A friend told me about Captain Pantastic and when I went to visit the site I was nearly blown away but the unique gift idea. 

The site is filled with Beautiful Cake Pans that you can have engraved and personalized.  You can us them yourself or pass them along as gifts to a friend, a loved one, or a client.

Here in my family we pass down family recipes from Sweet Potatoe Pies right down to brownies. This would be a perfect way to pass down the family recipe to my daughters ALONG with a Personalized engraved cake pan!

Just wanted to share. Stop by soon and take a peek. 

Self-esteem is important throughout life, but it is in childhood when its foundation is laid.  It’s our job as parents to help our children build self-esteem.  We may do and say things that are bad for our kids’ self-esteem without even realizing it, so it is important to make a conscious effort to help them develop and maintain a positive opinion about themselves.

Listening to Your Child

One thing that parents often overlook is the fact that children need us to listen to what they have to say.  When we don’t, they feel unworthy of our attention.  And that can put a damper on their self-esteem.

Making it a point to listen fully to what your child has to say will let him know that you value his stories and opinions.  Sometimes we just don’t have the time to listen at the very moment they want to talk, but it’s important to let them know that it’s not because we don’t want to.  Set a time to sit down and talk if necessary, and stick with it.

When Your Child Misbehaves

When children are misbehaving, it is easy to forget about keeping their self-esteem intact.  But it is very important to make the distinction between bad behavior and a bad child.

By describing the specific behavior as bad rather than telling your child that he himself is bad, you can let him know that it is not him as a person that you disapprove of.  It is his actions.  Children who feel that their parents disapprove of them are not only more likely to develop low self-esteem, they also tend to misbehave more.

Give the Right Kinds of Compliments

Complementing your child when he does well is important, because it reinforces both self-esteem and good behavior.  But even complements can sometimes do damage.  Backhanded complements do nothing but cause hurt feelings.  Try to refrain from alluding to negative things your child has done when giving complements.  You can accomplish much more by keeping praise completely positive.

It’s also important not to overdo the praise.  While it is great to recognize the good things your child does, it is possible to put too much pressure on him.  Being specific with your praise, such as telling your child you are proud of him for bringing his math grade up from a C to an A, accomplishes more than telling him that he is the smartest kid in the class or the world.

It is important to start building a child’s self-esteem at a young age.  Doing so will encourage him to be the best that he can be and to resist peer pressure.  By listening to our children and keeping their self-esteem in mind at all times, we can raise them to be happy, confident people.

300 Breakthrough Stress Relief Tips: A breakthrough program that relieves the symptoms of stress and eliminates the causes, actually reversing the stressful habits, attitudes and mindsets you’ve developed over the course of your life!

Self-Esteem Games: 300 Fun Activities That Make Children Feel Good About Themselves. 300 self-esteem-building game ideas that require no special preparation or equipment.

Vicki Lansky’s Practical Parenting Tips: Over 1,500 Helpful Hints for the First Five Years. A treasured classic of time-tested tips and advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics and from parents “in the trenches.”

Sometimes it can seem as though daily expenses are getting out of control… you know that you should have enough money to cover everything, but it just never seems to work out that way.

If your financial situation seems to be getting worse with each passing month, don’t despair; with the aid of a household budget you should be able to quickly get things under control again.

Here is a totally free article that can help you gain control over your finances once and for all http://reallifesolutions.net/personal/budget.html  

P.S. Visit http://www.reallifesolutions.net/moneytips.HTML for more tips.

Just getting back from the Honor Awards Ceremony at Isreals Sr. HS
WOW. My girl was elected to pick the poem of her choice to receit during the awards ceremony and she wouldnt tell me what it was but when she took the stand do you know she pointed me out (2nd pic), asked me to stand then DEDICATED it to me. Of course I was bawling and a man next to me handed me tissues. I can’t remember the title of the peom but when she gets home I’ll ask her and copy it hear. Something to do with how my WORDS inspire, guide and help her.. AWW

Ok her GPA has her on the Honor Roll AND Principals list (go gurl) she has successfully pulled a 3.4-3.7 ALL year so far! This is with Regular HS and AP Classes

ACK don’t look too closely - I had no idea this shirt was so freakin SHEER and with the white bra - I look like I am trying to show off stuff I just don’t have

You Never Stand Taller Than When You Stoop To Help A Child!

You probably already know about popular stress management techniques. But did you know that there are some unconventional, productive and creative stress relievers you can work into your day?

You may not think of them formally as stress management techniques, but the following stress relievers can help you feel more relaxed and enjoy life more, and get other things done, all at the same time:

Cleaning – Throw on some music and tackle the clutter in a drawer, a room, or your whole house. Repetitive movement of dusting can loll you into a near-meditative state, the vigorous physical activity of washing vacuuming your carpets can release stress from your body, and you’ll be rewarded with a cleaner space and more soothing surroundings when you’re done!

Gardening – The physical activity of digging, pulling and planting can be a great stress release. Gardening can be a wonderfully relaxing pastime, with the reward of delicious organic food, beautiful flowers or a gorgeous yard.

Playing With Your Kids – Playful interaction with kids can change your state of mind. Rolling on the ground with them, kneading play dough, or finger painting a masterpiece can be a great diversion from your stress.

