Shopping online can be easy and enjoyable. But knowing a few tricks of the trade can definitely ensure that your experience is the best possible!

I asked Joan what she wished every customer knew about how to shop online.

So here it is — an e-commerce store owner’s insider tips for shopping online.

Top Ten Tips for Shopping Online

1. Shop at small business web sites to get better personal service. Read customer comments or reviews.
2. Only shop at web sites that display evidence they are secure shopping sites.
3. Make sure the web site you choose lists a customer service phone number.

   Never shop at a site where the only method of contact is through email.

   If the site doesn’t give hours of operation and you are concerned, try calling the phone number to make sure you can get in touch with a live person.

4. For excellent customer service, always enter your phone number when placing an order.

   There is no excuse for a web site not to give you personal service if you have given them your phone number and they need to reach you. Not everyone is on top of their email all the time so, if you don’t respond to an email, they should call you.

   Make sure you are easily reachable at the phone number you give. It may be wise to enter a second number in a note field.

5. Make sure the billing address you enter when placing your order is the same address the credit company has on file for you - the address they use on your statements.

   Well run web sites have their banking software set to carefully match the address you enter to the address the credit card company uses. This process helps to prevent fraud.

6. If, for some reason, your order “fails” when you submit it, do not keep trying.

   Of course, if you are sure you know why it failed the first time, you might want to try a second time. But, do not keep trying.

   There is a high possibility that your credit card company is “holding” the funds each time you try and fail. Those “holds” will disappear in a few days but, in the meantime, it is like you spent all that money – your credit card could be temporarily maxed out or your bank account temporarily drained.

   Pick up the phone and call that web site. You will find out right then how helpful they are!

7. Shop early – ground shipping is never guaranteed. You want to avoid having to expedite shipments.

   But, if you find yourself in a hurry – don’t give up! Call the store.

   Depending on your location and where your item is shipping from, you might be pleasantly surprised how quickly it could arrive.

8. If you have shipping time restrictions, don’t just ask vague questions. It will slow down the process. If the web site doesn’t have the option to choose expedited shipping and give you real-time shipping quotes, you should phone or, at least, email to arrange it.

   At the high cost of shipping these days, you do not want any nasty surprises. For example, most people have no idea that shipping a ride-on-toy like a pedal car from one side of the country to the other can cost about $60 for ground, $180 for 3-day, well over $200 for 2-day, and a huge amount for overnight shipping. So, check you options carefully.

9. If you find that your options are paying a huge amount of money for expedited shipping or receiving the item a few days late – don’t panic! Having your package arrive “after the big day” is often not as serious as you first think.

   a. For example, many parents and grandparents think they absolutely must have the “big” birthday present arrive in time for the party. Once they realize that can’t happen, they often then realize it could even be better this way. There are so many presents and so much excitement on party day, the thrill of the “big” present is lost in the midst of the activity.

   Customers often go with our idea of receiving the “big” present a couple of days later and having a special little celebration when it arrives – maybe even a small birthday cake just for that special day! THEN all attention will be on the “big” present which is a wonderful way for the child to enjoy it as well as the parents and grandparents.

   b. For baby showers or other special occasions, a nice color picture often works well – a lot better than a $200 shipping bill! People appreciate getting that special gift you chose for them even if it is late rather than you changing to something less perfect than your first choice.

10. If the web site offers Free Shipping in the lower 48 states and you live outside the lower 48 states, contact the store to arrange shipping.

    Do not assume the order will ship with free shipping just because the order went through. The product will not end up being shipped so you need to contact the website to get a shipping quote.

So, there you have some of the best tips out there! If you follow these ten guidelines, you should have a great shopping experience.

Remember though, shopping from small, family owned stores gets you the kind of customer service Joan talked about in her list.

As great as the big stores offers may seem, I have wasted hours and finally given up on a number of occasions when I couldn’t find adequate information about the products online and then couldn’t contact anyone for help.

If you want great service - and you want to support small, mom-owned businesses - make sure you check out our Mom-Owned Stores Directory here at 5 Minutes for Mom.com.

And, of course, if you want to experience Joan’s incredible, personal customer service first hand, you can shop with us at our stores, http://www.a-rocking-horse-to-love.com and http://www.pedalcarsandretro.com.

We would be thrilled to help you find the perfect rocking toy.

We can help you choose either a plush rocking horse, a hand crafted painted wooden rocking horse, a toddler rocker, or more.

Or, if your children like ride on toys, maybe you want to surprise your child with a pedal car, a pedal plane or maybe even a kids golf cart!

And feel free to ask for Joan to get the best customer service - EVER!

Hello Tacklers!

It’s Janice again.

Next week, our new 5M4M resident tackler, will be here starting her new hosting duties.

Choosing one person from a great list of applicants is always so hard. But to keep Tackle It Tuesday running, I need some help. Things are just too crazy busy around here. So I needed to choose someone.

