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Come on in and make yourself at home! A Mommy’s Life is a mommy blog but also a mall of sorts. I’ve partnered with one-of-a-kind children’s boutiques, national retailers and everything in between so you’re sure to find something that catches your attention here. Grab your favorite hot beverage, put those bunny-slippered feet up and shop around!

To help you navigate, I’ll give you a few highlights here first. Check out the navigation bar on the right to find links to the stores.

In the Mommy’s Life Christmas shop , I’ve highlighted some items that may be of interest to you…toys, holiday home decor, holiday party ideas and supplies. Make sure to check out the Letters From Santa category for a special treat for your little one! Just click on the link above or the CHRISTMAS SHOP link to your right.

If you’re looking for personalized gifts and/or clothing:
2Blockheads.com
B. Swanky Children’s Boutique - Custom Christmas Outfits, Boutique Clothing & Gifts
GoToBaby.com - Unique Gifts for the Unique Baby
Engraveable Gift Collection

If you’re looking for cute holiday clothing (or just cute clothes, for that matter!) for your little one:
Dimples and Dandelions
B. Swanky Children’s Boutique - Custom Christmas Outfits, Boutique Clothing & Gifts
Christmas Dresses
TinyTotDressShop.com
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the clothing stores on the navigation bar to the right. There are some cute and clever non-holiday items there!

Sometimes a gift basket is the best solution to a gift-giving dilemma:
Design It Yourself Gift Baskets
Baby Gift Baskets From GoToBaby.com

If you’re shopping for someone who is a big collector (dolls, plates, figurines, etc.):
collectiblestoday.com

For Christian/Religious gifts:
Browse the best in Christian products at FamilyChristian.com.
.99 shipping for a limited time! Check out their Willow Tree collection of figurines and ornaments!

If you’re looking for toys for the kiddos, you can either click on the Mommy’s Life Christmas shop link or visit the Toy Store category to the right.
www.allaboardtoys.com
is having free shipping on orders $49 or over (be sure to read the exclusions). They have a lot of character toys, bedding and accessories!

If you’re looking for Christmas pjs, find fun sleepwear for the whole family at CrazyforBargains.com They’ve got a cute selection of Christmas pajamas as well as character pjs for toddlers, animal slippers, robes and pajama bottoms for guys. $5 flat rate shipping up to $75 and free shipping over $75!

I hope that these highlights have been helpful! Feel free to click around and take a look at all the stores…if you have any feedback about the site and your experience, feel free to comment or email me at themommy@amommyslife.com!

What a day! It’s (finally) raining cats and dogs here in Southern California. It’s about frickin’ time! We have been dry as a bone for a long time. The Tater Tot and I are spending the day indoors with our new TV. Yes, finally the Samsung debacle is over (she says with fingers crossed). They delivered our new TV yesterday and took away the broken down TV that was unrepairable because the couldn’t seem to get the part even though the TV was only a year and a half old! It is a nice TV and it is worth much more than the $300 that we paid for it…

Back to the rain! Tater Tot put on her big red rain boots and we took off first thing this morning to go puddle-stomping. We had such a good time! She was enthralled with the water cascading off of the rain gutters on our balcony and loved making huge splashes in the puddles by driveways. True to form, she threw a minor fit when it was time to go inside. I let her stay out for a good, long time this morning, though, so I didn’t feel bad when I hauled her tiny, wet behind inside to go take a nice, hot bath. We were drenched!

I’m so ready for this weather…

A recent exchange at our house during a lazy, playful afternoon:

Tater Tot: Pfffthhh! (fart)

The Mommy from across the room: “Tater Tot tooted! Oh my goodness! Did you toot?!”

Tater Tot: *Giggle, giggle* “Mommy tooted!” (Runs to The Mommy and collapses in a heap on the floor giggling)

The Mommy: “No you don’t! Don’t you blame your toots on The Mommy!”

Tater Tot: *Hee, hee* “Mommy tooted!”

The Mommy: “Did you learn that from The Daddy? Are you going to blame it on The Dog too?”

Tater Tot: “Doggie tooted!”

The Mommy: “Oh no! That wasn’t The Doggie, that was Tater Tot. And it was a stinky one! Peeeeezhyewwwww!”

Tater Tot: *Giggle, giggle. Squirm, squirm*

Farts are almost always funny at our house. Unless they are big man-sized ones that drive you out of the room. The Tot isn’t big enough or stinky enough for that yet. Thank God. In the mean time, it’s still cute. For now.

