We are in tenth place and only 14 or so votes are keeping us there.
We are very proud of all 262 votes that we have. That's a lot of votes. However, the competitor in me just can't figure out how some entries have 800+ votes. That is incredible. That is knowing a lot of people. That is some serious voting.
Let's face it, at least at this point, this is somewhat of popularity contest. It would be a bit different if you could only vote once. But, obviously some entrants have an army of loyal votes who vote daily.
I still check the AurGroup site multiple times a day, hoping that our email plea had somehow reached a large group of Bierer loyalists and our tally had jumped by hundreds of votes. No such luck.
Now, as much as I hesitate to share the following, I also feel the need to at the very least address the following . . .
Why are little girls always deemed cuter and more worthy of attention (ie votes)?
My boys are adorable. They may not smile cutely as they use intelligent and creative verbal skills to describe our entry. Okay, I had to ask a few questions to keep Jack focused on why we were making the video. Fact is, there's lots of great stuff in the 13 minutes of footage we took. For example, in the entry Jack is dancing. Original footage includes at 6 original dance moves including the backhoe, digger, saw, and dump truck. [I promise to post them soon.] At one point Jack tries to include a bike path as part of our home improvement project. There is at least a full minute of Danny refusing to share the toy backhoe. Numerous minutes include the boys bowing, giving each other knuckle bumps, and high fives.
We tried. In retrospect, we should have given each a hard hat, hammers and other cool tools and set them lose on the falling wall. Demolition would have gotten more votes. Dirty, ready to destroy anything little boys, would have surely played to the hearts of all men. . . create little versions of Tim the Tool Man Taylor. . . add some grunting and cave man like roars. Would that have worked any better?
Reality is . . . my alliance is now with the boys. I am out numbered, seriously out numbered. Do I have any choice?
Thank goodness I didn't try to choreographer dance moves or include a theme song in the entry.
Monday, August 11, 2008
More is Merrier
Right now there are 5 boys playing at our house.
This is the most peace we've had here in over a week.
I hear time and time again, that the boys will be such great playmates when they get older. How much older? No one seems to have any idea. Fact is the boys, at ages 5,3, and 2, can often be far from each other in interest, skill, social development and physical ability. And, as siblings they do have their moments of say, disharmony?!
So, the neighbor boys are back from vacation. Paul and Declan have renewed play and camaraderie here at the Bierer house. We should all sleep good tonight. Thank goodness, the boys are back in town.
This is the most peace we've had here in over a week.
I hear time and time again, that the boys will be such great playmates when they get older. How much older? No one seems to have any idea. Fact is the boys, at ages 5,3, and 2, can often be far from each other in interest, skill, social development and physical ability. And, as siblings they do have their moments of say, disharmony?!
So, the neighbor boys are back from vacation. Paul and Declan have renewed play and camaraderie here at the Bierer house. We should all sleep good tonight. Thank goodness, the boys are back in town.
He Plum Killed It
This is a perfect example of why this blog title includes the word Messes.
7 p.m. Bedtime was just around the corner. We had cleaned up the toy room and I had corralled all 3 little dudes upstairs. As they played, I was busy putting away laundry and cleaning the bathroom.
At the top of his lungs, Nate screams: “I killed it. I killed it.”
I walked out of my bedroom to find the upstairs hall carpet covered in dark red spots. The carpet looked like a crime scene.
Upon investigating, I discovered that Jack had found a red plum hidden in his room. [Food is not allowed in the bedroom. That is a house rule.] Apparently, this red plum had turned soft and moldy and he placed it in the hall and called Nate to come look at it. Nate assuming the fruit was some sort of creature. Stepped on it repeatedly and then walked off with “dead” plum on his shoe.
Now, I wish I had taken a picture of the mess, but I was so overwhelmed with the stain potential that cold water, rags, stain remover, and the steam cleaner were the only things on my mind.
Hence, the inclusion of the word Messes.
7 p.m. Bedtime was just around the corner. We had cleaned up the toy room and I had corralled all 3 little dudes upstairs. As they played, I was busy putting away laundry and cleaning the bathroom.
At the top of his lungs, Nate screams: “I killed it. I killed it.”
I walked out of my bedroom to find the upstairs hall carpet covered in dark red spots. The carpet looked like a crime scene.
Upon investigating, I discovered that Jack had found a red plum hidden in his room. [Food is not allowed in the bedroom. That is a house rule.] Apparently, this red plum had turned soft and moldy and he placed it in the hall and called Nate to come look at it. Nate assuming the fruit was some sort of creature. Stepped on it repeatedly and then walked off with “dead” plum on his shoe.
Now, I wish I had taken a picture of the mess, but I was so overwhelmed with the stain potential that cold water, rags, stain remover, and the steam cleaner were the only things on my mind.
Hence, the inclusion of the word Messes.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
I Can Hardly Believe It.
The boys are cleaning their room. Actually, organizing their room is probably a more accurate description of this afternoon's activity. They are working together and "straightening" their dresser drawers.
Jack came up with this "good idea" after helping me put away clean clothes and discovering his drawer space was limited.
"I have too many clothes." he complained. "These folded things don't fit."
