Sunday Sound Out

From Chicago, where we eat our hotdogs with mustard, relish, tomatoes, hot peppers, onions, and a pickle, it's Sunday Sound Out with Dawn Meehan! Tonight: answers to your questions and musical guest Anita Renfroe! And now, the woman who reached 5 million hits to her blog today, it's Dawn Meehan!

I hope all the moms and mom-like women out there had a nice Mother's Day! I was going to invite my parents, grandma and sister over for brunch, but they already had plans to get together. So I resigned myself to staying home and doing nothing. Since I was first pregnant with Austin in 1994, Joe has said the same thing, "Why should I do anything? You're not MY mom." So Mother's Day has not typically been a fun day for me. This year was different. I taught Sunday school and Joe made brunch after church. Austin and Savannah played with the little kids and occupied them so I could take a nap while Joe went to his parents' house. And Joe made dinner this evening and he didn't use lemon-lime Kool-Aid at all.

For years, I wished that he would just help the kids pick out a card or make a card or acknowledge Mother's Day in some way. This year, I think he tried to make up for the past several years and got me way too much stuff. I'm so happy they replaced the necklace I broke a few months ago. They also got me a Keurig coffee maker with some coconut coffee and a tray to set my laptop on so it doesn't burn off my legs. Clay decorated an oatmeal container and filled it with paper flowers, Jackson and Lexi bought me musical cards, and Savannah, Jackson, Lexington, Clayton & Brooklyn made me cards and pictures. It was nice. :)

So I remember you twittering and asking if you should get an iPhone and then twittering how you got your iPhone. How do you like your new iPhone?? (I love mine a lot!)
I love my iPhone! I'm still not fond of the keyboard, or how it likes to "correct" me while I'm typing. If I type "AJ" when talking about my son, for example, it likes to "correct" me and change it to "an". If I write "hee hee" to indicate I'm giggling, my iPhone will "correct" me and change it to "her her" because really, why wouldn't I write "her her" when I'm laughing? Grrr, that part can be frustrating. On the flipside, it's nice that it corrects me when I write something like "dtive" and it changes it to "drive". It's a toss up. But overall, I LOVE it!

Regarding your SSO pics: Why would you shut the bathroom door when you're all by yourself??
Because I'm nuts. Even in a hotel room by myself, I have to shut the bathroom door. It's just one of those things that proves I'm crazy idiosyncrasies that makes me adorable.

Am I the only one that doesn't know what the slaughter rule is?
It's a rule in baseball that keeps a team from being "slaughtered" with a score of like 428 - 3. In the fifth inning (my kids only play 7 innings) if the one team is ahead by 15 or more runs, the game ends by slaughter rule.

So which team got slaughtered, Austin's or the other guys?
Actually, Austin's team rallied that night and only lost by a couple runs. Despite the fact that Austin pitched 3 innings and ended up throwing 102 pitches! (He only walked one kid during that time!) Savannah's softball team, on the other hand, was slaughtered their first 2 games.

I'm thoroughly chuffed to find your book available in South Africa. Any chances of you coming here for a signing?
First of all, is "chuffed" a good thing? And, although I'd love to visit South Africa, I don't think I'll be heading there anytime soon.

Do they always put you in a room by yourself with two beds? Doesn't that make you feel lonely when you wake up to a room by yourself and another bed that's empty?
Uhhh no. It makes me want to get up and jump from bed to bed and sing happy songs that I got a good uninterrupted night's sleep.

Ew on the Escargots....So what do they taste like?
Garlic-flavored chewy slime.

Whats with the PRA in sky writing in one pic?
Someone had made a smiley face and written "Jesus loves you". I didn't see the "PRA" until I looked at the picture, but I'm guessing they wrote "pray".

Thanks for the review of the family suites at the All Star. Any photos of those rooms? We have been staying at a Disney Vacation Club (Old Key West) during our last two trips (which is pretty affordable when you buy someone's "points"), but I think the suites might be more up our alley.

I do have pictures, in fact! I set up a Flickr account and will upload all my Disney pictures there tomorrow.

