5 Ways to Be a Fun Mom

5 Ways to Be a Fun Mom

By Lynn Powers

A couple years ago, my daughter told me I wasn't a "fun mom." Granted, the comment came when I was busy with something and it wasn't possible for me to drop what I was doing and play with her. But I'll admit, the comment still stung.

Of course, because I work at home, there will certainly be times when I have to say no. There is work that needs to be done and my kids need to learn that the world doesn't completely revolve around them. But, are there times when I am so consumed with my work that "no" becomes an automatic response to my kids' pleas to play? Do I need to lighten up? Have I forgotten how to become a fun mom?

As any work-at-home mom knows, balancing work and motherhood is not easy! But, at the end of the day, would I rather say I got each of the twelve things done on my to-do list? Or that I took some time to pay attention to the needs of my child?

Here are five ways you can get your work done and still be considered a "fun mom."

1. Take a Time Out. When your child is pleading with you to play with her, take a moment to consider whether she may be desperate for time with you. A child can only go so long without some quality time with her mom. Take a half an hour break to spend playing a game, drawing a picture, or taking a walk around the block.

2. Set the timer. Tell your child you will set the timer for one hour. When the timer goes off, it will be time to play. You will then set the timer for twenty minutes and play whatever it is he wants to play, whether it's matchbox cars, a board game, or silly dancing to a favorite CD. Do that a couple of times throughout the day. And stay true to your word - when you hear that "ding," drop what you're doing. Let him know he's the priority.

3. Make lunch time a fun time. Use the hour to involve your child in making sandwiches and setting the table. Leave the paperwork in the office and focus on your child. Ask her questions about things she enjoys - like what she's named her latest WebKinz or what happened on her favorite television show this morning.

4. Put him to work! We're not talking child labor, here. But, if possible, involve your child in your work. Of course, the work needs to be age-appropriate. A three-year old can put paper in the recycling bin. A five year old is able to stamp envelopes. A ten year old can do some filing. You may get more work done this way, or less, but involving your child will be priceless.

5. LAUGH! Take a moment to tell your daughter a silly joke. Relive a funny moment from the past. Have a five minute "tickling spree." If hearing your child's laughter doesn't get you started, nothing will. Besides the "fun" factor, laughing reduces stress and ups the immune system - an added benefit for you both!

Working at home and being a fun mom can go hand-in-hand. It's all about balance. But when you find the scale tipping a little too far on the work side, your child may just remind you that it's time to step away for a moment or two. And don't forget to grab that FUN hat on your way out of the office door.

Visit WahmZone, the ultimate community for the Wahm and all Work At Home Moms. Visit our Wahm Forum as well.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lynn_Powers


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Back to School Shopping and Savings!

Well it is official school has already begun or will begin here shortly for most of you. If you are not already ready for the first day then we have the best sale ever to pick up a few more items to make that first day even more exciting.

Save $5.00 off your order when you shop our Back to School category and when you purchase a Reusable Lunch Sack. Then the best part is, FREE SHIPPING when you use this coupon. The shipping will automatically be taken off at checkout. So let me show you a few items you are going to want to have!

The first day is going to be full of information and papers for your little one. Get her a Dots Pink Backpack to help her bring all that info home to you (then it will not be scattered all over the bus).

Now for boys, they might not like the pink polka dots but her is sure to love the Propeller Backpack.

Whether it be for a boy or a girl showing your graduating class is super cool! The Personalized Class of Shirt has tons of options to make it perfect for your son or daughter or to make the perfect gift!

So shop away, make this school year simply fabulous!

Coloring App Review

As you can probably tell from my previous post, I love iphone and ipad apps to keep my kids busy and focused when it's important.

I need to share a really great app with you! The iCrayonMaker app for the ipad (also available for the iphone) is phenomenal. My 7 year old, 5 year old, and 2 year old all loved it equally and for different reasons. One app that pleases all of my kids is hard to find!

This app allows you to take boring old virtual crayons and mix them to create you own color. Once you've created the perfect color, it's magically turned into a crayon which you can use to color with in another screen.

My 2 year old loved physically swirling the colors together and watching the shade change. The more you mix with your finger, the more they change. My 5 year old loved testing out his knowledge of what colors you can mix together to make other colors. My 7 year old loved taking the crayon she created and drawing a picture with it. She especially loved the fact that you can turn your color into glitter! Awesome.

