Mom Laughs

Free Kindle Book today and tomorrow on Kindle - FREE download

2012-02-01T09:31:00.001-08:00

FREE - Over 100 free or nearly free ideas to do with preschoolers whether you are a mom, dad, grandparent, babysitter, church school worker, preschool teacher, or child care provider.. FREE Kindle book - free today in the Kindle store. Homeschool Your Preschooler on $1 a Day by Cheryl Moeller

Free Kindle book today and tomorrow

2012-02-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

FREE - Over 100 free or nearly free ideas to do with preschoolers whether you are a mom, dad, grandparent, babysitter, church school worker, preschool teacher, or child care provider.. FREE Kindle book - free today in the Kindle store. Homeschool Your Preschooler on $1 a Day by Cheryl Moeller

Show Us Your Valentine's Day Gift Ideas/Homemade Gifts/Homemade Business

2012-01-28T14:52:00.000-08:00

It is soon Valentine's DayDo you have something that you sell or make and sell that would make a great gift for Valentine's Day? One thing I love about Valentine's Day is that it's a time for romantic love, but we also make it a time for love for our children, families, and friends. I am going to make a nice meal the weekend before and have all the family in town over. We will use the best dishes because family is worth it. I'm not saving my best for someone else - my family is the best. Then, Bob and I have a special romantic weekend planned for just the two of us with an overnight in Lake Geneva, WI to celebrate 32 3/4 years marriage. Valentine's Day is my favorite.

So, do you make and sell something that would make a great gift? Or, do you know someone that does. Send this link around so everyone is included and think about supporting some of these homemade homegrown American businesses. I know I am buying my Valetine's Day cards from my friends Linda and Sania and their Love Pockets homemade business.

I love their cards and I think some of them even look like my friends who create them. :)

Okay share and show us what you sell that would make a potential gift.

Please start adding your homemade businesses on the Linky Tool. Let's promote our talented friends. Share and Show Your Valentine's Day Gift Ideas/Homemade Gifts/Homemade Business

Free Kindle book by Momlaughs, Cheryl Moeller

2012-01-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

Help! Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle - early Saturday morning, January 28 through Monday January 30 midnight -At last a book that answers the proverbial question, “Where is my other sock?” Cheryl Moeller, emerges from her laundry room at last to tell her story – such as the time Metamucil tablets left in a pants pocket became the size of basketballs after 30 minutes in the washing machine. Her over-the-laundry pile humor will help you laugh your way through motherhood. Free for 3 days Click here

Now that I'm a mom of six...

2012-01-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

I used to have the latest up to the minute technology and electronic gadgets; now that I'm a mom of six I have a used ripped stepped-on spiral notebook and a pencil with a very dull lead.I used to have long, sweet smelling, deep luxurious baths, now I count standing in the rain as my monthly shower.I used to have oodles of close friends, lunches out, and power walks around the lake, now I have the pediatricians and clerks at Walgreen’s (they are my only friends).I used to look at Vogue, now without for ten years I look like I am from the morgue.I used to go on dates with my spouse and now we eat lot of prunes, figs, and dates.I used to sport the latest make-up, now I need an extremely extreme makeover and scrape the leftovers out of the bottom of my mauve lipstick tube with a ball point pen.I used to style in the latest shishi fashions, now I have to put the power of positive thinking on my vintage fashion statement.I used to throw and glaze my own original pottery, now I throw my own pottery for sure.

Show us your Mom Blogs or Websites

2012-01-21T03:18:00.000-08:00

I started my Momlaughs blog five years ago www.momlaughs.blogspot.comI also write a blog for inspiring those who would love to become writers or have something published - www.writingmentor.blogspot.com My husband, Bob, and I also have this website www.forkeepsministries.comDo you have a mom blog or website or one that moms might be interested in? Please show us your mom blog or website. (You don't have to be a mom to share your blog here. Maybe you just have a blog that moms would like to read.) Share it here.

2012-01-20T20:53:00.000-08:00

Megan, age 15, is making something cooking baking all 366 days this year. It's a leap year! She is giving herself some experience as a pastry chef. She loves doing this and is thinking of recipes and recipe combinations. Which ones look like your favorites? She takes a lot of the stuff to school with her to share.

Megan on the right with her little sister and one of her big brothers!

Buy Now!

2012-01-20T20:42:00.001-08:00

Buy now

20 Things I Learned from Raising Six Children

2012-01-19T20:47:00.001-08:00

(Published also on http://www.mops.org/ October 2007)

1) Salt, pepper and milk are not fish food.
2) It's a bad thing when your child calls from camp and asks if it's a bad thing if one foot is bigger than the other.
3) If you mow the lawn with the basement windows open – the carbon monoxide detector will go off.
4) The ceiling fan doesn’t hold more than a 40 pound child and is not a substitute for taking your child to Great America.
5) Two kids cannot sit on top of the refrigerator but one can.
6) A 10-year-old cannot run a mile without shoes but he can run a ½ mile.
7) A mother with three sons doesn’t have that many friends who are mothers of all girls when the sons are young. The mother has more friends who are mothers of all girls when they reach high school age.
8) You get invited over less to friends and family’s houses for Sunday dinner when you have six kids.
9) When the nurse says, "even though the white count is as high as Mononucleosis – it’s only E coli," you shouldn’t be happy.
10) Finger painting is a good hobby.
11) Finger painting the front door is not a good hobby.
12) Green marker and a new couch don’t mix.
13) Black marker and a new loveseat also don’t mix.
14) The backyard swimming pool is not a bubble bath.
15) Pool filters do not like bubbles.
16) A dog who has been fed two packages of hot dogs can throw up twice his body weight.
17) Being hit with a marble from the second floor hurts more than being hit by a marble from the first floor.
18) The Easy Bake oven does not bake cookies fast enough for a family of eight.
19) “I hope you didn't forget I put the cell phone on the roof of the car” is not a good thing to hear when you are going 60 mph on the toll way.
20) A good sense of humor will get you through most problems in life.

My book is in my Hands!

2012-01-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

The first books arrived to my home on Friday.Awesome book cover. Harvest House Publishing did an excellent job throughout. I appreciate their expertise and hard work so much. It should be in bookstores by the end of the month. Perfect for the frazzled mom who never has enough time in the day, Creative Slow-Cooker Meals gives readers more time around the table with delicious, healthy, frugal, and easy meals!Creative Slow Cooker Meals book and author details from Harvest House Publishersclick here

Buy Now!

Michelle, Minneapolis, MN, 40

2012-01-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

Kelly's blog has a single mingle going on.I asked many single friends if I could write about them and only my good friend Michelle agreed. She is a mature Christ follower and Believer. Michelle is an idea person. She is also the kind of person that you would love to take a cross country trip with. You would not hear complaining, but you would hear a lot of laughing from the back seat. Michelle is never married, no kids. You will find her a very giving person, she never arrives without carrying cute bags with unique gifts to distribute to her friends and family. She's a great cook and adoring auntie to her many nieces and nephews and even makes room for our kids in her heart. In the words of MacKenzie, our youngest daughter, she said, "Michelle took me to the Mall of America and we were going to just do one ride. Michelle ended up doing so many more rides with me that she would have saved money by buying the whole day pass for both of us." She is barely just 40 and she is the fun adventure-one.

Here's a couple paragraphs below about Michelle from Michelle herself:"I love to travel, hang out with family and friends, and enjoy the creative side of life, including live music shows and plays. I do also enjoy the typical girl things like scrapbooking, shopping, and spa days." J"However, I’m really looking for a “man with a plan!” I’ve heard that when you get married it’s not all romance and flowers, but I’d love to every once in a while break out from the routine of: “Go to work, relax at home, go to bed, repeat!” I’d love to have a mission or plan for our family that is slightly beyond the normal. Maybe live in another country for a while, learn a new hobby together, etc. Maybe it’s not really possible, but I’d like to at least try. If I find a great guy that can make me laugh, that would be icing on the cake!" from MichelleIf you want to get in contact with Michelle, you can write me Mrs. Cheryl Moeller at momlaughs@gmail.com

Ten Top Signs It's Time to Clean Your House

2012-01-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

1. You hear your husband's muffled voice but haven't been able to spot him for 3 days.2. The Orkin Man asks if he can spray you and your husband.3. The clothes you left in the dryer are back in style -- just in time for your 20-yearclass reunion.4. The expiration date on the milk carton coincides with the Apollo 11 moonlanding.5. Mistaking your home for a nearby landfill, Waste Management trucks begin unloading in your driveway.6. Archeologists at the local university ask if they can excavate your livingroom.7. The dishes in the sink are growing stalactites and stalagmites.8. The frozen meat in the freezer is from the last Ice Age.9. You find a large sum of cash under the couch cushions -- and it's all Revolutionary Warcurrency.10. You finally found your children's homework -- and your children.Momlaughs, Cheryl MoellerIt's finally out - Creative Slow-Cooker Meals!!!!

Click here

Buy now and solve your dinner dilemma

Are You a Christian Single 38 Years of Age or Over?

2012-01-06T09:14:00.001-08:00

I'm trying something new on here for one week. So, let's see how this works and have some fun.

Hi to everyone - Christian Single 38 Years of Age or Over and those who have single friends over Single 38 Years of Age or Over. I'm a pastor's kid and a pastor's wife, so we reserve the right to be family friendly.

We have a heart and ministry to singles. We have a conference called The Road to "I Do" Singles' Conference (which thousands have attended) on Relationships. About our Road to "I Do" Conference click here
We also have a CD set of the conference that you can buy and listen to or podcast. Click here

We really love our group/s in the Midwest and have even had some Holiday dinners with our singles. They are like family to us. We count them among our best friends.

Do you have a single relative or friend that really is like family to you? Why not write a blog post about them to get them connected to some other Singles 38 Years of Age or Over? You can post for someone else, but please ask them first! :)

Linky Tools works this way:

1. Write up a blog post about yourself or someone else 38 Years of Age or Over. Only Single 38 Years of Age or Over, no exceptions (we will have other options later this month).

2. When you post on Linky Tools (below) be sure to give AS YOUR TITLE (first place to write something on Linky Tools), your first name, age, and the state that you are from to make things easier for everyone.

3. This is for fun, so don't get too invested or too worried. Someone might email you or no one might email you. Not getting an email is not a big deal.

4. Read the links that other singles put up (or their friends put up for them). If you are interested in getting to know someone more, write to them. We reserve the right to be family friendly.

5. If you eventually have a neat story to share of who you did meet through this; let me know. We would love to know! - momlaughs@gmail.com

Put your blog post link in this Linky Tools box.

Not me! I am saving money on postage while I sleep

2012-01-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

Not me! I did not receive free family picture Christmas cards to mail to friends and family from a completely free with free shipping online deal. Not me! I did not lose them over a month ago. Not me! I did not see them the day they arrived and oh no they do not say Merry Christmas, so... I can't use them for Valentines' Day cards. (Not me! I was not thinking I am saving postage by not mailing them out.)

Not me! Monday

2012-01-01T21:54:00.000-08:00

January 1st: "I will learn to sleep standing up."

Not me! but this is what happens One Week Later: "I won't fall asleep behind the wheel."

January 1st: "I will find at least one pair of matching socks."

Not me! but this is what happens One Week Later: "Finding one pair of matching socks is statisically identical to being hit with a meteor, while vacationing in Florida."

January 1st: "I will use only one email address."

Not me! but this is what happens One Week Later: "I will go from eight to seven email addresses."

January 1st: "I will exercise every single day in 2009, for at least one hour."

Not me! but this is what happens One Week Later: "I'll buy a DVD of the 2008 Olympics and watch it for 30 minutes a day."

January 1st: "I will not only wash, but also dry all our dirty dishes, immediately after each meal."

Not me! but this is what happens One Week Later: "I will train my cat to dry dishes, the dog already washes them."

January 1st: "I will remember my own birthday and celebrate in a special way."

Not me! but this is what happens One Week Later: "I will somehow forget how old I am."

January 1st: "I will make a time for reading each day in 2009."

Not me! but this is what happens One Week Later: "I will read the back of grocery store receipts to see if I have earned enough points to get for free, the featured Teflon cookware."

Not Me’s!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

I start this New Year with sadness. One of my good friends, Marybeth Scherer, passed away on Christmas Day. She was a true friend to many. I am really missing her a lot.

This is when friends sent Marybeth and her family to a wonderful trip to western Michigan for some happy memories.

Marybeth you will always be missed by many.

Ron and Marybeth, the perfect 1980's couple! How cute!

Most of all Marybeth loved Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and Lord and lived her life to share Jesus' love! John 3:16

Cheryl's Cookbook is Being Given Away in a Drawing on America's Grandma Website

2011-12-30T09:49:00.001-08:00

America's Grandma Kay Swatkowski has a drawing giveaway for Cheryl's new cookbook if you leave a recipe on Kay's site - http://www.americangrandma.com/2011/12/29/soups-on-cookbook-giveaway/

Leave a recipe as a comment to win...

(This is a great marketing tool that Kay Swatkowski is using. Good job Kay. Kay is my good friend and writing student. Look around on her blog!

- http://www.americangrandma.com/2011/12/29/soups-on-cookbook-giveaway/

Mom's 2012 New Year's Resolutions One Month Later

2011-12-28T16:47:00.000-08:00

January 1st: “My children and I will learn Modern Hebrew this year.”
February 1st: “My children and I will weekly eat one dozen bagels with lox.”

