by Diana Bulls

Any child can tell you that Moms know everything there is to know about anything, and Moms have been reinforcing this belief for eons. Up until now, the big file vault of Mommy information has been a well kept secret. That is all about to change. This reporter and Kings River Life are actually going to let the world know the whereabouts of a potential mom information stash!

This information vault has only been around since September 24, 2010, but is the local place to go for Moms who are looking for information on kid-safe activities, places to visit, and kid-friendly stores and restaurants. ReedleyMom.com is the brainchild of Julie Cornelsen. A few years ago, Julie’s cousin moved to Yuma, Arizona and Julie saw a similar website on her cousin’s Facebook page. “I’ve always liked helping people even if it’s just little things,” says Julie. “I’ve never been new in town, but I do go on vacations and love to scout out the local spots and fun things to do, other than the main attraction.”

Julie has come up with a highly informative and organized website that covers “Almost everything a Reedley mom needs to know.” And she did the web development all by herself. In addition to the information mentioned above, Julie’s website lists places to go, organizations for women, organic growers, coupons, tips on saving money, and more, a lot more. Julie admits that she actually had a few more pages in the beginning but ended up deleting them because she had more than enough to keep up with.

Julie was born in Reedley and has been married to her husband, Greg, since 1989. They have a nine-year-old daughter who has her own two pages on the website, Charlie’s Corner and Charlie’s Store. Julie graduated from Reedley College in 1995 with a degree in Business and has operated a licensed daycare in her home since 2006.

Julie says, “I am a strict mom when it comes to what my child watches or plays. We do not have those game boxes in our home…yet.” But she has come up with a “nice eclectic mix of mom friendly things” for kids to do under “Kids Stuff.” There are fun websites and a link to printable coloring or activity pages by Jan Brett. The “Moms Stuff” page has links to emotional support groups, play groups or how to get rewards for buying diapers!

In addition to the website, she also maintains a Facebook page: Reedley Moms, where she posts coupons and current events and sponsors a Reedley Moms FB group. By joining the FB group, members can talk directly to each other. Julie says that the current members seem “a little shy” and the group idea hasn’t caught on yet, but she’s hoping that will change.

Julie also has a blogspot where she posts money saving tips and her amazing grocery store receipts. Under “Saving Money” on her webpage, Julie tells you just how to go about using coupons and making the most of your grocery money. For now, the website and the blog site are functioning separately. Hopefully that will change in the future. This author would like to see them on the same site.

Julie also provides “ad space” on her website. Basically, people provide her with their information and she posts it. Ads are free. In fact Julie isn’t making money on this project at all. She says, “This is my hobby, it’s just for fun.” You will notice though, that she does have some things for sale under “My Shops.” This is a useful marketplace for some of her crafts: lovely leaded glass sun catchers and mini-windows sold under My Glass Shop and fun clothing articles for boys and girls sold under Snicklebritches. Finally, as a self-described “yardsaleaholic,” she sells some of her found treasures under Second Blessing. Sales from her shops help out with the costs of running a website.
 
Julie would like to see more community involved events in Reedley, and more promotion of the events Reedley does have, like the Easter egg hunt and the pet parade. She goes on to say, “We need to have more kid friendly events, like maybe Art in the Park where kids are taught by artists how to make things, or other things to get moms and kids out to meet each other and build relationships.” She has been impressed by the library sponsored events, but thinks they need to advertise better and meet in a larger space. All in all, Julie thinks Reedley is in a great location—close to all kinds of major destinations, from shopping to sightseeing—and being a small community isn’t a bad thing.
 
“I don’t really think about a future for ReedleyMom.com,” says Julie. “I will keep it up as long as I can afford to. I’d really like more people to submit their mom & child related events info. I don’t get out much and rely on word of mouth, internet sources or newspapers.” Julie’s hobby has evolved into a very helpful resource, so all you Moms out there in cyberspace, take a few minutes out of your busy day and check out ReedleyMom.com. You are sure to find something helpful and when you do let Julie know via Contact Us.
 

Diana Bulls is an ongoing contributor to our
Hometown History section, having collected vintage kitchen utensils for over 40 years; she is also actively involved with the Reedley Historical Society.