The Adventures of Supermom-One of Our Favorites

Today is Mom-Stuff Blog Tour's last day st the Adventures of Supermom. We hope you have enjoyed Michelle’s blog as much as we have. I want to share with you Michelle’s passion for yarn. Michelle loves to crochet fun gifts for little hands. She sells them at her


Only Ollie’s shop at Etsy.

Tea Set -Sooooo Strawberry

These hand crocheted play sets are perfect for little hands. They will make any tea party a hit!

The sets are made mostly with 100 % cotton yarn. The brown for the hot cocoa is the only acrylic yarn used.

~ My tea cakes are decorated with beads for sparkle.


~ The cocoa with marshmallows if perfect for sipping.

~ The cookies are made for dipping.

I will be making an assortment of colors for ETSY but if you’d like to make a special request just send me an email.

iheartsupermom (at) AOL (dot) com

I know that I can find the perfect yarn just for you.

These sets will be $19.95 with FREE shipping unless otherwise noted

**If these are for a gift I can include a personal message and mail directly to them.**

I have really enjoyed getting to know Michelle this week. I would like to thank her for welcoming us into her life. She is a wonderful creative mother. We are so glad to have her in our mom-stuff circle.

Mom-Stuff is adding more St. Patrick’s ideas to help you celebrate the luck of the Irish. Visit us for all of you family fun ideas. We have St. Patrick’s Day food, kids crafts, hair accessories and decorations. We love to celebrate with our families and on St. Patrick’s Day we believe everyone can be Irish. The popularity of this holiday has spread like a patch of wild clover. There are more St. Patrick’s Day parades held in the United States than in Ireland. So lets all get ready to add a wee bit o’ the green celebration to your life.

Here is another Irish Blessing for you and your family:

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.


Have a great week. Next week we will be visiting Mandy From the Trenches of Motherhood. It should be really fun.



See you week, Dianne

Mom-Stuff’s Featured Blog

Mom-Stuff.com has a warning for our moms. Please help us spread the word. Do not make this mistake when searching for us DO NOT FORGET THE HYPHEN! When I bought mom-stuff.com web address mom stuff.com (with out the hyphen) was not available. Now that we have build up traffic the owner of this address has a site that is  NOT MOM STUFF. I am not saying that moms do not like sex but I do not want you to be confused and think we are associated with this site or their content. I want all of you to be aware this is not a site I can endorse. We are not affiliated with it!!! Had this been a parenting site, as it was promoted on the search engine. I would not be concerned.

Now back to the Mom-Stuff Blog Tour.

I believe Michelle at the Adventures of Supermom is a kindred spirit. I have grown to love her passion for motherhood, her love of yarn but today I found something else we have in common. Neither one of us understand people who are obsessed with TV shows. Several weeks ago I visited Robin at Lolidots and she is a real fan of LOST. If you remember she even had a calendar on her blog counting down the days until the new season. I love the passion but I don’t get it. Michelle posted this story today that made me laugh. Michelle if it makes you feel better I understand you and I know I am not weird. Well maybe just a little weird. What do you guys think? Do you have a TV addiction? Help Michelle and I understand this strange human behavior.

Superdad made me feel all weird last night.

Not a good kind of weird either!
He is a Lost freak.  I can honestly say it’s in his top three favorite TV shows EVER!!!!!  EVER!!!!!!
Right honey?
I used to watch it with him.  Up until they said there was going to be three more seasons.  So, I gave it up.  I didn’t want to invest three more seasons to a TV show.  Life is to short for me.  I do have four kids after all and a home to take care of.  Not to mention I have crocheting to do!!!  You have to set some priorities.  HA HA!
So, last night he is getting his Lost fix.  ~smacking my arm~  I’m working on a Sudoku puzzle in the chair.  He’s like, “This doesn’t interest you at all does it?”
“Nope.”
He said it in a way that just made me feel not normal.  Like I was crazy for not being a Lost groupie.  He really did.
Yeah, I liked the Desmond and Penny love story.  I got over it though.  Just like I got over Grey’s Anatomy and Big Love.  I no longer watch them as of this season.  I can go online and read a synopsis in 10 minutes and save myself an hour of sitting on the couch turning into mush.
Maybe I’m just weird like that.  Who knows.
Speaking of my crocheting.  I love cotton yarn!  I found a local yarn company, local as in about 45 minutes away, that sells the best cotton yarn.  I was able to talk to them and now I’m getting 25 % off my orders!  I LOVE to buy locally and I love cotton yarn!!!!!!!  I just placed an order and I am so thrilled.  I cannot wait to touch it when I get it next week.
Buy local!  All the cool kids do it!

Thanks to everyone following our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour.Visit Michelle at the Adventures of Supermom and tell her Hello and thanks for allowing is to visit.  Make comments, make tweets, invite friends, and tell your friends about how much we are having.

Mom-Stuff has posted your fun St. Patrick’s Day ideas. Come and visit to get your wee bit o Irish this spring. We have some fun and easy kids crafts to make with your wee ones.

Thanks for choosing to be a part of the mom-stuff community. Make sure you visit tomorrow and I will share with you Michelle’s love of yarn.

Have a great day,

Dianne

Mom-Stuff Blog of the Week-Supermom

The Mom-Stuff Blog of the week is the Adventures of Supermom. Michell really is a supermom.  The more time I spend on her sight the more I find a mom who takes her responsibility as a mother very seriously. She has very high values and she is teaching them to her children. I think we all can learn something from her. If you have not been to her site make sure you do. You will not be disappointed.  I chose this post to share with you because it really made me look at my life. You have heard the saying, less is more. This is something we have to decide for ourselves in every area of our lives. I challenge you to not only read this but to ponder it for a while.
More Isn’t Always Better
I’ve been thinking about blogging about this from time to time but then never get around to it.

Bigger isn’t always better.  More isn’t always better.  I’m speaking in terms of personal belongings.  Like your house and possesions.  Things that you acquire thinking you have to have or you will not be complete.
We live in a modest sized house.  Yet, we have outgrown our house with all these youngin’s.  There is ZERO privacy in this house.  Just ask Superdad.
We often get asked about getting a bigger house because we have run out of room.  Sure, that would be nice.  But it’s not needed.  We are very happy with the home we have built together.  It couldn’t be in a better location in our town.  We are close to everything.
A bigger house just means a bigger place for me to clean.  More furniture to buy.  More money to heat.  More money to cool.  More taxes to pay.  Did I mention, “More for me to clean?”
I just don’t see it as a necessity.  Having a bigger house isn’t going to make us happier.  You have to be happy with what you have.  We are.
I have never been one to save or collect things.  I don’t even have a yearbook from high school.  Let alone a secret stash of porcelain dolls.  I have a place in the hall closet for craft things.  Just a place to store my yarn, fabric and other assorted craft things.  It shares space with the kids board games and coloring supplies.  The other hall closet has Superdad’s books and magazines.  Only a small portion of them because the rest are boxed up in the basement for when we have a toy free wall to build some bookshelves.
Our basement has the washer and dryer.  Boxed up magazines and books.  Christmas decorations.  Easter Decorations.  Other holiday decorations.  Toys that have been outgrown or toys that are no longer played with.  Then there are three pinball machines that Superdad is tinkering with.  And right now we are overflowing with recyclables because they haven’t been taken to the drop-off in a week or two, or even three.
I could very well go through my house and get rid of so many things.  I could live off the bare minimum.
Just so I have a warm bed, food to eat and my family around me.  Plus some yarn and my Blackberry.  Oh, and cold beer.  I don’t require much and I don’t have to acquire much either.
I never understood the need to have all this stuff.  So much stuff you had to pay for storage.  Yeah, I think that is silly.  If it doesn’t fit in the house you live in then you don’t need it.
How much do you live with?
Thanks for visiting the Mom-Stuff Blog Tour sponsored by www.mom-stuff.com. We are so excited by your response to our tour.  We are having so much fun and making so many new friends. We have filled all of our openings for this tour. This week’s mom blogger, Michelle, has been such fun to work with and to get to know better.
The mom-team will be giving away gifts to the people who make the most comments while following the blog tour. You can make comments here, on Michelle’s Blog, Tweeter, Facebook or other social sites. Thanks for being a part of www.mom-stuff.com your moms resource site.

