Carnival of Family Life #74 - The People's Choice Edition

Welcome to the 74th Edition of the Carnival of Family Life - The People's Choice Edition. First, I would like to thank Kailani at An Island Life for giving me the opportunity to host this esteemed Carnival. Second, I apologize if any family related submissions were left out. Blog Carnival had a major glitch this week and deleted posts submitted prior to the afternoon of Thursday, October 4. We think we recovered all of them, but are sorry if we missed some. Third, per Carnival guidelines, each blog was only allowed one submission, even in cases where there were different blog authors. For multiple submissions from a single blog, I chose to use the earliest submission.

Finally, doing this Carnival was a great affirmation of the outstanding family blogging community. I read every submission and they were all excellent.

Here's a little background on this week's edition. It's called The People's Choice Edition, because you, the reader, can vote for every post you like. For your convenience, I have grouped the submissions into eight categories: Parenting, Celebrations, Fun Activities, Life Lessons, Education, Health, Commentary, and Miscellaneous. Within each category, the posts are listed in the order they were received (a reward to early submitters:-). You are able to vote for all posts you like using your own criteria. Voting for more than one post or for your own post is acceptable. The only rule is that each individual computer can only submit votes one time for each poll. (You'll see why once you vote:-)

Now on to the Carnival:

Parenting

Good parenting is an art and the set of skills is often passed from generation to generation. Here are this week's submissions that provide insights, guidance and principles on the art of parenting:

Amanda Regan presents Secrets of parenting. posted at The GOOD, The BAD & The MISCHIEF, saying "Secrets of parenting I learnt the hard way."

SummerM presents Sibling Rivalry posted at Our Family Village. Having been an only child, sibling rivalry is a new experience for this parent.

K T Cat presents I am an Evil Father posted at The Scratching Post, confessing that he gets his daughter to eat vegetables without her knowing it.

FrugalTrader presents The Breast is Best posted at Million Dollar Journey, saying " An article describing the advantages of breast feeding. Both financial and practical."

therapydoc presents Stealing from the Closet posted at Everyone Needs Therapy. Not surprisingly, we are our parent's children :-)

Aruni Gunagesaram presents She Went to School in a Pull-Up and Came Home Wearing Underwear posted at Entrepremusings, saying "Potty training is a rollercoaster of ups and downs. Currently, my family is going through an upward trend."






Abel Cheng presents Be Careful What You Say to Your Child - You Could Ruin His Life posted at ParentWonder.com. I agree children seem to learn by example from their parents, both good and bad.

Karen Murphy presents how to stop freaking out posted at Lion and Magic Boy. This makes my tough days look easy.

Linsey Knerl presents My Little Person.... posted at Facipiers and Stinky Toes. Here are the signs that your baby is becoming a "person."

Super Saver presents Lessons From My Dad - Encouragement posted at My Wealth Builder, giving tribute to his dad's support throughout his life.

Stephanie presents Good Tow posted at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood, observing how her son responded to selling his old toys.

Kevin Heath presents Parenting and Taming The Video Game Monster posted at More4kids, which shares guidelines for video game use by Stacey Schifferdecker.







Celebrations

Enjoying life is about celebrating every day and special events. Never miss a chance to celebrate an event! Here are submissions that celebrate milestone events:

mom & dad present Planning a Ten Year Old Birthday Party posted at raising4boys.com. This will be the first sleep over party for their son.

Kailani presents Welcome Home Heroes posted at An Island Life. Here's a touching moment about our returning troops.

Doris Chua presents Terrific TWO! posted at Life, Travel, Passion & More. Her son has a second birthday party.

Deb presents Guess what I got in the mail today? posted at Mom Of 3 Girls, saying, "Come check out what my dad sent me - a month early!"






Fun Activities

Looking for something to do? Here are some great ideas from the blogosphere:

Erica Douglas presents 31 Kids Activities for October posted at Littlemummy.Com. Check out this list for some fun activities.

Debbie presents Paella Success posted at Delicious Baby, saying, "During the month of October I will be travelling to Spain with my family and blogging about the experience."

Jenny presents Race The Day Away posted at the so called me. This reminds me of how much I love video games and the reason I don't own one :-)

Brian presents Finding my Marbles again posted at welikeplay.org. This article reminded of the great fun games that existed before computers.

Donetta presents School Fund Raiser at the Skate Rink posted at A Life Uncommon, saying "School Fund Raiser at the Skate Rink "






Corey presents F.......is for Follow-up! posted at Living and Loving Every Minute of It!. Check out the apple man, Sigfried the Fuji!

George presents Baby Halloween Costumes posted at Man and his Baby. Some great pictures of some very cute costumes!

Csara presents Have Fun Indoors with Your Child posted at Baby Talkers. Here are some excellent rainy day activities.

Jennifer in OR presents My Elk Hunt and Shoot posted at Diary of 1. A photo shoot, in case you're wondering.

Jessie2850 presents Halloween Fun posted at Hunna's Happenings, offers a follow up to Halloween called Booing to extend the fun and treats.






