Spotlight on: Christmas

Rexanne's Web Review
Web Sites & Insights

Issue #96 - February 1, 2006

Brought to You By: Rexanne.com

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Welcome all newcomers and faithful readers!

Happy birthday to my younger daughter who turns 12 today. Time is indeed flying!

Has anyone heard that the latest research suggests moms who stay home instead of going to work outside of the home would earn close to 50 thousand dollars a year if we were paid for all we do? Hmmmmmmm ... puts it all into perspective, huh?

We have another great article by Anne Beaty in the parenting topic this month. Be sure to read Anne's take on unconditional love.

Last call for Valentine's Day: Rexanne's Valentine
I wish you all a most wonderful Valentine's Day, filled with more love than you can imagine!

And whooo hooo Michelle Bachelet, the newly elected president of Chile. Michelle is a single mom who has lived through an unreal amount of hell but she came through like a trooper and is well-prepared to run her beloved country. Read more
about: President Michelle Bachelet

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Reader's Comments:

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Minny wrote:

"Consequences are key in raising children! Glad to see you publish an article that explains how important they are."

Glad you agree, Minny. :-)

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John wrote:

"I enjoyed browsing the Academy of Achievement site you featured last month. Thank you for bringing these great sites to my attention!"

You are so welcome, John. It's enjoyable for me to find them for you!

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OK, here's the scoop:

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Quote of the Month: Love is in all things a most wonderful teacher. - Charles Dickens

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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.

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This Month's Web Review Sponsored By: Personalized Roses

Nothing speaks louder than a gorgeous bouquet of "talking" roses because each petal is inscribed with the perfect words for maximum effect. Imagine your loved one receiving a beautiful bouquet of roses with words to describe your feelings printed on them. Just awesome and very romantic! Order personalized roses for Valentine's Day delivery today.

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Parenting & Family Topic of the Month: Unconditional Love
By Anne Beaty

The first thing to understand about unconditional love is that is has nothing to do with praising your child for breathing. It does not mean you accept rude behaviors, lack of effort, or a willingness to ‘give in’ on any (or all) subjects, whether they be a new pair of jeans or an ‘R’ rated movie.

Unconditional love has two parts to it: that you have taken the time and effort to actually understand who that child really is, and that you love them without reservation. It does not mean you have to love, or even like, everything they say or do, but that you have grasped the essence of that human being, and you love it, no matter what.

The first (and for me) hardest part, was trying to learn who my son really was. He was not the child to argue over being pushed out of line; he was not the child to complain about being bullied; he was the child who objected strongly to being
given a ‘choice’ that was not really a choice.

Me: ‘Don’t you think it’s bath time now?’ Child: ‘No, I’m still playing.’ Me:’ Well, I think it’s time for your bath.’ Child: ‘Mom, if you want me to take a bath, just say so. It’s not fair to ask me what I want and then ignore it.’ He was about 4 1/2. This was a HUGE lesson for me: I thought I was being ‘courteous’ and not giving orders; he saw it as manipulative, which it was.

Children, of course, change over time.

During the years between 10-16, I had to make an effort every day to separate out his own natural personality with the effects of puberty, peer pressure, and his own rudimentary formation of the understanding of cause and effect. When he came home from school all upset because ‘they wouldn’t play the way I wanted’, was this part of his intrinsic personality, or a behavior that was holding him back socially and could be dealt with. Believe me, it’s a fine, fine line, and I know I was on the wrong side of it many many times.

The second, and ongoing part, of unconditional love, is predicated on the first part: knowing who your child really is. If you know, for whatever reason, your child thinks of him/her self as a poor student, you are fully justified in praising ANY improvement in school, whether it’s from a D+ to a C, or a Fail to a Pass. However, if you know academics come easily, you can fall into the trap of praising him/her for every test s/he passes. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging their dedication and effort, but in a matter of fact way.

