12 Social Norms to Ignore [at least sometimes], & Improve Your Life

1.  Shower every day.
2.  Never sleep in your clothes.
3.  Never sleep in your clothes then wear them all day the next day too.
4.  Don't eat with your fingers.
5.  Snacks can't be a meal.
6.  Your house must be spotless.
7.  Stuff must match other stuff.
8.  You shouldn't share your age.
9.  Don't talk about your problems.
10.  Keep your mouth shut and be nice.
11.  Go along to get along.
12.  No PDA.

Trying on a new look!

Per my New Year's resolution, I can't cut my hair.  It's looking cray-cray these days and there's nothing I can do.

I can't quit my job because, like, I did that 3 months ago.  That is soooo last year.

I can't have another baby because it's just not in the cards.

So....  'cause something's gotta change, it's my blog!  Welcome to blooMBing.  Because I'm not just a 'clip clop mama.'  Because I'm not just a wife.  Because I don't want to define my blog by some category.  I am all sorts of all over the place, trying to be better and do better and grow. And against some good advice, I like "blooMBing."  It's got me written all over it.   I hope you'll continue to enjoy it half as much as I enjoy writing on it!

The Ivory Soap Trick

GASP - I actually did something with the kids that I saw on Pinterest!  And.... drum roll...It was pretty cool!  I was advised that it will ONLY work with Ivory soap.  One of the main ingredients in Ivory soap is water so perhaps that is why this works. 

From this....                                                     To this!

 

Easy peasy steps: 

1) Get a bar of plain white Ivory soap. 

2) Place on a paper plate in the microwave.

3) Microwave for about 1 minute.

4) Look what happens scroll down to see the video and please excuse my dirty microwave)!  

The result is kind of like a hardened flaky dough.  We tried to mold it and cut shapes out of it with cookie cutters.  It worked OK... we made a few pretty little leaf shapes.  Maybe if we had nuked the soap in chunks and taken it out a little sooner, the whole cookie-cutter idea would have worked better.  I bought a 10 pack of soap so we'll try that next time!


<3 happy soap nuking!
mB

A Delicious Dress from Fresh Produce {Review!}

I was very curious when Fresh Produce approached me to review one of their beach dresses.  I had never heard of Fresh Produce and when I first went to the website, I was in love.  They have such a cute line of  spring clothes for women.  Their clothes have a very laid-back beachy, colorful feel.  Their collections have names like Happyness, Ocean Waters and Windswept!  Just looking through their website makes me want to go on a cruise.

There are definitely items that are also sophisticated enough for the office.  I've been all about dresses lately and what I loved about the dress search on their website was that you could choose from knee length, below the knee, maxi or cover up.  I am a below-the-knee kind of girl and usually it's a challenge to find a cute stylish below-the-knee dress these days!  The dress I got was the Floral Fancy Breeze Dress in Blue Lagoon.

I love it!The material is a lovely, rich cornflower blue.  It is the ideal length for me.  I can wear it either at the office - dressed up a bit with nice shoes, jewelry and a jacket - or at the beach with flip flops.  I love the flare at the bottom (and so does my daughter who likes how it looks when I spin!) and the small ruffles along the neckline.  It feels delicate and fun, yet grown up! 

I really like a lot of the Fresh Produce clothes.  They also make kids' clothes too which are super cute, have really nice sales, and also have accessories like scarves!  When I was recently in Boulder, Colorado, I was surprised to come across their flagship store.  The salesperson was so nice and told me that the store has been there for over 20 years.  I also picked up another dress on sale!  How had I not heard about this gem?  Well now I have and I've bookmarked their website in my 'favorites'!

 

MyMemories for Valentine's Day!

Well... I sat down in front of the computer, after my Wii workout with Ivy (she's much better than I am) and absent an idea of a blog post, I took 10 minutes to create a MyMemories page. Literally - 10 minutes! What do you think? I used the "Back in the Day" paper set that comes with the software, and added a ribbon, a flourish and the words Brother and Sister. It was very easy!

