Kmart was having a crazy stupid sale on all of their tents, making us super glad that we didn’t purchase one as soon as the new models came out. We left the store with our spiffy new tent and smiles on our faces about the joys of camping that awaited us.

We’re morons.

It’s not that camping wasn’t great: It was! The boys were excited! They weren’t really impressed with s’mores (but who is?), but did dig some roasted marshmallows. In fact, they were most impressed with the fact that FireDad can not only put out a fire, but he can also start a fire.

They were amazed by things like lightning bugs, stars and the dark! Who knew it was so easy to amuse children on a camping trip! We should have been doing this from the get-go.

And I mean that. We should have. Because maybe FireDad and I wouldn’t have laid awake on our air mattress under our sleeping bags all night listening to noises. They weren’t scary noises. I wasn’t even (all that) anxious. It was rather soothing, and my train of thought went like this at one point:

“Oh, there’s a cricket nearby. And now the breeze is finally blowing; I wish it would have been blowing when we were setting up the tent because, man, we were gross and sweaty. And now the breeze is blowing the dew onto the top of the tent. Isn’t that a nice sound? So relaxing. And I hear something walking nearby. It’s probably a deer and not Bigfoot, even though the site we’re staying at is called Bigfoot Ridge. Who names a campsite something like Bigfoot Ridge? Probably my ex-boss. He really believes in Bigfoot. FireDad just snored. I’ll elbow him. He kicked me. What a buttface! I think I’m drifting off to sleep now… *brief pause* Oh, one of the boys just giggled in their sleep. Cute! Aaaand, I’m awake again. *insert cussing here*”

I mean, that whole “it’s been awhile” thing has come back to bite me in the doopa. I’m apparently not used to the crazy loud that is night time. I’m normally distracted from the sounds of nature when I’m outdoors at night by the nearby whirring of air conditioners or some teen’s loud music as he drives by. Not so in the middle of nowhere. Night silence is not silence and, man, it is deafening.

The boys slept like logs, minus the giggling and one flop-off-of-the-air-mattress issue. We, the adults, got some sleep. Kind of. Around dawn, which is apparently normal for adults who are camping. But as my kids rise with the sun, and it’s early flipping summer, the sun rose early and so did my kids.

Did I mention we don’t have a percolator coffee pot for camping yet? I say yet, because we’re getting one of those. Stat. Despite the kids sleeping well, I think they were tired too — and possibly needed some coffee — as LittleBrother wept when he dropped his PopTart. I may have laughed and taken a picture instead of opening a new pack of PopTarts. You know… maybe.

I was so exhausted that next day that I actually took a nap. And I never nap. And let me tell you: It was an awesome nap. The exhaustion of camping was quite worth it as I drifted off into that dreamless naptime sleep. I’m reading to go camping again just so I can nap the next day!

But I’m so glad we went. We had a blast. We’ll do it again. With a percolator. And possibly ear plugs. And sleeping pills. And lots of PopTarts. And Bigfoot spray.

I’ve gotten pretty good at finding decent digs for the boys over the years, whether I’m looking for something day-to-day or something dressy. This year, Easter gave me a bit of a break and decided to fall late (though nearly interrupting my birthday!), and I’ve had a bit more time than in past years to figure out what the boys will wear and where to find things. I was helped out this year by a dear Aunt who got BigBrother a lovely navy, light blue and white striped dress shirt for Christmas. It screamed EASTER at me.

Shortly after the beginning of the year, I was out with my friends when I came across a shirt for LittleBrother in the same colors in a small plaid/check instead of a stripe. Complementary and generally awesome. BigBrother had a pair of navy blue dress pants from last year (that I decided to keep instead of exchange when I bought the wrong size) and LittleBrother also has a nice pair of navy blue dress pants. I was able to find them some new dress shoes in their new sizes — on sale. I even found boys’ dress socks, though that took me two stores. I decided against pairing some very cute argyle sweater vests with the shirts because I felt it was a bit too busy.

