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If you are here for Tackle It Tuesday, you will find it right underneath this post. 🙂

I know you are busy women, with places to go and bloggers to see, but during your rounds today may I offer two recommendations of stops you may wish to make?

• The first stop is Christian Women Online. Not only is it always a great read – if you aren’t a regular at CWO, you really must check this e-zine out – but this week I am a Guest Columnist. The theme for the month is New Beginnings and I wrote an article about a pivotal point in my life when I surrendered to God’s leading. So if you want to learn a bit more about my life story, head on over and read all the juicy details. 😉
• The second stop is Butterfly Mama. Ever a creative mom, Heidi is hosting the Winter Activity Festival. It is a way for us all to help each other out with winter “cabin fever.” What can we do with restless kids as the dismal days of winters keep us all indoors a bit too long? For some great solutions and to add your own, head on over to her place.

  You can post your tip on your site and let Heidi know in her comments to link to you. Or you can also just add your tip in her comments.

So – what is my tip for the Winter Activity Festival? Well, I am no parenting genius to say the least. But this is game that has pulled Julia out of her whining protest for her mommy and entertained Jackson at the same time over and over again. It is pretty much guaranteed to make for fun and giggles. But it also might be against the rules at your house…

Oh well – I will share it anyway. Susan co-sleeps with Julia. And so early on in Julia’s life Susan decided that their bed was simply not big enough and she worried about Julia rolling off. So they bought a King-size mattress and put it directly on the floor. Yes, it is not very attractive of a room design that way – but it works beautifully. There is tons of room to sleep and Julia is totally safe.

So – this big huge bed is a perfect place to JUMP! Yes – we play “Monkeys on the Bed.” I sing the song and my monkeys act it out. Julia was very young when we started this, so I just held her and “bounced” her up and down. She loved it and laughed away. She also just loves to watch “The Jackson Show,” totally engrossed by all his antics. So even though she couldn’t jump on her own, she had a ball watching Jackson. Now she is big enough to bounce a bit herself and the game is even better. (I sit right close to her and make sure there are no colliding monkeys.)

Since we don’t have a trampoline and Susan’s townhouse is pretty small, this game has saved my sanity (and our business while Susan is on phone calls or getting work done and her daughter needs to be distracted.) Sorry if it breaks all the rules at your house, but this is my winter tip. 🙂