The Award for Best Producer of Birthday/Holiday Season Part 3

Blogger, I get it. You are trying to protect me from oversharing. I rarely share pictures, so let's try this one last time.


Here's Part 1 and Part 2 for those who may have missed it!

Part 3 of Birthday/Holiday Season

Marie's acutal birthday after her requested hamburger

Happy Meal be eaten in McDonalds.

Marie's Little Mermaid Birthday Party

The Producer, relaxing with a glass of wine to

celebrate the end of Birthday/Holiday Season.

Hope you all enjoyed my self-indlugent highligh reel and my big reveal of me!

So, Friends, enough about me and all my pics!  Tell me what you are gearing up for or winding down from?

The Award for Best Producer of a Birthday/Holiday Season Part 2

I love Blogger. Love it. I tried to help a friend use Wordpress and I failed miserably. As much as I love Blogger, it has its limits . . . like how many pictures it will accept at once. So here are the rest of the highlights from my Birthday/Holiday Season.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention all the food my MIL brought to my house to help with the celebrations. Thank you, you made hosting at my house so much easier!




More pictures with baby animals



Part 1 of Harrington's birthday. We always try and see a Tigers game for his special day.



More cake at My Nephew's birthday



Harrington's Birthday Part 2



Marie's actual birthday when she sees her new bike!

Another intermission provided by Blogger's photot limits. Part 3 coming soon!

And The Award for Best Producer of a Birthday/Holiday Season goes to . . . Mommy on the Spot

*Short programming note before the real post beings: Thank you, everyone, who burned me into your feeder and/or subscribe to my blog through email. I really, really REALLY appreciate it. And if you haven’t already, check it out on the right-hand side.*


*Approaches podium and graciously accepts her award

Thank you for this lovely award. For those who don’t know what Birthday/Holiday Season is, it is the time of year when there are numerous birthdays with one or more holidays during an extended period of time. For me, this season began March 27th and officially ended May 15th. During that time, I celebrated the following birthdays: Thomas, My Brother, My BIL, Harrington, My Nephew, My MIL, and Marie. There was also Easter, a family field trip to a farm to see baby animals, Tigers Opening Day, and Mother’s Day. Most of these events were observed on more than one day, and 80% were hosted at my house. If you break it down, we had at least one event every weekend. Believe me when I say that there was a lot of drama surrounding some of these events, but why focus on that when there are so many positive things that happened during this season. Birthday Season is awesome because I love, love, love family gatherings. I love watching the Babes play with their friends and cousins. I love all the bonding that went on during this season. Yes, it was hectic, but when I really look at it, I am pretty damn lucky to have a family to celebrate. So without further ado, I would like to thank those that helped make it possible for me to be the given The Award for Best Producer of a Birthday/Holiday Season. . .

Thank you for the many people I have in my life that I have the pleasure of celebrating their existence. The Babes and Harrington, this season celebrates you. You, too, My Brother, MIL, Nephew, and BIL.

Thank you, Jesus, for the Easter holiday. What’s there not to love about Easter especially since there are so many delicious chocolate treats and tasty hams to eat? My only thing about Easter is that it’s only one day, and I could use another two to make everyone happy.

Thank you, coffee bean growers in Columbia that supply Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, and thank you, Costco buyer who made the decision to carry this perfect product. You kept me running, for sure!

Thank you, California and French vineyards for the wonderful wine that you produced. Your product was an instrumental part in my down time, which is way more fun and inexpensive than that bite guard my dentist told me to get.

Thank you, inventor of the DVR. Words do not express the contentment that comes over me knowing that I can wait to watch Modern Family on my time or that my 5 episodes of Parenthood will wait for me when I can get to them. No pressure.

Thank you, again, Costco for making delicious and fabulous –looking cakes for only $15. I love you.

Thank you, Windex. While hosting many events at my house, you helped me make my house look shiny when I felt far from it. Shhhh, I even use you on wood.

Thank you, Crazy 8 and Target for helping me put together coordinating wardrobe changes for each family member for each of these scenes. Everyone looked incredible, and I didn’t go over budget.

Thank you, again, Harrington. You are awesome!! We got through it together!

Thank you, Mom, for helping me with the Babes and everything else. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Thank you, bloggie and IRL friends, for letting me vent.


Thank you, Real Housewives of New Jersey and New York. You soothed my tired mind, because for the duration of your shows, your circus was a nice break from my own.

