How PR Companies Should Pitch a Blogger

Is there a correct way to pitch a mommy blogger? Click here to find out and get tips.

Writing Successful Blog Posts and Articles

Learn how to write successful blog posts and articles from a freelance writer. Attract more visitors with better content!

Misconceptions and Myths about Work At Home Moms

You wouldn't believe the things others think about Work At Home Moms. What is the truth?

10 Tips to Keep Toys Organized

Every mom hates the moment when they step on a lego...So how do you keep those toys organized?

Product Review Vs. Promotion

Are you properly reviewing a product or just promoting the product?

Nov 23, 2011

My Week Long Home Improvement Project


I have always wanted an art studio.

Being an artist who really dabbles in many different mediums, I have always wanted an art studio of my own.  Somewhere I could keep all of my paints, canvas, jewelry making supplies, scrap booking supplies and other art supplies.  Actually, when I was in grade school & high school, I actually tried to separate my room into two sections; a bed room and an art section.  Sure it cluttered my room since I had so much in there, but it sort of looked like what I want.  However, growing up, having kids and moving upstairs didn't help any.  I was further strapped for space and really couldn't section my room like that anymore.

Nov 22, 2011

Shopping for Dresses & Plus Size Dresses.

So it's no secret that right now I have to semi shop in the plus size department.  Honestly, I don't think my dress size should be considered even in the plus size department since it's not even large enough to be considered plus size... but that's today's society.  I got disgusted the other day when I saw a size 11/12 in the plus size department.  (I guess we're all supposed to be anorexic, right?)

Nov 16, 2011

Santa Clause is Coming...To The Mall?


Yes, that's Santa and yes, I know it's early for a picture with Santa.  I don't want to give anyone anxiety with the Christmas/Santa talk and I'm not trying to rush the Holiday, trust me!  When we went to the mall the other day Santa was sitting there in his Holiday wonderland with absolutely no one in line. (I think I may have seen Santa filing his nails while waiting! haa!!)  Olivia and Alayna both started saying they wanted to talk to Santa and were adamant about it, so I agreed.  Alayna has never had a problem with Santa but Olivia has never taken one picture with Santa where she wasn't crying, I had to seize the day. (Without sounding overly dramatic!)  Only problem was; Olivia was in a sweat suit and Alayna was in her school uniform! (Respectively.)  

It's all about the accessories in interior decorating



Guest post written by Vickie Strong

You don't have to worry about a whole lot when it comes to furniture if you know how to shop for it. I'm all about getting second hand furniture that's cheap and not considered an antique. I'm not wealthy enough to invest in antiques, so I just try to make sure that my style is really quirky and I dress up all the stuff that I find.

But I love to use all kinds of little accessories and accents, but I thought that it might be fun to come up with a group of things to hang up together for some unique wall art. When I was online looking up some ideas for that, I ran across some info on Sears Home Improvement. After I looked through it a little bit, I decided to use them to get our windows replaced. They've looked kind of bad for a long time now anyway.

I got the idea to frame some cool family photographs with some brightly painted frames. I got some great deals at the flea market and my grouping of frames looks so cute and unique to our home!

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Nov 13, 2011

My daughter, the model.


Yesterday my mom bought Alayna a brand new dress and winter boots for school and wearing out. (Aka: Being fashionable at age 6...)  Of course, my little diva has to pick the most mature dress and mature boots because they're "really cool".  (I never cared about being cool when I was 6...)  Well, when she woke up this morning and found out we were going to the grocery store, she wanted to be in high fashion, so she put on her new dress, leggings and boots.  Then...she wanted to be a "model".  She really could be a model, if we knew how to!  lol  She told me that when she grows up she wants to be a singer or actor.  She also says that if she can't be that, she could "deal" with being a model.  Wooow...

Nov 10, 2011

NEVER go to the mall with kids.


Tuesday I made the very hard and stressful decision to leave Old Navy.  I enjoyed the job but the 45 minute commute to and from work everyday was very stressful on me and tough on my wallet for gas money.  As much as I loved everyone there and enjoyed the job (and the discount!) I told them that we had to part ways as I didn't want to be unfair to them when I couldn't give my all to the job. As I was in the car on the way home from telling them I had to leave (and I was in tears) I got a phone call from Coach.  I had applied with them a few weeks prior and had gone on an interview about a week and a half before...  They were offering me a job!!  I was so excited I could barely contain myself and all I wanted to do was get out of my car and jump for joy.  Not to mention how perfect the timing was of their phone call; when I was crying and stressing over my decision to leave Old Navy!  

Nov 8, 2011

Taking back control



When I lost my job with Bluefly.com I really just resigned from caring about anything.  I loved that job and it was really my livelihood... I felt like nothing would fall into place ever again, but it is.  I decided to keep my job at Old Navy, for now, but work on my jewelry and work on my blog as well.  I've had KRumian LLC up since the mid summer but have yet to promote it or do much of anything with it.  Now, I know I have the skills to make a decent living from home while working with bloggers and companies, but I haven't had the time to promote it and get my business seen.  That's going to change.  I'm going to start back everything that I have put to the side so I am able to be happy and make a living for my family at the same time.

