Not Back To School

If you had told me 8 years ago that there would come a time when whole months would pass by without posts on my blog, I would have literally laughed at you.

The stories I have to tell aren't my own anymore, though. The kids, they grow.

Damn them.

And my own life has felt less shareable as of late. Add those compounds together and shake vigorously to get a blog with cobwebs and crickets in every corner.

Still, I have these stories in my head... They may get told. Maybe not.

Until then:

 Checkers outside. "So Fun, Mommy!" Score.

 A week studying Italy resulting in art, flags, and dinner prepared by my 9 year old. Score.

 Helping with the Ricotta cookies. YUM.

 First day of school on the floor in the middle of many storage boxes.

A fourth grader! She is the same age that Justin was when I pulled him from public school... Unfathomable.

Forced togetherness with my 13 year old because posing for first day of school pics is NOT COOL anymore.

Remember when?

Remember the days, "back in the days" during early* blogging, where you felt the need to announce that you were "taking a break" so that people wouldn't get "worried" about you because you hadn't written in more than 3 days? And remember that it WAS an actual, REAL worry? I mean, I READ blogs EVERY DAY. I read them and clicked them off of lists and connected in ways other than Facebook and texting and IT MATTERED if I didn't write for 12 days (like I just did). People NOTICED and CARED and would email you with concerned messages of "Hey, hon. Noticed you hadn't written. Is everything ok?..." and you would feel important and validated and PRESENT on the internet and so, in order to prevent said concern, you would announce a much needed absence for a vacation and/or sanity break (from all the content finding and witty insights) and maybe even schedule posts (new and/or old favorites) so that your "readers" wouldn't get bored and (God forbid) start reading someone else's blog.

Remember when your favorite blogger would suddenly declare that she (rarely a "he") didn't know if blogging was something she could continue with? And you would GASP! because, "OMG, this is one of the best and if SHE can't cut it long-term, why would I think that I could?" and then you would secretly bite your lip in guilty hopes that this actually WAS a REAL departure of another amazing writer so that you would somehow become more awesome(r) in her absence. And then the guilt would get REALLY bad so you would be overcome with writer's block as a punishment from the Goddess of Blogdom.

How quaint.

*We're talking old-school and time-warping to 2007(ish).

Like it?... or Love it?

Ever pay for gymnastics? I'm not talking about the recreational, park district classes, either. I mean the gymnastics classes that prep a kid for team competitions. classes where the gymnasts attend multiple sessions a week, for many, many hours of heavy-duty athletic activity.

If you have, then you know that those pre-team and team class paychecks leave a noticeable dent in your checkbook. And that is why, each time I pull out a pen to write Corinne's gymnastic school another check, I ask her,

"Do you like it? Or do you LOVE it?"

And every time, with her eyes shining and head bopping up and down, she earnestly responds, "Oh, I LOVE IT, Mommy! I LOVE IT!"

I was judging a speech meet today and met a man who is a producer for a television show. He judges while the show is on its winter break. I was interested and asked him about his profession,

"Tell me; do you like it? Or do you love it?"

He paused.

"I LOVE IT. It's the best job ever."

I smiled. "Then you are a lucky man, indeed."

Driving home, I wondered, do I like my job? Or do I LOVE it?

It didn't take me more than a breath to realize that I love it. I LOVE IT. I love every job I own.

Parenting? Love it.
Homeschooling? Love it.
Blogging? Love it.
Co-producing Listen To Your Mother in Chicago? Love it.

It's been a while since anything has uplifted my spirits quite as much as that realization in my van today.

Tell me; Do you like your job? Your life? Or do you LOVE it?

My Blog is making me sleep on the couch. AGAIN.

I missed my blogaversary AGAIN.

I suck at this. My blog is totally never going to talk to me again...


"No present? Not even a freaking CARD? Tracey? You. Suck."

I must figure out a way to remedy this issue. After all, it's not every day that you can celebrate the joyous moment of Six Years of blogging!!

6 Years.

Heh. You'd think I'd be better at this by now.

I need to pick up an apology gift for my blog. Maybe an app or something? What do blogs want, anyway? I wish they'd just tell you instead of assuming that we can read their minds, and then being angry when we bring them a box of chocolates.

Happy Anniversary Blogaversary, Just Another Mommy Blog. You have been the life-vest that I didn't even know I needed.

Just what I needed...

