About our blogger: Nina
My name is Nina, but the little people running around my house call me Mommy. :) The MAN and I have been married for almost 9 years and it hasn't always been easy, but it has been FUN!! Together we have 3 kids, 3 dogs and 2 cats. So yeah, we're busy. I enjoy cooking, baking, reading, taking pictures of my kids, gardening and just generally spending time with my family. I love blogging about my everyday life as a Mommy and wife. There is never a dull moment!
March 26th, 2013
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| Picture from Camp Wander blog where you can grab the recipes for all sorts of goodies |
I’ve had it with buying things that I can make myself. I started with cleaners. I stopped buying them! I make my own with vinegar and Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds. Works wonderfully, too, I might add. Now, on to detergents. I did the math (not really) and I can save myself a ton of money by making my own. I spend at least $40 a month in detergents alone. That’s dishwasher and laundry detergents. I just spent $30 at Walmart on supplies to make my own, and it should last me a year. I will keep tabs on that and let you know exactly how long it lasts. I’m hoping this works out well. I have three elderly dogs and I’m doing laundry every damn day!! I’m not even kidding. Puke towels, pee towels, cleaning rags…..it’s tiring, and expensive. If I had been smart I would have had them put in the divorce papers that my ex pay for the laundry! It’s mostly the two older dogs who he had before we met that are making the messes. Getting old sucks.
So here I am, sitting in the kitchen, blogging, making my own soap and I can’t help but feel like I should be singing Kumbaya or something like that. Seriously! Who am I?!
Me~
March 15th, 2013
Todd and I want to move. We want a place that is just ours. We can start fresh! We need this. And also, we need a bedroom with a door. The kids share the upstairs with us, but it’s an old attic with a small room with a door to the kids’ room. We had to get creative and hand bells on the doors and we turn the monitor on….just in case. I don’t want to traumatize my children by having them walk in on us, you know, making whoopie or whatever you call it when you’re a grownup. So yeah, the hunt is on!! We’re thinking of renting a crappy 3 bedroom apartment for a few years then buying a house. I want a farm. I want/need/gotta have chickens. And lots of them. I wonder if Polish chickens lay good eggs. I’m going to have to google that! Ok, just googled it and apparently they do, just not regularly. And also, there’s a whole message board dedicated to Polish chickens. Unbelievable. Oh, and in case you were wondering, this is a Polish chicken…..
That thing is stylin’!!! Lex loves this picture.
So yeah, life is good, busy, hectic and fun. We’re doin’ alright
Me~
January 15th, 2013
I blinked, and now it’s 2013. Last year was full of so much craziness! I am hoping this year is better, slower. Todd and I are thinking about moving this Summer. Kevin wants us to stay here and buy this house, but honestly, I don’t want to. So much work needs to be done here and I’m not in love with this house anymore. I will miss it, but I’m not going to mourn when we leave. We want something of our own, even if we just rent for a few years and then buy. It’ll be worth the wait. I’ve decided that I want a house with a huge yard so I can have some chickens. Yes, chickens! I’ve always wanted to have little chickens running around, but never had the room. And eggs, lots and lots of eggs!!
So the purging has begun. Very slowly, but surely, I am packing things up, donating things and trying to get things going. I had forgotten how nice it is to have an extra pair of hands to help out around the house. Todd has really stepped up when I’ve needed him to, I appreciate that more than I could ever tell him. Being a single mom was not easy! I don’t think I want to do that again. Ever. LOL!!
I start working overtime here real soon. Boss Lady is having a baby in March! So glad to see my friends having babies so I don’t have to. Vasectomy is my favorite word. I have three kids, Todd has two, we’re all set. Since seeing Boss Lady’s baby bump, Lo has been obsessed with babies in the belly, and am I going to have anymore, when will she have a baby, and so on and so forth. She’s also been asking when Todd and I are going to get married. NEVER!!! I am not going to fix something that’s not broken. We’re perfectly happy the way we are. And plus, we were both married before and look what happened to those marriages! All set.
I’ve been thinking about this coming year and all the new things to look forward to, and I’m happy. Very, very happy. I just hope Life doesn’t see that as a challenge and throw me for a loop!! o.O
Me~
November 10th, 2012
There’s nothing like someone losing a job, having no health insurance and being broke as Hell to light a fire under one’s butt. I love photography, I always have. Now I’m taking it one step further and starting my own business. I’m no professional, but I do have a really good eye and an even better camera. I already have 3 photo shoots lined up, and I hope to get my cards made and passed out within the next few weeks. I made a Facebook page already and I’m currently working on a website. Here’s my Facebook page. I’m very excited about this! I’m hoping to take a class next year to learn more, but for now I’m just doing what I love to do, making people happy.