By the way, how is your book doing? (Is it okay to ask that?)
No, it's not ok to ask. Just kidding. Sorry, I just had a smart-aleck moment. I think it's doing pretty well. Now go out and buy a couple copies! Oooo, actually, I just added a link on my website for people interested in buying an autographed copy of my book. You can check it out HERE.

But I must ask...How in the world did Clay get the ladder up against the tree?

There was no tree. It was a short ladder and he just set it up under the gutter where the nest was. Although I wouldn't put it past him to drag out the 6 foot ladder and get it set up against a tree!

I've done dozens and dozens of interviews this month. People tend to ask me the same questions over and over in interviews. But not my friend Cindy from Hello Dollface. Nope, she was the first one to ask me if I liked the Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana better. LOL! I got to meet Cindy at the Glamor Reel Moments back in October. She's a sweetheart and she's beautiful and she's skinny. I hate her I'm lucky to know her. You can check out her review of Because I Said So HERE.

And I wanted to put a list of my fellow bloggers who were on the Disney World trip with me. They're some really awesome women with some really great blogs! Check them out!

Christine at From Dates to Diapers,
Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry,
Megan at Velveteen Mind,
Lisa at Crazy Adventures in Parenting,
Emily from Mommin' it Up,
Amanda from Oh Amanda,
Marsha at Sweatpants Mom,
Andrea at Mommy Snacks,
Lindsay at Surburban Turmoil
and Maria Bailey of Blue Suit Mom, DisneyWorld Mom panelists- Margaret Fries and Amber Vaughan, and Laura and Leanne from Disney

Stop by my review blog HERE to see my write-up on swimsuits and enter for a chance to win $100 gift card from Lands' End!

And finally, in honor of Mother's Day, is Anita Renfroe with her Mom Song...

Mother's Day Giveaway Winners

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

206
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173

Timestamp: 2009-05-09 03:03:54 UTC


1. Winner of autographed copy of Because I Said So -
Diagnose Rachel said...
happy mothers day dawn!hope someone bakes up something special for you! Reading your blog is a treat to mothers every day!

2. Winner of the Mom's Butterfly Bouquet floral arrangement from Teleflora
Heather M. said...
I bought a book for myself and a book for my M-I-L and my own mom! I think they're a terrific tribute to moms everywhere from Ubermom Dawn! :)

3. Winner of a Mommy bracelet personalized with initials and birthstones from MyMommysBracelets
anawinston said...
you always have such great ideas!! thanks for sharing (PS I already have your book - maybe I could win something else!)

Congratulations! Please email me at mom2my6pack@aol.com with your shipping address. Thank you to everyone who left a comment!

Mother's Day Ideas

Mother's Day is right around the corner. It's May 10th for those of you who don't know. Go mark it on your calendars. I'll wait.....

And husbands, telling your wife, "Why should I do anything? You're not MY mom" does not fly. Your wife may not be your mom, but she's the mother of your children and, unless you want to sleep in the doghouse, show her that you appreciate all she does. Picking up something from the gas station on your way does not count either. If you show up with scratch-off lottery tickets, gum, a newspaper, or an evergreen shaped air freshener she'll know that you stopped off at the gas station. If you value your life, do not attempt this.

It doesn't have to be anything big or expensive. A homemade breakfast in bed is GREAT! Taking the kids out to a movie so Mom can have a little nap is heavenly. Letting Mom go get a pedicure is wonderful! Handmade cards and kiddie handprints (on places other than the walls) is also heartwarming and touching.

Or if you want to do a little more, try one of these ideas...





1. My book, BECAUSE I SAID SO, of course, is the perfect Mother's Day present! Order your copy of Because I Said So at Family Christian stores HERE, or Amazon HERE!












2. A fresh floral arrangement from Teleflora. Teleflora has been connecting customers with the nation's best florists for more than 70 years. All of their floral arrangements are professionally arranged by a local florist using only the freshest flowers available, and each gift is personally delivered in a vase. Check out their gorgeous arrangements especially for Mother's Day. And while you're browsing, make sure you take a look at the Mom’s Shopping Spree Sweepstakes, which kicked off April 20 and runs until May 15. The grand prize is a $20,000 shopping spree; first and second prizes will be shopping gift cards! Now, THAT'S a Mother's Day gift!!!








