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By not your average mom I have spent the past two days in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I came down here from CT to attend a program entitled Teaching Parenting the Positive Discipline Way. And it was awesome. And while I’m sitting here in the Fort Lauderdale airport waiting for my delayed plane, I thought I’d share some things I discovered in […] The post Seven Things I learned in the…

By not your average mom Rant forthcoming. Yesterday I wrote a post about dealing with tantrums. And I received this comment: “…I’ve never experienced a kid tantruming…” It’s only part of the comment. I don’t think it was written by someone who was simply trying to get a rise out of me. I think it was written by a judgmental […] The post Newsflash: Your kids aren’t perfect. And neither…

By not your average mom If you have a two, three, four, or five-year-old, then there is a good chance you have the pleasure of experiencing at least one full-blown, level 10, code red temper tantrum a day. Our youngest is now five-years-old. I’d say the temper tantrums at this age are less frequent. But what they lack in frequency, […] The post If you don’t think you can deal…

By Jamie image credit: https://pixabay.com/ Tiny toes; tiny lips. The little fat rolls down the thighs. Oh, the smell of a newborn’s head. It is enough to make any mother start leaking breastmilk. Add in a crying baby, and there could be a need to change bras. While funny, that is not the overall point. The message is that breastfeeding is normal, right, and needed for the highest quality of…

By not your average mom Yesterday I wrote this post about one of the things I’ve done that has really helped my children to be more responsible. And I received this comment: I so struggle with this. With only 2 kids and a very part time baking business out of my home, I waffle between getting my kids to do […] The post Your job as a stay at home…

By not your average mom People very often say to me, “I don’t know how you do it with so many kids at home.” Sometimes I don’t know how I do it either. It’s often a shakedown cruise here at my house. But sometimes, we are a (sort of) well-oiled machine. And it’s for one reason: our kids have responsibilities […] The post Making Momming Easier — One Way To…

By not your average mom What do you do when you are struggling in your marriage but there hasn’t been any one catastrophic event that has caused the trouble? When there hasn’t been cheating? When there hasn’t been addiction. When there hasn’t been abuse? What do you do when you and your spouse have just reached a point where you cannot […] The post I thought you guys hated each…

By not your average mom Number 6 (6 years old) and Number 7 (5 years old) share a room. They are old enough that sleeping through the night isn’t an issue anymore, but young enough that they still want (and need) the whole bedtime routine. I often wonder about other peoples’ bedtime routines. Ours goes like this: Get pjs on. […] The post Because we all do stupid sh*t to…

By not your average mom I’ve discovered why I love Gilmore Girls so much. And I’ll be honest. It took me a little while to get to this point. To the point of loving the show so much that I now feel the need to pace myself and ration episodes because I know I’m gonna be really depressed when I’ve watched […] The post My parenting idol is an unwed…

By not your average mom Almost two years ago, inspired by Robin Wright in House of Cards, I cut my hair. It went from being past my shoulders, to above my ears. I’ll be honest. I was pretty scared to cut it short. But once I did it, I loved it. And over the course of the last two years, I’ve […] The post I’ll never be in hiding again….

By not your average mom Today a friend of mine tagged me in this question she posted on Facebook: Friends with large families — how do you stick to a reasonable food budget? Ooooh. I love a question about a food budget. And it’s certainly one of the questions I’m asked or comments I hear most often. How much money do […] The post 12 Things I Do To Stick…

By not your average mom In the past four years, I have been very successful at losing weight. Unfortunately, I’ve also been very successful at gaining most of it back. As you know, last week I (re)joined a fitness/weight loss challenge since I’ve (re)gained twenty-five pounds in the last year and my body fat percentage now puts me in a category […] The post Because I like lasagna. And bulletproof…

By Jamie There are many reasons why a family might decide to add a dog to their family. For one thing, they can be a lovable and caring pet. Your kid is bound to love them, and it can often be a great friend for your little one. Not only this but a dog can teach your child about responsibility. After all, they will learn about how important it is…

By not your average mom One of the biggest challenges of parenting (for me, anyway) is having a plan for the day and knowing that it’s all going to run like clockwork. And then having reality set in. That’s when you wonder why ever you plan anything at all. Last week I had scheduled my first business call with the woman […] The post The Best Laid Plans appeared first…

By Jamie It’s always a challenge to pick something to wear when it’s time to attend a friend’s wedding. After all, it’s so important that you don’t outshine the bride, but you want to look stylish at the same time. However, before you go to the shops to find that important ensemble, there are a few things you want to check. After all, you don’t want to end up regretting…

By not your average mom There’s a pretty good chance you have heard about the television show This Is Us. Everyone is talking about it. Because just about everyone is watching it. I was out of the loop until about two weeks ago when I got sucked in. And I got sucked in hard. I watched the first ten episodes in […] The post We all love This Is Us….

By not your average mom When money started to get super tight (or nonexistent) for us a couple years ago, cable TV was one of the first things we got rid of. Quitting cable cold turkey was not as difficult as I thought it would be. And we still had Netflix, so we were able to watch TV shows. We […] The post Reading this could save you $50 a…

By Jamie The most helpless feeling that parents can experience is watching their child suffer. You want to protect your baby from illness, but that’s not always possible. That’s especially true if your kid suffers from chronic allergies. Here are four ways to soothe children’s allergies. Invest in an Air Purifier Image via Flickr by mRio One of the tried and true methods for reducing allergies is an air purifier….

By not your average mom I had a little reality check last night. If you’ve been around here for a long time, you may remember back to when I joined a weight loss challenge/competition-type thing at the gym. I was the heaviest I’d ever been, I was done having kids, I felt like doodoo, and I was ready to make […] The post So apparently I’m obese. appeared first on…

By Jamie As a parent and business woman, you probably strive to do anything you can to see your business and family succeed. You work irregular hours and have a hectic schedule, so it’s likely furthering your education through classes and seminars isn’t something you have in the forefront of your mind. While taking classes or signing up for a seminar may seem daunting, the benefits extend beyond personal growth….