An Iowa Mom

NEWS FLASH!!

I interrupt your regular blog reading for this special report ...

The Iowa Boys were actually called to school this morning.   There were a few mishaps in the AM, as some points of the daily routine had been forgotten.  After many reminders and assistance, they managed to pull it all together and both boys were in attendance at the bus stop when the large, yellow vehicle pulled up to collect them for school.

Please stay tuned for further information on the approaching storm due to arrive in our area at approximately 2pm CST, as well as for tomorrow's school cancellations.  To be on the safe side, you better check the obituary's too, just in case of what the next 24 to 48 hours may bring to this normally happy and easy going home.

Wendy - An Iowa Mom - Good Afternoon.

WFMW: COZI - Online Family Organizer

I can not take total credit for this tip.  Green3 mentioned it in one of her posts (Thanks Green3) and I checked it out on her recommendation.  It was much better than I had anticipated.  Personally, I think anyone with kids and/or lots of activities, who spends time on their computer everyday, will benefit from this free software.

Cozi, this awesome family organization software, only took about 10 minutes to download and 10 minutes to set up.  There are 3 sections of this progam:

1.  A calendar in which you can assign each family member a different color.  You can sort your calendar by family member, as well as by date.  Appointments are easy to add and edit if needed.  You can view your calendar many different ways (daily, weekly, etc ...) and print it any way you view it.

2.  A grocery list.  You can print this list with a touch of a button OR  you can call an 800 number to access your grocery list if you're at the store and don't have it with you

3.  An easy and quick way to send a message to any of your family members via email or mobile phone text message.

All 3 sections can be viewed on the homepage.  Not to mention you can access your entire organizer via any computer, anywhere, anytime.  I have also set up my husband's laptop to display our "family calendar" on his homepage, so when he signs on it will be right in front of him to view before he begins work.  Saves me a lot of "reminder calls".

The organization software is very simple, to the point, and beneficial.  Having 4 kids in 4 different sports and a husband that coaches 2 of them ... we have practices, games and meetings ... not to mention school activities, doctor appointments, deadlines, etc ... that can be viewed every day when I turn on my computer.  I'm surely not going to miss a thing from now on, not to mention fumbling around all of our sports sheets to find out who plays where and on what field at what time ... it's all right in front of me.  I don't think I'll know what to do with myself.  LOL!

Another great thing about this software is that when I walk away from my computer for a few minutes, when I return there is a photo collage screensaver show that I always end up watching for a few minutes before working again.  I love looking at the photos I've taken and uploaded to my computer but never seem to scroll through on my own.

The Cozi website states that for every person who signs up for the Cozi software, they'll donate $1 to Locks of Love.  :)  That's reason in and of itself to check it out.

Works for me US ... hope it works for all of you too!  For more great tips, check out Rocks In My Dryer.

The Ultimate Blog Party ...

If you don't know me, and there is one thing you should know, it's that I absolutely, without a doubt, love a good party! ALWAYS!

There is a good one coming up over at 5 Minutes For Mom and everyone with a blog is invited to come.  Even you ... so don't delay, be sure to go on over and check it out.

There is a bounty of really cool and interesting people in the world of blogs there are just waiting to meet you ... and visa versa.  I hope that you will join me at this Ultimate Blog Party that will begin on March 2 and will carry on through March 9.

In addition to the great people you are going to meet, you can become eligble to win some great prizes!  I have even offered some of my Beaded Socks as a prize.  There are a lot of wonderful things you can win ... but you can't be awarded any of these fantastic gifts unless you come to the party.

I can't wait to see you there!!

My One Obsession ...

Take a good look at the picture above.  Do you know who it is?  This photo was taken in 2004 in Richland Center, Wisconsin. 

On this day, as I sat in a lawn chair holding my place in line to be let into the fairgrounds, I hear an engine purr in the distance.  It was the sound of a Harley.  My heart begins to race.  Knowing "he" rides his "motor bike" regularly when on tour, Hubby and I were like magnets, gravitating towards the distinct roars of the engine. 

Then, there he was! 

I was standing at a stoplight, gazing like a crazed fan, hubby grabbed my camera, obviously knowing I was incapable of even moving at that very moment and snapped the shot.  As soon as it was taken, Keith Urban looked over at us with that funny little helmet on and smiled, "Hi There!".  Aaah the sound of his accent just blew me away.  Yes, I know, I'm no longer a star crazed teenager ... I am a star crazed women, wife, and mother ... and, no, I will not grow up.  WILL.NOT.DO.IT.

That show in Wisconsin was the second of five times I've seen him in concert thus far, and as of last Monday morning at 10am, I am the holder of 12 more tickets to see him again on July 27.  Don't tell my friends, but if they are super nice to me, I may bring some of them along with me.  :)

I don't know what it is about him ... maybe his awesome guitar playing, maybe his pure talent, maybe it's his charm, maybe it's his incredibly sexy good looks ... yeah, that must be it.  Whatever it is , I'll always know that at this time in my life, it was my crazy, stupid "obsession".

Hey, I think I'm getting better ... at least it's not New Kids On The Block anymore, right?

