♥ Mommy Miscellaneous ♥

Gems The Word: Xpress Yourself Collection & Some beautiful new items!

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:28:00 +0000

I've been working so hard on my Gems The Word shop as well as our brand new website! We now have GemsTheWord.com! Today, I unveiled my Xpress Yourself collection, that I absolutely love. Each pendant is hand drawn and placed securely in an antique vintage style frame pendant. It's laminated and has a PVC photo covering on the frame as well. This is so durable and so adorable! :) Here is what I posted!

Adorable Hand Drawn Animal Bracelet

"I ~~Like~~ Love U" Antique Frame Necklace

"Let's Roll" Adorable Toilet Paper Hand Drawn Necklace

"Do You Like Me - Check One" Antique Frame Necklace

For a limited amount of time, you can get 10% off your entire purchase with Gems The Word -- Just use code THANKYOU!

Zeiss Lenses and their Educational Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:31:00 +0000

Your eyes and your eyesight is nothing to joke around with, this is why Zeiss Lenses has a full educational community with many tools to help you learn to protect your eyes and take care of them. They have full information on how to choose an eye doctor and this is very important information. There are some eye doctors, and trust me I have been to them, who don't give you the proper instructions for care with your eyes, glasses and lenses. You want a reputable eye doctor who has the reputation of being knowledgeable and assisting their patients fully with their eyes and eye care.

There is also important information on the health of your eyes and what to expect as you get older and your vision changes. Surely, you'll want to know when something is normal with age or abnormal and know when to get to the eye doctor to save your eyes and your vision. I cannot stress how important it is to read this article, it may save your vision someday.

Do you know the difference between an Optometrist, Optician and Ophthalmologist? I didn't either, but the learning center educational tools explains it all to you. Clicking on the Facts about lenses and doctors gives you that information. It explains the type of doctors, what their specialty is and why you should go to each specialist. It also gives you the information about when babies, children, teenagers and adults should go to the eye doctor. Most children and adults don't go to get their eyes checked as often as they should; eyes and prescriptions do change with age.

Did you know that most eye doctors don't explain the different types of lenses to their patients? Most just request a certain kind that they are currently promoting or sometimes just the cheapest or most expensive. Patients should really know what questions to ask their eye doctors but most don't! The learning tools give you some ideas of what questions to ask your eye doctor so they can direct you accordingly to the right kind for your eyes!

Definitely go over and visit the Educational Tool by Zeiss Lenses. They will give you some great and important knowledge!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but the opinions expressed int his post are completely 100% my own. They are not persuaded by Zeiss lenses, only the educational information was provided for this post. I was compensated by writing this post.

Home Decor added to Gems The Word Shop & COUPON CODE!

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:18:00 +0000

Valentines Day Yarn Wrapped Wreath

I absolutely love to make these yarn wrapped wreaths and actually find the tedious process of wrapping the wreaths in yarn very therapeutic and calming! lol I do it while I'm watching TV or a movie. The wreath pictured above is a yarn wrapped Valentines Day wreath! The best part? The hearts are removable so you can use this wreath even after Valentines Day! The felt rosettes on the bottom are completely handmade. (Another tedious process!) You can view this here >> Valentines Day Yarn Wrapped Wreath. This is added to my shop and the price for this is $28!

Multi Color Yarn Wrapped Wreath

This one is a 12" wreath and is wrapped in multi color yarn. I so love this wreath because of it's bright and cheery colors. We have the purple, pink and blue colors in this wreath. Again, the felt rosettes are handmade and in varying sizes. I love the colors of the rosettes; pink, black, purple and blue. The embellishments are a beautiful sparkle blue spray on the top and hand-sparkled white leaves on the bottom. Just beautiful! You can view this here! >> Multi Color Yarn Wrapped Wreath. This is priced at $32.

We also have some beautiful jewelry that is in our shop as well. I'd appreciate it if you checked it out! Right now we are having a hard time with my not having a job yet and I really would like to make some income from this shop to help us out. For everyone who visits our shop from my blog, I'm offering a 10% discount on your ENTIRE purchase! Enter - THANKYOU at check out on Etsy!

