Lesson learned...the hard way

Shannon's a fancy girl.

She needs the glitz, the glamour, the pizazz to accompany all her sass. I call her Ms Sassafras, mostly to avoid calling her other names that, while fitting, would not be approved under my new Love and Logic experiment.

This need for all that jazz drove me to...shall we say OVER DO...her first birthday party.

Oh, I still cringe at the thought. Can't look at pictures. Vowed to never host another one of those bleepedy bleep shenanigans again. That's right. I said bleepedy bleep. Now you know I mean business.

In case you were fortunate enough to miss that train wreck, count your blessings and enjoy this photo montage....

Yes it was that bad.

No, it was worse.

A picture's worth a 1,000 words, but those don't scratch the surface.

Ah, the horror.

But I'm not dwelling on the past.

Parties are like childbirth, time heals all wounds and erases the searing pains into oblivion.

I could only venture forth if I made one promise to myself and kept it.

Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.

Invitations from Dollar Tree. Hot tub in basement. Barbie from Redbox if one needed a break from swimming. Popcorn. Cake. Ice cream. Balloons. Done.

It was slightly painful. But I held back. Exercised some rare self restraint. No coordinating plates, napkins, cups, silverware, etc. Ends up in the trash anyways. But, none the less, I wanted it. But there in lies the root of my previous transgression. I wanted it. Me. Not Ms Sassafras. Yeah she might notice it, but in reality, details are lost on children.

Now our little girl made her entrance into the world between that chaotic time right after Thanksgiving and just before Christmas. A wonderful time, but what does your calendar look during those weeks?

A mess.

But before you feel too sorry for her ill timed birth, take note that we have scheduled parties before the Thanksgiving break, thus stretching her festivities over the course of a week. However, still not enough for Ms Sassafras. She informed me the day before the party that she wanted a surprise. Something special. I didn't give it a second thought until Steve called that day with 4 VIP tickets to the Christmas breakfast and parade.

Continuing on...Parade time during party. Darn. But, the wheels started spinning and my couponing brain turned this breakfast at a fancy hotel downtown into "Ms Sassafras' " surprise. Oh my, how fancy she felt loading her plate with breakfast delights and ordering OJ and chocolate milk. Mama kinda liked it too. Really liked it. Warm breakfast. Full belly. No dishes. Heaven.

We had a moment to check out the behind the scenes parade action. Really bummed about missing the 8 John Deere tractors pulling Santa's sleigh. I love Iowa. We'll plan better next year.

Onto the party.

My theory.

Stand back and let em' do their thang.

Apparently their "thang" involved splashing and squealing which Adam has taken a liking to.Cake from a mix. Not my standard for a birthday cake but it was fanciful, tasty, and the chicks almost never finish it anyways.

And isn't it really about the presents? That's all they care about.

In conclusion here are my new found philosophies on throwing a child's birthday party.

Simplify! I did have a moment or two of panic thinking that I might be jumping to the other extreme to defy my previous indiscretion. But in the end, they're girls. Nothing ever changes. No matter how old they get, they enjoy being together. End of story. Isn't that a part of Relief Society? Fellowship.

Fortunately for Adam, I have successfully survived a positive birthday party experience and he has a greater chance to enjoy one for himself in the future. However, little boys scare me. So maybe not in the near future.

The look of defiance

Where have I been you ask?

Steam cleaning? Tons of it.

Why you ask?

Because of this little lumberjack. What you see before you is the look of defiance.

But he's so cute you say....

Cute, yes. But it's cute compensation. Compensation to make up for times when he's rotten, no good, or down right defiant. Times when he's being "Love and Logic'd"

That's the other place I've been.

Love and Logic classes. Loads of them.

Jim Fay, you're my hero.

What's Love and Logic you ask?

Here's the rundown. Kid does something wrong. You sing the "uh oh" song and kid goes to their room until they are sweet. Now here is where we butt heads. Where Adam struggles and I pray for the stamina to endure to the end. He's more of a "wide open spaces"/free spirit/don't tell me what to do woman kinda kid. He's too smart for his own good.

