Is Raising Your Child as a Vegetarian Healthy?

Have you considered raising your child as a vegetarian? I remember when the Lil' Diva was a baby. When I went back to work and couldn't pump as often as I would like, I supplemented breast milk with formula. The regular formula made her stomach upset, so she drank soy formula the rest of the time she was on the bottle. It definitely made a difference.

My husband and I aren't vegetarians, but I wonder if I had gone that route if our children would be better, healthier eaters. A growing trend in parenting is raising vegetarian children, but some critics argue children might not get the nutrients they need with a meatless diet. "Raising a Vegetarian: The Growing Trend – Is it Healthy for Children?” shares Lauren Schmitt's opinion on the matter. Schmitt is a registered dietitian, nutritionist and certified personal trainer with Healthy Eating and Training, Inc. and is in favor of children being raised as vegetarians. You can read the entire article at http://www.fulltimenanny.com/blog/raising-a-vegetarian-the-growing-trend-is-it-healthy-for-children/

Guest Blogger: Holiday Stress Busters for Moms by Paul Taylor

The holidays can be a stressful time for moms. You are always in charge of making sure no one is forgotten, everyone has a gift they will love, and every gathering turns out perfectly. That kind of stress can make the holiday season seem less a joy and more a pain in the neck. However, there are some ways you can bust this stress and get back into the spirit of the holidays:

1.      Quiet Time – The first thing I always tell my friends and myself is to make sure you have some quiet time every day. This can be first thing in the morning or any time during your day. Just have some time without any other distractions to calm down and let your brain de-stress. A few minutes of quiet time can help you unwind enough to reset your thinking and have a great day.

2.      Keep It Simple – It is great if you have the resources to buy a bunch of gifts or throw a dozen parties, but it is also stressful juggling all that too. Why put that all on yourself? Keep things simple and cut down on your to-do list for a less stressful holiday season.

3.      Remember the Meaning – Another thing we often forget in all the rush is the meaning behind the holidays we celebrate. Holidays were made to remember the love of friends and family. Do not get so caught up in gifts or gatherings that you forget it is the people that matter. Take time to remember what is really important and your stress levels will go down.

4.      Do Something for You – Many moms get caught up in the cycle of buying and thinking about everyone else. What about you? Take a moment to enjoy the holidays. Get a massage, get your nails done, stop to enjoy a cup of coffee, or even buy yourself a nice gift. It is the little things that can help to make us feel like people again and more than just the mom machine!

5.      Let Go of Perfection –Last, but certainly not least, let go of the idea that you have to make everything perfect. It stinks, but you can pretty much be guaranteed something will go wrong or someone will be unhappy. Do not make perfection your goal. Instead, work to make your goal enjoying yourself and providing an environment where others can feel your love. Your heart is what matters, not your gifts or the perfection of your gatherings.       

Don’t turn into a Scrooge. Instead, let yourself enjoy the holidays for what they are: a chance to be with friends and loved ones. Take the time to make the holidays something to remember and not something to stress about. Spend time with your kids and your family and take a break from shopping and decorating to really sit down and enjoy your holiday. You deserve a break too!

Paul Taylor started www.babysittingjobs.com which offers an aggregated look at those sites to help families find sitters and to help sitters find families easier than ever. He loves writing, with the help of his wife. He has contributed quality articles for different blogs & websites.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway: Closet Words by Kim Hilton

Title: Closet Words
Genre: Christian inspirational
Author: Kim Hilton
Publisher: WestBow Press
Pages: 174
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1449774530

Taken word for word as heard from God, Closet Words is a collection of powerful and penetrating words written down in the stillness of a prayer closet. Hearing from God for several years, Kim Hilton began writing down what she heard. Encouraging, uplifting, and challenging words with a clear message to His servants, Closet Words gives a renewal and refreshing word to the Christian believer.

Excerpt:

Closet Words is a collection of words from God. What began as an earnest journey to seek God in prayer became a journey of God answering and speaking to me. Through a simple pen, God has spoken to me many times. Although it happened one time before, I consider an August morning in 2002, after I prayed the following prayer, to be when God began speaking to me.

My written prayer to God on the second day of a fast:

Do I have the courage to seek you, God? Do I have the strength the prophets of old had? Do I have the wisdom of the kings of old? Do I have the power to rebuke like the apostles? I seek this courage, I seek this strength, I seek this power, I seek this wisdom! Fill this vessel, oh God, to overflowing. I desire you and only you. Help me to be blameless, to keep myself from sin. Help my heart to be full of love for others. Help my hands to serve others. Help my lips to teach of you. Help my mind to be filled with your wisdom. May I find every ounce of strength, every beat of my heart, every word of my mouth, every step of my walk…all come from you and only you.

