Frantic Friday Fragments

Gotta start with a vent.  Parenting is a seriously hard job.  Being a mom is the single most rewarding and most stressful thing I've ever done and once you start it, it never ends.  So I'm a little frustrated today because I've been inundated with links lately... links which are designed to tell me all the things I'm doing wrong and all the ways I should feel guilty as a parent.  Headlines like "7 Discipline Mistakes All Moms Make" and "9 Things to Never Say to Your Kid" and "Give Up the Guilt: Your Worst Mommy Moments Solved."  The kicker is that one of the main messages is to be more positve and stop focusing on the negative.  Tips like "tell your child what to do instead of what to stop doing."  But the headlines don't seem to follow that very advice.  Where are the articles that start off with "7 Things That Moms Do That Are Always Awesome" or "9 Things to Always Say To Your Kid" or "You're Doing the Best You Can So Skip the Guilt and Pat Yourself On The Back."

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I am so overwhelmed by our summer schedule and so nervous that we are going to forget something that I actually printed out a Google Calendar Agenda to carry with me (even though I access my calendar through my phone) and I emailed a pdf of the agenda to Jeff so we were sure to be on the same page.  Lots of fundraising going on for Team In Training / Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Lots of activities as we gear up for the *gulp* start of 1st grade.  Lots going on with church activities. 

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It's almost my favorite time of year!!!  STATE FAIR TIME!  If you've been around for the past couple of years, you know that I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to the Indiana State Fair.  The preparations and announcements and information streams are alive and I'm getting very excited for this year's big event!  My only complaint... a few years ago, the Fair started to have a signature Indiana product featured for that year of the Fair.  One year it was corn, another year it was tomatoes.  For many years, Fair food vendors have entered a tough competition to have their new and exciting dish be granted the title "Signature Fair Food" for that year.  Once the Fair started having those produce themes, the foods were expected to go along with it.  As an avid Fair Fan, I love checking out all of the nominees and I usually have my own opinion about what should have won.  Last year, I had to give up a chance to be a judge for the decision because we were out of town.  This year, the theme is Soybeans.  Big Indiana crop.  I'm a little put off by some of the food entries, though.  Beef kabob marinated in SOY sauce- I agree.  Spicy deep fried tofu on a stick (tofu is made from SOY)- I agree.  However, I take issue with a grilled cheese sandwich and a special pork burger that have been entered because the hogs were raised on soy feed and the cows that produced the milk to make the cheese were fed soy feed.  I DISAGREE.  Surprisingly, not a single nominee had edamamé as an ingredient.

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That was a long paragraph and not very fragmented at all.  I'll keep this one short for you.

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I'm on Google+ but I'm not yet terribly excited about it.  We'll see. 

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I've had a cold all week.  It was horrid on Monday and Tuesday, much better on Weds, and I felt great Thursday and today.  I'm still congested, though.  I'm on a mission to get my blood iron rich and my body strong so I can finally, for the first time in my life, donate blood.  I tried today but didn't even get to the iron test because of this cold- you have to be completely healthy.  I'm on a mission.  I'm spending 2 weeks being dedicated to remembering to take my iron pill each night and to getting my body healthy and strong so that I can make another attempt at donating.

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The weekend ahead: Tonight, I have to load my van with stuff from my house that I've been waiting to get rid of.  There is a giant garage sale at my church this weekend (The Promise UMC in Fishers, 8-2 on Saturday, indoors) and I'm donating as much stuff from my house as I can!  Hoping to get to the Team In Training run Saturday morning at 7. Then to the garage sale at church so I can replace the stuff I'm donating with other stuff, of course.  Then we're meeting a friend for a playdate- a mall is hosting a "touch a truck" event and Radio Disney will be there with entertainment.  Saturday night, Christy and I are hanging out in Broad Ripple doing a "bucket shake" to raise money for LLS (Broad Ripple is a hip and happening bar crawl and restaurant kind of area and a bucket shake means having a bucket and asking people for donations of spare change).  Sunday morning I'll be busy at church with music team, giving the kid's message, having a brief helper bit in the sermon, leading children's choir, and then repeating the first few things.  I assume we'll have lunch with Jeff's parents because it's been a few weeks since we've done so.  And Sunday evening there is a picnic reunion for Teagan's kindergarten class at a local park.  Finally, Sunday night we record (and air live) the 2 AM Podcast.  I need a nap just from typing all of that!

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HAPPY FRIDAY! I hope you've had a great week and have something fun planned for your weekend!