Lost: One Sense of Humor

Hey!  Who stole my sense of humor?  I'm missing it right about now...

Oh, where, oh, where has my hu-u-mor gone?  Oh, where, oh, where could it be?

Go, go, gadget funny mom!

Paging Dr. Giggles -- we need a humor transfusion, STAT!

Yeah... I'm not buying it... are you?

Sometimes life kinda presses the juices out of you, that's pretty much where I'm at right now.  And yet, the winner of the Scholastic Parent Blogger Awards will be announced any day now (I'm totally chewing my fingernails off in anticipation...).  And my blog was nominated in the Humor category.  When the nominations were released, I got a bump in views.  I sort of expect that when the winners are announced, I might, too.  So I gotta find the funny sauce before then... 'cuz I just *might* (wink, wink) have won that contest.  This is no time to go bloggy AWOL, even if I am green with envy from reading posts about BlogHer...

In the mean time, I set out to paint Violet's room.  You see, when I am overwhelmed by life, I need to undertake a project.  Of large proportions, apparently.  And what could be better than painting a bedroom with two little naked minions?  When we paint, I require the wee clumsy ones to strip down to undies only so that they don't ruin clothing I don't want to replace.  They happily oblige, their little feet sticking to the crinkly plastic drop cloth.

Oh, Violet's wearing undies now, I guess I forgot to mention that one...  Yay for no daytime diapers!!!  She's been dry at night all week, too, but she's hesitant to go diaperless while sleeping.  She's got such a tiny little bum that she never wore a diaper larger than a size 3 -- a size which was long ago bypassed by both of her younger cousins.  Guess they are packin' more in their Pampers than she was...

Anyway, back to painting.  Two walls are periwinkle.  Two are citron green.  And then I traced a four foot tall Tynker-Belle on one wall.  Yes, I deliberately misspelled this because I don't want the crushing weight of a Mouse lawsuit smooshing me into a spot of pasty goo because I painted a licensed character unlawfully on my almost-three-year-old daughter's wall.  You just know there's someone wearing a pair of mouse ears who is paid to search the web for copyright issues...

I'm not quite done yet as I have some free-hand embellishments to do, hopefully this afternoon.  Both kids have temporarily moved into Milo's room -- I'm hoping he's up for a permanent move -- but the room shifting has caused an insane amount of clutter upstairs.  And, because I've been occupied with the painting, the kids have gotten out every toy they own in the downstairs and set up a galaxy-wide battle.  There are enclaves of rebels in the princess castle, mercenaries hiding in the play kitchen refrigerator, and troops massing in the middle of the floor.  So pretty much no room to walk.

Pictures?  Soon...

The laundry is backed up.  The bathrooms need to be cleaned.  I need to go grocery shopping.  The garden needs some attention.  And now I'm considering getting out the sewing machine to work on curtains...  Yes, I have fallen off of the turntable of reality -- I'm flung wide into a sea of decorating-inspired denial.  It's my go-to when I need a pick-me-up.  So don't be surprised if you come to visit me and don't recognize my house...

Spreadin' the Love!

I was recently honored to receive a Versatile Blogger Award from the first person to list me on her blogroll as a "must read."  Well, other than people to whom I am related or have known for the last five years...  I am talking about the lovely Vanita at The After Bedtime Blog.  I want to sincerely thank her and send her lots of working mommy encouragement vibes -- she's a full-time working mom of four who has just started blogging and I bow to her superior time management skills.

The rules for accepting the award include graciously thanking the award giver, sharing 7 things you may or may not know about me, and passing it along.  Since Vanita is a new blogger, I decided to pass this along to several friends who are also writing brand spanking new (or pretty darn close to new) blogs:

chgomomx3 at Funny on the Internet -- She and I actually share a brain.  Sometimes we even use it at the same time, ooh!
KellyLane at Kelly Rambles On -- A funny lady with the biggest heart known to man.  *muah*
The Laughing Librarian at The Other Side of the Stacks -- You don't want to be drinking anything when you read this one, lest you spit it on your screen...
Becky at WAITING FOR OUR GIRL  OK, Becky has been blogging for longer than I have, but she totally rocks!  And she's sharing her family's adoption journey with the world.
Anna at Earn Money From Home (For Real) Anna is a stay-at-home mom who knows how to work the internet, baby.  She's checked out and participated in nearly every link she furnishes.

