We Won An Award!

Thank You Patricia Timms from the wonderful blog Simplicity in Volumes for giving us the "One Lovely Blog Award"
It is such a lovely award.
We are so honored you passed it onto us!
It is so Pretty!

Now to pass it on. 
Here are 15 inspiring, creative, imaginative blogs that we feel deserve the "One Lovely Blog Award"


Enjoy!


Some are old. Some are new. Some are looking for new friends just like you!




1. Keepin It Here. Created by Loretta D Boranat. Loretta is a mother of 4 and is a creator of a doll program called my pal and my sibling dolls. 

(My Sibling^® dolls have siblings with developmental disabilities. Each doll comes with a story so that children can read and learn about others who grow up differently than they do.)

She provides work experiences to older (teens) students who have developmental disabilities - they dress and accessorize her dolls. 


2. Mama Lounge is a blog written by Ly Nguyen. Ly has been published in in the San Fransisco Chronicle, Chocolate For A Woman's Soul Anthology, Oakbook and Nha Magazine.


3. Robin Hill Quilts has a home away from home feel to it. Robin's blog has gorgeous country photos. She is a long arm quilter and loves showing off her talent!


4. Why Meditate is a relatively new blog that features ideas and advice on healing, spiritual growth and meditation. 


5. Writes with feathers  is written by Anne C Watkins. Anne is an animal lover and a contributing editor for Pet Age magazine. Anne has numerous writing credits, including ghost writing and freelance editing. Sign up to be one of her newest followers.


6. Whole Food Kids is a blog full of healthy, and we mean healthy recipes. Whole food kids is a blog that is devoted to good nutrition for our worlds future. 


7. Toby and Max Jewelry  Who doesn't like jewelry right? Sandy Comstock makes the coolest bracelets and jewelry that speaks to the heart. She likes to hide hidden words on the inside. Great specialized gift for the hard to buy for person or teen. For every third item sold in October Sandy is making a donation to breast cancer research. This month She features a "I am a survivor cuff bracelet, Bless this womans neck tag and "Warrior" I am strong cuff bracelet. She has a wide selection at her Toby and Max store.


8. The Party Animal is the place to go when your planning your next children's birthday party! Cupcakes, treats, games and crafts. It's all in one spot for your convenience. Need inspiration for your next party look no further! 


9. The Holistic Health Maven  features great articles on loving yourself, affirmations, health, wellness, integrated medicine and so much more. We feel right at home at The Holistic Health Maven. A. Leigh Edwards is a big fan of Hay House Publishing created by Louise L. Hay just like we are!


10. Life In A Week is blog full of great advice on how to be really happy! Michael Shawn Keller reminds you how to make the best of every day and have fun doing it! 


11. Aspiring Domestic Goddess Mommy is for all the Goddesses out there working hard raising your children, taking care of your pets and trying to be the best Goddess you can be.


12. Kelly's Lucky You sponsors all kinds of contests and giveaways. Try your luck today!


13. Moms Best Bets features the very best ideas and products to live naturally with a whole lot of style. 


14. And Then There Were Four  It's always fun to read blogs from other countries. And then there were four is written by a mother of four kids, two of them being twins. Christine Tait Lees shares her stories from Australia.    


15. Intuitive Parenting For Intuitive Kids is a timely resource for raising the children of today. Provides practical guidelines for nurturing children's intuitive nature. Great topics!


Did you know we have a blog about nature, pets and the environment. Check it out here. Incredible Creatures At Home And In The Wild. 
(Book Review and Giveaway of "The Lost Dogs" The story about the investigation and what happened to the Michael Vick dogs. A truly inspiring heartfelt book written by Jim Gorant. 


As we always like to say "Follow your intuition." Thank you for reading our blog and supporting our writing adventures.
Don't miss out!  Sign up for our "Intentional Conscious Parenting" newsletter.


Newest winners will be announced this week!
There's still time to win:
Flightless Goose 
A Night In The Woods
Awesomism
Zen Mama


Follow us on twitter 
Fan us on Facebook 


Carol Lawrence & Stacy Toten
http://www.intentionalconsciousparenting.com

Wordless Wednesday

http://www.intentionalconsciousparenting.com/

Children's Book Review: Flightless Goose

Flightless Goose
By Eric D Goodman
Illustrated By Nataliya A Goodman

Children all over America will identify with Gilbert the flightless goose as he learns very important lessons about friendship, being different and taking an adversity and turning it into a triumph!


