Rexanne's Web Review - Issue #90

Shopping

Please forward this complete issue of Rexanne's Web Review to a friend and recommend they subscribe. Thank you!

Find subscribe, removal and advertising information at the bottom of this newsletter.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome all newcomers and faithful readers!

Happy graduation to all the little and big kids out there and, of course, Happy Father's Day to our awesome dads!

My new graduation site is already a big hit. If you haven't checked it out for everything graduation, here's the link: All About Graduations

Here's my Father's Day site to help you make Dad's day as special as it should be: Rexanne's Father's Day

And this is a link to my current work in progress: Rexanne's Teacher Appreciation

The above page offers everything to help show your appreciation for a teacher including teacher gifts, sites, cards, graphics and more. Find lots of ideas for end of the year goodies to let teachers know you appreciate their effort and the care they've shown your child throughout the school year.

In this month's parenting & family topic, we have a tribute to one man's father, by a super parenting guru, Mark Brandenburg. It is sad, be forewarned, but it touched me deeply and I wanted to share it with you. The love Mark feels for his father shines through in this beautiful essay.

I'll be gone for the summer months. The next issue of Rexanne's Web Review will be sent on September 1, 2005. I'll miss you so please keep
sending email and submitting tips, tricks and sites. I will be checking email so keep it coming. Have a great July & August!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Reader's Comments:
---
Claire wrote:

"Your graduation site saved the day. I am a second grade teacher and after hours of searching, I was desperate to find children's graduation activities and ideas for my class. I found everything I needed on your pages. Thank you!"

You are very welcome, Claire! It seems there was a decided lack of graduation resources online before my site was published.

OK, here's the scoop:

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote of the Month: It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was. - Anne Sexton

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Supporting the sponsors and advertisers in Rexanne's Web Review keeps this newsletter alive and a portion of revenue is donated to various charities. . Each advertiser has Rexanne's Seal of Approval. Please visit them today.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This Month's Web Review Sponsored By: Name a Star

Send Dad or your favorite grad's heart flying and give a gift that will be treasured forever. Name a star for the special guy or grad with the officially licensed star registry. Secure a lifetime place in the cosmos and they'll shine forever. ;-)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Parenting & Family Topic of the Month: Dads, Life & Death
by Mark Brandenburg

When he looked at me, it was clear my father wasn't sure who I was. And as I looked back at him, I wasn't sure who he was, either.

My father had just endured two heart surgeries and 6 days in intensive care. He'd returned to the hospital where he'd worked for 40 years. It
was the hospital where all his children had been born. And as he sat in his bed gazing at me, I knew he might never be the same. The doctors
said that he may have a long period of confusion after the surgeries. And because he's eighty-six, it may be many months before he returns to
normal.

It's also possible he may never be "normal" again.

The roller coaster of feelings we've had the past week have settled a bit. Now, we simply wait. We wait to see if the memory comes back and
the confusion fades. We hope that he regains what he once had, as we realize who he was may be "gone."

It's a realization that feels a lot like death.

To spend two days wondering if your father will live or die brings you many things. It allows you to appreciate every moment of life. It fills
you with memories, and it fills you with pain. It reminds you of something that can easily be forgotten as you run around in your busy life: life is incredibly fragile, and can be taken away in an instant.

I sat there in this hospital room, spoon-feeding the man I've seen as powerful and capable my entire life. It felt like the full circle of life had come around us. It was both satisfying and frightening. It felt good to support him, yet part of me wanted to tell him to "be normal" again. I wasn't sure if I was ready to accept the full meaning of it: that my father may never be that powerful and capable person again.

My mother has been married to my father for sixty years. During the darkest time before the second surgery, she said, "You have sixty years
with someone, but you just want more."

Pain and suffering have visited my family, as it will visit all families. And while we hesitate to face pain and suffering, it has great lessons to teach us. Pain and suffering are well outside of the boundaries of our everyday life. When it comes, it shatters these boundaries and turns our world upside down. We become a family with all of the others who have known pain and suffering. And we have another chance to prioritize what's truly important in our lives.

This crisis will pass, and we'll all be changed by it. The healing hands of time will do their work. I'm thankful that I've told my father everything I've wanted to say to him. And I'm thankful to have my family to lean on during this difficult time. We'll all be challenged by this to show more support, care, and love. This is as it should be.