My only problem? Ties.

I love little boys in ties, especially on holidays. (Well, I love grown men in ties too, but that’s a different post.) And while some stores have great ties this season (Children’s Place, Gymboree, Crazy 8), they’re all striped. I just wanted a simple navy blue tie. Which meant I had to brave the mall.

Three big department stores later, I found two navy blue ties. I was feeling pretty darn proud of myself when I plopped them down on the counter. They were even on sale! Double the pride points! The cashier rang me up and, with taxes, I came in under $22. I felt like doing a fist pump. Then she said, “Wow, twenty bucks for kids’ ties. That’s kind of ridiculous.” And she didn’t say it in the tone of voice that meant her store was overcharging. She said it in the tone of voice that says, “Who buys ties for kids? Especially at this price?”

I did that thing where I literally bite my tongue so I don’t say something nasty. I think I drew blood. I swiped my card. I smiled. I told her to have a nice day. And I left the store with my bag and my pride still in tact.

Yes, I spent $22 on ties for my boys. And?

I will not apologize for dressing my sons well. I will not apologize for teaching them that “dressing up” means more than cargo pants a polo. I will not apologize for making sure that they understand where jeans are appropriate and when jeans are simply not appropriate. I know too many teens and young adults and, well, really old adults who don’t believe that sometimes occasions call for a style of dress that is more than just “whatever, man.”

It still peeves me that girls get racks and racks of pretty dresses and it takes me four online stores and three brick-and-mortar stores before I find something simple and dressy for my sons. I accept my challenge that I’ll have to look harder and, yes, pay more to dress my sons up just a little bit. So don’t give me grief when I shell over a little more cash to your place of employment when I finally find something that works.

I’m hoping to get them out and about before Easter for a fashion shoot in their dressed up digs. The rain needs to stop first.

I woke up and saw just over an inch of snow.

And then I turned on the news.

Two days after FireDad and I returned from our honeymoon, the Indian Ocean tsunami hit. We had been feeling kind of grumpy that we got a flat tire on the way home from the resort just about ten miles from home. And then we had, bam, instant perspective.

I feel kind of silly that I was whiny and grumpy about snow that we didn’t even get. My heart is heavy for those who have endured what the rest of us would prefer to remain unthinkable. We will be saying a special prayer for all those in Japan and elsewhere who are dealing with the after effects of this horrible earthquake and tsunami.

If you’re interesting in helping, check out CNN.com’s Impact page for organizations to get involved with at this time.

You might have heard their song Kandi on the radio (video here). It’s a catchy little tune that gets stuck in my head and that my kids seem to like to sing along with at the top of their little lungs. Me too, really. The rest of the album provides other great sounding songs. Here is the track listing:

Hometime
Astronauts
Kandi
Slip
Simple Day
Givin Up
Chocolate
All Balloons
Chosen One
UFO
Amazing

I really like the songs Astronaut and Givin Up. My oldest son, taking the occasional break from any one of his kids’ song listening sprees, really likes Astronaut and UFO. Then again, he’s infatuated with Buzz Lightyear so when I told him the names of those songs, he was all about it. That’s one thing I like though: the kids don’t make me turn off the album while we’re driving in the car. I like it when we can agree on music. (I know that won’t last forever.)

I was lucky enough to attend the One eskimO show in Columbus, Ohio this past Friday. I took OutnumberedMom along with me. We were both very impressed with the drummer in the band. He was simply phenomenal. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. While I won’t explain it properly, he basically sat on a box, drummed on it, the drums, stepped on a tambourine and generally was percussive god. Add in the solid vocals, the addition of a horn and some great guitar playing and it was a very enjoyable night of music.

They’re touring elsewhere. I suggest you catch them!

