Making Time For Mommy…And Daddy, Too!!

Happy Thursday everyone! I have some really exciting news to share today. Since 2008 I have been running this blog all on my own but as of this week I’m going to have some help… “Daddy” will be joining me! Sinisa will be working at a location that is much closer to our home so he will have at least 10 to 15 extra hours back in his week and he has volunteered to help me run this site {awww}. While I will still create most of the content you read and take care of the behind the scenes things, Sinisa will be writing some posts as well. He will write about a variety of topics including posts about raising boys and recipes {two of his specialities!}

I’m really looking forward to being able to work with him on this hobby turned business. This will free me up to write more craft, DIY and home related posts which I’ve been wanting to do since we moved but haven’t had time for. I already shared one organizing post a few days ago and have one DIY project in the works and a couple more organizing posts that will be up soon! Working full-time, running this blog, taking care of two active boys and keeping my house tidy keep me busy so I welcome the help and occasionally may even get a day off :)

Now on to the fun part of introducing you to Sinisa. The boys absolutely adore their daddy, and not just because he gives them sweets and helps get them to the next video game level. The boys run into his arms when he gets home and his days off are their favorite days of the week!

He moved to the US with his mom and sister over 15 years ago. Having lost his mother to Cancer last year and his sister moving back home, he is the only one in his family who is living here in the states still. We are looking forward to visiting his family in Croatia next year and showing the boys where he grew up.

I thought it would be fun to do a Q&A with him so you could learn even more about him.

Mommy: What are your favorite things about being a dad?

Daddy: Teaching them things and creating memories.

Mommy: What is your favorite meal to make?

Daddy: Crepes {The kids always love to watch them be flipped and they eat them with Nutella!}

Mommy: If you could share one thing with someone who was about to be a parent what would it be?

Daddy: Enjoy the little things.

Mommy: What is your least favorite chore?

Daddy: Folding and putting away the laundry.

Mommy: What is one thing that excites you about this blogging adventure you are joining me on?

Daddy: Being able to share my experiences.

So there you have it! What types of posts do you hope to see from a dad’s perspective? Any recipes or DIY projects you hope we will share? Let us know in the comments below!

P.S.- All posts written by me will have “Alicia Marie” under the title and all posts written by Sinisa will say “Sinisa” under the post title so you can tell who the author is. Though I’m pretty sure my use of exclamation points gives me away ;)

2013: My Year In Review

This past year has been amazing and (in typical blogger fashion) I wanted to write a blog post to share the highlights:

FAMILY

2013 was a year of growth for my family. We went on our very first family vacation to Wisconsin Dells and had a few other mini-vacations after that. The boys spent the summer at summer school and camp and enjoyed weekly field trips with friends. They kept us busy from Spring to Fall with sports and activities including football, basketball, soccer, tball, swimming lessons and Awana. Jacob started Kindergarten and amazes me every day with his knowledge. He is starting to read and that is so exciting! Lucas started his second year of preschool and has changed so much since last school year. He started school this August in a classroom specifically for children with Autism and now, mid-way through the year, is spending half of his day in that classroom and the other half of his day in an inclusive classroom with the help of an aide. I am so proud of how far he has come!

Sinisa has had a hard year with the loss of his mom this summer. He recently started a new job and is enjoying it so far. Along with working and blogging, I started teaching Sunday School again which I love.

We had a wonderful {and simple} Christmas season and enjoyed hosting a Christmas day family get-together. Sinisa traded in one of our cars and surprised me with my dream vehicle- a minivan! It is used but I’m excited about having a vehicle with so much space. Christmas break has been spent at home, cuddling together and playing board games. The perfect way to spend our days off!

WORK

In 2013, I went full-time at work {meaning I was an “official” employee and no longer contract} and became the manager of my department. I love being able to do what I do and am blessed to be able to work from home with amazing people. In the Spring we held our first blog conference which brought me to Arkansas to visit and I got to check out our headquarters. I’m really looking forward to SoFabCon 2014!

BLOG

This year I celebrated my 5 year blogiversary! What started as me blogging about my goals with no intention of anyone ever reading what I wrote turned into a business. In 2013, my blog took me to Wisconsin Dells, Branson, and even to Jamaica! I’ve been blessed to work with some great brands on some amazing projects, review some amazing products, check out some great local events, start new Ambassadorships, and have my first spokesperson gig. I’ve also enjoyed writing about things that interest me and sharing my heart with you all.

I thought it would be fun to share my top posts of the year. I had some roundups and giveaway posts that did really well but other than those my top posts this year were:

I found it interesting that most of my popular posts were older posts. Many were children’s activities which I love doing and (having taught preschool in the past) have many more ideas for, so I will try to add more of those in every month. I hope you all have enjoyed reading my blog this past year and I look forward to 2014 with you all!

Get It Done With Microsoft Office {Giveaway}

(Disclosure:  I participated in the Microsoft Office 365 campaign on behalf of One2One Network. All opinions stated are my own.)

You never know how much you take something for granted until you don’t have it. I never realized how much I used Microsoft Office products until I didn’t have them on my computer. I couldn’t edit Word documents people sent me, I couldn’t easily create invoices, and I had a lot of trouble opening attachments I was sent that were written in Word.

One thing I really wanted to do was create some sort of spreadsheet to track my blog income better. I had been relying on email and a sheet of scrap paper to keep track of things but that was a horrible system. Once I got Microsoft Office back I immediately created a spreadsheet using excel.