Duane Reade VIP Blogger 2012 Entry Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:55:00 +0000

Since most New Jersey locations discontinued their Duane Reade stores, I travel 10 minutes to Staten Island, NY to shop at the stores. Why? I think their stores are a lot more organized than most drug stores of their type and I feel that they have the best prices on some of the items I need; especially with the Duane Reade card! Their stores are absolutely affordable on even the most expensive products and their employees are always kind, even in their always busy Manhattan stores. Duane Reade has absolutely everything you'll need when you go there to shop!

Why should I be chosen to be a 2012 Duane Reade VIP Blogger? I absolutely love the store and always have great things to say about them. I love to use my coupons there so I can get the best deals and would definitely be willing to post some posts about my shopping trips at Duane Reade and how to get the best bang out of your buck at the store. I also feel that I have a great following and loyal readers that would love to hear about Duane Reade and their amazing deals. I feel that I have the writing skills to come up with well thought out posts and I feel that Duane Reade would not be disappointed with the way that I present their stores!

Almost 7lbs down. :D

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:43:00 +0000

I'm almost 7lbs down and I'm extremely excited to have lost (close) to 10 lbs. My ultimate goal is quite a ways away, but every 10 pounds is a celebration for me. Feeling that I have the willpower and determination to do this is actually very comforting; Maybe because I know I have no choice. There's no way I can live the way I was before dieting or I would never believe in myself.

By cooking more, I'm learning that you can eat food that's very delicious and still lose weight. I really will have to start posting more of my recipes on here to share the awesome food that I make with all of you. The fact that I'm making my food fresh and know that I'm making my family something nutritious is very important to me and makes me extremely proud of myself.

Like I said, I have a long way to go -- but seeing my weight go lower makes me happy every single time I weigh in. I will definitely keep the blog updated as I lose more and more weight, hopefully getting to my ultimate goal.

New Years Dieting...

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:26:00 +0000

How many people say that they are making a New Years Resolution to lose weight? Probably millions, but I really do mean it. I can't believe how I let my depression get a hold of me and let myself eat so much that I am now at my highest weight ever. I have a family history of diabetes and I know I'll be on that track if I don't fix myself and don't get on the right track, I know that we also have a history of high blood pressure and heart disease as well. My goal in life is to be happy and healthy for my kids and also to feel good about myself for once. That's all I have wanted for years. Now, I am making that happen. I made a promise to myself and my girls that I would stick to this diet until I get to my goal weight. It's going to take a while and it is going to be difficult to overcome my cravings and weaknesses, but I know that I can do it.

I've been on many diets in my life, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Atkins and so on, but what really worked for me was Atkins and a low carb lifestyle. That seemed to work the best with me and my body and that is what I'm doing. I'm a french fry addict -- every time my kids have fries or my friends do, I Itneed to have some. That's one of my most favorite foods and it's hard for me to resist them. Limiting my carbs is going to be very difficult, but I know I can do it if I put my mind to it and if I keep the willpower high. I need to have willpower and I need to realize that food does not rule my life, I rule my life. The food will still be there if I want to have a little cheat when I get closer to my goal weight.

Being on this for three days now, carb withdrawal is the worst. Headaches and mood swings are the worst and what my family and friends dread when I change my eating lifestyle. It's the third day now and those are lessening along with the extreme feeling of hunger and the cravings that usually rule my life. It's actually amazing to see just how good I feel now and how much energy I already have, limiting the carbs for just a few days. Prior to this, I'd want to sleep until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, be completely exhausted and feel terrible in general. I want to feel good and constantly have energy, I have to keep on this.

So, I'm saying this and making a promise to all my readers -- I will stick to this way of eating for as long as I have my goals.

Encouragement, please?

My Week Long Home Improvement Project

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:45:00 +0000

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.

This past summer, when I was working from home, I tried to make our extra bedroom into an office. That made it easier for me to work from home and actually have a place to myself. I thought that I could possibly also do crafts in there, but my kids toys slowly started to sneak in there. I don't know why, but I feel like it's impossible to actually organize that room. The ugly carpet, strange closet placement and lack of space altogether was just a problem. Because of the question of where to put my supplies and where to do my crafts/art, I actually had moved all my supplies to the attic and took a break from crafting. It really stressed me out when I couldn't do my artwork and made me pretty depressed. After all, art and crafting -- anything creative -- was an emotional outlet for me. It was calming.

