Tuesday, April 26, 2011

My kids are normal and I'm a pimp

Here I am, wanting to write something hysterical or heart-wrenching or some other awesome word that starts with "h", but realizing that in the world of What is Actually Happening Right Now, I need to put all those "H"s (is that how you write it? Like, you have more than one "H"...how do talk about them? Ellen?  Are you reading this?  Bestow your teacherly wisdom upon me!) into that submission whose deadline is May 1st.  I don't know if the same thing happens to y'all, but after I spill my guts on this screen, I am wiped out.  Exhausted.  Incapable of another interesting, coherent thought for at least 18 hours.  So I have to moderate myself (did you know I was capable of doing that?  I know!  Me neither! But check me out: *moderatin' moderatin' moderatin'*) right now so I can follow through on my promise.

So this is gonna have to be quick.  First, I'll share this with you...
so you can see that we are just like every other normal family whose kids make their own face paint out of sidewalk chalk and then do interpretive dance in the front yard. 
And then I will address the matter of me having been given two more Versatile Blogger awards for this here versatile blog and I am so scattered that I've yet to thank and link to my gifters or tell y'all seven things about whatever (apparently it used to be 15 and then people were like "15 things???  I don't even know 15 things about myself!" and then the other people were like "Okay fine, 7 then.  Can you manage 7?  Sheesh.").

So first, special thanks to Mary Kate (whose blog title itself should tell you something about how fun and funny she is: "Why yes I AM crazy.  Thank you for asking!" ) who is a fellow midwestern girl and  mom of six (6!) who always manages to keep her wits and sense of humor about her.  Also, she entertains me on twitter and leaves lots of fun comments on all the blogs she reads.  What's not to love, I ask you?

Also, thank you to Aimee at Classified: Mom who does a bit of everything including technology tutorials, giveaways, art projects and link-ups.  If anyone deserves the Versatile Blogger award, it's her!

Now, if I wasn't moderatin' myself right now, I would try to be super creative and clever with my list of seven things, but since I AM, I just can't be.  Instead, I'm going to jump right to the seven blogs I think you should read, written by seven people I actually know and while I'm yammering, I'll try to squeeze in a little somethin' about myself at the same time.

1) The Road to Poland  
Olivia and I went to college together.  I know her so much better now than I did then, which is only sad because I should have gotten to know her better sooner.  But Facebook is magical isn't it?  Anyway, she and her husband are planning a move from Austin, TX to Poland (the country.  Yes, the real POLAND.  Where they speak Polish and try to lie to you about Dr. Pepper) with their four (4!!!) kids.  And you thought me moving from California to Michigan was a big deal.  Pfffft!  Also, she is knock-your-socks off funny.  Her older sister is one of my very best friends.  She and I traveled from Italy to Ireland together.  I tried to shove her duffel bag of souvenirs into a tiny trash can on a ferry.

2) Non-Domestic Mama
My friend Rachael writes this blog.  She also went to UD (Hey, it's not my fault that they made us write so much that we don't know how to do anything else.) and now avoids housework by saying hilarious things on the internet.  She used to keep her blog a secret (Wha....????  I know, I don't know what those words mean in that order like that either!) but thankfully, she has come to her ever-loving senses and is letting us into her wacky brain. She also sells Arbonee here.  She and my husband knew each other when they were, like, 8 years old or something crazy like that.  Then we all went to college together.  Lived in the same dorm.  And also went to Rome.  The real Rome.  Serendipitous I say.

3) Wisdom And Humor of Midlife
Look, I know someone who I didn't go to college with!  This blog belongs to Cathy- the mother of two fab daughters who used to (probably still do) make her hyperventilate and the wife of a wacky guy from Ecuador (or was it El Salvador?  No matter...just know that he will say something funny by accident because he still pretends he can't speak English and she will tell us about it).  She is so quirky and fun and easy to read and she even has a travel agency here.  She and I met at work...at a church.  No, not "we met at church" but we worked at a church and that's where we met.  Yes, employed in the office of a church, the two of us cackling hens probably driving the boys nuts.  It was more fun /surreal than you're imagining.  Trust me.

4) Quiet Alterations
I can neither confirm nor deny that I went to the same university as the nameless gal that writes this dreamy blog.  She is an artist and a music lover, always looking to promote a little known name (besides her own, of course) or make the planet a better place for all of us.  We may or may not have had a heated Facebook discussion about whether or not one should tell a stranger, who is wearing hot pink underwear, that her fly is open as she walks down the street.  HEATED discussion, I tell you.

5) Kitty Eleison
This one belongs to my husband's big sister Paula.  She has nine (9!!!) kids at home, she homeschools, she raises chickens, she bakes bread, she sews stuff and she helps her husband run his very own business, which also happens to be the largest Catholic stores online.  Most importantly, though, she always laughs at ALL of my jokes, so that makes her extra special to my heart. 

6) Childmode
Nadia is probably the most famous blogger I actually know.  Like, she makes real American  Canadian dollars by doing what she does!  Her blog focuses on news and reviews of high end children's items, she alerts parents to important recalls, and cool jazz like that.  I mean, the girl has staff.  Like, people write stuff and she is their boss.  Shazam!  She even gets to travel with her kids to do reviews of hotels and resorts!  She's totally big time...and guess what?  She took "speech" and "logic" and "map skills" just like I did when we were little.  Score another point for weird educational models leading to super interesting people.