Life Lessons

To me, learning never ends. Life is a continual process of learning from childhood and throughout adulthood. For reference, while not all the posts were directly "family" related, I thought they could be relevant to families.

David B. Bohl presents Life Coaches Blog Column: The Science of Happiness — Writing Your Own Formula for Happiness posted at David B. Bohl. He writes, "The formula for "happy" for each of us is different because there are so many factors that contribute to individual happiness. There's the happiness we may feel in having a career that is going well. There's the happiness we feel in being with people we love and can be ourselves with. There's the happiness that comes from helping others – from going out of our way to do something, unasked, for someone else that improves their life or circumstances. And there's a different kind of happiness we feel when we get the tax refund check in the mail or find a great positive error in our favor in the old checkbook. "

WorksForMom presents Wake Up Call posted at What Works For Us. She reflects that sometimes a "normal" day is much appreciated.

Tupelo Kenyon presents Choose the Companionship of Positive People Who Inspire You posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "If the people you spend the most time with are inspiring, supportive, encouraging, and they demonstrate qualities you want to emulate – great, you are on the right track. If not, it's up to you to do something about it. Life is too short to put up with other people's pity parties, complain -and-moan marathons, and oh-woe-is-me clubs. (Enjoy soothing instrumental music as you read plus songs with lyrics related to each article – all free.)"

SingForHim presents Reclaiming Autumn posted at Real Life, saying, "As I walked into Lowes' Hardware last week, I felt like I should start belting out a chorus of Silent Night and passing out the egg nog. There was a parade of shiny new Christmas trees reminiscent of the Charlie Brown Christmas. And of course, my three princesses liked the white sparkly one the best. I love the Christmas season. But I began to feel a little bit cheated out of my favorite season: Autumn."

luvmy4sons presents Home Sweet Home posted at Do You Weary Like I Do?, saying "Going home after vacation."

MC Milker presents Pirates, Guns, Impulse Control and Apologies posted at The Not Quite Crunchy Parent. It's good to have neighbors and friends help with the process of socializing kids.

Dana presents Signs of Progress posted at Mombian, observing how her son is responding to questions about his parents.





Edith Yeung presents How to Achieve Your Childhood Dream by Randy Pausch at Edith Yeung.com Think Dream Act. This post shares the touching "last lecture" by Dr. Randy Pausch, from Carnegie Mellon University, who recently was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Holly Schwendiman presents Fall Is In The Air at Holly's Corner, reflecting on how time is passing, although it sometimes feel it doesn't.

Hal Sommerschield, Ph.D. presents The Power Of Accepting Differences posted at North Star Mental Fitness Blog, notes the power of agreeing to disagree.

My Bubble Life presents Where is your focus? posted at Unleash Your Potential Through Christian Faith. "I came across a message that Minister Aaron Wood preached called "Running the Race". It was an excellent message about perseverance. Staying focused and not letting anything pull you off course."

Whymommy presents Do you even know how beautiful you are? posted at Toddler Planet, provides some great perspective as she recovers from cancer.

FamilyBriefs presents The Measure of Success posted at Family Briefs.com, reflecting that "success" has many dimensions.






Education

From books through college, here are the posts on educating your child:

Joy presents Cornell University offers 19 online programs posted at Online College Blog, saying "If you are looking for a way to increase your knowledge and improve your resume, you may want to consider Cornell University. Promising 'Ivy League Excellence, Online Convenience,' Cornell University has the 'most comprehensive, online professional and executive development curriculum offered by any top-20 university in the United States' (eCornell, 2007)."

Melitsa presents Sensory play 5 Taste posted at Play-Activities.com. A great article about teaching children about their senses.

Lill Hawkins presents Don't Know Much About Mad Scientists posted at News from Hawkhill Acres. "Whether you're an unschooler, homeschooler or schooler, there's a series of books that you should add to your library list. It's Kenneth C. Davis's Don't Know Much About series."

Stephanie presents Frugal Books, Frugally posted at Stop the Ride!, offering ideas for obtaining new knowledge frugally.

artThailand presents Founders Day posted at artThailand shares the graduation "last day" ceremonies at his daughter's boarding school.

Lori Cooperstein presents Tips for Starting a Kids Book Club posted at Lori, saying, "This is the first in a series of 3 articles."






Health

As I've grown older, I realize my health is very important. As Mickey Mantle said, " If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself. " Here are some great posts about health.

FitBuff presents 10 Tips for Aging Gracefully posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "Now, fast forward 10, 25, or 50 years. You made it. You're still alive. Your tattoos are barely legible on your sagging, wrinkle-ridden skin. And your retirement-home buddies aren't interested in your wild stories of "The Burning Man," because they can barely hear you as you struggle to speak between your smoking-induced coughs. Don't you wish you had done a few things differently? "

Kate Baggott presents Race for the Cure posted at Babylune, saying "How to teach your children to keep hope a few steps ahead of despair."

Bill presents 10 Things you need to know about dealing with a pregnant woman posted at Almost a dad, saying "Blog written by an expectant father about caring for and living with a pregnant wife."