Last week my mom and I went into my grandfather's old "workshop" for something and I had the best idea; trying to use that space as an art studio. It wasn't too big, it was cozy. It already had plenty of built in tables over two walls and the space had plenty of built in shelving under the tables for what I needed. The only problem was, two walls were completely concrete and two walls were the ugliest patched together wood I have ever seen in my entire life. I knew it was going to be a horribly difficult room to fix up just because of the way the walls were. I decided that I had to use paneling to get the walls to look at least semi decent.

Paneling in Progress

The project was actually very inexpensive and took just 4 days to complete. (Mostly because I had to work and take care of my kids in between doing this!) The ending result is just awesome and I'm so happy that I chose to do this. Actually, I'm writing this from my studio right now! I just need to finish some finishing touches such as a blind on my window. (Being in the basement, it's scary not having a blind or curtain on your window.)

Here are some photos!

Nevermind the unfinished ceiling and the junk on the bottom shelves. That's my grandfather's junk. Still have to clean that.

This is before I added my craft stuff to it. :)

I got this basket from Ikea and it organizes my ribbons perfectly! I need to make another Ikea trip!

Any suggestions for the room?

Shopping for Dresses & Plus Size Dresses.

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:51:00 +0000

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?)

For over a month and a half now I have been looking for a dress to wear to an important event coming up. It seems to be impossible to find something that I would want to wear for this event. I fell in love with a dress at the mall, tried it on and found out I looked horrible in it. I've tried on about 4 or 5 dresses since then and can't find anything! It's so difficult to find plus size dresses that flatter you, that's for sure. (Or maybe society is just making us feel like crap for being on the lower end of the plus sizes? Either/or!)

I found some dresses that I really like and would have to order online... any input? FYI - I'm wearing black tall heeled boots with whatever I pick. Kind of like the boots in the second pic.

Surplice Empire Dress
Cowl Neck Dress (I would get the green)
Printed Tunic Blouse
Hanky Hem Tunic (And if so, what color?)

I just have no idea what to wear and I really do need help finding that perfect outfit within the next week or week and a half. I really feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Santa Clause is Coming...To The Mall?

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:45:00 +0000

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.)

There were a few clothes stores right next to where Santa was, so we ran into one and bought the cutest matching outfits for the girls. (And changed them in the bathroom for the picture!) The stress, worry and money was well worth it when I got an adorable picture of the girls (SMILING) with Santa for our Christmas cards!

However, this makes me think -- Isn't it so hard to shop for Christmas outfits for your kids? I know we go through that stress every year! Prior to this year we've always gone with the red and white fru-fru dresses, hey my kids are two adorable girls, right? This year Alayna and Olivia both said they didn't want anything baby-ish and fru-fru(ish). They wanted something mature and "trendy" (who wudda thought at 3.5 and 6..) so we got them the sweater dresses with the matching scarves. Throw on some leggings and cute shoes -- "trendy" Christmas outfits. (Although I miss the fru-fru) I know everyone goes through this hassle with Christmas and important events for their kids! Granted, girls clothing is much more difficult to find than boys clothes; girls have more of a variety and EVERYTHING looks cute on them!

What types of outfits do your kids wear for Christmas or special holidays?

It's all about the accessories in interior decorating

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:27:00 +0000

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!

My daughter, the model.

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 05:07:00 +0000

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...

NEVER go to the mall with kids.

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:37:00 +0000

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!

To make a long story short, my mom had to run to a store to get something for an anniversary party she has to go to and Coach wanted me to come in for a short orientation; so I had to take my mom and kids with me to Staten Island. What a freaking mistake that was! On the way to the mall Olivia kept asking me if we were going to the North Pole. Why? I have no idea. Every time I said no she would get so angry at me...so according to Olivia; we were going to the North Pole. (Aka Staten Island Mall??)

I walk in the mall and almost gouge my car keys into my eyes because they have a HUGE Christmas tree up, Christmas Carols playing and, of course, a HUGE train ride around the Christmas tree. I forgot, did we even HAVE Thanksgiving yet? Is it just me or are the Christmas decorations going up earlier and earlier? I'm completely no where near ready. I'm already cutting it close for my orientation and my kids are jumping around BEGGING me to let them go on the train. Really? So I promise them after I get out of my work meeting. (Secretly, I was hoping they'd walk around the mall and forget about the train ride. Of course, the damn thing is right smack in the middle of the mall -- the focal point of EVERYTHING!)