January 1st: “I will get the kids the pet they’ve always wanted.”
February 1st: “I will buy a collar and a leash for my chia plant.”

January 1st: “I will make only home-made yogurt from only organic ingredients.”
February 1st: “I will allow my children only two Gogurts in their mouth at a time.”

January 1st: "I will take my children to a museum once a month."
February 1st: "I will show my kids where I ate super chili dogs in high school.”

January 1st: "I will make sure my children eat multi-grain fiber filled items at each meal."
February 1st: "I will store my bag of Krispy Kreme doughnuts next to a bottle of Metamucil.”

January 1st: "I will feature a Van Gogh each month on our coffee table."
February 1st: "I will fill up our Van at The Stop and Go.”

January 1st: "We will never eat food in the car in 2012."
February 1st: "We will quit using our gas grill in the car in 2012."

Not me! Monday

2011-12-25T18:26:00.000-08:00

No! Not Me!...while everyone is rushing through the doors chasing bargains the day after Thanksgiving, this mommy is thinking about how can she recover from a broken hip in time for Christmas Eve.

No! Not Me!...while everyone else is taking three months to find the most popular toy, this mommy is still trying to remember where she hid last year’s most popular toy.

No! Not Me!...while everyone is taking pictures at the kids' church Christmas musical, this mommy hopes they don’t take one of her because she’s wearing two different colors of shoes (the dog has hidden one of each).

No! Not Me!...while everyone else is sporting those great red Santa hats, this mommy remembers wearing one last year and causing a multiple car fender bender because she was mistaken for a stoplight.

No! Not Me!...while everyone else is using the Advent calendar to count down to Christmas, this mommy is counting down to December 26 (and the full body mud spa treatment she promised herself).

No! Not Me!...while everyone else is wearing Christmas sweaters, this mommy knows that they actually make you look like a mobile Christmas bulletin board.

No! Not Me!...while everyone is trading fruit cakes, if this mommy says yes to one more Christmas party where they are yodeling Jingle Bells, she's going to become a fruitcake.

No! Not Me!..while everyone is opening presents Christmas Eve, this mommy is wondering if anyone will notice that to hide the taste, she basted the burned turkey with green jello.

No! Not Me!...while everyone else knows Santa is real, this mommy knows he isn't, but if he was, he'd be in charge of cleaning up the wrapping paper.

Check out my new cookbook for real: Creative Slow Cooker Meals by Cheryl Moeller

Not Me’s!

Jazz for Cows, Who Would have Thought....

2011-12-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

Book Review - "Baby Saves Christmas" by Cheryl Moeller and Melissa Moeller Briggs

2011-12-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

A book review by Read On Read Now

A story of simple Christmas joys, "Baby Saves Christmas" by Cheryl Moeller and Melissa Moeller Briggs will fill children and their families with hope as many face a financially difficult Christmas season.

Charmingly told from the point of view of grandma and grandpa's small dog Baby, the story begins as these grandparents face the reality that they will not have enough money to buy their grandchildren Christmas gifts. With all 21 grandchildren coming for Christmas, they try to hold on to their faith that God will provide what they need. Eventually they find that with a little creativity and the help of their family, friends and a special Baby, they can give their grandchildren the best Christmas ever. Click here to read on.

Not Me! Monday!

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to MyCharmingKids; her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. Click here

Not me! I don't know about you but I don't have a large family and here's some ways to know if you do or not...

Not me! The combined mileage on my cars is 1,000,000 miles (and I haven’t left my suburb in seven years).

Not me! No one invites us over for Sunday dinner (unless it’s for a fast).

Not me! I have a laundromat in my basement (it’s open all night and I still can’t find an empty machine).

Not me! Holidays are always at my house (Santa has to use a “wide load” sleigh and 16 reindeer to haul everything down to me).

Not me! My monthly grocery store receipt is 4 figures (the commodities market rallies every time I go shopping).

Not me! I am happy to get my oldest daughter's hand-me-downs.

Not me ! As long as I book it by the fourth of July, I am guaranteed a reserved table at my favorite restaurant for my whole family for Valentine’s Day.

Not me! I use a whole box of oatmeal to make breakfast (and that’s for the younger kids and newborns).

Not me ! My driveway looks like a used car lot (my husband, Bob, wears a plaid sport coat and has to check with his manager before handing me the keys).

Not Me’s!

ELF-SERVE not Self-serve - What Mommy is thinking about in December…

2011-12-17T05:42:00.000-08:00

ELF-SERVE

What Mommy is thinking about in December…
...while everyone is rushing through the doors chasing bargains the day after Thanksgiving, mommy is thinking about how can she recover from a broken hip in time for Christmas Eve.

...while everyone else is taking three months to find the most popular toy, mommy is still trying to remember where she hid last year’s most popular toy.

...while everyone is taking pictures at the kids' church Christmas musical, mommy hopes they don’t take one of her because she’s wearing two different colors of shoes (the dog has hidden one of each).

...while everyone else is sporting those great red Santa hats, mommy remembers wearing one last year and causing a multiple car fender bender because she was mistaken for a stoplight.

...while everyone else is using the Advent calendar to count down to Christmas, mommy is counting down to December 26 (and the full body mud spa treatment she promised herself).

...while everyone else is wearing Christmas sweaters, mommy knows that they actually make you look like a mobile Christmas bulletin board.

...while everyone is trading fruit cakes, if mommy says yes to one more Christmas party where they are yodeling Jingle Bells, she's going to become a fruitcake.

...while everyone is opening presents Christmas Eve, mommy is wondering if anyone will notice that to hide the taste, she basted the burned turkey with green jello.

...while everyone else knows Santa is real, mommy knows he isn't, but if he was, he'd be in charge of cleaning up the wrapping paper.

Have a Merry Celebration of Christ’s Birth!

Want to read a great Christmas story to your children or grandchildren?

Check out Baby Saves Christmas by Cheryl Moeller and Melissa Moeller Briggs, Juvenile ficition that you won't want to put down!

(illustrated by Susan R. Smith)

Buy here today.
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Saves-Christmas-ebook/dp/B005XPAVLA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1323987934&sr=1-1

The Night Before Christmas According to Mom

2011-12-14T18:05:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas,
And all through the house,
The children were sleeping,
Even my spouse.

I was searching for the stockings, I looked under a chair,
But under the cushion found rippled potato chips there.

The children had not wanted to go to their beds,
As visions of Easy Bake Ovens danced in their heads,
Exhausted I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep,
Till rudely awakened by the sounds of BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The relatives made it here hurray after all,
Now it would truly be a complete Christmas ball,
The children were awakened, and with them hubby Steve,
by Grandpa Alexander and Grandma Eve.

As the hot cocoa that night so generously flowed,
I noticed something under the sink that seemed rather old,
It was the stockings I had sought for hidden inside a container.
Only they had been used last week as a handy spaghetti strainer.

Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

2011-12-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

FREE
25 Days of Free Holiday Music at Amazon.com.
Visit Amazon.com every day through Christmas, and you’ll find a new piece of holiday music to download for free.
(Aditional place to go on Amazon to download free holiday music.)

Also, FREE Christmas Country Music - use this free code
You can download 10 country holiday songs free on iTunes. You’ll need to use promo code “RJ699FX49WN4” to get the deal, but it’ll load automatically if iTunes is already installed on your computer & you click through from the People Country Special site. The code expires on December 31, 2011. Here are the songs:

Randy Travis, O Holy Night
Steel Magnolia, It’s Christmas Time
Phil Vassar, What Child Is This
Skaggs Family, Christmas Time’s A Coming
Joey + Rory, Remember Me
Carter’s Chord, Up On The House Top
Jacob Lyda, Tis the Season To Be Lonesome
Mandy Barnett, This Time of Year
Attwater, All I Want For Christmas Is You
Andy Gibson, The Christmas Song
You can download 10 country holiday songs free on iTunes.

Not Me! Monday!

2011-12-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to MyCharmingKids; her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. Click here

NOT me. I did not lock us out of the house last night. And, I had not just checked and made sure every other door was closed and locked shut.

It was going to be a perfect Christmas childhood memory. I drove the kids through our neighborhood looking at Christmas lights, listening to Christmas music, and eating Christmas snacks. It was a perfect moment until we got back home to find no, not me, not a locked house.

Not me! I did not have the wrong keys with! I did not have every avenue into the house locked up tight! I did not. I did not.

I did not try to pry a front window open that was unlocked. Not me to the sound of cracking glass!

I did not think of breaking a window. Not me! Not during the coldest night of the winter!

Not me! I did not finally figure out the lock was not that tight on my own room's window and push with a baseball bat on the window frame while standing on my grandson's new motorized army preschool jeep. I did not scare the neighbors. Not me!

I did not think I would not have a Not Me for this week, knowing full well that I could not go a week much less a day without having a Not Me! experience.

Not Me’s!

Free Holidays Gift From Shutterfly

2011-12-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

‎101 FREE 4x6 prints on Shutterly. Enter promo code at checkout
J5D4-3AA0-1U0S-GXMPRS unitl December 12.
You can get 101 of 1 print or 101 different prints. You pay for shipping unless your order is over $50. 101 Free Shutterly Prints Click Here

Free Holiday Gift

2011-12-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

Free completely Free
CVS: Free 8×10 Kodak Photo Collage (Facebook offer)
Click on the “Like” button on the Kodak Facebook Page to get print a coupon for a free 8×10 Photo Collage at CVS or two other pharmacies (Drug Mart and Bartell Pharmacies).

You can print this at the Kodak Picture Kiosk. Up to $6.99 value and no shipping as you will be picking it up in store.
This coupon is good through December 11, 2011.

Not Me! Monday!

2011-12-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to MyCharmingKids; her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. Click here

NOT me. I did not go through MacDonalds drive-through three times in a row this morning. First time I did not go through for my own latte and then remembered that MacKenzie wanted orange juice not me no not me! I did not go around the building and through the drive-through again. (I wasn't too lazy to run to Walgreens for the orange juice.) Not me.

Then, not me, no I did not go around the building again and through the drive-through for the third time because I remembered that Megan wanted a latte too. I did not tell the guy in the window that I am kind of like Joshua and the Battle of Jericho and that I was going to go around the building seven times. The clerk did not seem that alarmed, at least not as alarmed as when one morning I forgot I had curlers n my hair and went through the MacDonalds drive-through for coffee.
No, that could not have been me who did that.

The window clerk did not go and tell every worker in the MacDonalds kitchen and soon 11 people were staring at me through the window. I acted like there was nothing different or wrong, but they sure were staring and whispering. No, not me. I didn't have curlers in my hair and no I would never go out in public like that. Not Me’s!

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

2011-12-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

Artscow.com Print Deal
We just did this (50 free prints) with our son and daughter-in-law's wedding pictures. We are going to get 50 a month for the newlyweds until we have all 250 pictures from their wedding. The first batch for last month has already arrived and they are beautiful! We got the matte finish. The happy newlyweds were delighted with the quality. I think postage was about $7 for 50 4x6 prints. We are glad we took advantage of this opportunity.
This is ongoing. We are going to get 50 prints a month every month until we have the ones we want.

Artscow.com also have a special of free shipping until December 9 on orders over $15 which is a good deal, except of course these prints are free so they would not qualify. But here is the code if you want to try it on something FREESHIP15 (Expires December 9, 2011)

Also, at any given point you can only use one code at a time on artscow.com

Here are some more details: Click here

Terms and Conditions for Free 1200 Prints.

Details of this promotion:

Offer applies to new registrants only
Please use the credits between the start time and expire time
100 free 4x6 and 50 free 5x7 print credits can be used per month.
The decision of ArtsCow.com on all matters or queries concerning the Promotion shall be final.
One use per household. *Only the first new register can entitle to enjoy this promotion offer in the network place.
Promotion details may change at any time without notice
Valid on orders placed and shipped within the globe only
Shipping fees are not included
All credits issued will not be deleted except repeated registrants
ArtsCow.com reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time without notice

How to use the free photo prints and other photo gift credits:

Login your ArtsCow account
Create a new album
Upload your photos to the album
Place the photo prints order
The free photo print credits will be auto applied.
Enter Billing/Shipping Information.
Check out by Paypal or Credit Card.

Frugal Free for Holiday Christmas Shopping Lunch or Dinner - Subways offer Several 6 inch Subs during December for $2

2011-12-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

From Subway!

December is Customer Appreciation Month at SUBWAY® restaurants! We’re thanking our customers for being such big fans by offering the regular 6-inch Cold Cut Combo or Meatball Marinara for just $2 each! This special offer is only available during December - so hurry in! Prices and Participation may vary. US only. Prices Higher in Alaska and Hawaii. Additional charge for Extras. Plus taxes where applicable. Click here

This Christmas... Give Jesus

2011-12-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

This Christmas... Give Jesus.

As Advent begins... We shall deeply miss this year not receiving our advent calendar from our friend and seminary professor/mentor Dr. Harold Burgess. He was a great writer and speaker.

They always sent their Christmas greeting at the end of November with an advent calendar.
This year we approach advent with expectation and waiting that we will see Dr. B again in heaven some day. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kentucky/obituary.aspx?n=harold-william-burgess&pid=149815274

This Christmas... Give Jesus.

