Shutterfly

I take a lot of pictures.  And being that everything in this day is digital, that also means that I download a ton of pictures on to my computer.  This also makes me terrified that I could lose all those precious memories with a virus or other computer crash.

To circumvent this fear of losing all those memories, I not only have my folders upon folders upon folders of pictures on my computer, but I also have them backed up onto flash drives.  Another avenue that I take to protect my pictures, I have a shutterfly account.

I LOVE Shutterfly.  Not only for the mere fact that it holds my precious memories of C-Man and Mar-Mar, but I can also order hard copies of those prints, make books, collages, and share my pictures.  What's more, from time to time they send you special promo codes.

I once got a free photo book of C-Man for his 1st year with a promo code. I paid for the shipping only, and got a beautiful book that I was able to construct with my favorite pictures of his first year.

I love this tool as an extra backup for my pictures.  While it's not as convenient as going to Wal-Mart or Walgreen's to pick up your prints, I still prefer Shutterfly.  If I don't have the time to run out of the house to make errand runs to either Wal-Mart or Walgreen's, I can count on Shutterfly to ship me those oh so precious memories.

Shutterfly gets an A+ from this Momster.

Momster's Best Friend

For many years I loathed coffee.  I didn't drink it and had no desire to.  And since I nursed both of my children, I reasoned that it was a good thing that I didn't drink that extra caffeine in coffee.

But, what can I say, I am just like any other mom, and I get down right exhausted.  Pac-Man doesn't drink any coffee.  He doesn't love the caffeine the way I do.  So, when I entered the world of coffee drinkers for the first time, we invested in Keurig.

I am in love!!  I'm going to go ahead and say it right now, if you drink more than 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day...DO NOT buy a Keurig.  However, if all you're drinking is 1-2 cups a day, then a Keurig might not be a bad investment.

The cost of the k-cups can be very intimidating for the Keurig.  There is a simple solution.  A Keurig Coffee Re-usable Filter.  

I don't know about where you are, but k-cups in my area cost $8.99 for a box of 12.  I can get almost 2 weeks worth of coffee if I only limit myself to 1 cup of coffee a day.  But, let's face it, I'm a mom, and I have two wild children.  Add in the fact that I drive 30 minutes every day to take C-Man to school, putting me up at 5am, sometimes a girl just needs more than 1 cup of coffee.

And, I'm in Vermont.  So, Green Mountain Coffee (my favorite brand of coffee) is readily available.  And, at $8.99 I can get a 12 oz bag of Green Mountain Coffee for the same cost as a 12-ct box of k-cups for my Keurig.  I end up saving money by using the add on filter.  The money I save on a bag of ground coffee as opposed to buying k-cups each week outweighs the extra cost of the filter.

Now, if you're a full pot of coffee kind of girl (or guy, cause you know, dad's can be reading this too), then I would go with a pot coffee maker, like Mr. Coffee has to offer.  I haven't used this particular coffee pot...but I've never known Mr. Coffee to disappoint.

What say you?  How do you muddle through the day?  Are you a coffee drinker?  What is your experience with the Keurig?  Or are you a Mr. Coffee kind of drinker instead?

The Art of Discipline

As a mother, it's always refreshing to know that if your kids act up in public or with an audience around, everyone knows how best you should discipline your child.  It's one of those unwanted advice tips you get, no matter how hard you try to reassure them that you are more than capable of disciplining your own children.

And, of course, each child is different in the tactics that work as well.  This is the same for C-Man and Mar-Mar.  My techniques for disciplining C-Man most certainly do not work for Mar-Mar and vice verse.  And, despite these other well versed parents heart felt attempts at telling you what worked for them, one thing they neglect to remember is the effectiveness it had on each child.

I won't even get into the spanking debate.  That one, these days, is just not a tactic that works in our family, and not a subject that I am willing to delve into.  

But, a classic is time-out.  This seems to work for many.  The trick is consistency.  The trick to any tactic is consistency.  The rule of thumb is to continuously place a child who is learning their boundaries in time out until their time essentially runs out for the infraction.  Suggestions start off at 1 minute per age.  

I won't lie, this is an effective method for many children.  C-Man and Mar-Mar, not so much.  This becomes a game.  We've tried the time out routine with both of them consistently for several months to no avail.  Both of them treat it like a game of musical chairs.

So, I move on to other tactics.  Loosing privileges.  This mostly works with older children, as toddlers and preschoolers don't quite grasp this tactic.  So, back to the drawing board. 

Distraction.  Haha, not with my kids.  Once C-Man and Mar-Mar notice you trying to covertly "distract" them from the infraction with another suitable activity, all of a sudden this infraction becomes the most prized activity of the day.  They MUST do it at all times.  My kids are not easily distracted.  But, like time out, this can be a very effective method.

