Natural Makeup, Natural Skin Care Products & Natural Beauty Products--- Free Shipping on Orders over $49. Free Samples....

I use this site to get some of my favorite brands of natural skin care products such as Badger and Hopscotch Kids amongst others! 

Free guitar lessons from one of the best guitar players around & they really do work...

We started our two middle daughters ages 7 & newly turned 9 in on these lessons with both my husband and myself knowing next to nothing about guitar lessons or how to play (although my hubby is an excellent drummer by ear and I have a piano background) and so far we love the progress and enthusiasm they are showing. These are just the best learning videos around in an age where anybody can learn anything with the Net and all. I encourage everybody to try these and when they're for free, how can you turn that down!!! http://bit.ly/LV8ek3

Give This Photo Blanket And Pillow As A Gift To That Special Loved One!

If you’re looking for a gift that truly stands out among all others, a unique birthday, anniversary or Christmas present, that phenomenal photo gift that will be remembered for years, a special gift for a special person, a heart-touching memorial gift, a wedding gift or anniversary present, or simply a gift "just because" then BlanketWorx is your place! We ordered a pillow and blanket for a gift for a relative and they loved it. I'm sure that it will forever and always be a cherished moment when she opened the package and pulled out the beautifully crafted blanket and pillow with a special picture of her grandchildren on it. Don't miss this great opportunity to give the same gift to one of your loved ones or a special person such as a teacher in your life.

Great Father's Day Gift For The Sports Enthusiast...

Check out these balls: Photo Balls that is.  These are some of the most awesome personalized sports gifts you'll find anywhere.  While other companies can print a single photo on a sports ball at BlanketWorx Photo Balls allow you to place from 30-32 photos and/or text on a single ball!.  They offer soccer balls, footballs, basketballs and volleyballs--all regulation size--and for those situations where you want to cleverly display up to 32 photos in a very different way a Treasured Memories Photo Ball. And yes, for distinctly different baseball gift, see their 30" wooden bat that can hold up to 20 of your favorite photos.  Check them out. . . http://bit.ly/L98MXm

Save $$$ On Organic Eco Nuts® Soap Nus Laundry Detergent & Household Cleaner & Be Really Good To Your Skin Especially Those With Eczema...

Our family tried the laundry detergent and can't believe the difference in our clothing but also how soft and gentle it feels especially against irritated skin. Our youngest daughter has Eczema and many detergents and soaps irritate and inflame her condition. Eco Nuts is so gentle and doesn't bother her skin at all.

Eco Nuts® Soap Nuts are a berry that grows in the Himalayas that naturally produces a soap. The soap is called saponin, a natural cleaner that works as a surfactant, breaking the surface tension of the water to penetrate the fibers of your clothing, lifting stains from the fabric and leaving dirt suspended in the water that is rinsed away.

Eco Nuts are gentle on both clothes and skin, making them ideal for those with sensitive skin, eczema, allergies and psoriasis. Because they are so mild, they are perfect for baby clothes and cloth diapers. All-Natural Eco Nuts are also great for septic and grey water systems. But don’t expect these shells to foam up like commercial soaps, which have artificial foaming agents. Foam simply does not represent cleaning power.

Eco Nuts are wild-harvested, meaning they are gathered from wild trees grown without any kind of chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides. The saponin actually tastes bad to insects so no pesticides are needed, and the trees naturally love poor uncultivated soil. They are organically grown by mother earth and certified USDA Organic by Oregon Tilth.

Sibling Love... How Do You Parents Out There Foster This Love?

Fostering Sibling Love

Today I found myself evaluating just how close our baby bunch is in terms of sibling love. I guess it makes sense given the fact that our newly turned 9 year old daughter just returned from camp after being gone from her family for a few days for the very first time. When we were pregnant with them one after another, we wanted so badly for them to be closer than anything and we still long for that. We want to make sure they have each others backs always and that they forever share their special bond in driving mom and dad nuts…and will forever be best friends. We never wished for a girl or a boy but rather just a healthy baby each time and that is what we were so very blessed with. As it turned out we had a girl, a girl, and then a boy in this baby bunch and the three of them couldn't be closer. There is always laughter especially those baby belly laughs and there are always tears for one reason or another and the three of them share in each other's laughter and tears with one of them usually being the cause of the one or the other. In discussing what makes them so close, gender always comes up but I can honestly say that gender isn't an issue but what is is how we as parents foster that sibling love between them. We are always aware of this and always adjusting our parenting styles to accommodate our children and their sibling bonds. Some have asked how we as parents foster the love between our kids?

Here are some key things that Greg and I did intentionally to foster all our children's love.

- Sibling Gifts: When  Fiona was first born, we let our two older children, Kimberly and Lily, pick out a stuffed animal to “gift” to Fiona. They each wrapped their stuffed animal, named it, and gave it to Fiona. There is something about giving a gift that makes you feel love for the recipient. We also had Fiona “gift” the girls something that was very specific to what they loved. So, it was the first start of establishing their relationship with the newest member of our family and so on. We do this with birthdays to add the element of surprise and to make them feel special too.

We gave Fiona a Cabbage Patch doll when Sabrina came home (14 months later) to foster a love for her baby from the get go instead of feeling jealousy towards the new baby and thus established her love and mother hen qualities when caring for her new baby. And then both girls were given charge of their new baby 

brother. 

From the beginning we fostered special nicknames between them for each other. There is something special to a meaningful nickname between siblings to creates a special bond that they don’t share with others.
- “Give one to Nana”. Give one to "Breenie". Give one to "Rexie". We also make them “give” and share things with each other. If one asks for a pretzel or a cookie when we're in the mall, they all get one and we encourage them to share with their brother and sister as if it were their idea and praise them so that their perspective is always one encomposing them all. One for all and all for one works!
- Team FSR! Treat them as a team together as much as possible. Make them high five, hug, and chest bump! They’ll get the sense really quickly that they are on the same team.
We continue to find new ways to encourage our children to be each others best friends because sibling love is so very important to both my husband and myself and would love to hear from our readers how you encourage close bonds in siblings.