It's the Weekend already??

I didn't think there'd ever come a time in my life when I was a bit disappointed when the weekend came.

But now there is.

It's so easy during the week. Wake up, get dressed, get boys up, get them dressed, drop them off at daycare, rush to work, work, rush home, make dinner, baths, put the boys to bed, put myself to bed. Repeat.

During the week, I function....I do my job, I joke around, I do simple life things...

When Friday afternoon hits, it's like a part of me shuts down. I can feel myself retreating. I find no joy in the simple things, I'm depressed the whole time I'm doing my weekly shopping, seeing old people brings me to tears. I stare off into space. I can feel my mind not working. I sit and hope Monday comes soon.

I'm a nervous wreck when people aren't where I think they should be. I call my husband....I even worried about the day care providers one day when they weren't there in time.

It'll be 4 weeks Monday that my world changed forever. It's so hard to believe it's only been 4 weeks since my life became one big suckfest, and at the same time, think it's only been 4 weeks but feels so much longer.

I miss my mom. I miss her so much I ache. I miss her not coming through my front door every morning at 6AM. I miss her not calling me to remind me I forgot to take dinner out. I miss her calling me to tell me Jamie peed on the potty. I miss going to her house and being enveloped by her. I miss her.

While doing simple things like shopping...your brain wanders. Today it wandered to... Did she know I loved her? I told her, yes, but did she believe I did, or did she think I was just saying it. Did she think I took advantage of her. Did she know I loved her so very much? Did she know that I would give anything to have her back?

Every day sucks. I feel like a part of me was buried with her 4 weeks ago. I feel lost and alone. I feel so pissed off at my step-father for letting this happen, I'm pissed off at myself for not seeing it, I'm pissed off at her for not telling anyone, and I'm pissed off at God who took her away from me.

She's in a better place. Bullshit. God needed her more than me. Bullshit.

Join 5 minutes for Mom's birthday party!!

Party will be TONIGHT, Thursday, July 30th at 8PM EDT. To attend... watch below!

Help fight Childhood Obesity!

With childhood obesity reaching an all time high across the country, many parents struggle with how to help their children maintain a healthy weight with proper nutrition.

Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, the official doctor of Camp Shane and a board certified pediatrician, has created Dr. Dolgoff's Weigh, a traffic-light system that allows kids to learn which foods are healthiest without counting calories. To spread the word about her site and program, Dr. Weigh, is sponsoring a Wii Fit contest to help you get your family up and moving this summer!


To Enter:
To enter to win the #KidsWeigh Wii Fit contest, check out client testimonials and fabulous Dr. Weigh success stories then fill out this secure contest form telling us which story was your favorite!

Form: http://tinyurl.com/kidsweighcontest


Want a chance to speak with Dr. Dolgoff about your nutritional questions and win more prizes?

Join her Friday, July 10th at 9 p.m. ET on Twitter for her #KidsWeigh discussion. Door prizes will be awarded. To RSVP and for more information go to:
Resourceful Mommy.


One grand prize winner will receive a Wii Fit. Two runners-up will receive a free one month membership to Dr. Weigh. This contest ends Friday, July 24th at 11:59 a.m. ET. and is brought to you by Momfluence.

CookiesKids.com Laptop Giveaway Sweepstakes

Is your current computer stalling and giving you blue screen nightmares? Would you love to be able to have one that the kids could use (alas, staying off of yours)?

CookiesKids.com feels your pain and has come to your rescue!

Sign up to recieve the Cookies Kids Newsletter via e-mail and you're automatically entered to win one of 4 brand new laptops!!

Simply fill out the form below to be entered into our Laptop Giveaway Sweepstakes. Please be sure to read the Giveaway Sweepstakes "Terms and Conditions" before entering your information.

Contest ends 9/30/09 at 11:59 AM ET. This contest brought to you courtesy of the Momfluence network.

Link to giveaway: http://cli.gs/6dGhsh

summerbyGViciano

photo by G Viciano

Looking for some great products to make your summer that much more fun and enjoyable? Looking to pamper yourself while the kids are off at camp? Or maybe you're dealing with summer bumps and bruises. Momfluence has collected some reviews of great products that you need to know about! Check out what our reviewers had to say about these great summer finds. And don't forget to stop by the Momfluence member giveaways listed at the bottom for some summer winning!

Featured Products

FishBites Swimmies - Spending time in the water is one of the most fun and exciting parts of summer. FishBites Swimmies by Swimways is a great solution to give the little ones the extra security they need in the pool, in a fun and exciting way.