My favorite thing about this app, besides the fact that it gave me at least 20minutes to fold a load of laundry, was the paper texture on the coloring screen. It's textured almost like construction paper to make you really feel like you are coloring with crayons. I'll admit it, I got a little carried away creating my own shades of crayons and making a unique rainbow picture. :)

Another great thing about this app is that it's created by a mom. She has agreed to give away 5 free apps (either for the iphone or ipad) to our readers. All you have to do is take a peek at the app here: http://www.freemyappsnow.com/iCrayonMaker.html and tell use what you think you'll like about it. You can also friend her app at the facebook page (of follow her on twitter here: @freemyappsnow. Please tell her we sent you!

After you check out the link, comment and let us know what you like about it. Make sure we have access to your email so we can notify you if you win. We'll choose 5 lucky winners and award them a super special code to input on their device to get the app for free. Too cool!

Our contest will go until Jan 21st. Good luck and tell your friends!

Will Work 4 Apps

Can you put a price on your sanity? No?

A little bit of quiet and calmness sounds like heaven to me. Lately, I've been finding solace in apps. Whenever my toddler gets a little crazy, I start frantically flipping through the app store on my iphone or ipad to find something that will hold her attention and let her focus on.

Being able to finish a meal in an actual sit-down restaurant has finally become reality thanks to the little piece of heaven I like to call the iphone. Waiting at the Dr.s office for once didn't cause me to hyper-ventilate because the two year old had Elmo singing along with her. Once again, thank you Elmo.

Bliss. All for the price of $2.99.

Let's look at the other end of the spectrum. My 7 year old daughter will not clean up her room for anything. I've threatened, taken away prized items, promised trinkets, and done a whole reward system. Nothing has worked. She's now kept her room clean for a complete week thanks to the new Spongebob Marbles and Slide app. I can't complain. It cost less than what I was paying her to do it with an allowance.

Even better are the free versions of the games. It's nice to be able to play and get completely addicted to a game before spending the money on it i.e. Angry Birds.

The fact that my kids are learning and using some logic and reasoning to play some of the apps is a bonus. My two year old has learned most of her letters from an app and is constantly coloring and drawing. My 5 year old son has been working so hard trying to figure out Spongebob Marbles and Slides. When he beats a level, he's so excited and proud. My 7 year old has been working on flash cards to learn math facts. There's just nothing wrong with that!

Resolutions, Schmezolutions...

Happy Holidays Nanny Deprived Mama's!!!
We trust that the season, shopping, weather, wrapping, families, wine, Santa photos, greeeting cards, wine, cleaning, baking and wine has you completely frazzed and secretly thankful its over...atleast til it sneaks around again in 10 more months.
This year has seemed to me like a holding pattern...like I've just been bumming around here waiting for something fabulous and maybe- JUST MAYBE 2011 has what I've been waiting for. Its kind of inspiring me to be a better me, a better mama and just--do things better. What sort of resolutions do you make (and break?) each year or are you just DYING to resolve to do something and actually MAKE IT HAPPEN?
This year I am going to do the following:
I WILL have a date night- even if its just a movie night at home- with my DH every other week.
I WILL clean my blinds regularly.
I WILL start cooking with low-fat items and maybe even less butter...but that I can't promise without very gradual decline over time.
I WILL get the kids rooms painted and decorated before Feb 1st (its only been 6 months since we moved in...)
I WILL keep my bedroom toy and child free so we can have an "adult only" space. *Middle of the night bad dreams do not apply.
I WILL continue to whack at my credit card debt and pay everything with debit. If thats not possible then I don't need it.

How about you ladies? What will you absolutely positively do better this year?

-Candy

I Caught Santa

I'm a bit teary eyed at the idea of this being the last Christmas my kids may believe in Santa. I will never ever tell my kids that there is no such thing as Santa because I really believe that the magic of the holidays is in fact, the true Santa.

I am so extremely careful when preparing my Christmas. I keep all of the Santa gifts hidden in a separate place, I use different wrapping paper for Santa gifts and I never write on the packages because I don't want them to wonder why my hand writing is the same as Santa's. I just don't want to be the one to ruin it for them.