Our new 5M4M resident tackler is…

Jena from Organized Everyday.

Jena is a long time tackler who emailed me several times asking for the “job.” Two weeks ago, when I announced that we were once again looking for a new tackle editor, she emailed me seconds after I hit publish. I figured such eagerness and commitment to TT definitely deserved to be awarded!

Please remember though that we will be regularly featuring GUEST TACKLERS. If you want to be featured as our guest tackler one week, just email us at tackleittuesday at gmail dot com.

So next week, our new 5M4M resident tackler, Jena will be here.

In the meantime, I thought I would share my latest tackle with you.

Today, I had to test out the new Dirt Devil KWIK vacuum for a special giveaway, “The 12 Days of Cleaning,” we are running with Dirt Devil from December 1-12.

The dust and crumbs hiding in my laptop keyboard have been driving me crazy, so today I got to tackle cleaning it up. I must admit, it was an easy, quick tackle. The KWIK desktop detailer is really effective and fun to use.

I could get right under and between the keys with the soft brush tool. After taking my pictures, I even cleaned the outside of my camera too!

Here is my keyboard BEFORE:

Here I am IN PROGRESS:

And here is my AFTER shot:

The KWIK would definitely be a fun, unique gift to give this holiday season.

And if you want to win one, you could be one of our TWELVE winners! For 12 consecutive days starting December 1 and running until December 12, Dirt Devil will give away 1 KWIK vacuum to one of our readers!

All you have to do is submit an entry form. Click on the button and it will take you to our 5 Minutes for Mom/Dirt Devil entry form.

Remember — YOU CAN ENTER EVERY DAY!

I sure had fun with this tackle. And now I get to look down at a dust-free, crumb-free keyboard. Ahhh - it looks so good. Thanks Dirt Devil!

Hey moms - Like computers? Interested in health care?

Combine the two with a health information management degree from the University of Cincinnati. Finish your degree in as little as two years without interrupting your career and take advantage of the growing demand for health care jobs!

What are you tackling this week? Link up and show off!

Join Us For Tackle It Tuesday We’re making housework blog-able! Each week on Tuesday, we are posting before and after pictures of a project or trouble area that we tackled this week. Find out more about Tackle It Tuesday here. The project can be little or big – whatever you want. Basically, Tackle It Tuesday is about giving ourselves incentive, deadlines and satisfaction in getting our household tasks done. (It doesn’t even have to be housework… just whatever is on your To Do list.)

Tuesday morning: Mr. Linky is down! You can add your link within your comment, and keep checking back. Sorry.

If you tackled a project this week, just add a comment and add your link below.

Happy tackling ladies…

When the email from Dirt Devil popped into my inbox about their new KWIK desktop detailer, I was instantly intrigued. What a fun, unique gift for holiday giving!

This small, lightweight vacuum with a USB charging system is perfect for cleaning keyboards, small spaces and tiny crevices. And I bet that hard to buy for person on your list doesn’t already have one!

Personally, the dust and crumbs hiding in my laptop keyboard drive me crazy! The KWIK couldn’t come fast enough! Now, I can quickly clean them up - and I have to say, it is kind of fun too!

For 12 consecutive days starting December 1 and running until December 12, Dirt Devil will give away 1 KWIK vacuum to one of our readers!

All you have to do is submit an entry form. Click on the button and it will take you to our 5 Minutes for Mom/Dirt Devil entry form.

Remember — YOU CAN ENTER EVERY DAY!

All entries will be electronically submitted to a Dirt Devil database that will randomly choose a winner each day.

So to recap, here is how the promotion will work:

• Sweepstakes drawings will be held every day December 1-12
• Readers can submit one entry form per day to win a KWIK vacuum
• Winners will be randomly selected at 3 p.m. EST the day following the drawing from a database of eligible entry forms
• Prize winners will be notified via the e-mail address provided with entry submission
• The drawing is open to residents of the U.S. only

PLEASE NOTE: For this contest, we are not choosing the winners from comments left on this post. This time you need to submit an entry form. Click here to get to the 5 Minutes for Mom/Dirt Devil entry form.

This is the second half of the winners in our Christmas Giveaway. You can find the first winners HERE. Please check both lists to see if your name is on it. If you haven’t received an email from me, or a comment on your blog letting you know that you were a winner, please send an email to 5minutesforbooks {at} gmail {dot} com or use the 5 Minutes for Mom contact form and give us your name, shipping info, and the prize you won.

We are grateful that most of the companies have also sponsored giveaways in the Under the Tree giveaway so that we can spread the love this Christmas season.

If you were interested in these products, you can say thanks by clicking through to their site (found on the original posts below) and finding out more. Some even supplied discount codes to our readers.

