You all know me. I don’t make that much. Plus, I’m cheap.
So the idea of taking my kids to Disney seems like a great idea, but I didn’t know if it would ever happen, seeing as how I’m not balling like that. The one and only trip my family ever took to Disney was after years and years (and YEARS) of saving.
Coming from that perspective, I was eager to hear from the folks at Disney to see how I would manage to get my crew of four down to Florida …

I am TOO pumped to tell you that I am on my way to Orlando, Florida for a three-day trip to Walt Disney World, as part of the African-American Mom Blogger Mixer, put together by the folks at Disney and BSM Media.  
What can I say? I’m beyond honored that they would ask me to participate, and I’m pumped that I will be there as they introduce Princess Tiana (from the upcoming The Princess and the Frog) to the theme park.
I’ve been waiting my whole life for an African-American Disney princess and …

I am one of the newest mom bloggers over at WorkingMother.com, the online home of Working Mother magazine.
Now, I have a subscription to Working Mother (Maghound.com - look into it!) so I read it every month. And I know I’m not their target demographic. But they do have great tips on how to balance your roles as mom and employee, something that I find myself struggling with EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
I’m writing over there as the young professional mama, posting weekly (or as often as I can churn out these posts) in the …

I’ve been doing a lot lately.
And I’m wearing myself into the ground.
I’ve been working full-time, being a mommy, trying to hold it down at home while my hubby works crazy long summer hours and maintaining this blog and my freelance projects.
My house is a mess, I’m unorganized, our laundry situation should be illegal, my daughter and son both need a deep conditioner in the worst way and my hair is feeling pretty dry too. The carpet needs to be cleaned, the dishwasher loaded, the toys put away. If you walked …

I guess I’ll never really know for sure what I’m doing with this whole motherhood thing. My latest conumdrum? Figuring out what the h&#! to feed these kids.
My daughter, who’s two, has survived this past year on basically four foods: bananas, yogurt, Cheerios and oranges. And orange juice. Lots and lots of orange juice. It used to drive me mad.
The backstory: I breastfed her for six months, then when I went to work, the breast pump I used wasn’t doing the job and I began to exclusively feed with formula and …

Okay, so I’ve noticed that it’s getting warmer. That summer is around the corner. That I can’t wear these sweatpants and long-sleeve T-shirts anymore.
*sigh*
I don’t know about you, but I usually give myself a goal each time I have a kid. They usually say it takes 9 months to put the baby weight on, so it should take at least 9 months to take it off. I subscribe to the “Maternity leave doesn’t count” theory (because honestly, aren’t you just trying to make it from one day to the next on …

Been hearing all the news about the swine flu outbreak and it’s got me paranoid. Every time my daughter sneezes or my son has snot running out his nose, I feel like locking them in their rooms and stocking up on Lysol.
The CDC simply recommends people to use common sense and WASH YOUR HANDS AND COVER YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU SNEEZE.
Seriously, that’s it.
They also recommend that you sing a song, say, “Happy Birthday” or “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” while you wash your hands to make sure you wash them …

I never knew how easy I had it with my daughter.
She would sit and play quietly with her blocks. Even once in a while she would look up at me and giggle, or ask me to read a story. No biggie.
Then I had my son.
*cue the Macaulay Culkin scream from Home Alone*
That kid just won’t sit down. People warned me about this. They told me this would happen. But I didn’t believe them. “No, he acts like his father,” I told people. My husband is cooler than cool, the …

So my girl Chanel (The Fly Mommie) was given the Sexy Blogger Award where she had to list five things that’s sexy about herself. Then she tagged me. So I don’t know if I’m a sexy blogger too, or if she just wants to know what I think is sexy. Eh. Either way, good looking out!
So here’s my list. Let me know what you think is sexy about yourself in the comments (I mean it y’all - I want at LEAST 10 comments. Don’t make all this sense to have this much traffic and …

I was lucky in that when I was pregnant, I mostly gained weight in my boobs, belly and ankles. Nowhere else. But when I had the baby, the places where I gained weight became, well, saggy. (How do you have saggy ankles? I don’t really know, but it’s true. I feel like they’re saggy.)
Anyway.
So I’ve been struggled to fit this new body type - you know, a “mommy body.” Now, please don’t get mad and say that not everyone has a “mommy body” and if you work out the fat …

Dear son,
Hard to believe your first year is coming to a close in a few short months. It feels like you have been a part of my life forever.
But in the nine months that you have been here, I feel like I need to apologize to you for some poor planning on my part.
To put it bluntly, I should’ve planned this ish better.
By the time you made your appearance in the family, your big sis was 21 months old. Meaning - she was pretty much all I could handle. …

One of the topics on Momversation this week was “Do you judge young mothers?”