I really needed today's event. It's been a crazy couple of days with lots going on and it was nice to be at the Whirlpool media event without having to be in charge of anything or anyone. All I had to do was enjoy myself and pay attention in between the delicious food they served us. (I am seriously craving that chicken dish. I have GOT to email their chef for the recipe. Divine!)

The Whirlpool Event Center is on LaSalle Street in the beautiful red brick building on the Chicago River that has the large clock tower on top. If you've ever seen pictures of Chicago, you know what I'm talking about.

Where are the pictures of this event, you ask? Well, it's hard to take photos when your children steal your camera's batteries for their Xbox remotes. AGAIN. (The corded remotes they got for Christmas are no longer quite as reliable. This is where it's important to keep the products you review instead of returning them. My kids recommend NOT buying the cheaper remotes and buying the quality ones, so that they last longer. FYI).

I digress.

It was at this event that I found what may just be the solution to our "Where to put the teenager" problem! (Yes. It's a problem. Trust me, he needs his own space. We ALL need for him to have his own space!)

Gladiator Garage is affiliated with Whirlpool and has the coolest modular system that I think is PERFECT for the teenager basement hang-out/future bedroom!! Spots for movable shelves! Sliding drawers and practically indestructible bamboo desktops!

I think I have about a zillion ideas to figure out on this one...

All I've got for titles are Christmas song lyrics....

Still here! I'm definitely feeling the joy of Christmas but also feeling the pressure of lots of irons in the oven, too. That is how the saying goes, right? "Irons in the oven?" I wonder how old that one is. I mean, obviously, it's from the smithy days, but really, didn't they ALWAYS have more than one iron in the oven? It seems like a bit of a waste of valuable fuel to heat a fire up to hot enough to make metal soft to just heat ONE iron at a time...

I digress.

What with all this ironing and such, I haven't felt the call of the blog very much these past few weeks. Well, that's a lie. I've FELT the call, but I've always been pretty occupied with trying to keep the upstairs hallway clear of laundry (and failing) and stressing over the idea of doing a One Day Christmas Shopping Marathon for the first time in my LIFE. It's starting to freak me out a bit. We'll see if I spend more or less in the long run. Pat's betting on less, but I'm wondering if it will mean I may make last-minute changes to "The Plan" simply because I want to make sure that everyone we love gets properly represented (yo) on Christmas. This is where shopping with cash/debit is valuable. I can't spend what I don't have, right?

Shoot, I'm just happy that the Christmas tree lights have stayed lit for an entire day seeing as how I've had to fix them not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES. It's like a festive lottery when I walk into the living room: will the tree be bright and cheerful or a darkened shadow of Christmas Yet To Come? Much swearing, a few tears and several threats of having a "lightless Christmas" were thrown about, but, thanks to my sweat and blood, we currently own a LIT and freshly cut Christmas tree (from the best tree farm in Chicagoland. Trust me. I've shopped around a LOT). The ornaments may be all jumbled from the jabbing of my arms into the branches to untangle unlit lights and the beads may be completely skewed from the shoving and pulling of said tree from the corner to the middle of the room and back again and again and again, but damnit!!! It's our tree. And the kids said it's beautiful. And we can AFFORD a tree and are privileged enough to have a family to celebrate Christmas around it with.

And that's all I could ever ask for.

Well, what do you know? I wrote a post. Heh. Completely unintentional, especially since I'm supposed to be starting my "online browsing" portion of the shopping program...

If you don't see me for the next 6 months? THIS is why.

I must be insane. Well, I AM definitely touched in the head, that's a given. But my insanity must have been matched with off-the-charts hormones when I excitedly threw my name (attached to Melisa's name) into the hat for considerations to host the the Listen to Your Mother show in Chicago in 2012. And Ann PICKED US. Maybe it's Ann that's touched in the head? (silly me; that's also a given).

Crazy or not, This Is Happening. And I am beyond excited and a bit overwhelmed but so thankful for the opportunity and SO THANKFUL that I am doing this with Melisa Wells. Sending you a virtual fist bump, Melisa. You rock.

What is LTYM? You really don't know? Have you been living under a rock with that guy who didn't know that Geico could save you 15% or more?

Sigh... Well, Listen to Your Mother is the very groovy* show that Ann began in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin (go cheeseheads!) in May, 2010. It was a group of writers speaking about their moms, being a mom, yo mama, you name it. It went so well that she expanded to a few more cities in 2011 with raging success. And now, for Mother's Day 2012, LTYM will be in 10 different cities across the nation! Go Ann! She's a genuinely kind and funny person, online and IRL.