Using a spreadsheet has made it a lot easier to see when projects have been completed and when I should expect to be paid. I also created a blog expenses sheet and a sheet to keep track of where I have promoted posts on social media. All of these spreadsheets have made me much more efficient.

One other bonus of using Microsoft Office is that it can be accessed anywhere I go. The 9 to 5 has blurred and today people need modern technology to find balance. From the home to the office, and especially on the go, people all around the world are working differently than the past. I work from home full-time and, though I’m mostly at my computer, I need to be able to get work done even when I’m not home.

Show Microsoft how you #GetItDone and you and a friend could win a trip to some of the most happening events anywhere. Get it done alongside the most accomplished athletes, filmmakers and musicians around—on a trip to NYC, a journey to Park City, Utah, or a musical voyage to Austin, Texas. Visit http://bit.ly/GetItDoneContest to share and enter to win:

  • A February trip to NYC, America’s most get it done city—with enough cash to buy tickets to the big football showdown, or catch your favorite Broadway show.
  • Slap on your skis and head to Utah this January, where you can get it done in between indie flicks in Park City.
  • Fly to Austin in March, where you’ll enjoy a boot-scootin’ week of living history, live music and interactive in the heart of Texas.

Enter to win here at Making Time For Mommy, too! One reader will win a one-year subscription (US $99.99 value) of Office 365 Home Premium.

HOW TO ENTER:

{Do any or all of the following, leave a separate comment for each you do}

1) Leave a comment telling me how you’d use Microsoft Office on the go

2) Share this giveaway on a social network.

3) Follow @Office on Twitter

4) Follow @aliciamarie112 on Twitter

5) Comment on another one of my blog posts

Giveaway ends November 24, 2013 at 11:59pm Central time. Must be a US resident and 18 years or older to enter.

{Blogger Opp} Amazon GC Giveaway 2/16-3/2

Brought to you by:

The Frugal Batavian, The Frugal Free Gal, and Money Saving Lisa.

Looking to offer an awesome cash value contest for your blog readers? Well, right now we are taking admissions for the Amazon Gift Card Giveaway that will start on February 16th! The prize will be determined by how many blogger participate with the goal of at least $100 to giveaway to one lucky winner. You have the option of one FREE link by either Twitter or Facebook, as well as paid options. There are also paid Host and Co-hosting options.

  • Prize: Anywhere from $100-$250 in the form of an Amazon eGift Code that will be e-mailed to the winner.
  • Event Dates: Starts at 9am EST on Saturday, February 16, and ends on March 2 at 11:59 EST.
  • This event is open WORLDWIDE.
  • Extra links cost $3 each and will be used to cover the cost of the prize. There are no admin fees.

To find out more and sign up to join visit The Frugal Batavian’s post here.

Universal Orlando’s “Despicable Me” Breakfast {Not-So-Wordless Wednesday}

Yesterday the boys and I headed to The Wit Hotel in Chicago for a blogging event with Universal Orlando Resort to celebrate a new attraction coming this summer.

Here is more information on the Despicable Me attraction from the press release:

Universal Orlando’s newest attraction, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, will take guests on an unforgettable 3-D adventure with their favorite characters from the hit film – Gru, Margo, Edith, Agnes and the mischievous minions. The experience begins when guests enter Gru’s home, where they learn that they’re being recruited to become minions and undergo “minion training.” Things don’t go as planned, and guests find themselves on a wildly hysterical journey with Gru and his daughters. Once guests make it through training, they join an interactive, minion-inspired dance party where they can show off their best moves.

Click here to see a picture of the boys and I with the characters from Despicable Me {It’s copyrighted so I can’t share it here on my blog.} Here are two of my favorite pictures from the breakfast:

Two of the minions

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Jacob loved watching the minions come out and dance. I didn’t get a picture of Lucas because he was busy dancing around at the table :)

(Disclosure: I attended this event free of charge but all thoughts are my own.)

For Mother’s Day I Am Giving Myself… A Break

I’m taking a mini-blogging vacation! {well, kinda….}

I will still be online working and writing a large portion of time for the rest of this week but I will not be publishing many new posts during this time. I will also be offline, watching my little brother graduate from college, walking for Autism Speaks, spending time in the sun with my kids, and celebrating Mother’s Day. I will post a little since I’ve already committed to some group giveaways and I have a few posts to write but for the most part posting will be sparse.

Starting this week, my goal will be to take one day COMPLETELY offline each week. This was my goal for the new year but with this blog, my business, and my part-time job demanding so much of me, that hasn’t happened in the past four months. I just can’t continue working seven days a week. My first real day off will be on Mother’s Day.

If you are a blogger or do any job in addition to parenting, do you take at least one day completely off a week for yourself and your family?

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Xbox Kinect Bundle Giveaway Event

Techy Tribe and Mom to Bed by 8 are proud to present the Techy Summer Xbox Kinect Bundle Event from July 8 to July 22. This is a free blogger event and accepting signups now.

Join the Techy Summer Xbox Kinect Bundle Giveaway event today, grow your readership and offer one fantastic cleaning tool giveaway! Find more information and learn how to sign up here.

That Works For Me E-Book Review & Giveaway

For more than five years, the blog carnival, Works For Me Wednesday has been a hub of helpful tips for every area of a busy woman’s life. Hundreds of bloggers link up every week and thousands of tips have been shared over the past years.

