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Welcome to HighCountryMommies!
As part of The Mommies Network, HighCountryMommies.com is a free community for moms in Ashe, Avery, and Watauga Counties, North Carolina. We realize that all moms need local support -- and who can't use another friend? HighCountryMommies.com offers a simple way to connect with local moms for friendship, support and fun. Members meet on our private discussion forums to share information on everything from where to get the best haircut to tips on transitioning to a "big kid" bed. Each month, we also offer many face-to-face events for our members, their children and their families.
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forums, events calendar and more! It's free and we'll keep your info secure and private. HighCountryMommies Blog
February is Cultural Awareness Month!
February is Cultural Awareness Month at The Mommies Network, and we're thinking globally! Share a love for foreign language and different cultures with your child in our Multicultural Mommies forum on our National Chapter. Each week, we'll feature several languages and cultural tidbits. You may also participate and strengthen your language lingo in a special webinar. Additionally, our sponsor will provide information on how you can continue your language-learning experience after the month is over.
According to Associated Content, brain research shows that children are at an optimal age for language learning. Although language study is effective at any age, some studies suggest that the human brain is more open to learning a foreign language from birth to preadolescence. Fortunately, researchers have not found an age in which the language window closes completely, especially in the areas of grammar and vocabulary.
Take advantage of this opportunity to think globally, and join us as we learn about foreign languages and different ways of life during Cultural Awareness Month at TMN!
Do You Have Flower Power? Are you looking for some curb appeal? Do you need to beautify your backyard? Spring planting season may be a few months away, but there's no better time than now to grow with HighCountryMommies! We've partnered with Flower Power to bring you a fabulous fundraiser to help you plan the garden of your dreams.
Flower Power sells quality flower bulbs with a 100 percent money-back guarantee. Gorgeous geraniums, tantalizing tiger lilies, and beautiful begonias are just a few of the many bulbs available and ready to be shipped to your door. This fundraiser runs Jan. 22?March 20, 2012, and your bulbs will arrive in April and May, just in time for beautiful summer blooms.
So save some gas and the trip to your local nursery or big-box store, and plan your perfect garden from the comfort of your computer. Visit http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240203/oq89R2Ljw8V5 to view the enormous array of flower bulbs, and spring into Flower Power and HighCountryMommies' fabulous fundraiser!
Special bonus: Spend $40 or more to receive a free bag of 10 Twilight gladiolus, a $10 value.
Grow with us!
Profits made through our fundraising link go toward our chapter's operating expenses.
The New Year's parties may have ended, but our sponsorship promotion hasn't! We're still ringing in the New Year at The Mommies Network with an incredible deal that will have you reaching for your noisemakers.
Moms may have the greatest buying power, sharing business experiences and trends with one another. And since women make more than 80 percent of all purchasing decisions and control two thirds of the nation?s disposable income, targeting this group benefits your company. Resolve to reach this influenial portion of the population by taking advantage of this limited-time promotion.
With all new/renewed sponsorship agreements, your business will receive a complimentary blog feature (advertorial to include logo/product image and 500 words). Prepaid agreements receive a 5 percent discount and a complimentary two months on one sponsorship listing. Sponsors also receive 20 percent off event sponsorships. Offer expires Jan. 31, 2012.
The end of the month is just around the corner, so what are you waiting for? Celebrate with TMN by taking advantage of this amazing deal.
For more details on how your business can ring in the New Year with moms across the nation, please contact Jessica Van Dyke at Jessica.VanDyke@TheMommiesNetwork.org.
My name is Karen Skidmore, and I am the owner of Completely Fit, a personal training and fitness company located in Mount Airy, Md. I am a team leader for one of the groups in The Mommies Network Weigh-In Challenge.
All my team members have started off strong and are working very hard to accomplish their goals. They were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire about their current nutritional and fitness habits, and answer questions about what changes they wanted to create. Based on that information, I have helped each person come up with a detailed action plan that will not only help to accomplish her goals, but more importantly, help to improve her lifestyle.
If you are looking to make a change in your life but are not a part of the Weigh-In Challenge, you too can do it with just a few small changes at a time.
If your nutrition is off track, start by taking away one unhealthy food once a week and replacing it with a healthy food.
If your exercise routine is off track, start by finding something you really enjoy doing ? walking, biking, or swimming ? and adding 10 minutes of that exercise to your day. Before you know it, exercise will have become a daily routine.
Be sure to track your results, as we do much better when we can see our progress.
I am very excited to be a part of this group and team, and I look forward to reporting our successes back to you each month.
? Karen Skidmore, Completely Fit
The Family Organizer I'm forever looking for ways to get better organized. It's even more of a challenge when you have a family to keep track of. The schedules, shopping lists, and tomorrow's to-do's are always being lost or shuffled from one place to another. I've put together a family organizer that helps me keep track of my family's activities from week to week. This organizer makes it easy to keep track of almost anything.
One day I was looking at the ready-made templates that came with my word processing program, and I noticed there were many home-related templates already made up for me to use for my organizer. There was a monthly calendar and a weekly menu planner and grocery shopping list. I made a calendar for every month of the year to write important dates to remember, and printed out enough weekly menu planners to last a month or two.
The weekly meal planner has columns for every day of the week with "Breakfast," "Lunch," and "Dinner" listed for each day. Every weekend you write in your meals for the week, and then make up a shopping list to take to the grocery store. The menu planner has a place at the bottom to write in your shopping list, or you could make up a separate list. Download a free menu planner template from http://www.creativehomemaking.com/download.shtml. Just print, and photocopy as needed for your organizer.
The best way to organize your calendars and menu planners is in a three-ring binder. You can buy dividers that already have the months of the year printed on them. Just file your monthly calendars in the binder with your weekly menu planners in between. This is just the start. You can create sections in your binder for whatever you want. For instance, file your children's school or sports schedules in your organizer. Just punch holes in the pages and file them in the appropriate month. You could also include a list of phone numbers and addresses, or a list of family birthdays and anniversaries. You can buy folders for your binder that have pockets in them. Make one for greeting cards and one for coupons. How about one for your monthly bills? The possibilities are endless.
One of the great things about the family organizer is that it keeps so many things handy and in a central location. Now if someone wants to know what's for dinner or has something to add to the grocery shopping list they can refer to the organizer themselves. We keep ours in the kitchen next to the microwave, where it's easily accessible. If you're afraid of pages getting messed up, sheet protectors work great. You can design a cover, too, and slip it into the front of the binder.
Family organizers are fun to make, relatively inexpensive, and limited only by your imagination. Start getting your family's schedules in order today!
Rachel Paxton - rachel@creativehomemaking.com Originally posted on CharlotteMommies
