An Iowa Mom

Nine Years ...

Nine Years ... that's what it's been ...

I can not even come close to expressing in words what I feel! 

I am not only proud, but honored to have you as my oldest son.  You are my dream come true!

Happy Birthday Jakey! 

I Love you!

Only 24 Hours?

Do you ever have one of those days where your "To Do List" requires approximately 37 hours of time to complete ... and you only have 24 hours in which to do it?

Yeah ... that's me today!  Wish me luck!

Wordless Wednesday - An Unbelievable Makeover!

I know this is supposed to be WORDLESS, but I didn't feel like a 'fit' (and I don't mean in shape, because that I am definitely NOT) and responsible (that is questionable regardless) mother if I didn't offer some sort of explanation on how I allowed this to happen.  You can find out here!

WFMW: Use For Holey Socks

Yes, we've all encountered the mystery of the missing socks.  Put two in the dryer, and only one comes out.  This is common at our house, our dryer consuming our socks at record pace.  And when it doesn't, and I come out with a pair ... it never fails ... one always has a hole.

As irritating as it is to purchase a new package of socks for the boys (the girls don't lose their socks ... because the dryer knows they are special) every other week it seems, I have found a use for all those lonely socks without a mate, as well as those who are a little too worn out to continue it's existence keeping toes warm on cool and damp Spring days.

I almost hate to post this tip, not because I'm stingy and don't want to share, but because the thought of actually performing the act in which I utilize this tip and the extra socks ... make me CRINGE!

Dusting.

Yes, dusting.  I put a sock on my hand and spray a little furniture polish on it and wipe away.  For some reason it works soooo much better than my actual dust cloth, and even better than my swiffer.  I can't believe I just said that ... but it's true.  I managed to cut my dusting time in half since I've been using a sock on my hand and that's reason enough people, don't you think?  Not to mention it's so much easier to dust the little things ... picture frames, no problem, just run my hand over it and it's DONE.  Knick knacks ... yup, pick it up and it's pretty much dusted.

The best part is I put little socks on the girls (on both hands) and spray a little polish and tell them to go at it ... it's amazing how much work they can get done for me ... and I can read twice as many blogs ... that's not considered child labor, is it?

For more great tips ... visit Rocks In My Dryer!

A Bargain?

This past weekend, Drew came to me and placed both hands on his hips.

Drew:  I have a bargain to make with you.

Me:  A bargain?  Don't you mean a deal?

Drew:  You say 'deal', I say 'bargain'.

Me:  Okay, what is it?

Drew:  If you let me have a 3:00 snack AND let me have popcorn when we watch the movie, I'll give you my ... hmmmm ... (he scratches his chin and looks at the ceiling) my T-Ball trophy from two years ago.

Me:  Deal!

What an awesome deal, oops, I mean bargain ... And I'll treasure it FOREVER!  :)

Oh No! The Strawberries!!

I'll be frank!  I am NOT a gardener.  We have never had a garden.  There was never any interest on my part to grow and maintain a garden.  I know absolutely NOTHING about anything pertaining to a garden.  With that being the case, we've never had any issues pertaining to a garden.  Period.  End of story.

Then, last year, we moved into this house.

And there was a garden.

And everything changed ... except for the fact that I'm not a gardener and know nothing about gardening.  AT ALL!

The children were pleasantly surprised, or should I say thrilled beyond belief, last spring when strawberries plants started popping up and blooms adorned them.  Before we knew it there were huge, plump, delicious strawberries (though I wouldn't know, as I'm VERY allergic to strawberries).  There were so many, they couldn't eat them all.  We put them on ice cream, we covered them with sugar, we dipped them in cool whip ... we were STRAWBERRY HAPPY!  Oh yes we were!

Having so much fun with the strawberries, we actually planted cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, green beans and tomatoes.  Then, in the late summer we were surprise with an abundance of cantaloupe that we didn't even plant.  It was great and the kids had a ball.  They worked out in the garden daily, much to my surprise.

Here is my dilemma.  Everything was ready for me last year.  I moved in and the strawberries grew.  Remember how I said I know nothing about gardening.  Well, I never did anything to the garden last year, and now all my old, dead, strawberry plants are giving the new green ones a run for their money.  They have no room to come up and I'm freaking out that there will be no strawberries and the kids will disown me as their mother.

What should I do now?  Can I rake out all the old without damaging the new?  Do I need to get out there right away and hand pick all the dead ones?  Is there hope?  Can my strawberries be saved or have  I lived up to my reputation as the WORST GARDENER EVER???

All you perfect people out there ... please tell me what I need to do!  Save my strawberries!  It's all in your hands now.  I'm counting on you!

A Little Weekend Humor ...

We were sitting in Pizza Hut yesterday afternoon enjoying an early lunch together and Jake shared a joke with us.  Tell it to your kids ... they'll get a kick out of it ... we did!

Why can't a nose be 12 inches?

Because then it would be a FOOT!

Hardy Har!  Go ahead ... SMILE ... Or even chuckle a little if you want!

Have a great Sunday!