Featured Mom Bloggers

Yay It finally happened! "The Best Mom Blogs" article from WonderDads was published today! The wonderful Obviously Marvelous and I are both on there! This is just about the best thing I've seen or heard all week! So please everybody, spread the blog love so that others can come check us out.

And a HUGE CONGRATS to all the wonderful, marvelous, stunning Mommy Bloggers who are featured!

Seriously?! Thursday

I had planned to link up with From Mrs. to Mama for Seriously Thursday but I don't think she's put her post up yet. So I'm going to start without her today.

Seriously...There is so much stress and drama going on in my life right now that I feel like just curling up in a little ball and crying. Either that or running far far away.

Seriously...Neighbors who have their bad tempered grown child and that grown child's trashy girlfriend come to their house full well knowing that every time they do, they beat the shit out of you and your teenage, minor children Seriously piss me off!!! Next time, don't come knocking on my door crying hysterically. My kids don't need to see that shit.

Seriously...I have so many thoughts racing around in my head yet I can't seem to form a single coherent thought!

Seriously...My house is completely trashed and I can't make myself give a shit.

Seriously...Thinking about moving out of state again. So tired of all the b.s. I know that you can't move away from your problems but I'm a little more than half tempted to try it anyways.

Seriously...I don't have one positive thing to say today. Sorry everybody, thanks for letting me bitch and vent.

Pirates Pendant Vibrator Product Review (18+)

So last night I wake up in the middle of the night feeling a little frisky. Honestly, I didn't feel like going through the trouble of waking up the hubby, worrying about his pleasure too, and ultimately getting all sweaty. Frankly, I just wanted the release of getting off. Don't look so shocked, I know you've felt that way too at some point.

Well last week I received my newest product to review from my favorite naughty online store, Good Vibrations. So I snuck  over to my little treasure chest of goodies and got out the Pirates Pendant Vibrator. And I have to say, who needs Johnny Depp to shiver your timbers when you've got this little vibrator!

It was quiet enough to not wake my slumbering hubby who was right next to me, although I'm surprised the noises I was making didn't disturb him. It has two speeds plus two or three (I lost count) delightfully delicious pulsating speeds that are sure to send you over the cliffs to ecstasy.

And if naughty fashion appeals to you, then you definitely need this little treasure. It comes in your choice of black or copper. I chose the copper myself. This is definitely an assesory every woman should have in her goody bag of toys.

Second Chances

I've been giving a lot of thought lately to second chances. Everybody deserves one and at one time or another, we all need one. Sometimes third and fourth chances too. It's come to my attention though that some people seem to think that they are above giving credit to those deserving people who have turned their life around.

The amazing person That I have in mind today is my brother-in-law. We'll call him S.

S used to be a first class party boy. Drinking and fighting were the norm for him. He even did three years in prison because of all the "fun" times he had.

He has four kids. B, D, J, and G. And he has three Baby Mamas. (Damn!) S didn't even know about B until she was 3 or 4 years old. That's 1 baby mama. D is from another baby mama, and J and G share a mama. He hasn't had the chance to be around B and D as much as he would like because of the life he used to lead.

But to see S now is like looking at a different person. The third baby mama (of J and G) isn't a very good person. She's all about drinking and drugs. Which is why S just won custody of J and G. He hasn't drank in four years, and hasn't been in any trouble with the law in 7 or 8 years. With all of those things together, I'm more than impressed and proud of him.

Yet certain people, like his first two baby mamas and a few family members, still want to look down their noses at him. He pays his child support for the older kids, even though he's out of work due to medical problems. He just had a stroke and seizures a couple weeks ago which makes working hard for him right now. Yet he still does every thing he can for his kids. But do these "perfect" people acknowledge these changes or the good things he does? Nope.

So to these people I say, one day you will need a second chance too. Remember that.

Bonding Over Beauty Book Review

I just read the most amazing book! It's called Bonding over Beauty. "A Mother-Daughter beauty guide to foster self-esteem, confidence, and trust." It's written by Erika Katz who since the age of 3 months old has lived her life in front of the camera, appearing on the cover of Babytalk magazine and appearing in numerous commercials as well as films. But most importantly, she's a mom too.

