I wanted to let you know about at great site for moms, EverythingMom.com. It is a fairly new site, but growing everyday. I love EverythingMom.com because it is for moms with kids of all ages, not just babies and toddlers. Membership to the site is free and you get a lot for that free membership!

From the website:

Welcome to EverythingMom.com, a central gathering place for today’s busy mom.  We’ve made it easy to discover the best of everything mom all in one spot.  Through our features, tools, content and community, we empower moms to discover their own special blend of getting things done while nurturing themselves and their family.

By joining, you will have access to and recieve the following for FREE:

• Social networking community that easily facilitates mom-mom connection
• Individual profiles inspiring creativity and self-expression through photos, videos and more
• Robust blogging platform that helps moms share their stories
• Free Mom Directory to support finding and promoting mom products, businesses, blogs and resources.
• Fresh tools such as Horoscopes, Printables, Pregnancy Calendar, Ask Dr. Kelly and Games
• Weekly newsletter highlighting the best of EverythingMom

Moms with Blogs or Businesses, we want to promote you for FREE:

• Free lisitng in our Mom Directory
• We feature mom blogs and mom businesses in our weekly newsletter

There are great groups to join including: Homeschooling, Book Club, Travel Club, Get Fit, Grocery Savings, Connect with Parent Experts and More. Are you thinking about starting to blog but don’t know where to start? Start a blog on Everything Mom! They are great. My blog over there is Mom Maven’s Memos, come check it out.

I was chosen by EverythingMom.com to be one of their first 20 Mom Influencers! I treat that title with the honor it deserves. I spend as much time as I can on the site answering questions that are asked of me in the groups and forums as well as updating MomMaven’s Memos regularly. Stop on over and check us out.

*This post is the opinion of it’s author. I was not asked to write it nor was I compensated for writing it.

The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has outlined key steps to help residents and business owners work toward recovery.

Protect yourself. Always be careful when entering a damaged building. If there is serious structural damage, contact local officials before entering. Report downed power lines or gas leaks. Keep electricity turned off if the building has been flooded.

Protect your property. Take reasonable steps to protect your property from further damage. This could mean boarding up windows and salvaging undamaged items. Your insurance company can tell you what they will pay for regarding protection.

Report the loss as soon as possible. Contact your insurance agent or insurer as soon as you can. Provide a general description of the damage and have your policy number handy if possible. Write down the adjuster’s name, phone number and work schedule as soon as you have them.

Prepare a list. Keep damaged items or portions of them until the claim adjuster has visited, and consider photographing or videotaping the damage to document your claim. Prepare a list of damaged or lost items for your adjuster.

Keep receipts. If you need to relocate, keep records and receipts for all additional expenses. Most insurance policies cover emergency living arrangements.

Return claim forms. After your insurance company has been notified of your claim, it must send you the necessary claim forms within a certain number of days (time period varies by state). Fill out and return the forms as soon as possible. If you do not understand the process, be sure to ask questions and write down the explanation.

Cleanup. When starting the cleanup process, be careful, and use protective eyewear and gloves if available. Adjusters may tell business owners to hire a professional cleaning service.

Build stronger next time. When you’re ready to start repairs or rebuild, work with your contractor to make the new structure disaster-resistant.

This information was taken from the IBHS publications “You Can Go Home Again” and “Getting Back to Business.” For more recovery and rebuilding information, visit the IBHS website www.disastersafety.org.

Millions of people around the world use Twitter every day.
Starting this Monday, just a tweet on Twitter could win you an iPhone 3GS!
Anyone on Twitter who tweets with the hashtag #HouseofGems between 12:00 noon eastern Monday, June 22nd and noon eastern Saturday, June 27th will be entered to win an iPhone 3GS! U.S. residents 18 years and older are eligible. The winner will be announced during the #houseofgems SiteWarming party Saturday, June 27th at 9 p.m. eastern.
Good luck!This contest is sponsored by House of Gems and brought to you by Momfluence.

First, I’m sorry I’m late on announcing the winners of last weeks Tyson Heat ‘N Eat Entree giveaway.  The winners are Tammy from LoveMy2Dogs and Leslie from LeslieLovesVeggies. Congraulations ladies!