Delsey Helium Fusion Carryon - If you are hitting the road or flying the skies this summer for your family vacation, the Delsey Helium Fusion carry-on offers a lightweight solution for packing your travel essentials.





Do Something Daily Calendar - Tired of hearing the kids say they have nothing to do? The DoSomethingDaily Calendar offers fun and exciting suggestions for things to do on each and every day of the year. Make memories with your family, every day!





Perlabella Pearls - Want to combat some of the wrinkles cause by sun damage? Perlabella's Retinol solution helps to fight the signs of aging, that can be caused by excessive sun exposure and other factors.

More Summer Fun

iTurtle

Playdoh Spaghetti Factory

Submergency

Nerf NFL Progrip Football

SuperSoaker 50

Boochie Game

Good For The Kids

Talking To Toddlers


Two Belles and A Bead Engraved Necklace

Cardstore

Jumeau Handbags

Staphaseptic

Member Reviews/Giveaways

Bonggamom - $50 Tiny Prints Gift Certificate

IceFairy's Treasure Chest - KiNeSYS, Purex 3-in1, and more

Eccentric, Eclectic Woman - Bra Barrette, Skipping Hippos

Riding With No Hands - 20 Piece Rubbermaid Set

Consumer Queen - FurBuster

PlusSizeMommy - Giant Hershey Bar, Zensoy, and more

MommyNotGuilty - KidBanz Sunglasses

Robyn's Online World - Kodak Digital Frame

Simply Being Mommy - EA Sports Active

Lattes and Life - Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs & Parent's Choice Formula

Motherhood Moment - Summer Fun

A Simple Kinda Life - Summer Soiree of Giveaways

From Cribs to Car Keys - EcoStore $25 Gift Certificate and more

Miscellaneous Finds 4 U - Tiny Prints and more

All Momfluence guide reviews are product-provided, featured positions were purchased by vendors. Member reviews and giveaways are not associated with Momfluence.

iDrive Portable Hard Drive

I recently was lucky enough to win an iDrive Portable Hard Drive from http://www.idrive.com/. The cool prize I won? I free 320GB Portable Hard Drive.

When I opened the packaging for the iDrive Portable I was surprised by its small size. I’ve seen Smart Phones that are bigger than this hard drive. It’s easily small enough to slip into your jacket pocket.

The drive is recognized moments after I plugged in the USB cable (no other cables are required). A couple of clicks and the iDrive backup software was installed to my machine. It can be installed on multiple machines making it perfect for home backup or for moving between locations.
You couldn’t make this much easier to use. There’s help included but its all very straightforward. I selected my My Documents folders and within 30 minutes all 29GB of data was backed up onto the iDrive. We then plugged it into my husband's laptop, and did the same with his hard drive.

Then we opened up the drive, and it was neatly broken into separate folders for both my and my husband's computers. Making it easy to backup a couple different computers or laptops, and keep them completely separate.

The iDrive is an amazingly easy to use piece of hardware. It doesn't require a PhD to operate, and makes backing up almost painless...which is why most of us don't do it. And coming from someone who's computer recently died and almost lost EVERYTHING, this thing is great for peace of mind.

You can set it up to do automatic backups, and if it's scheduled to run and not attached to your computer at the time, the next time you plug it in, it'll run the backup for you.

The iDrive Portable sells for $69.95, which is a great deal. It's no more expensive than larger external drives, but offers the flexibility of being able to carry it around in your pocket all day because of it's small size.

Fast, small and easy to use. What more could you want from a portable hard drive?

Homestudio Pendants

I just recently came across a new (to me) site at Etsy called Home Studio. I found them through a giveaway someone was doing, and found a pendant I HAD to have.

The pendants are designs placed on scrabble pieces. I was a bit leery, as I couldn't believe the designs placed on scrabble tiles could look as good as they do on the website, but I was pleasantly surprised when it did.

The pendant came in a pretty silver bag, and a note with product care instructions, and on the back a little note thanking me for the purchase, with my name on the note. It's little things like that, that impress me. It shows that the products are made by a human, not an assembly line.

I got the "love my twins," pendant, but there are many different designs, from flowers, animals, symbols, etc. Everytime I go to their site I find 10 more that are on my wish list.

