Weekend Linkage

Well, assuming the weather holds out, it looks like we will finally fit in our yearly apple orchard trip this weekend. We're all really looking forward to it, almost as much as we're looking forward to all the great things we'll be making with the apples afterward. Depending on how the weekend goes, we'll get started on Sunday.

Other than that, there's not too much going on around our house. I wasn't able to get to the seasonal clothing swap out this week, so that's priority number 1 next week. We're also gearing up and counting down for our trip to Disney World. Just over 3 weeks to go!

Here's some links that caught my attention this week.

• Last week on twitter, I saw an announcement that the Disney Parks blog just launched. This is exciting stuff for me, especially right now. And for anyone else that loves the magic of all the Disney parks, you'll definitely enjoy spending some time looking around the site.
• I am looking forward to trying out Phoebe's recipe for Crockpot Apple Butter with some of our apples. It looks wonderful.
• I enjoyed reading this Mommy Come Home post on Unfinished Mom. It was so encouraging and well-written.
• Connie delves into the Power of Suggestion with her thought-provoking post. It made me stop and consider rewording some of the things I say sometimes.
• If you've never visited Vanderbilt Wife, you really should. Jessie writes beautifully from the heart, shares awesome recipes and lets us all into her house as she prepares to sell. Not to mention, if you ever want to have a book discussion with someone, she needs to be at the top of your list! We had a great twitter/email chat last week about a book that was so satisfying and fun.
  

Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - The Fall Edition

Well, it's official fall is here. And since I love fall so much, I've spent a lot of time reading through all the Fall Festival links this week. There was so much good stuff!

Here is just a random sampling of some of my favorites.

• Some inspiring and beautiful decorating ideas over at Pleasing to You.
• I love this Thankfulness Tree idea from Happy Little Homemaker.
• At Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Jen shared some great fall traditions.
• Wondering what to do with all those apples? Wonder no more with these 12 ideas from Finding Joy in My Kitchen.
• This Chinese Hot and Sour Soup from Newlyweds looks amazing! What a great way to warm up on a chilly day.

I also wanted to let you know, in case you haven't heard already, that my friend Laura from Heavenly Homemakers recently finished compiling an ebook called Fun, Fabulous and (mostly) Free Preschool Projects. There is some great stuff in this ebook and Laura really knows her stuff when it comes to putting together a jam-packed resource. But that's not all...this ebook is completely and totally FREE! You should definitely go check it out.

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Weekend Linkage - This and That Edition

I haven't felt this ready for a weekend in a long time. The past two weeks have been wonderfully exciting and chaotic, but I'm looking forward to a little down time. I'm also looking forward to re-establishing some sense of normalcy next week as we all adjust to our new routines.

We don't have many plans for this weekend, which is exactly what I want. Tomorrow we're planning a trip to Sam's Club and maybe Salvation Army to look for that table we still need to find. Other than church on Sunday, I think that sums up our plans. Eric and I will probably watch a movie together after the kids go to bed tomorrow night, if we can stay awake for it. I haven't been this tired in years!

This weekend linkage post is about as scatter-brained as I've been feeling lately. So don't look for a theme, but do go check out all these great posts and sites.

• Now that the kids are all getting older, we'll soon be at a point where we can do a family game night that includes all of us. I can't wait! And after reading Amy's post about family game night, I have some great new games to add to my list.
• I've also wanted to grow potatoes for some reason. Maybe it's because we eat a ton of them! So I was very intrigued by Jennifer's post on their potato box.
• I like participating in memes. They give me a good jumping off point when I just don't know what to write about. And even when I do know what I want to write, they help me stick to a pretty basic schedule here. So I'm excited to share a few new ones that I've recently learned about - Liz at Hoosier Homemade hosts Cupcake Tuesdays. She also just started Frightful Fridays that will run until Halloween.
• Amy at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free hosts Slightly Indulgent Mondays.
• And next week, Life As MOM is going to be teaming up with some great bloggers for A Fall Festival of Fun, Food and Friends. I am really looking forward to this since fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. I'm planning to participate every day, but we'll see how it goes. Here's a quick run-down of the schedule if you want to join in the fun too: Monday - Feathering Your Nest at Hoosier Homemade; Tuesday - Falling For Fun at Daily Dwelling; Wednesday - Fall Traditions at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free; Thursday - A Special Fall-Themed Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As MOM; and on Friday - Finer Things of Fall at Amy's Finer Things.

Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - The Stumble Edition

I've been spending a bit of time on StumbleUpon lately. Stumbling through posts is a great way to find some really good posts and new blogs. So I thought I'd share some of my favorites from this past week.