This Christmas... Give Jesus

2011-12-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

The Search for Our Advent Calendar:

We went in search of an Advent Calendar for our family devotions this month. Little did we know we were on almost an uphill search something akin to the geographical exploration of Dr. Livingston in southern and central Africa in the mid 1880s. We could only find advent calendars with windows that opened to chocolate reindeer, red and green gummy worms, and Bart Simpson.

Dr. Livingston believed the Nile River source was in the wrong spot. But, many other things he was right about. Regardless of the good he did with his map making, his heart eventually changed to an eternal perspective. Dr. Livingston's life changed and he began to see his exploration for the purpose not of making maps, but making disciples. It was when he went on his Zambezi expedition that his spirit turned from the good to the Best.

Not that we don't like chocolate and gummy worms, but we wanted an Advent calendar where every window opened to Scripture and then finally on December 24th to Jesus!

Our long expedition ended when we finally found several possibilities at Christian bookstores, Hallmark Stores, and Hallmark brands at Walgreens (including one that also featured chocolate pieces).

Go out today and find your's. Then, thank the stores that carry Christian Advent calendars and buy several extras for friends and family.

This Christmas... Give Jesus

This Christmas... Give Jesus

2011-12-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

Bad News (Greed)... Good News (Jesus)

Bad News... Greed is an Insatiable Monster/Good News... Being Thankful to Jesus is the Answer

Bad News: Greed is the jealous hunger to obtain more than we need at any cost.

Good News: The Biblical cure for greed is a life of continual thanksgiving to God.

Bad News: Greed will never allow you to know true peace or contentment.

Good News: Jesus tells us to focus on all we have been given rather than all we lack.

Bad News: Enough is never enough when greed infects you. Greed is ultimately based on a lack of faith in God's provision.

Good News Jesus says He is more than enough, so acknowledge and trust that.

Bad News: Greed is driven by the lie that the things of the world can satisfy our hearts.

Good News Thanksgiving to Jesus sets us free to enjoy all we have without comparison or complaint.

This Christmas... Give Jesus

(Jesus said to them) "Watch out! Be on guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15

Free or Nearly Free Christmas Gifts

2011-12-02T05:43:00.000-08:00

Help! Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle and four of the Moellers' other Kindle books are only $0.99 cents. If you don't have a Kindle Reader you can get a free app on your PC or iphone. Also, you can gift someone a gift card on amazon.com for as low as $0.99 and they will email it for free to your recipient. So, then your friend or family member can use it to buy anything on Kindle or Amazon, including the Moeller's Kindle books. So, even $1 could buy a Kindle book and $4 could buy 4 Kindle books. Click here

Everyone is a mom or has had a mom, so this Kindle book of Cheryl's comedy is sure to make everyone laugh. Click here

Click here for Moeller's $0.99 cents Kindle books

Click here for Moeller's $0.99 cents Kindle books

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

2011-12-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

New FREE offer starting today - Free or nearly free - get $10 off ($10 off code is WCUD-7EU7-J205-ET4A9D) any item including sale items. A magnet for $5 is now free. Photo books, calendars, etc. would only be $1. Browse on their their site. You have to pay for shipping, unless you order more than $50 then it is free. But at these prices your total will not be $50. :) $10 off code is WCUD-7EU7-J205-ET4A9D Until December 7, but start now some of these projects take a little time to do but are well worth your efforts. http://www.shutterfly.com/

Free Cyber Monday Giveaway from Two of my Writing and Publishing Conference Students/Friends

2011-11-28T06:45:00.000-08:00

Free Cyber Monday Special Offer from my friends (and Writing and Publishing Conference students) at Loves Pockets Linda Schwert and Sania Hamilton... They are offering three free gift tags today, Cyber Monday, November 28, only. They have excellent Christian cards with a button or extra item on each one also for sale and several are on specials. Linda has been a card writer/maker for Dayspring and Hallmark in the past. And, now with friend Sania, they have created their own Christian card company. I love their products. Enjoy their free Cyber Monday Special and get to know their site. This is the instructions on their site. For our 3 FREE Christmas Tags, go to our Contact Us page on our site and type your home address in the Comment section.* * One set per household. You will receive the tags 5 to 7 days after your order. http://www.lovespockets.com/

Sania and Linda, Lovespockets

Baby Saves Christmas written by mother-daughter duo Cheryl Moeller and Melissa Moeller Briggs

2011-11-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

Buy Now on Kindle

Mama's Christmas List

2011-11-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

10 Gifts Mom Wants for Christmas....
What mom really gets...

1. What mom wants for Christmas? Christmas breakfast tea served on a real silver tray. Brilliant.

What mom really gets... A sryupy Styrofoam plate from McDonald's thrown at the back of her head from her crying one year old. .

2. What mom wants for Christmas? Month long spa candlelight massage and jaccuzzi. Splendid.

What mom really gets... A hosing down by the neighbor's exotic elephant's trunk.

3. What mom wants for Christmas? Sitting around doing nothing. Unscheduled.

What mom really gets... Free time... She can dream, can't she?

4. What mom wants for Christmas? Extra large gift certificate to a mom bookstore and leisurely weeks to read. Bookworm.

What mom really gets... All pre-owned books with 3-d popups that either moo, boo, or coo.

5. What mom wants for Christmas? A chick flick DVD. Classic English literature come to life. Pride and Prejudice.

What mom really gets... 55 seasons of the Deadliest Catch.

6. What mom wants for Christmas? A 14 carat diamond necklace. Sparkly.

What mom really gets... 14 carrots compliments of Winn Dixie.

7. What mom wants for Christmas? LED lights so Christmas decorations can be environmentally friendly. Going Green.

What mom really gets... Blinking lights from the tow truck that is hauling her stalled car to the garage.

8. What mom wants for Christmas? A hand bell choir musical rendition of the Little Drummer Boy. Pa rum pum pum pum.

What mom really gets... Three sons beating incessantly on three drums given to them by their diabolical aunts and uncles.

9. What mom wants for Christmas? 10,000 festive lights in the backyard on trees large and small. Twinkly.

What mom really gets... One used birthday candle left in the utility drawer encrusted with dog hair and molded bread crumbs.

=====================================================

What mama wants; mama don't get. But, mom is still sending her letter to Santa.

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

2011-11-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE
Walgreens Free 8x10 collage picture or 8x10 picture through Friday, November 25.
Order online and then pick up for free at your Walgreens store. Click here

I am Thankful for Parents who Celebrated a Traditional God-honoring Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T06:13:00.000-08:00

We are mourning the loss of my father, Rev. Roy Webster, this month. He was a Tennessee boy but ministered from 1949-1996 in the Midwest.

My dad went home to be with his Lord and Savior last Sunday morning. He loved to go to church and last Sunday he walked into the presence of the Lord during the Sunday morning worship hour.

He told me when I was ten years old that he wanted to make it to 80 and he passed away at 81 3/4 years. God blessed him with a long life.

He loved football and senior year his team at Clinton High School, Clinton, TN were undefeated.

He was a young WWII Vet because he joined the U.S. Army at 14 years of age. He rode on a bus from TN on a unpaved dirt road (common in 1944) all the way to TX. The army thought he was 18. He envied his older brothers serving our country and he decided to join them.

While some in Hollywood boast of being married 61 days, my dad was married for 61 years mid-century (August 25, 1950) mid-America (to a Michigan girl), the love of his life Gladys Windquist, he met at Owosso Bible College in Owosso, Michigan.

They were married 61 years and here they are
at their 25th wedding anniversary party in Flint,
Michigan

He never turned on a computer, but he had more friends than most of us will ever hope to have on Facebook. He never met a person that he did not like.

My dad really did love his mom (and dad), baseball (and football), and apple pie. Oh yes, and automobiles.

He loved wining the grandfather with the most grandchildren on Father’s Day for several years in a row.

And, then to know that he had 2 great-grandsons.

He spent the last decade of his life, calling and talking with members of his former churches that he was not sure of their salvation. He would present the Gospel and give them a chance once again to respond to the claims of Christ. And, he kept calling them until they trusted in Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Raised in the hills of TN, he was blessed to minister in east Michigan where many southerners had come up to work in the hey day of the car industry. When he retired in 1996 from the pastorate, he wanted nothing more than to go back to his people in Tennessee. And, that is from where last Sunday morning, he went to be with the Lord, among the twiggy dogwod trees, soft biscuits with sweet honey, good old southern gospel quartet singing, and his people. Now he is singing with his much loved family members and friends who went on before him.

By daughter Cheryl Webster Moeller
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/knoxnews/obituary.aspx?n=roy-b-webster&pid=154621497

Thanksgiving Postcard from God Devotional

2011-11-23T06:10:00.000-08:00

It was 10:00 a.m. the day before Thanksgiving. In just a few hours the doors to our inner-city church would open, and we would host our urban neighbors, many of whom were Native Americans, to a free Thanksgiving dinner.

We were making last-minute preparations when we heard a loud knock at the front door. Another interruption, we thought as we trudged toward the door. When we opened the door, we were greeted by two delivery men from Sears.

"Will you sign for this?" one of the men asked as he shoved a clipboard our way.

"Sure, what is it?"

"A freezer," he answered.

"We didn't order a freezer."

"Someone did," he said. With that, he and his burly partner pushed past us and wheeled a full-length deep freeze up the steep steps and into our church.

As we studied the invoice, we discovered a sister church, New Hope Church in Crystal, MN, had purchased the appliance for us. That's strange, we thought. They never told us it was coming.

Our minds returned to the Thanksgiving dinner. Within a few hours, the first flakes of snow started coming down. In Minnesota in late November, that can mean anything from a dusting to three-foot snow drifts. On this particular day, it meant the worst. By 4:00 p.m., the flakes had turned into a major-league blizzard. The timing couldn't have been worse. By that late hour, all the food for our dinner had been prepared—a dozen turkeys, nearly a hundred pounds of mashed potatoes, and scores of piping-hot pies.

But we had no one to eat any of it. All our food and effort was about to go to waste.

That's when we remembered the gift we had received only hours earlier. We wrapped the food and carried it upstairs to our new storage freezer. One week later we held the postponed dinner and served a hot Thanksgiving meal to a church packed with grateful neighbors and needy friends.

Looking back, we realize we received more than an appliance from a department store that day. We received a postcard from God.

What's a postcard from God? It's one of those providential, serendipitous events that appear in our lives, marriage and family—a reminder that God has not forgotten us. For us, it's like receiving a short note that reads, "Dear Cheryl and Bob, I was thinking of you today. Just thought I'd let you know. Love, Your heavenly Father."

The ways in which he sends these timely postcards are as unpredictable as they are amazing. The net effect seems always the same: to encourage and strengthen us, often when we need it the most.

Piles of unwanted junk mail are delivered daily. As catalogs, sales brochures, newspapers, and a host of other materials accumulate on our desks, our goal is to dispose of the piles as quickly as possible. In the same way, our lives, our marriages, our families, and schedules can become cluttered with carpools, shopping, taking care of kids, exercising, committee meetings, weekly deadlines, and urgent calls to make. Our goal can become simply to get through the day.

In the midst of sorting through such clutter, it's easy to overlook the simple notes our heavenly Father sends to remind us of his love. When we take the time to sort through "coincidences" of my life, we discover simple but much-needed messages reminding us, "I love you. I haven't forgotten you."

Signed, Your God.

By Cheryl and Bob Moeller

Now, also on Kindle by Momlaughs (Cheryl Moeller) - Creative Slow Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty & Easy Dinners

2011-11-18T17:23:00.000-08:00

Pre-Order Creative Slow Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty & Easy Dinners

Or, on Kindle

From the celebrated coauthor of The Marriage Miracle comes a new kind of cookbook and a new attitude toward planning meals. With an eye toward the whole menu, not just part of it, columnist Cheryl Moeller teaches cooks to use two crockpots to easily create healthy, homemade dinners .
Don’t worry about your dinner being reduced to a mushy stew. Each of the more than 200 recipes has been taste-tested at Cheryl’s table. Join the Moeller family as you dig into:

Harvest-time Halibut Chowder
Salmon and Gingered Carrots
Mediterranean Rice Pilaf
Indian Chicken Curry
Apricot-Pistachio Bread
Shrimp Creole
Rhubarb Crisp

… and many more! Perfect for the frazzled mom who never has enough time in the day, Creative Slow-Cooker Meals gives readers more time around the table with delicious, healthy, frugal, and easy meals!

From the Author

Using two slow cookers to make dinner gave me back my life and it can do the same for you. This plan is just perfect for a frazzled mom with no time in her day. It also works for my single friends that just want to cook once a week. In my book I not only give you perfect recipes, but I also plan your entire dinner menu. I'm a wife, mom, sister, daughter, granddaughter, cousin, niece, aunt, and friend just like you. I can't make more time in my day; it just doesn't exist. But, I can use Creative Slow-Cooker Meals to solve my dinner dilemma early in the day. Momlaughs (Cheryl Moeller)

A perfect Christmas present for all the adults on your list -
1. Pre-order Creative Slow Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty & Easy Dinners
2. Buy them one or two crockpots (they need two).
(You can print out the info on Creative Slow Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty & Easy Dinners and stick it in a Christmas card in the crockpot to show them they will be receiving in January.)