• Groovy Girls Set– #172 Jeanette
• Lands’ End Giveaway — #205 Nicole, wins her choice of a fleece, and #73 Heather, slippers or PJ
• Stocking Stuffers from PlaySkool/Hasbro 1 Grand Prize goes to #596 Jeni and 1 First Prize #840 Suzanne Lewis
• More Hasbro Toys — #264 Ronni Fox
• 1 Pulse Kick N’ Go Nitrous Scooter # 248 Jennifer McCullar
• 1 (choice) Super Toys from Step2 #675 Tanya Wilson
• RUSS stuffed animals 1 sea pal #258 Maja, and the 3 giraffe winners are #433 Renee, #430 Debra F., and Amanda R.
• 1 hip tee Hip Tee from PeaceLoveMom #250 Nadia
• A Pair of Joe’s Jeans goes to these lucky four winners: #610 Berta, #540 Erica Jacks, #16 Karen C., #61 Mamamoose
• 1 Snoozy Dooz from Warm Whiskers — #295 Hesper Fry
• StukOnYou baby sleepers #153 Charlotte (Life’s a Charm)
• A Special Occasion Dress from A Little Indulgence — #467 Jennifer C.

On the day before Amanda got out of school for Thanksgiving break, she had to decorate five feathers that would be stuck on her turkey. Each feather had to list one thing she was thankful for. She asked me, “Do you think it would be okay to say that I’m thankful that you have the 5 Minutes for Books site because we get a lot of really great books and stuff?”

It was funny, but she’s right. I too am thankful that my hobby of reading has turned into a bit of a job here and at the new site. I’d always be reading, but one of the perks is that we do get to look at so many books that we might not normally even know about.

So a few weeks ago, four-year-old Kyle was resisting naptime, so I was able to pull something fun out of my hat as an incentive,. “Oh — I have a cool new book we can read as a bedtime story,” I said as I brought Too Many Toys by David Shannon to his room. “Look, it’s called Too Many Toys.”

“Like I have too many toys,” he said (catching on quickly). “But I don’t want to give them away!”

As you might imagine, this book is about a young boy who had too many toys. His family tripped over them, he hoarded even the ones that were broken, and his mom finally decided that some of them had to go!

This book is illustrated in David Shannon’s typical bright and whimsical style. I think that kids are attracted to the larger-than-life characterizations of the children, parents, and even inanimate objects.

Kyle enjoyed it, chuckling in all the right places, and has even asked to hear it again. As for me — well, it’s inspired me to clear out some of those toys, and to even think twice about what I buy — for my kids and others — this holiday season.

Check it out and see if you don’t agree that there are Too Many Toys in your home as well.

I wouldn’t want to add to the problem, but books don’t count as toys, right? We all need books, so are giving away 3 copies. Leave a comment and I’ll announce the winners in December 8th’s book column. This contest is open to US shipping addresses. Due to legal restrictions, this promotion is not available in Arizona.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules.

I don’t have any winners to announce today, because the two contests from last week are still open. You can enter to win the new book by J.K. Rowling HERE and a Klutz activity book prize pack HERE.

For all these lucky winners, Christmas is coming early! Most of the companies have also sponsored giveaways in the Under the Tree giveaway, so we are pleased that those who are in need this Christmas will get some Christmas joy as well.

This is post one of two. Look for the other one later today (HERE it is). Please check to see if your name is here. If you haven’t received an email from me, or a comment on your blog letting you know that you were a winner, please send an email to 5minutesforbooks {at} gmail {dot} com or use the 5 Minutes for Mom contact form and give us your name, shipping info, and the prize you won.

If you were interested in these products, you can say thanks by clicking through to their site (found on the original posts below) and finding out more. Some even supplied discount codes to our readers.

• Stepping Stone Play Mat from One Step Ahead #175 Nadia
• Charlie and Lola Dolls and Sticker Book #395 Jennifer M.
• Lola’s Pink Milk Game #128 Tara R.
• Multiple Moms Rock t-shirt #212 Jen
• 1 Gobblet On the Go game #40 SaraHub at Oakbriar Farm
• Epson Artisan 800 Printer #676 Danielle
• $50.00 Gift Certificate toSudz N Bubbles #52 Kari A.
• Two copies of the 3-Disc standard definition DVD Version of WALL•E #277 m and #176 Veronica Szymankiewicz
• Mrs. Goodbee Talking Dollhouse #85 Mozi Esmes Mommy
• $100.00 Gift Card to Sears #62 Aubien and #1383 Christy Davis
• Wonder-Full Balm from Mama Mio #287 LivingforGod
• All Star Buddy Plush #67 Maja
• Totem Boys Recycled Construction Set #190 Kim@What’s That Smell
• 1 Poingo Starter Set #382 Jamaise
• 2 Custom Photo Jewelry from J Woods #359 Linda and #486 Allison
• 1 My Little Pony A Very Minty Christmas DVD #44 Briana
• 1 PS2 Bundle #112 Gretchen
• 5 sets Children’s Wall Art: #133 Sharon, #500 Samantha Pruitt, #382 Peggy Miller, #322 Renee We, #239 Jen
• 1 Wooden Animal Set — #356 Kim
• 5 Christmas DVD bundle #636 Pam , #62 Megan S., #335 Lucy K. , #318 Jeanne, #416 JungleWife
• 1 HP Photosmart D5460 Printer #139 Heather
• 1 Skorpies Kids Outdoor Skates #493 Kristinia Loving Heart Mommy
• 1 Hannah Montana and High School Musical DVD Games. #335 Kimberly

