Category: Uncategorized

It's the first Monday of the month and you know what that means

[sound of crickets chirping]

I'm hanging with the Imperfect Parent, today — talk about dirty hands and smart mouths, my son hates the b-word — oh, and I'm also getting my house in order for spring break, which starts on Thursday this week, the same day I take my 13-year-old back to the pediatric surgeon and find out whether my middle girl's going to need some more emergency surgery, or not.

Sounds like fun, yeah?

So…um…yeah…aaaanyway…did you know that my first time blog crush Mindy's going to be on Oprah, this week — along with some other mom blogger called Dooce — talking about the Secret Lives of Moms, so I thought I'd do a quick public service announcement for parents-to-be and folks who strive to be raising teenagers, one day:

You're welcome!

© 2009 This Full House – All Rights Reserved.

It's hard to believe that my middle girl was only 7 years-old when I started This Full House in 2003 and now…DAYUM!…but, look how we've BOTH grown!

So, what's this about then?

It's all Mrs. Flinger's fault — I've been reading my blogging friend Mrs. Flinger for a long time, now.  She's a very lovely mom, a wickedly talented html coding diva and her Tweets make me snort coffee through my nose (she is THAT funny) and we've both been around the Internets for a while and can still remember when Dooce was just a girl who couldn't spell Dude.

Even though Mrs. Flinger admits she's just a girl with a blog, she's a mentor to about a bazillion people (like me) who read her blog and come to love her over the years…and she doesn't even know it.

Let's face it, blogging isn't what it used to be and I've been talking to a lot of [ahem] "old school" mom bloggers who have said the same exact thing — how it's hard NOT to get all wrapped up  in stats and feed reader rubbish — yet, we keep typing along with the best of them.

Wonder if Dooce feels that way, too?

I had the pleasure of being interviewed this week (I don't know how that happened, either) and was asked to provide some insight on my six year love/hate relationship with the Internet and penchant for using the word "mom" and "blogger" in the same sentence…oh, and wow…they actually printed it and nobody's more excited, or surprised, than I am, trust me!

However, the first question asked is one that I happen to get, a lot:

How do you manage to raise a family AND update your blog on a regular basis?

(more…)

My husband, Garth (not his real name) and I love attending open houses
– especially, if it's a home that we've admired, or wondered…you
know…what the heck is going on in there? 

Welcome to the Open House Blog Tour where everyone (and anyone) is free to come and leave links (PG-13, please) telling us about your individual blogging events, fundraisers, giveaways, book tours, contests, or if you have a burning blog post and just need a shout out, go for it…I'm listening!

I mean, who couldn't use a little linky love?  Okay, I'll start:

Comment (or, don't if you don't feel like it) but, make sure you leave a link in the Mr. Linky fields below along with a short description of the event.

And if you forget…don't worry…it'll be here, every Thursday…linked permanently in my archives (see sidebar on left) here and on my review blog (two linkies for the price of one entry) so, if you happen to stop by whenever, just go ahead and leave your link…oh, and let me know where I can mail the check!

Feel free to share – here's the button and the code to use:

<a href="http://www.thisfullhouse.com/"><img
src="http://www.thisfullhouse.com/badges/this-full-house-open-house-blog-tour-150.png">

ALREADY SHOWING:  Open House Blog Tours

Happy blog hunting!

© 2009 This Full House – All Rights Reserved.

My husband, Garth (not his real name) and I love attending open houses
– especially, if it's a home that we've admired, or wondered…you
know…what the heck is going on in there? 

Welcome to the Open House Blog Tour where everyone (and anyone) is free to come and leave links (PG-13, please) telling us about your individual blogging events, fundraisers, giveaways, book tours, contests, or if you have a burning blog post and just need a shout out, go for it…I'm listening!

I mean, who couldn't use a little linky love?  Okay, I'll start:

Comment (or, don't if you don't feel like it) but, make sure you leave a link in the Mr. Linky fields below along with a short description of the event.

And if you forget…don't worry…it'll be here, every Thursday…linked permanently in my archives (see sidebar on left) here and on my review blog (two linkies for the price of one entry) so, if you happen to stop by whenever, just go ahead and leave your link…oh, and let me know where I can mail the check!

Feel free to share – here's the button and the code to use:

<a href="http://www.thisfullhouse.com/"><img
src="http://www.thisfullhouse.com/badges/this-full-house-open-house-blog-tour-150.png">

ALREADY SHOWING:  Open House Blog Tours

Happy blog hunting!

© 2009 This Full House – All Rights Reserved.

Okay, in real life, I'm a mom with 4 kids, 2 cats, a sock-eating chocolate lab (who thinks he's one of my kids) 1 very over-worked husband (who happens to look A LOT like Garth Brooks) and way too much laundry.

Got it.

Even though I'm just another mom — albeit, living out loud and in full view of, well, everyone who has ever visited This Full House of dingy whites and mismatched socks — my reasons for deciding to go ahead and hit the publishing button haven't changed much.

Riiiight.

I may only be from Jersey — seriously, we all know what those moms are like — but, some of my best friends are moms (with blogs) who are used to getting by on less (barely!) or, have become quite good at parenting by the seat of their sweat pants and I'm pretty sure they haven't been to Disney, either!

So, why aren't the men (and women) in dark suits reading them…I mean, us?

(more…)

My husband, Garth (not his real name) and I love attending open houses
– especially, if it’s a home that we’ve admired, or wondered…you
know…what the heck is going on in there? 

Welcome to the Open House Blog Tour where everyone (and anyone) is free to come and leave links (PG-13, please) telling us about your individual blogging events, fundraisers, giveaways, book tours, contests, or if you have a burning blog post and just need a shout out, go for it…I’m listening!