Yes, it has happened again. My LEEP procedure that was supposed to happen today was canceled yesterday for some undisclosed reason. I have no idea why except that the doctor would be “out of the office” today. Of course The Daddy took a personal day and it was too late to reverse it so he had a day off for nothin’. I canceled the last LEEP appointment because we were evacuating for the wild fires so this procedure has been a little while coming. I have to say that it’s a bit frustrating if you have planned your life around this (i.e. spouses taking days off) and then they cancel last minute. I understand that the docs have lives and even professional emergencies. I really do. But I’m gonna be a little bit Center of the Universe for a minute because I feel like it. It’s just damned inconvenient.

Alright, that’s about as much energy as I have for Center of the Universe behavior. I’m tired. What’s new? It’s been kind of a long day because The Daddy and I, for some reason, were getting under each other’s skin today. Rare occurrence but today was “that day”. Add to it all that I have spent the last hour trying to fix a problem with AOL that causes my computer to go all BSOD on me when I start AOL and I’m pooped! Didn’t resolve the AOL issue and I’ve contacted two LiveHelp people. I’m not optimistic. I’ll try again tomorrow. I’m going cross-eyed right now and I fear what I may type if I have to “talk” to another LiveHelp person that can’t help me. So I will try again tomorrow when I am fresh and/or have a little caffeine in me. Must. Find. Back. Of. Eyelids…..

The Tater Tot’s words of the day are “overachiever” and “accessible”. “What the heck?”, you ask. These are the words that Tater Tot repeated completely clearly while I was having a conversation with the preschool teacher today. We were talking about a relative who has her entire house decorated for Christmas, all of her hundreds of presents bought and wrapped and under the tree and just had a hysterectomy two weeks ago. I said, “Overachiever!” and Tater Tot parroted back “Overachiever” perfectly clearly! We all about fell out laughing. Later we were singing “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and she commented that Tater Tot’s toes were right there (Uh, I forgot her shoes today…yeah, not winning Mother of the Year) and I said they were “accessible”. Loudly and clearly she says “accessible!”. I swear this kid cracks me up…

And, yes, you read that right. I got all the way to preschool and realized that The Tot had socks on but no shoes. Gak! I have no idea how that happened. I knew right where the shoes were that I had planned to put on her but, between getting her sippy cup, my shoes and sunglasses, making sure the diaper bag was stocked with the essentials, and getting out the door on time, that little detail was missed. I knew that there was a WalMart down the street from the preschool so I thought I’d just pop in and get her an inexpensive pair of new shoes. I was so proud of myself for thinking on my feet when I realized (in the WalMart parking lot, of course) that I had left my wallet upstairs by the computer when I was renewing our library books. Oh Good Lord! What the heck happened to my brain today? Did it leak out my ears? On top of that all, I had not written down when I had snack duty and thought it was next week but wasn’t 100% sure. There was a little niggling in the back of my brain that said “You’d better call just to make sure”. Thankfully she called me back and let me know that I didn’t have snack duty this week because I was only 75% prepared. It would have been a much more hectic morning than it already was.

Can you imagine what a wreck I would be with more than one child? I don’t even want to think about it.

Yesterday I went for a surf because I’m having my LEEP procedure tomorrow and that means no surfing for 2-3 weeks due to risk of infection while I heal. I realized that this is the first time in MONTHS that I have been out and about doing something just for ME without The Tot while she’s awake. I felt naked without The Tot even completely bundled up in my wetsuit and booties. Other times that I have been out and about without her during her normal waking hours it has been to run errands, grocery shop, get things done. Usually for other people/our household. I realized how lopsided my life is right now and wondered if it can be any different. I’m sure it can be but can it be? Can I let it be? Is it better for her that she’s attached to me all of the time unless I’m running errands or is it better for both of us if I get out and have a little time to myself? I never feel entirely comfortable leaving her when she’s awake, not because I don’t think The Daddy can handle it, he can. I guess I feel like I’m playing hooky. Shirking my responsibilities. I know I’ve written about this before but she was younger then. And I’m sure it’ll be a topic I’ll revisit throughout her childhood.

I can already hear you all yelling at me out there: “Go, Woman! Go do something for yourself!”. Even the Nurse-Practitioner I saw almost two weeks ago was intimating that I was overextending myself a bit with The Tot. But I’m not sure I know any other way to do it. I wonder if it’s just my control-freak evil twin coming out or if it’s really best for her right now that I am there all the time. She is pretty Mommy-centric right now but she is able to and does warm up to other people. We go to preschool, play dates and Gammaw and Gampaw’s house on a semi-regular basis and she does fine. She’s friendly with people when we’re out and about at stores and whatnot. I kind of view Mommy-centricness as something she needs for some reason right now. I wonder what lasting effect either having me there all the time and a bit lopsided or having a better-balanced Mommy who’s sometimes gone will have on her, if any. And I wonder if I just need to suck it up and be lopsided for a little while longer. Yes, I think too much. This is a well-established fact.

