Not To Miss: BlissDom09

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In case you haven’t heard the buzz already, BlissDom09 is the conference not to miss as we start out 2009 with a bang.  BlissfullyDomestic.com and One2One Network (my employah) have partnered to bring the second installment of BlissDom–bringing women bloggers together for some swank and style in Nashville, TN.

All it takes is a quick perusal of the list of speakers *cough* one of them is yours truly *cough* to see that this conference is going to bring us bloggers the face time with really fabulous ladies that we know, read and love.  The session descriptions give you a taste of what is to come, but there are also many more surprises in store that we haven’t even announced yet (seriously fun stuff, people!).

If you want to be there (and of course you do), take a look at the uber affordable conference fee (early bird pricing ends tonight, so go ahead and jump in!) and the simply awesome Hotel Preston is where all the fun and lodging is to be had (the early bird price for the hotel also ends tonight, so seriously, what are you waiting for?).

I don’t make resolutions, but one of the many ways I would like to transform myself this year is to remember *me*.  Take care of my body, my soul, and everything in between like never before.  BlissDom09 is not only worth my time away from family and my money, but I also deserve it.  Don’t you?

The Bullet Is No More

I made it almost 3 months since the day I first wrote about my beloved “bullet”, my son’s baby mullet.  That one year old baby hair that seems to only grow in the back, but you love its silky feel and that baby look so much you can’t bear to cut it?  Yeah that. Tonight, we cut off the bullet.  And I cried.

I didn’t cry because it looked bad, though at first I felt like he didn’t look like “himself”.  He isn’t really speaking you see, and he makes a lot of noises that wild animals make, so he could pull off that “I’ve been raised by wolves” hair really well.

I cried because my little man, now 19 months old, possibly our last baby, is growing up.  With this new cut he looks so grown up, more than I remember his brothers looking after their first cut.  I was instantly regretting getting rid of those lovely locks, the hair I like to play with and pat when he’s sad or overwhelmed.  I felt as though I was being forced to acknowledge something I wasn’t ready to acknowledge.  {tiny whisper} He may not be a baby anymore.

Since I have a job now and am more official than just, “my mom writes”, I do see the kids less than before I had a job.  So watching my little guy go from baby to boy in a matter of 10 minutes, when I miss that baby on a daily basis as it is, was really hard.  Painful, in fact.

However, by the time he was going to bed tonight, I found that I was really getting into this new cut.  It doesn’t get food stuck in it, and I can see the back of his neck (and nuzzle it relentlessly).  I already feel like he probably feels good about himself, like he may feel a bit more grown up too.

I know I can’t deny his cuteness, even if I miss his longer hair…what do you think?

Merry Christmas Eve!

Procrastination Is Art

Sometimes I have to just laugh at the situations I get myself into by putting things off.  I’d like to say that most of the time the procrastination is a necessity–way too much going on in each overflowing day.  I know I didn’t mean to just now today be sending my Christmas cards.  The month just got away from me…right?

Over the last year I made a promise to myself to start saying yes to anything that I’d normally say no to.  What this turned out to be was saying yes to almost everything.  I’ve not looked back, it really was the best decision ever.  New relationships, new opportunities, an amazing future.  I like being a “yes man” if it means saying yes to life.

We actually saw the movie Yes Man this weekend, and I found myself really happy and proud of myself (how often do we feel that way, right?).  I was happy because I had already made these life changes that the character of Jim Carrey slowly made throughout the film.  I didn’t need to learn that lesson.  I felt proud that I had been sticking my neck out there, when so many times I wanted to just sit at home in my sweats and read about how life happened without me.  Yet again.

So this year has been the Yes Year, but it’s definitely not been the “Git Er Done” year.  I’m hoping to see some progress on that front as I screech in today and yes–mail my Christmas cards on December 23rd.  Really?  Yes really.

I’m also writing about some more last minute-ness, last minute holiday money saving ideas, over at the Real Simple Holiday Blogathon (omg I guest bloggged at Real Simple y’all!) and also about sending baked goodies last minute over here.

Writer’s Inspiration For The Soul (A Giveaway!)