Why did I pick these lovely women?
Five years ago we all met in an online parenting forum -- we all have children between the ages of 4 and 5 and have been with each other through thick and thin, the good, the bad, the ugly and the sublime.  These lovelies are my online sisters, so don't say nuttin' bad about 'em or you'll have the full force of my wit with which to recon.

Seven other things you may or may not know about me:
1.  It pains me to end a sentence with a preposition.  Hence the awkward threat above.
2.  I don't like beer.
3.  I really want to cut my hair into a fauxhawk and dye it bright pink, but it's not likely to happen.
4.  My vocal range goes almost as low ans Scott's.
5.  I don't care for scrambled eggs.  For some reason, that texture makes me gag.
6.  Lilacs are my favorite flower.
7.  I could spend all day kissing Violet's plump little cheeks.  Sigh...

Versatility

Hey, look what I found in my comments from yesterday!

Brianne over at The Photog Nazi has shared with me the Versatile Blogger Award!

The guidelines for accepting this award require the recipient to (1) thank the person who gave it to you; (2) tell 7 things about yourself; and (3) pass the award on to 05 bloggers, whom you have recently discovered and think are fantastic.

Since I have been known to follow directions, here goes!

Thank you sincerely to Brianne for her support of my fledgling blog.  You should stop by her blog and check out her A-MA-ZING photography.  I so wish she lived closer to me...






Seven things about me:

1. I like to be barefoot
2. I prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate
3. I had a Brooke Shields doll when I was a kid and I didn’t know who she was
4. I failed fantastically at nursing Milo; I was a stupendous success nursing Violet
5. My wedding ring is stuck on my finger
6. I I have never had a manicure or pedicure
7. Dentures scare me

And five fabulous bloggers (do I really have to pick just five??):

1. Allison at The Adventures of Bean and Goobs  I discovered her thanks to the Scholastic blog awards -- she was my competition, *mean face * and grrrr, but I liked her blog so much I up and followed her!
2. Mama Pipes at My Corn Cadenza  She's a mom of a simply gorgeous baby girl and an opera singer trying to figure out what step to take next in the Opera Capital of the World: Iowa
3. Rhonda,The Lively One, at The Natives Are Getting Restless is a bloggy buddy - we bounce ideas off each other like ping pong balls, minus the paddling
4. Denise at Musings de Mommy for having a truly exquisite voice -- I gladly bow to her superior WSP (writing super-powers)!
5. Bethany at Stories of an Imperfect Mom because I just get her sense of humor -- she's a girl after my own heart!

Vote for Me!!

I was never very good at the whole popularity thing, I readily acknowledge this.  Middle school was painful, probably no more painful than it was for any other students, but it sure felt that way at the time.

But age has made me brave and more confident.  Did you believe that?  Maybe I am a better actress than I thought.

To make a long story short, someone, somewhere has found my blog and decided to enter it into a blog competition.  Who?  Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine.  To say that my inclusion in this contest was a surprise is a huge understatement.  Like a "the Titanic hit an ice cube" understatement.

My 63-follower blog is tiny when compared to so many well-polished, beautifully coiffed mommy blogs with thousands of followers out there.  I only bought my own domain a couple of weeks go.  I made my banner in PowerPoint, there is no one to credit for blog design (or anti-design, if I look too shabby).  I am sincerely small-town, which suits me just fine.  Many people live in the city and visit small towns, others choose to live in small towns and visit the big city.  I think both are needed, that variety should be encouraged.

Anyway, if you feel like voting for this gawky, clumsy, thirteen-year-old in braces and a training bra, please do!