3. A ring from Whimsy Worldwide. These rings are so unique and fun! They're really strong and durable and showcase the wildly popular collectible Trollbeads, Pandora and Chamilia glass beads. You can change the beads to match your outfit or mood. If you have a Pandora (or similar) bracelet, you already have an array of beads that fit into this ring. You can have fun switching them whenever the mood strikes! If you don't, you'll soon fall in love with collecting these beads and showing them off on your Whimsy ring! Click HERE to find a retailer near you.



4. A mother's or grandmother's bracelet from MyMommysBracelets. Vanessa's got a wide array of gorgeous bracelets from which to choose. She uses high quality components including genuine Swarovski Crystal and pearls, Sterling Silver and gold filled beads, and each bracelet comes beautifully packaged in an organza pouch for easy gift-giving.










Leave me a comment here for a chance to win a signed copy of my book, Because I Said So, a beautiful Mom's Butterfly Bouquet floral arrangement from Teleflora, or a Mommy bracelet personalized with initials and birthstones from MyMommysBracelets. I'll choose 3 random winners on Friday at 5:00pm CT. The first winner will receive the book, the second will receive the flowers and the third will receive the bracelet. Good luck!

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There is more than one post tonight. Scroll down to see the other one.

Peep Peep

I spent all morning cleaning the boys' room. I mean, I really cleaned it! I suited up in hazmat gear and emptied out drawers, moved furniture, scrubbed walls, threw out food wrappers, and vacuumed up all the ants the food wrappers had attracted. I stripped the boys' beds, found 4 stray sippy cups in them, then washed all their bedding. I waded through mountains of smelly clothes, cleaned out the dresser drawers, and threw out tons of stuff. Finally, I brought in a pressure washer to hose the place down.

While I did this, Clay and Brooklyn played in the sand box. I could see them out the window and I checked on them several times. Until one time, I looked up and they weren't there. I had gotten a phone call and didn't realize how long I'd been on the phone until I checked on the kids and found them a few feet away at my neighbor's house. They had taken a small ladder and climbed up to see the bird's nest nestled in the crook where the gutter meets the downspout.

When I walked out, Clay was on the ladder looking in the nest. On the ground were 4 broken Robin's eggs. One of the eggs was broken in a small, plastic, play dish. I yelled at talked to them about staying in our yard and leaving daddy's ladder alone, and most importantly, not disturbing the nest and breaking the eggs. Clay told me, "I know we shouldn't have touched the eggs. We just wanted them to get bigger and then they broke." He looked genuinely sad. "But we're going to fix it," he quickly added. Then he asked Brooklyn to hand him the eggs. I looked at Brooklyn's hands and saw they contained 3 eggs from my fridge. Not only that, but she also held the 2 marshmallow peeps I'd found while cleaning the boys' room. (Yes, they were harder than granite. I know - ew)

If I hadn't interrupted them, Clay was going to put the 3 eggs from our refrigerator and the 2 "birds" (marshmallow Peeps) in the nest to make up for the eggs they broke. Oh yeah, that'll fix it. I'm sure the poor confused robin will never notice that her small, blue eggs have been replaced with chicken eggs and marshmallow Peeps. I can just see the "What the heck???" look on her little bird face now. She'd do a little birdy double-take and shake her head all confused, thinking she'd flown to the wrong nest.

Ugh, I'm hoping our discussion will sink in and he'll understand what he did wrong and why he needs to respect nature and leave creatures alone.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

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I'll be at The Ice House Mall in Barrington, IL tomorrow (Thursday) from 5-7 for a book signing. There will be wine, swag bags for guests, a raffle for a mall gift certificate, and the restaurant is offering 50% off an entree when you present a signed copy of my book. Come join us for some pre-Mother's Day fun!

I Need a Clone

Jackson had a hockey game, Austin had a baseball game, and Savannah had a softball game last night. At the same time. At fields across town. This is why I have a strict "One Activity Per Child, Per Season" rule. Still, I'd pay big money for a cloning machine right about now. And I'd send one of my clones to the games until the weather warmed up and I no longer needed a down coat and a cup of coffee to keep warm.

