School shopping (the wise way)

Hey my loves,

Well it's almost that time for the kiddos to return to school (does happy dance)! For most of us parents, it means more time to get things done, and have a little peace and quiet for some of the day. This also means that you have to complete the dreadful outing...school shopping!! 😞😜😳 

Now for me, I have four children (two that are in school) and I know I hate this day. Means that for most of the day you will be shoving through the mall or department store with every other parent out there doing the same thing. So how do you get through it you ask? Here are a few tips to get you through this day:

1. Plan, organize and budget! This is a must when going shopping for your back to school kids. Most schools have school supply lists that you obtain so you know what you need to buy and what you don't. Make sure that if you have multiple children in school that need the same thing, you go to a wholesale store like Costco or SAMs; that way you can get the item need in bulk and you will be saving big bucks! Online shopping is also a good thing. If you order early, you can get deals that you would not find at the stores and if you spend over 50 dollars there is usually reduced or even free shipping. 

Know how much money you have to work with. These days, each child can cost up to 250 dollars for the supplies, clothing, shoes, booksack, and any school fees that may need to paid usually the first week of school. Don't try to get all of these items in one day if your budget can't handle it. What I used to do was save 20 dollars a week from my check during the summer, once school shopping came around I knew I had the money to get everything I needed for the kids. Now some of you may not be able to save that much. Just do what you think your budget can handle, point is be prepared! Tomorrow I will be posting another blog as a part 2 to this blog. It will show you stores to get the most out of your money and what stores to stay away from. If you have any questions or need advice please contact me via email at mrselmore1806@gmail.com or you can leave me a direct message on Twitter. Until next time...

Erica

Aka wife and mama💋

Extreme couponing

Hey folks, 

I will be starting my venture into extreme couponing and I wanted to share my journey with you. In case you are in the market for saving major money and supplying your family with all of their needs, please take notes!

First thing you will need is time! It can take 12-15 hours just preparing for your shopping trip. 

Organization. You must be organized. Have your coupons ready for your shopping trip and in order by date and product. 

Know your store! If you have a regular store you go to, talk with customer service or a manager for their coupon polices. They should be able to give you something regarding their policy on coupons and transaction polices. Know what sales are going on the day before going to the store.

Items you will need:

An excel program

Newspapers and/or coupon websites

Baseball card holders( for the coupons )

3 in binder 

More tips to come happy shopping 

Erica 

Aka wife and mama

NEW HOUSE!

I am sorry that I haven't been writing in here for the past several months but I have a good reason..I AM NOW A HOMEOWNER! Whoot! It's been a long time coming and God has made the way for me to get a spacious home for my family and I! I wanted to share my happy news with you all! It was also a fixer upper so I have so many ideas an pictures coming your way in case you all have a home that you would like to fix up! I will also be changing the name of my blog to something more universal and relevant to what I will be writing about; like motherhood, being a homemaker, fixing and repairing your home and more things to come! Please stay tuned and thanks for your continued support! 

Smooches 😘

Erica 

Aka wife and momma

Black History Month

I'm sitting in my car waiting on my daughter to come out of school and i realized its February! Now many people associate this month to be Valentine's Day, however it's also a month to celebrate those who have fallen to try to make our world better! It's a month to learn about those who have improved our technologies today. It's a month where we can learn about the past so we can take our future by the horns! Yes people I'm talking about black history month! 

Many Americans only recognize this month because they feel it's the "right thing to do"! They put up pictures of Dr. Martin Luther King and replay his "I Have a Dream" speech. They discuss how Rosa Parks wouldn't get up from her seat on the bus to fight for equal rights. These people are very much important in our Black History, but they are not the only ones! They are just a couple of people who happened to get the most attention in an already bad situation back In those days.

 What I will be doing starting tomorrow and going forward for the rest of the month, is present those amazing African Americans who made a huge difference in our past but who are not largely talked about or recognized.  I will be showing you those people who invented products we use today on a daily basis. I will show you the ones whose life was taken thus starting the Civil Rights Movement. Let's take this journey together and explore the roots of people who put their lives in danger for our rights as freed people today. 