Jun 01 Toronto, ON The Guvernment
Jun 03 New York, NY The Beach at Governor’s Island
Jun 04 Boston, MA House of Blues
Jun 05 Essex Junction, VT Camplain Valley Expo
Jun 06 Hunter, NY Mountain Jam Festival
Jun 08 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Thtr
Jun 09 Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room
Jun 12 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall
Jun 13 Kansas City, MO Crossroads
Aug 14 Denver, CO Mile High Festival

If you want to catch a listen, we’re giving away the album and a t-shirt thanks to One2One Network. Go ahead and leave a comment on this post telling me whether or not you attend concerts in the summer and, if so, which ones you’re planning to catch this summer. The giveaway will be open through June 4th at 12:00 noon. I’ll need the winner’s info ASAP so be sure to keep an eye on your inbox!

My overall feel for the band is that I’ll likely purchase what they put out in the future. And if I’m purchasing music, you should know I like them. A lot. Check them out. You can download Astronaut for free and like them on Facebook. Get to commenting!

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[Disclosure: I received a free album and attended the show for free.]

The Body Scoop for Girls

1. I didn’t have enough information about my own body or cycle and thus felt ashamed for years. Years meaning well into my twenties, after I was married.
2. I didn’t see a gynecologist until I was 21. I won’t tell you when I was first sexually active but as the suggestion is that girls see a gynecologist between 13-15, I might have figured out earlier that my cycles weren’t normal years and years and years earlier.
3. I want to raise boys who understand and respect women. Knowing what I can know to help them understand things as well is very important to me.

For the most part, I really liked this book. As I read through the chapters and listened to Ashton’s advice, I kept wishing that this book had been around when I was going through puberty, adolescence and dealing with all those life changes. In so many ways, this book brought forth the things that I needed to know and hear but was not learning or hearing at school or at home. From the information about periods and mucus (I didn’t know to call it mucus until I was trying to conceive) to the positive body image talk (I had an eating disorder though high school and college) to the urge to postpone sex until after the age of eighteen, it’s everything I needed.

One section that made me roll my eyes, however, was the anti-piercing section. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my teens (of any gender) running out and getting piercings (visible or not-so-visible) without my knowledge, permission and presence. If any gendered teen of mine asked for a genital piercing, I’d have to say no. However, I thought the book was rather one sided against piercings in general. The truth is that there are experienced piercers who run clean, sanitary studios and perform their piercings with pride and knowledge. More over, any fan of piercings knows that a VCH isn’t going to actually pierce the clitoris. For more information on piercings, visit The Piercing Bible. Never get anything pierced without researching both the styles of piercing and the actual piercers. More over, teens, my young friends, don’t ever get a piercing without your parents’ permission. It’s not cool. (Sorry for the side track but it’s a pet peeve of mine when people put down piercings or piercers without giving all of the information!)

Back to me being ashamed of my body back in the day: it was so bad that I wouldn’t even change my pad if another girl came into the bathroom. I was horribly embarrassed about anything body-wise. I don’t know if it’s because I knew nothing or because I got my period at the young age of 10 or if I would have been equally embarrassed if I had been a late bloomer. I do know that a book like this, using the friendly, understanding language that it does might have made a difference.

I’m passing this book on to my friends with girls who are just entering the world of puberty. Do I think it needs to be read at age 10? No. Do I think moms of girls should be reading this before their daughters hit puberty so that they know the proper terminology to use? Yes. Do I think moms of girls should be gauging their daughters’ maturity levels so that they know when they’re ready to read it on their own (or together)? Definitely.

The SV Moms Group is doing a blog tour for this book. Check out all of the other reviews by visiting this post!
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[Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my candid review. I received no other compensation.]

Very simply, you can raise or lower the top shelf with just a turn of the handle. I thought it would be a silly feature, one that I wouldn’t use all that often. I was wrong. Quite honestly, I use it much more than I thought I would. It does help that we don’t normally have anything very tall on the second shelf, thus allowing us some wiggle room on the up and down motion of the top shelf.

I have lowered the shelf to put a 2 liter bottle on the top shelf. (We don’t drink pop all that often. Mostly pizza night. And mostly FireDad!)

