If I Had A Billion Dollars.....

At the beginning of the semester, one class had us do an activity where we chose a paper with a random question we had to answer. It was so we could "get to know each other", even though we've been together almost two years.

My question was : If you had a billion dollars, would you continue to work/go to school? I answered yes. Of course everyone thought I was insane. Why do all that when you have so much money to take care of everything??

I try to stay optimistic, but I also know how the real world works. Did you know that to retire

comfortably you need to save almost $1 million?? Well, now you do.

So if I had a billion dollars, yes you might see me driving around in that lifted F-150 I dream about every night, I'd have all my bills paid, we've live in a nice house with a big yard, and my son would have college already paid for.
Howeverrrrrrr, why would I drop out of college now when I'm soooo close to graduating! Plus, I know myself enough to say that I'd be bored. I'd miss my co-workers (even though they sometimes drive me up the wall), and seeing my favorite customers every day. Getting a boat-load of money won't stop me from wanting to accomplish all my goals.
I guess part of that is the fact that I'm almost done with school and my management training. Why let all that hard work go to waste?

Mother's Day

Sorry this post is late, things are getting hectic! Business plans for school are due in less than 2 weeks, meaning the term is over soon! After that, we have a big presentation, which honestly I'm not even worried about compared to just getting this thing done! The week after that, it's off to Pittsburgh for 3 days on a work trip! So things are pretty crazy.

Mother's Day was no exception. After work, my son took me out to Cracker Barrel. We don't go there often, but he loves that triangle game they have at every table. Mother's Day gets better as he gets older because now he can actually write cards. He wrote and colored a whole book at school about us. He even pointed out that he colored my clothes purple because that's my favorite color (yes it is!).

Last night, he went on this rant about going to a baseball game because Ike the Spike and some of the Spike's baseball players came to his school. He went on and on about how after church, we can go home and get lunch, then nap, then go watch a baseball game.


These kids never stop amazing you. Aiden's the type of kid who will tell me he loves me right after he wakes up, just because.

Kids and Banking

A few days ago I posted this article on Facebook and Twitter to see what other moms thought. Well, they weren't too thrilled. Basically, this article talks about letting kids earn an allowance, then putting it into a bank account, giving them a debit card, then letting them use it to purchase things they want.

There's good and bad to this idea.

First, let's talk about the positive! Children are still learning the value of a dollar early on. My son for example loves helping out to earn money to put in his piggy bank. Once he has a good amount saved, we take it to the credit union (this is an important step). My son has a savings account that is for kids; every time he makes a deposit, he gets a stamp on his card, and when he gets 10 stamps, the bank puts $5 into his account. Pretty cool, right?

Now, a lot of moms had worries about their kids losing a debit card, it could get stolen, and the biggest one-- Having a card makes you feel limitless. My view is that the same things can happen with cash. Whether it's cash or card, I would feel safer holding onto it myself. Your child can still get the same satisfaction from saving money then spending it on what they've saved for, that's not going to change.

So... where's the negative? I already mentioned that with lost/stolen cards. Again, if you as the parent hold onto the money, these won't be issues.

Other parent's commented that their children don't get allowances or earn money from chores. This all depends on you, your child, and your finances. If you can't afford to give them money, there's nothing wrong with that. If anything, I'd suggest a savings account for college or the future. However, as kids get older, it's important to teach them about earning, saving, and spending.

When I got my first job at 16, I spent my paycheck pretty fast. I had to contribute to my part of the cell phone bill, but beyond that, I could spend it however I wanted. I couldn't even tell you what I spent it on other than the normal clothes, jewelry, and food. I never saved anything and I never knew how to pay bills myself. Imagine the finance shock I had when I became pregnant! I practically had to teach myself these things.

My point is, I'm sure some of us have had those experiences and thought "I'll make sure my child knows how to do this." First it's coins in a piggy bank, then they'll be buying a car, next college! Showing our kids the importance of these things now will instill these practices into them to use in the future when they are out on their own.

Until next time!

What To Do When You Make A Mistake

Mornings are always rough for us. Yesterday especially. As always, my son got dressed last minute because he'd rather lay on the couch with our dog Bandit then get dressed. Lately, he's been wanting to pack his own lunch, which is fine with me as long as it's not a bunch of junk food. Before we left the house I checked it... all junk food. From a bowl of chips to maybe 8 packs of fruit snacks. I told him to pick two for snack or he wouldn't take anything.


