Musing Mommies Podcast Episode 113 Tuesday July 5th, 2011

Do you ever suffer from constipation? I don’t necessarily mean the kind you are thinking – this is not an ad for Activia or anything… This week on the Musing Mommies podcast, the MuMos, Kim and Dawn are talking about getting it out – “it” being a variety of things, from poop to words, and all of the frustrations in between. Listen in as we discuss potty training/learning/frustration and those oh so cool signs from beyond.  And why does Dawn use the term “crack whore” and “5 dollar hooker” in a matter of minutes?? Well, you will just have to fire up the podcast to find out.

Until next time,

~Dawn and Kim

Please share us with your friends! We are on Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, Miro, and on iPods and mp3 players around the world! We want to hear from you too, so contact us today and say HI!
Email: Kim or Dawn (at) musingmommies.com
Voicemail: 213-280-5327

Links|Neutrogena Mascara|Potty Site

Click here to listen to our review ——–>

This is Kim, Shannon and Jen giving the review.  MuMo Dawn was not able to join us.

Enjoy!
~Kim

Musing Mommies Podcast Episode 56 Monday April 19th, 2010

Musing Mommies, if you are anything like MuMos Kim and Dawn, you love hosting parties.  You love the planning and the organization and the cooking.  You love putting it all together and ensuring everyone has a great time, you love seeing everyone eat your creations and make huge messes.  You love not having time to get dressed yourself and not really participating in the party because you have too much to keep up with.  You love never showing up in the pictures because you are that strange blur in the back ground, and most of all, you love all the mess that you have to clean up afterwards.

Wait – you don’t?

Yeah we don’t either. But we do love parties! And this week the Musing Mommies podcast has an interview that you will love! This week we are speaking with Rebecca from The Clubhouse Scene.  Rebecca owns and runs an amazing company that puts the PARTY back in kid’s birthday parties!  Her service comes to you on the big day with all the goods (and we mean everything from tables and chairs and paper products, to decorations, crafts and even the FOOD!) and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the fun!  Just think, you get to TALK to your guests, you get to SEE all the fun things that happen and you get to EAT!!! WOW!

Listen in as Rebecca tells us more about her fabulous Austin based business and how you can easily be on your way to your first stress free kid’s party.(and check out this link to the review of The Clubhouse Scene on Little Austinite)

Until next time,
Kim and DawnTo see more pictures, click on the boxes below, or check out the fabulous Jen Barnes Photo review:

LINKS|Clubhouse Scene|AT Tips|Night Light Stories | Little Austinite Review for CHS

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{Guest Blogger}

Life Coach Susan Liddy, MA, PCC, CPCC

I’ve always said that moms have the toughest job on the planet. Not only do they care for their own children, but they often willingly take on responsibility for their children’s friends, their relatives’ children, and any other child who comes along needing mothering! In Mom’s heart, there is room for everyone and plenty of nurturing to go around… also for a husband or boyfriend, and one day maybe even her own parents.

It’s easy to see how a Mom could put herself last on the priority list… or worse… forget about herself entirely while she looks after everyone else.

Do you remember how you took care of yourself before you had children? What were your dreams? Ambitions? What was your daily routine like? Chances are, you made your needs important… and you allowed yourself free time just for you.

Of course, once you’re a mom, it’s no longer easy to fit in that workout, let alone make time for daydreams and other simple pleasures that you once took for granted. These days, you’re busy planning your day carefully, trying to fit it all in before time runs out.  A busy mom quickly learns to go with the flow in her tumultuous life. School meetings and appointments are often rescheduled; kids fall sick unexpectedly; soccer games get rained out and friends break plans. Not to mention, the unexpected surprise of a forgotten overdue bill that needs attention, a car breakdown, or any number of inconveniences that can wreak havoc on your day!

Despite all this… you must remember one thing. YOU are still just as important as you ever were. In fact, let me rephrase that. YOU are even MORE important than you ever were. So, Mom, please don’t forget, in the midst of caring for everyone else, that it is critical that you make time to take care of YOU!