Wee Finds is celebrating the launch of their new site by hosting a week-long giveaway event. Day one will be for a $25 Toys-R-Us gift card. Perfect for your holiday shopping!

Welcome To Married Life is re-launching her blog and she’d like you to help her celebrate with a week of giveaways ending on Dec 9th. Stop by for all the fun!

Stop by Thrifty Jinxy’s Gift Guide & Giveaways with over 25 giveaways during the next three weeks.

Mom~E~Centric and Education Uncensored are hosting a “12 Days of Christmas Give-a-way” starting on December 1st. Mark your calendars!

Goodies for Mom Green Holiday Gift Guide

CONTESTS & SWEEPSTAKES

Fresh Express is giving away a HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM!  You can find a code inside packages of Fresh Express Restaurant Style Complete Salads for your chance to win.

The holiday season is a time for giving. Sesame Street’s celebrating the season by giving away Fisher Price’s Elmo Live!™ toys. Winners can share the holiday spirit by giving the toy to someone they love! Enter the Elmo Live!™ Giveaway and nominate your favorite Sesame Street fan to win one of these entertaining toys. Elmo will sing, play, and joke his way into your friend’s heart!

To promote the December 16th DVD and Blu-ray™ Hi-Def release of Mamma Mia! The Movie™ the most infectiously fun offering of the year, and to celebrate friends and their snack time rituals, Rudolph Foods, one of the world’s largest suppliers of branded and private-label snack products has launched a Mamma Mia! – Greek Isle Sweepstakes. Unveiling December 1, 2008 and running through January 5, 2009, the winners of the sweepstakes who enter the contest through www.RudolphFoods.com will be awarded a trip for two to Greece, free Rudolph Foods Cinnamon Churros for a year, CDs, DVDs and more.

BLOG GIVEAWAYS

For Everyone

• An Island Life - $100 to The Home Depot (Nov 30th/US)
• An Island Life - Your choice from KEEN Footwear (Nov 30th/US)
• Mama’s Money Savers - Unscripted by Patrick Dempsey (Dec 2nd)
• After a Cup of Coffee or Two - $15 itunes giftcard (Dec 5th)
• Go Graham Go! - TemporalScanner by Exergen (Dec 5th)
• Lookit! I Spy - An item from Lands End (Dec 5th)
• Chefdruck Musings - $100 of Stop and Shop Gift Cards (Dec 6th)
• A Wrestling Addicted Mommy - A Set of Pocket Buddha’s (Dec 7th/US)
• mod*mom - Your choice from KEEN Footwear (Dec 8th)
• Just a mom’s take on things - Choice of Lands’ End women’s slippers, wheeled duffel bag or kids’ slippers (Dec 8th/US)
• Goodies for Mom - Lands End for the whole family (Dec 8th/US)
• Apron Strings Aflutter - $10 to Lands End (Dec 12th)
• mod*mom - Peek Mobile Email Device (Dec 15th)
• From Dates to Diapers - $500 Walmart gift card (Dec 15th)
• Repell Em - $250.00 in EcoSmartPlastics merchandise (Feb 14th, 2009)

Just for Women

• Recognize and Remember - Share His Story Personalized Faith Ring Necklace (Nov 30th)
• Family Review Network - Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning (Dec 7th/US)
• An Island Review - Decorative Wristlet Key Chain by Sweet Irie (Dec 7th/All)
• Mommy’s Ideas - Carry All from Miss Gina Designs (Dec 12th/US)