Geather your clan and celebrate the spirt of the day with some Irish food because everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Celebrating each holiday is our way of celebrating life. It does help if you look good in green, believe in wee-folk and enjoy a bit of sausage and cabbage.
 Fun menu ideas for your wee-folk on St. Patrick’s Day visit our Mom-Stuff Family Fun section.
Breakfast: Green Eggs and Ham You can only get away with dying scrambled eggs and ham with green food coloring on St. Patrick’s Day.
The kids get a big kick out of it. Especially the Dr. Seuss fans. Make shamrock biscuits to go with them. You will be the best mom ever. You can use a shamrock cookie cutter and a package of Pillsbury Grand Biscuits. If you are Super Mom you can make the biscuit from scratch. Visit our site to see all of our St. Patrick’s Day ideas. We even added some shamrock Rockin Bobbie Pins for your girls hair styles

Blog Tour Visits Supermom

This week Mom-Stuff Blog Tour is visiting Michelle, the Supermom behind the blog Adventures of Supermom. We want to thank Michelle for sharing her blog posts with us. We love learning from each other. Follow along with us on our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. You will find great information and make some new friends. Make sure to leave comments. Remember mom-Stuff will be giving away gifts to our followers that make the most comments. So welcome to the party. Let the moms know what you think by commenting and tweeting about their blog. Today we want to share an article by Michelle from Glubble News.com. Michelle gives us her tips on being a responsible parent and providing a safe environment for her children to learn and grow.
Kids Searching Safely Online
December 16, 2008 by Michelle Lee
There are one or two computers in most homes these days. And most children want their own laptop and cell phone. With so much adult content available on the World Wide Web it is our duty as responsible parents to know what Web sites our kids are visiting and who they are talking to
I want to protect my children from uncontrolled exposure to grown up topics like sex and drugs. These are subjects that should be learned about in the proper environment when the time is right, not from a Google search.
While planning a family vacation not long ago we did a simple search for “Disney”. A word associated with family fun brought up a naked woman with Mickey Mouse painted on her body. Guess what body parts were his ears. This shows how fast things can get x-rated!
Here are some practical tips we use in our home:

• Have your computer in a common area. Ours is in the office which viewable by everyone in the living room. In my opinion, a bedroom is no place for a computer that has Internet access. I feel the same way about TV’s too, but that is a different topic altogether.
• Set a time limit for computer usage and STICK TO IT!Don’t let the whining wear you down. You are the parent and ruler of all! On school nights each child has 30 minutes of fun free time on the internet. On weekends they are allowed more time. This limit doesn’t include time spent on the computer for homework or school projects.
• Learn how to limit and/or block access on your computers.(How you do this depends on what operating system or browser you use.) Our children have to ask permission to gain access to new sites by sending me an email. I can check out the site they want to visit then unlock access to it or block. Even sites like “YouTube” and “Google” are blocked.  Remember my Disney fiasco using Google?
• Keep track of passwords.If my children want to join something, like the popular social networking site MySpace, I must know their password.  Because they know I can pop over anytime to review their online activity they make more responsible decisions.
• Manage these social groups carefully. My children aren’t allowed to talk to anyone unless they know them in person. Their profile must be kept private, only for family and friends (that I approve of) to view. And no posting photos until they are approved by us. I really don’t care how good you think you look flashing that silly gang sign. It’s not going to be your profile picture.

All of the suggestions above work really well for our family. With everything now available at our children’s fingertips it is our responsibility to keep them safe.
Does this make me an unreasonable parent?  No, it makes me a responsible parent.  Are my children missing out?  No, they are given a safe environment to learn and grow.
If you have Internet safety suggestions please email me and I’d love to share it with my blog readers.
(Editor’s Note:using Glubble ensures that kids only see the content that their parents have first approved. Learn more through this 3-minute videoor join Glubble for free today and enjoy a safe, fun way to use the Internet together)

Mom-Stuff.com your moms resource site has fun St. Patrick’s Day  kids craft instructions and patterns ready for your wee ones. And of course we would not forget the crafty moms! We have decorations for you to make and enjoy, St. Patrick’s Day center piece  for your table and a wreath for your door. Come and visit us.
Mom-Stuff also has a blog at blogspot if you want to follow us there. It is at http://mom-stuffcommunity.blogspot.com
Make sure you sign up for our Mom-Stuff Newsletter so you do not miss out on any mom-stuff fun.  You will receive it once a week. I know you will enjoy it. It opens with a tip of the week, then news updates from the web site and blog and then ends with something just for fun. You can unsubscribe at any time if you do not enjoy it. No pressure! We do not sell, trade, or share your email address. We respect your privicy.
Thanks everyone for your support. We love all of you moms. Thanks for being a part of our circle. Moms helping, supporting and educating each other.
See you tomorrow,
Dianne

Meet Michelle

This week Mom-Stuff Blog Tour visits Michelle at the Adventures of Supermom. Michelle is a mother of four children ranging in age from a teenager to an infant She deal with a lot of things that mothers can relate to. Hormonal teenager behavior. Potty training. Taking a pacifier away. Trying to save money with a bigger family. She tells funny stories and gives helpful advice. She finds  her blog to be a great place to express herself.  I know you will really enjoy visiting her this week.

Meet Michelle

Hello. My name isn’t really Supermom, it’s Michelle. I don’t even think I would answer to Supermom. I do answer to Mommy, Mom and the sound of crying. That includes when someone is crying Mommy.
I started blogging online over 5 years ago. Before that it was the old fashioned way. Paper and pen. I try to be humorous. I try to be cool. My grammar sucks. I tell it like it is! I try not to cuss but sometimes a dammit or shit will sneak out into text. Forgive me. I learned how to slash through my words so they wouldn’t stick out so much. 

I founded The Adventures of Supermom.com to write about having four kids and how busy life can get. I often refer to myself as June Cleaver with leopard print heels and pearls. 