My orientation went very well and I was so excited to be around all of those gorgeous purses. (I actually picked out one that I want so bad.) It's the Chelsea Jayden Animal Print Carryall. (I can't find a pic of it, but google it. Gorgeous!) They said they're going to give me a call on Monday or Tuesday to let me know when I can come in to actually start. (And get my discount? LOL) I'm just so very excited. I love Coach, I love their products and working for a company that I adore as much as I do just makes me so happy.

As I found my mom and kids again I find out that my mom took them into Build-A-Bear... REALLY MOM!? All I hear is "They have Angry Birds", "Can we go to Build-A-Bear again?", "Can we have Olivia's birthday party at Build-a-Bear?" No, No, No and one more No... Did I mention NO!? Of course, I have to go past Build-A-Money Tree again because I have to go to Claires to return something. Thankfully, we walked on the other side of the corridor so we wouldn't be in direct view of Build-A-Bear.

Did I mention that going to Claires with a 6 going on 16 year old is a BAD idea? I had to exchange a pack of nose studs because mine was missing one. (Actually, I went to put the clear one in last night and knocked it off my sink...It fell INTO the sink. Therefore, I told Claires one was missing...Everyone does it.) When we walked into the store all I heard from Alayna was, "Can I buy earrings? Oo, I want some makeup. Can I buy hair accessories for school? What about a necklace? OHHHH JUSTIN BIEBER GLOVES!" My head was spinning and I silently cursed Justin freaking Bieber out for even becoming a singer at this point. By the time I got the package of nose studs my mom had gotten a basket and put things she wanted me to buy the girls in it. "They're all on clearance..." she said, but she didn't realize that buying 10383947395 things that are on clearance are going to add up. $60 later (really?!) Alayna had her stupid Justin Bieber gloves and about 108430958 headbands for school, Olivia had her stupid Hello Kitty set...whatever it was and all I got was my nose studs and a pair of earrings for work. Ok, I got Alayna two pairs of earrings for school and she also got a Justin Bieber necklace. (I swear to God, after Alayna's JB birthday party, her obsession with JB and today -- I'm paying the kid's college tuition.)

By this point, I just want to go home! Of course, I have to stop and get pretzels before we leave because my kids won't shut up unless they get pretzels. But we finally got out of there...THANK GOD! Never again will I go to the mall with my kids. It's just asking to go insane.

Taking back control

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:13:00 +0000

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.

I also started a new branch of my blog called The Mom Blogging Resource. Since I find myself constantly thinking about ways that moms can better their blogs and ways to help moms monetize and blog well, I decided to put it all in one place. It doesn't have too many articles as of yet, but I have quite a few to add each day. I hope that takes off as well and I can help moms with their blogging. If you haven't visited over there yet, please do! If you want to go ahead and follow us, we will follow you back as well!

Missing my old life..

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:14:00 +0000

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!)

An Open Letter to AT&T Wireless

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:55:00 +0000

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.

Revisiting Friday Follow. :) Yay!

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:03:00 +0000

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.)

I started eating healthy (again) and hope I can keep up at it. I want to feel good and lose some weight, so I'm going to try to eat as healthy as possible. I figure that if I mess up once or twice I won't beat myself up over it and won't go eating like crap again afterwards. I'll just get back up and continue on eating healthy. It's all depression that assisted in my gaining as much weight as I did. It's extremely frustrating.

Thanks for visiting and I promise to post more soon!

Back in the job searching world.

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:17:00 +0000

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.

I sent out quite a few resumes to both at home jobs and office jobs and also walked around the entire mall filling out applications. I'm pretty sure I can get something seasonal right now, if I had to, just to supplement for the time being. It's very nerve wracking and very difficult. I do have a job interview tomorrow with Bath and Body Works. When Alayna was born back in 2005 I worked for them for three seasonal seasons. Hopefully this will pan out and I can work with them for a few months. At least it will give me a paycheck for now, that's all I need. I'm quite frustrated and very paranoid, my nerves are working in overdrive right now. All I want is to be able to support my family, and that's something I can't do right now.

I'm trying like hell and hopefully this will work in my favor.

10 Tips to Keep Toys Organized

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:17:00 +0000

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.

1. Separate all of the toys - I do this weekly or bi-weekly. Things get misplaced, broken or thrown where it shouldn't be very often. More often than not when that happens, your child will be looking for that one toy that found it's way to a place it shouldn't be. Have some bins/baskets on hand as well as plastic gallon storage bags, a sharpie and a garbage bag. Use one bin for things you want to give away/sell and organize the rest to what you want to store in them. (i.e. Play food, Craft supplies, Polly Pocket houses/accessories etc...) Use the small plastic storage bags for the pieces that are too small. (i.e. Polly pockets, clothes, barbie clothes, etc...) Label each bag or bin as well.

