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Ways to Embrace the Ordinary

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All of us spend our free time doing little things that we find amusing. We take a break and watch a funny video on YouTube. Or we spend time browsing through Facebook or Twitter and passing along whatever caught our attention. At the end of the day, this often leaves people feeling unfulfilled. One way to bring meaning to your life is to find ways to embrace the ordinary. You’ve got five minutes left on your break. Which would you rather do: watch a funny video, or read about a random conversation you had a month ago? Amie M. Gordon, … Continue reading →

Pregnant: Am I Doing It Right?

During my pregnancy I’ve felt a couple times like I wasn’t “doing it right.”  Not that I wasn’t taking care of my body or baby properly, but that I didn’t care enough, and that meant I wasn’t going to be very good at this whole mothering thing.  I didn’t feel that way in response to serious events, or in the face of friends with children, or anything like that. It started when I was asked “what’s your countdown?”  I had no idea what the person was talking about.  Apparently it meant how many days left until my due date.  I … Continue reading →

Our Day of Free Fun

Because we are on a limited budget, it sometimes takes a bit of creativity to have low-cost fun, and free is even better. Today was a good summer day in the free department for the kids. After an early morning dentist appointment (free, but not necessarily fun), we headed over to our local library for their Tuesday morning program. Today, the kids got to make their own bubble solution and wands and also experience making giant bubbles. We went home with the wands and a recipe to make our own giant bubble solution. We took advantage of the trip to … Continue reading →

Do You Want To Yell Less and Love More?

The past three days have been very peaceful around here. Not quite, mind you, but peaceful nonetheless. I think that I know why, too. You see, a few days ago, I came across a wonderful blog called The Orange Rhino Challenge. The blog is a chronicle of one mom’s commitment to “Yell less, love more”. Once I read about how not yelling has made a huge difference for both The Orange Rhino and her family, I decided that I, too, want to stop yelling at my kids. I do my best not to yell, but it happens. I have yet … Continue reading →

Save Me Sink Fund

If it wasn’t for our sink fund, we would be in a lot of trouble this week. In fact, even with the sink fund, things are looking a little shaky. This week alone, we lost our water to our house faced with a major repair costing a few thousand dollars to a truck we just bought, after already sinking $500 into this same truck.  Sigh. It has not been a good few days financially. We’ve only owned the truck for about four weeks, did all of our homework, bought it from a relative, and did everything we could have to … Continue reading →

How to Save Money on Lipstick

Did you know that during the worst economic times, sales of lipstick tend to go up? This is because lipstick can be a little affordable luxury that makes women feel good without having to spend a lot of money. Lipstick has gotten a bit fancy these days, though, and all of the special formulas can come with a special price, making lipstick more pricey than it was in years past. Still there are ways to save money on lipstick, no matter what your favorite type or color. Rescuing a Bad Lipstick Sometimes you buy a lipstick on impulse, you get … Continue reading →

Do Children Make You Happier?

What role do children play in a parent’s happiness?  Do we find more joy in raising these youngsters or is there a longing for B.C. days (before children)? Apparently new research indicates that yes, parents are happier than those who don’t have children.  However, those with children that are the least happy are single and young parents. In fact, these groups may even be less happy than childless adults. Some have argued that the results are skewed because they didn’t differentiate between parents of babies and those with adult children.  Clearly the age of a child will make a significant … Continue reading →

Too Much Clutter? Why It Could Be Costing You

I love January because it is my best time for de-cluttering and organizing my home and getting a fresh start. The colder weather keeps us in doors more, so not only do we notice more clutter, but we have the time to actually do something about it. Weekends are perfect for major de-cluttering and organizing sessions, but I try to fit in at least 15-30 minutes a day, each day, during the week, in order to make some real progress on our clutter. A few days ago, I attacked my food pantries. Yesterday, I started following Peter Walsh’s 31-day challenge … Continue reading →

Trick Yourself into Saving

“Trick Yourself into Saving.” That was the title of a recent magazine article that appeared in one of those popular magazines that are geared toward women. The subhead promised to show readers how they could use mind games against themselves to make saving money painless and fun. Seriously? I’m all for tips about saving money, but I really think that trying to fool yourself into doing it isn’t the way to go. You want to establish good lifelong money habits, not quick tricky fixes that will save you money in spite of yourself. Badly played national magazine for women; badly … Continue reading →

Advice from a Military Mom

Maybe you know a military mom.  She could be someone in your family, a friend, a co-worker or an acquaintance.  If you do, I have some important advice to give. Granted, there is some selfishness behind my advice.  In fact, I am seriously considering emailing this blog to certain persons.  But in the end, I will probably restrain myself and be content with helping others to understand a thing or two about what it’s like to be a military mom. It’s not that I’m attempting to put non-military moms in my shoes.  And contrary to what some might assume, it’s … Continue reading →