With MyMemories version 3 software, you can also easily make calendars, books, movies and lots of other gifts at very reasonable prices. Perfect for Valentine's Day (or the Superbowl if you think it's a gift-giving holiday)!

I would not promote products that sucked. It is very cool. If you want to purchase the software, use my code STMMMS40533 and get $10 off the software (making it $29.97) and you also get a $10 coupon to use at the online store! $10 will go far!

Toddler Friendly Knock Knock Jokes!

Big Sis is obsessed with knock-knock jokes these days. We've made up some fun ones and I've found others she loves. Who doesn't love a good knock-knock joke? What are your favorites?

Knock Knock Who’s there? Olive. Olive Who? Olive you! [I love you!]
Knock Knock Who’s there? Valen. Valen Who? Valentine I love you!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Woo. Woo Who? Woo hoo let’s party!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Atch. Ach Who? Bless you! You sneezed.
Knock Knock Who’s there? Moo. Moo Who? Why is there a cow in here??
Knock Knock Who’s there? Hoo. Hoo Who? How did an owl get in here!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Yoo. Yoo Who? You who – where are you?
Knock Knock Who’s there? Peek-a. Peek-a Who? Peek a boo!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Boo. Boo Who? Why are you crying?
Knock Knock Who’s there? Leena. Leena Who? Lean a little closer to me!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Senor. Senor Who? Seen your underpants!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Canoe. CanoeWho? Can you lend me some money?
Knock Knock Who’s there? Butter. Butter Who? Butter open the door quick!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Yo. Yo Who? Yo’ mama!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Gorilla. Gorilla Who? Gorilla cheese sandwich for me!
Knock Knock Who’s there? Orange. Orange Who? Orange you happy to see me?
Knock Knock Who’s there? Coocoo. Coocoo Who? Coocoo-ca-tchoo!

Semi-Homemade Aurora Crown

My child so badly wants to be a princess some days.  Today was one of those days.  We have princess decals in her room and she always points to either Belle or Sleeping Beauty (Aurora) and says - When I grow up, I'm going to have that hair, and that dress, and hold that thing (a fan) and have a crown like that and be a princess.  It is perhaps the cutest thing ever, since the most recent thing my children did that was the cutest thing ever, like 5 seconds before that.  So today we indulged her a little and made a crown!  And okay, we were both a little bored.... 4 days at home!  A pleasure, and a challenge!  So I googled "aurora crown" and we found this simply adorable pattern.  However, we didn't have craft foam or jewels.... so, enter tin foil!  Here's what we did:  1) Trace the template in the pattern on card board.  Cut out!  2)  Cover it with glue and wrap with tin foil ("silver" as Big Sister called it) 3)  Find a head band that she never wears and glue the 'silver crown' to it, held in place with clothes pins for ~30 minutes 4) In the mean time, make 4 "jewels" by covering diamond (or whatever) shaped pieces of cardboard with tin foil.  Crayons worked okay for giving the 'jewels' a hint of color.   5)  Glue the 'jewels' on the 'crown' in your desired pattern.

Presto create-o!  An aurora crown that Big Sister has worn all day!  And we didn't have to purchase a single thing or make a trip to the craft store!

A My Memories Calendar? Priceless!

SPOILER ALERT:  I made a calendar for a family member for Christmas using the new My Memories Version 3 software.  Yep - they've upgraded and the software has some very cool new features!  One of my favorites so far is the ability to easily make a calendar using either pre-designed scrapbook templates (you get a very nice selection with high-quality looking papers and designs) or templates you design yourself!  You can choose either the standard 12x12 scrapbook page size OR a normal sized 8-1/2 by 11 paper size.  This is SO much easier with Version 3 than the previous version.  