Nov 6, 2011

Missing my old life..


I worked from home (on and off) ever since I got pregnant with my youngest.  Working from home was definitely a perfect fit for me since I could stay home with my girls, relax while I work and I saved a hell of a lot of money on gas, food and clothing!  Ever since I got laid off from my last job I've been so down.  True, I did get a new job; I work at Old Navy full time right now, but it's not the same.  Retail is something I'm interested in and something that I love, but I don't love the way I feel when I get home from work.  I'm exhausted, irritable and in so much pain.  My entire body aches from being on my feet all day and my knee is usually very swollen from the fracture I had this past summer.  I really wish I could either start my own business that I can make a steady income from, monetize my blog better and make an income from what I love or find a new at home job.  I keep looking and trying, but I'm lucky I found any job in this economy. I'll have to stick it out for now, but I'll always keep trying to better myself and actually work from home again.  

(This was just a minor rant since I was feeling down and depressed. Thanks for listening!)

Oct 14, 2011

An Open Letter to AT&T Wireless


Dear AT&T Wireless,

I used to brag about your customer support and how great you guys were when I had an issue with paying my monthly bill; that just changed.  When you shut my service off today because I was one day late I went to the store with the money that I had saved up for the bill and paid it...All $340 of it. (Which NO one can explain to me why my bill is that high for 3 lines and two smart phones.  They all keep telling me that they will "get back to me" with ways to lower my bill -- NEVER HAPPENED.)  I was told by the retail store in Jersey City, NJ that my service would be back on in 5 minutes... I waited...

It takes me 15 minutes to get home and my service still wasn't on.  I walked to my grandmother's house to use her phone to find out what the hell was going on and why my service still wasn't on... "Oh, it shows your services are active." I was told... I had to fight with the agent to tell them my services were in fact NOT active because I couldn't use my phone.  I was put on hold for an absurd amount of time before she told me that she had to manually start the initializing of my services being restored... She told me within an hour they would work.

I gave you guys two hours, actually...

Still nothing.  I walked to my grandmother's (once again) to use her phone and I got a little more angry with your agents this time.  Two hours had passed and no services were restored.  I was told, once again, that my services were all connected.  I had to argue (for the second time) that my services were not restored.  I was put on another long absurd hold only for them to tell me it was still initializing.  Seriously?  Two hours and 15 minutes?  She told me that unfortunately there were so many new iPhone activations that they were all lagged for now and some were put on hiatus.  I'm a long time AT&T wireless and iPhone customer but unfortunately I guess that doesn't matter with AT&T.  I was told that some of these people waited hours for a new iPhone and they have to activate those first.  Is this how you care about your long time customers? She told me there was no guarantee when the service would be active again and I think that's complete bullshit.  I want my phone working the way it should be.  You're so quick to take my money every month and I have to wait hours and hours to use my own service?  Complete and utter bullshit.

Thankfully, I'm not the only one complaining about this.  I searched on Twitter to find many other customers who were one day late dealing with disconnection and activation lags as well.  I'm really ready to throw in the towel with AT&T and go to Verizon Wireless or Sprint.  Maybe there I wouldn't have to deal with the type of customer service and attitudes that I received today from the AT&T Wireless Customer care.
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Oct 13, 2011

Revisiting Friday Follow. :) Yay!


Since I have the time to visit some new blogs, I'm going to participate in the Friday Follow blogs and stuff this week.  Next week I don't know if I'll have as much time since I start my new job, but I'll definitely try.

Yes, I have a new job!  I'm working seasonally with Old Navy for now.  It's not a career but a job that will bring in income for the time being.  After the seasonal employment is over I will start looking for an actual job but I had to take what I could get for now, we need the paychecks.  I did have an interview with Coach today and will definitely take that if it is offered to me.  It's a much better job with better hours and pay.  It's just the big waiting game now until I know if they think I'm a good candidate for the job.  (I hope so! I love Coach.)

Oct 3, 2011

Back in the job searching world.



So, I'm back in the job search world.  Last week I got a call from my boss that I lost my job.  I took a leave back in June that was for 8 weeks and apparently they wanted me back before the 8 weeks was over.  (Though they never told me that.)  Maybe my mom being sick and having 2 mini strokes, diabetes and then getting her gallbladder removed wasn't a good enough excuse for me needing that 8 weeks to help her out.  I sent them all the medical documentation they needed, but they didn't really care.  I'm the only caregiver of my mom and that's why I needed the full 8 weeks... It was very frustrating.  I'm upset, hurt and very angry that they did this to me, especially during the wrong time of the year.  I have my kids' birthdays coming up as well as Christmas and now I'm back trying to find a job.  

Sep 28, 2011

10 Tips to Keep Toys Organized



My kids are selectively deaf.  They love to play with their toys and love to take everything out, but they hate putting the toys back.  When I tell them to clean up they take it as; "Let's take out more toys!" or "Ok, mom wants us to go mess up another room now."  Kids don't hear the same things we do or they don't want to hear the same things.  