Before telling everyone my business on an online blog I managed a drug store. Nothing glamorous I assure you. I gladly traded that job in for my current one.
*CEO ~this is what I call myself. CEO of my family and I will even write that in Job Description when I fill out paper work or get asked my occupation.~ 
*Professional Blogger 
*Housekeeper 
*Amateur Chef 
*Nurse 
*Therapist 
*Teacher 
*Art Director 
*Police Officer ~Did you take the toy from your sister?? Were you just in the kitchen?? Show me your hands??~ 
*Laundry Attendant 
*Maintenance Manager of the house 
*Taxi Driver of “Mom’s Jag” 
*Janitor 
*Computer Geek ~so I can blog about crazy things I think about early in the morning or Google, “strange smells coming from shower drain” for my janitor position.~ 

About TheAdventuresofSupermom.com 

I write about the day to day life of a family of six. I also refer to my children in code. My 15 year old daughter is known as H or hormonal teen. My 11 year old son is known as B2. My 4 year old goes by Lil O. Then the 1 year old goes by Baby M. I call my husband Superdad. 

I talk about having a hormonal teenage daughter who likes to wear pants that take her five minutes to get into. My 11 year old son even gets blogged about. Once he wiped a bogger on the wall and it was brought up during my TV interview. I blog about the trials of potty training, taking the beloved pacifier away and how exciting temper tantrums can be. I have a passion for the family bed, breastfeeding and wearing your baby. I tell you all about it when I share my love for Baby M. 

I believe in eating organic. I blog about making my menu and homemade cooking. Sharing tips on how to save money while buying organic.
 
My family enjoys hitting the tailgate market to buy local fruit and produce. We are also a “compacting” family. Recycle, reuse and renew. I think teaching your kids these values will make the world a better place. 
 
I also loves having a small garden in the summer. I let the kids help and pick the food we have grown.

Other Ventures: 

~ I founded and am the Editor of Kid Friendly Asheville andSupermom Reviews. 

~ I wrote an article for Glubble about Internet Safety for Kids.
~ I was on WYFF 4 for an interview in February 2009. You can see that here. 

~ I have been voted “Supermom of the month” on various online groups. You can see thosehere and here.

~ My Kid Friendly Asheville Website was mentioned in theNovember 2008 WNC Parent. 

~ Check out my guest post on MummyDeals about buying organic for less. 
~ My website Kid Friendly Asheville was featured on Best Kid Friendly Travel.
Thanks to everyone following our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour,  Visit all ofMichelle’s blog and her other sites.  Make comments, make tweets, invite friends to join us. Tell your friends about how much fun we are having.  If you have a blog you want us to visit, let me know atdianne@mom-stuff.com Mom-Stuff is giving gifts to the moms who make the most comments so join in the fun.
Mom-Stuff has your St. Patrick’ Day ideas posted to add a wee bit o” Irish warmth to your home. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Make this St. Patrick’s Day an unforgettable event that inspires everyone with fun, feasts and of course, the luck of the Irish!
St. Patrick’s Day Family Fun http://www.mom-stuff.com/public/146.cfm
Gather your clan and celebrate the sprit of the day with some Irish food, decorations and kids crafts because everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day Decorations http://www.mom-stuff.com/public/145.cfm
St. Patrick’s Day Recipes   http://www.mom-stuff.com/public/148.cfm
Lucky Scrapbooking Page http://www.mom-stuff.com/public/149.cfm
Rockin Boddie Pins. It is easy instructions for girls hair accessories including some shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day. You can get some fun girl hair styles to use the Rockin Bobbie Pins in, at The Wright Hair blog.
Visit us tomorrow for some more great information from the mom-stuff team. We believe in moms helping moms. Life is a circle around here. Come and join us.
Dianne-from Mom-Stuff

Katherine Center-A Mom-Stuff Favorite

Today is our last day st Katherine Center’s blog. We hope you have enjoyed Katherine’s work as much as we have. I want to share with you Katherine’s process in writing a novel. If you have a novel in you I think you will enjoy this. posted Jan 8,2010 on Katherine’s blog, My New New Novel




About five minutes ago, I sent the first three chapters of my new novel to my editor at Random House. It doesn’t have a title yet, and it won’t come out until Spring 2012. But it’s a crazy thrill to have the beginning in solid shape, and to send it off for feedback.


I’ve been watching this new story unfold in little pieces in my head for a long time. I know a lot already about where it’s going in a broad way (though the details are always one surprise after another). But it’s pretty thrilling to see it all actually happen. Does that make sense? It’s one thing to know a character goes for a walk. But it’s another to actually write the scene and BE THERE.

This is my process: I type the story, then print it out and carry it in a binder like precious cargo wherever I go. Then, as I re-read, it sparks other ideas in my head, and I write them all over the margins and on the backs of pages.

I edit things out and add things in at the same time. Then, after a bit, I type all the changes in and print it out again fresh. I love the pages when they are newly-printed and pristine. But I love them even more when they are scrawled and scribbled all over.


Usually I’ll use plain-old vinyl binders in black or white. But, for this one, I gave in to my love of pretty office products and bought a flowery binder at Target. At least, until the story gets too long to fit!

This was fun for me to see how a published author goes from conception to novel. I was surprised and tickled to see her note book. I carry around notebooks instead of my lap top too. With all of the wonderful technology today it is fun to see that some of the old methods just seems to still work. I want to thank Katherine for allowing me to visit her blog. It is such an honor to be welcomed in to someones life. and trusted with their treasured work. I wish Katherine years of success with her writing. I am so glad she is living the life she chose for herself. Katherine Center is an inspiration to moms everywhere to live their passion.



This weekend we will be changing Mom-Stuff to St. Patrick’s ideas to help you celebrate the luck of the Irish. Visit us for all of you family fun ideas. We have St. Patrick’s Day food, kids crafts, hair accessories and decorations. We love to celebrate with our families and on St. Patrick’s Day we believe everyone can be Irish. The popularity of this holiday has spread like a patch of wild clover. There are more St. Patrick’s Day parades held in the United States than in Ireland. So lets all get ready to add a wee bit o’ the green celebration to your life.

May God grant you aleays

Asunbeam to warm you,

Amoombean to charm you,

Asheltering angel

So nothing can harm you.

Have a great week. Next week we will be visiting Michelle at The Adventures of Supermom. It should be really fun.

