Perfecting Imperfection

First and foremost, I need to apologize to The Boob Nazi ~ I guess I lied…I am going to PARTY this year!

So – here’s just a little bit about me before I get into all of the prizes I wanna win…(I’ll admit that I’m joining the party because I didn’t like feeling left out, but the prizes sealed the deal!  There are some awesome things on this list!) 
About me…well the quick rundown is that I am happily married and have 4 kiddos (3 boys and a girl) all under the age of 5.  You can find out more about them by reading:
My Kiddos or snooping around my blog.

If you wanna learn a lot about me you can check out:
My About Me page and this post about 100 Things that Make Me Happy!
I’m a 3-year-old preschool teacher and LOVE blogging.  It is my creative outlet, my sanity, my obsession (but I’d never admit that to DH).  I LOVE reading new blogs, so if you leave me a comment you can bet your bottom dollar (my very own little orphan Annie reference) I’ll be over to check you out, too!
So - (as Wayne and Garth would say) Party On, bloggy friends!  After all, the Ultimate Blog Party is EXCELLENT – just like these prizes which I would LOVE to win!

(WAIT!  Do I have to mention that I would LOVE the Grand Prize?  I mean I thought that was just a given...but yeah, I would LOVE the Grand Prize and I just saw another blogger mention that she would like the $200.00 Apple gift card!  I must have totally missed that one!  I'll take that - if she didn't win it first!)

Top 3 - #26, #72 and #7
I also would be totally happy with: #16, #33, #48, #72, #101 or USC #45.  Of course, I wouldn’t turn down any of the awesome prizes if I was offered one but gift cards and cash are always great!

Off to meet some new friends!

I should be in bed.  I should be reading my book club book.  I should be doing laundry or figuring out what I’m doing tomorrow for dinner.  I should be sleeping (really, I should be sleeping).  All 4 of my children are asleep and it’s already 11:04 pm.  I should be on my way upstairs to wash my face, brush my teeth and crawl under the covers…ahh…that really does sound heavenly right now.

However, instead of doing any of the aforementioned should be tasks ~ I will spend the next hour or so reading blogs and catching up.  Days I work are the worst – usually, I can split my day up and include at least 2 times when I can jump online for a little bit…usually 30 – 40 minutes.  That is usually enough time for me to write a short blog post or check my blog reader so that I can get my “fix”.  Days I work, though – that just doesn’t happen.  So…here I am, online and getting ready to read some blogs.

You should go and check out my friend’s post, 40 Days and 40 Nights over at What Little Girls are Made Of.  I practically begged her to write about giving up Facebook for Lent…she talks about it in this post and it’s made me think a lot about how much time I really do spend in front of my computer.  The thing is, my priorities have changed and I do feel better because of it.  I LOVE blogging.  I LOVE that I’m recording memories that my children will actually be able to look back on and read about.  I LOVE reading what other people share from yummy recipes and cooking tips to keeping up with old friends to hearing how someone else deals with the daily ins and outs of being outnumbered by kiddos, too.  When Facebook was the number one place I spent my time at when online, I found myself wasting time – since blogging has become more of a time consumer, I feel like I have things to talk about.  I feel like I learn things.  I feel like I have more of a life.  It may seem slightly pathetic, but I feel like I’m interacting with adults – which happens few and far between when I’m at home with my kids all day.

So, while I should be upstairs, warm and under my covers, I may just take a few more minutes to go and visit some more blogs and spend some time “catching – up” with my friends.

My birthday turned out to be a pretty nice day - until my hormones kicked in and turned me in to a crazed woman (but that wasn't until AFTER the kids went to bed...so it's all good).  2 of the biggest highlights were that my BlackBerry went back to normal after being fully submerged in my husband's grandmother's toilet last night.  (stuck it in a bag of rice overnight) AND my daughter slept in big girl underwear for the first time with NO ACCIDENTS!!!  Having 2 out of pull-ups/diapers would be awesome.  Especially since this was the one I never thought would be potty trained.

After waking up and getting surprised with a working phone and dry daughter (and birthday cards from kids and Jerry), Jerry left with Nate to go to the auto body shop to get an estimate for the damage to our van.  We were in a very minor accident the Tuesday before Easter - minor but still $4,000.00.  The other girl's insurance has already contacted us and they will be taking care of everything.  On the way back, he picked up doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches for breakfast.  (Duh) Then he took the "big" kids to play outside almost all day which gave me some time to get some stuff done inside.  He also took them down to the corner store (yes, we still have one of those and it's within walking distance) and bought us sandwiches and cookies and little pizza pillows for lunch.  

After lunch, I went up to tackle the whole switch from winter clothes to summer ones.  We have been having really nice weather and need to get the shorts out.  I NEVER imagined what a gigantic task it is to go through dressers and closets for 6 people.  I'm not even done yet.  I spent about 3 hours up there and got the babies and "big" kids clothes situated.  I have a box for my niece and 3 boxes for Goodwill.  I also have about 4 baskets of laundry - so who knows what's in there.  My room...my clothes...I just didn't have the energy for it yesterday.  Plus, it's all pre-twin-pregnancy and that scares me.  I don't want to open these boxes and find clothes that don't fit...it's too depressing.  *sigh*  I did manage to find a pair of capris that fit quite well when looking for something to wear yesterday.  Maybe it won't be as bad as I think - but I still am willing to bet that I'll have another box for Goodwill when all is said and done.  I'm not holding on to things that I can't wear.  It's too much clutter and too much pressure. 

I have a question - if you are still reading my rambling.  Anyone ever have to teach someone to pedal who just doesn't want to pedal forward?  Danika LOVES her new bike...but she just won't pedal forward.  I've tried moving her feet in the right direction.  I've tried having her watch Nate do it.  Doing it for "pretend" while laying on the floor.  She just can't get it.  I know that it may just be that she needs to keep trying - but if there is some kind of trick, I'd appreciate you sharing it with me so we can get her moving!

Oh - and here...have a picture!

I'm 33. It's not a big deal, really. I'm cool with it. I'm looking forward to relaxing a little and spending the day with Jerry and the kids. As luck would have it, we are BOTH off! Whoo Hooo!

So ~ I'm off to bed (because it's after midnight and I should have been sleeping hours ago.  However, I would like to share something with you - it's my OLD blog.  I'm a little nervous about putting it back out there . . . I can't remember what all I wrote about back then, but I was sooo excited to find it the other day!  I had made it private because I was really nervous about identity theft or picture stealing or what have you...then it wasn't fun anymore.  Obviously, I missed it - which is why I am back and blogging again.  I'm looking into taking steps to make me feel better about the whole security thing...anyway - I was thrilled to find the blog again because it has my daughter's birthstory...pictures...dates...it's like finding an old journal in the attic!

You are more than welcome to poke around - just keep in mind this was 3 years or so ago!

Thoughts of the Mama - if you dare!  hehehe  BTW - this is a link to a specific/appropriate blog post that I reread and still agree with 3 years later!