Enjoy the following Keith Urban song.  It's my favorite off his new album.  I could only find a live version and it's not the best quality, but this song always makes me sing and dance along.  With all the crappy weather and illnesses going around, I thought maybe you'd need this as much as I do!

A Break ... Possibly?

The announcement was just made ... No school again tomorrow!

Kids are thrilled.  I'm a little less than amused!  Is this a practical joke? 

*Sigh*

I don't see any hidden cameras.

When It Rains ...

it freezes.  Yup, on Saturday afternoon there was over an inch of ice that covered everything in sight.  It was actually an amazing sight, for about 2 minutes, then it was nothing but a huge annoyance.  The satellite dish went out.  The Internet went down.  The deck and sidewalks were covered making it very difficult for our doggie to go outside to go potty without the risk of falling and breaking her hip.  Tree branches fell covering yards all over the neighborhood.  Over 2,500 utility poles in town snapped and miles upon miles of electrical wire was down causing over 150,000 homes and businesses to be without power.  And this morning, that is still the case for many of them.

We were lucky.  Our lights flickered several times, but we never lost our electricity.  Thank God for small favors.  I woke yesterday with the flu (I am assuming it's the flu).  The aches in my neck and back are almost too much to withstand.  Cozied up in my bed was where you could find me pretty much the entire day yesterday.

This morning, hubby had to go to work, and I'm left here alone with the kids.  As predicted on Saturday, the boys are home today.  There is no power at their school.  Imagine that!

I am off to curl up in my chair in the living room.  This will give me the best view of my children tearing apart my house, one piece at a time, knowing I don't have the energy to do anything about it.  Hopefully there will be something left by the time I feel better!

Too Many Days ...

Our school system schedules too many days off.  Of course, this is just my opinion.  Yes, the teachers need days to prepare for conferences, have clerical days, inservice days, etc ... but, man, there are so many.  Then again, maybe it just seems that way to me.

I'll be honest, I love the thought of having my boys home from school so that we can make a special day of it, do fun things, and make some memories.  Yup, all for it ... JUST NOT IN THE WINTER!  Winter time just doesn't work for me.

Regardless of what I try, when the boys have days off in the colder, snowy months, my house seems to become a three ring circus and all I see are blurs of children running past me when I'm trying to organize "craft time" or "game time".  Due to the number of times I have to say it, a recording should be made of me screaming, "No running in the house!" and "Please, can't we all just get along?"  This would make it much easier on my throat that is starting to feel a little scratchy.

Yesterday, the boys had another day off school (2nd one this month) and of course, the 50 degree weather we've been having all week, transpired into upper 20's and a winter weather advisory.

Jake did nothing all day expect beg, and I mean BEG, for one of those Tamagotchi toys.  This must be the new "craze" that every child must insist on having ... play with it for 2 hours, NON-STOP, and then throw it in the toy box and never even look at it again.  Yeah, I spent 2 hours driving to every Walmart and Target it the vicinity looking for a Tamagotchi that my smart mouthing son does not even deserve.

Drew whined for 20 minutes straight to go outside and I finally gave in and allowed him to.  A weeks worth of warm temperatures, a bit of snow left on the ground, and a creek that runs through our backyard.  Do you want to guess what happened?  Yes, he showed up at the back door covered from head to toe in MUD.  Not just a little mud.  I'm talking hat, coat, gloves, snow pants, and boots COVERED to the point I couldn't tell you what color any of those items are.  That kind of covered.  Not my idea of fun.  A picture would have normally been snapped to share with you and so I could laugh about it later, but I so wasn't in the mood.  AT ALL!

Emily discovered a pair of scissors in the craft bin (that I had out to create a little quality time.  What was I thinking?).  Mind you, they were child scissors with the rounded edges making them perfect for little ones.  Especially small children on a mission to cut up their brother's fuzzy poster he just completed and leave it in about 3,399,231 pieces for me to clean up off the kitchen floor ... while brother laid face down screaming in hysterics that all that hard work coloring was for NOTHING!

Molly ... well, there is nothing that I can tell you she did that she doesn't do every other day of her life.  Just being 22 months old is enough, don't you think?

Guilt just pours over me when I look at my sweet little angels, the sames ones that I could not imagine living without, and wish for nothing more than them to go out and search for some traffic to play in.   Of course, we live in a pretty quiet neighborhood, so finding some traffic to play in is pretty much out of the question.  (Side Note: Though I did get a note from the school telling me Drew was playing "chicken" with the school bus when it arrived at the bus stop to pick them up for school the other day.   Yeah, that's nice!  Am I raising a moron?  Hello!)

The day ended with the boys watching the weather forecast with me ... remember that Winter Weather Advisory I was telling you about?  Up to a half inch of ice ... then up to a foot of snow on top of it.  All this will arrive this afternoon and tomorrow.  The kids are already making plans to wear their PJ's inside out on tomorrow night, which is what they do when they are hoping for a "snow day" the following day.

You watch ... that will happen ... and I'll have another "yesterday" on Monday!

The joys of motherhood, eh?