All About Kimberly

Sailing Along the Life of Single Parenthood

Tag Archives: mom blog

Are You A Mom Blogger?

Do you run a Mom Blog?  If so, I want to take a moment to share with you one of my favorite sites on the Internet. It started as one of my favorite blogs and then I found the forum and it’s now my favorite forum.  What is this mom blog site I’m referring to? It’s MomDot.  If you haven’t checked it out, I encourage you to do so (and do it soon!  You’re missing out!)

What’s so great about MomDot? MomDot is more than just a website, more than just a blog – it’s a community. It’s a group of women who are there to help each other – to help us all to become better bloggers.

But that’s not even all….it’s just the best part.  You can also ALWAYS win something at MomDot.  There are always great contests going on. There’s currently at least $400 worth of prizes up for grabs at MomDot.

Looking for advice on being a review blogger?  Or just on making your blog better? Trisha is the main mom over at MomDot, and she has great blogging advice. 

And there’s so much more than I’m describing here…There’s recipes, parenting stories, celebrity news, crafty project how to’s….you name it – MomDot has it or will soon be adding it.  One of the neatest features now available is that Trisha frequently comes to us live from her webcam with advice and giveaways.  

All bloggers – not just Mom Bloggers, could find a home over at MomDot……

 

Mom Dot Party Day 10

Yes.  My day has finally come to guest write the post for the MomDot Christmas Party.  So today you won’t find my answer here at All About Kimberly, instead you’ll have to head over to the contest post for the day at MomDot to see my answer to: 

 

Do you decorate for the Holidays?  Do you have a themed Christmas tree?  Share pics!  Do you think there is such a thing as OVER decorating?

Got an answer? Or took pictures of past years’ decorations (I’ve already started taking this year’s pictures with my Nikon D90)?  Want to know more about this party? Well head over to MomDot, my favorite mom blog site to find out how to join in the fun and celebrate Christmas with the MomDot family.

MomDot Christmas Party ~ Day 1

Today is the first day of the Mom Dot Christmas party.  What is the MomDot party? Together we as mom bloggers are sharing our holiday experiences.  Each day you will see a question on MomDot, and your task is to go back to your blog and answer the question.  Then you should strike out around the web and look at the other entries and get to know some fellow mom bloggers. And there’s prizes!!  Today’s post has been sponsored by  La Belle Toile and This and That by Randi.

Today’s topic is just to introduce yourself and your family.  I’m Kimberly, I’m a 28 (almost 29) year old mom to two wonderful daughters.  I teach high school English at a small school in East Texas.  I am literally the English department as I teach 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade English. I pretty much teach every high school student every day. I’ve lived here in East Texas pretty much my entire life (all of it that I remember), and I can’t really imagine living anywhere else (though I’m not necessarily opposed to it).  

Most of my family lives within 30 minutes of me which has been great being a single mom.  I am never truly alone. My grandmother, dad, and great uncle all live within 200 yards of me.  Another set of grandparents live less than 3 miles through the woods, and my other set of parents and youngest sister live only 10 miles away.  Another of my sisters does live in Dallas (which is  to 4 hours from here), and I hate that as we just don’t spend nearly enough time together and I wish my daughter could play with her cousins more, and one of my brothers is the Army and stationed in Iraq right now.  My baby brothers are twins and now 19 years old (so maybe not so much babies), but because of the age difference, I’ve always had a maternal feeling for them in addition to the sister feeling so it’s hard having him so far away.  I’m so proud of him though for promoting freedom and serving our country.  They’re twins right? So what about the other one? Well he was not able to go into the military though he wanted to due to health reasons so he’s currently exploring the world of manual labor and searching for his place in life.  He’s also an awesome young man who I’m proud to call my brother.

I love to read.  That’s probably my number one hobby.  I’ve always loved to escape out of my world and into the world that an author created.  My mom would actually bribe me when I was young.  If I would complete whatever it was she was trying to convince me to do, she would promise me a certain amount of uninterrupted reading time.  Over the last year, I’ve grown to really love blogging. I love sharing and writing. I love the many friends I’ve made as I joined blogging groups, and I love the puzzle of coding behind WordPress. My goal is to one day build an entire WordPress theme from scratch.

Our family shares one big hobby – Disney.  We absolutely love Disney. We would go to Disney World every chance we had if money allowed.  We watch Disney channel almost exclusively for family entertainment. My youngest plays all the games on Disney.com. When my oldest graduates we are taking our first Disney cruise.  Yes – we are constantly looking for Disney magic in our lives.

My daughters are 8 and 17.  Becka is 17. She is not my biological daughter (hopefully due to our age difference you were already wondering about that), but came to live with us and we are super glad to have her.  Why? Because she was smart enough to realize that her options for her future were truly limited in her current life – in particular the school she had to attend because of where she lived. When I offered to let her live with us so she could go to school with me, she jumped on the opportunity. We went to her parents and then to court to change her guardianship.  She now is a proud member of our family and school.  She is taking advantage of the situation and participate in basically every organization our school offers.  Cameron is my 8 year old.  She is in the third grade and a true joy.  She is almost always happy.  She takes dance and twirling class and plays basketball and softball.

Between all of the girls’ activities and the many that I coach/sponsor at our school, the three of us live a very busy life. And without any further adieu, check out these pics of my family from winters of the past:

 
Be sure to write your own post about your family and go back and participate in the MomDot contest.  I’d also love to host your links to your introductions and give you some link love since I’m a do follow blog. :)  So fill in Mr. Linky above with the link to your first day post.

