Mommy Kudos

A New Place

2016-03-24T04:27:17Z

Hi friends,

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here on Mommy Kudos. I loved sharing about the things that moms love but life has been full and I’ve been working on lots of other things. I am no longer updating this site but I would LOVE for you to come join me on my other blog: The Beautiful Deep where I share encouragement and lots of other goodies.

Also, I have started Brave Moms and would love for you to join me over there. It’s pure encouragement for your mom heart.

If you are an email subscriber you can go to The Beautiful Deep and sign up for emails there to continue to get updates from me.

Love,

Kristin

The post A New Place appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

You are a Good Mom!

2014-02-03T03:53:54Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

Did you know that you are a good mom? Let me tell you how I know…

I remember the days well. They were long and I was absolutely exhausted at the end of them. I couldn’t seem to work hard enough or fast enough to get much of my to do list done. There were many interruptions in my days to clean up spilled milk or break up a fight.

It all seemed overwhelming and I was drowning.

The lists of demands were never ending and unforgiving and to top it all off I was supposed to be happy and love taking time to play with my children. Who wrote these rules? They only seemed to set me up for failure.

I was a bad mom.

First it came as just a thought but I quickly owned it and agreed with it. “I must be doing it all wrong because I cannot get this mom thing right. I am constantly failing. I’m a bad mom.”

Of course these were all thoughts and I am not sure I would utter them out of my lips other than discussing my frustrations with my husband. I still wanted to get it right. I still longed to figure it out.

But I just kept failing. More than I was getting anything right I was getting it wrong {at least by my standards}.

One day everything changed.

My heart was forever changed as the veil was removed from my eyes and the truth flooded my world.

I heard myself.

I had heard the lie that I was a bad mom and I bought it, began to agree with it and even speak it over myself. “I’m a bad mom.”

I was becoming what I was agreeing with and what I was speaking over myself.

When God created the world and sat back and surveyed it all He said it was good. You and I and motherhood are part of His creation and He declared it all good.

I’m a good mom. That’s the truth. Not a perfect mom. Not a mom who has it all together but a good mom. That is what I combat the bad mom thoughts with… truth.

I start to become what I believe and agree with. I was agreeing with the lie that I was a bad mom and I was in a rut that I couldn’t get out of that confirmed over and over again to me that I was bad and doing it all wrong. Now that I know the truth, and believe it, I am becoming a better and better mom.

I am a good mom and you are too! Do you believe it?

The post You are a Good Mom! appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

See the new movie FROZEN first!

2013-11-21T00:41:38Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

I couldn’t resist sharing this for all of my local readers. My family and I are excited to go see the new movie Frozen that comes out the 27th of this month. The previews look so cute! Here’s a way you can go see it FREE before everyone else:

See it first:

Monday, November 25^th at 7:30PM

Cinemark West Plano

3800 Dallas Pkwy

Plano, TX 75093

Reserve your free tickets by clicking on this link and entering the code: 483265

Here is a summary of the film:

FROZEN (In 3D)

DISNEY

Website: Disney.com/Frozen

Facebook: facebook.com/DisneyFrozen

Twitter: Twitter.com/DisneyAnimation

Genre: Animated Comedy/Adventure

Rating: PG

U.S. Release Date: November 27, 2013

Voice Cast: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Ciarán Hinds

Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee

Producer: Peter Del Vecho

Screenplay by: Jennifer Lee

Original Songs by: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

Original Score Composed by: Christophe Beck

The film is directed by Chris Buck (“Tarzan,” “Surf’s Up”) and Jennifer Lee (screenwriter, “Wreck-It Ralph”), who also wrote the screenplay. It is produced by Peter Del Vecho (“Winnie the Pooh,” “The Princess and the Frog”). Featuring original songs from Kristen Anderson-Lopez (“In Transit,” “Winnie the Pooh”) and Tony® winner Robert Lopez (“The Book of Mormon,” “Avenue Q”), and an original score by Christophe Beck (“The Muppets,” Oscar®-winning short “Paperman”), “Frozen” hits theaters in 3D on Nov. 27, 2013.