A trio of some of the net’s most popular bloggers, Rebecca Wolf from Girls Gone Child, Dana Loesch from Mamalogues, and Giyen Kim from Baconismyenemy.com, shared their thoughts on young motherhood and what it was like for them. Go check out the video and I give you permission to come back and curse me out if you don’t find yourself nodding in agreement.These moms kept it all the way real.
Rebecca talks about feeling isolated and stuck in …

I’m driving home with my kids. I gave my daughter my cell phone to hold. She likes pressing buttons and looking at the screensaver. It buys me some time before she starts getting antsy.
As I’m driving, I look up in the rearview mirror and notice she has the phone up to her ear, babbling away.
“Sweetie, who are you talking to?”
“I’m talking to NaNa,” she says, quickly continuing to gibberjab about nothing.
“Is NaNa on the phone?” I ask, turning down the radio to see if I can hear my mom on the line.
“Yeeaaaaaah.”
“Let me have …

Flickr photo: Mother's Love by Jay Heich
When I think of all the ways my life has changed since I became a mother more than two years ago, the thing that stands out most is how I quit being so selfish.
When was the last time I cooked something for myself, because I was hungry? When was the last time I put together a meal based solely on what I liked? 
When was the last time I went to the mall and didn’t talk myself out of buying a cute outfit because it cost …

I’m probably one of the most ambitious people you will ever meet. (Or whose blog you read, since you don’t know me IRL.)
Wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl marking up my mom’s walls with crayons. (Which she’s still mad about, by the way.) So I’ve made that a big part of my life. I’m in PR, which meaning there’s a lot of writing and storytelling with my job.
Then there’s my second job. And that’s where you come in.
On the side I’m a freelance writer and …

Here in Young Mommy Land, I’m all about budgets. I shop on Sundays after the weeklong sales have been announced and I never buy something if I think it might be marked down sometime in the near future.
But as I have embarked on my first job, I realize that this “if it costs less, all the better” approach isn’t cutting it for me anymore. Since I no longer have the “I’m a broke college student” excuse to fall back on, I have to actually look like I am a proud …

Wrote this post for SASSY Women Online about making yourself irreplaceable at work. Definitely required reading in these times!

Just read this essay about a 37-year-old writer (self-described as “broke and single”) who asks her good friend’s ex-boyfriend (got that?) to be her, um, baby daddy. She wants him to sleep with her until she gets pregnant and then beat it, because she’s moving cross-country with the kid.
Um, yes, that sound you just heard was my head exploding, which pretty much lets you know my feelings on the matter. Now I’ll just leave it up to you:
What do you think? Is it wise to get yourself pregnant on purpose, with …

My poor baby boy is teething right now and so far, so good. He’s not too cranky or fussy as long as you hold him. Put him down and there will be hell to pay.
I saw the recipe for these teething biscuits in Wondertime magazine and thought I’d try to make them in order to give him something to play with if I happened to put him down. Distraction is the name of the game, people.
It couldn’t be simpler:
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
Mix together until it forms a …

 
Before I had kids, I was obsessed with my boobs.
I would scour the racks at Victoria’s Secret, searching for bras I knew I couldn’t really afford that could keep my boobs looking…you know, young.
Then I had my daughter and I began to search in earnest. It wasn’t just a frivolous way to spend a Saturday afternoon - it was a mission. My size flutuated so much between pregnancy, breastfeeding and weaning that I was clueless about what size I wore and none of my previous sizes fit.
I don’t know about you, but …

Beautiful post by Amy over at Pretty Babies on the myth of “Me time.” I thought I was the only one who didn’t know what to do when I finally got a moment to myself….

Come on, mommies! I know you guys can dig deep and tell me some different ways to save money that we haven’t heard time and time again. So I’m extending the deadline until Friday! (Because I love you so very much!)
Let me know your favorite ways to save money or make money, and you’ll be entered in my first ever giveaway, a $25 BabyGap gift card! (You can use it at Gap, GapKids, BabyGap, Gap Outlets and gap.com.) E-mail me at youngmommychronicles@gmail.com by Friday, February 20 at 5 p.m. Most creative …

I wrote these posts on side hustles so long ago, but they are continuously two of my most popular posts. At least 10 folks a day come here looking for them, so let me put them back up front.
Here’s my two-part series on designing a side hustle for yourself. Having a side hustle is a good strategy in any economy, but with unemployment soaring and banks failing left and right, it seems downright mandatory now.
Part 1: Ultimate side hustles: How to get one and make extra cash
Part 2: 5 Side Hustles to …

…especially in this economy.

Celebrate a late Valentine’s Day excursion by taking out your loved one to Friday’s, where they’re having a Buy One Entree, Get One Free promotion now until March 1.

How many of these can you check off your to-do list? I think I’ve knocked off four of them. I need to start giving to charity regularly, especially with the economy the way it is now.