This week’s recipe uses the Beef Steak Tips in Burgundy Sauce, tender cuts of beef, slow cooked in a rich simmering sauce mushrooms, burgundy wine, and all natural beef stock.

Angel Hair Pesto with Beef Steak Tips in Burgundy

Recipe Courtesy of Robin Miller and Tyson Foods

Recipe serves 4

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

8          ounces angel hair pasta

1          package (17.6 ounces) Tyson® Beef Steak Tips in Burgundy Sauce

⅔         cup prepared basil pesto

¼         cup pine nuts

¼         cup chopped fresh basil, optional

¼         cup coarsely grated or shaved* Asiago or parmesan cheese

Stovetop Preparation Instructions

1.      Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, add in basil pesto, and set aside.

2.      Empty contents of beef steak tips into a large saucepan and set pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer for an additional five minutes.

3.      Place pine nuts in a small dry skillet and set pan over medium heat. Cook two to three minutes until nuts are golden brown, shaking the pan frequently to prevent burning. Remove from heat and set aside.

4.      Add drained pasta to the beef mixture and toss to combine. Cook one minute to heat through.

5.      Transfer pasta and beef to a serving platter or individual plates and top with pine nuts, basil (if using) and cheese.

Microwave Preparation Instructions:

1.      Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, add in basil pesto, and set aside.

2.      Poke three holes in the beef pouch, and place the pouch in its microwave-safe tray. Cover with a paper towel, and cook on high for 5 minutes. Let stand 1-2 minutes before removing from the microwave. Empty the contents of the beef pouch onto the microwave-safe tray.

3.      Place pine nuts on a microwave-safe plate and cook, uncovered, on high for 3 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

4.      Add drained pasta to the beef mixture and toss to combine. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture and microwave again, uncovered on high, for an additional 30 seconds. Let stand for one minute before removing from the microwave.

5.      Transfer pasta and beef to a serving platter or individual plates and top with pine nuts, basil (if using) and cheese.

*To shave Asiago cheese into thin strips, use a vegetable peeler.

Now…about the giveaway, with each week’s recipe post I will be giving away to 2 winners 1 coupon each for a FREE Tyson Heat ‘N Eat Entree. This has a value of up to $6.99 and is a great way to try something new.

To Enter (mandatory 1st Entry) Leave me a comment telling me how you would serve the Beef Brisket in Burgundy Sauce. Be creative, I’m always looking for new recipes and meal ideas for my family.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each one that you complete)

1. Tweet this “Win a FREE Tyson Heat ‘N Eat Entree from @MomMaven http://bit.ly/LL20A” and leave a comment with the URL of the tweet
2. Digg (Digg.com), or Prop (Propeller.com) this post with a comment and post the URL here in your comment for each one you you
3. Subscribe to my RSS feed-click on the orange heart icon in the sidebar (current subscribers just let me know you subscribe)
4. Follow my blog by becoming a follower on Google Friend Connect (current followers just let me kow you follow)

This giveaway ends 6/28/09 at 7:00pm. US and Canada entries only.

Happy Father’s Day! Here is a guest post by Pastor Johann Christoph Arnold.

Re-founding Fathers
Johann Christoph Arnold
for Father’s Day 2009

Many problems in our society will be solved when young men are willing to become good fathers. Of course, they can do this only if they have an example to follow. As fathers, we need to be the strongest role models for children, especially for our sons.

I loved my father. He had a tremendous sense of humor, but he also was strict and set boundaries which I didn’t always appreciate at the time. I always knew he loved me. Once when I was eight or nine, I angered him so much that he threatened to punish me.  I looked up at him and, before I knew what I was doing, blurted out, “Papa, I’m really sorry. Do what you have to do-but I know you still love me.” To my astonishment, he leaned down, put his arms around me and said with a tenderness that came from the bottom of his heart: “Christoph, I forgive you.”

Like many fathers today, my father’s work sometimes kept him away from home for long stretches. I remember as a five-year-old, if I refused to obey, all my mother needed to do was to show me his picture. “Your Papa wouldn’t like it,” she’d tell me, and I’d give in.

I felt very secure just being with my father. As a small boy I decided I wanted to be like him when I grew up. This relationship held me through hard times, even after his death. Now I want to pass this on to my children, grandchildren, and to all of you.