In “Frozen,” fearless optimist Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) and his loyal reindeer Sven in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf (voice of Josh Gad) in a race to find Anna’s sister Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter.

NOTES:

Kristen Bell will star in the feature film “Veronica Mars,” reprising the title role. Her film credits include the comedy “Hit & Run,” written and directed by Dax Shepard and co-produced by Bell, as well as “Movie 43,” “Some Girls,” “You Again,” “Burlesque,” “When in Rome,” “Couples Retreat,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and David Mamet’s “Spartan.” On the small screen, Bell stars in Showtime’s “House of Lies” with Don Cheadle, and has also starred in “Heroes” and “Veronica Mars.” Broadway credits include “The Crucible” and “Tom Sawyer.”
Idina Menzel, who won a Tony Award® as best actress in a musical for her role as Elphaba in Broadway’s “Wicked” (2004), landed her first role on Broadway in 1995 in the Tony Award-winning musical “Rent.” Film credits include “Enchanted” and the feature film “Rent.” She has appeared in a recurring role on TV’s “Glee” and recently released “Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony,” a live concert with an orchestra led by composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch. Menzel is currently on a North American concert tour.
Jonathan Groff’s film credits include “Taking Woodstock,” “Twelve Thirty,” “The Conspirator” and “C.O.G.,” which was part of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. TV credits include Fox’s “Glee,” the Starz series “Boss” and CBS’ “The Good Wife.” Groff received a Tony® nomination for his performance in the Tony®-winning musical “Spring Awakening,” and appeared in the Public Theater’s revival of “Hair” and off-Broadway plays “Prayer for My Enemy” and “The Submission,” among others. He made his West End debut in Ira Levin’s “Deathtrap,” and appeared in the 2010 Tony®-winning “Red” by John Logan at the Mark Taper Forum.
Josh Gad, veteran of the Groundlings Improv troupe and founder of The Lost Nomads Comedy Troupe, appears alongside Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in “The Internship.” He stars as Apple co-creator Steve Wozniak in the biopic “Jobs,” and as Sam Kinison in the upcoming biopic directed by David Permut. Gad also stars in the Zach Braff Kickstarter-funded indie project “Wish I Was Here.” His credits include “Thanks for Sharing,” “Love & Other Drugs” and “Crossing Over.” On Broadway, he was nominated for a Tony® for his role in “The Book of Mormon,” and also appeared in “The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
Kristen Anderson-Lopez made her off-Broadway debut at Primary Stages with “In Transit,” a musical performed entirely without accompaniment, inspired by the rhythms and sounds of life on the subway. Robert Lopez is the Tony®-, Grammy®-, and Emmy®- winning co-creator of the worldwide smash hit Broadway musicals “Avenue Q” and “The Book of Mormon.” Together with his wife and collaborator, he co-wrote songs for the feature film “Winnie the Pooh” and “Finding Nemo: The Musical,” a beloved fixture at in Disney’s Animal Kingdom since 2006. Their next project for stage is an original musical called “Up Here.”
Director Chris Buck helmed the 1999 Disney classic “Tarzan” (with Kevin Lima) as well as the 2007 Oscar®-nominated “Surf’s Up” (with Ash Brannon). His animation credits also include 1989’s “The Little Mermaid,” “The Rescuers Down Under” (1990) and “Pocahontas” (1995).
Director/screenwriter Jennifer Lee is one of the screenplay writers of this year’s hit arcade-hopping comedy adventure “Wreck-It Ralph.” Her screen adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights” is being produced by Troika Pictures. She has an original screenplay in development with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way, and her original script “Lucid Dreams” was optioned by Wolfgang Peterson’s Radiant Productions.
Peter Del Vecho’s credits as producer include 2011’s “Winnie the Pooh” and 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog.” He served as associate producer for “Chicken Little” and “Treasure Planet.”

OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE:

Walt Disney Animation Studios, the studio behind “Tangled” and “Wreck-It Ralph,” presents “Frozen,” a stunning big-screen comedy adventure. Fearless optimist Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) and his loyal reindeer Sven—to find her sister Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf (voice of Josh Gad), Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom. The film is directed by Chris Buck (“Tarzan,” “Surf’s Up”) and Jennifer Lee (screenwriter, “Wreck-It Ralph”), who also wrote the screenplay. It is produced by Peter Del Vecho (“Winnie the Pooh,” “The Princess and the Frog”). Featuring original songs from Kristen Anderson-Lopez (“In Transit,” “Winnie the Pooh”) and Tony® winner Robert Lopez (“The Book of Mormon,” “Avenue Q”), and an original score by Christophe Beck (“The Muppets,” Oscar®-winning short “Paperman”), “Frozen” hits theaters in 3D on Nov. 27, 2013. For more information, check out Disney.com/Frozen, like us on Facebook: facebook.com/DisneyFrozen and follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/DisneyAnimation.

The post See the new movie FROZEN first! appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

Back to School Shoe Shopping {& a Giveaway}

2013-09-02T17:41:20Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

It’s back to school time for my kids and we have done a TON of shopping for clothes and shoes! I say a ton because with 5 of my 6 kids in school there is a lot to purchase before the big day comes.

This year, with 6 kids in tow, I headed to Famous Footwear for shoes for them all. With kids in sizes ranging from preschool to adult I knew I would be able to find a pair for each of them. With their incredible Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off deal I knew I would make out well. Sure enough 6 pairs of shoes later my kids were happy campers.

Sure enough they had all of the latest and greatest styles including sparkly Hello Kitty shoes that my 4 year old fell in love with as well as Sperry Top-siders that my older girls like these days. I have to admit that while I was buying shoe for them I had my eyes on some cute pumps and red Converse that I’ve been wanting too. I think I’m going to have to go back and get them when my budget recovers a bit from the back to school hit.

It was so easy for me to find shoes for all of my kids at good prices at Famous Footwear that I wonder why I’ve ever shopped around so much in the past. When my kids feet grow or they need new shoes again I’ll just head back to this one stop shop. Super simple!

Now for the fun part for you. Famous Footwear is giving one of my readers a $25 Famous Footwear gift card. It’s perfect for back to school shopping! Enter with the Rafflecopter form below {if you’re reading this in email click over to the site to enter}.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: I received a $25 gift card to use at Famous Footwear in exchange for telling you about my experience. My thoughts and opinions are my own and I only share with you what I truly love and find worthwhile.

The post Back to School Shoe Shopping {& a Giveaway} appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

And…She’s Back

2013-09-01T04:53:17Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

Wow! You’re still here? I’m thrilled that you are! I’ve been gone a while. I spent a lot of my time over the Summer months planning and preparing for The Declare {blogging} Conference, which went amazingly well and we are very excited to do it again next year!

The amazing Declare Conference team and I

I also spent the Summer doing some traveling to North Carolina for a reunion {of sorts} with my big family {I am 1 of 10 kids}. It was so much fun and my kids had a blast with their cousins too. Afterwards we headed to Florida to see more family and friends and go to Disney World.

7 of the 10 of my brother’s, sisters & I

We’ve taken each of our kids to Disney for their birthdays somewhere between ages 3 and 5 and the other kids love coming along too. We’ve found that going when they are closer to 5 is so much better. They remember it better afterwards and are able to last longer during the day. Of course they all conk out the second we get in the car at the end of the day. It wasn’t quite her birthday yet but my youngest was a few months off from turning 5 and she loved it (I mean who doesn’t?!).

What a road trip with luggage for 8 people looks like

My kids have now gone back to school. We have 5 kids in 3 different schools this year and my hand already needs physical therapy from all of the paper work. My youngest is still home with me and can’t wait until it is her turn to go to school.