Now, I work hard at clean, folded clothes, but since the boys began dressing themselves, I turn a blind eye on the state of drawers in this house.
My response was simple. "Jack, those are your clothes and your drawers. Everything fits. You just have to keep things in better order." Off I went to other tasks.
It wasn't long and my mom instinct kicked in. . . I hadn't heard the boys. . . there was no fussing or screaming. I found them in their room busily folding and piling clothes as orderly as a 5, 3, and 2 year old can manage.
The part of this story that makes me the happiest is that my boys [who by their mere gender may not be motivated to put the time and energy into this matter] were wholeheartedly proud of themselves. I did offer my praise and gratitude, but ultimately they saw the satisfaction is taking care of and responsibility for their clothes . . . now that's parenting progress . . . thank the dear Lord, I needed a little parental confidence building.
*** DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for sloppy husbands. As the mother, I cannot under any circumstance guarantee that drawer and closet organization skills will continue to be an attribute of the Bierer Boys.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Meeting Fr. Jan
This evening my CRHP sisters (Christ Renews His Parish) are hosting a picnic to get to know our new pastor Fr. Jan. I am looking to meeting Fr. Jan and catching up with ladies I've grown to love so much.
[Those of you out of town . . . will be missed.]
As I prepared our contributions for the pot luck, Jack wanted to know about the party.
Was it birthday party? [The only REAL party the boys have experienced.]
How would he have to dress? [Lately, wearing regular or play clothes ranked high on his list of priorities. A considerable amount of persuasion is necessary for clothing perceived as dress up or look nice clothes.]
Who was going to be there? [He was very pleased with the families who be there, almost as if they had been personally selected for him alone.]
What could he bring? [Movie Cars, a metal detector, a spy watch, and on and on]
When would we go? [Apparently, 4 pm is "60 hours" from now and an impossible amount of time to wait.]
And then, when I was too the point of sighing and shooing him outside to play. He asked, "Will Fr. Tom and Fr. Jamie be there?"
I was surprised. I hadn't expected this question from him. In fact, up until this moment I had never heard him make reference to Fr. Tom and Fr. Jamie. So I explained that Fr. Jan was now our new pastor and Fr. Jamie and Fr. Tom were now helping another church learn about God.
Jack's response. "Okay, Good. God knows what He's doing." [very appropriate "CRHP-like" response from a 5 year old]
God knows EXACTLY was HE is doing...more later.
[Those of you out of town . . . will be missed.]
As I prepared our contributions for the pot luck, Jack wanted to know about the party.
Was it birthday party? [The only REAL party the boys have experienced.]
How would he have to dress? [Lately, wearing regular or play clothes ranked high on his list of priorities. A considerable amount of persuasion is necessary for clothing perceived as dress up or look nice clothes.]
Who was going to be there? [He was very pleased with the families who be there, almost as if they had been personally selected for him alone.]
What could he bring? [Movie Cars, a metal detector, a spy watch, and on and on]
When would we go? [Apparently, 4 pm is "60 hours" from now and an impossible amount of time to wait.]
And then, when I was too the point of sighing and shooing him outside to play. He asked, "Will Fr. Tom and Fr. Jamie be there?"
I was surprised. I hadn't expected this question from him. In fact, up until this moment I had never heard him make reference to Fr. Tom and Fr. Jamie. So I explained that Fr. Jan was now our new pastor and Fr. Jamie and Fr. Tom were now helping another church learn about God.
Jack's response. "Okay, Good. God knows what He's doing." [very appropriate "CRHP-like" response from a 5 year old]
God knows EXACTLY was HE is doing...more later.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Contest Day Two
Thanks to everyone who's been voting. Tonight at last check we have 32 votes and are in 5th place. The leader has 77. Let's keep up the voting people!
Friday, August 01, 2008
We have a barn?
Off and on, over the last few weeks the boys have made mention of their barn. Mingled into conversation and play are references to this barn.
"I'm going out to the barn."
"My cat is in the barn."
"I think it's in the barn."
Well, we don't have a barn (or a cat for that matter). Scott and I were aware that some part of the backyard had been "nicknamed" the barn. Not a big deal. In fact, as the mom, I was proud of the barn. The boys were using their imaginations. This was wonderful. They were playing nicely together, including each other, and having fun.
Then . . . I visited the barn. Well, I can definitely see how the wood fence at the corner of our yard looks like a barn. The boys had hung their tot size yard tools on the fence and had parked their bikes, wagons, and tractor up against the fence. I was given a great tour of the barn. They showed me were they had hauled sand from the sandbox to fill in holes in the grass and dirt. Under Jack's direction, they were laying hard wood floors in the barn. Scraps of real hard wood confiscated from our recent floor upgrade, were neatly laid at one end of "the barn." Quite the fancy barn.
Yes, this barn was very fancy. This barn even had a bathroom. Yes, my tour concluded with Jack proudly pointing out a metal dog dish tucked behind the landscaping.
Now, I was hoping beyond hope that they had not been peeing in that bowl. I took a deep breathe and calmly asked, "How does this bathroom work?"
I could see the delight in Jack's face. He was very proud of this barn feature.