I was really excited when I got an email a few months back asking if one of my tips could be included in a new e-book based on the concept of the popular blog carnival I had enjoyed linking up to in the past. I remember so many good tips that I learned from other bloggers who participated. The “That Works For Me” e-book has over 800 of the best tips and tricks that have been submitted over the years from parenting to cleaning to DIY crafts and everything in between.

I enjoyed looking through this e-book. The tips were all categorized so it was easy to find what I was looking for. I liked that I could click on links under each tip to be taken to the blogs they came from so that I could further explore all of the blogs. Some of my favorite tips included those on making freezer meals as gifts, organizing preschool activities, cutting onions {the secret to not crying is revealed!} and time saving tips.

BUY IT:

Purchase the e-book for $8 here

COUPON CODE:

Use code SAVE1 for $1 off!

WIN IT:

One lucky reader will win their own copy of the That Works For Me E-book.

HOW TO ENTER:

{Do any or all of the following, leave a separate comment for each you do}

1) Leave a comment telling me your best “tip” to make some aspect of life easier

2) Like Making Time For Mommy on Facebook

3) Like That Works For Me on Facebook

4) Follow @aliciamarie112 on Twitter

5) Follow @works4mebook on Twitter

6) Follow Alicia on Pinterest

7) Follow That Works For Me on Pinterest

8) Share this giveaway on a social network

Giveaway ends on May 15, 2012 at 11:59pm Central time.

(Disclosure: I received a free copy of the e-book but all thoughts are my own. This giveaway is not associated with Facebook in any way.)


{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Diamond Earring Giveaway

CouponTrade.com, partnered with My Jewelry Box, is offering this stunning pair of 1/2 carat (ctw) diamond earrings, valued at $1000. This set boasts the luster of more than five dozen, brilliant cut blue and white stones, delicately crafted from 10 karat polished white gold. Fourteen luminous blue diamonds glimmer alluringly among a bed of fifty-two pristine white diamonds.

This giveaway starts April 30th. Bloggers can participate in this event for free by doing an introductory post or can pay $1 in lieu of writing a post.

Find out more information and sign up to participate over at Cute-Ecakes.

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Bright Starts Baby Shower Giveaway

Bright Starts, Mom to Bed by 8 and Iowa-Mom are excited to present the Baby Shower Event from May 7th to May 28th. This is a free blogger event and they are accepting signups now.

Join the Bright Starts Ultimate Baby Shower Giveaway event today, grow your readership and offer one amazing baby shower gifts giveaway!

{Please say Alicia from Making Time For Mommy referred you}

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Free Housewarming Dyson Giveaway

Mom to Bed by 8 is excited to present the Housewarming Dyson Event from June 1 to June 15. This is a free blogger event and accepting signups now.

Join the Housewarming Dyson Giveaway event today, grow your readership and offer one fantastic cleaning tool giveaway!

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Father’s Day Giveaway Event


It is a perfect time to find what gifts you would like to give to your father. Makobi Scribe is proud to present Father’s Day Gift Ideas Giveaway Event from June 10 12:01 PM EST to June 18 at midnight EST and is accepting signups now. This is a free event if you write a post about it. You can find out more details and sign up here.

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Rainy Day Facebook Frenzy Event

I am so excited about this Rainy Day Facebook Frenzy event because it’s a cash giveaway that bloggers can sign up for at no cost. Find more information over at Cute-Ecakes :)

Sign up HERE!

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Avoiding April Showers Giveaway Hop

The Avoiding April Showers Giveaway Hop is being hosted by Put A Little Umbrella In Your DrinkSeeds of Life and Taking Time for Mommy, and And The Little Ones, Too! It runs from April 16 – 30. To participate bloggers need to host a giveaway worth at least $25 on their blog. This event is free to participate in if you write a post about the event inviting other bloggers to sign up.

Find more details and learn how you can sign up here.

Giveaway Prize Pack For Girls {The Great Swag Swap}

Welcome to The Great Swag Swap Giveaway Hop hosted by Gypsy Mama Logs and Mama goes BAM. This event runs from February 29th to March 7th!

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As a blogger I get a lot of “swag” so I am happy to have this chance to pass some of it on to you!

All my items are for girls and, since I have two boys, they are brand new.

Here is a picture of my prize package:

Items included:

– Duckle Dance T-Shirt from Wisharoo Park (size 6-8)

-Mooshi Monsters Magazine w/4 gifts in package

-Pack of Mooshi Monsters Mash Up Trading Cards

-Pack of Hello Kitty Cards

How To Enter:

(Do any or all of the following, leave a comment for each you do)

1) Share this giveaway on a social network

2) Like Making Time For Mommy on Facebook

3) Follow me on Twitter

4) Follow me on Pinterest

5) Subscribe to this blog via email or RSS

6) Enter another one of my giveaways {found here}

Giveaway ends March 7, 2012 at 11:59pm Central time. US only.

(Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own. This is not sponsored by or endorsed by Facebook or any of the companies of the items I am giving away.)

FIND MORE GREAT SWAG GIVEAWAYS HERE!

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Green Spring Clean Giveaway Hop

Happy Mothering

Happy Mothering and SAPsMaMa proudly present the Green Spring Clean Giveaway Hop from March 21st 12:01 AM EST  to March 30th 11:59 PM EST and are accepting signups now. This will be a great event to share eco-friendly and green products with your readers.

This is a free event to participate in if you write up a post announcing the event. Find out more and enter to sign up here.

