2010 September | 3 Boys And A Dog

Menu Plan Monday: Get It Done Week

September 27, 2010 By Kelli 3 Comments

Can you believe it is already Monday? My super fun weekend went so fast! I spent all of Saturday at a scrapbooking function. I had so much fun and completed about 30 pages! What did you do?

As I noted above, this is Get It Done week, that means I am going to bust rear and get some things marked off my to do list – including the hundreds of emails that have piled up. I swear, I blink and then I have hundreds more! Does anyone else have this problem?

Anyway, on to my menu:

Monday: Swedish Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes (didn’t have it last week, oops)

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken and Potato Salad

Wednesday: Beef Stroganoff

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: I will be out of town, DH is in charge.

Don’t forget to visit Org Junkie for hundreds more menu plans.

Filed Under: Meals / Menus Tagged With: arts, believe, busts, compilation albums, functions, Get It Done, how do you solve a problem like maria?, mashed, menu plan, menu plan monday, menu planning, MPM, rears, scrapbooking, spent, super fun, week, weekend

ALERT: Are You a Helicopter Parent

September 26, 2010 By Kelli 5 Comments

Helicopter Parent Alert!

You’re Okay, Just Make Sure

the Flight Plan is Right

by Gary M. Unruh, MSW LCSW

You’re all getting a bad rap. Helicopter parents do a lot of good things for their kids.

You can act fast, swoop in to protect your child at a moment’s notice, and swoop away really fast (great skills for parenting a teenager). And that bird’s-eye view of the big picture really comes in handy.

Best of all, helicopter parents have met two great parenting qualifications: they show a lot of love to their children, and they spend plenty of time with them, often pulling the night shift.

So, if helicopter parents are so great, why all the negative publicity? Here’s why: With all this love onboard, most helicopter parents forget the fine print in their flying manual.

DO NOT HOVER TOO MUCH OR TOO CLOSE TO YOUR KID.

That’s what this alert is about.

MAKE SURE YOUR FLIGHT PLAN KEEPS YOU AT JUST THE RIGHT DISTANCE FROM YOUR KID.

The best flight plans include four parts:

Keep your gas tank at least 80 percent full of Unleashed Parental Love at all times. Children thrive when they feel a supportive parent will always be available and when the children feel they are acceptable and understood no matter what mistakes they make. That’s why helicopter parents are so great — their kids can always see or sense their smiling parents somewhere, no matter what happens.
Don’t immediately hover too close, or land and take over when your child has a problem. Kids need to learn how to handle failure on their own — when they’re ready. Some stress is important for developing resilience and self-confidence.
Do hover close by when your child is first learning to solve something really tough. Success knocks out a problem pretty fast. (Be ready to land if necessary.)
Land and command when your child veers too far off the charted course. You know, things like breaking curfew, lying, and destructive relationships. That’s when you land and then discipline firmly and consistently to make sure your child gets headed in the right direction. Expect resistance (rarely will you hear, “Thank you, Mom/Dad, for getting me back on track.”) And one other thing: Don’t land and command or hover too close on personal choices like hairstyle, clothes, etc.

Helicopter parents, I salute you. Stay the course with the right flight plan. Your child’s self-confidence and resilience will flourish.

Gary M. Unruh, MSW LCSW, is a child and family mental health counselor with nearly forty years of experience. He is the author of the award-winning book Unleashing the Power of Parental Love: 4 Steps to Raising Joyful and Self-Confident Kids (www.unleashingparentallove.com).

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: act fast, alert, childhood, Children, education, flight planning, Gary M Unruh, helicopter, helicopter parent, human behavior, parent, Parenting, positive psychology, protect your child, psychological resilience, psychology, skill, swoop, swooping, teenager, transformers

Web Wide Weekend Wrap Up: September 25, 2010

September 25, 2010 By Kelli 4 Comments

I have searched high and low to come up with tons of awesome goodies for you from Freebies, to Giveaways, to great articles to read, to special deals! Start clicking and be sure to tell me what all you get. Remember to check in each Saturday for my Web Wide Weekend Wrap-Up!

Freebies:

1. Free weekend workshops only at Home Depot.

2. Sign up for the Free Disney Line Vacation Planning DVD

3. Fill out form to receive your free OneTouch® UltraMini™ Meter in the color of your choice. User must qualify

4. Free Samples of Brilliant pH tampons. You will need to register on Freeflys to get these samples.

5. Free samples of Cover Girl and Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer.

6. Free sample of Thomas Coffee.

7. Free Sample of Miracle Skin Transformer.

8. Free sample of Wisk Liquid Laundry Detergent.

9. Sample Burt’s Bees(R) Rosewater & Glycerin Toner FREE, details apply.

10. Get a J.R. Watkins(TM) Head-to-Toe Kit FREE, details apply.

11. Get Listerine(R) Whitening(R) Quick Dissolving Strips FREE, details apply. Hurry, this deal will be gone faster than you can whiten your teeth!

12. Get 5 pounds of Zachary(R) candy corn FREE, details apply. They come in trick-or-treat friendly snack size bags

Special Deals:

1. Sign up for Roozt.com Daily Deals newsletter and receive 50-80% off name brand products.

2. Sign up for Savings Zone emails for coupons, specials/promotions, sweepstakes and more from Dollar General.

3. Sign up for Home Depot Improver Club and receive Home Maintenance and Upkeep Projects E-mail Alerts, How-to Video Tutorials and Email Newsletters.

