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How to Start a Toddlers#146; Playgroup By Christine Louise Hohlbaum www.DiaryofaMother.com Your toddler is into everything, and the day feels longer than Rapunzel#146;s hair. How do you keep your little one occupied in a constructive and fun manner? Start a toddlers#146; playgroup! You don#146;t need much in terms of materials, but you will need a space big enough to accommodate the number of children in the group. Too many children in too small of an area can lead to disaster. Ask your local church, synagogue, or community center for a two-hour slot in their building. Make certain that there are enough toys and books for the children to use. If you need participants, advertise in your local parents paper. Oftentimes, parents papers offer free advertising for private groups. You might just be surprised at how many people respond to your ad. They#146;ve probably wanted to start a group themselves and didn#146;t know how! Organizing the playgroup can be simple if you follow a few ground rules. Always start the group in a circle with a few songs of introduction. "My name is Sarah, my name is Sarah, what#146;s your name? What#146;s your name?" is a great song to begin your playgroup. It helps the leader get familiar with each child#146;s name. Next, allow for some free play for the children. Oftentimes, the children are distracted by the unfamiliar toys in the room. Give them plenty of free time to play with the "new" toys and to interact with the other children. Allot 30 minutes for free play. Singing the clean-up song helps teach children that it is time to put away the toys and start another activity. They also learn to help their parents clean up, instead of letting them do it by themselves! Giving the children a snack before craft time is helpful. They are more likely to participate if their tummies are full. Provide a brief, healthful snack (such as fruit or cheese). Once that is cleaned up, you can opt to do a simple craft project or read a story. I like to emphasize literacy even in the smallest of children. Using oversized books of classics such as "Good Night, Moon" or "Runaway Bunny" is helpful with a large group of children. Make sure to ask the children questions as you read along. Even if they do not respond, your diversified tone more likely will hold their attention. Singing songs in which the children are engaged is the most fun. "Old MacDonald," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" are some examples. Borrow a children#146;s songbook from your local library for other ideas. At the end of the playgroup, you can signal that it is time to leave by singing a goodbye song, again in a circle. It helps ease the transition out of the room for toddlers who have a hard time leaving places, and it is a nice way to end a playgroup session. Now go out there, gather your friends and their kids, and have some fun! Christine Louise Hohlbaum, American author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff, has been published in hundreds of publications and appeared on numerous radio programs. When she isn#146;t writing, leading toddler playgroups or wiping up messes, she prefers to frolic in the Bavarian countryside near Munich where she lives with her husband and two children. Visit her Web site: http://www.DiaryofaMother.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

Mom ManagementTM by Tracy Lyn Moland, Author of Mom Management, Managing Mom Before Everybody Else http://www.MomManagement.com For me, Mom Management TM holds a number of meanings, with Managing Mom Before Everybody Else TM being most important. I have always felt that being a Mom is a lot like being a manager. The skills we use to run our homes are very similar to skills used to run a business. Regardless of our individual circumstances, we share a common bond - that of being a Mother. Being a Mom is an incredible experience but it is also very consuming. We have all experienced an incredible change from our pre-mother lives. Most of these changes are very positive but one that we all have trouble dealing with is a loss of our sense of self. At some point, we realize that we have let being a Mom become our entire identity. When my children were two and four years old, I realized that Tracy Lyn was missing. In tears, I realized I had lost my sense of self. In looking for myself, I decided to try doing a triathlon, thus setting one goal. Wow! The focus of that one goal, one thing just for me, re-established my sense of self. That initial goal led to five more triathlons, becoming an entrepreneur, a professional speaker, and now an author. During the long process of finding my true self again, I also became a better Mother. As I realized, being a Mom is not who we are, but rather one of the many other roles that we fill in our lives. The term Mom Management was created as a reminder that the Me in Mommeee still exists, and needs to be nurtured. Flying provides us with the perfect analogy. At the beginning of each flight, we are told that, #147;If flying with children, make sure to secure your own oxygen mask first and then secure theirs.#148; As a Mom, we need to take care of ourselves first so that we can better meet the needs of our families. Rather than put ourselves second we need to secure our oxygen masks first. When we truly care for ourselves, it becomes possible to care far more profoundly about other people. The more alert and sensitive we are to our own needs, the more loving and generous we can be toward others. Eda LeShan Knowing we need to care for ourselves and doing it are very different things. As Moms, we feel that we are being selfish if we take the extra time to pay better attention to our own needs. However, it is not selfishness but an absolute necessity for Moms to be cared for. By taking time to explore their dreams and determining their priorities, Moms have the chance to learn to manage themselves and become their own friend! Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be a friend with anyone else in the world. Eleanor Roosevelt #147;Excerpted from Mom Management, Managing Mom Before Everybody Else copy;2004 Tracy Lyn Moland. Used with permission of The Gift of Time. All rights reserved. http://www.MomManagement.com #148; Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