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Day #3 Frugal Frugal Frugal

2011-11-09T05:57:00.000-08:00

Free or Nearly Free Christmas gift day #3. Free 8x10 Canvas Picture (made with your photo) but you do have to pay the $14.96 shipping. Lisa Jungheim and I have both ordered these in the past and we were very happy with the finished gift. The nice thing is that you don't have to buy a frame - the photo gift is on canvas with a thin wooden frame behind it, that it's stretched over, so it hangs perfectly on the wall with that. I found average on the internet for this product was about $30 plus paid shipping. They claim their product is worth $44.99 plus paid shipping. So, you are getting a free wall canvas 8x10 and then just have to pay the shipping. It makes a nice gift and you can ship it right to someone else or yourself. Also, if you make completely separate orders, you can order/buy more than one. I don't know when this special ends, so seize the day.

Some photos I am going to use - these are only the photos NOT made up on the canvas yet.

More Free Stuff Day #2

2011-11-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

FREE or Nearly FREE Gifts for the Holidays from Momlaughs. Today's free gift is an E-Cookbook for the holidays. It's free just for you from The Barn Door: Seeing the World Through Midwestern Eyes, one of the 15 sites that carries Cheryl's monthly columns. The blog is one of a kind midwest reading for people who love the midwest and all it has to offer from MN to OH! Enjoy the free e-cookbook as a gift from the writers of The Barn Door.

Free Stuff for the Holidays

2011-11-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

A beautiful website is offering a free $30 off code for their website until Sunday, November 13.

The free $30 off code is H2SHOLIDAY.

You do have to pay for the shipping for each gift separately. It varies from about $6 to $12, depending on large the gift.

We were able to buy several things shipped to the same address, but we had to pay the shipping for each item separately. But, this is a great value.

If you buy something for under $30, your gift will be free plus you pay for shipping.
If you buy something for over $30, then apply the $30, pay the rest plus you pay for the shipping.

This is high quality gifts similar to the quality of Hallmark. I know because my friend Lisa Jungheim and I have ordered various items for people on our Christmas lists. Here's part of Lisa's Christmas list recipients.

Cheryl and Lisa highly suggest it.
Click here to start shopping and don't forget to use the free code: H2SHOLIDAY. Click here

I'm Chillin' While I'm Grillin'

2011-11-05T04:57:00.000-07:00

Marinate your boneless, skinless, chicken breasts during the day
in one cup of olive oil, 1/4 C. balsamic vinegar, and 1/4 cup sugar.
Sprinkle with oregano and garlic.

Place your chicken on a low temperature grill.

Open a 16 oz. can of Bush's grilling baked beans.
Please put them on the grill in the can with the lid off.

Open a 16 oz. can of artichokes and leave the water in.
Please put them on the grill in the can with the lid off.
Drain, only when cooked, before serving.

Corny Cornbread.
If your grill has an upper rack, it's best to cook the corn
bread there. Spray PAM really well on a cast iron skillet
or use two 9 in cake pans stacked on top of each other (to
make the pan thicker.)
1 3/4 C. cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 TB sugar (optional)

Mix and then add:

2 eggs
2 C. buttermilk
1 can of corn, drained (optional)

Mix but only until everthing is combined (don't overmix)

Bake on low grill with the grill cover closed for about
20 minutes. Watch it carefully.

Get Read for Cheryl's New Cookbook that can be preordered now.

Frugal Gifts

2011-11-05T04:53:00.000-07:00

Maybe you don't have as much money as you did last year to spend on gift giving? Did you know the best gifts are homemade gifts? Maybe we need to be reminded of
that this year? Share your heart with others on a deeper level this year through homemade, personalized gifts for everyone on your list.

During the Great Depression, everyone HAD to use their ingenuity to create gifts conveying their heartfelt love. Here's some ideas to get you thinking. You could even make a couple of these homemade gifts for each person on your list.

10 Free or Nearly Free Christmas Gifts to Make & Give
Maybe you don't have as much money as you did last year to spend on gift giving? Did you know that truly the best gifts are homemade? Maybe we need to be reminded this year. Share your heart with others on a deeper level this year through homemade, personalized gifts for everyone on your list.

During the Great Depression, everyone HAD to use their ingenuity to create gifts conveying their heartfelt love. Here's some ideas to get you thinking now, during the Great Recession. You could even make a couple of these homemade gifts for each person on your list.

1. Know a child learning Spanish? Save several sizes of clean tin cans with unique labels in Spanish, with any jagged points bent safely down. Fill with slightly used pens, sharpened pencils, paintbrushes, markers, and dried flowers. These make great decorative storage for your el esponol student's desk or dresser top.

2. Write a letter to your child, niece, or nephew telling them how excited you were before they were born, about their upcoming birth. You could even frame the letter, for a gift, showing your anticipated love.

3. Print out your favorite Bible verse as a small poster. Add a label at the bottom that reads, "Mom's Legacy Bible Verse" or "Dad's Legacy Bible Verse." Others, including your children, love to know what's on your heart and in your head. Share yourself with them at this level and they will cherish your gift.

4. Give a gift of a picture of you and the gift recipient. Write at the bottom of the frame, "You are Loved." It could be Grandpa/Grandson, Mom/Dad/You, Daughter/Mother.

5. "I love you all year long." Write a letter about the year just ending. Make it twelve paragraphs long for each month. Tell the person just how much they meant to you each month of 2008, including a special memory from each month and a canister of homemade granola (granola takes a long time to eat)!

6. "What I'm going to Change, to Love you More." Write a card to those on your list, with something that you intend to change/improve, with God's help, about yourself, in your life this year. Make it something that will make you an easier person to live with. (Now, that will be a welcomed surprise gift to the recipient, a gift that keeps on giving all year!)

7. Shine everyone's shoes for Christmas morning. Under the tree, have everyone's shoes lined up looking brand new. It's an act of service that will be appreciated. Or, give another act of service, such as car detailing. "Borrow" someone's car a day or two before Christmas and detail it for them by hand for a Christmas morning surprise.

8. Give a gift of your professional services. Maybe you are a teacher and could offer to tutor. Maybe you are an accountant and could offer tax services as a gift. How about a plumber, carpenter, or electrician for some home repair services? Perhaps you are a great writer and could help a family member with an updated resume.
Perhaps, you have nice handwriting and can address envelopes as a gift.

9. Regift books you have already read. Wrapping it up beautifully, adding a small letter, detailing why this book was special to you and why you want to bless them by sharing it.

10. Give each person on your list, a souvenir of your life or heirloom. Give them something of your's, that they would enjoy having. Clean it up, fix it up, and wrap it up.

Ten Fantastic Frugal Homemade Fall, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas Gifts

2011-11-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

1. Christmas Candy Crunch Ice Cream Topping

Chocolate Candy Crunch Ice Cream Topping
1 stick butter
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 c. milk (use regular milk)
2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. oats
Boil butter, cocoa, milk, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter for 1 ½ minutes. Add oats and mix well. Spoon out onto wax paper. Let sit out over night on your counter. Crumble slightly and place in jars. Include a little card that says, “Cocoa Candy Crunch Ice Cream Topping” Best kept in refrigerator.

Or you can make:

Peanut Butter Christmas Candy Ice Cream Topping
2 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk (use regular milk)
3 cup quick oatmeal
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsps. vanilla
Boil butter, milk, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter for 1 ½ minutes. Add oats and mix well. Spoon out onto wax paper. Let sit out over night on your counter. Crumble slightly and place in jars. Include a little card that says, “Peanut Butter Candy Crunch Ice Cream Topping” Best kept in refrigerator

2. “Lemon Pie” Ice Cream Topping

6 Tbsps. Butter
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsps. lemon juice
2 beaten eggs
Melt butter. Take off heat; add sugar, lemon juice and beaten eggs. (The eggs must be beaten very well or they may curdle). Then put back on heat, cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cool. Pour sauce over ice cream. Include this on a tag: “Lemon Pie” Ice Cream Topping
Do not heat in this jar. Keep this jar in the refrigerator. Will keep fresh for one week in the refrigerator.
3. German Chocolate Ice Cream Topping

1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
½ c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 c. coconut
1 c. pecans
Combine evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla in small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly. Stir in coconut and pecans.
Include Tag that says: “German Chocolate” Ice Cream Topping. Serve Hot or Cold on Ice Cream. Do not heat in this jar. Keep this jar in the refrigerator. Will keep fresh for one week in the refrigerator.

4. M & M’s Hot Cocoa

Hanukkah Theme Craft
“Single Hot Chocolate Gift Bags”
Supplies:
See-through Hanukkah decorated party bag
or see-through plain party bag, Hanukkah stickers to decorate
Box of packets of hot chocolate mix
Royal blue (color of the Israeli flag) M&M’s
White M&M’s

Using one see through party bag, open and pour in six dry hot chocolate packets.
Add twenty white M&M’s and twenty royal blue M&M’s
Tie bag closed with a silver twist tie and arrange a small driedel in the closed twist tie as the package décor. Write on a gift tag: Happy Hanukkah! Mix with boiling hot water. Serves three!

5. Caramel Apple Hot Cider

Combine dry Apple Hot Cider Mix and wrapped Kraft Caramels (unwrapped). Place this mixture (dry cider mix and unwrapped caramels) in a cute see-through jar with a cute lid or cover with ribbon. Wrapped up with a cute mug, this makes a great fall gift.

6. Christmas Bread in a jar

Zuc – coconut quick bread dough with a few maraschino cherries mixed in.
Spray a wide mouth Ball jar with non-stick cooking spray. Then, fill it half full, but no more than half full. Now, you must place all the jars you have
filled on a cookie sheet (the jars should not be touching). Don’t put more than 6 – 8 on one cookie sheet. The jars must be placed on a cooking sheet or they will crack up in the oven. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, depending on the size of the jar. Then seal with the lid while the jars are still hot and put the whole top on. Decorate with a cute piece of material. Add a tag: Christmas Bread in a jar. Keep refrigerated. Use within one week.

Recipe for Zuc – Coconut Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsps. Vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup shredded coconut or shredded flaked coconut
2 cups raw unpeeled grated zucchini
1 cup of maraschino cherries, drained and cut (optional)

Mix together the first nine ingredients. Then fold in the coconut and zucchini.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes to 30 to 40, depending on the size of Ball jar that you use. Whether it’s a big or small Bar jar, just make sure it’s wide mouth.

7. Children’s Handprints

As a cute grandma or mom gift you can buy some fabric, and cut with patterned scissors. Then have each of your kids put their handprint and write their own name (if they can) and then date it - all in fabric paint. You can do it any size - and any fabric. So you can do it as a tablecloth, table runner, doilies size, or as a wall hanging. It's especially clever as a grandma gift if you get all the grandkids in on it - not just your
own.

8. Placemats for grandparents

“Leaf Placemats”
These are placements Grandpa and Grandma will love. This is a good craft project to do when the leaves are changing in the fall with your children. Find and collect some colorful fresh leaves on the ground around your neighborhood. Take a picture of your preschooler near a tree. Write on a small index card the Bible verse - Hebrews 13:5b - God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Cut four pieces of wax paper about 16 inches long. Lay two pieces of wax paper, wax side up, on your work table. Situate several colorful leaves on the paper right side up, leaving at least a one inch border around every side of the wax paper. Situate the Bible Verse card and the photograph of the preschooler near the tree right side up, also. Lay the other piece of wax paper upside down so the wax is touching the leaves. Make sure the two pieces of paper are the same size and match up or cut accordingly. (You need an adult to help with this part.) With a hot iron but a light touch, quickly iron the two pieces of wax paper together.)

9. Penguins on Ice (as an appetizer or a gift). Arrive at your holiday party with a tray of these cute little Penguins for the guests or the hostess gift. For the tray, use a mirror to pretend like it's a skating rink for the penguins.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-Cheese-Penguins/Detail.aspx

10. Buttons, Buttons, Buttons The big thing for Christmas gifts this year is buttons, buttons, buttons. Hot glue gun buttons to barrettes, flip-flops, magnets and cardboard (frame in a cute picture frame).

Two Free E-Cookbooks by Gold Medal and Betty Crocker.

2011-11-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

FREE
Cupcakes and Cakes e-cookbook by Betty Crocker

FREE
Whole Wheat Cooking e-cookbook by Gold Medal

20 Things I’ve Learned from Raising Six Children

2011-10-30T02:30:00.001-07:00

1) Salt, pepper and milk are not fish food.
2) It's a bad thing when your child calls from camp and asks if it's a bad thing if one foot is bigger than the other.
3) If you mow the lawn with the basement windows open – the carbon monoxide detector will go off.
4) The ceiling fan doesn’t hold more than a 40 pound child and is not a substitute for taking your child to Great America.
5) Two kids cannot sit on top of the refrigerator but one can.
6) A 10-year-old cannot run a mile without shoes but he can run a ½ mile.
7) A mother with three sons doesn’t have that many friends who are mothers of all girls when the sons are young. The mother has more friends who are mothers of all girls when they reach high school age.
8) You get invited over less to friends and family’s houses for Sunday dinner when you have six kids.
9) When the nurse says, "even though the white count is as high as Mononucleosis – it’s only E coli," you shouldn’t be happy.
10) Finger painting is a good hobby.
11) Finger painting the front door is not a good hobby.
12) Green marker and a new couch don’t mix.
13) Black marker and a new loveseat also don’t mix.
14) The backyard swimming pool is not a bubble bath.
15) Pool filters do not like bubbles.
16) A dog who has been fed two packages of hot dogs can throw up twice his body weight.
17) Being hit with a marble from the second floor hurts more than being hit by a marble from the first floor.
18) The Easy Bake oven does not bake cookies fast enough for a family of eight.
19) “I hope you didn't forget I put the cell phone on the roof of the car” is not a good thing to hear when you are going 60 mph on the toll way.
20) A good sense of humor will get you through most problems in life.