I’m excited to kick off my return to blogging here with a giveaway. Stay tuned for one coming up really soon!

How was your Summer? Did you stay at home or travel somewhere with your family?

The post And…She’s Back appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

Great 1st Birthday Gift- LeapFrog My Pal Scout and Violet

2013-09-01T02:30:44Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

Here is a great 1st birthday gift idea for you: Leapfrog’s My Pal Violet and Scout are cute and fun. LeapFrog does a great job of making electronic educational toys that kids love to play with! You can plug these puppies into your computer (cable and instructions included) to personalize them with your child’s favorite things. They will say your child’s name, favorite color, favorite food, songs and much more. You can press the night time button on the foot once to play music for 2 minutes, or twice for 5 minutes. Violet was a big hit in our house and was the favorite stuffed animal that my youngest slept with for a couple years. The recommended ages for this are 6 months to 3 years.

The post Great 1st Birthday Gift- LeapFrog My Pal Scout and Violet appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

How Do You Keep it All Together?

2013-05-03T14:30:18Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

I get asked this question a lot: “How do you keep it all together?” Perhaps people ask me because I have 6 kids and if I chose to have 6 then I must have felt like I could handle them and stay on top of everything else too. Right?

The truth is that I almost always went into a new pregnancy wondering how on earth I would manage with one more or even two more (after having twins second I always wondered if I was having twins again). It was always a stretching process to add another child to our family. I knew it would be but I also knew that God had promised to be my strength when I relied on Him and so I did.

I didn’t set out to have a large family. I was a planner, an organizer and very much liked to be in control and a family of 8 never crossed my mind. But I found that when you have a child on your heart, and your husband is in the same place, another child is always a gift. Always.

Back to keeping it all together.

I don’t think that it’s possible. To keep it all together. It seems to me that any togetherness is a perceived condition. Children don’t allow for it.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am NOT saying that you cannot keep your house neat or that you cannot be organized or that you cannot have a great plan. What I am saying is that keeping it all together implies that you are completely in control and everything goes your way. It doesn’t. Hardly ever.

Kids are ever changing and raising them is incredibly demanding. A mother needs mounds of grace for her children and even more for herself. The dreams and plans you have of having it all together are sure to get interrupted by dealing with heart issues, sick kids, sleepless nights that lead to tired days, a daily battle inside of how much time you spend cleaning up and how much time you spend playing with kids, and I haven’t even gotten to distractions or tangents (like wanting to redo your daughters room. Right. Now!). Did I mention doctors appointments and planning meals and running errands?

The only way I know of how to keep it all together is by not allowing it to wreck you when it all falls apart. I’ve spent many moments crying over spilled milk and clothes all over the floor that I just put away. I’ve had heart palpitations over people coming over at a moments notice and when my kids melt down in a store. But I think my time is better spent on learning to be okay with the things that happen outside of my plans rather than trying so hard to keep anything outside of them from happening. Know what I mean?

I hope this is freeing for you in some way. I have spent years trying to keep it all together. If we can learn to hold it all loosely and focus on what’s important than I believe we will live lives that are capable of more joy, more grace and even more fun. And that’s what I want for my family and for you too.

————————————–

Linking up today with Kristen from We Are That Family for What Works for me Wednesday

The post How Do You Keep it All Together? appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

The Most Important Status Updates You Can Pay Attention to

2013-05-03T14:36:30Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

The other night I was sitting at my dinner table with my family and the kids, all 6 of them, were being chatter boxes. I felt like asking them all to take a deep breath and be quiet. But then I realized something that I needed to remember. They were sharing the details of their life with me and it would be easy to ignore these status updates but they are the most important ones I can pay attention to. I do love Facebook and Twitter but staying up to date on everyone else and missing what my kids are saying would be really sad. So I’m taking more moments to listen, to be in the moment and stay up to date on my kids statuses.

Do you struggle with missing your kids status updates? What ways do you make time to really hear them?