I have raised the shelf when I had a bunch of leftovers after a get together with my friends, thus leaving more tupperware in the fridge than usual.

I have lowered the shelf to stack a bunch of juice boxes that I was taking to t-ball.

I have raised the shelf the one time I had too many cupcakes in my house.

Up and down it goes. And smoothly, which is a happy surprise as well. What I thought at first would be a worthless addition has become a frequently used function! Those smart folks at Frigidaire must know what they’re doing!

Please tune in the last week of May for the video that I promised you last month. We’ve finally worked out our video kinks (I corrupted the file while messing with it, sadly) and reshot a few of the scenes so I think we’re ready to go!

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[Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Refrigerator to facilitate my review.]

I wrote a revealing, literally, post at BlogHer today that I’d love for you to read. Especially if you’re a woman. Not because I think you want to see me in my skivvies but because I have a call to personal action at the end that I think many of us need to hear, repeatedly. In short, the post is about my experience with posing for boudoir photos (sexy, pin-up, lingerie style photos) and how it did, in fact, change my life.

No, I’m not full of it. It really did.

I share it with you for so many reasons. Plus, as I’m wearing firefighter turnout gear in the photos, it’s fire blog related, no? Go give it a read. And a peek.

(Comments closed here. Join in the discussion over at BlogHer!)

That’s why I’m in love with these kids t-shirts.

It’s no surprise that TheBrothers love things that go. Fire trucks are just a part of our everyday life. Their love of all things wheeled is not limited to the big red truck, of course, and covers just about anything that moves. I, however, am tired of the wordy, gaudy, cheaply made shirts in retail stores. I wanted something simple but something fun. I found it with Shirts That Go. They look realistic. They’re well made and soft.

Both BigBrother and LittleBrother are pleased though I don’t know why BigBrother is making this face.

These kids t-shirts are quality made. In fact, I waited to review them until they had gone through two washings (and dryings). They held up just fine. No fading. No peeling, like you get with your extremely cheap t-shirts. They still look just as good as the day they came out of their fancy pants box. As a mom who spends money, quality is something I absolutely have to have and I’m pleased to find it.

Not only do they have fire truck t-shirts (both red and blue) but train t-shirts, airplane t-shirts and a growing catalog of, yes, shirts that go. I like how the designs aren’t overly cheesy or baby-ish. They’re big. They’re bold. They’re fun. I would definitely make another purchase. Sizes start at 2 and run all the way to kids’ 12 which means that I can dress the boys in things that go for quite some time.

That said, I’m so excited to be giving away one of these Shirts That Go to a very lucky winner. The winner can choose their choice and size of shirt!

Here’s how to enter:

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Shirts That Go, look through their offerings and tell me what other things that go should they offer on their shirts! They’re looking to expand their vehicles and want some consumer opinion so this is your chance to be heard by a company! You may leave one comment of this type.

As always, there are some extra ways to win! Please leave a comment on this post for every individual extra entry you complete. Meaning that if you do three of the extra entries, you will have left me a total of four comments with the mandatory entry included!

1. Follow @FireMom on twitter and copy/paste this into your twitter stream: Like fire trucks? Airplanes? Win a t-shirt for your kid from @FireMom & @shirtsthatgo! Enter here: http://bit.ly/shirtsthatgo

2. Follow @shirtsthatgo. They’re new. Tell them to tweet!

3. Like Shirts That Go on Facebook.

4. Blog about this giveaway on your public blog. Be sure to include a link to this giveaway.

5. Share this giveaway on any other social networking site (Facebook, Stumble Upon, Digg, etc). Please leave one comment for each of those shares!

6. Take this survey for the company! Yes, it’s very similar to the first mandatory entry but is a simple two question, check box/entry box survey that gets you a free entry. Don’t complain!

Don’t forget to let me know which of the extra steps you completed so that you get extra credit!

This giveaway will be live through Wednesday, May 26 at 7:30pm. At that time I will visit random.org, pull a random winner and contact that winner via e-mail. The winner will have 24 hours from initial contact to claim the prize before I pull an alternate winner. Winner’s information will be forwarded to the company who will handle prize fulfillment.

