Congratulations to Colleen!! You won the Secret Keeper Girl prize pak! You will love this kit.
If you didn’t win you can still buy it right here.

Amazon.com Widgets

Bullying is rampant amongst children and teens in America. It can happen at school, the park, church-anywhere people gather. This is the first in a multi-part series of posts about bullying. Studies show that the effects of bullying on both the bully and the victim can be far reaching. Approximately 1 out of every 3 US school children are involved in bullying either as the victim or the bully. That is an outstandingly frightening statistic.

Sometimes as parents, we aren’t sure if our child is being bullied or if it is just kids being kids. A basic definition of bullying states, “Bullying is the use of one’s strength or status to intimidate, injure or humiliate another person of lesser status.” Bullying falls into three categories of behaviors; physical, verbal and social. Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, any activity that is a physical assault or the threat of physical violence. Verbal bullying includes, name calling, insulting, or teasing. Social bullying includes peer rejection, exclusion to isolate or humiliate the victim, gossiping about the victim, and making prejudice comments. A bully’s acts are usually intentional and often repeated.

Who bullies? People who bully often have domineering and controlling personalities. They are quick to anger and usually have low self-esteem. Both boys and girls can be bullies. People who bully often have a need to dominate another person.

Continued bullying can have long-term effects on both the bully and the victim. 60% of young men who were bullies in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24. We must put and end to this trend. Children who are victims of bullying may see their grades slack off, begin self-injurious behavior and even commit suicide. On any given school day in the United States 160,000 children stay home from school because they fear bullies.

Later in this series we will discuss a proactive approach to bullying, what to do if your child is being bullied, and what to do if your child is a bully. This is a serious topic and it needs to be addressed. I want to thank @polkadotpatch on twitter for suggesting I write about bullying.

This past weekend was a very full one. Saturday afternoon I was honored to be asked to sing at my friend’s 70th anniversary party. The couple are friends of mine from church and one of the sweetest, most loving couples. The party was held at Bay Pines VA hospital rehab because the groom fell and injured his back a few weeks ago. The rec room at the VA was filled with all 7 of their children, lots of church friends and some of the rehab nurses and patients. I sang a beautiful arrangement of “Amazing Grace” before we watched video clips of their life together. It was a wonderful celebration of love and commitment.

We left the party and headed to meet my in-laws and sister-in-law and her family because we were finally having Christmas with that side of the family-on January 24th. It was the first time my sister-in-law’s family could make it down. The first thing we did was go bowling. We had a lot of fun. Ron got the best score out of the 8 of us that bowled with a 146, I came in 4th with a 96 and Robin just beat Allison by 1 point with a 68 and 67 respectively.

After bowling it was back to my in-laws house for a delicious dinner of turkey, ham, potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce-yummy.

Once dinner was cleaned up we went outside to check out the Christmas lights. My boys had created a light display that was synchronized to Christmas music. It was really cool. Then Carla, a family friend and photographer came over to take a bunch of family pictures since we don’t all get together very often.

Finally it was time to open presents! This picture is of the coolest gift. John has been working since August to sculpt this bird for my in-laws. Robin created a scrapbook of the entire process. This photo doesn’t do the sculpture justice at all. None of us even knew John had this talent!
It was a very busy Saturday but we had a great time with friends and family.

Congratulations to MJ! You won the “Parenting is your Highest Calling” book giveaway. If you didn’t win you can still buy the book here.

Don’t forget to enter the Secret Keeper Girl Pack here at Mom Maven.

When I was approached a few weeks ago by Pure Publicity to review some books for them, I jumped at the chance. I am a book-aholic. Books have been my friends all of my life. Books have helped shape me into the woman I am today. When the books arrived in the mail and the Secret Keeper Girls pak was among them I was ecstatic! I have been a fan of Dannah Gresh for a few years now. Dannah writes and speaks on a topic I am passionate about-modesty. I have used her materials in various ways over the past few years as I have taught the teen girls in our church. For me to have the opportunity to review her tween series is a dream come true.

