Welcome to “Tuesday Tours: What’s Happening on the Web” where I serve as your tour guide and showcase the best contests, freebies, deals, and reads for moms on the web…all in one convenient location.
Contests
Nominate a powerful woman in your life to receive a $200 American Express gift card in the Power of Moms contest over at 5 Minutes for Mom. Deadline: Dec. 30.
Good Reads
Someone recently asked us if we made a mistake in our Give Every Day pledge. Tim responds: Quality vs. Quantity.
Josh offers excellent marriage advice: Don’t Malign Your Spouse.
Miscellany
This kids bed is magical.
We’re actively searching for a 5th wheel for our upcoming Give Every Day trek across America. We’re looking for something in the 1997-2007 range, 28-36 feet…with at least one slide. Bonus points if it has bunkbeds and a washer/dryer! Let us know if you see anything that might be of interest.
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*** If you have a contest or an announcement that you think might be a good fit for Tuesday Tours, e-mail me at stephanie@metropolitanmama.net.
Loved the Quality vs. Quantity article. I linked to it on Sunday. :) Good luck on your RV hunt!!
That bed truly is magical! Sugar saw it and said “Mom, can I want that?” :)
The “Don’t Malign Your Spouse” article is powerful – I completely agree with what Josh had to say there.
Thanks for the link Stephanie.
Have you guys considered purchasing the 5th wheel in Orange County (I believe you said that was your first stop)? There were several listed with bunks (although I have no idea if they are what you’re looking for) on Craigslist. Just a thought if you can’t find what you want here.
I agree in general with the marriage advice Josh offers in his post, but the first two sentences of the entry really rubbed me the wrong way and set a negative tone for the whole piece. He said,
“Katie and I are always watching couples. We are constantly assessing them to learn from them.”
Am I the only one who reads that as judgmental and smugly superior?
Of course my husband and I notice when others do something in their relationship that would be disastrous in ours, as I’m sure everyone does. But it is not our goal to look for such things! How do he and his wife maintain friendships if they are so busy being critical? How does he expect the members of his church to feel comfortable talking with him when they are struggling?
I recommend, instead, looking for positive things to emulate. I remember having a conversation with my husband, years ago, about the way another couple worked together in the kitchen — it was a like a beautifully choreographed dance — and I still think about them when my husband and I fumble around each other while trying to make dinner. I also remember the first couple we ever noticed together. We were 17 and we saw an elderly couple walking down the street holding hands and really talking. That day we set a goal to hold hands as often as possible. And we do.
If I knew Josh IRL, I would recommend a rewrite of his post. I imagine (and hope) that he’s probably a very nice person and this entry does not convey his true intention correctly.
You make good points, Melinda. It’s so important to focus in on the positive, considering what we can learn from others.
That said, I also think it’s okay to notice negative traits too sometimes – not in a smug way, more in a reflective way…to open up discussion.
P.S. I didn’t know that you and your husband were high school sweethearts. Did you start dating in Tucson? :)