So once we finally get to school, the bell is about to ring. As we were getting out of the car, I saw that Aiden still had his lunchbox, which I thought was still packed full of junk. We had an argument in front of the school, with parents and teachers around watching, as he wouldn't let me take away his lunchbox. Once I finally got it, he had to walk into school crying, and I left crying.

I had to run back to my house for my purse, and I saw a bunch of fruit snacks laying on the table. So I checked my son's lunchbox, and there it was: a kool-aid and small bowl of chips. I immediately felt so bad that this big argument was over nothing. Maybe for a second I thought about how I was going to be late to school, but then I thought about my child spending the whole day at school upset.


I took his lunchbox back to school and asked them if I could see Aiden. When he came out I apologized to him and gave him his snacks back. He was so happy and he also apologized.


The point is-- when you make a mistake like this, even with your kids, you need to fix it right away. If you had an argument with a co-worker or friend and realized you were wrong, you'd apologize, right? Kids are the same way! I couldn't stand the thought of Aiden being sad the rest of the day because of a mistake I made, so I fixed it.


Thankfully, I have an amazing son who just wanted an apology (and his snacks).

Life goes on!

I saw this quote on twitter the other day, and I had to use it! This quote basically embodies my life right now.

About 7 months ago I ended a pretty bad relationship. It's a difficult thing to do, but I had reached the point where I'd rather face my fear of ending it then continue to be so unhappy. In the months following, he tried to contact me though friends, called me from a blocked number, and tried to add my friends from school on Facebook (which they didn't do!). So what do I do?? I change my number and make sure my close friends know what is going on. As hard as these things are to talk about, having people close to you know what's going on will help you in the long run because they can keep an eye out for you.

One big thing I realized recently is that he was holding me back. As much as he tried to make me feel like I needed him so badly, it was the other way around. After I broke free from this relationship, everything in my life became better. I got a great raise at work, plus a promotion (so I'll be working full-time soon), and I'm more focused and engaged at school.


So, no matter what hardships you're going through, life goes on. If you can pick yourself back up, you might end up in a better place than you were before.

What is Moming?

Hey everyone, my name is Brittany, and welcome to my new blog! I'm sure you're wondering why I named this blog what I did, so let me explain:

Have you ever had someone ask you what you've done, or what your plans are for today? Then you have a million things going through your head of everything you've done/need to get done.

"Well, (big breath) Jimmy needed help getting dressed, so I got behind on my morning routine. We didn't have time for breakfast, so I gave him money to get some at school. I was right on time to work, but before I could even get to my desk, I was handed more work. Right after work , I have to pick up the kids and take them to soccer practice, then I have to drag them with me to get some groceries. They'll probably want to eat out again, which is fine because I'll have no energy to make dinner tonight."



And so on. My point is, a mommy always has things on her mind. When you add up everything you have to do between work, home, school, and kids, it's a lot to handle.

So, why can I help with this? Well, I have all of these things going on right now, and people ask me all the time about how I do it. It's not a simple answer. I think by now I've gotten some kind of grip on handling everything, so I want to share what I've learned with everyone to let you know it CAN be done.


Here's a little about myself:
I'm 23 years old, and I have a five year old son named Aiden. He's currently in kindergarten, and I'm in the process of registering him for a new school for next year. He also takes tae kwon do classes three times a week. I'm in my third year of college. I'm studying Management and Marketing at South Hills School of Business and Technology. I work part-time in the food industry; I'm currently doing management training there as well, which includes online work, book work, and classes to attend.


Crazy right? Well, I've been handling it so far, so I must be doing something right. Don't get me wrong, managing all of these things is a constant struggle. However, I promise you, it's worth it. Within the next year, I plan to be a certified manager, have a newer car, and be in our own place. That's pretty accomplished for a young single mother.


That being said, I want this blog to help everyone. I'll be posting things about time management, organizing, keeping things manageably clean, some fun crafts, and anything else that pops up along the way.

I'd love any feedback, comments, concerns, or ideas, so PLEASE comment with anything on your mind. (This blog will be moderated.)

Until next time,

Brittany