I mean, who couldn’t use a little linky love?  Okay, I’ll start:

Comment (or, don’t if you don’t feel like it) but, make sure you leave a link in the Mr. Linky fields below along with a short description of the event.

And if you forget…don’t worry…it’ll be here, every Thursday…linked permanently in my archives (see sidebar on left) here and on my review blog (two linkies for the price of one entry) so, if you happen to stop by whenever, just go ahead and leave your link…oh, and let me know where I can mail the check!

Feel free to share – here’s the button and the code to use:

<a href=”http://www.thisfullhouse.com/”><img
src=”http://www.thisfullhouse.com/badges/this-full-house-open-house-blog-tour-150.png”>

ALREADY SHOWING:  Open House Blog Tours

Happy blog hunting!

© 2009 This Full House and This Full House Reviews – All Rights Reserved.

Blogging, while medicated or under the influence of fluish-like symptoms, can cause serious injury to your reputation and be awfully dangerous to your blog traffic.  Then again, I'm a mom of four, I am used to getting screwed!

Mini-me snapped the pic of me, while we were both home and feeling fluish this week, thinking it was totally cool how I could blog with one hand and hold my fluish-looking head with the other.

I'm talented like that.

You may be surprised to hear — I know, I sure as hell am — that I started This Full House nearly 6 years ago, at a time before statistics and SEO's ruled the blog world, and the only measure of real value was the blogger's story, itself.

Not today.

Nope, in some circles, using the words "mom" and "blogger" in the same breath is enough to get stuff thrown in your face and I'm not just talking poopie diapers or dirty laundry, either.

"Oh, those silly mom bloggers!"

I come from a long line of story tellers and — although, my grandmother and most of my female ancestors never made it passed the 4th grade — I'm sure my mother's life would have been a whole lot easier, if she had a blog.

Being able to blog out her frustrations, finding strength in a community that thrives on imperfection and acknowledging simple moments of joy, or peace in knowing that she was raising children who love her, anyway.

You know, the sort of stuff that we moms sometimes forget and some other people, who think we're just a bunch of suckers drinking from the same juice bottle, need to be reminded of.

[blank stare]

Like, how the word "momblogger" is making me feel like a total LOSER!

(more…)

My husband, Garth (not his real name) and I love attending open houses
– especially, if it's a home that we've admired, or wondered…you
know…what the heck is going on in there? 

Welcome to the Open House Blog Tour where everyone (and anyone) is free to come and leave links (PG-13, please) telling us about your individual blogging events, fundraisers, giveaways, book tours, contests, or if you have a burning blog post and just need a shout out, go for it…I'm listening!

I mean, who couldn't use a little linky love?  Okay, I'll start:

Comment (or, don't if you don't feel like it) but, make sure you leave a link in the Mr. Linky fields below along with a short description of the event.

And if you forget…don't worry…it'll be here, every Thursday...linked permanently in my archives (see sidebar on left) here and on my review blog (two linkies for the price of one entry) so, if you happen to stop by whenever, just go ahead and leave your link…oh, and let me know where I can mail the check!

Feel free to share.

Here's the button and the code to use:

<a href="http://www.thisfullhouse.com/"><img
src="http://www.thisfullhouse.com/badges/this-full-house-open-house-blog-tour-150.png">

ALREADY SHOWING:  Open House Blog Tours

Happy blog hunting!

© 2009 This Full House and This Full House Reviews – All Rights Reserved.

My husband, Garth (not his real name) and I love attending open houses
– especially, if it’s a home that we’ve admired, or wondered…you
know…what the heck is going on in there? 

Welcome to the Open House Blog Tour where everyone (and anyone) is free to come and leave links (PG-13, please) telling us about your individual blogging events, fundraisers, giveaways, book tours, contests, or if you have a burning blog post and just need a shout out, go for it…I’m listening!

I mean, who couldn’t use a little linky love?  Okay, I’ll start:

Comment (or, don’t if you don’t feel like it) but, make sure you leave a link in the Mr. Linky fields below along with a short description of the event.

And if you forget…don’t worry…it’ll be here, every Thursday...linked permanently in my archives (see sidebar on left) here and on my review blog (two linkies for the price of one entry) so, if you happen to stop by whenever, just go ahead and leave your link…oh, and let me know where I can mail the check!

Feel free to share.

Here’s the button and the code to use:

<a href=”http://www.thisfullhouse.com/”><img
src=”http://www.thisfullhouse.com/badges/this-full-house-open-house-blog-tour-150.png”>

ALREADY SHOWING:  Open House Blog Tours

Happy blog hunting!

© 2009 This Full House and This Full House Reviews – All Rights Reserved.

BlogHer has launched a brand new video blog called “Backtalk” and I had the extreme pleasure of being included in Episode 1!

Yeah, I don’t know how that happened…either.

Actually, Chris (a.k.a. Notes from the Trenches) asked me to weigh in on Facebook (figuratively speaking, thank goodness) since, I blogged about how I made my kids “friend me,” you know, on Facebook.

You can see it here on BlogHer Backtalk:  Would you friend your kids on Facebook?  Twitter about your ex? moderated by Erin Kotecki Vest (a.k.a. Queen of Spain) and my 10 seconds of fame is at the very end of the video.

But, wait…there’s more!

I thought it would be interesting to show you the entire video I submitted, for posterity’s sake.

Since, you know, it was one of the few mornings I actually made it a point to take a shower, put on makeup and everything.

Wanna see more?

Visit This Full House Vlogs and the This Full House Vimeo Channel – we’re open all night!

© 2008 This Full House – All Rights Reserved.