By Cheryl, Momlaughs
I have decided that I can laugh or cry and I have decided to laugh my way through motherhood.

Visit Cheryl's Kindle Store and Buy Now!

Cheryl's Kindle Books and Blogs

Bring on the Happy Holidays

2011-10-30T02:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday Morning, December 3, Momlaughs Comedy with Cheryl Moeller, Women's Christmas Tea at Kenosha Christian Church, Kenosha, WI

All New! Part II

2011-10-30T02:27:00.000-07:00

Cheryl's Writing and Publishing Conference: Writing, Publishing, Kindle Publishing, Speaking, and Blogging Part II
Anyone Can Writing a Book and I will Show you How
Monday through Wednesday, November 14, 15, and 16
Bethany Baptist Church, 6700 W Gunnison Avenue, Harwood Heights, IL 60706
Lunch will be 30 minutes long to eat at area restaurants or to bring a brown bag lunch with you.
No admission charged, a love offering will be taken for FBFWFK Ministries, a 501c3 Ministry
R.S.V.P. to forkeepsministries@gmail.com

Mom's Good News... Mom's Bad News...

2011-10-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Mom's Good News...

I have a lot of friends on Facebook.

Mom's Bad News...

But, none in the real world.

Mom's Good News...

I just got my hair colored.

Mom's Bad News...

It did involve black shoe polish.

Mom's Good News...

I discovered a brush and brushed my hair.

Mom's Bad News...

Found out it was the dog's brush.

Mom's Good News...

I put make-up on before church.

Mom's Bad News...

I forgot to take my pajamas off.

Mom's Good News...

My two-year son told me I looked pretty.

Mom's Bad News...

He also likes Ronald McDonald and Bozo.

Mom's Good News...

My favorite store is having a "Buy One, Get One Free" Sale!

Mom's Bad News...

I can't afford to even buy one.

Mom's Good News...

I brought extra diapers for our family vacation.

Mom's Bad News...

I forgot to pack the suitcase.

Mom's Good News...

I found cash!

Mom's Bad News:

The cash was in someone's pocket in the laundry. After doing 15 loads that day,
if you average it out, I figure I made less than six cents an hour.

More Real Good News...
Cheryl's Books On Kindle and Amazon.

Help! Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle Kindle Version

Pre-order Cheryl's Cookbook and solve your dinner dilemma permanently

As a Mom I’d Like to Know:

2011-10-15T09:29:00.001-07:00

- What my kids say to people on the other end when they get to the phone and answer (and hang up) before I do?

- Why my kids put 81 bottles of red food coloring in the pancakes that they made for my Valentines’ Day Breakfast in Bed?

- What was my sister thinking when she made a full-size macramé refrigerator for my birthday gift?

- What was my neighbor thinking when he attached the baby stroller with a rope to his bicycle?

- What was my husband thinking when he planted 1,700 watermelon seeds in our 4 inch x 4 inch garden plot?

- Why the mayor won’t let me have goats in my city yard so I don’t have to mow the lawn?

- Where are the tiny little green army men who are willing to scrub my dirty bathroom while I sleep?

- Why the number of Bazooka Jo Bubblegum wrappers is over 1,000,000 just to get a free whistle?

- Why the most wanted Christmas toy is always in big supply in a city 12,000 miles from me?

- Why my kids put purple koolaid in the piñata hanging in the living room over the beige couch?

New on Kindle this Week - Keep Courting: 100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage

2011-10-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

- Kindle review by Kerry Doyal: - "Bob & Cheryl are at it again: providing solid, practical resources. They not only nudge us to live lives of love, they point to paths we can pursue to "do love"."

Buy it today and Save

Keep Courting on Kindle

Watermelon Cake

2011-10-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

The Cake is an actual watermelon...WOW! Click here

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/06/23/red-white-blue-watermelon-almond-tart/

Momlaughs Motto

2011-10-15T08:45:00.003-07:00

I'm president of the biggest nation on earth - ProcrastiNation.

Mom's Rules

2011-10-15T08:45:00.001-07:00

"Cash found in the laundry goes to the laundress. Them's the rules." - Emily Gogots Bailey

Top Ten Things a Mom Can Learn from a Goldfish

2011-10-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

10. You can both eat and be eaten.
9. Keep the glass clean; it helps you to see outside
8. Just because you own a castle by the sea, doesn't mean it's worth much.

Very Funny!
New! Mom's Stuck On Spin Cycle Order Now!

7. Don't let the mirror give you a false sense of security because it makes you look bigger than you are

6. Eating more doesn't eliminate the ones that want to eat you.

5. Not everything in the fish bowl is a fish.

4. Don't be proud of being H20 intolerant.

3. Not everything that gets shaken down on you is good for you.

2. Don't get caught in the net.

1. Don't get caught in the net.

Our Newly Released Kindle ebook - Keep Courting: 100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage

2011-10-08T16:55:00.000-07:00

Buy Now! Only .99 cents

Practical and Creative... To Keep or to Give...
"Bob has been my Valentine for nearly 31 years! He swept me off my feet, with his elaborate courting! There’s no better time than today, to revive your courtship. Courtship shouldn't end with marriage. 'Keep courting: 100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage' will fan the flames of continued courtship."

A gift book! 50 ways to keep courting your husband and 50 ways to keep courting your wife.

Fifty Ways for Women to Keep Courting Their Husbands,
After Marriage:
- Attend an outdoor sporting exhibition show and look through the brochures, with him.
- Write a list of the "Things I Admire Most About My Husband" and tape it to his closet door.

Fifty Ways for Men to Keep Courting Their Wives,
After Marriage:
- Ask her to tell you two things that would make you an easier husband to live with (then work on them).
- Add "I love you" to her calendar on the day of your anniversary, every month. So, if you were married on June 16 (like the Moellers), write" I love you" on the 16th of every month, on her calendar. She'll remember every month how grateful you are to have her, as your wife.

Only .99 cents.

If you don't have a Kindle, you can get a free Kindle app and read this book using Kindle on your PC or iphone.

Creative Slow-Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty and Easy Dinners by Cheryl Moeller (otherwise known as Momlaughs :)

2011-10-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

Search inside this book Click here

Sample front and back covers, index, table of contents, and preface

This is my second cookbook. It was an exciting adventure that I hope ends up in your kitchen.

Now Amazon is taking preorders for my cookbook to be released in January 2012.

Spiral-bound: 272 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers; Spi edition (February 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736944915
ISBN-13: 978-0736944915
Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies

10 Ways You Know it's Going to Be a Long Labor and Delivery

2011-10-07T20:31:00.001-07:00

10. Housekeeping brings in a Chia Pet and asks if you’ll water it daily.

9. The Midwife takes off her watch and instead hangs up a lunar calendar.

8. The RN sits down and begins reading her hard bound copy of War and Peace.

7. The OB doctor looks at his watch and decides he can get in a round of golf – in Bermuda.

6. The chaplain says he’s overjoyed he can bless the newborn just a few days before he retires – he’s only 28.

5. The phlebotomist smiles and says, “This will be fun – a Christmas baby!” and heads off to a Fourth of July parade.

4. You husband produces a dozen roses in the delivery room and says sweetly, “And you thought I would forget our tenth anniversary...” That’s when you remember you were admitted on your 8th anniversary.

3. Your little boy was studying for his weekly spelling test when you left home in labor – he now text messages you to say he’s been accepted to College.

2. The dietician thanks you that now she’ll be able to use all of her season tickets to the opera.

1. The monitor tells you your contractions are now as far apart as the summer Olympics.

10 Reasons Why My Mom Should be President

2011-09-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

1) Her presidential cabinet will consist of experts in finding shoes that fit (Department of the Insole), making microwave dinners taste homemade (Department of Homeland Mac and Cheese), and getting ketchup stains out of white clothes (Department of Clorox Security).
2) World leaders will be intimidated by her multitasking ability to negotiate a treaty and do her child’s math simultaneously.
3) All presidential limos will be replaced with bullet-proof minivans that come with a DVD player in the back seat.
4) Everyone in the nation will receive a “McDonalds Happy Meal” tax credit (during bad economic times an additional stimulus package will consist of a one Filet of Fish & McFlurry per family).
5) Her first 100 days in office will focus on making sure there are no dangerous electrical outlets in the West Wing.
6) The presidential seal will be replaced with the Gerber baby.
7) Her first choice for Vice President will be a reliable babysitter.
8) She would appoint “pro-early bedtime” Supreme Court Justices.
9) The leaders of the G-7 nations will be forced to play soccer on the front lawn of the White House during summits (two yellow cards and you get sent home).
10) The national anthem will be sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Help! Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle by Cheryl Moeller - as a Kindle eBook

2011-09-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Read the reviews; buy the Kindle book
If you don't have a Kindle reader, get a free app on your PC or iphone and start reading today...

10 Things a Mom can Learn from a Cat

2011-09-15T04:53:00.000-07:00

...You can cling to grass cloth wallpaper when trying to clean the ceiling.

...Laying in the sun with your eyes closed will make others think you're too important to interrupt.

...What birds are for.

....Just because your cell phone rings doesn't mean you have to answer it.

...Lay in the sun, even if you don't tan.

...Try not to obsess about your HDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels

...Not knowing how to use the TV remote control is not a bad thing

...To use the hand-held can opener, instead of electric. shhhh!

...Treating yourself to long and luxurious baths is a right, not a privilege.

...Always sniff what you are about to eat.

...Life is hard and then you nap.

...It's all about the hair.

(The picture is my sister Carolyn's cat.)

Buy One Get One Free by Biggby Coffee.

2011-09-15T04:47:00.000-07:00

Buy One Get One Free by Biggby Coffee.
(Biggby - I can never pronounce the name of this coffee shop correctly.)

Click here

Now that you have your personalized favorite coffee, read Momlaughs blog today and laugh!

10 Things a Dog can Teach a Mom

2011-09-11T17:01:00.001-07:00

1. Just Because...you take a nap, doesn't make you worthless.

2. Just Because...the newspaper is in your neighbor's driveway doesn't mean you can't read the headlines.

3. Just Because...you are grown up, doesn't mean you still don't like squeaky toys.

4. Just Because...you bark, doesn't mean people will listen.

5. Just Because...there's nothing in the refrigerator, doesn't mean there isn't anything to eat.

6. Just Because...there is a guest at your house, you have to like the guest.

7. Just Because...it's messy and drooling, doesn't make it a real kiss.

8. Just Because...you are inside doesn't mean you wish you weren't outside, and vice versa.

9. Just Because...you find something in the back yard, doesn't mean you have to eat it.

10. Just Because...you look at someone long enough with sad eyes, doesn't mean you will always get what you want (but it's worth a try).

You know it's time for summer to end...

2011-09-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

1) When you start telling your kids that you're bored.
2) You've quit wearing perfume and instead settle for two sprays of misquoto repellent..
3) You've grilled everything you can think of including your husband's favorite pair of flip flops.
4) The only family vacation you want to take is to Slumberland.
5) You cut the grass in the shape of a giant calendar to you can mark the days until school starts.
6) You've started using the hedge clippers to trim your own hair.
7) The lemonade has turned ruby red -- exactly the same color as the tube of lipstick you can't find.
8) You've eaten so much sweet corn that you now chew your green beans holding them with both hands.
9) Your garden produced so many zucchinis that you have started hiding them in the purses of friends who visit.
10) You get caught trying to buy school supplies for yourself.

MacKenzie (in the middle) at summer camp - How fun is that? Good-bye summer!

Nine Things Not to Say in a Wedding Card

2011-08-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

1. Congratulations on your big day! You won't believe it but I saw your same dress on a reality television series, "Prison Weddings". (Unfortunately they discovered it had been stolen.)

2. My roommate from college is getting married! I'm so excited for you! By the way did you know I read there was a serious computer virus operating on your Internet dating website when they matched you with Brad? Don't worry, they've fixed it now and no more polygamists will be allowed to get through the filter process. Enjoy your magical day!

Very Funny!
New! Mom's Stuck On Spin Cycle Order Now!

3. I can't believe the size of your engagement ring cousin! And it's three carats no less! What a time of coincidences too! I happen to work at a credit agency and your fiance's score just popped up on my screen all by itself the other day – a 25 out of 750. Can you imagine that? Keep that new diamond and your love sparkling!

4. Your wedding goes to show there are no hopeless cases. Love, Aunt Edna

5. That tuxedo your new husband wore is so unforgettable! I told Elmer on the way home it looks exactly like those adorable Antarctic birds in, "March of the Penguins." I'm just curious – does your hubby like cold weather?

6. To think you're already back from your honeymoon! I'm so happy the two of you are happy. I don't even mind losing the $10 bet with your sister that the marriage wouldn't last this long.
(You two are still together aren't you?)

7. What a thrill to meet your new husband at the wedding! I felt like I had seen him before. Then when I returned to my job at the Post Office I realized I had. To think his picture was on the wall for two years and I never bothered to look at his name. (I hope you feel so wanted in your new life together…he is.)

8. We all wept at your wedding, sweetheart. There's no need to explain why. Aunt Selma.

9. My dearest daughter, congratulations on your marriage to Steve. They say, "Behind every great man is a surprised mother-in-law." I'm still waiting to be surprised. Signed, your loving Mother

10. Marriage is like a carton of milk – it's wholesome, refreshing, and comes with an expiration date. May your love never curdle, but if it does, make tofu.

