Mom Blog Monday

The Not-So-Secret Confessions of a First Time Mom
 

Are you a Mommy blogger? Do you blog about your kids? Do you blog about great things for Mommies? Do you wanna meet other Mom Bloggers?



If you answered yes to any of those questions then link up!




Rules?

All we ask is that you follow Sippy Cups and Cloth Bums, The Not- So- Secret Confessions of a First Time Mom, and MidgetMomma $1200 Budget Deals and Freebies.We are the first three on the linky!Then follow spot #4 which is the featured blog! Be sure to leave us a comment so we can follow you back!

We would LOVE it if you'd grab our button and put it somewhere on your blog or in a blog post! This would help us spread the word. However, you aren't required to.



You can follow as many or as few blogs as you'd like.


Each week one lucky blogger that links up will be chosen to be the featured blog.


This week's Featured Blog.....
 
Kelly from The Coupon Scoop...

About Kelly and her blog...

"I'm a deal finding, coupon carrying wife and mom of two,I live for deals, and I love to review the latest products and give you my honest opinion so you don't waste your money. At The Coupon Scoop you will find the scoop on the coupons, deals, reviews and giveaways. I am celebrating my first blog birthday this week with 5 days of giveaways. Make sure to stop by and enter over 25 giveaways!"


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Leia Mais...

Follow Along Fridays!

Whoohoo!  I've been featured!

Grab the Code:

Follow Along Fridays


We’ll keep this simple.

Follow The Mom Road (if you like me) and at least one other new blog.
Skip along visiting as many blogs as you can, be sure to leave a comment telling them you’re visiting from Follow Along Fridays.
Follow the blogs you want.
Return the visit back to your commentors.
Feel free to grab the button and the linky code to and paste it up on your blog.
That’s it!

As a BIG thank you to Carrie over at Carrie’s Cache for grabbing the linky code last week, I’m going to feature her blog at the top! Click on over and check her out. Thanks!






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Leia Mais...

Fun Follow Friday


Welcome to Fun Follow Friday hosted by Simply Stacie and My Wee View. The goal of this hop is to get new Google Friend Connect Followers for your blog and be introduced to new blogs to follow! We wanted to keep it fun and easy so all you have to do is add your blog link and start blog hopping and following away! You aren’t required to write a post for your blog for Fun Follow Friday unless you want to (but we really appreciate it if you do to help get the word out).

When you visit a blog that you like and want to follow, leave them a comment with your link telling them you are following from the Fun Follow Friday. Of course, we would love for you to follow both hostesses blogs, Simply Stacie and My Wee View, but it isn’t mandatory. If you do follow us, just leave us a comment and we will follow you back.

The main goal is to have fun and follow the blogs that interest you!

There are a few fun things that Fun Follow Fridays does each week:

1.  Each week 1 winner will be randomly drawn for the #3 Spot, this week it’s #136 Create With Joy.

2. Each week 1 winner will get Premium ad space for 1 week on both Simply Stacie and My Wee View.

 To enter, you have to blog about Fun Follow Friday! This week’s winner is With Our Best. (You can still participate in Fun Follow Friday without making a blog post about it. However, to participate in this special giveaway, you need to write a post about it)


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Leia Mais...

I've GOT to learn Spanish!

Okay, I have decided to learn Spanish.  I have wanted to do it for quite a while, since I have a lot of non-English speaking customers and it would be nice to know what the heck we are talking about, lol.  But, up until today, I wasn't in that big of a hurry. Now it is a necessity!

There is a Mexican man who comes into the store where I work and speaks to me all the time.  Now, I know enough of the Spanish language to get that he wants to be my boyfriend (novio) and that he doesn't care that I have one already or that I have five kids or that he is 11 years younger than me. (No Problemo).
Well, he keeps saying something to me that I cannot decipher and it was driving me crazy.

Today, I waited on a couple Mexicans who were purchasing a bed frame. They were two males and from our conversation about the bed, I thought that they had  a good working knowledge of the English language. I mean, we didn't have any trouble negotiating a price or anything.  Well, MY mistake!

