Say NO to Parents as Teachers Budget Cuts!

I just received a forwarded email from my MOP's Discussion Group Leader. The subject of the email was: "Governor Nixon's Proposed Cuts for Parents as Teachers", and one of the few comments she added was: "I don't normally forward things but I feel this is so important." And I feel the same way. I rarely forward emails, but this is different!

My daughter is now 2 1/2 year old. I have been meaning to call Parents as Teachers since she was born. I finally did it and I had my first appointment last month. I'm supposed to have my second meeting next week... or maybe not?

See, the Missouri Governor Jay Nixon proposed a $1.4 million budget cut as part of his budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year. This 13.2% budget cut comes right after the 10% budget cut that the legislature enacted last year. This program serves 155,000 Missouri children; that's a lot of families touched by that cut.

This free program has helped a couple of my friends with their kid regarding their speech capability. And now, their kids are well on their way. Everybody that I talked to before about this program has only good things to say about it. Even me, after only one meeting, I feel a lot better about my daughter's knowledge. Our Teacher was super nice and patient with her. She played with the baby, explained to us what she was doing, gave us some tricks and things to do with our daughter. I just can't wait for the next meeting! If it ever comes :-(

If you are like me, and you want to make sure that you will have your "next meeting", contact the Governor's Office NOW!

Here is what you can do:
- Call (888)880-8233; toll free number available for Parents as Teachers (PaT) advocates until Wednesday 2/2/10.
- After 2/2/10, call (573)751-3222; give your name, home town, identify yourself as a supporter of PaT, inform the Governor that you are very disappointed about the $1.4 budget cut.
- Send an email through PaT Action Center, here's the link: http://www.parentsasteachers.org/SAVEMOPAT

I personally went to the website and send the email. It took me 2 minutes, so come on, let's give this program our support, like it has supported us!

God Bless!

The things we hope to never have to deal with: RECALLS

I received my weekly newsletter from "parenting.com" today, and the first thing it says is: "Scary Recalls You Need To Know About". I'm telling you, as I read those words, my heart dropped, I had to go pick it back up from the basement! Seriously, recall is one thing as a mom, and now as a baby store business owner, that I NEVER want to deal with. Of course, reality might slap me in the face, but in the mean time, I'm trying to stay informed.

First, here's the link from the parenting.com article: Recent Product Safety Recalls. Now, let me tell you what I do to make my life easier; I made myself a short list of sites that I go to check on recalls. Here they are:
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Baby Center
- Child Restraint Recalls by Manufacturer

The main thing with baby products, or any kind of products for that matter, is to register your item as soon as you get it. It takes 5 minutes, and you won't regret it! OK, you might receive some promotional letters or emails out of the deal, but at least they will let you know of any recall regarding your product.

Let's just hope that none of us have to deal with any recalls.

Talk to you later and God bless!

Don't tease me Bro!

"Don't tease me Bro!" were the words out of my mouth this morning when my husband told me: "It looks like you're loosing weight!" I have no idea if I am or not... yet! I guess I'll see when I'll weight myself and take my measurements tomorrow.

See, we started a 12 weeks program of Body for Life last week. And for the first time in a very long time, I think this time is for real. What's different than all the other times? We have work-out partners! Some good friends of ours have mentioned before that they would like to start a healthy habit; eat good and exercise. That has been a goal of ours (my husband & I) for a very long time, but we always seamed to lose the dedication at one point. Well, with all those trying out, we accumulate a lot of knowledge. And our friends have a brand new motivation that is helping us seeing this new adventure a lot differently.

After a few meeting and a lot discussions, we all agreed that it was time! We are going to start 2010 with a resolution that we are going to keep! We made ourselves a schedule; guys together and girls together, with the "Body for Life" challenge. We are not done with our second week yet, but I already feel different. Not just about my weight, but also about my mentality about the whole thing. Come to found out that working out with a partner (beside my husband) has a huge impact for me. My biggest problem always been to get up in the morning. Not anymore! I know that she will knock on my door at 5:30am... THAT gets me out of bed. Their is so many reasons why THIS time will be different. Almost all of them are link to the fact that we have work-out partners. So for those of you out there that need some motivations and changes, think about getting a partner! It seams to work-out for me!

I guess we'll see! 10 more weeks!