Keeping a bedroom, living room or playroom clean and organized is such a horrible and difficult task, right? Wrong!  It's actually fairly easy when you strategize and think of some great and creative ways to help your space.  I'm not a professional organizer nor is my house clean by any means, but I have come up with a few ways to keep things organized! Especially with kids toys.

Sep 26, 2011

Recipe: Mini Eggplant Pizzas. (Low carb, Low calorie, Low fat)


Ever since I made the decision to change my eating lifestyle and eat healthier, I've always been looking for new ways to eat.  I'm sick of the same old food that you just throw in the microwave and eat; that gets boring after a while.  I decided to try these Mini Eggplant Pizzas that I saw somewhere and they ended up being just so delicious!

Sep 20, 2011

Do low income families need better parenting skills?



I read an article today that was titled, Are Poor Parents Poorer at Parenting?  Just the title made me a little angry because I don't see how income really makes parents good, bad or needing improvement.  Even though I was angry I decided to read the article and to give it a chance; I'm seriously an optimist at times!  To be honest, the article was not half bad and did touch on the fact that even middle class and upper class families can use some parenting help.  It got me thinking, How many people actually feel this way about low income families?

Sep 8, 2011

First day of Kindergarten. :(


Alayna started her first day of Kindergarten yesterday and mommy cried.  Alayna didn't cry but mommy did! I can't believe my little baby is getting older!  It's so hard to think about her already going to school for a full day, but I am grateful!  I'll have some time to myself since Olivia is so easy on her own.  She amuses herself well! :)  

There was just one problem when I dropped her off yesterday -- She's the only one from her AM pre-school class in her Kindergarten class.  We were all very upset, but Alayna took it like a trooper.  When she got home yesterday she expressed how upset she was.  It seemed like they kept all the AM class together except for my Alayna.  Her teacher also seemed like she was a tough one and not too compassionate towards the children.  To tell you how un-compassionate the teacher is, there was a little girl in her class who had a broken arm.  The teacher said to this 5/6 year old, "What did you do, get hit by a truck?"  I mean...who says that to a 5/6 year old!  

Aug 26, 2011

Hills Science Diet - 30 Day Challenge!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hills Pet Nutrition. All opinions are 100% mine.

Every pet owner wants their dog to be healthy and happy, that's just a given!  Even older dogs can be happy, healthy and can still run around just like when they were a puppy!  Hills Science Diet Healthy Mobility can definitely help with that - within 30 days of starting your dog on the food you'll see an improvement in their flexibility and happiness!  

That's why Hills Science Diet started the Hills Healthy Mobility challenge!  They guarantee that within 30 days you'll see an improved difference in your dog's mobility and flexibility! They also are giving pet owners who try their challenge a chance to win free dog food for a YEAR!  (Who couldn't use that!)  When you register, you'll also get $30 in FREE coupons!  It's definitely a reason to try out a pet food that will improve your pets overall life!   Hill's Healthy Mobility Coupon

Definitely go ahead and try out the challenge, get coupons and try to win free pet food for a year with Hills Science Diet!  Check out their information on Hill's Pet Nutrition and visit them on Facebook as well for more special offers and information! Hill's Pet Nutrition on Facebook

Visit Sponsor's Site

Aug 23, 2011

Through the eyes of a 5 year old...

My 5 year old took these pictures and left them as a present for me on my iPhone.  I think they're the cutest!  It really shows what a 5 year old is interested in. lol  



Aug 22, 2011

My kids think I was born with the Cavemen


We had very basic TV when I was a child.  Until I was 5, we didn't have cable and just had the very basic ABC, NBC, CBS and so on.  Our TV was small and one of those tube TVs with the very large back.  When we did get cable, our cable box was hooked to the TV and had buttons on the box itself.  The buttons weren't regular buttons, rather they were those hard buttons that popped one up when you press down another. (I know I'm not explaining it right! lol)  Picture to the right of a similar box to what we had.  

There were no remote controls to our television back then, we had to get up and change the channel when we wanted to switch it.  I remember laying on the living room floor with the cable box in front of me while watching TV.  Of course, my mom would yell at me that I was too close to the television and that my eyes were going to get hurt.  (Didn't all parents say that?)  Even our cable channels were few and far between.  I believe we had about 31 cable channels at that time.  Even so, that was a huge difference from the 4 or 5 regular local channels we had previously.  Yes, even our TV, while hooked up to a cable box, still had an antenna.  There was no digital cable back then.

Believe it or not, my two girls are in disbelief when I tell them about this.  They either think I'm crazy or that I was born in the days of the cavemen and dinosaurs.  This all came about when I made the decision to get rid of DirecTV.  The prices were getting outrageous and when I called to lower my bill, they completely gave me the runaround about why they didn't want me to lower the bill.  I got so frustrated with them, I asked them to put my account on hold while I tried to find a solution for this.  Right now, my kids are watching Netflix through my Wii and I don't mind that at all.  The minimal price of Netflix is much better than the pricy satellite service.  I think it's perfect because I hardly watch TV.  I'm too busy to watch anything and mostly watch Netflix at night or watch shows that I did miss on the computer.  I don't really see the need for expensive TV service when we don't really use all of the channels that we have.  I feel like it's a waste of my hard earned money.