Despite the bare room he has acquired due to his inability to repress the desire to chuck every toy at the wall, he's managed to create his own form of open rebellion/protest using the only thing he has left...himself. Every "uh oh" song ended the same.... bare bum next to multiple dark puddles on the carpet.

Day after day.

But I remained calm. Sort of. And I remained consistent. Much to his dismay, the "uh oh" song continued, so little dude kicked it up a notch. Wiping his unmentionables with his irreplaceable snuggy bear. The only item that will put him to sleep. The item by which I schedule my loads of laundry around. Snuggy must be washed immediately after breakfast so as to be available for the afternoon nap. It's a delicate balance and little punk knows it. After dancing this routine a few times, I handed the paper towels over and said U DO IT! His response. "No Yucky!"

Ya think?

Tough kid, do it.

I'll spare you the details of further encounters, but it's safe to assume he kicked those encounters up a notch as well.

I thought I had him now.

But no. I was outwitted by a two year old who thinks snowmen are called cookies, frosted mini wheat's are pumpkins, and butter is honey.

Note to self...work on those before kindergarten so that he's not pegged as "that kid born in TN."

Back to reality...how does a toddler get out of cleaning up his excrement? Checkout. Mentally, physically, emotional. Pass out. Refuse to wake up when Mom taps you. Look like an angel. An angel next to a puddle of pee. Either way, it worked.

Update...after consistent reinforcement and a slight fear of the steam cleaner, Adam has chosen to keep his diaper on tight. When the words "uh oh" exit my mouth, he now runs to his room and closes the door.

Finally, sweet success. Now I can look at this face with greater love. Because honestly, those eyes are my eyes and I gotta look at myself in this mirror image everyday. I love myself.

Iowa through the eyes of a Southern Belle

*Me, en route from Chattanooga to Memphis, at the Loveless Cafe in search of what Bobby Flay termed the best biscuits and jam.

Deep South.

Maybe not quite a "southern belle" per say, but it's a different world up here sister. Let me preface my post by saying, I absolutely, positively love it here.

No doubt, hands down, divine intervention 100%, never want to move, happy as a lark...you get the point. It's wonderful.

I've learned a lot about these Yankees in my short time here and I feel my southerners need to know a thing or two before venturing into this here neck of the woods, or "corn fields" as they call them.

1. My previous notion that I would rest near a fire, drink hot chocolate, and get portly from my sedentary winters were FALSE...these folks here are serious about their exercise. Did I mention that my idea of exercise is strolling along the river path, chatting with my buds and feeding the kids goldfish crackers? Doesn't fly here. Sidewalks on every street, crowded with runners. Kinda forgot that this was farm country and they know a thing or two about physical labor round these here parts...

Speaking of farm country...

2. It's local or DIE! Eat local cheese. Drink local milk. Eat local musk melons. If it ain't local, don't touch it.

Speaking of eating...

3. Um, how do I say this...it's an adjustment. I was patting myself on the back for occasionally substituting honey for white sugar. But nnnnooooooo, it must be organic honey. No, no, local organic honey. No, no, local organic raw honey. With every addition to its' title = additional $$. I think I draw the line at local raw milk I hand pour into jars. I think. But, I have done some canning, dehydrating, and had a successful crop of whole wheat bread that my family willingly consumed. Who knew there were 3 types of wheat berries (hard red, hard white, and soft white in case you were dying to know).

Speaking of consuming...

4. In my efforts to embrace my new culture, the local farmers' market has become a Saturday morning venture for the Hodgens. Kinda food heaven under a tent. Crazy things...pastas like chocolate linguine

Calypso mango chipotle penne, etc

and raspberry fococcia. Who knew?

We each get a dollar to spend, usually on a cider donut.

Here's where my dollar went...get a load of my cheap, yet local, zucchini purchase which promptly became whole wheat orange pecan zucchini bread, double chocolate zucchini bread, zucchini pancakes, etc (cue line from Christmas Story...gone, all gone, No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE! ...if you don't know what I'm talking about...hang your head in shame. Shame!)The green pancakes were viewed with skepticism, then devoured with ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup, we are in Iowa remember?)Yes, Adam is required to eat in the nude when ketchup is involved. My washer just can't handle the rejection. Nudity is not an Iowa requirement though.

Which brings me to...

