will work again, maybe not, but I know I will sure feel a lot better about myself no matter what the outcome and be a lot happier.

My second resolution is to finally read the bible from cover to cover. I have never read the Bible from beginning to end before. I have read most of the books of the Bible through book studies at least once, but this year I am going to read it in chronological order. I have a daily reader Bible that is in chronological order and my church is also starting a group that happens to be using the same book. So we will all blog about it each day. Now that’s a whole God thing in itself. I was planning on doing this and had set a plan for it, had the Bible in hand when a few days later I received an email from my church saying they were putting this exact same Bible study together. Must be a God telling me that this was the right thing for me to be doing this coming year!

I will also be reading each day’s entries to my children as part of their Bible study. We will still do their regular daily Bible study, but I will add this reading too. I am hoping that by reading the entries out loud I will understand and retain more of the information I am reading as well as my children will pick up on some of the information I will be reading to them. I want to get them out of their children’s Bible and into the real Word of God sooner then later. Yea, I have always read passages from the Bible, but when we read stories it has always been from the Children’s Bible. This will be a wonderful change in our Bible time together.

How will I make these resolutions stick? I have 3 steps that I think will help me to make these two things become a habit.

1. For each resolution, focus in on one goal at a time I can do to make the change. Example: if you want to loose weight focus in on eating 3 pieces of fruit each day. When this has been accomplished, focus on another small goal.

2. Put together monthly objectives. Example: For the Bible reading I have put a check list of chapters to read each day for the month of January.

3. Don't beat myself up if I mess up. Example: Keep positive thoughts like "I have done really good so far. Lets get back on track tomorrow".

Anyway, I would love to hear from all of you and what you thoughts are on New Years resolutions. Do you have them? What are they? Are you totally against them? Write me and let me know. You can either comment on the blog or send me a personal email. And if you are interested at all in doing the Bible Study with me, let me know. I would love to blog back and forth with you about what we learn and your take on things. Just an FYI, I do take the Bible to be literal not figurative. So keep that in mind as we discuss our thoughts on what we are about to learn.

In any case, I hope you all have a wonderfully safe and fun New Year. May God bless you and your family in 2009!

the 12 Days After Christmas

well, I am back. Even though I did not leave on a vacation I turned my computer off for a few days. Now that I am back on line, I thought I would start off with something I thought was very funny and soooo very true for the after holiday blues! Enjoy.

On the day after Christmas my true love gave to me...

12 bills for paying.

11 relatives left to visit.

10 really dirty looks for giving the kids stuff they shouldn't have.

9 orders to take the reindeer's down off the roof before New Years Eve.

8 other small jobs to do that will not take too long if I get at it now!

7 stops to exchange gifts.

6 gift cards to redeem at the mall.

5 hours on line trying to untangle the mess of holiday guarantees that did not arrive on time.

4 hours waiting in line for other stuff.

3 trips to the movie and I only like one.

2 hours to watch football.

AND 1 smile to say I Love You even with all these shortcomings.

Adapted from the CBS News

Get Rid of the Gimmees

This is such a great post, 9 Steps to a Meaningful Christmas for You and Your Family, by Terri Johnson at Knowledge Quest.

Christmas can be a magical time for children. Yet this holiday can also bring out whininess, disappointment and an ungrateful "gimme, gimme" attitude in our normally sweet children. How can we, as caring parents, counter-act this contagious and disheartening attitude? Let's use the word CHRISTMAS as an acrostic to remember some key thoughts and actions that can help our children (and ourselves) gain a proper perspective and appreciation for this most holy of holidays.

C - The letter "C" stands for two words - candles and carols. Light your home with the glow of candlelight. The presence of candlelight evokes a holy essence in your home - fitting for the holy occasion that we celebrate. Fragrant candles are even better! And remember to sing the carols of Christmas - together as a family and to yourself as you go about your daily tasks. Play them also on your stereo. The words of the traditional carols will imprint themselves upon your heart and mind and upon the hearts of your children as well.

