And Baby Makes Five!

Hola friends! This week, our fabulous date comes to us from the "Craft/DIY" category of Mama's Personals.

Colleen is a mama of three with an amazing sense of decorating style. I kind of wish she'd come to my house and help me decorate. ;)

Here's what Colleen has to say about her blog, "And Baby Makes Five!":

I'm a mom of three who loves to post about the passions that fuel and enrich my days -- family, crafting/creating, and cooking/baking. All set against the backdrop of beautiful Midcoast Maine. If you love a warm kitchen, a good craft tutorial, and a comfy, homey place ... grab a cup of tea or coffee and come on over!

And, my favorite new feature, the interview questions:

1. Does your geographic region have any “quirks”? (You betcha mine does, dontchaknow!)

As a lifelong New Englander, I'd have to say that we do have our fair share of quirks here in the Northeast. Most of them relate to accents, figures of speech, and such. I grew up in Massachusetts where "car" was always "cah" and "party" was always "pahty." Here in Maine, it's similar ... but you'll also hear words like "ayuh" and "deah" sprinkled into everyday conversation. And wicked lives on ... as in "That was a wicked big storm." My favorite saying heard here is "from away." It's a term used to refer to anyone who was not born in Maine. Even if they've been here for 80 years. So my kids and husband are true Mainers while I will always be "from away." And, believe me, Yankee Ingenuity is not a myth. But we New Englanders are a warm and welcoming bunch ... despite the reputation we so often have as being cold and distant. I can't imagine living anywhere else! We have the ocean, mountains, farms, forests, and so much history. Not to mention so many kind-hearted people looking out for their friends and neighbors. Our state motto is "Maine: The Way Life Should Be." I couldn't agree more.

2. What has been the greatest moment of your life so far?

Oh, that's a toughie! There have been so many greats along the way. But the "moment" that stands out for me the most, I think, is the first time our oldest two children held our youngest in the hospital. They were totally in love with him and I realized that I had everything I'd ever wanted ... right there in that little room. I try to remember that when the three of them start fighting like an old married couple or start tap dancing on my very last good nerve.

3. Tell us about your family.

Hmmmm ... let's see. My husband and I are college sweethearts and we've been married for 12 years. We have three children (Connor, Michaela, and Brendan) ranging in age from three to nine and we live in Midcoast Maine. My husband is a high school math teacher and I am a former elementary and middle school Spanish teacher. We've been making one income work for us for eight years now and I feel so grateful to be home with my kids. It takes a lot of effort and sacrifice, but it's the arrangement that works best for us. As I like to say, we don't live big but we live well. And we thoroughly enjoy all that our state has to offer. My blog, I think, reflects that sentiment ... as it is the place where family, friends, kids, cooking, and crafting come together. Just like home. So stop on by sometime!

The following are Colleen's three favorite posts...

Mother's Day Reflections...a poingnant post on motherhood...I nodded and smiled the whole way through it!

An amazing tutorial on making adorable Sparkly Snowman Bowl Fillers...(and, for the record...I officially hate Colleen. She took some salt dough and made it look extremely easy to turn it into some unbelievably adorable Snowman faces!! Okay, I don't hate her. I'm just jealous. But seriously? Unreal. Adorable. Is it really that easy?!)

From 7 Weeks Early to 7 Years Old...a sweet, heartfelt tribute to a firstborn babe who showed them what love is all about.

You've gotta go check out Colleen's blog...she has her home decorated for fall, and it makes me want to go visit and have a cup of hot apple cider with her! Gorgeous-ness!

Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!!

A new date!!

This week, I'd like to introduce you all to Dawn, author of:

Here's what Dawn has to say about her blog:

I am the one pink in a house of blue. A work-from-home Mom with three sons and a hubby, who blogs her heart out. I love my laptop and Tim Horton's coffee. I love white wine and roast beef dinners. My name is Dawn and this is my blog...enjoy your visit.

I am really loving the new interview portion of our Dates!! It feels so much more "personal"! (How apropos!!)

What was the best job you’ve ever had?

The best job I ever had was at a pet store called Aquarium Toronto. I was about 16 years old and it was before the days of Sunday shopping, so I used to volunteer to be the one to go in on Sundays to feed the animals. The big rule was that the animals were not allowed out of their cages except for necessities (like injuries or whatever) but I broke that rule every single Sunday. First, I would let all of the kittens out to play, then the puppies, then the rabbits. I was like Dr. Doolittle, DOING little while playing with the animals. I came to realize why the owner didn't want us to let the animals out of the cages about a month later, when two of the rabbits had litters. Ummm....Mr. Owner, I have NO idea how they got pregnant! HA!

Are you a glass half empty, or a glass half full kind of a person?

I would like to tell you that I am a half full girl, but alas, I am not. I am a miserable human being most of the time, so I am a half empty gal. :o(

Tell us about your family.