I decided to ask the one who spoke with me the most what "Querer te mucho" means. I know mucho means 'much' but I didn't know the rest. No sooner had I gotten these words out of my mouth that their eyes got huge, they began grinning like cheshire cats and I realized I had just made a mistake.

They started strutting around the store, giving me the 'eyes' and asking me if I love him. I said NO!  I did NOT say Te quiro AT ALL!  I finally told them I didn't understand (no comprende) and that I had a boyfriend (novio). Finally they left.

So, as soon as I got home, I went to SpanishDict.com and typed in my query. (Which I should have done in the first place, by the way!)  It seems I had just told this man that I wanted him very much!  O-M-G !!!!

Needless to say, I have now signed up for their FREE Spanish classes and will never speak spanish again unless I know for sure what the heck I am saying!

Yep, that's my life for ya!
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Leia Mais...

Five Question Friday!


1. If you could speak with a different accent, what would it be (i.e Australian, Scottish)?
Hmmm... I would probably speak with an Irish accent. :)
2. Can you fall asleep anywhere? (i.e floor, couch, deck)
Oh, I WISH!  I have a hard time sleeping ANYWHERE!
3. Do you use public restrooms? If so, do you sit on the toilet?
Hey, if you gotta go, you gotta GO! Wherever and whenever!
4. If you were stuck in an elevator for 24 hours, what celebrity would you most want to be stuck with?
Jim Carrey -  I'm sure it would be hilarious!
5. Where did you & your significant other go on your 1st date?
I don't remember. We didn't go 'out' much.  He just showed up at my house one day and never left!

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Leia Mais...

A Is For Alligator

Jenny Matlock

A Is For Alligator


Being a relocated Pennsylvanian living in the South, alligators kind of fascinate me.  I moved my family to Florida in the fall of '08.  Having never seen an alligator before, my first order of business.  We lived right on Crescent Lake, so I thought this would be easy.  Not so!

It was months before I got a peek at one while out on a boat with my friend Run Ronnie Run. (note: That is not his real name. He just resembles him)


I didn't even get to really see the alligators.  They were 99.9% underwater!


But, the boat trip was fun :)

Anyway, now we are living in Georgia and I never got to see much of the alligators in Florida. I really wanted to touch one. Maybe when we go back to visit next year they will be less shy.

Some interesting facts about alligators are as follows:

  • There are only two existing alligator species: The American Alligator & The Chinese Alligator.

  • Early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator el legarto which means "lizard".

  • The average lifespan of an alligator is 50 years.

  • They can get huge!  The largest alligator recorded in Florida was 17 feet 5 inches! The average adult weighs in at 800 lbs and is 13 feet long.

  • Large adult alligators like to live alone and are very territorial.

  • Alligators prefer to eat their meals in one single bite but will attack larger prey by using a death roll or by letting it rot at the bottom of their body of water so they can tear of bite sized chunks.

  • An alligator's jaw muscles are awesome for biting down, but not so hot for the act of opening up and saying 'Ahhhh', which is why you see those animal dudes using their hands or duct tape to immobilize the alligator's mouth.

  • Though an alligator will usually shy away from humans, don't be fooled into thinking they are harmless. Never provoke an alligator, no matter how many wildlife shows you watch. They bite!

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Leia Mais...

My Achy Breaky Heart

  It's been almost 11 years since my open heart surgery.  I can still remember it like it was yesterday. What a terrifying time of my life.

  I was 24 years old.  I had been having heart palpitations since I was about 19 and didn't think much of it untill they become a real nuisance and started sending me into real episodes of 'weirdness'.  I just didn't feel right. I knew that something was wrong, but doctors kept telling me it was because I was young, with three children and was stressed. 

  Finally, the Dr's ran some tests and noticed 'something' and sent me to a cardiologist. She told me I probably had nothing to worry about and gave me some rediculous things to do when I had an attack.  OK, and she makes the big bucks WHY??