This is a great story to read to your children to teach them about self worth, tolerance and camaraderie.




Flightless Goose would make a great donation to your child's school library and to your local public library.


Help kids learn young in a fun way to be more tolerant. This book would also fit well with any anti-bullying program for young kids.


We highly recommend the read along cd. It's full of great sound effects. The story teller does a fantastic job bringing the story to life.


Flightless Goose is available at Writers Lair Books
www.twitter.com/wlbks
blog.writerslairbooks.com


Giveaway! A lucky winner will receive their very own copy of Flightless Goose and read along CD. We will use random.org to pick a winner.


There are five ways to enter to win: You can enter all five ways if you wish. 

1. Sign up for our "Intentional Conscious Parenting" Newsletter.
2. Leave a comment
3. Check out Writers Lair Books Blog and leave a comment. (Let them know you read the Flightless Goose review here.) blog.writerslairbooks.com
4. Follow Writers Lair Books on Twitter
5. Follow Intentional Conscious Parenting on Facebook

Review by: Carol Lawrence & Stacy Toten
http://www.intentionalconsciousparenting.com

And the Winners Are .....Congratulations to Lucy & Mindy!

Latest Updates..


And the winners are..........
Congratulations to Lucy Miller. You have won a copy of "Operation Beautiful!" Please email us your address so we can have your book sent to you.

Congratulations to Mindy Marie you are the winner of "What We Have" by Amy Boesky! 





















Love books? Sign up for our "Intentional Conscious Parenting" newsletter for a chance to win! 


(Newsletter sign up link on the right) 


Children's picture book A Night In The Woods by Dave McGraw
Read Carol's review of "A Night In The Woods" and sign up to win a copy.

Awesomism A New Way to Understand the Diagnosis of Autism by Suzy Miller 
Stacy's Top Ten Reasons Why "Awesomism" Is A Vital, Indispensable Groundbreaking Book! 

Zen Mama by Betsy Henry

Read all about Carol's interview with Betsy Henry and sign up to win a copy of "Zen Mama"






We want to share with you a 34-page Mini Personal Growth Book
for kids, parents and teachers intended to give you and your
child or teen an opportunity to learn the science behind living a fulfilling and happy life by authors Rhonda Ryder and Patrick McMillan
Founders, HappierKidsNow.com
The Happier Kids Now Online Expo

Check out their wonderful website Kids Can Do Anything!

http://www.happierkidsnow.com/ebooks/the_ultimate_kids_guide_to_happiness.pdf

Intentional Conscious Parenting Facebook Page

Love animals, nature, pets and the environment? 
Upcoming review! We will be giving away two autographed copies of "Lost Dogs" The story behind the Michael Vick dogs on our Pet/Nature Blog. Incredible Creatures At Home And In The Wild!

Finally after you subscribe for our newsletter, sign up as a Facebook follower and check out some of our book reviews we want to know that one of our blogging buddies is having a giveaway. Not just any giveaway! She's giving away Jack Lalanne's Power Juicer! http://www.twoofakindworkingonafullhouse.com/2010/09/jack-lalannes-power-juicer-express.html

To Live Is To Learn and To Learn Is To Live! Thanks for reading our blog!

We love our readers. Please leave a comment if you feel inspired to.

The House Of 1000 Mirrors By: Author Unknown

The House of 1000 Mirrors
By: Author Unknown

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place 
known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little 
dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he 
arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway
of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears 
lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To 
his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other 
happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as 
his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 
great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the 
House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I 
will come back and visit it often." 

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite 
as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He 
slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he 
looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly 
looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and 
was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. 
As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible 
place, and I will never go back there again." 
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of 
reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet? 

Help Your Child Learn Empathy

I found this poem that teaches children about empathy on the mom stuff community blog.Help Your Child Learn Empathy

This is the perfect time to share this poem with your kids as they go back to school.

Somewhere out there is Laura.  I don’t know anything about her except that she wrote this poignant poem titled “I Am”.  The poem has been used in anti bullying campaigns around the world, and today I’d like to share it with you.

I AM

I am the person you bullied in school
I am the one who didn’t know how to be cool
I am the person you alienated
I am the person you ridiculed and hated

I am the person who sat on their own
I am the person who walked home alone
I am the person you scared every day
I am the person who had nothing to say

I am the person with hurt in their eyes
I am the person you never saw cry
I am the person living alone with their fears
I am the person destroyed by their peers

I am the person who drowned in your scorn
I am the person who wished they hadn’t been born
I am the person whose name you don’t know
I am the person who just can’t let go

I am the person destroyed for ‘fun’
I am the person, but not the only one
I am the person who had feelings too
..and I am a person, JUST LIKE YOU!!!