The Secret Keeper Girl Pak is made up of 3 main components: the “Secret Keeper Girl-8 Great Dates for You and Your Daughter” kit, the “Secret Keeper Girl: My Best Friend Jesus” Bible Study and “Danika’s Totally Terrible Toss-The Legend of the Purple Flurp” fiction book.

The “Secret Keeper Girl 8 Great Dates for You and Your Daughter” kit includes 3 items. It includes a book for mom, a “Secret Keeper Girl Diary” for the daughter and an audio CD that accompanies each date. The audio CD includes interviews with BarlowGirl on the topic of friendship.

Written to moms and their 8-12 year old daughters,the “Secret Keeper Girl 8 Great Dates for You and Your Daughter” is the ultimate tool to help moms connect with their daughters. The “Secret Keeper Girl 8 Great Dates for You and Your Daughter” guides mom as she has important conversations with her daughter about vital truths. Each of the 8 dates follows a similar format.

• SKG-Prep Talk: This gives mom an overview of the date. Mom should always read this at least a week before the date is to take place so that plans can be made and supplies can be gathered.
• SKG-CD: A 7-10 minute going out track on the CD to listen to in the car while you are on your way to the destination of the date.
• SKG-Diary Girl Gab: guides you and your daughter through some of the activities in her diary.
• SKG-Challenge: This is the really fun part of the date and could include a slumber party, the mall, the beach or a park depending on the date.
• SKG-CD: A 3-4 minute heading home wrap up on the CD
• SKG-Driveway Prayer: Each date ends with prayertime in your car in your driveway.

Every date is based on a friendship theme common to teens such as mean girls, BFFs, siblings and boyz. This kit is an amazing way to keep communication open with your daughter and create special memories with her.

The “Secret Keeper Girl: My Best Friend Jesus-Meditating on God’s Truth about True Friendship” Bible Study is a book of 6 age appropriate interactive lessons that do way more than just focus on what the Bible says about friendship. More importantly, it teaches the girls how to study Scripture, meditate on it and make it’s truths real in their lives.

From the Secret Keeper Girl fiction series we have “Danika’s Totally Terrible Toss-The Legend of the Purple Flurp”. This is a fun fiction book with the friendship themes of popularity, mean girls and how to be a true friend. This book is great to read with your daughter. In the back of he book there is a Mother-Daughter Girl Gab section with questions for you to talk about together.

As a mom who is always looking for ways to help my children grow in God’s likeness, I love tools like these that allow us to learn, grow and have fun all while continuing to solidify our relationship as parent and child. I wish there was a kit like this for boys! I am going to take some of the activities here and tweak them to discuss the topic of friendship with my sons. As always, Dannah Gresh’s love of young people shines through in these books. She writes in a fun and open way, like she is talking to her own daughters.

I know you want to get these books into your home. You can buy them at the Pure Freedom website or you can win this entire set-a $35 value, right here at Mom Maven. For your first entry you must check out the Secret Keeper girl website, then come back here and leave me a comment telling me what excites you most about the Secret Keeper Girl products. You must also leave a valid e-mail address or twitter name so that I can notify if you win.

If you would like extra entries you can earn 3 entries each for doing any or all of the following:

• tweet this contest and post the url of the tweet as a separate comment
• follow or subscribe to this blog and leave a comment here telling me that you have done this
• stumble this post with a review and link it here in a comment

The winner will be chosen by Random.org on Friday, January 30th at 10:00pm**time of drawing had to be pushed back due to a church reponsibility.
Good Luck!!

Congratulations to Christi S. she is the winner of the awesome Kernel Season’s Pop, Spritz, Shake giftbasket.

You can still purchase your own seasonings at Kernal Season’s website.

Don’t forget to enter the parenting book giveaway and later tonight I will be posting another book review and giveaway geared to moms with daughters ages 8-12.

Leslie Leyland Fields new book “Parenting is Your Highest Calling and 8 Other Myths that Trap Us in Worry and Guilt“, is an insightful look at nine myths most Christian parents believe as fact. Leslie is a writer, professor, wife and mother of six children which range from a college student to a kindergartener who lives in Kodiak, Alaska. Leslie writes with an honest transparency that is refreshing-especially in a parenting book.

