An Iowa Mom

Watching It?

I don't know why I'm thinking of this right now ... but that's beside the point.  Sitting here gathering Gatorade for Jake's ball game tonight, it popped into my head and I had to scoot right over here to my computer and ask you all.

Do you watch The Bachelorette? 

I saw the very first episode and then the one last night.  Apparently that is all I needed to watch because I feel like I'm right there on top of things.  I just didn't have to deal with all the 'crap' in between.  HA! 

So, my question is ... if you DO indeed watch, who would your choice be thus far?

Jeremy - the attorney from Dallas
Jason - the dad
Jesse - the snowboarder

Obviously she HAD to get rid of Graham last night ... because, ya know ... his name didn't start with a "J".  That was a no brainer.

So, tell me two things ... who do you think Deanna will pick?

AND

If it were you ... who would the guy be holding the final rose?

Setting Me Straight

Yesterday afternoon, Emily and Molly were spending some fun time running through their Dora The Explorer sprinkler.  Providing tons of squeals and giggles of delight for some ... and headaches and suicidal thoughts for others.

This thing spins around and sprays water out the top ... for the three seconds it's working ... but at all other times Dora is laying on her side, water shooting straight at, let's say ... ME, as she waits to be picked up and adjusted properly, allowing her to entertain the girls for another three seconds.

Anyway, as I set Dora straight for the gazillionth time, and attempt to keep a smile on my frustrated face so the girls will think know I am enjoying this quality time we are spending together ... I mutter, "Come on Dora, you can do it!"

And this is where Emily responds with an eye roll accompanied by a tone that assures me she thinks I know NOTHING (and quite frankly I didn't think that would come for a few more years), "Mom!  She can't understand you ... she doesn't even speak English."

Aaaaahhhh, yeeeaaah.

While We Are Talking About Hosting Things ...

I must be losing my mind. 

I JUST realized that I completely spaced Pay It Forward Friday last week.

It will resume this coming Friday.  Maybe.  I wouldn't be surprised if I spaced it again.  Maybe I should put my post together and have it post automatically.  Just to be safe.

HA!

I feel like such a dope.

Hostess With The Mostess

Saturday afternoon, Big Daddy and I came to the conclusion that with all that has been going on lately ... baseball, football, soccer, tornadoes, floods, four kids who don't listen ... yadda yadda yadda ... we needed to have a day to relax. 

So, we invited a few friends over.

A simple gathering.  Hamburgers, hot dogs, veggies, fruit, mac and cheese ... and more mac and cheese.  Like I said, simple.  And it was very relaxing.  A good time had by all.

I hope.

But anyway, I have a question ... or four.  Has anyone ever had a get-together like this?  Anyone prepare a bit extra, ummmm, lets say, mac and cheese so that they wouldn't run out?  Maybe keep that extra mac and cheese in the oven to keep it warm, while the other dish was being served?  And then, find that mac and cheese two days later, like early on a Monday morning ... still in the oven?

Has that ever happened to you?

Yeah, me neither.

I'm Suppposed To Be Napping

Nappin', Loungin', Hangin', Relaxin' ... I'm supposed to be using all those words to describe my afternoon ... but Iowa Geek won't allow it. 

Mean ol' bat!

Okay, even I'll admit that's not fair of me to say, because she's kind enough to be hosting a fantastic give-a-way this month.  Most months she offers up scrapbooking supplies for the winning, but this month wanted to broaden things a bit and give away something that everyone could use ... not just scrappers.

So, if you're not a scrapbooker, you can still enter and I strongly encourage you to ... and you even get to pick your prize.

Man, I am really thinking my 'mean ol' bat' comment was uncalled for now, huh?  DANG.

Wanna know what you can win?  You can choose between a Flickr Pro Account and a Picnik Account (to learn more about these, visit Jody)

AND

Do you hear me?  AND ...

a $25 gift certificate to Shutterfly.

I mean, really ... who couldn't use that?

So, what are you waiting for?  Get over there and tell the mean ol' bat that An Iowa Mom sent you.  Really.  Tell her that!  But don't call her a mean ol' bat ... I don't think she likes it.   

It's That Time Again

and in honor of the last visit ... I've decided to post a previous entry from October, reminding you what happened last time.  Because I'm really busy today ... reading a magazine and taking a nap.  Why?  Because I deserve it, damn it.  That and because my girls are at the sitter and boys are out roaming somewhere ... and then they'll be fetched by Big Daddy, because his duty calls.

---

Today was Thursday ... well, it still is actually, but I'm going with the past tense because I am tired enough at 7pm that I could envision falling into bed for the evening and not thinking twice about it.