I might send in a clone when my kids were pitching too because I find it very nerve-wracking watching them pitch. For some reason, all the pressure of the game seems to ride on the pitcher's shoulders. If the team wins, then hooray for the pitcher! If the teams loses, then it's all the pitcher's fault. Or so it seems.

Of course, I might have to send a clone when it gets really hot and humid too. I mean, I've seen players pass out from the heat in June and July. Yeah, that would be a really good time to send a clone, I think. And why stop there? While I'm at it, I think I could use a clone to do my laundry. Oooo, and I could use one to yell at the kids when they put their clean, folded clothes back in the hamper before they've even worn them simply because they're too lazy to put them away. I'm getting really tired of doing that. A clone to cook dinner would be nice. I think one to do the grocery shopping, one to clean the bathrooms, and one to run errands would be a good idea also.

That would leave me with plenty of time to play unending hours of dress-up, "restaurant", Hi-Ho Cherrio, and Rock Band with the kids. I would always have time to play one of Brooklyn's favorite games called "put on Polly Pocket's clothes, take off Polly Pocket's clothes, put on Polly Pocket's clothes, take off Polly Pocket's clothes, put on Polly Pocket's clothes, take off Polly Pocket's clothes". I'd also have all the time in the world to watch the kids play catch, or H-O-R-S-E in the backyard. I could watch Clay for hours when he says, "Hey Mom! Watch me!" as he skips off on one foot while flailing his arms in the air. "Did you see me, Mom? Were you watching? Can you do that, Mom?"

Yep, more of me is what I need. Well, actually I don't need more of me as in "I need to gain weight so there's more of me." I really need much less of me in that sense. But I could use a couple clones to help me out. That's what I want for Mother's Day. Are you listening, kids? Hint, hint.

M-O-U-S-E

A little more about my Disney trip...

Saturday, we started the day with breakfast and a talk about all Disney has done/is doing to make vacation planning easy. We talked about how you can tailor your Disney vacation to your family's wants, needs, and budget. From pitching a tent at Camp Wilderness and cooking your own food to staying at a deluxe villa with the Disney Dining Plan, you can find something that works for your family.

Their website is really easy to navigate and you can play around with different dates and hotel options to look for the best deal. You can even print out personalized maps for your family. Have a question and want an answer from an actual mom who knows all the tips and tricks to make your vacation the best possible? Go to the Disney Moms Panel and ask away! I met Margaret and Amber from the Moms Panel this weekend. What fun girls and boy, do they know their stuff! I think the best piece of advice I heard from Margaret was, "There's no way you can do everything here. Even if you stayed for 4 weeks, there would be things you'd miss.' Disney World just has that much to offer. You need to decide with your family, what things you really want to do and see while you're there. If you go in with the attitude of "I've got to do it all!" you'll be stressed, the kids'll melt down, and you won't be able to see everything anyway. That was my number one piece of advice from when we went to WDW back in October - take time to relax, hang out by the pool, or sleep in one day. We tried to "do it all" and we really pushed the kids, park hopping every single day from sun-up till sun-down. That doesn't make for happy families.

If you're planning a Disney World vacation, you can get a copy of the free vacation planning DVD HERE. Oh and when you check out the website, don't forget to check for specials HERE! Sometimes you can get totally awesome specials! When my friend Melissa went to WDW in September, she got the Dining Plan for FREE! All her family's breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks were included!

OK, after breakfast, we toured the new family suites at Disney's All Star Music resort. These are nice sized rooms that sleep 6, have 2 bathrooms, and a kitchenette, and because they're at Disney's value resorts, the price won't break your budget. After that, we donned hard hats and met Imagineers Brian & Diego who took us on a tour of Disney's new Bay Lake Towers, under the final stages of construction. They have luxury rooms that accommodate 12 people and are 2 stories! Seriously, these rooms were more than twice the size of my house!


