Productive Thanksgiving Weekend

Man, I can't believe the long weekend is almost over! It went by so fast! Tonight my parents took our 3 kids so my hubby & I could clean up/organize our "beautiful mess." It's amazing the things you can get done with no kids around. My desk looks perfectly put together... & this time I'll keep it tidy (ha, ha). I've got a stack of boxes ready to ship out Monday & my kids have clean laundry. Woo-hoo! Such a nice night! We were going to go see Twilight, but chose to tidy up instead (crazy, I know). Luckily we'll still get to go out next week for our anniversary. Every year I think, next year we'll be able to do something fancier for our anniversary, but it's seeming like every year we're getting poorer (maybe because we have more kids... hmmm). So, this year we'll go see Twilight, at the matinee showing for cheaper rates. It will be so fun!

I feel like I should post a big 'ol thank you to my mom. Seriously, she is such an inspiration to me. I learned how to work hard from my mom. She is the most productive, disciplined person I know. She inspires me to be my best self because she loves me for how I am right now. She is my biggest cheerleader. CreatedByMom.com has come about because she had the faith in me to do this & has helped me see the sunny side of the often discouraging start-up phase. Since it's still Thanksgiving, I don't think it's too late to give this thankful post; I'm so thankful for my mom & I feel like I never tell her so. Thank you mom; I love you so much.

Today is Black Friday

Hello! We hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving yesterday. I love having the reminder to step back & look at all the bounty & blessings in my life. No matter what trial I have in my life, my blessings always outnumber the bad things in my life. Today I'm looking forward to a day home with my family. My husband doesn't have to work & my kids are excited to put up our Christmas tree.

Are any of you doing your holiday shopping today online? Online shopping is a mother's dream! You don't have to pack up your kids & try to keep them calm while hunting for deals & you can shop in your pajamas. I think my kids are grateful to not have to go shopping with me. :)

I cannot believe the incredible deals the haute mama's at CreatedByMom.com came up with for our Black Friday specials. You definitely won't want to miss this, especially since most of them are just for today only. Check it out & show some mamas you love 'em today... xoxo

Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Wow! I'm getting sooooooo excited for this shopping weekend! The haute mamas at CreatedByMom.com are continuing to email me with fantastic Black Friday deals! I'm hoping that we'll get enough traffic & sales on Friday that they'll agree to extend their specials for Cyber Monday, so please spread the word & buy from moms this Black Friday! We're working feverishly behind the scenes to get the store ready & possibly bring in a new mom-vendor or two before then. So exciting!

I'm a Mac Girl & a BIG fan of the Black Friday graphic art that Apple is using this year. Wish they were a mom-owned/managaed company, though. :)

Also, I'm so excited to announce that my Twitter Pal, bizziemommy, just posted a recent interview on CreatedByMom.com & how I started everything & some other interesting tidbets. Check it out & leave her some love here: http://www.bizziemommy.com/mompreneur-interview-divine-mama.html#more-1491

Hope all of you have a great day in your Thanksgiving prep! Lots of love! xoxo

Mom Balancing Tricks

When people find out I'm a mother of three children under the age of three & have my own business, I always get the same response, "wow, how do you do it?" Honestly, if you came & saw the state my house is in, you would see that it is IMPOSSIBLE to do everything. Lots of times I feel like I'm proving how impossible it is every day.

I feel like I'm constantly drowning in my to-do list & am having to adjust my expectations in many areas of my life. The biggest area is that our house generally isn't tidy; clean is another topic for another day. I've decided to just settle on wanting tidy.

Also, mealtimes have had to be adjusted. I am now big into freezer cooking. When I cook, I try to double or triple whatever I'm making & put portions into the freezer for later. What a lifesaver!!! Since eating healthy is a big priority, freezer cooking has been a HUGE help for our family.

Today I wanted to share my favorite Whole Wheat Pancake recipe, along with a photo of my ginormous pile I made today (doubled the batch). Sadly, though, the photo will have to wait until my camera will quit throwing a tantrum & load onto my computer... grrr. I put all the extra pancakes in the fridge & we'll throw them in the toaster for yummy home-made breakfasts as we need them. I got this recipe from my friend, Crazy Sheryl at FeedaFamilyTips.com, & have been using it weekly ever since.