My hubby and I met on August 5th, 1989. I was just about to turn 20. He was turning 23. We married on April 9, 1994 and had our first son on June 28th, 1996. Our second son joined us on June 29th, 1999 (yes, 3 years and one day after his older brother) and then our littlest man arrived on April 18th, 2007. He was a surprise, not an oops and he makes our family complete. My MIL, who really is pretty good, lives with us (God help me) and we have a lovely 9.5 year old Bichon Frise named Rosie and a goldfish named Bubbles. We are a hockey and soccer family, with the winter being our busiest time...we are only home one night a week from now until March...Tuesdays.

Here are Dawn's personal favorite posts:

Bullying...(a post that makes me wanna kick some little kid butt...grrrrr, I hate bullies.)

A Post from the Past...prepare to have some Kleenex handy.

And, a punchy little (eye opening!!) post..."I Couldn't Sleep Last Night".

Head on over to Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy to pay Dawn a visit...and tell her Mama sent you!

The Inaugural Date!!

Well...the moment I've been preparing for for the last few weeks is finally here!! The announcement of our first "Date of the Week", right here on the brand spankin' new Personals blog!

Friends, let's welcome Elizabeth, from "Trenches of Mommyhood" as our first Date!

Here's what Elizabeth has to say about her "Mommy Blog"...

"Mama to three little ones, deep in the trenches of motherhood. Random thoughts on day-to-day life, frugal living, $75 weekly grocery lists, homeschooling, breastfeeding, natural birthing, attachment parenting, and "granola" lifestyle. Something for everyone."

I sent her some questions, so that we could get to know her a little more...

If you were handed an open ended airline ticket...anywhere, any number of people, for any amount of time...where would you go, who would you bring, how long would you stay?

I haven't traveled much at all and travel is one of my big dreams so it would be quite difficult to decide where to go - there are so many places! I would take my immediate family with me (husband/kids). We all need a bit of time to reconnect and a family vacation may do the trick. Ireland or Australia are two places I would love to see. I think a month would be the right amount of time...enough time to relax but not enough that we would be longing for home.

What would you say your “passion” is?

My passions come and go and change with the seasons of my life. Right now I have two passions, one of which is to raise my children up to be good people. I'm pretty sure that is one passion of every parent though. :)

My second passion at the moment is to live simply, live green, and live beneath our means. These are all passions that sprouted from the waste and "me, me, me" mentality of our country. I've run a budget challenge on my blog several times (one is coming up too!) where we have lived off just $1,200 for a month (which includes housing, food, bills...everything!). I wanted to prove to myself that we could live on so much less. I've been using more natural homemade cleaning products, doing away with paper products, and trying to pair down our clutter to be in a simple place.

When you were a teenager, what was the worst trouble you got into?

This *could* be an exciting answer...if it weren't me that you asked. No need to lie here...I was just a pretty straight forward teen that rarely went against my parents wishes. I never even stayed out past curfew!

Maybe I could list getting married at age 18 as *trouble* :) but not really, since almost 10 years later we are still married.

I can't come up with one thing that I remember getting yelled at or in deep trouble for (except the normal "do your chores" routines). Sorry for such a boring answer!

As part of the new routine for our "Date Night", I'm providing you with three of Elizabeth's favorite posts.

In June, Elizabeth did a "$1200 Budget Challenge" (Did she make it?!), here is the link to that month's archive of posts...a 30 Day Budget Challenge.

And...she showered with a cowboy and an army guy!! I can't believe it..."Confessions of Mommyhood".

A fabulous post, reminding us to love and appreciate our husbands..."Remember Not to Forget".

Well guys...you know the drill by now...head on over to "Trenches of Mommyhood" to pay Elizabeth a visit...

And tell her Mama sent you. ;)

The Switch!

Hey everyone! Welcome to the new "Personals" BLOG!

Yes...that's right...BLOG!! I felt like we out grew the "page" on my main blog and I wanted better organization of the blogs, so here we are!

Here's how this will work...the Date of the Week will still get their sidebar spot on My Little Life, as well as here, and the "announcement" of the Date will be on the main post of this new Personals blog. So...what you are reading right now, will be where the Date will be announced from now on!

The biggest (and BEST!!) change will be the new "categorization" of the blogs. The old Personals page was just one long imposing list of blog links...a little daunting and overwhelming if you were shopping around for new blogs to read.

As of the time being, I have the tabs above as the categories for blog listings. If there is one that you feel should be changed, just lemme know!

Also, I will be choosing my Dates a week prior to their "announcement", contacting them and getting to know them a little more...to try to make their announcement a little more "personal". We'll be having an of "interview" of sorts...with fun questions and highlights of your favorite posts!!

This site is all about YOU!

I hope this sounds as exciting to YOU as it is for me!!

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Watch for our very first, in-depth, Date of the Week on Sunday!