An example of what I did for my calendar is posted to the left.  In total, for a 1-year calendar you will need 26 pages:  You create a cover, each of the designed/ photo pages (which you can actually pre-load with pictures you select into a separate file), each of the calendar pages, and a back cover.  You'll need to 'map it out' to make sure you have the order right, and the number of pages depending on the months you want.  For a 2012 calendar, it cost me $17.99 plug shipping. 

You too can make a calendar like this!  The software is normally $39.95 but you can use my special discount code to get $10 off plus a $10 coupon to use on the online store.  The code to get the discount is STMMMS40533 on the My Memories Suite webpage.  Have fun!  I sure did!

Beware the Mommy Brain!

...or just crazy!

I frequently do silly things.  Silly may be the wrong word...  others may use the words...crazy, irrational, funny, weird, bizarre, unique or slightly out of my mind.  You say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to.  Do not go calling the nice men (or women) in white coats to come and take me away just yet.  I think it is Mommy Brain.

Do you have Mommy Brain?  Or if you're a daddy, is there such a thing as Daddy Brain?  You may have it if things like this happen to you.

You pack your clothes for a long-distance trip.  You're so pleased at your super awesome packing skills that you get done early and play on the computer, forgetting that YOU GOT TO GO to the airport so you jump in the car, leaving later than you wanted.  You get halfway to the airport and it occurs to you that you forgot to pack ... wait for it.... underwear!  Too late to turn around.  You spend your time in both airports with your coworker, answering the question - Do they sell underwear in airports?  The answer is - Yes but only expensive Calvin Klein underwear that might as well be called Wedgie underwear.  Yes.  This happened.  To me. 

Or - you are so happy with your skills to pay the bills - online!  Technorific!  Efficient!  You can do it during the kids' naps or on your break!  No problem-o!  But wait - you think, hmmm, have I paid the power bill?  Let me check.  Yeeessss  buuutttt... that amount looks like the exact same amount I paid to the credit card company.  OH NO I DIDN'T!!  Oh yes I did.  Thankfully -- and coincidentally -- they were almost for the exact same amount and due around the same time.  WHEW!  Crisis averted, no thanks to Mommy Brain!

I am going to advocate for the creation of  an official DSM-IV mental illness diagnostic criteria for Mommy Brain.  On the other hand, scratch that, because that would probably lead to those little women and men in nice white coats coming to take all the mommies away.... because I think I'm not alone in my illness.  Am I....?

More with My Memories

So - even though I've already given away the free copy of the My Memories software, you can still use my code to get $10 off plus a $10 coupon for the online store.  I should be sleeping but instead I'm playing!  Look what I did in the past 20 minutes or so.  I didn't have in mind what I wanted to do, but I took a few pictures from a trip we took in the early Spring to UNC Chapel Hill.  I like the way it turned out....  this was one pre-designed page of a 5-page album but I changed the photo layout very easily, adjusted the photos to black and white and added the word "family."  What do you think?  Pretty cool huh?

The code to get the discount is STMMMS40533 on the My Memories Suite webpage.  

It would be great for making a Holiday letter, wedding album, baby album, calendar for a gift and much more!

We have a winner!

Congratulations, Amy!!  You have won my first giveaway - a free copy of the My Memories Suite software!  I loved how you said you would use it, to make a baby book for your daughter.  I am so excited you get to do that now.  I will send you your code soon - please report back about how you liked it!

For those of you who didn't win, fret not!  My $10 code is still good and $29.97 is a steal for this software.  I played with a little more tonight and was able to download 12 free pages and sets for free -- but there were over 50 to choose from!  These items alone would have easily cost $30 in a craft store.

The code to get $10 off plus a $10 store coupon is STMMMS40533!  

Thanks to everybody who entered -- and good night!

My Memories Suite Giveaway This Weekend!!

I am so excited this giveaway that I can't wait any longer.  I'm giving away a FREE copy of the My Memories Suite Software this weekend!!!

How to win:  Simply visit the My Memories Suite webpage, choose your favorite design, and comment below telling me how you'd use the design and the software!  SWEET! 

