Follow Me Boys!

I was raised the youngest of four girls. 

We spent our free time swinging, playing paperdolls, and making mud pies in the church parking lot. When it rained, we played in the street trying hard not to get drawn in to the whirlpool of the sewers.

All four of us shared the same bike, taking turns to ride it around the block. One night the three alcoholic brothers who lived in a garage behind the parsonage took our bike.

The next evening my dad waited patiently in the dark upstairs on the second floor of the Christian Education building. When one of brothers rode our bike home late that night, my dad tossed a few pebbles on their heads. While giving them a wake up stone shower my dad said in an other wordly voice, "This is God speaking. Is that your bicycle?" They instantly dropped the bike behind the church and ran to seek cover in their garage home."

I had no brothers so I pretended like my boy cousins were my brothers and Opey on Andy Griffith as well.

After marrying Bob, we had three boys and three girls.

What I learned about boys: boys will be boys.

There is a lot of talk about Boy Scouts this weekend. It made me reflect back on our family's short-lived brush with the Scouts.

Our eldest, Robby "RJ" dramatically begged us over a long period of time to join the Boy Scouts.

Our neighborhood troop was led by two mothers. The Den Mothers' call to fame is that they met each Monday at noon before the meeting and each finished off a bottle of wine before the meeting started at 4:00 pm.

They did not like the outdoors, neither did they like boys. What they did like besides wine was cottonballs.

For some reason at least twice a month each scout had to bring a large bag of cottonballs. Cottonballs, accorrding to the Den Mothers, were foundational for crafts of all kinds.

"RJ" Robby, was kicked out of Boy Scouts after one year. The two moms called me on a conference call even though one lived across the street from us and the other one kitty corner behind us. They said not even their wine binges could drown out Robby's behavior. I asked them what it was that now prevented "RJ" from ever going on to become an Eagle Scout. The Den Mothers said "RJ" had talked all their precious innocent Scouts into bombarding them with the 16,000 cotton balls. Furthermore, RJ had told the other Scouts that cotton balls were really summer snow balls.

Our family must have watched Follow Me Boys with Fred McMurray 100 times. We could all say it word for word. In fact I checked it out of the library today to watch it with the family over this Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Click here for preview video about Follow Me Boys!

Nine Signs Mom is Not Taking Care of Herself

By Cheryl Moeller - Family Funny Stuff

Nine Signs Mom is Not Taking Care of Herself

1.  Her idea of a day at the spa is walking inside a $4.00 car wash and savoring the shampoo cycle.    Read the other eight: 

I'm a syndicated humor columnist on 12 sites including my largest one familiesonlinemagazine.com

Mother's Day Breakfast in Bed: Blueberry Bacon Silver Dollar Pancakes

Mother's Day Breakfast in Bed: Blueberry Bacon Silver Dollar Pancakes make a complete breakfast with fruit, protein, milk, etc. 

When it comes to flippin', it's easiest for kids to flip mini ones. 

Blueberry Bacon Silver Dollar Pancakes  

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white all-purpose flour AND 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons honey or sugar
1 1/4 cups milk or plain Kefer drinkable yogurt
2 egg whites, beaten to a slight froth but not stiff
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup bacon bits, turkey bits or veggie bits

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
2. Make a well in the center and pour in the honey, milk, and oil.
3. Mix until smooth.
4. Gently fold in the frothy egg white mixture.
5. Gently fold in blueberries and bacon bits
6. Let set for 15 minutes for the baking powder to work its magic.
7. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat.
8. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/8 cup for each pancake.
9. Brown on both sides.
10. Serve hot with extra fruit on top.

What to watch out for in the preparation: 

1. Don't stir too long.
2. Beating the egg whites separately and carefully folding them in give your cakes
a restaurant type quality.
Picture is up close silver dollar pancakes

12 Tips for Preschool Mom's Frugal Homemade Spa Day

12 Tips for Preschool Mom's Frugal Homemade Spa Day

by Cheryl Moeller (Momlaughs) on whattoexpect.com

#3.  Your personal homemade sauna.

