OpinionMom

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

I found this fun quiz over at Motherhood is Not a Cussword. (Can you tell I’m procrastinating from getting stuff done?)

You Are a Frappacino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modernAt your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent You drink coffee when: you’re craving something sweet Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

(Of course, technically I shouldn’t be a coffee at all since I don’t drink it much. I should be a diet soda.)

You know how I’ve been posting these contests and giveaways, right?

Well, I actually won something from 5 Minutes for Mom today. I couldn’t believe it! I had to read the post about three times, but it was still there: Laura from Opinion Mom. That’s me!

Well, this just goes to show how the Lord works things out sometimes. Today was an especially hard day when nothing seemed to go right — that is until I found out about this nice little surprise.

I’ll definitely post a review when I get the items.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

The blog SuperNanny Rules has been running a great series on preventing delinquency. There are two posts in the series:

• Prevent Delinquency Project. This post describes a volunteer program to educate parents about threats that children face.
• The F.A.M.I.L.Y. Model of Parental Supervision. This post describes a model for parental supervision.

Both posts highlight the Prevent Delinquency Project, a group that seeks to prevent juvenile delinquency through proactive parenting.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

You might have been hoping for a review of the new Harry Potter movie. I’m sorry to disappoint. I didn’t see Harry Potter this week. (I’m still hoping to share a review for that movie from a certain guest blogger that I have in mind …)

What I did see was an older movie titled, Are We Done Yet? It will probably come out on DVD soon, so you might still find this review helpful.

(We have a second run movie theater in our town that shows movies for a little more than a dollar AFTER they have finished in the main theaters, but BEFORE they come out on DVD. It’s great way to “try before you buy.”)

There were many parts of this movie that I could really relate to.

• The teenager was sassy and I’ve certainly experienced some sass from my own teens.
• The main character was a magazine writer who worked at home and I work at home as a writer.
• The little apartment they lived in at first was cramped and messy and we live in the first place we bought which is sometimes, you guessed it, cramped and messy.
• The house they bought was beyond a “fixer upper” and the house we live in was a “fixer upper” when we bought it (though it was not in quite as bad a shape).
• I could even relate to the troubles that the character had with his contractor, although not quite to the same extent.

Overall, I would say that Are We Done Yet? is a fairly clean movie. It has a very similar feel to the TV shows that you would find on the Disney Channel or Nikelodeon. There are a few sexual innuendos, but the main characters are married. There is a birth scene, but it is not graphic.

I like that the main character tried to correct his daughter for dressing immodestly and that they prayed before they ate. I didn’t like the fact that the mom character dressed almost as immodestly as the daughter and nothing was said about that. (Both of the thirteen year olds that I saw the movie with picked up on this.)

In a lot of ways, this movie relies on clichés and cheap gags. While we all laughed, it felt a little bit flat in places. I was glad that I didn’t pay full price. When I asked my daughter and her friend what they thought, they had about the same reaction.

“It was okay, but we wouldn’t want to own it.”

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Everyone knows that the library is where you go to check out books. Did you that most libraries offer much, much more? Some of these services, that would cost you money elsewhere, are offered for free to library patrons.

Usually all that you have to do to be considered a library patron is live the local area that the library services and sign up for a library card.

Here are some free services that we have used from our local library:

• Borrowing movies on VHS and DVD. Most libraries will loan classic movies to you at no additional charge. You check them out with your library card, which means that you get to keep them longer. Granted, you probably won’t find the latest blockbuster at the library. However, many libraries have movie classics. This library service came in handy about a year ago when our daughter decided that she loved the old Wizard of Oz movie (you know, the one with Judy Garland). While the local video store didn’t have the movie in stock (they had lost their only copy), the library had several copies. We were able to check a copy out and keep it for two weeks. At the end of two weeks, my daughter renewed it and we kept it for another two weeks.
• Story and Activity Time for Preschoolers. Our local library has wonderful year-round story and activity times for preschoolers from four months to six years. For one of these preschool story times the librarian read them a book about a fire truck and then they went to the parking lot where a real fire truck was parked!
• Summer Story Time and Reading Club. During the summer the library expands their storytime programs to include programs for older children. Our kids have enjoyed attending these programs which always include a craft, exhibit, or other hands-on exercise. In addition, the summer program includes a summer reading club where the kids are challenged to record the number of books that they read.
• Internet Access. Our library offers free limited access to the Internet for library patrons. It also has a free Wi-Fi connection, so if you have a laptop you can access the Internet from within the library. (For comparison, many places such as Starbuck with Wi-Fi connections charge you a fee.)
• Reference Desk. Most libraries have a reference librarian who is more than happy to direct you to information and materials on a particular subject.
• Exhibits by Local Artists. Not only does our library create displays featuring local authors — they also regularly display artwork, historical artifacts and photos, and local craft items. I have enjoyed viewing the library displays over the years and I know the kids have learned from them.