Freshly Ground Whole Wheat Pancakes

2 cups freshly ground whole-wheat flour (grind before & freeze; use as needed)
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Dough Enhancer (makes the whole wheat light & fluffy - soy product)
2 cups milk
4 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla

1. In medium mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, dough enhancer & salt. Make a "well" in center of dry mixture; set aside.

2. In another medium mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, oil & vanilla & mix. Add wet ingredients into the "well" in dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened (batter should still be lumpy)

Cook on a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Makes 16-20 standard (4-inch) pancakes.

Optional: add blueberries, chocolate chips, etc. to batter right before cooking.

Such a yummy recipe! These pancakes are even yummy cold. What do you do for breakfasts? Got some quick & easy ideas?

Manic Monday Mama Giveaway

Whew! What a hectic Monday! My kiddos (almost 3 y/o boy & 20 mo/o girl) decided today was the day to start potty training, amid my trying to get our house back in order & get caught up on work since the boutique. Yikes! Anywho, time to post another giveaway & I hope you'll all forgive me for how late it's being posted.

This week one of our haute mamas is giving:
A beautiful hand-sewn blanket from Linda of Ari's Angels - specify if you want the blue or pink - retail value $20.

Enter to win by leaving a comment in this blog post. xoxo

Manic Monday Mama Giveaway Winners

Drumroll...... our winners from last Monday's giveaway are:

1. Jake and Rachelle win the Tweetie Pie Baby ruffle skirt
2. ihchicky wins Bummas
3. waterbebe wins the Vintage Body Spa Pumpkin Spice Whipped Shea Butter

Thank you - EVERYONE - for entering!

Winners, email me at quinn at createdbymom dot com to get your prize & upon receipt, please leave a review in the products' info section in the store at CreatedByMom.com.

Sweet Tweets Boutique

Don't you just love boutiques? There is something so tantalizing in walking through boutiques & being inspired by creative things while dreaming over the delectable boutique goodies. But the ultimate boutique experience is had at Holiday boutiques! I feel like a little girl with a backstage pass to Santa's workshop.

Wow!!! I am soooo excited for the little holiday boutique we're joining up with this week! If you're in the Salt Lake area & want some ROCKIN' gifts & a good time, come check us out!

This chic boutique will blow your mind! Come prepared to find spectacular holiday gifts for your entire family & snatch AMAZING treats (especially from Cupcake Chic!).
You won't want to miss this!

Here's a few of our CreatedByMom.com haute mamas that will be there: Boot Scoot Bikes, Baby Bam, Mamie & Mable, My Favorite Pal, Vintage Body Spa, Bitty Basics, Dots N' Daisies, Tweetie Pie Baby, Glitzy Glass Stars, Digital Scrapbook Memories, Blu J Tees, Girly Up, So Chic Sassafras & Lacee Lou Hats! ... I know, it's a ROCK STAR list, right?


See you there!!! xoxo

Manic Monday Mama Giveaway

It's time for another giveaway!!! And we have so many fun things to giveaway that I'm going to offer a few products at a time today which will be awarded to several different commenters (no grand prize winner takes all).

Check out what some of our haute mamas are giving away this week:

The first prize is from Jenna of Tweetie Pie Baby. One lucky winner will get one of her adorable Tweetie Pie Ruffle Skirts (value $24.99).


The next prize is from Casey of Bummas, who is offering a package of Bummas wipes (value $21.00).


And our last - but not least - prize comes from Alyssa of Vintage Body Spa who is offering her Pumpkin Spice Whipped Shea Butter to one lucky winner, just in time for the holidays (value $17.50).


To enter, leave a comment & tell us which prize you pine for the most. The three winners will be announced next Monday! Woohoo! xoxo

We have a winner!

Congratulations to.....

Sandi!
you won the Charming Chandelier Pendant!!!

To collect your prize, Sandi, please email us at info at createdbymom dot com.

I know I said I'd announce the winner on Saturday & I apologize for not getting it up until today. From now on we'll just post the winner on Mondays, along with the new Manic Monday Mama Giveaway.... which I'll be posting very, very soon!