  I eventually checked myself into the emergency room where they tried to tell me that my blood sugar was low.  It was not.  I finally convinced them to admit me and they scheduled an EchoCardiogram for the next morning.  By that evening, I was told I had a hole in my heart.

  OK, here I have to add a funny -  My cardiologist now is an Italian man and at that time was in his late 30's.  When he came in to give me my test results, I happened to be breast-feeding my son, Beau, who hadn't seen me all day.  Dr. Olsen could not look at me and kept stammering and asking me if he should come back later.  I said, "NO! Doc, come on! You see your patient's chests all the time!"  To which he replied, "Yeah, but they're not usually so YOUNG!" ROFL  I knew then and there that he was the Dr. for me!

  So, I had a hole in my heart.... wonderful. Now we know what is going on.  Let's schedule a heart catheterization to see just how big it is. Turns out that it is about the size of a pencil eraser and I will need to have open heart surgery.

WHAT??

  At this point in my life, I had never had a surgery before.  I had never had a broken bone, stitches... nothing.  I was scared.

  My Dr. tried to convince me to schedule it for the very next morning.  That was out of the question.  I had three kids at home. I needed to think about this. I needed time to prepare!

  Did I mention that I was terrified?  I was going through a rough spot in my relationship.  He had been cheating on me and now I couldn't trust him.  How could I trust him to be there for the kids if I was in the hospital with my ribs spread? I thought for sure that I was going to die on the operating table. I was convinced of this fact.  So convinced that I spent a whole week with noone but my children.  I told only a handful of people what was going on. I wrote my will. I made the kids' dad write a statement that he would let my mom have custody of the kids if I died and had it notorized.  I was a total wreck.

  I remember during this time, I just wanted to be with my kids. I honestly thought that it was going to be the last time I ever spent with them. I remember putting music on and holding my babies and dancing with them in my arms and trying not to let them see my tears. I don't think I slept at all that week.

  Eventually it was time to face the music, not to mention the surgeon.  My mom came to get me and took me and the kids' father to the hospital. I was to check in through the Intensive Care Unit. We walked in there and I saw all those people hooked up to machines to keep them alive and I almost lost it. I actually turned around and tried to walk through my mother to escape that place. But, she wouldn't let me by.

  I get checked in, put on my gown and sign all sorts of papers that do not help my emotional state at all. They decide to give me a shot to calm me down so the anesthesiologists can come in to start my IVs. Well, the shot does not work. The anestesiologists cannot find a vein anywhere on my body but will not give up. One of them actually slams the door in my mother and pastor's faces and yells at me that it is my fault that my veins are not big enough because I smoked. I felt like a human pin-cusion and this went on for over an hour. Try after try after try. I was in tears, begging them to just stop. I didn't want the surgery anymore. Just let me go home!

  After they deemed I had been tortured enough, my surgeon came in and decided that they would just put me to sleep first and then start a central line. Actually two.  One in my neck and one in my groin.  Let's go.. we're getting behind schedule here!  (Don't mind me.. I actually loved my surgeon. He was amazing. He did the very first open heart surgery in our area. He died a year after my surgery in an automobile accident in New York)

Once they wheeled me into the operating room the last thing I remember was the nurses telling me to just relax and it would be all over when I woke up. Until I woke up and everyone was standing around me saying "Hey, she's awake! Give her some more!".

  The first thing I remember after my surgery is my mind waking up. I had been paralyzed for the surgery, been intubated and was in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Now, I couldn't move. But, I could think and hear. I remember the blackness and wondering if I was dead. I remember my first thoughts being "Praise God, Praise God, Praise God" even before I realized what I was thinking.Then I heard my mom and felt that my eyes were itching like CRAZY!  I heard the respirator and goof that I am, wondered if I held my breathe, would the respirator breathe for me anyway. So I tried it.  Needless to say, the respirator won, lol.