I've found a wonderful website that makes it all a little more magical. Please take a peek at www.icaughtsanta.com. This website allows you to impose a posing Santa anywhere in your house, even your fireplace. Imagine telling your kids that you are going to prove to them there is a Santa and capture this picture to show them Christmas morning.

The fun folks at www.icaughtsanta.com are going to give us some free codes to use for a free photo of your own.

In order to win one of the codes simply go to their site and take a peek at the different Santa poses you can use in your own photo and tell us which one you like the best or which one you would use. Then comment with your email address. We'll pick a few lucky winners on Sat the 18th and email them their code to make their own Santa photo.

Not feeling lucky? Or maybe you just want to start right now. Use this code for 25% off the purchase price of a photo - NANNY-DEPRIVED

Freeloading Babies

I think it's time I start charging rent to all the freeloading babies around my house. Everywhere I step, I find another one. I could make some serious money.


I guess that's what you get with a two year old in your house!

Cyber Monday Deals - Boutiques!

Cyber Monday 2010 Deals

Below is a list of Special deals being offered by online boutiques on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So make sure to visit them to save big on great products for the holidays!

Gifts for Baby and Kids

Little Fox Fashions: Designer Kids Shoes, Kids Winter Boots, Hair Bows and More!

Deal: 20% discount on all sales.

Coupon Code: CYBER20

http://www.littlefoxfashions.com

Fleur Lilly: Girls Holiday Dresses, Girls Boutique Clothing and more.

Deal: Girl's Fall Clothing & Holiday Dresses 35%-75% off
Plus, we always have a continual sale of Girl's Designer Clothing Clearance Sale - $20 and below, new items added to this sale daily.
plus flat rate shipping $5.00 for Cyber sale Day

http://www.fleurlilly.com

Daisy and Beibei: Awesome Online Children's Boutique with fashion for boys and girls.

Deal: 20% Off Everything in Store on Cyber Monday

Coupon Code: daisy

http://www.daisyandbeibei.com/

Micah Co: Wonderful Newborn Baby Gifts, Gifts for New Moms and more.

Visit store for sale information on Cyber Monday.

http://www.micahco.com

Patticake Posh: Shop our Children's Boutique for personalized gifts, birthday gifts and more.

Deal: 20% off entire store.

Coupon Code: blkfriday

Expiration: Black Friday Only

http://www.patticakeposh.com

EliseWear: Save on our unique baby gifts, layette with matching hat, posh diaper bags and more.

Deal: diaper bags 30% off (not including current season Storksak ) http://www.elisewear.com/category_23/Diaper-Bags.htm

Coupon Code: code elise30

Deal: all apparel 25 % off http://www.elisewear.com/category_34/Infant- Layettes.htm

Coupon Code: elise 25

http://www.elisewear.com

My Beautiful Sophia: Girls Boutique that offers popular name clothing for girls and boys.

Visit store for sale information on Cyber Monday.

http://www.mybeautifulsophia.com

Big Top Baby Shop : Visit our Childrens Boutique for european children's clothing, designer newborn clothing and more.

Visit store for sale information on Cyber Monday.

http://www.bigtopbabyshop.com

Shop Sugar Babies: Baby Boutique with punk apparel for babies, toddlers and big kids.

Visit store for sale information on Cyber Monday.

http://www.shopsugarbabies.com

Gagagougou: Terrific Baby Boutique in Canada. Caters to moms and babies.

Deal: 10% off on top of our Holiday Sale.

Coupon Code: MYSEOGAL2010PROMO

Expiration: December 15,2010

http://gagagougou.com

My Tutu Boutique: Trendy tutu boutique, birthday tutus, holiday pettiskirts and more.

Deal: $5 off any tutu order $10 off any tutu dress

Coupon Code: blacktutu

http://www.mytutuboutique.com

Kids T Shirts Rock: Personalized Kids Shirts, Kids Holiday Shirts, Birthday shirts and more.

