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Evenflo has just released the Momentum 65 DLX Convertible Car Seat, with features that help make safety, installation and use as easy as possible for parents. Evenflo and JuiceBox Jungle sponsored me to write this post.

They asked us to view a video, which you can also watch here. In the video, a mother has a potty mouth, and the child, of course, repeats after the mother. Then, the parents try to recover from the potty mouth moment. I find the video absolutely hysterical–from the mother and her mouth to the cute baby to the father who looks a little in shock about everything. I mean, let’s be realistic, whether we use language as “bad” as the mom in the video or we say something like “stupid”, we all say things we don’t want our children to repeat. Currently, every time my stepson hears us say, “STUPID,” he says, “Oh, you said a bad word!” So, he definitely keeps our potty mouths on track.

However, he did have an incident with his mom, which is pretty funny. When he was in 3rd grade, some girls were teasing him in the hall (because they liked him:). And he turned to his mom and said, “Those girls really p*ss me off!” Obviously, he didn’t think it was a bad word, or he wouldn’t have said it to his mom, and obviously, he had heard it enough in the right context from adults. So, potty mouth incidents happen–let’s not beat ourselves up over them!

My husband and I do the best we can to monitor what my stepson watches, reads, hears, and sees. We try to talk only about “appropriate” subjects in front of him, and we will do the same with the baby due in December. But again, nobody’s perfect! I found the book below on Amazon.com if anyone is interested. LOL!

photo by nDevilTV www.flickr.com

The Wacky Wednesday post is back this week, and I’m excited about this topic! Being a full-time freelancer, step-mom, dog-mom to two dogs, wife, and pregnant with one on the way, this topic is near and dear to my heart. Even when I read, I’m usually reading for my blog or for my weekly column in the Sunday paper. (Although I do enjoy reading for a reason, too.) But anyway, here’s the topic that Sprint and JuiceBoxJungle asked me to write about today! I bet a lot of you busy, working parents and teachers can really relate.

Sprint has just launched Gaming on the Now Network™, bringing you the first wireless 4G network from a national carrier. Sprint and JuiceBoxJungle have sponsored me to write about what “ten minutes” a day means to me and what I do with a free ten minutes.

I have two main things I do with a “free 10 minutes.” And it’s a toss up on any given day what I choose to do. Drumroll please. . .I either take a power nap or watch reality TV. Okay, I’ve admitted it. Some days, I just need that power nap. I remember in college I told one of my friends that I needed a power nap–just let me close my eyes for 15 or 20 minutes, and I’d feel much better. She thought I was crazy! But then a few months later, she told me, “Hey, that power nap thing really works.” And it does–even if you just have 10 minutes. I like to lay on the couch, close my eyes, and tune out the world for a while.

But my other love is reality TV. Yes, I am one of those viewers that many people think are ruining television program options. But I can’t help it. Some of my favorite shows are on TLC; and lately, I’ve been really addicted to Say Yes to the Dress. I have been trying to figure out why, and I guess it’s for a couple reasons. One, I can’t believe how much money some people spend on their wedding dresses. Good Lord, I went to Vegas with 40 people for my wedding and had a reception back in St. Louis, and the total cost was less than some people spend on their wedding dress on that show. Plus, it’s just a happy show. There’s just something about watching a bride find her wedding dress and seeing her face when she knows that’s the one.

So, there’s my 10 minute story. What do you do with 10 minutes of free time? Here are some other things you can do in 10 minutes:

This week, I got a super-cool e-mail from the JuiceBox Jungle network (see their banner ad to the right–you can vote on some really fun issues.), informing me about the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE),which I had never heard of before. But now, I am so glad I have.

The NFTE is an organization that through education helps students from low-income families build skills and “unlock their entrepreneurial creativity”. According to their website since 1987, the NFTE has helped “more than 280,000 young people, and currently has programs in 21 states and 12 countries. NFTE has more than 1,500 active Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers and is continually improving its innovative entrepreneurship curriculum.” The way they try to reach their goals is by creating engaging curricula and tools, training and supporting teachers and youth leaders, partnering with schools and community-based organizations, recruiting volunteers, linking the educational and business worlds, providing services to program graduates, and building public awareness.

Success stories are showcased on their website such as high school senior Kimberly A. from South Carolina who started iCare Magazine, written by local teens who want to showcase their talent. She has plans to attend college in the fall. There’s also Avingston A., 17, from Los Angeles, who started the business Scrump-Didly-Umptous. This business is all about those yummy buffalo wings–complete with secret sauce. Avingston says, “My business will make a difference in the community; it will provide jobs and a safe place for teenagers to spend time.” You can read more success stories here.

Currently, NFTE is trying to win one million dollars in the Sam’s Club Giving Made Simple Campaign! Here’s what NFTE says about this program: “From April 8th to May 2nd, Sam’s Club members can log on to samsclub.com/giving once a day and cast their vote for NFTE as part of the Giving Made Simple Campaign. At the end of the campaign, one winner in the youth education category and one winner in the entrepreneurship category will be awarded $1 million! Look for NFTE in the youth education section.” So, if you are a Sam’s Club member, you can help out this organization that is busy empowering our youth and teaching them how to prepare for their future. If you aren’t a Sam’s Club member, you can still help by tweeting about the opportunity or telling your friends on Facebook.

