mamasaysmine

I had plenty of hours (five, to be exact) in the car today to finely tune my Christmas list.

 I want:

• someone to do my laundry (particularly now, as we have a week’s worth built up)
• snow to magically melt off of my sidewalks but stay beautiful on the ground and trees
• my pants, which somehow all shrunk around the waist and thighs, to go back to fitting again
• for my child to poop regularly.

Is this too much to ask?  Am I going to have to be satisfied with a sweater?

And really, when did my Christmas list get so lame? (and when did it begin to involve poop?)  I remember back when I wished for things like peace on earth and Tiffany & Co jewelry.

These days, though, I’d get a lot more mileage out of that mythical laundress (or launderer). 

This month, I’m getting a head start on my new year’s resolutions:

• make (and stick to) a Christmas crafting schedule
• clean up all of messes from said crafting so as to maintain pleasant relationship with husband
• eat right, drink less
• remain thankful, even when requested laundry-person is not in my stocking on Christmas morn.

Wish me luck.  Don’t worry, I’ll keep you up to date on my progress.

First, I am thankful for taking a few days off from blogging to spend much-needed time with family and friends (and maybe a little Black Friday shopping thrown in there too).

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful reminder to focus on all that we have, rather than all we do not, and I’ve found the practice of thinking daily of the things I am thankful for to be very special indeed.  Blogs are a wonderful online “gratitude journal” and are a powerful reference for us all.

Today, more than anything, I’m thankful for Miralax.  No joke.  Hurricane Eva struggles with constipation in general, and particularly when we travel.  If you’ve ever tried to get a toddler to drink Milk of Magnesia on a regular basis, you can imagine my joy when the pediatrician finally recommended Miralax.  It works, it’s gentle, and you sneak it into whatever they’re drinking and it’s TASTELESS. 

Plus, since you should talk to your doctor anyway if your kiddo is constipated, your doc might write a prescription for you, even though Miralax is over the counter.  And THEN, if you have a good relationship with your pharmacy (and really, you should, because those people are important to have on your good side!), they might just let you use one of those coupons where you get a gift card for bringing a new prescription.  I’m just saying. 

In honor of Thanksgiving week, I’m blogging every day about the things I’m thankful for.  (try it - it’s fun!)

Today, I’m thankful for these blogs.  They help me save money and do all the hard work for me.  They’re like that girlfriend who always has a deal or a coupon and is happy to share.  (and they can turn you into that girlfriend, if you’re so inclined)

Baby Cheapskate.  Diaper deals, car seat deals, stroller deals, EVERYTHING you could want or need to research is here.  I particularly love the Amazon toy tips - I’ve stocked my gift closet with toys that I’ve picked up for $5 (with free shipping, of course) thanks to Baby Cheapskate.  Plus, if you’re in a city with FreePeats, you can get hooked up here too.  (and if you aren’t, click to be notified when FreePeats comes to a city near you!)  Because the only thing better than cheap is free.

And on that note, I love Freebies 4 Mom. It features an ongoing list of freebies, samples and sweepstakes to enter. One of my favorite links is to all the free things you can get on your birthday.

For help with coupon deals at every possible store, I love Mommy Making Money and Money Saving Mom. They’re pros at spending next to nothing at the grocery store, CVS and Walgreens. I particularly love the weekly ad match-ups at CVS and Walgreens. Even if you don’t have the committment to get all the deals and moneymakers, every little bit helps. These sites are a great source for finding the best online coupons and rebates, too.

Thank you to each of these fabulous bloggers for helping me save a little money and shop a little smarter!

Today I’m giving thanks for all things technological.  For blogs to share, photo sharing sites like snapfish, where I can load up my pics, send them to my nearest Target (wherever that may be) and make nifty photo gifts (what did I ever get my mother in law before I had a child?).  I’m also thankful for sites like Facebook, so I can keep in contact with lots of people at once and find some friends from high school, and Linkedin, so I can connect to my network professionally.

 I’m thankful for Amazon because of their great deals and because I can create a wish list easily so I can remember what I like.  I’m very thankful that I don’t have to pay sales tax or shipping from Amazon!

And most importantly, on the day before Thanksgiving, when I have to make all the recipes that my family likes (and that I haven’t made in about 20 years, because I cook differently than my family of origin!), I am thankful for good old google, so I can re-learn how to make old-fashioned mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce from a can.  (and so I can pick one recipe I like to sneak onto the table)  Here’s my pick:  sugared cranberries.  Yum!

I’d like to be yet another person sharing Stephanie Nielson’s story with the world.

Stepanie has a beautiful little blog, the NieNie Dialogues, where she shared her love for her family, her home, and vintage finds.  Then, in August, she and her husband were in a private plane crash and NieNie was burned on 70% of her body.  Her sister Courtney has maintained her blog and kept readers updated on NieNie and Mr. Nielson’s progress over at her own blog, cjane enjoy it.  This family’s story is amazing, as is the response of the blogging community.  Cjane writes a wonderful post about waiting to tell Stephanie that she has changed the world - and she’s right.

