Winning Morning Mom

Recently, my most ever favorite news announced they were looking for a Morning Mom to correspond with. Now, since I think they are the greatest and feel like they are really friends of mine thanks to facebook, I thought “Hey, it'd be fun just to try!” So, since Hubby was working nights and was home in the morning to film, we made a little video and sent it in.

Knowing me by now, you realize that when making the video, I had shoved all laundry into other rooms of the house, deleted the videos we tried when Sadie decided to bark at the cat and so on and so forth. You all KNOW about our hectic school mornings.

Hubby, after we had sent the video off, looked at me and said “you know, for a girl who doesn't like to talk to strangers and rather be home than anywhere else, I think you've done a good thing here. I think your time on facebook was well spent on this. And I am really proud of you for going out of your comfort zone on this.”

The boys and I circled the date when we heard they were announcing the winner and went on our merry little way.

Until Friday afternoon.

Friday was the day the asparagus came up. Fast. I spent all morning picking it, running it to the house, weighing it out and heading back to the field. Friday was also the day I was suffering from a cold and felt I could not breathe. Friday was also the day that I had to be to school by 1:30 so I could watch one of my favorite little boys (who isn't even mine!) win student of the month. I also had little MC with me so he could have an all day long play date with S4. Friday was ALSO the day that we were celebrating S2's birthday and since it was 82 degrees (thus the reason the asparagus was growing like, well, asparagus) my Dad suggested we have a campfire. Why not?

So, at three in the afternoon I pulled out of the school with SIX boys in the suburban. Spirits were high since IM was spending the night for the birthday party. MC was giddy to think I had asked his mom to the campfire too. Buck Howdy was blaring from the radio as we rolled into town to get the now famous RED WING birthday cake (no birthday is complete, in S2's mind, without a Red Wing cake).

As we were leaving the gas station where S1 was shocked I had put 40 dollars of gas in a suburban and S3 was crying because he hadn't washed the windows and I was assuring him we would, in fact, be back to the gas station again, this week in fact and S4 and MC were trying to do the Chicken Dance while still buckled into the suburban I seen I had a missed call.
When it showed no number, I figured it must be for the rental we are trying to rent so I called my voice mail not really listening too carefully as I had one boy's hand in mine, one boy's hand in my pocket and was hollering at four others to watch for cars as we headed into the store to get the cake.

“Hello, this is C from Fox 17”.....my heart skipped a beat.....”we are calling you about the Morning Mom contest”.....I am pretty sure I quit breathing here"....."and would really appreciate a call back before five.” I was floating.

“Its FOX 17!” I squealed. All my boys nearly fell over, in fact, S3 might have. The other two looked at us like we were crazy. But then again, we started acting crazy. Standing in front of the grocery store so we kept setting off the doors but not entering, we were jumping up and down and squealing and laughing as the doors opened and shut on us.

“Did you win?” S1 wanted to know.

“I don't know! We have to call back.” It took us five tries with four boys trying to all write the number down and getting four different numbers for me to decide, finally, I should just call from home.

We got the cake and party supplies and lots of stares from all the people in the store. When we got back into the suburban, I called Hubby. “Guess who called me it was Fox 17 for the morning mom and guess what they want me to call back and SQUEAL can you believe it??????” I gushed out all in one breath.

Hubby was elated for only a few moments. “Now, get a hold of yourself” he spoke thru my happy bubble, “they may just need to ask a few things of you and then you move on to the finalist. Winning is pretty slim. So calm down, call them in your best professional voice and STAY CALM.”

I set my cruise at 25 so I would not speed thru town. Literally. I didn't know you could set cruise so low.

When we got home, RC was there for her little guy MC and I told her I had to 'make a call'. I had had lunch with her the day we had made the video so she all but shoved me to the phone where I shakingly dialed.

And was told I had won.

No finalist. No “just a couple of questions”. Just “You have won”. C, whom I spoke with, was as sweet as could be, giving me phone numbers to jot down, explaining what I had won and a few other things that I tried really hard to soak in but really, my heart was beating so fast and all was spinning that it was hard to take it all in.

But I remained absolutely professional.

I think.

I did once say “I am so so so so so so so so excited.” To which she sorta chuckled and said “I'm glad.”

When I hung up the phone, I jumped up and down, I twirled in the air, I hugged RC fiercely and just kept squealing “We won! We won! We won!”

The boys fell into the house. “We won?” they yelled.

“WE WON!” I yelled louder and all of us hugged there in the middle of the dining room where we all huddle jumped together. S1 stepped back, “Woa. We have a LOT of cleaning to do.”

He was right.

I am not sure exactly what winning totally entails. I will find out later today. I do know that at seven this morning, all of us here on the farm will be GLUED to the TV to see the video we sent in actually played on the news. And I do believe that at that moment I may actually begin to believe we won.

To Fox 17, I hope we don't let you down. There are tears in my eyes as I tell you thank you, thank you from the very depths of my heart. You have felt like an extension of our family for so long, I surely hope we do you proud. Truly, thank you so very much from this little family in the country.