Deal: 20% all orders on Cyber Monday
Coupon Code: "CYBER" @ checkout

Expires Dec 31, 2010

http://www.kidstshirtsrock.com

This Little Piglet: Unique Baby Products

Deal: 25% off the entire store, FREE shipping over $100

Expiration Date: 11:59 CST on the day of the Cyber Monday sale,

http://www.thislilpiglet.com

My Bonita Boutique: Handmade Girls Clothing Boutique

Deal:35% the entire order

Coupon Code: Cyber35

http://www.mybonitaboutique.com

Baby Birthday Boutique: Birthday Outfits

Deal: free shipping with code

Coupon Code: "CYBER"

http://www.babybirthdayboutique.com

I am Princess: Princess Boutique

Deal: 15% off everything- sale items and non sale items

http://iamtheprincess.com/?code=seogncyber

Heavenly Hold: Designer Baby carriers, nursing pads and more:

Deal: 10% off

Coupon Code : luv2babywear

Expiration Date: 12/31/*2010

http://www.heavenlyhold.com

MarieLynn Boutique: Upscale Children's Boutique

Deal: 15% Off Of All Purchases
Coupon Code: HOLIDAY

Expiration: 12/31/10

http://www.marielynnboutique.com

Poppy Clementine: Children's designer clothing

25% off of any NON-SALE and NON-PERSONALIZED items

Code: MONDAY25

Valid 11/29 – 12/6

https://poppyclementine.com/

Milos Creations: Adorable kids costumes and adult costumes.

Deal: free shipping for the whole weekend of black friday to cyber monday, plus additional 15% off.

Coupon Code: CyberMonday10 at checkout

http://www.miloscreations.com

Imagination Fuel: Kids wooden toys, educational toys, classic toys

Deal: Free Shipping

Coupon Code: CYBER

http://imaginationfuel.com

Snooty Booty Diapers: Cloth Diapers
Deal: Free shipping on any order, plus a $5 gift certificate for each $50 spent. These offers will be in addition to any product markdowns in

the store.

Coupon Code: Use Code: cmonday

http://www.snootybootydiapers.com/store/WsPCollectionsDet.asp?ID=35&pID=9

Clothing, Hand Bags and Accessories for Men or Women

Fashion Amour: Buy women's fashions, wholesale sunglasses, silk wrap skirts, and more.

Visit store for sale information on Cyber Monday.

http://www.fashionamour.com.au

QT Sunglasses: Designer Inspired Sunglasses:

Deal: 25% OFF orders over $14.95

Coupon Code : CyberMonday2010

Expiration Date: Midnight

http://www.qtsunglasses.net

Gifts

Art By Beckie Ann: Kids Wall Art, Baby Nursery Wall décor, Art for girls and boys.

Deal: 3 day sale Mon 29th, Tues 30th and Weds Dec 1st

Coupon Code: Cyber20

http://www.artbybeckieann.com

Nanny Deprived: Gifts for Moms

Deal: Free Shipping

Coupon Code: "CYBER"

http://www.nannydeprived.

Label Creations: Personalized Address Labels, Luggage Tags, and more.

Deal: 15% off plus free shipping in the uSA

Coupon Code - HOL2006

Expiration Date: December 31, 2010

http://www.labelcreations.com

Jewelry

Simply Trendy Jewelry: Wholesale Designer Inspired Jewelry, Trendy bracelets, necklaces, rings and more.

Deal: Take 15% off total purchase of $25 or more

Coupon Code: use coupon code (cyber)

Expiration: offer expires December 5, 2010

http://www.simplytrendyjewelry.com

Stranded Treasures: Flowers for Hair, Floral necklaces, earrings and more for special occasions.

Deal: We are having a sale on select items. No coupon needed. Just visit our website to start saving.

Expiration: 11/30/2010

http://strandedtreasures.com

TLC Silver Jewelry: Wholesale Bead Jewelry, Handmade Beaded Jewelry and more

Deal: 30% Off

Coupon Code: CyberMonday30

Expiration Date: 11-30-10

http://www.tlcsilverjewelry.com

Charmies Online: Hand Stamped Jewelry

Deal: Save 10% off your order.