My girls told me that they can't live without the TV and that actually scared me.  Do my kids think that TV is everything?  I get them out of the house and they get plenty of exercise, I don't let them sit by the TV constantly and I don't use the TV as a babysitter, but every once in a while when I'm making dinner or my mom is making dinner, they would sit down and watch TV.  I really do think it's sad that this generation of children think that TV is so important to them.  It made me realize that kids these days take a lot for granted.  They don't understand how it was when we were little and they don't want to understand either.  

I'm going to have to start limiting TV time and getting my kids to exercise their creative muscles.  After all, I'm an artist and I feel that being creative is much more important than watching TV and turning your brains into mush by doing so.  I'm going to really start to make my kids realize that there is more to life than watching Wow Wow Wubbzy, Dora the Explorer, Imagination Movers and whatever else they watch.  I'll show them that creativity and using your imagination is much more important and much more fun.  That's what we had to do when I was little, and I owe that to the reason why I am so creative and artistic today.  
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Aug 21, 2011

Catch Me If You Can The Musical on Broadway! See it now while you can!


I was not compensated at all for this post.  I am posting my own opinions because of my feelings about the show and the cast itself.

I used to absolutely love the movie Catch Me if you Can and last year when I heard there was a show coming to Broadway based on the movie, I absolutely had to see it.  Of course, since I had been talking about it for months, my best friend decided to take me to the show for my birthday.  Well, that was back in March and since that first day that I saw this show, I have been hooked.  

Why?

As I said, I loved the movie; however the musical is a completely different angle to the story.  While the movie focuses more on the chase between Frank Abagnale and the FBI agent who tries to find him, the play focuses more on the father/son relationships that come out of the show.  The father/son relationship between Frank Abagnale and his dad and the father/son relationship that comes between Frank and the FBI agent who becomes someone Frank looks up to.  

Not only is the story inspiring and true, but the musical numbers in this show and the choreography is just amazing.  I've seen this musical quite a few times and I never get sick of it.  The chemistry between the entire cast is just absolutely amazing and the leads Aaron Tveit and Norbert Leo Butz are perfect for their parts.  The way they fall into character and become the character is just absolutely amazing.  It is like the parts were written for those two especially.

Sadly, this show is closing on September 4th, the economy is bad and many people figure that they can't afford Broadway shows.  However, they can!  There are some great discounts (Broadway Box and the TKTS booth in Times Square.)  I highly suggest that anyone traveling to New York or anyone living in New York go to see this show.  It is one that you do not want to miss.

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Aug 20, 2011

Gender Disappointment Exists!

I was browsing Twitter the other day when I saw this post about Gender Disappointment.  I actually could very  much relate to her post.  Now, I wasn't told that my child was supposed to be a boy when she really was a girl, all of my ultrasounds were very accurate with both of my kids.  However, after having a healthy girl already, I was hoping that my second was a boy.  I wasn't disappointed that she was a girl, I was disappointed that my intuition was wrong in the first place! (I usually have very good intuition.

Many people do experience the "gender disappointment" however.  This was so in the case of my ex fiance.  He wanted a boy so badly that he could teach to drag race, play soccer and so on...  When he found out she was a girl he was very upset.  (He actually told me he didn't want to be a father since she wasn't going to be a boy.  Hence why we are not together right now.)   I'm sure that is a way extreme case of "gender disappointment", but I'm sure it still happens.

Especially when you have one child already of a certain sex, sometimes you may want the opposite sex for your second child, or third child or so on.  It's normal to feel like you want one more than the other; it happens all of the time!  We definitely should be happy that we are blessed with a healthy baby, but we all have our hopes and wishes.

Funny story:  When my oldest found out I was pregnant she was unsure how to feel about it. (She was 2 at the time, though! Still my little baby!)  I asked her if she wanted a baby brother or sister and she told me... "I want a penguin instead.  Not a sister or a brother.".  That's more like species disappointment than gender disappointment!  All through my second pregnancy, my oldest wished for a penguin.  She asked me after every appointment if I was sure I wasn't having a penguin for her. lol   Thankfully, she loves her sister more than life! (And also still loves penguins.  She hasn't gotten a penguin yet, we don't live in Alaska...)  

Aug 1, 2011

Hectic and Crazy Life


Sometimes I feel like I am or have to be super mom, especially lately.  Maybe my life will calm down a little bit, but I can't make myself any promises.  Last week I starte a new job with Comcast and started training last Monday.  I absolutely love the job, it's a customer service job and a new job working from home, but the training clashes with Bluefly.  So, for three days last week I was doing Comcast orientation from 9:00 am - 5:30 pm and working Bluefly from 2:00 pm - 10:00 pm.  I pretty much worked for 13 hours straight!  Absolutely exhausting. 