Mrs. Fields does not claim to have the answers to all of our parenting struggles; she does expose the myths and thought patterns that are prevalent in Christian parenting. Fields debunks 9 parenting myths including:

• Myth: Having Children Makes You Happy and Fulfilled
• Myth: You Will Always Feel Unconditional Love for Your Children
• Myth: You Represent Jesus to Your Children
• Myth: If Parenting is Difficult, You’re Not Following the Right Plan

As the myths are exposed they are replaced with life-transforming truths that liberate readers and “break the cycle of guilt and failure” says Fields. Truths such as:

“I am not sovereign over my children-God is and He will use every aspect of my human parenting, even my sins and failures, to shape my children into who He desires them to be.”

Ultimately, Fields’ myth-busting returns parents to their families with a deeper commitment and clearer understanding of their role, restoring hope and joy to discouraged mothers and fathers. This book is an easy read, but it takes time to digest. I would suggest taking several days on each myth. Read the chapter one day, study the suggested Scriptures the next and then spend time with the reflection questions letting them marinate in your spirit for a while. This book would make a good study for a couple, parenting class, small group or women’s ministry. I know you want your own copy of “Parenting is Your Highest Calling and 8 Other Myths that Trap Us in Worry and Guilt” by Leslie Leyland Fields. You can buy it Parenting Is Your Highest Calling: And Eight Other Myths That Trap Us in Worry and Guilt
or you can win it here at Mom Maven. The rules for entering this giveaway are below. Mandatory to enter: Visit www.leslie-leyland-fields.com click on “books” and then “Parenting is Your Highest Calling and 8 Other Myths that Trap Us in Worry and Guilt“. Look at the 9 myths and then come back here and leave a comment telling me which myth you would like to bust. Make sure you leave a valid e-mail address so I can contact you when you win. Bonus Entries:

• 3 entries for twittering this post and pasting the post URL in a separate comment.
• 3 entries for stumbling up this post with a review and posting the URL in a separate post.
• 3 entries for following this blog or subscribing to my RSS feed.

The winner will be chosen Sunday 1/25/09 at 9pm using Random.Org. Good Luck!

Healthy eating and dieting consistently top the list on most resolutions year after year. I know it was on my list. One of the biggest challenges to healthy eating is between-meal snacking. Popcorn, a whole grain food that’s low in calories, is a great snack food that’s economical and also fun to eat.

One cup of popped popcorn, eaten plain, contains 24 calories, 1 gram of protein, 6 grams carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber. Keeping healthy snacks on hand is important for the whole family. “Popcorn is one of the best snack foods around. It’s low in calories and high in fiber which makes it a healthy, nutritious choice for between-meal snacking for kids and adults,” says Elizabeth M. Ward, registered dietitian and author of The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to the New Food Pyramids.

Sprinkling popcorn with herbs or other seasonings is a fun way to add flavor without adding extra fat and calories. Ideas include:

• Spray popcorn with low-fat cooking oil such as Kernal Season’s Popcorn Spritzer, sprinkle with Kernal Season’s toppings such as flavors as White Cheddar, Nacho Cheddar, Butter, Ranch and Kettle Corn.
• Add raisins and dried fruits for variation on trail mix.
• Sprinkle popcorn with Kernal Season’s Chocolate Marshmallow flavor to enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate.
• Consider popcorn as a healthy alternative to more fattening desserts by adding Kernal Season’s Apple Cinnamon, Caramel or Kettle Corn Flavors.

Kernal Season’s sent me six shake on seasonings, the Popcorn Spritzer, Popping and Topping Oil and a pouch of popcorn. We spent the weekend popping popcorn and trying different popcorn seasonings. On the first night we tried Ranch, Parmesan & Garlic, Kettle Corn, and White Cheddar. For the first time in my kid’s lives we
popped popcorn on the stove in a pan, not in a microwave! It was actually easy and fun!

We placed the popcorn in four separate bowls, spritzed it with Kernal Season’s Popcorn Spritzer and then topped each one with a different flavor and shook it up and dug in. The next night we did it again with the Nacho Cheddar, Butter and Kernal Season’s Movie Theatre Butter-naturally flavored oil blend.