Coupon Code: Circler10

Http://www.charmiesonline.com

TLC New & Vintage Jewelry Holders

Deal: 30% Off

Coupon Code: CyberMonday30

Expiration Date: 11-30-10

http://www.jewelryboxringholders.com

Joyful Heart: Stunning Fashion Jewelry

Deal: Two day event (11/29 - 11/30)... Purchase $60.00 or more from Joyful Heart

Boutique's jewelry catalog and receive 30% off plus free shipping.

http://www.joyfulheartboutique.com

Photo and Greeting Cards

Simply Stated Creative

Deal: 40% off all Custom Photo Cards, including last minute Holiday Cards

Coupon Code: CYBERMONDAY10

Expiration: Valid only on Cyber Monday, November 29, 2010

http://www.simplystatedcreative.com

Bunny Prints: Personalized Photo Cards for Birthday and Baby Shower plus matching birthday clothing, personalized candy jar favors and more

Deal: 10% off everything

Coupon Code: cyber10

http://www.bunnyprints.com

Photo Card Boutique: Photo Card Templates

Deal: 35% off your entire order

Coupon Code : cyber-monday

Expiration Date: Good Monday only

http://www.photocardboutique.com

Lil Sweet Prince: Trendy birth announcements, first birthday invitations, wedding announcements and more.

Deal: Expedited shipping on all orders placed that day. All standard shipping orders will automatically be upgraded to 2 day shipping. No coupon code needed.

Expiration: From the 24-30th of November

http://www.lilsweetprince.com

Fun and Sassy Designs: Photo Birth Announcements, Personalized Kids Cards and more.

Deal: 15% OFF + Free Shipping on ALL product

Coupon Code: Thanks

Expiration: Thursday, November 25th - Monday, November 29th

http://www.funandsassydesigns.com

Little Ladybug Designs: Modern Photo Cards and Holiday Cards

Deal: 25% off from Thursday Nov 25-Nov 27

Coupon Code: Use Code: thanks25 at checkout

http://www.littleladybugdesigns.com

Photo Card Designs: Photo Cards for Weddings, Birthdays , Baby Showers and more.

Deal: Good for one day only- 5% off .

Coupon Code: Please Use Code: cybermonday

http://photocarddesigns.com

Janay Green: Blank Greeting Cards, Personalized Gifts and More.

Deal: 40% off any purchase of $30 or more

Coupon Code: CYBERMONDAY10

http://www.janaygreen.com

Pet Products

Dog Boutique: Buy luxury dog collars, high end dog carriers and a Christmas costume or two for your dog.

Deal: Free Shipping for US buyers all day long.

http://badasspetz.com

Paw Prints Shop Pet Boutique: Trendy pet boutique with hundreds of pet beds, dog clothing, collars and more.

Deal: 10% off your order

Coupon Code: cybermonday

http://www.pawprintsshop.com

Organic Products:

Milf Cosmetics: Spa Products and Chirally Correct Skin Care Products.

Deal: 20% off all products

Coupon Code: CYBERMILF

Expiration: Midnight 11/30 (sale runs through 12:01AM 11/29 till midnight 11/30)

http://www.milfcosmetics.com

Baby U R Precious : Organic Baby Gifts

Deal: 20% off entire order

Coupon code: BURPoct

http://www.babyurprecious.com

Tidbit Couture: Organic cloth diapers and Baby products.

Deal: $5 off purchases of $50 or more ~ plus free shipping!

Coupon Code: CyberMonday10

http://www.tidbit-couture.com

Home and Garden

Harvest Glow Candles: Natural Soy Candles, Wholesale Soy Candles and more.

Deal: 30% Off Cyber Monday Nov. 29^th Special!

Coupon Code: Use Coupon Code cyber30 in the voucher field

Expiration: 11:59pm Nov. 29^th

http://www.harvestglowcandles.com

CT River Candles: Scented Soy Candles and more.

Deal: 10% off total purchase of $16.95 or more.

Coupon Code: Found at website

http://www.ctrivercandles.com

Ferris Wheel: Trendy heat and cold packs for pain.

Deal: We are running a sale on our Christmas Special Set right now that includes Hot/Cold Neck Wrap, 8 x 10 pack and footwarmers.

Expiration: December 25,2010

http://www.etsy.com/shop/theferriswheels

Hair Accessories

Stranded Treasures: Flowers For Hair, flower jewelry and more.

Visit Site on Cyber Monday to see sales.
http://www.strandedtreasures.com

Wedding:

Lifes Little Favors: Buy unique wedding favors, monogrammed aisle runners and more for your wedding.

Deal: 10% Off Your Entire Order!

