Because Facebook doesn’t show all of our followers all of the awesomeness all of the time we have . . .

One of the most entertaining things about writing a weekly wrap-up is seeing how the Facebook updates and blog posts shake down and flow together. We love to find a common thread for these follow-ups but we never go into a week planning a theme; we just have to look in the rear view mirror and see what happened. You know, like when you swerve to miss a chipmunk and you look back praying there isn’t a bloody mess? Well anyway, for this week the common thread is seriously “Poop and Party.” See if you agree.

Happenings on Facebook

Posting this graphic:

Click here to see the comments.

Led to this discussion:

I put up a funny graphic about toilet paper this morning. A reader commented about some people using cloth squares instead because of the fear of the chemicals in toilet paper.
I must get your opinions:
How do you feel about reusable toilet paper?

I’m sharing a link to an article that is very balanced about the pros and cons. Family Cloths: Reusable Toilet Wipes, Gross or Great? Discuss.

Click here to see the hilarious discussion. Things like “Hell NO!” may have been muttered more than once. Even many fans of cloth diapers couldn’t get on board with this. We were wondering who had enough time in their lives to wash, dry, and snap back together this Etsy roll. Our toilet paper spindles are left empty enough of the time as it is.

So  you see the poop, but where’s the party?

Finding the Funny!

The party is going on at Finding the Funny! There’s still time to link up your own humorous post or just scroll around for something to brighten your day. You know what brightened Ellen’s day? Avoiding this disaster:

But what’s a party without gifts?

Well how about a chance to win a Custom Facebook Cover made by the fabulous graphic designer Sara at Cormier Creative? That would give your blog or even your personal Facebook page a boost.

Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. (And be sure to visit Sara at Cormier Creative!) Giveaway ends on Sunday, June 16 at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If it’s a party, you need cake!

Try Ellen’s Nutella Pound Cake. You will not be disappointed.

This is Where We Put the “And” in “Poop and Party”

We laid it out there in our new post: We Hate Baby Shower Games.

We even introduced a few more games of our own. Let’s us know if you think they are kaka or crazy good.

We’ve Found Bloggers to Love Who See the Humor in Poop Too

Science of Parenthood is our new blog crush. Created by Norine and Jessica, their tagline says it all – “Because raising kids defies all reason, logic and most of the laws of the universe.” Go check them out. There  are more illustrations where this one came from. They have a whole The Scoop On … Poop (And Other Potty-Related Things) Pinterest board.

Ending on a Party Note

While you’re checking people out on the party scene, we recommend you follow us, too. You can squeeze it in before going to the store for more toilet paper.

In fact, you can follow us in all of these places.

Follow @SensibleMoms on Twitter

Want our blog posts delivered directly to your inbox? Follow us on Bloglovin. We highly recommend it.

-Ellen and Erin

By Ellen Williams Erin Dymowski

Yes, the usually perky, always ready for some fun Sensible Moms is throwing it down: We hate baby shower games.

Erin: Just to be clear, we did not say we hate the actual baby showers.

Ellen: We enjoy the sweet celebrations of new life and new motherhood. And the cake. Baby shower cakes are always good.

Erin: But most of all, we especially enjoy seeing another sucker, I mean newbie, accepted into the fold.

Ellen: But the games, oh, the games! I was so grateful that my best friend and I made a pact that there would be NO games at ANY of our showers of ANY kind – not bridal, nor baby, nor communal. There are just so boring, pointless, and more often than not, humiliating.

Erin: Communal? I don’t want to know. But in my experience, I hate them because they are a time suck. Opening the gazillion presents takes forever, then you want to add on games? Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Ellen: Now I’m feeling a little harsh. Maybe Baby Shower Bingo is okay? You know, where you circle baby items received on a bingo card? That game trudges along during the present opening.

Erin: No mercy. I was recently at a shower where the cards were BLANK! You had to fill in your own items. If you hadn’t had a baby in the past 6 years, you were hard pressed to guess what was coming out of those boxes. I didn’t know what some of that stuff was. But my mother rocked it. She filled in her card AFTER the presents were opened. She won.

Ellen: Love. That. Your mother has inspired me anew to zing some games. Let’s get on it.

1. My Water Broke!

So for this little gem, you cryogenically suspend plastic babies in ice cube trays. Okay you’re just freezing them, but this game needs all the promotion sizzle it can get because basically you’re watching ice melt. Fun. You put a little creeper cube in each party guest’s beverage and when she sees the baby free floating in her drink she hollers, “My Water Broke!” Like we said, fun.

Erin: My family was able to up the fun on this! So at the same shower where my mom was bamboozling the bingo, my aunt was sucking on her ice cube like a mad woman to free her baby first. It was perversely hilarious! She would not be beaten.

Ellen: For the love of plastic fetuses, you come by your competitive nature honestly.

2. How Big Is That Belly?

Everyone has to take a guess at how big around the guest of honor is. Seriously. Then of course, she has to be measured to see who wins.

