EC Top Droper Day - June

Here are my top 10 droppers for the month of June. Thanks guys for dropping here regularly. Check out my sidebar for some linky love.

Life's sweets and spices
A work-at-home-mommy who loves to cook, bake and read. A frustrated chef, now a dedicated blogger. Blogging makes me happy and this is where I share my thoughts, ideas, [sometimes] feelings, my love for food and then some…
The Modern Mom
Moms like me are becoming more and more housekeeping savvy. From stretching the family budget to diy's, smart solutions and more.Being a wonder mom is now no sweat with all these wonderful alternatives.
Take a coffee break...
Coffee. Can’t start the day without having my cup of hot, creamy, not-so sweet morning booster. This blog is all about my favorite kicker and its benefits, with some teasers on other great tasting beverages.
A Simple Life
A 40 year old mother of two who likes to write just about anything. A baking enthusiast, a crafter and a hobbyist. This is about me, my views, my interests and my favorites.
Yummy-as-can-be
I’m a mom and a wife to picky eaters which prompted me to search for yummy and healthy recipes, and modify so my family can enjoy them.
Mommy's Little Corner
A blog that talks about my adventures of being a wife and a mom. This blog also focuses on food, nutrition and health.
Life's Tricky Situations
“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
moms..... check nyo
I’m a 40ish year old mom of two. I love to bake, cook, plant herbs (in pots cause i don’t have a garden), cross stitching, hardanger embroidery, bowling and just like any typical pinay moms i love watching telenovelas.
Cacai's Step and Journey
My personal blog talks about my own wits, views, reviews, thoughts, beliefs, happiness, and my day to day experiences in this beautiful world we're living in, of good quality standard for which everyone of all ages is welcome. ***Adverts, I welcome you all, feel free to ad. (~_~) ***
Online Marketing
I Learn Online Marketing

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Learn Piano Online

I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano. In fact while already an adult I enrolled in piano lessons and bought myself an organ to practice with. But when I moved to US, my interest in learning the piano got sidetracked, but the desire to learn is still there. I'm very excited to find this great site called YokeWong.net where I could download free sheet music and learn piano all over again through its online piano lessons. Though I learned how to read music, it would be great to also learn how to improvise and be able to play the piano even without music sheet. At YokeWong.net free tutorials are offered to learn different piano playing techniques. There are easy piano exercises for beginners and piano lessons for intermediate and advanced players that are available online. Piano courses on DVD's are also available at very affordable prices with free shipping cost. If you want to take your piano playing to the next level by playing without looking at music sheet, just visit YokeWong.net to learn how.

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ABC's and 1,2,3's

I used to worry about my son not having interest on identifying alphabet and numbers while other playmates his age can identify them very well already. I read in the book "What to Expect the Toddler Yeas" that children who can recognize letters and numbers before school may only enjoy temporary edge from other kids. Studies show they don't retain it, as other students quickly catch up. Not having interest in academics at age 2 or 3 does not in any way suggest that a child won't be a good student. Don't belittle a child if he isn't ready to count or learn the alphabet. There's plenty of time ahead for these before first grade. Make learning fun and exciting, like my son and I count together when climbing stairs. Let toddler be and enjoy as he is, but stimulate learning by talking, reading, and counting with them.

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A Fun and Safe Summer for the Family

After what seemed to be an endless cold season, now the weather is really becoming warmer for good. Having come from a country with tropical weather, I really prefer the warm season over the bitter cold ones. Warm weather means grill season too. Grilling is a very important endeavor during the warm weather. Most families spend more time in their backyards; getting together with family and friends; and enjoying their all time favorite grilled food like barbeque, hamburger and hotdogs. My family is not an exception to this. In fact, as soon as the weather became a little warmer, we right away moved our Friday night dinners to the deck.

But in as much as grilling and eating out are two exciting things to do, there are however 'uninvited' guests lingering around that prevent us from enjoying our meals to the fullest. These pesky mosquitoes not only can be very annoying, they can be health hazards too as they may carry the dreadful West Nile virus. I saw the mosquito magnet review at MosquitoMagnet.com and I was really impressed at how this mosquito magnet gadget works.

