Archive for the 'Family' Category

Cocomotion=Yummy

Published November 14, 2008 Abunga.com , Family 1 Comment
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I used to love hot chocolate so much when I was younger that when I would go visit my aunt on Sundays that she would always have a selection to choose from when I arrived. So we would go through the mundane routine of boiling the water, putting the cocoa mix in a cup, and combining it together. One Christmas, my aunt gave me the best Christmas present I had ever gotten: Cocomotion! For hot chocolate lovers, this item will save you much time and energy. Cocomotion has this magnetic spinner in the bottom center that allows it to swirl your hot chocolate mixture. All you have to do is add your water or milk and the cocoa mix. It mixes it and heats it up for you! Cocomotion is shaped like a pitcher to where you can pour it directly from the machine. It is so great, that you can make enough for just yourself or for a house full. Abunga even has books with great hot chocolate recipes.

While I only use Cocomotion for hot chocolate, there are apparently several uses for it. When I did a recipe search, I found that people have used it for coffee, lattes, and chai. Many have even replaced their expensive coffee drinks with their Cocomotion creations! Trust me; once you’ve had a taste of what Cocomotion can do, you’ll never go back!

Got any cool recipes for Cocomotion or some other similar gadgets? Let me know!

-Brittany

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Giving wonder this Christmas - great books for children

Published November 13, 2008 Abunga.com , Books , Family 0 Comments
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I asked my friend Andrew McDonald who happens to be the most innovative teacher I know, e.g. I Skyped into his class to do some Q&A with his students see his site here. He’s a 3rd grade teacher and I asked if he’d be willing to share a few good books he’d recommend for his students with us. He shared a couple books below, with some quotes from his students.  Enjoy!

- Gavin

Christmas traditions are a wonderful way to add enjoyment for families over this upcoming season. Reading awesome books together is a way to capture excitement and give wonder to children of all ages. Even parents and grand parents can remember what is was like to be a child in December through reading a well chosen story. Here are some books that could help jump-start some family traditions of your own!

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Teacher’s pick: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

This author gives an amazing amount of imagination through gorgeous illustrations and key words. This is a great story to help children think about what they believe as they read about a young boy who is skeptical about Christmas spirit.

“It is magical and it really brings out the spirit of Christmas.” Connor

“A boy goes on an adventure to the North Pole.” Emilie

“It reminds me of how much I like traveling on trains.” Amera

Students’ pick: Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight? by Jerry Pallotta and David Biedrzycki

This story changes the well known power of Santa’s sleigh (Reindeer) to explore different creatures that could pull a sleigh.

“I love dolphins and I love Christmas and it is interesting that the author changes the reindeer.” -Destiny

Chapter Books: The Christmas Toy Factory by Geronimo Stilton

If you love colorful words, fantastic adjectives, and action that you can laugh through from the beginning to end then this is your book. With illustrations and creatively written words throughout this story takes on an adventure with Geronimo, a mouse who is a journalist.

November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

Published November 7, 2008 Abunga.com , Family 0 Comments
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Did you know that November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month (NADAM) and National Family Caregiver Month? I found a great blog from ConsumerTreehouse that tells about some great resources being provided to caregivers for the month. They also give some information about NADAM, which was launched by President Reagan in 1983. Reagan himself actually had the disease. Take a look at the blog for some more great information!

Abunga.com also has some Alzheimer’s nonprofits that you can donate to at the end of your purchase. Check them out!

Do you have any inspiring stories about Alzheimer’s or a family caregiver? Let me know!

-Brittany

Need some parenting advice? Check out these sites

Published October 29, 2008 Abunga.com , Family 3 Comments
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I was recently reading a post by Chris Brogan and I came across these parenting sites, GNMParents and ParentHacks.  Not being a parent myself I didn’t surprise me that I hadn’t heard of them - but what amazed me was how interesting and insightful the posts were - even to me!

I’d recommend you check them out - they are certainly different sites.  I’d say that GNMParents is like a king size Snickers bar, and ParentHacks is like the fun size - both taste great, but you don’t always want the fun size and sometimes you don’t have time to eat the king size.  Visit both sites, you’ll see what I mean.

http://gnmparents.com/ - a full spectrum of content taking people through all aspects of parenthood:

  • Planning a family
  • Pregnancy
  • Babies
  • Toddlers
  • School Aged Kids
  • Teenagers
  • Marriage
  • Relationships
  • Friendship
  • Work/Home Balance
  • And More…

http://www.parenthacks.com/ -  Parent Hacks is a collaborative website that collects and publishes parents’ tips, recommendations, workarounds, and bits of wisdom – their hacks – in a single pot so we can all partake. Here’s the stuff that would have been left out of the instruction manual…if there were one. We’re not experts in the pediatrician-, psychologist-, or teacher- sense. We’re just out there, raising our kids, finding the little tweaks that make this crazy adventure go a little more smoothly.