So. Hoping to see lots of you Chicagoland writers at our auditions this year. LOTS. We need good, heart-rending, hysterical-yet-meaningful, material. Also, I think Melisa and I will need lots of good, fruity-but-not-too-sweet wine to get us through the list of 437 items that will be on our checklists...

*Yeah. I said it. You gotta problem with that?

In which I test what I like to call "The Bloggess Effect."

The Bloggess Effect, (heretofore* known as TBE) is a phenomenon understood by all low-key bloggers who enjoy the humorous writings of Jen, aka The Bloggess.

TBE most often occurs when said low-key blogger finds herself*** opening the sitemeter of her blog's stats to find that the page views have increased dramatically overnight.

"Halleleujah!" shouts low-key blogger. "The Internet is finally realizing my awesomeness and I will soon have thousands of followers which will then lead to a Famous Blog, following which I will get my own t.v. show!!"

Naturally. This IS what we all think. Maybe some of you don't actually yell it out at the screen? Yes?

Moving on.

As Low-Key Blogger jumps onto her desk chair to shake her middle-aged bootie, she clicks onto the "referred by" line.

And pauses.

And climbs down from her rickety chair.

And weeps just a bit as the truth becomes evident.

No Famous Blog in sight.

Thousands of Followers will not be arriving anytime soon.

And that t.v. show is definitely gonna have to wait.

Because the truth is there in that referring URL line:

http://thebloggess.com

You were witty on a comment on her awesomely famous blog or managed to have a funny blog post title at the time of said comment, thus garnering a tiny portion of her massive amounts of readers' attention.

Thus proving my theory.


*heretofore? Henceforth? Adam told me not to use fancy words. Or did he say to be creative with English? I don't remember.**

**Ok. That's a lie. I probably just wasn't paying attention.

***Defiitely HERself. Because all bloggers are women, right? Except for Jim, Adam, Lou, Mark and that handsome backpacking dude with the eyebrows.

Say Hallo to Mah Leel Frend...

Hallo, ladies! Zey call me Mr. Rooter, but zees feels so formal, no? Please, call me Antoine. I want you to feel comfortable around me. Tell me your deepest secrets and most intense desires. I promise, you won't be disappointed!

It was weeth great excitement and mild trepidation that I attended the Midwest Media Summit in Chicago on Saturday. When I opened mah eye,* I could not believe mah luck! 100 beeeutiful women in one room? And all of them yearning to hold me in their hands?
Sidney fell in love with me. It's true! And what can I say to such a lovely woman? Sidney, no matter how far away you are, you will always be close to mah heart, too. Oh-ho-hoh... The memories shared from our moments at the summit will carry me through ze most deesgusting clogs...
... Though I must admit being a beet, how you say? Confus-ed? Yes, confused by zis Tweeeeter everyone was ooohing and aaahing about. Why a tiny screen when you have me, Antoine Rooter, around to entertain your twitchy fingers? Mah confusion has NOTHING to do with my lack of opposable thumbs, deespite vat Miss Tracey likes to claim! I say, Leeeve your life! Do not vaste it twitting and tweeting and chirping like leeetle birdies!
I must confess: I have a zing for zah blondes, too. Miss Melanie.... Mmmm-mmm. She makes my plunger happy.

The women of the table felt the need to compare my plunger size to the size of their, um... Vell. You can fill in the blanks. I was embarrassed, to say the least, especially when they pulled out ze cameras, but never like to deesapoint a woman. I did mah best. They left happily surpirised. ;)
Sigh... Again. It is ze bane of an action figure's existence that we must, how you say, acquiesce to a human's desires. Miss Rita could not control herself. Mah plunger has zees affect on women. I cannot help it!
Who knew zat these "Mommy Bloggers" could exhaust a leetle plastic man so thoroughly? Zey Do! Not! Stop! Enough with ze giggling and tossing and bending of mah arms! Give a plumber a break, ladies!


*Sadly, Mr. Rooter is a one-eyed action figure. We try not to make too much of an issue out of it. He's already self-conscious enough about his, um, "size."

**My own apologies to Mr. Rooter if this post isn't quite as appropriate as they would like. I honestly toned it down. This IS the PG version, believe it or not...

Friday

My morning, thus far:

Quick! Put on a bra before the neighbor comes over at 8 am with bags of groceries from their defrosting freezer and sees you braless and in heels!

Gotta break in some shoes for The MidWest Moms Media Summit tomorrow. I don't normally wash dishes in heels and pj's. In fact, I try to stay away from washing dishes, altogether but my family insists on eating every FREAKING day. Nobody likes my idea of skipping food or just eating over the garbage can. Whatever.