Baby mama/daddy drama!

Hey readers, 

It's been a few days since I've wrote on my blog but I needed to really think of about this topic before writing about it. I want to start off by asking you all a question. How many of you have exes who have children with someone else? Question two: how many of you are dealing with your spouses exes who can't seem to let go of your man/woman and use their kids as leverage to keep them close? 

Well I have been in that situation before and all I can tell you is this. It is really up to your spouse to get that under control and to keep it clear that the past is the past and it should just be about the children. You can and should express your feelings and opinions to you spouse about the situation but ultimately, he/she should stand up for your relationship and let them know that it's just not going down that way. Your relationship should also be a strong one. If you have outsiders inside your home and your relationship is weak or not where it should be then problems will arise and it's more likely that you won't have a relationship anymore. 

Be blessed and have a great week. Please be sure to follow me on Twitter @missynn1206. 

Peace and blessings,

Erica 

Blended Families

Good evening readers,

I wanted to talk about blended families for today's topic. Many of us have seen the TV show The Brady Bunch and know that their family was indeed a blended one. Carol had three daughters who married Mike who had three sons. In the show, they showed a family that was able to come together as two different families to become one. They didn't see themselves as a blended family but as one happy family. Of course in the real world, that kind of story doesn't always turn out that way.

Take my family for example, I married my husband three years ago and brought two children from a previous relationship into this marriage. He had three children from a previous relationship that he would be bringing into this marriage as well. When we met, we lived in two different states; i was in Louisiana and he was in Florida. When we decided to get married, he made the choice to come and move to Louisiana to be with me and my two children. This would mean that his children would be staying in Florida with their mother. Now fast forward to three years later, we ended up having two children together bringing our immediate household to four children.

It hasn't been the best for bringing all the kids together as of yet. Due to issues with his ex, we are not able to bring the kids out to spend time with us and their new siblings. It saddens me because they were never able to get to know their step siblings or their two new siblings that has come into our family. Out of the three years, the kids have only been together once! That doesn't seem like a lot of time for us to bond as a family. The truth is, we will never be like Mike and Carol Brady. Our children will not be growing up in the same household, we will be lucky to seem them once or twice a year if that ever happens.

Being in a blended family can be tricky especially if there are exes involved that are keeping the kids away out of spite (that discussion will be next). I feel that once you are married to a man or woman who has children, you should try your best to get everyone together and make it one so that no one feels left out. I'm sure that when we go on family trips or we post our family portraits, I'm sure that the children feel either left out or just not apart of this family because they are not here. Adults, should try their best to make sure that they do what is best for the children regardless if you do not like your exes spouse or not.

So my question for the day is would you date someone who had children? why or why not. All comments are welcome. Well until next time....

Erica

Lost loves

Good evening readers,

I wanted to start off by saying thank you to all of you who have took out time to read my blog entries and take in all I had to say. It means the world to me that I am getting such great feedback and support from all over. I have decided to change the name of this blog to Pillow Conversations: Lets talk about it. I made this change because my posts are not just about wife and motherhood. Its about life and lets face it life happens. The content that will be displayed here will be about everything that we as human beings go through in this lifetime. Sometimes, reading someone Else's story may help you with whatever you are going through at that moment in time. I will be posting daily blog entries and each entry will be a new topic. Your feedback and comments are most welcomed and anything you would like to see on here as a topic, please feel free to contact me via email at mrselmore1806@gmail.com .

Tonight's topic is going to be about losing those you love. I wanted to talk about this because a dear friend of mine just lost her sister today from cancer. They were very close as many sisters are and i know that losing her must of been devastating. I lost my mother when i was 11 years old and I still feel like it was yesterday. I miss her everyday and the pain doesn't go away at all, i think that it just becomes numb enough for you to go through your day to day life. The thought of losing anyone that is close to you can be very stressful, painful and you feel like your world is over.