With C-Man, we even tried reward sheets.  Giving him a sticker every time he performed a task such as listening, picking up his toys, etc.  This, for a 3 year old at the time, was ideal for the first week.  Now, not so much.  The idea of the reward sheet is to invoke a good behavior in your children in exchange for a reward at a later date.  Like loosing privileges, this is best saved for older children.  Once the novelty of getting a prize at a later date wears off, the concept is also lost on the preschooler.

To date, Mar-Mar is still working on her tactics as she is continuing to mold herself.

But, we have success with C-Man.  Toys!!  C-Man loves his toys.  Especially his Star Wars toys.  Infractions have led me and Pac-Man to resort to packing away favorite toys until a day or two later for infractions.  

This tactic works for C-Man.  He misbehaves, he loses a favorite toy for the day.  It's taken and put up out of sight, out of reach.  He can acquire the toy once again by stopping the behavior for the remainder of the day.  If he does so, he procures the lost toy in the morning of the next day.  If he doesn't, he continues to lose favorite toys.

It has proven a very effective method for us.  

But, as with anything that revolves around parenting a child, soon the day will come when I have to revise my discipline tactics.  Gone will be the day that losing his prized possessions will induce a wanted behavior.

Maybe that's what well-meaning advice givers forget about parenting.  It's an ever changing scenario.  With the passing of time, what worked yesterday no longer works today.  We forget that being a parent means that we need to change as often as our children do.   

Momster...You Are a Beautiful Woman

So, to start off this beautiful woman campaign, what better way to launch it than to tell my own struggles, trials, and tribulations.

I am a very small framed woman.  It has been pointed out to me on many occasions, including by complete strangers, just how small I am.  At 5'6" I clock in at a mere 105 on my heaviest days.

The picture may be hard to tell my true frame with the two munchkins in my lap, but you can still get the idea of my slight frame.

I have spent my whole life listening to people call me anorexic, or bulimic once they realize that I like food.  Well, maybe like is too slight of a word itself.  I love food.  I love to eat.  I love everything about food.  Despite my body frame stating contrary, food is my vice.

Throughout the years I have done much to increase my weight.  Even when serving in the Air Force they thought I was underweight.  I was sent to several nutritionist and on several diet programs to try to increase my weight.

When Pac-Man and I decided that we were going to try for kids, we decided that it would take us about 6 months for me to get on a healthy weigh gaining diet to be able to carry a healthy child.  This started my high calorie and high vitamin diet.  Needless to say, I did not gain the weight, but I did gain a child (C-Man).

I continued this diet, and was thrilled at my pregnancy.  After all, I was sure that there was no way that I was going to lose every last 40 lbs that I gained during my pregnancy with C-Man.  I was wrong.  Despite my continued efforts to eat high calorie foods, the day after C-Man was born and we were leaving the hospital, the only indication that I had just birthed a child was the beautiful infant laying in my arms.

The same result came about during my pregnancy with Mar-Mar.  I was left devastated.  So, I turned to not only high calorie foods, but also exercise routines aimed at toning and adding muscle.  This too worked to no avail.

I have since decided that I don't need to fit in that perfect cookie cutter mold.  I don't need to be the 5'6" woman who is a perfect 125.  I am perfect at my own frame.  And I plan on teaching my children the same no matter their frames.

I still have a smile that can light a room.  And a smile on anyone is worth more than the perfect body image.

Personalizing Books

I'm not going to lie, here are some things that I have never utilized because I felt they were frivolous things that we didn't need to indulge in. One of those items was the world of children's personalized books.

The idea of them, I liked them, but I couldn't bring myself to indulge.  But, then I was asked to review one.

My Kool Kidz Books happened to be the place that I embarked.  I was a bit nervous on my endeavor, but off I went to try to find the perfect book for my family.  After reviewing the selections they offered...holiday books, books for girls, books for boys, and more...I decided on a cute little book about becoming a sibling.

While C-Man has been a big brother for almost 2 years now, I thought that it would help him through some of the tougher times of being Mar-Mar's big brother.  After all, she is a bully, lol.  Truth be told, Mar-Mar beats up on C-Man and he lets her get away with EVERYTHING!!!!!

So, I decide that I'm going to get The Sibling Book.

This is the book that I receive in the mail from My Kool Kidz Books.  Right off the bat, I'm impressed.  First of all, I put this order in on a Saturday afternoon, and it's at my house in less than 1 week.  Not only that, the personalized names that I used are spelled correctly.

Now comes the real test.  It's bedtime and we are winding down with a book.  So, I pull out the book I got from My Kool Kidz Books to see how the kids review it.

C-Man, loves the book.  We have success.  The book was more than I normally would spend on a book.  But, the part that made it worth the personal touch was the look on C-Man's face.  Knowing that book was about him and his sister, his whole face lit up.

He now carries he book around and when we aren't sitting down to read it together, he sits by himself and comes up with his own words for the book.  