See you week week, Dianne

Katherine Center Our featured Blog

Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center
 Today  we are sharing a book review  by
S. Krishna on one of Katherine’s  books.
For more book reviews visit
Skrishna http;//skrishnasbooks.com

Everyone is Beautiful-Book Review-S. Krishna’s Books, March 25, 2009 I really enjoyed Katherine Center’s first novel The Bright Side of Disaster, so when I got the chance to review her new novel from Pump Up Your Book Promotion Blog Tours, I jumped at the chance. I’m thrilled to say that Everyone Is Beautiful is just as good as, if not better than, The Bright Side of Disaster. I love how honest Center’s writing is. She doesn’t try to hide anything; instead of telling us that Lanie is depressed and completely strung out, she shows us. She shows us how much Lanie gives to her family, and how there is little (if anything) left for herself. She shows us how much Lanie really needs something of her own, something to brighten her day and give her a chance to breathe. I have to say, reading the novel, I felt just as trapped as Lanie did. When Lanie finally does start doing something that is only for herself, I cheered for her. Center manages to get the reader fully invested in her characters. It’s an amazing talent, and one that the author uses very effectively. I thought the central message of this book was incredible. No one is perfect, and everyone is beautiful. How many times have we really thought of ourselves as beautiful? Not many, I’m guessing. It’s always “my eyes look puffy” or “is that a new wrinkle?” or “ugh, bad hair day!” I love the idea that everyone is beautiful. It puts a positive spin on life! I loved all the secondary characters in Everyone Is Beautiful as well. The only thing I wish for the novel is that there could have been more development of these wonderful personalities! Of course, I understand that it was Lanie’s story, but it’s just a testament to Katherine Center’s character writing ability that I just wanted more! As you can tell, I really adored Everyone Is Beautiful. This is a book with great characters, constant humor, an interesting storyline, and a wonderful message. I enjoyed it immensely, and I highly recommend it! Skrishna http;//skrishnasbooks.com Thanks for visiting the Mom-Stuff Blog Tour.  We are so excited by your response to our tour.  We are having so much fun and making so many new friends. We have enjoyed this week sharing such a talented mom with you. Katherine’s writting is so enjoyable. I would summerize her work as honest, funny and deep. This week’s mom blogger and author  Katherine Center has been such fun to work with and to get to know better.  The mom-team will be giving away gifts to the people who make the most comments while following the blog tour. You can make comments here, Tweeter, Facebook or other social sites. Thanks for being a part of www.mom-stuff.com your moms resource site. For a wee bit o’ Irish inspiration visit Mom-Stuff for St. Patrick’s Day ideas.  We have crafts, recipes and decorations to help your clan celebratate because everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. See you again tomorrow, Dianne

Blog of the Week-Katherine Center

The Mom-Stuff  Blog of the week is Katherine Center. Katherine is a novelist who’s words flow deep into your heart. I chose  this post to share with you because it really touched my soul.   She invites us to her grandparent’s ranch on the river with beautiful  pictures and she welcomes us into her reflection with her words. “How can we be connected so profoundly and never have meet?”  Katherine speaks novels in a very few words.

My grandparents’ ranch is on the Brazos river, a perpetually brown, sandy-bottom river outside Houston.

I’ve paced around its shores on trips to the ranch my whole life, and now we take our kids there and they do the same thing.  Its amazing to watch history repeat itself like that, and I’m happy to report that fossil-searching, stick-throwing, rock-skipping, shell-finding, mud-smearing, dam-building, and poking at things with sticks are all still going strong.

It’s been wet in Texas lately, and I found tons of animal tracks last time we were there.  Coyote, for example:

And racoon.  I love how much their paws look like hands.

And deer. I’m pretty sure.

And some crazily huge bird with stick-feet bigger than my son’s hands:

And somehow looking at those tracks got me thinking about all tracks I myself have left on this very beach–in Keds and cowgirl ropers and Adidas.  And then suddenly I was thinking about my grandparents, and all the years that have passed since they walked on this beach with us, and how much I miss them, and how much I would love it if they could come back, even just for an hour, and visit us and meet my kids.  It seems impossible to me that their lives didn’t overlap.  Especially when my daughter’s eyes are the exact  blue that my grandfather’s were, and my son’s eyes are the exact buttery brown of my grandmother’s.  How could they be connected so profoundly and never have even met?

But I guess that’s how it is with the past.  It really doesn’t leave enough behind.


Thanks for visiting the Mom-Stuff Blog Tour sponsored by www.mom-stuff.com. We are so excited by your response to our tour.  We are having so much fun and making so many new friends. We still have some open weeks if you would like us to tour your blog. This week’s mom blogger, Katerine Center. has been such fun to work with and to get to know better.
The mom-team will be giving away gifts to the people who make the most comments while following the blog tour. You can make comments here, on Robin’s Blog, Tweeter, Facebook or other social sites. Thanks for being a part of www.mom-stuff.com your moms resource site. Visit our site  to see our new Rockin Bobbie Pins. Our new girl hair style accessories. They are fun and simple to make.
See you tomorrow for more from Katherine Center.

Blog Tour Visits Kathrine Center

The Mom-Stuff Blog Tour is visiting Katherine Center this week.  Katherine is an author of  three books.  Katherine’s first novel, The Bright Side of Disaster, was featured in People Magazine, USA Today, Vanity Fair, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News, among others. Katherine Center’s second novel, Everyone Is Beautiful, is featured in the March issue of Redbook. Kirkus Reviews likens it to the 1950s motherhood classic Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, and says, “Center’s breezy style invites the reader to commiserate, laughing all the way.” Booklist calls it “a superbly written novel filled with unique and resonant characters.” BookPage named Katherine one of seven new writers to watch, and the paperback of Bright Side was a Breakout Title at Target. Katherine recently published an essay in Real Simple Family and has another forthcoming in Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers on the Mother-Daughter Bond this April. Her third novel, Get Lucky, is on sell now and she is working on a fourth. Today we want to share a post from her blog to remind us that the joys of living have to be spaced over time.

 I Love Wrinkles

 I just had my birthday.  I turned 37, and now I am old.  Boom.  Just like that.  I knew it was coming: 37.  Though I wasn’t thinking about it too much—or even seeing it as a Big Birthday, the way 40 will be.  It was just another birthday, and, like with many things in life—a due date, say, or a book coming out—it snuck up on me. I’ve always been struck at how not-at-all different you are when your birthday finally arrives after all that buildup.  It’s almost a letdown.  You wake up, and you’re still just you.  Same old, same old.


But this year, washing my face just before I woke my kids for school, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and saw wrinkles.  Deep, significant, there-to-stay wrinkles.  And I swear they weren’t there the night before. And so it was really lucky for me that I happen to be a big fan of wrinkles.  I’ve even joined the Bring Back Wrinkles group on Facebook. I guess the downside of wrinkles is that they remind you you’re not young anymore.  But guess what?  I already knew that. 


 And I’m not even sure that I would want to be young again, frankly.  As fun as it was.  I’m on a book tour this week, and one of my stops has taken me to a little town north of Seattle where one of my best friends from college lives.  Last time I saw her was at my wedding. Nine years ago. She’s hanging out with me right now at a hotel room, working on her computer just like I am working on mine.  We both have a lot going on, and it’s pretty quiet in here, except for the typing.  But every few minutes, one of us will pipe up and say, “Remember when we got obsessed with dominos and couldn’t stop playing?” Or, “Remember when we found that train-car diner in Maine?”  Or “Remember that time we played that drinking game watching When Harry Met Sally?” A lot has changed since then: I’ve had two children and written two books.  She’s opened the restaurant she always dreamed of.  We are, in fact, living exactly the lives we hoped for.


 And so I’m not going to complain about the wrinkles.  Or that I’m not twenty-two anymore.  Or that life carries you away from people and places you loved.  Or that the joys of living have to be spaced out over time.  You can’t have everything all at once.  That’s what memories are for.   And also, gratitude:  You loved them once.  You really did love them.  And that just has to be enough.