**Giveaway is over, thanks to all who participated!

I have been diversifying my “bag” lately, but I am first and foremost a writer.  I admit that I get most of my inspiration from the steam in the shower, but I also notice my writing suffers when I’m not reading something regularly.

Sometimes I need to be reading fiction, need to get my head into that swirly, fantasy world so that I can feel myself connect more with that tortured artist that resides in my soul.  Other times, I have the burning desire to read through all my RSS blog feeds and then keep on going until I’ve had my fill of the personal outpouring that goes on within our ’sphere.  Still other times, nothing but a really great magazine is all that’s required to get my creative juices flowing.

I think magazines that are well done can offer so much to writers, anything from the latest buzz to serious home fanciness, it all adds value to my bag of tricks.  Giving magazine subscriptions as gifts has always been a fun thing for me to do, and that’s why I’m excited that I get to give two of you dear readers that very gift!

Giftscriptions has 50 magazine selections to choose from, and the cool thing about it is that you pay the $20 for the subscription, and your gift recipient gets to take their own pick of the litter.  It comes in a nice box so that there’s even something to unwrap.  I got the chance to get my own, and I had to think about it for all of two seconds before deciding on Martha Stewart Living as my new “inspiration” medium.  I can’t wait!

Win it! Giftscriptions rock, and they want to give two away to you guys (two winners!).  I’ll get it to you by Christmas, so this giveaway is a quickie and is ending on Monday December 22nd at noon.  To enter, leave a comment here telling me what your writing inspiration is, is it your favorite book?  Magazine?  Blog?  I want to know!  You can get extra entries by tweeting and/or blogging about this contest (total of three entries per person.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry.  Good luck!

Walmart $500 Top Ten and Winner

So many of you shared so many GREAT money saving tips, I’m still wading through all (750+) of them!  I’m excited to post my top ten (who were chosen by random.org…one day when I have a staff of assistants we’ll actually go thru each one…) because not only do each of them have awesome tips, they are winning a small consolation prize as well.  I’ve also chosen the winner, and she’s been contacted, and I’m excited to hear about all the winners of the ElevenMoms contests, and so thrilled that so many families will be blessed by this prize thanks to Nickelodeon and WalMart.

So much effort was put into this, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the giving nature of all of you (and my own commiseration of the great need so many of us have).  Without further adieu:

1.  Robin ~ PENSIEVE

“Hey Arianne ~

Just like so many others, our expenses are going UP and since my husband hasn’t rec’d a raise in two years, we’re kinda sorta going backwards (are you as thankful as me that gas prices have dropped like a hot potato??!). We’ve never been extravagant at Christmas, trying to avoid the excessive consumerism…this year, even more so.

One of my favorite gifts I gave was last year, when I gave every family in our extended family a Thankful Box (& poem that explained it). Evey box was unique, and I bought them when they were 50% off at Hobby Lobby :). Here’s a link to what I’m talking about; remarkably, people google “Thankful Box” year ’round and land at PENSIEVE :).

http://pensieve.typepad.com/pensieve/2007/11/fun-monday-holi.html

Thanks for the opportunity to win; IF I was so lucky…I’d use a small portion for us and have FUN sharing it with those who are in great need…:)”

2.  Joyce Miller

“I have always been as frugal as possible even when it was easier. but for my son to go shopping for me and his grandma I give him 40.00. but 5.00 of that he has to give to the charity of his choice in all of our names. he learns that giving is most important at this time of year. this year he chose to help abandoned and neglected animals and he asked us if he could do 15.00 of course we agreed and were happy to see him find a need to fill his heart.

we also make our own gift tags out of old cards we got from last year and cut them up, we always personalize them with lots of love.
also we use the handled brown paper bags some grocers have and we paint or stamp them and use them for gift bags.”

3.  Amanda

“During the holidays, I like to dye newspaper and use it as wrapping paper. It looks really awesome and vintage. All of my relatives love it.”

4.  Emily

“One of my sisters is newly married. The other has been married for a while, but just moved across country to a new job. Neither seem to be in a routine of cooking meals regularly in the evening. (And who am I kidding — I’m barely there myself. If it weren’t for the 22-month-old wanting regular meals, I’d still be eating cereal in front of the tv at 8pm.)

