Going to Cincinnati

I'm off to Cincinnati for the Pampers mommy blogger event. Photos and blog posts forthcoming on A Mom's Review (Stuff We Like for Moms).

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What You Do When Your Internet Is Down

Or rather, what I do…

#1 You tweet to yourself. In your mind. And you @ yourself. Absurd, I know but it keeps the jitters at bay.

#2 You call tech support 5 million times only to hear “we’re working on it” Working on what exactly? Our connection hasn’t worked right since we purchased it 2 months ago. IMC sucks!

#3 You start to freak out.

#4 Now that you have so much time on your hands, you start obsessing over meeting other mom bloggers in a few days. You know for that event I got invited too? What to wear? Will this be weird? Should I buy a new purse that doesn’t have pictures of cats all over it? Is anyone else 4’9? Wondering if I’ll be the only “country” girl there?

#5 You actually PLAY with your kids for several hours straight.

#6 You obsessively check to see if your internet connection has come back on.

#7 You discover internet connection is working and that the world DID in fact survive without you because you didn’t get any urgent emails saying otherwise. Ha!

Then the connection goes right back out. [Get yourselves together IMCTV. I’m paying you way too much money for this super unreliable crapola service.]

And, #1 through #7 starts all over again.


Sigh. I hear recognizing your addiction is the first step. ;)

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Finally I Get To Meet Mom Bloggers Via Pampers

I’ve been blogging for nearly 4 ½ years now, and after all this time I’ve yet to meet any mommy bloggers in real life due to finances and/or timing. However, my luck is about to change. Next week I’ll be attending the first ever all expense paid P&G Pampers Mommy Blogger Event in Cincinnati with 15 influential mommy bloggers.

I have to say that I am both excited and terrified. I’m excited because I’ll be in such great company. I’m terrified simply because I’m an introvert. I am not a conversation starter (online doesn’t count). Rather, I’m the person who sits on her own and takes everything in. Do I need to say anymore? So, if you see a mom who looks like a 12 year old girl wondering around clueless please do come up and say hello. That would be me.

I’ve discovered via the blogosphere that Metropolitan Mama, Kailani from An Island Life and Mindy from The Mommy blog (the first mommy blog that I ever read) are going. So, who else do I get to meet? For those of you who have already been to these types of events, how do you stay calm & collected? I am a nervous mess already.

Also, read this piece from Advertising Age to learn more about the event.

Lastly, if you could ask the Pampers executives one thing, what would it be?

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That Camo Shirt

Someone bought Baby Picasso (the 4 yr. old) a camo t-shirt some time ago and it had been hanging in the closet not worn for some time. I took it out and placed it in one of Baby Picasso’s dresser drawer’s so he could wear it if he wanted before it got too small. Yesterday evening after swimming he came in to change into dry clothes and guess what he picked out? Yes, that camo t-shirt.

He became instantly mesmerized by army men and talked continuously about his camo t-shirt while riding on his bike and playing. I kind of felt bad for keeping it from him for so long. It’s not that I didn’t want him to wear it. It’s just that I never picked it out when I dressed him simply because I thought it was an ugly choice for a shirt.

Anyway, for a few hours last night he just couldn't get army men off his mind and the conversation continued in the shower…

4 year old: "Mom, do army men cut their toe nails?"

Me: "Yes."

4 year old: "Mom, do army men take showers?"

Me: "Yes."

4 year old: "Mom, do army men shoot their guns in the shower?"

Me: “No.”

4 year old: “Why not?”

Me: “Because they need to get clean.”

Apparently he was satisfied with that answer because he washed his hair, got out of the shower then let me cut his toenails without a fight. Maybe that camo t-shirt isn’t so bad after all. I wonder what I can get him to do next. ;)

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Always With Me, Always With You

* An update: the video is now working.

There is a song that reminds me of my childhood so much that when I listen to it I am completely overwhelmed by emotion. When you hear the song I think you will know what I mean. If you don't feel anything or aren't inspired by it then there's no hope for you. It's also possible you are an alien ;) [Geez, it's a joke].

