Alexa Hop

Come and join this great hop! This is Week Two of the Alexa Blog Hop that is hosted by Jen of Mom's Online Garage Sale co-host with Mickey of A Helicopter Mom and Sarah of Moose Tracks and Tater Stacks.

Here’s how it works:

1. In order to participate, you MUST have the Alexa Toolbar (having one also greatly helps lower your score.) You can download it in just seconds HERE.

2. Please follow each of the hosts in the #1, #2 and #3 spots on Google Friend Connect. Make sure to leave a comment letting each host know that you are following her. If you’re already following us on GFC, please follow us on another social media linked from our homepage (twitter, facebook, etc.) and leave a comment to let us know you did.

3. Follow any other blog on the list that you’d like. If someone else visits and comments on your blog, please consider doing the same for them. It’s the nice thing to do. =)

4. Add the Hop Button to your blog if you’d like (it’s appreciated but not mandatory.)

5. Feel free to tweet or share this however you’d like. The more people that know about the hop means more potential followers and a LOWER ALEXA SCORE for you!

Every Monday a new linky will be posted and will stay open for 48 hours. Join in on the fun!

Pizza Night with Family

Last night I took the kids and went to my sister's for homemade pizza - YUMMY!!! I swear my brother-in-law is the best pizza maker!

It seems like it's been forever since we have just gotten together to get together. We used to do it all the time, but since Anna & Ethan were born we have not been doing that much with them. They live less than 2 miles from us, so it has been really hard to not be with them.

My husband works a LOT. In fact, he is working 60 hours this weekend alone - and that's at his part-time job! I have had a hard time getting all three kids out on my own without everything falling apart. (I believe I've mentioned before that since having the twins, I've been dealing with some anxiety issues.)  My sister and brother-in-law have 3 children of their own, so I don't want to do things with them expecting them to be able to help out. So, we've become a little reclusive ~ well, we've just rather stuck around the house more and then play with kids in the neighborhood.

It was so nice to go over the my sister's yesterday and, not only have some adult time but have all the kids play together. My sister's middle child told my sister in privacy how much he enjoyed playing with his cousin's and he was so happy we came over...but asked if this was a one time a year thing. :-( Nope - planning on starting to do things on a more regular basis again!

I forgot though that we will be out for pizza again today for lunch - end of preschool year party at Home Run Inn!  End of year for many things this month...that's another post.  :-)

Have a great Saturday! ♥

Having Fun Blog Hop ~ #18

Welcome to the Having Fun Blog Hop! This hop has been created by A Mom Having Fun. Thank you, in advance, for joining my new weekly hop! I hope you have "fun"! :-)

<a href="http://amomhavingfun.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v628/j_horsley/FunBlogHop.jpg" /></a>

The rules are simple:

1. Follow A Mom Having Fun via Google Friend Connect.
2. Leave a comment if you are a new follower so I can follow back.
3. Link up your blog every week, and follow as many blogs as you want!

You don't have to post the above Having Fun Blog Hop button, but it would be greatly appreciated and would help spread the word about this hop.  :-)

Make sure you stop by my new Blog/Graphic Design site ~ Nifty Creations by Jodi  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help with blog or graphic design needs.  :-) 

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Thursday Blog Hopin'!

My Efforts in Being Proactive

For the past year and a half I've been working on self-improvement.  My life was rather out of control since the twins were born and I felt I really needed to take control of my life.

Last year my focus included implementing things back in to my life that I really enjoyed doing but hadn't been making the time for - reading!  My other big focus was finding a way to bring peace into my life - since I had started having anxiety attacks.  In my quest to find peace, we started going to a new church - which has helped tremendously!

Now this year my focus seems to be on organization.  :-) First I started with adding a calendar application to my android called Cozi, it is very user friendly.  Between my oldest daughters commitments, Anna & Ethan having things that needed to be done for pre-school, my husband's work schedule and the normal doctor/dentist appointments...I couldn't keep up.  I have a calendar at home that I use, but the problem was that when I was out I would be told things that needed to be done and then I'd forget!  I hate feeling that I've dropped the ball - and I was dropping the ball a lot!  Now when I'm out and am told that I need to bring something to the pre-school for instance, I plug it right into Cozi and it's on my calendar.  There is even a widget with Cozi that is on the sidebar of my computer at home.  Everything is synched nicely!