One of my grandmothers, Emma Nyman Windquist, was from Finland. I love saunas. It must be in my blood because in Finland, there are more saunas than people. Make a homemade sauna in your bathroom by shutting the bathroom door and windows. Then turn the water on the hottest possible with no plug in the tub. Bring a book and your favorite pillow in with you to sit on the floor for about 20 to 30 minutes, slowly and fully breathing the steam in. The culmination of any good Finnish sauna is to jump in a lake or swimming pool, if you have one, cold or not. 

Read the other 11 preschool mom's tips

Cheryl's new monthly serious column syndicated on and from NY, NY

Whattoexpect.com 

Mother's Day is a Time to Get Your Mom Things She Really Needs Because...

By Cheryl Moeller - Family Funny Stuff

Nine Signs Mom is Not Taking Care of Herself

1.  Her idea of a day at the spa is walking inside a $4.00 car wash and savoring the shampoo cycle.    Read the other eight: 

12 Mother's Day Frugal or Free Gifts

I have observed this through the years...  On Mother's Day people drive their cars real slow with mom in tow.  On Father's Day, dad's day, they blast around corners without braking and floor it out on the expressways.  

If you have more holidays than money this year, here's some options for Frugal and Free for Mom.  If she complains, tell her that she trained you well to be thrifty...

1. Coastal.com has free first pair of glasses.  Both of our two younger daughters took advantage of this and we are happy with the designer glasses.  Only had to pay for shipping

2.  About 1/3 of my Harvest House Publishers' cookbook is free every day of every week on amazon.com books, Creative Slow Cooker Meals:  On Amazon books and other online websites, you can get 1/3 my cookbook for free, seriously, this is true of most books on online sites and also on on google books.  To know my cookbook is to love it click here

3. Cool printables like banners and random stuff
Free Mother's Day Stuff on Freebie-Depot  
Pinterest Mother's Day Ideas 
Click here


4.  Free Admission to Local Public Gardens on National Public Gardens Day, Saturday, May 11, 2013.  Print off as many coupons as you need. Click here

5. Mom cute gift tags Neat labels Free printables from Paper Coterie Click here

Printables from Coolmompicks

6.  Chill your salad plates.  A simple gesture for Mother's Day means a lot.
Keep the thought going even after Mother's Day...  Stack and store glass salad plates in the frig on a bottom shelf.  Put foil over the top plate and all the rest of the plates will stay clean because they are hidden/stacked.  My fav salad is equal amounts of cut avocado and  cut tomatoes, served cold.       

7.  Free Marriage Conferences For Better For Worse For Keeps future events or buy CD 4-Part Set or DVD 4-Part Set of a conference 

8. Help! Mom's Stuck on Spin Cycle by Cheryl Moeller Moms laugh their way through Mother's Day

as Kindle 

as paperback  

9.  A perfect picture Mother's dream.  Give her free luggage tags (google to find some you can personalize, also) in a Mother's Day card to represent that fab vacation you are going to take her on this summer.  A luggage tag says 1,000 words (actually about 10 words) but you score big points on May 12 but don't have to redeem them until July.  Click here for newest printable luggage tags

Duct tape Trendy fabric Laminated fabric Luggage Tags on ehow

10.  DIY BUTTON RING on culdesaccool.com

Is your mom old?  

I mean is your mom vintage?  

I mean does youR mom like vintage?  click here

Picture from culdesaccool.com 
 

11. Andrea, the queen of momsaware.com
I love Andrea Fabry's Luscious Healthy Soaps.  I just ran out today. I know I better get some of Andrea's soaps on Mother's Day Sunday or I am ordering myself on Mother's Day Monday Click here 

12.  Nerdly Cell Phone Necklace
I don't care what anyone thinks; I can never find my cell phone when it's ringing.  My friend (mom and professor) Dr. Cheryl Ann Luczak wears one...So this mom Cheryl Anne is going too, also.  Click here 

Happy Mother's Day! Luv