As Father's Day approaches, ManoftheHouse.com has decided to finally settle the debate of which TV dad is the greatest, once and for all.  As soon as I learned of this contest, one TV dad immediately sprang to mind, my favorite, Bill Cosby.  As a child growing up in the eighties, I was a huge fan of The Cosby Show and loved tuning in every week to see the zany hilarity and sobering lessons taught by Bill Cosby.

Now that my husband and I are parents, I'd like to think that Bill Cosby still serves as a parenting role model to us.  I've come to realize that it is a very fine line we walk when raising our children.  We want them to like us as people and as friends, but above everything else, they need to see us as their parents and role models, always there to offer guidance, love and support.  That's the one way that I truly hope to emulate Mr. Cosby.  He was always there to make his children laugh and was a total goofball most times, but his children never confused him for what he was...their parent and not their friend.

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Announcing the arrival of a brand-new member of the What to Expect family: What to Expect the Second Year by Heidi Murkoff.  The essential sequel to What to Expect the First Year, with 9.8 million copies in print, What to Expect the Second Year picks up the action at baby’s first birthday, and takes parents through what can only be called “the wonder year”—12 jam-packed and jam-smeared months of memorable milestones from first steps to first tantrums.

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Greetings everyone!  I hope you're having a great week so far.  I wanted to write this post because I decided to take this blog in a little different direction.  Actually, a few days out of every week, I am going to be dedicating myself to helping those of you out there do a little better in this tough economy, by sharing some tips that I have found to be EXTREMELY FRUITFUL!

I want to turn you on to a way to stretch your dollar and possibly bring some excitement and luxuries into your life that you might not otherwise be able to afford.  So, what the heck am I talking about?  Not a get rich scheme, no pyramid scams, but online SWEEPSTAKES and CONTESTS!  That's right!

Read on, to hear all about how sweepstakes and contests on the internet have helped my family out TREMENDOUSLY since I quit my job as a Science teacher and became a stay-at-home mom to our first child, Riley.

My motive was simple enough.  I wanted to be able to quit my job when I had my first child, so that I could raise her myself.  Now, my husband and I were very unsure of how we could make ends meet if I quit my job, but we both agreed that raising Riley at home was a top priority.  When I quit, my own personal goal was to stretch our family budget as far as it would go.  I tried everything including clipping coupons, sending away for freebies and rebates, cooking every meal instead of eating out, etc.

I even tried a few "work at home" opportunities, but frankly, I found most of these to be either scams or not worth my time.  I even tried the survey racket and although I hear how many people make a lot of money doing those, it never seemed to work out for me.  It wasn't until I discovered sweepstakes, that I actually found something I liked doing and was worthwhile, monetarily.

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I have seen so many negative effects of low self-esteem in my life.  As a friend, I have watched it lead wonderful people to horrible choices, and as a teacher, I've watched it turn beautiful, thoughtful children into kids who feel weak and worthless.  Now that I'm a parent, I want to do everything in my power to help my daughter realize that she is a miraculous girl and that no one else should ever be able to make her feel unimportant or devalue her in any way.

You have to give people the power to do that.  I can already tell that Riley is a very sweet girl, but I don't want her big heart and kindness to be a doorway for others to take advantage of her.  I think that everyone should be able to assert themselves in a firm, kind way so as to assure that they are not negatively influenced by peer pressure.

Teaching self-esteem and assertiveness to children and teens is the purpose of the two books from Uplift Press, "Liking Myself" and "The Mouse, the Monster and Me".  I had the privilege to review these two books from Dr. Louise Hart at The Promise of Positive Parenting.  Read on to find out my views on them.

PRICE: I reviewed the following two books from Uplift Press:

• Liking Myself, which retails for $12.99
• The Mouse, the Monster and Me, which retails for $12.99

You can also purchase the digital version of these two books for only half the price!  Visit "Liking Myself" and "The Mouse, the Monster and Me" on Uplift Press for more details.

You can also access the free Teacher's guides for these two books, which give excellent ideas as to how to discuss the books with your child!

"Liking Myself" Teacher's Guide

"The Mouse, the Monster and Me" Teacher's Guide

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Reading to our children everyday and helping them develop a love of the written word is one of the many important duties of parenting.  All too often though, I am not very happy with the selection of children's books I come across.  Either the story is very weak and is not well written, or the book just doesn't seem to capture my daughter's imagination and attention.

Thankfully, I've discovered a company called Barefoot Books, which has the most interesting and unique stories for children.  They handpicked three selections for me to review with Riley which were perfect for her age.

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