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Rexanne's Web Review 
Web Sites & Insights

Issue #52, December 1, 2001 

Brought to You By: Rexanne.com


If you find this newsletter helpful and interesting, please forward it intact to another parent and recommend they subscribe. Thank you!

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Welcome All Newcomers! 

Did all my American readers have a good Thanksgiving? We feasted and gave tons of thanks for our good fortune. We were among the lucky ones this year.

Here's another reason to keep the kids away from soda: A Harvard Medical School study found that teen girls who regularly drink carbonated beverages have nearly three times the risk of bone fractures compared to girls of the same age who never consume soda. Researchers speculate that the phosphorus in the drinks either weakens bone or interferes with its formation. Hmmm ... watching kids or teenagers guzzle soda or anything "diet" has always scared me. Research has also proven the dangers of "pretend" sugar. A healthy  diet will curb obesity in most cases. Please watch what your kids are consuming. Seemingly harmless substances are really awful. I'll be spouting off on this subject in the new year ... stay tuned!

I wish you and your families the very happiest of holidays. For my readers celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or other special holiday, my very best wishes for a love-filled time, too. The world is a beautiful place ... enjoy it! And please enjoy my Christmas site where you'll find everything about the holidays, including a holiday mall that guarantees a happy online shopping experience with the very best Internet merchants of the season: Rexanne's Christmas

PS: Pass it on! ;-)

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Reader's Comments:

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Martha wrote about my reference to peanut butter slices from the last issue:

"Funny you should mention peanut butter slices. Best pill trick on dogs or scoop up a bit of PB on a spoon and sink the pill. The dog is too busy licking the sticky stuff to notice the pill going down. A little blob of cream cheese or sliced cheese wrapped around a pill makes a great "popper" gobbler, too. Also, try baby food." 

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E. wrote:

"Some time ago in your newsletter you talked about head lice. My teenage daughter went to the movies last weekend and started itching in the back of her scalp the next morning. It seems to have gotten a little worse in the last week, but is still mainly the back of her head and neck ... " 

Yep, I hate to be the bearer of utterly awful news but 'tis the season of sparkle, lights and head lice. UGH! E's daughter did end up with head lice, sorry to say. Movie theaters and school are common places for them to spread. If you're battling these nasty little critters or think one of them might have hitched a ride into your home on your kid's bean, you need to act quickly. Here's the link to the newsletter with the head lice article (under Parenting Topic of the Week) with links as well to some helpful places online: Web Review #31

I hope you've got the pests under control, E. Please let us know how you fared. 

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OK, here's the scoop:

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Quote of the Day:  Sometimes we are so anxious to give our children what we didn't have that we forget to give them what we did have. (Unknown)

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This Month's Web Review is Sponsored By: Gift Tree

Gift Tree offers comprehensive gift services and solutions necessary for today's busy world. Our extensive catalog of fine products includes handcrafted, professionally designed gift baskets, hand-delivered floral designs, fruit baskets, and balloon bouquets as well as many other creative gift ideas for all occasions and every pocket book. Our nationwide coverage, quality guarantee and devotion to customer service have made us a Web favorite. 

Order early for guaranteed holiday delivery! Click Here

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Parenting & Family Topic of the Month:  Traditions

Traditions
By Rexanne Mancini

We all have our special holiday and celebration traditions. Whether it's bringing home the tree for Christmas on December 15 every year or baking Great Grandma's special custard pie, there are certain traditions that create our own holiday magic. While they hold particular meaning and sentiment for us, our children learn those rituals and can adopt them as their own when they're grown and begin their own families. Some children cling to tradition like a favorite teddy bear, even at a young age. 

Though we might not realize how deeply our kids are touched by family traditions, most children look forward to the holidays and the little ways we make them special. It's a form of security for children to know that certain events and personal touches will always be part of their celebrations. 

Whether your family is large and boisterous or small and mellow, theyare the people we belong to. Uncle John might be a bigot and Grandma Sue chews tobacco but hey, they're our family. Children feel this sense of belonging and have no clue that the world is different beyond their family circle. Soon enough they might realize what a dunce Uncle John is and find Grandma's chew a little harsh, but for the first part of their lives, kids are tolerant and filled with love for the relatives who've shown them love. 

If your children are older and wiser, they will still find comfort and fun in the family holiday spirit. Let them help decorate the tree or light the menorah. They can help wrap presents, learn to bake your favorite holiday cookies or read special stories to the younger kids. 

Holidays and special traditions are part of what make a family close. Your children will be forever grateful that you took the time to create and honor these special times and memories.

Here's a great page filled with ideas on creating your own holiday traditions: Holiday Traditions

And the following is an excellent site where you can learn about holiday traditions around the world: World View Holiday Traditions

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Rexanne Mancini is the mother of two daughters, Justice and Liberty. She is a novelist, freelance writer and maintains an extensive yet informal parenting and family web site, Rexanne.com – http://www.rexanne.com -Visit her site for good advice, award-winning Internet holiday pages and some humor to help you cope. Subscribe to her free newsletter, Rexanne’s Web Review, for a monthly dose of Rexanne: http://www.rexanne.com/rwr-archives.html

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This article is available for reprint at no charge providing the resource box with the writer's information is included and remains intact. 


