Settled in at DoodlesPlace.net

If you haven't yet visited me at my new home, http://doodlesplace.net, be sure to stop by. Everything is organized by category, and it's looking pretty good, if I do say so myself!

(And if you're viewing this site in FireFox, I have no idea what's made it so wonky!!!)

Pack It Up – We're MOVING!!!

I've been debating this for a while, but now that I'm working regularly on WordPress with my other blogs and at Blissfully Domestic, I've decided to finally move Doodles' Place to WordPress as well. I just bought DoodlesPlace.net (some squatter wants close to $2,000 for DoodlesPlace.com, and that's slightly out of budget!), and Michael from Uncorrupted.net, my hosting provider, will be helping me make the move sometime soon!

By the way, if you currently host a website anywhere other than with Uncorrupted, I encourage you to consider making a move. Uncorrupted was started by Michael and Brittany Clarke with a vision to use the profits to help starving children around the world rather than pocketing them themselves. And while we currently pay a little more to host with them because they are just a small provider starting out, I heard from a little birdy that costs will be dropping within a month! On top of that, the service is FANTASTIC!

Anyway, back to the move! The thing I love most about Wordpress is that I can reply to comments directly from my email! As I'm sure you know, I'm SOOO bad about replying to comments on the posts – it feels awkward and forced to me. However, I LOVE to connect with new people as well as loyal commenters (JulieB, Megan@Sorta Crunchy, etc.!). I'm really enjoying being able to respond to comments on my other blogs, and I want to be able to do that here too!

I hope you'll make the move with me (you'll have to resubscribe...) when the time comes! I'll keep you updated!

New Years' Resolutions...

So, remember when I told you I sometimes buck expectations just because they're there? I do that in blogging too. I didn't post a look back at 2008 in December or my resolutions for the year on January 1st. Why? Well, there was the fact that December was slightly busy for us. But also, I just don't like doing things just because they're expected!

That said, I did want to tell you about my New Year's resolution, even if it is a couple weeks late. It's not really a resolution, and I didn't really think it up ahead of time. However, it does seem to be my theme right now, so I've decided to call it a resolution and see where it takes me.

This year, I'm trying to be more feminine. I know, kind of a weird resolution.

I'm just not very feminine. I know nothing about fashion, don't particularly like shoes, don't typically wear a lot of jewelry, live in t-shirts and jeans. You know, I'm a typical busy mom.

But femininity isn't something I had and then lost. I've really never been particularly feminine. I was never the type of girl to bring my makeup with me and touch it up halfway through the evening. I basically stick a pair of earrings in my ear and they stay there for months (years?). My only other jewelry that I wear on a regular basis is my wedding/engagement ring set.

So what does this resolution look like? Really, I'm just making little changes, accessorizing a little more, trying to be more conscious about it in general.

::I bought a "Mine for Eternity" stamped necklace with my Christmas money. Stamped necklaces are all the rage right now, and they're the perfect balance of being feminine but not dainty, trendy but not too trendy. I'm still waiting for it to arrive, but I'm so excited!

::I also got myself some new earrings, like these light grey pearl ones, and a set of dangly ones from good ol' Wal-Mart

::I'm trying to wear "cute" outfits more, even just around the house, and maybe put on mascara and some blush more often that just Sundays when we leave the house. I'm trying not to pull my hair back into a ponytail every day.

::Finally, my mom and sis are going shopping with me next Monday to help me get some feminine, nice, professional clothes for the upcoming BlissDom Conference. New clothes aren't required for attendance, obviously, but it seems like a good excuse to give my wardrobe some new life.

This resolution has been a long time in coming, actually. Last December, when I finally got my nose ring after a year of thinking about and wishing for one, I immediately loved it because it made me feel so feminine without having to do anything extra.

I guess that started me down this path, and now I want to do a little more.

What were your New Year's resolutions? How are you doing so far?




Photo source: fd

Oh, Man...

As if that basket of chocolate in the refrigerator wasn't temptation enough, Tastykake's Limited Edition Chocolate Lovers Pie is back.

Oh, man...

Yes, I did have one for breakfast.

No, I don't plan to make that a regular habit.

Yes, my husband has been asked to only bring me 1 a week so I don't turn into a butterball.

No, I don't think I could resist them if he brought me more than that.

(I was trying to find you a picture, but I can't. And, well, mine is all gone.)

Getting Control of the Toys: One Toy In, One Toy Out

Let me start by saying I love toys. I can see the value in many of them, and I have to consciously remind myself that my children don’t need everything just because each has its own benefits, or is so cute, or they’d love it.

However, our toy philosophy is actually pretty minimalist. True to what “they” say, my children play better when they have less to play with. They fight less and use their imaginations more, and clean up is easier for everyone. That said, they have three sets of grandparents and six sets of great-grandparents, so to say they are spoiled is an understatement.

To control the clutter that comes from having too many toys, we have a simple rule, which we practiced even before my friend Bethany gave a name to it. The rule is simple: one toy in, one toy out.

Read more at Organizing Your Way...

The Lost Art of Washing Dishes By Hand

This year we're on a quest to lower our expenses, and one way we're doing that is by doing a lot of little things that we hope will add up to some bigger savings.

I'm not sure why but I don't have a lot of luck with dishwashers. I end up rinsing the dishes until they're almost clean and then having to run them on the heavy cycle anyway in order to have them all come out clean at the end. I recently realized (again!) how absurd this was when I timed my dishwasher as it ran for over two-and-a-half hours, using scalding water to boot.

