I'm a full-time mummy

Everytime before Ben takes his meals, we always go through the following routines:

1. Ben will push his high chair towards the dining table.

2. We carry Ben up and put him in his high chair.

3. Ben put on the safety belt for his high chair by himself.

4. Get ready with Ben's food and drinks.

* (If eating out, Ben would be either waiting patiently for his food, or busy wiping the table or his high chair with a wet tissue or tissue paper)

5. Ben prays before he starts his meal.

It takes a while but it's worth the perseverance to follow through and keep up with the routines. It's satisfying when I see Ben doing all this during his meal times.

I'm not sure at what age a child supposed to do all this, but I feel good manners starts from young. In time when he's tall enough or when I'm confident he can manage it, I'm going to teach him to put his plate and utensils into the kitchen sink after meal times. (of course, I'm not going to make him wash it.. yet.. heheheh...)

So what about your child? What routines do you guys practise when it comes to meal times?

This is my 4th post on sharing "My Two Cents Worth" throughout my blogging journey. In this post, I'm going to write about: Followers.

Why do we need followers?

* To make more bloggy friends, and through them, hopefully can find out more on other people / countries cultures and so on.

* Helps with your blog statistics when you are pitching for some product reviews (as some companies only go for blog with bigger following)

* Wider network / coverage to spread news about giveaways and/or product reviews.

* Blog audience... meaning, at least you know there are other people reading your blogs too!

How to get more followers?

* Regularly produce good written articles that can connect with your blog readers / visitors

* Join the many blog memes around the bloggy land (Check out my Tuesday meme post, these few memes helped me gained a lot of new followers!)

* Host a product giveaway

* Participate in a blog link swap (either through Facebook, Twitter and so on)

* Become guest post on another blog

* Leave comments (real not spam please) on other people's blogs and hopefully they will return the favor and in time form a bloggy friendship and become a follower

* Make sure your follower buttons are easily accesible and simple to subscribe

* Submit your blog URL to blog directories, Search Engines and so on

* Participate in other forums (some of my blog followers came from the Babycenter Forum which I regularly shared my experience and advice in the early days of becoming a SAHM)

So there you go... that's pretty much what I can squeeze out of my tired brain now on the topic of followers.

I've always treat my blog as if it is my child (ok, lower ranking than Ben of course!), and I think you should too! Nurture it, build it, have fun and make happy memories with it as how you would do with your child. It does bring joy to your heart! Feel free to leave me a comment if you would like to find out more on a certain topic. And do let me know your feedback and thoughts about this topic, will you? Until then, happy blogging!

As part of the BookSneeze Blogger Reviewer program, I'm always on the look out for good Christian books. When I received the early invitation to review the latest books from Max Lucado, I immediately jump at the chance and monitored the time when the opportunity is available.

Here is my review of the latest book from Max Lucado entitled "OUTLIVE YOUR LIFE: YOU WERE MADE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE"

Author: Max Lucado
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (September 14, 2010)
ISBN: 978-0849920691
Hardcover: 240 pages
Dimension: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches

Excerpts taken from Amazon product description:

"These are difficult days in our world's history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let's live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did."

I'm already so inspired just by reading the fable of "Finding Father Benjamin"! This book is awesome! I love the part where Lucado said "You've been given your life. No one else has your version. You'll never meet anyone who has your exact blend of lineage, loves and longings. Your life will never be lived by anyone else." I totally agree with this statement!

Also, the sentence on "goodness that outlasts the grave,  love that outlasts the final breath" resonates deeply within me. Yes, I want my life to matter! I want to be able to leave something meaningful when it's time for me to go one day.

In chapter 2 (Calling Mr. Pot Roast), I am totally blown away by the inspiring work of Edith, Joe, Liz and Caleb. The sentence on "God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called" is so inspiring. I hope that I could contribute to the work of our Lord even though I'm a mere SAHM now. And I am reminded again with the verse from the bible (also mentioned at the end of chapter 2) which is: 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (NIV) "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."

As for the rest of the chapters, all are equivalently inspiring and leave me pondering whether I am making the most out of my life. Please do get a copy of this book and read for yourself to know more. This is a must read!

You can get the Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make A Difference book from Amazon website or directly from Max Lucado's website.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Book Sneeze in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"