My Kool Kidz Books gets an A in this house.  If you're looking for a cute and unique gift for a child, don't saddle the parent down with another annoying toy they will dread and the child will only play with for a few days.  Visit My Kool Kidz Books and get a personalized book that they can treasure for years to come.

Totsy

Who has heard of Totsy?  Well, it's one of those sites that I love.  It is a lot like Zulily in that they are boutique type shops that offer a set number of outfits, products, etc.

This is the breakdown of how it works.  The company Totsy, essentially, agrees with these companies to order a certain number of a product in exchange for a deep discount.  This is where you see the percentages off, sometimes 15% and going up to the 80% they advertise.

The deal is, they only offer these products for a certain amount of time, usually for 3 days.  So, when you see something you like, you can't just dwell on it and wait.  You usually have to snatch it right up.

The difference that I've seen between Zulily and Totsy is that Zulily immediately charges your card.  That can be great, especially if you have a habit of overspending on cute little outfits for your munchkin.  Totsy, on the other hand, stores your order until they place the order.  Once they receive the products from the manufacturers, they bill you and ship out your items as agreed upon.

Another thing I like about these sites, other than the deals that you can get, Totsy gives you a $15 credit to your account for each person who signs up under your account and makes their first purchase.  So, essentially, not only are you a customer, but you are in a way, an affiliate of sorts.  The only difference between a normal affiliate and this is that you get the $15 once, whereas a normal affiliate, every order that is placed through a link dedicated to them gets a percentage.

My one bad thing I don't like about either Zulily or Totsy...shipping/delivery time.  Doesn't matter which one you decide to go with, they both have the slowest shipping time from order until it gets to your door.  I chalk this up to the fact that when they do the sales, they don't actually have the product on hand.  They have to wait for these items to be shipped to them before they can process your order and ship your items to you as well.

My final review on Totsy, as long as you aren't trying to purchase a last minute dress, present, or outfit, this is perfect for cute little outfits and gifts.  They also have some cute items for mom and kitchen as well.

The Power of "I'm Sorry"

I would like to say that my children are perfect little creatures.  They could do no wrong.  But, the fact of the matter is, they are both human.  And to top that off, they are toddler/preschoolers.  So, tantrums and testing their limits are going to be testing me to my own limits day in and day out.

Now, I'm a very lenient mom.  I let both my kids get away with a lot as they explore their world, and I explain why things aren't allowed after they try them.  Do they understand me half the time?  Probably not yet, but they will.  And I can only hope that they remember the outcome of the action and eventually our conversations.

As lenient as I am, one thing I do not allow for are impolite or mean behavior.  I require that a please proceeds every request that comes out of C-Man and Mar-Mar's mouth, and that a thank you is promptly followed after the request is carried out.  And being mean to each other, mom, dad, or friends is also not permitted.

The other stuff, within reason, is a learning experience, and I allow for those mistakes and limits to be tested within reason.  But bad manners is not tolerated.

So, when I went to pick up C-Man from school today, I was excited to see in his folder that he had an invitation from a school friend.  

"C-Man, is "G" your friend?"

This is when I realize something is up.  As instead of telling me yes, his eyes go wide, and he instantly tells me:  "I said that I was sorry."

At 4-years-old C-Man hasn't quite learned the art of lying.  I'm hoping that it's a trait that he never picks up, but, that's another post.  So, at this age, being honest, sometimes overly honest, is a trait many preschoolers have.

"What did you say sorry for?  Did you hurt "G"?"

"We were playing tag and I threw a wood chip at him cause he was trying to get me.  But I say sorry."  This is his explanation.  Seems innocent enough.  Two boys, getting overly excited in a game of tag, something unfriendly is bound to happen.

This is when I decide to inform C-Man of his invitation.  "Well, C-Man, "G" invited you to his birthday.  If we hurt and throw things at our friends do you think they will want to invite us to their birthdays?"

C-Man promptly answers with a shake of the head and re-informs me that he did apologize to his school friend after the incident.

I am proud of C-Man in this instance.  He knew that his actions were wrong, and that they warranted an apology, and he apologized to his friend.

But, as a mom who wants to instill the importance of not hurting our friends, throwing things, and just overall displaying good manners and treating our friends the way we want them to treat us, this is where I may be a bit harder on my children than most.

I tell C-Man that I am proud of him for apologizing to "G" for the incident, but that throwing things at our friends are never ok.  I proceed to inform him that this weekend we will be writing a note to "G" apologizing once again for the incident.

Maybe I'm hard on my children in this situation.  But, as lenient as I try to be, there are things that I do not tolerate.  C-Man knows this, and is actually eager to have Momster write out an apology letter to his friend "G" for him as he dictates what he wants to say, afterwards he is excited to draw a picture of him and "G" playing together as well with the letter.

Maybe it's a small feat, but any feat that I cam accomplish in teaching my kids good values I will take.

What values do you try to instill in your children?  What are you lenient with?  What are things that you absolutely do not tolerate?