Intermission...

Please pardon the interruption of your normal programming...

....but today is a CRAZY day!

I assure you that tomorrow it will be quite the finale.  Make sure to check back and see what I have in store!

In the place of a normal post, I leave you with this:



A Real Love Story...

If you are joining me for your first Common Sense Wife post, make sure to read Part I and Part II of my story.  It's pretty awesome (in my humble opinion...haha).

I still remember it vividly, my mom and I were in Washington D.C. on a college visit. 

That was where I learned to always ask for a corner hotel room...they are always bigger!  :-)

We had driven 2 hours outside of the city to check out the prospective school.  Upon arrival, I immediately knew that it wasn't right.  We didn't even get out of the car.  I asked my mom to turn around and take us back to the city.  It was there, at the hotel, that I got the phone call.

He was coming.

I jumped around our corner hotel room like a 13 year old at a backstreet boys concert!  The excitement that I experienced was unlike anything I had ever felt.  This was it.  It was finally happening!!!

Although my mom and I were close, the year had been a tough one for both of us.  She knew about P but we had never really talked about how important he was to me.  She was a little standoffish at the thought of him, a 20 year old Navy Sailor, flying in to take her only daughter to prom.  It seemed odd.  I did my best to share my excitement but knew that screaming,

"I'm going to marry this boy!!!"

might not go over well.  So, I kept my excitement contained to prom.  My parents were troopers because, at 17 years old, they allowed me to explore this relationship.  Well, April came, he flew in, and the connection was IMMEDIATE.  (Keep in mind this was only the second time we'd seen each other since meeting each other at 13 years old.)  I was in heaven. 

We got dressed up, took pictures, and off we drove in my mom's Cadillac (we're cool like that) to my prom.  Honestly, I don't remember a whole lot about prom besides thinking that I wished we would have just gone out to a nice dinner alone and realizing that this boy, the love of my life, could. NOT. dance!!!

Well, the weekend came to an end and it was at the airport that we finally discussed it.  We were officially boyfriend/girlfriend!  That determination was also followed up with something along the lines of, 'and we'll get married in a couple of years.'

Over the course of the next two years, we spent our time flying back and forth between Georgia and California and getting through a 7 month deployment.  Although my parents were not against my relationship, they couldn't quite grasp it.  When asked about it, the only way I could explain our relationship was,

"My entire life I prayed to have a friend who loved me as much as I loved them.  For someone who was just as excited to have me as I was to have them.  He does and we have so much fun.  He's my best friend."

Then, in May 2006, it happened.  On California's beautiful coast, he got down on a knee and asked me to be his wife.  As much as I loved him in that moment, I had no clue that my love would grow exponentially and of the adventure that we were about to embark on...

Organizing Old Shoes - Help?!

Today, I come to you asking for suggestions.  As we all do, I have a pile of kids shoes that are still in great shape but simply don't fit!  I'd like to hold on to them for hand-me-downs but have yet to successfully come up with a good storage plan that I will remember when the time comes.  All of their old clothes are in bins in the attic but I'd prefer not to put the shoes up there...I'll forget they are there.

So Mama's, what do you do?  How do you store them away but still remember them when the time comes to move new little feet into them?

HELP...PUUHLEEAASE!

Let's Talk About Forks...

As you read in my 'When Less is More' post, I am somewhat of a minimalist when it comes to stuff for my kids.  Don't worry, they have enough toys to entertain the world but when it comes to their gear, I keep it to a minimum.

So, when Little P and Little C had finally conquered eating with a fork, I realized that we had a little problem on our hands.  These plastic forks that I had been giving them couldn't pick up ANYTHING!  I hated them!  At the same time, I couldn't just give them a dessert fork because it was too big! 

So the research began...

In my normal fashion, I spent quite a bit of time reading reviews.  (I don't like to spend our hard earned money on trial and error when I could just spend my time researching what other mom's have said.  Weird, maybe.  But it works.)

So, this is what I found!

Gerber Graduates Kiddy Cutlery Forks

For around $8.00 you get 3 forks that are sized to fit their little chubby hands, have rubber gripping, and...dun dun dun dah....CAN POKE THROUGH A PIECE OF STEAK!!!

I am thrilled!  Although the pretty little picture above is of pink/purple forks, you can also buy them in a cool green/blue color combo.  Perfect, 3 forks for Little P and 3 forks for Little C...DONE!

But seriously, as much as I can love forks, I really do love these.  They are the perfect size and they are sharp enough to pick food up but not sharp enough to hurt them.  And in true Jeanne fashion, it's nice to have structure in my silverware drawer when I setting the table.  I get one of each color and we're ready!

So there ya have it folks!  We, well I, talked about forks!  In efforts to make me feel a little less...dorky, comments are encouraged.  :-)

Have a good one!

The Common Sense Dad - Patrick

Today's post is written by an awesome dad of two boys, my brother, Patrick.

Although he is three years older than me, we started our families around the same time.  I have enjoyed walking along side one of my older brothers as we learned what it means to be a parent. 

