Request for Public Relations, Advertising, or Sponsorship Information

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Mom Trap is a PR friendly website. I would love to hear from you! Please contact me if you have a product, service, or website that you would like to see reviewed here.

As a full time stay-at-home mom to 4 (ages 3 months to 17 years), I am able to review a wide variety of products and services. Feel free to read some of my past reviews and get a feel for my writing and style. I will provide and honest, unbiased review of your product or service. If I am not able to provide a positive review of your product, I will contact you prior to posting it.

I offer two forms of advertising:

Giveaways

Offering a giveaway is a great way to drive traffic to your site. With a review, I ask that entrants visit your site. In addition, they will be asked to complete a task that will require them to view more of your site.

The duration of the giveaway (1 week to 1 month) will be determined by you, along with any eligibility limitations (ie, US only or international).

Following the close of the giveaway, I ask that you ship the prize directly to the winner(s).

I am happy to design a giveaway for you…just ask! There is no cost to you using this method of public relations other than providing me with a product to use for a minimum of 10 days along with one for the giveaway. (If you wish for the product used by me for the purpose of the review be returned to you, I ask that you pay return shipping.)

Banner Advertising

I gladly accept 125 x 125 banner advertising. The cost of banner advertising is $4.95 per month, on a month to month basis with fees being due on the 1st of each month. (If advertising is terminated in prior to month's end, cost will not be prorated.)

If you are interested in either of these methods of advertising with The Mom Trap, please use the form below to contact me.

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Small Talk Saturday: 6 Things That Never Fail To Make Me Smile

Ok, let me just be frank here.... this is my first small talk post. That said, I have just one thing to ask of you: please don't laugh! (said as I laugh myself...lol)

Looking through the list of the Small Talk Six topics, I'm glad that I'm starting out with a list that is easy for me. After all, who doesn't have six things that never fail to make them smile, right? (Eww, that's right, I forgot about my nasty neighbor down the street - but he doesn't blog and therefore doesn't count. lol)

Now, six things that never fail to make me smile. Let's see...


  1. My 38 year old husband who is forever trapped in a 3 year old mindset.

  2. The quick and natural smile of my newborn daughter.

  3. When my four year old son out of the blue softly says, "I love you."

  4. When my 12 year old son completes his homework without hassle.

  5. When my 17 year old son actually admits that I know what I'm doing when it comes to teenage life experiences.

  6. Bedtime. (Enough said!)

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TheMomTrap.com Privacy Policy

Friday, February 27, 2009

Privacy Policy for themomtrap.com

The privacy of our visitors to themomtrap.com is important to us.

At themomtrap.com, we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit themomtrap.com, and how we safeguard your information. We never sell your personal information to third parties.

Log Files
As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.

Cookies and Web Beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.

We also use third party advertisements on themomtrap.com to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).

You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.


AdSense Privacy Policy Provided by JenSense

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Pretentiousness About OctoMom Is A Buzz Kill

Don't you just love those who live in glass houses that are brave enough to throw stones? I figure that must take a pretty good sized set of cojones to that - a set that would put most men to shame.

We're seeing a lot of this super sized pretentiousness these days with the story of Nadya Suleman, a.k.a. Octomom.

Suleman made headlines around the world when she gave birth to eight living babies via Cesarean section on January 26, 2009. And along with the headlines came a strong villanization of this single, unemployed, mentally unstable mother of six turned fourteen.

It's not difficult for anyone to understand how the public can look at her and ponder exactly what she was thinking. After all, the woman already had six children and was living with her parents in a 1500 square foot home. Not to mention (again) that she is unemployed and her sole source of income is disability payments on three of her older children (and, according to her, student loans she was receiving while pursuing a degree with hopes to become a family counselor someday).

Then when we heard that she had underwent IVF treatments to have "just one more" to add to her large brood because of her desire to fill a void of being an only child, it's no wonder that folks started questioning her mental stability - which, of course, we learned from numerous sources, including her mother, was somewhat questionable.