• 5 Lazy Ways to Simplify Your Days from Little House in the Suburbs.
• Check out this super cute Robot Cup and Saucer from Prime-Number.com
• 10 Uncluttering Things To Do Every Day from Unclutterer.
• An oldie but a goodie...Chinese Egg Rolls from Steamy Kitchen
• Another semi-oldie...14 Ways to Entertain Your Preschooler Using Ziploc Bags from PreSchool Mama.

We are ready for a nice long weekend filled with wishing a fond farewell to summer. Lots of lazy time lounging outside is on the agenda for sure.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead!

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Weekend Linkage ~ The Just Because Edition

I truly feel blessed to have so many wonderful blogging friends. And just because I feel like it, here are some recent good reads from some of their blogs.

• I really admire FishMama's honesty and ideas in her post Take A Financial Snapshot and Dream a Debt-Free Dream. I find their story incredibly encouraging.
• Katie at Good Life Eats has some seriously mad skill when it comes to food photography. I dream of taking pictures like hers some day. Check out her Blueberries and Cream Muffins post to see what I mean. And make sure you try that recipe too, because it definitely sounds like a winner.
• You can never have too many good bread recipes. I have read about Artisan Bread In 5 Minutes A Day before, but Lynn's post on the challah bread recipe and the different things she does with it has convinced me I must buy this book!
• This might be one of the best ideas I've read in a long time - Using Twitter to plan your travels, courtesy of Mom's Travel Tales. We have a trip to Disney coming up in a few months and I'm definitely going to start following everyone Disney related that I can!

So many great friends...so little time. That's it for this week.

Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - All About Decorating

Eric and I have been tired of living in our on-the-market, ready-to-sell house for a while now. White walls with no pictures do not provide a very homey feeling. It's been a year and a half since we first listed it for sale. We're not sure what the future holds. Our house could sell next week (which we'd be thrilled about!) but it seems more likely that we'll still be here for at least a little while yet.

Add to that the fact that the kids are growing. They no longer play with half the younger toys we have. They are excited to do school work and crafts. Gracie is ready to move out of her crib.

All these things collided for us over the past week or so. And we've decided we're just going to go ahead and take the plunge. We're going to do some decorating, rearranging and furniture purchasing over the next few weeks or so. (There's a table and 6 chairs on Craig's List for $60 that is at the top of our list.)

So, I've obviously been spending some time looking at home and decorating themed blogs lately. I can't believe all the beautiful and smart things I've come across. How could I not share a few of them here?

• Fixing up my work space is at the bottom of our list of priorities, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming about it. I love these ideas from Imagine Cozy. And I could even follow her tip now by just adding a lamp, fabric and flowers or a plant. Love that!
• I am in love with each and every one of these ideas for Children's Bedrooms: Sharing Spaces from The Inspired Room.
  
• One of the first things I mentioned to Eric the other day was that I wanted a new book shelf. His accurate reply was, "No, you don't want a new book shelf. You want a whole room of book shelves." And he does too. Some day! But for now, I loved looking at all these options in Booked from Velvet & Linen.
• This homeschool room on Unclutterer is amazing. And...that book shelf is from IKEA. It just so happens that we are going to IKEA tomorrow. Hmmm....
• And another awesome homeschool room from Day In Day Out. I love all the organization!
• Okay, last one...another homeschool room. I just found out about the not-back-to-school blog hop going on. It's hosted by Life With My 3 Boybarians. Last week was homeschool room week, so I had LOTS of rooms to drool over. And Darcy's room definitely has everything I could ever possibly want!

Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Linkage

It was an interesting week around here and I'm glad to wrap it up. We have a fun weekend of house sitting for my brother-in-law planned. Mainly it involves sitting in the sand, enjoying the lake and sitting around a bonfire. Sounds like pretty tough duty, doesn't it? I'm not sure who's more excited, the kids or Eric and I. We're going to swing by the grocery store on our way there and pick up some fun camping-style food. Even though we aren't camping and will only be 20 minutes from home, we're choosing to treat it like a mini-vacation.

Here is some good reading for your weekend enjoyment.

• Thanks to Meredith from Like Merchant Ships' tumblr page, I found the amazing blog Walk Slowly, Live Wildly. I love it! I especially like all the pictures and details from their latest RV renovation. Since Eric and I dream often of road-tripping in an RV, I can't get enough of reading through all their RV adventures.
• I loved following along on all the details from Lora's trip to Mexico with her family. She captured some truly beautiful pictures in this post. Stunning!
• The title of this post says it all - You Tell Me: If you could have everything you wanted, would you take it? Great stuff from Lynnae at Being Frugal.
• I have considered Laura at Heavenly Homemakers a blogging buddy almost since the beginning of this blog. But now? Now she is my very bestest friend in the whole wide world because of this post - Make Your Own Funnel Cake. Could it get any better?
• I always love seeing what treasures people manage to snag at yard sales. Get a load of this stash Amy Lynne found. Impressive!

Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Linkage ~ The BlogHer Edition

This time next week, I'll be surrounded by hundreds of fellow bloggers, filling my head with great new ideas for my blogs, and attending loads of parties. Toni has promised to run me ragged, and I know she will!

In an effort to familiarize myself with some of the other fabulous bloggers I'll be meeting, I've been doing some blog hopping. (I'll do anything in an effort to ease, even just a tiny bit, my painfully debilitating shyness.) So, I thought it would be fun to share some of the blogs I've been enjoying.

• Citizen of the Month
• The Sweet Life
• I Left My Heart At Preschool
• Mrs. CPA
• The Perks of Being Me
• What Did You Do All Day
• The Mother of All Trips

And now that I've written this post, I'm putting all thoughts, worries and preparations for BlogHer on hold for the weekend. I've got a birthday party to prepare... and 100 cake pops sitting in my freezer waiting to be turned into baseballs... and fruit to cut into perfect little cubes to stack on bamboo skewers... and floors to wash and walls to scrub... and prayers for no rain on Sunday to say.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - The Good Stuff Edition

This week, I have lots of good stuff to share with you. That's really the only unifying factor for the links appearing here. But I think that's good enough.

• I am not a cake decorator. In fact, I stink at it and usually just stick to the basics. But I always want to get more into it. We are having a baseball-themed birthday party for Alex next weekend and I just know I'll be able to find tons of great inspiration at Life As Mom next week. She's hosting a birthday cake round up and I can't wait to see the entries!
• I really don't have anything to add to the thought-provoking words that introduced this video clip over at The View From My Beach Chair. Stop whatever you're doing right now and go watch that video!
• Amy linked to this incredible fast food post awhile ago and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then. I think I need to print that post out and keep it handy whenever I start thinking some fast food sounds good. Then Jen commented that she had a similar post on her blog. They are both shocking and oh, so wrong!
• I love this recipe for Lemon Almond Ice "Cream" Michelle posted on Frugal Granola. Lemon and almond are two of my favorite flavors. The thought of them combined in this almost-ice cream has me ready to run out to the store and buy an ice cream maker!
• Armchair travel used to be a big hobby of mine. Before kids, I was addicted to the travel channel and I'd spend hours dreaming of different places I wanted to visit. While that habit has definitely faded, I do still like daydreaming about travel. I also incorporate some travel dreaming into Isabelle's homeschooling curriculum, especially for writing projects. I am definitely going to order some of these free travel guides for us all to dream over.

Enjoy the reading and have a great weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - A Little Bit of Everything

So many things going on this week and so many links to share. Let's just get right to it then, shall we?

• Amanda at Better Is Little share a fantastic reminder in her post The Meaning of MY Life.
• I spent an obscene amount of time this week poring over the ranch adventures experienced by Shannon, Melanie and Sophie while they visited with Ree, The Pioneer Woman. Honestly...an obscene amount of time. That's just a fair warning before you click on one of those links and find yourself in the time sucking vortex.
• Meredith's post, Library Bag: Green Garden Dip left me a little unsure of what to do first - go out and find that awesome book or make that dip. It's definitely a toss up. They both look great!
• Lisa at Crazy Adventures In Parenting wrote a heartfelt post about a heartbreaking day. Her closing thoughts really grabbed me: "Now is the only now you will ever have, and you don't know how long it'll be there for."
• I absolutely devoured Carissa's post on branding and using real names in social media over at GoodNCrazy. I've got a lot of things going on lately and I'm having a tough time keeping all these multiple personalities in line. On twiiter, I am @ASimpleWalk. When someone clicks to follow me from Cooking During Stolen Moments, I wonder if they even know who I am. And now, I have a new business to promote. My "brand" has grown beyond A Simple Walk. Unfortunately, @KateMiller is taken on twitter. Suggestions anyone??
• So, um, speaking of that new business... I know I did the shameless self-promotion thing last week, but I hope you'll permit me to do it again this week. I officially launched Stolen Moments Menu Planning yesterday. My vision with this service is to provide budget-minded menu plans at a cost accesible to all. I hope you'll check it out. Maybe spread the word to anyone who could benefit from the service. I'd love to hear what you think too.

That's it for this week. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - The Kinda-New-To-Me Edition

My blog reading and commenting has decreased dramatically the past few weeks (months for the commenting). And I feel bad. I miss the interaction. So I've been working on remedying that a bit this week. I've spent some time reading through the archives of blogs I used to visit regularly and exploring some new ones. That doesn't mean that my commenting has gotten any better, but I did find some great stuff to share.

