UPDATES GALORE

The votes are in and the people have spoken.  Judy wins the vote portion in a landslide.  Dang, that girl has a real following.  AND she brought some new blood into the blog. I like it, I  like it.  Nicely played, Judy. Nicely played. Twenty BIG, big points to you. But don't go out and buy the matching Tory Burch pumps just yet. Despite some technical difficulties, Joanne rallied her posse and took second in the votes and got a whopping big TEN points  (LOVED the comments from young Gabi--"she makes my meals"). John had the third highest vote count, which is not surprising as John is always in the hunt.   FIVE very important points for John, which may prove to be crucial as the contest continues. Even better is that he and Judy have renewed their friendly rivalry.  Just keep it all above the belt, please.  Jessica, you were only a few votes short of getting those FIVE big points that went to John.  See what you can do to bring in that Eau Claire vote.  This blog needs total state dominance before it can go world wide.  So, while I haven't completed the chart yet (hey, it's Sunday during Lent--get off my back) The updated scoring is as follows: Joann is in the lead with 56 points and I really like this  newcomers chances, Judy is right on her heels with 53 points, and a proven strategy for success, and John has 37 points…which is pretty good.  However, if I can make John's chart advice work, he will be receiving some extra credit--Be forewarned,  ladies.

Remember, it's early, early days. Absolutely everyone still has a chance to win these fine, fine prizes, because: 1. it's a marathon, not a sprint  2. these contests always seem to take on a life of their own, AND  3. I usually change the rules mid stream to make it more fun for everyone.  Again--be forewarned on the possibilities of rule and scoring changes…I do it because I can…"Take the  shot"

Thanks to all who captioned and voted…and stayed tuned for tomorrow's picture. It's already making me laugh, and I haven't even posted it yet.  But you know what they say, That's Lentertainment.

I wish I could be more helpful with the log in stuff.  No one wants to see that geiger counter fly to 6 figures more than me.  (OK, just a quick aside--I know that hoping for 100,000 hits is a bit far fetched and beyond ambitious.  But, hey,  this is the season for miracles, so i continue to have the faith.  And these first few days of the contest have been pretty productive--I firmly believe that it's only going to get better) For those of you still struggling on how to post, here is the advice I am getting from McKeon Tech Support: 1. you need a google email account, which is pretty simple to do--if you all recall, Nate made up like 10 of them a few years back (do the names Balthazar Fleming and Larry Sanchez ring any bells?) 2. then you need to use your gmail account to sign into the blog. (for some reason I think this makes a difference) 3. Then, sign up as a follower on the blog--just go to www.youcantscaremeihavekids.blogspot.com.  and sign in, create a fake name--or use your real one, if you dare. 4. Once you are a follower, according to my Tech support, you can comment all you want. Helpful troubleshooting tip-IF your comment won't post, sign in again, with your gmail account and try again.  I hope this helps.  And I really appreciate all those who are trying to comment.  Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and like I said, if you really cannot post a comment, I will consider extending the voting to the FB world.  Sorry, it's so complicated--but winning this contest is no easy feat. You all have to earn it.

Now, as we've addressed today's major issues--scoring and tech support--and we still have some blog real estate to  spare, I would like to update you all on a few loose threads.

1. Daisy cakes--(yes, cakes--I ordered two--a red velvet and a chocolate) Well, the long awaited Daisy "as seen on Shark Tank"  cakes have arrived, NOT on Fat Tuesday, as I had hoped, but on Thursday.  The good news is they came frozen, (in some sweet, sweet tins) so I defrosted them on Friday, drooled over them on Saturday, and stuffed them into my big yapper on Sunday. Yet, another aside, --OK, for all you Lenten purist, I know that Jesus went into the desert for 40 days, and 40 nights and didn't come home to eat and bathe on Sundays, but for all you Lenten loopholers--like my illustrious, hair splitting father--Sundays are NOT a part of Lent, so you can break your Lenten sacrifice on Sundays (My dad did not make this up: check this out: http://catholicism.about.com/b/2008/02/29/reader-question-should-we-fast-on-sundays.htm ).  Most years, I try to be consistent during Lent, but frankly, I REALLY wanted to try those Daisy cakes. (Ok, in the spirit of true , Lenten confession, I did sneak a piece of the red velvet on Saturday because I was afraid Posey was going to eat the whole thing before Sunday dawned).-And I have to admit, that red velvet was almost worth going to hell for--It's really good. BUT the Daisy cake red velvet is NOT as good as Kristi Ambro's red velvet cupcakes.  I would happily spend an eternity in Hell--(who are we kidding, there's a real high probability of that already--) if Hell had an endless supply of Kristi's cupcakes.  They are the best.  Maybe she should go on Shark Tank…Here is a picture of the chocolate cake--the red velvet is LONG gone…the chocolate is good, too, especially topped with some Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream.  Hey, it's Sunday, and I'm just following the rules….And I have a sad feeling that the rest of this chocolate cake will be gone before midnight…

2. Chris' Valentine's Day message---Sorry that I did not update everyone on this important topic. My mind is a bit of a sieve, and most things seem to slip right through. While I don't know EXACTLY what young Christopher said to his lady friend, from what I can piece together, Chris actually did sign his Valentine flowers with this affectionate epistle provided by young Peter Thomas Chillen McKeon: "From your crazy, greasy, love boat, Chris".  Word on the street is that this girl has not yet dumped Chris, but I am pretty sure if he keeps taking advice from Pete, his relationship is doomed….