H - The letter "H" stands for homemade. Christmas does not have to empty your bank account. In fact, the most meaningful Christmas gifts are usually the ones that are the least expensive. Children naturally love to give the creations that they make. Help them to find gifts that they can participate in the making of - simple yet thoughtful gifts that show their love and care for the receiver. (This year, my children are making fleece scarves and pocket warmers for their cousins and other relatives.)

R - "R" stands for reading the Christmas story. Do not forget to spend time in the Word of God, reading the account of our Savior's birth. He is the reason we celebrate this time of giving. We follow in the footsteps of the wise men who gave their precious gifts to an infant King, the Savior of the world. And do not just read it aloud together once, but several times throughout the upcoming weeks. (Helpful hint - this relates to letters "M" and "A" below.)

I - "I" stands for invite. Open up your home and invite your friends and neighbors in for tea and cookies. Why keep all those yummy cookies to ourselves when we can share them with friends? Don't worry about having your home look like a picture out of a magazine. We don't need to be perfect. Our homes do not need to be perfect. But we do need to share the love of Christ with our friends and neighbors.

S - "S" is for scoot out the unused toys. Like it or not, your children will be receiving more stuff for Christmas. Prior to Christmas is a perfect time for sorting through unused and unwanted items and giving them away to charity. During this cold and dark season, your unwanted blankets, coats and shoes can be a very real blessing to those who have less than we do.

T - The letter "T" stands for toss. Toss out the toy catalogs! This one is serious. One of the major causes of the "gimme" attitude springs from the onslaught of toy catalogs that enter our homes every autumn. If you would like to keep a few to order from, then by all means do. But do not put them into the hands of your children just to browse, or even to give you ideas. Scanning through toy upon gadget upon toy will begin to spoil the giving heart that you have instilled in your child only to be replaced by envious thoughts.

M - This one relates to the letter "R" above. "M" stands for memorize. Take a few moments every morning to memorize scripture. Luke 2:1-20 or Isaiah 9:6-7 are both good choices for this time of year. If you are reading this prior to Thanksgiving, Psalm 100 is an excellent psalm to memorize and it is only 5 verses long. Very doable!

A - Celebrate Advent. If you have never celebrated advent, perhaps this is the year to begin. Basically, advent is a purposeful celebration during the four weeks that count down to Christmas, reminding us each day of the first coming of our Lord and His imminent second coming. Here is a handy downloadable book that you can have in time for the first Sunday of Advent, which, by the way, is November 27th. http://www.joyfulmomma.org/Advent.html.

S - "S" is for Santa. I'm not knocking the fun that can had with the idea of Santa, but don't be afraid to tell your kids the truth. There is a good book that explains where the story of "Santa" came from and it is called Santa, Are You For Real? We let our older children help in the Santa fun. The younger kids set out the plate of cookies and write Santa a nice note. The older children get to stay up later and eat the cookies and write a return note from "Santa". Another fun activity is to play Secret Santa during the month of December. Each member of the family draws the name of another member of the family. The name of the person you draw is the one to whom you become the "secret santa". This gives family members the opportunity to do kind things for each other. These things can include giving small gifts, writing notes of encouragement, or doing acts of service. But be sure not to get caught! Reveal yourself to your special someone on Christmas Eve.

Enjoy Christmas this year and if you feel yourself getting weighed down by whininess or ungrateful attitudes within your family, remember the acrostic CHRISTMAS and do one thing different to make a change within your home. May God bless you and keep you and give you peace.

The Gift by: Jill Cooper

I just had to post this. I get an e-news from Living on a dime and this was in one of her lastest emails.....

She stood at the window watching the snow falling gently to the ground. Thanksgiving was over and soon it would be Christmas, her favorite time of the year. But her heart was heavy in spite of the snow and the feeling of Christmas that it should invoke. The Christmas spirit that she had felt all year long seemed to have been drained out of her with a couple of simple phone calls, each from a family member saying they didn't want to exchange gifts this year because they couldn't afford them.