Just for Kids

• An Island Review - Curse of the Bone Pirates (Nov 30th/All)
• Mom Giveaways - $15 Gift Certificate to MobiStories (Nov 30th)
• Traveling with Baby - The Night Before Christmas, Scholastic Storybook Treasures DVD & Treasury of 20 Storybook Classics (Nov 30th)
• Glimpse - A set of Babes in Black kids clothing (Dec 1st)
• NurseMommy - $25 Gift Card to Oh! Toys (Dec 1st/US, Can)
• An Island Review - Star Stash Reward System (Dec 2nd/All)
• An Island Review - Toobeez Building Toy Set (Dec 3rd/US)
• Adventures in Babywearing - $75 gift card to Ridemakerz (Dec 3rd)
• Did You See That - Cheekeyes™ Wood Toys from Oompa Toys (Dec 3rd)
• An Island Review - Fly Me To The Moon 3D Adventure DVD (Dec 4th/All)
• All Because Two People Fell in Love - Build-A-Bear Wii Game (Dec 4th)
• Muse Reviews - A Very Marley Christmas (children’s book) by John Grogan (Dec 4th/US)
• An Island Review - Cheekeyes Wooden Toys (Dec 5th/All)
• Mommy’s Ideas - Set of Madagascar Toys (Dec 5th/US)
• An Island Life - Snuggler Blanket of your choice from Shi Shu Style (Dec 6th/US)
• Chefdruck Reviews - The Flight Before Christmas DVD (Dec 6th)
• Just a mom’s take on things - Samsung red m300 kajeet cell phone for kids (Dec 6th/US)
• Tara’s View of the World - Build-A-Bear Wii game (Dec 6th/US, Can)
• An Island Life - $25 to Sassy Cakes (Dec 7th/US)
• Just a mom’s take on things - Personalized bookmark and name tag from Olive Kids (Dec 7th/US)
• An Island Review - Red Rosette Crochet Headband from Baby Cha-Cha (Dec 8th/US)
• Northwest Mom Finds - Pirates in Pink Rhumba Pants from Chew Chew’s Closet (Dec 9th/US, Can)
• Sassy Frazz - Poingo Interactive Book (Dec 9th/Cont US)
• Mommy’s Ideas - Pair of Shoes from Monkey Toes(Dec 10th/US)
• Tara’s View of the World - Poingo Interactive reading system (Dec 12th/US, Can)

Baby Essentials

• Momma In Flip Flops2 - Kushies Goodies (Dec 2nd/US, Can)
• Momma In flip flops2 - Babykicks one sized fitted diaper (Dec 3rd/All)
• Momma In Flip Flops2 - Bum Genius 3.0 Diaper (Dec 4th/US, Can)
• The Laughs Will Go On - Win either a Planet Wise Wet Bag or a Diaper Pail Liner (Dec 4th)
• Glimpse - Win a Bravado Nursing Bra (Dec 4th)
• Just a mom’s take on things - Lullaby Exercises DVD (Dec 5th/US)
• Northewest Mom Finds - Handmade Mary Jane infant shoes (size 0-3m) from Knot Sew Cute (Dec 8th/US, Can)
• Momma In Flip Flops2 - Preston’s Pants Cloth Diaper (Dec 8th/US, Can)
• Mommy’s Ideas - Klean Kanteen Sippy (Dec 8th/US)

Home & Garden

• Simple - Advent Kit (Nov 30th)
• BabasFarmLife - Metal movie poster of Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Nov 30th)
• FineLine Antiques - Holiday Gift Tags - Set of 10 Vintage Inspired Tags (Dec 1st)
• Mom Giveaways - $100 Worth of Weiman, and The FilterStream Company Cleaning Products (Dec 2nd)
• All Because Two People Fell in Love - Bounty Paper Towels (Dec 2nd)
• An Island Review - DirtTamer & other cleaning products (Dec 4th/US)
• An Island Review - Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Challenge Kit (Dec 5th/US)
• All Because Two People Fell in Love - $100 Cleaning Supplies Prize Package (Dec 5th)
• All Because Two People Fell in Love - Cupcake Courier (Dec 5th)
• Just Another Mommy Blog - A bucket of goodies from CLR (Dec 5th)
• SAHM Reviews – Holiday Cleaning Pack from Weiman Products and Libman (Dec 5th/US)
• Forgetfulone - Cleaning Products from Weiman (Dec 5th/US)
• Just a mom’s take on things - Set of personalized holiday gift tags from Mabel’s Labels (Dec 9th/US)
• Just a mom’s take on things - Weiman and Filterstream prize pack (Dec 10th/US)
• Tara’s View of the World - Dirt Tamer Vacuum and Wieman Cleaning Supplies (Dec 10th/US)

Books & Music for Grown-Ups

• Just a mom’s take on things - Purry Logic by Jane Seabrook (Dec 3rd/US)
• Tara’s View of the World - Purry Logic book by Jane Seabrook (Dec 3rd/US)
• All Because Two People Fell in Love - IL Divo The Promise and The Christmas Collection CDs (Dec 3rd)
• Family Review Network - Psycho Super Mom CD Set (Dec 4th/All)
• An Island Review - Al Jarreau Christmas CD (Dec 6th/All)
• Tara’s View on Books - Your choice of 7 different books (Dec 19th/US, Can)

COOL WEBSITES

Ebates.com is an online shopping portal with nearly 1,000 top retailers which gives shoppers cash back on all their purchases.  In honor of the national shopping “holiday” Black Friday, Ebates will be offering DOUBLE cash back from ALL its retailer partners on Friday November 28th. The deals don’t stop this Friday – from now through Christmas, shoppers will get double cash back from top 20 Ebates retailers in addition to regular deals for no tax, free shipping and other bargains. Consumers can even get rebates on booking holiday travel through Priceline.com or putting the seasonal spread on the table through Safeway.