• This post has been around for awhile, but I had to share it because I think it's brilliant. Mom Jeans and the Dreaded "Long Butt" from grasping for objectivity.
• Awkward Family Photos. Exactly what the name implies and just flat-out funny. You will laugh, guaranteed.
• Robin at PENSIEVE shares some wisdom for all moms, in the same vein as the first link above - Swim Suit Shopping Tips For Moms. (By the way, as an aside for anyone who has ever wondered - same V-e-i-n is the correct way to spell it. I have always wondered that. Seriously...for years. I finally looked it up. So, there ya go.)
• I absolutely love this post at Kitchen Stewardship - Mary and Martha Moment: Balancing Time, Family and Food.
• I spent a great deal of time drooling over the Summer Garden Week 14 post at Newlyweds. And I'll admit, a little part of me screamed "I want a garden, I want a garden, I want a garden!"
• Oh, and one other little thing - get your free copy of my new ebook, The Frugal Kitchen, over at Cooking During Stolen Moments. And if you have a second or two, please fill out the survey about my new venture. Also, Cooking During Stolen Moments was nominated for a Tastiest blog award at BlogLuxe. You can vote for me here. (Now how's that for a little shameless promotion to end this linkage post?)
  

Feel free to shamelessly promote yourself in the comment section.

Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - The Friends Edition

Life is all settled down and back to normal after our trip. Everything is caught up, including the laundry, which must be some kind of record for me.

Now we are all ready to really dig in to this summer and have lots of fun. I'm planning to come up with our summer activity wish list this weekend. We did pretty good with our list last summer, but there are lots of things I want to add this year, especially now that Gracie is old enough to get in on all the action too.

Anyhow, on with the linkage for this weekend. Lots of good stuff!

Three of my fantastic bloggy (who are now in real life friends) friends have new blog projects starting next week that I'm super excited about.

• Amy at Amy's Finer Things just introduced her Mommy, Come Home series. I know Amy, and I know she is going to do a marvelous job enlightening, inspiring and encouraging. You'll just over to go over to her site to read about it because I can't do her words justice. I'll be sharing my "coming home" story over there in the future too.
• Next Thursday, Joy at FiveJs will be posting her first Thirsty Thursday meme post along with a Mr. Linky for everyone to link up. I love Joy's description of the series - "Thirsty Thursday: Satisfying our kids' thirst for knowledge one sip at a time. The goal of Thirsty Thursday is to offer a place where bloggers can share their thoughts and ideas about homeschooling and otherwise educating their children." Sounds great, right?
• And on Monday, Toni, The Happy Housewife, begins a summer long challenge dubbed "The Itch To Pitch." This series is all about getting our homes organized and decluttered. I could always use some more motivation in that area, how about you? And the good news is that we'll be able to link up our own posts showing our progress.
• I love this post "Kids & Veggies - Do They Go Together?" by Nancy at 3 Blondes and the Law. My kids have always been fairly open to eating veggies, but they especially love them roasted, just like Nancy's girls.
• Why Can't We Manage To Cry Out For Help When We're Lost by Angie at Many Little Blessings is a terrific read. Angie has a great way of telling a story and tieing it all up nicely with a little moral at the end.
  

• 

  And finally, here's a great resource to help get ready to participate in Toni's The Itch To Pitch challenge. I am pretty decent at getting things organized, but keeping them that way rarely happens. This ebook is full of tips and motivation!

Enjoy your weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - The Short But Sweet Edition

Well, I spent the day ironing and packing enough clothes to last 7 weeks, not 7 days. But at least I know we'll be prepared no matter what the weather brings while we are at my parents' house. We don't leave until Sunday but I wanted to finish most of the work today so that we can all go out and do something fun tomorrow.

Needless to say, I'm a little spent tonight and hoping to go to bed a bit earlier than usual. So that's why this is a short but sweet linkage list. I hope you enjoy these links as much as I did!

• Are you ready for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo? It begins on Monday, June 1. The list of speakers for this year is fantastic! And I was so excited to see that there are kids classes being presented this year as well. I remember hearing all the buzz about the expo last year. The thing I'm excited about with this is that all of the recordings are available after the expo is over too. Since we'll be out of town next week, that works perfectly for me!
• Sarah spent 2 weeks on an inner-city missions trip. Her post, Things I Learned While Camping In The Hood, was touching and eye-opening. Definitely recommended reading.

Okay, this is going to be a bit shorter than I had planned. I just realized why I meant to start this post on Monday and leave it in drafts, adding links to it throughout the week. After sitting here for an hour, sorting through notes on my desk and different bookmarked posts, I've given up. I know there were 3 more posts that I specifically wanted to share, but I guess they'll just have to wait for another time.

Sue asked if I'll have internet access while in Chicago. The answer to that is yes. I plan to blog daily, but we'll see how that goes. So don't hold me to anything, okay?

And since my post is so lacking, if you've read a good post (or written one yourself) this week that you'd like to share, leave it in the comments so we can all go take a look.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - The HUGE Edition

This weekend's linkage post is going to be overflowing with links. Yes, there have been all kinds of fabulous things I've read this week (that always seems to be the case), but this list is huge because I recently participated in a Blog Link-A-Thon over at MomDot. So now I'm sharing all of those links with you.