- Gavin

ps. I love this image from parenthacks - it’s awesome!

Money-saving tips to get organized, dangers of wicca and The Shack. Huh???

Published October 9, 2008 Abunga.com , Books , Family 0 Comments
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When we launched the Authors@Abunga online chat program in July 2008 our hope was that we could connect readers with some of their favorite authors and maybe make a few book sales in the process. One of the biggest challenges for the program turned out to be that we have a plethora of authors wishing to participate.   It is a challenge only in the sense that we do not have enough time slots to handle this demand.  What an awesome problem to have.

One of the nicest surprises about the program for me is the depth and breadth of topics and authors we have hosted chats for so far.  As a parent I really appreciate the topics that surround raising my children.  For example we have chatted about the dangers of Wicca, self-mutilation, Internet addiction and sexual promiscuity and we have even had a teen fiction author talk about how her stories promote positive self-esteem.  We have had so many good topics and authors I do not want to leave anyone out so I encourage you to please visit our Author Chat Archive page for downloadable transcripts from each author chat.

Gavin and Paul

Gavin and Paul

I am so excited about the October chat line-up too.  Yesterday we had actress, comedian and author Kerri Pomarolli who had so many funny stories about the single life. Coming up next week we have Kathy Peel who will give us money saving tips on having an organized home - who can’t use that in today’s economy? On October 22 we have William Paul Young, author of NYT bestseller The Shack.  He and Abunga’s CEO are at the same conference as I write this post so I am a little jealous that he gets to hear the “real story” first hand.  It will definitely be interesting to read Paul’s thoughts on how and why he wrote the book. I have a feeling it is not why most people think. Kay Warren, wife of Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life, will round out the month talking about her book, Dangerous Surrender, and her passion for HIV/AIDS victims in Africa. 

 

Awesome…  How many times do you get the opportunity to talk to authors like this directly and ask them the things you really want to know about their stories, their work or their passions in life?

If you have not visited one of our author chats yet you should definitely check it out. Authors@Abunga is every Wednesday at 2:00 pm EST. Chat transcripts are available a couple of days following each chat.


If you have attended a chat I would like to know what you thought and if you haven’t yet, tell me who you want to chat with next year. Post your comments to the blog.

Chat with you again soon.

~Kerri

A Morning in the Life of an Aunt

Published October 7, 2008 Abunga.com , Family 4 Comments
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This past Sunday, I was innocently pulling up to my sister’s house to meet her and my other sister before we went to their church, Faith Promise (which happens to be one of our FANs!). I casually walked up to the door and rang the doorbell… and that’s when it started. “IT’S BRITTANY!” I hear screech from the window. “BRITTANY!” I hear screams from the door as it opens. And madness ensues. The two older nephew and niece are running around, hurting each other. The twenty-month-old is running around in a t-shirt and no diaper. He insists on grabbing my keys out of my hand and yelling, “KEYS!” the whole morning. Lastly, my four-month-old nephew lays on the couch, kicking away and not yet dressed. My sister informs me that it is my job to dress him so she can get ready for church. So I become Mommy for about 30 minutes, breaking up fights, wiping off tears, and snuggling.

I am the only sibling in my family who has not reproduced. Luckily for me, I get to take them, load them up with sugar, and give them back. I have a deep respect for my sisters and brother. Everyday, the lives of their precious children are in their hands, and I watch the children flourish as a result. I love being Aunt Brittany. I look forward to learning from them, and in about 10 years, having children of my own. But unlike them, I’ll probably have to read a lot of parenting books! Though I love my niece and nephews, I’ll just settle on giving them back for now.

Do you have any crazy family stories? Leave a comment, and let me know!

-Brittany

Are you a cool family man? Then you’ll love HusbandsandDads.com

Published October 2, 2008 Family , Parenting , Resource 2 Comments
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A few weeks ago I ran across I site that focuses on being a good dad and husband, as such it’s Husbands & Dads.com.  Now, let’s be clear I’m not a dad or a husband, but I do hope to be both one day and the site has some very interesting posts even for me!

I’ve read posts on kids, on health and on marriage, but they’ve even got movie reviews and technology posts.  They’ve really brought together some great content!

Some of the most popular posts right now are: 8 Unique Ways to Help Your Wife Relax, Tips for Dads - How to Soothe a Crying Baby, and Top 10 Most Underrated TV Dads.  They’ve also got a newly launched forum where you can dialog on all types of topics appropriate to being a dad.

