This blog has changed and grown and morphed as I have grown and changed and more change is coming. I like change, usually. Change often means growth and new opportunities. During the next month you will see some changes around here. My header is getting an update to include the new name of this blog “MomMaven’s News, Views and Reviews” I think it better encompasses what this site has become. More about reviews, giveaways, family entertainment and I need a place to share my views on things going on in the world so that will have a home here too. I’ll also be changing the look of this blog, it needs a makeover

My travel posts, except for personal travel are moving to my new site TheMomMavenTravels.com. This site is still in its infancy but I would truly appreciate you stopping by and checking it out. Right now it mostly covers Florida travel info but I am working on branching out across the US and hopefully around the world.

I have also just purchased another domain, which I’m not going to share with you quite yet. I get lots of good pitches about products and services that aren’t a great fit for my family personally so I don’t cover them. I know that not all families have 2 teenage boys so I am adding a site that will include more items for families with kids of all ages. My hope is to expand it and bring on a few additional writers-in the future and cover all aspects of life with kids.

I am excited about what the future holds and I’m glad you’re with me on this journey!

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Together Meaghan and Michelle, inspired by their own hurts and healing process, collaborated to write a fiction book “The Unexpected Gift“. “The Unexpected Gift” follows a single mother still seething from her divorce. When she delivers a box of outgrown baby clothes to a down-on-her-luck pregnant 18-year-old, an unlikely friendship is forged. The only thing these women seem to have in common is loneliness, but the two learn that the gift of friendship is the key ingredient for a richer, more fulfilling life. “It was therapeutic to write a story with a happy ending,” says Meaghan, who hopes women will relate to the story and be touched. “At just 150 pages, ‘The Unexpected Gift’ will be a welcome quick read for anyone feeling lonely.”

I read”The Unexpected Gift” this weekend. It is a great rainy weekend book. The story is well thought out and keeps you engaged through out the book. The characters have depth and evolve throughout the story. The end of the story seems to be tied up too quickly, they could have fleshed the ending out more and given us a better ending instead of a quick, neat epilogue. All-in-all it was a good read.

You can win a copy of The Unexpected Gift thanks to Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists.
Mandatory 1st Entry
Leave me a comment telling me about an event in your life that seemed bad or sad at first but turned out to be an Unexpected Gift.
Bonus Entries

• Tweet this ” I just entered to win “The Unexpected Gift” from @MomMaven you can too! http://bit.ly/rOquP” you can do this 3x a day. Leave the link to the tweet URL in the comment.
• Mixx, Digg, Stumble, and/or Prop this giveaway and leave me a link.
• Subscribe to my blog’s RSS feed and/or Follow me on Google Friend Connect. One entry for each of these, please leave a separate comment for each.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end at 10:15pm EDT on 8/31/09.

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How can you share your good cheer? Share it with a RAK (Random Act of Kindness). Do something unexpected and nice for someone else. Make a game of it with your kids, it is a lot of fun and doesn’t have to cost any money. Here are some of the things we have done:

• Let the person behind you in line at the grocery store go before you, even if they have a full cart.
• Offer to return a strangers shopping cart back to the cart corral in a busy parking lot.
• Pay the toll for the car behind you.
• Leave a thank-you card for a waiter or waitress.
• Smile at someone who looks sad or lonely.
• Help a neighbor carry their groceries in from the car.

That is just a small list. Try it. See how many RAKs you and your children can accomplish in a day or week. Make it a habit of helping. You will feel better and so will those that you help.

The post Tuesday Tip-RAKs appeared first on The Mom Maven.

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITY IN AN IRRESPONSIBLE MARKET
By Rick D. Niece, Ph.D., author of “The Side-Yard Superhero”

In a downward spiraling economy, people look for others to take the blame. Finger pointing solves little. Now,
more than ever, we need to take responsibility for our actions. We need to understand that our current actions
affect more than our present situation. Our actions today reflect as models for our children.
As president of the University of the Ozarks, I receive a variety of communications from students’ parents. I am
surprised when they seek out the president on behalf of their sons and daughters. I expect college students to
speak for themselves. I believe responsible children grow up to be responsible adults, and this world needs
responsible adults to lead, guide and influence us.
Teaching begins and ends with parents, so here are six positive recommendations to instill responsibility in
your children.

1. Build Work Ethic
When I was nine-years old, I took over a newspaper route, a route I kept until I entered college. I was
proud to be a miniature entrepreneur. My 72 customers waited anxiously for me to deliver their daily
newspaper. My customers depended upon me, and if I let them down, I let myself down. That
newspaper route helped me grow into being a responsible adult with a strong work ethic.
2. Assign Household Chores
Responsibility can begin at an early age. Assign children routine tasks to complete around the house.
The following chores involve nothing unreasonable or barbaric: make the bed; tidy the bedroom; carry
out the trash; empty the dishwasher; mow the yard; rake leaves; dust, sweep, and mop (not mope).
3. Encourage Saving Money
When children earn money, insist they save some of it. The savings can be for short-term purchases like
video games and clothing, or toward long-term goals like summer camp and college. When children
save their own money, it gives the purchase special meaning.
4. Adopt a Pet
When something depends upon us, we become responsible. Pets—from goldfish to golden retrievers,
turtles to gerbils— require regular and reliable maintenance. But lessons of responsibility are not
learned if Mom or Dad becomes the one who cares for a neglected pet.
5. Foster Reflective Thinking
The power of reflective thinking dates back to Socrates. The concept is a simple one: the more we think,
the better we learn. Children make good decisions and bad decisions. As adults, we can help them think
about why they did what they did, and how the consequences affect them and others.
6. Model Values
We are children’s role models. We are models of honesty and truthfulness, examples of ethical behavior
and integrity. We are the superheroes of ordinary life, and our heroics are as powerful and protective as
our fictional counterparts. We teach that dishonesty and deception have unpleasant consequences, that
unacceptable behavior is unacceptable. But we cannot be worthy examples if we do not model proper
values ourselves. Be diligent. Children are watching.
Rick D. Niece, Ph.D., author of The Side-Yard Superhero, currently serves as the president for the University of the Ozarks
in Clarksville, Ark. He, along with his wife Sherée, work to provide intellectual and cultural enrichment for the 675
students of the University, preparing them for graduate school and professional employment success as well as establishing
lifelong values. For more information, please visit www.RickNiece.com. The report is reprinted here with permission.

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