But first, here a few posts that really grabbed my attention this week.

• I loved this post on Grocery Stewardship from Amy. I followed her link over to Faith and Family Life, then followed a link on that post to a link of 3 pictures from the book Hungry Planet. The pictures depict what 3 families ate over the course of a week and how much they spent on that food. I was riveted! In fact, I kept those pictures open in a tab last night and I kept going back to look at it. Hop over here and take a look. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
• I am always so blown away with Joy's self-made homeschooling lesson plans and life lessons. Her post, Life Skills for Kids: Understanding Idioms, was no exception.
• My friend Sonshine and I have such similar methods when it comes to grocery shopping, meal planning, and budgeting. As I read through her post, Living on a Grocery Budget Lessons, I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement at every single thing she wrote.
• Do you and your family wanna-laffa-lotta this summer? Then be sure to follow the Camp Wannalaffalotta series hosted by Life As Mom all summer long. She'll be sharing crafts, snacks, books, field trips, and other kid-friendly activities each Monday.
• Without adding any editorial thoughts of my own, I highly recommend reading JessieLeigh's post, Ditch The Sippy Cup.

And now for the Blog Link-A-Thon list of links:

1. Lori@Not Always Charming

2. Fairy Blog Mother

3. Crazy Adventures in Parenting

4. Engineer a Debt Free Life

5. Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Girls

6. Good Golly Miss Blondie

7. SavvySuzie

8. For The Love of Baby!

9. Tammy@lovemy2dogs

10. Blessings Abound

11. Coupons, Deals and More

12. Hairstyles For Girls

13. Stacie @ The Divine Miss Mommy

14. A latte in the morning

15. KiddiesCorner Deals

16. 3 Kids and Us | Mom Blog

17. The Ohana Mama

18. Coupon Queens of Laurel Run

19. Today’s Journey

20. Eve @ Confessions of a Housewife

21. My Charmed Life

22. Laurie@DoubleBugs

23. Lisa @ Final Score boys3 girls2

24. New Sue Review

25. Suzanne Calling

26. Just For Me…and You

27. Time Slides By

28. Babes and Kids

29. Declutter a Little Each Day

30. Grocery Savings for Real Families

31. Life Starring Ellie and Eve

32. So Cute Crafts

33. Brea’s Mommy

34. Are Muffins Just Ugly Cupcakes

35. It’s A Beauty Filled Life

36. The crazy suburban mom

37. Donna’s World

38. Momma’s Gone Over the Wall

39. Mommy’s Quiet Time

40. Joyce (Saving My Cents)

41. My Trendy Tykes

42. The Not-So-Blog

43. Confessions From HouseholdSix

44. SiPPyCuPSand FiNGerPriNTS

45. Jennifer@CouponMommie

46. Shasta @ Crackers&Chaos

47. Giftfully Simple

48. Just For Fun

49. Digital Mommy

50. Me And Craig

51. Parenting Princesses

52. Shan@Last Shreds Of Sanity

53. Inside My Head

54. Petit

55. My Love Lucy

56. FreckleBox personalized gift

57. Baby Lulu Dress

58. Blog 4 Mom

59. 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

60. Jolly Mom

61. My Life My Journey

62. Maman And Gourmand

63. Jess - Life @ 30

64. The POSHpreneur

65. A Blog of Goodies

66. Christy aka The Write Gal

67. LookWhatMomFound

68. Peanut Butter & Smelly’s Dad

69. Lucy

70. Angry Julie Monday

71. The Mogul Mom Blog

72. Angela

73. Deal-ectible Mommies

74. Christy’s Creations

75. Lisa

76. Courtney@Booksnboys

77. Wannabe Supermom

78. Thre Craft Momma

79. Internet Toddler

80. Jennifer@Life is a Sandcastle

81. Kristen of La Dolce Vita

82. Cranberry Fries

83. Toni @ The Mud Bug

84. The Mom Buzz

85. Tricia @Nightowl Mama

86. Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls

87. Mommy Cracked

88. EclecticBird

89. Mama Mentor

90. Moomettesgram’s Musings

91. Moomette’s Magnificents Reviews

92. Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes

93. Diaries of a Domestic Goddess

94. Go Graham Go!

95. NerdFamily Things

96. NerdFamily Blog

97. Making Money Keeping Money

98. NerdFamily Food

99. Flying Giggles & Lollipops

100. Gena @ Morris Bunch

101. Crystal @ Simply Being Mommy

102. A Kindred Spirit’s Thoughts

103. Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House

104. D-Lo’s Lounge

105. Free Sample Freak

106. What Mommies Need

107. Mom of 2 Boys, Wife of 1

108. icefairy’s Treasure Chest

109. Cheaper Than Therapy

110. Therapeutic Reviews & Giveaways

111. Lily Bean Designs

112. Dirty Diaper Laundry

113. Dance Momma

114. JamericanSpice

115. Mombalance

116. A Pocket Full Of Buttons

117. Ordinary and Awesome

118. Reviews and Giveaways

119. Subjective Beauty

120. Tales From A Shopaholic Mommy

121. Mommiemayhem

122. IE Mommy

123. Nikki @ Blasian Baby Notes

124. Amber Woodward

125. Grammy Janet’s Place

126. Outnumbered 3 to 1

127. ShimmerMeBlue

128. Dev’s Favorite Giveaways

129. Joyful Money Saving

130. 1stopmom

131. A Modern Mama

132. PourSomeSugarOnMe

133. Fancast

134. Lollipop Baby

135. Lola & Ben

136. idoby2celebrants

137. Sue Jackson

138. Cackleberry Kids

139. Gifts By The Stars

140. Jemma

141. Handmade Kids

142. Ollie Rose

143. Babasfarmlife

144. Banquet Manager

145. Monkey’s Momma

146. This Mom Can Shop

147. EcoLabel Fundraising

148. Divine Chaos

149. baby kakes ink alphabet onesie

150. tee from recycle me

151. Elizabeth @ Suzy Q Homemaker

152. marla mandell bread (5/17)

153. ozone socks 5/15

154. Belly Bumps to Baby Hugs

155. Hip T

156. ThenComes Baby

157. Homemade Gourmet

158. Fresh Pure and Simple

159. MomDot Mom Blogs

160. MomDot Mom Reviews

161. Bloggers Give Charity

162. Organic Baby Resource

163. Potamus Prefers

164. The Army Wife

165. Through Hazel Eyes

166. Frugal Rhode Island Mama

167. Just Jingle

168. And Twins make 5!

169. Frugal Plus

170. Christie

171. What Happened To My House?

172. Miracles on Mama Street

173. Heck Of A Bunch

174. Blog Designs by Susan

175. mommy23monkeys

176. Hanna

177. Got Kids Need Valium

178. Womb At The INNSANE

179. Katie & Kimble Blog

180. Kim @ Adventures SAHM

181. The Frugalicious Mommy

182. Penny Pinching Diva

183. Another day. Another thought or two

184. Beauty4Moms

185. Nikki @evilflu.com

186. Little Miss Julia

187. Mrs Zeee

188. Cheryl

189. Frazzle Dazzle SuperMom

190. Florida Mealtime Savers

191. Inspiration Station

192. Mommy’s Kitchen

193. Saving with MamaNordy

194. Saving SAHM Sanity

195. A Little Piece Of Perfect

196. Nodin’s Nest

197. Lil Miss Eco

198. Laryn Strickland

199. HeatherMama

200. The Gerber Babies Blog

201. WhateverSuccess

202. Women Who Win

203. Kat @ The Burb Blog

204. Happy Healthy Families

205. Sweeps4Bloggers

206. dramaqueensmum

207. The Mom Trap

208. Multitasking Mama

209. Mama Michies Musings

210. Little People Wealth

211. Belly Beyond

212. Kim Kihega

213. Mom Fuse

214. Juanita

215. Adopt a Do

216. On the Refriderator Door

217. Christine

218. Little Diva

219. My Household Junk

220. I’m Here….Really

221. Brittany@The Greer 5

222. mary

223. Nicole @ Nicole’s Nickels

224. Lori Newman

225. Kris @ NSQSA

226. Debb

227. Shawn Ann’s World

228. Peke Moe -NZ made baby sleep sacks

229. A Simple Kinda LIfe

230. Sweet Serendipity

231. Bouncing Off The Walls

232. Jane Loedding

233. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

234. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

235. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

236. Musings from Me

237. Veronnica

238. The Adventures of Miss V

239. Mudd Kids

240. Mom Most Traveled family travel

241. Relishing the Dirt

242. Good, True and Beautiful

243. Deb @ Frugal Living and Having Fun

244. The Last Blog on Earth

245. A Wrestling Addicted Mommy

246. Rae

247. kimert@diaries of a coach’s wife

248. Dore’s Diaries

249. Blog by Donna

250. Lisette

251. Pillaging With Buffie

252. Mom of Faith

253. GODSOWN

254. flutterbyechronicles

255. shelley

256. Life In A House Of Blue

257. kristen

258. Alex the Fey Thriller Series

259. MamaCheaps!

260. Donalacasa

261. A Jewish Journey

262. Anissa @ Our Chaotic Life

263. BethinNC

264. Stuttering Shell

265. Don’t Blink

266. Life is Sweet

267. Lisa

268. Sue@Stay At Home Mom

269. m.e (cathie)

