Thanks to Frugal for Life for the funny.

The Game Plan stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Joe Kingman, the toughest quarterback in the NFL who has never won a Super Bowl. Joe discovers he has a daughter and his daughter, Peyton, turns his world upside down.  She also helps transform him from a self-centered jerk into a loving father whose priorities are in order.  The Game Plan is a very entertaining movie with lots of good moral points.

Stay tuned for some changes to Balance in Diet.  I think you’ll like the changes.  I’m excited. 

BTW, I’d love for you to comment.  Sometimes I wonder if you’re out there.  I know you are . . . I checked my stats. 

Although it is still terribly hot here, we are now officially in the fall season.  Fall is my favorite season.  I love the chill in the air, the leaves turning colors, hay rides, bonfires, and the cooler weather.  I love the beautiful decorations and the lower electric bill.  lol

Since it’s fall now, I thought you might be needing a recipe for caramel apples soon.  Here’s the one that Kraft has on their website.  This looks a good one to let your kids help with.

FYI - When I did a search for caramel recipes, several hundred came up.  You might want to check them out! 

5 medium apples, washed, well dried
1 bag (14 oz) Kraft caramels (about 50)
2 tablespoons water

Insert wooden pop sticks (from bag of caramels) into stem end of each apple.  Cover large plate with wax paper; grease paper with butter. Set aside.  Place caramels in large saucepan. Add water; cook on medium-low heat until caramels are completely melted, stirring constantly.  Dip apples into melted caramel until evenly coated, spooning caramel over apples if necessary. Allow excess caramel to drip off. Scrape bottoms of apples, then place on prepared plate. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature 15 min. before serving. Store leftover dipped apples in refrigerator.

(Microwave method - Microwave caramels and water in large microwaveable bowl on high 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute.  Dip appples and continue with remaining steps.)

The Moms of Military Prayer and Support Group (MOMS), is a group of mothers and wives (open to ALL women related to anyone serving in the military) of loved ones currently serving in the United States military.

MOMS prays and supports our troops and military families around the country.  They share experiences and ideas such as traveling to boot camp graduation ceremonies or making it through a loved one’s deployment.   

MOMS offers prayer, emotional support, and military information.  They offer an important way for military mothers and wives to connect with others.

If we’re truthful about it, most of us will agree that TV is a convenient babysitter.  When the kids aren’t getting along or they’re screaming and running through the house, it’s easy to say, “Want to watch TV?”  I know, I did it today. 

The easiest thing is not always the best thing for our kids.  Though it may be difficult, we must exercise self-discipline and not allow our kids to “veg-out” in front of the television all day long. 

To help out with this problem, Revka at The Porch Light has given us 10 ideas for TV time substitutes. Here are a couple of my favorites from her list:

• play a game
• read a book
• go for a walk
• sing with them

My kids enjoy all of these.  I’m sure you have some things you can add to the list.  Please let us know what those are in the comment section.

Well now that the weather is finally cooling off we can resume our baking.  While visiting Mommy, Are the Toys on Sale? I found two great looking recipes.  One for snack size banana loaves and another for scones. 

Do you have any great baking recipes that you want to share?  Link to them in the comment section.

1.  Define the issue.  What is it you are trying to decide?  Write it down.  What is your goal?

2.  Talk about it as a family.  Consider the facts and the feelings.  Let everyone participate in the process and discussion.

3.  Explore possible solutions.  Sometimes the solution is obvious, but most of the time family members will need to compromise and give a little.

4.  Write down action points.  Write down what each of you needs to do to carry out the decision you’ve made.

5.  Don’t procrastinate.  Nothing is more discouraging than to make a good decision and never carry it through.  If you make a behavior chart for your chart, then carry through with implementing it every day.

From The Connected Family.

There is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.  There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.  Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job.  Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.  It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Author Unknown

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Thanks to iMommies for the tip.