Coupon Code: SAVETEN

Expiration: 11/30/10

http://www.lifeslittlefavors.com

Free T Shirt!! Who Wants it?

We are running a fun contest at our facebook page. Simply fan us and then tag www.nannydeprived.com in a post from your wall and you'll be eligable to win a free personalized tee. We'll be selecting a winner on Friday from those that show up on our wall.

Now, for those of you who are Facebook challenged, I know who you are (mom). In order to tag a person or business page you simply use the "@" button and then start typing the name of the person or business. Our facebook page is under www.nannydeprived.com. When you start typing that, it should pop up. Select it and write a fun little post. Then set the lock icon to "everyone" so it will show up for all to see on our wall.

If you still need help, refer to the discussion tab on our page for more hints and the official rules. One tag per day please!

Thanks and happy tagging.

Happy Birthday and a New Addition!

Three years ago I remember tucking my kids into bed while all sugared up after trick or treating. I ran down to the computer to finish up my last touches on my first website "Nanny Deprived". I was so excited. My little world of Nanny Deprived is happily three years old today and it's been so fun and amazing.

I have learned SO much it's unbelievable. My husband is amazed at all of the information I now know from owning my own online business. I started out by buying "Online Business for Dummies" and now I do some consulting for new business owners and online retailers.

Last night was just like three years ago. I tucked my kids (now there is one more) into bed and came downstairs to do a little more work on my newest website which launches today. Please take a peek at my new baby: http://imaginationfuel.com. We will be selling kids wooden toys, magnetic toys and oh so much more!

Thanks to all of my awesome customers, nanny deprived moms, and the friends I've met on this amazing journey into the depths of online retail!

E Day

It was 8:50 am on Wednesday morning. I started unpacking my son's backpack from the day before because that's how I roll. I try to look like I have had it packed up and ready for him to go for days but little do his teachers know, I do it five minutes before he goes to school. Haha.

That's when I spotted the note. "Tomorrow is E day. Please bring in something that starts with the letter E". Damn.

I started yelling for my son to go get elastic man.

"Find him! Look under your bed."

I knew we needed to get in the car because it takes us at least 10minutes to get everyone buckled and for me to run back into the house at least 5 times for stuff.

He came down very upset that he couldn't find Elastic Man. The light bulb turned on in my head. I have an envelope!

"Jake, envelopes are cool. All the cool kids like envelopes!"

The tears started to well up in his eyes and the pouty lip came out. Double damn.

"All it does is open and close. The kids will laugh at me!" He said with that giant lip.

I drove my crying pouting little boy to school with an envelope in his book bag and not Elastic Man. Epic mom fail.

Man I love STUFF

Hi!

So, crazy doesn't even begin to describe life on the West Coast nowadays. Amanda and I were finally reunited and wreaked some serious havoc on Sin City at the ABC Expo! Perhaps I should clarify- we wreaked havoc on our wallets and livers mainly but still-- it was one heck of a great time! Perhaps there's a reason we work on opposite coasts- because if we were in the same office constantly we might never get anything accomplished.

Regardless, we have had a product review blog for a little while and haven't really LAUNCHED it but- with allll the great products we found at the show.. its time for a "what do we think and why you need this item" blog. Therefore- announcing Nanny Deprived Reviews!!!!!!

(Yayyy!!! *clap clap clap-- wooooohoooo!!!!)

We, as moms with little time and even little-er room for error have decided to test products on ourselves (and our kids!) so you don't have to.

Stay tuned for more cool stuff that you just might need to have!!!

Nanny Deprived Recipe

Every once in awhile I start to feel guilty about how much processed food and fast food we eat. And so it's out of guilt I decide to cook. I hate cooking. I'd rather beat my head off of the counter than cook dinner but the idea that my kids will get scurvy eventually makes me suck it up and cook.

This is my go to recipe. Notice it only has 4 ingredients! My kind of meal!

One turkey breast frozen
One packet of onion soup mix
One cup orange juice
One can of whole berry cranberries

Throw all of these things in a crock pot and let it cook for 6 hours. I normally make some mashed potatoes and serve the turkey and the gravy in the croc pot all together. Even my picky eaters love this dinner!

Cloud, cloud, go away

There is a little, black, rain cloud looming over my household lately. And when I say "little and black" I really mean a MASSIVE MIDNIGHT BLACK THUNDERHEAD.