I don’t have an answer right now. But I did feel pretty good being by myself and doing something I love to do. Maybe I just need periodic recalibrations to my Mommyness and little reminders that I’m a whole other person besides The Mommy. That’s hard for me to remember most of the time…

It’s time to go “SHAAAAHPING” as Tater Tot says!

Amazon Black Friday Hourly Deals

Get free shipping at Jo-Ann.com
with code NOVFSE7 and check out their daily doorbusters Friday, Saturday and Sunday! If you’ve been waiting to buy those big-ticket items until they’re on sale…THEY’RE ON SALE!

Free Shipping on orders over $49 at All Aboard Toys!
They’ve got up to 75% off right now during their Thanksgiving sale (until 11/26) and Thomas The Train Wooden Railway sets are 20-50% off! Go get yourself a deal!

OTHER DEALS AND DISCOUNTS I have come across:

Free OVERNIGHT shipping at zappos.com
a fantastic place to buy shoes, apparel, accessories and more! (Free overnight shipping to 48 contiguous US states only). For guaranteed Christmas delivery, though, make sure you order by 12/21. You know how crazy shipping gets this time of year!

Fall Sale items are up to 50% off at Constructive Playthings

Robeez baby shoes with Free matching Socks Limited sizes and quantities. Shop now for best selection!
They also have FREE SHIPPING on orders of $75 or more right now! (Contiguous US and Canada only)

SAVE 25% on all photo products, including prints at the KODAK Gallery!
With order of $30 or more. Use code GOBBLE25. Ends 11/28. OR Free shipping on orders over $50.

FREE SHIPPING on any order $15+ at Snapfish (coupon code: SHIPALL)

GoToBaby.com is having a holiday sale on personalized baby blankets and plush robes.

Crazy For Bargains: $10 off fun sleepwear orders of $100 or more!. Use code SAVEBIGHOL.

Thanksgiving Special! 10% off orders of $25 or more at CrazyforBargains.com! . Use code HAPPHL85.

Free shipping on fun sleepwear orders of $50 or more! . Use code HOLSHIP.

clothdiaper.com is having a clearance on baby t-shirts! Regularly $5.99, now $2.99!

$10 off purchases of $60 or more and free shipping at SimpleShoes.com with code SimpleEcoGift. Expires 11/27/07.

Free shipping at Simple Shoes on all orders for a limited time! No code necessary.

All Orders At FamilyChristian.com Ship For Just $0.99. Valid Through 12.25.07.

20% off all regular-priced sweatshirts at Swell.com. FREE SHIPPING until 12/3. Shop now!

Enter to win a $500 shopping spree at Swell.com

Early Bird Special at Design It Yourself Gift Baskets. 10% off. Enter BIRD at checkout. Limited time offer. Design it yourself or choose from their Christmas-themed ready-made baskets! FREE Ground Shipping with every purchase!
*Excludes highly perishable and specialty gifts requiring expedited shipping:
Fruit Baskets and some Wine Baskets.

FREE SHIPPING and 15% off at Engravable Gift Collection!

FREE SHIPPING on all orders $99 or over at baby-Wise.com

Happy Shopping!

For those of us who are in the United States or who are elsewhere but American, Happy Thanksgiving to you! For many people, Thanksgiving means football, too much food, and family. Not necessarily in that order. And, as trite as it sounds, it is a day for giving thanks. It would be nice if we remembered to do this all year but, at the least, let today be a reminder to be thankful every day. Start a new habit of giving thanks for one thing a day. A different thing every day if you can. Write it in your calendar. Put it on your “to do” list. Take the time. It will make a difference in your life.

I know sometimes I struggle with this. As a recovering “strive-aholic”, there are times in my life that I have looked (and do look!) toward doing/having/being better. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, that’s pretty apparent. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this but, if left unchecked, it can create a habit of never being satisfied with what you have or who you are. And, I have determined that there is a fine line between quelling boredom and being dissatisfied with your life. Yes, it’s true, there are times that I think that I strive/have striven (yes, that is a word) because I’m bored. I am easily bored, as it turns out. Very easily bored.

Today I am most thankful that I am able to stay at home with The Tater Tot. Although being at home with a toddler can be somewhat mind-numbing at times when you are a person that is easily bored, I would not trade it for anything. The mind-numbing part is so small compared to the “Oh my God, this child is amazing!” part. And I don’t mean that she’s gifted or always behaves like I want her to. I mean that she adds so much to my life. She is fun and funny. She has more energy than anyone I know. She has interesting and amusing perspectives on things. She is constantly learning and trying to make me laugh. Yes, I have a craving to have “Mommy Time” and occasional adult conversation but she is the person that I most want to be around at any given time.

I am also thankful that The Daddy is such a good father. He loves to spend time with The Tot and they have such a good time together. Just don’t tell me what she ate for snack. I don’t want to know. I’m grateful that he is being patient with the “Mommy-centric” phase she is going through right now, too. That can’t be fun for him.