Sex – You probably already know that sex is a great tension reliever, but have you officially thought of it as a stress-relieving practice? Perhaps you should. The physical benefits of sex are numerous, and most of them work very well toward relieving stress. Sadly, many people have less sex when their stress levels are high. Learn how not to fall into this trap!

P.S. For 300 Breakthrough Stress Relief Tips that relieves the symptoms of stress and eliminates the causes visit http://www.reallifesolutions.net/Stresstips.HTML

While doing my daily “blog hopping” I stopped past Casual Keystrokes since that is usually on my daily stop.  Well She has a cool Monday Motivation post up there that I just had to jump in on.

I am coming off of a long 3 day weekend.  The children and I were out on Friday an we played games, watched moves, ate popcorn for lunch and just had a ball.  So, it wont surprise you when I say that my “Head is still at home” even though I am sitting at my desk trying to get some work done.

The 1st step I take in organizing my week is to carve  some time out to get cozy with my BlackBerry and reveiw my entire week to be sure that nothing will slip throught the cracks.   I add things, move things around and at times, I will just pass them off to another person and delete them

On my list of things to accomplish this week are:

1. Contact a few like minded sites about my great Parenting My TeenAdvertising special (25% off)
2. Work with my VA to get a newly written article out to 50 sites (DONE)
3. Secure a guest for next Mondays Podcast
4. Cook 3 full meals and freeze them or refridgerate them so the children can re-heat dinner
5. Prepare for my in/out surgery on Thursday
6. Work to find a great Affiliate Manager/VA to help me start a contest for my awesome affiliates at www.reallifeaffiliates.com

It looks like a lot but the way I have it spread out in my Blackberry, it is actually doable and if you notice I will get help from a few VA’s.

So, what about you. What is your focus on this week?  Let me know how you normally plan out your list of things to do.

Easter is quickly approaching and I know of a great Easter fun pack for kids (and parents too) that costs
LESS than having lunch with your child at McDonalds!

This Easter Fun Kit will help you bond with your child by doing the fun activities and it will help you to create items and memories that you can keep for years to come!

It is a great collection of over 30 pages of Easter
Fun! Included are:

•  3 Easter Games & Activities 
• 7 Easter Craft Ideas 
• 6 Step by Step Face Painting Photos with
• Instructions to turn your Child into a Bunny
• 16 Pages of Easter Coloring Fun and Printable Activity Sheets

Visit http://www.reallifesolutions.net/easter_fun.HTML  to grab your copy of the fun pack today

Let’s face it - Clutter Happens!  Usually clutter is a result of  not designating a place for things and then just getting tired of putting things where they belong. 

Are you tired of looking at stacks, heaps and piles of clutter in your home or your office?  Do you ever feel overwhelmed just by thinking about the task of organizing it all?  Well, here  is a free resource that will help you organize your home - quickly and painlessly –> http://reallifesolutions.net/personal/declutter-home.html

P.S. Grab more organizing tips here —>  http://www.reallifesolutions.net/getorganized.HTML

Most of us have heard the saying “Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day” and it’s certainly true especially when it comes to children. Studies have shown that children who eat a balanced breakfast are more alert in school, perform better and in many cases are less prone to bad behavior than children who skip breakfast.

Here are some quick and easy breakfast recipes for kids:

Give them Eggs – Eggs are versatile and nutritious, plus most kids like them. Start their day with simple scrambled eggs, you can add a little chopped ham, cheese, chopped tomatoes or mushrooms. Boiled eggs with slices of toast will down well too.

Bake Ahead Muffins – Muffins aren’t always the most nutritious meal, but if you bake your own muffins you can use mashed banana and a little honey for a naturally sweet breakfast muffin. You can also replace half of the amount of white flour for healthier whole wheat flour. And don’t just stick to sweet muffins, try a savory bacon and chive muffin or cheese and ham. Bake them the night before for a quick and healthy breakfast.

Don’t forget the Fruit – Try a fresh fruit salad with a yogurt and cheerio dip. Using a rolling pin mash a handful of two of whole grain Cheerios in a plastic bag and transfer to a bowl. Fill another bowl with yogurt and let your kids dip the fruit pieces in yogurt then in the cheerio mixture. Whole grain Cheerios have a lower sugar content then many of the cereals on the supermarket shelves.

Pancakes in a flash – Prepare a basic pancake batter the night before, cover and refrigerate in the morning. In the morning all you need to do is heat the grill and your whole family can enjoy delicious homemade pancakes. Serve with a little maple syrup or jam and some fresh fruit on the side.

Try Pizza for Breakfast - Split a couple of bagels in half, top with a little pizza sauce, grated cheese and some chopped ham. Place under the grill for a few minutes and you have a nutritious breakfast pizza. You can also use English muffins or pita bread.

Remember breakfast doesn’t have to always consist of the traditional toast, cereal and eggs you can experiment a little to keep things interesting. And don’t put too much pressure on yourself to always make the perfect family breakfast. If your kids really aren’t hungry at breakfast time a simple banana and a glass of orange juice will give them an instant boost.

P.S. Chek out weekly breakfast and lunch menues that are quick and easy to prepare and your kids will love: http://www.reallifesolutions.net/Kid-Approved-Meals.HTML

There are many things that we encounter over the years to help build or break that confidence but ultimately it is up to us to maintain our own self-confidence. Those who lack self-confidence are truly losing out on opportunities for happiness, fun, growth and often love. Here are just a few tips that anyone can use to help build self-confidence