Tag Archives: contest

Any basketball fans out there?

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I’ve always loved March because I’m a basketball fan, and college basketball is the best of all.

The first time I ever did a March Madness (NCAA tournament) challenge was with my older cousin Todd and all his roommates and buddies.  I was 19 and they were all returned missionaries.  They each put some money in the pot and the winner took all.  Boy, were they embarrassed when they all got beat by a GIRL.

I remember sneaking out of my Latin American History class in March to run home and watch some of the Final Four games.  I even left all my books and papers and backpack at my desk to make it “look” like I was just running to the bathroom or something, but I really went off campus all the way over to a friend’s apartment to watch the game and then went back later to recover my items.

I love to challenge friends to make bracket picks, and I’m competitive about it.  It’s fun. I love it.  Especially if I win.  And even though I don’t watch any of the regular season games anymore (Children seriously altered my TV watching habits), I still love to make tournament picks and watch the March Madness tournament games as much as I can.

So, anybody want to play along?  The NCAA brackets were all just announced and the first round of games starts on Thursday.  I created a group at CBS Sports.com called Cyber Moms.  Go in and make your picks.  Trust me, it’s fun, even if you have no idea who the teams are.  I’ll come up with some awesome prize for the winner.  (Let’s be honest, it will probably be chocolate and some of my favorite books, but I’ll try to spice it up a little.)

Go to this link, create your own user name and make your bracket picks.  You’ll automatically be a part of the CyberMoms group.  The password is momsrule.  C’mon, it’ll be a blast!!  I’ll try really hard not to trash talk anyone.  Please?

(Matt, you’re invited, too, of course!  And my brother, and anyone else who wants to play along even if you’re not a mommy blogger.)

Etc., Etc., Etc….

Posted in About Blogs, Diapers, Divinity by

Today feels like a day of miscellaneous business.  I’ll try to be efficient as I cover it all.

  • My blog has a new look because I just felt like shaking things up a little bit.  I did it a few days ago and no one’s said anything, so I’m wondering if it was more of a makeunder than a makeover.  Maybe I’ll start from scratch.
  • I picked a winner for the poetry contest.  I know I said I’d pick a few and we’d all vote, but there were only a few entries (which were all fun and wonderful, by the way) and I just picked my favorite.   The winner is Charlotte of Memories for Later.  I loved her “Ode to the Snow Day” and it will soon be honored on my sidebar.  This lovely crown?  It’s ALL YOURS, Charlotte.  Congratulations! 

Snow Day.
Beloved of my childhood.
How I did yearn for thee then!
Praying for thy presence
With lazy days and snow to play.

Age hath unmasked thee,
O’ cruel day thou art!
Disruptor of Routine!
Deliverer of Cabin Fever!
Creator of Summer Makeup Days.

How I should dread thee,
And yet thy place of magic
Still holds sway,
And my heart flutters
At the thought of thee.

  • Just wanted to let you know that I have a guest post up today over at Mormon Women.  It’s called “Obedience Buffet,” wherein I pontificate about my love of restaurants and tendency toward pick-and-choose in other areas of life.  Head on over to check out their site, and ring the comment bell if you feel so inclined.  🙂
  • Miss Wonder Woman gave me a Happiness Award, and asked me to list 10 things that make me happy.  So I did (click here). I’m supposed to tag 10 people, but I’m not feeling very rule-hardy right now, so I hereby bequeath this award to any of my readers who were born in July (because you must be cool).  If you choose to accept it, write your happy list on your blog and leave me a link so I can go read it.  Thanks, Wonder Woman!
  • Okay, (deep breath) last thing.  It’s been a while since I’ve honored some of my favorite posts that I’ve tripped upon in the blogosphere.  So without further ado, the current Post-It award recipients …..  (click here if you’re a winner)