{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Lucky Clover Giveaway Hop

Trista from Anderson’s Angels and Courtney from Joy Of Momma Joyner are excited to host a fun blog hop event called Lucky Clover St. Patrick’s Event! It will run from 12:02 am EST Saturday, March 17, 2012 through 11:59 pm EST Friday, March 23, 2012. It’s super easy to join in on the fun! All you have to do is post a giveaway worth at least $25 on your blog during this time period.

This blog hop is FREE to bloggers! To find out more and to sign up you can go here.

Business Card Giveaway {And Some Advice}

Blogging conference season is upon us and it’s important to bring business cards to conferences and events you attend. Having attended a handful of conferences and a lot of blogging events I can tell you one thing that I’ve learned:

Do something with your cards to organize them when you get them or you will probably NEVER do anything with them.

I have close to 200 business cards from various bloggers and businesses and they all sit in a large ziploc bag on my desk. Looking through the cards I can remember great conversations with some of the pr companies and fun nights out with some of the bloggers but with other business cards I look at, I can’t even remember meeting the people.

Here are a few things I wish I had done when I first got the business cards:

1) Connected with people on Twitter so we could keep in contact

2) Separated cards by conference or event

3) Put a star on the cards of people I wanted to follow up with or continue a conversation with

4) On PR cards, wrote down the brands they were there representing

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GIVEAWAY:

50 Business Cards from Tiny Prints

HOW TO ENTER:

1) Leave a comment telling me what you want to win the business cards for

2) Like Making Time For Mommy on Facebook

3) Follow me on Twitter

4) Follow me on Pinterest

5) Share this giveaway on a social network

6) Enter another one of my giveaways {found here}

Giveaway ends March 1, 2012 at 11:59pm Central time. US Only.

(Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way. I am giving away the business cards I would have been given. All thoughts are my own. This giveaway is not associated in any way with Facebook.)

Blog Feature: Mommies Point Of View

Glenda of Mommies Point of View is the winner of February’s MEGA blog Ad Campaign!

Powered by BannerFans.com

About Glenda

I would like to introduce you to Mommies Point of View. Please grab your favorite beverage and sit a spell. I offer reviews and giveaways. Jump on board for the Author Tours I will be hosting. Do you like Blog Hops? Then Please join mine as I Love to make new friends. I also Blog about the companies I am in Eclispe Spa and Usborne Books where you can enter to win free products. I am looking for other Blogs to host Guest Apperances on my Blog. Read More…

Mommies Point of View

Make sure to stop by and congratulate her on the win!!

Find Glenda on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus

SIGN UPS are now open for the next giveaway! If you would like to join us in hosting this event, sign up HERE! HURRY! Space is limited!


{Bloggers} Sign Up For The Savory Summer Giveaway Event

Savory Summer

Measuring Flower and Graphoniac are teaming up for an awesome blog-hopping giveaway event entitled Savory Summer! It will take place from May 16-30th. Savory Summer will be featuring all things food and food-related that can be enjoyed during the summer. Basically, if it is something that a human being can eat, eat with, eat off of, cook, cook with, prepare food with…it belongs in this event! If you would like to participate and sponsor a food related giveaway on your blog of at least $25 value you can find out more here. Sign ups are free, you just have to write a post sharing this event with other bloggers.

Bloggers Unite Against SOPA and PIPA

January Mega Blog Ad Campaign

Are you looking to increase your exposure and following for your blog?
25 blogs have joined together to offer you a chance to win a MEGA ad campaign!
The lucky winner will receive:
A promotional post on ALL 25 blogs
Premium Sidebar advertising for the entire month of February on ALL 25 blogs
Weekly Facebook Shout-outs from ALL 25 blogs
Weekly Tweets from ALL 25 blogs
With the heavy hitter blogs we have participating, this would mean HUGE exposure for you and your blog for the entire month of February! Do you want to sponsor this giveaway next month? Participation is FREE!
Find out more HERE.

Blog Year In Review {2011}

Thank you to my top referrers:

facebook.com

twitter.com

parentclub.ganzworld.com

ohsosavvymom.com

tightwadinutah.com

Most Read Posts:

Deck The Halls Hop {American Express Gift Card Giveaway} {Written in November 2011}

Ten Homeschool Room Setups I Love {Written in November 2010}

Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop {Visa Gift Card Giveaway} {Written in November 2011}

Jeep Liberty Sport X All Terrain Stroller {Review and Giveaway} {Written in September 2011}

A Ladybug Birthday Party {Written in July 2010}

Most Searched Terms That Led People To My Blog:

homeschool room, homeschool rooms, homeschool room ideas, carnal innocence movie, and halloween lunch ideas

A Thank You To The Blogger That Left The Most Comments On My Blog:

Today's Diva

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Thank you to everyone who visited my blog, left comments, and entered my giveaways in 2011. I look forward to what 2012 has in store for my blog. I have a lot of things planned and can’t wait to share with you all! :)

Dree’s Things {Blog Spotlight}

Post written by Cindy of Cute-Ecakes:
Congratulations Dree!

Dree of Dree’s Things is the winner of January’s MEGA blog Ad Campaign!
Dree's Things

About Dree

I am a married mother of two. We have a new baby girl and a 20 year old son. We also have two dachshunds. I currently blog mostly about baby topics.  I’m interested in reviewing products and am just starting a series of my top ten baby must have products.

Dree’s Things

Dree has a beautiful baby girl, and reviews FANTASTIC baby products! You’ve got to come see this little cutie!

Make sure to stop by and congratulate her on the win!!

