4th of July Link Love

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The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays because

1. It’s in the summer and I’m a hot weather lovin’ girl
2. I can never get enough of Neil Diamond’s They Coming To America synchronized to fireworks, and
3. I have very fond memories of 4th of July parties with family and friends

So, hopefully this link love post will help you and your family enjoy this patriotic holiday as much as I do.

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam has some wonderful and easy 4th of July decorating and craft ideas. I loved what she did with a kitchen organizer. Hopefully her ideas will spark some patriotic creativity in you.

Looking for free stuff this weekend? At Moms Need to Know, you can get a free 4th of July crafts and recipe eBook when you sign up for the Quick and Crafty newsletter. Also, Sweeties Sweeps shows you how to take advantage of the holiday weekend to enter sweepstakes. Read more

Wednesday Giggles

Advanced Cat Yodeling

I can’t decide if these guys are genius or disturbed.  They really do make me laugh, though.  I  believe I can speak for their cats when I say they need a new hobby.

Great American Backyard Campout Day

In the past, I never understood why hanging out with bugs, getting dirty, and not having access to a hot shower, blow dryer, or thermostat was considered fun by some people.  But then I married a Boy Scout (what was I thinking?) and will be having my second son in November, so it’s inevitable that I will have to give up my preferred method of camping, which is staying in a hotel.

However, I just found out about a wonderful way to camp while still having access to civilization.

This Saturday, June 27, is the Great American Backyard Campout.  The purpose of this day is to get families enjoying the outdoors together because June is Great Outdoors Month.  You can choose to camp in your backyard or at a local campground.   If your family would like join in the fun, you can register at this site.  It lists plenty of great tips on how to camp, and includes other fun stuff like recipes, campfire songs, games, crafts, and activities.

I’m thinking of making this a summer tradition when my sons are older.  I will definitely push for the backyard option, because then I can sneak inside when the hubby is asleep.  I know…I’m a wimp!

If you plan on camping out this weekend, please comment and let me know how it went!

photo credit: Bah Humbug

An Inspiring Cross Blog Conversation With LaTara Ham-Ying

This week we’re having a cross blog conversation with LaTara Ham-Ying from Mom Unplugged.   I’m really excited about interviewing her again, because her blog is always an inspirational pick me up as she’s all about living authentically.  Check out our first interview to get to know her a little better.

For those of you who don’t know what a cross blog conversation is, it’s just like having a conversation with a friend.  I will ask her a question on this blog, and she will answer on her blog, Mom Unplugged.   She will then ask me a question on her blog, and I will answer on this blog.  We will continue to go back and forth for several posts.  Sounds like fun, right?

Because LaTara just wrote a wonderful post on giving and self denial, and because my last post was on how moms can change the world through giving in small ways, my first questions have to do with giving: 

What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you? Did it inspire you to pass it on?  What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for someone else?  Why did you do it, and how did it make you feel?

 Be sure to check out Mom Unplugged for her answers.  Thanks LaTara for taking the time to chat with me!

Nielsen Online’s List of 50 Power Moms

Being a new “Mommy Blogger”, I’ve been trying to find a list of useful and interesting  mommy blogs to follow. As luck would have it, I just had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie Elie of BizzieMommy.com, and she was recently listed as one of Nielsen Online’s 50Power Moms. 

So who are these power moms?  And how does one get on the list?

Nielsen Online’s List of 50 Power Moms  is a collection of leading mommy bloggers based on a blend of blog posts, comments and link love developed through ongoing monitoring of more than 10,000 mom and parenting blogs as tracked by Nielsen Buzzmetrics. It also takes into account the number of Twitter followers, ratings and other metrics to provide a comprehensive sphere of authority and influence.

The great thing about the list is it categorizes influential mommy bloggers based on what their blog focuses on:  saving money, reviewing products, parenting, going green, travel,spirituality, technology, and working.

At the end it lists the “Power Pack” of mommy bloggers who defy categorization(we totally kiss the ground they walk on) such as Heather Armstrong, Lisa Belkin, and Jenny Lawson.