So for Christmas, I’m going to go through some of my recipes that are yummy and easy — I’m pretty lazy and like recipes with the fewest ingredients possible! And I’m hoping to put together a months worth of evening meals for them, complete with weekly shopping lists and prep instructions (ie - put chicken in fridge to thaw before bed tonight so you can use it tomorrow evening). I hope they like it!”

5.  Carrington

“I always do a Google search before shopping online. I search in the blog category of Google for the particular merchant I am shopping at (i.e. Target, Old Navy…ect..) and look for “Target coupons” or “Old Navy coupons”. Bloggers are always offering the best deals, and I end up saving 5,10,15 sometimes up to 50% off!”

6.  Shelley M.

“We have a very large family (that is growing quickly) so we have come up with a new tradition of only buying gifts for the kids and then we all bring one $20 gift that we wrap and put into a pile…and we play a game and each person goes home with a present. It is fun and we just enjoy each other - there is always laughing and board games and card games and good food. It is all about family.”

7.  Heather

“I think Christmas is extremely difficult in our culture. Every time you turn on the tv, open the newspaper or listen to the radio you are told of all the things that you need that will make your life better, fuller and your children smarter. And if you don’t buy said item then your children are destined to a life of being “dumb as rocks”. I know so many people that have gone in to debt at Christmas (and we are talking big debt year after year) because of feeling the need to give big gifts.

So last year we chose to give our kids just three gifts. Something to play with, something to read and something to wear. We warned them several months in advance of the change so that they weren’t devastated. It was amazing to watch them carefully edit their lists to the things they really wanted vs everything they saw. We were hoping to teach them a lesson about how Christmas isn’t all about gifts and greediness and ended up saving money in the process. Both my husband and I felt great after Christmas with no holiday debt hangover.

We are doing it again this year! It is fun to carefully find one special gift instead of buying just to buy!”
8.  Cheri

“I had a life lesson placed before my childs eyes just this past Saturday at the grocery store. There was a homeless person with a backpack and sleeping bag on his back and he was fumbling through his pockets to come up with enough change to pay for just a loaf of bread.
This was a great lesson for my daughter to see that there are so many hurting people and that we are so blessed.
All of that to say that I think it’s great to actually use some of your Christmas money to help out a charity and show your children what the real meaning of the season is. If they see it with their own eyes I think they will want less and that in turn will save money.”

9.  Karen

“I absolutely love to pick out the perfect gift for my friends. It brings me such joy to give gifts that I have put a lot of thought into.

Unfortunately, this year has been a difficult one for my family. Not only has the economy been tough, but our 2-year-old daughter will be having her third open heart surgery at the end of December. Needless to say, money is TIGHT!

I thought and thought and thought about what gift I could give my friends this year on our budget. My dear, sweet friends who have been there for me through good times and bad. The ones that I could not live without. This is what I came up with. I am writing each one of them a personal letter detailing how much I treasure their friendship. I have counted on these ladies so much over the last few years and though they know I appreciate them, I don’t think they realize just how much they mean to me.

I have recently received such a letter and it meant the world to me. It is a letter that I will alway keep tucked away in my bible so that I can pull it out anytime I need to be reminded that someone loves me. This means much much more to me than one more trinket to take up space in my already cramped house.

I hope this helps. I wish you a very Merry Christmas!”

10.  Anissa@Hope4Peyton

“Amongst a few close friends, we did a clothing/toy swap.

We picked nice clothing, in excellent condition that the kids have outgrown and toys that they either didn’t play with anymore (or sometimes never played with) or outgrew.

All items had to be clean and look really nice and we didn’t worry about prices of items, just to get rid of things you didn’t need in your house and perhaps finding nice stuff to use as gifts for yours. Last year I was able to regift a gorgeous crystal vase for my mother in law.

It’s free gift-giving and a cleaning extraveganza at the same time.”

All such great tips, right?  Nine of these ladies will be receiving a little something from me in the mail, and one lucky winner will receive the $500 WalMart gift card.  That person is:

Number 5=Carrington!  Congratulations!

Thanks again to all who entered, and be sure to enter my other giveaways here, here and here, and stay tuned for more coming up!

