Mother of the Year? Seriously? Do You Actually READ My Blog?!?

My new friend Melissa over at Saving Cents with Sense has nominated me as Mother of the Year. While flattered, I had to stop for minute and think about what in the world she read on this blog that made her think I might qualify for the award, 'cause frankly, I wonder myself some days how my kids are even still alive and normal. That's not to say anyone needs to call CPS, I take good care of my kids. I just think that I could be doing so much better at helping them develop into really great people. Anyway, thanks to Melissa for thinking I have done something worthy of receiving her award. Here are the rules I have to follow in order to receive the award:

Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are No Longer allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!

I yell too much. When my kids lose their minds I try to stay calm, but there are times when I lose it too and I yell. Not good. I hate that about myself. I'm working on changing that. My kids deserve a better example of how to deal with conflict and stress.

•Remind yourself you are a good mom, list seven things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself everyday that you Rock!

I love hugging my kids, I love telling stories at night with them, I love taking walks with them, I love dancing with them, I love playing games with them, I love picking them up from school, I love smelling their clean hair after baths.

•Send this to five other Mom's of the year that deserve credit for being great moms and remind them that they are the best moms they can be!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you.

For the Mom of the Year award, I nominate the following moms, because I find them to be some of the best examples I could hope to follow when it comes to truly loving and caring for their children:

Life at Our Zoo
Johnson Team Mom
Hope from the Edge
You Don't Have to Like Me
Two Times the Fun
Kuntz Family

Go forth Great Moms, and nominate other Great Moms, that we may multiply and prosper!

Disney On Ice Winner!!

We have a winner, folks!

I assigned each eligible post a number, as follows:

1 - Whatcott Family
2 - Marshmallow Circus
3 - Johnson Team Mom
4 - momelo
5 - Sensible Mama

Here are the results from random.org:
Congratulations Whatcott Family! Hope you have a great time! I will be contacting the winner by email with instructions about picking up tickets. Remember, if you didn't win you can still get discounted tickets by logging into ticketmaster.com and entering coupon code MOM.

It's Called Sarcasm

A few days ago one of my loyal readers expressed concern about some of my posts. She was worried that I was depressed and not doing well and pointed to a few posts that led her to believe that things weren't going so well. She was a little concerned that maybe some of my comments were not very appropriate to put on a public forum like a blog.

I'm gonna weigh in on this...'cause it's my blog and I can.

At first I was like, "What the heck is she talking about?"

I called a few close friends and asked them what they thought, they assured me that there was nothing inappropriate or weird (noting that while some people are not comfortable talking about bodily functions, I have always been vocal about that subject, so NO, they did not find that weird coming from me). They assured me that they took my posts in the mostly sarcastic vein in which they were written. Just to make sure, I read through a few of the posts and realized that this person doesn't know me like some of my other readers do and I can see how maybe she would take some of my comments too seriously or out of context.

I guess it never occured to me that sarcasm doesn't always translate in the context of the written word. I just assumed everyone would know that I am sarcastic by nature and that I deal with life's issues in one of 2 ways: I sourround myself with the problem by literally living in it and talking about it until I am so overwhelmed by it that I finally extract myself from it and run away like a kicked dog, OR

I mock the problem by pointing out the absurdity of the situation in great detail. It's called sarcasm. It's what I do. Why? Mostly cause I have no other coping skills. The few I used to have (humor - like bust a gut, laughing really hard, true, funny kind of humor) and patience flew out the window a long time ago, when I naively decided to let other people be involved in my life. Some of you know those people. They are called husband and kids. Life changing, those people. What's really hilarious? They have NO idea! They just think I woke up grumpy one day. Gotta love 'em.

So lack of coping skills leaves me with sarcasm. I thought you knew this about me! I thought my writing made it clear that I mock things sometimes because I don't know what else to do. And because life is pretty funny in an ironic way. When I am really depressed and needing help I usually scream it out here on my blog pretty clearly. Because when I am really depressed I need those comments that help me know that I am not alone.