Just call me Handy Manny


All us "Magical Moms" in front of Disney's new Bay Lake Tower (I've got to get a list of everyone's URLs so you guys can check out some new blogs!)


Imagineer Brian

From there, we went to the Magic Kingdom, where we toured The Baby Care Center. I bet a lot of people aren't aware this is even there. If you've got a little one, you've got to check this place out. If you want to escape the park for a while, you can breastfeed in a cool, quiet dimly lit room. You can change baby, feed baby in a clean high chair, or buy baby food, formula, bottles, diapers, and many other essentials you might have forgotten.





Room with high chairs for feeding baby in quiet, air conditioned comfort and little tables and a tv to occupy small siblings.


nursing room

We then had time for a Dole Whip, a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion, before going to lunch at Waves in The Contemporary Resort.






This is the drink I ordered at the Wave. It was radioactive.


yummy desserts at The Wave


The monorail inside the Contemporary

We had a few minutes to freshen up and then it was on to Hollywood Studios where everyone took a backstage tour of the new attraction, The American Idol Experience. Well, everyone except me and Lindsay from Suburban Turmoil. We blew that off and rode on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster three times in a row, thanks to our fast passes!


Cruddy picture of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster taken with my camera phone because I accidentally left my camera back at the hotel.

After that, we met everyone else and saw The American Idol Experience.


From there, we had dinner at The Hollywood Brown Derby. And then it was back to the hotel. Whew! They crammed a ton into those 2 days!

Soarin'

Here's a little video of the ride Soarin' at Epcot in Disney World.

M-I-C-K-E-Y

Finally, I'm getting the chance to update! I'm here in Disney World, but we've been on a tight schedule. They sure packed a lot into these 2 days. I have to admit, usually when I go away for some blogging event, I really enjoy the time away from my kids. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, LOVE my kids, but I enjoy the time away too. This time, however, I've found myself thinking about them a lot because I know how much fun they had last October when we came here as a family. They've been asking when we're going to go back ever since then. Not that Disney World isn't awesome for adults, but in my opinion, it's just the kind of place that seems a little more magical when you see it through your kids' eyes.

I had a pretty great flight here to Orlando Friday morning. I sat next to a nice woman, Julia and her little boy, Nevan. She was normal (even if she did have Swine Flu masks. Seriously, she had them, but I guess she decided I wasn't too germish because she didn't wear it during the flight.) And the flight attendants, Brian and Joette, were terrific! A few minutes into the flight, Brian told me I was pretty so, naturally, he's my new best friend. Then later, after I shamelessly showed off my book, Joette made an announcement over the intercom that there "was a celebrity who had written a book on board the plane!" LOL! Snort! A "celebrity"! Although I had to laugh, I secretly thought it was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure the other passengers rolled their eyes and accused the flight attendants of drinking, however.

I'm exhausted and have to leave here at 7:00 AM(I KNOW!) because I have a book signing/speaking thing when I get home in the afternoon. Because I need some sleep, I'll share a few pictures from our adventures here and write more about it later. These are from Friday...


Joette & Brian. Isn't he a hottie?


outside my hotel


The pool at my hotel, Disney's Beach Club

towels on my bed

My gorgeous room

view from my room

Epcot yesterday - we had some free time to go on rides and then we had dinner in France.

escargot

trying not to throw up after eating a nasty ole SNAIL!

Illuminations

some bloggers from the UK who we met up with a couple times throughout our stay. They were very nice and fun and said stuff like "brilliant" and "lovely". LOVE their accents! There were also many awesome American bloggers I had the privilege of hanging out with. More pictures to follow...

Spaceship Earth


When I got back to my room, I found this...


and this...


and this...


and this...


and this...


and this...


and this...

and after I went to bed, I noticed Tinker Bell on my mirror...

And this afternoon, I noticed this banner too.

OK, now I'm off to bed so I can figure out how to set my clock. I requested a wake-up call for this morning at 6:30. They called at 7:18. Now, I'm not real mathy, but I'm pretty sure that's well AFTER 6:30.

More to come...

