…via Google Friend Connect, I just wanted to give you a heads up about something. I was reading one of my favorite blogs today and they were talking about how starting March 1st Google is discontinuing the Google Friend Connect for non-Blogger blogs. That is a total bummer to me because as of right now I have over 700 sweet folks following One Happy Mama using the Google Friend Connect and so since I had NO IDEA about Google’s plan to discontinue that feature, I wanted to let you all know as well. One Happy Mama USED to be hosted at Blogger, but September of last year I made the switch to WordPress and so now I fall into that non-Blogger blog category. Sigh. Such is life, right?  

This is what I’m talking about:

So if you are one of the 706 folks who follow my blog using the Google Friend Connect (above), that means that you will no longer receive my posts in your Blogger dashboard, and I won’t be able to get new followers using that gadget in my sidebar. So basically now that gadget is pretty useless and I’ll be removing it from my blog soon.

There are some other ways that you can follow my blog to know when a new post is going up and so I thought I’d share those with you quickly so that you don’t miss out on any posts and because I love my blog readers and don’t want any of you to not be able to catch the latest posts here.

At the top of my blog you will see these icons:

Clicking on the pink button will take you to Feedburner where you can subscribe to my blog and you can receive my blog updates right in your inbox or you can get the updates in your reader, like Google Reader. It takes no time to set up at all and that way you won’t miss a beat when it comes to reading One Happy Mama.

• Another option I’ve been recently told about is Linky Followers. I’ve added the widget below my GFC widget so you an click on it to follow my blog. I’ve gotten some comments and emails about it and folks seem to really love it! I’ve signed up and it was easy and it’s FREE.
• There’s also BlogLovin’, which I totally forgot about. That’s another option!

I also Tweet about every new post and I make sure to post on Facebook as well so you can click on those icons and follow that way as well.

Thanks so much to all of you! I appreciate my readers so much and don’t want to lose any of you just because Google is making some changes yet again. Sending you all hugs and hoping you all are having a great week! Don’t forget to check out Project Life Tuesday below this post and enter the giveaway! I’ve got another giveaway coming on Thursday!! Hugs!

:source:

I hope you will be, too.

In honor of my 34th birthday today, I thought I would list 34 things I am grateful for. I feel incredibly blessed and could list WAY more than that, but for today, 34 will do.

• 1. First and foremost, for my God who has blessed me with a wonderful, incredible, happy life. His grace and love sustains me and has blessed me more than I deserve. Sure life isn’t always pretty, but His mercy and love are always there to remind me that that’s ok.
• 2. My amazing best friend and husband, Michael. He loves me unconditionally, knows me inside and out and always goes and gets me some sweets when I need it. His hugs have always been THE BEST and it’s because of him that I have my next blessings.
• 3. My beautiful and sweet daughter, Caylin. She is the sweetest and bravest girl I know. She is a great mix of feisty, silly, sweet, loving and stubborn. Her heart is SO big. She is THE BEST big sister ever. She possesses qualities that I wish I did and she’s only 6. I am proud to be her Mama.
• 4. My sweet Jack. He is a Mama’s boy and I thank God for him. He was a surprise (to us, not God) and I don’t know what I would do without him. I love how mischievous he is. He’s also so sweet and loves to give hugs. I love receiving hugs so how perfect is that? He is fearless and knows no bounds, which gives this Mama heart palpitations and her first gray hair strands, but he’s so worth it. I’m thankful for a son. Boys do rock.
• 5. I am grateful that I can stay home with my children.
• 6. I am grateful that because I stay home, I can homeschool my children and spend so much time with them. Time is fleeting and these little people are SO important to me. They teach ME so much.
• 7. I love living in the great state of Tennessee. So thankful to put roots down here.
• 8. My sweet dog, Maggie. She has been my sidekick for 9 years. She is the sweetest dog you’ll meet. Loyal, so wonderful with Caylin and Jack and although yappy at times, she is a protector and a true friend. She came into my life when I needed her and even though I don’t take as many photos of her as I used to and she’s not the center of attention anymore, she sits off to the side not resentful, but just watching us lovingly and understands. I’m going to miss that dog so much one day.
• 9. My Mom, Dad and sisters.
• 10. My bestie, Nichole and her sweet family. They truly ARE part of my family and I love them and miss them. Wish we lived closer. Sigh.
• 12. Silly kitchen dance parties with Caylin and Jack.
• 13. Laughing so hard my stomach hurts and I about pee my pants.
• 14. The running hugs my kids give me during the day. The best kind of hugs, in my opinion.
• 15. Dreams that are big and friends who remind me that no matter how big they seem – they can be achieved.
• 16. BIG dreams and being excited about what the future holds.
• 17. Creative friends who have blessed my life and given me some wonderful opportunities that I am grateful for.
• 18. Sincere and genuine people that pop into my life, bless it and ask for nothing in return. Kindness DOES matter.
• 19. Pinterest
• 20. Etsy
• 21. Jack’s giggle
• 22. Caylin’s BIG, beautiful smile
• 23. Michael’s corny jokes that make me laugh (including the “profit” jokes that I pretend I can’t stand)
• 25. Photography – capturing my life in photographs makes me SO happy.
• 26. Project Life – thank you Becky Higgins for a simple, sweet and easy way to capture my family’s story.
• 27. Target
• 28. The wonderful homeschooling group that we are a part of. Such a blessing!
• 29. Insulin
• 30. My lap top and the internet
• 31. Mexican food
• 32. Sweet people who have Type 1 diabetes themselves or someone they love has it and they email me support and encouragement.
• 33. My sweet blog and all of YOU sweet blog readers who take a bit from your day to stop by and check it out.
• 34. And lastly, another year of life to enjoy these blessings and more.

Looking forward to year 34 and I’ll continue to be thanking God along the way. Today is an all smiles and laughter, funfetti cupcake kind of day!

Hugs!

Hi there!

A sweet homeschooling Mama friend of mine shared this with me today. It is TOO funny and great NOT to share with all of my other fellow homeschooling Mamas out there! LOVE this. Hope you get a kick out of it, too!