Jul 27, 2011

My little Fashionista

My daughter is 5 and a half going on 16. She is a mini fashionista, but she definitely takes after her mommy! She gets my sense of style and love of fashion. My little princess loves dresses, skirts, purses, shoes and just anything cute or fashionable. She loves pink and purple and anything with sparkle or bling!  I absolutely love to go shopping with her because she enjoys it!  Olivia  has her own little style too, but she isn't heavy into fashion and shopping as Alayna is.  Alayna loves to go to the mall, try on clothes and find out what fits and works for her!  Hopefully Olivia will grow into that phase when she gets older.  Id love to go shopping with both of my girls someday!

Even though she has to wear a uniform to school, she can't wait to give her uniform her own twist of style this year! She has already scouted out some cute skirts at where else? JC Penney, of course! She wants to add her "Alayna style" to her kindergarten "big girl" clothes this year!  My daughter is fashionable, yet unique.  She doesn't want to follow everyone else's style, she wants to make her own style and have others follow her own trend.  She always wants to be a leader, not a follower!

As of now, Alayna loves to wear the long tunic tops with leggings, denim skirts with leggings and a shirt or a trendy and cute summery dress.  She always has to have the cutest navy blue skirts for her uniform as well.  Her favorite shoes are her black patent heels (small heel!) but they’re trendy heels!  She would wear anything that she would think is cute and adorable. 

My 5 year old is much more mature and much more fashionable than her age.  While most girls her age want to wear cute dresses that make them look like babydolls, my Alayna wants to wear the trendy dresses and skirts!  Even though she wants to be trendy, she also knows the limits and would never try to dress inappropriately for her age.  I taught her well enough in that aspect!  She is the most popular girl in her class and she loves the attention and comments on her clothes and her accessories! I live vicariously through her, since I was never popular. It's a fun ride for the both of us fashionistas!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and jcpenney blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” http://jcpenney.socialmoms.com/about


Is banning children considered discrimination?


Banning children from public places such as restaurants, planes, certain stores and so on has been making headlines lately.  North Carolina restaurant Olde Salty was the first to start in the trend by posting a sign stating, “Screaming children will not be tolerated.”  A Pittsburgh area restaurant McDain’s took it a step further and actually banned children under 6 from their restaurant.  It doesn’t stop with those two, Malaysia airlines actually banned infants from many of their cabins and other public places are beginning to follow suit.  Is this fair or is this discrimination?

Jul 23, 2011

Looking for low cost phone service? Tracphone is your go-to Pay As You Go plan!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TracFone. All opinions are 100% mine.


In the summer, there is also a need for young teens to have a cell phone.  Most parents are worried about getting contract phones because of the high bills and high rate of text messages sent.  These bills can skyrocket with young teens who don't understand the relationship between texting and overages.  This can be prevented by using a prepaid Tracphone.  Tracphone offers the least expensive way to own a cell phone in the United States.  There are no monthly fees, no credit checks and no cancelation fees.  There are no surprises with a prepaid phone service at all! The coverage is absolutely great and the coverage area is very widespread throughout the entire US. You can even purchase a smartphone with Tracphone service! The best part is, the service is Pay As You Go.  This means you can purchase the Tracphone cards at any retailer wherever you are!

Why was I watching 16 and Pregnant?! lol


I don't know why, but one night when I was bored I started watching 16 and Pregnant.  All of their labors seem to last under 6 hours, which is completely unfair! Ha!  I was in labor with Alayna for 14 and a half hours and only 7 with Olivia.  (Which I think is normal for second labors.)  It's just so nostalgic watching that, because I remember what I went through with my girls.  My pregnancy with Alayna was the worst, I gained 75lbs, I was diabetic, I was pre-eclampsic and had hypertension.  I was in the hospital more than I was out of the hospital with my first pregnancy.  The night I had Alayna I went into the hospital because I thought my water had broke, it didn't; but I was leaking fluid.  They were going to try to keep me on bedrest until I was a little farther along but my blood pressure was record high and they decided to induce early instead of risking my having a seizure because of the high blood pressure.  I remember how horrible it was since I also was GBS positive.  I had to be put on several different IVs, pitocin, something for the GBS (I know it wasn't amoxicillin since I'm allergic) and the worst of them all, magnesium for the pre-eclampsia.  The magnesium was the worst because of the withdrawal off of it. Horrible...  Because of the magnesium, I wasn't allowed out of bed for 48 hours.  That also meant I wasn't able to see Alayna for two days in the NICU.  :(  I also had a horrible reaction to the epidural, I believe they gave me too much... I couldn't feel anything at all below my waist.  Hardly any contractions, I actually felt like I was paralyzed.  Hey, at least I didn't feel any pain...  (Oh, did I mention my mom fainted when they administered my epidural?  Yeah, she did...

Jul 13, 2011

10 Tips to Make Your Life Easier on the Go!


Life on the go is very difficult sometimes, rather you are a busy mom always in your car or on the go on a vacation. There are so many ways to make your life and your trip easier for yourself and your family. Here are some tips that may ease the stress of being on the go or away from home.  Whether you're a business woman, a blogger, a work from home mom or just a very busy mom, there are important apps for your phone that can definitely help you out!  Every mom would love their lives to be easier, and that's what these apps do!