  1. Annie Valentine blogs at Regarding Annie and she feels like a kindred blogger to me in many ways.  (I mean, her blog tagline says: “Sometimes I want to kick my man in the shin and sell my kids on eBay.”  *snort*).  She also writes a column in her local newspaper and I absolutely loved this post/article she wrote.  Made me look at the way I talk about people in a whole new way.
  2. I always love That Girl over at Pensievity, but she wrote two posts recently about marriage (one crash course and one down-to-earth chuckle) that just reeked of right.  She’s a smart cookie, That Girl– all full of priorities, and cuteness, and wit and such.
  3. In this post called “Death Doulas,” Terresa at The Chocolate Chip Waffle weaved a lovely tale of death and hope and wonder.  It’s quite beautiful.
  4. I really loved this sweet, humble testimony, “God is There,” over at Mormon Women, too.
  5. And finally, Momza wrote a guest post at Mormon Mommy Blogs called “Mothers Don’t Have to Be Everything to Everyone,” in which the title itself preaches a lovely sermon, but it was the last line of her post that hit me like a ton of bricks (the Holy- Ghost,-that-is-so-true kind of bricks.)

Whew, that’s it.

And I love my readers, really I do.  This past week you’ve given some great advice, and said some of the sweetest things that really made me feel great.  So thank you.

Ode to winter (time for a poetry contest), and a teensy bit of whining

Posted in Diapers, Divinity by

I will now relate to you just a few of the events in our family in the last 48 hours.  Pretend you care.

Coughing

Snot

Fever

Waking at night

Lab visit

Strep Test

Antibiotic

Urinalysis

Another Strep test

Carbon Monoxide alarm going off

Evacuate house for hour

No notable danger

More fever

Bubble Gum Motrin

Bubble Gum Yum Tylenol

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Doctor visit

Blood test

Chest x-rays

Stomach x-rays

H1N1 test

Urology referral

Another antibiotic

Make cake

Grant’s birthday

Antibiotic battles

More sore throat

Two peed beds

Doctor visit

Strep test

ANOTHER antibiotic

The end.

Kill me now.

So, out of necessity and the spirit of survival, I will now change the subject.  I think it’s time for the Diapers and Divinity Winter poetry contest.  The winner gets a spotlight on my blog sidebar for the rest of winter AND this lovely crown:

Let’s do an ode this time, shall we?  An ode is “A kind of poem devoted to the praise of a person, animal, or thing. An ode is usually written in an elevated style and often expresses deep feeling. An example is “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by John Keats.”  (Thanks, dictionary.com.)  We’ll be much less formal here, and modify the ode rules.  Pick something or someone to praise (Anything related to winter) and write a poem about or to it/him/her.  Can rhyme, doesn’t have to.  Can be serious or sarcastic.

I’ll cough up two here as examples:

Ode to my fireplace

In the midst of painful winter, wise birds have flown away.

Yet, we foolishly remain.

Thou art my only consolation.

Thy gentle warm breezes and intoxicating flames dance about,

and I rest by your side.  Waiting, Waiting.

Come Spring I’ll bid thee farewell.

Or given my current list of whining:

Ode to Antibiotics (Did I say I was going to change the subject?)

(in the form of a limerick.)

Winter affects us a lot.
There’s pressure, and coughing, and snot.
Write the doctor some checks.
Go pick up the Rx.
Enjoy 10 healthy days that you’ve bought.

My favorite part of antibiotics is “Take with food.”  I’m pretty sure they mean this:


Can’t wait until my next dose.

We’ll let the contest run for several days.  Leave your poem(s) — as many as you want to write– in the comments on this post by midnight the night of Tues., Jan. 19th.  I’ll pick my favorites and then we’ll vote together on a winner.

I think I need a nap.

This post has been brought to you by the letter P.

Posted in Diapers by
  1. We shall now crown the new princess of poetry for receiving the most votes in the write-your-own-lullaby contest.  Congratulations to Shoebox Princess for this lovely little nighttime morsel, sung to the tune of Give, Said the Little Stream:

Sleep said the mommy, Sleep,
Rest your head, Sleepyhead
Sleep said the mommy, Sleep
As I tuck you into bed

You’re small, you know
But wherever you go,
I’ll be there to keep you safe

When you wake up we will play
Morning, noon, thru all the day
But for now sweet dreams shall be
Nighttime love from me

She wins this beautiful crown of glory, and a coveted stint on my sidebar.  Nice work, SP.  Don’t you think the tiara will go nicely with your blog theme?  I think that, in her honor, we should all sing this to our children at bedtime tonight.