All four of us tried each flavor and we all have our favorite. What did surprise me was that we all actually liked every flavor-there were just some we preferred more. My favorite is the ranch, hubby’s is white cheddar, Aaron’s is the movie theatre butter-oil blend and Jordan’s is the nacho cheddar cheese.

I am a popcorn addict. I eat a full-size bag of microwave popcorn with butter 3-5 nights a week. I checked the nutritional info on my microwave popcorn and I almost passed out! One serving has 170 calories and 12 grams of fat! I eat a whole bag-that is 3 servings! By taking the 5 minutes it takes to pop popcorn on the stove and using Kernal Season’s products I can eat the same amount of popcorn and save a total of 450 calories and 36 grams of fat. This doesn’t even take into consideration the financial savings. I am switching to Kernal Seasoning’s Popcorn.

You can buy Kernal Seasoning’s products on their website NoMoreNakedPopcorn.com or at Wal-mart, K-mart, Blockbuster Video, Safeway and Food Lion stores. You can win Kernal Season’s Pop, Spritz, Shake Gift Basket that retails for $24.99 right here at Mom Maven. This gift pack includes: a pouch of kernals, white cheddar seasoning, nacho cheddar seasoning, kettle corn seasoning, butter seasoning, popcorn salt, popcorn spritzer and a recipe book with ideas for other ways to use the seasonings.
For your first entry you must visit NoMoreNakedPopcorn.com and choose the topping you would most like to try. Then come back here and leave that in your comment. You must also leave a valid e-mail address or twitter name so that I can notify if you win.

If you would like extra entries you can earn 3 entries each for doing any or all of the following:

• tweet this contest and post theurl of the tweet as a separate comment
• follow or subscribe to this blog and leave a comment here telling me that you have done this
• stumble this post with a review and link it here in a comment

The winner will be chosen by Random.org on Friday, January 23rd at 7:00pm
Good Luck!!

Today I received a double blog award from Erin at From Son Up to Son Down. I am so excited to receive these awards.

The Fabulous-Coolest Butterfly Blog award comes with a few rules: Put the logo on your blog or post. Nominate at least 10 blogs which you think are fabulous and cool. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog. Share the love and link back to this post on MomMaven where I nominate your blog.

It is so hard to choose 10 blogs that are awesome and cool, but I did it. Here are the 10 blogs I have chosen to receive this double award. In no particular order my choices are:

• Mary Lutz from MaryLutz.com Being Who God Created Me to Be
• Wendy from Venice Buzz Ok, I’ll admit it-Wendy is my little sister She is an awesome writer and a new blogger. She started Venice Buzz, a blog about our hometown of Venice, FL to share what is special about Venice.
• Tara from Feels Like Home She writes a fun blog about life in her corner of the world.
• Jenn from Baby Makin’ Machine Jenn is contemplating motherhood, as I write this she and her hubby are on a Caribbean Cruise that could change her life forever *wink, wink* Her posts are so honest and transparent-she amazes me
• Sandy from Organize With Sandy Reviews Sandy has great reviews, giveaways and resources for getting your life and home organized.
• Penney from Penney From Heaven Penney is a fellow homeschooler and I feel like we are kindred spirits when I read her posts.
• Amanda from The Daily Planet Amanda is an amazing young woman after God’s own heart.
• Janice and Susan from 5 Minutes for Mom have great articles and ideas for moms.
• Kim from Crafty Mama of 4 Kim is an awesome mom with a great blog about family.
• Amanda from Mom of Faith has an inspiring Christian mom blog.

Congratulations! Ladies I love your blogs!

Congratulations to Janelle! She won the set of 4 mini Plaja Pets! I used Random.org to draw the winning number.

Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2009-01-17 02:04:14 UTC

If you didn’t win the Plaja Pets you can still purchase them at Small World Toys and let them know Mom Maven sent you.

Next week I have 3 new reviews and give aways so if you aren’t following or subscribed to this blog you should be!

Again, Congratulations Janelle!