An Iowa Mom

It's Not You ... It's Me.

Oh man.  I have really been in a funk lately, huh?  I know that one of my pet peeves is when bloggers that I read, constantly pull the famous line of, "Oh, I know I haven't blogged in a while!"  Now, I understand that bloggers need to do this every once in a while ... because LIFE HAPPENS ... but when every single blog post starts with that ... it's down right annoying.  So annoying, that I usually unsubscribe.

What?  You don't know that kind of blog I'm talking about?  Really.

Let me give you an example.

Uuummm, let's see .... Hhhhhmmmm ....

Oh yeah!

MINE.

Seems like every single stinkin' post starts with, "Sorry it's been so long since my last post!" ...

And like I said, I have no excuse other than I'm just in a little bit of a bloggy slump.

Hang in there with me.  I know things will turn around shortly.  Don't give up on me.  Don't click that unsubscribe button.  It would make me so sad.  And you don't want to make me cry, do you?

Do you???

I didn't think so.

I Just Knew She Would Pull This Off ...

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I was asking you to go and vote for me in that one poll or contest or whatever the heck it is?  You lovely people commented that I was in the lead.  A huge lead.  And I told you that Jody, over at Iowa Geek, would surely pull something out of her hat and quietly take lead without anyone noticing she'd done so ... until it was too late? 

Remember that?

Well ... friends who live inside my computer ... someday you (and Big Daddy) will learn to listen to me.  Because I'm usually right.

Really.

Oh be quiet ... it's my blog, I can say whatever I want. 

Seriously though, I received an email from one of you informing me that Jody is winning now.  Beating me.  And we just can't have THAT now, can we?  It's NOT too late.

You don't have to register for anything.  Nothing to fill out.  It's really easy.  You just go to the voting page and click on An Iowa Mom and then on VOTE.  That's it.  10 seconds or less.  Will you do that for me?  Please?

What do I have to do?

Beg?

Thanks guys!  You rock!

http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/des-moines-ia-usa/best-des-moines-local-blog

One Word. Satisfaction.

Maybe it's just me, but I believe there is no better satisfaction for a mother, than this:

An overtired child, who insisted she was NOT tired ... taking a time out for something she had done ... more than likely because she was ... indeed ... exhausted!!

Ya know ... summertime will do that to a four year old.

If I Were A Hat, Where Would I Be?

I've been asking myself that question most of last night and all of this morning.  You see, it seems as though my responsible, sweet, caring eight year old son has misplaced his hat. 

His baseball cap. 

You know ... the one that is a part of his uniform. 

That he has to wear this evening. 

Because he has a game.

And he has no idea where it is.

He's looked.

I've looked.

So, I was thinking ... if I started thinking like a baseball cap ... I'd walk right to it.

As it turns out, I'm obviously not a very good hat thinker, because the freakin' thing is still missing.

The house is clean.  Picked up.  Nothing is out where it shouldn't be. 

The little sucker is hiding.  Probably just to irritate me.  Like everyone else who lives here.

Since I can't seem to locate my son's hat.  And he can't seem to find it either ...

I'm wondering ... If YOU were a hat ... where would YOU be?

Like A Ghost

Last night the boys asked if they could sleep in the basement.  Scanning the calendar and verifying that we had nothing on the agenda for today, I determined that it would be okay.  Let me explain, we can't have ball games or any outings for the following day ... because when they sleep in the basement they usually stay up until all hours of the night playing video games or watching TV and are virtually useless the next day.

Responsible parenting?  Probably not.  But, I never claimed to be a responsible parent.

Anyway, Big Daddy was in a pretty good mood and went down to help them out.  Ya know, getting their blankets and pillows set out just right.  What I saw when he came upstairs is something I've never seen before.  He had turned white as a ghost.  With wide eyes and barely able to speak, he mumbled, "Have you seen the basement?"

Quite honestly, I probably hadn't been down there for two weeks ... but know that I send the kids down there to play daily.  Judging from Big Daddy's face, I knew that it couldn't be good.

I crept down, expecting the worst.

And it was worse than THAT.

"Appalling" is the only word to describe it.

So ... guess what we are doing today?

You got it.  I'm goin' in.

If you don't hear from me in 48 hours ... call 9-1-1.

Oops, She Did It Again!

Do you guys remember a while back when Molly did this? 

Well, she did it again. 

And I was wondering, is being a bratty, conceited, stuck up, bee-otch (sorry, can't bring myself to call my daughter that) not-so-nice girl, learned behavior or something that she could have just been born with?  I am praying it's the latter, because I am pretty confident that I'm NOT that way.  Really.

Here is what happened ...

Emily was outside riding the scooter that I told her she wasn't big enough to ride, but she rode it anyway, because no one ever listens to me.  Needless to say, she wipes out, hurts her leg and suddenly finds herself in the kitchen crying at my feet.  I am not at all embarrassed to say that "I TOLD YOU SO!" escaped from my lips more than once.  Ya know ... because I'm mature like that.

Then Molly enters the room and sees her sister crying.  Being the over dramatic little gal that she is, she falls to the floor to sit by her sister, "Oh Emily!  Did you get hurt?"

Emily nodded with her bottom lip protruding as far outward as humanly possible and tears still spilling from her eyes.

Molly reached out and rubbed Emily's cheek.  "Ooohhhh, did you hurt your face?"

"No." Emily replied.

Molly's nose crinkled and her mouth formed a small snarl, "Then why does your face look like that?"

Isn't she sweet?

Short, Simple and To The Point

I'm not a party person.  Well, let me rephrase that.  I AM a party person ... but only certain kinds of parties.  When a friend and neighbor asked me to host a Pampered Chef party I immediately declined.  I rarely go to these gatherings and have only hosted ONE in all my 30-some odd years.

However, just because I don't enjoy going, doesn't mean I don't like the products they offer.  Because a lot times I do.  This lead me to agree to an "online" party.  Because you all know I'm all about the ONLINE thing, right?  Obviously.

So here is the deal.  I'm hosting this Pampered Chef party ... an online version ... and it ends ... uuummm ... TOMORROW (Wednesday).  So since I know that everyone always needs something from Pampered Chef ... head on over and go shopping for the special something you need.  I mean, there is no time like the present, right?

Use this link so that it counts for my party, okay? 

AN IOWA MOM'S PAMPERED CHEF PARTY!

I have the following and can't live without them:

• Easy Read Measuring Cups
• Small Scoop
• Medium Scoop
• Large Scoop

And these cool gadgets were just brought to my attention from Rachel, and now I have to have them:

Mix 'n Chop
Mix 'n Mash







Have fun shopping around ....  AN IOWA MOM'S PAMPERED CHEF PARTY!  Remember, you will have to order by Wednesday, June 10.

Thanks guys!