Like the testimonial from a guy who lives in a forest with lots of trees. They are usually swarmed with mosquitoes during the summer when they go out to their backyard. But with the use of a mosquito magnet, they are able to go out and enjoy their backyard. And I was surprised to see how much mosquitoes this mosquito magnet collected after a month and a half at work in their backyard, enough to eat them alive.

Since we've got tons of trees in our backyard as well, we also experience being attacked by pesky mosquitoes and bugs. This mosquito magnet is a very good investment, it will be a great help for us to enjoy our grilling and eating out in our backyard even more. Mosquito magnet will zap all the pesky mosquitoes and even bugs so our summer will be more fun and safe.

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The Smile Award

This is a very long overdue tag from my blogger buddy Mize of Night Clicks. Mize is a terrific person and one of the sensible bloggers that I came to know through blogging.

This tag has a rule: Click copy/paste, type in your answers and tag four people in your lists. Don’t forget to change my answers to the questions with that of yours.

~ 4 places I go over and over: Hongkong, Canada, Philippines, New England states
~ 4 people who email me regularly: family, relatives, friends, and a lot of spammers.
~ 4 of my favorite places to eat: British Beer Company (English), Minerva (Indian), China Pearl(Chinese), Ginza (Japanese)
~ 4 places you’d rather be: Philippines; Victoria, BC; London, UK; Hongkong
~ 4 TV shows I could watch over and over: Home & Garden, Food TV Network, Health Channel, Discovery Channel

Here are the qualifications to receive this award:
A. Display a cheerful attitude.
B. Love one another.
C. Make mistakes.
D. Learn from others.
E. Be a positive contributor to the blog world.
F. Love life.
G. Love kids.

The Rules:
1. Please link back!
2. Post the rules
3. Choose 4 people to give it to
4. Recipients must fill the characteristics above
5. Create a post to share this
6. Thank the winners

* * *

I want to share this award to my other friends who certainly possess the qualifications above:

Carlota @ Dashing Smiles
Dhoy @ Simply Irresistible
Yen @ In My Shoes
Lanie @ I Thought So

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Student Loans and Financial Aid Resources

Sending our kids to college can be very tough, but it is the greatest achievement that all parents can accomplish. However, not all parents can afford to send their kids to college, so they look for financial aid resources or federal student loans to help pay for their children's education. To save parents the time, stress and confusion in looking for the right financial aid process, there is a company called Student Loan Network that can help them.

The Student Loan Network is one of the nation's fastest growing providers of student loans and related information. They have been in the business for more than 10 years and have helped students and their families access financial aid resources such as federal and private student loans, scholarships and consolidation funding for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education. The Student Loan Network is a member of Edvisors family of companies, a global leader in online education marketing and financial services.

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Is There a Best Season for Potty Training?

Potty lore has it that summer is the best time (some members of the older generation would say the only time) to start teaching a toddler to use the toilet. And there's undeniably some wisdom to that tradition: A toddler who's dressed lightly (or better still, not dressed at all) has a better shot at making it to the potty in time than a toddler who's decked out in layers of winter wear.

But, seasonal considerations should take a back seat to toddler readiness. Spring, summer, winter, or fall, the best time to teach a toddler about toileting is when he or she is ready to learn. If your toddler turns out to be ready in the winter, keep the house a little warmer than usual so that he or she can run around lightly clad. The minimum amount of clothing will allow for maximum success with toileting.

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A Worry Free Stroll in the Yard

Wherever I go, there goes my little tot too. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I'm sure we will be spending a lot of times in the yard again. He just loves playing in the backyard while I do my gardening chores. But I worry about deer ticks that might be lingering around as we get few visits from deer looking for food in the woods.

I have a friend who has Lyme disease and her children got them too while she was pregnant with them. It is a horrible disease that makes them really sick. So I am just worried about my little tot getting this dreadful disease from the ticks brought by the deer while enjoying himself in the woods. To get my mind off worrying, I searched for information online to learn about deer control. I need to have some kind of deer repellent to make my backyard safe for my family especially my little tot.

