I make ugly cakes. No, really. I once made my husband a camouflage cake and it wasn’t even on purpose. My cakes are notoriously hideous. I am including proof.

This is a cake I made for my husband. Note that after I wrote his name, I wanted to use up the rest of the icing so I made little flowers around the edges. That is my M.O., as are the flecks of cake which you can see through the icing around the candles. The mismatched candles.

This is another birthday cake I made for my husband. I crossed out his name to save him from embarrassment. As you can see, I didn’t even attempt to hide the cake I ripped up with icing (on the left side). See how I put three candles on the left and six candles on the right because it was his 36th birthday? I. Am. Brilliant.

This is quite possibly the worst cake ever created. I made this masterpiece for my son’s second birthday. See the “2” in each corner? My poor boy took one look at this cake and burst into tears. I can’t say I blame him.

Now, look at the cake.

Isn’t that awesome? I was way impressed with the colors and the design. Here’s the cake with Brutus on top.

Even cooler, right? My husband loved the look, we all loved the taste and those candy Buckeyes didn’t last much longer than a minute.

This is all that was left when we were through.

The good news? I will never make another hideous cake. The better news? You have a chance to win a Krazy Kake!

Krazy Kakes is offering one lucky winner a free cake! It can be circle, square, hexagon, or oval, can feed about 8-10 people and can be any flavor of cake and frosting. Your cake can also be covered in fondant if you want something fancy.

Just leave a comment on this post (with a valid e-mail address, please, so I can contact you if you’re the winner) before Friday, May 7, 2010 at noon EST and you will be entered to win. The winner must redeem this offer before May 7, 2011. You must live within 20 miles of Columbus, Ohio to be eligible to win.

People, if your cakes look anything remotely like mine, you should enter this drawing. Your family will thank you.

Update: Congratulations to Christina (comment #1)! You are the lucky winner! Enjoy your cake!

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I started this blog back in 2007 because I was longing for a creative outlet and I wanted a way to journal the crazy things my kids said and did. There is no way that I’m ever going to let my son forget all the times he’s embarrassed me. Not a chance, kiddo.

After I initially told about 30 friends and family about it, I began to seek out other blogging parents. In doing so, I found a community of people who shared my love of writing and who could see the humor in being a parent. Poop is funny, people.

Very early on, I made a good friend in Joe Schatz from Joeprah.com. Joe is a stay-at-home dad of three great girls. And, Joe totally gets that whole poop thing.

Joe led me, and my blog, in bigger and better directions. He made me realize that I had a genuine audience and that lots of people get the poop thing. Joe was a reader who really believed in me. I owe him so much.

I was incredibly proud of him when he started Dad-Blogs.com. He asked me to write a column there and I jumped on board immediately. Then he got me a writing gig at Examiner.com. Unfortunately, after a couple of months, I had to bow out of both because I, quite simply, had too much on my plate. I am still sick about it.

So, when Joe went and wrote a book and asked me to read it, I have to be honest and say that I was kind of nervous. I’ve always related to his stories and loved his writing, but what if, by some itty-bitty chance, I didn’t like it? I couldn’t bear to let him down again.

I put off reading it. Joe e-mailed me. I put it off again and promised him that I would get to it next week. Joe e-mailed me one more time and said he’s going to be on The Tyra Show on February 18th, and if I could just look at the book before then, it would be great.

Here I am on February 17th, and I just finished reading Joe’s book. So sue me, I’m a procrastinator! And, you know what? This book is brilliant.

I’m not saying that because Joe is a friend, who helped me expand my audience, and who I have disappointed (at least three times now). Though, I can understand how you might think that. Trust me, if I didn’t like the book I would have found a way to blow Joe off yet again.

I’m saying that because it is really, truly great. “Daddy, where’s your vagina?” – What I learned as a stay-at-home dad is touching, funny, informative and different. In a totally good way.

Joe talks about everything a parent needs to know, but not the stuff you find in most books. A typical parenting book might tell you how to change a diaper, but Joe’s book mentions the epic nature of an infant’s “up-the-back” poop. I’ve never read about up-the-back poops in any other book, but mercy me have I experienced them.