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"Catwoman" Movie Review The Movie Reporter By Philip Boatwright www.moviereporter.com Starring Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Benjamin Bratt. Created by Bob Kane ("Batman"), Catwoman has always been a bad pussycat, for years being the alluring nemesis for the Caped Crusader. But now she has her own purrrfect movie (franchise) where she now uses might for right. After discovering crooked goings-on in a cosmetics company where she creates graphic designs, mousy Patience Phillips (Berry) is, by means of a mystical twist of fate, transformed into a woman with the strength, speed, agility and ultra-keen senses of a cat. With her newfound prowess and feline intuition, Patience becomes Catwoman, a sleek and stealthy creature balancing on the thin line between good and bad. Dressed in tight black leather and high-heeled boots, the purring pussycat goes up against veteran femme fatale Sharon Stone, while avoiding capture by a confused cop suitor. A mixed bag for me. The positives: it is the best film adaptation of a comic book since the first installment of "Spiderman." The cinematography, special effects and exuberant directorial style all add up to flashy filmmaking #150; which is ideal when transferring animated books to the silver screen. What#146;s more, it doesn#146;t take itself too seriously, it#146;s not as dark and brooding as "Batman," and it#146;s genuinely witty. The film completely avoids objectionable language and does not glorify wrongdoing. Although the lead character walks a thin line between law and disorder, she ultimately does right and even shows regard for life #150; even that of the antagonist. Ms. Berry is (here I go again) purrrfectly cast as the sleek, leather-clad superheroine. As the frisky feline who foils felons and feds alike, she is vulnerable, believable and, sexy. Oh, come on, it#146;s Halle Berry, it#146;s Catwoman, it#146;s tight leather, it#146;s bound to be sexy. That brings us to the downside, which really depends on your view of sensuality in movies. The main character becomes one who lives by her own rules, a crusading vigilante who answers to no one. However, a main element of that empowerment is her sexuality. Berry has been gifted with extraordinary looks and manages to exploit them here, both comically and sensually. One view could be that it#146;s all in good fun, not to be taken seriously. Okay, so we get a lot of backside shots as she saunters away from the camera. It#146;s all meant, you should excuse the term, as cheeky humor. It#146;s as amusing as it is erotic. That said, her voluptuous carnality can#146;t be denied. If you feel there is too much sexuality in movies, then you may wish to avoid "Catwoman." PG-13: (I caught no harsh or profane language; the mysticism of cat power is so farfetched that it shouldn#146;t be taken anymore seriously than the effect bats have on Bruce Wayne#146;s alter ego; some gay humor from a male friend of the lead who lusts over the handsome cop as he enters the room; there is one sexual situation that implies the lead and her new suitor have slept together, but there are no sexual situations; lots of comic book action with martial arts battles, cat fights, if you will, some killings; there are several tense moments that could spook little ones). Video Alternative: "The Phantom." A well-made, tongue-in-cheek salute to the Saturday serials of the #145;30s and #145;40s, based on the comic strip about a purple-costumed hero of the jungle fighting the forces of evil. Aided by his wolf, Devil, and his white horse, Hero, he seeks justice for the good guys and destruction for all evil doers. Lots of laughs for adults and much imagination-inciting adventure for the little ones. But beware, it's jam-packed with derring-do and violence. For further information, visit www.moviereporter.com . "Know Before You Go" reg;Philip Boatwright, Editor Film/Video Reviews from a Family Perspective, Email: moviereporter@sbcglobal.net . Published by C. C. Publications, 835 Northstar Ct., Tonganoxie, KS 66086 More >>