Rrrrriiinggg!!! Hello?

Hello! Just calling to make sure Corinne is coming with us to the play today? Didn't Patrick tell you? We're leaving at 9:30!

Looks at clock. 9:05 Sure. No problem.

Awesome.

9:24 No coffee. Rawr.

9:25 See that husband has declared that he is quitting everything including Facebook, cigarettes and his Bejeweled Blitz addiction. Crossing fingers that this is so but not holding my breath, I ignore the irony that he announced his declaration on Facebook.

10:00 Have gotten distracted by all that is shiny and speedy-fast on the Internet and have completely lost my train of thought. Am now immersed in the process of finding phone numbers and money to rearrange Saturday night's plans so that I can stay till the parties are over! We shall see...

Spring is finally HERE

There is something awesome about having kids that are old enough to run in and out of the house, shouting out "I'll be at my friend's house!" before they slam the door. Granted, this age also means that there are usually just as many extra kids inside MY house as ones I have birthed, but I'm ok with that. The noise volume is definitely cranked up when that happens, but it's a price I'm happy to pay for the hours of absolute SILENCE when they're all outside.

Naturally, as soon as I sat down to type this, my 3 plus 2 spares came in from the beautiful outdoors to muck up the house. Sigh... I totally jinxed myself, didn't I?

That said, it is GORGEOUS outside! About 55 and sunny, sunny, sunny! We have so many outside plans for the upcoming weeks and I cannot WAIT to get rid of this winter pallor that March always bestows upon my face. Yikes. I am pale and look just... unhealthy. Gimme some Vitamin D!

I haven't felt the writing bug lately. I mean, I've written, but it's just not... good. It's not. I hesitate to proclaim that I am on a "bloggy break" because I'm NOT but I am definitely on a "blog staycation." Meaning I'm here, but not at work. Yeah, A Blog Staycation. Present but not performing. I wonder; if I had a laptop that I could bring out into the sunshine, would I want to write more and write with FEELING? Eh. I am kind of blah about that, one way or the other.

If Husbands had Blogs

Good Lord. Just the title of the post is enough to cause most of us to dry heave. Am I right or am I right?

There are precious few men who can inhabit this blogging world without creating a marital rift in their household. The ones who do: I applaud you*. But mostly I applaud your wives or significant others for having the strength to go through what I subject my own family to!

It's one thing for ME to write about my kids and family life. I mean, it's my life and I KNOW how it is. It is how I SAY it is. DUH! But if Patrick were to infer his own opinion about how our lives are run, there is a small chance (oh so small) that he may, ON OCCASION, disagree with my perception of a situation.

I KNOW! Can you imagine? It's difficult to believe, but I cannot rule out the possibility.

So, it is with great gratitude and joy that I thank my husband for not having a writing bug of any shape or sort. THANK YOU, HONEY!! Thank you for not encroaching upon this corner of my world! Thank you for letting me be the writer of our family history (her-story?). I promise to be 100% unbiased and level-headed no matter how many times I have to remind you to clean the cat box or take out the trash.***It has come to my attention that I only read 2 men bloggers. Please direct me to other writing men! I need to expand my horizons!!

**FYI. It's time.

Lunch anyone?

Have I mentioned how much I love living in North East Illinois? We are just 45 minutes outside of Chicago which means we can enjoy all of the amenities of the city without the joy of their taxes and congestion.

Have I also mentioned how much I love the perks that blogging in the Chicagoland area brings? Perks like tickets to The Chicago Wolves, Disney on Ice*, Monster Jam**, MacBeth*** and an American Girl weekend away... All of these outings and reviews make my kids think I'm a rockstar. Truly!

One thing that I don't do often enough is get together with fellow bloggers just to HANG. And you know what? I want to hang with you guys! So, let me know if you're local(ish) and if you're available on Saturday, February 5. I want to get some of us together for lunch and coffee and chatting without worrying about networking or reviewing or anything. (Not that I don't love all of that!) Comment below and leave me your email and we'll set it up (unless you're a weird stalker man who plans on flashing us****).


*I still have 4 free tickets to giveaway for Disney on Ice!