How do you cope when you have lost someone you love? I wanted to write this entry in honor of my friend's sister. She is being so strong right now for her family and herself and I want commend her for her strength. I am going to keep it short tonight and just end this by saying to anyone out there that is going through this as well...It will get better. You will wake up the next morning and each day will get a little easier than the day before. Remember those awesome moments that you had with that person and try to live your life the best way you know how. Honor them by staying strong and keep moving forward. Life is not over...its only the beginning.

Peace and blessings,

Erica

Late nights with a newborn

Hey my lovelies, 

It's almost 4 am and my newborn is up and wide awake. Yep, that's parenthood for you. Restless nights and tired mornings. Thank God that we have one more day before my two older kids go back to school. Being a mom is not easy but no one ever said it would be. Waking up and doing the midnight bottle feelings and gazing at my baby is great but it does take its toll on me. 

There are many ways that I get sleep especially during the early months: 

1. The number one rule is sleep when your baby sleeps. I can't stress this enough. Do not try to clean what you couldn't or something work related. This is the time that you should catch up on your zzzzz's, you will have plenty of time to clean later on.

2. Start putting your baby on a schedule. This will be extremely hard in the beginning, however, it will be beneficial to you to try to incorporate a sleeping schedule so you know when your little one is most likely to be awake and when feeding etc.

3. Make sure you take advantage of the crib! Please please have your newborn sleep in his/her crib once you come home from the hospital. Making sure your newborn sleeps in his crib will insure that he won't get attached to sleeping with you when he gets older! Trust me im currently fighting a toddler who refuses to lay with mommy and daddy most nights and you always want to be able to have a little adult moment if and when you want it! 

Newborns are tricky at first and of course very demanding. Be patient with them, love them and enjoy this time being a mommy! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me by using the form at the bottom of the page. You may also follow me on Twitter @misslynn1206. Well it's been real but it's my bedtime now sweet dreams and happy reading!! 

Erica

Aka wife and mommy 

Need a Mommy Moment?

Hey mommies,

I hope you all had a great weekend and a happy new year! Mine was used for rest and relaxation before the week gets hectic and yes it will get hectic! I wanted to take a second to talk to you all today about having what I call a "Mommy Moment". A mommy moment is something that I believe all of us mothers need in order to keep our homes and families in working order. It is a time where you can take for yourself and go do something that you want to do. It can be going to a spa, getting your nails or hair done, or simply reading a book at home in your favorite reading corner.

I usually have my mommy moments just after my husband leaves for work at 5 am in the morning. After making sure he gets off okay and has everything he needs, I go make my morning coffee, take my iPhone and turn on my music. I do a sip and listen for about 30 minutes before waking up my two older children for school. On weekends I have my mommy moment before I make my family breakfast which is usually before 7 am.

I firmly believe that having your mommy is very important and should be put into your daily routine. As a stay at home mom, you wear many hats and a lot of the time you have to juggle two or three things at one time. By incorporating this into your daily or weekly routine, you cut a lot of stress and discomfort from your life and ultimately you become a better and much happier mommy. So take this time to figure out what it is that you like doing and then take that time to do it on a daily or weekly basis. Remember, having your mommy moment does not mean that you have to spend a lot of money, in fact many activities that you can do doesn't cost any money at all!

To all of you new mommies, don't feel bad that you need time away from your baby. Its normal to feel that way when you first leave your baby for some me time, but trust me, it can help you in more ways than one, and will help you be more refreshed when doing all of those awesome mommy things. This week's goal should be to find your favorite activity and then find time to do it (without the kids or hubby)! Well until next time my loves, take care and be well!

Erica
aka wife and mommy!

Chores!

Hey my loves! 