I’m thankful for my family. For how easy it is to be with them and how comfortable I feel being myself around them. That is HUGE and sometimes I forget how huge it is. Not for long, though because something always happens to remind me!

I’m thankful that I am reasonably healthy. Yes, I have medical issues that make life a little less enjoyable at times but they are not of the immediately life-threatening or daily draining variety as long as I continue to take care of myself.

I am thankful for my faith. It’s not a perfect faith and I sometimes feel weak in it but, at the end of the day I know that everything will work out okay even when things look really bleak.

What are you thankful for?

Where did November go? How did it get this late without even an effort at Christmas shopping or holiday card picture taking? Last year when Tater Tot was 9 months old, I had most of my Christmas shopping done by December 1st! By this time last year I had all Christmas gift calendars and photo books done and ordered. My online purchases were well-thought out and ordered early. Stocking stuffers were purchased and wrapped by the time we ran out of leftover turkey. Not this year, my friends. This year I am officially Behind The 8 Ball. I know that many people start their Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving and finish it a few days before Christmas but I have been very proud of myself in years past for getting things done ahead of time. This decreases the holiday stress and generally makes for a much happier Momma. So it looks like this year I will be practicing how not to stress out under holiday stress even more than usual.

How exactly does one remain un-stressed-out during the holiday season? I think the main things to do are to have a plan and to drop unrealistic expectations about the holiday. Start where you are, look at what you have left to do, and plan how it will get done. If things to do exceed time to do it in, cut something out! What are the things you enjoy doing? What are the things that are important to you? Keep ‘em. What are the things you are expected to do? What are the things you do because you are afraid of someone else’s reaction if you don’t do them? Toss ‘em!

Many times what people think they want for their holiday really is not what’s realistic or “real” in their lives. You are probably not going to have the time and energy to bake all those cookies you think you want to. That perfect gift is not going to make a dysfunctional relationship functional. Your finances will not magically get better during the holiday season which means that many of us will be shopping on a budget. If your family situation is not ideal, your romantic holiday-card notions of the family get-together need to be tossed out the window.

Take a look at what all these expectations mean in your life. What is it that you’re hoping to get from the holiday cookie-baking marathon? How much more stressed out will you feel if you exceed your Christmas budget egregiously and what does it mean that you feel you need to? Where else can you find what you think you want from your extended family? Can you create it within a smaller part of your family, whatever form that takes? Can you create it with close friends?

I don’t particularly enjoy cooking a holiday meal. I am not good at it and it stresses me out. So we’re ordering our holiday meal from Marie Callendar’s and I feel good about that. Now those that come to my house for Thanksgiving will actually be eating good food. I have tossed the expectation that I cook the marvelous holiday meal that people expect me to because that just isn’t realistic. Another expectation that my side of the family has tossed is that you will rack your brain to come up with the perfect gift for everyone. We email lists of ideas of things that we want. We can use them as a guideline or we can order the exact gift that the person wants. Either way, we know they’ll like it because they told us they would! To some this may seem to lack the personal touch but it works for us. We know that we love each other. We know also that we’re all busy and want to make it easy on ourselves and everyone else during the holiday season. Voila! Less stress.

So I am off to look at my lists, do some online shopping and plan my mall shopping trips to take advantage of some of the upcoming sales. Oh, and I’ve got to start my Christmas card list…

Do you have a plan?

Nurtured Family is having a 10% off everything sale! If you’re interested in trying cloth diapering, this is a good opportunity to do it for less. The brand and type of cloth diaper you end up using will have a little bit to do with what you as a Mommy are looking for and a lot to do with what works for your child’s body and bodily functions! The cloth diaper that fits and works perfectly for our friends down the street worked well for us but not as well as another brand. Each diaper will fit your child differently and each insert will work differently for each child, depending on how heavy a wetter they are.

Fuzzi Bunz is a great brand to try and Nurtured Family offers free inserts with the Fuzzi Bunz you purchase AND they are eligible for free shipping! With the 10% off and free shipping, you will be hard-pressed to find a better price on this brand anywhere else! This is the brand I first tried when I was starting to cloth diaper and they are so easy to use. The diaper has a pocket for an absorbent insert (included in your purchase but you can purchase more and different types) and a fleece inner lining that keeps your little one dry. They also offer Swaddlebees, Mommy’s Touch, and Sckoon cloth diapers along with inserts, cloth diapering accessories and diaper bags. They offer nursing necessities and baby slings as well. Head on over and check them out! Don’t forget to enter your 10% off code: NewBaby and hurry! The sale ends November 20th.

If you’ve got questions about cloth diapering, there is a great forum over at www.diaperpin.com and wonderful, helpful cloth diapering Mommas that will help you figure out all of your cloth diapering dilemmas!