Gabby Moms

Mother’s Day Monday Facebook Party @ Eternal Encouragement {Gabby Mom’s Review}

May 8th, 2012

by jen.

As part of the Gabby Mom’s program, I wanted to let you know about Lorrie’s second Facebook Party in honor of Mother’s Day!

What: Eternal Encouragement Facebook Party!

Who: YOU!

When: Monday, May 14, 2012

Time: 3-5 PM EST

Where: on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/events/390889424278109/

She was so tickled at how well the last Facebook party went that she is having another AND every attendee will get a free gift! I’m not sure what it is, but I’m sure you’ll love it!

Stay tuned for my next Gabby Mom’s review that comes with a giveaway and I can’t wait to share it with you!!

Hope to see you there!

Disclaimer: This post was written as part of the Gabby Mom’s Reviewer’s Program.

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Just Say No {Gabby Moms}

Feb 17th, 2012

by jen.

5 comments

I thought I had the intentional living thing down as far as my schedule was concerned. I don’t have my 4 year old in any regular activities. The only thing we have scheduled is my Monday mom’s group because it helps keep me sane. We don’t run all over on play dates — there is PLENTY of unstructured free time.

So this month, I decided to undergo a self-imposed no-spend challenge. Between Christmas, our vacation & lack of good record keeping, I wanted to have a better idea of where we were financially. It’s hard to catch up when you are adding to the problem . As a result, we haven’t gone out much. I mean, why bother? I can’t spend anything anyway.

Whilst, and at the same time this started (Muppets anyone?), I got an MP3 of Just Say No as part of the Gabby Mom’s program. Can you say brick? She said something that really struck me. She said that her husband told her to cut one of the co-ops, something she wouldn’t have even thought of being unnecessary. And it really got me thinking.

I realized that I’m not as good about being intentional with my time as I thought. In addition to spending money, I’ve been spending tons of time. Now that I’m not spending my time at a store, the house is clean & neat. As clean and neat as it can be with a one year old, anyway . I don’t yell as much. I guide more. I’ve done homeschool work or fun projects with my daughter almost everyday. I’ve even been to the gym and we are getting rid of the cable AGAIN on Monday.

I seem to have found a natural rhythm to my days. I get up, eat, clean & shower (yes, usually in that order). We eat lunch. Itty bitty goes down for a nap. Lil’ Bit does school. Baby gets up and a little while later they are playing quietly together. I say my Rosary and then get a 10 minute cat nap. Then we read and play together until daddy gets home. It’s truly peaceful.

Do you crave more peace in your day? Check out Eternal Encouragement for resources like “Just Say No.”

Disclaimer: This post was written as part of the Gabby Mom Blogger program. I received a copy of the MP3 recording in exchange for an honest post. As always, all opinions are my own.

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Resolutions 2012 Update & Inspiration

Jan 30th, 2012

by jen.

5 comments

So as you might remember, I had several New Year’s resolutions. All good things and I even broke it down to 3 a month so I didn’t get overwhelmed.

Well, this month my goals were:

Use my hubby’s love languages more.
Say a morning offering every single day.
Set a budget.

I’ve done better in my hubby’s love languages, though I still have room for improvement. I said a morning offering every day even if I didn’t remember until 6pm (ahem). Setting the budget didn’t go quite as well, but I made significant strides toward getting that back under control. Our finances are a confusing mess of transfers between accounts, automatic payments, recurring saving for big ticket expenses (like insurance) and so despite my extreme distaste for Intuit (long story), I bought the newest version of Quicken.

I continue to struggle with wanting to do it all at once — I even signed up for a Titus 2 class that runs for 9 months. I find, though, that since it wasn’t part of my baby steps plan, it kind of sits at the wayside. I need my encouragement in small bite-sized god-puffs. They are kind of like God-Breezes (a la Flylady), except super small and quick. But they stick in my craw.

I get them in various places — random blog posts, tweets, facebook posts, priests sermons, and talks at my mom’s group. One of my favorite inspirations comes from a newsletter I get from Eternal Encouragement. Every week I get something new. One week it was about being the best whatever I’m doing. Right now, I’m being the best blogger I can be. When I’m with my kids, I need to be the best mom. When I’m cooking, I need to be the best cook. Another week, it was about listening to God — I think it made the point about listening for God’s whisper so you don’t get hit with a brick. I’m always getting hit with bricks . And once it was about interruptions and I’m always frustrated with interruptions so that really helped, too. If you are in need of some bite-sized inspiration, visit Eternal Encouragement and sign up for their newsletter.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Disclaimer: This post was written as a part of the Gabby Mom’s review program by Eternal Encouragement magazine.

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Yelling: The Cause, The Casualty, The Cure {Gabby Mom Review}

Nov 21st, 2011

by admin.

3 comments

You would think that wearing skirts and dresses would make me more demure and feminine. Well, I would anyway. And I’d be dead wrong. Dresses do not stop me from losing my temper and yelling at my “exactly-like-her-headstrong-mother” daughter. Did you get all that? And not only are my 3 year old and I throwing estrogen canons all over the house, but my 1 year old has decided to join the fun. YIKES!

Given the increase in the amount of yelling around this house, Lorrie’s e-book Yelling: The Cause, The Casualty, The Cure could not have arrived at a better time. Lorrie is somehow able to sympathize with the reasons that I yell while making me resolve to change. And she can do all that without making me feel like a terrible mom! In addition to pointing out the causes, the discusses the effects of yelling on children and how to beat your trigger points.

Her first cause – child training (or in my house, lack therof) TOTALLY hit home for me. In fact, I didn’t read the rest of it for a little bit to work on that one. Either our 3 year old could do whatever she wanted or I nitpicked her to death. Finally, I decided to get the BIG THREE and address them every. single. time. And it worked much better. Even my husband noted that I nitpick less and our home is more peaceful. And if I give an inch, she takes a whole mile and I have to start all over again. The tips have been great for changing other little things in my disposition, too.

Thank you to Eternal Encouragement for providing a copy of this ebook. This is a trial post — I am in the running for being a Gabby Mom blogger for them. Wish me luck!

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