Jul 12, 2011

My 10 Reasons to Visit Virginia Beach

My mom, my uncle and I used to always go on vacation together for as long as I can remember, but my grandma and grandpa hardly ever went. The one vacation I remember so clearly was my mom, my uncle, me and my grandparents. They weren't really vacation people and didn't like to travel and go to beaches, but they went with us that year. We traveled to Virginia Beach. From New Jersey that is quite a trek, especially for a 8 year old. I swore the car ride seemed like it was days long and to this day, I still have no idea why my family decided to drive. From what I remember, our trip was full of memorable things such as my moms car breaking down on the way to VA Beach.  I would absolutely love to take my girls back to Virginia Beach one day, despite the long drive.  Why?

Jul 11, 2011

Which Revenue Sharing Site is Better? Triond or Factoidz? My experiment.

Recently I've written quite a few articles and did a  little experiment to see which revenue sharing site ended up bringing in more income.  I wrote an article last week about whether Factoidz or Triond is the better site to bring in an extra income as well.  (I go into more detail in that article, so if you are looking for a lot more information on which is better, check that out.)  I really wanted to start at the beginning of the month, submitting the same amount of articles to both sites and see which brings in more page views and income.  I found out that Factoidz brings in quite a bit more than Triond.  

Jul 8, 2011

Success!

After months of trying, having success and then falling back; Olivia is completely potty trained!  Olivia really started to potty train when my mom first went into the hospital.  There was so much running around, dropping the girls off at my grandma's house, my trying to work in between all this that sometimes I would forget to put enough diapers in her travel bag!  Actually, once I forgot to even give my grandma diapers I was so out of it.  Olivia realized then that she had to learn to go on the potty and she did!  It was like night and day, she didn't gradually make the transition.  I'm so proud of her for being off the diapers and off the bottle, and she is even more proud of herself.  

Jul 7, 2011

This is a post to my stalker... Scary, huh?

Dear Chicken Shit,

Didn't your mom ever say this to you; "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?"  Apparently not.  I also highly doubt that you were ever taught how to be a mature adult.  I'm sure I know who you are and it is sad that you have to stoop to a childish elementary school level to feel good about yourself.  You should really try some other methods to make yourself feel better, putting down someone else and trying to screw them over is really sad.  It's actually more of a sad thing that doing that makes you feel more high and mighty.  

You always wanted to be part of the in crowd and you know what?  I did at one point too.  Maybe it's just the fact that I didn't have tons of friends in High School, but I wanted to be "cool" so I could fit in.  Sad to say, that is why I hung out with you.  That is a huge regret in my life because you brought me down and you never made me feel good about myself.  You always had to prove to me that you were better and you were prettier.  That was probably another way for you to make yourself feel better.  Now I realize I don't need tons of friends and I realized the hard way that I don't need to fit into a crowd. I'm fine the way I am.  I'm a hard working woman, I'm a mother of two beautiful girls and I have three best friends who make me actually feel better about myself.  Those three friends have been with me throughout everything and throughout your 4 years of bullying.  Aren't you tired of it yet?  Shouldn't you actually grow up and start acting your age?  I think it's about damn time.  

I'm not writing this because I'm crying at your insults.  Actually, I'm laughing at them.  I think it's hilarious that after 4 years you are still at it and hilarious that you have to post anonymously on my blog, articles and so on.  What? Too afraid to say what you want to say to my face?  Grow up and get a damn life!  I actually feel bad for you, you must really feel low about yourself to have to continue to put me down.  You can't find anyone else to bully?  Probably because once, 4 years ago, I was a naive girl who just wanted a good friend.  Unfortunately, I feel prey to your manipulation and mind-f'ing.  I've grown up over the past few years...a lot... It seems like you're regressing to acting younger and younger.  I do hope that you find happiness within yourself, I don't wish harm on anyone.  

Grow up, get a life and leave me and my family alone. I know EXACTLY who you are and you are lucky that in the past 4 years I haven't filed a harassment complaint.  You and your "groupies" need to quit while you're ahead. (Or while you think you're ahead.)

Sincerely,
Kristin

Jul 6, 2011

I'm growing up....and it's scary.

The picture above is a picture of my new baby!  It's a 2009 Jeep Liberty.  I made the decision to get a new car a few weeks ago and wasn't sure exactly when I was going to be getting it.  Hell, I didn't even know if I could get auto financing since my credit is less than great.  I have been working on my credit, paying off my credit card bills on time to establish more credit than what I had.  (I've been doing that since I got credit cards in November) I was really worried about going to a dealer and trying to get financing, but I found a dealer in Little Falls, NJ that specialized in getting financing for those with not so great credit.  The dealer is a good 35 minutes from me, but when they called me and told me I was pre-approved, I decided to give it a try.

Jul 5, 2011

Is being alone important for a mom?


It was so funny when I read this blog post on being alone because I had just been thinking about that today.  When you have children there is no being alone.  Your children follow you everywhere and rightfully so!  They love you and want to be just like you.  Though, sometimes it is great to have alone time.  It's important to take some time for yourself and go out alone, send the kids to their grandma's house or just to go somewhere and think quietly.  It's important for our sanity!  (And it would be VERY nice to be able to go to the bathroom or take a shower without the kids in the bathroom with you.)