"Mom, we pee here (pointing to the dish). The potty even flushes. We just dump it out and make our best flushing sound."
Since my tour, we have revisited "outside potty rules" with the boys. I am pretty sure they understand that a bathroom in a barn is great idea, and someday when they have real barns of their own they can add this feature. The bathroom in their barn is now without a potty.
Soon, Ty Pennington may have to fear for his job.
"I'm going out to the barn."
"My cat is in the barn."
"I think it's in the barn."
Well, we don't have a barn (or a cat for that matter). Scott and I were aware that some part of the backyard had been "nicknamed" the barn. Not a big deal. In fact, as the mom, I was proud of the barn. The boys were using their imaginations. This was wonderful. They were playing nicely together, including each other, and having fun.
Then . . . I visited the barn. Well, I can definitely see how the wood fence at the corner of our yard looks like a barn. The boys had hung their tot size yard tools on the fence and had parked their bikes, wagons, and tractor up against the fence. I was given a great tour of the barn. They showed me were they had hauled sand from the sandbox to fill in holes in the grass and dirt. Under Jack's direction, they were laying hard wood floors in the barn. Scraps of real hard wood confiscated from our recent floor upgrade, were neatly laid at one end of "the barn." Quite the fancy barn.
Yes, this barn was very fancy. This barn even had a bathroom. Yes, my tour concluded with Jack proudly pointing out a metal dog dish tucked behind the landscaping.
Now, I was hoping beyond hope that they had not been peeing in that bowl. I took a deep breathe and calmly asked, "How does this bathroom work?"
I could see the delight in Jack's face. He was very proud of this barn feature.
"Mom, we pee here (pointing to the dish). The potty even flushes. We just dump it out and make our best flushing sound."
Since my tour, we have revisited "outside potty rules" with the boys. I am pretty sure they understand that a bathroom in a barn is great idea, and someday when they have real barns of their own they can add this feature. The bathroom in their barn is now without a potty.
Soon, Ty Pennington may have to fear for his job.
6th Place
We entered a contest. . . a home improvement, video contest.
In order to enter the contest it took: 13 minutes of video footage, 2 computer software purchases, a miracle [I somehow managed to muddle through an editing program and figure out YouTube in under 4 hours.] and . . . lots of patience and some bribery.
I nearly lost mind. Okay, it wasn't that bad, just high drama and self induced pressure.
Our bank [AurGroup] is sponsoring this contest and the grand prize is $5,000! This afternoon I emailed over 60 friends and family. Since the voting opened today, my brain has been filled with ideas to generate votes for our entry. I even contemplated putting a huge sign in our front yard and printing out business cards to hand to strangers. Just before starting this entry, I checked the site. There are 50 entries, and we are in 6th place. This entire process has really excited the boys and me. Jack even asked if there would be a big check - as in, large in size, like those giant Publisher Clearing House checks. All boys are delighted to seem themselves on the computer. Voting lasts 15 days. The winner won't be announced until August 25th. Twenty-five days from now! That's a lot of days for 3 small boys.
So, this brings me to winning and losing. This is a contest and even though the prize is not something the boys totally understand, they are aware that there will be a winner. A winner, who very well may not be us. (vote! vote! vote!)
I've seen the entries. We do need a new retaining wall and the money would really be fabulous, but we are not fighting mold, our home is not in danger of fire or flood, we have enough space, and our kitchen, baths, and heating function fine. Winning would be great, but winning isn't everything. So, as we enjoy the competition of the next few days, I want our family - as young as it is - to see that winning would be wonderful and striving to win can be fun, but perhaps for another family winning this contest would be a miracle.
In order to enter the contest it took: 13 minutes of video footage, 2 computer software purchases, a miracle [I somehow managed to muddle through an editing program and figure out YouTube in under 4 hours.] and . . . lots of patience and some bribery.
I nearly lost mind. Okay, it wasn't that bad, just high drama and self induced pressure.
Our bank [AurGroup] is sponsoring this contest and the grand prize is $5,000! This afternoon I emailed over 60 friends and family. Since the voting opened today, my brain has been filled with ideas to generate votes for our entry. I even contemplated putting a huge sign in our front yard and printing out business cards to hand to strangers. Just before starting this entry, I checked the site. There are 50 entries, and we are in 6th place. This entire process has really excited the boys and me. Jack even asked if there would be a big check - as in, large in size, like those giant Publisher Clearing House checks. All boys are delighted to seem themselves on the computer. Voting lasts 15 days. The winner won't be announced until August 25th. Twenty-five days from now! That's a lot of days for 3 small boys.
So, this brings me to winning and losing. This is a contest and even though the prize is not something the boys totally understand, they are aware that there will be a winner. A winner, who very well may not be us. (vote! vote! vote!)
I've seen the entries. We do need a new retaining wall and the money would really be fabulous, but we are not fighting mold, our home is not in danger of fire or flood, we have enough space, and our kitchen, baths, and heating function fine. Winning would be great, but winning isn't everything. So, as we enjoy the competition of the next few days, I want our family - as young as it is - to see that winning would be wonderful and striving to win can be fun, but perhaps for another family winning this contest would be a miracle.
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