My next order of business was (and is) to get a handle on our finances.  I read the book by Dave Ramsey - My Total Money Make-Over and found the information and procedures in there to get out of debt and build some financial stability to be very profound.  Actually it may be common sense to some, but I am not financial savvy so what I read made a LOT of sense.  I downloaded his financial software Dave Ramsey's Personal Finance Software and have now been using that on a regular basis.  I also have Quicken, but I need more of the feature's on Ramsey's program as well.  So now I use the two together.

This past Friday I was at a MOPS meeting and we had a speaker who talked about the site "Motivated Moms", which has a chore planning system.  I didn't even realize there was a "system" out there to keep track of adult chore's like that!  And, since I find myself so reactionary to getting the household chore's done, I thought this was an excellent way to get proactive.  The only problem I had with it is that it costs $8 for a download, and since I am watching every penny we spend I didn't want to spend the money.  So I started searching for a "free" chore planning system.

Since my discovery of how incredibly useful the android market and widgets can be - I started searching for something on android.  First I found an application called Evernote, which is a great place to put thoughts, ideas and things to remember in - such as shopping lists and quick "to do" notes.  It has an excellent feature for capturing images too.  Everything can be organized into different notebooks.  Evernote is also synch-able with a free download for your computer!

Then...I found the android app called Chore Checklist!  Wow, I love this!  It automatically installs with routines, such as daily, weekly, bi-weekly, etc.  Then within each routine is a set of pre-installed chores, such as clean bathrooms, mop floors, wipe counters, laundry, etc.  These might sound pretty routine to some, but there are times that things just get away from me way too long.  It is completely customizable, and once you have things set - you can send it to email, text, Evernote, etc.  The great thing with Evernote, is once it's there I can add check boxes to it, then I have a nice printable version of it!

I find it very rewarding to start taking control of my life!  I love that technology can help so much with the process.  :-)

Have a great day! ♥

Having Fun Blog Hop ~ #17

Welcome to the Having Fun Blog Hop! This hop has been created by A Mom Having Fun. Thank you, in advance, for joining my new weekly hop! I hope you have "fun"! :-)

<a href="http://amomhavingfun.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v628/j_horsley/FunBlogHop.jpg" /></a>

The rules are simple:

1. Follow A Mom Having Fun via Google Friend Connect.
2. Leave a comment if you are a new follower so I can follow back.
3. Link up your blog every week, and follow as many blogs as you want!

You don't have to post the above Having Fun Blog Hop button, but it would be greatly appreciated and would help spread the word about this hop.  :-)

Make sure you stop by my new Blog/Graphic Design site ~ Nifty Creations by Jodi  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help with blog or graphic design needs.  :-) Also, join my giveaway - Little Looster: Booster for the Loo!

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Thursday Blog Hopin'!

Wednesday Blog Hops

Below are the blog hops I am participating in for Wednesday!

While you are here, make sure you join my giveaway for the Little Looster:  Booster for the Loo!  Also, check out my new blog ~ graphic and web design Nifty Creations by Jodi.

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This Past Weekend – Megan’s Communion

Megan made her first Communion this past Saturday!  It really was a beautiful mass.

The one down-side is that it was a long mass, ~ 1 hour 20 minutes.  I believe there were about 80 kids making their first Communion that day.  It included children from 3 different sessions of Religions Education (RE), plus the 2nd graders who attend that church for school. 

I wish they would have broken it up into a couple masses at least.  Not only because of the length, but there wasn’t really any room for family to sit!  Although my husband and I had assigned seats, our whole family had to sit in the “cry” room.

I love Megan’s dress, we were really lucky to find a really nice one at a very reasonable price Burlington Coat Factory.  I had never been in there before and hadn’t realized the amount of things they sold there.  I always though it was a “coat” store! 

It was a bit odd getting her dressed the day of her communion..it honestly felt like I was dressing her for her wedding!  I’m not really sure what to do with the dress and veil now that it’s all over with.  Here are picture’s:

Although they called for rain the day of her communion – it ended up being a wonderful day, and we had the family back at our house afterwards for lunch and ice cream cake!

So now I feel as though one journey has ended and a new one is beginning.  During the time Megan was going through RE – we actually started going to a new church. 