4. Sign up for Nike email updates and be the first to know about new products and special offers.

Giveaways:

1. Join Pampers.com for a chance to win a year’s supply of diapers.

2. Vote for your favorite Halloween Treat! Win $3,500 Halloween Cash and Print $75.00 in Coupons!

3. Welcome to Fall Ya’ll giveaway bonanza at Bless Their Hearts Mom

Awesome Reads:

1. Off The Beaten Path: Connecticut Hidden Treasure Getaways Scenic Photography at Moomette’s Magnificents.

2. Ten Habits of Highly Successful Bloggers at Cutest Kid Ever

If you would like to see your giveaways, awesome reads, freebies, etc featured in this weekly post simply drop me an email. It is FREE to be included in this post! I will be accepting submissions weekly so you can ALWAYS drop me an email if you have something you want shared. So, if you want your post included, drop me an email at Kelli@3boysandadog.com with your link, title, and category.

**NOTE: I am looking for a contributor to write this post each week. If you are interested in running it, please drop me an email.

Filed Under: Web Wide Weekend Wrap Up Tagged With: 2010, computing, cover girl, discounts, djing, e-mail, form, Freebies, giveaway, Giveaways, home depot, internet, sample, sampling, september, Special Deals, web, weekend, weekend workshop, wide, world wide web, wrap, wraps, WWWW

Crest Pro-Health Complete Rinse Test Drive

September 24, 2010 By Kelli 5 Comments

I had braces for 4 years and 40,000 dollar surgery due to TMJ. Consequently, my mouth has a bunch of money invested in it. I try to take care of my mouth, but the braces killed my teeth. When they pulled the glue and metal off of my teeth, it pulled enamel with it.

So, I was really excited to be part of the Crest Pro-Health Complete Rinse Test Drive! Each day for the next month, I’m going to use Crest Pro Health Complete Rinse along with my regular brushing schedule.

I am not a HUGE mouth rinse person, but I do usually have a bottle for those days when I am sick (you know, you have a yucky taste in your mouth when sick) or if I have a mouth issue. I just don’t like the burning drying sensation that mouth wash causes. I am curious to see what this new rinse does, tastes like, etc. I will be back in a few weeks to update you!

Works with brushing to provide comprehensive tooth care and helps you get a better dental check-up through the use of fluoride. Suggested Retail Price: $4.59

Provides six benefits in one:

Re-builds enamel
Helps prevent cavities
Cleans teeth & gums
Kills bad breath germs
Freshens breath
Without the burn of alcohol

For more information:

Do you use Crest Pro Health Complete Rinse? If so, what do you think?

Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a test drive campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Crest and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate

Filed Under: Beauty / Spa, health Tagged With: animal anatomy, braces, Crest, Crest Pro Health, dental braces, dentifrices, dentistry, gingiva, halitosis, health, Mom Central, money investing, mouth, Mouth Health, mouth rinse, mouths, mouthwash, oral hygiene, periodontology, rinse, test drive, test drives, tmj, tooth, used crest

Top Moving Day Tips: Organize, Plan, Prepare

September 23, 2010 By Kelli 3 Comments

When I was a child, we had a beach house. We spent about half the year at the beach home and half the year at our regular home. Since the two houses were only about 30 minutes apart, it wasn’t a big deal if we forgot our favorite toy – unlike cross country movers. But, the days of love bugs* did teach me how to be a good mover.

photo unavailable Top Moving Day Tips: Organize, Plan, Prepare The most important part to any moving project is to get organized!

Getting Organized

Start early – No one ever gives themselves enough time to get packed! If you don’t want to face the stress of “OMG! WE HAVE TO BE OUT IN 2 WEEKS!” Then, start now planning and preparing. Summer is over, you don’t need beach towels, sun block, bathing suits, etc. Pack them up and any other summer things.
Have Supplies on hand – if you have boxes, tape, foam, tissue paper, etc on hand at all times, then you can pack a little at a time every day.

Finding Moving Companies:

Research – Spend a bit of time looking for a good moving company. Billy’s Savings Club can help with this.
Referrals – Get referrals from local real estate agents and friends who have moved recently.
Licensing – Only consider movers that are licensed, bonded and insured.
In-home estimates – Evaluate a minimum of 3 movers based on in-home estimates of goods to be moved.

Get To Packing:

Pack a suitcase – For each person, pack a suitcase as if you are going on a 3 days vacation. This gives you all of your necessities in one convenient location without having to go through 9 million boxes to find Junior’s favorite teddy bear so he can go to sleep the first night in strange place…. or Sister’s retainer.
Create “Open Me First” boxes – Pick one or two boxes per room as “Open Me First” boxes. Put in them the things you’ll need first at your new location. Then mark the sides of the boxes so you’ll know which ones are which. (Examples: In the kitchen you will need some pots, pans, and dishes in order to cook at eat even before everything is put away)
Less is more – Use packing as a way to clean out belongings for donations, a yard sale, and/or the recycling center. Aim to eliminate 1/3 of your belongings. You’ll save time and expense. This is why people have moving sales. No point in taking all that stuff to your new home!
Criss-cross tape – Tape boxes along the seams where the flaps meet together. Then tape perpendicularly at the center of the first tape, forming a cross.