They recommend that you remove the pendants when you are bathing, swimming, or in water for a good period of time, as they are not waterproof. And in case you're wondering, there's no sharp edges where the design meets the scrabble tile. It's perfectly smooth, and really looks like it was always attached to the piece.

If you like pretty designs that are afforable, and colorful, and really quite simply beautiful, you should check out the designs at Home Studio.

4BabyandMom giveaway - Abba Dabba Bags

I just recently won a giveaway from Lauren at 4BabyandMom, in which I won a gorgeous wristlet from Abba Dabba Bags.

I have to say how impressed I was at the entire experience! Lauren was very nice, and Monica sent a GORGEOUS item!

What I loved about it when I first looked at it, was it was so colorful! Mine has beautiful pinks and browns and yellows. It's not one of those drab items that you hide, you want to show it off!

It's also alot bigger than you would think. I originally thought it would be barely big enough to put some cash and a driver's license in, but you can put so much more in. You can easily put those items in, but also throw in lip gloss, your keys, and even more than that.

The inside is a gorgeous brown, and you'll also be surprised by the weight of it. I have to admit I was a bit concerned thinking that every day use would cause tears, but it is very heavy. I can wear it on my wrist and not worry if it bangs against something.

If you love wristlets (as I'm beginning to), or like something of good quality, that looks DIFFERENT, you will love these bags!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5584991&section_id=5520084

My Review of Back Interest Wool coat

Originally submitted at Roamans

Big button front coat with stand collar, empire waist and princess seams in front and back. Side seam pockets. Abt 44'.

• Wool/viscose with full polyester.
• Dry Clean.
• Imported.
• Sizes: 14W-34W

Back Interest Wool coat

Nice, quality = price

By Jennifer from Charles Town, WV on 1/14/2009

 

4out of 5

Sizing: Feels true to size

Length: Feels true to length

Sleeve Length: Feels too short

Pros: Flattering, Warm, Blocks Wind, Comfortable

Cons: Cheap Buttons, Low Quality

Best Uses: Going Out, Wear To Work

Describe Yourself: Classic Dresser

The coat was not as heavy as I would have expected/liked. It's still a very nice jacket, the perfect length, and people love the back of it.

Biggest thing I dislike is the buttons should have been black so that they blended into the coat. These are huge, brown-gray buttons that stick out prominently.

(legalese)

Is Happiness Contagious?

I just saw an article on cnn.com this morning. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/12/05/happiness.social.network/index.html

It states that in a University of California - San Diego study, that happiness spreads more than unhappiness in a social network.

I agree with this, to a point.

I find unhappiness spreads very quickly itself. It's the whole domino effect. Your kids are mad, they take it out on you, you get annoyed and take it out on the clerk at the grocery store, she gets mad and starts taking it out on the customers who come after you, and so on and so on.

With that however, you need a personal connection to make it spread.

With happiness.... you don't really need as much of one. How many times has someone's bad mood online affected me? Not very often, I just mute them. But how many times have I seen someone online clearly enjoying themselves more than they should, and it wound up making me a goofball?

Black Friday = insane people

Yes, I'm one of the idiots that go out on Black Friday. It's a tradition. Even if the sales aren't so great (like this year), I still go out.

I remember the days when I was in the thick of the frenzies... Remember the Furby? I remember that day we did 4 stores in about 45 minutes and FINALLY had success! I also spent a cold, rainy morning in line at Best Buy to get my husband a laptop computer. Or the year all of us huddled around a puny little table at Wal-mart to get the RCA mp3 player (that was a hunk of junk).

But what is up with the crowds? If you ever wondered about the "mob mentality" attitude that psychiatrists say exists, go to Walmart on Black Friday. Would there EVER be a time when one or two people would knock down a man and trample him? No. But somehow when a group of people get together, people don't think twice about it.

Hey, I realize you were out in the cold all night to get a good deal on a TV. Ummm..... who made you do it? Do you also realize that you probably could have gotten that TV from the warmth of your home by going online? What makes your want of a TV more important than a man's life?

And the Sexiest Man of 2008 is.......

My husband in Bizarro-land......Hugh Jackman!

Yes, People finally picked a real hunk!

Blatant Self-Promotion

Because I'm a busy mommy with NO time to exercise, I'm trying to win a Wii, in hopes I can get Wii Fit and lose some weight.

Can you please vote for me in the contest? Please feel free to give this link to everyone under the sun who might like to help a momma out by clicking a link.

Thank you!

Jiffy Lube

This is a post long-coming, but most deservedly due.