Me~
October 26th, 2012
I used to look at Moms that would make their own cleaners, cook like they actually knew what they were doing and think to myself “Ppft! Morons”…..but then I became a Mom myself and now I do all those things. Well, I used to. I slacked for a while there, became cheap because I had to, but now it’s different. Now I have to again. Lo loves taking bathes and naturally I scrubbed the shit outta that tub with bleach and other various trendy cleaners. Then she got a yeast infection and it was a bad one. We had no insurance, but her pedi was kind enough to tell me what to do without having to bring her in. They usually run their course in a week if you’re careful and keep things as natural as possible. So I went back to using apple cider vinegar and water to clean. God I forgot how awesome that stuff works. And my hands are super soft!! Can’t beat that! I found a website that lists all the wonderful things apple cider is good for. Here ya go…..enjoy!!
Me~
October 18th, 2012
When I was pregnant with Lola we had no idea if we were having a girl or a boy up until the day before she was born. She barely moved in the womb, I had no symptoms at all and my stomach was the only thing that got big. Really big! After a very traumatic 12 hours, I gave birth to the sweetest, BIGGEST baby I had ever seen. We only stayed in the hospital for a little over 24 hours because she was soooooo good at nursing and she was obviously very healthy, so they let us leave early. She continued to be the best baby ever. Sleeping through the night from the get-go, nursing was so easy with her, she never cried, never even made a sound, even when she was hungry or needed a change. She was my last baby, and I had hit the jackpot!! Years passed and we struggled with a few issues. She didn’t walk till she was 2 1/2 due to a fever that set her back months, constipation was her nightmare and she had a brother who loved to treat her like a doll. She was such a good baby/little girl, that I didn’t even mind carrying all of her 25 pounds around till she was able to walk unassisted. I can still see the look of pure happiness on her chubby little face, reaching up to me with her chubby little arms and clinging on as tight as she could. It was blissful. Just look at her little face!!!
She was always this happy. Always! So don’t ask me what happened, because the little 4 year old living in my house is not the same little girl. She’s mean, she’s bossy and just down right rude sometimes. She has her good days and she has her bad days. When she’s having a good day she’s sweet and funny and so flippin’ cute I could squeeze her to death! But when she’s having a bad day Read the rest of this entry »
September 23rd, 2012
NO! Not a baby! AHHHH! We have a new kitten! Well, Lex has a new kitten. She’s his “baby girl, love bug, Flufferton”. Yes, he named her Fluffy. Of course!! Can you tell he’s smitten? The boy is so in love with this cat that she’s the first thing he runs to when he gets home from school. And she’s just great!! Such a good kitten, too. She’s sweet, cuddly and isn’t afraid of the kids. Just perfect…….
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June 27th, 2012
Tomorrow is “D” Day, and I should be sleeping, but instead I thought I’d blog, get it all out so to speak. When some people ask me about the divorce and I answer honestly, they’re surprised. Surprised that I have already moved on, that I am actually looking forward to the divorce. What most people don’t know, and I haven’t even shared here, is that my soon to be ex-husband was a cheater. Not just once, but many times over. When someone does that to you after promising you forever, then it is unforgivable. I stayed so long for a few reasons, one of the reasons being that I refused to “give up.” “Till death do us part” and all that jazz.
Then, last year, I realized that I would one day die, and I did not want to die thinking that I could have been with someone who was faithful, who did love me more than life itself. Also, I didn’t want my children growing up seeing it. So I made the choice to move on. It wasn’t easy, but life is never easy, is it? Tomorrow we make it final, and I am happy about it. I won’t apologize to anyone for being happy to no longer be married to someone who obviously didn’t love me enough to be faithful. It saddens me that it didn’t work out, but we will be ok. Me, my ex, and the kids. We’ve found a way to be a family apart, and everyone is happy. My ex has moved on and is dating someone, and so am I. We’re both happy. I am not just happy, I’m actually falling in love. Scary, yet beautiful. He was a friend first, and I think that’s why it was so easy. He’s also so good with my kids. They love him already. I can’t blame them.
So even though tomorrow should be a difficult/sad day, it won’t be. It will be the end of one part of my life and the beginning of another. I am excited.
Me~
December 27th, 2011
eing a parent is hard, but being a single parent is twice as hard. Not having those extra pair of eyes and hands to help help with everyday things. No one to turn to and say, “I’ve had enough today, you take over for a while.” No one to vent to anytime you just need to let it all out. What’s even harder as a single parent is finding people who understand what you’re going through. People who get it. So when I stumbled upon the site Single Mommyhood, I was thrilled! They’re site is full of great advice from real single parents going through pretty much the same thing as I am, and I need that. I’m the only single parent in my group of friends, so they have no idea what I deal with on a daily basis.
If you’re a single parent, Mom or Dad, you should head over…….
Me~
November 4th, 2011
You’re so funny with your October snow storm that left me stuck in the house WITH FOUR KIDS because of a gigantic tree limb that fell in my driveway and you left me with no power. No power = cold, cold, cold!!! No power also = insanity in my house. My teenager was having a sleepover, so I had TWO teenage girls afraid to pee in the dark bathroom. Thank you, thank you so much for surprising me once again. But, you know what? I still love you and I’ll forgive….this once! Cut that out from now on though, because my yard and trees can’t take much more damage…….
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