3. The Black Burberry cape for Posey--I kind of left you guys hanging on this one--from way, way back.  When we last discusses this cape, it was a pre-order, and I was afraid that it was some sort of Burberry illusion or figment of my Burberry dreams, but I am happy to report, the cape came and the cape conquered.  It is delightful. I am praying Posey does not grow for several years, as it would be nice to leverage this purchase over her entire high school career.  See cape below:

When I googled the black burberry girl's cape, because I was too lazy to go upstairs and take a picture of Posey's cape, I discovered that this cape was on Harper Beckham's wish list last fall. I'm not sure whether to be pleased or horrified.  And not to brag or anything, but Posey McKeon's childhood wardrobe makes Harper Beckham look like one of those Garner-Affleck girls….I'm not saying Violet Affleck is not cute, and I kind of give Ben and Jen some credit for keeping their kids grounded, but really? C'mon. You can do better than this ensemble, Jennifer. I saw your Oscar dress.  It was top drawer.  Get your kids some cuter clothes--you and Good Will Hunting Young Jack Ryan soon to be Batman can afford it. And get her some better glasses while you're at it.

4. Nate--Many, many of you have graciously asked about Nate's health.  And I didn't update my early fall posts about him because there wasn't too much to report, though he was getting progressively better.  I filled most people in with our Christmas letter, but for those of you who are wondering, Nate  saw the doctors at the Mayo Clinic over Thanksgiving, and the doctors at Froedert in early January.  The consensus is that Nate contracted some infection that triggered a reactive arthritis situation.  The hope was he would eventually get over it, but no one could say when.  Nate continued to take doses of methotrexate--a chemo drug--and steroids to keep his symptoms in check. Interestingly, Nate developed a nasty case of mono in mid January. Not only was this not awful news, as our boy was pretty excited to have a disease that was identifiable and really normal for a college kid, but it was actually very good news. Because of the mono infection, the doctors quickly took Nate off of the methotrexate, as they felt it was further compromising his already weak immune system. And wondrously, he felt just fine. (except for the mono, of course). And because Nate was doing so well without the methotrexate, the doctors starting weening him off the steroids as well.  And lo, ho, ho, dear readers, as of last week, for the first time in almost 8 moths,Nate McKeon is drug free--the way to be.  We are VERY excited, hopeful and thankful beyond belief!! Thanks for all of your prayers, and thanks for your support. Nate is back--and the shid is alright!

Today's Top Ten:

1. Nate McKeon--he's home for Spring Break. He's fit, he's happy and he can move his arms and legs. Nate wanted to go skiing but we pulled the plug on that real fast---No need to go looking for trouble.

2. Microfiber dish clothes--Ok, maybe all you guys already have these, but I have been very old school when it comes to kitchen linens. I found these micro fibers beauties, and they are changing my life, just a little bit.

3. Stan's Donuts and Coffee--A friend gave a dozen of Stan's to my kids this morning. They brought a few home for me.  One had caramelized bacon on the top. I ate it. It was delicious in a whole new way.

4. Gone Away Lake--This is a terrific kids' book that somehow slipped through the cracks in Posey McKeon's education.  I am making her read it--even though she should have done it three years ago.

5. The Field boots from J. Crew.  I got them in chocolate brown suede.  They are perfection--and they were on sale.

6. Resurrection--that new show on ABC. I just watched it, waiting for Revenge to come back and it's real, real good.

7. Van Morrison's version of Here Comes the Night.  It's been playing in my head for two days.  Not sure why, but I love it.

8. The Inga dress from Tory Burch--if it ever warms up, and if I ever get a tan, and if I ever lose those 10 ugly winter pounds, I'm wearing this. And I like the purse and shoes, too.

9. Patrick Reed--the 23 year old who won the Doral Golf Tournament today. He's a year older than Chris McKeon and held off the best field of golfers this year to win this tourney.  It was super fun to watch. And his brother-in-law carries his bag, because his old caddie--his wife--is pregnant with their first baby.  I'm a sucker for a good caddy story.

10.  All the voters who are willing to run the blog gauntlet to make Lentertainment happen. Again,
thank you.