Best of luck! And remember: girls can wear shirts that go, TOO!

It’s so super awesome. And my parents are jealous.

[Ignore the lack of stuff in general. It was a few days before grocery shopping day!]

It’s not as if it takes up no room. You can see that it does. But the smart people at Frigidaire were wise enough to put a shelf at the very top, just in front of the ice machine, so that we’re not losing two whole shelves. We call it the ice cream shelf… mainly so that the ice cream is out of reach from little fingers. More over, the reason that this freezer has so much more room than my parents are in the way the shelves are set up. The door shelves are roomy, more than you would think. The bottom bin can hold a lot more than frozen pierogies. And the pull out drawer with the shelf above it is probably my favorite freezer feature. We keep our frozen veggies in that drawer. Easy access!

Basically, I’m in love with our freezer. Of course, I’m not that hard to please. Our last freezer didn’t have a working light anymore. Or a working ice machine with auto dispenser. And, really, it was way smaller than what our new freezer offers. My husband? Has been converted.

Thanks, Frigidaire!

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[Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Refrigerator to facilitate my review.]

And now I’m offering you, my readers, a chance to win five books on Mother’s Day! FIVE!

That’s right. Five books. For you. They include: Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop (which was reviewed by the SV Moms Group recently), God Never Blinks by Regina Brett, Heart of My Heart by Kristin Armstrong, The Cradle by Patrick Somerville and Roses by Leila Meacham.

I agreed to run this giveaway, partnering up with Hachette Book Group USA, because I love books. I think books can change things for people. I know that certain books, like the one we’re currently reading for the Open Adoption Book Tour, have changed how I view myself and my situation(s). As I said above, Mother’s Day is hard for me. I don’t know if that will ever change for me, though I assume some years might be easier than others. What I do know, however, is that I can make some other mom’s day by letting her know that she won five books! I’m a giver. When other people are happy, I’m happy. I could probably use some happiness on Sunday! So, here we go!

Mandatory Entry:

Comment on this post with a thought about mothering. It doesn’t have to be about Mother’s Day, just about mothering in general. The ups, the downs, the omgz!, the challenges, the triumphs. Hit me. Make me cry. Make me laugh. You may leave one comment of this nature.

After you complete the above mandatory entry, you can complete any of these additional entries. Please remember to leave a comment for each additional entry so that I may count them properly. Example: if you tweet, leave a comment elsewhere and write a blog post about it, you would leave me three separate comments (in addition to your one above) telling me about each step. Questions? Email me.

1. Follow me on twitter, @FireMom, and tweet: RT @FireMom Win 5 books for yourself this Mother’s Day! http://bit.ly/cdgq1x . If you’re already following me on twitter, keep on doing so and tweet the above message! It still counts!

2. Follow @HachetteBooks on twitter.

3. Blog about this giveaway on your public blog. Link to this blog post in your post.

4. Visit this BlogHer post and comment about which book was your favorite, thus donating a book to a child in need.

5. Share a link to this giveaway on any social networking site. Just let me know which ones in an individual comment for each separate site!

This giveaway is live through 7:30pm on Mother’s Day, May 9, 2010. At that point, I will hit random.org, pull a winner and contact that winner via email. The winner has 24 hours to reply with their shipping information or I will pull an alternate winner. Books will be shipped directly from Hachette Book Group USA (though it would help me greatly if you let me know when you receive your books!). If the winner is a blogger (she doesn’t have to be), I’ll make sure to link to her blog on the announcement post on Monday, May 10, 2010. Free books. Free links. Free awesomesauce.

Now get to commenting. And, really, please try to have a decent Mother’s Day. I’ll try if you do, okay?

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[Disclosure: I received a copy of the books in exchange for this giveaway. I received no other compensation, other than the joy of reading your mothering comments and knowing that someone else got to be happy on Mother's Day. That's all the compensation I needed!]