More at Blissfully Domestic...

Family Bliss is Looking for Contributors!

So, I was bored...

No, not really.

But I am now also the editor of Family Bliss over at Blissfully Domestic, and we're looking for more contributors. I figured where better to start than with you awesome ladies. So, if you're interested (or know someone who is!) in contributing one short article a week at Blissfully Domestic, one of the hottest up-and-coming online magazines, please send an email with a writing sample or two to mandi -at- blissfullydomestic.com.

And :insert shameless plug: if you could take just a minute to pop on over and vote for us at the 2008 Weblog Awards, you will have our many thanks and appreciation. You can actually vote every. single. day!

Wii Fit Mommies

My life is a series of contradictions, the latest of which is characterized by the red basket in my refrigerator, the one that is overflowing with chocolate I received for Christmas from those who know and love me, and "Georgina," the gleaming white Wii Fit board that sits just a few yards away in our family room.

At this point I'm not sure exercising is doing me any good other than to burn off the fat and calories from said basket of chocolate, but I'm still plugging away.

I've also discovered that I may just be the most uncoordinated human being on the planet. Step aerobics, why do you mock me so?

So what brought about this sudden interest in pulling out and dusting off the Wii Fit once again? None other than the Wii Fit Mommies, a group of women dedicated to encouraging and pushing each other to achieve their fitness goals by using the Wii Fit. How fun, right?

Even better. Not only do they blog and have a Twitter account, but they also have a forum for women who are using the Wii Fit to get in shape.

So here's the question of the day: Do you have a Wii Fit? Do you use it?

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

There's a girls' weekend in my future!

It's true – I've made childcare arrangements, bought my conference ticket and I'm booking my plane ticket tonight...I'm going to BlissDom '09!

While I am SO excited to get to attend a bloggers' conference with some of the best women bloggers/speakers imaginable, I'm double-y excited because it means a weekend with Tara from Deal Seeking Mom, one of my best friends who I haven't actually gotten to see in more than two years even if we do talk every. single. day.! Add to that the other great attendees like Amanda from Oh Amanda (who doesn't yet know we were destined to become BFFs – hehe!), and I am SO excited.

Oh, yeah, and 3 days of adult conversation, computers, blogging and swag. Seriously, could there be a more perfect weekend? (Well, if Chrissy was going...)

So if you're a blogger and you're not yet signed up, what are you waiting for? Seriously, everything else aside, you'd get a chance to meet ME! Ha!

Just so you don't think I've forgotten you, some funnies from the last week...

Hi, I'm here. I'm here!!! I've admittedly been distracted this week with the launch of Organizing Your Way (have you visited me there yet? I am very, very proud of it so far!) and my new duties as co-editor of the *Financial* Channel at Blissfully Domestic (yes, we're in the process of expanding our focus to include budgeting, investing and working at home). But I did want to take a few minutes to check in!

My mom told me the other day that she always laughs at how often I exclaim, "She's SO cute!" about my own kids. It's true, though. Some days I can hardly stand their cuteness, and they make all of the throw up, temper tantrums and fighting worth it (which is not to say I wouldn't glad trade those things in for more cuteness instead!).

For example...

The other day, Pumpkin Doodle (4yo) dictated a story to me about a froggy who ate bubbles, inspired by a foam froggy craft kit from her Aunt Kim and Uncle Matt. She showed it to Sean and he read it back to her, and as she was walking away, she told him, "But I still need to illustrate it."

When we took Sweet Doodle to Children's Hospital for her testing, Sean's sister and her boyfriend came and watched the girls. They later told us that while they were playing, Pumpkin Doodle declared, "I'm the queen and *Monkey Doodle's* the king. You guys are our servants." Don't worry, she later upgraded them to prince and princess.

Monkey Doodle is definitely getting closer to her third birthday (in two months!). I don't care what anybody tells you, 2 year olds are a piece of cake, in my opinion. It's when they get to 3 (at least for girls, and in my experience) that things get rough! It's like having a hormonal teenager in the house already! It's a good thing she's cute...

Unfortunately, just to prove that I'm not quite ready for the Mommy of the Year Award (ha!), I cannot think of a single story that translates well into writing. The way she talks is too cute for words (like when she tells us that something "is in the other woom"), but I can't think of a funny anecdote for the life of me, even though I'm sure there have been dozens of them this week. But that's okay, when the nurse asked me how much Sweet Doodle weighed at birth, I never was able to remember...

Speaking of Sweet Doodle (16mo), she is finally showing signs of starting to talk. But even though she has few words, this Baby Girl LOVES to sing. She'll "sing" along with any song she hears, doing her best to pretend she knows the words ("Watermelon, watermelon, watermelon," anyone?) This morning we kept her in church with us because we weren't quite ready to stick her in the nursery and worry the whole service about her getting konked on the head. During worship, she sang, swayed and clapped along. Maybe not a funny, but definitely the cutest thing ever!

She also had her first timeout tonight (ha!). She is quite the pistol and screamed AT Sean when he pulled her down off the picnic table (again, sigh). He sat her in timeout, and because she's seen her sisters sit there so many times before, she just sat there and stopped crying. Sean very quickly said, "Are you ready to get up and be nice now?", to which she immediately replied, "Yah!", hopped up and came toddling over to give him a hug. Maybe that was the cutest thing ever!

I hope you all are having a fantastic New Year so far! Here's to a great year in 2009!