New Contributor: Meet Raina

I'm tired. No wait, I'm exhausted. Keeping up with two energetic little kids, a messy house, a full time job and this blog has had me running full speed for a couple of years now. I don't know how much longer I can keep functioning on 4-5 hours of sleep a night, and I don't really want to find out, so something has to give.

My family, my house and my job that pays the bills have to stay, so that leaves my blog as the only thing I can really make cuts to. The thing is, though, I love blogging. I don't want to give it up. So instead of making cuts, I'm making additions.

Over the next few weeks you will see reviews that don't have my name at the bottom. I am in the process of adding a few contributors here, and I'm excited for you to meet the first one! Her name is Raina, and not only is she my friend, she is also my cousin-in-law cousin. She recently became a stay at home mom of two adorable little girls, and was thrilled when I asked her if she wanted to help me with reviews. Raina is one of the funniest people I know, and I think her posts will add a new, refreshing viewpoint to this blog.

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Hi there! I am Raina, a recent stay-at-home mom. I am from Florida originally, but moved out to the Houston, Texas area a little over 5 years ago when my husband, Eddie, got transferred for work. We didn't think that our move was going to be permanent, but now that 5 years have passed, it is looking like we will be staying out here for awhile.

While I don't like living away from most of our friends and family, I love our house and neighborhood. We finally purchased a home last year after realizing we would be out here for a bit longer, and the move has been great. There are a ton of kids on our street to play with, and they are all around my oldest daughter's age.

I have a daughter named Haley who turned 3 last April. She is very outgoing and loves to be around other kids. She talks from the minute she wakes up until she goes to bed at night. She is very silly and makes me laugh constantly with the things she says.

I have another daughter named Kennedy who I just had in February. She is the happiest baby I have ever seen and smiles all day. She loves watching her big sister, and watching the two of them together is one of the most joyful things in life.

After Haley was born, I returned to work and worked full-time for a major hotel as an Event Manager and Haley went to daycare. When we moved to the new house, my commute into downtown was over an hour each way and it was just getting to be too much. After I had Kennedy, I went back to work for 8 weeks while my mom watched the girls (she graciously flew out here to stay with us) before I quit to stay home with them. At the end of June, we drove to Florida and stayed for 5 weeks! It was the best vacation ever.

I am now trying to get into the routine of staying home. I am still figuring out what needs to be done what day, and how to make some kind of "schedule" for our lives. Haley starts attending a school 2 days a week this fall for a few hours, as well as starting in dance class.

Now that I am a stay-at-home mom, I asked LeeAnn if I could help her with her blog and she was nice enough to have me! I am looking forward to helping her in any way I can.

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I hope you all will welcome Raina aboard, and that you enjoy getting to know her a little more through her reviews. Stay tuned for some fun!