Know of a good parenting or family site? Please send it for possible publication in an upcoming issue. Click here: Parenting Site

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Food & Cooking Site of the Month:  My Christmas Cookbook

From our Food & Cooking Editor, Martha Jones, AKA Queen Can-ivore:

A jolly holiday visit to find the standards and a few surprises as well for entertaining and every day treats. Salmon Ball most interesting in the appetizer department, nice gift idea selection (try Tiger Stripes, couldn't be easier) and the main dish section includes a poultry chart complete with with goose and duck instructions. The Ground Beef Roulade entry is a spiffy dress-up meatloaf, easily adjusted to different tastes in cheeses and spices. Visit today for a leg up on the holiday meal preparations.

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Queen Can-ivore is also known as The Real Martha. Find her at The Real Martha - real easy recipes for real busy, real people. Not for fans of the UnReal Martha.

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Bon Appetit!

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Kid's Site of the Month: Write a Letter to Santa!

For those who believe ... write your letters to Santa. He will reply for free! Make sure to enter your full email address, including the @ symbol with your ISP after your screen name and remember to say please and thank you! :-) 

Here are two different pages where you can reach Santa:

Write to Santa

Letter to Santa

For loads of Christmas kid links, visit Rexanne's Christmas page just for Kids: Rexanne's Christmas for Kids

And for my shanapuddin' Jewish munchkins (thought I didn't know Yiddish? LOL!) here's a super kid's page, filled with Hanukkah activities, games and stories: Torah Tots

These pages will keep them busy for the entire holiday break!

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Tip or Trick of the Month: Cookie Baking Tips

~ Use powdered sugar instead of flour when rolling out cookie dough. It does the same job as the flour will do and you don't have to worry about adding too much flour to the dough.

~ To freeze drop cookie dough, drop spoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap, spacing closely. Place them in your freezer for several hours. Place the dough balls in a resealable freezer bag and put back in the freezer. To bake, remove what you need from the freezer bag and place on cookie sheets. Set on the stove as you preheat the oven to thaw. Note the type of cookie and baking instructions on the bag.

~ You will find excellent tips at this site on how to mail your homemade goodies so they get there in one piece instead of many: Mailing Cookies

Lifted these great tips and link from Ally's Alley newsletter. To subscribe your own self, send any email to: 
Subscribe to Ally's Alley


Got a tip or trick your fellow readers would enjoy or could use? Please send it for possible publication in one of the next issues: Tips
 

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This Month's Time Waster: Alchemy
Because life is supposed to be fun!

Welcome to my latest obsession ... we have Deneen to thank for this compulsive time waster!

Alchemy will keep you rooted in addiction, guaranteed. Thank me or curse me after turning you on to this one. LOL! A great game of match 'em up, watch 'em evaporate. Before you attempt to figure Alchemy out, you absolutely have to play a tutorial game. I did and still goofed around for a while until my younger daughter pointed out the subtleties of the game to me. ;-) 

Definitely, Feed the kids first ...

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Featured Site of the Month: Internet Toy Drive

The Internet is a wonderful place. As if you didn't know that already! ;-) This year, the WWW is joining the official U.S. Marine's "Toys for Tots" program with The First Annual Internet Toy Drive in their mission to make sure every child has a present for the holidays. Please donate whatever you can to this outstanding organization.

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Supporting the sponsors and advertisers in Rexanne's web review keeps this newsletter alive. Each advertiser has Rexanne's Seal of Approval! Please visit them today.

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Advertisement: New service by Web Studio East! Look at the URL below for a sample of an old, torn and wrinkled photo restored to brand new. A great way to preserve your precious heirlooms, photos, postcards (front and back), newspaper photos and more. This is the perfect time of year to restore these items and give them as gifts. Prices start as low as $20.00. Sample page: Photo Restoration 

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Advertisement: Rexanne's Christmas Mall
Take a break and shop in style. :-) Rexanne's Christmas Mall offers great online stores, categorized into various gift-giving groups, from kids to general gift-giving. Each merchant has my seal of approval. If you ever have a problem with a merchant, I will be here to help you solve it. My mall makes your online holiday shopping a breeze! 

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Advertisement: Lifestyles of the Culinarily Inept
There is still time to order "Holiday Lifestyles of the Culinarily Inept," a cookbook and survival guide for adult beginners. Makes a great gift for the old pros, too. Lifestyles is not just about the holidays. Chapters include The Generic Party, Casual Indoor/Outdoor, Turkey to Tacos and miscellaneous tips, trickery and lots more. 

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The fine print: This newsletter is copyright - 2001 - in its entirety. Please pass it on, but also please leave it intact. :-) 

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I have personally checked out the links provided here but they could possibly lead you to any number of bizarre and/or offensive sites. Surf at your own risk. The DIRECT links on this page are all family friendly unless stated otherwise. While this newsletter is family friendly, it is not necessarily intended to be read by children. Parents should always monitor their children while they are on the Internet. 

All material on these pages: Copyright: - 2000-2001