I used to go to Jiffy Lube religiously, on both of our cars. Then we bought cars from a dealership that provided free oil changes, and my trips to Jiffy Lube were relegated to occaisional trips when the dealership was going to charge WAY too much for other services.

I don't think I've personally been to a Jiffy Lube in about 3 years.

About 2 weeks ago, I had to take my car in to get something done with the differentials.

Oh my goodness!

I think they must have re-vamped their customer service process.

I pulled up, they asked me what I needed done, they opened my door for me, walked me to the lounge, and called me M'aam. At the end, they called me by name up to pay, opened the door to the shop, followed me to my car, opened my car door for me, shut it, and said thank you Ms. Mill-Irving.

I was shocked! It was just such outstanding customer service, I'm bowled over. I've never been treated so well.

If they keep this up, Jiffy Lube has an adamant fan for life in me!

How did I end up here?

Ever get to a point that you're not sure how you got there?

I love my boys, I really do.

And now here comes the "but" that Dr. Phil says negates what was just previously said....

Sometimes I wish for some peace and quiet. There's only so many tantrums, fights, times being hit, yelled at, punched, kicked, etc., before you say...I wish I was left alone.

There's a commercial, I think IKEA, that the mother says someone needs a time out, and then she retreats to her quiet, pretty bedroom.

I feel like that lately.

I try so hard to do my best at work, and get kicked in the gut figuratively, only to come home and try to be a good mom, and get kicked in the gut literally.

What do YOU do when you need to chill out?

DC Traffic

Gotta love DC area traffic. My husband wound up taking 2.5 hours to drive 35 miles home tonight. Why? Barack Obama was doing a rally in Leesburg.

And the most stellar part.... they blocked traffic on Rte. 7, which backed up the Greenway. So after my husband was sitting in traffic, police come by, forcing standstill traffic to move to the shoulders so Barack and the caravan can get by.

Well, VA State Police, maybe you shouldn't have turned the road into a parking lot, and maybe you could have gotten by easier.

The Wiggles

The Wiggles made their debut with the newest wiggle, Sam Moran, on The View last week.

For your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EEwtv-pGFw

Frustrated with your Job Search?

Ever try over and over again for a job and you lose one job after another?

You could try the tactic this guy did....Suspect Arrested for Stabbing Man While Applying for Job

Blame your weight gain on Holiday Stress

There was a national stress survey done in October by the American Psychological Association that found that people turning to food to help them feel better increases to 1 in 3 during the during the holidays. 41% of women and 25% of men admit to increased eating during the holidays.

Is it really stress related? Sure, there is stress. Trying to get your kids the "it" present that year, trying to get your husband something that he won't know what it is already, trying to buy for the gazillion and one nieces and nephews...not to mention arguing over which family you're going to spend Xmas with. Oh yes, there is tons of stress during the holidays.

But as for that being the reason people overeat during the holidays? Ummm....I'm not buying it.

Why do people overeat during the holidays? Well jeeze...from mid November until January 2, everywhere you go, there's food.

You have Thanksgiving, which is basically a day to see how much food you can cram in your mouth before you pass out watching football. Then almost every weekend in between Thanksgiving and Christmas you have holiday parties. Parties at work, parties with friends, school parties, etc. Then if you work in most offices, vendors send you presents and most of it is candy or cookies, tack on another 5 pounds there.

Most families wind up going to a Christmas Eve party, then having Christmas Day at someone's house. Think about all the food and sweets that are consumed then. Then it's left-over time. And to finish it all off, you have New Year's Eve parties full of food and booze (yes, Booze packs on pounds too), and then the New Year's Day dinner.

Most people say they gain about 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Are you really surprised?

Technorati Tags: stress, holidays, overeating, women

If only people would tell the truth

I just got a call from the insurance company today. When my husband was in the first of his two recent accidents, the officer asked my husband for his email address and told him he'd email him the report that night. We never received it. I proceeded to email him 3 more times asking for this report, never to hear back from him. So finally I dropped it, figuring our insurance company would deal with it.

I get a phone call from our insurance company today saying they can't find record of the accident with either Leesburg City or VA State police. So I call up the police dept and after looking for 5 minutes, they find it and tell me despite the fact the cop said otherwise, they don't email reports and if I want the report, I have to pay them $6 for it.

So another call to StateFarm later, hopefully they'll deal with it.

Ugh... if they don't email reports, why ask my husband for his email address and say they'll send it to him????