We have been attending a non-denominational church every Sunday and truly love it.  I’ve always felt that I wasn’t really getting the spiritual connection that I needed at the various different Catholic churches I’ve attended throughout my life.  But feel very well connected at this new church.

It really is a wonderful “community” feeling, and the kids LOVE it!  I feel that they are learning so much there since they go into Sunday school every week.

I didn’t want to make any quick decisions and pull Megan out of RE.  I really felt she should complete her journey to making her first Communion.  I am glad I did allow her to finish and feel that Megan did learn a lot in what “communion” really means and what it represents.  I am a very proud mom.

Little Looster: Booster for the Loo {Review & Giveaway}

Wow, one child potty training can be challenging enough, but twins? Some day's it's non-stop potty breaks! One of the biggest challenges are how the little one's will get up on the potty.

Well, thanks to the innovative company Little Looster, we no longer have to fight with having a stool by the potty.  We now have the Little Looster, Booster for the Loo. 

What makes this booster so unique is that it actually wraps around the bottom of the toilet so when it's not in use it tucks in, making it not only a space saver...but also allows us adults to not have to constantly push a stool out of the way.  Our children love it too, especially since it is always where it should be and not being moved around the house.

The Little Looster was designed by a mom of three children who completely understands what challenges we face in the potty training department.  It is very well constructed - holding not only the weight of my 3 1/2 year olds...but my 7 year old without any problems at all.  It cleans up very easily also!

The The Little Looster: Booster for the Loo can be purchased on-line through Little Looster for $34.99 or at other fine locations, or you can win one through me!

Little Looster and Mom Media Spark have been generous enough to offer one free to one A Mom Having Fun reader!

To Enter to Win: Visit Little Looster, and let me know your favorite feature of Little Looster: Booster for the Loo.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted). 


1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow Little Looster on Twitter and/or Like them on Facebook.

1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

WIN a Little Looster: Booster for the Loo! #amomhavingfun http://bit.ly/mvk5O7 #niftycreations #giveaway #momsparkmedia

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me publicly with Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to A Mom Having Fun by email or become a fan on Facebook.

3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.

3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to A Mom Having Fun. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on May 17th at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or make it absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen.

A big thank you to Little Looster for providing a Little Looster for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. The opinions are 100% mine (and my children’s!) - to read more click here.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!  Whether you take some time for yourself or have a special day with your family ~ enjoy. ♥

Having Fun Blog Hop ~ #16

Welcome to the Having Fun Blog Hop! This hop has been created by A Mom Having Fun. Thank you, in advance, for joining my new weekly hop! I hope you have "fun"! :-)

<a href="http://amomhavingfun.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v628/j_horsley/FunBlogHop.jpg" /></a>

The rules are simple:

1. Follow A Mom Having Fun via Google Friend Connect.
2. Leave a comment if you are a new follower so I can follow back.
3. Link up your blog every week, and follow as many blogs as you want!

You don't have to post the above Having Fun Blog Hop button, but it would be greatly appreciated and would help spread the word about this hop.  :-)

Make sure you stop by my new Blog/Graphic Design site ~ Nifty Creations by Jodi  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help with blog or graphic design needs.  :-)

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Thursday Blog Hopin'!

Winner!

The winner of the Aqueduck Faucet Extender is Xenia of Thanks Mail Carrier!

Congratulations ~ and thanks to everyone who participated!

Exciting Stuff Going On!

I am very excited to finally launch my new blog & graphic design website - Nifty Creations by Jodi. I am so excited for the opportunities that await me to not only in working with people to get their sites to look just right for them...but for the opportunity to just work again in the area if web development.

I am actually going to be sponsoring two different blogs for an upcoming Mother's Day event this Mother's Day weekend.

I will be sponsoring Bree of Blogmania, with a free header and free signature and Stacie of Simply Stacie, with a free WordPress package - which will include a customer header, background, footer, font and border color coordination, Button w/ Grab Code, and signature.

At the end of May, I will be in a giveaway called Build A Beautiful Blog - May 23rd - May 30th...also hosted by Simply Stacie and Kelly’s Lucky You. I will actually be giving away a WordPress package and a Blogger package for that one.

Lot's of exciting stuff coming up! If anyone has any questions - please don't hesitate to contact me.