Suri’s Ladybug Shoes (A Giveaway!)

**This Giveaway Is Over, Thanks To All Who Entered!

Today on Oprah, they are re-airing the show where Oprah goes to Telluride and interviews Tom Cruise in his home. Some of you may have seen it back in May when it first aired, some maybe not, but the interesting thing about this episode is more than just Tom or his house or what he says about that last time he saw Oprah. It’s also about some sweet little ladybug shoes that Oprah notices in the Cruise mudroom, right upon entering their house. She comments on the tiny cute shoes, Tom remarks that ladybugs are Suri’s favorite, and they move on.

From this small mention, came a huge wave of press and demand for those little ladybug shoes. The exciting part is, my friend and all of our blog sistah, Katja Presnal, was the one to give Suri those shoes!  Katja used to live in Colorado, and through a mutual friend was able to give the Cruise family a big gift basket from her upscale children’s boutique, Skimbaco. The Ladybug shoes were a part of that basket, and the rest is history.

After that small mention and huge public response, Katja started her own PR consulting business called Ladybug Landings, around the ladybug concept, and how “luck lands briefly, be ready”. With this business, she’s returning to her roots in PR, which began straight out of high school.

I love hearing stories about mom’s getting lucky, receiving random blessings, and making something great out of them. I’m excited to support those occasions whenever possible, because I believe that when we work together, all the boats will rise together.

You can get these ladybug shoes on sale right now for $29, and there are other items for sale at Skimbaco.com as well, including some of the kids’ designer clothes which are up to 75% off.

Guess what? You can win your own pair of those famous Ladybug shoes right here! Just leave a comment on this post telling me about a time that “luck landed briefly” on you and you acted on it. You can get an extra entry if you tweet the contest, and an yet another extra entry if you blog about it (potential for three entries total). Read these directions carefully so that your entries count. Contest ends next Thursday, December 18th at 11:59pm. Good luck!

Patrick Dempsey: Unscripted

**This Giveaway Is Over, Thanks To All Who Entered!

It’s not every day you get to talk to a celebrity like Patrick Dempsey.  Anyone my age has probably worshiped thought he was alright since his Can’t Buy Me Love days, and the truth is we’d call in to listen to him read us the phone book.  He’s THAT perfect ok.

So when I found out I was invited to a special call to discuss Patrick Dempsey’s new Avon fragrance, “Unscripted“, I couldn’t wait.  The cologne is honestly so lovely…I received a box with not only the cologne itself (with awesome slick and simple packaging, by the way), but separate bottles with each “note” of the fragrance for me to sample.  I was able to take my time with the cologne before the call, and found the best part to be that it didn’t give me a headache the second I smelled it, unlike most fragrances I come across.

During the call with Patrick and the Avon people, we went through each note and they described to us the ingredients and Patrick shared why each one was important to him.  The scents are very textured and layered, I love them all (Steph kept track of these):

Top Note:

• pepper
• lavender
• water anis accord
• cardamom

Heart or Mid note:

• violet leaves
• lavender
• sensual fig accord- this became some of the key note as well as Patrick’s favorite, lavender

Bottom Note (textural woods of the fragrance):

• musk
• vetiver
• patchouli

It was really interesting smelling each note individually, then all together.  I loved hearing about Patrick’s process, his inspiration, and his purpose.  He told us about his childhood memories growing up in Maine, and even admitted his mom is not quite yet a fan of his new cologne.  He got connected with Avon through his wife Jillian Dempsey, who has a fabulous makeup line that I can’t wait to try out.  This isn’t the Avon from the 80’s, they’ve got a whole new image and product line that is impressing even this hard-sell mama.  Patrick spoke highly of their creative process, and how hard they have worked on this project.

Even more exciting was Patrick’s own shout out to bloggers before we even talked about Unscripted.  He said that he knows we bloggers have a strong voice, and can influence people in a profound way.  It definitely won some brownie points with the mombloggers on the call (as if he needed any…).

So as we wrapped up and he wished me specifically us all happy and safe holidays, we moms left the call a little dazzled.  We had tweeted the whole call, and quickly found out that Patrick had read them, and took turns laughing and dying of embarrassment.  We were all Drunk On Dempsey, and there was no cure.  There was only the crash after the high.  But it was all worth it.