Bonding over Beauty covers so many topics that are difficult for both mothers and daughters to cope with. And she does it in a way that not only lets us inform our daughters but gives us the tools and the opportunity to become closer to them. Erika covers how to bond over

• Hair
• Caring for skin
• Makeup & Brows
• Hands & Feet
• Getting rid of unwanted hair
• Puberty & Hygiene
• Nutrition & Fitness
• Aromatherapy
• Getting her ready to be away from home 

At the end of each chapter there are simple and fun activities for you to do together No matter how old your daughter is, or any other special young lady in your life, this book is a must read. Not only is it informative on ways to help your daughter through these womanly rights of passage but there's plenty of tips in there that can be useful to us moms too. I can't wait to go shopping with my daughter so that we can try out some of these bonding activities. Go grab yourself a copy of Bonding over Beauty and get ready to pamper your daughter while opening up the lines for some great conversations!

Bad Girls Bloggers Friday Hop

Today I'm linking up with Bad Girl Bloggers 

First off, here's the super secret code...

Better Late than Pregnant

 And I gotta give some love to this weeks Featured Bad Girl Esme. She has a Carrie Bradshaw type writing style that I love! You should head over and check her out.   Now I thought maybe I'd share a little bit of my Bad Girl side. (Any family members of mine who may be reading this, stop reading now! lol)  One day when Hunter was only a few months old and Jordyn was 4 I think, me, hubby and the kids were walking down the bike path where we lived. Jordyn was walking way ahead of us and the hubby was pushing the stroller. I was feeling a little frisky so I reached over and started "rubbibg" on my hubby. It didn't take long to get my point across. We told Jordyn to sit down on the bench up ahead of us, I used the stroller to block her view, while I knelt in front on hubby on my knees, giving him an, if I do say so myself, pretty amazing blow job right there in the middle of the bike path. He was blown away! No pun intended. lol. I still can't believe that I did that and he still talks about that day with a huge grin on his face.

Seriously Thursday?!

Seriously...I've missed the last couple weeks of linking up for Seriously?! Thursday with From Mrs. to Mama. My computer was messed up and being fixed the first week and the second week my hubby was being a computer hog. Which he also spent most of today being as well. But shh, don't tell him I said that!

Seriously...With the heat index it's been like 110 degrees this week! Our a/c is on 66 and we have 3 fans on yet we're still roasting. I have sweat pouring from very unflattering places!

Seriously...I don't know if you read the post I did yesterday but Hunter has been off the charts lately!!! He's constantly throwing or kicking toys, talking back, not listening, asking Daddy for something when he knows I already told him no. I'm trying to be understanding because it's so hot and I know we all feel yucky, but I'm pretty much at the end of my rope.

Seriously...My BFF was out of town with her family for exactly 9 days, but on the 6th day I was talking to my neighbor saying how they had been gone for like 2 weeks, until she said "Echo, it's only been 6 days!" It felt like FOREVER that they were gone! They've been back for 3 or 4 days I think and we still have barely gotten to visit. I'm going through some Serious friend withdrawals!!!

Seriously...We're finally going to be able to move to a bigger place soon. Hopefully next week if my hubby will get his butt in gear. I'm so friggin' excited. My hubby and I haven't had a bedroom of our own in years! I can't wait!!!!!

Seriously...Have an amazing weekend everybody!!!!!

Monday Me Hop

Sorry I'm so late linking up today. My hubby has been hogging the computer all day long. So, on Monday Cinnamon posted our weekly questions for us to ponder and post on, and now the time has come to bare our souls.

I picked the first question.

In all honesty, I wish that I could teach young girls to be the confident, beautiful creatures that God intended them to be. Way too often in our society girls suffer from poor self-esteem. Every where you look, tv, magazines, even toys, all the females are proportioned in a way that few "real" people can ever really achieve. We make our little girls think that they have to look perfectly flawless to be happy and desirable. I would love to teach these impressionable precious girls that they are perfect just the way they are. That people come in all shapes and sizes and that's what makes us all interesting and unique. That they should concentrate more on the inside. On being kind to others and having morals.