Poetry crown

2.  Because I’m feeling a little precocious, I wrote this little tongue twister reminiscent of Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.  Only mine is much more realistic . . . unless I’m the only person who lives nursery rhymes (remember all those horrible ones like birds pecking eyes out and stuff?) and the rest of you live fairy tales.

Patient parent pleaded plenty to pouting primary-aged persons:  “Please put piles, pieces, plates and pants in their perfect little places.” But if patient parent pleads plenty and primary-aged persons persist in procrastinating, how much patience can patient parent really possess?  Please let this penetrate your puny perception:  It’s possible that patient parent will purposely project unpleasant punishments at puckish primary-aged persons resulting in personal pain, penitence and panic …. So presume this:  Patient parent’s patience is not nearly as plentiful as you perhaps perceive.  (So go pick up your blasted peck of of piles, pieces, plates, and pants for Pete’s sake!)

It’s possible I need a nap.

Passing the crown: You be the judge

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I would just like to say (to solicit your pity) that this was supposed to be the Fall poetry contest, but it’s been snowing all day today at my house, so maybe the winter poetry contest is right around the corner.  Mother Nature is currently on my hit list.

Anyway,  the call for lullaby lyrics was only answered by the few, the brave, the proud, and the desperate for sidebar fame (just kidding).  So read– or sing– the following homemade lullabys and vote for your favorite.  Voting will close Sunday night and the new winner will be crowned next week.

Poetry crown

1.  By Shantel (sung to the tune of “Goodnight, My Someone” from Music Man)

It’s time for sleeping – its time for naps.
I am getting your bottle – you finish your snack.
Your going to bed – Its lovely I know.
Its time for you to go.

Its time for sleeping – its time for naps.
Its time for you to snooze and me to relax.
You dont want to sleep – but for my sanity –
Its time for sleeping and naps.

2.  By Shoebox Princess (sung to the tune of “Give, Said the Little Stream”)

Sleep said the mommy, Sleep,
Rest your head, Sleepyhead
Sleep said the mommy, Sleep
As I tuck you into bed

You’re small, you know
But wherever you go,
I’ll be there to keep you safe

When you wake up we will play
Morning, noon, thru all the day
But for now sweet dreams shall be
Nighttime love from me

3.  By Zina (sung to the tune of “Love Is Spoken Here”)

I see my baby Henry
And I love him very much
I think he’s sweet to look at
And he’s oh so soft to touch
His coos and his gurgles
Fill my heart with joy
And I am thankful
He’s my little boy

4.  By Liana (sung to the tune of “Know This, That Every Soul Is Free”)
(The second verse is for my daughter, and the third is for my son)

It’s time for bed my precious child.
Although the day’s been fun and wild,
Please close your eyes, don’t make a peep.
You are so sweet when you’re asleep.

We’ve played pretend and dress-up too,
and Cinderella’s found her shoe.
It’s time to sleep, please don’t say “no”
Because your mother loves you so.

We’ve wrestled and played with your truck,
then read about a silly duck,
I’ve loved each moment with you, son,
now go to sleep my little one.

So here’s your kiss and here’s your hug.
Under the covers warm and snug,
Please stay asleep the whole night through,
and know that Mom and Dad love you.

5.  By The Queen (sung to the tune of “Rock a Bye, Baby”)

Rock-a-bye, ladies,
It’s time to stop
Whispering and giggling;
This is your last shot.
If I hear you later,
The other shoe falls,
And you’ll sleep in the pantry-
Cement floor and all!

6. By Alexes (no tune indicated)

As I kiss you good night,
I want to hold you with all my might–
And never let you go.
Tenderness and love abundantly flow,
I will always love you.

My child, time has flown by me.
soon you will be older, and you will flee,
It will not fill me with glee,
To see you depart.
I hope I have taught you,
everything you need to know–
I will always love you.

I hope you remember, the good times and the bad,
Life is like that you know, sometimes we feel a little sad.
Don’t ever let life get you down,
Don’t let that smile turn into a frown.
Remember my whisper to you each evening,
I love you.

As you live your life each day–
I hope you let each sunshine ray,
Warm your cheery heart.
and remember, Always remember–
Your Heavenly Father will never depart.
I love you.

Aren’t they all lovely?  Doesn’t it just want to make you go snuggle your sleeping child?  Vote for your favorite(s) here (up to three):