Here’s my Mother’s Day haul:

woggie brought me the flower this morning when I got out of the shower. Gerbers are my favorite. And you see that calculator? Well, that calculator is bigger than my head. Seriously. And, to me, nothing says “you’re a great mom” more than a calculator bigger than my head. The small red thing you see is a magnet. If you squint just enough, you can read that it says “Blog Nerd”. That’s what HH thinks of me now. And I guess I kind of am. But the sweetest thing about that magnet? It was custom made for me. A local artist makes them using recycled jar lids and I already have a couple of them. When we were at an art show a few months back, she had two that said “Blog Nerd”. HH looked at me and said “that’s you now.” I agreed, but walked away without purchasing one. I regretted it all the next week, so I decided to go to her shop the following weekend and buy both of them (because I can think of one or two of you who fit the profile as well and it would make a rockin’ giveaway). Well, when we went to her shop, she’d sold both of them. So, HH had her make one for me for Mother’s Day. That makes it even neater, don’t you think?

Well, we just got back from my parents’ house where we feasted on ham, squash casserole, butter beans, peas, rolls, and some sort of rice casserole with green chilies and monterey jack cheese. It was so yummy! My nephew also surprised my mom, sister, and I with a giant rice krispy treat in the shape of a heart for dessert. After we’d stuffed ourselves silly, we broke out the Wii that my parents just bought (SCORE!) and I bowled until I dropped. Then, my sister and I sat down and tried on new hairstyles (Wii-style). But then she quit because her kids (ages 15, 13, and 12), who happened to be holding the controls, started being not-so-nice with her features. Unfortunately, I wasn’t much help to her. They were crackin’ me up. Sometimes, I get so caught up in what’s wrong with my family, that I forget how much fun we have when we get together. Remembering that and letting myself get caught up in the silliness was an unexpected Mother’s Day treat.

Now, I’m off to heat up some leftover pizza and throw together a salad for dinner.

Oh yeah, before I go… it’s not as drastic as the box suggested, but here’s a peek at my blonder locks (click here for a before):

Happy Mother’s Day, ya’ll!

I won the Pinks and Blues Girls‘ Baby Bump Watch 2008 contest!  My gi-normous Skip Hop Duo Double bag arrived this week.  It’s gigantic!  It’s awesome!  And it’s pink!

Did I mention it was kinda big?

Thanks Audrey, Jane, and Sharon!  You guys rock!

As most know, I have to go into work a couple of mornings a week.  It is a no stress (most of the time), super flexible job that I was very lucky to find when I lost my job/decided I wanted to stay home with Woggie.  However, I do get bummed from time to time about having to work at all.  I know… wah, wah, wah. 

HH knows that I sometimes need a pick me up when I’m sitting at my desk, so every now and then, when Woggie’s been extra cute (or quirky) that morning, HH will send me a picture.

Here’s todays:

Obviously, this was one of the “quirky” mornings.  He insisted on wearing Daddy’s hat.  We’re a hat kind of family… HH especially.  (I feel I should note that this would be a peach of an opportunity to insert a joke about HH’s extended forehead receding hairline lack of hair, but I am the picture of maturity and restraint and I refuse to embarrass my defenseless hubby on this here blog). 

I do feel that this particular hat is a little “Run DMC” though.
But it’s tricky to say.

My apologies for the bad Run DMC humor.  I wish I could say I only use it on rare occasions, but that would be ‘illin. 

R.I.P.  Jam-Master Jay!

‘Cause apparently it’s gone.
And, apparently, this little girl in my belly has taken it.
As all little girls do.
Or so I’ve been told.
Twice.
To my face.
By the same person.
Who’s not nearly a close enough friend to be that honest.
Who also said that I was so pale that I was about to blend in with the wall.
Twice.
Both times during the whole “absence of my beauty” conversations.

I wish I were at least paraphrasing.

Having to discipline when you really want to laugh your head off…doesn’t this represent the eternal struggle of motherhood?

Not only is this my attempt to explain motherhood in one photo, it’s also my attempt to win some much needed cashola over at 5 Minutes for Mom. 

Yesterday, HH and I received an invitation to an engagement party. The groom to be is a close friend of HH’s since high school. He’s asked HH to be a groomsman in his December wedding. We’ve met his fiance and she is just a peach! I’ve already selected their wedding gift. (I haven’t ordered it yet, but am very excited about it). Since he’s such a close friend and HH is part of the wedding party, I plan to spend a little more than usual.

Now, I consider myself a fairly cultured gal, but the last (and probably only) engagement party I attended was in 1998. There were no invitations sent. It was pretty much just an excuse to drink beer (not that we needed much of an excuse to drink beer in 1998). As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure it was an extension of the same party where the bride-to-be emerged at 2:00 AM donning her new rock. And, I’m pretty sure we just continued to drink through the rest of the morning hours and through our Friday classes and into the evening and called it an engagement party.

But I digress.

My point is I need your input. Do I arrive with an engagement gift? I’m pretty sure I do, but I’m not sure what type of gift to buy? I happen to know that they’ve already registered. Do I buy something from their registry? Surely, I’m not to buy something of the same caliber as I would their actual wedding gift? Or am I?

Oh, dear bloggy friends and neighbors, please impart your wisdom on me. Help me to celebrate a friend’s engagement like a grown up (especially since I’m in no condition to drink lots of beer this time).

Today’s the last day to sign up for the Oh Bay Bee swap!

I was very excited to be given the opportunity to review Shop Your Closet: The Ultimate Guide to Organizing Your Closet with Style by Melanie Charlton Fascitelli. Now, when Harper Collins first put out the call for reviewers, I jumped on this one because my pregnant, hormonal self has wanted nothing more than every nook and cranny of this house organized. (I never “nested” with Woggie, so I believe I’m catching up by doing so throughout this whole pregnancy).

I received this book a couple of weeks ago, and when I first cracked it, I was ecstatic to see that it not only was a guide to organizing, but it was a tool for paring down the “junk”in your wardrobe. (Aha moment: Can you be truly organized if you’re hanging on to a bunch of things you don’t need? Quite a concept, no?)

Now, here’s the problem. I’m smack dab in the middle of maternity clothes h-e-double-hockey-sticks. It will be a year, probably, before I’m wearing my normal wardrobe again. During which time, I’ll be a bazillion different sizes. Pair that with my hormonally deranged desire to purge this house of all things not absolutely necessary to daily inhabitance of the planet… and well, this is really not a good time to be making big decisions about my wardrobe.

Fortunately, this book is a process. And I’ve decided to take it a little at a time… starting with my tee shirt collection.

Stay tuned for a look inside my tee shirt drawer and be prepared to offer some emotional support as I toss mementos of days past and fraternity formals I never attended.

The annual Mother’s Day Giveaways are under way at 5 Minutes for Mom. And they’ve started with a biggie! Go check them out!

And if you’re feeling super generous and want to spread some extra Mama’s Day love, get signed up for the swap!