The Mom Crowd

Hi Ya’ll! I have been battling the flu the last few days, so I haven’t been able to get a proper post written. In the mean time I hope you enjoy these few links:

* A woman gave birth to a 19 pound baby this week in Indonesia!

* Julia Grovenburg is expecting two babies that were conceived 2.5 weeks apart!

* Melodie and Melissa answered my question about pumping breastmilk on Breastfeeding Moms Unite.

• Check out Dave Ramsey’s Creative Christmas Gift Ideas list that won’t make you go into debt. I like the second idea about framing your kids artwork for family members. Ikea has some nice cheap frames. I would love to receive the fifth one down. Who doesn’t want free babysitting?

• A Wild Ride’s blog is featuring a series on Holiday Tips for Special Needs Parents.  Even you if don’t have a special needs child these tips can be applied to anyone.

• Mindi at Moms Need to Know is quickly becoming one of my favorite frugal blogs. I re-discovered her in my RSS reader when I started using it again. She posted about a Macy’s 20% off coupon that can be used until Dec. 15th. (I got my daughter’s Christmas dress there last year for a fraction of the original $54 cost. They may already be marking things down now.) Also, check out Mindi’s post about tipping during the holidays. I agree wholeheartedly with her tipping approach.

• Crunchy Domestic Goddess compiled a list of eco-friendly Christmas crafts. I hear about handmaking gifts every year, but what do you make? This post offers a few ideas.

I am preparing to celebrate the Fourth of July by looking up ideas for crafts, food, and fun around the web. I love ideas that are practical, easy, and can be prepared in a short time frame. I am NOT Martha Stewart and I don’t aspire to be. So here is what I have found to help all of us party in style this Friday!

History

• Brush up on your American history by checking out PBS’s short history of the Fourth of July.

• Use Earthcam and see Statue of Liberty welcoming people to the USA at this very second. (yes, I know this may seem so 1999, but I think it is cool.)

Food

• Macaroniandpeas.com offers up some tips on grilling hot dogs (and dealing with any guilt about it.)

• Who doesn’t love Trifle? Here is a holiday version that will wow everyone. Other variations are also listed.

• Really cool cupcake ideas at HankandWillie.wordpress.com.

• Fourth of July Fruit Kabobs at Citruslist.blogspot.com.

• Arranging colored cupcakes in a flag pattern. Not original, but certainly easy!

• This Red, White, and Blue IS the bomb! You have to check out how to make it at Chocolate on my Cranium.
  

Games and Crafts

• Amazingmoms.com lists 5 different relay races you can play this Summer with your kids.

• Alphamom.com does a nice round up of 5 great looking crafts.
  

• Here is link to 12 different printable coloring pages for the artistic kids in your family.

• Dress up your teddy bears for Independence Day. Then keep your bear around as a mascot for USA during the Olympics in August.

• Printable USA paper airplanes.
  

• I am usually lacking in appropriate holiday decor and I found these cute Uncle Sam Hat Treat Holders at crafts.kaboose.com.
  

What about the rest of the weekend?

• Independence Day is only on Friday, what about the the rest of the weekend? What to do then? Macy’s Three Day Sale, of course!

Do you do anything special for the Fourth of July? Will hot dogs be involved? Will your kids cry during the fireworks?

The blogosphere starting club hopping on Friday with 5minutesformom.com’s Ultimate Blog Party. Moms all around the web are introducing themselves and trying not to spill their drinks on each other’s blogs.

We have opened our doors here at The Mom Crowd to welcome you! Please come in, grab a drink from the open bar, and stay a while.

Here is a fabulous video introducing ourselves.

Pull up a comfy booth and enjoy some of our favorite treats:

• 30 Ways to Encourage Your Mom Friends

• What’s In Your Pantry?

• Who’s Your Favorite Celebrity Mom?

• Are you “letting yourself go”?

• Marilla Cuthbert: A Wonderful Maternal Figure

• What to Expect for Your Child’s Surgery

Please leave a comment and let us know that you have been by!

Thanks for coming!

• 10 Things I’ve Learned from Being a Mom – Jaimee wrote a wonderful post describing all the things we can relate to about being a mom. Every word of it is true. Especially #4.

• Tales from Labor and Delivery Blog – Have you seen this blog yet? Seriously, great stuff. The blog is written by a Labor and Delivery nurse and she shares her experiences and stories. I really find people’s birth stories interesting. If you have a sense of humor – Check it out!

• Share Baby Einstein with your baby and get moving! – My Readable Feast shares their thoughts on the controversy of Baby Einstein videos. I think she makes a valid point about using them as a tool rather than a constant babysitter.

• 5 Foods to Rejuvenate Your Body – Wellness Junction shares five foods to help your energy level. I know I need all the energy I can get to keep chasing my baby now that she is on the move. This also gives me another reason to put garlic in everything I eat. My husband loves that. Ha!

• Oprah’s Big Joke…oh I mean Give – Firemans_wife on CafeMom.com explains her passionate take on Oprah’s new reality show, The Big Give.. I haven’t seen the show. I only saw bits of them talking about it on Oprah the next day. From Firemans_wife’s perspective the show really isn’t helping those in need and the motives of the contestants are all wrong.

• Top 10 Things Not to Say to New Mothers – This article is mostly for new dads, but we can all get a laugh out of it. I have so experienced the first point, ” When you come home from work and your wife is sitting on the couch with your newborn in the exact same position you last saw her nine hours ago, don’t ask ‘What did you do all day? How come you didn’t take a shower yet?’ ” Ha!

• The Ultimate Blog Party! – The Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5MinutesforMoms.com begins this Friday. It is being held March 7 – 14. Be sure to come by Monday and check out our party post. We’ll have some great food on the grill and music pumping. Maybe some karaoke (just kidding!). For more details check out their instructions.