  I wasn't in any pain at the moment, but DAMN did my eyes itch! I kept trying to open them, squinch them.. anything. My mom noticed and started talking to me.  Asking me what was wrong, telling me to open my eyes. LAUGHING at me for making strange faces, hehe.Then, all at once, with one final inhuman effort, my eyes popped open and there was Mom, about an inch away from my face! ROFL

  Slowly, I regained some function of my arms and hands but I was strapped down and my mom got a piece of paper and a pen and I could write that my eyes itched.  Oh the relief when she finally understood what I was trying to tell her and rubbed them for me!

  Soon, the respirator came out, I was able to move and the pain set in.  My family left and I was alone with the nurses who took wonderful care of me. Everyone kept coming in to look at me because I was the 'young one'. Definately NOT at my best, but, Hey, I guess they had seen worse.

  The next day, the anesthesiologist had to come and apologize to me for the abuse he put me through.  I was black from head to toe from all the needle pricks that I had gone through the day before. I just told him he would thank me enough to NEVER do that to another person again!

  Five days later I was able to go home. It was a rough recovery for me.  I don't know how elderly people ever make it through that. I was prepared for the pain, but the total and utter exhaustion and lack of strength just threw me for a loop.

  I did a lot of praying during that time of my life.  Probably more than ever before or since.  I know that God saved me and that He was with me during that surgery. The fact that my unconcious self was praising Him as I came out of the anesthesia tells me that.  And though I know He has been with me since my creation, this was one of the most profound experiences of His Hand on my life so far. There have been a few that have come close, but not like that one.

 Though I never thought I would make it through that day, I did, and it has given me a different perspective on life.  It has taught me most importantly to cherish every single second I have with my children. They are the ones who got me through it all. They are the reason I had the surgery in the first place. I was told I would most likely be dead by 33 if I didnt have it. And I would have been.  During the surgery they found three more holes in my heart for a total of four. Three were the size of pencil erasers and one was the size of a quarter.

  This  post is brought to you by the Writers Workshop which can be found at Mama's Losin' It.  It's never too late to join in on the fun!  This week I used prompt number 2!

  Till Next Time,
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Leia Mais...

Wordless Wednesday - The Perpetual Headache


























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Leia Mais...

I wanna sleep till noon...

OK, this is more of a rant than anything.

I just wanna sleep till noon, get up and have nothing to do but maybe the dishes and the laundry and vaccuming and hang out with Wyatt.

I'm kinda tired of being the driver, provider, etc. On Sundays, I don't even go to church because it is the only day I have that it is not required of me to leave the house.  The rest of the week is go, go, go!  It's exhausting!

Others in my household, besides the children who go to school, get to sleep till noon.  Granted, it's quiet then, but heck.... I WANNA TOO! lol

Ok, done whining.
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Leia Mais...

Welcome to Mailbox Monday!! A blog hop to boost your subscriber count!


Here’s how to join in the fun:

Add your blog link to the linky

Subscribe by email to the three hostesses. They will return the favor.

Visit the other blogs on the list and subscribe by email to the ones that interest you. Leave them a comment with your blog link so they know you are subscribing from Mailbox Monday. Don’t forget to confirm your subscription!

Everyone is welcome to participate. Each week a new linky will be generated so make sure you stop by on Monday’s to add your blog.

Your blog *must* have a place for people to e-mail subscribe.We will be subscribing to everyone’s blog who participates. If there isn’t an e-mail subscribe option, your link will be removed from the linky.

The Mailbox Monday Blog of the Week is StashMama which takes the #4 spot on the linky. Next week, we will choose from this week’s participants for the Blog of the Week.

Help us spread the word about Mailbox Monday! Write a post for your blog and add the blog hop code.

Let’s have fun and meet (and read via email) some new blogs!




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Leia Mais...

What word describes me most? ... Tired!

I swear, I need to be cloned.  If only there were one or two more of me, my life would be so much easier!  Everything needs my undevided attention - kids, work, house, errands.  There just doesn't seem to be enough time or energy in a day to get everything done that needs to be done.


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Leia Mais...

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