So the post where I was sick and self medicating with apple juice to fix a gall bladder problem? The one titled Why I am not a Doctor? That was sarcasm. Obviously I would suck as a doctor because I was doing the wrong thing to help myself. And I went into great detail about all of my symptoms because I wanted my readers to really appreciate the misery I was feeling with all of my cold/allergy symptoms, ON TOP of having a kidney issue. That's how I write. I want my readers to be drawn into the situation. Mud, blood, guts, poop, emotions and all. My hope is that when they fully immerse themselves in the details, they will recognize that we all go through the same stupid stuff and they are not alone. My hope is that they will feel something when they read. My hope is that they will see the humor in the ridiculous, sick details.

Maybe the humor in that last post didn't come across like I thought it did. Gimme a break, I was ill! But now you know. If I'm depressed and sick and not laughing about it and feeling trapped? I'll tell you. Seriously...do I sound like someone who holds anything back?

So remember...it's called sarcasm. It's what I do. Kind of. Sometimes. When it translates well. When I'm not sick or depressed.

Ultimate Blog Party 2009

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I'm a Little late, but that's usual for me. I decided to join the Ultimate Blog Party 2009 going on at 5 Minutes for Mom and meet a few more bloggers this year! Check it out, there are links to tons of blogs and you can win lots 'o prizes!

There are so many cool prizes to be won at this year’s Ultimate Blog Party, but my top three picks would be:

USC 60 — $178 in PR Training for Moms from PR in Your Pajamas
Provided by: Elena Verlee, PR in Your Pajamas

58 – Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand MixerProvided by: Moms Who ThinkPrize details: From Amish Friendship Bread to Decadent Cheesecake

INTL 19 — $130 Sponsor spot on Tip JunkieProvided by: Tip JunkiePrize details: Promote your blog, company, and/or products! Tip Junkie

And if my top three picks are already chosen, I’d love any of the following (in order of preference):

50, INTL 1, INTL 23, INTL 36, 10, 11, 19, 21 or anything else that might help transform the look of my blog into something Boy Cool!

I'm in a partyin' mood! See you at the UBP!

PS - If you live in Phoenix, don't forget to enter to win 4 Disney on Ice tickets for April 9th!! Click here to enter!

Mr. Incredible Ice Skates?!? Win Tickets!!

Disney On Ice is coming to Phoenix! I can't wait to see how Mr. Incredible does on those thin little blades! Isn't ice skating Frozone's thang!?

I actually love ice skating, but really don't do it well. The whole weak ankle thing gets in the way, which is really amazing if you've ever seen my ankles. They are very manly looking ankles. They look like they were made to withstand the milleniums. Not feminine or small or nice looking in any way, shape or form. Which is kind of a bummer, since I am a girl.

Anyway, I love to watch ice skating and am excited to go see the show. Disney does everything with a bang, I know it will be a great time!

If you live in Phoenix (tickets are only good for Phoenix, folks!) and wanna win 4 tickets for the opening night show on April 9th, you have to leave me some comment love. Contest will end at 12 Midnight MST on March 29th.

If you don't win and still wanna go you can purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 by logging into ticketmaster.com and entering coupon code MOM.

I Am ReviewMom Needs Some Love, People!

Don't forget to check out my Review and Contest Page! Lots of cool contests taking place on the blogosphere and many new products to read about!

Spring Break

We've been on Spring Break this week. It's been nice to slow down a little and relax. I'm not good with rigid schedules, but school forces me to be more structured with my time for 9 months out of the year. Something inside me really struggles with being forced into a routine and so the breaks throughout the year give me a chance to let down so my wierd, structure-fighting, inner rebel can breathe easy for a few days. I like to sleep til 7 or 7:30 (if Little Man will let me) during these breaks and ease into my morning instead of having to jump up and hit the floor running at 6 a.m. Big Brother LOVES him some sleeping in too, I have to wake him or he would sleep til 10 or 11 a.m.!

We get 2 weeks for Spring Break, so this week we did doctor appointments and had friends over. Next week we'll hit the zoo or a movie or the Air Force show and have some fun. Then it's back to the grind and the structure and it will take a week after that to shove my rebeling spirit back into its place for a few more months.

By the time summer hits my regimen hating, Martha Stewart eschewing alter ego comes out full force because it's too freakin' hot to even think about structure or organization. I go into full-on combat survival mode and just focus on trying not to use foul language everytime I walk out the door as the heat hits me in the face like a blast furnace! I can't talk about it anymore...war memories.

One more week to enjoy the beautiful weather, to enjoy my kids, to enjoy being. I'm lettin' the Organizationally Challenged freak flag fly this week folks.