GREAT DEALS

• Black Friday Specials start 4 am Friday and last til Midnight on Sunday! SHOP NOW! Buy one get one free manicure and pedicure travel sets, free bib set with each nursing cover up purchase (please list which bib set you would like in comment field), free stocking with soaps and toys with each bath time towel cake purchase, $10 gift certificate with each Snowman towel cake and holidays gifts!! Visit www.sweetpeacakesetc.com to start shopping.

If you would like to have a post on your blog featured in 5 Minutes Around The Blogosphere, please send us an email with the actual link to your post at features5minutesformom at gmail dot com and we’ll see if it can be arranged.

Kailani can be found at An Island Life, An Island Review, Family Review Network & Island Baby Boutique.

But then I received the Family Meal Planner, which made everything simple for me. With its weeks of menus already planned out, as well as the shopping lists, dinner became a breeze.

All of the meals are simple and include a crock pot recipe each week. I am a huge fan of crock pots. I LOVE the satisfaction of knowing that dinner will be on the table on time, as well as the enjoyable aroma filling the house during the day. It’s wonderful!

My Family Meal Planner includes a 12 month Calendar with meals planned for 4 days out of each week, all the Recipes that you need, and a weekly Grocery List. This 8.5 x 5.5 inch, coil bound book with laminated covers will be very helpful to any busy family.

The grocery lists are included in the book, but to make it easier for you, it also includes a Magnetic Grocery List Notepad to put on your refrigerator. Just cross out what you already have, add any additional items you may need and head to the store.

IT IS SO SIMPLE! Meals are planned for 4 days a week, so you can still add in your family favorites or head to your favorite restaurants the other days!

There are over 75 main dish recipes as well as recipes for some delectable desserts. Most recipes serve four to six people.

Due to the popularity, there is also a Family Meal Planner #2, just like the first, but with 75 different recipes. Plus there are recipes for sides, salads, dips, breakfast and of course more desserts! There are also crock pot meals EVERY week.

Lindsay Siebert, owner of My Family Meal Planner and day care provider, also sells a My Kids Meal Planner.

My Kids Meal Planner was created just for Kids! This meal planner plans Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack for 5 weeks! There is a 5 week menu, recipes and weekly grocery list categorized by store departments!

All meals are quick and easy to prepare. Breakfast includes 1 bread and 1 fruit served with milk, Lunch includes 1 meat, 1 bread, 2 fruits or 2 vegetables or a fruit and a vegetable served with milk, and Snack includes items from 2 different food groups. There is vitamin C daily and vitamin A at least twice a week.

My family and I have enjoyed Lindsay’s delicious dinners. I am very pleased with how easy they are. My kids love the Colorful Chicken Strips, while the Fiesta Cheesy Chicken, Sanchos, Creamy Potatoes ‘N’ Kielbasa and The Onion-Roasted Chicken dinner have become family favorites.

We have loved every single crock pot meal, which is great, because for the longest time my crock pot sat on my counter untouched. While we don’t always follow the weekly menu exactly, finding that we switch dinners around here or there, the preprinted grocery lists are still very helpful.

If you run a busy household or struggle with meal planning, My Family Meal Planner will work wonders for you.

One lucky reader will receive: My Family Meal Planner w/grocery list notepad, My Family Meal Planner #2 with grocery list notepad and a My Kids Meal Planner, retail value $56.00.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Please leave one comment below to enter this giveaway. You may earn additional entries for the following:
   1. Subscribe to our Feed
   2. Sign up for our Newsletter
   3. Add our 5M4M button in your sidebar. Click here for banner codes.
   4. Write a post and link back to this contest on your blog or spread the word to your friends via facebook, twitter, etc.

   If you are already subscribed, are on our newsletter list, and have our button in your sidebar, you qualify for these three additional entries. Go ahead and leave your additional comments below. Your comment is your entry, so if you qualify for the additional four entries, make sure you leave five comments in total.

2. Entries are open from Saturday, November 29th thru Friday, December 12th. Our winner will be drawn randomly and we will announce the winner Saturday, December 13th. Please make sure to check our site and your email address to see if you have won the prize. We must receive your reply within 5 business days.
3. Due to legal restrictions, this promotion is not available in Arizona or Quebec.
4. Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules.

The winner of the airline child restraint from FamilyTravelGear.com is #41 Nadia. Congrats!

And because the last thing I would want to do after cooking and feasting would be to wake up at 4am the next day to battle crowds of frantic shoppers in search of the greatest deals. I hate both mornings and crowds on the best of days.