So even though you all couldn’t be there with me, I’m really excited to give one of you the very yummy Unscripted cologne!  This giveaway goes until next Mon, Dec 15th, and all you need to do is leave a comment here telling me which scent above you are most excited about. Go on, I know you want to say patchouli. You can get an extra entry by tweeting this contest, leave an additional comment with your link!

These are the other bloggers who were on the call, they’ll be having giveaways as well, so go check them out for extra chances to win!

Janice from 5 Minutes For Mom, Amy from Parentsphere, Steph from Adventures in Babywearing, Michelle from Scribbit, Beth from I Should Be Folding Laundry, Maria from Diary of a Blue Suit Mom, Kim from Jogging In Circles, Katja from Skimbaco Lifestyle, and Trisha from MomDot,

Wait, there’s more…

You don’t have to wait for the contests to end, you can go get your own right now with this blogger free shipping code:

Promo Code - JINGLE30
Expires – 1/31/09
It’s for free standard shipping with a $30 order when you shop with an eRepresentative, and since Unscripted is $32, that’s basically free shipping when you buy the fragrance!  Everyone needs help out this season, and not having to eat shipping costs can REALLY add up.

Friend Disclaimer

I have been letting people down lately. And when the fit hits the shan at home, all I can do is buckle down and concentrate on work and family, and that leaves my beloved friends, online and offline, in a lurch.  I hate having to disappoint people, so I decided to post this disclaimer, so you know up front what you are getting into with me.

• I will not return your phone calls.  Sorry, but I hate the phone, and I don’t even call my mother back.  Email me if you want to reach me.  Which brings me to my next point…

• I won’t reply to your emails.  Well, I will, but it will either be days later, or a two word reply.  Again, ask my mother how good I am at this.

• I will forget what is going on in your life if we haven’t spoken in a few days.  Going into survival mode with autism ruling our house right now means that my brain is spilling over with all the details.  I still care, I just can’t remember.

• I will go days without speaking to you.  It’s not because I don’t want to, it’s because there’s only so much this stressed out full time working mom can handle.  It’s not you, it’s me.

• I will have other friends too, and I may want to do things with them.  I will still want to do things with you, but I like doing things.  With people.

• I am a career minded gal, and will be busy with work.  Just because I work at home doesn’t mean I’m less busy than those that commute to the city.  I am more accessible, but not more available.  I am also usually wearing sweats.

• I will stand by you when you’re life goes through changes, trials and tribulations.  I won’t abandon you, ever.  Sorry, but that’s a promise.

• I am genetically unable to be fake, so I will always keep it real with you.  Sincerity is my flagship personality trait, so look out.

• I will make you laugh, even if it means me agreeing to do the Carlton Dance while you record it with your video camera.  It’s just how I roll.

• I will let you make as many jokes about my boobs as you want.  Again, it’s how I roll.

• I will never be mean to you, I will become your passionate cheerleader and support system, and will defend you to the end.  Even if I will never call you back.

So if you read this disclaimer and still want to be my friend, awesome!  If not, I understand.  Well, I don’t understand, but at least we didn’t get all lovey mclovey before I ruined it in some way.  Saved my time, and yours.

The Perfect Tool For The Job Seeker

Like many families, the economy suffering has meant our livelihood suffering as well.  My husband happens to be in that upper management niche that means he’s either overqualified for available jobs (and therefore not given the time of day as soon as they see his resume), or facing companies not hiring.  Either way it equals a long and laborious job search.

We’ve turned the job search into a team effort, because with all the job listings, job boards, emails to return and contacts to be made, we’ve found it to be quite a large project.  I really wanted to tell you all about one thing we’ve been using lately, because it’s something I think can help you stay uber-organized, and therefore feel a sense of hope and accomplishment when it comes to the job search.

It’s called PerfectJob and it’s software that organizes all your many faceted job search efforts.  My husband and I use it for his search, and we can’t speak highly enough of it.  We’re able to add in everyone he wants to connect with, set deadlines, and make sure nothing slips through the cracks.  Jobs to respond to, research needing to be done, and even interview prep can all be entered in and organized in an intuitive and easy to use way.