These are just some of the free services offered at my local library. Isn’t it worth checking to see what additional free services your local library offers?

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Here are some fun contests around the blogosphere:

• Mandisa giveaway at 5minutes for mom. Mandisa, of American Idol fame, is coming out with a book and CD. You could win either, or both!
• NeatReceipts Scanalizer giveaway at 5minutes for mom. Hurry! The deadline is almost up! You can get rid of paper clutter with a neatreceipts scanalizer. This may be just what you’ve been looking for.
• chic Buds giveaway at an Island Life. If you go to her new blog, you can enter to receive these cool earphones! (I don’t know about you, but we are always losing earphones. New ones would be great.)
• I also read an announcement about a free iPhone giveaway at an Island Life. The contest is actually sponsored by Mr. Gary Lee. A lucky winner will get the latest in wireless phones without spending a penny!
• Eliza has her own long list of giveaways at I’m a Home Mom. (Eliza always manages to find the best stuff! If she’s not on your daily reading, she should be.)
• You could win babysitting from PreschoolRock.com. What parent wouldn’t want six months of quality babysitting?
• If you can write a good essay and live in the U.S. you could win a whole spa package at a girls gotta Spa! The prize package is full of beauty goodies …
• Here’s one for your kids! If your kids can think of a math idea and submit there are prize packages to be won! (Homeschoolers, this may be for you.) Check out the rules at googol learning.

Are you giving something away at your site? Let me know and I’ll post it here.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

This is a serious post about a serious issue — the safety of our children. In the interest of protecting our children, there are a couple of sites I would like to make you aware of.

1. Parents Against Predators Act. This act requires sexual predators to disclose their screen names and prohibits them from lying about their age online. (My blogging friend, Mihaela Lica, first made me aware of this site. Mihaela is also one of the founders of Blogger Power, a site dedicated to protecting children online.)
2. Internet Safety For Our Children’s Sake. The professional educator has championed Internet safety for the past two years. The site is full of valuable information about the dangers to our children of cyber bullying and social networking as well as pornography and predators.
3. Imaginif. This site describes itself as “the largest child protection conversation in the world.” I don’t know if this is true, or not. What I do know is that the site is full of resources that deal with the problem of child abuse and trauma. (I found this site through Angel Mama’s All Women Blogging Carnival.)

If you’re a parent, I urge you to check these sites out. Educate yourself about the issues. Make appropriate responses to the issues. Why? Because child safety doesn’t just happen, we make it happen.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

The summer is upon us and with the summer comes that question that every mom is afraid to hear.

“What do I do Mom?” (This is usually uttered in a whiny tone guaranteed to irritate even the most patient mom.)

On the heels of that question is the dreaded statement,

“I’m bored.” (This is usually said loudly and repeated often.)

Now, I’ve tried telling my kids that only boring people get bored. It doesn’t work.

I’ve found some kid-pleasing activities using some of the sites of my blogging friends. I thought I’d share them with you today.

• Free Stuff 4 Kids. There’s a lot of free stuff here to keep your kids busy. Plus, the price is right!
• Printables For Kids. There’s coloring pages and more here. Plus, the site links to other color page sites.
• Doll Diaries. What little girl doesn’t love American Girl dolls? She can read all about them and see them dressed up in their finery on this site.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.