2. LABELS - Use labels on each bin with an identifying photo, if your child can't read. This can help them to know where the toys go once they're done with them. Another creative idea is to use those small $1 chalk boards you can get at Michaels or AC Moore. You can easily switch the contents and just erase/re-write the new contents of the bin without having to make a brand new label. Simple and easy...also effective.

3. Wall storage - For those of you with limited space, think about going up...on the walls. You can use wall storage for books, small toys, small bins, stuffed animals and so much more organization. You may think that wall storage would look cluttered, but not at all. It actually adds a little more to the room. As long as you keep that wall storage space organized and de-cluttered, it won't look that way. You can also use the top or bottom of the closet for storage.

4. You can't keep everything - Parents AND KIDS should know this. I know from experience because I used to be one of those moms who kept lost toys in their own little bin. If something was broken or not with the set, I'd put it aside in hopes that we'd find the other pieces. Guess what happened? The other pieces magically disappeared. (Or maybe got flushed...and I wonder why my toilet doesn't work.) Chances are, you'll never find all of the pieces so just throw it out. It will help the clutter and will give you less mess to clean up in the future.

5. Use under the bed boxes - Also good for a small space, you can get clear under the bed boxes that you can use for childrens toys as well. I would do the same label system with the words and photo of what should be in the box to help with organization and clean up when it's time to clean up.

6. Use those plastic storage drawers - If you have too many figurines or toy cars to store in gallon plastic bags, use the plastic storage drawers. We have two sets of those storage drawers just for my girls' figurines, doll furniture, toy cars and so on. The kids can see what are in the drawers and they can easily get out what they want. (And put them back too, right?)

7. Make organizing fun - There's no harm in telling your child that if they clean out the toys they don't want/want to sell they can get something new. Maybe a coloring book or crayons. (Something that doesn't cause clutter! LOL) Just don't promise them a new barbie dream house or a brand new lego set. Something small.

8. Make cleaning fun - I try to make a game out of cleaning. I set a timer and tell my girls that whoever cleans up their toys first gets a little prize. I give them stickers or crayons or something small and inexpensive for the clean up. We also have a chore chart that they get to put their favorite stickers on when they clean their room. Make a game out of it, sing a song, have fun when teaching your kids to clean up their toys!

9. Camouflage organization - This is good if your toys leak out to the living room or family room. Get those ottomans that have the storage inside or the benches with the storage inside. You can even get some really creative and coordinating storage bins to fit under your couch or coffee table. People don't have to know you have toys in other sections of the home if you keep them organized in a way that isn't obvious!

10. Use baby wipe boxes - We've always saved the baby wipe tubs. (Hey, I'm an artist and crafter!) They've really come in handy. My kids help me decorate them and they hold little pieces that you don't want to get lost. These tubs are so helpful.

All in all, it's very possible to have a clean playroom, kids' room or living room if you think creatively and actively take the steps to de-clutter. Even though there aren't enough hours in the day, even one day a week or a month actively helps the clutter from accumulating.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

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

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:59:00 +0000

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!

Ingredients Needed:

1 eggplant - 3 inches in diameter, peeled and cut into 4 half-inch thick slices 4 teaspoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 cup pasta sauce 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Steps:

Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 425 degrees F.
Brush both sides of the eggplant with the oil and season with the salt and pepper
Arrange on a baking sheet and bake until browned and almost tender, 6 to 8 minutes, turning once.
Spread 1 tablespoon of pasta sauce on each eggplant slice.
Top with the shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese melts, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot.

I also added some parm cheese on them as well. You could do so much with these like adding pepperoni or turkey pepperoni, ham, pineapple or whatever you like on your mini pizzas! My kids even ate these! :)

Calories: 119 * Total Fat: 7.5g * Carbs: 8.9g

Do low income families need better parenting skills?

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:27:00 +0000

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?