Little Adventures - "Adorable Dress Ups at an Affordable Price" By Jenny Farnsworth www.littleadventures.com As a mother of five, it is a challenge to make ends meet each month. I ran a day care business for two years so I could remain home with my children. As a day care provider, I discovered how much children love to dress up. I went out to purchase some dress ups but was very disappointed. There were no dress ups on the market that met the needs of an active child. I decided to design dress ups for children that were made of quality fabrics, were washable and comfortable. I tried them out on my own children as well as the day care kids. The children loved them so much that many mothers expressed an interest in purchasing them. I saw this as a great opportunity to create a way to get out of the daycare business once and for all. I approached my friend Heather, the mother of one of the children in my day care, with the idea of starting a dress up business. It has not been easy. Pregnant with my fifth child, I have memories of Heather and I sewing hundreds of costumes in the basement after the kids had gone to bed. Sometimes we were nearly in tears. The machines never seemed to cooperate when we were facing deadlines. Broken needles and jammed threads frustrated our efforts. To help us get through the struggles, our husbands tried to make us laugh and helped out a little more at home. There were times we wondered if our business was going to fail, which would have forced me to return to daycare or find employment elsewhere. I desperately wanted to stay at home with my kids and that motivated me to push my own limits. Heather and I decided to look into a local factory where we could turn the sewing over to someone else freeing us up to grow our business. In order to utilize a factory, we faced minimum requirements which meant large, expensive fabric purchases on our tight budget. I remember the big freight truck arriving and filling my driveway with fabrics in every color of the rainbow. I sat next to the pile wondering what I was going to do with all that fabric if our business did not succeed. Amazingly, that fabric was quickly sewn into hundreds of costumes that all sold. In fact, we outgrew the factory and were forced into other options. We currently have our dress ups sewn at a factory dedicated to our products in a small town in Idaho where the economy is depressed and many people are in need of jobs. We also employ five stay-at-home moms to make our accessories. Here we are two and a half years later. We are able to be full time moms to our seven kids. Although we are up late with the business (as most work begins after bedtime hugs) and up early with the kids, we wouldn#146;t have it any other way. We love what we do and are proud to say that We are our kids' moms! We believe that no matter the circumstances, all little girls are princesses and deserve to feel special. We have seen the joy of our own little girls as they dance and play as princesses. We would like to share that same experience with Dr. Laura#146;s kids and allow some to escape their circumstances, if only for a moment, and become princesses. We consider it an honor to donate to Dr. Laura#146;s "My Stuff Bags" program. We hope that as our at-home business continues to grow, our donations will be able to grow as well. Little Adventures Email: info@litteadventures.com Wholesale Website: www.littleadventures.com Retail eBay store: www.stores.ebay.com/mydressuptrunk?refid=stores Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Some Really Cool Things I Learned At Ebay Live! By Cliff Ennico cennico@legalcareer.com If you are selling stuff on eBay, and missed last weekend#146;s eBay Live! conference in New Orleans (co-sponsored by eBay and Entrepreneur magazine), shame on you! More than 12,000 of your competitors were there, and they came away with some great advice about how to build their eBay businesses from over 100 of America#146;s leading business experts (including myself, who spoke on how to avoid being sued by disgruntled buyers). When not speaking myself, I tried to attend as many of the classes, workshops and roundtable discussions as I could. Here are some of the best tips I picked up: To see some of the weirdest things being sold on eBay, go to the home page and type #147;one of a kind#148; or #147;OOAK#148; into the search engine (Jim #147;Griff#148; Griffith, author of #147;The Official eBay Bible#148;) #150; a warning, though, some of this stuff is not for the squeamish When choosing #147;keywords#148; to advertise your auction sites on the popular search engines (such as Google or Yahoo!), do not use somebody else#146;s registered trademark, as the trademark owner can sue you for infringement (Catherine Seda, author of #147;Search Engine Advertising#148;) Don#146;t rely on accountants to tell you about all the tax deductions you can take when running an eBay business; you will be able to deduct more than most accountants will allow if you learn the rules yourself (Barbara Weltman, author of #147;J.K. Lasser#146;s Small Business Taxes 6th edition#148;) More than 20 states have adopted legislation in support of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP), which requires out-of-state vendors such as eBay sellers to charge sales tax when selling to in-state consumers; a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision forbids states from enforcing the SSTP, but legislation is pending in Congress to reverse this decision and allow states to pursue out-of-state vendors who don#146;t comply with the SSTP (Steve DelBianco, Executive Director of the NetChoice Coalition) When hiring employees, don#146;t look for #147;safe#148; people #150; people you know won#146;t sue you if things don#146;t work out; instead, hire the #147;right#148; people for your business and learn to manage them the right way so lawsuits won#146;t happen (Eric Winegardner, Director of Product Certification for monster.com) Don#146;t just list your auction on eBay#146;s site in the United States; for a small additional fee, you can list your auction on each of eBay#146;s overseas sites