After that August prayer I began regularly hearing from God while in my closet praying. I have kept a prayer journal for many years, and as the words flowed to me from God, I began writing them in my journal. Many were given to me while on my knees in the dark of my closet. Most were scribbled quickly to grasp each word and phrase. I’ve also been awakened in the night and reached for the pen beside my bed to scribble down words as God was speaking to me.

I have been seeking a deeper walk with God for many years. Like any Christian, I have journeyed with simple issues and I’ve struggled through tough problems. I have overcome, and I have failed. Throughout my walk as a Christian I have searched to get to the deepest level possible with God. This journal, these closet words from God, did not come easily. They are the product of years of yearning and earnestly seeking God through hours of fasting, tears, and prayer.

I have also given words from God to people. I’ve been asked, “Can you give me words from God?” and after praying, he has given me words that have impacted people’s lives. Many times I have been asked how I hear these words. I can only say, “When I hear God, I write. When he stops, I stop.”

The following words are written word for word as they were given to me. My earnest prayer is that these Closet Words can be a comfort to you.

Kim Hilton, MCC, PCC, has a master’s degree in Christian counseling. Founder of Closet Words Ministries Foundation, Kim is a teacher on prayer and listening to God. An avid writer of several books, Closet Words was chosen as the first book to be published with the proceeds going to Closet Words Ministries Foundation. A sought-after speaker and Bible Study leader, Kim has spoken at both national and local events. She resides with her husband on a farm and enjoys spending time with their six grown children and grandchildren. For more information on Kim Hilton or her work, please visit: www.KimHilton.org.

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Closet Words by Kim Hilton. Use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

Terms and Conditions: Winner must be 18 years of age or older and reside in the United States. Winner will be notified by email and have 72 hours to claim the prize. Prize will be shipped directly to the winner by the author or her representative. This blog is not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipment. Void where prohibited.




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TV Movie Review: The Christmas Spirit (2013)

Picture credit: IMDB

In this magical story of Christmas, Nicollette Sheridan plays renowned journalist Charlotte Hart. She is visiting her family over the holidays when a real estate developer shows up in Laurel Springs with an enticing offer to transform Main Street. Skeptical and looking for the real reason Daniel Huntsman (Bart Johnson) is making such a lucrative offer, she is en route to see the developer when she is involved in a horrible car accident. 

Charlotte awakens in the hospital to find she is in a coma, but her spirit is very much alive. She also meets the spirit of Daniel Huntsman, who happened to be on his way to see her when their cars collided. With only a few days left before the townspeople vote on whether to accept Huntsman's offer, Charlotte must find a way to change her friends' minds. The problem is they can't see or hear her. 

You can blame The Christmas Spirit for making supper late last night. I had recorded it on my DVR when it first aired and sat down to watch it yesterday. My poor hubby came home in the middle of it and had to wait to eat because I had to see how it turned out.

Considering this is the Hallmark Channel, you know some heartstrings will be pulled. And they are--up to the very end. Plenty of surprises and magic fill this seasonal movie of one woman's crusade to save her hometown. While the acting was superb by all, and it was great to see Sheridan on screen again, Olympia Dukakis gives a moving performance as Gwen Hollander, Charlotte's family's next door neighbor, who happens to be able to see and talk to spirits. She offers help to Charlotte and Daniel as they work their way through trying to get back to their lives again, which is interesting since they are after different things.

A touching, magical story awaits you in The Christmas Spirit, another new seasonal movie from Hallmark Channel. Catch it next on Sunday, December 15th at 12/1c.

I recorded this movie through my cable provider. This review contains my honest opinion, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

TV Movie Review: Let it Snow (2013)

Picture credit: Hallmarkchannel.com 

Let It Snow is one of the new seasonal movies in Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas lineup.

Stephanie Beck (Candace Cameron Bure)  is a driven executive working for Falcon Resorts. When Falcon acquires the family-owned and -operated Snow Valley Lodge from a retiring couple (Gabrielle Rose and Dan Willmott), Stephanie must spend the week before Christmas on-site drafting a proposal for renovations. Arriving in Maine, Stephanie quickly butts heads with the couple's son, Brady, played by Jesse Hutch, who has decided to leave the family business over creative differences with his father.

