A little warning would have been nice!

"The world is full of women blindsided by the unceasing demands of motherhood, still flabbergasted by how a job can be terrific and torcherous."

Anna Quindlen

Mothers everywhere, who are under the impression that things will get easier when:

a) your child sleeps through the night

b) your child can walk by him/herself

c) your child can feed himself

d)your child is potty trained

e)your child is in preschool

f) you child is in Kindergarten

g) your child has a hobby

h) your child can do homework on his/her own

i) your child is old enough to help out

I am here to burst your bubble. Lol. Motherhood gets easier in some regards and more difficult in others. It gets busier (chaffeur, anyone?), and dirtier (always have wet wipes with you, even for the 9 year old!), and crazier (starting with me). And I for one, 4 children later, am just as tired as ever. But I truly was among those that thought my reprieve would come as I checked each item off my to do list. That list just gets longer and longer, my friends.

So yeah, we may never escape chaos, but there is joy amidst that chaos. I think we become better at our calling as we go along... more efficient, more organized, more REALISTIC. With that comes confidence, and the ease to enjoy motherhood. Hence, we tend to laugh at ourselves more easily when we, say, try to put socks on our kid's hands instead of their feet. :)

So I'm here to set the record straight, it woulda been nice for somebody to have done so for me... The next time somebody catches you in a fluster and pauses to tell you "It gets easier, dear...", you may look back at them with an all knowing eye and be not deceived. Because they're not saying that your burden becomes any lighter, they're just saying that you learn to adapt.

Just one more reason to keep on keepin' on...

I got this from a friends blog and she was nice enough to let me share it.

Check this out!!

So, we hear "Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!"" It is everywhere, on the news, at our church's, in our communities. But, where to start?? I just found the EASIEST 3 month food storage supply, ever! Follow this link Food Storage Made Easy and look for the 3 month supply spreadsheet. Watch the tutorial, just a few min long, and super helpful!

Have fun!!

Back it up!

http://www.bloggled.com/

Back up your blog for FREE!! (for one any more costs) I think I would DIE if I somehow deleted or lost my blog. Especially since it has taken place of my journals and scrap books at the moment. So, I use bloggled to back it up and keep it stored in case of a horrible accident happening.

Just wanted to share...

Some good places I have been finding information, deals, and coupons...

http://hip2save.blogspot.com/

http://www.couponmom.com/

this one is a friend, not all she blogs is specifically for Cedar Park area...
http://cedarparkdeals.blogspot.com/

Please share your knowledge with us too...

So, we are off to a good start with this whole coupon thing. We have not had our first "meeting" (lol) yet, but, Mary and I got some HUGE deals today! I will not share the specifics, as they are already over, but I was thinking that when we do all find fantastic deals, share them with the rest of us so that we can benefit, also. There are a lot of "secret" coupons online!! Did any of you know that Target has webcoupons that you use in the store? Oh yeah, they do!!! And you can combine them with mfg coupons!!!!!!!

Share those great deals and happy shopping!

Helpful Hint...

So, Mary and I are trying out this whole coupon thing, so we are doing lots of research. One interesting tip I just found is that Target's coupon policy apparently allows you to use (1) Target coupon + (1) mfg coupon per item!!

Also, here is a tip for CVS...

Once you are ready to checkout always put your coupons in this order-
• First give them the 4/20 store coupon since your total could go lower then $20 after manufacturer and additional store coupons.

• Next give all your CVS product coupons

• Then give the manufacturers coupons

• Last give your Extra care Bucks

Save Save Save

I was just wondering what all you moms out there do to save money?

Recently I have been trying to make a few changes in effort to save. At the beginning of the year I stopped eating lunch out. We used to hit a kid friendly food place probably once a week. This has been surprisingly difficult.

Also, I am giving up my swifering. It's definitley more expensive, thanks to my husband for pointing out the actually cost per mopping, so I bought a mop and used it for the first time yesterday.

We used to leave our computer on 24/7 but now I make sure to turn it off every night and again surprisingly sometimes it doesn't come back on till after mid day. Unfortunetly that savings is hard to see.

And as Alisa mentioned we are going to start cutting coupons and watching sales. I think we are both on the fence about maybe doing the grocery game.

So, I am really interested!! What do you do? I could use some help and ideas in my efforts to save!

Hi fellow mommies!

I am trying the "ADSENSE" program thru google. If you are unfamiliar with the program, basically I get paid for putting ads on my blogs, if readers click on them. I will let you all know if it works and if it is something I would recommend. If the ads start to really bother you, please email me and let me know. (If several people are really annoyed, I will remove it. The LAST thing I want is for you to stop coming here because you are bothered by some ads...it's not worth it!) If you have a second, click on the ads...so I get paid! lol If it works well, and any of you start it, I will click on yours, too! So, happy clicking!

Great sites and giveaways!

Check out Coco Bonbons. It has adorable kids clothes that are really unique. They have a great sale going on right now! You can also visit Ladybug Soup for awesome giveways!

I am new to things like this, but I am going to try to start posting lots of great sites like this for great products and giveaways!

Mary, Natalie and I are also going to start clipping coupons and searching for great deals! We will share with all of you!

Lesson about love/service

I saw this on a blog the other day and I thought it was a cute idea. Since it's almost Valentine's day, I decided to use this idea in our Family Home Evening lesson last night. We read a couple of scripture verses about how God wants us to love one another and serve one another. Then we each took a turn standing on a red paper heart (I just used construction paper) while the rest of the family members each said something that they loved about that person. I also cut out some smaller paper hearts and put them in a basket. These hearts were to be used whenever one of us did something to love or serve another family member. For example, if you make up a family members bed for them, then you leave a paper heart behind. Or the hearts can be used to write or draw messages on for a family member. Anyway, it was a short, interactive lesson (which is so important for Lily) and went over well. Just thought I'd share.

Meals

What do all of you give your kids to eat? Especially the ones under 5. My kids eat pretty well, but I have to admit, I get lazy when it comes to meals. I do not have a good diet, I find it really hard to sit down and eat, so I find the easiest, fastest things I can. Tye loves peanut butter/ jelly sandwiches, and Kenadie loves chicken nuggets. So, that is what their lunches usually are, and supper is usually a pasta or rice dish. Do any of you have easy, healthy food ideas that you give your little ones??