Please Make Comments and Share It Below

10 Ways to Know It's Time for September

2011-08-16T14:49:00.001-07:00

1. You let the kids play with the water hose -- in the living room.

2. Mom and dad are doing full-out cannon ball dives into the community swimming pool -- that is, until they ask you to leave.

3. Bedtime is now 7:30 sharp -- in the morning.

4. You roasted smores with the kids over an open fire last night -- that is after the marshmallow catches fire on your stovetop.

5. You make truckloads of lemonade for dinner -- using the water from the fire hydrant.

6. You call your friends and tell them you're calling from seaside at Martha's "Grape" Vineyard -- actually you're sitting in a 2 foot plastic wading pool, after your son smears grape jelly all over his face.

7. You contact Carnival Cruise Line on-line and ask if they will sell your family one way tickets.

8. You tell your husband you're having "shrimp on the barbie" for supper -- actually its your way of telling your husband that your five-year-old daughter left her favorite doll on the gas grille.

9. You call your favorite baby-sitter and insist tonight they read a story and make macaroni and cheese -- for you.

10. Mom finally takes a nap -- but doesn't notice, under the sprinkler.

Cheryl's Kindle Blogs

2011-08-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

Cheryl's Three Kindle Blogs to educate and motivate and inspire.
Tell Your Friends and Order all Three
I Will be Your Mentor Mom
Writing Mentor

Momlaugh Click here

The Top Ten Attractions to Avoid on your Family Vacation This Summer

2011-08-06T18:18:00.001-07:00

1. Any roadside diner advertising, “Home Cooking” and “Free Oil Change.”

2. Any medieval jousting match asking for your blood type and name of next of kin.

3. Any mule trip into the Grand Canyon selling only one-way tickets.

4. Any tour of a nuclear power plant promising, “You’ll be the first on your block to glow in the dark.”

5. Any Wild West rodeo cautioning, “Patrons must not feed the bulls that charge into the bleachers.”

6. Any 3D Imax theater showing, “The Fantastic Gall Bladder.”

7. Any water amusement park promising, “Raging Rivers and E-Coli Fun for Everyone!”

8. Any helicopter ride requiring proof of a Last Will and Testament.

9. Any bungee-jump offering, “Full Money Back Guarantee If We Forget to Tie the Cord.”

10. Any `All You Can Eat’ Buffett boasting, “We Never Serve the Same Customer Twice!”

Camp Stats

2011-08-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

8: Kids in one cabin and one counselor.
2: Percent chance that the camp nurse will have my immunizations record that I emailed her (always bring another copy).
200: Letters I mailed to camp Read More Click here

Momlaughs

More Kindle Blogs by Cheryl Moeller: My Other Two Kindle Blogs

2011-08-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Writing Mentor

I Will be Your Mentor Mom

Thanks for checking them out. Cheryl

How to Know if you are an "Over the Top" Grandparent

2011-07-27T16:41:00.001-07:00

All of us have run into grandparents all too eager to show us pictures, slides, jpegs and endless other representations of their grandchildren. While these pictures are immensely interesting to the grandparents themselves, they can prove to be a "real snoozer" for the casual participant (trapped victim).

Here are ten ways to know if you have become the slightly obnoxious, (okay, at times really obnoxious) "Over the Top" Grandparent:

1) You hold up traffic at busy intersections trying to interest the driver in the next lane with pictures of your grandchild's first visit to Santa (and it's now August).

2) You buy a new black suit, take it to Walgreen's, and have the photo department burn a life-size picture on the suit jacket of the delivery room nurse holding up your first grandchild seconds after birth (no need to wear a tie -- the umbilical cord does the trick).

3) You have a billboard installed in your front yard with a picture of you and your grandchild -- rotating spotlights are used to highlight dimples.

4) Crime drops in your area as even would-be intruders are afraid of being confronted in the middle of the night with your accordion-like string of wallet-sized pictures of the twins.

5) You have pay extra for the three vanity license plates on the back of your car that combined read, "IM GREATST GRANDPRT IN WRLD W/ QUTEST GRANDCHLD EVR IN HISTRY OF WORLD -- HONK IF U'D LIKE TO C PICHURES."

6) You try making the same face your little niece does when she eats oatmeal to the nice highways patrolman who pulled you over. He reaches for the handcuffs.

7) You are hired by the Sleep Insomnia Clinic to cure patients by endlessly talking about sweet Janey's first music recital and how her mother also played the piano when she was just that age (you have a 100% success rate within 10 minutes).

8) Waterboarding is no longer needed at Guantanomo Bay to extract information, rather interrogators simply pipe in (non-stop) video and audio recordings of little Suzy's first year of practicing the saxophone (everyone eventually breaks).

9) Several hospitals are able to cut the amount of anesthesia needed to put patients "under" before surgery by hiring you to stand next to the operating table and recite over and over all the cute little things your grand daughter said to you on the phone last week (belly-laughing at them all). Like magic patients lapse into deep unconsciousness.

10) You invent a code that foreign nations cannot break based on the adorable little names your adorable little grandchildren call you (...grinpappa calling grandmeow...please send secret formula to grampooza from pappaw....do you copy?)

Buy Momlaughs Kindle Blog for a Friend

2011-07-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

Check our the reviews on Kindle Blogs for Momlaughs Blog Click here

Buy Momlaughs Kindle Blog and Cheer up someone today Click here

Cheryl Moeller uses her over-the-counter humor to make moms laugh until it feels better. Cheryl cranks up the spin cycle on her washing machine and life to help moms cope with too much laundry, raising preschoolers (on 12 hours of sleep per year), and the 1,000 other challenges. She'll show you the humor in the everydayness of life. Cheryl is a wife, a mother, sister, a daughter, a niece, an aunt, a granddaughter, a friend, a volunteer... well you get the idea. Let's just say she's a lot like you and has decided the best way for us all to cope is to laugh (don't try to inhale at the same time, it only makes matters worse). Click here

Freezy Fruit Salad

2011-07-18T16:53:00.001-07:00

Summer is here and that means lots of fresh fruit at the Moeller's. This is one of my favorite fruit recipes. I made it today with fresh blueberries. You can use two or more fruits in the recipe, but I wanted my stand out blueberries from our local farmer's market to stand alone. You'll find this recipe to be easy. It will also be thrifty, if you use fruits in season. This is a great breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert.

Ingredients:
1. 1 quart Low Fat Buttermilk (Buttermilk is lowfat and easy to digest.)
2. Touch of honey, to taste (optional)
3. 1 quart Fresh Fruit, cut as needed,
(You can use one fruit or several different fruits to equal one quart)
(Add 1/2 chopped walnuts, as an optional benefit)

Directions:
Mix Low Fat Buttermilk and fruit in a mixing bowl.
Pour into flat plastic or glass serving dish
Freeze for several hours or overnight
Best to remove from freezer and thaw for 10 minutes, before serving

If God Permits

2011-07-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

The house next door to us was going to be renovated and it really needed it. Someone bought it and was going to rehab it. They started working on it one day and then did not return for months. We found out that they did not have the necessary permits, so the city shut them down temporarily until they secured the correct ones.
"And this we will do if God permits." Hebrews 6:3
Dear God, I want to know your heart and Word, so this verse will true in my life every day. In Christ's name, Amen

Want to have a little encouraging 30 spot everyday to encourage you? Get I Will Be Your Mentor Mom on Kindle Blog and get the boost you need. Click here

Cheryl's Writer's Mentor Conference

2011-07-16T14:33:00.001-07:00

Cheryl's Writer's Mentor Conference: Writing, Publishing, Kindle Publishing, Speaking and Blogging
Thursday and Friday evening, 6:00-9:00 Pm, Saturday,
10:00 Am - 5:00 Pm
Please try to attend all three sessions.
Bethany Baptist Church
6700 W. Gunnison
Harwood Heights, IL 60706

Lunch is on your own on Saturday.
High School through adults. Beginners to Advanced writers.
Cheryl will take you where you are in your writing/publishing journey and move you several steps forward. She'll give you a workable plan you can really follow and make real progress. Cheryl is a former literary agent turned author and conference speaker.
R.S.V.P. forkeepsministries@gmail.com

To Be Released January 2012

2011-07-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Other Kindle Blogs by Momlaughs

2011-07-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

My other Kindle blogs:

For those that want or need education and motivation for writing and publishing ---
Writing Mentor

For those that want a mom mentor to encourage --
I Will Be Your Mentor Mom

Cheryl Moeller's Writing and Publishing Mentor Conference: Writing, Publishing, Kindle Publishing, Speaking and Blogging

2011-07-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

Tuesday through Friday, July 12-15, 9:00 Am - 4:00 Pm

Bethany Baptist Church (about five miles east of O'hare Airport)
6700 W. Gunnison
Harwood Heights, IL 60706

Lunch is on your own.
All homeschool high school students through all adults.
Beginners to Advanced writers.
No admission fee. A love offering will be taken for For Better For Worse For Keeps Ministries.
Cheryl will take you where you are in your writing/publishing journey and move you several steps forward. She'll give you a workable plan you can really follow and make real progress. Cheryl is a former literary agent turned nationally published author and conference speaker. www.forkeepsministries.com, www.momlaughs.blogspot.com, www.writingmentor.blogspot.com
R.S.V.P. forkeepsministries@gmail.com

31 Days to Laugh Your Way Through Motherhood with Cheryl Moeller on Kindle

2011-07-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

A real deal on Kindle for $.99 cents. Treat yourself to a fourth of July, all American, laughing month.

Help! Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle by Cheryl Moeller, a Kindle book

Creative Slow-Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty and Easy Dinners

2011-07-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

Creative Slow-Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty and Easy Dinners by Cheryl Moeller

My new cookbook to be released by Harvest House Publishers, January 2012.
Buy two crockpots and get ready for a slowing cooking 2012.

You Are a Supermom, if...

2011-06-28T17:03:00.001-07:00

...if you peel your kids' grapes.
...if you do your kids' laundry, even before they wear their clean clothes.
...if you are way more interested in planning your eight-year-old’s birthday party, than your eight-year-old is.
...if you have to limit yourself to only vacuuming 30x a day.
...if you dilute your kids’ soda pop, worried the bubbles will frighten them.
...if you bake totally organic bread, with absolutely no crust.
...if you have each kid, each day, in over 500 activities.
...if you start to teach your daughter classical french, and the doctor asks if you mind waiting, until he cuts the umbilical cord.
...if you lay awake sobbing that your four-year-old won't get into Harvard, because they lost the coloring contest at Wendy’s Restaurant.
...if you think your two-year-old doesn’t have potential to be an Olympic ice skater, because they don't twirl properly, in the balls at MacDonalds.
...if you peel your kids' hot dogs.
...if you urge your kid to run for president and the contractions are still five minutes apart.
...if you hire an oil painter to do a portrait, of your baby's ultrasound.

Help! Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle by Cheryl Moeller - as a Kindle eBook or a paperback and CD

2011-06-28T17:01:00.001-07:00

Help! Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle by Cheryl Moeller on Kindle

At last a book that answers the proverbial question, “Where is my other sock?” Cheryl Moeller, emerges from her laundry room at last to tell her story – such as the time Metamucil tablets left in a pants pocket became the size of basketballs after 30 minutes in the washing machine. Her over-the-laundry pile humor will help you laugh your way through motherhood -- 31 days in a row. She’ll also give you Ten Ways to know it’s going to be a Long Labor and Delivery, Ten Things you Can Learn from your Cat, and Ten Reasons Why a Mom should be President. So when your laundry gets taller than you are, turn over a basket, sit down and read a page of, “Help, Mom’s Stuck on Spin Cycle.” Warning: You may emerge from the laundry room with permanent press wrinkles -- from laughing. Buy now on Kindle

Buy a paperback book and get a CD of momlaughs comedy also. Buy here.

Ten Attractions for Mom to Avoid on the Family Vacation

2011-06-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, let’s admit it. We’ve all been taken in by those hyped-up billboards on the Interstate promising hours of non-stop family fun and adventure. And what about those racks of exotic-looking brochures in the lobby that lure you to underground stalactite caves, bumper car heaven and a wax museum of Elvis’ favorite cats? Yet, a seasoned Mom knows exactly which “Family Fun Attractions” to avoid at all costs while on vacation…

1. Any roadside diner advertising “Home Cooking” and a “Free Oil Change.”

2. Any medieval jousting match asking for your blood type and name of your next of kin.

3. Any mule trip into the Grand Canyon that sells only one-way tickets.

4. Any tour of a nuclear power plant that promises, “You’ll be the first on your block to glow in the dark.”

5. Any Wild West rodeo cautioning, “Patrons absolutely forbidden from feeding bulls when they charge into the bleachers.”

6. Any IMAX 3D theater showing, The Fantastic Gall Bladder.

7. Any water amusement park promising, “E. coli fun for everyone!”

8. Any helicopter ride that requires proof of a Last Will and Testament.

9. Any bungee-jump attraction that promises, “Full Money Back Guarantee if we don’t Tie the Cord!”

10. Any flashing neon sign that reads, “We’ve Never Served the Same Customer Twice!”

So That's What the Tooth Fairy Does With Them

2011-06-11T15:20:00.001-07:00

Kids Say the Funniest Things

2011-06-08T16:10:00.001-07:00

I was making a hot dish for supper. MacKenzie, age 9, didn't like it, so I told her she could bake a frozen pizza.