_________________________________________________________________

I have been in graduate school since my wife and I got married, so when we decided to have children, there were some logistical problems that had to be addressed. It was always our plan that she would stay home full time with the kids, but as you may have guessed, graduate students don’t make very much money so this was simply not possible. While I didn’t make much money, I did have a very flexible schedule. As a result, we managed to come up with a plan for my wife to work 2 days a week while I stayed at home with our son. Since he was a newborn, I was able to get some work done while I was at home with him, and I would work a little extra on the other days to make up for what I missed when I was at home. We were able to continue with this arrangement after our second son was born. In May, I got a fulltime job that allowed my wife to stay home full time and also provided an opportunity for me to finish my degree. My productivity had begun to suffer since the boys were getting bigger, and I was unable to get any work done while I was at home.

When we got married, this was not our plan, and it certainly proved difficult at some points because I was having to work more at other points during the week and we weren’t able to have as much family time as we would have liked. I knew that I had a special opportunity to spend time with my boys that alot of other dads don’t get. Since I took my fulltime job, though, my time with the boys has diminished, and I find that I really miss it. It was special time for just me and them when we’re each in the prime of our day. Now, I see them when I get home from work at night (and occasionally before I leave for work), but it’s not the same - I’m tired, they’re tired and usually off to bed shortly after I arrive. I also see them on the weekends, but the amount of quality time I get with them is less frequent.

I read an article recently (that I can’t seem to locate at the moment) titled “Hang up the Phone and Arrive”. The thesis was basically an elaboration of the title - when we get home from work, our kids are so excited for our arrival, but we can easily kill that excitement if we are still, for all intents and purposes, at work. Thus, for their sake, when we arrive home, we need to be home. The author, as best I recall, didn’t look at it from the dad’s perspective though. We don’t simply need to be home for their sake but for ours as well. Kids can be hard work, but they add so much joy to our lives that can be sapped by work and other obligations. When we have the opportunity, we need to take advantage of the time with our kids and the joy that they bring us - even if it is after a long day of work when we get to bathe them and help them get to bed.

SHOPPING ALERT!

My mom just clued me in to a one day sale tomorrow, November 11th, at Whole Foods!

I was checking prices on free-range, no antibiotics whole chickens the other day and I can tell you that it was a lot more than this!

There is a 10 chicken limit so make plans to get there early!

Happy Saving!

I've Lost It, What Do I Do Now? GIVEAWAY

About 6.5 months ago, I made a goal for myself that I would lose all of my baby weight (33 lbs) by my 5th Wedding Anniversary.



Before-size14

After-Size 6/8

Well, my anniversary is two weeks from today and I have made it!



After having three babies in under three years, I found myself in quite the shlump (yes, I made that word up...isn't it awesome?)  I had gradually gained 33 pounds and I felt like it was far too much weight to even try and lose...it wouldn't happen.  I wasn't happy with how I looked and even more with how I FELT.

So, one day, after feeling sorry for myself and giving every excuse under the sun, I decided to get over myself, join a gym, and figure this out. If I wanted to be the mom that I wanted to be, I needed to be able to climb stairs without huffing and puffing.

After much thought, I got a personal trainer. That was one of the most painful decisions simply because of the cost, but it was the single BEST decision I made. I really lucked out because my trainer, Adam, took the time to acknowledge the stresses in my life but never let me wallow in my own self pity. One day, while complaining about how hard I was working, he simply looked at me and said,

"If you want to lose it, you have to do more."

Point taken.

Adam and I met twice a month at which time he would give me a new workout for the next two weeks. It was awesome to work with someone who believed in me FAR more than I believed in myself. Some weeks, he would give me work outs for the sole purpose of proving to me how much I could do...how cool is that?

This pictures just screams
'LAUREN'! 
Isn't she awesome?

As awesome as it is that I have finally gotten back down to my 'pre-baby' size, my body looks NOTHING like what it used to. That was quite an adjustment. After feeling sorry for myself for a bit, I decided to stand up, be proud of myself, and keep moving. The only problem was that I had no clothes that fit and had spent so many years covering up that I didn't know the current styles.

This is when one of my closest friends, Lauren, from It's Becker Style, jumped in to save me. I had a style board in my e-mail inbox within days. She had scoped out the top 10 things that I needed to buy, explained exactly what I was looking for, and their versatility. She pushed me out of my 'mom-box' and as scary as it was it felt AMAZING. For the first time in years, I felt like more than a mom; I felt like a woman...a proud one at that.  Lauren really helped me to learn how to dress my new curves.  She has this natural understanding of what styles fit what body-types...something that I know NOTHING about.

So, in celebration of my accomplishment, I wanted to share with you this awesome gift!  Lauren has agreed to work with one of my readers to create their own style board!!!  This includes a consultation (phone, skype, e-mail, etc) and a visual board consisting of 10 items recommended specifically for you, based on your expressed needs. Includes tips on how to buy the items and where to look for them.

What's even better???  You have SIX different ways to enter!

How to enter: 

Comment on this post for each entry (make sure to leave your e-mail address if you do not have a blog profile).

1) Become a Follower of It's Becker Style via google connect

2) Follow It's Becker Style on Twitter

3) Follow The Common Sense Mama via google connect

(right side of the page under the live feed)

4) Like The Common Sense Mama on Facebook

5) Follow The Common Sense Mama on Twitter

6) Share this giveaway (facebook, twitter, blog, etc.)  Just use the link!

This Giveaway ends on Sunday November 20th @ noon!  The winner will be announced on Monday!

Good luck and Have Fun!