SIGN UPS are now open for the next giveaway! If you would like to join us in hosting this event, sign up HERE! HURRY! Space is limited!

{Bloggers} Sign Up For Whole Lotta Mama’s Birthday Bash Giveaway

{With co-hosts Sidetracked Mom’s Blog, The Mommy Bunch &  Making Time for Mommy}

Welcome to the very first Whole Lotta Mama Birthday Bash.  Kristin at Whole Lotta Mama will be turning 32 on March 29, 2012 and would love to share her birthday with everyone!  Bloggers get more exposure to their blog and gain a greater following; readers get a chance at winning Amazon Gift Code.

If you would like to be listed on the Rafflecopter, you will need to supply either a $5 Amazon Gift Card/Code or a $10 Amazon Gift Card/Code (depending on how many links you want in the RC) as well as $2 PayPal payment for admin fees.  We will be promoting this giveaway to the fullest & on many sites so you can be sure it will receive plenty of attention when it goes live!

The Giveaway will be hosted from March 25- April 1, 2012.

You can choose one social media link for this event if you contribute a $5 Amazon code or two links for contributing a $10 Amazon code. You can choose from Facebook likes, Twitter follows, or people adding you to their circles on Google+.

Every participating blogger will receive the html for the post and the Rafflecopter to host on their own site.  Entries need only to be done on one Rafflecopter form.  The number of winners selected will be dependent on how many bloggers are participating.

Please help us celebrate Kristin’s birthday!  Sign up HERE!

Blog Ad Campaign Giveaway {Rafflecopter}

Are you looking to increase your exposure and following for your blog?
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22 blogs have joined together to offer you a chance to win a MEGA ad campaign!
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The lucky winner will receive:
A promotional post on ALL 22 blogs
Premium Sidebar advertising for the entire month of January on ALL 22 blogs
Weekly Facebook Shout-outs from ALL 22 blogs
Weekly Tweets from ALL 22 blogs
With the heavy hitter blogs we have participating, this would mean HUGE exposure for you and your blog for the entire month of January! Do you want to sponsor this giveaway next month? Participation is FREE! Find out more HERE.
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Entry is simple! Just follow us all using the Rafflecopter form on my Facebook page, and be sure to come back for your daily entries too!!
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Giveaway ends on December 31, 2011.

Chicago Blogs To Check Out

For today’s Top Ten Tuesday I want to share ten wonderful blogs that focus on the Chicago area:

1) ChiTown Moms

2) The Chicago Moms

3) ChiTown Cheapskate

4) Toddling Around Chicagoland

5) Super Suburbs

6) My Chicago Kids

7) West Of The Loop

8) Go West Young Mom

9) ParentSphere

10) Sassy Moms In The City

Want to find other Chicago area bloggers? Here’s a list!

 

Need A Laugh?

While I love comments on my blog posts I end up deleting many of them. Why? Because they aren’t legit comments left by “real” people. When I came to my computer today I had 50 comments marked as “spam”. I thought I would share some of the funnier ones…

“I was seriosuly at DefCon 5 until I saw this post.”

“If inofmrtaion were soccer, this would be a goooooal!”

“If my problem was a Death Star, this arctile is a photon torpedo.”

“Ppl like you get all the barnis. I just get to say thanks for he answer.”

“The genius store claeld, they’re running out of you.”

“Great hammer of Thor, that is powerfully hlpeful!”

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What makes me wonder is who spends their time writing these?

Especially when their websites are listed as Google, Yahoo, and Bing!

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If you are a blogger, what is the funniest “spam” comment you have ever received?

Chicago’s Most Valuable Blogger Finalist

I have some exciting news! Making Time For Mommy is a Finalist in CBS Chicago’s “Most Valuable Blogger” contest! I would love if you could vote for me! There is no registering required, just a simple click on the button here and the vote button once you get to my page. You can vote daily. This is such an honor and I really appreciate the support! :) THANK YOU!

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Announcing My Type A Parent Conference Sponsor (And A Giveaway)

I am pleased to announce my ticket sponsor to the Type A Parent Conference is New Blog Hosting. New Blog Hosting offers affordable blog hosting and also blog design. I am excited to be helping represent this company for a number of reasons:

In discussing how we would work together and what his goals were Peter said the following in an email to me: “helping people is more important than making money.” Obviously, everyone wants to make money but he really wants to go to this conference to share his expertise and knowledge with others. That is the kind of business owner he is and those are the kind of people that I like to work with.

Another thing I love about New Blog Hosting is that $15 of every hosting package bought goes to Charity. Peter and his family are saving money to buy a well for people in Africa. I wrote about this cause back in March because it’s important to me, too!

So he likes to help others and money goes to charity…but what about the hosting? you may ask. For $35 per year you get reliable hosting. He will even help with data transfer if you already have a blog and need help moving it. I have never transferred my site but I have heard horror stories about lost data. I couldn’t imagine posts I’ve lovingly written gone because I attempted to do things myself.

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Will you be at the Type A Conference next weekend?

If so, watch for tweets from me to find out where I am throughout the conference. Exchange business cards with me and have the chance to win either a year of hosting from New Blog Hosting or a Starbuck’s gift card! I also may have an extra treat to share with you but you’ll just have to wait to see what it is ;)

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Not going to make the Type A Parent Conference?

That’s ok because I have something for you, too! You can enter to win a year of hosting (and assistance in transferring your site if needed).