I found this Havahart Deer Off II Battery Powered Sprayer that not only repel deer but rabbits and squirrels as well. So it means that I can also see my plants and vegetables bloom to the fullest and not be feasted on by these animals before I can even harvest them. The sprayer is very convenient to use and can be carried around without a problem. I love it that the deer off formula is safe to use in organic gardening as it is made from natural and food based ingredients. This also means that it will not harm the environment and I can use it directly on bulbs, plants, shrubs, and flowers. This is certainly a great buy to keep my plants alive, but mostly for my peace of mind.

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Listening Tips for Parents & Caregivers

My little tot is always busy as a bee. He is very energetic and is always up to something. I'm sure moms out there can relate to me that it's hard sometimes (or most times) to settle down busy little tots to listen up. Listening takes practice - so does getting young children to listen. I found these tips on listening at the back of a book by Elizabeth Verdick, the author of Listening Time.

(Photo: I opened my little tot's bedroom and found him reading a book to his stuffed toys. Now he's talking to little puppy, as if saying "Listen.")

Use the following tips to help just one child or a group of toddlers settle down and listen up:

• Be a listening role model - Try quiet, soothing tones when you speak to your child. Avoid shouting across the room - instead, use proximity (stand or kneel by your child) to get attention. You may wish to play soft music to create a relaxing atmosphere.

• Use hand signals - Show how you can say "Quiet" without speaking a word - by placing a finger to your lips or tuggling your earlobes. You may also teach how hands can "talk" so mouths don't have to. For example, a child can tap a finger on your shoulder or raise a hand in the air to signal that she or he needs help.

• Talk about how eyes "listen" - We may hear through our ears, but our eyes help us "see what to do." During listening time, remind children, "Look at my eyes, please," or "Eyes on me." This makes it easier for each child to hear your directions and follow them.

• Model an "indoor voice." - Demonstrate how an indoor voice sounds compared to an outdoor one. Make the phrase "Use your indoor voice" a part of your daily reminders.

• Teach steps for settling down - Getting toddlers to quiet their busy little bodies needs to happen in stages. Try to do this sequence: First, get them to sit cross-legged on the floor and place their hands on their laps. Next, ask them to make their bodies calm and still. Finally, have the children pretend to zip and lock their lips with an invisible key and put the key away. Or try the "if you can hear me" option: "If you can hear me, touch your nose. If you can hear me, sit down. If you can hear me, don't speak. If you can hear me, sit and listen quietly."

• Practice circle manners - Circle time can lead to wiggles, giggles, "I want to sit by her," and " He bumped me!" Show children how to keep their hands and feet to themselves and respect their neighbors. Create lots of opportunities for practice.

• Give light-hearted reminders and praise. - You might say, "Let's use our listening ears," while you tug on your earlobes. Or pretend to zip and lock your lips and hide the key. To reinforce that it's time to listen, use this chant: "I'm quiet as a mouse. I'm still as can be. Who's ready to listen? Me!"
  

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EC Top Dropper Day - March

Another month is over and it's time to acknowledge my top EC droppers once again. I really appreciate the time and effort that everybody is putting in, for consistently dropping their EC's here. But the following top ten droppers will get a special spot in my sidebar for a month with their links.

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A Bug-Free Lawn

Spring is my favorite season of all. I refer to this season as the 'coming back to life' season. After a long cold winter, the trees and plants are sort of awaken from deep sleep and then will show-off their vibrant colors for every gardener's sight-seeing pleasure. I just love to get my fingers dirty digging up and freshening up my garden. It is always something to look forward to. But pests and bugs are also coming out of their hideout to feast on the plants. They are indeed every gardener's nemeses and even the professional ones are not exempted.

I love flowering trees and shrubs of any kind and every year we try to add a plant or two in the yard. But there are pesky insects that feed on these plants that more often prevent them from living longer. So it is frustrating to see that beautiful and expensive flowering trees and shrubs just die in no time. Anyway, I recently learned about a safer way to protect not only the trees and shrubs but also lawn, ornamentals and flowers from killer insects using an organic pest control called Safer Brand Bug Patrol. This organic bug patrol kills over 40 insects on contact. While it can kill different damaging insects, it is however safe and will protect the environment because it is organic. This product is very economical and convenient to use. You just attach the solution to the hose and you're ready to spray and kill both hard and soft bodied insects. Wow I can now imagine having a bug-free lawn.

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