5. Apparently helmets aren't a requirement either. People, seriously. You kinda stress me out with your attention to detail of what goes into my mouth, but you really stress me out when your race down the freeway with a bare head. If you're soooooo concerned about your outsides (exercise) and insides (food) then lets be well rounded and include your cranium in that mix. Remember, when your brains are shmeared on the pavement, it really doesn't matter how cute you looked in hot pink Nike spandex. I understand that it gets cold in the winters here. A negative 75 wind chill does require a hat. I love the fact that you embrace every season and want to feel that warm country air flowing through your locks and tresses. But still, a helmet please. For me and for my blood pressure.

Speaking of my blood pressure...

6. It was slightly elevated when I was nearly plowed down in Walmart by a female on a motorized shopping cart with a collage of the Wizard of Oz tattooed on her right leg. What's with all the tattoos? When the local paper printed it's "Best in the City", the tattoo parlor was front page news. There's a tattoo store in the mall...next to Build a Bear. I think my Mormon community is the only non-inked epidermis in the state. A quick overview of some of the skin art I've seen in recent days - Winnie the pooh, Minnie mouse, multiple "tribal" symbols, name, names, names, animals, animals, animals, college teams, etc. When did tattoos ever become a good idea? They hurt. They fade. They're tacky. Let me say this...Shannon was obsessed with Elmo 3 years ago, now it's Princesses, what will the next 3 years bring? Luckily, she didn't ink Elmo on her ankle. That's all I gotta say.

Before moving here I had an epiphany...I am a Southern Girl. I love the south. It's my roots. It's my home. It made me the person who I am today. I take it with me where ever I roam. However, this is a big country; nay, a big world, which as much to offer. I don't know how long I will lay my head in Iowa, but I do know that I want to soak up as much of it as I can for the time being and take a piece of with with me where ever the road may take me.

Lots of love from the sticks. I mean, the stalks.

*please note this southern girl continues to wear flip flops despite the locals bringin' out their winter boots.

Poser

** I would like to preface this post by stating that WE DON'T HAVE CABLE.
Some where along the way Shannon became a poser.

During a psychoanalysis of the situation, I sorted through her pictorial past to realize that

1) as a 1st child/grandchild she was photographed incessantly...which lead to

2)a withdrawal/complete meltdown when an attempt was made to take a pic of her beginning around age 2...however when

3)baby #2 was born and people had the nerve to take pictures of someone other than herself, she started sitting in front of Adam in an attempt to be photographed which.... has lead to the present day where

4) the chick walks around posing for cameras that aren't there.

No one informed me that Tyra Banks was holding an open casting call for America's Next Top Model in my living room?This is a nature, not nurture event.

Speaking of Miss Sassafras, she started kindergarten this month. Big pat on the back to her parents who spent countless hours researching the Iowa Schools Systems. We rock! Yes, I need daily affirmations.To shake things up a bit (meaning her parents nerves) after a few days Shannon insisted on riding the bus. A few more hours of Mommy research declared it was OK to attempt, and mercifully, it has been a success. No more waking grumpy pants/2 yr old Adam up from his afternoon slumber. Mutually beneficial...gotta love multitasking.

Making an honest Man out of him

Facts are facts.

My son is big...huge...ginormous.

For the past 6 months I've claimed that he's 2. It's easier that way. Easier than saying he's 1 and getting the raised eyebrows, easier than explaining that his father is 6'3, he's a 96% kinda boy, or he was an infant for a mere for 6 weeks, etc.

Just easier to lie.

You Lied?!?!?

Yes Son, we lied. But the good news is those 2 candles mean that you are now an honest Man. Officially 2! Sure, a few have asked if you were turning 3 already, but being 2 puts you in the toddler division, which includes 3, so you're covered. An honest man. But I will show a birth certificate if they try and kick you out of nursery early.

With our nontraditional boy, we celebrate with on unorthodox birthday. Blueberry coffee cake for breakfast...hence the pj's. If an odd orange glow results from consuming too many carrots, this boy will soon sport at purplish tint from the copious amounts of blueberries he eats. Thankfully they've been on sale for $0.88 and we've been able to indulge his habit.

