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Lana'sMomma
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What would your husband do/ you do?
OK so I have some situations I need help on, lately my husband has been....cold toward me, I suppo...
July 2011
Boys Versus Girls...Which Is Harder to Raise?
Sunday, July 31, 2011 by Stef Daniel
The debate over whether girls or boys are harder to raise is as old as whether the chicken or the egg came first. (And, admittedly, I still don’t get the latter.) But, from where I sit, my vote would be that, hands down, girls are harder to raise than boys are. This opinion of mine is likely biased because I have been blessed wit...
Saturday, July 30, 2011 by Stef Daniel
A few years ago, I ran across a sign that said, Bloom Where You’re Planted. It was hiding behind a few other inspirational signs designed to be hung up in your house - with such cliché phrases as Live, Laugh, Love and Home Sweet Home. (I’m a writer, so the power of words is important to me). But this particular sign ...
Target, A Screaming Baby, and a Psycho Mother
Friday, July 29, 2011 by Stef Daniel
Yesterday, while school clothes shopping with my kids – the entire store was resonating with the sound of a baby crying. Okay, not really just crying – but rather a hideous rendition of distinct blood curdling, body shattering screams that were obviously stressing the child’s tonsils and taking his or her breath away. ...
Thrifty Mom’s Two Cents Guide to Couponing: Get Organized Before Heading Out
Friday, July 29, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
Heading Out This week at the grocery store my bill hit triple digits, just like the temperature outside. Can I hear a collective gasp of disbelief? It started out all wrong. I had to shop for things one at a time after returning from vacation. My list was a mess. I hadn’t menu planned. And I had only eight coupons on hand. However, I h...
Thursday, July 28, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
I spend $2.60 a day on a cup of coffee. Shocking, isn't it? When it comes to bad habits, I'm afraid that is all I have to share. B-O-R-I-N-G, I know. I like it that way. Compared to smoking, my coffee addiction doesn't get much attention. I have to say, I applaud Stef for being so honest in her recent blog. It's one thing to smoke, it's another t...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
With summer comes travel, and with travel, these days, comes a severe migraine each time I pull up to the pump and pay $3.50 or more per gallon to fill up my car. By the time I drive away, broke and battered and listing in my head all of the things I could have purchased with the money I literally poured down the drain – a new skirt from Old...
Tuesday's Top 10 - Signs Your Mother In Law is Out to Get You!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 by Stef Daniel
So, accidentally…inadvertently…unfortunately, through words of mouth (that should have never been spoken), I found out from a certain person that my mother in law doesn’t think I watch my youngest daughter well enough. Hold on one stinking minute! Whaaatttt!? Considering that I am a stay at home mom AND she...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
When it comes to thoughts, opinions, and pet peeves regarding child development, I have no shortage. Perhaps that is why this blog continues...I have plenty to say. When it comes to child development, there are so many directions to go. From a newborn's physical growth, to the magnificient (and, sometimes "challenging") emotional-social d...
Back to School Savings: Tips and This Week's Deals
Monday, July 25, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
Soon, school bells will be ringing, which means it is now time to stock up on back to school supplies. This year, stores are starting to put these items on sale earlier with hopes that consumers will spend, spend, spend. This means great savings for those of us with school-aged children. Andrea Woroch, a consumer and money savings expert who has ...
Monday, July 25, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
Picking up the phone, the lovely lady on the other end of the line asked me about programs where her child would "actually learn something." "How old is he?" I inquired. "Four," she responded. From there, our conversation weaved in and out of exploring the multitude of arts programming the non-profit organization I ...
Saturday, July 23, 2011 by Stef Daniel
Yea, so by now you likely know that I have teenagers. And it’s amazing how they have gone from thinking I am the coolest, most beautiful mom in the world to worrying about how I look? (God forbid I embarrass THEM, despite the fact that THEY are the ones who gave me this belly roll). So, the other day, as we passed several other mo...
Friday, July 22, 2011 by Stef Daniel
It was 5am on a typical Wednesday morning. I know this because I always wake up at 5am, an hour before the alarm goes off. Perhaps that has been part of my motherhood conditioning, to wake up so early even when I didn’t have to. I remember craving the ability to sleep in until 8am, and now that I can – my body won’t...
A Thrifty Mom’s Guide to Saving Money on Theme Park Vacations
Friday, July 22, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
Our daughters are at the ages where they believe with all of their hearts in Peter Pan, fairies, witches, and pirates and princesses (oh my!). For this reason, we decided to head to a few theme parks for summer vacation. We live fairly close to the parks in Orlando, and our family lives in that direct area, so we combined visiting with family and ...
Thursday, July 21, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
I write a blog about child development. Sometimes it can "sexy," but often it’s not. Development is a process; it’s even in the title of the blog, "Baby Steps." Development is more about the journey than the destination. It sometimes seems to happen in the blink of an eye and sometimes seems to take forever. Recent...
Couponing 102: Defining the Basics
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
Using a coupon can always save you money, but to see big savings you’ll need to have a little knowledge about how coupons and sales work. The following terms are ones I will refer to in many of my posts. Before we start talking about how we’re going to save money, familiarize yourself with commonly used definitions. Manufacturer Coupo...
Tuesday's Top 10 "Signs Mama Needs a Time-Out!"
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 by Stef Daniel
The most common complaint of motherhood is the fact that you cannot escape it. It is the ONLY other job, aside from maybe being President (and I’d love to see HIM keep up for a minute), that doesn’t end. EVAH! It doesn’t matter if the kids are asleep, at Grandma’s, or otherwise occupied – you are co...