Thank you, Wii Trainer from the Sports Active Game. Thank you, Saturday Step Aerobics Class/Core Express. Because of the both of you, I was able to go through 8 weeks of eating tacos, pizza, ham, cake, ice cream, chocolate, and more cake and LOOSE weight! How is that even possible?!

Thank you again, everyone! You are all awesome! Here are a few pictures of the different scenes of the Birthday Season Production. Please enjoy. (And here’s the big reveal of what I look like. I figure if I am going to Blogher, and you see me sitting alone, you now know who I am and can save me from feeling like the new kid at school who doesn’t know anyone, right)?




Before his big party!




Thomas and Marie at his big party!



Thomas did not like cake. . . at first.



Easter eggs



Easter morning



Opening Day



Meeting baby animals. The cow licked him, and he giggled and stuck his hand out for more!


Intermission of pics because Blogger won't let me add anymore. Look for part 2!

More Business questions

I have a quick question regarding my previous post:

If you already subscribed to me in a reader, I am wondering if I am still there since I changed my feed from blogger to feedburner.

Please let me know!

Thanks!

Am I Coming In Clear?

Take a look around because I added some new stuff to my blog. I added a feature that you can get posts sent directly to your email inbox! I also added a feed burner so you can add it to your reader! Exciting, I know!! Where did I get this great idea, you ask?* Well, I went to the Rochester Freelance Markeetplace Writers' meeting on Tuesday and the speaker, Syliva Hubbard, gave a great presentation on blogging.

So this is a test to see where my post goes. If you could, please let me know if you still got it.

Also, feel free to subscribe to my feed or have me (well, not actually me, but a blog post representing me) sent right to your email inbox.

Doesn't that kind of sound like TV Mike from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Remember the part when he went from regular-sized TV Mike to mini-sized TV Mike and the Oompa Loompas had to take him to the taffy room to get stretched out again? Love that movie!



*I know that most of my bloggie friends already do this, and I take full responsiblity for being a bit behind on all this cool stuff. Hey, if it's not on Imagination Movers or Sesame Street, it takes me a bit longer to learn about it!

My Very First Award!

I was awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by Part Time House Monkey and Running on MTT! It is my first award, and I am very excited! Thank you so much, both of you!

So here are the rules of acceptance: 1)Say thank you to the person who gave you the award, 2) List seven things about yourself, and 3) Pass it on to some bloggers that you really think are awesome.

Thank you again, Part TimeHouse Monkey and Running on MTT! You ladies are awesome! Part Time House Monkey has really interesting entries, and I enjoy reading about her journey. I enjoy reading Running on MTT’s posts on motherhood. Both leave wonderful comments! Be sure to check them out.

Seven things about me:

1. After giving birth to my daughter, I developed an aversion to garlic and a sensitivity to salt. This is so sad because now I can’t eat pesto and have to be careful about eating Chinese food. Salt hangovers and garlic poisoning just aren’t worth it. *wipes tear from her eye*

2. I love traveling! My parents instilled a love of traveling in me at a very young age. I have been all over the United States, Mexico, Candada, and Europe. We did some traveling with Marie before Thomas was born, and this year we look forward to taking our first family vacation! I look forward to taking them lots of different places as they get older, too!


3. I love, love, love anything with a story. That is probably why I love TV, reading, watching movies, and blogging. It all has to do with the story. Everyone has one, and I love to listen.


4. I HATE shoe shopping. My feet are impossible! I am envious of those who can just slip on a pair of shoes and they fit. I have been seeing a foot doctor since I was in my early 20’s. Not cool at all.

5. I love reality TV and secretly (well not so secretly now) wish I could meet some of my favorite Real Housewives of New Jersey and New York in person (Bethenny , Caroline, and Dina). I also wish I could meet Kathy Griffin and Paula Deen.

6. I also think Bradley Cooper is hot and would not mind meeting him, either.


7. I am attending BlogHer this summer and am really nervous and excited! I haven’t been to anything like this and hope I don’t feel like the new kid in school who doesn’t know anyone in the cafeteria. Even though I am nervous, I can’t wait!


It’s hard to pick from my blog roll since I love reading everyone’s entries. Check out my blog roll because seriously they are awesome. I've highlighted just a few. And the winner of the Versatile Blogger Award goes to . . .

Lulu and Moxley’s Mom: I love her because she is honest and sarcastic and funny – I always laugh when I read her blog!

Crazy Library Shit: This lady deals with some crazy people in her day! Her posts are hilarious!!