270. Run DMT

271. Princess Ratbag

272. Michelle G

273. CF Mama @ Nathan’s Fight

274. Moody Mama Says

275. Laurie Ann

276. Cooking During Stolen Moments

277. A Simple Walk

278. Vanessa

279. middleagedmom

280. Ramblings Of A Wannabe Writer

281. Oh My Baby

282. Fordcast Sunny

283. Lisa Miller

284. Stacie @ The Divine Miss Mommy

285. Bibs & Cribs {very cute stuff}

286. My Lil’ Budget Book

287. Misadventures in Baby Raising

288. My Mommy Said

289. Milk & Honey Mommy

290. Milk and Honey Mommy

291. Amy O’Neal

292. Parenting Children

293. A Girl And Her Life

294. MarieLynn Boutique Blog

295. Born Fabulous Boutique Blog

296. The Pitter Patter Boutique

297. Stephanie Deese

298. Brea’s Baby Boutique Blog

299. digiscrapping.net - Heather Manning

300. Kids Activities Blog

301. Two Little Whales Cloth Diapers & More

302. 3 boys & a dog

303. Karen ~Georgia Angel

304. JenniferB @ my not so hurried life

305. Shannon Blogs Here

306. A Virtuous Woman

307. Secrets of a Southern Kitchen

308. Dreamer

309. Lollipop Book Club

310. Mommie Daze Virtual Baby Shower

311. Heck Of A Bunch

312. MomSaves4U

313. Barely Domestic Mama

314. Emilie @ Baby Loving Mama

315. Professional Family Manager

316. Kathleen

317. Coaching The Family

318. Frugal Creativity

319. Easy Being Green

320. Dandelion Bubbles

321. Shelly aka The Attic Girl

322. Foxtoybox-Discovery Toys

323. Ashley @ Beauty4Moms

324. Colleen - Mommy Always Wins

325. Playground for Parents

326. World of Discovery

327. Kati @ Country Girl City Life

329. A Little Bit Nutty

330. Mahayla’s Mommy

331. Mommy Goggles

332. The Shopping Mama

333. If I Could Escape . . .

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Weekend Linkage

Unfortunately we are in for a rainy weekend. So even though we are all itching to be outside and doing all those fun, outdoor activities, we'll be stuck inside. But I'm sure we'll come up with something fun to do anyhow. We always do.

If you're going to be stuck inside this weekend too, here are some great reads to help fill up your time. I'm also throwing in a few neat resources I've learned about this week.

• Harried and overworked is not the way it has to be from Laura over at I'm An Organizing Junkie really hit home with me. This is how we've always strived for things to be at our house, but I'll admit, there I times when I let it slide. Thanks to Laura's encouragement, I plan on pulling our chore charts back out and getting everyone involved in the daily work it takes to keep a home running smoothly.
• I follow Laura from Heavenly Homemakers on Twitter. I've been wondering lately why I never see many tweets from her. Thanks to her post, Twitterless, I now know. And actually, I feel the same way she does. Which is why, for those of you that follow me, my tweeting habits are somewhat random and sporadic.
• Who couldn't use a little rejuvenation every now and then? 16 Ways to Rejuvenate over at Mommy's Idea Book has some fantastic tips.
• I love this post on Letterboxing over at Stephanie's Mommy Brain. Letterboxing is something we have talked about doing for a long time now. Seeing it in action makes me want to do it that much more.
• Eric introduced me to Repair Clinic just this morning. I thought it was an invaluable resource and I knew I had to share it. You can order replacement or repair parts for any appliance imaginable. The site also has how-to repairs for everything. Kind of a one-stop shop.
• I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it many more time in the future - I stink at crafts. And that's really unfortunate too since all of my kids love to do crafts. Isabelle is usually the craft leader and helper. She, unlike me, can at least cut along the lines. But I want to be crafty and I want to be able to think up fun projects for the kids to do. That is why I love Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons. The ebook is filled with so many fantastic ideas, many that even a craft-impaired mom like me can handle.

If you are fortunate enough to have a sunny and warm weekend, head outside and have some fun for me!

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Weekend Linkage

I am really ready for the weekend this week. After being sick last week and missing out on some fun Eric and the kids had, I'm looking forward to a family outing or two. I'm not sure if our weather will cooperate, but I'm willing to take a chance.

We don't have any big plans for Mother's Day. Our agenda as of now is to go to church and then go out for lunch afterwards. We're thinking of going to a Chinese restaurant that does a lunch buffet. That will be something different for all of us. After that, I'd like to just spend the day relaxing.

What are your plans for the weekend? If you find some blog reading time in your schedule, here a few recommendations.

