My March Madness tournament bracket got destroyed today - completely destroyed thanks to Kansas and Villanova.
I am losing the family contest and have moved down a few notches into an unwinnable position in the friend contest. Madness, I tell you! Madness! That's what I love about this particular family tradition. It's anyone's game.
At least now I can sit back and unabashedly root for the underdogs. Go Northern Iowa!

Going Private Notice

Have you noticed lately that my blog posts have been a little less personal, fewer pictures?

I've decided it is time to go private.

Please leave a comment with your e-mail address if you would like to continue reading this blog.

P.S. I will not publish any comments that contain e-mails:).

Dear 10:00 AM Showing,

Thank you for not showing up early for your showing of our house this morning. I needed every second I could get. If you had shown up five minutes early, you would have found a pile of pennies on the family room floor and a glob of glitter glue on the carpet in my daughter's bedroom. My son took all the silver coins to feed the animals at Thanksgiving Point. Please forgive me if you step on a copper-colored coin. They blend in with the carpet downstairs.

As for the glitter, I hope you can overlook a few sparkles. Fortunately the carpet is blue and hides the colored glitter well.

You probably won't be a fan of my dark blue carpet. No one seems to be. I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm not really a fan of my carpet either until my children dump syrup or food coloring on it. It's upgraded carpet and really wears well if you want to know.

Just think of this house as the one with character if you happen to notice the pen marks on the newly painted walls or even worse, open the washing machine or dryer. I haven't made it to the store to buy magic erasers yet and I had to stash a few extra things in the laundry room on my way out. I hope you'll look past all the little things and want to make this your home.

Best wishes and good luck on your house hunt,
Me

P.S. I cleaned the house almost entirely one-handed this morning because my baby would rather be held than be put down...anywhere. Who can blame him really? I may have missed a crumb or two.

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. I didn't even know such a day existed until my Brother-in-law showed up at our house with a flower for me and a flower for Emma. According to several news sources "International Women's Day 2010 marks the 100th such day in world history." How could I have not known about it all these years? Apparently, it isn't highly recognized in the United States even though it is a national holiday in countries like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria. (I'm an expert now thanks to the internet). What a cool holiday! Unlike Mother's Day and Valentine's Day that can be a day of sadness for some women, International Women's Day celebrates ALL women. Cool, huh?

So, to all the lovely, talented, inspirational women out there that I get to call mother, sister, grandma, aunt, cousin, friend, neighbor etc. HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2010!

Gotta Be March

I called to schedule a doctor's appointment and referred to March as next month. The lady on the other end corrected me and rightly so. "You mean this month."

On Tuesday, we took our hot dogs and juice boxes out on the deck for a most enjoyable Spring picnic.
On Friday we dug out our winter gear that we put away for the year on Tuesday and bundled up to make a snowman in our front yard with Grandpa.Yep, it looks like March.

Game Night

Nate was in charge of activity tonight at the conclusion of Family Home Evening. We played sliders for about the 20th time since Christmas. Until tonight we have always played very nicely. No one PURPOSELY hits anyone's pieces off the board. It just wouldn't be nice.

Nate went for a different strategy tonight. He cheered each time he knocked someone off their spot. "This is funny!" He shouted it over and over again. Uncle Rob will be so proud since he taught Nate this new strategy over the weekend. Our newest favorite family game will never be the same again.

Honoring President's Day

In honor of President's Day Emma's Kindergarten class learned about Presidents. Fitting.

She had been home for less than two minutes when she asked "Wasn't Franklin D. Roosevelt the President when you were a little girl or was it Thomas Jefferson?"

Hmmm, neither actually. When I was your age the President of the United States was Ronald Reagan. The name sounded vaguely familiar to her. I showed her a picture of my childhood President and she said he looks weird. I always thought he was handsome.