We want to thank Katherine for sharing her blog posts with other moms. We love learning from each other. Follow along with us on ourMom-Stuff Blog Tour. You will find great information and make some new friends. Make sure to leave comments. Remember mom-Stuff will be giving away gifts to our followers that make the most comments. So welcome to the party. Let the moms know what you think by commenting and tweeting about their blog.
See you tomorrow, dianne@mom-stuff 

Meet Katherine Center

The Mom-Stuff Blog Tour wants to introduce you to Katherine Center.



The Mom-Stuff Blog Tour is really excited to visit Katherine this week. We believe all of our moms will enjoy this week with her. I want to share a video with you . This was my first introduction to Katherine’s work. I love this video! It is an example of how I feel about motherhood. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Defining A Movement is a video essay about motherhood by Katherine Center for the Mom 2.0 Summit in Houston this February http://www.mom2summit.com/ Click the link to see this amazing video.


Meet Katherine

Katherine Pannill Center started writing fiction when she was in sixth grade, when she and her two best friends filled countless spirals with stories about meeting Duran Duran at the mall and bewitching the band members into falling in love with them. These stories involved kissing, weeping, limos, the occasional log cabin, and many gentle blankets of snow.






Around that time, Katherine also started keeping journals, logging with great sincerity every detail of middle school life as she knew it. Lists of friends! Lists of boys! Lists of must-have shoes! Lists of personal flaws and areas for improvement! The journals (though not the lists) continued through college, and now Katherine has storage boxes of them taking up far too much room in her attic.






Katherine always intended to be a writer. At St. John’s School, in Houston, where she clocked her K-12 years, she generated stacks of poems, school newspaper columns, and short stories. At Vassar College, she majored in English, wrote short stories, lettered her poems onto metal signs that she put up around campus, and wrote a novella (which won the Vassar College Fiction Prize).






Not too far out of college, she met the guy she would get to marry a few years later. On that first night, he held the car door open for her, made her laugh so hard her face hurt, and–he says–knew by the end of the evening that she was the one. On their second date, Katherine almost choked to death on a pancake.






Around that same time, Katherine won a fellowship to the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program, where she taught Freshman English and earned an MA in Fiction. She also co-edited fiction for the literary magazine Gulf Coast.






After graduate school, Katherine held a number of crazy jobs and a few sensible ones. Her favorite job was teaching creative writing to little kids through a program called Writers In The Schools. She also liked working in her uncle’s “Used, Rare & Out-of-Print” bookstore, an old house with many reading nooks and a secret door, which has now been sold and turned into an Italian restaurant.






Katherine grew up in Houston, the middle of three very close sisters. Her older sister, who has beautiful red hair, worked as a journalist for many years and now teaches French. Her younger sister, who has beautiful green eyes, is a lawyer with a serious knack for decorating. When they were younger, their house was a cacophony of stereos blaring from each room, blow-dryers, and phones ringing. Back then, they sometimes got so mad at each other they threw shoes. Now, they are all great friends.






Katherine’s parents are both Texans with charming accents. Her dad is a lawyer and her mom—among many other things—crossbreeds Brahman cattle with Herfords at her ranch.






Katherine’s husband Gordon is a sixth grade teacher at the school she herself went to, and he likes to joke that they met in his class. They have two feisty and impossibly sweet young children—a girl and a boy—who love to give hugs, turn on the hose, raise and lower the driver’s seat in the car, run the bath faucet, squirt hand sanitizer, eat lollipops, sweep rain puddles, dump out raisin boxes, stand on the dining table, unfold folded things, listen to stories, and give people presents (like sticks, pieces of cardboard and grocery receipts from their mama’s purse).






If you ask Katherine’s 4-year-old daughter what Katherine does for a living, she will tell you that her mama “is an author. Just like Richard Scarry.”






Katherine’s official BIO:


Katherine Center’s second novel, Everyone Is Beautiful, is featured in the March issue of Redbook. Kirkus Reviews likens it to the 1950s motherhood classic Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, and says, “Center’s breezy style invites the reader to commiserate, laughing all the way.” Booklist calls it “a superbly written novel filled with unique and resonant characters.” Katherine’s first novel, The Bright Side of Disaster, was featured in People Magazine, USA Today, Vanity Fair, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News, among others. BookPage named Katherine one of seven new writers to watch, and the paperback of Bright Side was a Breakout Title at Target. Katherine recently published an essay in Real Simple Family and has another forthcoming in Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers on the Mother-Daughter Bond this April. She has just turned in her third novel, Get Lucky, and is starting on a fourth. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two young children.

I have just sarted to read one of Katherine’s books. I will up date you on my experience as we visit Katherine this week.

Thanks to everyone following our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. Visit Katherines Blog. Buy and read one of her books. Make comments, make tweets, invite friends, tell your friends about how much fun we are having. If you have a blog you want us to visit, let me know at dianne@mom-stuff.com Mom-Stuff is giving gifts to the moms who make the most comments so join in the fun.

Mom-Stuff has added a new page titled Rockin Boddie Pins.It is easy instructions for girls hair accessories. You can get some fun girl hair styles to use the Rockin Bobbie Pins in, at The Wright Hair blog.



Visit us tomorrow for some more great infromation from the mom-stuff team. We believe in moms helping moms. Life is a circle around here. Come and join us.



Dianne-from Mom-Stuff

Better Way Moms-A Mom-Stuff Favorite

The Sisterhood of Motherhood

Camraderie among women has never been my strong suit. I grew up with one brother and no sisters. I had cousins my age but none lived closed by. I of course had friends but as a tomboy, I didn’t always mesh with the “girlie” girls. I liked my friendships in high school but never felt quite at home — just enough to get by and be properly socially integrated. And by now you may have guessed that I never joined a sorority either.



In college, I developed some truly great friendships and became a bit of a social butterfly. I attended a very large university and met tons of interesting people from all over the country. We all swore we’d be friends forever but as careers, moves and marriages materialized, we separated and went off to live our lives. We stay in touch to touch base and then once we’re satisfied we’ve checked in, we go about living our lives once more.



I can say that I will love and adore my New York City single friends forever (though most of us are no longer single). I feel myself with them in a second’s notice no matter how much time passes by.



But it wasn’t until I became a mother that I felt deeply rooted in a pre-defined community of women, some of whom were complete strangers to me. Walking down the street with my toddler, I can feel an underlying connection with woman I’ve never met simply because we are mothers. Even women I see without children — if they smile a certain way at my daughter, I can identify my kind immediately. Sometimes we swap stories on the triumphs, trials, tribulations and tantrums. Other times we catch each other’s eye and share a momentarily glance of recognition before parting ways.



And the friends I’ve known pre-motherhood, we are even more connected now than we were before. It’s as if an entire new dimension of consciousness has opened up to us. We really spill our guts out, so eager to explore this new and uncharted territory and no matter what we share, there is always infinitely more to discover.



