An Iowa Mom

Only My Daughter

The day before yesterday, Molly and I were snuggled up in a chair just talking.  You know, because conversations between a four year old and her mother are so facinating, right?   Don't forget educational.  Always an opportunity for learning.

Well, this little bit of chit chat was no exception.

Molly (patting my chest):  What are these?  Are these called BOOBS or BUBS?

Before I even had an opportunity to answer she continued ...

Molly: I really hope they are called BUBS ... because I want them to rhyme with CUBS.   Ya know, cause we love the Cubs.  And, I love these BUBS.

I know, you don't have to say it.  I should win the "Parenting of Summer Award ... after all, it's obvious I am working on my preschooler's rhyming skills on a regular basis.  And, she's getting quite good at it if I do say so myself.

Shawn Colvin Winners

The winners of the Shawn Colvin LIVE CD are:

• Lori A.
• Minyo
• Stacie

You have all three been notified by email as well.  Please respond back to that email with your mailing information.  If you do not respond by the end of the day, Friday, July 24 ... you will forfeit your prize and a new winner will be chosen.

Congratulations!

Missing Out

Okay.  Here is the deal.  I miss blogging.  I do.  A lot, actually.  Surely the majority of you out there are simultaneously rolling your eyes and mumbling, "Then blog already, you dim wit!" 

Am I right?  Of course I am.  I'm always right.  Remember?

However, whenever I sit down to share a story of our lives with you, I try to put a somewhat humorous spin on it.  I'm fully aware there are times this goal is not met, as I do realize there are times that I am the only one who thinks I'm funny.  I still try to put a smile on your face as you read about my experiences being a mother to these four kids running around my house ...screaming ... continually claiming that they do indeed belong to me.

So here it is.  Plain and simple ... life here isn't funny right now.  Nothing amusing about it.

That happens.  And that's all I'm going to say about it.

When it got to be that way, I stopped blogging.

And now I realize that I'm not recording all the great things that are taking place this summer, because I can't find words to relay those adventures in an entertaining way.  Then, I came to a conclusion.  That's right, I made a decision ... all by myself.  Wanna know what I came up with?

I am going to blog those occurrences anyway.

I am back.  Officially.

Funny or not.

Win A Shawn Colvin CD

It wasn't too long ago that I was asked to review the Shawn Colvin LIVE CD. I am embarrassed to admit that I had never even heard of Shawn Colvin. Really.

I'm a country music lover and and haven't heard of her? What the heck? Then I realize that she will be performing with Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris & Patty Griffin this summer.. And I feel even more stupid. DUH!

Anyway ... the CD arrived in my mailbox and I immediately placed it in the CD player, curiously wondering who this Shawn Colvin was. Hello? I can't believe I hadn't heard of her before. I absolutely love the CD and it has a permanent spot in my CD changer.

I am not kidding. And I'm not being paid to say so ...

Her music is of the folk genre. It is so calm and soothing. This disk, which features songs from the past 20 years of her career, is going to be an absolute favorite of mine when it comes to sitting outside with a nice glass of wine to relax and wind down after a hectic day. And in the winter months, perfect for some background music during those warm bubble baths.

I fully recommend everyone check it out. I'm pretty confident you'll thank me for it. For more information, to listen to three songs on the CD and a chance to win an autographed guitar, visit her site.

Be sure to come back here and leave a comment though ... because I have been given three copies of the CD to give away to you! All you have to do is leave a comment to enter. An additional entry will be awarded to those of you who take the time to listen to the three songs she shares on her site, and if you state which song you like best in your comment ... it will count as two.

I will choose the winners on July 22.

What's A Mother To Do?

Many would probably disagree with me, but I feel like I've been a mother for a LONG time.  Mind you, I've only spent 11 of my years as a parent, but man ... some days, it feels more like 111 years. 

I'm just sayin'. 

So with that, ya know, 111 years of parenting I've got under my belt I have an itsy bitsy problem.  As I sit here at 9:00 on this beautiful, sunny, breezy yet warm Monday morning ... I find myself in a bit of a pickle ...

Last night, or I should probably say ... this morning seeing that it was actually 1:30 AM ... I wake to the sounds of voices.  More like screams.  Angry screams.  It was my boys ... yelling at each other.  I get up and follow the sounds which lead me to the basement.  It was here that I find my 11 year old and 8 year old side by side on the sofa with Wii controllers in their hands.  Fighting over what was fair and what was not in the game they were playing.

Did you catching the 1:30 AM thing I wrote it the previous paragraph?

Yeah.

To say that I was angry is an understatement, but I was too tired to do anything about it except shock the hell out of them by standing there, gritting my teeth and uttering, "Get your butts upstairs RIGHT NOW!"  I don't think they were expecting me to crash their party ... so that part was pretty funny ... to me anyway.

So, here is the deal.  It's 9:00 now ... and they are both still sound asleep. 

  

Should I let them sleep?  Because I'm sure they're still tired.

Or wake their asses up?  Because they should have been asleep long before 1:30 AM?

What do you think?

My Life In Pictures ...

So yesterday morning, I woke up (or should I say I was woken up) ... and there was no straight up pop in the house.  Plenty of that diet crap, but none of the good stuff.  Big Daddy, thinking he was funny, wouldn't agree to grab me one from Casey's before he left for work. 

Now many of you have been reading me long enough to know that when Big Daddy refuses to do something for me that I want him to ... he must pay.  The man must be punished.  That's just the way it is.  A simple fact of life.

It was decided upon that this would be the perfect thing:

Once Big Daddy caught a glimpse of his sweet girls with these tattoos ... he'd never deny me a pop again?  Right? 

Wrong.

He barely noticed they were there.

And then, just to get these photos, I had to endure pouty kids wanting a picture done BY THEMSELVES.  As in 'individual'.  Because, ya know, having them pose together in just one photo is torture and down right inhuman on my part.  What was I thinking?

And then, while photos were being taken ... one little girl spied her little sister trying to swipe her favorite watering can.

Obviously we couldn't have any of that nonsense, so she swiftly stole it back.

I'm happy to report that at least ONE of us was then content with life.

Seriously, I should have just gotten in my car ... all by myself ... enjoyed the 3 minutes of silence ... and gotten my own damn pop.

It would have been a hell of a lot easier.

Ya wanna know what else is really easy?  Voting for me.  Please do.  I'm losing BIG TIME now and there are only 12 days left to vote.  It only takes 15 seconds ... if that! Thanks!