Keeping links and job board RSS feeds organized is another plus we really like, as well as organizing which versions of your resume you sent to whom.  My husband has a lot of varied skills, and has 4 different resumes depending on the position.  When all this info is organized, you just feel more at peace, more successful, and as though it’s just a matter of time before you won’t even need to open the program anymore.

The best part is that the software has a 45 day free trial (wouldn’t it be cool if that’s all you needed?!).  Just go to the Perfect Job site to download.  It’s something all job seekers should have in their arsenal, so I hope you’ll check it out and let me know how you like it!

**Update, I just found out from PerfectJob software that they’d like to offer you a 50% discount no through Feb 2009!  Awesome, no?  Just enter this code when you purchase:  PJS-7293-AS

Our Horse And Pony Show: How We Give Autism The Boot

I get asked a lot how we do it, what we do to help recover our children with autism.  Most of the time our children can “pass” as typical kids when out in public.  My 6 year old, especially, is doing so well that his issues are minimal now, compared to how bad they used to be.  Some may even think we are out of the woods with him.

We feel very blessed for his progress, but we are far from out of the woods.  There is a whole horse and pony show going on behind the scenes here at home.  We can’t blink, can’t rest, can’t stop anything we are doing, or he and his brothers regress back into the autism world faster than anything I’ve ever seen.  It’s still there, lurking.  The darkness, the world that once held him prisoner, it persists still.

My parents like to share some of my blog posts with our extended family from time to time, and during one email exchange I felt my dad communicated very well what all goes on here at home.  I’m reprinting that email here for you now:

It’s so good to celebrate Charlie’s progress every day.  Fortunately, his special private Montessori schooling, special diet and supplements, and his parents’ monumental effort through their deliberate daily work with Charlie, help him keep the progress he has made, so he doesn’t regress.  Same for his brothers, Jamie and Jonah.

Through the massive research Jacob and Arianne have done, in addition to their at-home therapy for the boys, they’ve come up with a more or less three prong approach to addressing their special needs. Number one is the private Montessori school that gives them the perfect environment, i.e. small class room size, very low teacher to student ratio (1:5), and a child led approach to learning, particularly encouraging healthy social interaction among their peers.  **Editor’s note: the kids are also in occupational and behavior therapy programs as part of this “prong”**

Prong two is diet.  They must maintain a very strict diet with them; gluten free, dairy free, corn and soy free, and organic–nothing that includes any metals, corn syrup, preservatives, etc., all of which, through their individual experience with each of the boys, is critical to avoid.  If they eat one thing that contains items on the excluded list, they can immediately see signs of regression in their behavior.  You can imagine how much attention, labor, patience and love that takes to maintain each day.  If it weren’t for the visible results they have seen over and over, Jacob and Arianne would not be able to do it.  And almost all their dietary items can only be purchased at specialty food stores (i.e. Whole Foods or other organic food stores).

**A sampling of what the kids take every day

Third prong-supplements.  You would not believe the huge array of nutritional supplements these boys take every day. Again through individual repeated testing and experience and intense research, Jacob and Arianne have come up with the right supplements for each of the boys (and the boys individually have different supplement needs–their kitchen counter looks like a pharmacy).  These too are critical. If they miss a dose or run out, their behavior almost immediately regresses.  Arianne and Jacob’s constant fear, is that if the boys don’t maintain all 3 of these approaches and they regress, could the regression be permanent?  The research is not able to tell them, one way or another.

Thankfully they belong to a local association of parents with children similarly affected, which has been instrumental in achieving the success they’ve had so far.  I’m so proud of the personal sacrifice that Arianne and Jacob have made for their boys, in many ways- career, professional, social, financial, etc.  Their Faith carries them through.

Love,

John

All these things we do come after 2 years of intensive therapy a couple years ago.  That journey got us to the place we are now, where these things listed in the email can really take root and grow.  These ways of recovery don’t work for all children with autism, I’m seeing it in my own children as we continue to search for the perfect protocol for my youngest son.  But we will never stop trying new things, and will never, ever give up believing that our kids can get better.

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