My daughter’s UTB’s always happened in the middle of the night and I can vividly remember holding her under the running water in the bathtub hoping the poop would run off and down the drain. But, UTB poop is like tar and you have to get your hands dirty. THIS is the kind of thing that new parents need to know about. That you will be wiping poop tar OFF OF YOUR CHILD’S NECK at 3:00 AM.

This book is a must-read for any parent…not just dads. And, because I really want everyone to read it, I am giving away a copy! Just leave a comment here, with a valid e-mail address, before February 24th at noon EST and I will pick a winner at random.

Maybe I can even get Joe to sign it. That is, if he’s still speaking to me.

*UPDATE* Congratulations to HockeymanDad! You’re the lucky winner!

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We are heading into the time of year when my bulletin board is running out of tacks and my day-planner is so stuffed with lists, invitations and recipes that I can’t even shut the cover. Welcome to the holidays, folks.

But, no matter how crazy things get, I always try to stop and reflect before I walk out the door each day. Which is why this hangs in our back hallway. To remind myself, and my children, that no matter what you’re going through and no matter what you’re dealing with, you will always have your dreams.

This is why I was thrilled to be handed an opportunity of a lifetime last week. My family and I attended the fun-filled world premiere of “The Gift of Happy”. This short video was created by retailer, AJWright to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Just before the holidays get out of control, we were reminded of our good fortune. We were shown that sometimes corporations really do care about the little guy and that AJWright’s campaign to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs inspires the rest of us to do what we can. And, the children, who build success through the Boys & Girls Clubs programs, are learning to follow their dreams.

Please visit WrapUpHappy.com, and watch the video. I’m sure you will enjoy it and when you do, AJWright will donate $1.00 to the Boys & Girls Club of America. That’s what you call a win-win!

Speaking of winning…if you view the video and come back here to leave a comment about your viewing experience, you will be entered to win a $50.00 AJWright gift card! That’s a win-win-win!

Don’t forget to tell me what you thought of the video (and let your kids watch it too…mine really enjoyed the story) and make sure to leave a valid e-mail address with your comment so I can contact you if you’re the winner. The deadline for entering is Monday, December 21 at noon EST.

Oh, and look at what I found on the ground of the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus. It seems to me that I needed another reminder to stop, reflect and remember that you always have your dreams. I hope you will help these children achieve theirs.

UPDATE: Congratulations, Kathy! You are the lucky winner! Merry Christmas!

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When my husband and I bought our house nearly 12 years ago, we did a complete renovation. Walls were torn down, floors were torn up and every single room got a fresh coat of paint…or three.

We were in a hurry to get things done because we hated living with the mess and about four months into the renovation, I got pregnant. That really caused us to speed up the process. As a matter of fact, the last bit of carpet was installed the day before my daughter was born.

Because we felt rushed, we made some mistakes along the way. I chose wallpaper because they had enough rolls in stock, not because I actually liked the pattern and I picked white grout for our kitchen and back entrance, because I didn’t consider how quickly a dog and future children would muddy it.

But, by far, the biggest mistake we made was in choosing our flooring. We made bad decisions on the color of carpet, we bought cheap vinyl for our bathrooms and we used contract installers from out of town. If I could rip up those floors and start from scratch I would.

This is one reason that I am so thrilled with the new carpeting in our mudroom. It looks good, it was installed perfectly and the color and texture are just what we needed. You know why? Because it was researched by a trusted Rite Rug employee who steered us in the right direction every step of the process. We also bought an area rug from Rite Rug years ago and it is the only other flooring purchase I’m truly happy with.

And now someone else has the chance for some flooring happy! Rite Rug has generously offered a $199.00 gift certificate to one of my lucky readers! You can use it for the purchase of an area rug, or new bathroom floor, or put it toward new wall-to-wall carpet. The choice is yours!

To enter, first make sure you live near a Rite Rug location. If your home is within the vicinity of a Rite Rug store, just leave a comment here before Friday, November 6th at noon EST. Please leave me a valid e-mail address so I can contact you if you’re the lucky winner!

Good luck, everyone!

**UPDATE**

Congratulations to Shelly…AGAIN! Last time, my daughter picked your name out of a hat and this time my son did.

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