As she turned from the window her eyes fell on her little tree standing in the corner. It's lights twinkled ever so brightly, casting a warm glow over the small pile of gaily wrapped gifts lying under it. A smile touched her lips as she thought of each person that the gifts were for. In her mind she could see the joy and excitement on their faces as they tore open the gifts and saw what was in them.

All year, she had carefully planned their gifts and had sacrificed much time and money in order to be able to buy them. She listened to each person's big desires and little ones and had drawn so close to them that she knew not only the things they verbally said that they wanted but also the things they hadn't voiced. She knew she had bought each one the perfect gift -- Not the most expensive gift, maybe, but the perfect one for them.

Yes, she had sacrificed a lot to buy the gifts, but because her love for each person was so great and because of the joy she felt in giving, she didn't see it as a sacrifice at all. So what if she had to turn the heat down a couple of degrees and wear a sweater in order to be able to have a little extra to buy that special something for someone she loved. Yes, it's nice to go out to eat at the end of a long hard day, but it's even nicer to watch the face of a child open a present and go into rapture over his new car or to see mom get tears in her eyes because you not only remembered her favorite perfume but also how much she had longed for it.

Of course there had been times when she had looked in the store window thinking how wonderful it would be to own a dress like that, but when it came to a choice between that and the fur trimmed coat her granddaughter wanted, the coat won hands down. To see that granddaughter running towards her and throwing her arms around her once more thanking her for the new coat would make her feel more beautiful then any new dress could.

Oh, she knew there were those out there who would scold her and say she should think of herself more and do more for herself, but she just shook her head in pity for them. They had no idea what they were missing out on with that attitude.

It was that very same attitude that had caused the heaviness on her heart right now. The phone calls she had received came from people who had spent all year spending money on the things they wanted: new cars, TVs, clothes and going out to eat and now they had nothing left to give to someone else.

"When did it happen?" she wondered, "-- this change in people's thinking." What happened to the times when even a small gift was greatly appreciated because you knew the person had sacrificed so much in order to buy or make it? What happened to the times when parents, spouses and children worked so hard in order to be able to give that special gift to someone they loved? When did it become acceptable to call on your expensive cell phone, from your favorite restaurant, to let others know that you can't buy them a gift this year because you can't afford it? Had she been mistaken all this time in her understanding of gift giving?

With a droop in her shoulders she turns and walks toward the little tree. How could it have lost its sparkle in a matter of moments? Why do the presents under it suddenly look less gaily wrapped? With tears gently rolling down her cheeks, she stoops to turn off the tree's lights. As she reaches for the plug, her hand accidentally brushes her Bible laying on the table. As she looks up through the blur, her eyes alight upon the passage on the open page. "For God so LOVED the world that he GAVE his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

A sweet peace starts warming her heart. She begins to smile and her tears are flowing even more freely now -- not from sadness, but from joy. The lights on the little tree become brighter and brighter, lighting up the whole room with it's sparkle. The gifts under it look more beautiful than those in the most expensive department stores for, in that moment, she realizes that she wasn't wrong to love, to sacrifice and to want to give gifts to the people she loves.

Hadn't God Himself so loved us that He gave, with the greatest of sacrifices, the most wonderful gift, His Son. She was so glad that God hadn't spent His time in heaven selfishly using all His resources for Himself. She was thankful that He hadn't sent her a message saying, "Sorry, but I can't afford to give you a gift this year."

In those few moments of heartbreak she had learned something more. She had learned what God must feel like to have the gift that He sacrificed so much to give be rejected and scorned. How hurtful to take away the blessing of giving from someone or to reject their gift.
Yes, it seemed to be popular to say, "We can't afford to exchange gifts this year", but it didn't matter. She would continue to love, sacrifice and give, always following her heavenly Father's example.