Interviews and Pig Flu

OK, on the agenda for tomorrow, I have a live interview with Lorri & Larry at 7:20 AM CT on FamilyNet. (National – Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 161 & FamilyNet Radio/TV)

Their program reaches:
· 8.6 million subscribers to Sirius
· 30 million households on FamilyNet Television
· 10,000 subscribers to SkyAngel.com

Oh yeah, that doesn't make me want to throw up or anything.... ahem. I feel a case of Pig Flu coming on.

Speaking of Pig Flu... My mother, the hypochondriac the woman who is concerned about my health, told me today that I should reconsider going to Florida this weekend because "you don't want to be exposed to the Swine Flu". (I'm supposed to be going to Disney World on Friday for a blogger event.) But that's the difference between her and I. I don't think about these things. I don't feel the need to pack a gallon of Purell. I figure I can catch something in my local grocery store just as easily as I could on a plane to Florida. And hello? It's Florida! I bet it's above 40 degrees there! Hmmm Happiest (warm) Place on Earth, or staying home and freezing? Happiest (warm) Place on Earth, or staying home and freezing? Choices, choices, choices. I think I'll take my chances with Pigitis. Would it be really mean of me to call her from Florida and oink into the phone? Kidding! Just kidding, Mom.

Now, that I said that, Murphy's Law is going to come into play and I will, indeed get sick which will really stink because I'm speaking at The Elk Grove Village Public Library on Sunday, May 3 at 2:00PM, and I'm speaking/signing books at a Mother's Day Celebration at The Ice House Mall in Barrington on May 7th from 5-7PM. Come out and see me if you get the chance!

Oooo and I'm working on a Mother's Day post. If you make/sell an awesome Mother's Day gift idea and are interested in doing a giveaway on my blog, email me right away at mom2my6pack@aol.com and let me know. I'm looking for a couple more unique ideas. Thanks!

Opening Day Hooray!

I was sitting here this evening, trying to come up with something to write. Should I talk about how I stayed up until 3:00 AM writing last night and as a result, overslept and got my kids to school 20 minutes late this morning? Or maybe I should write about how Clay had a field trip to the library for school today. I forgot about it. I took him to preschool. No one was there. Duh. I hightailed it across town to the library. The really impressive part of that story is the fact that I did the same thing this fall when I was supposed to drop him off at a farm for a field trip and I forgot and brought him to school that day too. Or perhaps I should write about how I put off going to the grocery store until we were low on all sorts of things and I had to go shopping at 9:30 at night. (By the way, you meet weird people who crash their carts into your ankles at 9:30 at night!)

But the thing that sticks out in my mind was Austin's baseball game. His first game was tonight. It was 39 degrees here. So we sat there at the football er, um baseball game in our winter coats with blankets wrapped around us. That is, most of us sat there in our winter coats. Some of us, ahem, Brooklyn and Austin were too stubborn for something as silly as a coat in 39 degree weather. Austin was too cool (Ha! Literally!) to wear his Under Armor or a sweatshirt under his baseball uniform. And Brooklyn, well, Brooklyn was just Brooklyn and threw an all-out screaming fit when we wouldn't let her take her coat off in the middle of the game. As she screamed her head off, parents on the bleachers turned around to see what horrific injury the screaming girl had suffered to make her so miserable. When they realized she was just protesting our cruel and unusual punishment of making her wear a coat in 39 degree weather, they looked questioningly at me. I kinda shrugged my shoulders and explained, "She's our last."

After 2 hours, the boys had only played 4 innings. Ugh. All I can say is - thank God for the slaughter rule. I think it's going to be a long season.

Sunday Sound Out

From Chicago, where it goes from 80 degrees to 40 degrees in the span of an hour, it's Sunday Sound Out with Dawn Meehan! Tonight: answers to your questions and musical guests The Plain White T's! And now, the woman with the 88 year-old grandma, it's Dawn Meehan!

I have a question. When you're gone, who watches your six pack? Also, is it weird that people want to interview you and fly you places to talk to you about being a stay at home mom?
Joe watches them. And you know, I just don't get it when people gush all over the fact that he watches them the few times a year I'm out of town. I mean, don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate it and he does a great job with them, but they're HIS KIDS! And, of course, no one goes on and on about how wonderful stay at home parents are for watching the kids so their spouses can go and work day in and day out, year after year. What's up with that?
And nope, I don't think it's weird. I think it's wonderful. I think it's awesome when any stay-at-home mom gets a little recognition for being a stay-at-home mom!

