How to Throw a Kick-Butt Harry Potter Birthday Party: Part One

– Posted in: Accidents, Holidays, Life is Dangerous, Mouths of Babes, No Good Deed, Parties, Personal Insanity, Shopping Hell, Things To Do with Kids, Worst Mom Randomness
How to throw a birthday party at Hogwarts

Thanks to my lack of organizational skills, we left my daughter Elfie's 9th birthday party planning until the very last minute. Not a big deal if my husband and I weren't insane. Unfortunately, we've set a precedent of throwing wildly fantastical theme parties for her birthday, complete with treasure hunts that involve multiple adult actors [...]

When Barbie Looks Fat and Frumpy, You Know We’re in Trouble

– Posted in: Complaining, Elfie, Growing Up, Mean Girls, Parenting, Sex, Shopping Hell, Tammy Thinks, Women's Issues, Worst Mom Rants
monster-high-dolls

I was in Target today, just cruising because I'd hit one of those dead-time points in the day when you can't go home but it's too early to pick up the kids, and I found myself in the toy section (for reasons I myself still can't understand). Anyway, I was checking out the Monster High [...]

Personalized Kid’s Book Giveaway: “Find Me If You Can”

– Posted in: Children's Books, Shopping Hell, Things To Do with Kids, Worst Mom Giveaways, Worst Mom Reviews
Find Me If You Can

I'm been wanting to show this to you guys, but after the events in Newtown, well, I don't think anyone's life has stayed on schedule. So this is basically a Where's Waldo book that you can personalize. You send in a photo, and then your child gets to find himself/herself among other children's faces on [...]

Worst Moms Christmas Gifts — Going Bananas

– Posted in: Food, Holidays, Okay That's Funny, Shopping Hell, Uncategorized, Worst Mom Reviews
Banana Bunkers

One of the great and horrible realities of Christmas in the 21st century is that there's really no excuse for not being able to find the perfect gift. Because if it's not online, it probably means you're a genius and just came up with the next great thing in greatness. Either that or you're like [...]

Eating Big, Playing Hard, and Shopping Small

– Posted in: Elfie, Grosser than Gross, Holidays, Jasper, Logan's Story, Newt, Reno, Shopping Hell, Vacation, Worst Mom Randomness, Worst Mom Reviews
Elfie's bright new snow gear

Well, we've survived Thanksgiving weekend (so far). I'm not calling it a complete success until we get everybody out of bed and off to school Monday morning after nine late nights and Wii-filled days. Here are a few highlights from the last few days... •I finally put a crowbar in it and got Elfie some new [...]

My Kids Went into Target Alone — and They Survived!

– Posted in: Bright Side of Life, Dogs, Elfie, Growing Up, Jasper, Newt, Parenting, Personal Insanity, Shopping Hell, Things To Do with Kids
IMG_2247

So yesterday, I took Jasper (the puppy) to pick up the kids, and on the way home, I suddenly remembered that I needed to stop at Target. The problem? Unless we could somehow fashion a fake, green, service dog outfit for Jasper, there was no getting inside with all four of us. And there was [...]

And the World Kept on Spinning…

– Posted in: Gratitude, Grief, Logan's Story, Mean People, Parenting, Personal Insanity, School, Shopping Hell
The waiting is the hardest part

So I'm back in the saddle. At least that's the plan. Research shows that if a person smiles, it actually causes her brain to think she's happy. So in keeping with that theory, I'm just concentrating on doing what I do best -- writing, complaining, yelling at the kids -- in an attempt to start [...]

Mojo on the Run — Waiting for the Dark Days to Pass

– Posted in: Blogging, Chronic Pain, Cranky Tammy, Crazy Tammy, Depression, Holidays, Homework, Parenting, Personal Insanity, Shopping Hell, Things To Do with Kids, Travel

I haven't been around much in Internet land. Last weekend, I took the kids to Monterey (which was quite the haul in a three-day span). Then they had to do Nevada Day reports (Sarah Winnemucca and the Hoover Dam, if you're just crazy curious). And, of course, there was Halloween. And yes, all of that stuff [...]