So, I can’t understand Black Friday. It is a mystery to me.

I have never touched my toe on a mall floor on Boxing Day either. Logically, I see the appeal of these shopping days. Save money. Makes sense. But oh the agony. Shopping is so exhausting. The day after a holiday feast, I want to sleep and laze around the house, trying out new toys while eating leftover pumpkin pie all.day.long.

But today I envied the sales opportunities open to you Americans. I wanted those 50% off deals. I wanted my Christmas list to be on sale - on a really, really big sale.

So I am going to join you — a little late to the party, but I am going to go shopping this weekend… online of course!

As store owners of www.pedalcarsandretro.com and www.a-rocking-horse-to-love.com, we are in our busiest season. So, I hardly have time to drive across the US border in hunt for sales, let alone even head to my local Canadian mall to shop.

But oh life is good because of the internet!! With a computer and a credit card, I can join the shopping throngs from the cozy comfort of my home.

So - I am heading online to shop and see if I can find some of those really great deals myself.

What about you? Did you hit the sales on Friday? Did you power up on caffeine and hit the brick and mortar stores at 5am or did you bring your mug of steaming coffee to your computer and click your way through the online sales?

Meet Sharon McCoy, author of the blog Happily Ever Lafter. She is a Kansas girl who is relatively new to the blogging world. She’s happily married to “the best guy in the whole world”, and has 4 “young-unz”. It’s her highest honor to serve the Lord — and if she has FUN along the way, that’s an added blessing! “I take to heart the verse: “A cheerful heart is good medicine…” Proverbs 17:22, and look for the humor in everyday life, while resting in the only true joy, which is found in the Lord.”

Dental

Now that I’m JUST past the age of, um ….. let’s go with 33, I’ve noticed an alarming trend. I’ve begun to swiftly fall apart physically. Particularly my wimpy teeth.

I’ve quipped the sassy line, “that was as fun as a root canal” in my (ever-so-brief) life. After my dental appointment earlier this week, I’ll now be able to deliver that line with unadulterated, first-hand authority.

For the record, I am blessed with a fine dentist. Despite the fact that he continually tries to converse with me, while I’m daintily holding my mouth open as far as my jaw will possibly allow. I found myself reduced to communicating with a series of animated moans, and that’s just whack. (Mom, that’s street talk for “not right”). Fo-shizzle.

Interesting fact: Did you know that rotting tooth pulp often gives off a foul odor when disturbed, much like stirring up the garbage can at the curb on trash pick-up day? TRUE. Or so I’ve heard.

But WHAT comes next, you ask? The dentist then uses a small, needle like tool to repeatedly scrape and stab (imagine the Psycho shower scene) the interior of the tooth’s roots. Come to think of it, it was very similar to the technique we used when carving our jack-o-lantern! I had no idea I was practically a dentist! I could totally do your next root canal for you, if needed. It would seem I have experience …. Sort of.

Moving on ….. At that point, they squirted a bleach solution into my mouth to sanitize the hollowed roots. And I don’t think I used that much bleach the last time I scrubbed our bathroom. In 2004.

While the bleach was “doing its job”, a la Scrubbing Bubbles, the assistant graciously adjusted my chair so I could sit upright and leisurely read a magazine. Oh, what a treat to flip through Dentistry Today.

It felt nice to let the blood drain back into the rest of my body where it rightly belonged. Being totally numbed on one entire side of my face, I proceeded to unknowingly drool – to the extent that they all had a big laugh when they returned to continue my torture, and actually had to change my clipped neck bib. Good times. MOP UP IN ROOM 3, PLEASE!

I was informed that we were in the home stretch. And I accordingly grunted my excitement.

The dentist then packed each root with a rubber type substance. Each time he finished a section, the assistant handed him a heated pointed instrument, which he proceeded to cram into each root. FORCEFULLY. In fact, I could have sworn he was doing a handstand, using only the instrument as his base.

I’ll admit, the smoke rolling off the instrument right under my nose was a bit unsettling. Seeing my puzzled (panicked?) eyes, he explained that he was melting the rubber filling so that it would ooze into all the nooks and crannies of the roots.

With all the smoke and such, I thought he might start juggling his dental tools, like those fancy cooks do at the Japanese Steak House. AND A BUSINESS VENTURE IS BORN! Not just a root canal – ENTERTAINMENT, folks! You could even bring a date.

Except after seeing the dental bill, we won’t be able to afford a date night for a while. We’ll just have to be content hanging out, watching our jack-o-lantern glow for entertainment, and huddling over it for warmth.

~Written by Sharon McCoy of Happily Ever Lafter.

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This column is Hosted by Shera. She can be found at A Frog In My Soup

(Well, technically, since Susan and I are Canadian, we had our “Thanksgiving” in October. So while we will most likely be working away at our computers instead of basting turkeys and noshing on pumpkin pie, we will join you in the spirit of Thanksgiving!)

