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What do you do to keep your family (and yourself) organized?  If you're like me you have tried a lot of things....calendar on the wall, ical, sticky notes, etc.  I recently discovered Cozi and love it.  It' FREE!!!!!  You can create a Family Calendar and each member can keep track of what's in store for the day, week, month, etc.   Let me know what you think!   Happy Holidays! 

No Mommy's Perfect-remember it's progress not perfection--especially around the holidays. 

Anyone listen to Martha Stewart's daughter, Alexis I think it is?  She has a show on Sirius Satellite radio called Whatever! that is rather.....let's say "to the point."  I like her.  She shows herself and all her quirky insecurities that aren't really all that quirky.  She does yoga. She wants to have a baby.  She talks about it.  I saw that she is going to have a tv show and make comments about her mom's show.  I have no idea about her real life relationship with her mother and wouldn't venture a guess without meeting them, however, I like Alexis' quick qit-she makes fun of the obviously and incredibly difficult cooking adventures some moms don't have time to undertake.  I don't see her making 8 course meals for her child one day--but if she wanted she probably could wing it.  For us this year is just about visiting and regrouping.  I am looking forward to Thanksgiving with my parents, husband, and daughter & I am off the hook for cooking a bunch.  My sweet Dad even ventured out and found a Tofurky for us (yes, a vegetarian turkey).  What a guy.  My brother and his family will be with his in-laws this year.  Usually we have our Christmas decorations up by now and I am up to my ears in mashed potatoes so I am happy for a quiet & simple season of gratitude....& a little Satellite radio of course.

Fun site to check out...and by the way they did a fun review of our products over at Peanut Butter N Pickles Reviews...a fun site.  Check out the site and the 142 reviews of No Mommy's Perfect Products.  I'll let you know about more reviews in the future.  Until then keep an eye on Peanut Butter N Pickles....my daughter loves saying that. 

Today we are sharing.....taking lots of gently used toys to Renewal House to share with the boys and girls there.  Check out our Charities page for more info on their efforts.  I am teaching my daughter about the importance of letting others enjoy her toys after she has "outgrown" them. She enjoys being a "big girl" and looks forward to having Santa bring her some "big girl" toys.  The house now has a little room for them too.  It's a nice way to share, recycle, and teach at the same time.  What do you do with your gently used toys?  Consignment?  Donate?

......and the winner is.......

It's Jennifer Lee!! She is the winner of the drawing from the Shopping Extravaganza yesterday in Mt. Juliet.   She wins any product of her choice PLUS a gift certificate to Massage Envy.  Congratulations and thank you again to everyone for stopping by!  You'll be receiving your newsletters soon! 

Exciting Day at the Mt. Juliet Shopping Extravaganza!  I met so many awesome women today and heard so many wonderful stories of motherhood.  I love to share the feedback on the comments (and YES, we have a winner of the drawing....to be announced in the morning!!)  Some of the comments about No Mommy's Perfect included:

"It's true!" "I know I'm not perfect."  "Great concept."  "Wish I had this years ago!"  and my favorite of the day....."This really fits the lifestyle!"

  Thank you to all the great moms who stopped and shopped but primarily thanks for your sharing!

You were the first to hear about the upcoming book which will be announced in our first newsletter coming soon.  Get those stories in and you may be contacted for an interview for the book!  

The end of daylight savings has arrived.  We turned back our clocks and enjoyed a few extra ZZZZ's.....and tonight I noticed just how this signals the coming of shorter -or seemingly shorter- days.  It started getting dark when I was running a couple of errands.  Why does this always remind me of how strange it felt to watch Oprah in college when it was getting dark outside?  Something about that just seemed wrong---the darkness part---watching Oprah in college felt completely natural.  I liked her even then....way back in the early 90's.  I don't have as much time to watch her now--4pm is a pretty busy time at my house and taking a "break" all by myself doesn't happen without a good bit of planning and a good babysitter in sight.   My 4 pms are probably much like yours....either finishing up at work (or not), going through the after school routine, having a snack, making dinner or at least ordering dinner or microwaving it, doing a load of laundry, going through the mail, checking email, reading up on stuff for work, reading to or answering a lot of questions from a curious nearly 4 year old, playing dolls, stopping to teach that sweet 4 year old how to help me cook even if it slows things down and makes a mess.   She loves to make mac & cheese (of course) and she loves broccoli.   Usually by the time I think about it....Oprah is off!!!!  I need TiVo!!!  Well, time for bed.  Maybe I'll catch Oprah tomorrow....nope, I think we may have gymnastics.   