Yeah, Yeah, I get all that. So does most everyone else.

But what I don't get is this: why the need for public outcry demanding that her children be removed from her care and placed into foster homes or up for adoption?

This is where I draw the line; where I say stop, shut up and sit down.

First and foremost, have those who screamed this option thought about who this would hurt? This would hurt 14 children, all of whom are fully related siblings, that would undoubtedly have to be split up. We already know their mother claims to feel a void related to childhood, do we really want to risk creating a similar void in these children that they have to fill in their own way when they reach adulthood?

Secondly, since when did it become okay in America to yank children from the parent just because they were considered poor by our standards? So many shout from the rooftops that she is, essentially, homeless and has no job. But, taking into consideration the current economic crisis America faces today wherein thousands have lost their jobs and had their homes foreclosed on, doesn't this apply to other parents? Do we take away those children too?

If the answer is no, then that leaves only one other reason why one would think these children should be removed from her care: bad decision making. That's it in a nutshell. Most cannot comprehend how anyone with good decision making skills could voluntarily undergo IVF to add even one more (much less one that turned into eight) to an already large family by today's standards.

That, in my opinion, is the pretentiousness that is getting on my last freakin' nerve!

Have we not all made bad choices in life? Bad choices that affected our children too? I'll step up to the plate and admit that I have. And I did things voluntarily. And, some would say, I'm not so mental stable at times myself (just ask my husband and children). Not to mention I made a couple of those decisions when I was young, broke, and single.

And I take comfort in knowing that I'm not alone. I can't think of anyone I know who hasn't been guilty of stupid mistakes - mistakes that affected their children as well as them. Do I think our children should be removed? No, of course not and neither would the vast majority of those screaming about removing OctoMom's children. After all, they've done their own stupid things that would place them in this category.

So why these children? Is it because it was a multiplied mistake?

Just because it was a careless decision on a grander scale is no better reason to cast judgment upon Suleman than we should upon our own selves. After all, if you open the door for the government to remove children based on one person's bad decision making, you best be ready for them to start making the decision for all of us. And that's just not another right I'm ready to hand to the government on a silver platter.

Sure, I think Suleman is nuts. I have to wonder what in the !#$% she was thinking even trying for one more. But give me one good reason why these children should be removed from her without using the words unemployed, single, or mental.

Oh, and yeah, you can use the words fourteen, six, eight and/or children...but keep in mind you're venturing into an area of allowing government to control the number of children we have. Before answering, be sure to ask an honest Chinese how they really feel about that.

Lastly, remember this, if you answer pertains to her thoughtlessness to her older children or the new babies by doing what she has done, you're taking a stroll down Bad Decisions Boulevard - be mindful of the broken glass from the homes scattered about.

At this point, I just feel sympathetic for the children. They are truly the innocent but will undoubtedly pay for their mother's mistake. And that breaks my heart.

In the meantime, I'll keep my pretentiousness in check lest I someday screw up (and I will) and wind up on the receiving end of such a vicious and vile reaction.

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Kim Cantrell: Editor and Publisher of The Mom Trap (About Me)

Thank you for visiting The Mom Trap, a mom blog dedicated to capturing the moments of motherhood.

My name is Kim Cantrell. I'm the creator, publisher and editor of this blog which is dedicated to bringing insightful and helpful articles, along with reviews, giveaways, and more, to Moms around the world.

I live with my husband, Brian, and children (3 boys and 1 girl) in McMinnville, Tennessee; a small town exactly halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga.

I've been an active member of numerous internet communities since 1996.

Shortly after becoming active online, I began a small, home-based eBay business selling a variety of items. My eBay selling career eventually evolved into a candle business; a business operated via eBay, business website, and through real life marketing.

When my third child was born a 31 week preemie in 2004, my husband and I believed it best that I close my candle business and dedicate 100% of my time to raising our children and managing our home.