Jun 25, 2011

Pure Insanity...


LMAO!  I was looking for another graphic, but when I saw this I just started hysterically laughing and could not stop.  That picture is just way too funny.  :)

I am finally back in full swing, or I hope I am!  Things have just been a nightmare for the past week or so.  My mom has been getting dizzy spells and other symptoms for about 3 weeks or so, but would never listen to me about going to the hospital. (She is more stubborn than I am.)  However, she did go to a Chiropracter/Spine Specialist about pain she was having.  She has been having severe pain in her back and her right leg for years, but it has gotten worse.  She found out that she has Severe Degenerative Disk Disorder.  What that is, is the disks in your back have cartilidge in between them to cushion them.  With the disorder my mom has, the cartilidge wears down slowly with age.  It gets to a point where there is hardly any cartilidge left and it's just bone on bone with no cushion.  My mom isn't exactly to that point yet, but she has hardly any cartilidge left.  The doctor has an awesome machine in the office that can relieve that pain.  It's 3 treatments a week for 2 months.  The machine stretches the disks so that it is not bone on bone.  I don't exactly know how it works, but I think it's great what technology can do now! 

Jun 20, 2011

New Nutrish Makes Dogs Happpy! :)

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nutrish. All opinions are 100% mine.
I have a very temperamental Teacup Yorkie who absolutely hates dog food, and always has!  Of course, I'm a softy, so I give in and usually give her some people food.  However, too much "people food" isn't good for dogs and their digestional system, so I figured I had to try something new that maybe she would like.  When I had the chance to review Nutrish, I jumped on the chance.  Anything that may make my dog eat what she should eat makes me happy.

Jun 19, 2011

Family Tragedies!

I'm so sorry I haven't been around in almost 10 days.  A lot has been going on.  My mom has been in the hospital since she had TIA's which are mini strokes.  We also found out that she is diabetic.  On top of that, I fell  and am in terrible pain.  I fell directly on my leg and now my leg is buckling and giving out when I step on it.  I may have to be in the emergency room to get this checked out.  I miss writing blogs and will get back into my daily blogging, I just have to focus on my family right now and make sure my mom is ok.  I predict that I will go back to my regularly scheduled blogging by Tuesday.

Jun 10, 2011

Celebrating Randomness, woo hoo!

Oh man do I have a bunch of randomness to post today!  I blame the randomness on not having the time to actually write a regular post.  However, I do have a few that I wrote last night and today that are going to be scheduled for publishing this weekend and week.  Does anyone know if there is a program or site that can schedule your tweets for you too? I'd love to schedule some of my tweets about my posts as well. :)  If you know of any, please e-mail me or just post them here.

Dieting Woes - Yes, I do like dieting...to a point.  I just hate the very beginning of a brand new diet where you're craving everything.  Junk food withdrawal completely sucks, and I'm the first one to admit it.  When you have a hard time controlling your cravings for the junk food, it's worse.  It drives you absolutely insane and makes you want to just go and eat the junk food even if you're dieting.  I know I can't do that, but that's what my brain is telling me!  I can over come it, I can over come it... That's what I have to keep telling myself.  

Jun 9, 2011

How awesome is Verizon Fios for your family?

 
We have been through so many TV companies such as Optimum (Cable), DirecTV, Dish Network and finally Verizon Fios.  With other companies we either got charged too much money (Optimum) or lost our network reception during a snow, ice or rain storm. (DirecTV and Dish)  It got to the point where paying for and watching TV was just too frustrating and stressful!  We were quickly losing hope and trying to figure out what service to stick with when we found Verizon Fios. 

Verizon Fios is Verizon's advanced fiber optic network that lets you watch regular and HDTV with hardly any pixelation and interference from the weather!  Honestly, if you have ever had satellite TV, you know how frustrating it is to lose the picture in the middle of a movie or TV show!  It's frustrating and isn't helpful to your relaxation!  Verizon Fios has NONE of that!  That isn't the only thing that makes Fios awesome, it's the other features that come along with it!

Jun 6, 2011

FREEBIE! Get a Free Belly Bag from Cryo-Cell!

This post brought to you by CryoCell International. All opinions are 100% mine.
Get a free (adorable) BellyBag when you request an information packet and consult with an advisor about cord blood banking from www.Cryo-Cell.com!
If you are pregnant or planning on getting pregnant, I would highly suggest that you consider cord blood banking.  I found out about it when I was pregnant with Alayna, and I made the decision to do it for both of my children because of the extensive benefits of banking the umbilical cord blood.  The price is definitely right, it isn't too expensive, but even the benefits and advantages of this outweighs any cost.  It's definitely your child's life and future you are thinking about when you decide to bank the cord blood!

Jun 5, 2011

I want to wake up next week...

I'm having one of those horribly stressful weeks where every single day, you wish you could go to bed and redo the day over again.  Only that never happens and my days never get better.  Let's see how I started this week... 