Then there are friends I’ve met because I am a mother, and a bond forms that’s so natural and easy. We have an instant foundation from which to build, and our continued communication about our lives then binds and strengthens our connection. They may be new friends but once ingrained in my life, it’s hard to imagine life before them.



When I reflect on the friendships in my life, I am so grateful to have found this community that has accepted me so warmly, with such compassion and grace. It’s more than finally finding a club that would have me as a member (sorry Groucho Marx), I feel completely at home in this shared life experience. To me, we are sisters in motherhood: all on the same journey, taking different roads with maps and compasses that sometimes don’t work. But with my fellow moms besides me, I know I’ll continue to find my way.



Author: Amy



Amy describes the sisterhood that mom-stuff.com provides. Today is our last day at Better Way Moms on our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. The Mom-Stuff Team has really enjoyed visiting Sarah’s great site. She is a great resource for all moms. Better Way Moms has a Fan Page on Facebook. Become a fan and get all of their latest updates on your facebook wall.

I hope you are having as much fun following Mom-Stuff Blog Tour as we are. If you want to make some fun valentine crafts this weekend we have some great ones at Mom-Stuff.com



Have a great Valentine’s Day weekend.



See you next week.



dianne@mom-stuff.com

Featured Site-Better Way Moms

February 11th, 2010
Stop by Better Way Momsour featured blog this week and visit this amazing site with us. While you are there visit all of the great article sections. You can choose from: Triumphs, Life-Self Balance, More Money=More Freedom, The kids, The Man (Relationships), Friends and Family, and Product Reviews. The article we are sharing today is all about marriage after children by Ilona.




The Top 10 Things I Learned About Being “Married With Children”

I’ve been together with my husband for twelve years. In those twelve years we’ve disagreed or fought maybe ten times…eight of those fights happened after Amelie was born. If my husband was not the coolest person I know and the only one to tolerate my crap, I believe these numbers would have been much much higher, so…






Here are some things that helped us survive the first year of being”Married With Children:”






1. Appreciate each other and vocalize it often. If he changes a diaper, instead of “Finally!” say “Thank you.”






2. When it all gets too be too much and you haven’t slept or showered in days, put your hands down and laugh together even if it’s through tears. It’s just too messed up to do anything else.






3. Make a list of things that made you say “yes” when he proposed. Read it often.






4. Do one small thing a day for each other, no matter how little. My husband makes me an egg sandwich every morning to take to work. No jewelry in the world can replace that.






5. Don’t bring too many outsiders into your problems. Solve what you need to privately.






6. Slap each other’s butt once in a while in passing. Sex will follow…one day.






7. If you can’t get out together, make a date in. Better plates, bottle of wine, and “Entourage.”






8. Give each other a break, especially if you have no family help. My husband and I operated in three-hour shifts until the crying monster disappeared at about 6 months of age.






9. If you do fight, fight about what really bothers you. Don’t bring other topics into the mix.






10. If all else fails and you are angry, frustrated and hate each other’s guts for that moment…look at your kid. You made that, it’s yours and you’re freaking it out by screaming at each other.






Author: Ilona Siller



Thanks for visiting the Mom-Stuff Blog Tour sponsored by www.mom-stuff.com. We are so excited by your response to our tour. We are having so much fun and making so many new friends. We still have some open weeks if you would like us to tour your blog. This week’s mom blogger, Sarah at Better Way Moms has been such fun to work with and to get to know better.


The mom-team will be giving away gifts to the people who make the most comments while following the blog tour. You can make comments here, on Robin’s Blog, Tweeter, Facebook or other social sites. Thanks for being a part of www.mom-stuff.com your moms resource site. Visit our site for Valentine ideas. We have some great stuff! Time is running out for your kids to make their own classmate valentines.


See you again tomorrow,


dianne@mom-stuff.com

Blog of the Week-Better Way Moms

The Mom-Stuff Blog of the week is Better Way Moms. It really isn’t a blog. It is a web site for moms. We want to welcome you to Better Way Moms. They provide a source of honesty and humor about the true trails and emotions of being a mom. Today we are sharing as article by Sarah we know you will enjoy. Declare TODAY as your some day. Make a comment and join the movement. Your happiness is important to you, to your family and to all of us as Moms.

It’s Not My Time.


About eight years ago I was having dinner with married friends and my at-the-time-boyfriend. We were talking about how hard it is to be married, what the day-to-day life can really be like, and how the relationship can suffer. Suddenly the wife of the couple blurted out, “Well! It’s just not my time right now! I have two small boys, I don’t get to do anything for myself and it’s just not my time right now. I just have to accept that.”


As I slowly inched away from her. I remember thinking, “What on earth is she talking about? It’s her life, it’s always her life, no matter what she’s doing. Doesn’t she know that?”


Oh the joys of judging others when we have no idea what we’re talking about. Ignorance is bliss I guess.


Cut to: the other day I found myself staring at my larger sized body, my messy hair, my lack of make-up and thinking, “It’s OK. My life is just on hold right now. I’ll get back to all this stuff when the kids are older.”


Have you ever had one of those moments of tunnel vision when you hear yourself say something, but it’s almost like it didn’t come from you? That’s what that was like. I heard the words in my head, and then realized that I had actually heard them somewhere else almost eight years ago. But when I heard them before, they were coming from a disgruntled, exhausted young mother. So I couldn’t possibly have said the same thing, right? Oh…no.


Terrific.


I’ve actually been living this way. I’d be lying if I said otherwise. I run past mirrors thinking that if I don’t look, it can’t possibly be that bad. On the days when I work from home, I don’t get dressed — you know, because why expend the precious energy? I need that energy for so many other things that are much more important.


Besides, who’s going to see me?


Oh, and the baby weight? See, I can blame that on the fact that I can’t lose weight and breastfeed at the same time. I love how convenient that is for me. Donut anyone?

But it’s not just about my physical appearance — though that’s a large part of it. It’s about this “Someday” thing. You know, the idea that I’ll get to me Someday.


The problem is, the last time I checked, someday wasn’t actually on any calendar. There is a Monday, and a Tuesday…and that goes all the way to Sunday. But I have yet to see a Someday.


Is that all I’m worth to myself? Thinking that I’ll get to myself one distant day off in the future that doesn’t really exist? Running by mirrors and wearing sweatpants every day because “right now” doesn’t count? Right now isn’t “real” because I’m taking care of other things. These days don’t really matter.


Um, excuse me?


Who do I think I’m kidding here? These are my days. These are the days that I used to dream about when I was little. I have my beautiful house, my handsome husband, my wonderful kids — I even use all the Christmas ornaments I collected for far too long. This is it.


And still, I wait for someday.


Well, I’ve decided to declare today to be Someday. It’s here. “Not my time” my foot. These days are just as real and as relevant as the days when I was living abroad, studying for exams, dancing on bars (I really have to stop saying that out loud) or spending my paycheck on clothes for myself instead of laundry detergent, life insurance and property taxes. This is it.


So with that my friends, I am taking the first step. This is not a small step for me, as we all know I have a hard time losing weight.
But, I think this is the first step to help me remember that I am still in here. I matter. This life I lead every day is real – it’s not a fog, it’s not something I’m just going to survive. No more of that.