Erin: Perhaps the inspiration for this game came from a cattle auction? I’ve seen it classed up even further where instead of using a tape measure – because , you know, you want to save the mother-to-be the embarrassment of having her digits announced – you guess her girth in sheets of toilet paper.

Ellen: The mark of a truly fantastic shower game is to work toilet paper into it. But the entertainment value of this game comes from it’s follow-up game: Pregnant Woman Shanks The Guest Implying She Is Bigger Than A Hippo.

3. What’s The Poop?

This game is also known as “Dirty Diaper.” You take a stack of newborn diapers, smear a different food substance that resembles crap on each one, and then pass them around for the victims to guess what they are. Some versions have you melting different types of candy bars, but true dookie veterans use things like tapioca pudding and Dijon mustard. If you’ve done newborn diaper duty, you know it does NOT look like chocolate.

Ellen: I was forced to play the version that had things like mustard and pureed peas on them. We were given toothpicks to sample the fares as they passed by to help us in our identification. Gives a new layer of disgusting to double dipping.

Erin: I will see your double dipping and raise you licking! When I looked this game up to see if it was for real, the instructions said to pass around the candy encrusted poop slings and have everyone lick them. Lick. Them.

Ellen: This game is no good. It also brings back bad memories. I call bullshiz on anyone who has kids and claims not to have come at least close to getting poop in her mouth. We don’t have to talk about it, but let’s not deny it.

Erin: This game should come with a counselor in the corner.

We could go on, but we’d rather suggest some new games of our own. Seriously, if it’s okay to ask guests to lick a communal melted Hershey bar you’re parading around as poop, these should be acceptable.

1. How Dilated Is She?

The lucky guest who finds the sterile surgical gloves under her luncheon plate gets to check!

2. Canned Ham or Pregnant Feet?

Take a picture of a gelatinous hunk of pork and one of the guest of honor’s feet, attach them to a poster board and have guests guess! To up the fun, have guests vote by dropping sausage links into their chosen ballot box.

3. Scoop the Litter Box

We all should know that a pregnant woman is freed from cat doodie duty for the health of the baby. If your guest of honor has a cat, this game is a gift as well as just plain good old fashioned fun. Everyone gets a shot at scooping the box. One lucky winner walks away with a purse sized Bath & Body Works hand sanitizer in her scooper!

Feel free to use any of these for your own party because we were thinking of taking this show on the road anyway. Maybe we should go into business like the Menarche R’Us people - Awkward Baby Shower Games R’Us?

-Erin and Ellen

By Ellen Williams Erin Dymowski

Because Facebook doesn’t show all of our followers all of the awesomeness all of the time we have . . .

We Let Our Sensible Show:

We love it when we can be helpful and make your lives easier. Here we show you how to prevent a common kitchen mishap. Don’t say we never gave you anything.

Recipe We Shared:

Italian Sausage  and Tortellini Soup

Erin could probably live on a liquid diet this time of year, but this one is another favorite. This soup is so good for filling bellies, fighting the chill, and feeding a crowd. Erin’s family descended en masse this past weekend, and this soup fed the thundering herd with style and substance. Yay for sisters! And cousins!  And this soup!

People Loved:

Posts To Catch Up On:

Sisterhood Party Pride

Oh, we love to party here in The Sisterhood! Check out Ellen’s awesome cakes and Erin’s memories of parties past! There might be pandas and leprechauns in this post, but you’ll never know unless you read it.

March Finding the Funny – 1o Reasons Being the Kid of a Mom Who Blog Rocks

We are helping to host Finding the Funny this month, and it’s not too late to link up your post. Don’t want to link? No problem, there’s plenty of funny to go around and you can just add these to your reading list. There are also some awesome ecards to just pile on the funny and the fabulous-ness! Your funny bone will never know what hit it.

Can You Fill My Mom Shoes? Please?

Ellen shows off her killer style and Mom-tastic ways. Can you fill her shoes? Plus there is a ketchup bottle dancing in Prada. It’s hard to explain, just check it out

Walking the Road Together: What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say

A break from our usual light-hearted fare, but worth a read. Two years later, Erin recounts a neighborhood tragedy and the lessons learned. A moving account of friendship and hope.

Funny Photo

Our mid-Atlantic “Snowquester” was a complete bust and EVERYONE loved this photo skewering the non-event.

And Can We Get a “Woot” That It’s Actually Friday?

Like what you see here? Our Facebook page is even more fun! Check it out!

By Ellen Williams Erin Dymowski

We are co-hosting that wonderful monthly link-up, Finding the Funny, with a whole slew of talented bloggers. To put it simply, we are pleased as a couple of leprechauns riding unicorns towards a rainbow leading to a pot of gold and Sour Patch Kids. Maybe we need to work on simple.

To get you in the funny mood, we’ll warm you up before you link up with:

10 Reasons Being A Kid with A Mom Who Blogs Rocks

One…

Two (Direct quote from Jellybean)…

Three…

Four…

Five…

Six…

Seven…

Eight…

Nine…

Ten…

Is your funny bone all warmed up? Go forth and link!

Welcome to March’s

Finding the Funny!