Ways to care for yourself:

Plan out your schedule a day or two in advance so you can fit yourself in there somewhere. Develop a routine that you can stick to during “off hours” when things are the least hectic. For example, maybe you designate Sunday as shopping and cooking day. This way, you can prepare nutritious meals for your family in advance, then freeze single servings that they can heat and eat as needed. This will free up so much dinner making time Monday through Saturday, which will make your life a whole lot easier.

Have backup babysitters available. Wouldn’t it be great to know that there’s a stay-at-home mom in your neighborhood who has room to watch more child on a day when you really need it? Or how about having the freedom to take a Saturday night off while the kids stay at home in the care of a local teen or senior? Interview your sitters in advance and get referrals. If you can’t afford babysitting, do kid swaps with other parents.

Have once a week date night with your S.O…. and make it something special. Just because you’ve been married many years or had yourself a bunch of kids doesn’t make you any less deserving of a night out alone with the one you love. Go out to a nice restaurant, catch a movie, meet up with friends or have them take you out dancing. Wear that new skirt you bought and don’t forget the lipstick. Having a social life and a little romance now and then will keep a spring in your step and a sparkle in your eye. Mom needs that every once in a while!

Schedule group play dates for your children and other moms. As the kids socialize, so can you. This is also a great way to make new friends if you’re new to the neighborhood or just haven’t had the time to meet people. Seek out child-friendly places to take your kids, that you’ll also enjoy. If you have preschoolers, get everyone together for lunch at the local park where the little ones can swing and slide while you chitchat.

Take a day off! Even Mom needs to recharge her batteries every once in a while. If your children are in school, maybe instead of spending the day working, cleaning and paying bills, you can play hooky from your responsibilities for a spell. Hit the beach, spend the afternoon window shopping, meet an old friend for lunch or take in a local museum or other culture.

Finally, consider that you are a role model for your children. How you take care of yourself reflects not only on how they will treat themselves when they become adults, but also how much effort they’ll expect their own wives or husbands to put into self care. You want your kids to grow up feeling fulfilled and happy as adults, yes? Taking care of you is NOT selfish; it’s actually a gift to yourself and others. After all… the more you put in, the more you’ll get out in the way of a happy and fulfilled life.

About the Author:

Life Coach Susan Liddy, MA, PCC, CPCC is the founder and CEO of AspireLifeCoaching.org, a life coaching company on a mission to empower women globally. Susan is the author of the “Secrets to Ultimate Living; What you wish you knew when you were 20!” and an active contributor to many blogs, including her own blog, SecretsToUltimateLiving.com.

Click here to get FREE access to Life Coach Susan’s Passages to Empowerment Video Series: Passages to Empowerment Video Series

(We are helping to promote Susan’s programs. In gratitude, Susan pays us a commission for any referrals who sign up.)

It’s February 1st, January is G.O.N.E. Do you feel more organized? No, me neither. But I feel like I’ve had a good start. Keeping it fresh in my mind is giving me steam to keep going. I know it’s a work in progress because it is such a big project. I know I can do it and I’m sure you can too.
Have you been enjoying the Facebook page daily tasks? Are they helping at all? What can we do to improve on them?

I have another question for you, are you ready? Ok here:
What can the Musing Mommies do to make your life better (that is within our power and within reason)?
What do you need from us?
What would you like for us to talk about?
Is there someone you’d like us to interview?
Do you want to be on the show?
Ok, so that was more than one question, but I’m on a roll
Tell us what you think. We love and need your feedback to make our podcast and website a better thing. Help us out please and give us your thoughts.

We love you and are so grateful for you, our fans.
~Kim

I just have to share this blog post that I came across. It’s GREAT for us moms that actually text (poking Dawn).  I think you all will get a kick out of it.

I found this on the Hip Moms Who Work blog.

Seems like everything under the sun has a text shorthand equivalent (just checkout netlingo.com) but no one has come up with text shorthand for Moms. WTF?! We deserve our own secret language!

I’ve taken the liberty of starting a list of shorthand we can use when we text one another. Of course, I based this on the most commonly used phrases in the current Mom lexicon.

