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Seriously.  Up until last week we hadn’t even had a cold come through our house.  Then last week I came down with a nasty cold that we’ve been passing around.  I got through that, and then this week came down with a stomach virus.  Yucky.  But hey, I lost 5 pounds.  You have to look at the bright side, right?

Since I’ve been sleeping for the better part of the last two days, I don’t have a post ready to go for you.  But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to read.  The MamaBlogga January group writing project has wrapped up, and there are a ton of good posts about “Me Time” to be read.  So please go visit these great blogs, and read all about taking time for yourself!

• Me. Me. Me! by Shawn
• Dear God, Why Me? by Megan Toney
• I’ll take care of me, one way or the other by Daisy
• Me Time by Jill
• I’m a person, not a calculator by Tracy
• Simple Things by Ursula
• Just Like Brigitte Bardot by Mama Zen
• Work IS My Time for Myself by Believer in Balance
• What Time is It? by Mommy Zabs
• Me-Time Is All in My Head by Marta Pelrine-Bacon
• Searching For My “Me Time” by Amanda
• Who Are We Kidding? by mumple
• Me Time by Lisa
• I Need Some Me Time! by Lynnae
• My Time on the Throne by Candace (Mama Mia)
• Did Wonder Woman Ever Cry? by Julie Arduini
• Me Time! by Joleene Libby
• Me, myself and I by Deb - Mom of 3 Girls
• Don’t Just Do Something - Sit There! by phyllis
• My “me time:is what I make of it by MomOnTheGo
• Me Time for Moms by Jordan (MamaBlogga )

I hope to be back into the swing of things tomorrow.  It all depends on how much I can catch up on today. It’s amazing how full my email box gets when I don’t read my email for a day!

Photo by aussiegall.

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I got back into my blogging groove this week and submitted two posts to carnivals.

The Carnival of Family Life was hosted at Write From Karen.  She did a great job.  You just have to pop over there to see the cute gingerbread men!  My post Mama, Marry Me? was included.  Some of my favorites from the carnival are:

• A Peanut Butter Tale at Diary of 1.   Boy, can I relate.  Both of my kids are eating up the peanut butter these days!
• My Run In With the “No Flat Tires” at Life Lessons of a Military Wife.  Haven’t we all made spending decisions we regret?
• 3 Steps to a Personalized Income Plan for Your Children at Gather Little by Little.  We’re working really hard to teach Liz and Sam good money management skills.  This article has some great advice.

The Carnival of Christian Women was held at Dandelions and Daydreams.  I submitted my article The Prosperity Gospel.  Other favorites are:

• The Courteous Evangelist at Pretty Lady.  Nagging someone to accept Christ rarely works.
• Continuing to Hope in the Face of Disappointment at Dandelions and Daydreams.

Have fun reading, and have a great weekend!

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The Mothers and Daughters Blog Carnival has been posted at Real Life!  I submitted my post Parent Teacher Conferences, My Daughter, and a New Perspective.   There are lots of other great posts about mothers and daughters, too.

So what are you waiting for?  Head on over there and get reading! 

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Sarah at Real Life had a great idea for a holiday carnival. She wants to know all about the worst things we’ve received or could receive for Christmas. And boy do I have a few things to add to that list.

First up is loud toys. A couple of years ago my mom gave my 3 year old son a toy bulldozer. It had the lights and sounds and moved across the room. To give my mom credit, when she and her boyfriend picked it out, they were in the middle of Costco, which is a very large store. Things don’t sound very loud in Costco. But when my son opened the present at my dad’s house, the noise was ear splitting. When we got the bulldozer home to our small duplex with tile floors, the noise was downright unbearable.

I tried to find a way to turn the volume down. Instead of a solution, a google search for the toy turned up the Noisy Toys List from the Sight & Hearing Association. Yes, my son’s bulldozer made the 2004 Noisy Toys List. Never buy a toy on the Noisy Toys List. (Mom, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry….we’ve already discussed this :)).

Next, be careful about giving books. If you know someone is into a certain genre, that’s one thing. But giving your daughter-in-law a copy of Scream Free Parenting might not go over so well. Likewise, giving your spouse the book S*x for Dummies probably wouldn’t go over so well either. For the record, neither my mother-in-law nor my spouse have ever committed this offense. I did, however, once give my younger brother a book on how to find a woman. Yes, I am the obnoxious older sister, but you should just see what I put up with from my three younger brothers!

Finally, stay away from home decor, unless you know for sure what the person likes (or you won’t be offended if you don’t see your gift hanging on their wall). Just because you love playing Gears of War on your PS2, doesn’t mean your friend wants to see it hanging on her wall.

I’m sure if I sat here longer, I could think of a million other things that I’d hate to receive for Christmas. I’ll you with my top three, though. To find out what others aren’t liking this holiday season, visit Real Life.

And remember to enter the giveaway for Karen Kingsbury’s Summer, if you haven’t entered already!

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Are you ready to get organized? Christmas is coming up quick, and I know I’m always stressing about getting the house organized in time for the holidays.

With that in mind, I’m giving away two, yes TWO, gently used books by Kathy Peel to help you get your home organized. (both books will go to a single winner).