The Girl Next Door Grows Up: She really has helped me focus on the positive things which has had a wonderful impact on my life.

Kiddie Kaledespcope: Her writing is beautiful and inspiring!

Life is Not Rocket Science: I love her view and approach on life!

Ma vie et Ma joie: She is so cool, and so is her new site Kitchen Conundrum!

Have a great week!

Quick, Random Thoughts*

This week is going to be crazy, but I am OK with that since is the Grand Finale of Birthday Season. And it’s kind of nice to end it with Marie’s 4th birthday. So I might not be as active in my comments or posts until next week. I am taking these 5 minutes of free time and write a quick post of my random and fleeting thoughts:

- I wish Thomas would develop another method of communication other than screaming, but I am proud of myself for keeping it together when he’s upset. And I am done beating myself up that I do not enjoy his screaming. I love him with all my heart, but I accept that I don’t like it when he screams. And that’s OK. On the upside, he’s mastered the sign for “more.” And he does really well in a restaurant. And I love how he loves to explore everything!


- I feel like my Random Acts of Kindness Chart is boosting morale around here. When someone does something nice, I write it on a star and put it on the chart. At the end of the week, we talk about some of the nice things we did. I feel this is more effective than giving a check if Marie is not practicing kindness. Also, since the whole family is involved, I feel like it helps everyone focus on the good in each other. It sounds so cheesy, but it works; at this point in my life I have adopted a “Whatever Works” philosophy.

- My dentist suggested I need a super expensive bite guard to stop me from clenching my jaw, which might stop my headaches. My mom suggested a glass of wine. My idea of a sabbatical is not practical. So what do you think: a bite guard or a glass of wine?


- I had fun watching the Babes both have fun at Barnes and Noble yesterday. Marie chose the location for her fun place for her birthday. May parents came, too. We then went out to lunch, and then went home for some downtime. For dinner Harrington and I took Marie and Thomas to McDonald’s. It’s a lot of work to go somewhere with the Babes, but once we get there, we have a blast.

- I am really excited for the mini-vacation I planned for us next month.

Well, that’s about all the brain power I have left for now. Some of these thoughts deserve a whole post, and I’ll get to that soon. I am really thankful for all the people in my life that I get to celebrate during birthday season, but I will be really thankful when things slow down a bit.

So, Friends, what’s going on with you?

*I did not even have time to proof this for any grammar or content mistakes. Please read with a forgiving eye!

Feel Good Friday – A Word About Comments

Be sure to check out The Girl Next Door Grows Up and her Feel Good Friday!

Recently, I read a newspaper article about how mean women bloggers can be towards each other, especially when it comes to mothering. Well, I would have to say my experiences have proved this wrong. Wednesday was a tough day for me, so I wrote about it. And then I got that icky feeling that I shared something too personal. But I have to say that the comments that were posted are uplifting and supportive. (Be sure to read them - seriously, they were awesome)! Thank you so much for your kind words. You definitely made this a Feel Good Friday!

Have a great weekend!!

I Could Use Your Help

There is nothing like waking up one morning and feeling like you failed as a mother. This morning, when Harrington was changing Thomas’s , Marie said, and I quote, “You should swipe Thomas so then he’d be dead.” Words cannot describe how devastated I was by this comment. I should mention that Marie just learned what “dead” means, but when I asked her what that meant to her, she couldn’t tell me. Regardless, even though she doesn’t know what it means, she does know it’s not nice. And it has been stressful here. Thomas doesn’t have words, so he screams. A lot. We try signing with him, but he’s a little impatient. I know that I sometimes am impatient, but I always try to be kind and explain that we need to teach him words, and in the meantime, we need to be patient with him. I have never, even said or even implied that I wish we didn’t have Thomas. Have I mentioned how devastated I am right now?

I am really sensitive to sibling relationships because the one I have with my brother is so strained. As strained as it is, I can honestly say it’s not due to the garden variety sibling rivalry. There are some other issues putting a hamper on having a healthy relationship.

I really, really, really want Thomas and Marie to get along. I have been looking up books on strong and healthy families, but I haven’t found anything that I feel would be helpful. I keep thinking that when the weather is nicer, we could do more things together since I feel there are more things that both a 1 and an almost 4 year old could do together, like going to the park and going on the swing set in our backyard. But that still doesn’t seem to be working. And I feel like a failure.

I would appreciate any suggestions, tips, or books that worked for you.