And the best way to have a thankful heart, is to stop and count those blessings we so often take for granted. We may race through our days, like crazed, sleep-deprived WAHMs, sometimes forgetting how wonderful our lives are, but Susan and I are so profoundly thankful for our immeasurable blessings.

And one of our blessings is you!

Because of you and all of our other dedicated readers, 5 Minutes for Mom and our sister sites have grown enough to bless countless families. Through our giveaways, Under the Tree project and our Blogs Can Change Lives campaigns we have been able to experience the joy of helping.

We are also thankful for:

God’s love and grace
Our husbands
Our children — including our precious baby girls who just turned a year old
Our mother — who at 67 is still working with us on our e-commerce stores!
Our homes
Our families’ safety
Our country
An abundance of delicious and healthy food
Trustworthy and loving nannies for our children
Each other
Computers and DSLRs…
and so much more!!!

Are you posting about your Thanksgiving? Pull up a chair (link up or leave a comment) and join us for a bloggy Thanksgiving “meal.”

Your post can be anything from a list of things you are thankful for, to a photo series showing off your fabulous Thanksgiving spread, to a humorous post about your family get together. Whatever you want to bring to the table!

(And don’t forget to invite your readers to join in too! Link back to this post so everyone can find each other.)

Thank your legs: Do 1 minutes of squats, either on the wall or stand alone. Follow that with one minute of lunges. Thank your knees by being gentle and only going to the point of tension, not pain.

Thank your arms: Push ups! (yes, you can!) I involve my son by doing as many as I can while he sings the ABC’s.

Thank your heart: Jog around your house or run up and down your stairs for several minutes. Work up a sweat and get your heart rate pumping!

Thank your abs: Crunch time! Keep your abs drawn in and keep your lower back pressed into the floor. For added resistance, I like to place my baby on my stomach. He thinks it is great fun and I get a tougher challenge.

Thank your mind: We are an over-stressed society. Take a few minutes to bring some calm back into your life by meditating or doing some calming yoga stretches.

How are you giving thanks and moving MORE today?

This column is hosted by Lisa. She can be found doing squats and lunges over at Workout Mommy.

You have wondered what it would really be like to adjust your bed just the way you want it.

You have even stared at the phone, wondering if you should call and order one. Maybe it is the bed you and your mate can finally agree on…

Well - if you have been considering trying out the Sleep Number Bed by Select Comfort then, oh my, this the time to do it!

With the post Thanksgiving sale madness about to start, Sleep Number is preparing for their own fantastic sales. You can actually get 1/2 off 100 Special Edition Sleep Number beds online at www.sleepnumber.com.

The 1/2 price beds are only available online at www.sleepnumber.com on Thanksgiving Day while supplies last. So HURRY!

And to get you all in the Sleep Number mood, we are giving away a queen Special Edition bed here, at 5 Minutes for Mom.com — to one of YOU!!!

And since we wouldn’t want you to miss out on the incredible shopping deals because you were waiting to see if you won the bed…

…we arranged with Sleep Comfort that if one of our readers purchases a queen Special Edition bed and later wins the queen Special Edition bed that we are offering here at 5 Minutes for Mom, they will be reimbursed by Sleep Comfort for the retail value of the bed.

Yes — if you buy one and then win ours here, no worries! Sleep Comfort will actually reimburse you. So enter and shop during the sale. You get the best of both worlds!

You can also learn about additional deals and enter for another chance to win a Queen Special Edition Sleep Number bed by following SleepNumberSara on Twitter, signing up for the Sleep Number e-newsletters on www.sleepnumber.com or checking out the Slumber Party Blog on www.beds.com/blog.

Here’s how to enter 5 Minutes for Mom’s contest to win a queen-size Special Edition Sleep Number bed (valued at $1,899):

1. Please leave one comment below to enter this giveaway. You may earn additional entries for the following:
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   4. Write a post and link back to this contest on your blog or spread the word to your friends via facebook, twitter, etc.

   If you are already subscribed, are on our newsletter list, and have our button in your sidebar, you qualify for these three additional entries. Go ahead and leave your additional comments below. Your comment is your entry, so if you qualify for the additional four entries, make sure you leave five comments in total.

2. Entries are open from Wednesday, November 26th thru Friday, December 19th. Our winner will be drawn randomly and we will announce the winner Saturday, December 20th. Please make sure to check our site and your email address to see if you have won the prize. We must receive your reply within 5 business days.
3. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. The Sleep Number Special Edition Bed Giveaway is sponsored by Select Comfort Corporation. This contest is open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., who reside in and are physically located in the U.S. and are 18 or older at time of entry.
4. Due to legal restrictions, this promotion is not available in Arizona or Quebec.
5. Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules.