Would you like a Parenting Forum?

Do you frequent any parenting forums?

Would you like to see a RaisingSmallSouls parenting forum?

If you don’t know what a forum is, here is a new one of my favorites, specifically for moms: www.momstalkforum.com.

If you would like to see a forum, what categories would be of interest to you, in addition to the categories within the left sidebar?

Thanks!

“All of the flowers, of all the tomorrows, begin with the seeds of TODAY!”

~Ellen

P.S. Over the past 2 weeks (only 6 weeks since the launch of RaisingSmallSouls) my email volume has skyrocketed! Each day I have 50+ individual parenting questions. It would take me most of my free time just to read the emails, never mind contemplating and then writing out replies! So, I hope you all understand that I created a generic email that I will be using to respond to individual questions right now, so that I can remain an attentive mom for my children! I truly wish I could personally answer each question, however I have not yet figured out how to get more than 24 hours into my day! That’s why I thought a forum could be the answer- what do you think?

Guessing Games

Seven-year-old Joey likes to play guessing games.

Each evening, when I put the kids to sleep there’s this period of time they’ve named “hugs and kisses time”. Joey and Jacob share a room, however they alternate going to sleep in the master bedroom, and my husband or I move that child when we go to sleep- so that they are in seperate rooms and actually go to sleep instead of giggling until the wee hours of the morning! Ben has his own room, so I make the rounds to 3 different rooms, give the “hugs and kisses” and talk about each child’s day with him.

Joey always asks me to guess what he did during recess. He has 3 recesses, so I generally say, “Soccer, kickball, catch”. He will laughingly respond, “You mixed up the order and got two wrong; it was kickball, allumination, punchball!”

Lately, he’s started asking to guess things about me, and guessing my breakfast and lunch has become a standard part of his “hugs and kisses time”. It goes something like this:

Me: For breakfast I had oatmeal, yogurt, or Kashi cerial.

Joey: Oatmeal

Me: Nope, Yogurt!

Both of us: Laughter!!!

After guessing both my breakfast and lunch, he sometimes asks to guess what time I’ll be going to sleep. I always give the choices of, “10, 11, or 12″

Tonight, he guessed 11, and I told him he was right.

So what am I doing fully dressed in front of the computer over an hour later?

I wonder if he thinks I always go to bed the time I tell him that I intend to.

I hope he never finds this blog when he grows older:)

And now… Good night!

Purple Handprint and Missing Numbers!

Well, I haven’t even turned the light on in my office as I was not planning to do much more than check my email, when I realized that there are some important updates you need to know about RaisingSmallSouls.com!

The first one is really cool, if I may say so myself, and I’m referring to the purple handprint that shows up on your Firefox tab, and in both Firefox and Internet Explorer’s browser, after you have saved this site in your favorites.

Take a look. Neat, isn’t it? Now, be grateful you don’t need to wash purple paint off a little darling’s hand right now. Well, perhaps you do;)

Now, the important stuff regarding this parenting advice site: There are no more numbers in the links the articles in this posts.

In the past, in order to leave feedback regarding the Animal School Movie, you would have gone to a link that looked like this: http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/26/animal-school-feedback/

As of today, the post will look like this: http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/animal-school-feedback/

So, if you pull up an old email or link, simply delete the “/” and the number, and you’ll be right where you belong:-)

Since I hadn’t planned to write a post, I’ll be heading back upstairs to clean the kitchen- TTYL!

P.S. While surfing earlier I found a hilarious blog created by moms! (Not sure if dads are allowed?) Check it out: http://www.mommybloggers.com/

Smile! Family Portraits!

Yesterday we went to JC Penny and took family pictures!

I had been planning to take my sons for ages… yet I kept procrastinating. Yesterday my husband had the afternoon off, so I made an appointment, dressed the boys in solid-color T-shirts, and off we went!

I had a coupon, so in the end I purchased one of every pose- a family portrait, a photo of my husband and me, and an individual of each of the three kids. Perhaps I’ll make it into a decorative collage, combining all of the images together- if I’m in the creative mood!

I’ll post the pictures when they’re ready, shortly.

Are you a scrapbooker? How are you at keeping your family albums up-to-date? Is it a project of your own, or does your partner or child help you?
{I’m terribly embarrassed to admit that I’m about 3 years behind:( }

Plastic Cup Activity for Children!

Activity for Kids

Subscribe to Comments- New Feature

There is a new box at the bottom of the articles throughout RaisingSmallSouls that will allow you to subscribe to comments for that particular article. This feature will come in handy when you ask a question- you’ll be notified when an answer has been posted! Or, if a certain parenting topic is one that you are facing now, subscribe to the comments for that article, and you may gain new insights and ideas!

Jacob is due home any minute, and I want to get a lasanga in the oven before that, so I’ll sign off for now:)

24-Hours of Peace-&-Quiet

“Twenty-Four-Hours of Peace-&-Quiet!”

To download your free copy of the unique coloring book consisting of optical illusions and geometrical shapes, follow the link below.

P.S. Please feel free to pass the link on to your friends:)

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/coloring.html

P.S.S. Scroll down to read other parents’ feedback, and please leave yours!

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What do you write in a personal blog?

May 10, 2006 by Ellen C. Braun  
Filed under Get to know Ellen

4 Comments

Well, I’ve been neglectful in this category- for good reason, I’ve been focusing on the rest of the site:)

We got back from home from Florida 2 weeks ago, and that was an incredible vacation! There was a ‘day-camp’ in the hotel that Joey (7) and Jacob (5) really enjoyed. Ben (3) preferred to hang out with me, so we had a lot of fun. I did not miss cooking and cleaning while I was there; however I was totally aware that that was a “bubble of reality”- and not the way I’d really like to lead my life!

Now, what does one write about in a personal blog? I’m a fairly private person, so this type of “online journaling” is new to me.

We’re going to Brooklyn, NY for the weekend to my husband’s cousin’s Bar-Mitzvah. The boys are really excited, and being a forward-thinking mom, I plan to buy 2 new story tapes today for use on the four-hour drive, so they stay relatively calm and quiet!

Yesterday I spoke to a former co-worker of mine who, believe it or not, has a dozen children! Each child is a gem- this is one phenomenal mom! I asked her advice regarding a certain parenting matter, and she told me that my instincts had been correct. She also told me that my kids would be the greatest benefactors in my involvement in this parenting site, which was very heartening! Your children, too, will benefit from the time you spend here… so relax, and leave a few comments and questions!

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We’re off to Florida!

April 11, 2006 by Ellen C. Braun  
Filed under Get to know Ellen

6 Comments

The truth is that I did not intend for RaisingSmallSouls.com to be a personal blog. However I’ve had great email conversations with several viewers of “Animal School” that left inspirational comments… and therefore I feel this category is justified in maintianing contact with my visitors:)

We’re leaving in an hour to Florida for nearly two weeks. My children are so excited, they have never been on a plane before! We’ll be meeting my husband, parents, and brother who have already been there for a few days.

Since I launched “Animal School” just two weeks ago, there have been about many new RaisingSmallSouls subscribers! Please be patient… your newsletter will arrive when I return home, toward the end of the month, and I have a lot of exciting and interactive content planned to help all of us with raising our children!

Please continue to leave your inspiring reviews of “Animal School”… although I’ve watched the movie hundreds (thousands?) of times in various stages of production, it never fails to bring a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes.

To our children’s success,

Ellen

PS On RaisingSmallSouls’ homepage, do you think I should move the comment link from the bottom of the page, all the way up, near the link to the movie? Did you notice the comment link on the bottom? I’ve gotten more personal emails than comments… so I’m wondering if visitors simply did not read all the way to the end and realize they could post reviews on the site. What do you think?

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