I am in a groove. The beginning of the school year was a little brutal and frankly kicked my butt a little bit. As our kids get older and get busier we are having to learn the fine balancing act of letting them get involved and discover their passions while protecting our family time.

Ryan and I seem to like being busy as well. We are both involved in our school, community and church a fair amount. But we are learning to say no as well. And we are realizing that sometimes no doesn’t feel so bad. Ultimately we are just happier being a five-some then doing just about anything else.

I am getting in a house cleaning groove (well as good at it is gonna get for me around these parts). I am trying to tackle a baking project every day to keep our food as homemade as possible and love looking in the fridge and pantry and seeing very little that was bought from the store. I am even finding time to read books and magazines again. Oh how I missed that.

Our kids seem to be thriving as well. I feel like I am getting good one on one time with each of them which has always eluded me a bit in the past. And maybe it is just their ages, or their stages or the phases of the moon, but dang!! I just love being their mom right now.

There are some things coming on the horizon. And I can’t tell you about a single one of them right now. But I know change is coming. So I want to savor every moment of these sweet times. So as the busy, busy holiday season comes up I need to keep saying no when I need to. Especially to that pesky never ending to do list that gets in the way of extra snuggles.

I know everything around me is pretty much screaming at me to skip right over Thanksgiving and head right into Christmas. But as much as I love the magic of everything Christmas THIS season, I am all about being thankful.

Disclosure: I am not writing this to say, “Look, my life is so awesome.” But as a reminder to myself to be thankful during the moments of good so that when I have moments like this I can reflect on the great moments too.

Every year when the calendar turns to October we begin to see pink ribbons everywhere. They are there because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But some of us don’t need ribbons and October to remind us of breast cancer.

I was barely married when my mom found a lump on her breast. Ten years later she is cancer free. My aunt, her sister found a lump a few years later. Today she is cancer free as well. My friends Sara and Abby-Jill didn’t survive their bouts with cancer. I have been touched by breast cancer four times too many.

Because of my family history I have to be vigilant about breast cancer. It is not a disease I can afford to ignore. Although our family has had genetic testing and doesn’t carry the BRACA gene, clearly there is something going on with the females in my family. My maternal grandmother died of ovarian cancer which is also linked to breast cancer. As gene pools go, let’s be honest. This isn’t the one you want.

I was a mom to two when I found a small lump while in the shower. I froze and my girls’ future passed before me. It was impossible not to go to a dark place. I listened as the doctor told me it didn’t look like cancer on the mammogram. I remembered they had told my mom the same thing. I listened as the surgeon prepped me and told me that it didn’t present like cancer. I remembered they had told my mom the same thing. When I groggily woke up after surgery I was told it wasn’t cancer. I felt like for the first time in month, I breathed again.

I am not a person to be consumed by fear and anxiety so I can truthfully tell you that I don’t live in fear of cancer. And this year when my mom had another irregular mammogram I tried my best not to be fearful. When she got her mammogram back the second time there was a cross near the spot where she had cancer the first time. And no sign of abnormalities.

So despite my history and a scare, I won’t live in fear for myself. And I won’t live in fear for my daughters who also are genetically predisposed to this awful disease. But I will live in hope. Hope of healing for my family. And hope that a cure will be found in my lifetime. And that this disease will be no more.

I am thrilled to partner with P&G, Hearst and The Motherhood for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. They are committed to fighting this disease in several ways this month.

• Save while you give. On Sunday, October 2, and Sunday, October 16, a GIVE Hope brandSAVER will be distributed in newspapers across the country, with discounts for P&G products, including Olay, Pantene, Crest and many more. For each GIVE Hope brandSAVER coupon redeemed, P&G will donate two cents to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) – allowing people to give back, while saving money.
• Share with friends. “Like” P&G Beauty on Facebook.  For every “like” at  P&G will donate 10 cents to NBCF to further support their mission of saving lives through early detection. The P&G Beauty Facebook page will also feature stories from female employees who have been impacted by this disease.
• Buy, give and get. During the month of October, consumers will receive a $10 rebate and will also trigger a $10 donation to NBCF with the purchase of $50 worth of P&G Beauty products, including Venus, Olay, Secret, CoverGirl, Nice ‘n Easy, Pantene, Safeguard and Ivory.

P&G has also provided me with a P&G gift basket for one of my readers. It is a great gift basket full off all sorts of P&G beauty products. To win you simply need to leave a comment about how breast cancer has affected you.  And let’s hope this is the last decade we need a month dedicated to the awareness of breast cancer.

Giveaway open to US residents only. A winner will be drawn at random on Monday, October 10th and the winner will be notified by email.

I was provided with a gift basket and compensation from P&G, Hearst and The Motherhood. This is obviously a cause I feel passionate about and the stories are all my own.

As a mom I make a million little decisions. Cherry or strawberry jelly? Battle over mismatched outfit or not? Clean the toilet or take a nap?

p.s. I chose nap. Every time.

There is a decision in my future. I have exactly a week to decide. Because a week from today, school starts. And the questions is….. will I sign up to be room mom in either of my kid’s classrooms.

Lily will be a third grader this year and Hannah is starting “big girl” school as a kindergartner. Let us just pause for a moment and ask, how the heck did this happen???

I was room mom last year for Lily and it was actually quite fun. I got to know her classmates and teacher better. The responsibilities weren’t too overwhelming. And I felt involved in their school lives.

But this is also my first year home with just Silas. I am so looking forward to all that little man time. And this is the first year I have two kids at their school. So how do I decide who to be room parent from. Since I have already done Lily’s class I feel like maybe I should do Hannah’s room. But I know the kindergarten room parent has a lot more work because the parent’s volunteer for a lot.

I’m a little bit hoping when I get to the open house sign up sheet the spots are already taken. What do you think? Is the title “room parent” in my future? And should I rock, paper, scissors which kid to chose?

You may remember that I have worked with Bounce a few times in the past. I wanted to tell you about their newest fun campaign. Bounce is launching a new Facebook application called “Bounce it Off Millions”

Life is full of decisions and choices. Need advice on whether to go to Mexico or the Maldives for your honeymoon? Can’t decide whether you should live in the suburbs or the city? Need to know which kid to be a room parent for? Bounce Fanatics can help you make these important decisions. Wouldn’t it be easier to outsource these things?

So head over to the Bounce Facebook page, click on the “Bounce it Off Millions” app, and submit a question that you need help making a decision on. Your question will be turned into a poll, and other Bounce fanatics will be able to vote on it so that you can make the right choice.

In addition, four lucky users will be chosen to win a grand prize—the chance to turn their life’s great questions into a Facebook-wide advertisement, inviting Facebook’s 150+ million users to help you decide between your two options. That is a lot of outsourcing!!

Don’t forget while you are over on the Bounce Facebook page to enter their sweepstakes to win two Bounce Dryer Bars—one to keep, and one for a friend. You know I love those things and am running low. I will be entering that one for sure!

This post was compensated by Bounce and One2One Network. As always love of Bounce Bars and inability to make decisions are all mine.