Actually, this reminds me of a paper I wrote for my English class and that I also posted when I first began blogging. You can read it here if you'd like.

Little boys are a totally different speices!!!

I do not understand my 3 year old son. He does things that just completely confuse me. I'm sitting on the couch doing bloggy type stuff, my hubby is relaxing in the recliner watching tv, and Hunter has his toys spread out on the floor where he is throwing his cars. I'm starring at him wondering what in the world the point of this is. Hubby looks at him and asked him if he was blowing them up. Hunter says "yep". Only another male would be able to guess that!


All Hunter talks about is shooting bad guys or bad animals, beating up monsters, or peeing and pooping on something. As a girl, my thoughts are ewww gross! But not my hubby. He laughs and encourages this kind of talk.


The other day Hunter was standing next to the recliner where his Dad was sitting, my brother-in-law and I were sitting on the couch. We're just all talking and visiting, when out of no where Hunter says "Daddy, I'm playing with my peanut!" I think you can guess what his 'peanut" is. I'm horrified but the men are just laughing like they are so proud of his discovery.


Little boys and grown men are truly a different species. And they make me so glad that I'm a girl. Who would want to be one of these icky creatures!

Guest Post

Today I'm featuring the most special guest post ever! My 7 year old daughter Jordyn and my 9 year old niece Alexis. So everybody please give them a warm welcome! And I'm sure they would love to get some comments. 

Well, a video of my special guests was suposed to be here but after waiting 2 hours for it to upload, I gave up. Sorry everybody. I hope you still enjoy their writing though.

And just in case you can't understand them very well, plus for your reading pleasure, here are their typed stories, in their very own words and spelling.

Pinses for a day

By Jordyn

"If I was a pinses for one hol day I would wish to meat a prins, and go to a ball with him. The dans we will do is the Tago. The prines I want is dairik. I hope the pris kisses me when we are doing the tago. We will live in a casol but still be avol to get out of the casol too. I hope we get maired. That is what I want to do as a pinses for one hol day. I hope you love my story."

When I grow up

By Alexis

"When I grow up I am going to be a DNA Scienetest. I want a aqua blue sports car. I will have a faimily with 2 kids (1 boy, 1 girl) and a big house. The hours I would work is 5:30-9:30. The names of the kids would be Lola + Max. I will have a tea cup yorcie."

Advice for Parents
By Alexis

1. Healthy things are good but spieage is gross so dont make kids eat spieage.
2. Kids need privatcy so give kids privatcy.
3. If you dont knw who did it, punish all.
4. Be fair.
5. If kid talks back hit mouth not butt. (I don't agree with this one)
6. If boy is bad, its thier natcer.

Just hand over the Xanax and I won't put you up for adoption!

Mother's Little Helper   
The Rolling Stones
(Jagger/Richards)

What a drag it is getting old
"Kids are different today"
I hear ev'ry mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill
There's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old

Does this give you an idea of what the last few days at my house have been like? Mostly because of my three year old. He has been a complete holy terror lately. If I didn't love him so much I would have to strangle him. Figuratively speaking of course. Just about every time either me or my hubby says something to Hunter or tells him to do something the answering scream is ear piercing. A simple request like please take that toy to your room is followed by his refusal. We ask again. He whines that he doesn't want to. The request is made in a slightly louder voice. His answer? He drops to the floor crying that we've hurt his heart. This is about the time that after doing this same routine all day long, I tell him if he doesn't go put his toy away I might just hurt his butt instead of his heart! I don't know if this is a phase or what but he better get over it soon. Xanax take me away!!!

A little bit of Randomness

First off, please forgive the delay to the 2 people who were interested in the Complete Without Kids Book Giveaway. My computer was acting up so had to be sent away to be fixed. I didn't get it back till late last night and hubby was breathing down my neck to use it too. So, the lucky winner is...drum roll please....

My Journey With Candida 

Yay! Congrats you just won a wonderful book. Send me an email (MissEcho83@yahoo.com) with your info and I'll get the book sent out to you.

Now, back to my computer issues. How in the world does anybody live without one!? I didn't have it for about a day and a half, and I thought I was going to lose my mind! Oh wait, I think I already lost that. Anyways, it was sheer torment. I kept thinking about all the blog posts I was missing and all the emails piling up. And my poor farmville on facebook, all of my crops withered! I think I need a computer-holics anonymous or something. Would it be defeating the purpose to start one online? lol

Plus the only way to fix this stupid thing was to reset everything on it. So all the pictures and music and stuff in my favorite, all gone! I know that's just horrible isn't it!? And the reason my precious computer was acting up? My hubby. He was messing with some sites to download movies and we ended up with like 100 viruses or something! He should be hanging his head in shame but he's not, he's just shameless.

Why is it that while I was laying in bed last night trying to fall asleep, all I could think about were things to say in my post today, but now that I'm sitting here typing I can't seem to remember what I had wanted to say. I will tell you this though, I had some really good ideas.

Speaking of sleep, has anybody ever just out of the blue had a really strange dream about an old flame? That happened to me last night. It's somebody who I'm still friends with but we haven't even talked in a while. And it wasn't all mushy or sexual either. Well ok, maybe a little bit, but not all of it. I don't know how to explain it. It was like something out of a movie or a book or something. I don't remember it all well enough to tell you about it but I do remember there was a bad guy of some sort so we were running and hiding from him or it. Well, this is one post I definitely won't be posting on facebook. I don't think the hubby would take too kindly to this one. So shhh, don't tell.

NOW I‘VE HEARD IT ALL. You have to see this...HeardonthePlayground.com

NOW I‘VE HEARD IT ALL. You have to see this...HeardonthePlayground.com

Monday Me Hop

My computer will be out tomorrow hopefully getting fixed. I feel like I'm losing one of my kids for the day! So I'm typing this on Tuesday night and I'm going to try to set this so that it post on Thursday in time for Cinnamon's Monday Me Hop. I just can't stand the thought that I might miss linking up this week.  So which question did I pick this time? 

 

The hardest question I have ever had to answer is whether or not I was the person best suited to raise Jordyn. I was 19 when I got pregnant, 20 when I had her and 21 when I had to answer this question. Her dad, who is now my hubby, and I met when I was 19. We moved very quickly and within weeks I was pregnant with her. We didn't exactly have a stable relationship. There was never any violence, drugs or alcohol involved, just lots of arguing and tears. We moved from place to place constantly, staying with friends and in cheap motel rooms. I was always a nervous wreck.

Things improved a little bit in some ways when she was born but got harder in other ways. We stayed about a month with my in-laws, the hubby got a job, and we moved into our own one bedroom apartment. Those were all the good things. The bad part was that winter came fast so his time doing landscaping didn't last long. And Jordyn herself...all she ever did was scream! There was hardly ever a time when she was happy. She also refused to sleep most of the time. Which meant that I was always in tears still. Plus the hubby and I still didn't get along very well. We still argued quite a bit.

Jordyn was seven months old when we were getting evicted. My family stepped in and the baby and I went to live with my aunt and her family. In those seven months of my daughter's life, we never really bonded. I was too stressed and she was too difficult. It's not right, and it wasn't a fair way to bring a child into the world, but it's the way things happened.

Again, my family stepped in and my aunt and her husband were going to adopted Jordyn. Actually, that's how she got her name. Are you confused yet? When she was born her name was Kearstyn Skye. Honestly, I hated that name. It was one of the things her Dad and I argued about.

Well, we both still lived with my aunt during the adoption proceedings. When I wasn't at work I was still caring for her except we were now referring to my aunt as Jordyn's Mommy. That about tore my heart out. My aunt also hated the name Kearstyn so as part of the adoption, they changed her name to Jordyn Nicole. Which was actually a name I loved when I was pregnant but her Dad wouldn't agree to. Jordyn took to the name instantly, like it had always been her name.

By this time it was just past her first birthday. I was busting my butt working and had a much better relationship with Jordyn. My aunt and I both admitted to each other about changing our minds about the adoption, so before it was final, we had it all reversed. But by this time she already knew her new name so I legally changed it and I gave her my last name.

A couple years down the road, her father and I got back together and got married. But that time period when all of this was happening were not good ones. The hubby and I still get into arguments about the adoption and name change. But honestly neither one of us were fit to take care of her then and I thought she deserved a chance at a better life.

So now you know my deep dark secret and the most difficult question I've ever had to answer. And in case you're wondering, no, Jordyn doesn't know about all of this. Maybe when she's older but definitely not right now.

Potty Success!

I'm proud to announce that Hunter has joined the club as a full fledged little man. He now pees standing up! I'll wait while you finish cheering. And he's not even peeing on Daddy's Car anymore, he's actually going on the big potty.

About two days ago he said he had to potty so  followed him into the bathroom and found him getting out his footstool and announcing very proudly "I want to pee like this!" So he took off his undies and climbed on up there. The first shot hit the back of the toilet, the seat of the toilet, and ran down his leg. He did get a little in the potty though.

I made a big deal out of him being a big boy and now each time he goes potty he makes a little less of a mess. Other than night time he hasn't worn a diaper in three days and hasn't had any accidents. Overnight he went from the child I didn't even think was going to be fully potty trained to being a complete potty success!

The unfairness of men and sleep

I would rather wake a teething, feverish, sleeping baby or even a hungry, hibernating bear, than wake my husband up. I have kids who get me up in the middle of the night and husband who watches t.v. way too loudly while I'm trying to sleep late at night. But unless I'm deathly sick, and a lot of times not even then, I don't get to take naps during the day. Do I get any sympathy? Nope. I'm told that's my job. To be a sleep deprived maid. Do I complain? Well, sometimes yes I do, but dammit I deserve to!

Now when my hubby is sleeping, whether it's at night or the middle of the day, may God help anybody who dares to even breath in his direction and wake him up! He will bitch, moan, complain and in general run his mouth for hours on end! Even though he has been napping for hours already and hasn't even really done anything today. 

He has his own animal removal business and can get an emergency call at any time. So he's laying on the couch napping, which he has been doing for at least 3 hours now, when his phone rings. I don't recognize the number so I wake him up in case it's about a job. Do you think he says Thank you? Hell no he doesn't. Instead the bitching begins. And most likely won't end any time soon.

Does he ever admit to acting like a major butthole? Nope. He says I started it by waking him up. Are you freaking serious?! If I was the one who got woke up and had the nerve to actually bitch about it, I would promptly be told to get over it.

So when I was ired of listening to his mouth this time, I calmly told him to get over it! And before you ask, he sure didn't like those apples!

Want to write articles for WonderDads?

I mention a little while back that my blog is going to be featured on WonderDads as one of their favorite blogs to tell your wife about. That time should be coming up very soon. Yay!

I've been told that WonderDads is also looking for people to write articles for their website on many different subjects to help out Dad's. They range from having the sex talk with you kids to building a soap box car! The best part of this, other than helping Dads of course, is the traffic it can bring to your blog, getting your name out there as a writer, and the chance to possibly be featured in a book! Are you as excited as I am?! If you are head on over there and submit your article ideas. I just did!

Complete Without Kids Book Reveiw & Giveaway

Recently I had the chance to read the book Complete Without Kids by Ellen L. Walker, P.H.D. Now if you are familiar with my blog then you know that I'm the mother of 3 young children, so you're probably wondering why I was interested in reading this book. I'm the type of person who usually tries to see things from every body's point of view. So when I had the chance to get my hands on this book I jumped on it. And I'm so glad that I did!

By using very personal and sometimes very heartbreaking stories from both her own life and the lives of the people she interviewed, Ellen Walker brings to life all the different reasons why some people remain "childfree". I love that she uses that term rather than saying childless. This book makes you focus on the fact that even though society always pushes people, women especially, to get married and reproduce, having children isn't for everybody. And other times there are people who want children very badly but for one reason or another are unable to. Walker brings awareness to how isolated these people often feel in a society that is so focused on the "traditional" family.

Even though I have children, I really enjoyed this book and being able to see and understand the thoughts and feelings of those who are childless. I think this book is a must read for everybody, regardless if you have children, don't have children, or just aren't sure about having children.

Now here comes the really exciting part! Not only did Business2Blogger give me this opportunity to read this amazing book, I also get to give one away. Now this is my first giveaway so please bare with me.

All you have to do is...

1) Follow me

and

2) Like me on Facebook 

and

3) Send me a comment for each one.

Winner will be chosen on July 14th (one week from today) using True Random Number Generator.



Monday Me Hop

Well, it's Thursday again, (Wednesday really, but I'm trying to get a head start!) and that means it's time to link up with Cinnamon for her Monday Me Hop. She definitely has the habit of making me really think about my answers to the questions she poses to us on Mondays. For both the headache from thinking too hard and the soul searching you make me do, Thank you Cinnamon. I'm glad you started this hop and I really hope you continue it. This weeks questions were...

*When have you been the most impressed with yourself?

or

*What's something that a lot of people do that you disagree with?

I've never really taken the time to bother being impressed with myself. Usually I'm too busy second guessing myself or putting myself down to notice anything I could possibly be impressed with. Remember the saying about being your own worst critic? Definitely applies to me!

In all honesty, I'm impressed with myself when it comes to blogging. It was my aunt who got me started at it. She was looking for a way to make some money and it sounded like a great idea. I had no clue what I was doing but the idea of being paid to write from home was irresistible.

It didn't take very long until I stopped thinking about the extra money that could be made and simply lost myself in the joys of writing and in connecting with others through their writing.

Every step of the way has been a learning process for me. I've learned about myself, I've learned about other people's lives, and I've learned how to do techy things on the computer with my blog. Most of the things I've managed to do to my blog page has been by trial and error and sometimes just plain accident. The tabs at the top, the "about me" and stuff like that, complete accident! I had been trying to learn how to do that for weeks and literally just stumbled across it! But I was SO tickled with myself. Though I do have to do a shout out to Cinnamon here. She did my button for me. I thought I had it figured out but it just wasn't quite right. So she fixed it for me and made it totally awesome. And she's been a great bloggy friend ever since. Always full of support and advice.

So as silly as it may sound, blogging is what I've been impressed with myself about.

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Happy 4th of July!

Sorry everybody I've been missing from the blogging world for the past couple of days. I hope you all missed me! My niece has been here visiting this summer, which I'm totally loving! I only get her for a little bit during the summer cause it's an hour each way from where she lives to where we live. She's an amazing kid. She's 9 and a half but when you talk to her you would swear she's so much older. I'm dreading the day I have to let her go home.

We took her fishing the other day and right before we were getting ready to leave she caught her first fish. She was so excited!

Here's my niece and Jordyn at Kroger's waiting for the fireworks to start. The kids were all suitably impressed but I wasn't. The finale was literally about one minute long. I sat there with a stunned look on my face and kept asking the hubby "Are you serious? That's it?!" But at least the kids liked it.

Here's my niece and Holly playing together during the cookout we had on the 4th of July. We had everything all set up outside, then decided it was just too damn hot and moved it all inside.



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Good Vibrations Sex Toys Reveiw (18+ only!)

Recently I became an affiliate for Good Vibrations Sex Toys. I also signed up to review their products. My first thought..."Oh boy, my hubby is going to love this!"  My first package came in the mail two days ago and we've already had quite a bit of adult fun!

First off, I was very happy that the box it came in and the labels were very discreet. I don't need all the neighbors seeing our kinky side. (heehee) Plus I had 3 kids sitting in the living room when the box arrived!

The first toy we tried out was the Blueberry Bliss Waterproof Silicone Mini Vibrator. Let me tell you, this may be a mini vibrator but it packs a mighty punch! I was highly impressed! And it even came with a battery in it already so I didn't have to worry about finding any. The only downside was that it's not a variable speed. If you like a toy that's both small and powerful, then this is definitely the one for you.

The next one we tried out was the Pleasurette Mini Waterproof Vibrator. The first thing I loved, you can pick either fuchsia or teal. I can't help it, I love a variety of colors. This little jewel is perfect if you want a little more control in the timing of your pleasure since it has 3 speeds to choose from. That way you can prolong the big moment and extend your pleasure.

Which ever one you choose, you're going to have a good time! 

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