Technically, we aren't poor. We have a roof over our heads, we have food to eat, my daughter goes to a great school, she gets an education and she has clothes to wear. However, we feel poor since we struggle very often. We live from paycheck to paycheck and sometimes we have to look between the couch cushions or in old purses for some change when times get very bad. Even so, my kids want for nothing. We may have to get food that's cheap just to make it through, we may have to use coupons and we may even have to shop at yard sales for my girls clothing; but that doesn't make me a bad parent. In actuality, that makes me a parent that tries, in every way, to give my kids what they need. I'm not ashamed that we have to cut corners to make ends meet because most people do, even if they don't want to admit it.

Are there poor parents who need parenting help? Of course there are. There are many parents out there who don't try or don't want to try. Those are the parents who don't have a job and don't want to have a job or parents who don't care about their child's education. However I feel that it's a stereotype that low income families don't care about their kids educations or don't parent well. There are many middle class families or upper class families that don't have the best parenting methods either. There are some upper class parents who pawn their children off on tutors or nannies just so they can have their own lives. (I'm not saying all, but there are some out there.)

I actually found more problems with the comments than with the article itself. One reader said:

It seems to me that children who grow up poor have a more obvious and more urgent set of issues to contend with than those who are raised with abundance

Again, that's a stereotype. Some children from low income families may have issues to contend with, but that's because of how the parents parent and how the parents treat their children. That has nothing to do with the fact that the family is low income. My girls know that we struggle and know we live paycheck to paycheck but they understand that I work hard to give them what they have. I'm very involved with them, their schooling and their activities and my girls never feel that I neglect anything in their lives. Not all low income families struggle with frequent relocation, most struggle with money for rent, but have a stable environment.

There really are so many generalizations about parents who are poor or low income and it really frustrates me. I feel that most low income families work the hardest to ensure that their children have everything they want, despite the lack of money. I'm not saying they are better than anyone else, but they do work extremely hard and deserve more credit than they do get. They deserve to be commended instead of criticized and stepped on.

It's not the income of the families that defines who they are; it's the parents and the way they parent that is most important.

What is your opinion on this?

First day of Kindergarten. :(

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:31:00 +0000

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!

Alayna and I spoke about it and I told her that if she didn't like the class she was in, I could talk to the principal and see if there was anything he could do about it or I could transfer her to another school. Alayna thought about both options and told me that she wanted to stay in this school, but she wanted to see if I could talk to the principal. So off we went this morning....

Our plan was for Alayna to go into her class this morning and I would go to the office after I dropped her off and I'd speak to the principal. Unfortunately, Alayna got on her line this morning, saw all her other friends in the other class and started hysterically crying. She told me that she didn't want to go into class this morning because all of the other kids in her class already had their friends from last year and she felt excluded. I tried everything to get her to go in with her class, but she said she wanted to go to the principal's office and talk to the principal herself. So I took her with me to the office.

I have to give a lot of credit to her principal as he is very compassionate and speaks well with the kids. He made her feel comfortable by talking to her about how their birthdates are close together and how smart her pre-school teacher said she was. This principal knows every child individually and remembers them all; he's great! Alayna explained to him how much she loves this school and how much she loved all of her classmates last year. She told him about all her friends and how she feels excluded in the class she is currently in. He explained that they put her in that class because she was one of the smartest kids in her pre-k class and how they wanted to put her in the class to possibly balance it out so she can help some other kids who aren't as smart as she is. Unfortunately, Alayna still didn't want to stay in that class. The principal told her that since she was so brave and spoke to him herself about how uncomfortable she was, he would talk to both kindergarten teachers to see if he can get her into the other class. (He even gave her a "My Principal Loves Me" sticker, which made her so happy.) He then told her that if she wanted to go home today she could and he would give us a call later to let us know if he could move her into the other class, but she wanted to be a trooper and stick today out. She said she would be brave and go back into her class today until he found out what he could do. So we'll wait and see what happens after school today...

I have to give Alayna credit. When I was in elementary school I wouldn't have been so brave. I would have made my mom talk to the principal and I would have gone home until they found out what they could do. My Alayna is so brave and independent to talk to him herself and to go back to class. I'm very proud of her and I'm glad that she is completely unlike me in that aspect! Hopefully they are able to do something for her because the other kindergarten teacher is excellent, compassionate and all of her friends are in that class. I find it unfair that they separated her from the others, but do understand what their thinking was.

Hills Science Diet - 30 Day Challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:01:00 +0000

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

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Through the eyes of a 5 year old...

noreply@blogger.com (Krissy) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:24:00 +0000

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