Teaching Our Children Financial Responsibility
Monday, July 18, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
As my girls grow older, I’m beginning to see the importance of talking to them, and teaching them, about money. As a young girl, I grew up with a single mother who worked, at times, three jobs to meet the bills. For several years, she was a teacher, a realtor, and a waitress. We spent money as was necessary, but we didn’t overspend &n...
Monday, July 18, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
The other day, the munchkin and I were hanging out with our neighborhood buddies. Our neighborhood rocks and I love the fact that we are surrounded by other awesome families that are all passionate about parenting. All of that said our parenting styles are as different as our girls, which is magnified in the presence of our daughters. I tend to ...
Getting Started On Your Couponing Adventure
Friday, July 15, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
Many people want to start couponing but get frightened by what they feel is the enormity of it all. Television shows like Extreme Couponing depict people spending all of their free time looking for specials and organizing coupons, and most of us probably can't – or won't! – live like that. Fortunately, coupons do not have to be an all-c...
Friday, July 15, 2011 by Stef Daniel
It’s hard to imagine with four children (girls at that), but I live in a very small house. It was built sometime during the late 1800’s and is secured to the earth with impressive, massive tree trunks and wooden nails. It’s hard for me to imagine how the folks that built it brought the timbers in, given they didn’t h...
Ten Books Every Child's Bookshelf Should Have
Thursday, July 14, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
Are you finding inspiration from Stef's "Momspirational" blog? I am! Did you read this recent entry? I love the thought of reading a book. The truth is I seldom read books for the sheer pleasure of doing so. For me, reading books is usually about finding out how to do something or exploring somewhere new. On the other hand, I love r...
Little Hints for Dealing with "TMI"
Thursday, July 14, 2011 by Stef Daniel
If you have been reading my blog (and why wouldn’t you be?!), you may know that I have a kind of “snarky” opinion about the plethora of parenting books available that are designed to prey on new moms and dads who feel pressured to be the “perfect parents!” First of all, you should know that perfect parents don’t...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
Credit debt is a huge problem in America. We are a nation of chargers, so much so that in January of 2010, US consumers held 609.8 million credit cards with each person averaging 3.5 credit cards. Three and a half credit cards may not sound alarming, but consider this: CardWeb.com reports that most Americans who have at least one credit card also ...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 by Stef Daniel
I am not a single mom, but I have to admit that there have been many days over the past 13-years that I have felt like one. My husband works ridiculously long hours in order to provide for our family. When the kids were really little, they would still be asleep when he left for work in the mornings and already in bed when he would get home at night...
Tuesday's Top 10 - Grossest Things Kids and Moms Do
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 by Stef Daniel
It didn’t take long for me to figure out that the business of having and raising children is not for those with weak stomachs. While a newborn may smell clean and fresh after a bath, you can pretty much guarantee that he or she is going to grow into a pretty disgusting creature before too long. It’s funny, but before I had children I ca...
Monday, July 11, 2011 by Kathy Murdock
If you're wallet has thinned out as much as an octogenarian's hair and you're counting pennies before each trip to the grocery store in hopes of having enough to purchase a pack of toilet paper and some milk, you may need some budgeting assistance. If so, you've come to the right place! My name is Kathy, and I'm an ordinary mom of two children wh...
Monday, July 11, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
If you have been reading this blog long enough (thank you!), then you will know that I'm a Midwest girl. This means that my kiddo and I are soaking up every fun-in-the-sun moment that we can. It won't be long until we're back to the cold, gray days of winter. Sigh. In the meantime, I'm always looking for activities that will keep us outdoors. With...
Thursday, July 07, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
What's not to love about chubby babies?! Chunky thighs. Sausage fingers. The baby belly. Cute. Cute. Cute. Physically, you may notice a trend when it comes to children and development; out and up. Out and up meaning that you may often see your child plumping out a bit before then sprouting up taller. There seems to be a natural rhythm to g...
Wednesday, July 06, 2011 by Stef Daniel
Sometimes motherhood feels like a constant battle. There are days that I spend so much time trying to “get ahead” in order to carve out just a few seconds of “me time” at the end of the day. Yet when the end of the day comes, even though dinner is happily cooking in the crock pot, deadlines are met, and the laundry i...
Tuesday, July 05, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
I was out riding my bike through the neighborhood when I spied a couple of teenage girls sweeping up the sidewalk in front of their house. Dad was alongside to help, but the girls didn't look thrilled. Ah, the beauty of chores. Although their looks said they would rather be doing something else, the truth is that helping around the house is good...
Tuesday's Top 10 - Things You (Apparently) Have to Be a Mom to Notice
Tuesday, July 05, 2011 by Stef Daniel
My children don’t miss a trick. They can hear me unwrapping a candy bar from another room in the house, have a sixth-sense at knowing if I am in the phone or when I have a “secret” to tell my husband, or anyone else for that matter. They are also the first to alert me when we run out of their favorite cereal, are in need of the la...
Friday, July 01, 2011 by Stef Daniel
A Planning Family, Momspirational reader recently shared a story with me. Three weeks after giving birth to her daughter, she suffered from a bilateral pulmonary embolism and was hospitalized for several days. During this time she was unable to be with her daughter. Others thought that she was depressed, in actuality she was profound...
Friday, July 01, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
Happy 4th of July! If you are pregnant, THIS is your time. Go to the fireworks this year! Enjoy a late night out under the stars. If you have an infant or toddler, you may not like my blog this time around. Are you thinking about heading out to the fireworks? Of course, it is your call (you are the parent), but this 4th of July, it may be ti...