Since you haven't ever had slaw on hot dogs, have you ever had slaw on bbq sandwiches?
Oh heck no! I didn't even know what "slaw" was at first. "Oh, you mean COLE slaw? For real? You put cole slaw on hot dogs???" LOL

OMG. must.have.those.shoes! Who cares if they aren't conducive to hiking, you probably had the best lookin' feet on the mountain! Where'd you find them? And not that it matters, but are they comfortable?
They're the most comfortable shoes I own! They're Sanita clogs. :)

What?! No pics of your hotel room???
I know! I totally forgot! But I did take pics of my hotel room in South Bend.

And check out the FULL LENGTH MIRROR in the bathroom...

Yep, I can't think of a better place to hang a full-length mirror than right across from the toilet because really, there's nothing more attractive than watching yourself poop.

I have to say I am totally jealous that you went to the Varsity. It was one of our favorite places to go when I was in college. Please tell me you washed down that delicious hot dog with a Frosted Orange, right?
Yep. I was told I HAD to. Creamsicle shakes! Mmmmm

Does it [Think it Over Baby] actually cry in the middle of the night?
Oh yeah!

hey in the video in post Atlanta day on, your hair seems much darker than normal! guess cause of winter but still,its a big color change.
Not really. I think this is my natural color. I can't totally remember though as I've been covering the gray highlighting it for several years now.

SSO Q: you said that your dog passed away at the last sound out,well i read your book and on the:we arent having chicken! part you said that brooklin tossed food to the dog,did you get a new one or something? And you also said it when you talked about clay having all those clothing changes on the day of Lexi's birthday,and it said he poured dog food down his shirt. I was just wondering
On the clothing change story, we still had Cody. On the We're Not Having Chicken story, I had originally written that one when I had 5 kids, but I rewrote it and included some scenes from a more recent dinner so all the kids would be in the story. I guess I forgot about Cody and didn't take that part out. Originally, it was Clay who tossed food to the dog.

I was wondering,have you ever played the online game Runescape?
Never heard of it. I'm pretty sure I couldn't find the time to play. Unless I gave up doing laundry perhaps......

Just finished watching your interview on Harvest-tv.com. (Thanks to reading your Twitter .. or should that be Tweet??)You were FanTasTic!! Very natural & at ease & Funny! Youv'e gotten to be a real pro at this 'Famous Author stuff' ... and you looked Great ~ can't forget to mention that!!!
Thank you! My mom told me I played with my hair the whole time and needed a haircut. Mothers!

Hey, famous person,Did you know that your book is mentioned as (one of three) best new parenting books in the May Parent and Child Magazine?!?
Noooo, cool! :D

Wow, what a great interview--you're a natural! It was very funny and entertaining to watch. Do they tell you what questions they're going to ask you ahead of time? I would have a hard time thinking of answers off the top of my head like that!
Nope, I have no idea what they're going to ask ahead of time. I've been stumped a couple times on radio interviews when they threw an odd question at me. I think I covered pretty well though.

When kids have sex, they are assuming a baby won't happen. So this sort of project will not have the desired effect, in my opinion.8th grade, though? I'm shocked!
That's exactly what I said. I agree. But I'm not shocked about 8th grade at all.

My husband wants to know if he got a "pretend wife" as well. He said if he had a pretend wife and baby in 8th grade, he would of been single for the rest of his life!!
ROFL!!! Nope, no pretend wife.

Grandma! You're calling your grandbaby "it". What are you thinking?? He has a name!! :)
Well, considering Austin named the baby Satan Junior, I thought "It" was preferable.

And now, The Plain White T's with their video shot in Chicago!

The Harvest Show

Here's a link to the interview I did with The Harvest Show in South Bend yesterday. Just click on Friday, April 24th, Because I Said So. Enjoy!

THE HARVEST SHOW!


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