This song came out when I was 11 years old. It wasn't wildly popular at the time but it is a classic love song. More than likely, for you to have listened to it as a child repeatedly you probably had a musician in your family. In my case, my Dad played guitar. We used to listen to this song over and over again. This song has stuck with me over the years, and has remained "that" song that I'll never forget and I wanted to share it with you.

And now for the song you've all been patiently waiting for or maybe not-so-patiently waiting for but more like shut up already and tell us the dang song.

For all of you reading today or any day...I hope this song inspires you as it does me.

Always With Me, Always With You (the live version)

P.S. I'd love to see one or both of my boys play this song one day. Can you tell I'm rooting for them to be musicians AND rocket scientists? Actually I just want them to be inspired, to dream, to never give up, and to believe that anything is possible.

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Say Hello To Ezzie & Graby!

Our two boys have wanted a kitten for a long time. However, up until now I knew we just didn't have time for a new pet plus we had been renting for the past few years, and we never let the boys have a cat while we were renters. Except for this one time, and that crazy cat ran away shortly thereafter.

Now that we are homeowners we can have and do whatever we want so with that in mind we took the boys to the local animal shelter this past Monday to pick out a cat. Picking out a cat is hard work. We were there for over an hour, and seriously you can't go in a shelter without wanting to take every animal home with you. Eventually we came out with 2 kittens. One boy and one girl. Now we have 2 cats in the house, 4 fish, and 1 dog outside.

I think the boys are plotting to create a farm slowly but surely.


Take a look at our newest occupants. They are the cutest little creatures.


click to view a larger photo of Ezzie (short for Esmerelda)


click to view a larger photo of Graby (short for Graby & biscuits as our 4 yr. old says)

How many pets do you have, and how long do you think it will be before there are cows & chickens in my yard?

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Planning Our Grade 1 Curriculum

Since grade 1 will be our first full year of homeschooling, we are going to stick to the public school calendar. This means that the school year will be arriving in less than 6 weeks. So, I'm frantically searching for the perfect grade 1 curriculum right this minute. However, I am not looking for a pre-packaged curriculum. For one, those are too expensive and two, I don't think it would work well for Future Bam's learning style.

For the second half of kindergarten this past year (we pulled our son out of public school after Xmas break) we used a mix of workbooks, online resources, games, and daily life experiences to complete the school year. Basically, we used the eclectic approach and I want to continue doing that for most subjects. However, for 1st grade I also want to be somewhat more structured so we are purchasing a textbook/workbook for each required subject just to have some guidelines to go by.

My dilemma now is that I need recommendations on good affordable textbooks, workbooks, games, & manipulatives. What should I buy? Do you recommend buying a textbook that is outdated by 5 years? What is the best textbook for our learning style?

I'd also like to hear your recommendations on the best homeschooling blogs out there that also provide great learning resources. I've yet to find a homeschooling blog that really suits us but I'm convinced one is out there so feel free to share with me your favorites. I will check each and every one of them out personally.

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Me, Shamelessly Promoting My Husband

My husband has some cool paintshop skills and I'm thrilled to promote his latest endeavor, PaintShopblog.com

I've mentioned his new site on Twitter but I wanted to wait until he had more content before I blabbed to the whole world about it. Anyway, if you want to take your photos to a whole new level with Corel Paintshop then this is the site for you. It's fun! It's free! It's educational! What more can you ask for?

Here is his latest creation, How To Change Hair Color In Paint Shop Pro So It Looks Natural And Realistic. As usual, I am the primary subject for most of his photos. By the way, the tats & blue eye color are not really mine.



After seeing stuff like this it kind of makes you wonder if anything you see online is real, huh?

For sample photos complete with tutorials on how you can achieve the same thing easily, visit Paintshopblog.com

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Fourth of July In Pictures

the boys waiting on the fireworks to start...



one of many photos I took. Few turned out like this one.



A picture of me (by the hubs) that didn't turn out so well. Yes, I have on jeans & 2 shirts, and it's the middle of Summer. It was cool here in SE KY last night.

Fortunately our holiday did not end like it did last year, the holiday explosion. We hope everyone had a great night!

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