So go check them out, and let me know what you think.

We’re always looking for new sites that are family focused, if you’ve got a favorite let me know in the comments!

- Gavin


Surprise Jackpot in Las Vegas

Published September 26, 2008 Family , Vacation , friends 2 Comments
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I turned 40 this past Wednesday (September 24). My fabulous husband surprised me with a birthday trip to Las Vegas, NV where I lived for 11 years before moving to Knoxville, TN.   

 

I happened to mention to my husband several weeks ago that I would love to visit Las Vegas and celebrate my 40th with my friends and family. It was only mentioned once and only in passing.  Wow - what a surprise.

 

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and planned to have dinner at the Bootlegger Bistro with my best friends in Vegas, Greg and Michele, my parents, aunt and brother & sister-in-law. Instead I was greeted at dinner by my friends, my family mentioned above (who drove in from Albuquerque, NM) and also by my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Don (he is my favorite uncle) who flew in from Nebraska. My best friend Kim from childhood was supposed to fly in from Montana but had to cancel at the last minute.  Her husband in serving in our National Guard and was called to duty. Needless to say I was very overwhelmed and very surprised by all of my dinner companions. 

 

The next day the surprises kept on coming!  That afternoon I thought we were going to Greg and Michele’s for a nice quiet visit but instead I found myself at a party for me with everyone from the night before and some additional surprise visitors – one who even flew in from Reno, NV.  Wow!

 

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

On Monday the festivities slowed down a bit and my husband and I were able to slip away to eat breakfast at Blueberry Hill (one of my favorite Vegas hangouts) and take a tour of Hoover Dam.  What an amazing construction and engineering masterpiece.

 

The entire weekend was a beautiful experience although somewhat surreal… to have all those people whom I love so dearly in the same place at the same time was truly amazing.  With the exception of my family in Albuquerque no one else had met my husband yet (we married in December 2006).  This trip provided an opportunity for him to meet more of my family and some of my very dear friends. We made several beautiful new memories that I will treasure forever.

 

My very sneaky husband is a very thoughtful man – I think I’ll keep him.

 

Have you ever been surprised?  Post a comment and tell me about it.

 

-Kerri

 

 

 

 

This weekend got a little muddy

Published September 17, 2008 Abunga.com , Family 0 Comments
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This past Saturday instead of doing work around the house, I spent the morning running in the annual 2008 Marine Mud Run (all pictures courtesy of the Mud Run site) which was a lot of fun and is a Toys for Tots funraiser here in Knoxville, TN.  It’s a 5k race though the woods that includes various obstacles like logs to jump over, or climb under, tunnels to slide through and it takes you into the lake for a bit a couple of times, and of course there is mud. The trail gets muddy and if you miss the mud that way they’ve included a few mud pits to make sure you get nice and dirty.

One of the things that stuck me was the number of families that were running the event together.  Of the 1,000 of so registered, to my eye it looked like at least 25% of the group were families.  I found this neat to see as I watched countless fathers help and encouraged their kids to conquer the obstacles.  It seemed like a great idea, and a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.

It was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to run it next year where hopefully it will be muddier.  I’d definitely encourage you to find an event like this near you and do it with the family!  (if you need encouragment, check out the additional pictures below to measure the “fun factor”

- Gavin

Sarah Palin - wife, mother, powerhouse

Published September 11, 2008 Books , Family , Resource 6 Comments
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Sarah Palin is a very impressive individual.  I realize my opinion is not sought after in any political circles but I do represent an average voter and I think she is fabulous.  I am a wife and mother – just like her.  I have a strong faith and ethical principles – just like her.  I have family struggles and challenges – just like her. I am an intelligent and powerful woman – just like her.  Ok, so maybe I am not as powerful as she is but the point is that I can relate to her on many levels.

 

Like most of the country I first saw her when she gave her speech at the Republican National Convention. I found her to be articulate, intelligent, confident and very feminine. Many of things we want our daughters to be. I have a great respect for her and what she has accomplished in her life so far.

 

Whether or not you agree with where she stands on the issues I would think it’s hard not to be impressed. If you are interested on where she stands on the issues a great resource is OnTheIssues.org. The site provides information where each candidate stands.

 

There is a new book coming out about Palin called Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down by Kaylene Johnson. It should be available on Abunga.com very soon.  I am looking forward to reading it.

 

To me, Sarah Palin is an excellent example of what women can accomplish – wife, mother, woman of faith, public servant and just plain powerhouse.  John McCain chose well for his running mate. 

I would very much be interested in what you think about her.  Feel free to post a comment.

 

~Kerri

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