Mommin' It Up!

December 9, 2014

Speaking of Things Jenny’s Obsessed With…

I’ve known Jenny for going on 36 years now, and during that time, I’ve seen her become obsessed with many things.

Many, many things.

Cabbage Patch Kids. Debbie Gibson. Happy Gilmore. Jones Soda. Healing Garden bath products.

You’ve seen it too, on this little blog of ours.

Coupons. CVS. Mary Kay. Lands’ End. Make up. Selfies.

Most recently, Serial.

The problem is that she’s so dang enthusiastic about these things that the obsession starts to rub off on people around her. And by people, I mean me.

When she started talking about essential oils, I should have tuned her out! I mean, you’d think I would be good at that by now.

But no, I listened to her.

And I am the slightest bit intrigued. Actually, I am going to a class to learn about them tonight and I spent the better part of Sunday evening pinning all kinds of nonsense about them and how they’ll cure whatever ails ya.

There’s a sucker born every minute.

Before I go drop tons of cash on snake oil, as I like to refer to it, tell me – have any of you (besides Jenny) used them with success?

December 8, 2014December 7, 2014

I’m Cuckoo But It’s Not for Cocoa Puffs

Though I literally have zero free time these days, I have somehow made a wee bit of time for a new obsession. A podcast of all things.

I have never before listened to a podcast. But then my cousin Anna casually mentioned to me that she was addicted to Serial from This American Life. It’s a podcast where one story is told in a series of shorter weekly episodes. The subject: one of my fave things, a CRIME CASE! It’s the story of Adnan Syed, who was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in Baltimore, Maryland when they were both 17 in 1999. Serial is dedicated to figuring out whether or not he really did it.

And it’s awesome. It’s R-I-V-E-T-I-N-G.

I’m totally addicted. There are currently 10 episodes, a new one coming out every Thursday. Even though when I started listening they were already 6 episodes in, I caught up really quickly, listening with my earphones in while I worked in coffee shops. When they took a break for Thanksgiving, I waited in agony for a new episode! As always, it was worth the wait, and as always, it leaves you wanting moooooore at the end.

I love it. So does everyone else, apparently. There are Reddit threads and people tweeting up a storm about it and basically…no one can get enough of SERIAL!

(This pic will only be funny if you are addicted to Serial. I think it’s hilarious!)

Are you listening in? Let’s TALK ABOUT IT in the comments!!! Not addicted to this Serial yet? Get on it…..go listen for free at Serialpodcast.org!

December 2, 2014December 2, 2014

Choosing to Be Unstoppable

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.

Over the past couple of months I’ve told you about who and what inspires me to be an Unstoppable Mom. I’ve talked about awesome moms in my life and my strategies to make it through the holidays. But the truth is, I’m an Unstoppable Mom by choice. I do what I do because I LOVE my family, and every day I choose to do what needs to be done to make us work. That includes 7:30 preschool, my job, speech therapy, dinner, homework help, swim lessons, church, house church and hopefully time for extended family and friends.

And the truth is? I’m tired. See?

As I write this it’s 10:33 p.m. and I have miles to go before I sleep. These kinds of miles:

And these kind:

The fun miles have been run. I ran them during my children’s waking hours. Those miles included hugs and kisses and silly games and hot chocolate and Advent time. Now it’s time to run the last couple, the couple you force yourself to do long after you felt like throwing in the towel. Those last couple miles can be grueling. But they are necessary to make the fun miles happen. So I do them.

(Please note: I don’t run in real life. 0.0, baby!)

I’m unstoppable because of those waking hours. The moments of life and love I have with my family are what make me unstoppable. And it’s really just as simple as that. Simple and simply wonderful. These people who leave me so worn out at the end of the day also make me indescribably HAPPY. I am such a lucky mom.

The Makers of Children’s MOTRIN have asked me to share my unstoppable stories with you the last few months, and now I’m going to ask you to share some time with me (and them!): Thursday, December 4, we’ll be tweeting all things #UnstoppableMoms at 1pm EST. Check out the invite for more details – we’ll be giving away FIVE $50 gift cards!

Oh, and hey – you can still 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.

Thanks for joining this year on my #UnstoppableMoms journey! I look forward to seeing you at the Twitter party on Thursday!