In the next month or so, I will be posting pictures of myself – yes, I said that – front and back as I start this journey. I don’t know what I weigh now, but my ending weight will be 125. I love that number, and it’s when I feel my best. (Click here to watch Sarah’s wieght loss journey!)


I’m doing this now, and I’m doing it fully because I want to wake myself up, scare myself a little bit and well, take you all on the journey with me. I’m sure I’m not the only one who just realized that life is happening right now. And, I’ll be accountable to you, all of our Better Way Moms. A Better Way Biggest Loser, if you will. For those of you that would like to join me, feel free. I’ll be posting my progress as this goes along.


After all, no one ever says on her deathbed, “I’m so glad I ran around like a crazy person and ignored my own needs.”


Here’s to making this time our time.


Author: Sarah


Thanks to everyone following our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. Visit Better Way Moms Make comments, make tweets, invite friends, tell your friends about how much fun we are having. If you have a blog you want us to visit, let me know at dianne@mom-stuff.com
See you tomorrow, Dianne

P.S. Visit Mom-Stuff for your Valentine ideas. If you have kids who want to make Classmate Valentines we have some easy fun patterns for you. We have added some really fun hair clips to make for your girls hairstyles. Young girls can make these their selves. Check them out at mom-stuff. The Wright Hair Blog is posting hairstyles with these. We call these Rockin Bobbie Pins. ENJOY

Blog Tour Visits Better Way Moms

Mom-Stuff Blog Tour is visiting Better Way Moms this week. They are here to provide a source of honesty and humor about the true trials and emotions of being a mom. Nothing on their site is shunned, nothing is taboo, and all of it is true. There has to be a Better Way, and they are here to find it.

I hope you are having as much fun following Mom-Stuff Blog Tour as we are.

Today we want to share an Article by Shari Dabby posted at Better Way Moms. She gives a real look at how we miss the present by living in the future. This is something I need to be reminded of often. I love her story about a day at the beach. She helps remind us to soak up every minute. Our children grow up FAST.

It Goes So Fast!


I always say that before I had kids I was a great parent, I had it all figured out. When I was pregnant and mothers who had small children would say to me “enjoy sleeping now” I would think, what is wrong with all these people and the sleep now thing? Like I’m not going to sleep after my kids are here, enough already with the get sleep now advice?!? Eight years, it’s been eight years since I’ve slept through the night! And when I had a newborn and talked to moms of older children about my ideological parenting ideas which, for example, included my children not watching TV and they would say things like “well, a little time in front of the TV never hurt anyone.” And I would think to myself, “Justify letting the TV be your babysitter however you need to so you’ll feel better. Not my kids, they won’t need it because I’ll be engaging them in fascinating stimuli at all times.” In the Guinness Book of World Records under the category “Most Hours of TV Watched By a Toddler” would be a picture of my daughter.

So I might have been clueless, but somewhere along the way, I at least realized that I was clueless about this parenting thing. I’d like to think of it as a 3 Step Program for Parents (there easily could be a 12 Step Program for Parents, but this is the abridged version because parents have no time for 12 Steps). The 1st step is Denial (examples like the ones above of this stage are endless I’m embarrassed to admit and everyone has versions of the same). The 2nd step is the most important one…Realizing I Am a Clueless Jerk. Sometimes the Realizing stage doesn’t happen for years and unfortunately for others it never happens at all. But you can’t get to the 3rd step in any way, shape or form until you land on Step 2. As a result of Step 2, I’ve tried to be open to things that parents of older kids say to me that if I was still in Step 1, I would continue to disregard completely.Step 2 ushers you to Step 3…Learning From Other Parents With Regrets Who Were Once Clueless Jerks.

While my family andI were on vacation on Long Beach Island this summer we spent endless time at the beach. I have an eight-year-old daughter, and 3 ½ year old and2 ½ year old boys. My daughter was completely content to make sand castles or walk along the beach looking for shells. My two other little rugrats would do that for about four minutes and they’d be on to something more interesting. One day I looked up andthey were at the top of the highest sanddune they could find andpreparing to roll their wet bodies parallel, like a jellyroll, down to the bottom. Their dad was supervising this event. The voices in my head were screaming "stop them, they’re going to get sand in their eyes, notto mention that I’ll never get all the sandoff of them, etc…." For some reason, I hesitated and surprisingly neither of them was bleeding or crying yet and they were hysterically laughing. The voices in my head wouldn’t stop though and about the time I was going to put the kibosh on this genius display, I noticed a group of couples next to me who were watching my boys andtalking. I figured they were annoyed because the boys were being loud so I said, "I’m sorry, I’ll get them to stop. I was just heading that way." One man spoke up for the group saying "Oh, no, please don’t! We are having such a good time watching them andtalking about how much we wished we had soaked in every moment like this one with our own when they were little. Mine are in college now. It goes so fast."

IT GOES SO FAST!

It goes so fast has been ringing in my ears since the minute he said it. But unlike the infamous sleep now mantra that sounded so silly to me at that time, this one has stopped me in my tracks. Most of my parenting time, I have spent thinking how much easier my life will be when all of my kids will be finished with bottles, be out of diapers, be eating solid food, be able to dress themselves, be out of car seats, be all in school, be…fill in the blank. Most of us are moving so fast to get to the next page that we skim right over the one we’re on. Wow, you clueless jerk, sit down and watch your little rocket scientists roll their bodies down the sand dune and enjoy it, enjoy them. Imprint that day into your memory so when you’re 80 you will have some great memories of them to pass your time while you’re waiting in the lobby of the third doctor’s office you’ve been to this week (it’s reality people, have you asked your grandparents how they spend their time?).

So have I been wishing their lives away for an easier existence for myself? Sure, it will be easier when I change my last diaper, but it marks the passing of another stage that you don’t get back. Another year that you swear you’ll never forget the details of. Yes, it will be easier when the’re older and don’t need me as much. I will be able to finish a book. I will be able to eat a hot meal. I will be able to watch something on TV other than the Disney Channel. But watch what we wish for, the bad comes with the good and when you wish away the diapers, you wish away the time that holds the whole package.

It’s just dawning on me that I’m going to miss a lot of this stuff when they’re in high school and gone to college, so maybe I need to savor the page I’m on. I’m going to miss their little voices that will turn into grown up voices one day. I’m going to miss being able to pick them up and carry them around. I’m going to miss their wide eyed amazement when I tell them a story that they find interesting. I’m going to miss asking for a hug and kiss and them stopping on a dime and gladly planting one on me. I’m going to miss remembering what it feels like to hold their little hand in mine when we walk across the street. I’m going to miss being asked to read a bedtime story. I’m going to miss them wanting to hang out with me more than anyone else. I’m going to miss when they get a boo-boo and my kiss magically makes it feel better.

My guinea pig first child is now eight and I realize I have let many of these moments pass me by. She still lets me hold her hand in front of her friends (but she just cut her daddy off, he’s feeling sad about it) so I still have that. Although eight years have passed, at least I didn’t hit Step 3 when she was 17, so it could be worse. She’s a little older now, but she’s still my first, the one who stole my heart so unexpectedly, my only daughter. I will start taking the time to enjoy her more and make some new memories. Undoubtedly now that she’s “older” this will eventually wear on her and she will start hiding in her room from me every chance she gets so I will stay out of her business and stop hovering.