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

(You may do any or all of the following)

1. Sign up for the New Blog Hosting e-newsletter

2) Follow @NewBlogHosting on Twitter

3) Follow @aliciamarie112 on Twitter

4) Tweet: “Enter to win a year of hosting from @NewBlogHosting and @aliciamarie112 at www.makingtimeformommy.com”

Giveaway ends on July 13, 2011 at 11:59pm Central time.

(Disclosure: I am attending Type A Conference this weekend thanks to my sponsor, New Blog Hosting. All opinions are my own.)

Ultimate Blog Party 2011

Ultimate Blog Party 2011

If you are stopping by from 5 Minutes For Mom, hello and welcome to the party! I participated last year and had SO MUCH FUN meeting new people! Since I am a huge list maker I thought I’d share 10 things about myself as a little icebreaker and invite you to share something about yourselves in the comments below!

Random Fact #1: My least favorite household chore is putting clean laundry away.

Random Fact #2: I work from home and every day I don’t have to go anywhere I can be found in sweats. {Attractive, huh?}

Random Fact #3: I love doing jigsaw puzzles and Sudoku puzzles.

Random Fact #4: I own more books than I could read in a year but I refuse to get rid of them because “someday” I will have the chance to read them.

Random Fact #5: My favorite store is Target because of their dollar section, clearance prices, and fun patterns.

Random Fact #6: I went to college in Ohio and was the only student from Illinois on campus.

Random Fact #7: In high school I spent one summer on tour with a traveling Christian choir.

Random Fact #8: Organization makes me giddy with happiness.

Random Fact #9: Blogging started out as a hobby and has turned into a part-time job that I love. Working for Living My MoMent as the Social Media Manager is pretty awesome, too. Between the two of them I spend over 45 hours a week online!

Random Fact #10: I can’t wait until my children are old enough to be in sports so I can be a “soccer mom”. It’s been my dream since grade school.

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Want to get to know me more?

If you live in Chicago let’s meet up! (email me!)

Subscribe to this blog (bloggers- leave a comment so I can return the favor)

Connect with me on Twitter

Find Making Time For Mommy on Facebook

Top Ten Tuesday: Blog Statistics

Sometimes looking at the site statistics for Making Time For Mommy make me laugh. Sometimes they make me cry. And sometimes they make me scratch my head in amazement. Here are ten random facts about my site according to WordPress:

1. Twitter has brought me more blog readers than any other site.

2. My biggest blog referrer to date is: http://www.orgjunkie.com (meaning that site has sent me the most traffic since 2008).

3. When it comes to search engine terms the most common one that leads people to my blog is: “Croatian sayings”. This is funny to me since the only place I mention Croatia at all on my blog is on my “life goals” page where I state that one of my goals is to be able to speak Croatian fluently.

4. My post about my nephew’s Toy Story birthday party and my niece’s ladybug birthday party posts each get more views than both my children’s first and second birthday party posts combined!

5. Though I only have a few posts that talk about crochet items on my blog, I get someone coming to my blog everyday who has used a search term with the word “crochet” in it. Hope they are not looking for directions on how to crochet because they would be very disappointed!

6. My first month of blogging I only got 30 page views. That’s about one per day.

7. Maybe it’s because my post titles my first month of blogging were the dates the post was written and not what the actual post was about….

8. Other than directing people to my facebook, my twitter, and the link to subscribe to my blog’s feed, the most commonly clicked link on my blog is to a fabulous Etsy shop called Mimi’s Babies.

9. My most popular non-giveaway post to date is: Ultimate Blog Party

10. Even more awesome than all these statistics?? YOU, MY READERS!! Thank you! :)

Wordless Wednesday: Bloggers at BlogHer

The above is a picture of myself, Renae, Anna, and Krissy in a limo on our way to Martha Stewart’s Blogger’s Night Out.

This is a picture of me at an evening event with Morgan, Maria, and another blogger.

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I have linked this post to: Wordless Wednesday Home

5 Minutes for Mom ~ Go Graham Go! ~ Jolly Mom

Mom of 3 Girls ~MomStart ~ Two of a Kind…

Momma Findings ~ Mom Knows It All

Frosted Fingers ~ A Daily Dose of Toni

Top Ten Tuesday: Sunshine Award BlogHers

Back in July I won a Sunshine Award from Staci at November Sunflower. Thank you so much Staci! :)

“The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging world.”

Awards like this have some rules…..

1. Put the award on your blog and/or within your post.

2. Pass the award on to twelve bloggers.

3. Link to the nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and the link to the person from whom you received the award.

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I am breaking the rules and sharing this award with 10 (not 12) wonderful women I had the chance to spend time with at BlogHer in New York City:

1. Louise of MomStart

2. Maria of My Chicago Mommy

3. Valerie of Seasonally Affected Mom

4. Heather of Wistful Wrists

5. Heather of Just Heather

6. Renae of Madame Deals

7. Anna of Girl With Blog

8. Maricris of Zensible Mama

9. Alecia of Savings & Stewardship

10. Cher of Mama’s Money Savers

Hope you will stop by their blogs and say hello!! :)

Summer Blog Tour

If you are stopping by from the Summer Blog Tour, hello and thanks for visiting! :)

I am so excited to be participating and am looking forward to meeting all the great women that are involved in the Summer Blog Tour put on by Living My MoMent and The Work At Home Woman. If you have never heard of the Summer Blog Tour then make sure to check out this post because there are still almost 30 more blogs that will be featured in the next month and a half!