Well another day passed and a few things learned. I'm sure you all have done chores in some point in your life but doing them on a daily basis all day everyday can be draining. I have learned that making a daily chore list and breaking it up can be easier than trying to tackle eveything in one day. You must phase yourself! Don't let yourself get overwhelmed or to tired to enjoy your cup of morning coffee or your favorite read in your tabloid magazine!!! What I try to do is give my two older kids some easy chores to do and mark it down on a calendar so they know which chore to do on any given day. In return, I have downloaded an app called Chore Monster, which gives kids a chance to mark off all the chores they have done and you as a parent are able to mark down what rewards they are able to receive once completed! This app is free and available in the App Store or Google Play. When you have your kids do chores, make it fun! I try to instill that this is a learning period for them on how to be responsible people and doing their best at eveything they do. For the moms, r the stay at home daddies, I have read a book by Katie Berry called 30 days to a clean and organized house. This book was a life saver for me and it taught me that being organized and having a plan can save me a lot of time, energy and money!! This e-book is available on Amazon and I recommend this for any new stay at home mommy that feels a little overwhelmed and lost on how to set a schedule and routine for herself. Remember, that being prepared and organized can help you in the long run for many obstacles that you will face during the day. Who says being a wife and mommy is easy?? Not I, not I.

Erica

Aka wife and mommy 

Arguments with your spouse and when to throw in the towel!!

Having an argument with your spouse can be emotionally draining! It makes you want to crawl under a rock and never come out. Sometimes saying I'm sorry can be the hardest part. But when do you say enough is enough? Are you one of those people who must win an argument and prove your point? This evening my husband and I get into an argument and I have to say this was my doing. One question he asked me went into something different. My husband like most good men do not entertain drama especially with their wife. After hours of this going back and forth, I walked up to him, sat on his lap and started rubbing his shoulders. He leaned in and gave me a passionate kiss and hug. In our own way this argument was over but I still felt like I needed to say I'm sorry for being such a little girl about the situation. Sometimes well many times in life, you have to pick and choose your battles and you must decide which ones you are willing to fight and which ones you are willing to lose. I love my husband with all of my heart and I know that I have a lot of work to do within myself. I'm just glad that he's there to take that journey with me. 

Erica 

Aka wife and mommy

Introduction to me, myself and I!

Greetings blog readers!

My name is Erica Lynn Elmore and I am a wife to a wonderful husband and mother to four beautiful children. Let me start of by telling you a little about myself, this will help you understand why doing this blog is so important to me as it will be a guide to others. I am a college graduate and was a working full time single mom just a little over four years ago. I was raising two children. My son Jaylen who was 7 at the time and my daughter Sherie who was 3.

I just moved to a new state (Louisiana to be exact) on December 2009. The move was strictly a financial one. I was living in California, which is where I grew up but the economy was not in my favor and caused me to be out of work for two years. Making the choice to uproot myself and my kids from everything they have known was not an easy one, but it was best for all of us.

Fast forward to 2011 when I met my husband Kelvin. We met on E-Harmony and he was living in Miami at the time. We seemed to hit it off pretty well and ended up getting married in February of 2012 (Valentines Day)! He decided to move up here to Louisiana to be with me and my kids since I had been at my place of employment for well over two years. My kids seemed to love him and we all got along well.

In 2013, I became pregnant with my third child Kelvin Jr. and he was born on October 12th 2013! Soon after this, I was laid off from my job. Many married couples face this in their marriage and it can make them or break them. I felt like this was going to be California all over again and this time I will have three kids to take care of! I felt scared and didn't know where I was going to be working, how much it will pay and if and when this would happen. I used to joke to my husband about being a stay at home mom and he go out and be the sole provider for our family and he was always like, no way we need every bit of money coming into this house! Well that changed when the layoff happened and we both agreed that staying home with the kids would be more beneficial to us than paying for a sitter or daycare center and having to live from paycheck to paycheck.

I just had our forth and final child, a daughter and I am a stay at home mom and a wife. Trust me its not easy, but for others that are thinking about being a stay at home mom or have questions about marriage or just want see how others handle things, I wanted to share my story, my day to day, my life! Maybe hearing what I have to say and seeing how I did things will have you think about how you can do it. Being a wife and a mommy ain't easy but it can be done.

If you have questions, comments or concern, please feel free to email me at mrselmore@icloud.com or mrselmore1806@gmail.com. I am also on twitter as misslynn1206. I look forward to sharing experiences and stories with you.

Erica
aka wife and mommy