Derek Brown presents Your Doctor Doesn?t Want You To Know. So Tell Him! posted at Omega 3 Investigations, saying "I am asking you to read and comment on this story because I believe it may have a life changing affect on you or someone you love. Please take the time to forward this story on to someone you feel might benefit from the information. There is also a Poll/Survey/Comment form at end of this story. I would be grateful to hear your thoughts and comments. Thanks."

Megan Bayliss presents Fattening kids for child sacrifice posted at Imaginif child protection became serious business., saying "The ancient Inca Indians appear to not be the only ones who fattened their children up for sacrifice. Are we following in their footsteps by feeding our children the wrong diet. Work against childhood obesity by helping children in your community. Charity and change starts with you at home."

Tiffany Washko presents Eco Friendly Halloween posted at Natural Family Living Blog. Making Halloween candy healthy is a great idea. What will they think of next :-)

Kyle James presents Fall Season Means Good Food posted at Rather-Be-Shopping.com Blog, saying, "Post on unhealthy foods your family should try and avoid this fall, at least a little bit!"






Aparna presents Home remedies for burns posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming, saying, "In the morning rush hour, it’s quite common for you to inadvertently touch a hot dish which you have just removed from your microwave oven, or sustain minor burns and scalds while handling gas-stoves. That is enough to get you in a frenzy, and you comb every nook and corner of your house and almost turn your house topsy-turvy in your frantic search for the elusive first-aid box. However, in this process, you more or less forget about the throbbing burn which badly needs your attention."

Mommy Poppins presents Sensory savvy snacks help kids do better in school posted at Mommy Poppins—Get more out of NYC for kids, saying, "Better snack foods can help kids perform better in school."

Lisa Mitchell presents Another Reason to Breastfeed posted at Let's Talk Babies sharing that breast feeding can reduce the risk of cancer for first-time moms over 25.

HowToMe presents How To Make a Deodorizer Spray posted at HowToMe. "Since you want only pleasant aromas throughout your house, consider a fragrance that is pleasing to you, while keeping everyone breathing healthy aromas."







Commentary

Looking for humor, politics or being green, look no further. While you may agree or disagree, these posts will stimulate your thinking:

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Not Tickled Pink About Girlish Pink Guns posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness. What will marketers think of next?

Ariah Fine presents Cloth Diaper Dilemma posted at Mother Approves Blog. Less rash or less garbage are the opposing sides.

Bob Crawford presents Create Your Day the BOB Way! Part One: Your Morning posted at Growing Your SELF - Bob Crawford Online, saying "Learn to create your day! Give yourself the edge when it comes to manifesting your dreams. It's your day - you get to choose what kind of day it will be. Choose well!"

Suzanne presents rant: television posted at :: adventures in daily living ::. If you hate TV, read this:-)

Jon Swift presents Bush to Kids: Grow Up! posted at Jon Swift, saying, "With his veto the President has stood up to Congress' plans to turn more of our children into wards of the state by expanding SCHIP and started weaning them off of government dependence. Toughening up our children will make sure they are up to the task of fighting the wars of the future."

Ian presents Why Country Music is Better Than Most posted at A Call For Volunteers - Review Your Religious Education Material!, commenting that "there is something in Country music that goes to the heart of the 'good life'. "

Summer presents School Student Assaulted Over Birthday Cake posted at Mom Is Teaching, which shares an excessive force incident at a California high school.






Micellaneous

Here's the best of the rest. These worthy posts didn't quite fit into any of the other categories.

Doris Chua presents Our Son's New Room posted at Home Office Women. Her son gets a great new play room.

Frugal Panda presents 57 Creative Ideas to Save Money As a Pet Owner posted at Frugal Panda. My personal favorite, which is not included on the list, is to have friends and neighbors who have pets:-)

Jody DeVere presents Cool Car Stuff for Moms -- and More! posted at AskPatty - Automotive Advice For Women. Although there is some useful stuff, I'm still waiting for the car seat that lifts our daughter from the ground and automatically buckles her.

Chicago Pop presents Nude on a Staircase posted at Daddy Dialectic gives a good reason to be in this situation.

Christine presents The color of ORANGE in all of it’s Autumn Splendor posted at Are We There Yet?, reminiscing about Fall in the different places she has lived.





laura presents ringmaster of his domain posted at Adventures in Juggling, saying, "this is a tribute to my husband, the head of the family here under the Big Top and one of the reasons he is the ringmaster here."

Robert Bach presents Hannah's Happy Toy posted at Kintropy In Action, saying, "Big brother pitches in to help keep his sister happy."

Stephanie presents Decluttering can Save and Make you Money posted at Unclaimed Money, observing that "Having too much stuff can cost you money."

zamejias presents Ice cream is hot posted at Verb. Wow, a child that doesn't like ice cream.







That concludes the 74th edition of the Carnival of Family Life. I hope you enjoyed reading and voting as much I as enjoyed creating this Carnival. You can check back during the week to see the poll results. The next edition of the Carnival of Family Life is being hosted by manicmama. Submit your blog article by using the carnival submission form.

This is not financial or family advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC