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MommyPage. I’m there.

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What’s on the agenda today, Jenna? I’m assuming you ask yourself that when you wake up in the morning. Mmmhmm. Well, since you asked, today I am featured over at MommyPage answering questions about blogging, confidence, patience and the like. If you don’t know me well (or you do and want to make sure I’m not a liar), go check it out and leave a comment. There is more than likely a big photo of me plastered on the front page. I warned you.

Here I am.

Guest Posting at Hi! It’s Jilly!

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Hey Call Her Happy-ers! Can I call you that? No. Ok. Let me know if you think of something else. 
Just letting you know that today I am guest posting over at Hi! It’s Jilly! I’m writing as part of a series on the new iPhone. Mike is so proud. 
Come on over and see what I have to say.
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Couponing for Beginners 101

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When I decided to stay at home with Ellen, I thought I would be this awesome extreme couponer. I was going to get $1,000 of groceries for $0.16 and use our savings to go to Hawaii. I was going to have so much time on my hands that I could make it like a job. Har. Har, past Jenna. Instead, I am throwing things in my cart while Ellen does her nervous laughter which means, “Get me out of here or I will scream,” and I end up spending $800 a month in groceries for two adults and one table scrapper. Yeah. I was clearly cut out for couponing. Not! Until now. Jasmean from Mother Daughter Savings & Reviews graciously schooled me in the art of couponing. I don’t know about you, but this is just what I needed! For the most part, I buy whole, unprocessed foods, and there aren’t many coupons for those things, but these tips are going to be wonderful for bathroom things and my ice cream habit. Thanks, Jasmean! 

Box o' coupons
If you have absolutely no idea how to do couponing, this is the article for you! The first thing you should know about couponing is it takes time; especially, if you want to do extreme couponing. Once you know this you are ready to start.

Step 1: Get Coupons
This is the most important step.
You can find coupons everywhere but here are a few places:
Sunday Paper Insert (the best place)
Store Paper (Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart)
Online Printable Coupons (coupon.com, redplum.com)
Tips 
·        Only get coupons you will use.
·        I know this will sound bad but, if you live in apartment or go to the post office for your mail get extras out of the trash, I do this on all the time a lot are throw out.
·        Ask friends or family for theirs
·        Trade coupons with other couponers
·        Join sites were you get points for gift cards for coupons used such Swagbucks
Step 2: Get Organized
You can organize any way you want, but here are the options:
Binder: The most common used organizer is the binder, for advanced couponers. You can use any old binder – just place in clear inserts, I recommend baseball card inserts. Then divide by sections like drinks, shampoo, lunch meat, and conditioner or how ever you choose. This is my favorite because everything is visible.

Organizer: The most common among beginners. This is a divider with labels on top that separate each compartment. This is not my favorite because things are divided by section, not by coupon, so things are a bit trickier to find. You could also use an index card box instead if you want.

Envelope: I would say this is the cheapest and simplest way. All you do is put your coupons in envelopes by type like food coupons in the enveloped labeled food or soap in the envelope labeled soap and so on. I would only recommend this for very new starters.

Box: This is for the extreme, extreme couponer. You get a file cabinet or big organized box with dividers, label the dividers and place your coupons in by section. This is great for full sheet coupons or duplicates, but again you should only use this if you have lots of coupons.

Tips
·        Label everything in a way you will understand
·        Be creative; do things that go with your needs
·        Keep things organized for the ability to find them quickly
Step 3: Compare Prices
1.           Make a list of what you need.
2.           Every Sunday get your local store ads and find things you need that you have coupons for, circle these.
3.           Then after you’re done, look through the circled ads and find which ads have the best deal that goes along with your coupons.
4.           Once you’re done with this, take those coupons out and cut the ads out. Make sure you include the store the ad came from.
5.           Put these together or make a list of the coupons and ads’ deals so you can find later.
Step 4: Go to the Store and Use
·              When you go to the store make sure you know the couponing rule for that store; different stores have different rules.
·              Have your list ready of the items and coupons, that way you can get through fast.
·              When you get the item, get the coupon out and check it off the list; this will lower confusion. Put the coupon some where you can find it like in your pocket or a great thing is bring an envelope and put the coupons in once you have the product in the buggie.
·              When you go through the check out line, watch to make sure the coupons go through; don’t be afraid to ask if something doesn’t go through or comes out a different price than you thought. This could be a register error, just a missed coupon or item, or an error of your own. Still it never hurts to ask.
·              Once your done, do a little happy dance if you want; I know I do! Then, find places to put your new goodies.
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If you want more on couponing, saving, freebies, or giveaways visit my blog, http://motherdaughtersavingsandreviews.blogspot.com/. Hope you enjoyed!
Written by Jasmean Lemons from the blog Mother Daughter Savings & Reviews.

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Finally! Finger Food Fiesta!

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Hey Everyone! I have an awesome guest post for you today. It is super timely for where I am at in my parenting life right now. Jen was a huge help to me when figuring out how to feed Ellen finger foods without having a panic attack. She has been generous enough to share her knowledge with all of you as well! One last note, if you are a blog reader like me, and you enjoy Call Her Happy, subscribe to Jen’s blog. It’s a great read!

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Hello, internet friends! I’m Jen from A Ginger’s Guide to Parenting and Design (gingerguide.com), and I’m so happy to be guest blogging here at Call Her Happy. A little bit of info about me: I’m married to my graphic designer husband Mac and am the proud mama to a 16 month old whirlwind named Sullivan. I blog about parenting and modern design with some randomness thrown in so come on over and visit sometime!

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Starting finger foods with my kiddo was an exciting and terrifying time. Oh and frustrating. Did I mention frustrating? You’ll need the patience of a saint at this point in your parenting career. My greatest fear, as I’m sure it is with any other mom, was choking. I was sure he was going to choke. I am CPR certified but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t refresh my skills before letting him start feeding himself. (EVERY parent should be CPR certified! I cannot stress this enough. Classes are easily found and inexpensive.)

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When feeding baby boy or baby girl means starting finger foods, check out this awesome guide telling you where to start, where to go next, and when to move on to something new. This was the perfect thing for me to read when I was a first-time mom and I was TERRIFIED of introducing solids.

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Where to start?

Puffs are always a good starter food. We started with puffs when Sullivan was about nine months old. Before every meal, we’d put some on his tray and let him play around with them. At first he just held them in his hand and smashed them. We would put one in his mouth just to let him get used the texture and to tell him that this, unlike the dog food, is something he CAN eat. The first few times he spit it out but every so often, he’d keep one in there. Give your child five minutes or so to play around with the puffs then move on to the pureed baby food. Consistency is key! Don’t expect them to get it after one try. It takes time; lots of time and patience. And cleaning products, you’ll definitely need those. After weeks and weeks of us showing him the puff and putting it in his mouth, he still had no interest in it. Then, one day he just did it. Out of nowhere, he picked up one right after the other and delicately put them in his mouth while looking at me as if to say “What’s the next course, mother?” Let me tell you, for a while there I was envisioning him going to kindergarten and still having to be spoon fed pureed peaches. They will get it! Just be consistent in offering it.

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Where to go next?

Don’t afraid of trying a variety of tastes and textures once they get the whole hand-to-mouth thing down. Anything you can easily squish between your fingers, your little one can chew with his or her gums. Keep the pieces very small at first, about pea size. Some of Sullivan’s favorites were mangoes, blueberries, peas, sweet potatoes with cinnamon, cooked apples, carrots, squash, and avocado. Cinnamon is a great new addition to their food, especially on sweet potatoes and apples. A note about blueberries: while delicious, your child’s diaper might be a bit alarming the next day. You’ll think he ate a smurf or fifty blue crayons and start to freak out. Then you remember the blueberries and hope it doesn’t stain your hand. Sullivan had a texture problem with food. If it was too slimy or squishy, he wouldn’t eat it. He’d either throw it onto the floor or squish it to smithereens. If you have this problem, crush up some puffs and coat the pieces of food in the powder. It helped immensely.

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At the beginning, Sullivan was distracted by everything. The tv, the dog, a bird outside. Try to eliminate as much of these as possible otherwise you will be at the table for hours. No cute plates or bowls either.  They’ll just end up on the floor or your lap. I speak from personal experience on this point. I also suggest only put a few pieces of food on the tray, not the entire meal. Once Sullivan got the hang of feeding himself, he would shovel as much in as his chubby little hands could handle. This is where he started choking. Several times I had to do a finger sweep to clear out a huge mass of food from the back of his mouth. It is so important to always pay attention to your kid while they eat.  Don’t be reading Fifty Shades of Grey with a glass of wine while your toddler is eating. You can make the pieces as small and soft as possible, and they’ll still find a way to choke.

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Moving on.

Once Sullivan hit a year, he was full steam ahead on finger food and we dropped the baby food. It was then we found the “guarantee food”. That’s the food he’ll eat no matter what. If he’s pissed or not liking the rest of his meal, this is my backup. For us, that food is chicken nuggets. I try not to give them to him often but if he’s refusing to eat anything else, I know he’ll at least get some sort of meal. Often, once I get him going on the nuggets, I sneak in some fruits and veggies on his tray. He just grabs and gobbles them right up. I’m sneakier than my toddler and yes, I’m proud of it.

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It was at this time Sullivan learned all about gravity and how fun it was to drop things from the high chair. See how they smash on the ground? Fascinating. At first, we knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose. He was just learning…very messily. We told him “We eat food, we don’t throw food” then take a bite ourselves. Usually he did the same. Soon we noticed he was doing it on purpose. After he’d drop the food, he’d look up at me and I could tell. We warn him once with “We eat food, we don’t throw food”. The second time he does it, we pull his tray off and set it on the table. This normally causes a huge tantrum once he realizes the food is gone. After thirty seconds or so, we give the tray back while again saying “We eat food, we don’t throw food”. Rarely, very rarely, he does it a third time. At that point, we pull him fully out of his high chair and set him on the floor saying “All done!”. We give him a few minutes then put him back in the chair if he’s still reaching for the food. Repeat as needed.

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Finger foods can really help introduce the rest of the family to healthy eating, I know it has in my house. We have much more fruits and veggies in the fridge now than before. I’m also meal planning and couponing like crazy. Saving money is always a bonus. There are so many websites and books available that have tons of ideas for toddler meals so you don’t keep going back to the same meals. Keep up the variety and consistency and, most importantly, don’t give up! Your kid will not be eating pureed PB&J in kindergarten, I promise.

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I hope this gives you some good ideas about getting started and where to go from there. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to help out. Come visit me over at A Ginger’s Guide to Parenting & Design (gingerguide.com) and thanks to Jenna for having me visit today.

This post is participating in the Mommy Monday Link Up!

Cleaning With A Baby: My Techniques For Getting Housework Done

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I have a fantastic guest post for you today from Jenni at Simply Prudent. Jenni’s blog is a great place for moms to read and chat about living life simply and happily. She has been so kind as to share a little taste of her blog with you today:
As a mother of a little one, it is easy to start dreading housework. Keeping a clean house can seem like an overwhelming task when you are exhausted from being up half the night or weary from chasing a toddler around.
I realized that I needed to change my attitude and actions when it came to household chores.

Re-define Clean. One of the most important things I’ve learned as a first-time mom is to modify the definition of a clean and organized house. I quickly realized that I needed to lower expectations of myself in the area of housework. I often have to remind myself that I can no longer expect myself to accomplish everything I could before having a baby. This isn’t to say that I allow my home to get to the point of being declared a disaster area (most days). I still have a standard that I strive for. However, if it isn’t met one day, I don’t allow myself to get discouraged. Sometimes you just have to declare your house clean enough.
Utilize a baby carrier. When my daughter was a newborn, the easiest way to clean was to wear her in a MobyWrap. She loved to snuggle and was happy if I held her all the time. Babywearing allowed me to meet her needs as well as accomplish the housework that needed to be done. There were many afternoons that she fell asleep to the sound of me unloading the dishwasher or vacuuming!
Use toys as a distraction. Now my little one is a older, I often utilize a bouncer or exersaucer or let the her play on the floor with toys while I wash the dishes, put away laundry or do some other job that can be accomplished quickly. This is a perfect time to use the timer challenge technique: set the timer for a short amount of time and get to work. If the baby gets a little fussy, I know that I will be done it a few short minutes and continue working until the timer goes off. Often she will stop crying (especially if I sing to her while working!) and watch the flurry of activity.
Let the baby help. Once babies are crawling and pulling up, they love to be involved in everything. Allowing the baby to help may cause the work to take a little longer to get done, but at least the chore will be completed. I often let my daughter “help” fold the laundry by pulling things out of the basket. I usually end up re-fold some items, but she stays entertained the entire time and I am able to cross laundry off my to-do list.
Work during nap time. If you are one of those lucky moms that has a baby that sleeps well, you can take advantage of nap time. Right now, my little one doesn’t take many naps. If she falls asleep while nursing, I have to hold her the entire time in order for her to stay asleep. I try to use this time to do a Bible study, write on my blog or read a book. :)
Clean Efficiently. There are several shortcuts I use to clean faster and more effectively. For example, I always dust and sweep before vacuuming. I sweep all the dust and crumbs onto the carpet and vacuum them up. This keeps me from having to get the dust pan out and sweep dirt up. Omitting this one step saves me time and simplifies my chore time.
Accept help. As women, we often try to do too much. Sometimes we just can’t do it all on our own. My husband has been especially helpful by cooking dinner, doing dishes and washing his own laundry. I had several people come over and help with light housework during my postpartum recovery period. It is perfectly okay to ask for and accept help when you need it.
I hope these ideas will aid you in keeping a clean and tidy (enough) house. If you have techniques that you use in your own home, I would love to read about them in a comment below!
About the Author
JenniAs a Christian homemaker, Jenni is happily married to her handsome husband and delights in being a stay-at-home mama to her adorable baby girl.
She enjoys deep conversations, decaf lattes, and diving into a good book. She is the author/editor of Simply Prudent where she hosts the Mommy Monday blog link-up and inspires women to cultivate prudent simplicity in the heart & home.