Sometimes, it takes a crisis to remind us of why we're all here.

---

Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC, coaches busy parents by phone to balance their life and improve their family relationships. For a FREE twenty
minute sample session by phone; ebooks, courses, articles, and a newsletter, go to: Mark Brandenburg.com or email him at mark@markbrandenburg.com.

---

Know of a good parenting or family site your fellow readers might enjoy or do you have a topic you'd like to see covered in this section?
Please send your ideas in for possible publication in an upcoming issue: Parenting Site

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Food & Cooking Site of the Month: How to Grill Steak Perfectly

Steak is the perfect fare for Father's Day because most men love it. These are instructions on how to grill a steak to perfection.

Bon Appetit!

And for an added bonus this month, since I'll be gone for the summer, this is a super page full of summer snack ideas submitted by parents to
keep the kids happy: Summer Snacks Ideas

----------------------------------------------------------------------

--- Advertisement: 101 Road Trip Word Games

Planning a road trip this summer? You need this e-book! Download instantly and be on the road in minutes with 101 great, entertaining word games everyone will love. Makes an ordinary family road trip extraordinarily fun and even educational! No pens, pencils, or paper required...the car games are verbal! This is great to have on hand for bopping around town with the kids, too. Keeps them occupied and interested. Print the car word games every month and store them in the glove box

No more "Are we there yet?!" ;-)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

--- Kid's Site of the Month: Father's Day for Kids

Kids will find lots of crafts and activities on this page dedicated to children and Father's Day plus fun ideas for things to make for Dad.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Freebies of the Month: Father's Day E-cards & Screensavers for Guys

Great state of the art e-cards for Father's Day: Father's Day E-Cards

Screensavers & computer wallpapers with Dad in mind: Dad Screensaver & Wallpapers
----------------------------------------------------------------------

--- Advertisement: Organize Everything

Organize Everything has been a well established e-commerce business for 8 years that specializes in providing innovating products to help organize people of all types, ages, and incomes. These commodities extend to a wide realm of areas including Household storage and gadgets, to travel and pet care materials. Our prominence has allowed us to be featured in such acclaimed publications such as The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Parenting, and USA Today.

Check out their very cool gift ideas for dads and grads!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tip or Trick of the Month: Squeeze Bottles

Another great tip I'll pass on is using squeeze bottles for messy foods. You can find squeeze bottles with spouts in most home furnishing stores. They're great for jelly, salad dressing, mayonnaise or any other gooey food product the kids use regularly. You can also recycle ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles. Just wash them well, label with the new food product and you're set. The kids can easily help themselves without too much mess.

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

Time Waster of the Month: Sky Diving Daffy Duck
(Because life is supposed to be fun!)

Thanks to Johanna who sent this addictive and fun time waster to share. After you've wasted precious time, let the kids enjoy this game:

Feed the kids first ...
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Featured Site of the Month: Cheerful Givers

Cheerful Givers, a non-profit organization, provides birthday gifts for children who are homeless or living in poverty on their birthday. In the last ten years, they've given more than 100,000 less fortunate children a birthday gift.

They will be holding a "Big Birthday Bash" at the Mall of America (in Bloomington, Minnesota) on June 12 and a month-long online auction during June to help raise funds to continue helping needy children celebrate their special day. For more information, visit their site.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

--- Advertisement: 25 Secrets for New Dads

Discover Little-Known Secrets of the First Year of Fatherhood.

This e-book reveals the 25 most important secrets that every new dad needs to know to make his first steps on the journey of fatherhood
capable, confident and effective.

This is the perfect gift for a new Father's Day celebrant!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

To email Rexanne: Email Me

To subscribe to Rexanne's Web Review: Subscribe

To be removed from this mailing list, please see the "easy unsubscribe" box from Topica at the end of this email or through the above subscribe link..

To sponsor an issue of Rexanne's Web Review or to advertise with us: Advertising Info

The fine print: This newsletter is copyright - 2004 - in its entirety. Please pass it on, but also please leave it intact. :-)

You are receiving this email because you sent a specific message asking to be placed on the mailing list for this newsletter. If you wish to be removed from this list, see the unsubscribe notice above. Your email address will not be shared, sold or otherwise abused by us.

I have personally checked out the links provided 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: - 2000-2005