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By not your average mom I’ve spent the past couple months in blog limbo. Like many things I do, I started this blog on a whim with no plan. I also knew nothing about blogging. But I always had the goal of supporting my family from it. I’m not quite there yet. And now I’m at kind of a crossroads. […] The post Next stop — world domination (or at…

By not your average mom I know I told you all how I’ve been dealing with a round of depression. And I know I haven’t written a post in a couple days. And I know that’s unusual for me. But I just wanted you all to know (because some people have asked) that I am still here! I have spent the […] The post I’m still alive! appeared first on…

By Jamie [Image Source] Now Christmas is behind us and the holidays are over, it’s back to making packed lunches, busy day jobs and the school run. If you feel frazzled just thinking about it, resolve to make this year different. With a little bit of forward planning and a little creativity, you can get organized, reduce stress, and have some free time for yourself. Weekly Planning Weekly planning sessions…

By not your average mom My Pinterest account is completely neglected. I don’t really know what I’m doing with it, and I know I need to devote some serious time to it. It’s on my list of goals for 2017. Even being a total joke, I have one pin that gets repinned multiple times a day. Especially now that it’s […] The post If you want to start swimming or…

By not your average mom Happy New Year, Everyone! Have you made your list of New Year’s Resolutions yet? I’m not implying you should. I can go either way on these. For me, the beginning of the school year is often the time I resolve to do things differently because that’s a big time of routine change. So sometimes I […] The post 21 days to establish a new habit,…

By not your average mom I first joined the swim team when I was ten years old. I wasn’t good — at all — but I loved it. By the time I got to high school, I was fairly decent. I was All-State my sophomore, junior, and senior year. I swam at Lehigh all four years. I was one of […] The post Comfort Zones Are For Wimps appeared first…

By not your average mom As we move into a new year, millions of people have already begun to formulate their list of New Year’s resolutions. No doubt, one of those resolutions for many of us will be to lose weight. If you are one of those many who wants to shed a few pounds, I have a suggestion. Don’t resolve to […] The post This year, resolve to focus…

By not your average mom Carrie Fisher died yesterday. She was only thirteen years older than me. George Michael died two days before that. He was only fifty-three. Fifty-three. He was younger than my husband! Alan Thicke died two weeks ago at 69. Two years younger than my parents. Prince died in April. He was only 57. I could keep going. […] The post 2016. The Year of the Wake…

By Jamie Wikimedia A lot of parents get really into designing a nursery for their incoming newborns. This is good, because the way the nursery is designed and built will have a bigger effect on the first few years than you may think! Here are some essential tips for you. Make sure you have the cash While it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, many parents find…

By not your average mom I have spent the past few months feeling like this panda. I haven’t completely stopped exercising or anything, but I also haven’t been training for any marathons or races, I’m coming out of a fairly significant bout of depression, and I’ve dealt with that and the stress of other stuff by eating. And eating. And […] The post Sometimes you are the role model for…

By not your average mom I wasn’t going to write a post today because it’s Christmas Eve and I wanted to be really present with my family and especially with my kids. But something happened tonight and I just wanted to share it. The kids were getting a little rambunctious and so I took Number 5 and Number 7 down […] The post Her name is Angel. appeared first on…

By not your average mom Number 7 has a short day every Monday, and she gets off the bus around 1 pm, a couple hours before everyone else gets home. This past Monday, I decided that rather than try to run errands or give her something to occupy herself so I could get some stuff done, I’d instead spend some quality […] The post Presence. Not Presents. appeared first on…

By not your average mom For the first time in the history of, um… ever, I have all my Christmas shopping done. And all of my presents are wrapped. It’s a Christmas miracle. Of course, that means that one of the kids was going to add something onto their Christmas list, something that they wanted MORE. THAN. ANYTHING. Number 4, […] The post The Little Bear appeared first on Not…

By not your average mom My aunt always used to say that Christmas is a woman’s holiday. And she’s totally right. Before I go any further, this post isn’t about bashing dads. And I know there are a handful of fathers out there who do help out with shopping and wrapping and whatever. But for the most part, moms around […] The post To All The Moms at Christmas appeared…

By not your average mom I made this for lunch today. It was super easy and delicious and it’s full of stuff that’s good for you. So I thought you might like to try it. You only need these four ingredients: Sausage (I used a roasted red pepper chicken sausage from Costco) Kale Cannellini Beans Garlic Plus (I don’t count […] The post Quick and Easy Skillet Kale, White Beans…

By not your average mom Holy Smokes! What a great response there was to the Secret Life of Pets prize pack giveaway! Thank you to everyone who participated, and here are the ten winners! Lemon and Elm (@Lemon_and_elm) Jaime Jess Denise Woosley Jenney Epperly Tamara Wenzel Lindsey Hausknecht Kevin Dobson Nikea Knapp Gillian Accosta Kayleen Woodcock Please email the address […] The post Winners of the Secret Life of Pets…

By not your average mom The Secret Life of Pets was just recently released on DVD, and as a promotion, I have been given 10 prize packs to give away!!! Each prize pack contains the following: A tote bag, stickers, activity set, Blue Ray & DVD, and a Santa hat! I have ten of these packs to give away! In […] The post Secret Life of Pets Giveaway! appeared first…

By not your average mom A little over an hour from my house in Essex, CT, there’s an historic railroad company where you can ride on old school steam trains. And at Christmas time, they transform their trains into the “Polar Express”, and you can ride a vintage car to the North Pole. For the last four years, I have very […] The post Last night we made a pretty…

By not your average mom Yesterday I lost it on the kids a little bit. They deserved it. But I felt bad about the way I handled the situation later. And when it comes down to it, their behavior isn’t really their fault. It’s mine. Because while I know they are capable of behaving better, they aren’t. And when they […] The post The solution is simple. appeared first on…

By Jamie https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-female-girl-child-8986/ As a Mom, you’re almost automatically always busy. It must have come with the job when you first sign up, but it’s like you never really read the small print. Whether you’re feeding, changing, dressing or entertaining your children, or cleaning the home, doing the laundry or trying to hold down a successful career, you’re always ‘on’. And when you’re always ‘on’ you have no margins for…