Weekend Browsing

Every weekend, I try to find a few new blogs out there that I want to follow.  In case you do this (or think this would be a great weekend to start), I thought I’d give you a heads up on some great mom blogs that I found through my membership of the MomDot Forums.  If you are a mom blogger (or just like to read mom blogs), this is a great place to start.  And now on to the great list:

Momdot Community Bloggers: 

Daily Contest: Mom Tag

Alyson over at Three P’s in A Pod is celebrating her 5,000th post, and has invited all women to join in the celebration. As a thanks for particpating, she is giving away a Bath and Body Works give basket to one lucky participant. All you have to do to enter is post on your blog the following questions and answer them about yourself. Isn’t that easy and a GREAT idea? You’ll notice many of them are mom related questions, but Alyson says you do not have to be a mom to enter. Just answer them on how you think you’ll feel when you are a mom. The deadline to enter is June 6 (and you must liv e inside the United States) so head on over to Three P’s in a Pod for more details and participate in Mom Tag!!!

1. Typically, what time do you wake up?

On school mornings, at 5:30, but on weekends and during summer vacation, I sleep until about 8.

2. On a good night, what time are your kids in bed?

Cameron has always fallen asleep very early on her own so I’ve never had to have a bedtime for her. She’s typically settled and in bed on her own by 8:30 during the school year. She’ll make it until about 9:30 in the summer after we’ve been out long enough for her body to adjust to sleeping in a little.

Becka stays up pretty late. We trade off who is the last to go to sleep.

3. How long have you been a mommy?

Almost 8 years

4. How old were you when you became a mom?

20

5. What is your favorite kids T.V. show?

Wow! That’s a tough one. I really enjoy most of the Disney Channel shows. My current favs are Hannah Montana, Suite Life of Zach and Cody, and The Wizards of Waverly Place

6. What is your least favorite kids T.V. show?

That’s easy. I have always and will always despise The Teletubbies. (Do they even still come on? I’m really not sure, but from the first time my little sister watched them through the few times Cameron would catch them, I’ve hated them with a passion.)

7. What is your favorite chore?

Isn’t that kind of an oxymoron putting favorite and chore together? lol Oh well, if I have to choose a favorite, it’s ummmm….making the bed.  Does that count?  It’s at least the one I mind the least. :)

8. What is your favorite meal to cook?

and Garlic Bread

9. What is your least favorite meal to cook?

I really don’t have one, but I really don’t like to make desserts or to fry anything.

10. What is your kids favorite meal?

It depends on the day, but for my youngest it’s always either pizza, corn dogs, macaroni and cheese, or ramen noodles.

11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids?

No husband. It’s just us girls here.

12. What are 5 things that make you smile when you are being a mom?

Hugs and kisses, homemade gifts of love on random days, waking up with my “baby” (she’s almost 8) snuggled in my arms, hearing their viewpoints on things, seeing the look of joy on my daughters’ faces at Disney World

13. If you could take your kids anywhere, where would it be?

That’s easy – Disney, Disney, Disney – Disney World, a Disney Cruise, Disneyland, Disney in Paris…I’d love to be able to afford a VERY long Disney excursion to each of the Disney destinations.

14. When was the last time you went out without your kids?

Seriously? I couldn’t even tell you. Does running errands count?

15. What is your favorite pastime/activity to do with your kids?

Vacations. One year when school got out for Christmas, my youngest and I just got in the car and drove north until we found SNOW. We ended up in Colorado where we spent several days, and then we came home for Christmas. That is a special memory.

16. Name one thing you said you would never say as a mother.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever made any proclamation like that.

17. Name something you do, that your mom did.

Allow my girls to be independent, strong young ladies. They get to make decisions and have opinions that I don’t always agree with.

18. What is your favorite quality your mom has?

Patience. When we are struggling over homework (or other sometimes trivial issues), we can always go to “Nana” to calm us both down.

19. What is your favorite kids book?

As a child it was Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. As an adult, I think it’s Oh The Places You’ll Go also by Dr. Seuss.

20. What is your favorite advice for new moms?

Treasure every moment. I’ve always heard how fast time flies, but now I know that is true. I can hardly believe that my “baby” will soon be 8 years old.

21. What is your most heartbreaking moment as a mom?

Ending the relationship with Cameron’s dad.  While I knew it was the right move for me, I also knew that he would leave and not be a part of her life when I did it (I was right).  I knew I could no longer be a part of his life, but it tore my heart out knowing that I was taking my baby’s daddy from her after I had been lucky enough to have two great dad’s my entire life.

22. What is your most joyful moment being a mom?

Last year at the end of the school year, I had to decide whether or not to change jobs as a teacher. I had the hardest time with the decision because this school was really our community, our home. I had gone to school there, and I had imagined teaching my entire career there, and my daughter graduating from the same school her mom had – starting a tradition. Leaving that behind was frightening. Even after making the decision, I was scared to tell Cameron that I was taking her away from this special place. Finally I broke down and did it the weekend after we got out of school, and she was excited!  It was so reassuring to see that excitement on her face and to know she was not as scared as her mom of change.

23. When was the last time you told one of your kids you loved them?

About 30 minutes ago

24. When was the last time you were told?

About 30 minutes ago

Now you know a lot more about me, and I’d love to know about you. If you participate, swing back by here and tell me so I can go read your answers.