Thanks to everyone who posted to enter the drawing! We really appreciate your enthusiasm & support for CreatedByMom.com.
(BTW, I wore my Audrey pendant every day this weekend - seriously, my favorite piece of jewelry!)

Multi-Cultural Appreciation Gives Children Confidence & Roots

Did you know teaching your children about other cultures actually helps them succeed later in life? Children who understand & are sensitive to traditions & ethnicities, different from their own, grow to be confident adults who can succeed in life, crossing multi-cultural lines.

In the great melting pot we call home, cultural variety is the spice that makes our country great.

In our own home, we've chosen several holidays that are not unique to our own religion & ethnicity to celebrate. Our children's favorite seems to be celebrating Hanukkah. They love to listen to the stories about the festival of lights & enjoy playing dreidle & eating latkes. One year we invited a foreign exchange student from Jerusalem to celebrate Hanukkah with us.

I'm inspired by the Global Wonders project. They've created a collection of DVDs that teach children more about different cultures in the world. Thanks to TwitterMoms for giving me more information about the Global Wonders project. This can help all our children develop greater appreciation for the people & cultures in the world around them, while helping them establish their own roots.

Through learning about other cultures, our family has a much easier time relating to other ethnicities & religions.

And who can resist celebrating a few extra holidays each year?

Ultimate CHIC Mom Business Directory

We're so excited to announce that we're taking on the project of putting together the Ultimate Mom Business Online Directory at CreatedByMom.com! Think of this project like an expanded Dex.Online.

Listed Mom Businesses can:

• post the link to their personal site
• and also have a 500x500 px advertisement within CreatedByMom.com
  

giving consumers a sneak peak at their products/services.

Check it out here: CREATED BY MOM DIRECTORY & spread the word far & wide!

Manic Monday Mama Giveaway!

Hooray!! I'm so excited to post our first ever Manic Monday Mama Giveaway!!!
We've got a great prize from one of the haute mamas at CreatedByMom.com!

Jen of Glitzy Glass Stars is giving one lucky commenter one of her FABULOUS pendants!

(Seriously, I'm so excited to offer this giveaway because I just wore my brand new Glitzy Glass pendant over the weekend & LOVED it! It's my new favorite piece of jewelry... truly.)

To enter to win select your favorite pendant by name:

• Sparkly Marilyn
• Beautiful Audrie
• Wishing Crown
• Wonderful Chandelier

and when you leave your comment, type the special name of the pendant.
(check out the Glitzy Glass Stars blog for even more stunning works of art)
The drawing will be held Saturday.

Red Rover, Red Rover!

...Vintage Hem

for our first round of Red Rover, we're all giving a shout to the mommies at Vintage Hem to come join us at CreatedByMom.com! We LOVE your slips!!!


Check out their chic slips at www.vintagehem.com.
(also, check out our Press page to see me, Quinn, wearing the Damsel in Distress slip in the Park City TV interview)

Help us woo Vintage Hem into putting some of their slips in CreatedByMom.com by leaving your praise & begging in the comments for this post. After we have sufficient flattery/pleading posted, we'll shoot them an email with a link to this post & - hopefully - it will inspire them. Let's show Vintage Hem that their fabulous products would receive a warm welcome at CreatedByMom.com.

If there's any mom-vendors you'd like to see at CreatedByMom.com, email us at info@createdbymom.com & we'll put up a Red Rover enticement to try to woo them over.

p.s. Thanks for your love & prayers. My baby is recovering really well & we are home now. What a relief! We'll have our first Manic Monday Mama Giveaway next Monday. It's gonna be GOOD!!! xoxo

Manic Monday Mama Giveaway Postponed

Sadly, our premiere Manic Monday Mama Giveaway has been postponed.  Due to a little trauma, I'm spending the night in the hospital with our little 5 month old daughter.  She should be just fine, but they're watching her really closely to be sure.  I'm hoping that after all this excitement blows over we'll be able to get back to business as usual.  So... know that I haven't forgotten about the Giveaway & I'm very sorry it's been delayed.  

Lots of love to all of you!  xoxo