MKRDMN – My Kids Are Driving Me Nuts
OMGMKRDMFN – Oh My God My Kids Are Driving Me F***ing Nuts
MHIDMN – My Husband Is Driving Me Nuts
OMGMHIDMFN – Oh My God My Husband Is Driving Me F***ing Nuts
MNC – Mommy Needs Coffee
MNW – Mommy Needs Wine
MNM – Mommy Needs Margaritas
MNV – Mommy Needs Vodka
ITHNNIHH- I Told Him Not Now I Have A Headache
CTMA – Calgon Take Me Away
WHIJCTPU – What Happened I Just Cleaned This Place Up
MNANO – Mommy Needs A Night Out
IIHTGTASGIWLMS – If I Have To Go To Another Soccer Game I Will Lose My S***
GTT – Going To Target
GTC – Going To Costco
GGS – Going Grocery Shopping
HNTGAV – Husband Needs To Get A Vasectomy
LCKMA – Laundry Can Kiss My Ass
GMOH – Get Me Outta Here
GMFOH – Get Me the F*** Outta Here
LGAT&L – Let’s Go All Thelma & Louise
WRWGFDBINMA – Where Are We Going For Dinner Because I’m Not Making Any
MBRSSTFOOMBWIBO – My Boobs Are So Saggy They Fall Out Of My Bra When I Bend Over
WYPSP# – What’s Your Plastic Surgeon’s Phone Number
IHSMLIAW – I Haven’t Shaved My Legs In A Week
IHSYT – I Haven’t Showered Yet Today
IHBMTYT – I Haven’t Brushed My Teeth Yet Today
INAM/P – I Need A Mani/Pedi
IHNTW – I Have Nothing To Wear
INTGOM – I Need To Get Out More
INTGAB – I Need To Get A Babysitter
IGCYWC – I’m Going Crazy You Wanna Come
WYSP# – What’s Your Shrink’s Phone Number

So if you have any more to add to this please leave a comment and let us know!

~Kim

Because I personally love browsing blogs I thought I’d re post something I read on ProBlogger. Please read and don’t leave us all hangin after the Turkey day break:

Yesterday was my first day back at blogging after a 10 day vacation with my family and on Twitter I commented that I was finding it a little hard to get my brain back into blogging mode. @Mikeachim responded by suggesting I write a post on the daily rituals that I use to get my mind into gear.

I thought I’d take his suggestion and jot down a few notes – both as a way of getting my head back into blogging but also because looking at the tweets I received this morning it’s a problem many bloggers face.

As my head is a little scattered today (as I readjust) I’m going to tackle this as a list post – here’s a few thoughts:

1. Coffee

2 lattes with a sugar in each is a fairly essential part of my blogging routine.

2. Cafes

More important than the fact that I get caffeine into my bloodstream each morning is the fact that I do it in one of 2-3 local cafes each day. I find getting out of the house (I usually walk to them so get a 10 minute walk in too) helps me to snap myself out of ‘home mode’ and into ‘working/blogging mode’. I also find that blogging in public is stimulating too – sitting in the middle of a cafe is noisy and some might find it distracting but for me I find it actually helps me generate ideas and takes me into a slightly more social space than sitting alone at home in my front room.

You can read the rest of the article HERE!

Enjoy
~Kim

The other night I invited some of “the girls” over, including MuMo Dawn, to watch the newly released “The Haunted Airman”. Since Robert Pattinson won most of our hearts with his Edward portrayal in Twilight the movie, it’s the least we can do to watch his other movies. Right?

This movie is not what I would consider a good movie.  I’m sorry RPattz.  But I will say that I think he is really a good actor.  Just because the story line wasn’t the best doesn’t mean that RP didn’t shine.

This is a movie about a wounded war vet that is haunted by his dreams. He often sees things that aren’t actually there.  His girlfriend isn’t what we think she is.  His Doc is a bit creepy to say the least and the other patients, we’ll they seem fairly CRAZY.

In short, this movie isn’t very good, but if you need an younger RP fix, rent it, turn the sound down and gaze the screen when RP is on.

~Kim

Ok, I am going to chime in here. I agree with MuMo Kim about the movie – blech.  The only way it was remotely enjoyable was because the gals were there too laughing and making funny comments.   And as for RP, well I am so very sorry but from what I have seen of him so far I am not entirely sure he’s that great of an actor.  Maybe he will get better with experience, but in this performance, well, honestly, he was Edward.  It was the same character! And maybe that had a lot to do with the story line, but take out the constant cigarette smoking and the accent in this film and I half expected Bella to walk in the door at any moment.

JMO. Sorry Kim.

~Dawn

Musing Mommies Podcast Episode 16, July 6 2009

We all know that whether you stay at home, work at home or work out of the home, being a mom is a full time job!  You are on 24/7/365 – is there time for anything else?

Yes, there is!  This week on Musing Mommies, Dawn and Kim are exploring the world of “Mompreneures“, moms who start their own local businesses, share their skills and make their community a better, brighter, more informed place.

MuMos Kim and Dawn invite a special guest to our “studio” (Kim’s kitchen table!) for an interview.  Julia from Little Austinite talks with us about how she started her site and how it is helping her community.

Listen in and let Julia and the MuMos give you the tools to start your own online, local business!

Until next time,
Kim and Dawn

We just wanted to pass on this little gem to our listeners!

Coupons Here!

Disney-Pixar’s Movie UP! What a cute movie for me.  I’m surprised at all of the different emotions this movie brought out in me. The only thing I can say that I didn’t enjoy was the dreams my kids had because of it.  Dogs chasing kids isn’t my idea of a good movie. The graphics of course were great.  The actors voices also great.  Cute premise, but it seems a little too grown up for my kiddos.  So I’d have to give this one a 3.5 out of 5 only because I don’t think it’s kid sensitive enough.

Yeah I would have to agree with most of what you said Kim.  Of course, being a Disney/Pixar film, it was a feast for the eyes!  The voicing was awesome and the story pretty cute too.  However, I really think a lot of the movie was lost on the preschool set.  And, as Kim said, the dogs were kind of scary – I was actually surprised that my wee one didn’t have nightmares from it. I think the majority of the “funny” parts were so directed at the adult viewers that the kids didn’t get it.   But, overall a cute flick that will surely entertain the kids if mom and dad need a break. I’d wait for it to come out on video though. But if you are a cryer like I am, you might want to watch it alone first.  I did tear up a few times, and that was even with the distraction of my squirmy 1 year old!
~Dawn

My husband brought to light a few things about organization and I wanted to share it with you. Here is what he had to say:

Getting Things Done (GTD), the famous book by David Allen, has some really good ideas about organization. It is a bit of a business book, but many of the ideas translate over into mommyhood. One of the key principles in GTD is that you need a system in which to write down all
the things that you need to do. You must trust the system to hold this information, so that you don’t have to hold it in your head, which creates worries about dropping the ball.

When you are playing with the kids or relaxing, you don’t need to be thinking about all the things you need to get done. You just need to be enjoying the moment, trusting that your handy dandy system knows what needs to be done. This means you need to write down a task list. Each task needs to include the very next action required in order to move forward toward completing the task. This allows you to break tasks down into actionable components.

For example: Task: plan birthday party, Next action: ask daughter what theme she wants. This allows you to take baby steps toward completing tasks. You make progress and get a sense of accomplishment without having to worry about forgetting a task.

The real key here is to WRITE THINGS DOWN. If you try to remember everything, you are guaranteed to forget something. Put your mind at rest. There are tons of task lists and note taking programs out there. You may want to look at evernote.com, which has a free note taking application which keeps your desktop (mac or PC), internet tasklist, and iphone all in sync. Microsoft OneNote is also a great choice. Microsoft Outlook is an extremely popular tool for tasks too. Find something that works for you and start making lists. Remember you have to trust your system in order to put your mind at rest.

To purchase this book just click on the photo above!

Thanks Eric for this awesome info.

~Kim