• Amy does a fantastic job of blaming her mother. This is a must read! Prepare for a sniffle or two.
• We tend to accumulate cardboard boxes around our house. If you're the same way, this project - Cardboard Box Oven Craft - is for you. I think my kids would just love it. And I imagine it would go nicely with their cardboard bathtub.
• I love this beautiful tale Sue weaves in Pondering A Parable. What a day!
• Just like Michele, I always make sure my kids are eating plenty of fruits and veggies but usually forget about myself. I love her tips on making sure you are Getting Your Fruits And Veggies.
• I really should start doing some spring cleaning. Otherwise it will be summer before I know it and I will not feel like cleaning at all. Simple Mom's Spring Cleaning series is so inspiring it actually makes me want to clean. And that never happens!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

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Weekend Linkage - I Have The Flu (But Not Swine Flu) Edition

After spending a day on the couch, feeling like I couldn't possibly move, I'm ready to spend a night in bed curled up with my laptop and get caught up on some of my favorite blogs.

But first, I have to share the funniest thing I've heard in a long time. Today at the doctor's office, after my flu diagnosis was confirmed, he told to try to stay away from the kids. Seriously? Of course I don't want my children to get sick and I'm doing everything in my power to not breathe and cough and sneeze all over them. But stay away from them? Maybe he should tell that to my kids and not me.

Anyhow, back to the weekend linkage for your reading pleasure.

• Because I know I don't do this often enough myself, Christine's post about taking a time out definitely resonated with me. Why don't we moms do this more often with our kiddos?
• If you haven't read Jen's Frugal Fashionista series at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. The latest installment has some great tips, and Jen shows off one awesome dress!
• Lynnae from Being Frugal is going to be homeschooling her children beginning next year. Her post, Our School Decision And How We Got There, does a fabulous job of explaining things. Definitely recommended reading for everyone, whether you homeschool or not.
• Shannon's post at Simply Mangerchine, The Things You Did At First... is full of wise advice and reminders. I need to remember to flirt with my husband more often!
• A friend of ours just started a blog, From the Crib to College. It is going to be wonderful! His first post Uhh, Surprise! tells a fantastic story. I hope you'll hop over there and show him some comment love and welcome him to the blogging world.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. I'll be home recovering. Maybe I'll even find some time to get caught up on commenting.

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Weekend Linkage

How about some more random linkage for your weekend reading pleasure? This week I'm going with an inspiring theme. So all of the following links have inspired me in one way or another over the past week. I hope you enjoy them!

• Filthy Rags at We Are THAT Family. I love Kristen's perspective and the way she can turn a cute story into a powerful message.
• Insomniatic Thought at Pensieve. Robin's post is powerful and her insomnia-related thoughts are admirable. Just good stuff!
• Jyl from Mom It Forward wrote a great guest post on Make & Takes called How To Raise Charitable Children. I am constantly inspired by the wonderful work Jyl and Carissa do with Mom It Forward, and this post was just as inspiring and full of wonderful ideas.
• It's A Jam Session at My Blessed Life. I honestly have never canned in my life. But believe me, it's not for a lack of wanting to, more like a lack of supplies and space to store the supplies. But seeing Lora's post about making jam with freshly picked strawberries has me really wanting to make homemade jam. Maybe, just maybe, this will finally be the year I take the plunge.
• A Grandmother's Legacy at Like Merchant Ships. I so admite Meredith's ability to write so simply and yet be so profound. Do not miss her italicized thoughts!

Now I am off to check out some bathing suits online to inspire me to STOP eating these chocolate chip cookies. Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Linkage

Here are a few link-worthy stuff I've come across this week. I realized recently that I rarely share links. I'm on a mission to change that now.

• Have you heard that the original Bloggy Giveaways site is now closed? I was so sad when I heard this news, until I found out that Laura at Heavenly Homemakers has stepped in to fill the void. She is going to be hosting a Spring Giveaway Carnival from April 27 - May 1. Make sure you stop by Laura's blog for all the details. And then get ready for the giveaway fun!
• Ever since starting Cooking During Stolen Moments, I've developed a possibly unhealthy fascination with photographs of food. Taking pictures of food has become my favorite new hobby. Looking at well-photographed pictures of food is a close second for sure. If you enjoy "food porn" as much as I do, check out Foodgawker and Tastespotting. I could seriously spend hours drooling over the pictures and clicking through to all the recipes.
• Isabelle loves to write and she especially loves to write on her blog. When I recently stumbled upon Homeschool Kids Write I was so excited! There is a weekly writing prompt and a Mr. Linky posted for homeschooled kids with blogs. Awesome!!
• Can you seriously grow 100 pounds of potatoes in 4 square feet? According to this article you can. That's something I'll definitely be looking into this summer!
• And one more very important one - have you checked out the Virtual Great American Bake Sale yet? There are so many yummy recipes to be found by clicking the links and the ebook has 170 recipes. All of the money raised through the sale of the ebooks, which can be purchased for any dollar amount of your choice, goes directly to Share Our Strength.
  

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