The child who will bear the brunt of my awakening is my third child, the baby. He’s two and he’s the third child. He and I have not lost much time andI should focus most of my energy on him I think. Unfortunately, now he will never be allowed to grow up. I will surely carry him until his feet are dragging the ground and not allow him to feed himself until he is in middle school and is begging me to leave him alone. It’s highly likely he will turn into a nightmare momma’s boy who will end up friendless and need years of therapy to straighten him out someday. Sorry Eli, if not this, you’d end up being the totally forgotten about third child. Hard to say which is worse?

Since I will be so busy with my oldest and youngest children, my middle boy, who will ultimately fall through the cracks in this scenario, seems to be the big winner! Somehow he will get just the right amount of attention and therefore might end up speaking to me as an adult. Yea for Wyatt!

Moderation does not seem to be my strongest quality. I’m going to put that on my To Do List.

We want to thank Sarah at Better Way Moms for sharing her site with other moms. We love learning from each other. Follow along with us on our Mom-Stuff Blog Tour. You will find great information and make some new friends. Make sure to leave comments. Remember mom-Stuff will be giving away gifts to our followers that make the most comments. So welcome to the party. Let the moms know what you think by commenting and tweeting about their blog. Visit www.mom-stuff.com for ideas for Valentine’s Day gifts, kids crafts and classmate Valentines.

See you tomorrow, dianne@mom-stuff

Meet Sarah at Better Way Moms

The Mom-Stuff Blog Tour welcomes you to Better Way Moms. Sarah and Amy are here to provide a source of honesty and humor about the true trials and emotions of being a mom. Nothing here is shunned, nothing is taboo, and all of it is true.There has to be a Better Way, and they are here to find it. Today I am going to share with you why they started Better Way Moms in their own words.

First of all, why we’re here:

Our mission is to provide a fun and easy place for moms to remember that none of us is alone, all of us hit tough spots and really high points. We’re here to be as honest as we can, sometimes embarrassingly so, because we’ve found that the more honest we are, the more moms tell us, “Finally! Someone is telling the truth! Other people go through this too. I thought I was alone!”

Meet Amy

I have been married for three and a half years and have a young toddler who currently rules my world. Other major world-rulers currently include my day job, for which I spend ten hours per day in the office and 90 minutes commuting. My husband works full-time as well, though luckily he has a traditional nine-to-five and bears many of the child-care responsibilities during the week. I’m very competent at what I do and have been working in my industry for almost ten years. My problem: doing my day job with the same level of dedication and motivation is becoming harder and harder, and I lose ground on this everyday.

Then, one day into motherhood, it dawned on me that this was in fact a new dawn. My old life was over; this was my new life and showed no signs of slowing or getting easier. My life is no longer going to adjust to me — I’m going to have to adjust to it. This is the part that scared the living daylights out of me! I always thought women could do it all and have it all. Now, I have come to embrace the opinion that it’s a big lie. I cannot have it all and do it all and look incredible and together and feel well-rested and have a dream marriage, a fast-track career and a perfectly well-adjusted child. Having all that happen simultaneously, for me, is just not a possibility.

After careful thought and consideration (and many, many conversations with Sarah about how the heck I was supposed to be able to do all this), I realized that while I can’t have it all at once, I can have EXACTLY what I want. But it has to start with me, and what’s important to me at that particular time. It can’t be about pleasing everyone else. So that was the big idea, the concrete plan I was going to follow hence forth. Now that I had figured that out, how do I execute this plan? Where do I start? That’s precisely what I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA about.

Then…a light-bulb moment: If I feel this way, others must feel this way too. I can’t be the only mom on earth wanting to find a better balance and not having the first clue where to start. How come no one told me about this? Why does no one talk about it? Wouldn’t it be great if there was an entire website devoted to helping moms figure out the kind of life and balance they want, and provide the research, tools and support to execute it?

And out of those questions, www.BetterWayMoms.com was born. Because I can’t do this alone. Because although I may have many good ideas, others will have even more. Because two heads are better than one, and three are better than two — you get the picture. And, because I just can’t believe I’m supposed to accept living in this zombie-like state trying to fit into the picturesque idea of the “do it all really well super-mom,” whatever that is. I just want to be me, do what’s important to me and really be there for the people I love. And I want it for all of us!

Meet Sarah

Amy and I were chatting one day while both of us were at work. It was the usual list of complaints, er, um…I mean observations: “I can’t believe how much time we used to have” and “My son cried today when I left to go to work, and all I want to do is be home with him.”

Suddenly Amy said (I’m not kidding), “There has to be a better way.” There is no other way to explain that moment, except to call it a “brick-to-the-head” moment. A full on, no question, cartoon light bulb above my head moment. If we were going through this, a whole bunch of other women were going through it too. In fact, I knew that to be the case. I’ve heard people call it “the dark side of the moon” or the “secret no one tells you.” Motherhood in this day and age is hard, and no one tells you that. Sure, they complain here and there, or they say you have to learn to “juggle.” Um, that’s about as descriptive as calling a tsunami “wet.” No one ever tells you how hard this is. It’s completely worth it, more than anything I’ve ever done in my life, but if anyone would have ever told me that I would want to give up my career to be with my kids, I would have told that person they were completely insane.

Yet, that’s exactly what happened. And having to face this has caused a slight identity crisis for me. Who am I if I’m not on track in my career? Who am I if I’m not out there being politically active and changing the world? And then came the, “Who cares? I just want to be home with Jack.” Now, this would have been great, except that my family relies upon my income. So it started to occur to me that I didn’t have a choice. That realization was incredibly painful.

When the smaller love of my life was born, I was an executive. I had it all mapped out. I had always wanted to be a mom more than anything. I could do both, that’s “what women do” today. In fact, before I met my husband I was so sure that I wanted to be a mother that I was actually looking at sperm banks to do this by myself when I met him. Thank heaven for blind dates, right?

So, as we launch this site, I am seven months pregnant with our second child, a girl. I know that creating my own hours, and being with my children when I want, while bringing in money, is something I’m willing to give almost anything for. I remind myself of this as I’m up at 1:00 in the morning writing articles or working with our developer (we love her). I also think of all the other moms our there who will have somewhere to go to laugh, to not feel alone or just to say “thank heaven someone finally said that!” I want this site to be a huge success for everyone who visits it. My goal is to make a mom laugh every day. I know that if I can do that, their lives are better, their friends’ lives are better, their children’s lives are better and that’s about all we can ask for. Making one person laugh, making one person’s day brighter, I can think of very few things that are better than that.

The Mom-Stuff Blog Tour is really excited to visit Better Way Moms this week. We believe all of our moms will enjoy this week with Sarah.

We have added a new page at Mom-Stuff titled Rockin Boddie Pins. It is easy instructions for girls hair accessories. You can get some fun hair styles for your girls hair, to use the Rockin Bobbie Pins in at The Wright Hair.