Simply Prudent

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Hey Internet Friends!
Head on over to Simply Prudent to check out my guest post! Be sure to poke around her blog and leave comments, too!
Thanks, Jenni!

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Check It.

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Come on over to The Baby Habit and read my interview :)
A big thanks to Adam and the good people there! 

Also, check out my squeaky monkey at three weeks!



(Still can’t figure out how to center those videos! I’m working on it!)

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This is the stuff urban legands are made of.

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A good friend of ours keeps a great blog. It’s a mix of his daily life as well as the novel he is writing. He recently got married and went to Montreal on their honeymoon. The story they came back with was too good to not repost. Check it out here to see the reaction video, but here is the gist of it…believe it or not:

“So, about getting pushed into the fountain. Maria and I were completely dying of heat exhaustion. We found a nice fountain in a park where people were sitting on the edge and dangling their feet in (and two older men were swimming despite the sign that clearly forbid it), so we decided it would be nice to dip our feet in as well. We sat on the edge of the water and cooled off with our feet submerged. After a while, we took our feet out and sat on the edge of the fountain so that our feet could dry (I didn’t want my wet feet running my socks). Well, as we were sitting there, apparently Maria saw some guy kind of harassing this woman and her daughter. They were put off by him and proceeded to leave the fountain. I didn’t see this because my back was turned. The man started to walk our way, and we he passed by us, Maria breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, that was when I saw him. He was walking by, but then he turned around and said something in French. I couldn’t tell if he was looking at me, and so I assumed he wasn’t, because I had no idea who he was, so why would he be talking to me. I looked away for a moment, but he kept talking, so I looked back, and lo and behold, he was approaching me. He seemed to be in a jovial mood and was somewhat laughing, so I decided to smile back. That is, until he placed his hands on my shoulders, continued to speak in French, shook me, and leaned into me until I found myself falling into the fountain, where my clothes promptly soaked themselves, and my $200 Droid X screamed for help from my pocket. I stood up immediately, pulled my phone from my pocket, and trying to sound politely upset, explained that my phone was in my pocket and it was now soaking wet. I doubted it was going to work. Then he began to speak English, and I almost wish he had just stuck with the French. He told me that he had the money in his pocket to pay for the phone right then, but that if I let him explain something, I wouldn’t need the money. Of course, I wondered “What the hell could you possibly tell me that would make me reconsider the offer that you will pay for my obviously broken phone”. Little did I know, he would be right. Now, mind you, this guy was a lot bigger than I am. If you gave him a baseball bat, he would look like this. He began to tell me that 1) You can’t plant a garden in America because nothing grows there. But you can buy gold. 2) If we were to move to where he lives, there would be a lot of Satan worshipers, but we would be safer. 3) Humans are evolving either into reptiles or from reptiles. He wasn’t clear on either point. 4) Other insane nonsense babble that I have since forgot, but certainly had little to do with either A) Why he had just pushed me, a complete stranger, into a fountain or B) Why all of this was going to make me forget about my soaked phone. Of course, the sum effect of this speech was my complete desire for him to get the hell away as quick as possible, even if this meant I would not receive $200 from him, which of course I did not. Instead, he left, and we watched him start to talk crazy to someone else about 20 feet away before leaving altogether. Frankly, we were glad we were still alive. So, I went to stand in the sun for a few minutes while I literally twisted up my shirt until all the water dripped out of it. I had to walk around Montreal for the rest of the day in soaking wet clothes. Lots of fun. Luckily, that was the only negative experience we had, and obviously it is hilarious in retrospect.“


Yeah. That happened. Thanks for the laugh, David!

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