This poem evokes immense empathy by the preponderance of those who read it.  The dictionary defines empathy as “understanding” or “a deep emotional understanding of another’s feelings or problems”.  Having researched the value of emotional and social intelligence (ESI) skills in our youth, I can tell you that development of empathy as a key competency renders positive results for personal satisfaction and healthy relationships.   Though some believe that empathy is innate, I’m with the majority and believe that empathy can, and should be, taught to children at the earliest cognitive opportunity.  I envision empathy as a tool for carving out a kinder world in which there is diminished bullying and a population of children that is happier to the core.  Reading this poem with your kids and creating dialogue of what it must be like to be a bullied person is one approach to create awareness and fruitful action, but we need more.

Please contribute to our comments section and share your positive ideas or rewarding personal stories on how we, as a community can increase empathy to decrease bullying of any kind.  Then, consider sharing the article with anyone and everyone you know who can make a difference at home and beyond.  Ask them to participate too.  

It does take a village!

This post is from Keyuri Joshi the On the Ball Parenting Coach

.http://www.ontheballparent.com/blog/2010/08/24/how-parenting-with-emotional-intelligence-can-weaken-bullying/ Visit here web site for more great help on parenting, and to share your positive ideas.

Children's Picture Book Review - A Night In The Woods By Dave McGraw

A Night In The Woods By: Dave M. McGraw




A Night In The Woods is a tale about a dog named Josie. 
This delightful story written for children and adults is written from Josie's point of view. Josie goes on an accidental adventure full of excitement, love, fear, danger and courage. She will touch your heart as she shares her exploration in courage, loyalty and strength.




A Night In The Woods is a beautiful hardback children's book featuring detailed captivating illustrations.


A Night In The Woods teaches children 

• About the joys of having a dog
• Courage
• Love
• Loyalty
• Gratitude & Kindness

The author Dave McGraw shows his love for fly fishing, the outdoors and spending time with family and friends at Fuzzy Moose Flats through his descriptive words and inspiring characterizations . 
You would almost think Dave was a dog by the way he captures Josie's point of view! He describes Josie's bold and daring tale in such vivid detail you feel like you are there along for the journey.

A Night In The Woods would make a great gift for adults and children alike.
Purchase your copy today.



To learn more about "A Night In The Woods" or see what Dave's up to these days check out his Facebook Page.




Would you like to win a copy of A Night In The Woods?

• A winner will be selected using random.org from our "Intentional Conscious Parenting Newsletter" Subscriber list. 

Written By: Carol Lawrence


No monetary compensation has been received for the review of this book.
I came across Dave's site and knew I wanted to read his book and share it with you.
Dave Thank You so much for donating two beautiful hardback copies to share with our readers!


http://www.intentionalconsciousparenting.com

Warmhearted Wednesday!

Have you heard of HeartMath?


FEEL BETTER
LIVE BETTER

For more than 18 years, HeartMath has made significant contributions to both the scientific and practical understanding of the physiology of stress, heart-brain interactions and performance. This research has led to the creation of the Award winning emWave Personal Stress Reliever® and emWave® Desktop (works on both Mac & PC).


Helps create 

• A Greater Well Being
• Mental Clarity
• Relief From Stress
• Reduces anxiety
• Improves Performance
• Experience A More Balanced Life

I've heard great things about the benefits of HearthMath but I have never used it personally.
I would very much appreciate any feedback from anyone who has.
Please share with us what you think of it and how well does it work.
I know on Facebook there's a video showing promising work using Emwave with Rwandan Orphans.

Introducing Betsy Henry Author Of "How To Be A Zen Mama"

Introducing Betsy Henry.

A Mother, Daughter, Aunt, Sister, Blogger, Author and Friend.

Betsy is the author of "The Zen Mama's Blog" There you will find ideas on how to stop worrying, let go and be closer to your kids. Ideas on education and Buddhism. Learn how to live life without anger and control. Betsy's blog is intended to be a companion to her book, How To Be A Zen Mama, 13 Ways To Stop Worrying,  Let Go and Be Closer to Your Kids.