**I will also have free tickets for Monster Jam coming up soon...


***AND 4 free tickets for MacBeth at the Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier! Stay tuned....




~~~~



****In which case, I'll send you to a different location and laugh at your expense.*****




*****Unless you're a really smokin flasher and then I'll get a vote from everyone and get back to you.

Not quite the look I had in mind.

Wow. This is not how I pictured my top post to appear this morning. Let me clarify...

Patrick got me a new keyboard for Christmas. One without a space bar that wobbles and sticks, which is nice. It's always great to type and have the words be separated. This keyboard is a slightly curved one to help my wrists or something. He's looks out for me, that one. Quite the sweet husband, right? Little did I know that the Control button is now placed ever so slightly higher. This means that while I'm happily typing away about my weekend's adventures without looking at the screen or keyboard (because I have mad typing skills like that), I now tend to strike the Ctrl key instead of the Enter and sometimes just erase an entire post! AND it saved! Yaaayyy...

Merry Christmas to me!

Therefore, my attempts to post a tidbit of my fabulously funny brain at the top of my blog for any new readers who have jumped over from my post at Mamapedia today (hello!) have been foiled. Especially since today is Day One of Project "We are starting school BEFORE 11 AM and you will only get 1 warning if you are talking back and good work will bring rewards and we are a happy happy family tra la la!"

Yes. So. Hello, newbies! Sorry to disappoint but there are 3 kids who need some schooling and I am just the woman to answer that call!

Bashing head against the screen as I type.

Oh. My. God.

Bloglines (the old-fashioned rss feed reader that I use) just got "updated" and by "updated" I mean SCREWED THE HELL UP!!

I am in the process of trying to transfer about, oh, 75 blogs or so from my old site to my new one but, in case we all forgot, I am in possession of the world's most ELDERLY COMPUTER EVER and this is not an easy task. (Yes, I would be happy to review a new computer. Call me. We'll chat.)

I beg of you; if I have EVER commented on your blog or if you comment here or if this is your first time (Hi! I'm not always this disjointed. Well, except for when I am...), please leave me a comment so that I can re-link you easily. Seriously, this SUCKS. Especially since the list ISN'T ALPHABETICAL! Of course not. It was probably designed by a MAN.

Rawr.

Also: New post at The Chicago Moms by yours truly...

Tutus are slimming...

Not At BlogHer.

Not flying to New York City.

Not keeping track of Marinka.

No fabulous updates of parties and inspirational speeches and long-time internet friends reunited over a candlelit table.

BUT. I got to put on a tutu at a bar last night which then led to me propositioning a bunch of frat boys who thought the women at the front table were absolute loonies (but hot loonies! Ooooohhh So HOT!) to donate! It'll make you a better person! You can wear the tutu, too! (strangely, they didn't make much eye contact after that...)

So, it's all even in the end.
Be a doll and check out Tutus for Tanner. If you can, help them raise the funds to allow this very sweet, very sick boy be able to spend the rest of his life at home instead of a hospital.

Hope everyone in NY for BlogHer is having a GREAT time without me. No! Really. I mean it. I hope the humidity isn't too crushing or oppressive. I hope that the traffic isn't too aggravating and that nobody gets sick from all of the free martinis that I won't be drinking.

What are YOU proud of?

I was recently asked to submit a post that I was proud of.

"Proud of?" I bit my lip and held my breath.

Am I proud of anything in particular? If I had to choose one post that represents me, which would it be?

Good Lord! I've been writing here for over 4 years! How can I pick one post out of the 1097 that I've written? Some are horrendous. Some are sappy. Many are posted without much editing, thrown into the swirl of words that is the internet. Several are written at 2 am in the throes of an attack of insomnia. Picture posts, kiddy posts, whining-about-money-posts.

How do you define yourself in just one post?!?

I finally selected one that I am proud of. After submission, I realized that it would most definitely be thrilling to be chosen to read it, but not being selected won't negate my pride. And it led me to wondering...

What one post are you proudest of? What post defines who you are?

Would you care to share it? I'd love to read it. I'd love to share it, too.

So, here's the deal. Send me a link with the title of the post and name of your blog, and I'll make a list that I'll post on my site. Whatever strikes your fancy, whatever you want; just a post that may have gotten lost in your archives and deserves another chance in the spotlight. There's no ending date to the list; I'll update it as long as I receive your links.

I'll start with the post that I sent in for submission...

Immortality on the Internet by Tracey of Just Another Mommy Blog
Trauma by Deb of Not Inadequate
Toss that Stain Stick by Michelle of Honest and Truly