*BONUS entry if you also become a follower of my blog or LIKE the MyMemories Facebook page!

If you don't win or can't wait, I have something for you too!  Simply enter the following code to receive a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software (making it $29.97) and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!  STMMMS40533

Tell your friends and family to do this too!  I LOVE giving free stuff away!  Trust me - this is worth it if you love scrapbooking or doing creative projects with photos!  It's great for the working mom to save time, money, space and hassle.  Look at what I did this morning in 10 minutes!

More Fun with My Memories - and a Rule Change!

Ok.  Clearly I am not in sleeping mode tonight.  Plus it's a Friday night and what better way to party in my jammies than to play with the My Memories Suite scrapbooking software?  Let the good times roll!

But seriously - Look what I've done!  I did these pages in about 15 minutes.... plus my cool new banner for my blog (see top of page).  I am feeling pretty positive about my creative crafting skills right about now!  I used a template for a whole book that had about 10 pre-designed pages...  but you don't have to use them all and you can change the layout and add words, embellishments, ribbons, bows, more photos... and it's super easy to use.  If you can use a computer, you can figure it out without a manual.

Also I've changed the rules for my FREE giveaway!  I can't wait until September 30, I'm too excited!  So I'll give away the My Memories software to a lucky reader once I get 1500 page views on my blog so spread the word!  If you'd love to have the software and haven't done so yet, visit the My Memories Suite page, pick a layout you love and 'comment' on my blog telling me how you'd use it.  Extra 'entries' for following my blog and 'liking' the My Memories facebook page!  (You have to tell me you did that).  Also make sure I know who you are when you 'comment' :)

Finally - if you can't wait or don't win, use my CODE to get $10 off the software PLUS a $10 store coupon - a $20 value!  That's $29.97 after the coupon!  A great deal.  The code is STMMMS40533. 

Good luck - and good night!  I'm going to bed!

Digital Scrapbooking with My Memories - My First Giveaway!

You may not know that I love scrapbooking.  Over the years I've made quite a few but when Big Sister and Baby Genius came along, all scrapbooking ceased.  What's sad is this is the time when I really wish I could do more of it to put the HUNDREDS of pictures we take to good use AND compliment my journaling with beautiful photo books.

{Insert a shout-out to my mom, who has made several scrapbooks for me and my kids!  But there's just something about doing it yourself... you know?}

Enter:  MyMemories Suite Software.  I am flattered that they found my blog and approached me to try it out and tell people about it.  It is the coolest thing!  Look what I made in less than 10 minutes.  It was super easy, fun and fast.  I would not lie to you.  And the coolest part is I can print it, download it, email it, make a book, a JPG, share it on Facebook or whatever!  There are lots of pre-set pages or you can design your own; there's a nice selection of embellishments, paper choices, and so much more! 

The price is pretty decent too - $39.97 for the software (or $29.97- keep reading!).  I once tried one of those online upload-your-photos and make a memory book.  I had a Groupon and still paid something like $30 for the small, basic book.  For almost $40 you can make unlimited pages - a much better deal - AND you can make books, calendars, movies....  lots of cool things!  This would be a GREAT tool to make home-made Christmas cards and gifts!  (Think... calendars for the grandparents...)  Truly if this is your 'thing' you should check out the website:  My Memories Suite.


Here's the best part:  For my readers, enter the following code to receive a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!  STMMMS40533! 

But Wait!  There's More!  I also have a FREE giveaway for a lucky reader!  Simply visit the My Memories Suite webpage, choose your favorite design, and comment below telling me how you'd use the design and the software and you could win a free copy of the My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software!  SWEET!  (Drawing will be held Sept. 30!)  *BONUS entry if you also become a follower of my blog or LIKE the MyMemories Facebook page!


Tell your friends and family to do this too!  I LOVE giving free stuff away!  Trust me - this is worth it if you love scrapbooking or doing creative projects with photos!