In the past week, I have discovered I have a hernia, had my child knock out one of my teeth and had my husband wreck my brand spankin' new minivan.

Yes, kids...I am officially a country song.

The week started out innocently enough, if you call excruciating

stomach pain "innocent". I decide to make a Dr. appointment and diagnosis: hernia. Schedule abdominal scan for next day.

That evening, put toddler on bouncy Zebra thingy- he stands up and his little hard head whacks me straight in the jaw....Good-bye veneer/bonding. Hello Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel.

Make dental appointment the next day for fixing. Also, make mental note to not smile at anyone not immediately related to me. I also consider getting hard headed toddler a helmet.

Next day: Kiss husband and kids goodbye as I leave for Dr's and they leave for school drop-off. I decide I'll let him be "the cool dad in the red Swagger Wagon" (*Giggle) and I take his car to my doctor appointments. Not my best move- I think karma knew I was singing "Being Mr. Mom" in my head as he drove away.

15 minutes into the drive I get the call noone wants...the "We've been in an accident" call.

Luckily, thank the Heavens, my husband and kids are just fine- not a scratch. My pretty new van? Noooooooooooooooo....front end smashed, 4 broken doors, 2 deployed airbags and a partridge in a pear tre

e. I don't think I am going to see her again for about a month...if at all. Turns out, not many people have trashed their 2011 cars yet so, the body shop is having a heck of a time estimating how they are going to repair it. Greeeaaat.

Needless to say, I called and cancelled both dental appointment and abdominal scan. Funny how a mother no longer hurts, or cares about their whacked out smile when their babies safety is compromised. I'd really like the black cloud to go away though...the rain is getting a little old.

Growth Spurts

When I was young (er) *because I like pretending I'm still young..even though I have yogurt in my hair.

Anyways- when I was young, my mom (when she could stand the mess in my bedroom) would make me have a "fashion show" and see what clothes were too small, too ugly, etc and pass them on to my poor younger sister. This always annoyed the living hell out of me as- who really wants to try on every item in their closet and either beg for its redemption or pretend you're faaaar too tall for those ugly purple pants Aunt Rita gave you. I think its the only time in my memory when I wanted to go to bed- just so my mom would give it a rest.

Standing firm with my "I will never do that to MY kids" mantra-- I decided that the shoes and clothing that fit last school year would magically have to fit this year. Wrong. Dead wrong.

Apparently, in the 3 months since school has let out- my kids have each grown 10 feet and 200 pounds.

Or so it seems to me.

Perhaps my mother had a point...a very poorly executed point but- a point nontheless.

I decided to put my daughter through her own "fashion show of torture" where 12 pairs of pants, 4 pair of shorts and 23 shirts ended up in the "too small" box. I looked at that box and felt kind of ill. All the money I spend on that Gym company and that Place company's clothes...all in a box. Never to be used again in this household because- I don't feel like placing my son in therapy for wearing girls clothing or saddling a far younger, potential future sibling with "old" clothing. Do you ever have that "I am making their clothes from burlap sacks from here on out" feeling? With my luck, burlap is expensive and my family would never go through enough potatoes to make that theory cost effective...

The baby, poor baby...who is starting to walk has had his poor little feet smashed into wrong sized shoes all summer long. I took him into Stride Rite in size 3's (thinking they went on easily enough) and came out with 5.5 wides. *Sigh. The saleswoman looked at me like "How did you get these on his feet? With a crowbar?"

I should have looked her straight in the eye and said "No crowbar- Crisco."

I want a medal.

So, I normally refrain from writing about my kids because really...who wants to hear stories about other people's kids when you have kids of your own?
Well, this story is mainly about me, those kids things are merely an accessory to the story.

So- I'm being a good mom and giving my kids a bath like all good moms do, right?
I decide to bathe them in my master bath tub...MY master bath tub...the one with the fun jets and bubble products, etc.
Big Mistake.
HUGE.
My son decides to grab one of my limited edition candles that...its so limited edition..I haven't even burned it yet and decides to start filling it with bath water and drinking it. Weird..I know.

Next, he decides to stand up by the faucet and pee on both myself and his sister...to our mutual EWWWWW.
I start explaining to the 13 month old that "it is not appropriate to pee in the bath, buddy...etc etc."
What does my daughter say?
"Oh, I did that right after we got in."