In 2007, I re-entered the internet retail world by opening a korker ribbon business. However, following the birth of my fourth child in January 2009, I once again closed a business to dedicate my time and energy to my family.

Yet considering that my oldest children are in high school and college, I'm left with only two younger children who need so much of Mom's time. Being that I'm not one who is content to sit idly, I decided to do something else I enjoyed that gave me a little more freedom than internet retailing: writing.

I have been an Amazon Vine Reviewer for almost two years and a former reviewer for In Cold Blog, as well managing my own true crime book review blog. I decided to put my writing talent to use along with other information that would be helpful to Moms such as finding great coupon codes, product/service/website reviews plus legal and financial articles, how to guides and crafts; as a result, The Mom Trap was born.

I'm frequently asked how I chose my blog name. First, it's a play on The Parent Trap, the 1961 that was remade in 1998 starring a young Lindsey Lohan. Secondly, I thought it was a perfect name as I'm trying to capture the moments of motherhood and cram them into a blog. Pretty simple, right?

The Mom Trap is updated a minimum of twice daily - some exceptions may include weekends and holidays.

I'm always looking for guest bloggers, so if you feel you have a contribution that would be enjoyed by our readers, please feel free submit it.

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Contact Me

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Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Thursday, February 26, 2009

We were on a family vacation when I first suspected I was pregnant.

I was a mother to three boys. I had accepted the fact that I was to be one of those daughter-less mothers who had to live vicariously through other's little girls and future daughter-in-laws. And I was okay with it.

Once my suspicions that I was pregnant were confirmed, I wasn't surprised to find myself assuming it was a boy with a secret hope that maybe, just maybe, this time it would be a girl.

What did surprise me, however, was when I had an ultrasound at 15 weeks and, when told that we were expecting a girl, I felt a sense of disappointment.

For almost 17 years I had been a mother to boys and had longed for a daughter. Yet, now that in just five and a half short months my prayers would be answered, I was dealing with a sense of disappointment; a sense of dread.

What was wrong with me??!!

For a couple of weeks, I just couldn't explain this emotion. Of course, expecting that I would be on the receiving end of odd looks and rolling eyes if I disclosed my feelings, I told no one. But as the weeks wore on, I came to realize just exactly what it was that I was feeling: a fear of the unknown.

After all, I had caring for boys down to a science. Clothing, diapering, potty training, the rough and tumble natures....I wasn't equipped to raise a little girl. While I had never been much of a girly girl myself, I had lost even more of my femininity living in testosterone dominated house.

As the months continued, I knew that I was having a girl but just never came to fully accept it. As a matter of fact, I half expected the day she was born that we would suddenly discover she had grown a penis.

I was wrong.

In January 2009, after a short four and a half hours of labor, my beautiful daughter entered this world with a loud but lady-like cry; complete with her precious little lips puckered into a pout and eyes that sucker the coldest of hearts to love her.

Just 24 hours later I was able to bring my baby girl home. A home that still brimmed with camouflage, toy trucks, hunting gear and a complete room dedicated to a college football team. And in one small space sat the evidence of things hoped for and expected: tiny pink onesies, hairbows, and frilly sleepers.

Later as I held my daughter, rocking her into a peaceful lullaby, I couldn't help but to cry. A cry that I came to realize was one as much of joy as it was of relief. I would know, after all, what it was to love and raise a daughter of my own: to know the fun of shopping for cute little dresses with those adorable bloomers; to know the joy of slumber parties; to feel the pain and shed the tears with the first breakup; to share in the excitement of wedding plans; and to be there when she needs her mother when she becomes a mother herself.

Without realizing it, all this time I had lived knowing that the old saying "A son is a son until he gets a wife, but daughter is a daughter for life" was true; that someday my boys would grow into men and become very independent from mom - which is what they are supposed to do and I will, although sadly, encourage them. Yet with a daughter I know, while she will grow and gain her own independence, there is always one person she will need....me, her mother.

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