and reach millions of overseas buyers who don#146;t frequent the U.S. site (John and Kim Kincaid, CollectorBookstore.com) According to a recent survey, 83% of eBay buyers won#146;t even look at your auction site unless you have posted a digital photo of the item you are selling (#147;Beginning Digital Photography#148;, a free handout from the Hewlett-Packard Corporation) By listing your auction site with eBay Giving Works, you can donate a portion of each sale to your favorite charity (#147;eBay Giving Works#148;) Consider changing your eBay user name to your Website address #150; that way people interested in your auction listings can visit your Website and see what else you#146;ve got for sale that isn#146;t on eBay (Chris Murch, President of the eBay Radio Network) If you still don#146;t think eBay isn#146;t #147;big business#148; these days, more than 100 entrepreneurs rented booths on the trade show floor at eBay Live! to talk about the resources they provide for eBay sellers. Some of the more interesting exhibitors I talked to were: The Disabled Online Users Association (DOUA), a nonprofit organization formed to helped handicapped people start eBay businesses out of their homes iSold ItTM, a nationwide franchise of eBay consignment shops formed to help sellers who don#146;t have Internet access, can#146;t figure out how a digital camera works, or otherwise do not want to list their auctions themselves Diane Kennedy#146;s TaxLoopholesTM, which provides a three-day #147;tax strategy camp#148; to teach eBay sellers about all of the business tax deductions they can take TalkinAuction.com, which helps you add audio commentary to your eBay auction listings WhatsItWorthToYou.com, which will review digital photos of your merchandise and give you online appraisals of specific items for $9.95 each MyStoreCredit.com, which helps you offer #147;in-store credits#148; to successful bidders in your eBay auctions that they can use if they bid successfully in your future auctions FreightQuote.com, which calculates the shipping charges for your eBay merchandise and helps you post a #147;calculator#148; on each auction listing so your buyers can figure out the shipping, handling and insurance charges without your having to do it for them #150; really useful if you are running lots of auctions and don#146;t want to calculate shipping for each one separately. Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2004 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

Creative Ways to Raise Money To Start a Home Based Business Carrie Lauth is a work from home Mom of 3 www.money-smart-women.com If you're like many women who want to start a home based business, one of the things that may be stopping you is a lack of funds. While there are many new Network Marketing and Direct Sales businesses that are free to join, it will take at least some money to get things rolling...money for business cards, inexpensive marketing and advertising methods, postage, your own personal products to experiment with, samples, etc. Even if you are starting an online business that markets a service, or that has no physical product, you will need money for domain name registration, web site hosting, low cost advertising and the like. Here are some ideas for raising the needed capital. Get a loan Do you have a relative who would loan you the money to get started? What about that Great Aunt who always said you'd be great in your own business? How about Mom or Grandma? Perhaps they would accept barter (your new product, for instance...good rejection-proof way to get them hooked on it!) in lieu of repayment? Does Grandma have a shed full of stuff that she's been wanting to sell on eBay but doesn't have the energy? Would Mom like to have her house cleaned for the next few months? Ask your sponsor for help If you join a MLM (Multi Level Marketing company) ask your upline sponsor if they would consider buying the starter kit for you, and then taking the profits from your first parties or commission checks as repayment? Some sponsors do this already, but if not, she may be so impressed with your drive to succeed that she will say yes. Have a yard sale This is what I did to get started in my business. This one has twofold benefits...you're making some extra cash but also have a captive audience of people coming to you! If you're really energetic, go around to your neighbors and tell them that if they leave their castaways in a box on the curb, you will come pick them up. Do this before your sale. Slap a price tag on the merchandise and cha-ching! Be sure to make a sign advertising your new product or service and plenty of flyers or business cards to give to each shopper. Sell some stuff on eBay Sell things from your own home (name brand kid's clothes and popular book titles are easy and almost always pull a good price). Go to library book sales and buy books for .10 or .25 and list those. Use your my eBay page to advertise your new website! Release the clutter, sell a useless piece of furniture or item in your home For me, it was the dusty electric guitar. Kitchen appliances (you know what I'm talking about here!) that were going to make your life easier, exercise equipment that makes you feel guilty when you trip over it... Use the money you receive from your tax return Pre-sell the product I got this one from my beloved Kim Klaver. Go around to your tribe (the people who love you enough to do anything you say), your coworkers, neighbors, playgroup Mommies, and show them a "picture" of the