OMG.
Bleach me. Or give me a medal for not running away from these germy little beings whilst I am trying to rid them of the days germs.
Needless to say, I don't bathe with the kids anymore.

-Candy

Mom Knowledge

So, we had a darn fine idea the other day (and when I say "we" I mean, "Amanda"..God, I feel like her husband now saying that) Mom-Sense. When she told me about it- I thought it was amazingly brilliant because let's face it- we mom's know more random crap about random crap than any other species on the planet. Really...who knows which Barbie the sparkly pink boots go to and who the blue pumps belong to? Mom does.
As a reward for all this useless knowledge you carry around in your already full brain we (*she) has decided to have a contest on our Facebook page every Thursday night at 10 pm, EST. So, being on the west coast...I will have to log in promptly at 7 to check on you fine ladies and see who we can stump with random questions. *remembering to add that as a recurring event to my blackberry...you should too! If you are proven the most knowledgable mama of the night- you will win some fabulous prizes. If you aren't our Facebook friend then-- Why not?? Go friend us!!!

The following is the fine print:
We will ask 3 questions each Thursday night at 10 pm EST (10:02 if the kids are bugging us)
The first person to answer the question correctly will win the prize listed in that post. No swapping prizes.
The winner has 24 hours to email us at nannydeprived at gmail dot com with their US mailing address as well as any size choices. (Yes- the prizes are THAT good!)

As soon as we receive the address, we will mail your prize right off to you! If the winner does not respond within the 24 hours- we reserve the right to offer the prize again next week to another winner.

We realize that some questions may have more than one answer...we reserve the right to choose the answer that is most correct. Kind of like the SAT's you took in High School but- way cooler. We have tried really hard to make sure they are clear cut answers but...you know...stuff happens even when you're trying hard for it not to.
If two people happen to answer correctly with the exact same timestamp in Facebook- we will offer a "tie breaker" question.

Ok, thats all. Hope you're all ridiculously excited. I know I am...even though I can't win because I came up with some questions. Dang you red tape!! Log onto Facebook tomorrow night!!!

Candy :)

Hell Month

There is a month delay between public elementary school starting and the beginning of preschool which has caused havoc in my house.

The kid that really wants to go to school hasn't started yet and the one who is "forced" to go to school has already begun. This has caused a lot of "It's not fair" wars between the siblings, and, not to mention, a lot of headaches for me.

"It's not fair. Why doesn't he have to go to school?" My daughter says.

Ten minutes later...

"It's not fair. Why does she get to go to school?" My son says.

My reply? "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Somebody start the dang school already!"

Where Have I Been?

My blog has been nagging me to write in it.

Its a tiny little voice in the back of the head saying, "Ha ha,that's funny. You should BLOG about that". The voice tracks my progress. "It's been 3 weeks and 4 days since you wrote in me". It's nagging, whining, and controlling. I feel guilty when I neglect it. When I sit down to watch tv, it says, "You should spend this time blogging".

All in all, it's my fourth child. Needy, wanting attention and love.

Musings on a third child...

So, I've been thinking alot about the whole third child thing, and whether or not its a good idea. Those of you who had one of each (boy and girl) and then decided to have a third- I'd be interested to know what your motivation behind having your third one was (besides OOPS!!! A little too much vino?)

If you've been reading us, then you may recall that I have a 6 (soon to be 7) y/o daughter and a newly one year old son. I enjoy them both and we have a really nice balance. I'm wondering how hard throwing a third child into the mix would be. Whenever I voice this to friends I get the same "well- she will be big enough to help!". No..that's not her job. While I do appreciate the occasional diape

r fetching or bottle finding- raising younger siblings is not in her job description. We aren't the Duggar family where the older girls are required to raise the little ones. My daughter also claims that "if she gets a sister" she wants to share a bedroom with her. Now, we have 5 bedrooms so technically, all 3 of them could have their own rooms. The "sharing" thing may be cool for now but- is 13 year old her going to pitch a fit about her 6 year old "baby sister" messing with

her Teen Beat magazines? There's just soo many questions. I wish I had a crystal ball. Did I mention I'm already pregnant and don't have much of a choice about all this? :)