Tempting the Universe by Leslie of Raven's Rook
God Bless Us Every One by She's Just Another Manic Mommy
Breadcrumbs from the Incredible Weirdness of Being...
Reality by Issa from Issa's Crazy World
Uncle Marky also by Issa from Issa's Crazy World (because she just can't pick one and I've hugged her so it's ok...)
The Gerbil Chronicles by Sue from Our Little Corner
Five for Ten:Happiness by Stacia from Fluffy Bunnies
Gettysburg Family Jumps the Shark by Sue from Gettysburg Family
A Closed Hand is a Fist by Mike from Teacher Food

You're next!

Consider Cleveland... part 1

Ok. So the economy's kind of icky and most of us are a little less affluent than we were a year or two ago. We can agree on this, no? My kids would love to go on a plane ride to Florida or Hawaii, but there isn't a chance in the world that we can afford that! However, life is about living and living includes experiences and experiences can be found closer to home than we realize.

I was honored to be invited by the cvb of Cleveland, Ohio to participate in a promotional tour of their city. "Positively Cleveland" managed to pack in a week's worth of activities in just 3 days and though my feet are revolting against those 3 days of shoes on pavement, my mind is simply overwhelmed. My travel-mate for the week was Barb, aka Weaselmama. You might remember her from my trip to Galena, IL. We managed to ride in a car for 3 hours and all weekend on that trip, so I knew we could travel together without killing each other (always a good feature in a friend). When the words "Cedar Point" came up, I knew she was the perfect choice. I mean, if I'm going to the "roller-coaster capital of the world", I want someone who actually likes to ride roller coasters.

And ride them, we did. Amazingly enough, no one threw up as we were hustled from one thrilling heart-stopper to the next for 5 hours straight. The best ride, in my opinion: The Millennium Force (though the Maverick was a close second with it's never-ending twists and dips). The Millennium Force actually had me feeling light-headed on its first drop. Which meant that I simply had to convince our group to ride it again, just before we left. Let me tell you, it didn't require any arm-twisting to make that wish come true!

I sleepily stumbled into my hotel room that the Crowne Plaza Cleveland City Centre provided for us all. Their extra little touches (chocolates on the bed beside a personalized letter reminding me of the ammenities they provided)were definitely noted prior to passing out from exhaustion, but it wasn't until the next morning as I was drinking my gourmet cup of coffee that I managed to peer through the curtains and be amazed at the views before me...Stunning. This shot doesn't even begin to do it justice. The proximity of the hotel is such that we were able to walk to the arena, the downtown square, Lake Erie and the East Fourth Street district. I was so enthralled by the quiet beauty of the Cleveland morning that I got myself up and moving an hour early just to sit on the bench beside the street and watch the city come to life. Had I known how busy we would be that day, I might have stayed in bed a tad longer...


Part 2 will follow soon!

Not too proud to use my kids to garner the popular vote. Not too proud at all...

Where am I? I'm at scout camp all week. We're climbing up hills and picking up trash and learning silly songs and shooting bows and bb guns. I am truly earning my Mommy award this week! Maybe these pics of my oddballs will prompt you into feeling sorry for me and voting at the ParentsPicks awards so that I can get to the top 5?!? Only a few days left to vote!!

Anyone know what her shirt says? Anyone? I could use a little help here!

Soccer gear and a clown nose. Why? Because he knows his dad despises clowns. Sweet kid, really.
Jamming on the piano. Singing some 80's ballad and making me swoon...

Let the begging commence!

Well, hot damn. I got nominated for a Best Parenting Blog at Parents' Picks! (Sadly, all of the pictures used in this post were not taken for this post. They were just regular pictures I take of myself and my kids on a regular day. It's a sad, sad situation around here...)

How does that even happen, anyway? No matter to me, really. It just makes me glow a little bit inside, especially when I see the OTHER blogs I am placed beside! That freaking humbles me.

I see that the thing to do when one is on a blog competition thingy is to shout out to you guys and say "Hey! If you love me, show me!" But I'm not quite THAT polite. My personal plea will instead be,

Hey! If you love me or even remotely like me or haven't ever heard of me but found me by clicking on the first link you saw for 'Mommy Blog', could you please do a fellow motherhood soldier a huge favor and vote for me?!? PLEASE?!? I'll beg....I'll show you my fists of iron....
I'll even go so far as to exploit the puppy dog eyes of my children for a few more votes!"Please vote for my Mommy. She needs the validation that winning or even placing somewhere on a list would allow her. Also, she keeps taking pictures of me and has threatened to continue doing so until she wins this... Help. Me."

Go on and vote! My children are depending on you!

You can vote every day, so expect to be pestered for a while... :)