MacKenzie preheated the oven, so I could put the pizza in.

She put the oven on 375 degrees.

I asked her why it was so low, because I usually make a pizza at 400 degrees.

MacKenzie said she wanted it fluffy.

I asked her how that would make it fluffy.

She said it says 375 degrees on the box, for high altitude. And she wanted her pizza high and fluffy, with some altitude.

HA HA.

JUNE 2011 - Cheryl's Writing Mentor Conferences: Writing, Publishing, Kindle Publishing, Speaking, and Blogging

2011-06-04T11:05:00.001-07:00

All are welcome to join me:

Monday through Wednesday, June 13-15, 10:00 Am - 5:00 Pm,

Cheryl's Writing Mentor Conference: Writing, Publishing, Kindle Publishing, Speaking, and Blogging

Free conference notes for this life-changing conference.
Lunch is on your own. Bring your own coffee.
1500 words can be submitted for review by Cheryl. She will review up to one month after the conference.

Conference will be held at Bethany Baptist Church, 6700 W. Gunnison, Harwood Heights, IL
R.S.V.P. to forkeepsministries@gmail.com

Monday through Wednesday, June 20-22, 11:00 Am - 5:00 Pm,
Cheryl's Writing Mentor Conference: Writing, Publishing, Kindle Publishing, Speaking, and Blogging
1500 words can be submitted for review by Cheryl. She will review up to one month after the conference.
Conferences will be held at Harvest Baptist Church, Oswego, IL
Conference notes. Please bring a sack lunch and your own coffee.
R.S.V.P. to forkeepsministries@gmail.com

Ten Reasons a Mom Knows it’s Going to be a Long Labor and Delivery….

2011-06-04T11:04:00.001-07:00

You Know You Have a Large Family When

2011-05-26T22:44:00.001-07:00

The combined mileage on your cars is 1,000,000 miles (and you haven’t left your suburb in seven years).

No one invites you over for Sunday dinner (unless it’s for a fast).

You have a laundromat in your basement (it’s open all night and you still can’t find an empty machine).

Holidays are always at your house (Santa has to use a “wide load” sleigh and 16 reindeer to haul everything down to you).

Your monthly grocery store receipt is 4 figures (the commodities market rallies every time you go shopping).

You are happy to get your oldest daughter's hand-me-downs.

As long as you book it by the fourth of July, you are guaranteed a reserved table at your favorite restaurant for your whole family for Valentine’s Day.

You use a whole box of oatmeal to make breakfast (and that’s for the younger kids and newborns).

Your driveway looks like a used car lot (your husband wears a plaid sport coat and has to check with his manager before handing you the keys).

How a Mom can Lower her Gas Bill at the Service Station

2011-05-24T04:59:00.001-07:00

1) Only drive your kids to destinations that are downhill from you.

2) Tell your boss you can’t come into work in honor of Stephanie Tanner's
birthday (and hope he doesn’t watch Full House).

3) See if your automobile will run on syrup.

4) As a science project, have your kids siphon your neighbor’s gasoline.

5) Throw a family block party at your house; but instead of a side dish have
guests bring a barrel of crude oil. (Call it an OPEQ themed party.)

6) Car pool with neighbors and friends, but whenever it’s your turn to drive
tell them to take the bus because you're going green.

7) Use the squeege for the car windows at the gas station to wash your
whole automobile.

8) Make your kids quit all sports except cross country.

9) Check into the legal restrictions of taking riding lawnmowers onto U.S.
highways.

10) Have your vacation at home. (Tell your kids you're pretty sure that your garage is just like Universal Studios.)

Meal or No Meal?

2011-05-21T09:53:00.001-07:00

I have added my own game show to the tradition of "Deal or no Deal?" I"m calling it "Meal or No Meal?"

I think I can compete with "Deal or No Deal?" host Howie Mandel but I refuse to shave my head.

My show works this way.

I have just been on a homeschool field trip to measure the width at the widest spot in the Fox River, the pediatrician, the post office, the oil change place, and pharmacy. But, of course, I am expected at 6:00 Pm to be home and produce a sumptuous, savory, and satisfying meal.

It's my 26 or is it 6 kids who are opening up the briefcases showing clues as to what they want for dinner. My kids claim they really aren't all that picky when it comes to eating but it's not true. One of them wants Kosher and organic, one is eating Atkins, and another one is eating carbs only. Then I have the child who wants no refined sugar or caffeine. Finally I have two who refuse anything unless you have to peel it or crack it to find the natural food inside like bananas or peanuts. Try making a meal out of that!

In the 17 days over Christmas break our college age kids joined us at home and with all of us bellying up to the table three times a day I estimated that before "vacation" was over I would have prepared 408 meals. That's eight people at three meals a day for 17 days. You do the math.

My son Pooka had the nerve to ask me, "Why wasn't I getting out more? Didn't I want some "me" time?"

"You've just got to make the time," he advised.

So the lights come on and here we are in front of the "Meal or No Meal?" studio audience. I open the refrigerator and produce the frozen pheasant my husband shot last fall. It's frosty, somewhat red, and has a tail feather sticking out.

"Meal or no meal?" I ask."

The kids huddle and confer. "No meal!" they yell.

I then walk over to the microwave and open the door so all can see the macaroni and cheese plate that got set on 10 minutes instead of 1 minute. They look like taconite iron pellets painted black. My husband plans to use them to shoot more pheasants. I point at both and say, "Meal or no meal?" (I am thinking I should have made it in the oven instead of the microwave because when I do that it's so much easier to pass off ready made meals as my own.)

They hesitate for a moment and then start jumping up and down, "No meal!" Everyone cheers.

I then casually walk over to the oven and open the door. There are two turkey legs from Thanksgiving that fell off and have been covered by aluminum foil for the last three months. Each one now appears to have the rough skin of a tyrannosaurus Rex. "Meal or no meal?" I ask.

"Maybe we should take it," one desperate kid pleads.

I tell them it's from the new genre of cooking called "minimalistic." It suits an extremely busy mom just fine. Some defeathered turkey legs and eight washed plums in an earthy, homemade basket in the middle of the table puts me on the cutting edge.

"No sirree!" the others respond. "No meal! No meal!"

"Very well," I say. I stroll over to the pantry closet, open it, and show the kids five potatoes that have grown horns like Santa's reindeer. They are soft, pliable, and now a lovely green. Just in time for St. Patrick's Day. "Meal or no meal?" I ask with a smile.

"Don't do it!" our youngest shouts. "I hate green."

The older children relent and say, "No meal!"

I casually close the doors and walk over to the couch in the living room. I warn them we are getting down to their last choice. I then lift up the middle couch cushion and produce the bag of Cheetos that was left there when my oldest son entered first grade.

"They're still orange," I say, "at least when you pull them apart. It fits in with the trendy medieval style of eating where no silverware is used."

The kids start to waiver. Someone lunges for the bell but then pulls back. "No meal!" they announce.

At that I take my coat, purse, and keys and casually answer, "You win! There's No Meal tonight. I'm going to Panera to eat supper with the Banker (your father) . See you tomorrow night, same time, same channel."

Behind me I hear the oven door open and one of the kids ask, "Why are those turkey legs still moving?

Read the Instructions or Else

2011-05-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

Kenzie's dream was a lofty one -- to sit upon her own throne on her 9^th
birthday and unwrap her gifts. So she talked me into buying a
Strawberry Shortcake inflatable chair to be used to fulfill not
only her royal ambitions but another dream as well. When we moved into
our current home four years ago she exacted a promise that I would
decorate her room in pink. As you guessed it is still blue, but for one
Strawberry Shortcake throw pillow, a Strawberry Shortcake poster, and
an inflatable pink throne she would consider her room officially decorated
until she reaches the age of 13.


How could I resist?

I must have been blindfolded and taken by a UFO because in a matter
of minutes I found myself walking through the aisles of Party City. It was
there I bought her the apparently indestructible Strawberry Shortcake
Inflatable Chair.

It was now the day before the party and time to blow up the inflatable
throne because -- well -- it's inflatable.  Being a gifted mother however
I informed Kenzie we must read the instructions first.

That’s when the trouble began.

The instructions promise that if the item is inflated properly it may
last up to 10 years (the perfect gift to send my daughter off to college
with). In fact, the instructions promise, if you take proper care of the
chair it can become a cherished family heirloom (“Yes, dear, it’s
true. Your great grandmother, Queen Cheryl, sat upon this very
inflatable throne and ruled the upper waste water management
district of the state of Illinois in the early 21^st century. Her portrait
is down the hallway”).

The instructions also warn you that if you want your Strawberry
Shortcake Inflatable Chair to look like the one on the box you need
to look at it under normal light. (Do you know anyone who looks
at chairs with abnormal light in their homes? If you do, put this
down and calmly dial the police giving their address and
description).

Perhaps they’re talking about extreme weather conditions.
Let’s say there’s a major tornado in your area and you just saw
Dorothy and Toto fly by outside. Apparently the throne will change
colors.

Back to the instructions: “To preserve this chair for future
generations you must do the following:

Do not use around sharp knives or objects.  (Oh, no. I guess
I’m going to have to resign my activities with the Shopping Mall
Mama Gangstas.)

Do not touch with a cigarette or open flame (And I wanted to
sit in my inflatable chair and have a fondue party.)

Do not rub against a rough wall or a rough wall surface.  (Now
they’ve taken all the fun out of life. Haven’t you ever been to a party
where everyone rubbed an inflatable chair against their head to form
static electricity -- then watched how long they could get their chair
to stick to the wall?)

Do not jump on your Strawberry Shortcake chair. (So we can’t
do cannon balls off our sofa onto the chair anymore either? What do
these depressed, lonely, joyless shells of human beings who
invented the inflatable throne do for fun on their long winter nights at
home anyway?)

Do not use in your pool as a flotation device.  (I guess that means
the 5,000 inflatable thrones on the USS Abraham Lincoln are all
going back to Party City – another awful case of wasteful government
misuse of our taxpayer monies).

If you are sitting out in this chair in a cold climate added inflation
will be needed.  Now, I understand why in the movie March of the
Penguins (filmed in Antarctica) the mother penguins all pushed their
inflatable thrones 400 miles across frozen wastelands to the warmer
waters of the ocean. It was so they would need less air when they sit down.
Aren’t Mother Nature’s instincts nothing less than amazing?


This chair is made to last but caution is required to avoid damage
to this or any other inflatable product.  (At least I am not reading
this in vain since these principles are transferable.)

Please follow all of these instructions carefully and enjoy your
new inflatable furniture (What if I deliberately choose not to enjoy it
– does that void the warranty?)

You know, just thinking of having to follow all these instructions just to
enjoy an inflatable throne made me want to sit down, no, stand up, take
a nap, Oh, whatever.

Where is my sharp object?

Recyle Pampers!

2011-05-13T17:42:00.001-07:00

(Those long strings of diapers individually twist-wrapped in clear cellophane.)
1) Soak them in cement and use for building suspension bridges (another modern marvel).
2) Dye red, white, and blue and use for outdoor bunting (keeps people off your grass during local parades).
3) Dye them yellow and black and sell them to the local police department for "Do Not Cross" tape (guaranteed no one will try crossing).
4) Weave them together and make large area rugs (keeps room traffic way down).
5) Spray gold, red, or green to use as garland on next year's "Christmas Tree" (great homeopathic cure for sinus congestion)
6) Spray them silver and tie them post to post as a chain link fence (guaranteed to turn back all unwanted intruders).
7) Hang around the neck of the large marble statute in the park to imitate a string of pearls (pigeons are history).
8) Tier around your coat like a rope belt (allows you to walk safely to your car at night).
9) Cut them into shorter pieces and wear as a necktie to a party (where you don't want to have to talk to anyone).
10) Store in your husband's brief case (guarantees him his own seat on the bus or train).

Myths of Birth Order Dispelled

2011-05-12T04:52:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have an older sibling that still treats them like they are five? Okay that’s me and I have three of them.

I love my older sisters, but they have always been my older sisters. It started when they were born first.

I always got the hand-me-downs. By the time I got the hoola hoop, it was square. When I got the easy bake oven, it had e-coli. And when I finally got the Ken and Barbie doll, they were already in a mid-life crisis.

Well, sometimes my oldest sister would watch us three younger sisters. My mom would give us four dolls and a stack of saltine crackers for a snack. She would of course decide when it was time to feed us. We would all sit there like baby robins in a nest with our mouths open waiting for her to drop something in our mouths – so she would ask if we wanted the cracker with or without salt. If we wanted it without salt she would take a cracker and lick the salt off and then hand it to us. It took the meaning of sodium free to a whole new level.

The 7-up Slurpee that we all shared... Well, that is why I have emotional backwash to this day.

How many of your remember when jelly came in those little Flintstone glasses? The neat thing was when you were done with the jelly – then you could wash the little glass jar and then use it at the table as a glass – if you ate enough jelly you could furnish a whole set -- even Martha Stewart hadn’t thought of that. One day I accidentally broke one – and one of my older sisters said, "How come can’t we keep anything nice around here?"

I love being the youngest in the family but some people don't like their birth order. The problem? The problem is all those books out there about birth order. And all of us believe it and live by it as though it were all true.

Well, I say if you don't like your order in the family why not change it so you end up where really want to be?