Fathers, if you love your wife and if you love your children, give them your time. Spending time together will give your family inner and emotional security. This is much more important than financial security. The Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral writes, “Many things can wait. Children cannot… To them we cannot say ‘tomorrow.’ Their name is today.”

The love we show our children by giving them our time and attention can hold them in good stead even years down the road. As Dostoevsky reminds us in The Brothers Karamazov, “You must know that there is nothing higher and stronger and more wholesome for life in the future than some good memory, especially a memory of childhood, of home…For if a man has only one good memory left in his heart, even that may keep him from evil.”

To be a father is to fulfill a noble vocation. But fatherhood is not for everyone: it is not for cowards or for those who are unsure of themselves. Once we become fathers, we remain fathers until we die. A true father must be a leader-a captain who guides his family’s ship through perilous waters to safe shores, a general who rallies his troops to take on the daily battles.

On the other hand, a father should also model love and compassion. Jesus was not afraid to compare himself to a hen gathering her chicks. He also wept. These qualities belong to true manhood, and a true father will seek to embody them.

Finally, I believe even the best intentioned fathers will not be able to fulfill their task without finding a firm faith in God. When they do, our families and the entire country will be strengthened, because strong families form the backbone of our nation.

[Johann Christoph Arnold is a pastor and author of ten books, which are now available as free e-books at www.plough.com

There are many different ways to homeschool and it is almost impossible to list and describe them all. I am going to cover the basics as the others are combinations or tweakings of the basics. Please also know that I am speaking in generalities here. One of the joys of homeschooling is freedom. The freedom to educate our children in the way they best learn.

• Textbook based or School at Home-This is what most non-homeschoolers envision when they think of homeschooling, though I doubt it is the most popularly used among homeschoolers themselves. These families often get all of their curriculum from 1 supplier like Abeka, Bob Jones or CLASS and work systematically through the books in their “schoolroom” or at the kitchen table. This is often how many homeschoolers start homeschooling, especially if their children had attended a public school previously

• Unit Studies- Families who use Unit Studies work in one topic for several weeks or months but they work across the curriculum on that topic. Of ten families who use Unit Studies have each child in age appropriate math but work in history, reading, writing etc into the topic they are studying. Parents can design their own unit studies or there are many pre-designed studies on the market today. Unit Studies are great for working with multiple children of differing ages.

• Unschooling-Unschooling is also known as interest-led or child-led learning. Unschoolers learn from everyday life experiences and do not use school schedules or formal lessons. Instead, unschooled children follow their interests and learn by experiencing, researching and asking questions.

• Charlotte Mason Method-The Charlotte Mason method has at its core the belief that children learn best from real-life situations. According to Charlotte Mason, children should be given time to play, create, and be involved in real-life situations from which they can learn. Students of the Charlotte Mason method take nature walks, visit art museums, and learn geography, history, and literature from “living books,” books that make these subjects come alive.

• Eclectic-Eclectic or Relaxed homeschooling is the method used most often by homeschoolers. Basically, eclectic homeschoolers use a little of this and a little of that, using workbooks for math, reading, and spelling, and taking an unschooling approach for the other subjects.

Homeschoolers also use methods like lapbooking, notebooking and other project based ways of learning to supplement the constant use of textbooks and tests. Most children learn best when they experience something. Homeschooling gives families the freedom to get their hands dirty and learn together.

Do you want more information on homeschooling? My friend Cindy Rushton has completed her Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2009 but, since it is a virtual expo, you can attend any time! I love being able to listen to a seminar when it fits in my schedule and I can listen in my pajamas and no one else knows! To check out the Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2009 just click on th link.

Do you need help planning your family vacation? Can’t decide where to go? FatPassport.com is full of family vacation ideas.
This website as a very user friendly trip engine. You use the drop down menus to set the parameters for your perfect vacation and the trip engine goes off and finds recommendations that match your parameters. It brings back results so that you can click through and find the perfect destination for your vacation.

Oh, did I mention that this is a FREE service? Here are 2 of the results that it brought back for my search. Hmmm, Toronto would be a nice change from this Florida heat. Checkout FatPassport for all of your family vacation ideas

This post is sponsored by family vacation ideas

When a teen gets their drivers license it is a huge rite of passage in their lives, and a new source of concern for their parents. As a mom of a 16yo boy, I know this all too well. My son doesn’t have his license yet but he has had his learner’s permit for over a year. He can’t get his license until he has a job and can pay for his insurance. Aaron has had 3 driving instructors, myself, my father and my mother-in-law and I believe he is a very responsible driver.