When I first read her blog, I felt that Stephanie was almost too perfect, and certainly different from me.  The more I thought and prayed for her, though, I came to realize that in blogging, she was helping hold herself to a higher standard, and that we all can do the same.  We can all infuse our lives with a little more joy, a little more faith, and a few more recovered chairs. I love to be snarky, but sometimes, I forget that there really is simple joy in hanging out with family, eating ice cream, and being parents.

 So, thank you NieNie, for changing the world.

I firmly believe that painting a room can change your life.  My nearest and dearest may love neutrals, but I can’t bear to live in a white and tan world.  We’ve been in this house for almost two years, and we recently had the main floor painted (with our floorplan, we had to paint the entire main floor the same color which was a major undertaking, and not for the faint of heart).  Our after-painting hangover finally cleared, and we decided to tackle the basement this weekend.

Instead of going on and on (and on and on) about how much I love the color (yellow) and how nice it feels to live with walls that do not make me feel like I’m in an institution, I have to spend some time raving about the paint we used.

Because let me tell you, these new construction walls SOAK UP the paint.  Having only painted on 100 year old plaster, I had no idea that, even with primer, that much paint could just get slurped into a wall.  So, when the lovely old man at True Value Hardware (and if you’ve never been, you must go, because it is full of nice older people who are itching to help you) said that Dutch Boy makes a Kid’s Room Paint: a one-coat paint that is low-odor and is scrubb-able and stain-resistant, I was skeptical.  I almost called him a liar.

But holy crap.  It worked.  I haven’t tested it for scrubb-ability (really, it’s only been a day) but that puppy went on with one coat and my house doesn’t reek of paint.

The container is even easier to pour than a regular paint can.

I’m totally impressed and would definitely consider myself a convert.

And, for the record, Banana Split will transform your basement into a cheery playroom in just a few hours.

Today I’m feeling like I have too much stuff, despite a recent trip to the Salvation Army and Half-Price Books.  So, along with buying hand-made and from mom-owned businesses this year, I’m highly motivated to not give ANYTHING to lots of people.

But, sometimes the gesture is nice.  I teach a group of 10th graders at my church, and when I asked them to forego going out to eat once and use that money to buy a gift for Toys for Tots, you would have thought that I’d asked them to donate an essential organ.  Why not use some of your gift fund to spread a little good in the world instead of more stuff?  (donations of essential organs not required)

 You can find an agency in need locally pretty quickly.  I love Angel Tree programs and any other adopt-a-family gigs. 

But for a bit more “outside the box” donations, here are my two top pics:

Heifer International.  Give a family a cow, duck, rabbit, lama, whatever, and help them maintain a sustainable source of food and income.  Seriously, how cool is that?  I will never forget the Christmas that a co-worker got us a sheep from Heifer International.  On the other hand, I have forgotten pretty much ever other generic office gift.  So there you go.

Women for Women International.  One-time donations or ongoing sponsorships of women who have survived conflict, violence and war and are trying to rebuild their lives.   Instead of another generic hand lotion set, you can provide job-skills training, financial and emotional aid and small-business assistance to a woman who has experienced violence beyond imagination.  Again, how cool is that?

And here’s a little secret:  you can shop their online store to help them raise money.  And yes, Kate Spade is a partner.  This Kabul Necklace of Courage is my personal favorite.

So, do a little good today!

…then why not buy from a mom-owned business?

Whether you’re a party freak like my dear friend Jenni (who sucks me in every time) or avoid them like the plague, home party businesses have come a long way from Tupperware parties in the 50’s.  Most let you order online and ship directly to you, so you don’t have to host a party at your house, or even GO to a party if you don’t want to.  I’ve found that the customer service is usually outstanding because the consultant really wants you to be happy with whatever you order (and the company will usually fix any problems you have, which is an unusual feeling, let me tell you)  And, since so many consultants are moms, you’re supporting a mama-owned business.

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite mama-owned businesses.  You can order online from each one, so think about picking a little something up for yourself too.

Pampered Chef.  Ah, the old standby.  They come out with new products twice a year, but I’m still stuck on my Deep Covered Baker.  This magical piece of stoneware cooks a whole chicken in the microwave in 30 minutes.  No joke.  And the chicken is moist, tender and flat-out amazing, unlike the chicken my mother attempted to cook in the microwave in the 1980’s.  (got one of these for my mom last year for Christmas, so that old nasty microwave chicken is truly gone forever)

Tupperware.  The mother of all home parties.  But, seriously, have you checked them out lately?  I still have fond memories of my mom’s avocado green Tupperware (which she still has) and am proud to say that they have updated their colors. Their Christmas containers are pretty darn cute.

Creative Memories.  Back when I went to my first Creative Memories party, it was all about making a scrapbook, which was great IF you made scrapbooks.  I still think their scrapbooks are the best you can buy, but in my life as a mama, I love their new quick & easy photo album solutions.  Stick photos in, do a little journaling on 4×6 paper (which they sell, of course) and you’ve got a scrapbook/photo album that’s DONE.  Another favorite:  mini albums made for wallet photos.  How easy is it to collect all the wallet-sized professional photos of your kiddos and pop them in an album for grandparents??  LOVE IT.