Since today is my day to be featured I just wanted to share a couple of my favorite *fun* posts and since I love to take pictures all the posts below are full of them. If you like what you see here you can subscribe to my blog and get updates anytime something new is posted. Also, make sure to check out all the giveaways I have going on (in the sidebar to the right). :)

Top 3 Favorite Picture Posts:

1. Smiles At The Park

2. The Boys And Their Daddy

3. Jacob Is Too Cool

Ten Bloggers I Love

Last month I received my very first blog award from Dinell over at Mommy D’s Kitchen. Thank you so much Dinell for choosing me to be one of the lucky recipients and sorry it’s taken me so long to pay it forward! I am giving this award to 10 bloggers whose words have spoken to me over the past couple months, challenged me as a woman and mom, or made me think about areas of my life in a different way :)

  1. Amanda from OhAmanda.com (Coincidentally yesterday she was talking about bloggy awards and said “maybe it’s just because no one wants to give me one?!”… little did she know that this post was in draft and her name was already on the page…)
  2. SarahMae from Like A Warm Cup of Coffee
  3. Janna from Mommy’s Piggy Tales
  4. Erin from Home With The boys and The M.O.B. Society
  5. Ann from A Holy Experience
  6. Meghan from The Tuckers Take Tennessee
  7. Cherie from Heart and Soul Reflections
  8. Myra from My Blessed Life
  9. Michelle from SomeGirlsWebsite
  10. Krystyn from Really, Are You Serious?

The award comes with questions you need to answer when you pay it forward. Here are your questions:

1. What is your favorite thing about summer?

2. What is your favorite color?

3. What is your favorite part of blogging?

4. What is the first thing you do every day?

5. What is the last thing you do every day?

6. What is your favorite day of the year?

7. What is one free activity you enjoy doing with your family?

8. What is one thing you can’t live without?

9. What is your favorite meal?

10. What is your favorite children’s book?

Here are my answers to the questions I was given:

1. What is your favorite memory of springtime? Playing in the rain (and mud!) with friends.

2. If you could change ANYTHING about your life, what would it be? That my children would sleep later than 6am.

3. What is your favorite hobby? Shopping

4. Why did the chicken cross the road? I never did figure that out…

5. What is your favorite flower? Lilies

6. If you could have one superpower what would it be? The ability to never make a mistake as a mom.

7. What is your favorite color combination? pink and brown

8. 467-64=? ummm let me get out my calculator… lol

9. Disney or Looney Toons? Disney

10. What is your favorite “bad for you” snack? Chocolate of any kind (though I have one of those chocolate molten cakes calling my name at the moment…)

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This post is linked to Oh Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday

New On Inexpensively…..

Inexpensively Network Contributor

ME!!!

I am excited to announce that I have recently joined the Inexpensively team as a weekly contributor. I will be sharing about charities and how others can give “inexpensively”.

Feel free to stop by and say “hi” to the other site contributors:

Cute Earrings For A Great Cause!

So my lovely blogging friend, Sarah Mae, from Like A Warm Cup Of Coffee is doing something fabulous to help a friend’s business and a charity at the same time. Watch the video above to find out all about it and then visit Sarah Mae’s blog post that explains it more. Oh and did I mention there are lots of goodies to win and MONEY up for grabs? (Follow the #10for400 hashtag on twitter for more information.) And as if that weren’t enough visit Our Daily Chocolate for more fun!

(Disclosure: I’m writing this blog post because I love the idea and I love the blogger behind the idea BUT I also want to add that by writing a post about what they are doing I will be entered into a contest to win some cute things. :) Even if I wasn’t trying to win something I still would have been writing this but like to be completely honest with you all.)

Lady Bloggers Circle- Blogging Workshop

I am so excited to share this workshop with you, my friends. It started today but it’s not too late to get in on the action. This session runs through May 16th. To find out more information about the workshop you can visit their website.

What I love about this workshop is that it is a small group of women (less than 20) so it is very intimate and we can circulate ideas and talk amongst ourselves in the private forums. Also, another thing that caught my eye is that each person is able to schedule one-on-one consultations via phone at least twice a week with the creator of the Lady Bloggers Society.

Just from the posts offered on the blog recently I can tell I’m going to get a lot out of this workshop session. This past week I read about a way to come up with interesting post topics. The week before there was a great post about using a calendar as a tool for planning out your posts.

In addition to the workshop and the blog you can join the Lady Bloggers Society. This is FREE to join and as a member you can list your blog in the ‘Society Members’ area.

Hope some of you join the workshop session but if you can’t be sure to connect with me in the Lady Bloggers Society (I’m a new member).

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(Disclosure: I was given an opportunity to join in on this workshop free of charge if I wrote a blog post about it to introduce it to others. I wasn’t asked to tell others about the blog or the Lady Bloggers Society but I chose to because I have gotten value from them already in such a short period of time. All opinions here are my own.)

Ultimate Blog Party- Welcome Friends!

Ultimate Blog Party 2010

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss A Post! :)

Thanks for visiting me today! I am so excited about this party and all the wonderful friends I will make. (Yes, you will be my friend immediately. I’ve been like that since I was little. Ask my mom. I’d be at the playground and anyone who I played with was automatically “my friend”.)

My Family

To introduce myself I thought I would post a list of 10 things you should know about me:

1) Being a mother is the best job I have ever had and also my most challenging.

2) I am madly in love with Sinisa.

3) I try to be organized and I am a huge list maker.