Though not one to celebrate Christmas, Stephanie finds the festive traditions shared with the lodge's guests provide a special touch and sense of belonging she hasn't felt from her detached father (Alan Thicke), president of Falcon Resorts. As the magic of Christmas wiggles its way into Stephanie's heart, her relationship with Brady develops from friendship into love, and she begins to question Falcon's planned overhaul. With her Christmas Eve deadline approaching, Stephanie must decide if she should transform the lodge into a hip hot spot for Falcon's single and married professional clientele or embrace the family traditions that make Snow Valley Lodge so special.

Let It Snow is a heartwarming story of two people who learn more about themselves and what they want for the future in one short week than they did for years before. At the beginning of the movie, Brady and Stephanie don't have any Christmas spirit. Stephanie's father has buried himself in his work and she has become a workaholic right alongside him, hoping to at least get a tiny bit of his attention and approval. Brady had big plans for Snow Valley Lodge once, but his dad refused to make any changes to what his grandfather and father had built, so Brady lost heart and wants no part of the family business. Watching the transformation of these two people, and others, makes this a special movie you won't want to miss. Seeing favorite actors (Bure and Thicke) definitely adds an even nicer tough to a lovely story.

The next airing of Let It Snow is on Sunday, December 15 at 6/5c.

I recorded this show through my cable provider. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Book Review: Amanda Weds a Good Man by Naomi King

Amanda Lambright and Wyman Brubaker are getting married. After four years as a single mother, Amanda is looking forward to having the support of a good man and thrilled at her chance for happiness. But as soon as Amanda's family moves into Wyman's home, it's plain to see it won't be easy blending their families.

The older siblings are quarreling, the young ones are in tears, and the newlyweds have no privacy. It doesn't help that Wyman has kept the house the same as when his first wife, Viola, was living. His daughter, Vera, isn't keen on changing her mother's house either. Then there's problems with the bishop, who is adamant Amanda discontinue making her pottery that gave her great solace after her first husband's death.

Can Amanda find the wisdom to guide her blended family toward the love that will bind them together?

One Big Happy Family is a subseries of King's Home at Cedar Creek series. As with all Amish fiction I've read, a sense of community plays a huge role in this book, despite the focus of the story being on one couple.

Amanda Weds a Good Man is another fabulous, heartwarming story from King. Though readers of the Home at Cedar Creek series will find many familiar faces in this novel, the main focus is on the challenges Amanda and Wyman face in blending their families. While staying true to the genre, King allows her characters to be pushed to the edge. And though I had faith that all would be resolved by the end, there were moments when I wondered how it was going to happen.

In addition to Amanda and Wyman's story, readers are treated to watching James Graber and Abby Lambright's courting days unfold, catching up with Matt and Rosemary Lambright, and witnessing the potential of a romance for Emma Graber.

The ending, while more than satisfactory, lends itself to another book in the series. I can't wait to see what happens next.


Series: One Big Happy Family (Book 1)
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade (November 5, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451417879
ISBN-13: 978-0451417879

I received a free copy of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

You've Got Mail Monday

It's another Monday. This post is going up late because it has been a busy day filled with errands and Christmas shopping. I'm close to done with shopping; but the house is still only half decorated.

This week the mail carrier brought a lovely box filled with nine books from one of my favorite children's books publisher, Tiger Tales. All picture books this time. I've been donating these to the schools since my girls are beyond these books. I'll review them at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection and then deliver them to the school down the street. Also for review, I received The Maisy Files: Maisy and the Missing Mice by Elizabeth Woodrum.

My January issue of All You magazine arrived, as did the December issue of Food Network Magazine. Lots of goodies on these covers. I might gain weight just staring at them.

Catalogs showed up from Delia's (the Lil' Diva loves their clothes), Brookstone®, L.L. Bean, and Land's End. The Spring 2014 Frontlist Catalog from Chronicle Books also arrived. Though winter hasn't officially started, I'm thrilled to see the gardening catalogs popping up in my mailbox. Totally Tomatoes 2014 came last week.

The UPS guy was kind enough to bring one of the hubby's Christmas presents last week. I got a great deal on Cyber Monday from Amazon for something I know he has wanted for a while; though I think the girls will love it just as much as he does.

That's it for now. Hope you have a great week and stay warm. We had a wintry mix last night into today and are expecting 1 - 4 inches of snow tomorrow. Let the fun begin!