You should check out the full list of 50 power moms and add some of the moms to your reader or favorites list, because these moms have their finger on the pulse of motherhood.

  photo credit: hyku

Link Love: A Global Perspective

Voices From Around the Globe

I have found some wonderful Link Love blogs to share with you.  What these all have in common is that they are telling their adventures of living in a country that is not their home country.

Adventures of this magnitude provide entertainment and a viewpoint that most of us will never experience.

• Susie’s Big Adventure  Susie and her Saudi Arabian husband lived in the US for 30 years before uprooting 2 years ago for the deserts of Saudi Arabia. Her story of living in a Muslim country and adjusting to its customs are riveting.
• Tokyo Times Lee Chapman is a fella from England who has been living in Tokyo since 1998.
• Asian Ramblings  Stevo once braved the frozen tundra of northern Canada as a reporter and photographer. He now calls southern China home and enjoys the humid clime more than the bone-numbing cold of his native land.
• Tokyo Girl Down Under This woman was born in London, has lived all over the world, including Tokyo where she lived before moving to Australia.
• My Life In Scotland My Life in Scotland is Marys story of getting married & moving from the US to Scotland 3 days later.
• Being Brazen  Being Brazen is the journal of a London gal living in Cape Town, South Africa.
• A Canuck in Cancun  This Canadian woman went on vacation to Cancun five years ago & never went home. Now she’s married and living with her Mexican hubby & Mexi-Canadian son Max.
• Bleeding Espresso  Michelle Fabio is the mastermind behind Bleeding Espresso in which an American finds love, her roots, and a coffee addiction in southern Italy.

I hope you enjoy this virtual trip around the glog as much as I have!

photo credit: [[MorphoMir]]

Wednesday Giggles

Some kitty giggles to get you over the hump!

Foolproof Summer Activities

School’s out for the Summer.  Now What?

Filling those long summer days can be daunting.  When my kids were younger I remember being thrilled for the first week or so of summer vacation.  Then the long hot reality of the situation set in.  Keeping the little ones entertained while keeping your own sanity is a tough task.  I found three foolproof places that were my go to summer activities.

Walk With the Animals

If you’re lucky enough to have a zoo in your area take advantage of it!  The Detroit Zoo is almost an hour from my house & it was worth the trip every time.  At most zoos you can get a season pass for little more than it costs a family of four to go twice.  It pays for itself in ease & guaranteed enjoyment.  Just throw some water, juice boxes, granola bars, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in a back pack along with a camera and some sunscreen and you’re ready to go.  My boys never tired of all of the different exhibits and activities at the zoo.  It saved us from boredom and tantrums more time than I can remember. Read more

Octomom Gets Her Own Reality T.V. Show

Nadya Suleman, a.k.a. Octomom, just joined the likes of the “Jon and Kate Plus 8″ brood and signed a deal to have her own reality show. It’s not a huge surprise, of course, that she chose to do this as a single, jobless, mom with 14 children. It’s also not a huge surprise that a production company picked her up.

Because reality family T.V. is all the rage these days.

Apparently, the show will not be like “Jon and Kate Plus 8″ with shows airing on a continual basis, but more of a documentary-style, with only a few shows airing a year to chronicle major events in the lives of her children over the next 18 years.

I will probably tune in for the first show, just to see what type of woman would willingly put herself and her family in this situation. Is she totally insane, or is she the most loving mother on the planet?

But, I wonder…did she have a gazillion children because she truly loves, loves, LOVES kids? Or did she have a gazillion children BECAUSE reality family T.V. is all the rage these days?

What do you think?

Photo by ghanalipz

Cheap Summer Fun Link Love

Now that school is almost out, I’m sure you’re thinking, “What am I going to do with the kids?” And if you’re like me, you don’t want to break the bank. So, I’ve been searching the web and found a few links to help you do just that.

This list of 10 inexpensive or free ways to have fun with your kids includes having a neighborhood bicycle parade as well as tips for making your own bubbles. And this list of 50 t.v.-free activities for kids includes a bunch of creative ideas like building a tree house, having a scavenger hunt, and creating a day-long camp for your kids and their friends.  Fun!

Frugal Dad is my kind of dad:  full of great ideas and tips! He’s come up with 2 full weeks of cheap fun for you and your kids. Making a fort in the living room was one of my favorite activities as a kid. Read more

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