The first book is The Family Manager Takes Charge. It is divided into three parts. The first part is Taking Charge Around the House, which covers cleaning, organizing, and home maintenance. The second part is Taking Charge of Entertaining, which covers meal planning, cooking, and event planning. And the last part is Taking Charge of Your Family’s Money, which covers financial planning, real estate, and shopping. This book does have a crease in the cover and the first few pages.

The second book is The Family Manager Saves the Day. Also divided into sections, this book covers time saving techniques, parenting, special occasions, and taking time for yourself. This book is in like new condition.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Please leave only one comment, as multiple comments by the same author will be deleted. I will close comments at 12 noon Friday, November 2. I will use a random number generator to pick a winner, and I will post the winner no later than Saturday evening.

Because of the weight of these books, I’m sorry but this contest is open to U.S. residents only. International residents are welcome to enter the contest on my other blog, though. That book isn’t quite as heavy.

Have fun! And for more great giveaways, be sure to visit bloggygiveaways.com!

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I’m so excited to be hosting the Carnival of Mothers & Daughters this week! All of the submitted posts are excellent, so make sure you take the time this week to read through them all! Let’s get to it!

Shalene Kearney presents a beautiful poetic tribute to her mother in Proverbs31WomanWannaBe: Dear Mama (A Poem Just For My Mom) posted at Proverbs31WomanWannaBe.

Shannon tells us about the unexpected blessings of a girl with Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice posted at Rocks In My Dryer.

A Poodle Tale is a humorous story told by Madeleine Begun Kane at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Have you ever wondered what the Disney Princesses actually do?  Find out at Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum: What would the resume of a Disney Princess look like? posted at Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum.

Kim tackles an important issue with HPV vaccine: Yes? or No?  at TheBitterBall.

TaunaLen presents The Rhythm of Parenting Teenagers posted at TaunaLen.  I love the way she describes parenting during the teenage years!  I’m not there yet, but I’m going to remember her post when I get there!

Deb presents Taking sides at Mom Of 3 Girls.  I’ve always wondered what it would be to be a mom of 3.  Deb gives a pretty good description!

SingForHim writes about an important lessons she learned at Victory Through Failure posted at Real Life.

Have you every wondered what’s great about having girls?  Carrie tells us with her post  Thursday Thirteen at Chocolate the Other white meat.

Donetta demonstrates God’s power with Thank You Mother posted at A Life Restored.

Julie Arduini presents Mothers and Daughters Carnival: Overcoming in My Family posted at The Surrendered Scribe.  This is another great testimony to the power of the Lord.

Thank you to all who participated this week!  The next carnival will be in two weeks, and you can submit your articles here.

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I’m hosting the Carnival of Mothers and Daughters next Monday, September 24.  If you have a post that fits this theme, submit it here to have it listed on Monday.  If you’ve never participated in a blog carnival before, I encourage you to do so.  It’s a great way to get connected with other bloggers who share similar interests!

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I haven’t had time to post this morning.  I’ve been too busy reading!  I participated in a couple of writing projects this week, and they were both posted this morning.

First, I participated in MamaBlogga’s September Group Writing Project.  The subject was “What is Motherhood?”  I submitted The Many Faces of Motherhood.  There were 38 participants!  I haven’t quite made my way through all of them yet, but the posts I’ve read so far have been excellent!  Be sure to check it out!

I also participated in the Carnival of Mothers and Daughters with I’m turning into my mother!  There were 20 participants, which is great for a carnival’s second edition!  I haven’t even begun to make my way through those posts yet, but I know I won’t be disappointed when I do.  Head to Real Life to read all about mothers and daughters.  Also, consider entering a post for the next Carnival of Mothers and Daughters.  I will be hosting it, and I would love to include your post.  You can submit a post here.

Finally, I took part in the Carnival of Family Life this week.  I submitted the final installment of our camping adventures.  There are a ton of posts about subjects from babies to marriage to shopping.  Head over to My Two Boys to see for yourself!

So get reading, and make sure to let all the wonderful authors know that you appreciated their posts.  I learn so much from my friends and neighbors in the blogosphere.  Can’t wait to see what I learn today!

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This is the first carnival in which I’ve participated with this blog. I entered my post Our Camping Adventures - Part 1. Head over to downwiththekids.net to read the rest of the entries. There’s some good reading over there!

One of the posts, Boys for me, please at Wired for Noise, really resonated with me. Summer hits on a topic I’m really sensitive about - the over-sexualization of girls these days.

I also enjoyed 10 Ways to Afford to be a Stay at Home Mum (and go back to college) at Littlemummy.com. Little Mummy combines two topics I’m passionate about: Being frugal and being a stay at home mom!

And since I love to read, I really liked The Joy of Reading! at Living and Loving Every Minute of It.

Thanks so much to downwiththekids.net for hosting!

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And you’ll hear about all the good parts of my trip soon, I promise! But first I must say that cleaning up after camping is a huge chore! There is sand everywhere, and I’ve been doing laundry since sunrise this morning, and it’s STILL not done!

Since I haven’t had the time to put together a good post for you, go check out the first Carnival of Mothers & Daughters at Real Life! Lots of people participated, and I can’t wait to read all the posts! I participated with An Open Letter to my Daughter.

So, make yourself a cup of hot tea, have a seat, and read all about Mothers & Daughters. I’ll be back tomorrow with my camping adventures!

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