It started on Monday when I found out my license had been suspended.  Why?  On July 31st, 2010 I severely strained my Achilles tendon and was on crutches for over a week so that it would heal and wouldn't completely snap.  That night, I was unable to back all the way into my driveway as I usually do since I was on crutches and once you back all the way in, you have to squeeze out since the houses are so close together.  It was impossible for me to back all the way in and get out of my car.  The next morning, I found I had a $75 parking ticket for parking inappropriately in my driveway.

May 29, 2011

Totsy Memorial Day Weekend Sale!!


What is Totsy?  Totsy is a site that hosts private sales for moms, children and babies.  I absolutely love Totsy for the reason that they have items for up to 85% off the retail price!  Not only do they have great prices, but they have items that would normally be un-affordable for most families because of the high prices, but Totsy makes them affordable. I have gotten some amazing, unbelievable deals off of Totsy and will continue to shop there for as long as I possibly can get steals!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!



What fun is a long, holiday weekend without a fun old-school, nostalgic MySpace glitter graphic! (Corny, I know. I like glitter, what can I say?)  But either way -- Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  I hope everyone has a great BBQ to go to and eats as much food as their tummies can handle!  I know that I will!  We are just having a small family BBQ, but we're still going to eat whatever we can fit in our stomaches nonetheless!  Memorial Day is the "official" kick off to summer and also an excuse to stuff ourselves! (Well, other than Thanksgiving...)

May 26, 2011

Summer is coming! Children in Bikinis? Your opinions!


I recently saw this topic on Momversation and in light of summer coming up, I feel this is a good debate to spark on my blog and maybe some others as well.  It's definitely something that has many different opinions and I am sure moms cannot agree on what is right and what is wrong.  It has many moms and families split down the middle.  

Remember the news headlines a few weeks ago about Abercrombie Kids having a padded string bikini for kids?  Well, I believe this really sparked the conversations and debates about whether or not children should wear bikinis to the beach since their little (and very inappropriate) bikinis became front page news.  

May 20, 2011

*CLOSED!* FRESCHETTA PIZZA BY THE SLICE REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

This giveaway is now closed, winners will be announced by Sat 5/28/11!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA®. All opinions are 100% mine.



Thanks to SocialSpark, I was asked to review and host a Giveaway for FRESCHETTA® By the Slice! I jumped at the opportunity because, who doesn't love Pizza?!  Especially pizza that is cheap, quick and STILL tastes like delivery?  That's something we all love and all have time for!

Ok, so I do admit that I was very cautious and suspicious when I received the coupon because, let's face it, NOTHING that goes in the microwave or oven ever tastes like delivery, right? WRONG!  I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted this pizza.  It was absolutely delicious!  I also went ahead and did the ultimate taste test; I let my KIDS try it.  They all told me the same, that the pizza tastes just like delivery and they said it was crispy and delicious.  Anything that my kids do eat deserve a FIVE star rating!

May 10, 2011

Would you ever name your child Astravaganza or Facebook?


Celebrities are known for having the most off-the-wall baby names they can possibly have, but some non-celebrity moms are also starting to pick up on the trend.  I read an article this morning where some mom actually named her daughter Astravaganza. (Are you serious?!)  Parents want something unique that will set their children apart from the rest, but they also don't want their children to get beat up on the playground either.  I am not sure some parents consider that when naming their child.  They really do have to consider the long-term effects of the name that they are giving their child.

May 9, 2011

Office Redecorating Stress!



I find myself stressing lately about my home office.  I work 40 hours a week from home, so I need a nice and calming environment.  I really want it to be clutter-free so I can work without distractions.  This is why I moved my desk out of my room.  My room had way too many distractions and I found it so hard to work in there; or really concentrate on WHAT I had to do for work.  As I noted before in the previous post, we moved my office into our spare bedroom, which was empty.  It's been so nice to work in a calming environment separated from the rest of the house.  I.  Love.  It.  The only issue was, I still needed to do more work to get this room functional, the way I wanted it.  My ultimate vision is for this room to be a craft room, art studio and my home office.  Tall order, huh?  Definitely is, but I'm going to work my ass off to achieve this goal of mine... And quick!  

May 2, 2011

Walgreens Health & Welness Review

This is a compensated post written by me on behalf of Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.
120x30_WalgrensTransparentLogo
Since I was 16 I have tried almost every diet pill that is out there in the market, and while I know most of them were not safe, I did what I felt I had to do.  I found some that worked for me, some that made me feel like death and some that were just flat out unhealthy for you and were a big risk.  Once I came to my senses, I realized that I would never take another diet pill.  However, I learned about many supplements that were natural and worked almost as good as diet pills!  Green tea is one of them.  Not only do they help you rid water and bloat, they also are good for your health in general!
Walgreens sent me a sample of THEIR version of Green Tea Supplement pills to prove that their Health & Welness brand is exactly the same (if not better) than the competitors!  Walgreen's private label brands have the SAME exact ingredients as the larger labels that are mass marketed in different big box and drug stores.  Walgreens actually has better reviews than it's most popular competitor, MegaT.  Walgreens products have a 100% satisfaction guarantee as well.  It's extremely important to find a product that you like and that works fo you.  Especially in this economy, you want to find good value!