Hey, Remember That Thing About Me Having a Job?

So remember a couple months ago when I was like “GUESS WHAT? I HAVE A JOB!?”  and then I was like “Jonah picked his nose and shook my boss’ hand and it was so embarrassing!!”

Well. Since those times, I have been working very, very hard. And so have a few other really smart and talented people who know how to build websites. Building the site has taken longer than I had anticipated (because what the heck do I know? Nothing.) but I am excited to say IT’S READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (oops DID I SHOUT THAT? I AM HAVING TROUBLE CONTROLLING THE VOLUME OF  MY VOICE!)

I’m excited. Really, really, excited. And proud. It’s a great site, you guys, and I am super-thrilled to present to you…For Every Mom.

FoMo logo

Go ahead. Click over! Take a peek. And then come back here and leave me feedback. I wanna know what you think, for real. You peeps have been with me and behind me for every step of the way the last seven years and I really care what you think!

Oh and if you really love me, please subscribe to our newsletter! Right now you get a really sweet ebook Keep the Happy in Your Holidays all about saving money and sanity this holiday season, written by my super-smart friend Cherie, the Queen of Free. And if you love me even MORE, please follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter also!

And leave me some feedback!! Can’t wait to hear what you think!

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Because Stopping is Not an Option #unstoppablemoms

I wrote this post as part of my participation in a blog tour for The Motherhood on behalf of the makers of Children’s MOTRIN® and received compensation to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

I have to confess that this past weekend kicked off one of the most nerve-wracking times of the year for me: first of all, daylight savings plunges us into way too much darkness, and November kicks off the really busy holiday-birthday-palooza that goes nonstop from now until Christmas. We have Sophie’s birthday November 16, Bobby’s on the 26th, Thankgiving, Jonah’s birthday on December 17th and then Christmas.

So basically, I should’ve started shopping 2 weeks ago. Hey, I am just happy to have already booked Sophie’s big bday bash at the bowling alley!

The truth is during these next 8 weeks, I have more to do than humanly possible – working, birthday + Christmas shopping, party planning, Sophie’s two birthday parties (one for friends, one for family) along with the other weekly activities that won’t stop like church, house church, and swimming lessons. But I have done it for years past, and I will do it again this year. Because I’m unstoppable! Here are a few ways I keep it all together during the holidays.

Unstoppable Moms

1) I shop online almost exclusively. Ain’t nobody got time to run around to a billion stores to get all these presents. With two kid birthdays and a husband birthday AND my mother’s birthday and Christmas all between November 16 and December 25, THAT’S A LOT OF PRESENTS. Amazon and Kohl’s.com are my friends. I don’t have time to lovingly pick out each gift at the store and I am not handmaking NUTTIN’. So. I shop online, when I have time, and it saves my life.

2) I delegate. I do make Jonah’s birthday cake because he’s gluten-free, but I let someone else (bakery!) make Sophie’s cakes (although of course I make sure Jonah will have a gf cupcake to eat at her party as well). I ask my mom or sisters-in-law to bring extra chairs or chips to go with the pizza we’ll order. I let my husband wrap the presents because he is WAY better than I am at it and he likes doing it (although the sheer volume of Christmas presents for all our family members is so large that we do that together). I keep our family parties casual. We have lots of fun, but not a lot of frills. Nobody is going to pin pictures of any party I throw and that is A-OK with me!

3) I ask for help. I guess this is kind of like delegating, but much more pointed. If it’s a couple days before a family party and my house is DEFCON-4 level messy, I ask my mom, or my sister-in-law, or a house church friend if she can take Jonah for a couple hours so I can power clean. If I have more places to be that I can possibly be, I ask for help. Sometimes I just cannot do it all, and when I can’t, rather than fail, I ask for help. And luckily I have lots of family team players who will help out in a pinch.

The Birthmaspalooza is on it’s way, and I. Will. Survive. I might even ENJOY it, celebrate my wonderful kids, hubby, and mom, and try to impress the wonder of the Christmas season and God’s amazing gift to us upon my kids’ hearts – whew!

I can do it, because I’m unstoppable! Stopping, my dears, is simply not an option.

What makes you unstoppable as a mom? 

The makers of Children’s MOTRIN® would love for you to share your unstoppable tips over on the Motrin Facebook page. Because one of the best ways we can help each other be unstoppable is to share what works for us! And what’s awesome about that? For every tip shared, they will make a $1 donation made to Safe Kids. Your tip might also win you $100 just for posting (all details on the Motrin Facebook page)

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY, OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES & D.C., 18 AND OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Promotion ends 11:59p.m. ET 12/28/14.  Sponsor will donate $1 for each approved Submission made as part of the promotion, with a minimum donation of $30,000 and a maximum donation of $50,000.  For Official Rules, and complete details, visit www.unstoppablemoms.com. Sponsor: McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc.  To learn more about Safe Kids Worldwide visit safekids.org

Go give the unstoppable moms who have  inspired you a big shout-out today, and share your tips to help other moms, too!

What makes you UNSTOPPABLE during the holiday season?

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We trick-or-treated and our kids are the BEST!

So there ya have it. This post could have been a one-liner. BUT, since it was the 10th anniversary (which as Emily pointed out means 11th actual time we’ve trick-or-treated) of our cousin trick-or-treating extravaganza, I must also provide PICTURES! Pictures! And since  my good camera just broke they are sub-par iPhone pictures! But they will at least give you photographic proof that a) we continued our tradition and b) OUR KIDS ARE THE BEST! See for yourself!

Joshua was Falcon from the Captain America movies and Jonah (who was NOT at all pleased about getting his costume on at first) was Ironman.

Halloween Sam

 Sam was Star Lord from the Guardians of the Galaxy (are you sensing a theme among the boys?)

Halloween Sophie

Sophie was Merida from Brave. Except, you know, without the red curly wig. Because as she told Kate, “We didn’t have enough money for the wig.” Which actually means, “My mom is too cheap to buy the wig.” #truth

halloween kate joshua

Kate was…a nerd from a Taylor Swift video, so she says. And we believe her! I love this picture of these two cousins who started our Halloween tradition!

Here are some more fun shots of our night. We FINALLY had decent weather for the first time in several years!

Halloween group

Kate’s friend Rachel, who looks like she is receiving a punch in the face from Joshua, also trick-or-treats with us every year.

Halloween Jonah Daddy

He got into the spirit after the candy started rolling in.

Halloween Ironman Jonah

We even got him to wear his mask for awhile!

Halloween crazy people

They stayed out later than ever before this time!

We had a great night and I can’t wait until next year! What are your little cuties trick-or-treating as this year?

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