4) My children need to match. Mismatched outfits are one of my biggest pet peeves. Don’t know what I’m gonna do in a few years when they want to pick out their own outfits :0

5) Caffeine is my friend… chocolate, pop, flavored coffee drinks- love them all!

6) I tend to over commit myself and take on more than I can handle.

7) I love to shop but I am super cheap (“frugal” is the new word for it I guess…)

8) I love to read but other than my Bible haven’t read an actual book in a while.

9) I love my extended family and my mommy friends and am so thankful for the support that they give me through all the hard times.

10) Perhaps most of all it’s important for you to know that I believe in God and that Jesus died for me (and you!).

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What can you expect to find on my blog?

Posts about my family, stories about my Spiritual walk, my obsession with participating in memes around the blogosphere (gotta show love to my fellow blogging friends), information about Charities that I support, reviews/giveaways, and so much more!

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Want to get to know me better? There are a few ways you could do so:

*Live in the Chicago, IL area? Let’s meetup!

*Do you tweet? Wow! So do I! Come say hi!

*Become a fan on facebook

*I’ll also be attending Relevant 10 and BlogHer so let me know if you’ll be there, too :)

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Now to the difficult part of perusing the prize list and choosing what items I’d love to win…

Here is my list:

The Grand Prize laptop would be great for Sinisa

#1- $150 shopping spree at Pedal Cars and Retro Collectibles

#11- The $100 gift eCertificate to Restaurant.com from Amy LeForge of Earnest Parenting

I’d also love (from the US continental list): #39, #17, #23, #8, #50, #6, #3, #18, #49, #19, #56, #2, #26, #32, #31, #37, #79, #55, #20, #35, #12, #28, #56, #88, #71, #87, #72, #52, #25, #76, #74, #69, #61, #41, #14, #4

(from the US/Canada list): #57, #3, #35, #13, #15, #43, #37, #8, #39, #49, #32, #21, #40, #36, #48, #33, #45, #30, #44, #11, #25, #42, #41, #19, #34

Really I would just be happy with anything :) If I can’t use it I’m sure I know a family member or friend who could!

Thank you so much to all the wonderful companies who have donated prizes to the party!


Are You Coming To The Party?

The Ultimate Blog Party that is!

Don’t miss out on joining thousands of moms in mingling online! If you haven’t gotten your invitation to the party head on over to 5 Minutes For Mom and find out how you can join in! Everyone is invited and not only do you get to know other moms but there are over 150 prizes to be won! Come back and visit me tomorrow (Friday 4/8) to learn more about me and I *may* even have a surprise for you :)

Can’t wait to party with some new (and old) friends :)

Better Basket Blog Hop

I’m joining in on Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop to help raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. CMN is a non-profit whose mission, according to their website, is “to generate funds and awareness programs in partnership with and for the benefit of member hospitals/foundations and the children they are privileged to serve”. They “create miracles by funding medical care, research and education that saves and improves the lives of 17 million children each year”. For everyone that blogs about this blog hop, Hershey is donating $10 per blog post, up to $5,000!

Here are the “rules” of Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop:

  • Copy and paste these rules to your blog post
  • Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
  • Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
  • Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
  • Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
  • Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
  • Please note that only one blog post by each blog url will count towards the donation.

I would like to give Easter baskets to the following ladies who all inspire me to be a better woman, mom, and blogger:

Paula

SarahMae

Brooke

Kristi

Tamara

Michele

Introduce YOUR Blog

HAPPY SATURDAY!! :) Hope you all are enjoying your weekend so far.

I am spending time with my family this weekend but I wanted to invite everyone to share their blog with me.

If you blog I would love for you to leave a comment below with the link to your favorite post you have ever written.   I would love to visit you!

Linky Love (3/6)

Today I spent some time going through my RSS reader and wanted to share some great posts I came across.

*Kristen’s post from ‘We Are THAT Family’ about her second day in Kenya with Compassion International. If you haven’t read it already (which you probably have because her blog is AMAZING… go read it now. She has a way with words and the subject of her story will touch you and bring tears to your eyes… Kristen’s post

*And if that last post about Kenya wasn’t enough to touch you here is one from MckMama who is also in Kenya. Her photography skills really capture the lives of these little children in Kenya

*Lindsey at ‘Inspiring Creations’ has a super cute tutorial for a St. Patrick’s Day craft. Major cuteness

*Easy do-it yourself spring craft from ‘Blue Cricket Design’ here

*For my blogging friends, Alyssa over at ‘Keeping the Kingdom First’ has a great post about how to make your own buttons for your blog. Tutorial

*Over on ‘Baby Cheapskate’ there is a post about decorating a baby’s nursery for cheap and she has two wonderful ideas for room decor.

*The final post I would like to share is written by Sarah Mae of ‘Like A Warm Cup of Coffee’. She is probably the woman that I am most looking forward to meeting when I go to Relevant 10 in October (and she is also one of the organizers of the conference). Read her post over at (in)courage called Crawling Out of the Pit.

Have a fantastic Saturday friends. I will be back tomorrow with my Tot School post. The theme next week for my toddler is “the 5 Senses”.

So Excited….

I now have tickets for both BlogHer and the Relevant Conference. I am so excited to be going to both but sadly have to wait over five months for one and eight months for the other. I surely will talk about both in greater detail as the months go by but just couldn’t wait to make the announcement! :)

I'm going

I am currently looking for companies to sponsor me to both conferences and can’t wait to tell you about the awesome companies I will be representing once they are confirmed!