How can that be done? Well, what do you do if you didn’t like your first, middle or last name? You’d go to court and have it changed. Want to be first born? The youngest? Disappear in the middle? Go on the Web, find a site created by lawyers to change your birth order, download the forms, and voila! You’re now top of the heap and can run the universe. Or, if you’re now the baby of the family you can stomp your feet, get big alligator tears and threaten to go tell Mom and Dad even if you are 38.

To change your birth order you might try telling people the hospital got the ink footprints mixed up and actually you were born a decade before your oldest sister who looks nine years older than you. You can then go over to your (former) oldest sister’s home, knock on her door, and shout, “Give me back my make-up purse! Who said you could borrow it in the first place? And don’t let me ever find you in my bathroom again!”

Or, finally, to change your birth order go to HighSchoolReunion.com and use Photoshop to insert your own picture into the class of ’86 where your brother’s face used to be. The amazing result? Suddenly, you’re now Wally Cleaver and he’s the Beaver. Even Ward and June are too old to go ape over something like that.

Finally, remember birth order begins to repeat itself in large families with every fourth child. This is mainly because no birth order book has more than four types of children so then by the fifth one the child starts acting like the first one. If someone could think of another chapter it would likely transform families overnight.

Birth order, according to some authors, affects everything about your life. It affects whether or not you have asthma, what type of exercise program you should undertake and whether the leaves turn in your front yard turn to autumn colors before or after others in your family.

Basically if you know about birth order, you don't need to know anything else. And why should you?

You already have a brother who knows everything for you.

Cheryl's List of 13 Free or Nearly Free Gifts for Mother's Day

2011-05-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

My dad and mom, both 81 years old, when they were both 61.

1. A Mother’s Day poem fest!
You can either write mom a poem or copy a poem from someone else, giving them the credit.:)
Or, you could read her some poems as they did in the 1700's! Sounds corny, but she would like to hear you read some poems over the phone or in person. Here are some ideas to get you started. And here are Mother’s Day poems for kids.
2. Printable coloring pages that kids can color for mom.
You can google for these or here are sweet pictures that even the smallest child can color and give to mom
3. Personalized coupons just for Mom
Just write it up, put a colored border around it, and wrap it in a box. Mom would love some hours donated to window washing, car detailing, gutter cleaning, errands, yard work or IT stuff. Offer to move a piece of furniture for her that she has been wanting to move from the basement to the den. Call her today and ask her what she needs done this spring. Then, make up a coupon with a deadline of when you will have it done to put in her Mother's Day card. You will get lots of brownie points for this gift. Click here for free Mother’s Day coupon templates you can download from Microsoft Office and here are some more cute IOU coupon templates good for gifts
4. Email greeting cards you can send

Send her several! Here’s a large selection of free Christian ecards. Start sending her cards today, building up to Sunday.
5. Printable cards you can personalize and print out
Write out your favorite Bible verses in your Mother's Day card. If you don’t want to send an e-greeting, here are dozens of printable cards that you can customize and then print out for Mom. They have some great designs, from 1-2-3 Greetings.
6. Download some free tunes, put them on your mom’s MP3 player or burn them onto a CD. Click here to google some free Christian itune downloads for mom. You can choose from thousands of songs!
7. Take her to an art museum, the mall, downtown, the mountains, the lake, the ocean or the forest preserve. Mom likes a view especially with you along!
There is something this weekend that mom would like to go to or drive by. Park 1/4 mile from the airport and watch some planes take off and land. Mom wants some pampering and a little attention. .
8. Give her a luxurious car rideA car ride used to be considered a Sunday afternoon's entertainment. Have you ever noticed how on Mother's Day all the cars are going slow out on the freeway and on Father's Day they are all going fast? Give your mom a slow tourist ride down a new or old familiar road. Be her limo driver for the day - yes You! Don't worry she won't let you go too far with the price of gasoline this spring.
9. Make her a personalized slide show
You can check out this special Mother’s Day free slideshow template at Smilebox or Snapfish, where you can upload your photos, put them into a virtual album and add music to make a slide show.
10. Take Mom to a free concert this weekend at a neighboring church.
Proverbs 1:8-9 "Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck."
11. Regift something special to you and tell her why.
Regift one of your favorite books and include a special note to her telling her why you are passing on the gently used book. Dear mom, This was the best novel I read last year. I loved the leading character, Barbara, because she reminded me so much of how caring you are. Love, Your daughter

12. What you can't spend on a gift, make up for with a sentimental touch.

Maybe you can't give her a gift certificate to Macys this year? Instead, buy her a quart of strawberries, tie it with a big red ribbon and add a note, "Special memories of grandma's worldclass freezer strawberry jam."
13. Walgreens has a special coupon for a free 8x10 collage picture for Mother's Day.
You can make online for free and then go a pick it up to deliver to her. Or, mail to her. Or, have her pick it up at her Walgreens in her city. Here's the free code.

Consider a For Keeps Ministry Product as a gift.

“A mother іѕ a person whο, seeing thеrе аrе οnƖу four pieces οf pie fοr five people, promptly announces ѕhе never did care fοr pie.” ~Tenneva Jordan

2 Timothy 1:5 ESV I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

"Top Ten" Questions I have about Laundry

2011-05-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

All of us have questions about our laundry. Women used to have their questions answered by their moms, grandmas and neighbors over the backyard fence as they hung their clothes up on the clothesline. I am a stay at home mom of 6 with mountains of laundry to do. These are some of my unanswered questions about laundry.

"Top Ten" Questions I have about Laundry

1) How come no woman I know has time to hang their bed sheets out to dry on a clothesline but has 45 minutes to drive to a Hallmark store to buy a candle named "country sheets?"
2) Why is it socks go in the washing machine as pairs and never come out?

3) How come people say it helps the environment if I wash cloth diapers instead of using Pampers for six children -- but in the end have to dispose of two Maytag washing machines and a dryer from running them night and day? Are these people willing to come and bury my appliances in their backyard?

4) Why did I let my Aunt Lillian talk me into washing my husband's new ties in the washing machine? Why did she smile and promise they would look "better than new?"

5) How come I have to use an entire cannister of Oxyclean on my kids' sports uniform to get a postage stamp of grass stain out each week -- yet they clean an entire carpet covered with sump pump sludge with only two tablespoons on television ads? Can I connect my sump pump to their carpet?

6) How come Metamucil tablets turn into lifesize baskteballs that have a life of their own when they go through the wash if they are left in a pocket?

7) How come my laundry pile is always taller than I am? How come I often hear the voice of a man from inside the laundry pile who once went into our laundryroom to work on our furnace? Is this the reason his truck has been parked outside for the last three months?

8) How come during the spin cycle my washing machine begins to vibrate with such force and velocity that it “walks” away from the wall? It really does. It reminds me of the robot from “Lost in Space” that used to follow family members waving its arms, “Danger Will Robinson…Danger Will Robinson.

9) How come one night we woke up thinking there was an intruder in our bedroom only to switch on the light and find out it was only our Maytag?

10) How come people ask me what I am going to do with all my time when I don't have all that laundry to do -- knowing full well that I will be dead.

Mom Laughs

Free Kindle Book today and tomorrow on Kindle - FREE download

FREE - Over 100 free or nearly free ideas to do with preschoolers whether you are a mom, dad, grandparent, babysitter, church school worker, preschool teacher, or child care provider.. FREE Kindle book - free today in the Kindle store. Homeschool Your Preschooler on $1 a Day by Cheryl Moeller

Free Kindle book today and tomorrow

FREE - Over 100 free or nearly free ideas to do with preschoolers whether you are a mom, dad, grandparent, babysitter, church school worker, preschool teacher, or child care provider.. FREE Kindle book - free today in the Kindle store. Homeschool Your Preschooler on $1 a Day by Cheryl Moeller

Show Us Your Valentine's Day Gift Ideas/Homemade Gifts/Homemade Business

Free Kindle book by Momlaughs, Cheryl Moeller

Now that I'm a mom of six...

Show us your Mom Blogs or Websites

Buy Now!

20 Things I Learned from Raising Six Children

My book is in my Hands!

Michelle, Minneapolis, MN, 40

Ten Top Signs It's Time to Clean Your House

Are You a Christian Single 38 Years of Age or Over?

Not me! I am saving money on postage while I sleep

Not me! Monday

Not Me’s!

Happy New Year

Cheryl's Cookbook is Being Given Away in a Drawing on America's Grandma Website

America's Grandma Kay Swatkowski has a drawing giveaway for Cheryl's new cookbook if you leave a recipe on Kay's site - http://www.americangrandma.com/2011/12/29/soups-on-cookbook-giveaway/

Leave a recipe as a comment to win...

(This is a great marketing tool that Kay Swatkowski is using. Good job Kay. Kay is my good friend and writing student. Look around on her blog!

- http://www.americangrandma.com/2011/12/29/soups-on-cookbook-giveaway/

Mom's 2012 New Year's Resolutions One Month Later

Not me! Monday

Not Me’s!

Jazz for Cows, Who Would have Thought....

Book Review - "Baby Saves Christmas" by Cheryl Moeller and Melissa Moeller Briggs

Not Me! Monday!

Not Me’s!

ELF-SERVE not Self-serve - What Mommy is thinking about in December…

The Night Before Christmas According to Mom

Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

Not Me! Monday!

NOT me. I did not lock us out of the house last night. And, I had not just checked and made sure every other door was closed and locked shut.

I did not try to pry a front window open that was unlocked. Not me to the sound of cracking glass!

I did not think of breaking a window. Not me! Not during the coldest night of the winter!

Not me! I did not finally figure out the lock was not that tight on my own room's window and push with a baseball bat on the window frame while standing on my grandson's new motorized army preschool jeep. I did not scare the neighbors. Not me!

I did not think I would not have a Not Me for this week, knowing full well that I could not go a week much less a day without having a Not Me! experience.

Not Me’s!

Free Holidays Gift From Shutterfly

‎101 FREE 4x6 prints on Shutterly. Enter promo code at checkoutJ5D4-3AA0-1U0S-GXMPRS unitl December 12.You can get 101 of 1 print or 101 different prints. You pay for shipping unless your order is over $50. 101 Free Shutterly Prints Click Here

Free Holiday Gift

Free completely FreeCVS: Free 8×10 Kodak Photo Collage (Facebook offer) Click on the “Like” button on the Kodak Facebook Page to get print a coupon for a free 8×10 Photo Collage at CVS or two other pharmacies (Drug Mart and Bartell Pharmacies).

You can print this at the Kodak Picture Kiosk. Up to $6.99 value and no shipping as you will be picking it up in store.This coupon is good through December 11, 2011.

Not Me! Monday!

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

Terms and Conditions for Free 1200 Prints.

Terms and Conditions for Free 1200 Prints.

Details of this promotion:

How to use the free photo prints and other photo gift credits:

Frugal Free for Holiday Christmas Shopping Lunch or Dinner - Subways offer Several 6 inch Subs during December for $2

This Christmas... Give Jesus

This Christmas... Give Jesus.

As Advent begins... We shall deeply miss this year not receiving our advent calendar from our friend and seminary professor/mentor Dr. Harold Burgess. He was a great writer and speaker.

They always sent their Christmas greeting at the end of November with an advent calendar.This year we approach advent with expectation and waiting that we will see Dr. B again in heaven some day. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kentucky/obituary.aspx?n=harold-william-burgess&pid=149815274

This Christmas... Give Jesus.

This Christmas... Give Jesus

This Christmas... Give Jesus

Free or Nearly Free Christmas Gifts

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

Free Cyber Monday Giveaway from Two of my Writing and Publishing Conference Students/Friends

Baby Saves Christmas written by mother-daughter duo Cheryl Moeller and Melissa Moeller Briggs

Mama's Christmas List

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Frugal Frugal Frugal

I am Thankful for Parents who Celebrated a Traditional God-honoring Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Postcard from God Devotional

Now, also on Kindle by Momlaughs (Cheryl Moeller) - Creative Slow Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty & Easy Dinners

From the Author

Free or Nearly Free Holiday Gifts Day #3 Frugal Frugal Frugal

Some photos I am going to use - these are only the photos NOT made up on the canvas yet.

More Free Stuff Day #2

Free Stuff for the Holidays

I'm Chillin' While I'm Grillin'

Frugal Gifts

Ten Fantastic Frugal Homemade Fall, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas Gifts

Two Free E-Cookbooks by Gold Medal and Betty Crocker.

20 Things I’ve Learned from Raising Six Children

‎101 FREE 4x6 prints on Shutterly. Enter promo code at checkout
J5D4-3AA0-1U0S-GXMPRS unitl December 12.
You can get 101 of 1 print or 101 different prints. You pay for shipping unless your order is over $50. 101 Free Shutterly Prints Click Here

Free completely Free
CVS: Free 8×10 Kodak Photo Collage (Facebook offer)
Click on the “Like” button on the Kodak Facebook Page to get print a coupon for a free 8×10 Photo Collage at CVS or two other pharmacies (Drug Mart and Bartell Pharmacies).

You can print this at the Kodak Picture Kiosk. Up to $6.99 value and no shipping as you will be picking it up in store.
This coupon is good through December 11, 2011.

They always sent their Christmas greeting at the end of November with an advent calendar.
This year we approach advent with expectation and waiting that we will see Dr. B again in heaven some day. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kentucky/obituary.aspx?n=harold-william-burgess&pid=149815274