Endless Pursuit for Mom of the Year

Always tell the truth.  That way you don't have to remember what you said.  ~Mark Twain -------------------------------------------------------------- Madison loves band aids almost as much as she loves drama.  Immediately when I got home the other day, she rushed to me to show she'd fallen down.  I checked out her skinned knee and did all the appropriate mommy stuff.  I asked if she was OK, kissed her boo-boo, even propped her knee up on a pillow when she complained that it hurt.  However, the one thing that annoys me most is she will wear a band aid either until it falls off from the filth or is covered in lint from her pants.  It drives me crazy!  A couple of days later, she was getting into the shower.  I asked if she wanted to remove her band-aid and here came the storm!  She has been known to scream through a band aid removal until I tell her it was removed 5 minutes ago so she can stop crying.  I was not ready for the scre...

If you don't get what you want, it's either a sign you did not seriously want it, or that you tried to bargain over the price. ~Rudyard Kipling --------------------------------------------------------------- This week, the refrigerator died and we had to buy a new one.  When it comes to appliances, it is a major purchase that I feel should be well thought out.  I like to spend time shopping, comparing, driving to multiple stores, asking questions, opening doors/drawers and various other gadgets on the appliance.  Unfortunately, as the other had simply died, I did not have this luxury.  We needed a new refrigerator and we needed it NOW!  Where we live, there are very limited options for where to shop for appliances.  So, we settled on a nice Whirlpool side-by-side.  We needed it fast because Madison was already crying about where we would put her chocolate milk and how we would get to it quickly when she was thirsty.  I'll say it again, I didn...

  It is what we learn after we know it all that really counts. ~ John Wooden ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's post is mainly because my brother-in-law likely never thought I'd do it.  Perhaps it is getting the last laugh.  Even better, it is John's anointment into the world of my blog.  Welcome to the club John.  Now you and Aaron have even more in common (and one more thing to complain about).   How is it that most of our family fun times also end up involving a toilet?  That, along with the addition of lots of beer, sure does make for some good laughs.  Upon arrival to my sister's house today for some stamping time with the girls and "bar research" (ahem...an excuse to drink lots of beer) for the guys, and learning there was a slight toilet issue, I knew this was going to be good material.  I paid very close attention to the days happenings and I have to say, I did learn a f...

If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? ~ Steven Wright --------------------------------------------------------------------- Madison and I played her favorite game on the Wii today, Deal or No Deal.  In this game, one of you can be the player and one can be the banker.  While performing the role of banker (which can be less than exciting) I began noticing something with the electronic Deal or No Deal models.  So, I waited for the appropriate moment to snap a photo.  Lovely Mandy here, while opening a case with a low $5,000, also appears to have a part of her that is quite fake.  I'll just say that resides in her chest region.  Honestly, Maddie really only cares what the color of their dress is and what is in their case.  I, on the other hand, cared that some video game creator felt it important to make sure these models gave people something to REALLY look at!    Honestly, as girls it is hard enough to...

Follow your own particular dreams. We are handed a life by peers, parents and society, you can do that or follow your own dreams. Life is short, be a dreamer but be a practical person. ~Hugh Hefner --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's official!   I've become my mother.  Let's just get that out of the way now.  Aaron and I recently joined the gym again.  As part of this, we are able to pay a small fee for the girls to go to the kids gym while we workout.  They love it there and it gives them a chance to run, play and burn off steam.  It's worth every penny we pay for it.  We decided to take the girls this past weekend.  After getting in a full workout, I went to pick up the girls.  Madison was coloring and she wanted to bring the unfinished picture home with her.  She does this often (you should see our collection of uncolored restaurant menus).  I honestly didn...

Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping.  ~Bo Derek ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many of you may have seen I had a day long Monopoly excursion with Maddie.  She saw the game at the local consignment store and it was only a few dollars and after much begging she honestly just wore me down.  I am incredibly aware this is a long game (and no, Monopoly Jr was not available), but I also remember begging my brother to play it with me when I was little and loving it when he finally did.  So, I gave in.  I must admit, the propensity to be quite a game player comes from my mother.  She and I would play cards and various other games quite a bit when I was younger.  The other thing I remember is I rarely, if ever, won any of those games.  In fact, I distinctly remember the day I finally beat her at canasta.  It was J...

Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.  ~Aristotle --------------------------------------------------------------------- Today, we had school conferences for Madison.  I'm not sure why, but it has been an emotional day for me mainly because I discovered, after speaking with her teacher, that we may be placing pressure on her we never realized.  The discussion centered around a test she recently had to take.  A test in which she froze and could not complete.  After all of us spoke to her about it, we realized it was her fear of failing and disappointing others that caused this.  The pressure to be perfect is nothing I ever wanted to place on my children, yet it happens every day and we don't even know it.  But, for those of us who fear letting people down, disappointing others, or facing our own thoughts of failure, this pressure can make one freeze.  I know exactly how she feels.  I k...

The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money.  ~David Richerby ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A friend recently asked on Facebook what parents do when their children lose teeth?  Did they keep them?  Throw them?  I found it comical and quickly remembered the magazine ad I had just seen for a Tooth Fairy keepsake book.  I don't joke about these things folks!   It's in the photo above. When Madison had her first loose tooth, instead of being that parent who was excited and saw this as a rite of passage, I spent my time trying to decide if I could pull it without passing out.  That's right, just the thought of a loose tooth makes me weak in the knees.  It's no secret that losing teeth is not my favorite part of parenthood.  I'd like to say it's primarily because I am a dental-phobic, but who really knows.  I've been known to post Facebook s...