I recently asked Betsy if she could tell us a little about herself, her new book and the writing process of Zen Mama.

Betsy please tell us about yourself.

I am a wife of 23 years, a mother to three teenage sons, a daughter of wonderful parents, an aunt to 6 nieces and nephews and a sister to three siblings! I am a preschool teacher. And finally, what I’ve always wanted to be ... a writer!  I also like to garden, read, cook and travel.

How long have you been a practicing Buddhist, what led you to this path?

Well, I’ve had an interesting upbringing.  I was christened Catholic.  Back in those days the wives of Catholics promised, at their weddings, to raise their children as Catholics.  My mother was a philosophy major and the daughter of a Christian scientist.  So on Sundays my siblings and I were Catholics, the rest of the week we were raised with my mother’s philosophies.  

So to really answer the questions...I love to look through all religions and see what I like the best.  So far the Buddhist path is my favorite and I so enjoy reading and practicing the Buddhist way.

What is a technique you personally use to get back into a Zen state of mind when you're in a stressful situation? 

To start with I don’t react to what ever is bothering me. I need to clear my head whether it’s by meditation, a long walk, a cup of coffee and a book.

A good 2 minutes meditation:  

First, you need to stop thinking so get comfortable.  Begin to notice your breath. Take a deep breath through your nose and breathe out your mouth.  Put your hands on your rib cage.  If your ribcage expands, then  you know you’re breathing right.  If it doesn’t, then you’re not taking a deep enough breath.  The more deeply you breathe, the more oxygen that gets to your brain.  It will help you relax and let go, to let go of the things over which we have no control. 

My favorite is this walking meditation:

Don’t walk fast.  Fast walking equals anxiety.  Slow walking is happiness, peace and joy.  Be in this moment. Next coordinate your breathing with your steps. I like to think something as I exhale and another word as I inhale. Maybe you say, “Exhale anger, breathe in peace.” “Breathe out stress.  Breathe in joy.” Don’t forget to have a slight smile on your face. Do this for about 20 minutes (give or take) and I think you will feel better able to take on the world!


Betsy, I can really relate to key points in your book. On page 18 you touch on the view point that your children's failures and successes are not a reflection of you. Let your children be who they are and learn to let go. This is such a hard but important realization of parenthood.

Would you agree that while under stressful situations the energy and vibrations of parents influence their children? 

Absolutely!  It’s the reason I wrote this book, mostly for myself and my husband, because we were angry with our teenagers all the time.  While anger isn’t the only stressful situation, it’s often one of the most damaging. It definitely affected the relationship with our kids. They didn’t want to be around us.  When we came into a room, they’d find a way to leave. At the table, they’d ask to be excused right after they ate dinner.

The first thing we worked on was getting them to stay longer at the dinner table so we could all talk again. Using humor, jokes and riddles worked immediately. Some other benefits came later. For a while I had to start out a sentence saying, “I am not angry but....” They would still think I was mad about certain things. And I was for a while but after practicing not getting angry, you really do stop.

By the way, being a zen mama doesn’t mean I don’t discipline. It just means I say and react to things in a different way.


You talk about Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence. I became familiar with his writing when I was homeschooling my youngest son Josh. This is a very important topic. Children do learn in so many different ways. I love how at preschool you ask the children "What kind of smart are you?" instead of "How smart are you?" Every child is good at something and it's our job to help them  discover what it is.

What is your philosophy on life? On parenting?

With Kids:

Accepting children as individuals

Keeping anger at bay

Unconditional Love and compassion

Humor

In Life:

Doing what you love first

Being as positive as possible

In chapter Eight "Find Out What They're Interested In" you talk about relating to your children by speaking their language. Living in a house full of males this chapter really resonated with me. 

A few of the things I learned was how to camp, fish, watch football, Dragon ball Z and Pokemon. You have to find ways to connect to your children on their level. One of the best ways is to learn about something they are interested in. Thank you for pointing this out.

What inspired you to write "How to be a Zen Mama" and how long did it take to write?

I conceived the “Zen Mama” concept when I was going through the challenging time with my children a few years ago.  I kept joking around that I was becoming a “Zen Mama” so I could let go of the controlling and angry feelings I was feeling.  As my husband and I applied the principles that would eventually become the book, he said, “Here’s the book you’ve always wanted to write! I wrote down what those chapters would be on the back of an envelope and those original 13 ideas became my 13 chapters.