If you are interested in starting a NFTE program in your community, there’s information on the website about this, also. You can start a program in your area if you work with teens or you can check out if your area already has a program office here. Here’s a book some teens might enjoy if they have that business-savvy spirit. This book has real-life examples of teens who have had success in the business world.

photo by StrebKR www.flickr.com

Today is a Wacky Wednesday post because I have a few things to discuss that don’t really go together, so that’s why it’s wacky! First I want to introduce to you my new website! I have been using this blog as a kind of website for a while (so you’ll see some of the same information in both places), but I hope to use my website more for books and speaking and my blog more for my opinions and ideas on education, books, and world issue’s as I get more books published! That’s the goal. Please take some time to check out what a wonderful job webmistress Elaine Lanmon did–I love the stars! Margo’s new website

As for my book, I know many people are wondering WHEN IS IT COMING OUT? Believe me, I have wondered the same thing. I recently heard from the marketing director at White Mane Kids, and she said, “We have had a few kids reprints that we are currently working on and that bumped back the new title setups.” So, that’s all I know as of now. Thanks for your support!

Onto the next subject, Verizon
and JuiceBoxJungle sponsored me to write this post, and they want me to write about the ways my smart phone affects my life as a parent. First, I have to clarify that I actually have a regular Verizon phone (which I love), and then I also have an iPod Touch (the smart phone without the phone part). I could not live without either of them. But how does it affect my life as a parent? Well, I’m not sure about affecting my life as a parent, but here are ways that I have used my iPod Touch with my stepson:

*He has listened to albums I downloaded on it when I had a doctor’s appointment and meeting with an editor, so he was entertained and didn’t have to listen to boring adult talk.

*We have looked up movie times to make sure we could get to the movies on time. The same goes for ice skating and roller skating rink times. This is VERY convenient!

*I use the timer on my iPod Touch when we are at the park to play a game. We set up an “obstacle” course, and then he goes through the course while I time him. He tries to beat his time.

*I use the notes feature ALL THE TIME. It is probably one of the most popular apps for me. I take notes on book titles we want to buy or check out from the library, things we need at the grocery store, present ideas (when he tells me he is interested in something, I make a note of it for future gift ideas), and songs we like that we hear on the radio and want to download.

*I would like to download some of the “learning game” apps and use those with my stepson whenever we are waiting for something like a movie to start. I always carry my iPod Touch around with me, and so I could just whip this out, and he could play and learn at the same time. I think I’ll look into that today!

Once you have a tool like a smart phone, it is hard to imagine your life without it. Isn’t it funny how we become so dependent on our electronic gadgets? (GPS comes to mind, too!)

photo by Tetsumo www.flickr.com

On today’s Maniac Monday post, I am writing from a prompt I received from JuiceBoxJungle. First I’m going to answer the question as a parent and then as a teacher. Then I’m going to talk about how you could use this same writing journal prompt with your students and/or children to teach money sense and paragraph writing. So, here we go. . .

Kodak and JuiceBoxJungle sponsored me to write this fun post about what I’d do with a surprise extra $100 if someone handed it to me next month.

As a parent: So, next month, March, is parent teacher conferences for my stepson. My husband and I will travel to Missouri for his conference and then spend time with him. I could really use the EXTRA $100 for this trip. My stepson’s grades are improving and improving and improving, which means he is working really hard, and so I would ask him, “Where do you want to go out to eat?” (Of course, he will probably choose McDonald’s, so we’ll have plenty of money to do something else, too.) We could also take him roller skating or bowling–two activities he likes very much that can actually be rather pricey for two adults and one child–depending on how many games you bowl or if you need to rent skates and so on. The extra $100 would also help with the gas for a 5 1/2 hour trip there and back. (Not to mention, the snacks that we just can’t seem to leave at the gas station!)

photo by stacy michelle www.flickr.com

As a teacher: this might be a hard question to answer as a teacher because you never know what you might need any given month (especially with some of the state budget problems in Illinois). But in my experience, you can never have enough books, and I always wanted to buy more and more books. I wanted to buy book sets, 5 or 6 copies of the same book. I also wanted to buy books that went with my units in social studies and science because books are such a great way to open a lesson or provide more information to students in an entertaining way. I also tried to purchase books that fit my students’ interests that year. More than likely, there would be a student interested in the same thing the next year, so the book would get plenty of use.

You can use this writing journal prompt with your students or your children if you home school to meet two different objectives. The first is money sense. Unfortunately as we all realize, one hundred dollars doesn’t buy as much as it used to! So, if you gave this prompt to your students, what would they want to buy with an extra $100? If they write “two Nintendo DS games,” then they understand how much $100 is. If they write down a weekend trip to NYC and you live in California, then you know you need to backtrack and talk to them about how much things cost and how much $100 is. (Of course, this is depending on the age of the child. If you teach preschool, it might be fun to see what those children think $100 can buy. You can also talk about paragraph structure with this prompt. Students have their topic sentence pro