Hubby is not happy with me this afternoon.  Actually saying that he's not happy is an understatement.  He had a busy day of sales calls, most of which were out of the area.  He was informed this morning that the boys had a dentist appointment scheduled for the afternoon and he let me know that he would really have to arrange his day perfectly in order to be back in town by 2:30 to pick them up from school.

Okay, do whatever you have to do.  You know the drill ... I do not "do" the dentist and it's his job every 6 months to get the children to and from the dreaded, oops I mean, dentist office.  Today would be no exception.

A few calls during the day making me feel guilty keeping me updated on his jaunt through the state and the inadequate sales calls he was making because he was rushing a bit and all was well.  He was back in town with 30 minutes to spare.  That's my big daddy.

Happily sewing down in my craft room, a sense of panic suddenly washed over me.  Why didn't the happy people at the dentist office call me last night to remind me of the appointment ... like they always do?

"Oh shit!" I couldn't help let slip from my mouth as I ran up the stairs taking two at a time ... and tripping ... but hey, that's a given.  I just don't move like I used to. 

I scramble over to the refridgerater and peek under the cute little pumpkin magnet ... and cringe as I see the number 18 zooming in and out at me.  Yeah, 18 as in ... OCTOBER 18.  That would be NEXT WEEK.

Grabbing the phone I dialed hubby and there was no answer.  I knew he was in the school retrieving the boys.  I waited 2 minutes 15 seconds and dialed again.  This time he answered.

I told him not to ask any questions, just bring the boys home ... forget that old dentist.

Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled to see me as they all walked through the door.  Trying to look at the bright side of things, he decided to wash my Suburban, since it's rare that he has the time to do the job he deems necessary.  And shoot, wax it too ... after all it has to be ready for winter.  But there wasn't enough wax. 

So, I grabbed my purse and the car keys and ventured out the door.

"Where are you going?" he called.

"To the store.  To get wax!" I smiled.

"You're not leaving all the kids here ... with me ... are you?" he snarled.

"Hey, look buddy ... I'm trying to do YOU a favor here!  Work with me!"  (I know ... I'm such a bitch.  You DO NOT need to send me emails telling me so.  And just for your info ... I'm only a "B" to him ... because he likes it.  Or at least that's what I tell myself.)

And he did.

I have the best hubby EVER!!

And my kids think I'm the best Mom ever ... allowing them to get out of school AND their dentist appointment.

I'll sleep well tonight, I bet 'cha there is snoring involved and everything.  The whole darn ball of wax.

Good night!

Am I The Only One?

The only one who wakes up all pissy because the Internet won't work?  The only one who cusses under her breath at the co-op phone company for not having their act together?  The only one having hot flashes because she can't get to those ... three emails waiting for her, right there behind that little screen?

Whew.  I didn't think I was, but I had to check and be sure.

But still, I'm wondering when you don't have Internet, do you load up the kids and go shopping?  Do you bravely enter Walgreen's with all in tow, to collect your next batch of happy pills?  Maybe break down and go into Wal-mart to buy many, many, many things you don't really need and then feel guilty because you could have bought things for the people IN NEED.  So you turn your tribe around and go back in to do that?  Do you have a hot flash wondering what your own Big Daddy will say when you hand over all the receipts to be deducted from the checkbook?

Wow, we have more in common than I thought.

So then tell me, do you swear at yourself for taking this little trip as you lug all the stuff in without any help?  Do you make a mental note that your kids are ungrateful brats as they scatter off in different directions while you're struggling, and that you need to knock some sense into them ... just as soon as you get this beer in the fridge so it doesn't get warm?  Do you care that you sent the neighbor kid home because you didn't feel like watching kids swim right now?  Do you wonder if your youngest is asleep on the couch at 2pm because of that Bennedryl you gave her for the runny nose that you had no tissues to wipe while you were at Wal-mart?  Do you question why in the world you went to Wal-mart rather than Target anyway?

Geez, we should really get together.

We could talk about how we gave our kids PB&J every single day for lunch since summer vacation started, and somehow forget to buy more while we were buying everything else at the stinkin' store.  And how we want to kill those cute little baby birds that live in the nest, resting under the deck and chirp ALL DAY LONG starting at 5AM.  Or how we wonder which is worse, losing electricity because of the floods and being without the Internet, or staring outside at a perfectly sunny day and wonder why in the hell you have no Internet.

Or ... maybe wonder why it took seven hours, a trip to two stores, a lot of yelling and screaming, and a beer in the early afternoon to make you go downstairs into your office to find that one of the kids must have snuck in and flipped the switch to the wireless router resting perfectly on top of your CPU, snuggled way in the back under a table, so that your children weren't drawn to the blinking lights.

Yeah ... I bet you wouldn't do that either.  You'd be smart enough to lock the door to your office if you lived with my hellions, wouldn't you?