      This is a great weekend.  I am having the chance to network, rest, and learn all about balancing motherhood, career, and healthy self-care.  Such a timely conference and so empowering to come together with other like-minded women with similar goals....but wait, wouldn't these goals resonate with most women?  I think so. 

      An excellent session today discussed perception.  My perception of any situation is just that--my own and yours is yours.  We get into trouble when we THINK we know what others THINK of us.  It creates a lot of frustration and burns up a lot of our emotional energy and we feel drained.  We aren't able to be in the present moment.   A good example is "needing to be two places at once" and feeling guilty either way.  As parents we know the feeling--perhaps your child has a school event at the same time as an important work meeting.... You fear being "perceived" as a slacker mom or a slacker employee.  We can realize we actually do not know what others are thinking-nor does it matter- unless we allow it.  Making decisions and accepting the consequences based on YOUR personal situation will work better than trying to get everyone to agree that you are right one way or the other.  Each person has a different background and a different perspective.  Once we make a decision either way we can know we made the one that was best for US and that worrying about others' thoughts (what we THINK they think) is really what wears us down. 

Can you think of other examples?    

That's it for now & I THINK you should have a perfectly imperfect day!  

I love Fall....watching the leaves change, cleaning out closets, getting ready for Halloween, etc.  It's a lot of fun.  It's also the beginning of the "holidays" which can get very busy.  I have already been busy and have found it difficult to work exercise into my schedule as much as I was doing last year..as much as I would like.  I plan to TRY to start exercising more.  I will start by scheduling it and sticking to it as much as I stick to my work schedule--which I never miss.  It's so easy to put everyone and everything else first, isn't it moms?  I know, I do it too!! It feels good...most of the time.  It does take its toll though.  We really have to make ourselves take time for ourselves-because no one is going to pull up to your house in a limo and say..."time for your workout...and here's your babysitter & here's a hot dinner."  Nope, that's probably not going to happen.  Whatever works for you and your family....schedule it in and stick to it--at least that's what I plan to TRY to do.  What works for you? 

No Mommy's Perfect products can be see today at the Work at Home Mom Expo and Job Fair in Bloomington IL.   Our friends over at Sane Moms will have a booth and Bethany Vedder, life coach & founder of SaneMoms-will be a presenter as well.  There will be a gift basket giveaway from No Mommy's perfect with some cool items including both of our 100% organic onesies.  Check it out.   There are over 300 Mom-focused booths so it should be fun.  Call your sitters or take the kids.

Funny tips from a friend with a sense of humor.....

  Five tips for a woman....
1. It is important that a man helps you around the house and has a job.
2. It is important that a man makes you laugh.
3. It is important to find a man you can count on and doesn't lie to You.
4. It is important that a man loves you and spoils you.
5. It is important that these four men don't know each other.

Have a great day!

Hey ....check out....

Consigning Time .  It's a cool site that organizes all the area consignment sales.  There is even a printable calendar which makes finding bargains a breeze.  Thanks to Julie King for putting this masterpiece together.  Have a perfectly imperfect day....this is a great weekend for sales too!

Here's a new site....called Nashville MomsLikeMe which is a new look/new site for Music City Moms.  I like it!   Check out their Main Site for all of the sister city listings all over the United States to find one for your location. 

The Larger, more comfy fitting t-shirts are in!!!  They will be listed soon on the SHOP page but if you want one NOW just shoot me an email info@nomommysperfect.com They are available in light green or pink and have the new phrase as seen on the Cafe Press Site merchandise. Yea!

Check out our listing on Your Couture Kid .  We are also under What's New.....

Lots of fun unique stuff for kids!   Have a great day!

We're off to dance class for 3 year olds. 

Check out our Cafe Press Store today!

fun, fast, lots of new products! 

Susan

Store Wide Sale...all current merchandise is 40% off in anticipation of our new arrivals.   (Just realized it could sound like we are expecting babies when I say new arrivals.....actually referring to little onesies coming soon, larger shirts, and another surprise.   Come to think of it though--that perfectly described my pregnancy!!)  Let's just be clear--that's all the new merchandise headed this way so shop now while the savings are in full swing. 