7) My Secret to Happiness
Now, Heather doesn't blog as often as she should and I'm telling you that because I think anyone who likes her writing style should DEMAND that she write more.  Also, her blog is a pleasure to look at.  It's just so beautiful and well put together and easy to like.  Probably because she is a pimp at graphic design (see how I segued into that?  I'm so pro, I know.  And a poet, who didn't know it.).  You can see more of her work on her website here .  Although she and I did go to the same college, we mostly know each other because we worked at Neiman Marcus together back when I was in Dallas.  You know, making people happy, solving problems, trying not to slap people upside the head for chronic stupidity.  The usual.

Hmmmm, that turned out way longer than I intended!  So much for moderatin' myself, huh?  And the shame of it all is that I have SO MANY more super talented friends that I'd like to pimp, but because they are mostly of the Etsy variety, I'll save them for another post on another day.  That way you can spend yet another afternoon hopping all over the internet just because I told you to.  Woot!

Okay friends, say a little prayer for me that I can get my thoughts to all line up and make them stay that way long enough for me to usher them out of my brain and onto this screen.  And that I don't forget to feed the chickens.  And that the rest of the wallpaper takes itself off the wall in my bedroom before I remember that I've forgotten to do it myself before Sunday.

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22 comments :

  1. sweet heap of blogger's you shared * * gracias! how fun do your kiddos look!? awesome they keep themselves occupied like that :D

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  2. The face paint is GREAT, but they look more like Cirque than merely dancers.

    My brain is so muddled today, I can't make sense of a thing, and my 20 are walking through the door in 19 minutes. I'll check back when I've found my wits and my wit, to see if I might offer you some teachery advice.

    Wait, no, if you're simply asking about "H's," I think that's how it's done.

    Whew, one task off my to-do list.

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  3. The face paint looks great.I was hoping that you would post a picture of that.
    I sooooooo love that you used the term pimp! You go girl. Pimp away.
    Looks like you pimped a bunch of new to me blogs. They should be fun to peek at.

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  4. They'll probably be new to everyone on my list but I LURV them and want everyone else to LURV them too!

    And thank you for the new award, Bernie. You are the bees knees :D

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  5. Hahah, that picture is cracking me up! Love it! And congrats on the award. I have to say, you passed it on in the sweet way to those bloggers. :) Well done!

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  6. Congrats on the award! I will go hop around, visit and spreads some love to your friends you awarded :)

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  7. I bet those girls of yours are a hoot.

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  8. There is never a dull moment around there, that's for sure! They get along so much better when they're knee deep in an insanely messy project, so I've decided to take the mayhem over the bickering :)

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  9. Now I understand why you seem to find my blog so "hilarious." It's that whole lack of coherent thought after you write your blog posts. You must visit my blog during your state of deliriousness! ;)

    Seriously though I love the pic of the girls! I'm avoiding showing it to my kids because though they have learned to color every other part of themselves and their clothes, somehow they have miraculously avoided their faces. So far.

    Congrats on the blog award! You totally deserve all three and more. :)

    Now to spend the rest of the day checking out those links!

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  10. How is it that I've never found you before? You're friggin' ah-may-zing.

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  11. You're just too funny. From now on I really must save readin' your posts for when I'm less likely to get weird looks. :-)

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  12. High fivers for the award, its more than well deserved I can assure you THAT!

    Your daughters are no doubt deliriously entertaining, and I applaud you for not freakishly wiping the paint off their sweet little faces and enjoying their free spirited-ness!

    And thanks for the plug, you're an angel for diverting a wee bit of attention outwards!

    <3

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  13. Thanks Dweej!! Yes, he's from Ecuador and yes...they make me hyperventilate from laughter now!!

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  14. Dziękuję, Dwija. I appreciate the nod! Congratulations on your award... you deserve it!

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  15. Welcome to my stomping grounds...(I'm a NORTHERN Michigander!) Don't worry, If Summer falls on a weekend, you and the kids can have a blast before fall starts two days later! haha!

    Following back from Wordless Wednesdays

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  16. Congrats on your Versatile Blogger award! *claps* much deserved!

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  17. Yay on the award! You deserve it, dear friend! I'm going to visit these blogs when my brain is functioning, because they all sound great. Thanks for sharing!

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  18. Aww thanks Dwija!!

    Congratulations on your award, very, very must deserved xo ;).

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  19. I had to laugh at the picture of sidewalk chalk face. Awesome! I enjoyed the link list as well! Congrats on the awards!

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  20. We live in SW Mi too. It's a wonderful place to live. Nice job on the house.

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  21. Hi there!!!
    I have one stupid question...why homeschooling?
    And for how long?
    Will your kids have "the highschool-experience"(am writing from europe and over here- thx to the movies- american highschool is all about cheerleaders, american football players and the lengendary prom...as far as clichés go, that should be it...-I suppose reality is a tad different?)
    How do you get a diploma with homeschooling and will your kids be able to go to college?
    Do your kids have friends outside of the family?
    Very curious about the subject!!
    Loved the title btw!!
    A big HELLO from Europe!

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    Replies
    1. Hi! I took your questions and gave them their very own post. If you wanna take a look at the answers, you can find them here: http://www.houseunseen.com/2013/01/why-homeschooling-and-other-questions.html

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