product, tell them what it does, collect the checks, deposit them and order your product. You buy the product wholesale and they pay the retail price so you make a profit. Do a quick, temporary odd job A friend of mine just did this one. She put a sign up at a local health food market that said "Non-toxic cleaning services". (Notice that she created a niche). That day she got a call, did a job for an elderly women and made $150. Of course, she used her own nontoxic cleaning product and will probably end up getting a customer out of the deal too! Babysitting for a couple of weeks, dogsitting, housesitting...you get the picture. Talk to your husband Notice I'm leaving this one until last! Hopefully you have the kind of relationship where your husband will be overjoyed that you want to improve your financial standing. If you garner his support in the beginning he is much more likely to be helpful along your journey, with the inevitable ups and downs of business life. Carrie Lauth is a work from home Mom of 3. Visit her on the web at: www.money-smart-women.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

"Sleepover" A Movie Review The Movie Reporter By Philip Boatwright www.moviereporter.com Coming-of-age comedy starring Alexa Vega, Mika Boorem, Jane Lynch, and Sara Paxton. In the summer before their freshman high school year, four girls have a slumber party during which they attempt to shed their less-than-cool reputations. Challenged to a scavenger hunt by their #147;popular#148; rivals, our heroines sneak into a nightclub, hijack a parent#146;s car, seek their first kiss, and begin to learn more about themselves. Though the 14-year-old lead tells a few fibs and gets caught up with the fears of high school social status, she and her fellow 9th-graders are the antithesis of the young protagonists of #147;Thirteen.#148; True, the main character gives her over-protective mother the usual eye-rolling attitude (an outward reflection of the metamorphosis known as female teenhood), but she possesses a sweetness and concern for others that is no doubt a reflection of how she has been raised. When, for instance, the mean girl of the story belittles a classmate for being overweight, Julie (Alexa Vega from the #147;Spy Kids#148; trilogy)immediately embraces the wounded girl into her group, signifying her distain for injustice and clearly judging others more for what#146;s inside a person than the outside. Director Joe Nussbaum (making his feature debut) and writer Elisa Bell (#147;Vegas Vacation,#148; #147;Thirty Wishes#148;) keep things lively. With wit and affection, the filmmakers address the subject of fitting in, but,more importantly, they pass along a message to teen girls that spunk and personality should never take a backseat to physical appearance. That said, the film never becomes preachy. Wisely borrowing heart andhumor from films such as #147;Ferris Bueller#146;s Day Off#148; and #147;Sixteen Candles,#148; they choose to entertain first, teach second. Now, this story is about teen girls and aimed at preteen girls, so adult characters are reduced to the same clicheacute;s as in a thousand other adolescent screen adventures. What#146;s more, the girls are never punished for their nocturnal antics that include driving without a license and vandalizing a security cop#146;s car. However, the humor targeted at buffoonish grownups is never really mean spirited. What#146;s more, the mother rises above the stereotype to be realized as a smart, cool and caring parent. Sorry, guys, the father figure doesn#146;t fare as well. Although loving, he#146;s a bit of a boob. PG (a couple of minor expletives, but I caught no harsh or profane language; the #147;cool#148; girls hold up thong panties, implying that#146;s what they wear; while in a bar, an underaged girl orders a drink with a distinctly sexual title, but she is given a ginger ale #150; she#146;s not there to drink alcohol, but to fulfill the obligations of the treasure hunt; the girls tell fibs and sneak out; a visual grosses out the girls when they see the lead#146;s dad bending down, working under the sink, his pants not quite fitting; one flatulence gag when a dog eats too much pizza #150; it brought the biggest laugh from the screening#146;s mostly juvenile audience; the girls get a date off the internet #150; and while they make a point that it is a safe website, still the practice of hooking up with someone from the internet is not a good film message; a girl sneaks into a boy#146;s house to get his boxer shorts for the scavenger hunt #150; she sees him from behind #150; her eyes wide #150; as he disrobes; while some of this content is objectionable, the overall mood is sweet-spirited, lacking the usual amounts of crudity aimed at a young audience, and the messages in the film are mostly positive, with the lead girls learning respect and helping little girls in the theater realize that that they are not alone with insecurities and fears of life#146;s unknowns; however, the naughty behavior should be discussed #150; attempting to buy alcohol and slashing the tires of a security guard#146;s car #150; it may work for comedy in a movie, but in real life there are consequences for such antics). For further information, visit www.moviereporter.com . "Know Before You Go" reg;Philip Boatwright, Editor Film/Video Reviews from a Family Perspective, Email: moviereporter@sbcglobal.net . Published by C. C. Publications, 835 Northstar Ct., Tonganoxie, KS 66086. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>