Aaron driving the Beemer.

With summer revving its engine, classes ending and summer jobs starting, it’s a great time of year for teenagers.

However, between driving to work, taking road trips and joyriding without care, teens are on the road a lot more in the summer months. It is no surprise, then, that data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows an annual spike in traffic accidents, injuries and deaths among young people in the 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

As teens start cruising around this summer, it is important for parents to remind them how to stay safe behind the wheel.  Below are a few quick tips for parents of teen drivers from http://www.thinkbeforeyoudrive.org.

Create a driving contract for your teen, and be prepared to stick to it. A driving contract is a great way to let teens know that driving is both a privilege and a serious responsibility. It also establishes clear expectations about driving for your teen: always wear a seat belt, never get into a vehicle with someone who’s been drinking, etc. A customizable contract template is available at http://www.thinkbeforeyoudrive.org .

Choose an ICE contact. All drivers should designate an emergency contact in the address book of their cell phones under the name “ICE” – In Case of Emergency. Emergency workers in many towns check for an ICE contact in cell phones.

Set a good example. Practice what you preach. When parents run red and yellow lights, speed down the highway at 75 miles per hour, weave in and out of traffic, ride the bumper of the car in front of them and exhibit signs of road rage, they are telling teens that rules don’t count – and this can be fatal. Be a role model for your teen.

ThinkBeforeYouDrive.org has some great videos in their Driving 101 area and an online Road Test too. Aaron and I checked out the site and it was interesting and informative.

A few teen driver tasks from The Mom Maven’s Homeschool Driver’s Education files. In addition to safety and driving evaluations:

• Teen driver must demonstrate how to check tire pressure and inflate tire
• Teen driver must demonstrate how to change a tire
• Teen driver must demonstrate how to check the oil
• Teen driver and parents must create a driving contract

Driving is a privilege, not a right. Anyone who cannot follow the rules of the road should have their driving privileges suspended until they are mature enough to handle the responsibility.

Check out ThinkBeforeYouDrive.org and Drive safe!

What rules have you set up for your teen driver? Please share them in the comments so we can all learn together.

I LOVE Wendy’s Frosties. They are such a cool, yummy treat. Did you know that for the past three years, Wendy’s has made it a Father’s Day Frosty Weekend tradition (June 20-21, 2009) to donate 50 cents from the sale of each Frosty to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. The money raised goes to the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, which funds full-time adoption recruiters at local agencies across the U.S., who in turn pair up parents with foster care children needing homes. So, you and your family can enjoy a tasty (and affordable!) Frosty together, knowing this campaign assists children across the country in finding a family of their own.

Involve the kids in this great cause by having them create a fun Father’s Day eCard on FrostyCard.com. For every card they send, Wendy’s will donate an additional 25 cents to the Dave Thomas Foundation. Kids can attach coupons for “taking out the trash” or “washing the car” onto the cards for Dad.

For every card they send, Wendy’s will donate an additional 25 cents to the Dave Thomas Foundation. Kids can attach coupons for “taking out the trash” or “washing the car” onto the cards for Dad.
I’ve wanted to share this photo of Jordan forever and since this post is about Wendy’s, I asked him if I could. This was taken at Wendy’s in Haines City, FL on 9/7/07. Have fun at Wendy’s this Father’s Day weekend and help a child find his forever family.

UPrinting.com is sponsoring a photo contest. They are searching for the best summer picture.  I have done a lot of digging through all of my pictures to find the one I wanted to enter. It was a hard decision, I take a lot of photos, especially at the pool. I chose this one.

It is a photo of Ron and Jordan exploring a waterfall in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on our vacation in 2005. This picture has long been a favorite of mine because of the way they are holding hands and carefully stepping on the slippery rocks.

I don’t know if I will win the $250 prize but I am thankful to Uprinting.com for asking me to dig through my photos and find a summer favorite.

UPrinting.com is a leading online provider of business cards, color brochures and mailing postcards. Please see UPrinting.com for all of your printing needs.