Meet the Hosts

Anna @ My Life and Kids

Kelley @ Kelley’s Break Room

Robyn @ Hollow Tree Ventures

Kerry @ HouseTalkN

Keesha @ Mom’s New Stage

Meredith @ The Mom of the Year

Anna @ Random Handprints

Toulouse @ Toulouse and Tonic

And welcome to our new hosts!

Julie @ I Like Beer and Babies

Ellen and Erin @ Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

The Rules

Link up an old or new funny post. Link up as many times as you want (we’re serious.)

The party is open until Friday at midnight. The earlier you link up, the more clicks you’ll get.

Click around and meet the other funny bloggers that are linking up.

Follow the Finding the Funny Pinterest board. We’ll all be pinning our favorites throughout the month.

We don’t ask you to link back to us or include a button on your blog, but we do ask you to send out a tweet or post about the party on your Facebook page. Be sure to use #findingthefunny.

By Ellen Williams Erin Dymowski

We have said it before and we have to say it again: We love to party! And not just for birthdays, anniversaries, and such. Heck, if it’s a day that ends in “Y”, somebody bring the beach balls and the booze and let’s crank up the jams. Anyway, here are. . .

10 Parties That Make Us Proud

Erin

1. Irish Girls Do It in Bright Green

I just love that this Irish girl married into a Polish family with a fun-loving real-life Irish Grandmom. We love our GiGi, and all of the fabulous parties that happen on her favorite day each year!

2. Inside This Box is a Fabulous . . .

Road Trip. With five kids and birthdays that come in bunches, we don’t always go the traditional party route. Often times, we hit the road to celebrate. In fact, Biddie and I are still basking in the glow of our great Northeastern Adventure to celebrate her 13th birthday this past summer.

This picture is one of my favorites though. When Biddie was 10, she was obsessed with the First Ladies. Sorry, 1D! Martha Washington was her first real pin-up! Her birthday was the weekend of the Obama inauguration that year. All she wanted was to get to Washington, DC. Here she is scanning the White House windows looking for a glimpse of one of the Obama girls. Still one of my favorite birthdays ever!

But other times we play it straight and we get. . .

3. The Party That Proved Just How Smart I Am!!

Eddie LOVED all things Star Wars the summer he turned four. We had a pool party and these lightsaber pool noodles were the party favor. Cheap, easy to make, and 10,000 times better than a bag of Dollar Store junk. Every mom and kid loved them! And some still have them!

But there is always a fly in the punch. Check out Eddie’s face behind his cool cupcakes. Darn kid’s ruining my boast! I swear no exorcism was required.

4. True Fans Party on Opening Day

Who parties on the opening day of the Liverpool soccer season? Maybe the family that left their North Caroline beach vacation early to see them play on American soil last summer. This might be taking the term Soccer Mom to a whole new level, but I don’t care. I’m hoping these crazy family traditions are gonna be the things that get these kids home for a visit every once in a while after the big, wide world scatters them to the winds.

5. 40 IS Fabulous!

Especially when you do it Sisterhood Style. We always treat our buddies well on their special day, but this party for our friend Lauri was the best! We went kayaking on the river near her house. Her family even had it planned for us to paddle up to a dock for some beverages and snacks along the way. Kind of like a Kayak Crawl.

Ellen

Erin’s proud party moments turned out just like her: all over the place and fabulous. I’m going to stick to the traditional  birthday party genre. We take the mantra “Go big or go home” to heart around here when it comes to celebrating those special days.

1. Pandamonium

I love to have my house stuffed with happy girls.  I also love our family tradition where the birthday girl gets her very own personalized cake to dive into with abandon. The theme for Jellybean’s 12th birthday was pandas, so with 13 girls sleeping over, it was pandamonium. Get it??

2. Monkey Business

In fact, this is the party where the personal birthday cake tradition was born by chance. So take that Pinterest. I was able to develop fun family rituals long before you rolled up on the scene.

3.  Letting the Cat Out of The Bag

Jellybean got our cat Sparkle for her 6th birthday. Imagine my delight when she came downstairs ready for her indoor bounce house party dressed in her kitty cat Halloween costume. Melt.

4. Ginormous Water Slide For The Win

I LOVE throwing little kid birthday parties. Coed teenager parties make my palms clammy. For our first one, I got this huge water slide as a distraction. I should have thought about the bathing suit factor.

5. Back to the Good Ol’ Days

Alright, let’s forget the teen years, I’m starting to break out in hives. Let’s go back to when all I had to do was transform our basement into the American Idol sound stage. And upon review, I apparently also transformed our backyard into a superstar themed obstacle course for about a bazillion little girls. Did I mention “Go big or go home”?

In case all of this party pride is making you a little nauseous, don’t forget the New Year’s Eve when Ellen made everyone actually gag with this little gem of a Pintershit drink.

Also, don’t forget to check out the other bloggers over at Monday Listicles who responded to Stasha’s prompt 10 THINGS YOU ARE PROUD OF. Feel free to join in on the fun.

By Ellen Williams Erin Dymowski