An Iowa Mom

My Favorite Day!

Today is my favorite day of the year. 

No, not the date, April 23 ... that holds no significance to me.  It's Monday, and I don't normally like anything about Monday's, but today is different.  So, why would today be a favorite of mine?

This morning was the first of the season that I woke up breathing in the fresh outside air.  Yup, silly as that might sound, waking up with the bedroom windows open, a light breeze, the sun shining, the birds chirping ... and the killdeer sleeping ... it's my most favorite day of the year!!!!  I love it and I look forward to this day all year long.  This year ... it just so happens to be April 23.

One other thing that is making this morning fabulous ...

(Sorry for the fuzzy photo ... I didn't want to use my flash and risk waking her)

and it's ...

I think this is going to be a SUPER, GREAT, UNBEATABLE, FANTASTIC day!

A lot of people choose a specific holiday for their favorite day of the year.  Drew would hands down, without a doubt call Halloween his favorite because of all the CANDY.  :)

What is your favorite day of the year?

Feel The Love ...

For about a week now I've been checking in on a fellow blogger and mother that had to have the experience of being told she was living with a brain tumor.  I do not know her.  Her blog was not one I read before this tragic event struck their family ... but it is the first one I check each morning ever since I heard about it.  Her name is Heather.

On Wednesday, BooMama hosted a "love offering" to support Heather and her family, both emotionally and financially.  I have to admit, I get a lump in my throat when I see all the caring people in this community most commonly called "Bloggerville", and it reminds me that this world is not all bad ... and if you really pay attention, the majority of it is good.

The feeling you get when you help another is incredible and I encourage you to experience it along with me.  Spread a little love Heather's way!  And say a prayer for her and her family. 

As a wife and mother, I can't even imagine what she must be going through right now!  But I can imagine how helpful and comforting all of our love and support is to her.

Can it get any worse?

Okay ... I started my day asking, "What's Worse?" ... and here I am a few hours later wondering if it can get any worse?  My day has been hell and I'm still having to endure at least another 6 hours before the girls will even think of going to bed for the night.  I don't know if I'll make it?  I really don't.

This morning was playgroup.  Normally a day I look forward to.   The girls play.  I am actually able to speak words other than "no", "please don't", "get off that", "no coloring on walls, only paper" ... you know, the normal language that moms speak non-stop throughout the day.  On playgroup days, I get to talk to adults.  The other moms we look forward to seeing so we can vent about and pick apart every single stinkin' thing our husbands did to irritate us since we last saw each other the week before.  It rocks!  I would guess that it's better than therapy.  I always come away from playgroup feeling like I'm not alone in the venture called motherhood ... and my mood is usually a lot better than when I arrived.

Not today.

It was awful.  My girls misbehaved.  My girls cried and screamed.  My girls did not share nicely with the others.  My girls threw temper tantrums.  My girls talked to me with disrespecful words.  My girls threw toys.  One of my girls refused to even try a bite of the wonderful lunch the hostess prepared for her.  That same girl came completely unglued when she did not get dessert and everyone else did.  The other girl scarfed down 3 servings of food, smearing it all over her face, hands and table making it appear as though I never feed her, let alone teach her how to use a FORK.  I was ready to get out.  Embarrassment settled in the moment we arrived and is still hovering over me now that we are home.

Of course, now that we are home, my girls are behaving PERFECTLY.

On the way home, I decided I deserved a treat for enduring the torture my lovely daughters placed upon me.  We took a long detour to Pizza Hut so I could get my breadsticks.  You know, the ones I love dipping in cheese because I DO NOT like red sauce with my breadsticks.  Just DON'T LIKE IT!  My spirits were rising as I drew closer to home.  Taste buds were watering just anticipating the lunch I was going to have.  Settling in for my well deserved treat, I unpacked the breadsticks from the bag and found ...

THIS!

Busted sauce containers ... and soggy, sauce drenched breadsticks.  Not wanting them to go to waste, I fed them to Emily, who was dying from hunger since she didn't eat lunch.  So, what a wonderful mother I am ... I rewarded her for all her bad behavior ... with MY treat!

I really want to change the design of my blog, because I don't like it.  It feels dreary ... but I'm sure in changing it ... I'll screw something up. 

So ... I wonder ... can it get any worse than right now?  My day can only get better, right?

I'll let ya know!

What's Worse?

What's worse than a little munchkin climbing the gate on her bedroom door so she can tiptoe into my room at 6am to tell me the sun is shining and we should GET UP AND PLAY since it's such a beautiful day?

2 Little Munchkins!!!

I need a higher gate. 

Who Knew?

Lately it's been a real battle to comb through Emily's hair after her nightly swim in the tub.  We've tried all that spray in detangler crap and nothing works.  Nothing.  Though she loves her 20 minute bath, she screams bloody murder all the way through the 7.23 minutes it takes to comb through her hair.

The other night, I calmly stated, "Ya know, you would look really cute in short hair.  Especially with summer coming and all, it would be great!"

To which Emily replied instantly, "NO!"

"I'm just saying, you should think about it.  There wouldn't be as many snarls and it would be sooo much easier to brush!"  I knew I was getting through to her.  I mean, how hard would it be to convince my 3 year old that she would be much better off with short hair?

"No.  I want to be a princess.  I AM a princess!" she told me, again without giving my suggestion ANY thought what-so-ever.

"Of course you are.  You still would be!  Some princesses have short hair.  Alot of them do actually!" 

"NOT THE PRETTY ONES!" she snorted and walked off.

Who knew?

Now normally I try to side with my kids ... but on this one, I'd just have to flat out disagree!  I'm still pulling for the short hair ... and I think she'd be adorable ... and a princess too!

The Way Children See Things ...

These came in an email from my mom and I got a chuckle out of a few of them and decided to share with you.

NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a Woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, "Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt!

HONESTY
My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he'd dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, 'cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago.

OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a Note from his mother The note read, "The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."

KETCHUP
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup to come out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. "It's the minister, Mommy," the child said to her mother. Then she added, "Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle."

MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, ! ! ! "What's the matter haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"

ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly
shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. The various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs, unfailingly intrigued her. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, "The tooth fairy will never believe this!"

DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit."
"And why not, darling?" "You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning."

SCHOOL
A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting
my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write and they
won't let me talk!"


BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I found", the boy called out." What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear

What Did I Make?

Many of you sent me email over the weekend asking which one of your mouth watering ideas I decided to make and bring to Bunko on Friday.  I must say, it was a very hard decision ... and the choice I made was ...

Yeah, it didn't really prove to be difficult at all.  Well, actually, the bowl was on a shelf a little too high for my reach, so I had to get a step stool ... but other than that, it was just a matter of opening the bag and dumping them in.  I went the extra mile and covered them with plastic wrap before I left the house.  I should be receiving an award, I know!!

Seriously though, all of your ideas were great and I am going to make them for upcoming Bunko's, but this past Friday it just wasn't in the cards for me to impress my friends.  Molly spent the entire day throwing up.  I did attempt to go to the store for ingredients to make something awesome, but as I was lifting Molly out of her car seat, she threw up ALL OVER!  Yup, she started and hasn't stopped yet. 

Our weekend has been full of snuggles, cuddles, sleepless nights and tons and tons of laundry.  Poor Molly girl!  You know there is something wrong when she is not hammin' it up for the camera!!

   
 

Today ... I'm off to buy a new car seat!

And some laundry soap.