Unconditional love is letting the child know that no matter what s/he does, no matter if you’re angry, upset or disappointed, your basic love for that person is intact. That even when you say ‘no, I won’t buy you any more DVDs this month’, you also communicate you understand how they feel about this, that your love is strong enough to stand up to their ‘I’ll hate you forever’. The only response is: ‘Well, I’ll love YOU forever.”

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Anne Beaty is the single mother of one son, who graduated college in 2005. She was a Special Education Teaching Assistant for the Los Angeles Unified School District for 10 years, middle and high school, where she dealt with inner-city, minority and migrant students, most of whom wouldn't have known a manner if it bit them on the leg. At the moment, she is raising her 16 year-old niece. Email Anne at: Anne Beaty
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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

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Food & Cooking Site of the Month: Battered Sausage

Battered Sausage is a site dedicated to battered everything, not just sausage although their recipe for battered sausage is what made them famous. On this site, you will find many recipes that are standard in the U.K., such as Shepherd's Pie. Also find recipes for battered onion rings, beer battered fish and some awesome fritter recipes, including battered strawberries. And if you've ever wondered just how fried ice cream is made, you'll find this recipe and one for deep friend Mars bars on Battered Sausage, too.

Bon Appetit!

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Kid's Site of the Month: Valentine's Day for Kids

Kids can find a Valentine's Day craft to make, play on online VDAY game and have Valentine's Day fun for a few hours.

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Freebie of the Month: Valentine's Day Printable Cards & E-cards

Printable Valentine's Day Cards:
Print these cute cards from the computer. Kids can fill them out and give them to classmates and anyone they'd like to honor with a Valentine. Cute animals make these universally acceptable and gender neutral. :-) Printable Valentine's Day Cards

Valentine's Day E-Cards:
Send an electronic Valentine to your online buddies, friends and family this year. Everyone with an email account will be happy to be remembered and you'll love these creative and state-of-the-art Valentine e-cards: Valentine's Day E-Cards

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Advertisement: 1000 Questions for Couples

What You Absolutely Must Know About the One You Are With!

How compatible are you and the person you are with? How would you know? Just because you like the same types of foods and pets does not mean that you can have a blissful, long-term relationship.

Do you know why your mate does or doesn't attend church? Do you know how they really think about the way you dress? Have you ever asked your partner what are the three most sensitive parts on their body?

An estimated 83% of divorces would not take place if couples asked each other the right questions. Learn how to keep your love alive and thriving.

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Tip or Trick of the Month: Making the most of soap bits

A nifty way to stretch you bar soap dollars and exfoliate your skin at the same time:

I always save bits of bar soaps that are too small to use and when there are enough, I fill a piece of pretty lace with them and tie it off with a small, water resistant ribbon. Use this as a body scrubber for smoother, healthier skin. This also makes a super homemade gift, just use a full bar of unused and nicely scented soap. Lace or netting can be bought at any fabric store or salvage pieces from anywhere.

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

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Time Waster of the Month: Alexadex
(Because life is supposed to be fun!)

Oh boy - this has become my latest online obsession. At Alexadex, you can play the web site stock market, as monitored by Alexa (Amazon.com's site traffic
ranking tool). Buy and sell shares of any web site that ranks as a top surfed site online (yes, Rexanne.com is one of them!). If you buy and sell wisely, you
will increase your portfolio's worth and become 'Alexadex' rich. It's fun to guess which sites will increase in value, which ones have run their course and
then sell that stock before you lose Alexadex dollars. If you find a winner, please share your tips! :-)

Feed the kids first ...

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Featured Site of the Month: Valentine For the Troops

Operation Love our Troops is a free service allowing military families and the general public to send messages of love and support to our troops this Valentine's Day. Your message will count as part of a Guinness Book of Records attempt to be the world's largest digital Valentine's card.

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Advertisement: Stop Bullying Now!

If your child is miserable because they are being bullied, then this is the most important message you’ll ever read.

In our new e-book, Free From Bullies, we will show you the exact steps you need to take to eliminate bullying from your child’s life. And the steps are explained in a simple, easy-to-follow format.

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