It took about 10 months to write and edit. It flowed once I started. I mostly wrote in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep when I was worried about the kids. When I’d edit and reread at night, I’d find advice for myself.  It was kind of funny! Now I’m sleeping well again and can’t find any time to write!

Can you tell us about the publishing process for Zen Mama?

I self published through Createspace.com, an Amazon company. I had a great experience. It’s a print on demand company so you don’t have to put up a lot of money to start.  It wouldn’t work for everyone. For instance they don’t print hardbacks. Another plus createspace gets you onto Amazon automatically. I did write to agents and publishers. First, I found ones that might be interested in publishing a book like mine. Then I went to their website to see what their submission requirements were.  Finally, I sent letters out. A friend of mine in publishing told me that many publishers aren’t looking for new books. In fact they like to see you self publish and then if you do well, they approach. When I got the negative replies (mostly form letters before the manuscript had been looked at) I forged ahead!  I’m glad I did. As for marketing, you have to enjoy it.  This can be tough. My book is doing quite well in Colorado. I’ve gone to conventions, taught Zen Mama classes and had a number of book signings.  This fall, I will explore how to get it marketed to the rest of the country.

Do you have any advice for our writing audience?

Yes!

1. The publishing industry is so discouraging!  I decided to ignore what I read and just write.       

It may have been nice to find a publisher but I’ve really enjoyed the process myself.

2. The more you write, the easier it is to write.  That’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed about having a blog.

3. If you have the right idea, it will flow. You can think and dream about it but when it’s right, it flows.

What's next for Betsy Henry and Zen Mama? Anything you would like to add?

I’m working on a second book. I’m compiling many of my blog posts plus some other work into a sort of Zen Mama diary.  I’m also working  on a book of quotations that will be offered as an ebook as well. And, I will continue to blog and teach Zen Mama workshops.  It’s a second job for me and I love it! My husband and I are also considering putting together a travel website because we've so enjoyed traveling.

Do you have a newsletter to keep your readers up to date on your writing, book tours and more great parenting tips and advice? 

I am going to start a newsletter in the fall to send out to subscribers and people who have bought my book.  Another thing to add to the list!

 Zen Mama Blog

Twitter http://twitter.com/thezenmama

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zen-Mama/173730509427

Thank you for sharing your Zen wisdom with all of us. 
Keep us posted on the process of your second book, we look forward to hearing all about it.

To win an autographed copy of Betsy's book "How To Be A Zen Mama" all you need to do is sign up for our "Intentional Conscious Parenting newsletter", leave comment of your favorite part of this interview and visit Betsy's blog. We will use random.org to pick a lucky winner.

There's still time to enter to win "What We Have" by Amy Boesky & "Operation Beautiful" by Caitlin Boyle


Drawings for all three books will be held Friday September 25th.

Written By: Carol Lawrence

Stacy's Top Ten Reasons Why "Awesomism" Is A Vital, Indispensable Groundbreaking Book!

"Awesomism! A New Way to Understand the Diagnosis of Autism" by Suzy Miller is so right on, bold, fresh in approach, valuable and needed at this time!

1. The most upbeat and positive book on Autism out there! 


2. This book is filled with astonishing and miraculous insightful information.




3. Awesomism touches upon utilizing siblings, they probably have a step up on you. Don't underestimate your other children. Siblings have a unique connection to each other. You can learn from this.


4. I feel this should be an urgent required read.  It teaches you to make the shift from shame to empowerment. 


5. Empowers you and feeds you knowledge about the pharmaceutical companies and doctors so you can make an informative comforting choice.


6. Autistic children operate at a much higher vibrational level than the rest of us all. 


7. Suzy Miller views the gift of Autism as the ability to feel connected to everything.


8. Awesomism is a life transforming book for anybody associated with Autism.


9. Suzy does a great job giving examples of how Autistic people mirror a refection of the world.


10. Explores ways to detach from a negative judgement of Autism which in turn will increase yours and your child's comfort level.


You are provided with a list of resources and encouragement to explore within your own comfort zone.

Free Friday Teleclasses.
Awesomism Empowered Parent Program.
Connect to Suzy on Facebook & Twitter.


Written by: Stacy Toten

Quality Time!: Free Friday-Follow New Friends # 9

Quality Time!: Free Friday-Follow New Friends # 9:

"This Friday is Free Friday, Feel Free to Follow New Friends as much as you can, and also Don't forget to Follow back, who had Follow me and ..."

Wordless Wednesday! Radio For Your Soul