We will carefully pack up your order and include some fun No Mommy's Perfect stickers with the juggling mom logo for you to share with friends as well as our magnetic cards for your fridge or office space.  Enjoy!  Have a great day. 

(The price on the product reflects a 40% reduction in price.)

Speaking of books ...a good one is  Momfidence by Paula Spencer.  It's a fun read where she shares her adventures of parenting 4 kids...getting more relaxed with each one.  She also writes a column for Woman's Day magazine and I read her latest one while I was feeling a bit guilty being away from my daughter recently.  It was entitled..Why I Ran Away and talked about how she left home to get back in touch with herself and to set an example for her daughter....that it's more than OK to take care of yourself as a mom...it's essential.  If getting away isn't an option for you then how about just letting up on the mommy guilt.    If you want to work ...there are likely tons of moms around who support you....you don't have to argue since every mom has a right to her opinion...just do what is best for you and your family.   Spend as much time as you can around friends with whom you feel great  &/or who have a similar philosophy--whether it's staying at home full time,  part-time, working full-time, private or public school, homeschooling, "unschooling" (like my awesome friend Tracy does!!, wish they had that when I was little)  -- it just has to FIT for YOU and YOUR family.  Not everyone is the same & just when you think things are set...something changes.    So true with kids....so true with parenting. 

The Woman's Day with the article Why I Ran Away should still be on stands now.. dated 9-1-08....under Paula's column Momfidence...check it out....when you are taking a 5 minute mommy break!  Enjoy.

This is a good one...Getting Things Done by David Allen is a great read.....I cannot recall exactly where I read a recent review but I recalled I already had the book and had not yet "found the time" to read it!  (--who finds time?  when you find out, let me know..)..what I meant to say was...I had not "scheduled the time" to actually read it (it just sounded so great in the the bookstore).  Well, after sitting down and reading it....guess what, it IS  a great book and actually touches upon not only "organizational skills" which can sound so boring but reasons WHY not having and using those skills effectively can lead to so many other problems such as frustration,  self-sabotage, feeling overwhelmed, & flat out being overwhelmed.    It has already shown me how I waste a lot of time running from one project to the next----now, granted, I DO have a 3 year old so some of that (OK, a lot of that) is by definition, just gonna' happen--but I am extrapolating the information from his book and it is making the days go a lot smoother.  Here is a quote from the book which is worth remembering... "Anything that causes you to overreact or underreact can control you, and often does."  

so "react" appropriately with the right action steps (action is key...not just planning or making endless lists).... Here's one more... "Things rarely get stuck because of lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined."   I like that a lot. 

read on.....the book is full of quotes to break up the what could be a dry read but is very engaging!

back to work....we're remodeling another bathroom...this time without help....have a great day!

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Today we had a leak in the main water line to our home....handled it by calling for help since that is not my area of expertise.  It had leaked into the neighbor's yard over the past couple of days making the grass truly "greener on the other side"....     I am sure there is a twist of irony in there but I am too pooped to figure one out.  

After that was all fixed I took our daughter to a fun place that is sure to be a franchise one day....       The Monkey's Treehouse in Bellevue, TN.  It is a real wonderland for kids where they can run and play, color and draw, play dress-up, house, & even build sandcastles in a huge sandbox.  The parents stay the whole time but there is no clean-up!!  That's the best part.  My daughter usually runs right into any new situation without hesitation..today was different.  Perhaps it was because she was just waking up or there were several kids.  She was also seeing her favorite little friend for the first time in awhile and could have been somewhat emotional....whatever the case...she was upset and irritable the first half hour, off and on.  After that time she was bubbly and giggling and having her usual great time.  I am glad I didn't leave within the first 10 minutes saying she was just having a bad day.  Sometimes I am not sure what to do...Today I just knew to wait and she did, indeed, feel better.  We would have left if she had continued to struggle...but as it was, she could feel good that she had changed her own mood after mommy gave her a little more space.  Remaining open to learning new things, being teachable, and saying "help" & "I'm not sure"  are tools I intend to keep in my toolbox....just in case of a leak.  Have a perfectly imperfect day and check out our new Facebook listing.   We're all in this together.  Yes, the newsletter is coming..... The Plus size shirts are not far away from being complete.  yea!!