In our continuing efforts to immerse ourselves in the Midwestern culture that we now dwell, we took the family to the county fair where...birthday boy was able to view hundreds of John Deer tractors...pet, and smell, livestock (side note, a cow defecated a few feet from Shannon and she mentally checked out instantly)the excitement of the fair proved to be too much for our little man who had a meltdown before presents and ice cream. It was a stifling 85 degrees, which caused a heat advisory here in Iowa. Yes my southern friends, a heat advisory. Laugh now, but I will not be laughing when you are at the park in February and I am hugging my sunlamp attempting to ward off seasonal depression. Anyways, presents (with a strong emphasis on CARS) were opened the following day.We will attempt weaning this dude off of the pacifier and pink snuggly bear over the course of the year. Goal = age 3 snuggly free or by kindergartner the boys will laugh at his love for a pink bear, which everyone comes first. Life just wouldn't be the same without those big brown eyes.

Or this cheesy smile that has taken a liking to running into the street, unbuckling his seat belt on freeways, and throwing food at every meal.

No, life will never be the same. Thank goodness.

We have arrived.

Yes, we're in Iowa.

Yes, we LOVE it.

Yes, it's different.
But different is good.

Lindsey was kind enough to voluntarily make the drive from Chattanooga to Davenport to save the sanity of the Hodgens. We managed to sneak some local activities in amongst the unpacking, organizing and painting.

Iowa is...

proud of their pork. Bacon scented candles are just wrong. But the bacon band aids were tempting.

Yes, those are cinnamon rolls the size of your head.

The Midwest is the best.
John Deer is next to our chapel. Adam's in heaven and must sit upon every tractor he crosses.

I've lost count of how much corn we've consumed.

Let's just say that we're not tired of peaches and cream corn.

(the secret is to boil it in half milk/half water with a pinch of sugar and no more than 3 minutes! - straight from the locals, I swear!)

I hate the smell of card board. In typical Hodgen moving tradition, it down poured while loading up , thus leaving the heavy scent of wet cardboard on all items in a box, in essence - everything! My only creative outlet was the freedom to pick paint colors for the kids rooms....which was a first for me. Not quite as easy as anticipated. After 3 sample colors, Lindsey and I set up a lab and got to mix'n, painted a piece of cardboard, marched to Lowe's determined that this was it and they matched our home brew perfectly. I believe we went with the blue farthest to the right.

Painting took a wee bit longer than we had budgeted, but in the end there was pride in our crisp corners. Not that Adam, in his two year old flurry of activity, will ever care or appreciate. But I'm happy....and when Mama's happy....

The green, if you were wondering, is Benjamin Moore Dill Pickle. Love it!

Sadly, Lindsey left us and we're still unpacking, organizing, and cleaning. But we have taken a momentary pause from the chaos to enjoy activities ranging from the local farmer's market to a road race called the Bix7. Steve scored some pity VIP tix (a coworker was driving them to a meeting, barely missed killing Steve and felt a kinda bad) so while 15,000 people were doing this
We were staying dry in a tent stuffing our faces with orange ricotta crepes and ham (remember, pride in pork).

Ugh, I don't want to post this pic, but it was all I had. Please note that I had walked blocks in the pouring rain and discovered that my hair can resemble a french poodle.

Shannon's ticked because she requested copious amounts of eggs (while refusing to do a taste test to determine if she might actually like them), discovered they were yucky, requested a muffin, and was refused until she ate her eggs.

We managed to drag our lazy bums 5 feet outside the tent into the rain to see the Olympians cross the finish line and regret that 7th crepe I had eaten. Adam sat upon Steve shoulders, mainly to keep him from running away, and became a favorite of the camera man, thus making his first TV appearance in Iowa. We're just hoping the camera didn't catch our frustrated faces as our 2 year old had meltdown after meltdown. He's not a fan of rain.

But he is a fan of balloons, which I hate because they are everywhere. Especially at road races and since we were VIP, and VIPs are always right, I took some from the tent to quiet my toddler. You can see how wet they, and the kids, became.

Ok, that's all I have to give now. I took on a project, painting Shannon's room, that I'm in WAY over my head. High probability I'm going to hate it, but I gotta give it a try. We miss you!