Christine has be co-blogging with me for just about a year and has been doing an amazing job! I am going to turn the keys over to her and she will continue to share her trials, tribulations, joys, and insight into raising teens and tweens.

I will miss you all, but you are welcome to visit me in my other homes on the web.

Post from: Blisstree

Giving the Keys to Christine

At Sports Girls Play, Dr. Lorraine Williams, aka Track Mom, reminds us of the tragic and accidental death of a high school track athlete last year. Arielle Newman, a star of the Staten Island high school track team, died because her body absorbed high levels of methyl salicylate, an anti-inflammatory found in sports creams including Ben Gay and Icy Hot. Though commonly recommended for use by athletes, both exercise and heat can “accentuate absorption” of the drug, and chronic use is said to be more risky than one-time use.

Whether your teen is using a simple pain reliever, cough drops or a sports cream, they need to be reminded of the importance of reading and following the dosage and usage guidelines on these products.

Post from: Blisstree

Sports Cream Dangers

Get the details from Gayla, our Channel Editor!

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Call for Prizes – B5 Lifestyles Channel Blogtoberfest

To start with, she wanted her friends from gymnastics to help her celebrate. Since practice was last night, Miss M made 48 cupcakes the night before – all by herself and decorated every last one of them.

This morning I will take her a fresh apple cinnamon muffin in bed – just because I am nice (even though I wouldn’t bail her out on the lunch thing yesterday). She will take a large cookie cake in to school with her to share with her class. Hopefully everyone will like it.

Then this evening we will do family gifts and cake when Dad gets home. I hope she likes all her gifts – plenty of clothes, a cell phone, some games and a watch.

On Sunday, Miss M and her two closest friends will get together – we are starting at the mall where I will treat the three of them to a manicure (this is a first), then Miss M is getting her ears pierced (she has been asking for 5 years and Dad finally gave in), and we will finish up with dessert at the Melting Pot. I think we will have much more fun than if we hosted some gigantic sleepover or party with larger group.

I’ll try to get some good pictures on Sunday and let you know how the weekend goes.

Image: Amazon

Post from: Blisstree

Double Digits

And I said, no. It is pouring down rain, she has plenty of money on her lunch account, and it was her responsibility to take what she needed with her this morning. I didn’t even make the girls ride the bus – I let them sleep in and drove them to school.

What would you have done? Taken it to her, or made her buy her lunch?

Photo: Amazon

Post from: Blisstree

Forgotten Lunch

American Eagle Outfitters is getting ready to debut a new line of warm and cozy denim, fleece, t-shirts, dresses, outerwear, footwear and accessories geared towards kids called 77kids on October 21.  In conjunction with the 77kids debut, they are sponsoring a sweepstakes where one lucky boy or girl (and a parent) can win tickets, airfare and hotel to a VERY exclusive VIP Jonas Brothers concert.

The concert will take place on November 14th in Los Angeles for a very small audience. The sweepstakes winners will get to walk the “red carpet” with other invited celebrities, AND be able to hang backstage with The Jonas Brothers after the show. Tickets are NOT on sale for this event – the ONLY way to get a chance at a ticket is to enter the free online sweepstakes at www.77kids.com (where you can also see an exclusive video shout-out from the band).

For those who don’t win the sweepstakes, the concert itself will be streamed online for one day only – Sunday November 16th, exclusively at 77kids.com.

Image: 77kids

Post from: Blisstree

Exclusive Jonas Brothers Concert Sweepstakes

I love the Wii because it is so interactive and has such a great selection of games for 4 players. Our favorite Wii party games are:

• Wii Sports – Bowling is by far the best game made for Wii because everyone can pick it up easily and be successful.
• Smarty Pants: Trivia for Everyone- Wii puts a fun twist on trivia! Play tug of war with your opponents over questions, shoot targets to determine point values, and then there is the ever popular double points dance!
• We Ski – Join your teammates on the ski lift and race, explore and test your ski skills in a very realistic multi player ski environment.
• Game Party- The darts game in Game Party is fun and you don’t have to worry about crazy dart throwers or your newly painted walls being damaged.
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games – Now that the Olympics are over, the whole family can be champion swimmers, trampolinists, canoists, and high jumpers (there’s more).

We are always looking for more fun games to add to our family favorites – what is your favorite?

Post from: Blisstree

Wii Party Night

Jaime and her best friend, Nicole are looking forward to a carefree summer in their hometown, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. All is going according to plan until they discover a strange ancient map and suddenly their relaxing vacation becomes a desperate fight for their lives. Though danger lurks around every corner, Jaime is up for the adventure, but is set to discover more about herself and her past than she may be able to handle.

My 9 (almost 10) year old enjoyed the book but I think it was a little complex for her to follow in places. She loved the character development and the sense of adventure of the two main characters. On the other hand, my 12 year old son flew through the book in an evening, loved the sci-fi component of the book and the suspense.

You can get more information about the book, the author and the story behind the book at SecretofWellingtonsMap.com.

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Good Reads: The Secret of Wellington’s Map

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The Psychology of Raising Teen Boys

There are quite a few giveaways going on in the b5 neighborhood including:

• Our cool momAgenda giveaway (so you can be organized in style)
• Keeping the Castle has a giveaway running that is for your house
• Thrifty Mommy is giving away Clorox Green cleaner
• The Food Bowl is giving away the cutest, funkiest dog toys

Happy Friday!

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Post #1000 and a Giveaway Roundup