Uppercase Living.  My new obsession.   Vinyl decals that stick to pretty much anything and come off if you need them to.  Browsing the catalog is like going to that creative friend’s house, except that you can actually DO every project that you see (they provide instructions!).  You can shop from the catalog or design a custom saying.  I love EVERYTHING I have purchased from Uppercase Living.  Everything.  (fair warning:  once you start, you want to do more, more, more) My current favorite: this awesome “Create” decal. Where oh where should I put it??

 Happy shopping!

I am crafty. 

But some of my best friends are not crafty!  I swear!

There’s a whole “crafty moms” movement, and sometimes we can get a little smug.  For me, there’s nothing cooler than making something I see in a magazine or in a store, but for some, the simple “oh, I made that” statement is like nails on a chalkboard.

So, today, I have two little tips:

1.  If you aren’t crafty, don’t feel bad.  Get yourself a crafty friend who likes to share and send your kid to her house, with or without you.  My gal Erica sends her daughter over to me to use my art supplies with abandon because she just isn’t into it, and that’s perfect.  Erica is much better at playing in the kitchen than me, and her house has all the coolest toys, so believe me, it’s more than a fair trade.

2.  If you still love crafts but don’t want to make them, shop at etsy.  You’re supporting a crafter, you get something handmade, and you didn’t have to take a child to Michael’s.  Everybody wins.

And finally, if you dream of being crafty, here’s a project that even my least crafty friends could do after drinking a few glasses of wine.  (this has been road-tested):

• Buy a cheap green wreath.  I got mine at Michael’s for about $2.
• Buy some cotton fabric you like.  There are a couple of options if you’ve never done this.  You can buy pre-cut fabric called “fat quarters” in the quilting section of your local craft store.  Or you can buy fabric that you have to have cut (this is my favorite way to do it).  Select 3-4 different fabrics and have the employee cut a quarter yard of each of them.  When I did this, it cost me about $5.
• Go home and toss the fabric in the washing machine.
• When it’s dry, cut your fabric into (approximately) 1 inch strips, and then cut those into (approximately) 8 inch pieces.  I like to rip my fabric to get a frayed edge.  To do this, you make a short little cut on one end (about an inch) and then just rip the fabric.  That won’t work when you’re cutting the long strips into short strips - just cut those normally.
• Take your pieces and tie them to individual “branches” all over your wreath.
• Hang wreath on door and tell everyone who comes to your door that you made it yourself!

Here’s an even easier version:  buy some ribbon, cut it and tie it on.  No fabric cutting, no washing machine, just DONE.

Cue the Sound of Music soundtrack.

 In honor of preparing for Thanksgiving, here are a few of my favorite things!  This year, I actually am getting my shopping done early AND buying mostly hand-made.  Check off two New Years 2008 resolutions!

First off, etsy is by far my mostest favorite way to waste time online when I should be doing other things support artists online.  You can seriously find anything and I have been in love with everything I’ve found there.

Although it’s like choosing your favorite child, here are some of my top shops:

Buggy Baby Bows - I can’t say enough!  I also can’t say how many of these bows I’ve bought since I discovered this site - let’s just say LOTS.  Hurricane Eva has lots of unruly, fine hair and these bows hold it all in perfectly.  Plus, they’re incredibly cute and I get lots of compliments on them (I’m a sucker for compliments).  My little niece will be receiving these in her stocking, so don’t tell her.

Swedebeaddesigns is for the ladies (and gents, if that’s your thing).  I discovered this seller thanks to dooce and had to restrain myself and just buy three pairs of awesome wood-cut earrings.  Can I just say that they’re even better in person?  And that I have my eye on these?  And that it’s very hard to give these away?  I’ve already purchased for myself my sister, sister-in-law and best buddy, but I’ll be back before Christmas, so buy while you can.

I found artglassfusion while searching for a night-light for H.E. I ended up going with a cheap-o plastic night-light to get her through a week of sudden-onset fear of the dark (believing that “art glass” and “toddler” are not a good match), but I picked up two incredible ponytail holders like this one for two more sisters-in-law. Can you believe the price? And again, they’re better in person.

Finally (for now), I can’t get enough of HomeStudio’s scrabble tile pendants. My favorite is this one (is this saying not perfect for mamas???) (and did I mention that it comes in multiple colors??) and I picked up a hipster one like this for my sister.  Plus, it appears that HomeStudio is having a sale from midnight 11/17 until midnight 11/18 where you buy 3 pendants and get the 4th free.  Seriously, check them out!

And, after you’ve shopped for others and done such a great job of supporting the arts, check out Freebies 4 Mom’s awesome post here on how she got a free sweater from Victoria’s Secret and go treat yourself.  (If you need an ebates referral, click here and get $10 free!!)