Meeting Mr. Wrong Never Felt So Right!

Pardon the pun in the title, but I just couldn't help myself! I'm always looking for a fun read and Meeting Mr. Wrong: The Romantic Misadventures of a Southern Belle did not disappoint. This hilarious read is written by fellow Mom Blogger, Stephanie Snowe, who blogs over at Jason. For the Love of God . . .. With unchecked candor, Stephanie takes us on her journey through the world of internet dating. And not one to engage in false advertising, here is how Stephanie describes herself to her prospective cyber suitors:

Don't email me if you want a supermodel. I'm twenty-two, divorced, and I have twins. I'm also overweight, unattractive, and have no education to speak of. I'm pretty much not going to bring anything to the table except the fact that I'm pretty nice and won't ask you to pay my bills. Here's my email address. Don't email if you're full of it.

So if you're looking for a summer read, this is the book for you! It will have you laughing out loud and grateful you've already met your knight in shining armor!

Book courtesy of MotherTalk.com.

Ways to Make Cooking Dinner Fun Instead of a Chore

I'm the primary cook in our family. (For those of you who knew me when all I could make was macaroni and cheese out of a box, yes . . . I've come a long way!) But now that I've been cooking dinner for years, the novelty has worn off and it just feels like another chore on my never ending to do list. But since there's no way to stop making dinner (we can only eat take out so many nights in a row), I'm looking for new recipes and ways to make cooking dinner fun.

Luckily, I've discovered MakingLifeBetter.com, a website that not only has great recipes, but tips to make dinnertime fun again! Tips like making a baked potato bar with a bunch of great toppings or having an indoor picnic in your family room with homemade sandwiches.

And if you're like me, and could still use a little help figuring out how to make certain meals, this website also has Cooking Coach Videos on their Making Life Better YouTube channel!

So instead of dreading dinnertime, go to MakingLifeBetter.com and make cooking dinner fun instead of a chore!

Mamapedia Has Answers for Moms

I know as the mother of four girls that lots of parenting issues come up throughout the years. And while I like to ask my friends and parents for their advice about certain situations, sometimes I need to look elsewhere for answers.

But where?

Sometimes I look in books, other times articles on the internet, forums and blogs. But now there's one place I can look to find the parenting answers I'm looking for. This new site is called Mamapedia and it is a virtual encyclopedia of Mothers' wisdom. And like any good encyclopedia, Mamapedia has answers to all sorts of questions including what to do when your daughter has her first crush to what to look for in a good summer camp.

Where do these empathetic and insightful answers come from?

From experienced moms like you all around the country!

So if your best friend or neighbor next door don't have the answer to your parenting question, tap into the wealth of knowledge of the millions of women who contribute to Mamapedia. You'll not only get the answers you need, but feel a sense of belonging in the vast and diverse community that is motherhood.

House Cleaners are Cheaper Than Marriage Counselors

When my hubby and I were first married, we cleaned the house together. While I can't say that we whistled while we worked, we did work well together. In retrospect, I chalk it up to the honeymoon phase. He did the tasks I didn't like (dumping the trash and cleaning the kitchen) and I did the tasks he didn't like (dusting, sweeping and vacuuming.) Unfortunately though, neither one of us liked cleaning the bathroom. Shocking, I know. So who cleaned the bathroom you ask? Neither of us, except of course when house guests were coming. Then we dashed around like crazy people wiping toothpaste off the sink and hair off the floor. Even then, we both avoided the toilet. Our last minute efforts to appear to be responsible adults who kept a clean house, left us panting and sweating by the time the doorbell rang.

Since our house guests were few and far between, we couldn't rely on the occasional surface cleaning. Well, I guess we could've, but we had just graduated from the days of having to wear shoes in the shower and didn't want to regress. So we decided to take turns cleaning the bathroom. Clever, I know.

This worked well, for about a month. Then it got ugly. The honeymoon phase was over.

"It's your turn to clean the bathroom."

"No, it's not. I cleaned it last time."

"Wiping the sink with your dirty socks doesn't count as cleaning."

"Spraying the toilet with air freshener doesn't count either."

Touché.

Then we made a decision that would impact the success of our marriage. We decided to hire a house cleaner. Expensive, I know. But at that point in our marriage, we had ample disposable income so it was an easy decision. We reveled in our solution and did the happy dance. :)

Years later when I stopped working and the money was tight, we discussed areas we could cut back on. Gym membership . . .dining out . . .travel. Neither one of us even brought up the house cleaner. We decided we'd give up cable TV first.

While our solution won't work for everyone, especially if money is tight, it works for us because we decided long ago that house cleaners are cheaper than marriage counselors.