The post The Most Important Status Updates You Can Pay Attention to appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

A Reason for the Quiet

2013-02-21T05:08:25Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

It’s been a little quiet around here lately.

I’ve been busy getting my priorities in order and creating margin in my life. It’s not an easy task to cut back. It almost seems like more work to let go of things and hand them off but I’m getting there.

I did want to share with you something I have been a part of working on and I am incredibly excited about. It’s this:

The Declare Conference is a conference for Christian women bloggers. Our desire is to bless and encourage you while helping you to grow and learn about blogging and social media. The conference will take place in Dallas, Texas August 9th-10th, 2013. It’s going to be so much fun! We have some amazing speakers lined up to learn from.

If you are a blogger or want to start blogging I’d love to invite you to join us. We will have fun connecting, learn a lot, eat well, enjoy some awesome swag, have great vendors to meet with, party and, of course, indulge in chocolate! You won’t want to miss it!

I’ll be back to regular blogging soon and sharing all about what moms love. Thank you for your patience with me as I am learning and growing as a wife, mom & blogger.

Are you a blogger? Have you ever been to a blogging conference? Which one is your favorite?

The post A Reason for the Quiet appeared first on Mommy Kudos.

Cookie’s Kids Fashion Bargains

2013-02-15T19:46:02Z

Mommy Kudos - All about what moms love

I love a good bargain and having 6 kids pretty much makes bargain shopping mandatory. Recently I was browsing Cookie’s Kids Online Department Store for some winter clothing for my 4 year old for next year. Now, she is a girly girl with the taste of a princess and loves anything frilly and feminine. Shopping for her is usually fun but the kind of outfits she likes are often pricey.

I was really surprised at what I found for the money at Cookie’s Kids. I was aiming to spend about $30 and I started out searching for girls dresses. I was pleasantly surprised as I found cute dresses like the one below for as little as $9.99.

Cookie’s Kids Dress

As I searched for the perfect outfits for my daughter I was excited to find that Cookie’s Kids has Hello Kitty and Disney Princess clothing too. Both of which are favorites for her. It took me a little while to decide what to get with so many choices. There where quite a few different styles and looks that were great deals but I needed to stick to the budget. So, I was able to find 3 adorable outfits for just under $30.

Finding the right size was incredibly easy on Cookie’s Kids. I just clicked on the Alva Kids icon next to the size selection and entered my daughters information. Once I had added the information my daughter’s size was already selected for each new item I viewed. Super simple shopping if you ask me!

We anxiously awaited the package to arrive in the mail and when it came my daughter was thrilled to open it and see what I had found for her. She was so excited with each outfit. I got them in the next size up but she just had to try them all on and see what they looked like.

My daughter danced and twirled and giggled with her new outfits on. Honestly it was difficult to get her to be still after she tried each one on. She could hardly wait until daddy go home to show him all of her favorite new clothes.

She promptly picked the Princess outfit to wear for the day and had to hang the others up so she could wear them the following days. I’ve had a hard time convincing her that the clothes were a little big and meant for next year. I may just have to hide them away one day when she isn’t paying attention.

After shopping at Cookie’s Kids for cute girls clothes I also noticed that they have a nice selection of school uniforms. I’m keeping my eye on them and hoping to find some good deals for next year. I also think some of their boys suits are adorable and would be perfect for Easter coming up. They also have a great new Spring Line if you are getting ready for the warmer weather.

To find out more about my Cookie’s Kids shopping experience check out my Google+ Story. Also, search #Cookieskids on twitter for more info and stories about Cookie’s Kids. If you are in NYC there are 7 Cookie’s Kids stores in Bronx, Brooklyn and Jamaica as well as their online store at CookiesKids.com.

Do you shop for bargains online for the next season? Have you ever shopped at Cookie’s Kids?

I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and CookiesKids.com #CBias #SocialFabric

The post Cookie’s Kids Fashion Bargains appeared first on Mommy Kudos.